Latest News

We are currently building three homes in Alton on Lake Winnipesaukee

There is a new Shoreland Protection Act that has gone into effect and will be enforced starting April 1, 2008. One of the requirements is that building setbacks from the lakes will be a uniform standard of 50’ away from the edge of the water measured from the full lake elevation. This new rule has spurred a flurry of activity in towns that have a setback less than 50’. Alton is one of these towns. Alton currently has a 30’ setback and landowners that have been considering building new homes on their property and want to use the 30’ setback rule are forced to have a foundation installed by April 1, 2008.

I’m sure most landowners are not aware of this new rule and will be shocked when they find that they cannot build a new home, deck, garage, gazebo, etc. where they would like. Alton’s lakefront owners for the most part have small lots and will be limited to rebuilding within the same footprint as the cottage they now have.

The New Hampshire state legislature is currently working on extending the enforcement date to October 1, 2008. This will give property owners more time to become informed and make the adjustment to the new rule requirements.

Considering building a new home that will have a finished basement?

Insulating concrete forms (ICF)s such as those produced by Build Block Building Systems might be worth taking a look at. These systems are made of Styrofoam and are set up as foundation forms that the concrete is poured into to create a foundation. The big difference is that these forms are left in place and become and insulating barrier to the cold and heat of the outdoors. They also have reinforcing strips built in to accept drywall directly screwed to the inside panel. Wiring inside the styrofoam is pretty easy too. The outside finish can be stucco, cultured stone, or brick faced to protect the Styrofoam and to create a finished look. ICFs have an R-value of 20, which is far better than concrete’s R-value of 1 per every 12” of concrete thickness. This can go a long way in helping to keep home heating and cooling costs down.