Home : Texas : Collin County : Mc Kinney : Mike Michaud

Name: Mike Michaud
Company: North Texas Help-U-Build
E-mail: Contact Mike Michaud (North Texas Help-U-Build)
Website: http://www.solarcertifiedhomes.com
Office Phone: (903) 640-0888
Address: P.O. Box 429, Bonham, TX, 75418
Description: Sell your listings for a HIGHER price and FASTER! Give buyers a reason to buy YOUR listings. Have them Solar Certified. Program to help buyers get solar equipment for discounts of up to 80%!

What I do and Why

There's no cubby-hole big enough to Photo by Mike Michaud www.solarcertifiedhomes.com put me in. I'm not your typical broker or builder. In addition to personally being a licensed broker, I also own a custom home construction and consulting company specializing in green technologies. These include both materials and energy. ICF, SIP, log, timberframe, bermed, domed, solar panels, wind turbines, bio-diesel generators, hydro-power.

If you need land for you dream green home, then we've got it. Use my services to purchase your littile piece of heavan and we'll credit a large part of the commissions against construction costs.

We focus on all of North and East Texas (56 counties) but build and install all over the state and into southern Oklahoma.

We're also part of the Preferred Builders Network of Texas. The single, got-to resource for building in Texas. Free information on builders, alternative energy systems, green home building technologies, "green" landscaping, green building consultation and technical resources.

Use our alternative energy upgrade program for buyers or sellers. Make your home stand out in the sea of "Me too" when it comes time to sell your home. Sell it with sunshine! Check it out at www.solarcertifiedhomes.com

Leaves: Micala Michaud

My philosophy on "Green" and building your home.

Personally, I don't believe in the one-size-fits-all approach of government mandated standards and methods. Therefore, I approach each project with my client's objectives in mind, providing the best of information and experience I can so my clients can make informed choices they will feel good about and can live with for themselves and future generations. I provide the best of financial impacts and analysis for construction to look at the true cost of a home, not just the cost to build. Actually, the building cost of a home is the least expensive part of a home!!! Financing is more expensive than construction costs, but maintenance, utilities and insurance are by far the most costly elements of a home over the life of the home. Building green can have a dramatic impact on these costs if taken into account during design.

I don't tell you how to build, I show you the alternatives and let you decide what works best for your situation.

A full range of construction and consultation services for your custom home.

Consultation: Thinking of building but want to know what your options are without all the sales hype? That's what we do. We don't rep or resale any products, so we are free to give you advice and opinions that are not financially influenced.
Variety of building materials and technologies: We've built homes with insulated concrete forms (ICF) of various manufacturers, structural insulated panels (SIPs), steel framed, timber framed, log, bermed, domed and various combinations of these as well as the conventionally framed stick homes, but with a twist.
Variety of energy sysytems: solar panels, wind generators, geo-thermal systems, bio-diesel fueled back-up generators, thermal mass.
Our Help-U-Build program where we set you up as your own general contractor and let you oversee your project. No nailing required. We set your project up for success with the planning, bidding and financing needed to get your job completed the way you want.
Shell construction: If you choose, we can build the shell of the home, get it "in the dry" and let you take over the rest, which is a nice fit between full general contractor services and the Help-U-Build program. This is a really good program because you have the most control over the personal preference items that really make a home yours, the finish out. You handle the cabinetry, plumbing fixtures, wall texture, colors paint, flooring, trim.
Full service general contractor services. This is for the more traditional relationship with the builder for having a home built. Give us the plans, we hand you the keys.
Being a part of the Preferred Builders Network of Texas, we have access to a wide variety of construction trades, engineering and energy professionals and other builders for other parts of the state to handle any project you wish to undertake.
With an emphasis on green, old takes on a whole new meaning! Based on our clients' design requirements and finishout preferences, we incorporate a lot of recycled old materials in new homes. Things like barn-wood for wainscot, recycled flooring, ceiling tin, trim, fixtures, cabinetry, doors, stairs, even entire barn-frames! We generally don't reuse windows because the old single-pane just won't cut it in an energy effecient home.
We offer traditionally hand-crafted elements in homes such as hand-joined timber trusses, beams, heavy wood work.

Real Estate:

Similar to other agents and broker, I am licensed by the state of Texas as a real estate broker. I offer the usual services of helping with listing and buying properties. I specialize in farm and ranch, recreational and green development projects. So if you're looking for truely green real estate investment opportunities or homes, I am the go-to guy. I work with investors and other builders, so I know where the "buys" are in addition to the bank owned or distressed properties that are being dumped on the market.

If you are needing to sell your home but don't want to join the race for the bottom of the market, then give buyers a reason to buy your home. Have it Solar Certified. It gives buyers that are looking for homes that perform, not cheap a reason to come to you first! For more details, check it out at www.solarcertifiedhomes.com

Alternative Energy:

This is where the fun is! I am personally invested in a bio-diesel production plant and am working on plans to build another in Fannin County.

Solar energy: This includes the typical photo-voltaic panels (solar cells), as well as passive hot-water systems for home and pool use. Solar panels have the most universal application. They are the least limited technology for installation location.
Wind energy: Home sized systems. These are mostly limited to rural uses at the home level. Larger small-scale commerical systems can be installed in parking lots and on top of commercial buildings. Most high-density residential locations won't allow them or they are unfeasable to install. Large scale have to be in wide open spaces. FYI, it take about 90-100 acres per 1+ mega-watt systems.
Geothermal: This is a technology for heat exchange with the earth. Most geothermal systems for residential use are used to heat and cool homes. They don't take up much room, can be install in most urban locations and can be quite beneficial if you have an older structure that is hard to tighten up. These are not as cost effective when compared to the higher efficiency heat pumps. By the time you factor in the drilling costs for the coolant loops, its hard to get a good payback.
Bio-fuel generators. These are really best for backup emergency power systems. They are more efficient and less costly than most battery backup systems. Most battery systems today have to be replaced every 5-8 years which makes batteries very inefficient both from a cost and production standpoint.

Marketing:

Our alternative energy upgrade program can be applied to buyers and sellers for qualified residential or commercial properties.

Sellers: Have a property you want to sell fast? Give buyers a reason. Call me. We'll make the determination as to program eligibility. If your property qualifies, then it will be enrolled in our alternative energy marketing program.

Buyers: Want an alternative energy system on the home you want to buy? Call me. We'll make the determination as to program eligibility. If the property qualifies, then we can help you buy the property AND have the equipment you want installed at a subsidized rate.

For new construction: Fram, ranch and estate properties. We always have people actively looking to purchase country property to build on.

The story behind the companies:

I started North Texas Help-U-Build out of a need. I bought my little piece of heaven in Fannin County, Texas. Out away from the greater "Metromess" (Dallas/Fort Worth). I like living in North Texas, but had had my fill of city life. So off we went into the great wilds of rural Texas. Having bought a lot of acreage, I wanted to build the "dream house". Problem was, I couldn't find a builder back in '99 that knew anything about green building! I knew a lot more than most builders on the subject. And having come from a family of entreprenuers and builders, I figured I could build my own.

The point of this is that I approach building not from a builder's perspective, but from an owner's perspective. And these two views are WORLDS APART. A builder's approach is cheapest, fastest and never see the owner and home again (hopefully). An owner's view is best value for overall ownership. By best value, I'm talking about what will give the best overall return in time, money and energy to the owner while they live in the home. And the best cost decisions for the long-term are not always the short-term cheapest to get a home built.

One of the unique things I do as a builder is I intentionally do NOT represent any manufacturers' products. I don't try to make a markup on some materials or products to boost the bottom line. That is long-term counter productive. By focusing my business on my clients' needs and not on what I'm trying to sell, I have removed the financial bias from any advice or recommendation I may offer. I am free to provide the very best professional opinion I can when it comes to evaluating products, systems or methods. I tell it like it is and my clients get the make a more informed choice as to how they approach their home project and what costs they choose to incur.

"Green" has such a wide interpretation when it comes to contruction. Changing light-bulbs is considered green, but in and of itself does not make a home green. What we use to build with, how we build, how we incorporate natural energy into the home, how we light a home, heat it, cool it, fit it into the surround landscape, how we power it. All these together make a home green. But the biggest contributor to that is how we live and the choices we make in the construction of the home.

Sadly, government mandates are a one-size-fits-all mentality and generally don't work all that well. In some circles, that's sacriledge, but the government is not the answer to our energy problem or needs. It is us, the people and the choice we make of our own free will that will make the difference. And in my experience, when people are given the choice, they will generally choose the option that best fits all requirements.

Areas of Expertise

Being involved in four industries sound like a lot, and it is. However, there is a common thread and and objective that runs through these four competencies. And that common thread is sustainable living, both environmentally and economically. Contrary to popular opinion, one does not preclude the other! Read on to see how this thread runs through everything I do:

Four core areas of business:

Green and Zero-Energy Construction:

A full range of construction and consultation services for your custom home.

Consultation: Thinking of building but want to know what your options are without all the sales hype? That's what we do. We don't rep or resale any products, so we are free to give you advice and opinions that are not financially influenced.
Variety of building materials and technologies: We've built homes with insulated concrete forms (ICF) of various manufacturers, structural insulated panels (SIPs), steel framed, timber framed, log, bermed, domed and various combinations of these as well as the conventionally framed stick homes, but with a twist.
Variety of energy sysytems: solar panels, wind generators, geo-thermal systems, bio-diesel fueled back-up generators, thermal mass.
Our Help-U-Build program where we set you up as your own general contractor and let you oversee your project. No nailing required. We set your project up for success with the planning, bidding and financing needed to get your job completed the way you want.
Shell construction: If you choose, we can build the shell of the home, get it "in the dry" and let you take over the rest, which is a nice fit between full general contractor services and the Help-U-Build program. This is a really good program because you have the most control over the personal preference items that really make a home yours, the finish out. You handle the cabinetry, plumbing fixtures, wall texture, colors paint, flooring, trim.
Full service general contractor services. This is for the more traditional relationship with the builder for having a home built. Give us the plans, we hand you the keys.
Being a part of the Preferred Builders Network of Texas, we have access to a wide variety of construction trades, engineering and energy professionals and other builders for other parts of the state to handle any project you wish to undertake.
With an emphasis on green, old takes on a whole new meaning! Based on our clients' design requirements and finishout preferences, we incorporate a lot of recycled old materials in new homes. Things like barn-wood for wainscot, recycled flooring, ceiling tin, trim, fixtures, cabinetry, doors, stairs, even entire barn-frames! We generally don't reuse windows because the old single-pane just won't cut it in an energy effecient home.
We offer traditionally hand-crafted elements in homes such as hand-joined timber trusses, beams, heavy wood work.

Real Estate:

Alternative Energy:

This is where the fun is! I am personally invested in a bio-diesel production plant and am working on plans to build another in Fannin County.

Solar energy: This includes the typical photo-voltaic panels (solar cells), as well as passive hot-water systems for home and pool use. Solar panels have the most universal application. They are the least limited technology for installation location.
Wind energy: Home sized systems. These are mostly limited to rural uses at the home level. Larger small-scale commerical systems can be installed in parking lots and on top of commercial buildings. Most high-density residential locations won't allow them or they are unfeasable to install. Large scale have to be in wide open spaces. FYI, it take about 90-100 acres per 1+ mega-watt systems.
Geothermal: This is a technology for heat exchange with the earth. Most geothermal systems for residential use are used to heat and cool homes. They don't take up much room, can be install in most urban locations and can be quite beneficial if you have an older structure that is hard to tighten up. These are not as cost effective when compared to the higher efficiency heat pumps. By the time you factor in the drilling costs for the coolant loops, its hard to get a good payback.
Bio-fuel generators. These are really best for backup emergency power systems. They are more efficient and less costly than most battery backup systems. Most battery systems today have to be replaced every 5-8 years which makes batteries very inefficient both from a cost and production standpoint.

Marketing:

Our alternative energy upgrade program can be applied to buyers and sellers for qualified residential or commercial properties.

For new construction: Fram, ranch and estate properties. We always have people actively looking to purchase country property to build on.

The story behind the companies:

Testimonials

Here's a link to an article that was written about an alternative energy home that we built here in North Texas. The pics show the house in progress, not finished. More interesting that way.

Erecting Timber frame with ICF: Mike Michaud www.solarcertifiedhomes.com

The Art of Building a Home.

****************

Building a house can be a lot of stress, as well as a hassle, but in the words of Suzanne Broussard, a woman in the process of building a home in Bells, “I am having so much fun doing it!” Mrs. Broussard and her husband, Kit, will be moving to Bells from McKinney. They were looking to get away from the crowded city and happened upon some land in this area. “We found the land, and instantly fell in love with it. The gently rolling hills, relaxed atmosphere, and friendly people were really great.”

The Broussards next step was to build a home once they had the land in their possession. As with all people looking toward that end, they had a lot to consider. Decisions had to be made on the location, materials, people, companies, etc. They wanted a traditional looking but high performance, low maintenance home that would last for generations, much longer than the usual 2x4 framed homes built today. They designed the house to look like a traditional ranch style homestead with covered porches running the length of the house in the front and back.

Choosing the materials was next on the agenda, and it was done after much research. “We decided to use several different things, instead of just the usual Timber Frame. Besides that, we are using Perform Wall Systems (also know as ICFs or Insulating Concrete Forms), and Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS).” Perform Wall ICFs are hollow blocks or panels made of 85% recycled polystyrene (styrofoam) and 15% cement that construction crews stack to form the walls of the building. The workers then reinforce the walls with steel rebar and fill the centers with concrete to create the structure. When completed, the house frame is made of steel reinforced concrete, not 2x4 sticks. A home built with Perform Wall Panels is extremely resistant to fire, tornadoes, hurricanes, insects, earthquakes and fungus and mildew, including black mold. Because of the thermal-mass of the completed wall (around 10 inches), the temperature is almost always constant, thus reducing your heating and AC bills. SIPs are high performance building panels that can be used for floors, ceilings, and walls. SIPs are made with a six-inch layer of polystyrene sandwiched between two plywood sheets. The thickness of these panels provide superior insulation and keeps air drafts down to a minimum, thus providing a more energy efficient building. And, the Broussards used the timber frame because they love the look of wood. “Look around, and then tell me why not to use wood!” Suzanne said. “It is absolutely beautiful, and reminds me of an old homestead, or a barn. My husband and I really like that look.” With advantages such as these, the Broussards decided to make use of this technology.

To get the construction process going, Kit and Suzanne chose North Texas Help-U-Build. “The decision to use North Texas Help-U Build (NTxHUB) was an easy one, after talking to Michael Michaud, the owner of the company. He was really easy to work with, and had the interest of the homebuilder, and not himself in mind.” North Texas Help-U Build is a custom home construction and consulting company that specializes in helping people build their own homes at a lower total cost by enabling the homeowner to act as their own general contractor. NTxHUB is based in Bonham, but works with clients from Texarkana in the northeast to Glenrose in the southwest. His approach to the building process is with the customer’s long term objectives in mind instead of what is easiest for the builder. “I recommend highly efficient, green-building technologies such as ICFs to my clients. While the initial cost is a little higher, the payback to the immediate homeowner and conservation of our nation’s energy resources is huge.”

As for why they chose Hearthstone Timber framers, which is a specialty timber-framing company, “The people are extremely friendly, wonderful to work with, and very knowledgeable. They really know what they are doing. They also have a beautifully engineered product that makes the building process less stressful.”

Mr. Chris Adkins, a Hearthstone Timber Framer who worked on the Broussard’s house, said that using the ICF and SIPs technology with timber frame creates the sturdiest structures that he has ever seen. “I really like this technology because I know that we are building quality homes that will withstand the elements for people to enjoy.” Hearthstone Timber framers have worked on jobs for people all over the United States, from Tennessee to Illinois, Texas to Mississippi and all in between.

Suzanne and Kit are pleased with the work that both North Texas Help-U Build and Hearthstone Timber framers have provided for them. “It is amazing how much difference the people can make when building a house.” When asked if she had any advice for anyone interested in building a house, Suzanne responded, ”Get help! Don’t do it by yourself! It will turn out to be a bigger job than you first thought. Get help from the experts, and make use of their knowledge. You will be glad you did.”

If you would like more information on either North Texas Help-U Build or Hearthstone Timber framers, please feel free to visit their web sites. http://www.ntxhub.com and http://www.hearthhomes.com

Real Estate:

Alternative Energy:

This is where the fun is! I am personally invested in a bio-diesel production plant and am working on plans to build another in Fannin County.

Solar energy: This includes the typical photo-voltaic panels (solar cells), as well as passive hot-water systems for home and pool use. Solar panels have the most universal application. They are the least limited technology for installation location.
Wind energy: Home sized systems. These are mostly limited to rural uses at the home level. Larger small-scale commerical systems can be installed in parking lots and on top of commercial buildings. Most high-density residential locations won't allow them or they are unfeasable to install. Large scale have to be in wide open spaces. FYI, it take about 90-100 acres per 1+ mega-watt systems.
Geothermal: This is a technology for heat exchange with the earth. Most geothermal systems for residential use are used to heat and cool homes. They don't take up much room, can be install in most urban locations and can be quite beneficial if you have an older structure that is hard to tighten up. These are not as cost effective when compared to the higher efficiency heat pumps. By the time you factor in the drilling costs for the coolant loops, its hard to get a good payback.
Bio-fuel generators. These are really best for backup emergency power systems. They are more efficient and less costly than most battery backup systems. Most battery systems today have to be replaced every 5-8 years which makes batteries very inefficient both from a cost and production standpoint.

Marketing:

Our alternative energy upgrade program can be applied to buyers and sellers for qualified residential or commercial properties.

For new construction: Fram, ranch and estate properties. We always have people actively looking to purchase country property to build on.