Why LifeTime?

        Houses consist of many elements from the carpet, to the cabinets, to the windows to the walls. Most elements can be easily replaced and upgraded as times goes by, but the structure is permanent. Investments made in the construction of a high performance structure using ICFs coupled with appropriate system design can greatly reduce energy bills and maintenance costs, while increasing comfort, lifespan, and resale value.

        Our business model is based around an open-book, fixed fee policy with all of our customers. Once we collect bids from subcontractors, we add on a fixed fee for our project management and general contracting services. This fee is fixed, meaning we do not mark up subcontractors' bids and we do not reap the benefits of lumberyard discounts or any form of cash back. If we get an early payment discount from a lumberyard, those savings are passed directly onto you, the customer. The open-book policy means we allow you to see all of the bids the subcontractors are submitting to help choose the right subcontractor for your house. Once we set our fixed fee up front, we are now on your side. We will try to save you money everywhere possible while building a quality home that you can be proud to own.

        LifeTime Structures, LLC excels in high performance home building. We offer green building expertise and provide the best combination of comfort, durability, energy efficiency, and affordability. In fact, we are currently one of the most energy efficient builders available in Wisconsin. Below you will learn more about ICFs, the importance of system design, the benefits to home monitoring, and the truth about ICFs versus other building methods.

System Design

        LifeTime™ System Design is the optimization of all building materials and processes used in the construction of a LifeTime™ home to provide the most cost effective operating house that meets the customer’s expectations for energy efficiency, comfort, safety and beauty while being environmentally responsible. We are always asking how to spend each dollar in the most cost effective way to achieve the home’s objectives. Should we add insulation to the attic, buy better windows, or buy a more efficient furnace? Should we invest in solar electric or solar thermal? Is certifying with GreenBuilt®, LEED®, or Energy Star® more valuable for me? Which parts of the WaterSense® program makes sense for this home? These are the questions that LifeTime™ System Design answers for each LifeTime™ Structure. Yes, system design is a huge and complex task and that’s probably why you won’t find other builders or designers offering this service.

        Other designers and builders usually provide a construction drawing to each subcontractor and then have them provide their “best” or “lowest cost” items. It’s like building a car using a Mercedes Benz body, Ford engine, Allison transmission, GM seats, etc… and expecting them to all work together. It simply doesn’t work! Each auto manufacturer designs an entire car using specific parts that work in harmony. LifeTime™ System Design does the same thing for your new home, creating the perfect balance of energy efficiency, comfort, safety, beauty, environmental sustainability and costs.

         LifeTime™ System Design begins before we draw a single floor plan. We discuss your objectives, understand your building site, identify the utility options and discuss your budget. We then create customized specifications for the architectural designer. These specifications include the standard LifeTime™ Structure specifications and the custom specifications that are particular to your specific home. This makes the design phase much more efficient and creates construction drawings that will best accept the heating, cooling, plumbing, and other systems. Each subcontractor is then provided a specification for the equipment and how it should be installed and operated. The result is a completed LifeTime™ Home, which is a harmonized system that operates in perfect balance and provides you with a lifetime of energy savings, comfort, safety, and beauty at an amazingly affordable cost!

Monitoring

        At LifeTime Structures, LLC we believe in learning from experience and using good science to make our products better. That’s why we have some houses and solar installations monitored. This monitoring system provides us with minute by minute performance information live via the internet. This data is all stored and analyzed periodically to verify actual performance. We also use the monitoring system to perform experiments within the homes. Of course we need the owner’s permission to do these experiments, but we can test the possibility of heating the entire house from just tubes in the basement floor (by the way it does not provide a comfortable environment), or heating the home only at night when electricity is less expensive and letting the house “ride” without heat during the day (by the way there is an effective way to do this).

         In short, Lifetime Structures, LLC measures and verifies our installations so you know what to expect. We don’t simply guess and hope it works out like other builders and installers. Below is a sampling of monitoring systems that are being used by LifeTime Structures, LLC as of today.

Oshkosh Energy Free Tracker

Fremont Home Tracker

Solar Thermal Tracker

Radio Shows & Ads

Below are a few of our radio shows and advertisements that are running on Cumulus stations througout northeast Wisconsin.

This ad is based on LifeTime Structures' research and energy analysis that you can heat your LifeTime Structure using the heat output equivalent to a hair dryer!

Here's an ad on how to say goodbye to your utility bills!

This was an advertisement we used to promote a construction open house. Keep an ear out for similar ads to this in the future, as we are continuing to offer construction open houses so you can see what a LifeTime Structure looks like in progress.

Heat your home for $1 per day! Yes, it is possible with a LifeTime Structure. Listen to the ad below!

Below is a 25 minute radio show that we did as a part of Answers to Energy Questions. This show also promoted a construction open house we were doing at the time. However, there are some great insights in this show as to how we created this Energy Free home in Oshkosh, WI.

Here's the Energy Free home ad. New for 2012!

Here's another 25 minute radio show discussing how you can build energy efficient and even Energy Free!