Design Services
We are proud to offer a complete package for the client looking to build their own home.
Gurtler Bros. can take you from site planning, building plans, foundation design, and through to building performance confirmation. Using one firm to handle all the technical aspects of a project is a good way to meet deadlines and, most of all, ensure your home is of the highest possible quality – A quality that will keep the occupants safe and comfortable for years to come.
Our services are specialized for this geographic area. Southern Louisiana has land that is unlike any other in the country. It is not of a consistent composition and the water tables are very close to the surface.
Going with Gurtler Bros. as your design firm is a sound financial alternative to buying plans from an online vendor because the professionals designing your home understand local conditions and are experienced in dealing with existing problems specific to this area.
It also affords you the ease of cutting down on transfer times and miscommunication, and affords you peace of mind by having your project managed by competent local engineers.
The initial stage of any project would be finding out where you stand.
In Louisiana this is particularly important as you could be standing on solid ground while on the other side of town, the ground isn’t solid until 50 feet below the surface. Building your house on a plain slab on the latter could mean disaster in a matter of years. This is why we strongly recommend sub soil analysis for all of the homes that we build. A soil investigation will tell us what type of foundation is needed to keep your house stable.
We have knowledgeable draft people on staff that can take your ideas for a dream home and turn them in to a workable design. Along with working closely with you, the client, we also have a Civil Engineer on staff who will work with the drafter to ensure the foundation and wind load designs meet local requirements in order to meet or exceed local requirements for hurricane strength winds.
If you have already obtained plans from an architect or other source we will gladly review the plans, make any necessary modifications and give them the Civil Engineer’s stamp of approval.
Upon completion of your plans, you will have the option to get an Energy Rating. With the energy rating for a new home, our Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) certified Home Efficiency Rating System (HERS) specialist will perform an analysis of the plans, the building materials to be used and will formulate a project rating. Based on this rating the specialist will recommend building materials, and/or mechanical equipment in order to increase the energy efficiency of the home. Once the house is constructed, the specialist will perform a confirmation rating and will supply you with a report that includes the home’s efficiency and any applicable certifications and/or tax credits.
For more information on Geotechnical Engineering
For more information Energy Ratings