As Spring sweeps in, temperatures change and your house has different needs. Here are 7 Spring Energy Saving Tips that will help to lower your bills.
Utilize Sunlight from Windows: On chillier spring days, save money on heating and lighting. Open the blinds and let that sunlight in in the middle of the day! Be sure to close your insulating curtains before sunset to trap the warmth inside so you don’t lose your gains as the sun sets.
Utilize Window Blinds: Spring in Virginia has temperature ups and downs, so conversely, on hot days, save money on your AC bills by closing the blinds to the windows to block out the heat. Honeycomb blinds work best to stop heat gain into spaces.
Program the Thermostat: On warmer days, set the thermostat higher when you’re gone to save energy. Remember if you have a traditional heat pump, more than a 2 degree change may cause your system to call for emergency heat which is very costly. If you have a newer system that uses a variable speed compressor this is not an issue.
Hang Clothes to Dry: As the temperature warms up, string up a clothesline outdoors to use the sun’s heat instead of the dryer.
Stop hand washing your dishes: Say no more! For larger loads, most modern dishwashers actually use less water. Letting dishes air dry can save more money and electricity.
Replace your HVAC Filters on a regular basis: bonus points for having a performance contract with your HVAC company to make sure your system is running in perfect order.
Assess your home: Check on air leaks, windows, insulation, water, etc. Read more about 5 things you can do for a spring house assessment here.
We’re so proud to have such involved people at Gaines Group Architects who are committed to giving their time to the community. This week we highlight Mariya Chesnov. Mariya is a designer on our team that previously attended Massanutten Technical Center (MTC). You can learn more about MTC here.
Outside of her designer role, Mariya helps to lead the kids choir program atFirst Russian Baptist Church in weekly practices and services on special holidays and celebrations, like Christmas and Easter. Below, Mariya answers a few questions about her involvement with kids choir.
Kids sing at First Russian Baptist Church
How did you first start helping with kids choir?
I started doing kids choir back in 2021 after I got baptized. I’ve always loved serving so I wanted to have a new way to serve the Lord. I love kids and singing so that was one of my top options.
What do you do specifically?
Specifically, I do the poems and verses for the choir. When we participate in church I basically give each child a small poem to learn to say in church.
Can you tell me a little bit more about what it’s like to work with the kids?
It can be stressful and challenging with 50 kids at times but I am so happy I joined because I get to serve the Lord with some of my closest friends with a passion that we have in common. There are many other ways to serve but to me children are so pure and wholesome. It is a beautiful reminder to me that the Lord wants us to be like them, trusting, humble, and forgiving.
Thank you Mariya for your time, energy, and gifts that you share with the kids in our community.
Hiring Architectural Associate / Design Professional
Attention Architects and Interior Designers, we are looking for community-focusedteam members to join our growing team. Gaines Group Architects, an award-winning design firm, continues to grow and we are looking for additional architectural graduates to add to our team. If you are just getting ready to graduate or 5+ years of experience and would enjoy a firm that is dedicated to design that builds stronger communities, please reach out to us. We have positions open in both Harrisonburg and Charlottesville.
The architectural designer position will serve to support the development of all types and styles of projects with a focus on healthy, energy-efficient, and durable design solutions. You will get experience in all phases of design as well as client relationship building. We collaborate on everything in our office and work as a team on all projects.
We are looking for someone dedicated to community service that loves all types and styles of architecture. We will help you along the way to learn and grow as a designer. A strong applicant will have a desire to understand building science and constructability of all project types.
We are more interested in finding the right addition to our team than in a particular skill set.
Send your resume and portfolio to Charles@thegainesgroup.com
Tasks you may do on a typical day:
Construction Documents
Rendering
Client meetings
Job site visits
Field Verification
Required Qualifications:
Architectural or Interior Design degree from an accredited university
Familiarity with AutoCAD, Revit, Adobe, and Sketch-up
Reliable, self-motivated, independent, adaptable, and versatile with an enthusiastic collaborative spirit.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), and Acrobat.
Excellent critical thinking skills with exacting attention to detail.
An ability to manage multiple priorities and diverse responsibilities.
Strong verbal, written, and visual communication skills.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Preferred Qualifications:
Knowledge of construction documents and the design and construction processes.
With 36 years of experience in Virginia, this award-winning architecture and interior design firm works hard to deliver excellent service at an affordable price. With offices in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, Gaines Group Architects can serve design needs anywhere in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, or North Carolina. Constantly looking for the best answer, we work tirelessly to stay on top of the latest trends and best practices in the construction industry. We believe strongly in being in service to our community and the right person for this position will share that passion.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: Based on Experience
Send your resume and portfolio to Charles@thegainesgroup.com
Our Harrisonburg team loves to come together to eat and celebrate food, and what better way than to celebrate #NationalPizzaDay while also supporting a small business client. This year we got Margherita and Meat Lovers Pizza from Brother’s Pizza. Thanks Brother’s! It was delicious. When Brother’s pizza found their new home in Harrisonburg they needed assistance navigating the local building code approval process to make a few changes to their space. We worked with them to find the most economical way to increase function and to improve accessibility into their building.
Did you know that pizza was invented in Naples, Italy as a fast, affordable, tasty meal for working-class Neapolitans on the go?
As the year goes on we will continue to look for fun ways like #NationalPizzaDay to support locally owned businesses, our clients, and our community. This is the heart of who we are as a firm. We believe that to build a stronger and more resilient community, we have to invest ourselves and our dollars in the local communities where we work, live, and play.
You don’t even need to spend money to support local businesses that you love – you can just write online reviews telling others why you love these businesses.
Not even knowing that it was Pizza Day, Asha happened to bring her own homemade dairy-free pizza for lunch.
We get to design a lot of cool spaces for our clients and kitchen design may be one of my favorites. As a former cook at The Virginian restaurant I learned the value of an efficient kitchen with all the right tools. It is so much easier to make delicious food if you have a kitchen that is easy to cook in that does not tire you out walking too much and has the right amount of counter space to prep and serve. We have designed a lot of different kitchens over the years and I went looking for photos this morning of some of my favorites. Some are renovations and some are all new spaces, but all have a special quality to them.
They all are highly functional spaces as well as aesthetically beautiful.
Some are all new spaces.
They all are special to the home design and to us.
So yes, we design kitchens too, as well as additions, renovation, new construction……
