Unity Blog

How We Help Clients Find and Select a Local Builder

Choosing the builder, or general contractor (GC), when building a new high performance Unity Home is one of the most important factors for a successful outcome. This is why we provide clients with pre-vetted options for builders based in their area, so they can choose from a curated list and avoid the stress of finding a builder on their own. Each project needs a local builder to join the team as they install the foundation and finish the home after we assemble the weather-tight building shell and interior partition wall framing. While clients have the final decision as to which pre-vetted builder they ultimately work with, Unity makes the process easy by providing a list of trustworthy builders with specific experience building high performance homes.  […]

Local Builders on Unity Projects

When a project is too distant for Unity to general contract, we and our clients team up with a local builder who preps the site for Unity’s arrival, and finishes the high performance shell that Unity assembles on site. This scenario allows Unity and the local builder each to do what we do best. […]

A Xyla in Alstead, NH

Sarah and David came to Unity with a vision for a high performance home that would live lightly on the planet, and reflect the sense of stewardship […]

Build New or Retrofit an Existing Home?

Now more than ever in a changing climate, high-performance homes are sought after for their resiliency and energy efficiency. One common question asked by those […]

Unity’s Selection Process: Finishes and Fixtures

Choosing the unique fixtures and finishes for your Unity home is an exciting part of the design build journey. We call this stage the “selections […]

Women in Construction: Working Toward a More Equitable Industry

Unity is a brand of Bensonwood, a pioneer in the home building industry since its founding in 1974. We not only share the same building […]

Where Unity Builds

“Where is Unity able to build?” This is one of the most common questions we receive, with folks nationwide wondering if building one of our […]

Unity’s Screened Porches

Home should be more than a living space. It should be a place of calm, joy, and inspiration. Have you ever sat outside to enjoy […]

A “Zumette” in Mystic, CT

“We absolutely love our home and can’t think of one thing we’d want to do differently” – Ellen When Ellen and Rich approached Unity in […]

Why Build Now 

With all the dire headlines and uncertainty relating to interest rates, inflation and energy costs, why would anyone start planning to build a new home now? As builders of high performance homes, we at Unity have been pondering that question. We’ve come up with a few reasons why now is as good a time as any to plan for your new home.  […]

A Zum in Sharon, CT

As a contractor specializing in the preservation of historic buildings, Mason had been a fan of Bensonwood for many years. After Unity was spun off […]

A Xyla in Wellfleet, MA

Donna and Catherine decided to move out of Provincetown after having lived there for many years, because it was getting too crowded and busy, and […]

A Nano in Springfield, VT

When Amy and Craig emigrated to Vermont from Massachusetts a decade ago, they moved from an 1870’s farmhouse to a Cape that was built in […]

Unity Garage Design

Who needs a garage? Most Unity clients, it turns out.  
Of the last 50 homes that Unity has built, 40 had garages, and most of them were attached directly to the house. 
While it may seem like a relatively simple matter to add a garage to a house design, doing it well – so that the garage works with the site, the house and the project budget – requires careful consideration.  […]

Unity Homes and Passive House

Ten years ago, the average home buyer or builder probably hadn’t heard of the Passive House standard – and they certainly couldn’t describe it. But during the past decade, this standard has gone from being an “extreme” on the fringes of homebuilding, to being commonly discussed – and increasingly achieved – in the world of high-performance homes.  

Although Unity doesn’t build Passive House certified homes, our approach is very similar, and the performance of our homes typically matches that of Passive Houses in certain key aspects. […]

Four Värms in Hanover, NH

“Unity’s new homes are solid, attractive and durable.” – Tim,Dartmouth’s Associate Director for Campus Planning and Facilities When Dartmouth College needed new faculty housing built on a […]

A Värm in Hanover, NH

When Alexis accepted the job of Dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, she and her husband Chris were faced with the prospect […]

3 Nanos in Brewster, MA

When the property adjacent to her home on Cape Cod came on the market, Sarah jumped at the chance to purchase it. Her vision: to […]