Looking for additional information, more detail, downloadable documents or a good book to read? We’ve compiled a wealth of useful resources on this page—and we’re continuing to add to it. If you don’t see what you’re looking for here, please let us know and we’ll work on getting the information to you.
Watch Now
Operations director Andrew Dey presents a tour of Unity’s show home (now a private residence), originally presented as part of an online event, July 22, 2020.
YouTube
Working With Unity Webinar, March17, 2021
Selected Unity Home YouTube playlists: Welcome to Unity; Finished Unity Homes; Open Home Tours; For Builders and Building Geeks; Off-Site Prefabrication; On-Site Assembly
Unity Documents
Below are downloadable documents to help you better understand what it’s like to work with Unity. Our aim is to clearly explain each step of the journey so that you feel comfortable taking the next steps toward designing and building your home with Unity.
7 Step Planning Guide for Building a New Home.
When it comes to life’s big decisions, building a new home ranks up there with choosing a life partner and starting a family. We’ve prepared this guide to help you better navigate and streamline the process. Download the guide
Intro to Unity’s Design Platforms.
Unity homes are based on flexible design platforms that are readily customizable to our clients’ needs, sites and budgets. Download our design platform overview guide.
Working Together: Ten Step Guide to Working With Unity.
We’ve developed this guide to help you better understand how we work with our clients. These ten steps outline the key project milestones for planning, fabricating and assembling a Unity home. Download Unity’s 10-Step Guide.
Guide to Unity’s Design Paths: Streamlined, Personalized, Semi-Custom.
Unity clients sign a Preconstruction Services Agreement (PSA) to work with the Unity team to configure all aspects of their home. Download guide
Guide to Unity’s Package Options: Shell, Tempo, Whole House.
There are three ways that Unity can build your home, ranging from assembling just the shell, to finishing the entire house. Our team can help you determine which option is best for you. Download guide or contact us.
Standard and Upgrades
Our offerings include a number of different finishes and fixtures for various budget levels. Options are designated as standard or upgrade. Clients who stick closely to Unity’s standard offerings realize the greatest value. Compare Standard and Upgrade options.
Process Photo Book: from start to finish in photos.
We know that Unity’s building process with pre-fab, off-site construction is new to many people. This photo book helps illustrate the process so you can visualize the steps involved in building your home. Download photo book
Unity’s Materials, Methods and Systems: A Deeper Dive
At Unity, we’re not ashamed to be called “Building Geeks.” For those of you who are also part of that tribe, we offer the following resources that describe in more detail how Unity uses state-of-the-art materials and methods to build better homes for our clients.
High Performance Shell: The panelized enclosure system (or “shell”) that Unity prefabricates for each home is the cornerstone of the home’s performance. This diagram details the key elements of our enclosure system.
Foundation Options: Unity Homes can be assembled on a variety of foundation types. The foundation choice for your particular project will be determined by the site, by the design and by the budget. This document provides an overview of the foundation options.
Insulation: Insulating well is key to comfort, health and energy efficiency. At Unity we use cellulose insulation because it offers many advantages over fiberglass and foam insulation. Learn more.
Heating and Cooling: Air source heat pumps are our system of choice for maintaining comfortable interior temperatures by providing heat in winter and cooling in summer. And if your home will be Net Zero or Net Zero Ready, these systems are ideal. Learn more.
Indoor Air Quality: Perhaps one of the most important attributes of a Unity Home is healthy indoor air. We achieve this by using tight construction and installing a “fresh air” system in every home, so that our clients can breathe easier and live healthier. Learn more.
Introduction to Prefab and Modular Homes
Prefab and Modular homes are positive options that are well worth your consideration, with a number of different advantages and disadvantages depending upon your needs. We’ve developed this introduction to help get you started learning about them. Read the article.
Selecting a Building Lot and Siting Your Home
Buying a building lot and constructing a home can be a wonderful experience – especially if you’re well-prepared. In this guide we offer practical suggestions for assessing land on which you’re considering building and then siting your home properly on the lot. Read the article.
Introduction to Passive House Principles and Design
Here at Unity Homes we don’t build Passive House certified homes, but our approach is very similar, and the performance of our homes typically matches that of Passive Houses in certain key aspects. This introduction will teach you about the history of Passive House as well as the principles and concepts that led to its inception. Read the article.
Unity Newsletter Archive
An archive of our monthly newsletters.
Sign up for our newsletter to find out about Unity Events and Open Houses.
Books by Tedd Benson
The Timberframe Home: Design, Construction, Finishing (1988)
Whereas Tedd’s first book focused on how to cut and assemble timber frames, his second book was about all the other steps required to design and build a timber frame home. Based on the experience of having built hundreds of timber frame homes throughout New England and beyond, this book provided a logical and necessary complement to Tedd’s first book, and was an indispensable handbook for anyone contemplating a timber frame home.
The Timberframe Home (revised, 1997)
As the timber frame revival gathered momentum, the materials and methods for building these homes evolved rapidly. Unity’s parent company Bensonwood was at the forefront of a flurry of innovation that improved the design, engineering, fabrication and construction of timber frame homes. In his third book, Tedd describes the state-of-the-art of building timber frame homes at the turn of the last century, with Bensonwood having played a key role in many of the most important developments.
Timberframe: The Art and Craft of the Post-and-Beam Home (1999)
Foreword by Norm Abram (host of PBS’s This Old House and New Yankee Workshop)
Tedd’s fourth book celebrates the beauty and craftsmanship of timber frame homes. This coffee table tome includes case studies and gorgeous photographs of 29 homes built in a variety of styles across the country. Most of the homes were designed and built by Bensonwood, but the book also includes examples of work by other celebrated timber frame home companies. The book remains one of the most inspirational timber frame design books ever to be published.
