10 service categories · 100 service pages · Miami-Dade, Broward & Palm Beach
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Build the envelope
right, and the
bills follow.
A new home in South Florida is won or lost at the envelope — the walls, the roof, the glass and how they meet. We design, engineer, permit and build that envelope as one system, so the house is comfortable before anything is asked of the air conditioning.
- Licensed, bonded & insured · CBC1265280
- 104 municipalities across 3 counties
- Design-build: permitting & construction in-house
Miami-Dade · Broward & Palm Beach Counties
ScrollRecent work
A new home, from shell to glazed envelope.
Thirteen frames of one canal-front two-storey, photographed from dry-in through to a closed and glazed envelope. Select any frame to open it.
The service, defined
Efficiency is a construction outcome, not a product you bolt on.
Energy-efficient new home construction means designing and building the house so that heat, moisture and air are controlled by the structure itself — the wall and roof assemblies, the glazing, the air sealing and the way those parts are detailed where they meet.
It serves owners building from the ground up who would rather spend the budget on an envelope that performs for thirty years than on equipment working hard to compensate for one that does not. Every decision here is made before the walls close, because that is the only time most of them can be made at all.
South Florida changes the brief. The load is cooling and dehumidification, not heating, so the enemy is solar gain and humid air finding a way in. Miami-Dade and Broward also sit inside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, so the glazing that shades the house is the same glazing that has to resist impact and uplift. Those two requirements get solved together or they fight each other.
What is included
- Scope
- Design coordination, structural and MEP engineering, permitting, foundation, structure, envelope, glazing, roofing, insulation and air sealing, mechanical rough-in, finishes, inspections and closeout
- Delivered by
- One licensed general contractor — CBC1265280
- Region
- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties
- Envelope
- Wall and roof assemblies · continuous air barrier · impact-rated glazing · insulation strategy · flashing and drainage detailing
- Systems
- HVAC sizing and duct location · ventilation · water heating · electrical capacity for future loads
Scope index
Everything a ground-up build actually contains.
Twelve items, five phases — from the first site walk to the certificate of occupancy. Select an item to read what it covers.
Site and orientation review
How the lot sits, where the sun lands through the day, where prevailing breeze comes from, and what the setbacks and lot coverage leave you. Orientation is the cheapest efficiency decision available and the only one that costs nothing to get right at the start.
Design and envelope strategy
Plan and elevation developed alongside the wall and roof assemblies — where the glass goes, how much of it, how it is shaded, and what the walls are made of. These are not separate conversations.
Structural engineering
A Florida-licensed engineer designs the structure for gravity and for wind uplift, and details the connections. In this region the structural drawing and the envelope drawing have to agree with each other.
Mechanical and electrical design
HVAC sized to the house you are actually building rather than to a rule of thumb, with duct runs kept inside conditioned space wherever the plan allows. Electrical capacity is planned for the loads you will add later.
Product approval and documentation
Glazing, roofing and other approved products are assembled with current documentation for the submittal — Miami-Dade Notices of Acceptance or Florida Product Approvals, depending on product and jurisdiction.
Permitting
Drawings, calculations, energy compliance and product approvals submitted to your municipality. We handle submission, review comments and resubmittal.
Site work and foundation
Clearing, grading, drainage, and the foundation system the engineer specified for your soil. Everything above depends on this being right and inspected.
Structure and roof
Walls, floors and roof structure erected and tied down. The roof assembly is closed and dried in so the interior can proceed.
Envelope: glazing and air sealing
Windows and doors set, flashed and sealed; the continuous air barrier completed and checked before it is covered. This stage is where most of the eventual performance is decided.
Insulation and mechanical rough-in
Insulation installed to the specified strategy and inspected; ducts, plumbing and electrical run and inspected before close-up.
Interior finishes
Drywall, millwork, flooring, kitchens, bathrooms and the rest of the finish package, sequenced so trades are not undoing each other.
Inspections and closeout
Required inspections through to final and the certificate of occupancy. You receive the approved drawings, product documentation and warranties.
Canal-Front Two-Storey
Ground-up residence photographed from dry-in to closed envelope
One house, photographed across the stage that matters most for efficiency: structure up, roof on, glazing installed, and the interior still open enough to see how the envelope was put together.
Select any frame to open it full size. All nine frames are the same property.
Specification
Canal-Front Two-Storey
Recorded from the photography only. Cost, schedule, address, client and energy ratings are not documented in the source material and are therefore not stated.
- Project type
- Ground-up two-storey single-family residence on a canal lot
- Stage documented
- Dry-in through closed and glazed envelope
- Structure
- Concrete and masonry construction with a cantilevered upper floor over the entry elevation
- Glazing
- Full-height fixed and sliding assemblies to the water elevation; corner glazing at the living volume
- Visible materials
- White render to the exterior · dark-framed glazing · flat roof with parapet · gypsum board internally
- Envelope features
- Continuous glazed wall to the rear elevation · deep cantilever providing self-shading to the floor below · flat roof with concealed drainage
- Interior at this stage
- Open-plan living volume, double-height stair void, services roughed in and inspected before close-up
- Outcome
- Envelope closed and weathertight, ready for insulation, mechanical completion and finishes
Design and material language
Five decisions that set how the house performs.
What the envelope is made of, what was used on the documented build, and what the alternatives actually change.
Glazing
The single biggest lever
Used on this build. Full-height fixed and sliding assemblies in dark frames, set and flashed into the opening before finishes. In this climate glass is simultaneously the view, the solar gain, the air-leakage risk and the impact requirement.
Other options. Glass can be specified for lower solar heat gain, different tints and different frame materials. Each choice trades daylight, view, heat and cost differently.
Wall assembly
Mass, insulation and the air barrier
Used on this build. Concrete and masonry construction rendered externally — the dominant South Florida wall system, and one that behaves well in humidity when detailed and sealed properly.
Other options. Insulation can sit inside or outside the mass, and the choice changes how the wall dries. Frame construction is also used and needs a different moisture strategy entirely.
Roof and shading
Where the cooling load starts
Used on this build. A flat roof with parapet and a deep cantilever over the lower floor, which shades the glazing beneath it for part of the day without any moving parts.
Other options. Roof colour and surface materially affect the cooling load. Overhangs, fins, louvres and external shading each work at different times of day and different orientations.
Air sealing
The part nobody sees
Used on this build. Sealing is completed and checked while the assembly is still open. On this build that meant the work happened between glazing and close-up, which is the only window when it can be done properly.
Other options. Air sealing quality varies enormously between builds and is almost impossible to correct later. It is worth more attention than most owners expect.
Mechanical strategy
Sized to the house you built
Used on this build. Ducts run inside conditioned space where the plan allows, and equipment sized to the actual envelope rather than to floor area alone.
Other options. Oversized equipment short-cycles and dehumidifies poorly, which in this climate is felt as clamminess rather than as temperature. Right-sizing depends on the envelope being known.
On what is shown. Every photograph on this page is from a real Elbaz Construction build. The alternative options described are named for comparison only and are not claimed to have been used on the project pictured.
Process
Twelve stages, in order.
No stage carries a duration. Design depends on decisions, permitting depends on your municipality, and construction depends on scope — a number here that ignored all three would not be worth printing. You get a real schedule with the proposal.
Walk the lot, agree what the house needs to do.
Survey, orientation, drainage, setbacks and lot coverage.
Plan, elevation and section, developed with the envelope.
Structural, mechanical and electrical design coordinated.
Drawings, calculations and product approvals assembled.
Submitted to your municipality; HOA review alongside.
Clearing, grading, drainage and the foundation system.
Walls, floors, roof structure and dry-in.
Glazing set and flashed; air barrier completed and checked.
Services run, insulation installed, both inspected.
Drywall, millwork, flooring, kitchens and bathrooms.
Through to final and certificate of occupancy.
Technical brief
What a ground-up permit set actually contains.
A new house is the most heavily reviewed thing you can build. Here is the document set behind it and who looks at each part.
Zoning and site
Setbacks, height, lot coverage and impervious area are decided locally and before the plan is finalised. On waterfront lots there may be additional setback from the seawall and separate coastal review.
Energy compliance
Florida requires the design to demonstrate energy compliance as part of the permit set. The calculation depends on the envelope, glazing and equipment you actually specify, which is another reason those are decided early.
Structural drawings
Signed and sealed structural drawings and calculations by a Florida-licensed engineer, designed for gravity and wind uplift.
Wind design
Miami-Dade and Broward fall inside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. Palm Beach sits outside it but is still a high-wind region. The design pressures follow the address, not the county line alone.
Product approval
Glazing, doors and roofing carry approval documentation appropriate to the jurisdiction — Miami-Dade Notices of Acceptance or Florida Product Approvals.
Mechanical, electrical, plumbing
Each discipline is permitted and inspected in its own right, and each has its own rough-in inspection before anything is covered.
Utility coordination
Water, sewer or septic, power and any gas service are coordinated with the relevant utility, which runs on its own calendar independent of the building department.
Inspection sequence
Inspections run in order through foundation, structural, rough-ins, insulation, and final. Each has to pass before the next stage closes over it.
Certificate of occupancy
The build closes with a certificate of occupancy. You should end up holding that, the approved drawings and the product documentation for the assemblies.
Disclaimer. Requirements, fees and review times are set by your municipality and change. Nothing here is a legal opinion or a guarantee of approval or timing — the building department having jurisdiction over your address is the authority, and we confirm current requirements with them for every project.
Assembly
Section through the envelope.
An indicative section through the wall, roof and glazing junction — the places where efficiency is actually won or lost on a South Florida build.
Key
- 01
- Roof assembly, laid to a fall
- 02
- Parapet and concealed drainage
- 03
- Cantilever shading the glazing below
- 04
- Masonry wall — mass, insulation, air barrier
- 05
- Full-height glazed assembly, flashed at head and sill
- 06
- Slab at grade with its own moisture control
Head and sill
The top and bottom of every glazed opening are where water and air get in if the flashing sequence is wrong. It is a sequencing problem more than a materials problem, and it can only be got right while the opening is open.
Continuity of the air barrier
The barrier only works if it is continuous. Every penetration, every junction between wall and roof, and every opening is a place where continuity is either maintained or quietly lost.
Shading before glass selection
Shading the glass with the building itself costs nothing to run and never fails. It is worth resolving before spending on higher-performance glazing to solve the same problem.
Ducts inside the envelope
Ductwork in unconditioned space loses capacity and gains humidity. Keeping it inside the conditioned envelope is a planning decision made at design stage.
Performance and quality
What we hold ourselves to.
No energy rating, test result or certification is claimed on this page. Where a project is certified or blower-door tested, the number comes from the rater or the test, not from us.
- Envelope continuity
- The air barrier and insulation are checked while still visible. Once board goes up, neither can be verified.
- Flashing sequence
- Openings are flashed in the correct order and inspected before cladding. Out-of-sequence flashing looks identical and performs the opposite.
- Wind design compliance
- Members, connections and fixings follow the sealed structural drawing, including fixing type and spacing.
- Moisture management
- Drainage planes, roof falls and slab moisture control are treated as one system rather than three trades.
- Corrosion and salt air
- On coastal and waterfront lots, fastener and finish selection is a specification decision, not a substitution.
- Mechanical commissioning
- Equipment is checked against the design intent rather than simply switched on and signed off.
- Inspection record
- Every required inspection is called and passed. The closed permit and certificate of occupancy are the record.
- Documentation handover
- Approved drawings, product approvals and warranties are handed over as a set, not chased afterwards.
Cost and timeline
The fourteen things a real number is built from.
We do not publish a price per square foot for new construction. The same footprint varies enormously with lot, structure, glazing and finish level. The variables below are what a real number is built from; after a site visit you get a written scope and a proposal against it.
| # | Variable | Why it moves the number |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lot and site conditions | Access, existing structures, soil, grading, drainage and whether utilities are already at the boundary. |
| 02 | Foundation system | What the engineer specifies for your soil, which is not known until it is investigated. |
| 03 | Footprint and storeys | Area drives material, but a second storey changes structure, stair, services and access as well. |
| 04 | Structural system | Masonry, concrete or frame, and the spans the plan asks for. |
| 05 | Glazing area and specification | Often the single largest envelope line. Area, frame, glass type and approval level all move it. |
| 06 | Roof form and assembly | Flat, pitched or mixed, and what the assembly is built from above the structure. |
| 07 | Insulation and air sealing strategy | Where insulation sits and how thoroughly the envelope is sealed and verified. |
| 08 | Mechanical strategy | Equipment type, zoning, duct routing and ventilation approach. |
| 09 | Finish level | Kitchens, bathrooms, millwork, flooring and lighting cover an enormous range at identical square footage. |
| 10 | Engineering and documentation | Sealed drawings, energy compliance and product approval documentation. |
| 11 | Permit and impact fees | Municipal fees, which on new construction can include impact fees that vary a great deal by jurisdiction. |
| 12 | Utility connections | Bringing services to the house, and any upgrade the utility requires to serve it. |
| 13 | Site restoration | Driveway, paths, grading and landscape after the build. |
| 14 | Change orders and lead times | Scope added after permit may require a revision to the approved drawings as well as the work. |
Question index
Straight answers about building efficiently here.
Fifteen questions across design, envelope, glazing, systems, permitting, cost, schedule and South Florida conditions.
What actually makes a South Florida house efficient?
Controlling solar gain and humid air. In this climate almost the entire load is cooling and dehumidification, so the things that matter most are how much glass faces where, how well it is shaded, how airtight the envelope is, and whether the ducts sit inside conditioned space. Insulation matters, but on its own it will not rescue an envelope that leaks or a west elevation that is all glass.
Does orientation really make a difference?
Yes, and it is free. East and west glass is the hardest to shade because the sun is low; south glass is straightforward to shade with an overhang. If the lot gives you any freedom in how the house sits, spending it on orientation buys performance that costs nothing to run and never breaks.
What is an air barrier and why does it keep coming up?
It is the continuous layer that stops air moving through the assembly. In a humid climate air leakage carries moisture into walls, which is both an energy and a durability problem. It only works if it is genuinely continuous, and it can only be verified while the assembly is open — which is why it is a construction sequencing issue rather than a product you buy.
Where should the insulation go in a masonry wall?
It depends on how you want the wall to dry. Insulation outside the mass keeps the structure at a stable temperature and generally performs better; insulation inside is more common and cheaper. Both work when detailed properly. The wrong answer is to change the position without changing the detailing.
How do I balance big windows against heat gain?
Shade first, then specify. A deep overhang, a cantilever or a fin blocks sun before it reaches the glass and costs nothing to operate. After that, glass can be specified for lower solar heat gain. Doing it in the other order means paying for high-performance glass to solve a problem the building could have solved.
Does impact glazing hurt efficiency?
No — impact assemblies are laminated and often perform better thermally than the single glazing they replace. In Miami-Dade and Broward the impact requirement is not optional anyway, so the practical question is which approved product you specify, not whether to have it.
Why does HVAC sizing matter so much here?
Oversized equipment cools the air quickly, switches off, and never runs long enough to remove humidity. The house then feels clammy at a temperature that should be comfortable. Right-sizing depends on knowing the real envelope, which is why the envelope has to be decided before the equipment.
Should ductwork be in the attic?
Avoid it where the plan allows. Ducts in an unconditioned attic lose capacity and pick up heat and moisture. Keeping them inside the conditioned envelope is a design decision made on the plan, not something that can be fixed later.
Does the permit set include energy compliance?
Yes. Florida requires the design to demonstrate energy compliance as part of the permit documents, and the calculation is based on the envelope, glazing and equipment you actually specify. Changing those after permit can require a revision.
How long does permitting take on a new house?
It depends entirely on your municipality and whether the review comes back with comments — which it usually does at least once. We will not print a number of weeks on a web page, because a figure that ignores your building department is not a real answer. You get a schedule with the proposal.
What drives the cost of an efficient home versus a standard one?
Usually less than people expect, because the biggest levers — orientation, shading, duct location, air sealing quality — are design and workmanship rather than expensive products. The cost tends to rise where glazing area is large, where the envelope specification is upgraded, and where equipment is more sophisticated.
Will I get the money back on the power bill?
Some of it, over time, and how much depends on the house, the tariff and how you live in it. We would rather talk about comfort and durability than promise a payback period, because an honest payback calculation needs your actual usage and nobody has that at design stage.
What sequence does the build follow?
Site and foundation, structure and roof, dry-in, envelope and glazing, rough-ins and insulation, then finishes and inspections to certificate of occupancy. The envelope stage is short but decides most of the eventual performance.
How does the hurricane zone affect an efficient design?
It constrains the glazing and the structure, because both have to resist impact and uplift. That is not in conflict with efficiency — approved impact assemblies are laminated and generally perform well thermally — but it does mean glazing decisions are made against two requirements at once.
What about moisture and mould in a tight house?
A tight house needs deliberate ventilation, not accidental leakage. Done properly, controlled ventilation with dehumidification gives better indoor air and lower moisture risk than a leaky house. Done carelessly, tightening a house without planning ventilation is the one way to make things worse.
Four things worth looking for.
These frames are from a real Elbaz Construction build in South Florida. There is no stock or generated photography on this page.
Observations
- 01
- Glazing set before finishes
The glass goes in while the interior is still open. That is what allows the head and sill flashing to be done and inspected properly instead of being buried. - 02
- The cantilever is doing work
The upper floor projects over the lower elevation. That overhang shades the glazing beneath it for part of the day, permanently and with no running cost. - 03
- Services roughed in and open
Ducts, plumbing and electrical are visible and inspected before close-up. Anything not right here is expensive to reach afterwards. - 04
- Openings framed square
Square, true openings are what let a glazed assembly seal properly. A racked opening is sealed with sealant instead of with geometry, and that is a shorter-lived solution.
Credentials and delivery
Six verifiable reasons, and no badges.
Nothing on this sheet is an award, a membership or a logo we cannot substantiate. The licence number is public and checkable.
Licensed general contractor
CBC1265280 — certified building contractor, bonded and insured. The number is on every page of this site so it can be checked.
Design-build under one contract
Design, engineering coordination, permitting and construction sit with one company, so the envelope drawing and the structural drawing are reconciled before site, not on it.
Permitting handled in-house
We prepare and submit the package, answer review comments and call inspections. Elbaz runs a dedicated planning and permitting practice, so this is core work rather than a favour.
Engineering coordination
Structural, mechanical and electrical design produced and sealed by Florida-licensed engineers and coordinated with each other.
Local to the region
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach — 104 municipalities across three counties. Knowing how a specific department reviews a new-build submittal is worth real time.
One point of contact
You deal with the same people from the first site walk to the certificate of occupancy.
Google reviews
In their words, unedited.
Reviews are quoted verbatim from the Elbaz Construction Google Business Profile. They describe the company as a whole — none refers specifically to the new-construction project documented above.
★★★★★
“They are amazing! Very professional. Met my exact requests with so much patience and knowledge. They renovated my whole house and the whole process was such a breeze. I highly recommend them!”
Lee Morali · Google review
★★★★★
They are very professional, courteous and transparent. They are great at communicating and finding ways to streamline the work.
Omri B
★★★★★
From start to end — personal kind treatment, always respectful, every espect of the work was clear, and fair. Value for money 10/10.
roni yonani
★★★★★
Amazing experience with the entire company! They did a great job in my house for some work that needed to be completed.
Mia Zafrani
★★★★★
These people are super professional super honest super Fast !! Don't hesitate to Rent their service!
carmit cohen
Service Areas
Proudly serving homeowners across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach
- Aventura
- Bal Harbour
- Bay Harbor Islands
- Biscayne Park
- Coral Gables
- Cutler Bay
- Doral
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- Florida City
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- South Palm Beach
- Tequesta
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- Westlake
- West Palm Beach
104 municipalities across three counties — and we hold the licence to build in all of them. Not sure about your address? Ask us.
Knowledge library
Related reading.
Related services
Adjacent work Elbaz delivers under the same licence.
Start here
Book the site visit.
Tell us about the lot and what you want the house to do. We will come and look at it. No obligation, and no brochure.
What happens next
- 01
- We call or email within one business day, Sunday to Friday.
- 02
- A site visit: we walk the lot, look at orientation, access, drainage and what the setbacks allow.
- 03
- A written scope and a proposal against it — not a brochure.
- Useful to have
- A survey if you have one, any HOA or architectural guidelines, and any drawings already prepared.
Thanks — that came through.
Your details are with the Elbaz Construction team and we will come back to you, usually the same or next working day. If it is urgent, call (754) 236-0675.
Design the envelope first.
The rest gets easier.
Design, engineering, permitting and construction under one licensed general contractor across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.
