Over the fall and winter we have been working at building a new Prairie style home on the north edge of the Northfield golf course on Wall Street Road. It was designed by Gary Hanson of Prairie Creek Archtiects and is a beautiful home. (See the gallery of indoor and outdoor photos.)


We have worked on many Prairie style homes in this area with Gary Hanson. He does a great job capturing the organic, solid feelings of Praire homes. His use of wood trims for ceiling moldings, wall trims, etc. give the homes a warm and inviting feeling.

Phil Olson was the Superintendent on this home.

Phil works very well with Gary and understands the desgin elements of Prairie homes. Gary's homes have a high level of detail which requires attention to all construction details at all times. It is not unusual to have Gary and Phil work out framing details to 1/16" for roofs, overhangs, walls, etc. It doesn't sound like much, but a 1/16" change in something like a window height can throw off a trim piece and create all sorts of problems. There is no one better than Phil at building a Prairie style home.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:49 AM | Link

 
For the past two months we have had the new building we are constructing for Laura Baker Services "under wraps".

The exterior of the new resident cottage is brick and stucco. Because of the snow and cold weather we enclosed the building in a polyethylene enclosure so we could control the environment while we completed the exterior finishes.

It was quite an "unveiling" when we finished up the brick and stucco work and removed the temporary building enclosure. Suddenly the neighborhood and the Laura Baker residents and staff saw a beautiful new building standing in the snow!

Laura Baker is excited about this new building and the two others yet to be constructed. They included a photo of the building under wraps on the front cover of their quarterly publication. We have had many nice comments about the building from the staff and residents. They have had to put up with some of the usual difficuties associated with a construction project....limited parking, dumpsters, noise, electrical interruptions, etc.

The "Hand in Hand" capital fund raising campaign that is funding these new buildings is well underway.

I hope everyone in Northfield has a chance to drive by the Laura Baker campus and look at this new building and consider making a pledge to the "Hand in Hand" capital campaign. Laura Baker Services provides wonderful quality care for their residents. These new buildings wall allow them to continue to do this for many, many years into the future.

I'm proud that Northfield Construction Company was asked to assist with the construction of these buildings. But our work with the "nuts and bolts" of building is easy compared to the daily challenges facing people with mental and developmental disabilities. I'm pleased that Laura Baker Services is here to provide this type of quality care for these individuals.

Posted by Ray Cox at 5:49 AM | Link

 
Work is really moving along well on the new building for Pumper Plumbing and Heating in Dundas. We started the building late last fall and have worked on it over the winter months.

It is located on the south side of Dundas adjacent to the building we constructed for Lonsdale Painting/TrimCote.

Pumper Plumbing is working at "fitting up" the new building with various shelves, racking, etc. It takes a fair amount of space to inventory the wide variety of plumbing and heating supplies that they must have on hand. There must be good order to the inventory as well otherwise journeymen plumbers are wasting time looking for fittings, valves, etc.

Pumper Plumbing constructed their builiding a bit larger than they need right now. They are leasing some space to Straight Edge Concrete which should work well. They also have some additional space available for lease in the building.

This will be a great home for Pumper Plumbing. They continue to grow to serve the Northfield area. Up until now they have been leasing space next to us in the Northfield Construction Company building. Pumper Plumbing simply outgrew their leased space. Since we work together on so many projects it has been very convenient for us all being located close together. We will miss that close association but will continue to work together to create fine projects for our clients.

L to R: Keith Pumper, Nina Pumper, Carrie Breckenridge

The office and storage space Pumper Plumbing is vacating is being taken over by McGhie & Betts Engineering. McGhie & Betts leases space in the Northfield Construction Company building but was needing additional space. The space occupied by Pumper Plumbing will work perfectly for them to expand some office area and also create some new dedicated labratory space. McGhie & Betts is a full service civil engineering firm that performs civil engineering, surveying, testing of concrete and various materials, excavation observation, soils analysis, and many other tasks. Northfield Construction Company uses McGhie & Betts for the majority of our construction testing services. Again, it is great having them right here in the building with us.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:53 AM | Link

 
Saturday Ellen and I attended the Home and Garden Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I had not been to this event for several years and wanted to visit people and learn about products. Such shows are great places to learn about new products and to get technical advice from manufacturers representatives.

Much of my attention was spent in the home building area talking with folks about energy related products. I saw several types of in-floor heating products including hot water tubing and electric types. I'll have to say my favorite continues to be the Wirsbo radiant floor heating products. They seem to be an industry leader in figuring out effective ways to provide radiant heating in new constrution and also in remodeling projects.

I also visited with representatives from rFoil insulation. I have used this product under our concrete floors for years and like it. It has good refelctive qualities and also has excellent R-values. Some builders have questioned the long term R-value lately and I was glad to visit with the representatives and learn about some new independent testing and certifications for rFoil products.

There were many, many booths showing off granite countertops and all the things they can do with granite. Again, I've used granite for many kitchen and vanity countertops for some years. The one product I have not used, and is made right here in LeSueur, Minnesota is Cambria. Cambria is a stone product made from pure quartz. It has a beautiful look and feel and comes in a large assortment of colors. I'd like to use Cambria on an upcoming project.

I was glad to see representatives from the Minnesota Department of Commerce at the show. They were distributing computer discs with energy information as well as an assortment of "Builder's Update" bulletins from the Department. They put out good information on controlling energy use in homes.

I had a good visit with representatives from Lifebreath whole house air cleaner systems. As homes continue to be constructed to higher and tighter standards it becomes evermore important to regulate the air flow and air quality in the home. A heat recovery ventilator or energy recovery ventilator does the job and Lifebreath makes a good one.

Ellen and I saw a few Northfield folks wandering around the show...hard to imagine that we could cross paths at a show that is so huge but we did. We spent about 5 hours at the show but could easily have spent twice that time. I got piles of excellent literature and seveal new ideas at the show....definitely worth the investment of time.

Posted by Ray Cox at 7:08 PM | Link

 
I've mentioned several times in earlier postings that besides running Northfield Construction Company I also serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives. The best part of my Representative job is talking with my constituents. One in particular that I've enjoyed visiting with on a rather regular basis is Leif Knecht.

Leif and I have known each other for years. We swam together on the Northfield High School swim team in 1966-69… when the "new" high school opened. We both graduated from St. Olaf College and we both operate businesses in Northfield. Leif and Deb Knecht operate Knecht's Nurseries and Landscaping

which provides landscape work in many projects Northfield Construction Company completes in this area.

Leif also serves as a Supervisor on the Bridgewater Town Board. Leif is my "go to guy" to talk about township concerns that come up in the Legislature. Leif is very active in pushing for good planning in townships and for good communications between townships, counties and cities. Bridgewater Township is lucky to have such and involved and caring Supervisor.

But the part I enjoy most about my discussions with Leif is our talks on social issues. Leif brings a message to me that says we need a compassionate responsible government that supports individual efforts and promotes personal responsibility. I'm glad to hear that view as it generally lines up with my philosophy and what I'm trying to accomplish in St. Paul. Leif understands workers compensation insurance, business liability issues, health care concerns as well as local planning and zoning issues and a host of social programs.

It is nice to have people in my House District 25B that care to take the time to meet with me and discuss issues that relate to the State of Minnesota. It is also very valuable for me to hear from someone that understands the challenges of running a small business and is also serving in an elected position. Leif and I have great discussions and I value and appreciate his comments.

Posted by Ray Cox at 7:05 AM | Link

 
Last Monday I spent the day in Bloomington attending a continuing education class. As part of Minnesota's Contractor's License regulations all building contractors are required to take 7.5 hours of continuing education classes each year. This is a good plan, as it keeps people informed and up to date on issues.

My class Monday focused mainly on the International Residential Code (IRC). The IRC became effective in Minnesota on March 31, 2003. The IRC replaced much of the Uniform Building Code (UBC) and brought many changes. The UBC was in place in Minnesota for many, many years, being updated from time to time. Contractors, building officials and inspectors, sales people, material suppliers, and others are all working to become familiar with the IRC.

The IRC is a collaborative effort from several building area jurisdictions, including the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, the International Conference of Building Officials and the Southern Building Code Congress International. It is a real effort to bring sensible standards and quality to all parts of the county. I support the IRC intentions and hope Minnesota will also soon adopt the International Building Code…used for all buildings (commercial, schools, etc.)

We spent quite a bit of time reviewing energy issues. The IRC has prescriptive measures to deal with wind infiltration, heat loss, moisture barriers, etc. One of the good things about a class like this is there is a chance to visit with other contractors and learn what methods they are using. In many areas of building there are several ways to accomplish a particular code requirement. Talking with other builders allows me to get a feeling about the industry.

In many instances I don't always like what I hear from other builders. For example, the building code still allows a foundation to be insulated only from the interior surface. Northfield Construction Company has been routinely insulating all our foundations with extruded polystyrene from the top plate to the footing for years. I firmly believe this is the best thing to do in our severe climate. Keeping the foundation wall on the warm side of deep frost penetration protects the wall. The rigid insulation also acts as a drainage area for water to reach the draintile. Many builders in the class still place all the required insulation in a frame wall on the inside of the foundation wall.

We also reviewed issues surrounding employees. That sounds like a simple statement, but in the construction industry it has been causing some problems. Many contractors today build homes without having any employees. I know that may sound strange to many of you…but it is the truth. It is possible in this day and age for a contractor to hire companies to perform each and every task required to build a home. This includes excavation, foundation work, carpentry, insulation, siding, etc. Essentially, the contractor just acts as an organizer, bringing together the various workers at the proper time.

Utilizing subcontractors on this basis can cause problems with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if the contractor is not very careful in his selection process. There is an established 9 point test for "Independent Contractor Status" that the IRS uses. If the subcontractor cannot answer positively for each of the 9 questions then the subcontractor is not a subcontractor….he or she is an employee. Being classified as an employee means the builder or contractor is responsible for workers compensation insurance, social security and other payroll deductions, etc. An unexpected audit can cause real problems for contractors building homes using this method.

Northfield Construction Company builds our homes with our own carpenters and laborers, as well as cement finishers, etc. We do so for several reasons. First, we can control safety issues using our own employees. Our people are trained and know what to look for on our sites. Secondly, we can control the quality. Again, we train our workers to become proficient at tasks they enjoy doing. This allows us to maintain a high standard of construction. Using subcontractors means you totally rely on their standards. Third, we control our schedule. We assign our workers to keep the project on time to meet the established schedule.

Northfield Construction Company participates in many continuing education classes in the course of each year. Our employees attend to learn about customer relations, code updates, computer operations, etc. Education is an important part of every business today.

Posted by Ray Cox at 5:37 AM | Link