I want to thank all our great clients for another successful construction year. We completed the largest building we have ever constructed, Millstream Commons, along with a couple beautiful new homes and many other projects.

Everyone at Northfield Construction Company is client oriented. We enjoy working with our customers to create the custom designed and built projects that suit their needs. It is a truly rewarding feeling to come to the end of the project and see our clients thoroughly pleased with our perfomance....from schedules, to quality of work.....and know they will call on us again for future projects.

Best wishes to everyone in the New Year!

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:47 AM | Link

 
Shortly after I posted my last entry on energy efficiency regarding residential mortgages, Peter Schmelzer sent me a comment with a link to some earlier comments about this on his website.

Peter is an architect that lives and works in Northfield. He and his wife operate Vivus Architecture.

We have collaborated on various construction projects. I appreciate his interest in energy issues as part of the design process. Too many times designs get finalized without good thought being given to energy issues. With energy costs rising quickly I'm sure more and more people will be examining projects with energy use in mind.

Posted by Ray Cox at 9:08 AM | Link

 
You never know where things go in the electronic world! My blog coach, Griff Wigley, sent me a message that he stumbled across this reference to the work Northfield Construction Company did on a self-sufficient energy home. I'm not familiar with this mortgage company but obviously they are interested in this home building idea.

We finished this home some months ago and the owners are enjoying it. I visit with them from time to time and am anxious to get a report from them after a full year of operation.

One of the questions I get a lot from customers is "If we upgrade our (furnace, insulation, doors, etc.) and lower our energy use and energy cost, will our mortgage lender give us credit for that?" I've never had a real good answer from any lender on that question. It would seem that if a client can build a home that will use $75 less energy per month, the resulting savings should be reflected in the client budget. Many of the energy saving features add some cost to a home, so the operational savings will pay for the up-front investment if the mortgage company factors in the energy savings.

Posted by Ray Cox at 5:15 AM | Link

 
Work on the Sciota town all has been moving along well this fall. This project was constructed using structural insulated panels (SIP’s) for the exterior walls and conventional framing for the roof and interior walls. The SIP panels moved the project along very quickly, allowing us to get it enclosed and heated in short order.

Last week the water well drillers were on site drilling the well for the town hall. The weather was reasonably mild at the end of the week, allowing them to do their work without too much difficulty. There always is a lot of water and slurry that accompanies well drilling. The slurry can cause problems on sloped sites, but this site is flat enough that it was easy to contain the slurry.

Northfield Construction workers are installing exterior building finishes. The siding is a two color metal material, with burgundy below a clay color….I think the building looks great.

The front of the building has a covered porch which will be very nice for building users on rainy or snowy days.

The interior drywall work was started last week.

We have some of the aluminum doors in place, with bumpers installed to protect them during the balance of the construction work.

Before long the Sciota town supervisors will be able to conduct meetings in this fine new facility.

Posted by Ray Cox at 3:28 AM | Link

 
Last night Ellen and I were at the downtown Northfield Arts Guild decorating a Christmas tree. I was there to help carry things and put them on the tree. Ellen did a huge amount of work getting things ready.

Her theme for the tree is ‘Teddy Bear Christmas’. She sewed clothes for the teddy bears, made various other clothing outfits for toys, glittered pine cones, wrapped tiny presents…and on and on. It is really a beautiful tree. She did a magnificent job making so many things to decorate the tree.

My sister Sarah also created a Christmas tree for the Arts Guild. Sarah has decorated trees in past years as well.

The Arts Guild has had community tree decorating for several years now. Businesses sponsor a tree (Northfield Construction Company sponsored Ellen’s tree) and a community member decorates it. Once they are decorated they are on display for a short time, starting with the Downtown Northfield Winter Walk this evening. The Arts Guild then sells the decorated trees to raise funds for the Guild. It is a great way for many people to be involved in supporting a great organization.

If you are available this evening stop in at the Arts Guild and take a look at all the trees…there are many beautiful ones.

Posted by Ray Cox at 1:10 PM | Link