Northfield Construction Company » Community

Truss Patterns

Ray Cox — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:02:14 +0000

We set the roof trusses on our office expansion project. The roof has a single slope to match the slope on the existing building and the trusses run the full width of the building. I like to see the patterns that trusses create. I always think back to my 10th grade geometry teacher as I see all the right triangles. He made sure we understood the strength that triangles impart to their structure. At one time we made various models from toothpicks and measured how much weight the model would hold. Now hear I am about 45 years later using triangles in my daily construction activities.

Birdhouse and flowers

Ray Cox — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:53:32 +0000

Last weekend Ellen and I were at our lake cottage in the Carlton County area of Minnesota. The woodland flowers were out in full bloom. The trillium were spectacular and full. It is a bit early for them to be so full, but I’m guessing the warm spring got them going early. The little blue flowers are also all over the more open areas.

While I was at the cottage I finished up another birdhouse. I make birdhouses for fun when I’m at the cottage. It is a perfect rainy or cold weather project to do in my little woodshop in the basement. No two of them are the same type. This current model has two dormers on the roof, one on each side of the main roof ridge. I put in trims to create “windows” in the dormers and flashed the dormers with scraps of brass. The lower portion of the walls are fashioned with log style construction…the gable end walls have board and batten siding. The front porch has a couple of posts. Fun stuff!

Happy New Year

Ray Cox — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:31:12 +0000

I want to wish everyone in the Northfield area a Happy New Year! My employees and I especially want to thank our wonderful customers. We had a reasonably busy 2011 in what has generally been a pretty tough construction economy. We completed a variety of projects ranging from commercial renovations, new homes, residential remodeling, to commercial adaptive reuse projects. The NCC staff has enjoyed helping out in the community. Some of our work included hauling picnic tables for the Taste of Northfield….

And setting roof trusses for Rice County Habitat for Humanity…..

We wish everyone a safe and prosperous New Year for 2012!

NAF and Winter Walk

Ray Cox — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:44:57 +0000

Yesterday was full of fun events. In the late afternoon I went to the Ole Store as part of my Northfield Area Foundation duties. I have served on the Northfield Area Foundation (NAF) board of governors for about 5 years. This is a great organization that works to raise funds for the foundation. Then each year NAF disperses funds to various groups through a grant process. Yesterday we met with the recipients of the grants and distributed checks to them. We funded about $43,500 of grants in this cycle, ranging from the Community Action Center, to the Northfield Garden Club, to the Y, and the public schools. It was a great time to be together and visit about the many organizations in Northfield. I’m so pleased that NAF was able to assist over 20 groups with their activities.

Later in the evening Ellen and I went to downtown Northfield for the annual Winter Walk. It was a perfect night for being downtown. The streets were blocked off and draft horse teams were giving rides in wagons. A special treat this year was a sleigh being pulled by honest to goodness reindeer. There was a giant snowman roaming around saying hello to children.

The public library had a wonderful display of trains. There were several O gauge layouts that were so popular when I was young. There were some HO layouts, and even one that was running on the small N gauge track. But the train I liked the best was the large steam engine tractor. I’m not sure what the scale is, but it was made by a local man in 1961. It burns coal to create steam and is quite powerful. In the library the operator was using compressed air to make everything turn…and to blow the whistle from time to time. It took tremendous skill for the maker to use metal lathes and cutting gear to create this steam engine. It is often at the Rice County Steam and Tractor show on Labor Day weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

Ray Cox — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:52:08 +0000

The staff at Northfield Construction Company wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you are able to enjoy time with your families and friends. We also urge everyone to be very careful in cooking thier Thanksgiving dinner, especially if a oil turkey cooker is involved. The holiday season is a big time for fires….extension cords are all over, unused fireplaces are suddenly fired up, oil cookers are heated up, etc. Watch closely what you are doing and remember there may be small children running around in houses and areas where they are not generally present.

Last weekend when I was at our ‘up north’ cabin remodeling project I again drove by a local restaurant and bar that caught fire about 6 weeks ago. I have not officially heard what caused the fire, but I’m suspicious of some kitchen equipment. A hot fryer or coffee maker that is left on and overheats can quickly light up adjacent surfaces. The burned building is obviously a total loss. The fire marshall is working on a cause of the fire. Only the front entrance door remains standing.

Grandchild and Wildlife

Ray Cox — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:35:30 +0000

This past weekend our 19 month old grand daughter Teagan was with us. We had a wonderful time taking her to the library, the bakery and other fun activities on such a beautiful weekend. Saturday afternoon I was in the backyard with her picking up pine cones. She had a good time doing that and pine cones were the perfect thing for those little hands to pick up. I feed the neighborhood birds and Teagan noticed right away that the squirrels were raiding the feeding station. They did their normal acrobatics to climb down the chain and reach the suet feeder. She seemed rather concerned that the squirrels were eating all the food.

Neuger Communication Open House

Ray Cox — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:30:03 +0000

Yesterday afternoon Neuger Communications hosted an open house for the community. They gave everyone an opportunity to view the remodeling project we completed for them over the summer. This project was a wonderful adaptive reuse of an existing building in downtown Northfield. The building was originally constructed in 1966 as a bank and served that purpose until a few years ago. No one likes to see an empty building downtown, especially on this prominent corner. So all were pleased when Dave Neuger announced his plans to renovate the building and relocate his business there. We accomplished a lot of work in a tight time frame, everything from a new roof to right on down to all new interior walls and flooring.

It was great to see so many folks attend the open house. I chatted with city councilors, bankers, lawyers, retired folks….a whole cross section of the town showed up to congratulate Dave and his staff.

Urban Wildlife

Ray Cox — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:36:54 +0000

Ellen and I live in an area of Northfield that has some fairly dense woods. We have all sorts of wildlife stop by from time to time….raccoons, foxes, deer. Yesterday I was in the backyard when a flock of turkeys came strolling down the hill. There were a few big adult birds and about 5-6 young birds. They didn’t seem too concerned about walking around by houses. Without dogs loose I imagine there isn’t a lot for them to be afraid of.

Habitat for Humanity Rice County

Ray Cox — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:53:13 +0000

Yesterday several Northfield Construction Company employees helped out our local Habitat for Humanity organization. Habitat is building two homes on the east side of Northfield. The lots are in a developed are of town and the area looks very nice. Earlier work crews had constructed all the walls for the house. The house walls are constructed of Reward insulated concrete forms and the garage walls are standard wood framing.

One of the tougher tasks for regular Habitat volunteers is setting the roof trusses. Trusses are long and awkward to handle, plus they are heavy of you are lifting them up into place by hand. We brought a rough terain forklift with an operator to the site. That allowed us to quickly and safely lift the trusses into place. The ICF walls had top plates bolted in place already so we fastened the trusses, braced them well and in short order the roof took shape.

I want to give a big thank you to our NCC workers Bill, Steve, Phil, Brent and Tristan that volunteered time after a workday to help out Habitat.

Defeat of Jesse James Days

Ray Cox — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:45:10 +0000

Wednesday evening the Defeat of Jesse James Days committee hosted a dinner for firms and individuals that provide financial support to the event. Defeat of Jesse James Days (DJJD) is a huge undertaking in Northfield. Committee members are hard at work all year making plans and preparations for the event. When it actually happens….the weekend after Labor Day….it is truly something to see. There are art shows, old car shows, tractor pulls, a rodeo—-and of course, the raid reenactment that takes place several times over the weekend.

The Wednesday evening roasted hog dinner was attended by a lot of people from the area. The weather was perfect for the event, which was held in its ususal location under a big tent adjacent to the rodeo site by the Cannon River. I ran into our State Senator from the area, Al DeKruif, and we had a good chat about. I always like to see the Junior Royalty at these events, and they were busy saying hello to people.

If you are looking for a fun thing to do on the weekend of September 1oth, come to Northfield for Defeat of Jesse James Days.