We managed to construct the foundation for our office expansion in spite of some heavy rains. We installed the footings last Friday which kept us up out of the wet soils as we erected the forms and placed concrete for the foudnation walls on Monday. The walls are 8″ thick reinforced concrete, with a ledge [...]
This week we started a water control project for a client. Their basement has been wet almost all the time, in spite of having some draintile and a sump pump in a portion of the basement. The real problem seems to be with iron ochre. From what I know about iron ocher it is a [...]
We are making good progress on our kitchen remodeling project. The windows in this home are in good condition so we relocated one of them to create a corner window unit. I really like how corner windows function in a kitchen. They provide a great amount of light, have views in two directions, and provide [...]
February 28, 2012 – 8:24 am
Yesterday we started a kitchen remodeling project. With such an important room for a family we try our best to move things along as quickly as possible. We did a lot of preliminary planning with the kitchen designer and owner to get details worked out. The first task is always demolition, which is well underway. [...]
February 27, 2012 – 7:00 am
Last week Phil Olson and I attended a training and new products seminar at Marvin Windows and Doors in Warroad, Minnesota. Marvin Windows sponsors such events from time to time in an effort to make contractors aware of new products, new installation details, and to see exactly how the windows and doors are manufactured. We [...]
February 13, 2012 – 6:56 am
Last week a couple of us from Northfield Construction Company attended a “Meet the General” event. This is a gathering hosted by the Minnesota chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). ABC typically hosts the event in a few regions of Minnesota. We attended the event held at Cabelas in Owatonna. The purpose of the event [...]
February 6, 2012 – 10:38 am
I was at our porch project by the Ole Store this morning conducting the final inspection with the City Inspector. Everything was fine and was passed so we are wrapped up until spring painting can take place. As part of our work we reused the existing porch columns, adding interior reinforcement as required. That [...]
January 12, 2012 – 2:42 pm
We’ve just about finished up our porch project across the street from the Ole Store. I think the new porch really looks great. We used a hip roof on the main roof area to keep the profile on the sides low. Over the front steps we used a small gable roof so rain won’t fall [...]
October 27, 2011 – 7:03 am
From Deadwood we traveled to Rapid City. What a lovely city! It has a nice downtown are that is vibrant and full of shops, restaurants and all sorts of venues. There are many historic buildings in this city too. They vary from Italianette architecture to basic, solid 1920′s brick storefronts, to more contemporary buildings. I [...]
October 24, 2011 – 5:59 am
Ellen and I took a few days vacation last week and headed to our neighbor to the west, South Dakota. We had not done much ‘exploring’ in that state, mainly just passing through it on the way to somewher else. This time we wanted to visit and see parts of the state. Our first visit [...]
