workin in a winter wonderland

Tis the season to be jolly... and we have reason to as we are getting going on our -fourth year in a row- wintertime home building project.  It's a smallish home out in the West Danby area of New york.  Easy to build -compared with other recent projects.

As I have said before, I like building in the winter.  The way I look at it, if I can't be cross country skiing, out playing hockey on the frozen pond or just gazing at snowy mountains across the valley from my cozy wood fired hot tub unfortunately I no longer have one, I can at least go to work out in the snow and cold.  Crazy right.  Well maybe, but seriously i have always been a lover of winter.  As i kid growing up in Seattle where snow was more of a treat than a regualr visitor, I used to stand at the front windows for what must have been hours looking to the sky for that first snow flake.  I'm not so different now tho i use the NOAA radar page to help know just when to look out the window.  These days as a father of two and breadwinner for the family, I must go to work on days I might rather be skiing, and although it has its unpleasant moments, working in the snow and cold does something for my mind and body that is hard to acheive in more normal work envirnoments.  Frankly I like the bracing wind on my face, the crunch of snow on the ground, the colbalt blue sky, the threat of snowfall in the air. 

Here in central New york Lake effect snow is always a possibility-bright and sunny one moment, a white-out the next, and back again.   Of course outdoor work goes a bit more slowly in the winter and one has to be more careful when climbing around on ice covered rafters and ladders, but when it come to feeling alive and well while at work, send me out in the winter weather. 
Okay its only December, we'll see how I feel come march.

recession proof?

Here we are more than a year after the economy tanked and new home construction and building in general suffered a serious downturn. Strangely, here in Ithaca, Creative Constructions has enjoyed our busiest, most succesful period to date. For this I am grateful, but also somewhat surprised.

Frequently folks will ask "how's business lately...?"  When I tell them business is GREAT, I get a look of disbelief. As if to say "....did I hear you right, how is that possible...?" I have been wondering the same thing myself lately.

How it is that our residential home construction business has remained a growing operation even as most construction related businesses are experiencing unprecedented slow times?

Although it is a cliche, I think it is because we are, well, different in comparison to the typical home builder. The following is a list of what I think sets us, Creative Constructions LLC apart.

1. We are small enough (intentionaly so) to have our own hands on all our projects.
2. We treat our clients like partners not adversaries.
3. We encourage our clients to act as their own contractor, which allows them to have much greater control over their entire project throughout. This increases the chances that the client can achieve just what they are after, in terms of the balance between product and cost.

4. We are in it as much or more for positive vibes and happy customer feeback as we are for the living we make at it.

5. We three partners are all college graduates with degrees in Engineering -Rod, Fine Arts- Kerrie, and Education -Rob, as well as seasoned builders with years of practical experience in diverse settings.

6. We try to think flexibly and to keep an open mind for our customers.
7. We are committed to designing and building affordable, environmentally conscious structures, with a bent toward energy efficiency, smaller footprints, and well designed living spaces.
8. We embrace the use of the internet for research and client communicaton, as well as for sharing info on our website about who we are and what we do.

9. We encourage our clients to get involved in their projects at whatever level they are comfortable- be it on site with tools, on the phone with suppliers, shopping for materials, or just enjoying the finished product.
10. We think we're fun to work with! We definitely do good work!  And we have reasonable rates!

In this difficult economic time, we feel that these differences in how we run our business and how we perform our work have set us apart in this Ithaca home building market.  We appreciate all this work we have been able to do.  And like my dad would say, we must be doing something right.

to each building... his or her own

Over the past few months we at Creative Constructions have been involved in 4 distinctly different building projects.  Each of them designed by our partner Rod Lambert and each addressing a family's unique housing needs.  As we approach completion on three of these projects and I have a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday, I return to the keyboard to update you on my building life and consider the reasons for our work.

Among the needs we have helped to fulfill in recent months is an addition to house an endless pool.  This will allow a child with a debilitating physical disease to enjoy weightlessness and receive physical therapy that will hopefully legthen and add mobility to his life. 

Another family who had an elderly Great Aunt move in with them a couple years back came to us in desperate need of more private space in their small home.  They asked us to build them an attached mother in law unit for the Great Aunt.  For under $38K if possible.  They of course love the relative but have been longing for an evening alone in their living room- for a long time now.  In just a couple of weeks they will have it as much as they want.

The third client, a young couple without kids (yet), were looking to build their unique version of an environmentally friendly dream home.  This home, on 60 acres with dramatic nature views, was to use -as much as sensibly possible- local materials, passive solar design and energy efficiency throughout. They were planning for no fossil fuels to be burned in the home by including a masonry stove and complete PV system.  They also planned to physically work on the project themselves and have done an amazing job in the process!

Another goal in the design of the dream home was to create a large and open enough space that it would feel comfortable and inviting to any and all friends and family that may wish to come and stay a while.  I believe they have succeeded. 

And even though they are a few weeks out on being done, they are enjoying T-giving with the family there as I write.

Currently we are getting started on a "retirement home" for a couple who built a cabin on the same land and have been living there for nearly 30 years.  Their new home- small by modern american standards (913 sq ft) will have all they will need to be comfortable on one radiantly heat floor.  It includes beautiful views of the local hills and will be built on a budget significantly under $100k.  Stay tuned for additional installments on this project.  It is just getting started.

I wonder what interesting new building needs you might you have for us?

rob