March

March is a slow month in the building business in Vermont. Earlier this week we got 2 feet of snow. Tomorrow they're forecasting 1 1/2" of rain. And the cherry on top is mud season is around the corner. (where local Road Commissioners post their roads to ALL overweight vehicles including excavation equipment). Most builders are spending more time shoveling snow and pulling trucks out of ditches then they are building.




Lucky for us, we build inside. But that doesn't mean the production schedule is full. Most of our Builders and Owners are pushing their delivery dates out until the weather gets better. We'll pre-build some of these orders, but it leaves us with a production hole.

What do we do?

We generally use March for special projects. This may include spec houses. Or, we'll use this slow time for houses that take extra time. Last year we built the Gypsy Meadow and Blush Hill houses where we installed faux timberframes inside the traditionally framed first floor.

This years "skunkworks" project is a 2952sf house destined for the Northeast Kingdom in VT.


This house will feature: a wood beamed ceiling, custom built-ins, Andersen A-Series windows, custom hemlock exterior trim, radiant heating, dense pack cellulose insulation, and an HRV system.








Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can get the foundation in the ground and set these modules mid May.

The Shoreham

We've decided to build ourselves a new model home. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we'll set it early next week. The model will be located at our Main Shop in East Montpelier, VT.

The Shoreham. 28' x 40'. 3 bed. 2 1/2 baths.






First Floor Front Module. Siding is CVG Hemlock (primed). Trim is MiraTEC (primed). Windows are Andersen 400 Series w/ SDL grills. Front door is Simpson Fir. We'll paint the exterior sometime this spring.




Second Floor Front Module. The module is lifted into the air so we can run plumbing to access panel locations.




Kitchen Cabinets are Merillat Portrait Cherry w/ Amaretto Glaze. Main countertop is Formica. Island is John Boos Butcher Block. We'll install hardwood flooring once the modules are set and sealed.



Interior Trim is simple 1x4 pine (painted). We've also added a simple chair rail detail.

Stay tuned for more photos of the set.