Things have been progressing nicely at Sauter Builders and Earthly Belongings’ new home. The 73-year old building is enjoying its new face lift!  With only slight modifications, we have converted a two-bedroom home into a 3-bedroom home by adding a stairwell in what was the 2nd bedroom, thereby offering access to the two finished rooms/offices upstairs. The walls are painted, the original maple floors will be sanded and finished over the next few days, and the new covered front porch receives its trusses and deck boards this week.

The art within the 14 foot tree stump in the front yard began to reveal itself on Saturday, as Nathan from Potlicker Custom Chainsaw Carvings worked his magic with his pocketful of various sized chainsaws. Two eagles and an owl have emerged, soon to be joined by more northwoods wildlife.

One of our bands, Hip Pocket, played to a wonderful audience (until the rain hit!) on Sunday afternoon in the front “yard” of the office (if you can call the half-dirt covered construction site a “yard!”). We were thrilled to play on the almost-finished porch (something we hope to continue as a compliment to Boulder’s Music on Main Street), and, in the short time we played, accepted $135 in donations for a new stage for the town’s concert series! Thank you to everyone who donated!

We look forward to opening our doors the week of June 14th and will be scheduling the final energy test on the building in conjunction with the opening. The public will  be invited to attend, and, of course, all are welcome when our doors are open!

I would like peoples’ thoughts on this…….. what comes to mind when you hear the phrase, Green Building?

I’ll give you mine (oh joy!). I think what started as a metaphor for the conscientious awareness of our relationship to the world around us, has been hijacked by the marketing types. Green now seems to be a synonym for trendy and overpriced.

Speaking as a builder who’s prime focus has been on sustainability since 1995, I’d like to see the term disappear altogether! 

I believe that the last thing we want to do is make thoughtful, energy efficient, sustainable construction a boutique choice, something only for those with deep pockets.

 If we are going to affect a change (whether it be the quality of the air we breathe in our homes, the cost of energy to heat our homes, or the long term impact on the world), sustainability has to be part of the definition of home. 

I don’t mean to be preachy or to come at this from a negative angle, but I think this is a conversation worth having. 

I tend to prefer a more meaningful term. I propose we use the word sustainable in place of green.

Sustainable implies a relationship between raw material and end user, between resources and product. You can’t be in manufacturing and use  raw materials faster than they are created….it’s not sustainable. You can’t exist on a planet using raw materials at a rate faster than they are created….it’s not sustainable!

Enough said. I’ll be quiet — for now!

Sauter Builders will soon be calling beautiful downtown Boulder Junction “home.” No more will clients have to be greeted by a very spoiled and vociferous Samoyed, or walk around doggie toys, a stray sock on the floor, and Snickers, the house bunny! Sauter Builders purchased the Cottage Boutique building — a cute little home built in 1937 by the Goetsch family, owners of Goetsch Hardware that was housed in the old Ronbach/Alpine Shop next door.

We had an official ribbon cutting with the Boulder Chamber on January 22nd in conjunction with the first energy test of our building. We are treating the building as we would a typical remodel enrolled in Home Performance with Energy Star (HP).
A blower door test and infrared scan was performed, allowing the auditor and us to see where air infiltration was occurring, and where we need to concentrate our efforts for energy improvements.

As part of the HP program, after a home is tested, energy improvements are incorporated into any aesthetic improvements desired, then the home is tested again — quantifying the actual energy improvements made in terms of air infiltration numbers and long-term energy savings. We will be scheduling another energy test on our building in May.

We performed two tests that day, and used them as an opportunity to allow the general public to observe the process of an anergy audit and ask questions (the public will also be invited to our second test in May). Channel 12 (our local NBC affiliate) stopped in to find out more about energy tests and how they can help a homeowner get the most bang for their buck in lowering energy costs. If you are interested in having an energy audit performed on your home, contact us or Rich Urban from E3 Home Performance at 715-369-7390.

We hope to have the remodeling completed and be in our new home by the end of May, sharing the building with “Earthly Belongings” — a small shop that will be in the front room of our our office. The store will specialize in Fair Trade and Sustainable items from around the world, along with unique art from local artisans and very talented friends.

We’ll keep you posted as we progress! We’ll have fun surprises along the way!

Here you will find information on new products or methods, views and insights on building and home issues, things that we find interesting, and general ramblings.

These posts are in no way intended to be the “be-all and end-all” of building science or construction, or a shameless sales pitch for Sauter Builders.

The statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. No animals have been harmed in the making of this blog.

Feel free to post comments or questions — we would love to hear from you!