Meet the Guys - Charlie Sauter
Myself, my lifelong friend Jeff, my father, and our neighbor, building the family home. - circa 1992
Hello there!
I’m Charlie — the founder of Sauter Builders. I started Sauter Builders with my wife back in 1995 after completing our family home. By that time we had two beautiful children, and we used our family dining room table as the “office.” It was a one-man-show on the job sites back in those days, until I was fortunate enough to hire my first employee in 1998.
My interest in building goes back even further, though. In 1986 I had the opportunity to work on a new home project in the Twin Cities with a company called The Swedish Housing Group. It was with them that I was exposed to Swedish building methods that highlighted energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and durability. That experience still influences how we approach our projects today.
Denise and Me running the show - circa 2004
With this being the 30th anniversary year, I’ve been thinking a lot about the history of Sauter Builders and the aspects of growing the business I’ve enjoyed the most over the years. One is the relationships that I have cultivated with clients. I have had the privilege of working with some truly amazing people. I love taking their vision, adding in my creativity, and creating a unique space for their families. I enjoy designing homes that are both comfortable and healthy, and integrate energy efficient technologies. Recently, I have been fascinated by cold climate heat pumps, and have been researching the “all electric house.” I’m in the process of writing a blog post about this very topic. So stay tuned if you’d like to learn more about my opinion on that!
Running a blower door test on a current in-progress job.
A huge part of running the business is finding and establishing a solid crew. Over the years, we have had so many amazing employees — both at the job sites and in the office. I can’t say enough about each iteration of my crew. I feel so lucky to work with talented, hardworking people who care about the craft and bring their own creativity to every project. It’s a great feeling to show up at a job site and know you’re surrounded by folks who take pride in what they do.
Just a bass player doing his thing!
When I’m not running the business, I spend my free time playing music, cooking, and spending time with my wonderful family. Music has always played a large role in my life. I was a musician in the Minneapolis area in the 70’s and 80’s, touring with bands around the country and even going as far as London on occasion. It was all thanks to music that I met my wonderful wife, Denise. I’m still playing my bass as often as I can, whether it's practicing in my office, or playing in a few local bands — you can always find me with a bass in my hands.
Through the years, Denise and I created a wonderful little family that has expanded within the past decade to include two amazing partners for our children and two beautiful little grandbabies. We feel so incredibly lucky that both of our children and their little families have stayed close by and that we all get together on a regular basis. Having us all under one roof also gives me the opportunity to flex my love for cooking by making dishes from many different cuisines around the world.
That’s me: builder, founder, husband, father, grandfather, musician, and food aficionado. All of that blends together to help me create houses that make you feel at home. So, if you are wanting to bring your dream home into reality, give us a call – I hope to meet you soon!
Peace,
-Charlie