Parade of Homes

The Parade of Homes is Coming!

2012-08-02T14:45:04Z

Mark your calendars! The Fall Parade of Homes and Remodelers Showcase is just a month away (and closer if you visit us at the State Fair). We had a great time photographing Tina and Michael and their boys for our new home cover. The family just moved into their new home and love it, especially the yard (they moved from a townhome).

We also found a great remodeling story from John and Mila who rebuilt John's family home in Minneapolis. Read all about these families and more in our guidebooks -- pick up yours at the Great Minnesota Get-Together State Fair at our booth at Carnes and Underwood. Or stop by a Holiday Stationstore anytime after August 25th. Parade of Homes runs September 8-30, Remodelers Showcase from September 28-30.

Residential Construction in Twin Cities Continues to Rise

2012-07-26T16:59:30Z

July proved to be another very strong month for residential construction permits in the region. Units permitted in July, 2012, were up by more than 110 percent over July of 2011, and year-to-date, units were up 72 percent over last year. A large project in Ramsey (230 units) and another in St. Louis Park (122 units over four permits) pushed up total units for the month, however single-family activity continued strong, with an almost 60 percent increase this July over July 2011.

According to statistics compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 403 permits for a total of 783 units during four weeks in the month of July, 2012. Year-to-date, there were 2,239 permits issued for a total of 3,953 units.

“The market continues to strengthen,” said Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2012 President and owner of Lee Lyn Construction, Curt Christensen. “Nationally, the latest Case Shiller index reported a price increase of 1.3 percent in April, returning to positive territory for the first time in seven months. At the same time mortgage rates have dropped to an all time low and locally, we’ve seen several months of positive sales reports from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

“These all contribute to a growing optimism in the industry,” Christensen said. “However with regulatory costs reaching 25 percent of a home’s sales price, builders and developers remain cautious about their ability to offer affordable, competitive homes to the market.

Ramsey led the metro area in building activity for the month with 231 units permitted. St. Louis Park followed with 123 units. The same cities held the third through fifth place rankings for the month, with Blaine at 35 units permitted, followed by Woodbury with 34 units and Plymouth with 30 units.

July_2012_Permit_data_chart.pdf

Get a taste of the upcoming Remodelers Showcase

2012-07-06T13:03:30Z

Love gorgeous remodeling projects? Then mark your calendars for September 28-30 this fall. If you can't wait, check out some great photos from the winners of our Remodeler of Merit Awards (ROMA) held last week -- like this one of a lower level renovation from The Landschute Group.

Smaller Home Sites Make a Comeback

2012-07-05T13:41:47Z

Construction is going full-bore for this Fall's Parade of Homes! We have almost 300 new homes to tour September 8-30, and over 80 remodeled homes on September 28-30.

One trend you'll see this fall is a single-family home on a smaller lot at a great price! Young families looking for the benefits of new construction (from energy savings to durability and of course, that new home smell) are now finding they can afford a single family home. Read more about the trend from the Star Tribune.

June 2012 Hot Sheet

2012-07-02T19:00:19Z

Builders Association of the Twin Cities June 2012 Hot Sheet leads with stories on the NAHB: June Builder Confidence Index & UST: May 2012 MSP Residential Real Estate Index.

HS_June_2012.pdf

Any questions, please contact James Vagle, james@batc.org.

Residential Permits for Single Family Homes in June Continue to Surge in the Twin Cities

2012-07-02T16:44:32Z

For the second month in a row, single family homes have made a strong showing in permit statistics for the metro area. Additionally, June 2012 continued to show marked improvement over the previous four June permit numbers. The month averaged an 80 percent increase in permits and 45 percent increase in units over each June since 2007.

According to statistics compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 465 permits for a total of 555 units during four weeks in the month of June, 2012. Year-to-date, there were 1,836 permits issued for a total of 3,170 units.

“We could get used to this trend,” said Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2012 President and owner of Lee Lyn Construction, Curt Christensen. “We’re seeing plenty of signs of improvement in housing, including the June 27th New York Times article headlined ‘After years of false hopes, signs of a turn in housing’.

“The same NYT article quoted Joe Niece, an Eden Prairie Realtor, as having a number of ‘bidding wars’ for resale homes recently. That’s something we haven’t seen in years, which bodes well for new construction as existing home inventory drops below demand in a number of areas,” Christensen said.

Maple Grove led the metro area in building activity for the month with 68 units permitted. Savage followed with 48 units. Blaine was third with 46 units permitted, followed by Woodbury with 27 units and Plymouth and Prior Lake both permitted 26 units.

June_2012_Permits_Chart_Only.pdf

Twin Cities Remodelers Honored for Excellence

2012-06-29T15:25:04Z

The Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) Remodelers^SM, a council of BATC, hosted a gala banquet Thursday, June 28th, to announce the winners of their 31st Annual Remodeler of Merit^SM Awards (ROMA). At the same time BATC announced the 2012 Remodeler of the Year. More than 200 guests were in attendance.

BATC Remodeler of the Year
The Remodeler of the Year award is one of three most coveted honors given to BATC members (the Builder and Associate of the Year being the other two). This award is bestowed upon the remodeling firm that has received the highest ratings by a panel of 20 BATC members with which they do business. They are evaluated on trust, communications, loyalty and ethics.

2012 BATC Remodeler of the Year
Schrader & Companies, St. Louis Park

ROMA Awards

In this year’s ROMA awards there were 88 entries in 17 remodeling categories that ranged from kitchen and bath to additions, lower levels, and total house. Designed to honor the professional remodeler members of BATC Remodelers Council for excellence in the work they do, the awards recognize creativity, design, and ability to meet the client’s requirements. Judging for the 2012 ROMA Awards was completed by a panel of professionals from the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland, in Portland, Oregon. The judges examined each of the entries, selecting the winners based upon before and after photographs, floor plans, and design statements explaining the challenges and needs of the client, solutions devised by the remodeler, and the success of the project.

“Earning a ROMA Award is a coveted honor for remodelers,” says Bob Michels, 2012 BATC Remodelers chair and owner of Bob Michels Construction, Inc. a full-service building and remodeling firm based in Burnsville and 2011 Remodeler of the Year winner. “Being judged a winner by a group of fellow remodeling professionals takes your credibility to a higher level when communicating with consumers. Knowing your project has been judged the best by remodeling professionals is truly rewarding. Our homeowners love knowing that their project was a winner, too."

Out of 31 remodeling firms which entered the competition, 12 companies took home honors, with four firms earning two awards each. Those include Aulik & Associates for both Total House Over 2500 Sq. Ft and Special-Detail Components; Knight Construction for Bathrooms Over 150 Sq. Ft. and Owners’ Suite-Bedroom; Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build for Interiors-More than One Room and Kitchens Under 200 Sq. Ft.; and Vujovich Design Build for Kitchens 200-300 Sq. Ft. and Kitchens Over 300 Sq. Ft.

Categories and winners of the 2012 ROMA Awards are listed below.

ADDITIONS

Projects that enlarge a house by adding a new, enclosed space such as a bedroom/bath wing, a family room, or an eating area.

ADDITIONS — Under 600 Square Feet
ROMA Winner
Vujovich Design Build, Minneapolis (Minneapolis project)
Designer: Joseph G. Metzler, SALA Architects

ADDITIONS — Over 600 Square Feet
ROMA Winner
Danberry Building Corporation, Tonka Bay (Spring Park project)

Designer: Mark Behr, Behr Design and Mike Sharrot, Sharrot Design

BATHROOMS Adding a bath, replacing old fixtures, resurfacing walls and floors, adding storage and counter space, or enlarging the bath with a bump-out or space from adjoining room.

BATHROOMS — Under 150 Square Feet
ROMA Winner
mackmiller design+build, Eden Prairie (Eden Prairie project)
Designer: Jane Hampton, Accessibility Designs
Interior Designer: Mary Mackmiller, mackmiller design+build

BATHROOMS — Over 150 Square Feet
ROMA Winner
Knight Construction Design, Inc., Chanhassen (Edina project)
Interior Designer: Kristen Peck, Knight Construction

DECKS, PATIOS, PORCHES
Outdoor decking, patio, or other exterior construction.
ROMA Winner
Hansen Hometech, Chanhassen (Edina project)
Designer: Gary Hansen, Hansen Hometech

INTERIORS
Interiors refer to improvements within the confines of an existing house, excluding the kitchen and bathroom. Examples might be converting an unused attic into a family room, resurfacing walls and floors, adding architectural details such as alcoves or bays, dividing one large room into two, or removing partitions to combine small rooms into one large space.

INTERIORS — One Room
ROMA Winner
DiGiacomo Homes, Minnetonka (Golden Valley project)
Designer: Rocky DiGiacomo, DiGiacomo Homes
Interior Designer: GiGi DiGiacomo, DiGiacomo Homes

INTERIORS — More than One Room
ROMA Winner
Otogawa Anschel Design-Build, Minneapolis (Minneapolis project)

KITCHENS
Kitchen remodeling projects that improve traffic flow, storage, and/or efficiency. Examples include installing new cabinets, counters or flooring; constructing an island, adding a planning center, or adding an eating area.

KITCHENS — under 200 Square Feet
ROMA Winner
Otogawa Anschel Design-Build, Minneapolis (Minneapolis project)

KITCHENS — 200 - 300 Square Feet
ROMA Winner
Vujovich Design Build, Minneapolis (Minneaplis project)
Designer: Joseph G. Metzler, SALA Architects

KITCHENS — Over 300 Square Feet
ROMA Winner
White Crane Construction, Minneapolis (Roseville project)
Designer and Interior Designer: Lynne Pirkl, White Crane Const.

LOWER LEVEL
Basement (walkout or standard) level remodeling.

LOWER LEVEL — under 1,000 Square Feet
ROMA Winner
The Landschute Group, Excelsior (Deephaven project)
Designer and Interior Designer: Jon Monson, The Landschute Group

LOWER LEVEL — over 1,000 Square Feet
ROMA Winner
Finished Basement Company, Maple Grove (Independence project)
Designer and Interior Designer: Lyndsay Bussler, Finished Basement Company

OWNERS' SUITE/BEDROOM
Remodeled bedroom or bedroom suite.
ROMA Winner
Knight Construction Design, Chanhassen (Plymouth project)
Interior Designer: Kristen Peck, Knight Construction

SPECIAL — DETAIL COMPONENTS
This category looks at the design detail components of a remodeling project of any type.
ROMA Winner
Aulik & Associates, Minneapolis (New Auburn fireplace detail project)
Designer and Interior Designer: Gary Aulik

SPECIAL — OTHER
This category looks at the design of a remodeling project that does not fall into other ROMA categories.
ROMA Winner
TreHus Builders, Minneapolis (Minneapolis Birthing Center remodel project)
Designer and Interior Designers: Jon Colliander & Krista Zobel, TreHus Builders

TOTAL HOUSE
The total-house category refers to any remodeling project that involves three or more of the previous categories and must retain 20 percent of the original structure.

TOTAL HOUSE — Under 2,500 square feet
ROMA Winner
Kuhl Design & Build, Hopkins (Edina project)
Interior Designer: Shauna O’Brien, Kuhl Design & Build

TOTAL HOUSE — Over 2,500 square feet
ROMA Winner
Aulik & Associates, Minneapolis (New Auburn project)
Designer and Interior Designer: Gary Aulik and Charlie Peterson

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PHOTOS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST, including Before & After Photos of all winning remodeling projects.

Single Family Homes Boost Twin Cities Residential Construction Permits in May 2012

2012-06-12T13:53:15Z

A surge in single family homes plus two large multi-family projects were keynotes to the most recent permit activity report. Compared to May 2011, last month the region saw a 50 percent increase in permits, which included a whopping 80 percent increase in single family permits. Minneapolis and St. Louis Park both permitted 119-unit projects in May, confirming residential construction remains on a strong positive trend.

According to statistics compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 389 permits for a total of 638 units during four weeks in the month of May, 2012. Year-to-date, there were 1,371 permits issued for a total of 2,615 units.

“The growth in single-family construction permits is another positive indicator for our industry,” said Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2012 President and owner of Lee Lyn Construction, Curt Christensen. “This comes on the heels of a very successful Parade of Homes(SM)in March and the very positive report from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) in April.

“MAAR’s report detailing higher sales prices, lower inventory and shorter time-on-the-market may just mean that the housing market has reached bottom and is now on the rise,” Christensen said.

Minneapolis again led the metro area in building activity for the month with 127 units permitted. St. Louis Park followed with 120 units. Lakeville and Woodbury tied for third place with 33 units permitted, followed closely by Blaine and Plymouth, each with 32 units permitted.

May_2012_Permits_Release_Chart_only.pdf

May 2012 Hot Sheet

2012-06-01T13:52:38Z

Builders Association of the Twin Cities May 2012 Hot Sheet leads with stories on the NAHB: May Builder Confidence Index & UST: April 2012 MSP Residential Real Estate Index.

HS_May_2012.pdf

Any questions, please contact James Vagle, james@batc.org.

April 2012 Hot Sheet

2012-05-01T19:48:11Z

Builders Association of the Twin Cities April 2012 Hot Sheet leads with stories on the NAHB: 1Q 2012 Remodeling Market Index & UST: March 2012 MSP Residential Real Estate Index.

HS_April_2012.pdf

Any questions, please contact James Vagle, james@batc.org.

Twin Cities Residential Construction Continues on Upward Trend in April 2012

2012-04-27T13:34:12Z

New residential construction continues to track upward amid declining inventories and stable pricing for resale housing in the region. April 2012 permit activity was up almost 45 percent in permits and over 68 percent in planned units compared to April 2011. Total units permitted so far this year are higher than in any year since 2007, and up 124 percent over this time in 2011.

According to statistics compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 294 permits for a total of 387 units during four weeks in the month of April, 2012.

“While a couple of large multi-family projects have boosted permits this year,” said Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2012 President and owner of Lee Lyn Construction, Curt Christensen. “We’re still seeing steady growth in single-family permits, which are 20 percent higher than they were at this point in 2011.”

“We were also pleased to see the Twin Cities was one of just five metro areas with increased home prices in the most recent Case Shiller report,” Christensen said.

Minneapolis again led the metro area in building activity for the month with 56 units permitted. Blaine followed with 34 units. Maple Grove moved into third with 21 units permitted, followed by Chanhassen and Lakeville, each with 18 units permitted.

April._2012_Permits_Chart.pdf

BATC Foundation Partners with Rebuilding Together Twin Cities

2012-04-24T19:45:45Z

The Builders Association of the Twin Cities Foundation recently announced a new partnership with Rebuilding Together Twin Cities. Through this partnership, the two non-profit organizations will make repairs to the homes of three North Minneapolis families. These repairs are provided at no cost to the homeowner.

"We're very excited to begin a new partnership with Rebuilding Together Twin Cities," said Sara Anderson, Builders Association of the Twin Cities Foundation chair. "With our construction expertise and Rebuilding Together's network into the communities, this is a perfect marriage."

One of the families that will receive assistance through this partnership is a homeowner named Erin, who is the primary caregiver of her two year old grandson. Erin has not been able to keep up with repairs to her Camden neighborhood home and has received citations from the City of Minneapolis. The BATC Foundation has enlisted member and builder partner, Ironwood Carpentry to manage the project and make repairs on Erin's home. Ironwood Carpentry will also serve as the Foundation's Builder Partner for two more projects with Rebuilding Together Twin Cities.

The Foundation will join Rebuilding Together Twin Cities this Saturday, April 28th, for National Rebuilding Day. On this day, Rebuilding Together affiliates across the country will partner with volunteers to make critical home repairs for thousands of homeowners in need. From 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, 250 volunteers will be working on 20 homes in North Minneapolis to complete repairs and updates, including several that had been damaged in last summer's tornado. Look for the Foundation's Chalet at Folwell Park.

The Builders Association of the Twin Cities Foundation is a nonprofit organization that partners with local building professionals to rehabilitate old homes and build new homes in the Twin Cities Community, helping to make the dream of homeownership come true for low-income families. In 2011 the Foundation completed four projects that included a two-phase remodeling of the home of a wounded Veteran, a basement remodel to provide more living space for a family of seven, a new home for an immigrant family in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and replacing a broken air conditioner for a single-mom with a severely asthmatic daughter. The Foundation is the charitable arm of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), a trade organization which represents more than 1,000 member firms involved in all phases of the home building and remodeling industries. BATC presents the Parade of Homes(sm) and Remodelers Showcase®, and is dedicated to providing a diverse selection of quality and affordable housing to the Twin Cities area. BATC is among the top 10 local Home Builders Associations in the United States. For more information, visit them online at www.BATCFoundation.org.

Rebuilding Together Twin Cities' mission is to bring volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and lives of low-income homeowners. This ensures that low-income homeowners - particularly older adults, people living with a disability and families with children - live in warmth, safety, and independence. An affiliate of the national Rebuilding Together organization, Rebuilding Together Twin Cities has been preserving and revitalizing homes and communities in the metropolitan area since 1997. Programs provide opportunities for community involvement and support for community volunteers. Through sponsors and volunteer efforts, they also strive to have an impact on communities and the non-profit places where neighborhood members gather. For more information visit www.RebuildingTogether-TwinCities.org.

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Matthew Olson Won the Grand Prize Car in MN Green Path Go Giveaway

2012-04-17T21:50:24Z

14 Finalists Tried Keys in the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta TDI from Partner Schmelz Countryside

Friday the 13th was an unusually lucky day for Mankato State University student Matthew Olson. Olson jumped for joy when the key he placed in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI’s door made the lights blink on and the door unlock, signifying he was the car giveaway winner. Olson was one of 14 finalists who gained entry into the Grand Prize giveaway by visiting one of 25 MN Green Path homes on the Spring 2012 Parade of HomesSM and scratching off a Green Path Go game piece.

The 14 Grand Prize finalists had gathered at the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) last Friday, April 13, to vie for the vehicle, which was provided by Green Path Go partner Schmelz Countryside. The finalists and their families joined VIPs from the Builders Association, MN Green Path, and owners John and Jonathan Schmelz from Schmelz Countryside Volkswagen to determine the winner. Olson was the 11th contestant to try a key.

“I was touring Homes at the Parade of Homes doing a project for one of my [construction management} classes to look at houses practicing sustainable development,” Olson said. “Green Path was something I had never heard of and I wanted to see what they were all about because this is where the industry is going.” Olson, who did not own a car, was thrilled and said he was going to drive it back to Mankato and take it, and his girlfriend, camping.

See the video by clicking on the You Tube link at www.ParadeofHomes.org

Hundreds of other lucky visitors to MN Green Path Parade HomesSM during this spring’s tour won $5 Blue Planet gas cards from Holiday, iPod Shuffles and Nanos, and rounds of golf at the Legends in Prior Lake.

About Minnesota's Green Path: MN Green Path is a non-profit created by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities to educate Minnesotans, builders and remodelers about energy efficiency and green building. The program offers a web-based, third-party verified green certification for new homes and remodeling projects.

About the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC): BATC is a leading voice for Minnesota builders and remodelers and represents over 1000 member firms involved in all phases of the home building and remodeling industry. BATC helps its members build their businesses through advocacy, industry connections, and marketing as the presenter of the Parade of HomesSM and the Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase®. BATC is dedicated to providing a diverse selection of quality and affordable housing to the Twin Cities areas.

About Schmelz Countryside Volkswagen Saab: Schmelz Countryside has been operated by three generations of the Schmelz family with doors opening in 1966. Schmelz is a Diamond Award winning VW Dealer - a very rare distinction in the Midwest. Each used car on the lot is hand picked by the owners, John and Jonathan Schmelz. Schmelz is located at 1180 Minnesota Highway 36 East in St. Paul, Minnesota.

2012-04-10T21:34:33Z

Lennar Retains Top-Volume Builder Status in Twin Cities

2012-04-09T14:20:41Z

Results from a recent survey by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) show that Lennar - Minneapolis/St. Paul was the region’s top ranked builder once again in 2011. Lennar has held the top spot since 2006. Rankings are based on annual gross revenue as reported by respondents for for-sale housing. Lennar reported gross revenue at $113.7 million, with 312 total housing units closed in the 2011 calendar year.

"Lennar is honored to be named the Twin Cities’ number one home builder for six consecutive years,” says Bill Burgess, division president. ”We have recognized that today’s new home buyer wants extraordinary designs and architectural details along with newer advancing technologies and ever increasing energy efficiency in their homes. At Lennar, we continually adapt and improve our homes to meet today’s home buyers’ needs. In addition, our locations and community amenities have made Lennar the clear choice for Twin City home buyers.”

In fact, all of the top five ranked builders held the same ranking as they did in both 2009 and 2010, and are national firms with corporate offices located outside of Minnesota. Following Lennar were The Pulte Group (marketing homes under both Pulte Homes and Centex Homes) with almost $80 million in revenue and 239 housing units closed, followed by D.R. Horton-Minnesota with $65.2 million revenue and 227 housing units, Ryland Homes with revenue of almost $54 million and 190 units, and Mattamy Homes at $45.4 million and 160 units.

Rankings are based on information provided by survey respondents. Respondent information is believed to be reliable. Each company has verified information to the best degree possible. Commercial construction firms building rental or senior housing were not included in this ranking. Fieldstone Homes, a local residential builder which, according to Keystone Reports data, may have been included in the top 25, declined to participate.

2011_Top_25_Builders_Chart_Only.pdf

Twin Cities Residential Construction Comes on Strong in March

2012-04-05T15:05:09Z

In addition to bringing the region an early spring, March, 2012, signaled an increase in Twin Cities permit activity. Compared to March of 2011, the region had a 51 percent increase in permits, and units were up by 164 percent. This continues the growth seen in January and February, with year-to-date permits up by 145 percent over 2011.

According to statistics compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 234 permits for a total of 530 units during four weeks in the month of March, 2012.

“Our members are definitely seeing increased activity,” said Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2012 President and owner of Lee Lyn Construction, Curt Christensen. “Reports from the Parade of Homes(sm) which ran from March 3rd through April 1st, have been very positive. Across the board, our builders said this was the most successful Parade of Homes in years.

“Our industry is hopeful that housing is beginning to rebound, but are remaining cautious with their business decisions,” Christensen said.

Minneapolis, with the help of a 283 unit multi-family building, led the metro in building activity for the month with 285 units permitted. Blaine followed with 33 units. Woodbury showed 20 units permitted, with Plymouth coming in at 18 and Lakeville rounding off the top five with 17 units permitted.

Mar._2012_Permits_Release_Chart_only.pdf

March 2012 Hot Sheet

2012-04-02T20:22:00Z

Builders Association of the Twin Cities March 2012 Hot Sheet leads with stories on the NAHB: Builder Confidence Index & UST: Residential Real Estate Price Report Index - February 2012.

HS_March_2012.pdf

Any questions, please contact James Vagle, james@batc.org.

Spring Renewal: Decorating Ideas for the Home

2012-03-28T18:00:48Z

Renovate. Restore. Remodel.

When I think of spring, a lot of ‘R’ words come to mind. Spring is a season of refreshment, a reawakening in nature, and a renewal of the home where we’ve been hibernating for the last several months. Reviving a home after the winter months might take some spring cleaning, but for the creative enthusiast, creating a rejuvenated home is possible through the three most important ‘R’ words at Parade of Homes: Renovate, Restore and Remodel.

Here’s a few ideas, courtesy of the Bachman’s Idea House, open everyday now until April 15. This year’s theme is entitled ‘Relaxing Renewal,’ a very fitting phrase for the spring season!

How to Survive a Remodel

2012-03-22T14:44:47Z

At a certain point in any remodel, homeowners might find themselves fleetingly considering homicide.

You might think you know about the disruption remodeling can cause, but dealing with dust, dirt, workers going in and out of your home, nonworking essential appliances, etc., can turn your attitude into surviving if you’re lucky and insanity if you aren’t.

Fellow bloggers Charles and Hudson recognize that remodeling can drive you around the bend and they have a few commonsense tips to help you make it through. Memorize their advice to repeat as a mantra:

Manage expectations: There will be times that it is just going to be bad. Expect that and you will feel better when it happens.

Plan first: You know that old saying about how it’s easier to seek forgiveness than permission? It doesn’t apply when it comes to remodeling. Always plan first, and tear down later.

Get ready for dust, dirt and inconvenience: Do a mini cleaning each day or week. It will help make the mess more bearable. Maybe budget for a maid for a deep cleaning when the project is done.

Schedule changes: Your schedule will be disrupted (see above point) and you must plan for it or risk coming home after a run to the water being turned off (that your builder told you about).

To these points we would also add that nothing lasts forever, although it may seem like it. Keep your eyes on the prize and before you know it, your remodeling project will be over.

If you’re interested in further reading on this very subject, check out this post from Lou Manfredini.

This guest blog was provided by Marvin Windows and Doors, the 2012 sponsor of the Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase!

MN Green Path Car Giveaway Event Scheduled

2012-03-20T16:54:10Z

The press is invited to attend the MN Green Path Go car giveaway event.

When: Friday, April 13, 2012 • 2:00 pm

Where: The Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2960 Centre Pointe Drive, Roseville, MN 55113

Who: Up to 24 lucky finalists in the MN Green Path Go game

What: Car Giveaway: finalists will exchange their game piece for a real door key. Finalists will get a chance to try their key to see which one will open the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta TDI from Schmelz Countryside Volkswagen

The Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) created the Green Path Go game to celebrate the launch of their new green building certification program, Minnesota’s Green Path. The game was played by attendees to the MN Green Path certified homes featured on the 2012 Spring Parade of HomesSM, and offered a grand prize of a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta TDI from Schmelz Countryside.

Earning two Green Engine of the Year awards, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI has exceptional fuel economy, which is detailed on its vehicle window sticker. New MN Green Path homes also offer exceptional energy economy, detailed on the equivalent of a winder sticker, the Home Performance Report (HPR), and proven through third-party testing.

About Minnesota’s Green Path: MN Green Path is a non-profit organization created by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities to educate Minnesotans, builders and remodelers about energy efficiency and green building. The program offers a web-based, third-party verified green certification for new homes and remodeling projects.

About the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC): BATC is a leading voice for Minnesota home builders and remodelers and represents over 1000 member firms involved in all phases of the home building and remodeling industry. BATC helps its members build their businesses through advocacy, industry connections, and marketing as the presenter of the Parade of Homes® and Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase®. BATC is dedicated to providing a diverse selection of quality and affordable housing to the Twin Cities areas.

About Schmelz Countryside Volkswagen Saab: Schmelz Countryside has been operated by three generations of the Schmelz family with doors opening in 1966. Schmelz is a Diamond Award winning VW Dealer - a very rare distinction in the Midwest. Each used car on the lot is hand picked by the owners, John and Jonathan Schmelz. Schmelz is located at 1180 MN Highway 36 East in St. Paul, Minnesota.

# # # #

Answer this Riddle

2012-03-19T20:33:17Z

What’s grey, white & accented in yellow?

The most popular trend on the Parade of Homes Spring Tour, of course. Grey Walls. White Trim. Yellow Accents. Find this trend at home #228 (Arden Hills) and #230 (Roseville) in the East Metro.

Trend Watch: The City Farmhouse

2012-03-14T20:01:59Z

This year’s Parade of Homes Spring tour has proven that the farmhouse look is heading to the city. Country living has taken over the burbs and city life is getting more cozy as every room in the home, even the laundry room, is channeling vintage country style.

1. Doesn't take much to clean up after a Southern country-sized meal when your kitchen sink is as roomy as the one at #R25 in Chanhassen.

2. Which is bigger, the dishwasher or the farmhouse sink? Visit R1 in Minneapolis during the Remodelers Showcase to find out!

3. Farmhouse sink with divider for ease and versatility. A pop of color and a singe of plaid add warmth and a feel of country to the room as well.

4. The farmhouse sink in this picture by Minneapolis-based design firm Martha O'Hara Interiors makes this office/craft room extremely functional.

5. The crisp white of the farmhouse sink pops amidst darker stained cabinetry. Home #R16 knows how to add elements of the country into a traditional space.

6. Notice how this sink is longer than its surrounding cabinets, adding length to this already deep tub that's perfect for soaking laundry.

7. Reinterpreting the barn door, home #140 in Plymouth slides right into the country-inspired trend.

The Farmhouse Sink:

Real Family Remodel: Centennial Celebration

2012-02-13T22:53:19Z

Mindy, an interactive marketing manager, had lived in her 1903 home for eight years. It was tiny and set on a narrow lot, but it had what she needed and was in a great location in south Minneapolis. That was before Mike and Olivia (now four) came into her life. With a new baby on the way, what was comfortable for one was just not workable for a family of four. Their first thought was to move.

“We were looking at some houses down by 50th and France that we walked through and really liked,” explained Mike. “We were thinking more about buying than renovating at that point.”

“But we really loved this location. It’s close to the lake and Linden Hills,” Mindy said. “That was the main driving force.”

Remodeling it was, and Ryan Hochbrunn and High Ground Construction was the remodeler they selected to add more space and update the old layout. “We had Ryan over and asked for some ideas,” Mindy reported, but they didn’t stop there. “We have some friends down the street who had recent- ly renovated, and we started coming up with ideas of our own.”

“We struggled with the design idea because we have such a narrow lot,” Mike added. And, like a lot of families who plan a remodel, the project grew a little. “Initially we started with a much smaller renovation,” Mindy smiled. But they realized they wanted to look further into the future, to “a permanent renovation so we wouldn’t have to move again.”

The final plan solved their concerns beautifully. An addition to the back expanded all three levels (main, upstairs and basement), plus a bump-out on the side was able to accommodate a locker-filled mud room, powder room and new staircase to the upper level. The new plans also opened up the main floor to become a delightful and functional living and entertaining area.

“We like to entertain a lot and wanted an open space where we could have lots of people over and not feel so separated,” Mindy said. “The way the house was set up before, the entertaining space was in the front and the kitchen was in the back.”

Now they’ve got a formal dining room to the front with an extended kitchen and great room flowing together behind. The kitchen’s granite- topped island seats six, with a corner desk/office space and galley kitchen layout that boasts a wine cooler, drawer microwave and gorgeous green glass tile walls.

Now, “there’s just plenty of space. The guys can be watching football or TV in the great room, and the girls can be in the kitchen, which we set up as a sort-of bar area, mingling spot,” Mindy explains. “We’ve had 12 peo- ple over and it doesn’t feel crowded, and everybody can be together.”

When asked how the whole process of remodeling went, the couple shared a smile. “Mindy managed most of the process,” Mike admitted.

“It was a process for sure,” Mindy responded, complicated even more by Mindy’s pregnancy and a desire to complete the remodeling before her due date. But, they “had a pretty good plan and some guidance.” And they got help from Ryan’s design- er, Tracey Bailey of Chez Soi, “who helped guide us through the design process.”

The entire project took about four months, and was finished just in time for baby Maylin’s arrival in late July. And along with their new bundle of joy and beautiful new home, the family decided to go all in. “We got all new furniture, all new decora- tions, and donated all of our old furniture to Bridging,” said Mindy. “I feel like I’m living in a dream home.”

Finally Ready to Remodel

2012-03-02T15:35:52Z

The children have flown the coup, and now, Rand and Julie are ready to remodel. The empty nesters loved their Edina home of 15 years and were looking to revitalize their space with a first- floor makeover, including a new kitchen, pow- der room, master bath, entryway and back clos- et, and three-season porch. Woofta!

With their three kids no longer living at home, Rand and Julie were finally ready to put their dream of a new floor plan into full effect. The family had JP & CO. in mind after seeing their work at the Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase three years ago. Julie remembers that, “At that time, we were impressed by the workmanship we saw, even though we weren’t quite ready to start our remodel.”

What impressed them the most, however, was what the clientele said of Pete Paulson and designer Samantha Gross’ remodeling talents. Julie explained, “We toured a number of the projects that they had done and were sold on JP & CO. from the very beginning.”

JP & CO. had a similar reaction when they first met Rand and Julie. JP & CO.’s designer Samantha Gross knew that the couple would be easy to work with after asking if they would consider living in the basement during the remodel. “The question didn’t even faze them,” she explained. Julie and Rand answered with a resolute ‘Not a problem,’ a response that showcases the kind of personality that the couple radiates every day.

That’s because Julie and Rand are as active as ever. Rand is an avid biker and commutes from Edina to his downtown office in Minneapolis during the summer. In 2011 alone, Rand rode over 1600 miles. Julie enjoys spending time outside in her garden and whipping up savory dishes with the vegetables they grow, like squash, potatoes, car- rots and a variety of tomatoes. She cans her homegrown produce and keeps friends and neighbors supplied with homemade salsa and spaghetti sauce. Her love of cooking has lent itself to church events and to being the head cook for senior high school summer camp for many years. She continued her schooling by going back to get a degree in business from Bethel University and graduated last August.

Despite busy schedules, the couple was able to tackle the ins-and-outs of construction giving them time to relax at length in a beautifully remodeled space. “Once the kids graduated college, and I finished college last August, Rand and I decided that we would like to stay in this home, update it to the way that we have always wanted and retire here if at all possible,” Julie explained. As far as being empty nesters goes, the couple’s new nest is rarely empty. “Our children may be grown and out of the house,” Julie shared, “but they come over frequently and we have family dinners that get all of us together in the kitchen cooking.”

Rand dished that the kids were very excited and supportive of the remodel. “They want to have their friends over to enter- tain at their parent’s house now!” I guess it’s true; nothing beats a home cooked meal!

Helping the BATC Foundation by Touring Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase Dream Remodeled Home

2012-03-02T15:54:57Z

As the charitable arm of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, the BATC Foundation taps the talents and resources of our member builders, remodelers, suppliers and others to support our communities. We build homes, remodel and repair homes, and offer scholarships for young people entering the construction industry.

Visitors to the Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase Dream Remodeled home can help us help local families, like
these 2011 projects:

Room for All
The Vang family had been through a lot, starting with an injury that led to job loss and finally homelessness. They were thankfully getting back on their feet, but living in a tiny Minneapolis home that was simply too small for this family of seven. The BATC Foundation, with the help of its remodeler partner Showcase Renovations, created room for all by finishing the basement with two bedrooms and a bath. At the “key” ceremony, a tearful Mrs. Vang thanked the Foundation profusely and presented it with a diagram in fabric of her family’s journey from Cambodia to Minnesota.

Breathing Easier
A broken air conditioner may make life a little uncomfortable for most of us, but for this single mom with an asthmatic daughter, it was a disaster. Interfaith Outreach called the Foundation, which enlisted Thompson Plumbing to install a brand new one to give this family a breath of fresh air.

A Way to Say Thanks
Wesley Cureton bravely and honorably served his country through seven active duty tours, the last ending in a roadside bomb which robbed him of his sight and left him with other serious injuries. With remodeling partner, James Barton Design Build, the Foundation renovated Wesley and his wife Susan’s home to make life safer and more comfortable. Thank you for your service, Wesley.

Building a New Family Home
We respect the work that Habitat for Humanity does, and were pleased to partner with it to build a new home in Shakopee for the Ahmed family. This family had emigrated from Somalia, looking for freedom and a better future for their five children. The Foundation, under the supervision of project manager, Mike McCalvy, welcomed the Ahmeds to their brand new home late last year.

Thank You for Your Help
We want to thank all of you who visit our Parade of Homes Dream Homes and Dream Remodeled Homes. Your $5.00 donation makes a huge difference. It is primarily through these donations that the BATC Foundation generates the funds to complete projects like those above. We invite you to continue to participate in our work by visiting our Dream Remodeled Home in Minneapolis by Feehan Design & Build, Inc.

Tour real remodeled homes in the 2012 spring Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase®

2012-03-02T16:09:39Z

2012 Spring Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase® is set to run March 30 - April 1. The 25-year-old tour opens with 68 beautiful remodeled homes from 52 remodeling firms, in 25 communities across the extended Twin Cities metropolitan area. Homeowners will find inspiration and ideas to remodel their own homes, while getting a chance to interview professional remodelers about their capabilities, all without obligation.

All of the remodeled homes on the tour are open from 1-7pm on Friday March 30, and 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm Saturday and Sunday March 30 and April 1. Remodeling representatives will be on hand at each home to answer questions and tell visitors about the project. Admission is free to all with the exception of one Dream Remodeled Home where visitors will be asked for a $5.00 donation to help fund the Builders Outreach Foundation, the charitable arm of the Builders Association.

You’ll also get to see and read about real families who recently remodeled their home. This feature shares real stories from local families who went through the remodel process and learned along the way. The guidebook also features a calendar of events where consumers can enjoy everything from wine tasting to learning about kitchen design.

Searching for Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase projects is easy at www.paradeofhomes.org. The interactive map pinpoints projects by location, and searches can be fine-tuned by region, remodeler and/or project type. The handy Tour Planner saves favorites for later reference, and a notes area ensures visitors can record what they liked most. Many of the projects link to virtual tours, and all link to a personal page about each of the remodelers on the tour, and on to their own web sites.

Virtually every type of remodeling is showcased on the tour, including 12 whole-house remodels, 39 kitchen renovations, 19 additions, 16 baths, and 13 lower-level finishes. Other projects include decks, porches and exteriors, owners’ suites, mud rooms, home offices, laundry rooms, and garages.The Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase really allows homeowners to consider the benefits of remodeling their home and the capabilities of a wide range of professional remodelers, all without any pressure or obligation.

All the homes on display during the Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase will feature a bright yellow and red site sign displaying each entry’s distinct Remodelers Showcase number. These numbers correspond to the mapped sections of the Guidebook and Web site, and make locating the remodeling projects easy.

Feature Family Reveals What's at the Heart of their Kitchen Remodel

2012-03-01T20:01:09Z

The kitchen is the heart of the home, especially for Dawn and Brian. For this familiy of four, "Cooking has always been a passion," so it was no surprise when the family opted to spice up their kitchen with a remodel by Plekkenpol Builders.

"We felt that our kitchen was too small for our needs," Dawn explained. And she admits, "There was a small dream that I might be ble to host cooking classes in my spare time."

The kitchen is the heart of the home, especially for Dawn and Brian. For this family of four, “Cooking has always been a passion,” so it was no surprise when the family opted to spice up their kitchen with a remodel by Plekkenpol Builders.

“We felt that our kitchen was too small for our needs” Dawn explained. And, she admits, “there was a small dream that I might be able to host cooking classes in my spare time.”

Plekkenpol Builders began the kitchen overhaul in May of 2010, transforming the out- dated room into a spacious and functional kitchen in a little under four months time, with help from designer Krista Schwartz of INDICIA. “Not unreasonable considering the amount of work that needed to be done and that nothing was pre fabricated,” explained Brian, adding, “I was truly impressed that Plekkenpol was there at 7am nearly every weekday morning. We were always notified when the construction schedule required employees at our site and I was never in a position where I felt I needed to call them and find out when they would be back to finish the job.” Dawn appreciated the professionalism and combined effort of Plekkenpol and the design experts at INDICIA. “Our designer, Krista Schwartz, was key in taking my ideas and transforming them to where Plekkenpol could build them to my needs,” she said.

The transformation was truly invaluable since the added space and functional features (including a butcher block countertop with built-in scrap container) have allowed the fam- ily to prepare specialized meals for their two children, Brett (14) and Scott (11). Brett, who has autism, can’t eat gluten or dairy, so the family prepares almost all of their foods from scratch.

Because the family spends so much time together in their kitchen, Plekkenpol Builders made sure that they could continue to cook during the construction process by setting up an alternative kitchen in the family’s basement. This allowed the family to cook and serve reg- ular meals the entire time that they were dis- placed. While she did admit to missing her dishwasher, Dawn described the remodeling process as a pleasant experience. “We would come and talk to the guys when they were wrapping up the day's work and there was great pride in what was accomplished. They would tell us in detail what was done and how they did it. The construction lead for our remodel was a stickler for detail. All requests during the project were answered with com- plete satisfaction...Plekkenpol exceeded all of our expectations.”

Now, the family can continue to cook up their passions in a room that fits their needs.

Among their favorite hobbies is the art of canning jellies, jams and produce from their garden. The kitchen’s roomy layout means that “there is plenty of workspace for both Brian and I to work together.”

At the very heart of this remodel, however, is Dawn’s dream to offer cooking classes in the new space. Finally ful- filling that dream, Dawn has “auctioned” off their kitchen dining services for church

charity events and she has begun teaching classes. “Our first class was for parents of autistic kids learning to cook gluten- and dairy-free foods.” It was a great success.The kitchen is the heart of the home, especially for Dawn and Brian. For this family of four, “Cooking has always been a passion,” so it was no surprise when the family opted to spice up their kitchen with a remodel by Plekkenpol Builders.“ We felt that our kitchen was too small for our needs” Dawn explained. And, she admits, “there was a small dream that I might be able to host cooking classes in my spare time.”

Plekkenpol Builders began the kitchen overhaul in May of 2010, transforming the outdated room into a spacious and functional kitchen in a little under four months time, with help from designer Krista Schwartz of INDICIA. “Not unreasonable considering the amount of work that needed to be done and that nothing was pre fabricated,” explained Brian, adding, “I was truly impressed that Plekkenpol was there at 7am nearly every weekday morning. We were always notified when the construction schedule required employees at our site and I was never in a position where I felt I needed to call them and find out when they would be back to finish the job.”

Dawn appreciated the professionalism and combined effort of Plekkenpol and the design experts at INDICIA. “Our designer, Krista Schwartz, was key in taking my ideas and transforming them to where Plekkenpol could build them to my needs,” she said. The transformation was truly invaluable since the added space and functional features (including a butcher block countertop with built-in scrap container) have allowed the family to prepare specialized meals for their two children, Brett (14) and Scott (11). Brett, who has autism, can’t eat gluten or dairy, so the family prepares almost all of their foods from scratch.

Because the family spends so much time together in their kitchen, Plekkenpol Builders made sure that they could continue to cook during the construction process by setting up an alternative kitchen in the family’s basement. This allowed the family to cook and serve regular meals the entire time that they were displaced. While she did admit to missing her dishwasher, Dawn described the remodeling process as a pleasant experience. “We would come and talk to the guys when they were wrapping up the day's work and there was great pride in what was accomplished. They would tell us in detail what was done and how they did it. The construction lead for our remodel was a stickler for detail. All requests during the project were answered with complete satisfaction...Plekkenpol exceeded all of our expectations.”

Now, the family can continue to cook up their passions in a room that fits their needs. Among their favorite hobbies is the art of canning jellies, jams and produce from their garden. The kitchen’s roomy layout means that “there is plenty of workspace for both Brian and I to work together.” At the very heart of this remodel, however, is Dawn’s dream to offer cooking classes in the new space. Finally fulfilling that dream, Dawn has “auctioned” off their kitchen dining services for church charity events and she has begun teaching classes. “Our first class was for parents of autistic kids learning to cook gluten and dairy-free foods.” It was a great success.

Spring Showcase Dream Remodel

2012-02-28T22:23:29Z

This year’s Dream Remodeled Home is a unique blend of modern luxury and antique charm that’s reminiscent of an older era. The home’s original blueprints, drawn in 1923 by Minneapolis design firm Liebenberg Kaplan & Marvin, were obtained from the Architectural Archives at the University of Minnesota. The sketches reveal a design typical of the 1920’s, when the popular floor plan included a purposeful division between rooms. The home’s unique layout, which included compartmentalized living spaces, left little room for the family interaction and open concept living that’s so popular today. Feehan Design & Build, Inc. sought to preserve the home’s original look while transforming each room into a 21st century American dream home.

Since nearly ninety percent of the home had to be stripped to its studs in order to renovate, the reconstruction process was arduous, but the refinished look is timeless. Feehan Design & Build, Inc. maintained the original architecture by including sensitivity to the exterior as well as duplicating historic interior millwork, hewn beaming and preserving authentic wood throughout.

Visitors to this dream home will step into history as they enter through the oversized doorway made of solid oak. The door is the most prominent feature original to the home and dates back 90 years. They’ll also enjoy the recreated living space that takes advantage of lakeside views and sun-inspired quarters like the home’s kitchen and sun room. Open the French doors of the sun room and you’ll reveal an illuminated view of Lake Harriet, or try the view from the expansive kitchen window that stretches from the countertop to the ceiling and overlooks backyard greenery. Stained glass windows present yet another beautifully detailed feature that catches the eyes. Historic woodwork was refurbished and recreated to inspire the vintage charm of the original, while energy-efficient features like custom-designed Marvin windows and the first grey water recovery system in Minneapolis are among the very functional additions to the home. Out back, partially exposed old stone was reused and resurfaced to create a Chilton tiled backyard patio.

You’ll definitely want to put this home on your tour list. Your $5.00 donation will support the great work of the BATC Foundation, and treat you to a trip through time.

Feature Family: A Remodel Inspired by 'Up North'

2012-03-01T20:08:53Z

With ten thousand lakes to choose from, Minnesota could be called the land of relaxation. Nowhere is it easier to lounge lakeside or satisfy a little R and R than with a weekend getaway up North. For Jim and JoEllen, however, the joy of vacationing in Minnesota's northern landscape inspired a lot more than just relaxation; it inspired a backyard remodel of their Twin Cities home!

“We felt that our kitchen was too small for our needs” Dawn explained. And, she admits, “there was a small dream that I might be able to host cooking classes in my spare time.”

Now, the family can continue to cook up their passions in a room that fits their needs.

charity events and she has begun teaching classes. “Our first class was for parents of autistic kids learning to cook gluten- and dairy-free foods.” It was a great success.With ten thousand lakes to choose from, Minnesota could be called the land of relaxation. Nowhere is it easier to lounge lakeside or satisfy a little R and R than with a weekend getaway up North. For Jim and JoEllen, however, the joy of vacationing in Minnesota’s northern landscape inspired a lot more than just relaxation; it inspired a backyard remodel of their Twin Cities home!

The couple worked with TJB Homes to transform their backyard deck and detached gazebo into a cozy four-season porch and maintenance-free deck. The design incorporated the down-home warmth of a cozy cabin and, according to Jim, “the feel of the north woods.”

DFP Planning & Design, the architectural firm that designed Jim and JoEllen’s home, recommended TJB Homes for the remodel. DFP drew up the blueprint for the project and then Jason Budzynski of TJB Homes “offered to modify the concept to reach an agreeable plan that worked within our budget and overall plans for the new space,” Jim explained.

The couple was immediately impressed with Jason’s knowledge of remodeling as well as construction techniques, materials, and new technology. “He also demonstrated creativity, enthusiasm, and respect and accommodation to our needs,” Jim said. He was pleased with the designer at TJB and all of their subcontractors. “It is apparent that TJB surrounds themselves with competent and courteous subcontractors,” Jim added.

TJB Homes finished the project in eight weeks, unveiling a beautifully established room made from a variety of natural woods and rustic elements like a stone fireplace and ample-sized windows. Previously a detached gazebo, the room is now a four-season porch that will serve as a unique getaway and “extension of our home,” JoEllen said. The deck overlooks the couple’s landscaped property and a portion of the deck is covered, allowing the family to relax outside no matter what the weather. A vaulted ceiling maximizes the natural lighting coming in and, because their home is situated on top of a hill, the couple can also enjoy spectacular sunset views.

Probably the most relaxing element of the new space, however, is the maintenance-free Azek decking and railing, and the maintenance-free siding that TJB Homes installed. No longer will Jim and JoEllen have to worry about the upkeep of staining the deck or the outside of the porch.

Now, the family can truly relax year-round in a room that’s fit for The Four Seasons.

February 2012 Hot Sheet

2012-03-02T18:01:00Z

Builders Association of the Twin Cities February 2012 Hot Sheet leads with stories on the UST: Residential Real Estate Price Report Index - Jan. 2012 and the NAHB: Market Report.

HS_February_2012.pdf

Any questions, please contact James Vagle, james@batc.org.

Minnesota's Green Path(SM), It's What's Next

2012-02-29T20:00:11Z

Green building certification programs have long held little appeal outside of a narrow segment of home buyers, home builders, and home owners. The programs tend to be complex and cost-prohibitive.

Enter Minnesota’s Green Path^SM.

Designed to appeal across a broad market, the new certification program is transparent, web-based, and independently verified. It also offers certification for improved energy efficiency and home performance alone, the two areas most Americans say they want. Surveys from RCLCO, Yankelovich and others, show that more than ever before, homeowners rank energy efficiency as a primary consideration when making home purchasing and lifestyle decisions.

Created by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), MN Green Path is a common-sense, affordable option that measures and certifies a home’s energy efficiency, home performance, and green features. All homes are third-party tested throughout the construction process, receiving a minimum of three on-site inspections by a certified RESNET Home Energy Professional. This testing results in a home efficiency rating called a HERS Index, which scores the home’s energy efficiency against a reference standard.

The home’s HERS index, along with a clear listing of all beyond-code green materials and techniques are recorded and delivered to every MN Green Path certified home in its Home Performance Report (HPR). Just like the MPG window sticker on a new vehicle, the HPR provides documentation that new home buyers should come to expect, and that can be passed along to new homeowners at resale.

MN Green Path offers three certification levels, beginning at 10 percent better-than-code energy efficiency through Advanced and Master levels, which require elevated efforts in all five green building aspects (energy efficiency, environmental quality, water management, resource management, and site/development). Whether a family is looking for an immediate return on their investment in reduced monthly energy bills, or has the wherewithal and desire to meet the strictest of green standards, MN Green Path certification is the clear choice.

About Minnesota’s Green Path: MN Green Path is a non-profit organization created by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities to educate Minnesotans, builders and remodelers about energy efficiency and green building. The program offers a web-based, third-party verified green certification for new homes and remodeling projects.

About the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC): BATC is a leading voice for Minnesota home builders and remodelers and represents over 1000 member firms involved in all phases of the home building and remodeling industry. BATC helps its members build their businesses through advocacy, industry connections, and marketing as the presenter of the Parade of Homes® and Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase®. BATC is dedicated to provding a diverse selection of quality and affordable housing to the Twin Cities areas.

Download MN Green Path Graphics here.

MN Green Path Glossary of Terms

2012-02-29T19:55:51Z

MN Green Path^SM: A new green building certification program developed by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities to reach across a broad segment of homes (prices and types) to encourage increased energy efficiency and transparency in green bulding.

HPR: MN Green Path Home Performance Report, a document (hard copy and online) that clearly defines a homes HERS energy score, a listing of all above-code green features and techniques, and a graphic placement on a continuum from IECC standards to a net-zero energy home.

HERS: Home Energy Rating Score, an assigned rating score from a trained and certified RESNET independent energy rater given to a home after a series of tests (energy audit) using diagnostic equipment to determine the energy efficiency of the home as compared to an index home built to current IECC code. The HERS score is derived by feeding the diagnostic test scores into a computer where a mathematical formula derives the energy rating.

RESNET: Residential Energy Services Network, created in 1995 by the National Association of State energy Officials and Energy Rated Homes of America. RESNET sets standards for quality in the energy efficiency assessment industry, training and certifying energy raters who adhere to a code of ethics and Ratings Standards of Practice. The US government officially recognizes RESNET standards for verification of building energy performance for a variety of programs including federal tax incentives.

IECC: The International Energy Conservation Code was introduced in 1998 to address energy efficiency as it relates to cost savings, reduced energy usage, conservation of national resources and the impact of energy usage on the environment. The IECC is in use or has been adopted in 45 states plus the District of Columbia, New York City, Guam and Puerto Rico. Minnesota is in the process of adopting the International Codes, however in 2002, Minnesota adopted one of the most stringent energy codes in the United States, which, in effect, results in new homes in Minnesota that are about 20 percent more efficient than a home built to IECC standards.

Net-Zero Home: A home that produces as much energy as it uses by incorporating solar, wind, or other technologies on site.

RSR: Residential Sciences Resources, LLC, a Minnesota firm, established in 2004 to conduct RESNET certified energy testing. RSR created HouseRater software to automate collection of test results and output HERS scores. RSR is an implementing partner with MN Green Path.

HouseRater: Proprietary computer software into which energy audit test results are input, and HERS ratings output. MN Green Path software was developed using HouseRater as a base and augmenting with modules to allow builders to input receipts, photos, and other information required for verification to meet MN Green Path certification standards.

Download MN Green Path Graphics Here

Buiders and Buyers are Choosing MN Green Path

2012-02-29T19:51:40Z

Twin Cities area builders have been looking for a better green building program, and many agree that they’ve found it in Minnesota’s Green Path^SM. “MN Green Path is the right thing, the proper change for our industry,” says Brad Richardson, Christian Builders.

Most previous green programs were cumbersome and incurred up-front costs that were simply out of reach for many new home buyers. Recognizing this reality, the Builders Association of the Twin CIties (BATC) created MN Green Path to appeal across the entire spectrum of new home buyers, with an entry level that is affordable, plus advanced and master certification levels that will suit even the most ardent environmentalist. Yet all levels are third-party verified by certified RESNET raters, assuring every buyer that, no matter what level of green they have attained, they can be confident that their certification is legitimate and clearly documented in their MN Green Path Home Performance Report (HPR).

BATC’s builders also understood that to truly be accepted, the new program had to find a way to streamline reporting and verification processes. MN Green Path does that by partnering with Residential Sciences Resources LLC (RSR). This Minnesota firm has been conducting the majority of RESNET certified home energy ratings in Minnesota since 2004. They had created House Rater, proprietary software for streamlining the ratings process, which was the perfect starting point for MN Green Path. By building out an additional module to RSR’s House Rater, we are able to give builders easy, on-line access to upload documentation (like photos and receipts). Additionally, the independent ratings are fed directly into the MN Green Path programming and automatically outputs the home’s HERS and other information that is presented on the home’s HPR.

With these two problems solved, BATC’s builders are quickly accepting MN Green Path. To date, more than 100 homes are committed and over 30 have been submitted for final certification, and that’s even before the program’s launch. Already 26 different home builders have embraced MN Green Path as an important part of their sales offerings.

“We want to be able to offer a homeowner these choices,” says Steve Logan, Mattamy Homes. “We believe we are serving the buyers wants, giving them more choices, giving them the raw information, and certified information so they can make an educated decision. “

Numerous research surveys have made it clear that homeowners are seeking energy efficient options in their homes in large numbers. RCLCO, a real estate consultant and research firm, has found that 74 percent of Americans care about energy savings when they can see payback in savings within four years. MN Green Path fits this market segment perfectly.

The home building industry has taken note. McGraw-Hill Construction, a part of The McGraw-Hill Companies, recently released findings from a Green Home Builders and Remodelers Study at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders' Show in Orlando this February. They found that green homes comprised 17 percent of the overall residential construction market in 2011 and are expected to increase five-fold by 2016, to between 29 and 38 percent of the market.

“If we can take advantage of the efficiencies being used in green building, we can give customers what they want,” says Jay Berger, Bergerbuilt Homes.

With information gathering so easy today, consumers are doing in-depth research before they ever visit a new home sales center. They come armed with questions, a lot of which are about energy and performance. And, now, they’re beginning to ask about HERS scores.

MN Green Path builders welcome those questions. To date, Green Path homes have averaged a HERS index of 59.6, well under the minimum score of 70. They’ve ranged from 69 to as low as 18, which is an incredible 82 percent more efficient than the HERS reference built-to-code home.

In the end, MN Green Path offers builders a usable, valuable tool to give them the edge in serving new home buyer needs. “MN Green Path will make a genuine difference to homeowners’ overall cost of ownership, overall cost of operating the home, and in the long run, create a far superior value,” explains Jeff Schoenwetter, JMS Custom.

And it’s a value that doesn’t end at closing. “When you buy a new house today, and go to sell it in five years,” says Ty Bruhn, Mega Homes. “people will find value in a MN Green Path Home’s efficiency.”

MN Green Path Homes Tell All

2012-02-29T19:39:56Z

Each MN Green Path^SM Certified Home Receives a Home Performance Report documenting its energy performance and more.

Every new car carries a vehicle sticker that documents its fuel economy and safety features. Now, new home buyers can get a similar document, the MN Green PathSM Home Performance Report (HPR).

The HPR indicates the home’s MN Green Path certification level of achievement, Certified, Advanced Certified or Master Certified. The HPR also prominently displays the home’s HERS score, both numeric and graphically. This score, assigned by independent RESNET raters through a series of on-site tests, is a representation of the home’s energy efficiency. Additionally, the HPR lists all of the home’s enhanced (above building code) green features, and provides a “you are here” position on the MN Green Path continuum.

Home owners can proudly display their HPR, or keep it with their other important documents. At resale time, the HPR should prove to be an invaluable tool for owners to share the home’s benefits with their prospective buyers. All HPRs will also remain in the MN Green Path system, ensuring a lost HPR can be replaced.

MN Green Path’s HPR is what’s next for home buyers as energy costs continue to rise and prospective buyers demand more accountability and transparency in their purchases.

MN Green Path Homes Include Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Scores

2012-02-29T19:34:32Z

The HERS Index is a scoring system established by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), a California-based national association of home energy raters and energy-efficiency mortgage lenders. In simplest terms, the HERS Index provides a standard measurement of a home's energy efficiency. It can range from zero to 100. The lower the score, the better.

To calculate a home’s HERS Index, a certified RESNET rater tests the home three times during construction, including a final blower-door test. The results of those tests are input into the House-Rater computer program. The program then is able to compare the home to a “reference home,” and assign a HERS score. The reference home is an imaginary home of the same size and shape as the home being rated, and is based on the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).

Each one-point decrease in the HERS Index corresponds to a one percent reduction in energy consumption. So a home with a HERS Index of 85 is 15 percent more energy efficient than a home with a HERS Index of 100. A home with a HERS Index of zero is a home that uses no net energy, and is able to generate the needed power on site with renewable technologies like solar or wind. And, a home with a HERS Index of 100 is equal in energy usage to a home built to the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code.

“One thing to note, however, is that a larger house with a HERS index of 50 may still use more energy than a small house with a HERS index of 100,” says Gates. “The size of the home is irrelevant to the HERS index and should be taken into consideration for overall energy use.”

It is also important to note that Minnesota has enacted a stricter energy code than the 2004 IECC. A typical code-built Minnesota home today will test out with a HERS score of 80.

MN Green Path Base Certification Requirements Focused on Energy Efficiency

2012-02-29T19:27:04Z

MN Green Path^SM certified homes are required to meet several above-code requirements as well as earn a HERS score of 70. The RESNET reference home scores a 100 and Minnesota homes built to code generally are at about 80. Additional green requirements for Advanced and Master certification are available online at www.mngreenpath.org.

Base requirements include:

Energy Efficiency

• HERS index of 70 or better

• Blower door test result of ≤0.3 cfm50 per sq. ft. of building enclosure or lower.

• ENERGY STAR Certified (or better) dishwasher, clothes washer, refrigerator, if installed.

• Install energy efficient lighting such as CFL, or LED hard-wired fixtures in 50% of whole house.

• Above grade exterior wall insulation must be R-21 or better and installed to Grade II of the Resnet Standards (Refer to 2009 IECC).

• Foundation insulation minimum R-10 rigid foam exterior insulation or equivalent.

• Air seal around outside of window and door units with low expansion foam insulation (maintain drainage void at base of window).

• All ductwork installed in exterior wall cavities must have a minimum of sealed R-10 rigid foam installed along the exterior wall of the cavity.

• Must install programmable thermostat.

Indoor Environmental Quality

• Mechanical ventilation of home for 48 hours prior to occupancy.

• All gas combustion equipment must be sealed or direct vented.

• Isolate attached garages: install air barrier, seal common walls, ceiling and penetrations prior to insulating. Provide gasketed door to living spaces.

• May not use building cavities as a part of the duct work for supplies and returns (i.e. cannot use panning of joist or wall cavities for air supply or return system).

• Foundation waterproofed – from footing to sill plate.

Water Conservation

• Install all faucets or add aerators with low flow. (1.5 gl/mn)

Resource Management

• On two of the major elements of the building – walls, roof or floor – or in 50% of project – use FSC, SFI, or CSA certified wood for wood and wood-based materials and products.

• On site disposal with vendor who recycles.

Other

• BATC Membership or other Local Home Builder Association Membership.

• Attend program orientation and on-going annual updates.

• 3 elective points in energy.

• 2 elective points in indoor environmental quality

Multi-Family Projects Boost Twin Cities Residential Construction in February 2012

2012-02-27T16:36:27Z

Two large multi-family construction projects have boosted February’s planned units permitted well ahead of every year since 2007. That’s on top of three large projects in January, making the first two months in 2012 the most active in years. Single-family construction, on the other hand, has remained fairly stable, with 346 new permits in 2012 vs. 370 to-date in 2011.

According to statistics compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 179 permits for a total of 491 units during four weeks in the month of February, 2012.

“We were pleased to hear from MN demographer, Tom Gilaspy, on a panel at our trade show on February 23rd.” said Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2012 President and owner of Lee Lyn Construction, Curt Christensen. “Tom pointed out that Minnesota’s employment level has returned to 2007 rates, which bodes well for our industry.

“Both Tom and NAHB economist Elliot Eisenberg, PHD, shared optimism with our association, forecasting somewhere between 10-15 percent growth for the industry in 2012,” Christensen said.

St. Louis Park led the metro in building activity for the month with 193 units permitted. Minneapolis followed with 118 units. Blaine showed 18 units permitted, with Lakeville and Maple Grove rounding off the top five with 14 units each.

feb._2012_Permits_Release_Chart.pdf

Room and (Chalk) Board

2012-02-24T16:41:34Z

Chalkboards may be irrelevant in the classroom, but they're making a huge comeback in the home. The look is extremely versatile and combines decorative flare with everyday functionality. Here's how you can utilize this popular trend in almost every room of your home:

The Kitchen:

Chalkboards make a lot of sense in the kitchen, probably because menus are at the top of every chef's list (and what better place to recreate the quaint cafe chalkboard experience than in one's own personal eatery?). For most of us, however, the chalkboard is a necessary style upgrade for displaying our grocery, to-do, and chore lists. To avoid a chalk dust frenzy, purchase a wet-erase chalkboard marker (in every color) for a clean and crisp look.

The Accent Wall:

I know what you're thinking. Accent walls shouldn't be black. Well, think again. A chalkbaord accent wall gives you the creative license to speak through your very walls. Decoratively displaying your favorite quotes, lyrics or messages can add charm and character to a space, while letting the room's personality brighten the wall color. By the way, chalkboard paint comes in many colors, so choose a color that's to your liking!

The Office:

Magnetic chalkboard paint will let you organize your schedule multiple ways.

The Bedroom:

Sometimes a restless mind can leave you, quite literally, restless. Try sprucing up an old wooden headboard with chalkboard spraypaint. In one easy stroke you can quit counting sheep and start writing your thoughts as they come to you at night.

The Play Room:

No more being the bad guy. Your kids can now write on the walls freely (and so can you)!

Pictures: Inglenook Decor, design-59, apartment therapy, Wallies

Pillow Talk

2012-02-20T22:25:08Z

Let’s talk pillows.

It’s pretty safe to assume that most people agree with them. They make relaxing more comfortable and sleep more enjoyable, after all. Pillows can also bring life into a room that needs a pop of color, soften a masculine space, add new vigor during changing seasons and inspire the personality of a house, all on a realistic budget.

Take a look at how you can incorporate this year's top pillow trends in your home.

1. Floor Pillows can increase seating availability while adding both charm and personality to a room. In some instances, floor pillows can also double as sofas, like this example from Design Sherpa. Bright colors and bold prints are especially popular with floor pillows since they can easily be moved from room to room. With floor pillows you have the freedom to mix and match as you see fit.

2. Decorative Pillows, like the handmade floral design (featured in the picture above) from etsy, combines two popular trends for this season: bold prints combined with soft features. Combining contrasting elements like hard lines with rounded petals creates a vibrant energy in the room.

3. Texturized pillows can instantly inspire a room's personality. Burlap designs are rustic and best suited for vintage-looking spaces. Silk pillows will soften a room by adding a touch of femininity. Ruching on a pillow, like this pillow from Sears, can add depth to a smaller sofa.

2012 Spring Parade of Homes® Event Overview

2012-02-10T17:03:55Z

The Parade of Homes® is the Twin Cities home tour with the largest variety, widest range of prices, and most inventory, including 24 green certified homes that are included in the 115 homes on the Energy Efficient tour and 3 Dream Homes. Want to see a home that has it all? Our Parade of Homes front cover features TV icon Don Shelby, his granddaughter Beatrice, and a stunning home that meets almost every category, and is a green Dream Home. You can also explore 306 top quality new homes to help you get your fill of the latest and greatest in home trends, all across the metro area.

All of the new homes and neighborhoods on the Parade of Homes will be open Thursdays through Sundays from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm. Admission is always free except for The BATC Foundation Dream Homes, Parade Homes #3, #106, #114, where a charitable donation of $5.00 will be requested at the door. Dream Home proceeds help fund The BATC Foundation, the charitable arm of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), which rebuilds, remodels and constructs new homes for families in need.

Visitors can choose to tour new homes, remodeled homes, or both during the final weekend of the event with the Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase® March 30th to April 4th. Each of the events have their own Guidebook, tailored to readers interested in new or remodeled homes.This spring, the tour coincides with the launch of the green certification program MN Green Path. The 24 MN Green Path homes on the Parade of Homes each have a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score indicating how energy efficient the home is. Our MN Green Path Dream Home in Excelsior (#106) has a hers rating of 18, meaning that it is 82% more energy efficient than the HERS Reference home that is built to code. Because a HERS rating is often compared to the MPG sticker given to automobiles, the MN Green Path program is giving away Holiday blue-planet gas cards, Apple iPods, golf at Legends Golf Club and 24 keys for the chance to win the grand prize, a 42 MPG Volkswagen Jetta TDI from Schemlz Countryside.

Parade of Homes Guidebook and website work together. As always, the Parade of Homes is easy to navigate with the comprehensive Guidebook and interactive website. Free Guidebooks are available at any regional Holiday StationStore. The Guidebook includes a number of directories that list homes by builder, price, location, wheelchair visitable homes, and school district. The Lifestyle Categories allow visitors to choose homes based on the way their family lives.

The Parade of Homes online makes touring even easier. Advanced search options at www.ParadeofHomes.org let visitors choose exactly the features they want in homes to tour. They can get driving directions for each home, even map the quickest route using their own personal TourPlanner. And, the Parade of Homes social media neighborhood is always available to check for the latest information on the tour and the latest in housing trends. The social sites include: The Parade of Homes page on Facebook, the Parade of Homes blog, #pohtc on Twitter and the Parade of Homes YouTube channel. With the new Parade of Homes mobile website, smart-phone users can search easily for both new homes and remodeled homes, and iPhone users can find the app under Parade of Homes Twin Cities.

The 2012 Spring Parade of Homes is presented by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities and sponsored by Wells Fargo.

Parade of Homes Spring 2012 Fact Sheet

2012-02-14T16:49:53Z

The Spring Parade of Homes is presented by Builders Association of the Twin Cities’ (BATC) members. It runs March 3 through April 1st, 2012. All Parade HomesSM are open Thursdays - Sundays 12-6pm.

The Spring Parade of Homes features 306 model homes and neighborhoods located in 70 cities across the extended Twin Cities metropolitan area. There are 121 builders and developers participating in the event.

The Spring Parade of Homes includes three BATC Foundation Dream Homes (#3 in Edina, #106 in Excelsior, #114 in Wayzata). Visitors to those homes will be asked for a $5.00 donation to benefit the The BATC Foundation, the charitable arm of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities.

Dream Home donations to the BATC Foundation help build and remodel homes for families in need. Recent projects have included several trips to build homes and school houses in Haiti, safety renovations at the home of a blinded war veteran, and a new home in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Three homes are featured this spring, each with a $5 donation at the door (#3 in Edina, #106 in Excelsior, #114 in Wayzata).

This Spring’s Guidebook features the personal stories of four local families who’ve recently bought new homes from Parade of Homes builders. Two of them are Dream Homes (#106 and #114) and open to tour, plus #111 in Minnetonka and #226 in Hugo, are also on the tour and open.

This Spring’s Tour again features an Energy Efficient Home Tour in partnership with Xcel Energy. These 115 independently-verified homes give people a chance to tour a wide variety of energy efficient homes during the tour.

The Parade of Homes is introducing a new green build program this Spring called Minnesota’s Green Path. Twenty-four homes have achieved certification, and will display their Home Performance Report which documents the home’s HERS (Home Energy Rating System) index plus all above-building code green features.

Visitors to any of the 24 MN Green Path homes will get a scratch-off game piece, earning them the opportunity to win great prizes like a Holiday Blue Planet gas card, iPod, golf at Legends in Prior Lake, or one of 24 keys. Game piece key’s can be exchanged for real keys at an event held on April 12th. One key will open the grand prize, a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta TDI from Schmelz Countryside Volkswagen.

All homes and their builders are featured in the Guidebook available free at metro Holiday StationStores around February 20th.

The Parade of Homes online presence continues to be a hub for housing information in the Twin Cities, including easy mobile searches and an iPhone app. The website, paradeofhomes.org provides a number of filters, including location, home style, school district and price. The site also includes links to social media and blog, plus handy resources for home buyers and homeowners, as well as the e-magazine Guidebook.

The most expensive Parade Home (#82) is priced at $2,000,000 and is built by Denali Custom Homes, Inc. in Chanhassen. The least expensive Parade Home is an association-maintained attached home priced at $139,900 built by Dominium Dev. & Acquisition, LLC (#215) in New Brighton.

The homes are scattered across a broad spectrum of prices. Six are priced below $170,000 and 17 below $200,000. A total of 196 homes are priced below $500,000, which represents over 60 percent of the entries. There are 45 homes priced from $500,000 to $599,999; 21 from $600,000 to $699,999. A total of 24 homes are priced over $1,000,000, with the most expensive house on the tour listed at $2,000,000.

A total of seven of the 70 cities represented within the region have 10 or more homes open for viewing this spring, they are: Blaine: 28, Maple Grove: 15, Woodbury: 22, Chanhassen: 10, Plymouth: 25, Lakeville: 19, Savage 14.

The 2012 Spring Parade of Homes is presented by the professional builder members of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities and sponsored by Wells Fargo.

2012 Spring Real Family: Building for the Heart and for the Family

2012-02-14T22:17:05Z

Don and Barbara Shelby’s new home is not quite what you’d expect from a local celebrity. Unless you’ve followed Don’s career since he retired from the anchor chair at WCCO TV. Today, he’s writing and producing work that speaks to his personal passion about the environment. This home is the embodiment of that passion.

“I’m conservative in the sense that I think waste of any kind is wrong,” explains Don, who applies that ethic to the way he lives life, and now, to the way his home was designed and built.

“Most homes can lose as much as 45 percent of the energy used to heat and cool them. Why waste that?” he insists. “On the other side, if the over-use of that [fossil] fuel is causing damage to the planet, then I don’t want to be a part of that either.”

Those two ethics intersect for Don in this home, which was designed and built to conserve energy and resources during construction as well as every day they live there. You can read more about the home, designed and constructed by the Landschute Group, on page 27.

Environmentalism isn’t just a philosophy for Don, it’s a personal conviction stemming from his deep belief in family and his love and concern for the Inuit people and their culture. He personifies the Native American admonition to live sustainably and work for the benefit of the seventh generation into the future.

Don’s waste-not education began quite early. “My dad and mom were both conservative,” and their garage was the proof. “It was filled with coffee cans full of nails and screws. We never had to go to the hardware store because my dad thought, why waste a perfectly good [used] one. I spent hours of my life just organizing all those screws by size.”

Don’s parents wanted to make sure he had a good career too, and that didn’t mean television. “My dad made me apprentice to a carpenter for four years and become journeyman carpenter when I was in college.”

Those early experiences have informed Don’s life ever since, contributing to his success as a journalist and to the legacy he is leaving to his three daughters as well as Beatrice and his other two grandchildren, Hudson and Josephine. This house is a part of that legacy.

The Inukshuk

Prominent in Don and Barbara’s front yard is an interesting and imposing granite figure, an Inukshuk. “The classic figure of the north tundra is the inukshuk,” Don explains. “It is a sort of human-form cairn made out of found stone by the Inuit people of the far north. Inukshuks are built on the horizon and the caribou herds think they’re human. By placing the Inukshuk closer and closer together, the Inuit are able to herd the caribou.

The arctic is a place Don loves and visits often. “I like the cold, and have a fascination with polar exploration,” he says. He’s been on expeditions with Will Steger, Ann Bancroft, Paul Shurke and Sir Richard Branson. But what really made an impact on Don was getting to know the native Inuit people.

“The temperature is rising twice as fast in the arctic as it is globally. It’s causing the sea ice to melt,” says Don, who has seen the evidence first hand. “The lives of the Inuit people are changing, so much so that their culture may soon disappear.

“The Inukshuk will sit in front of the house because it will represent to me those people we should be keeping in mind. We should understand that the effects of our behavior can harm them.”

Triple Certification

We’re really thrilled to feature Don Shelby’s new home in our spring Parade of Homes. Sure, we like that fact that you all know Don and he’s an incredibly interesting guy. But more than that, we love being able to show you his beautiful and extremely green home that will have certification in three different green build programs.

Minnesota’s Green Path: You can read a lot more about this new green certification program throughout our Guidebook, and Don’s home has earned its highest level — Master Certification. All MN Green Path homes receive a Home Performance Report (HPR), a “window sticker” which details the home’s HERS (Home Energy Rating Score) rating, all its green features, like Don’s geothermal heat and LED lighting, which saves 90 percent over conventional lighting. The HPR also graphically details the home’s position along the Green Path (from basic code to totally green). Don’s HPR is pretty amazing, with an incredible HERS of 18.

LEED for Homes Platinum: This leading international holistic green program is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, and designed to promote building sustainability. LEED certification is a rigorous program that requires meeting a high standards in the five green categories: sustainable sites water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. Don’s home is at the highest level, Platinum.

Minnesota GreenStar: Like LEED, Minnesota GreenStar is a rigorous, holistic program, and has been designed for the upper midwest’s temperature and humidity extremes. Don’s home will be certified at its highest level as well. And while Don is an emeritus director to the GreenStar board, his home earned this certification all by itself.

Spring 2012 Feature Family: It's Our Perfect Home

2012-02-13T22:03:28Z

Peter & Mary Jo (MJ) knew what they wanted in a home, but they weren’t sure where to find it. For instance, the couple knew that they wanted a three-story house and they knew that they wanted to live in Wayzata where Peter grew up. They wanted a traditional layout with the bedrooms on the top floor and they also wanted an additional bedroom for guests. They loved the expansive feel of an open concept design with the functional amenities of a modern home while still capturing the character and nostalgia of an established abode. They even knew that a large lower level would be a necessary playroom for their two kids, Liam (2) and Gabriella (10 months). They knew a lot. The only thing that they didn’t know about their future home was where to find it.

Locating an ideal place that would please the whole family wasn’t easy. Peter and MJ explained that, “We looked at so many houses it made our heads spin!” Each home that they visited had qualities that they liked coupled with qualities that they really didn’t care for. Because no home could satisfy all of their needs, Peter and MJ were resolved to find their best option and then plan to invest time and money into a future remodel. “Our plan was to buy something a little bit older in an area we liked and then slowly fix it up over the years,” Peter explained. While remodeling an existing home was an acceptable solution for the family, it sure didn’t feel like the most appropriate one. “Something dawned on us,” Peter and MJ said. “Why not build and ensure that the house has everything we are looking for?”

As luck would have it, four lots in their desired neighborhood became available that very summer. What’s more, the couple was familiar with the builder, Pillar Homes, having already toured several of their models in the past and having liked the overall quality and style of homes that they build. The family was “very pleased to learn the featured builder was Pillar Homes! This made it an easy decision and we moved forward immediately.”

Pillar Homes designed and built the exact layout that the family had been looking for all along. And, in addition to what the family wanted in their dream home, they also had the opportunity to add special dream features that “weren’t on the original wish list.” One such addition was the screened-in porch with stone fireplace (Peter’s favorite). Because the cottage-style house is built on a small lot with limited yard space, the couple also opted to add an indoor sports court. Pillar Homes dug under the garage to install this fantastic play area that the kids will grow into. The room will also become like an indoor playground during Minnesota winters. Despite the small yard, the home’s location is more than ideal for summertime as well. They are close to several outdoor playgrounds, and within walking distance of their boat and Wayzata beach.

For a family who had been looking for the ‘perfect home’ even before their son was born, Peter and MJ know the importance of exploring all of their housing options. Yet, even though the family knew the essential features that they wanted in their home,building new can often generate hundreds more options to consider. “We had heard stories of how difficult the process can be as you have to pick out everything,” MJ shared. With help from the Pillar Homes team, however “we found it to be quite easy. KC Chermak and the team at Pillar Homes were fantastic to work with. They listened to what we had to say and then structured a house that met all of our needs.”

Spring 2012 Feature Family: The Tree House Effect

2012-02-13T22:21:33Z

While this family doesn’t exactly have a backyard tree fort, Lecy Bros. Homes & Remodeling built Mike and Lynsey, and their two boys, a dream home with something even better. They have a custom-built home personalized with the family’s favorite features like a laundry chute, 1,200 square- foot playroom basement, wainscoted dining room, and kitchen dinette snuggly situated in an alcove overlooking a wooded lot.

According to Lynsey, this cozy breakfast nook is the perfect spot to take advantage of the natural light and serene landscape of a tree house inspired look. “We call it the Tree House Effect,” she explains.

The dinette is just one of the unique visions that the family had in mind when they dreamed up their perfect pad. Lynsey envisioned a vintage style home that celebrated the quality of a home built 75 years ago, while ensuring that her two boys, Jack (age 8) and Owen (5), could enjoy the house today and grow into the home tomorrow. “We were able to sit down with Lecy Bros. Homes & Remodeling and share our vision about the home we wanted to raise our family in,” explained Lynsey. “We wanted the modern features of a well built new home, and we also wanted to make sure it had the character and uniqueness of a well established home.”

Lecy Bros. Homes & Remodeling understood this vision and, as a design-build firm, offered the quality building technique and stunning design that was important to the family. Mike and Lynsey also knew that they wanted to work with a local family-owned company and, more specifically, one that was masterful in fine trim work. “We felt that the quality of Lecy’s workmanship, specifically their trim and finish work, set them apart,” shared Mike.

Another important concern was how the family could custom build a new home while maintaining a reasonable budget, and without having to compromise on quality. Very pleased with the fact that they were able to build a livable dream home without having to settle on anything, the family concluded, “Lecy Bros. Homes & Remodeling did a great job at building a high quality home in a sensible way; they made our dream home a reality.”

While the family has yet to add a backyard tree fort, they have a “special spot” in their tree house inspired dinette. “We share every dinner together,” said Lynsey, “ so we’ll be using this room every single day.”

Help the BATC Foundation by Touring Parade of Homes Dream Homes

2012-02-13T22:49:54Z

As the charitable arm of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, the mBATC Foundation taps the talents and resources of our member builders, remodelers, suppliers and others to support our communities. We build homes, remodel and repair homes, and offer scholarships for young people entering the construction industry.

In 2011, the Foundation was able to complete an impressive four projects to help local families:

Room for All

The Vang family had been through a lot, starting with an injury that led to job loss and finally homelessness. They were thankfully getting back on their feet, but living in a tiny Minneapolis home that was simply too small for this family of seven. The BATC Foundation, with the help of its remodeler partner Showcase Renovations, created room for all by finishing the basement with two bedrooms and a bath. At the “key” ceremony, a tearful Mrs. Vang thanked the Foundation profusely and presented it with a diagram in fabric of her family’s journey from Cambodia to Minnesota.

Breathing Easier

A broken air conditioner may make life a little uncomfortable for most of us, but for this single mom with an asthmatic daughter, it was a disaster. Interfaith Outreach called the Foundation, which enlisted Thompson Plumbing to install a brand new one to give this family a breath of fresh air.

A Way to Say Thanks

Wesley Cureton bravely and honorably served his country through seven active duty tours, the last ending in a roadside bomb which robbed him of his sight and left him with other serious injuries. With remodeling partner, James Barton Design Build, the Foundation renovated Wesley and his wife Susan’s home to make life safer and more comfortable. Thank you for your service, Wesley.

Building a New Family Home

We respect the work that Habitat for Humanity does, and were pleased to partner with it to build a new home in Shakopee for the Ahmed family. This family had emigrated from Somalia, looking for freedom and a better future for their five children. The Foundation, under the supervision of project manager, Mike McCalvy, welcomed the Ahmeds to their brand new home late last year.

Thank You for Your Help

We want to thank all of you who visit our Parade of Homes Dream Homes and Dream Remodeled Homes. Your $5.00 donation makes a huge difference. It is primarily through these donations that the BATC Foundation generates the funds to complete projects like those above. We invite you to continue to participate in our work by nvisiting our three new Dream Homes, including the incredible Green Dream Home of local icon, Don Shelby.

Don Shelby Green Dream Home

2012-02-13T21:30:16Z

The Landschute Group teamed up with clients Don and Barbara Shelby to create a home that is definitely an unexpected pleasure. It’s not so big in size, architecturally true to its turn-of-the-century Excelsior neighborhood, and a testament to the green building ethic.

“This is the only house we’ve ever built,” Don says. “In The Landschute Group, we found an architect (Jon Monson) and designer (Mary Monson) that understood exactly what we wanted to do,” which was to create a home that lived the way they wanted but had minimal impact on the planet.

Don and Barbara were deeply involved from the beginning. Barbara took the lead in layout and design while Don challenged their builder in the area of technology and infrastructure, and is ecstatic that the result will be triple certified by three Green building programs.

The Shelby’s weren’t enamored with the postmodern architecture typical to a lot of green homes today. So, “we created a home that kind of flies in the face of the whole LEED Platinum look,” Don smiles. “Barbara and I both love the country cottage farmhouse look.”

From the outside that’s exactly what you see, a home that looks as comfortable in its environs as the neighborhood cottages that have been there for decades. But look a little closer. Slim-profile solar panels top the garage; and greenery-filled planters deck the porch roof, a faux green roof, which increases carbon dioxide absorption over the built space.

Landscaped swales and rain gardens “were designed by the Director of Green Infrastructure for the New York City Department of Transportation — Lacy Shelby,” Don says proudly of his middle daughter. She insisted on a three thousand-gallon cistern to capture roof rainwater, combined with permeable pavers on the driveway to assure zero runoff into the sensitive Lake Minnetonka drainage basin.

There were plenty of other opportunities to be environmentally conscious, and the Shelby’s took advantage of every one. “Instead of demolishing the [existing] house and putting it into the landfill, we took it apart board by board.”

Those boards were added to a stockpile of other old wood, some re-sawn, some kept in its patina’d state, and reused in every way possible. “Our flooring is re-sawn barn timbers and old bridges that was cut a hundred years ago — from, I suspect, Big Island and the old-growth forests that surrounded Lake Minnetonka.”

Minimal impact thinking also drives the floor plan. Compact, yet open, the living spaces promote family togetherness while the main floor includes both a sunny, green oasis (solarium) and office space for Barbara. Upstairs, clever details, a fabulous bath, and spacious closets make the small squarefootage bedrooms simply sing.

There’s one more space above the garage in which Don plans to spend a lot of time. It’s where you’ll find his collection of books and mementos from an extraordinary career that isn’t over yet. It’s his “media room/studio where I can record voice work and write my stories for Minnpost, Salon, and Slate, among others on the issue of energy conservation and the environment.”

This unexpected pleasure should be a first stop on your Parade of Homes tour. If you share Don’s passion for the environment, you’ll definitely want to see its Home Performance Report and HERS rating (you won’t believe his score). If not, you’ll still find a home of charm and grace — a perfect Dream Home. Your $5.00 donation to visit this Green Dream Home will benefit the BATC Foundation and the Washburn Center for Children.

Pillar Dream Home

2012-02-13T21:53:15Z

When dream home and dream location come together, the resulting magic is a dream tour you’ll definitely have to see to believe. This home sits on a special city lot, 65-feet wide, that is less than one block from the Wayzata Depot and within walking distance of Lake Minnetonka.

Perfectly poised sidewalks and a cottage-style streetscape pave the way to a quaint front porch, beautifully manicured lawn and an enchanting outer facade. The cross gable roof gives the home a peaked silhouette, lined with white trim that compliments the home’s cream colored siding.

Hidden below the three-car tandem is a sport court with 11-foot ceiling, white walls, bright sport lights and glossy floor. A glass wall divides this play area from the surrounding lower level, allowing court-side seating without any noise interference. With an extra bedroom and bath, the lower level of the home can keep company entertained for as long as they are welcome. Lookout windows, recess theatre room, and a walk-up wet bar means that this extremely livable, it’s also a dream retreat on its own.

More divine design awaits upstairs as you make your way to the main level. Past the foyer, a French door beckons visitors to the study, a homemanagement center with a custom desk and built-in organization. The study is similar in effect to a sun room since the opaque glass doors let in natural light and the room’s cozy ambiance inspires a quiet peacefulness no matter the time of day.

A center hall pulls you to the back of the house where the kitchen and main room make this the central gathering spot for the family. A wood ceiling, elegant soffits and fireplace encourage conversation, while the serving buffet, wine refrigerator and center island from the connecting kitchen, gets the family excited for meals. All of this flows out to the backyard and patio where another set of double French doors extend into a screened porch with enameled woodwork, stained alder cabinets and rich wood floors. A special gas fireplace provides soft warmth from the open flame. The upstairs is equally as warm, particularly from the heated tiles and steam shower in the owners’ bath. Complete with frameless glass, this room just might be the fairest of them all.

Don’t miss this incredible lake-area Dream Home. Your $5.00 donation to the BATC Foundation will provide much-needed housing help to deserving area families.

REFINED Dream Home

2012-02-13T22:02:20Z

A true Dream Home starts with a dream location. Situated perfectly in the sought-after, kid-friendly Brucewood Neighborhood, within the Edina School District, and just steps from the highly desired 50th and France Shopping District, a location better than this is hard to find. This beautiful Dream Home was designed to blend seamlessly into the classic neighborhood and take advantage of the large, flat rear yard, making it perfect for entertaining. The exterior materials used on the home, including a pleasing blend of stone, copper, and cedar siding with a cedar shake roof, even whisper Dream Home as they exude the esteemed character of the neighborhood.

Upon entering this exquisite home you will immediately feel this Dream Home come to life. Details throughout the home are unique, yet functional, designed to make family living in a Dream Home a reality. On the main level the wire brushed, white oak floors with grey stain are sure to impress. You will fall in love with REFINED’s signature “pocket office” concept off the kitchen, a dream for anybody managing the day-to-day activities of a busy family. This is the perfect office nook solution designed to function as home central to balance after-hour workloads while staying connected with the family. Another unique detail, sure to amaze, is the butler’s pantry, which not only has access from both the formal dining room and great room, but also includes interior windows that actually open to create a wet bar for entertaining.

Moving on to the second level of the Dream Home you will be overwhelmed by the functional elegance of this home. Jack and Jill bedrooms, perfect for his-and-her, create the ideal balance between design and everyday living. The Dream owners’ bath, complete with elegant Carrera marble throughout, double-headed shower, and the newest Kohler freestanding tub design, will leave you with a feeling of pure bliss.

In the basement of the home is another REFINED signature item, the “raised bar” area, a dream for entertaining. This lower-level bar includes an oversized walk-in wine cellar, grey stained oak pubstyle bar, and hardwood flooring. As you exit the home you will be impressed by, the dream porch concept included to maximize both ,indoor and outdoor living and showcase sustainable living features. The porch includes a wood-burning fireplace constructed from recycled stone taken from the original residence, and a wooden mantle reclaimed from an old barn. Rustic shiplap walls and ceiling, as well as a retractable Phantom screen, complete this dream concept.

The Dream details go on and on. Don’t miss the opportunity to tour this impressive Dream Home, brought to you by REFINED, while helping the BATC Foundation continue to do charitable work with your $5.00 donation.

The 2012 Spring Energy Efficient Home Tour

2012-02-13T23:21:45Z

Xcel Energy has once again sponsored the Energy Efficient Home Tour for this Spring’s Parade of Homes. Visitors can visit 115 homes on the tour.

All Minnesota new homes are built to high energy standards, but the homes that qualify to appear in the Energy Efficient Home Tour are those that have taken the extra step to be independently verified by certified Resnet testers. These homes have been inspected during construction and at completion, and have each received a HERS score.

What is a HERS?

Outside of a mortgage loan, the highest cost of homeownership is energy. So it makes sense for every potential home buyer to learn something referred to as the “Home Energy Rating System” – or HERS Index before buying a home. In simplest terms, the HERS Index provides a standard measurement of a home's energy efficiency. It can range from zero to 100. The lower the score, the better.

“Think of a HERS Index for the home like miles per gallon for your car,” says Mat Gates of Residential Science Resources in Eagan. “The lower the index number, the more energy efficient the home is.” Each 1-point decrease in the HERS Index corresponds to a 1% reduction in energy consumption. So a home with a HERS Index of 85 is 15% more energy efficient than a home with a HERS Index of 100. A home with a HERS Index of 100 is equal in energy usage to a home built to code.*

On the other hand, a home with a HERS Index of zero is a home that uses no net energy, and is able to generate the needed power on site with renewable technologies like solar or wind. The HERS Index is a scoring system established by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), a California-based national association of home energy raters and energy-efficiency mortgage lenders. To calculate a home’s HERS Index, a rater uses a computer program. The rater enters data about the home into the program which compares it to a “reference home.” The reference home is an imaginary home of the same size and shape as the home being rated, and is based on the 200 International Energy Conservation Code.

“One thing to note, however, is that a larger house with a HERS Index of 50 may still use more energy than a small house with a HERS Index of 100,” says Gates. “The size of the home is irrelevant to the HERS Index and should be taken into consideration for overall energy use.” Ratings are used for both new and existing homes. In new homes, ratings often verify energy performance for the ENERGY STAR® and MN Green Path homes programs, energy efficient mortgages, and energy code compliance. Homeowners who want to upgrade the home's energy efficiency can use the energy rating to evaluate and pinpoint specific, cost-effective improvements. Cost effective improvements often include: improved air sealing and insulation, upgrading to high efficiency lighting, and mechanical systems, as well as installing more efficient ventilation.

For existing homes, homeowners can receive a report listing cost-effective options for improving the home's energy rating. Common cost-effective improvements include: upgrading insulation levels in the walls or attic, reducing attic air leaks, and installing a new furnace, water heater, or boiler. An energy rating allows a home buyer to easily compare the energy performance of the homes being considered.

“As you can imagine, we’ve come a long way on building more efficient homes,” says Carole Griffith of Robert Thomas Homes. “We now incorporate things like high-efficiency windows, appliances and lighting which they didn’t do fifty years ago, so that makes a big difference.”

Case in point: the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that houses built in line with today's energy code use 30% less energy than older homes. Many builders today are building homes that use 70% less energy than existing ones.

“We know more now and that includes home buyers who are asking more questions and educating themselves,” says Gates. “Knowing the HERS Index is just one more way to make smarter choices when it comes to buying or even remodeling a home"

*A home built to the specifications of the HERS Reference Home (based on the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code) scores a HERS Index of 100. Minnesota’s stricter energy code puts Minnesota’s code-built homes HERS at 80.

Cheap Tips for BIG Energy Savings

2012-02-14T16:06:30Z

Cheap Tips for BIG Energy Savings

No matter the season, there are always ways to save energy and money.

Free Tip 1: Set your thermostat to 68 degrees and turn it down when you leave.

Turn your thermostat down 5 degrees at night or when leaving your home to save up to $70 on energy costs each year.

Free Tip 2: Use your appliances wisely.

If you live in a typical U.S. home, your appliances and home electronics are responsible for about 20% of your energy bills. Here are three ways to use less:

Set your refrigerator temperature between 34 and 37 degrees and your freezer at 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Run your dishwasher only when it’s full.
Use cooler water to wash clothes. (About 80% of the cost to run your washer is used for heating the water.)

Free Tip 3: Set your water heater to 120 degrees.

Turn down your water heater to a slightly cooler setting. Each time you lower the temperature by 10 degrees Fahrenheit you'll save 3-5% on your water heating costs.

Free Tip 4: Let the sunshine in.

Open shades and blinds on cold winter days to let the warm sunlight help heat your home. Also, consider closing window coverings in rooms that receive no direct sunlight to insulate from cold window drafts. When the sun goes down, close window coverings to retain heat. Up to 15% of your heat can escape through unprotected windows, but the solar heat gain from the sun during the day can conserve valuable energy.

Free Tip 5: Sign up for Xcel Energy’s Saver’s Switch.

Signing up is free and you receive a credit on your energy bill for participating. We attach a small device outside of your house near your central AC unit that cycles it on and off for short intervals during the hottest days. You get credit regardless of whether we ever cycle it off.

Low Cost Tip 6: Replace your furnace filters regularly.

Dirty filters reduce airflow, making your equipment work harder and use more energy. Replace your furnace filter monthly (unless it is a high- efficiency filter designed to last several months) during the heating season to reduce costs by up to 5% or about $35 a year.

Low Cost Tip 7: Install a programmable thermostat.

For a small investment, consider purchasing a programmable thermostat to adjust your home's temperature settings automatically when you're sleeping or away. Set it and forget it.

Low Cost Tip 8: Install low-flow showerheads and faucets.

1.8-gallon per minute showerheads can reduce your hot water consumption by as much as 10%. You'll see savings up to $6 per year for a sink faucet aerator and $20 per year for a showerhead.

Low Cost Tip 9: Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

Now available for as little as a buck a piece, CFLs save $5 per year – which is usually about $50 over the life of just one bulb.

Low Cost Tip 10: Weatherize your home.

A handy homeowner can seal up holes to the outside by weather-stripping doors and sealing windows and gaps along the home's foundation. You can save up to 10% of your heating and cooling costs.

For more information and other energy efficiency tips, visit responsiblebynature.com