Just before the rain started today, I visited several projects that are now under construction in Northfield.

At the United Methodist Church, demolition is well underway. Northfield Construction is doing a nice, clean job of removing the parts of the old kitchen that needed to go. Temporary partitions are up, containing the concrete dust from the floor removal for new plumbing. They did a nice job protecting the existing brick where grouted-in-place door frames needed to be removed. The brick is an attractive detail from the original design, but presented a challenge when we needed to remove the frames.

Next I stopped in at an addition in progress on Third Street West in town. When complete, this addition will provide a spacious screen porch, a new mudroom, and a storage area. Todd Lebens is handling the construction: 507-645-0725. The porch will have a somewhat modern aspect, with a flat room and glulam beams. Stay tuned for more.

All that remains of this front entry addition is the exterior stone and some landscaping. This is another “surgical addition” in which a small, carefully planned addition solve multiple problems. In this case, the plan suffered from a dull facade, tiny entry, illegal stairs to the main level, a poor entry sequence, and poor circulation on the lower level. We solved all these problems and provided some nice garden and patio space to soften the approach.

And, out on Cannon Valley Road, reconstruction is underway for a new four-season porch on the foundation of a previous, but not original, screened porch. Duden & Viken Builders are doing this project. That’s Matt Viken grouting the base plate: 507-321-1754. This addition will be true to the original construction, with solid-sawn oak beams, hemlock ceiling boards, and a stucco exterior.

So, while some of our projects are larger, we also do a nice job of smaller additions that pack a punch!