The 0.26-acre lot in the Sky Terrace subdivision overlooks the L…
In a classic case of Murphy’s law, even the normally hot and dry Nevada weather did not cooperate. Over the summer, the area set a record for the most consecutive wet days in 30 years. Winds blew sawdust and rain into the open structure, ruining 350 sheets of drywall and slowing down construction.
The high level of detail in the 2014 New American Home would keep most builders awake at night. Anderson’s crew is responsible for uber-custom elements ranging from a water wall in the entryway, exacting tile flooring installations, a wine chiller built into the main staircase, and technological features such as solar hot water and a weather-driven irrigation system. Tracking the project’s hundreds of products—donated by participating manufacturers—became a full-time job for Anderson’s project manager, Jed Tippets.
The builder also relied heavily on interior designers from Marc-Michaels Interior Design and energy rater Drew Smith, who monitored the requirements for the green certifications the house is being built to: National Green Building Standard, DOE Challenge Home, EPA Indoor airPLUS, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority Water Smart Home program.
TNAH 2014 chairman Ted Mahoney credits Anderson with keeping the project alive despite the snafus and delays. “With so many problems, most other builders would have thought about calling the whole thing off,” says the president of Windjammer Construction in Bridgewater, Mass. “It’s amazing how far Josh has brought everything in such a short time.”
EMBRACING THE CHALLENGES
Now that the mammoth project is almost complete, Anderson has become a pro at going with the flow, chuckling at bad news rather than getting upset—like when the project’s elevator manufacturer recently quit making residential products. A new sponsor signed on, but the structural framing work required for its unit is different than the already-constructed shaft.
Anderson takes it in stride. “We’ll never get the framers out here to work on that,” he says. “We’ll just re-do it ourselves.”
He generally is on the jobsite from 7 a.m. until midnight, and for the past several months only saw his wife, Maya, and four children on Sundays; he even missed Thanksgiving with them. But he sees the end is near and is looking forward to showing off the house to thousands of his peers from across the country in February.
“I’ve always been a sucker for a challenge,” he says with a smile.
