George Heinrich
Located in the farm country of western Wisconsin, this home borr…
When presented with the budget for this house in the Wisconsin farm country, architect Wayne Branum instinctively steered away from unconventional techniques and unproven materials. “My guiding principle was to not do anything unusual,” Branum says. “Generally, in my experience, that costs more money.” To get his clients the custom home they wanted at less than $200,000, he says, “It had to be small and fairly simply built, using fairly conventional technologies.” Branum kept the building shell uncomplicated and exercised strict discipline in specifications: stick frame on a slab, plain asphalt shingles, minimal trim, laminate countertops. In lesser hands, that could be a formula for a tract house. But as one look proves, this is no tract house. The building shell is familiar yet distinctive. Corrugated steel agricultural buildings are commonplace in this area, but the material still looks novel on the side of a house, and the familiar shed and gable forms enclose rooms that are anything but boxlike.
Careful listening allowed Branum to give the clients everything they wanted, while economizing in ways that do not show. “The kitchen has mostly open shelving instead of cabinets,” Branum says. There is no fireplace, wood stove, or air conditioning. The heating system is an electric radiant slab. Branum says that incentives from the electric company minimized up-front costs, and off-peak electric rates will keep operating costs reasonable. The owners did their part too, says builder Dave Wallin. “It’s usually the homeowner who drives the cost up, but these folks were intent on keeping the budget.” Plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures, and appliances, notorious change-order hazards, went in with no second-guessing. “We basically stuck with what they agreed to in the beginning,” Wallin says. “We didn’t have any big changes along the way.” He credits the smooth ride to Branum’s ability to read his clients. “The way it was drawn was what they wanted.”
Project Credits
Builder: Anderson Wallin Construction, Ellsworth, Wis.
Architect: SALA Architects, Stillwater, Minn.
Living space: 1,906 square feet
Site: 160 acres
Construction cost: $103 a square foot
Photographer: George Heinrich
Resources: Bathroom/kitchen plumbing fittings: Moen; Bathroom/kitchen plumbing fixtures: Kohler; Dishwasher, oven, refrigerator: Kenmore; Doors, windows: Kolbe & Kolbe; HVAC equipment: Lennox; Lighting fixtures: Halo; Roofing: CertainTeed; Skylights: Velux.
Steel This Look Farmers don’t choose galvanized steel because it gives their barns that industrial-chic look. They like it because it’s cheap. Notice, however, that most barns have few openings. Residential applications involve more fussing with door and window details. On this house, builder Dave Wallin says, “We used 2×4 [trim], with a drip cap up above. We rabbeted out the trim so the siding could slip behind it.” That added time and labor, he says, “but the materials are so inexpensive, it balances out. It’s still less than any other siding that we’ve used.”
