Nerves of Steel

In his 23 years at Tallman Building Co., Bill Manderville has developed strong views on the right way to build a custom home. He keeps his books open to the architects and clients he works with, so they know exactly what each step of the building process will cost them. Architect Duo Dickinson appreciates it. “Our process with builders like this is to milk them for all the possible options and costs, so the owners aren’t wishing they went with a different option later,” he says. Manderville also encourages clients to invest in items that will prolong the life and quality of the house, such as the flood-control systems in the Riverside house’s garage/basement. “We spent the money in the places you don’t see,” he says. “It will end up costing the owners less—there’s a lower cycle cost and enormous value.” And he believes in having skilled carpenters on his staff, rather than using carpenter subs. “The way it’s going around this area is to sub out because of insurance,” he says. “We don’t do it that way. We feel it’s too disconnected to have all subs. It’s one thing if you’re building condos, but on this kind of house you need to know who’s going to be there.” The company usually employs anywhere from 16 to 22 in-house carpenters, most of them hired from within. “All our guys start from the beginning and work their way up,” he says.

Details: Chimney Chat When Duo Dickinson began drawing the home’s chimney, he realized it would have to work with the curved walls he’d designed. “There are almost no hard edges to the house—it’s very soft,” he says. So he gave the chimney a slightly conical shape, similar to a tall, tapered candle. In keeping with traditional masonry techniques, the largest stones—the hardest to lift—cover the lowest parts of the chimney, and the lighter, smaller ones are used at the top. Deep-raked joints render the mortar nearly invisible. As builder Bill Manderville points out, the distinctive detail enriches the experience of approaching the house. “It’s revealed as you come around the driveway … like an explosive exclamation point.” Evidently, others have noticed it too: The owners report that scullers rowing on Long Island Sound use the chimney as a sight to help keep them on their course.