Drifthaus Build Blog. Planning and building our modern passive house in Wisconsin’s northwoods.

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PLANNING & DESIGN

Using paper models to test and compare spatial arrangements.

BUILDING SYSTEMS

About the structural monolithic slab-on-grade foundation.

ON SITE

We wanted our home to be a continuation of the land and landscape.

THOUGHTS & STUFF

What the…? The great northern lights Invasion of 2024.

Build blog.

H. 4/11/22 H. 4/11/22

Getting oriented.

Our building site is a flat ridge with a gentle slope down to the lake. The site looks north to the lake…

J. 1/6/22 J. 1/6/22

The lay of the land.

It was over ten years ago that we found and purchased the land for our house. What happened?…

J. 1/3/22 J. 1/3/22

Passive house air sealing & window installation - part 2.

Part 2 of the workshop walked us through, step-by-step, how to window seal the interior and exterior of an installed window.…

J. 1/2/22 J. 1/2/22

Passive house air sealing & window installation - part 1.

We both got our utility knives out at an excellent local workshop demonstration on how to air-seal a passive house building envelope and install a passive house window…

H. 12/15/21 H. 12/15/21

Land ho!

After more than a year of visiting potential lots, none of which quite fit the bill or were within our budget…

H. 12/15/21 H. 12/15/21

Lakes and springs… and bears! Oh my!

After looking for almost a year, we finally found a property that we were seriously interested in. The lake was a beautiful…

H. 12/15/21 H. 12/15/21

In search of…land.

When we first started looking for land somewhere in Wisconsin, we considered a wide variety of types of properties…

H. 12/15/21 H. 12/15/21

Wisconsin runs through it.

We currently live in a 100-yr-old bungalow which we’ve remodeled over the years with additional Arts & Crafts details. We love Minneapolis, but, when we finally retire, we want to have a new adventure…

J. 10/13/21 J. 10/13/21

Pushing off.

Building any home is a major undertaking. It takes a lot of money, time, energy, patience and, maybe, even a touch of folly…

Some project partners.

Coulson produces aesthetically rich and environmentally innovative buildings. They take a thoughtful approach to create striking, feasible designs that are rooted in the place.

Consulting Architect

Extreme Panel Technologies SIPs Panel Partner

Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)

We have been manufacturing SIPs for nearly 30 years. With this experience, and hundreds of SIP framed structures standing strong, we at Extreme are proud to help light the way!

Construction Partner

Located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, R W Contract, LLC has an expansive history in the construction of SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) structures, additions and remodeling.