Homes of Distinction

A supplement of
N o r t h ea s t W i s co n s i n ’s B u s i n es s

April 14, 2009

  


 


    

   

  

 
  

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 Contents
4 Designing and building
your dream
Practicality improves resale value.

8 The home professionals

How to choose those who
create your home.

12 Filling your cocoon

Home improvements are replacing
4
others ways to spend disposable income.

8 12 Cover photos courtesy DeLeers Construction

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SPRING HOMES OF DISTINCTION 2009 WWW.MARKETPLACEMAGAZINE.COM 3

 HOMES OF DISTINCTION

Photos courtesy DeLeers Construction

Designing
and building
A lthough she has no inten-
tion of selling her 6,500-
square-foot home in Green
Bay’s Ponds at Baird Creek neigh-

your dream Practicality improves resale value.

BY LEE MARIE REINSCH
borhood any time soon, Aimee
Petersen says its design is practical
enough to appeal to a wide range of
potential buyers should she and her
husband decide to sell.
“We made it unique to our taste
by doing some detail work but noth-
ing that would make it too unique,”
she says. “We put our taste in
fabrics and wall colors, but a new
buyer could tweak it to theirs.”
One of the smartest things they
did was to put the main bedroom
upstairs near their children’s bed-
rooms, and the guest suite on the

4 WWW.MARKETPLACEMAGAZINE.COM SPRING HOMES OF DISTINCTION

 anyone’s opinion on what makes a
good resale and what doesn’t,” he
says.
Certain properties by themselves
— such as water frontage — might
be good investments regardless of
the value or condition of the struc-
ture built on it. Hilly lots can be
desirable because of the popularity
of walkout basements these days.
Lot choice depends on the life-
style needs of the client, says
Kurt Wismer, project manager for
BerHoff Homes. “A doctor might
need to be within a certain range
from work; a couple with small kids
might want to be near schools.”
Traffic flow and street noise also
can affect property value, Wismer
points out.
Builders love to have some input
on the lot selection, so if it’s pos-
sible, consult with yours before you
buy your lot. It could even save
money, says Backus.
“Almost 100 percent of the time,
[clients] are surprised by the com-
plexity one lot might present for
construction over another lot,” says
Backus.
Most people notice the aesthetic
features of a piece of property, but
a slew of other factors can impact
the construction process. Builders
look at the direction the lot faces,
sunlight exposure, any slopes to the
ground level. land itself, and grade and elevation
“It’s private for guests, of the property, which can impact
and we are close to the the height of the foundation.
kids,” says Petersen. “For The length of the driveway
us, it’s a family-friendly and even the quality of the topsoil
setup.” should be taken into consideration,
Building a home with says Backus. If you end up needing
the intention of selling “When potential customers explain what they’re looking for new topsoil, it adds to your over-
it after a few years may and what they are expecting to spend, it not only gives them a head and usually can’t be made up
seem to some people a lit- chance to see if we’re a good fit, but it allows us to make sure in the resale price.
we can provide what they’re looking for,” says Paul DeLeers of
tle like planning a divorce DeLeers Construction. Another key element to consider:
before the nuptials. privacy. “That’s a challenge in some
But others suggest in a subdivisions — out your great room
mercurial job market, keeping an eye on resale value seems only prudent. windows, you may be looking at
“That’s one of the biggest challenges I deal with — trying to put someone’s house,” says Backus.
together a package that has as much detail and drama as the buyer wants Sometimes clients plan to invest
while still being a good value,” says Andy Backus, owner of Fine Homes by money in creating extra privacy in
Andrew in Oshkosh. orienting the angle of the house or
For one thing, resale value in general can be pretty subjective. “It’s windows so they don’t feel like ➡

SPRING HOMES OF DISTINCTION 2009 WWW.MARKETPLACEMAGAZINE.COM 5

 HOMES OF DISTINCTION
they’re in a fish bowl.
Backus and Wismer offer these
suggestions to those looking to build
for striking a balance between indul-
gence and return on investment:
• Create a wish list of things
important to you. Then place them
in order of importance.
In any given category of materi-
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your house’s price point. At a cer-
tain price point, granite countertops
are almost expected, Backus says.
But when selecting the actual gran-
ite, pick from the less expensive
selections.
At a given price range of house,
don’t short yourself on the impor-
tant rooms that are expected to be
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almost never required for resale,”
says Backus.
• Kitchens are still important.
A big kitchen may be a must in
your price range for resale even if
cooking’s not your cup of tea, says
Backus. And it should have plenty
of countertop space and cabinets,
says Wismer.
• Be sure to have the number of
bedrooms and baths expected.
Wismer says 2.5 bathrooms is
pretty standard, as are three to four
bedrooms, but people don’t have to
sleep in all the bedrooms.
“Make rooms that are convert-
ible — say, an extra room that could
be a home office or a dining room, or
an exercise room that could also be
a bedroom,” says Wismer.
Shower or tub modules could be
used instead of full tile for tubs and
showers to keep costs down, Backus
says.
• Find inexpensive ways to cre-
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“Use plaster or drywalled open-
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Flow of the house is important
to resale, says Wismer. “Are the
rooms chopped up? Is there rhyme
or reason to the layout, or does it
feel like you are wandering through
a maze?”
Don’t skimp on important
structural or mechanical items, or
your service costs will go up, says
Backus.
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SPRING HOMES OF DISTINCTION 2009 WWW.MARKETPLACEMAGAZINE.COM 7

 HOMES OF DISTINCTION

The home
professionals
How to choose those
who create your home.
BY GINA MANGAN

B
lifetime.
uilding a new home is one
of the largest investments
most people will make in a

Selecting the professionals who

work on those homes — from build-
ers to lenders — will be some of
the most important decisions they’ll
ever make.
“Before homeowners turn a large
sum of money over to build what is
basically their dream, they need to
do significant research to under-
stand the process and investigate
individuals to make sure they’re
people they can work with,” says
Brown County Home Builders
Association executive officer Mari
McAllister-Charles.
Much of what goes into the deci-
sion-making process is tangible,
such as pricing, references, years
of experience, credentials and pro-
cess-related issues. But homeown-
ers will also want to pay attention
to factors that might seem a bit
more touchy-feely, such as commu-
nication style, flexibility, organiza-
tion skills and personality fit, say
industry experts.
That’s because the quality of the
relationship between homeowner
and builder matters, particularly
when working together on the proj-
ect of a lifetime, says Valley Home
Builders Association executive vice
president Christine Shaefer.
Whether it’s the builder or the
interior designer, homeowners
should strive for a level of comfort
8 WWW.MARKETPLACEMAGAZINE.COM SPRING HOMES OF DISTINCTION
Photo courtesy Travis Industries
in those relationships, she says.
“These are people you’re going to be working with for months, and there
will be a lot of communication back and forth,” she says. “So one of biggest
suggestions I can make is to select people you are comfortable with in the
communication process from the start, someone you have a good give-and-
take with.”
Fortunately, she says, there’s no shortage in the region of qualified
builders and artisans from which to choose.
THE SEARCH FOR A BUILDER
One of the greatest challenges in a region rich with talented builders is
narrowing the search to three or four contenders.
Paul DeLeers of DeLeers Construction Inc. suggests homeowners begin
by defining and maintaining realistic expectations, particularly when it
comes to budget and timelines. Homeowners should enter the selection
process with a realistic budget that reflects affordability, and they should
communicate it while interviewing prospective builders, he says.
“When potential customers explain what they’re looking for and what
they are expecting to spend, it not only gives them a chance to see if we’re
a good fit, but it allows us to make sure we can provide what they’re look-
ing for,” he says.
Homeowners can begin researching builders, interior designers and
landscapers by attending programs sponsored by the area’s home builders
associations. The most frequented programs include tours of newly con-
structed homes, such as the Valley Home Builders’ Parade of Homes and

the Brown County Home Builders’
Showcase of New Homes. During
these tours, homeowners can chat
with various builders while touring
examples of their work.
“This is the chance to observe
quality of workmanship, witness
builders’ creativity and experience
what they do in their own envi-
ronment,” says McAllister-Charles.
“Often the builders will bring pic-
tures of other homes they’ve pro-
duced.”
Don’t assume, however, that the
builder only builds luxury homes or
a certain style, just because of the
home featured on the tour.
“Any of our builders can build
any size home to any price point,”
says McAllister-Charles.
Exposition-style home shows
also provide opportunities for hom-
eowners to interview builders and
other professionals, see examples
of their products and gather infor-
The challenge in home design is “trying to put together a package that has as much detail and drama as
the buyer wants while still being a good value,” says Andy Backus of Fine Homes by Andrew.
mation. Typically homeowners will
narrow their list down based on the
samples they’ve seen and the dis-
cussions they’ve had, Shaefer says.
Once that list is narrowed to two
to three contractors, formally inter-
viewing the selected contractors is a
good idea, DeLeers says.
This is the chance to ask basic
questions, including how long the
company has been in business,
how many homes they’ve built,
whether they’ve the acquired the
necessary Wisconsin Department
of Commerce credentials, if they’re
adequately insured and whether
they can provide references. It’s
also important to ask about war-
ranties, the process for handling
change orders and details related to
contracts, Shaefer says.
Face-to-face interviews create a
level of trust between the hom-
eowner and contractor, DeLeers
says.
“If you can’t trust your builder,
you should not be working with
them,” he says. “Every project runs
into unexpected challenges, which
can be stressful. When there’s trust,
both sides know a positive resolu-
tion will happen.”
When it’s time to put the project
SPRING HOMES OF DISTINCTION 2009 WWW.MARKETPLACEMAGAZINE.COM
Photo courtesy DeLeers Construction
out to bid, select just three to four
companies; any more than that can
become cumbersome, Shaefer says.
Carefully review the details of the
bid and what’s included in the cost
break downs, paying close attention
to the value of allowances, the pro-
cess for managing change orders,
when payments to the builder will
be made and whether they’ll be sup-
plying you with lien waivers from
subcontractors.
THE SOONER, THE BETTER
At the same time homebuy-
ers are considering builders they
should also be shopping around
for other professionals they want
on the job. That includes lenders,
interior designers and landscapers.
Home builder association directo-
ries include lists and contact infor-
mation for a variety of subcontrac-
tors, designers and financiers.
Many of these businesses are
available at home expos, along with
their product samples and photos of
completed work.
Ideally, interior designers and
architects are brought on board dur-
ing the earliest stages of the home
planning process, DeLeers says.
Doing so helps alleviate confusion ➡
9
 HOMES OF DISTINCTION
and stress down the road.
Bringing a landscape architect
into the process early also is a good
idea, particularly in the case of
high-end luxury homes, says Luke
Schmalz, owner of Schmalz Custom
Landscaping & Garden Center Inc.
A landscape designer can develop
solutions to grading challenges, and
provide input related to the posi-
tioning of the home as it pertains
to wind, sun and other issues that
affect outdoor living spaces.
For example, Schmalz two years
ago was able to help a builder who
was placing a home on land with
significant grade changes. The
home was originally designed with
six steps from the garage into the
house and two sets of steps within
the home. Schmalz was able to help
the builder develop a grading plan
that reduced the number of steps
in the garage to two and eliminated
the steps in the home.
“The biggest mistake people can
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make in an upscale home is that
they have the home built and then
they call in the landscaper,” says
Schmalz. “Picking a good landscape
architect from the beginning can
save thousands of dollars in the end
on these higher end homes.”
Schmalz suggests selecting land-
scapers and interior designers in
much the same way as selecting
builders. Interview them: Ask about
years of experience, type of jobs
completed and references, he said.
Find someone with whom you can
develop a good relationship.
VISITING YOUR LENDER RIGHT AWAY
Determining whether to bring
in a landscape architect or interior
designer is often a matter of budget.
Few home projects can be completed
without financing, and the scope of
the project will be determined by
how much can be afforded. That’s
why it’s critical that one of the first
things homeowners do is select a
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lender, Shaefer says.
“Get those financial ducks in
a row before starting the design
process, so you don’t get your hopes
up that you’ll get a certain type
of home when you can only afford
another type of home,” she says.
Tom Zellner, vice president–
retail management at Nicolet
National Bank, suggests identifying
the lender before any other process
begins. Builders will want to know
that the homeowner is already
prequalified with a bank. The hom-
eowner should know whether they
can afford the monthly payments
on the home.
Like the relationship with your
builder, the one with your lender
should be built on trust and respect,
he says. When choosing a lender,
look deeper than the interest rates
being quoted on home construction
loans. Find out the value of closing
costs and whether points are being
paid to buy down the rate, he says.
“When working with a good
lender, there should be no surprises
at closing,” he says
During the construction process,
there will be frequent communica-
tion between the lender and hom-
eowner, so the relationship should
be a comfortable one, Zellmer says.
The lender should be made aware of
cost overruns and change orders so
there are no surprises in the final
cost of the project.
that approaches the process as
something more than a business
transaction, Zellner says. They
interest in providing a full range
of financial services that go beyond
the home mortgage.
“The home construction process
will be an ongoing process, so you
want a lender who is interested
in building a relationship built on
trust,” he says. “It’s no different
than having a good family physi-
cian or an attorney. You wanted a
banker you can trust to be working
for your best interests.” M

Waupaca Elevator Co. adds “lift” to your home
WAUPACA ELEVATOR CO., previously
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The company produced its first dumbwaiter
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so the company made the jump to a larger
facility in Appleton in the late 1990s.
After only four years the company’s contin-
ued growth forced a third and final move to the
In the late 1990s, Waupaca Elevator moved to a larger
facility in Appleton.
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current facility on Ballard Road, where there
is plenty of expansion space for future growth.
Today the company has more than 70 employ-
ees working to produce beautiful residential
elevators and both commercial and residential
dumbwaiters.
Waupaca Elevator manufactures two types
of home elevators, the winding drum and the
roped hydraulic. The winding drum is a cylinder
on which the wire rope raises the elevator cab
as it wraps around the cylinder. The roped
hydraulic utilizes a hydraulic pump to raise and
lower the elevator cab. Waupaca Elevator’s
elevator cabs are among the most beautiful in
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The dumbwaiters are made of wood, powder
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allows for many diverse applications such as
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Wisconsin Sales and Service, the local
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direct prices for home elevators and dumbwait-
ers. They also offer Bruno Stair Chairs and
Vertical Platform Lifts; Bruno, also a Wisconsin
manufacturer, is located in Milwaukee. The stair
chair tracks are placed on the wall parallel to
the stairs; a chair then runs along the track lift-
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Stair chairs are an economical lifting solu-
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 HOMES OF DISTINCTION

FILLING YOUR
Photos courtesy Stuart’s Landscaping

Home improvements are replacing

other ways to spend disposable income.
BY JAYE ALDERSON

S ince 9/11, area homeowners have been shifting

toward upgrading their homes and yards to
create their own sanctuaries for entertaining
and relaxing.
It started with reluctance by many to travel far from
home. Then, as Baby Boomers age, many are seeking
everyday relaxation and peace. Now, with the current
economy, some find that putting their resources into
home extras can be more cost-effective than other pur-
suits they spent money on in the past.
“I think that Baby Boomers are reaching a point
in their lives when maybe they’re less apt to travel,”
says Kirt Schwarm, manager at Zillges Materials in
Oshkosh. “Maybe they’re looking to relax a little more
than play. People are taking shorter vacations and
enjoying these things around their home.
“When you think of all the toys adults can buy, they
can be very expensive and have a very short use on an
annual basis — $8,000 to $10,000 for a hot tub may not
seem like such an expensive proposition for something
you can use 365 days a year.”
Schwarm says the majority of hot tubs are installed
outdoors as part of a trend toward more extensive out-
door living spaces. Many people find them a relaxing,
therapeutic way to enjoy the best attributes of water
without leaving their own homes.
“Hot tubs used to be considered a party kind of thing,
but we’re seeing more of an emphasis now on therapy
and relaxation,” says Schwarm, “When you put a tub
While bathrooms have gone
upscale, other homes extend
living space to the outdoors,
with patios, grilling areas,
fireplaces and water features.
outside and it is a calm day of 10 to 15 degrees, when
you sit in 104-degree water, it’s very warm. There’s
nothing better in life than sitting in a hot tub looking
up at the sky with snowflakes coming down.”
Options include different lighting systems, foun-
tains, music systems and electronic entertainment.
Water features, fire pits or fireplaces, patios and
grilling areas extend the home’s living space and offer
new ways for homeowners to entertain and relax.
The hypnotic qualities of fire also lead many own-
ers to add indoor fireplaces, Schwarm says.
“Most people are mesmerized by fire and running
water,” he says. “There’s a fascination, a soothing-
ness. Having a fireplace in a home creates a sense of

12 WWW.MARKETPLACEMAGAZINE.COM SPRING HOMES OF DISTINCTION

 bedrooms and bathrooms, Schwarm
says. Styles can be matched to any
COCOON decor, and many fireplaces are built
vertically or in an extra-wide hori-
zontal design at eye level.
Andrew Smith, landscape
designer with Stuarts Landscaping
and Garden Centers in Oshkosh,
also has seen increased demand for
fireplaces and expanded outdoor
living environments.
“There are full outdoor fireplaces,
outdoor kitchens with grills and
ranges, built-in sinks and refrigera-
tors,” he says. “Any luxury you have
on the inside can be extended to
the outside. It’s the whole concept
of outdoor living. The quality and
variety of outdoor furniture that’s
available has increased greatly, and
outdoor structures provide shade
and a sense of space in the yard.”
Smith says many people looking
at these sorts of additions are work-
ing hard and may not arrive home
until later in the evening.
“You want to be able to maxi-
mize that time you have at home,”
he says. “On a nice July evening,
sitting under the stars with a fire
roaring in the fireplace and sipping
a glass of wine is all the resort a lot
Photos courtesy Travis Industries
of people need. Making that sort of
investment in your home is never a
bad thing.”
New designs in landscape light-
ing are a huge part of the out-
door living environment. They
offer low-voltage mood lighting and
fully automated systems that allow
greater control of the light.
independence and security. In some “Less is more,” says Smith.
cases, fireplaces are for efficiency, “You’re not trying to make it look
but in many places it’s purely aes- like Vegas. You’re putting just the
thetics.” right amount of lighting where you
Schwarm says new fireplace want it to create a mood.”
designs respond to this innate Smith says water features are
need. Most now offer larger fire- still popular outside, but homeown-
place openings with unobstructed ers are getting away from higher-
glass fronts. maintenance ponds and now are
“All people want to see is the adding pondless waterfalls.
glass and the flames,” he says. “You still get the sound of run-
Many people are adding mul- ning water, but the systems recircu-
tiple fireplaces — not just in the late and they become very mainte-
family room but also in kitchens, nance-free,” he says. “You just treat
SPRING HOMES OF DISTINCTION 2009 WWW.MARKETPLACEMAGAZINE.COM
the water with a chlorine tablet to
keep the algae down and occasion-
ally have to clean leaves off the
waterfall. Children or dogs won’t
fall into the water.”
Home shows on television are
the source of many home improve-
ment ideas.
“They see what’s possible and are
out there looking for it,” says Smith.
“If they can afford it, they’ve started
to implement these ‘rooms’ in the
landscape. It’s a sense of chang-
ing values. [Outdoor spaces offer] a
place to reconnect with family and
gather in a space that’s comfortable
and beautiful. People would rather
reinvest in their house than lose
their money in the market.”
Family entertainment and con-
venience also are important inside
the home, according to George
Webster, general manager of Suess
Electronics in Appleton.
“The home of the 21st century
is now here,” he says. “We are see-
ing lots of people coming in and
requesting the ability to control the
lighting in their homes.”
Webster says with multiple light
switches and electronics in every
room, many larger homes can take
a 20-minute nightly round to turn
everything off. Controls now allow
homeowners to handle all the lights
in their home with one button, turn
on a pathway of light as they enter
the home from the garage, or set
up a vacation mode to simulate an
occupied home.
Families also are adding whole-
house intercoms that integrate the
phone system. Instead of the tradi-
tional “blob-on-the-wall” intercom,
Webster says, new systems incorpo-
rate multiple phone lines and allow
communication between rooms,
through the entire house, or with
visitors at the door.
“People expect to have a phone
in the home anyway, and this really
is an elegant and sophisticated way
to communicate within the home,”
he says.
These systems also allow people ➡
13
 HOMES OF DISTINCTION

Experience More on their way home to turn on the

2350 W. Pershing St., Ste E, Appleton
lights or turn up the heat so the
home is ready and waiting for them
when they arrive.
Upscale entertainment rooms
can be used 24/7. Home theaters
with sound systems, a projector, a
large screen upwards of 100 inches,
source equipment like cable, satel-
lite or high-definition DVD, and

281938-01
920-882-0633 • 888-853-7896 theater-style seating are becoming
a focal point of many homes.
Webster says many homeowners
are switching from hard-media CDs
and DVDs to systems integrated
with stored media on an iPod or a
connection to a movie rental service
that offers access to 14,000 movies
at the touch of a button.
“That’s changing how we think
about things,” he says. “We’re sim-
ply ordering something that appears
instantly and in high definition.
This can connect to any TV, but
we’re seeing many of our customers
buy one who also are purchasing big
screens or home theaters.”
Webster said home theaters can
be expensive, “but there’s nothing
wrong with a build-up approach.
It allows someone, over a period
of time, to build a system they’re
proud to own rather than settling
for something they buy right away.
In home theaters, projectors are now
very inexpensive. But the quality of
the screen is important. You should
spend the money on the screen
because the screen will last forever.
You could purchase a good screen
with a less expensive projector and
upgrade the projector later.”
Remote controls also can be
upgraded to reflect new technology
that might be added over time.
“Especially with what we’re
experiencing in the economy, people
still need to be entertained,” says
Webster. “We are seeing more of
this cocooning or nesting. Modern
consumer electronics are affordable
and allow lots of options to keep the
family entertained and together.” M
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14 WWW.MARKETPLACEMAGAZINE.COM SPRING HOMES OF DISTINCTION

 - AS SEEN ON WBAY TV-2 NEWS -

RE-ROOF AND GO “GREEN”

RECYCLE OLD SHINGLES
Calvary Bible Church, Neenah

S
ecurity Roofing, and its sister company Luebke Roofing, will be offering
recycling to as many customers as possible moving forward. This is an op-
tion made possible by a partnership between Security Roofing and Luebke
Roofing; and City Disposal Service, Inc. of Greenville, WI, that transports the
debris; and Rooftop Recycling of Elkhorn, WI that grinds and separates the
materials and prepares them for blacktop companies, extracting oil from the
shingles.
51 YE ARS “I’ve been telling people for
OF TRUST 20 years, ‘if you have a single
layer on the roof, leave it on
and we’ll roof over it, be- 58 TONS…
cause sooner or later we’ll
be able to recycle it.’ Well,
that day has finally arrived,”
said Reid Ribble, President
of Security Roofing and Luebke Roofing. “We have to shift how the American
mind thinks from waste to dollars and cents. All asphalt is, basically, is pure oil.
Let’s make sure we get the most from it.”
The company completed the first of its kind in Northeast Wisconsin, a 100
percent recycling job at Calvary Bible Church, Neenah. That means NOTHING
was sent to the landfill from the old roof (58 Tons) – all asphalt shingles, felt,
paper, scraps from the new shingles and the plastic wrappers are being 100% of shingle tear-off debris…
recycled. The old shingles will be reground and used for road paving, another
industry partially dependent on Oil.
It’s the latest in a series of initiatives Security Roofing and Luebke Roofing have
taken in their commitment to being as “GREEN” as they can be.
RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • CHURCHES • REPAIRS • HISTORIC
• 3rd Generation Family Owned • Asphalt & Fiberglass Shingles
• Drug-free Workforce • Clay & Concrete Tile
• Weekly Safety Training • Steel & Copper Roofs
• Mfg. Certified • Flat Roofing - All Types kept out of our landfill!
• Complete Insurance Coverage • Custom Metal Shop
• Standing Seam Metal Roofs • Gutter Topper
• “Green” Roofing - All Types • Blown Insulation

- IN BUSINESS SINCE 1958 -

ROOFING & SHEET METAL

920-766-9019 • 920-233-5070 920-494-7998 • 920-766-7904 Ground up shingle debris.

TOLL FREE 800-558-3253 TOLL FREE 877-766-3435
Divisions of THE RIBBLE GROUP, Inc.
Main Office: 2550 Progress Way, Kaukauna, WI 54130
282403-01

www.ribblegroup.com

Parking lot made with shingle debris.

282201-01