So much of what we build today is junk. And by junk I mean, it’s not going to be around in 100 years. In a short 100 years that new house you see going up in the new ticky-tack subdivision across the road is going to be bulldozed flat to make room for more junk. Because they just don’t build things the way they used to… with an eye to the future and concerns for the longevity of the structure. And pretty much every piece and parcel of today’s brand new subdivision home is going to end up in a landfill. Because hardly any of it is recyclable.

The Dimensional Lumber Trap

I know it was supposed to be a big deal when dimensional lumber became the primary structural ingredient of smaller buildings. It was supposed to revolutionize the construction of single family and smaller multi-family dwellings. The 2x4s and their ilk make up most of the structural components of todays subdivision clones. Oh, there are some heavier structural components, but a home is only as strong structurally as its weakest link, and most of these homes are shoddily framed with small dimensional lumber. That’s the cheapest way to do it and as much as we claim to be concerned about sustainability, we’re all about affordable housing now. And think of this: what if a home did last for 20 generations instead of 5? If that were the case, then we would need a lot fewer homes each year because fewer homes would need to be replaced. And that’s not a good thing for all those people who work in the second largest industry in the U.S. Farming is the first. Construction is the second. Junk food and junk houses.

Building Things That Last For Centuries

So there you have it. Construction has many thousands of years of history and we are now building cheap, non-recyclable or reclaimable housing instead of housing that could indeed, last centuries. 1000 years ago in Asia and Europe they were building buildings that are still around today. They are made of stone and timbers carefully chosen for longevity, insect resistance, for their ability to perform through the centuries, to withstand hurricanes, earthquakes, and man’s occupancy. Certainly we have the resources to build like that today. And in some cases we are. Timber Frame structures and buildings constructed of larger manufactured structural members are built to last. They are the aberration, not the norm. Look around you. How many of the newer structures you see will still be standing in more than 100 years much less 1000? We don’t build it to last. We build it so it will be relatively easy to demolish. If the Roman Coliseum were built today it certainly wouldn’t last more than about 40 years. Don’t you think? Despite all we’ve learned about building since the time of the Egyptians and the Mayans and the Romans and all the great forefathers of modern construction, we don’t build any better. Rather, we build worse. We don’t build for tomorrow. We build for now. And now is a very temporary thing.

That’s why I say, all the world’s best builders are dead.

OSB SIPs

Structural Insulating Panels (SIPs) are a composite building material consisting of a panel of insulating material, usually foam, sandwiched between two wooden layers. The wood can be oriented strand board (OSB) or plywood. Sometimes more exotic materials, such as sheet metal or concrete board, are substituted for the wooden layers. SIPs replace several components found in conventionally framed buildings including studs, joists and insulation. SIPs are most commonly used to construct exterior walls and roofs but may have other applications, such as insulated ceilings beneath conventionally framed roof truss systems.

Structural Insulating Panels have a history dating back to the 1940s when structural wall panels were first invented. Over the years the technologies and materials incorporated in SIPs have improved. In addition, computerized CNC cutting machines allow SIP panels to be factory manufactured and then cut to the exact size needed for construction, providing a certain level of prefabrication not seen in conventional construction.

Panels for Walls and Roofs

Homes using SIP panel construction tend to have a very tight envelope. Air infiltration, or draftiness, is eliminated and the walls themselves have a very high insulating quality. SIPs may cost more than conventional framing, but because they bring extreme energy efficiency to buildings, they lower operating costs. SIP panels are often combined with post and beam construction where the panels drape the frame creating an extremely durable and energy efficient structure. Trilogy Partners utilizes SIP panels in all of its Timber Frame and Post and Beam homes.

Trilogy Partners in Architectural Digest May 2010

Summit Daily News 2-2010 – Sun Earth Science 1

Summit Daily News 2-2010 – Sun Earth Science 2

Trilogy Partners in Timber Home Illustrated February 2009

Trilogy in Builder News January 2007

Trilogy in Mountain House and Home January 2007

Trilogy in Luxury Log Homes 2007

Trilogy in Timber Homes Illustrated 12-2006

Goliath Business News

Steamboat Pilot 11/10/2009

USA Today 11/9/2009

Summit Daily News April 13, 2009

Steamboat Pilot  11/8/2009

Denver Post 11/10/2009

Cherry Tree Design

Craig Daily Press

They were a tough lot. Some with scruffy beards, one with green hair, all with tattoos. They liked to drink and chain-smoked and it seemed they all rode Harleys. These were the men that had come to erect the timber frame for our first house. They were fearless. Kneeling down they would shoulder 200 pound posts and then stand and walk up a steep ladder then out onto a narrow beam twenty feet in the air. As the snow swirled around them at the peak of the roof they’d chat while smoking cigarettes waiting for the crane to lift the next post to them so they could place it, post and beams, lifted, one by one until the skeleton of the house was revealed. Some mornings the supervisor was hung-over sick, pausing to throw up as he directed the crew. The men would argue as they worked. They were tough men and loud and angry threatening to kill one another. By the end of the day they’d be laughing, talking about women and the beer they’d drink tonight. This went on for a coupe of weeks. When they finally left, the shell of the house was complete. And we would miss their camaraderie and expertise as we forged ahead with the construction, alone, just two brothers building their first house.

Frame Raising

Trilogy Meadowview Rear

It was true what everyone said. We didn’t know what we were doing. The year was 1998. We’d borrowed more than a million dollars. And now we were attempting to build our first house. In December. At 10,000 feet. In below 0 weather. We’d spent a week excavating a big hole in the ground and were due to install the foundation walls in a couple of days. But the Breckenridge building department officials had told us they would not permit us to install the pre-cast foundation walls on top of frozen earth. But how could we keep the ground from freezing. We came up with an idea. We’d put a giant plastic tent over the hole and put propane heaters in the tent. Our vision quickly became reality. The tent was enormous. The size of a house. We were proud. It was warm inside. The ground was not going to freeze. And then, a giant gust of wind came along. And took the tent away. At 2am in the morning. We didn’t sleep that night as we watched our foundation hole grow colder and the dirt grow hard with frost. Our first home… was it going to be a disaster? At this point, it was beginning to look so.

2011 marks the 13th year Trilogy Partners has been designing and building homes. Almost as a lark we built our first home, biting off way more than we could chew, working our hearts out and then, miraculously it seemed at the time, selling it the day it was completed. Then came a second home, and more as we began building homes for clients as well as spec homes for sale.  As 2011 begins we look back to that first home. We broke ground in December. Crazy. We had much to learn about building homes. In Breckenridge, at an altitude of nearly 10,000 feet, the only reasonable outdoor activity that time of year is something that involves skis. And yet,  here we were digging a hole in the frozen ground so we could place the foundation for a house. John and I stayed in good shape that winter shoveling snow for hours at a time as a home rose from a snowy meadow. Here are photos of Meadowview, which is still occupied by the original purchasers.

Meadowview by Trilogy Partners

Michael Rath, a Trilogy Partner, has co-founded The Haiti Orphan Rescue Program (HORP) to build permanent adequate shelter for Haitian orphaned and abandoned children.

Mike M January 2010

Joined by builders Mike Mahon and Andrea DeLuca of sustainable building company Adaptive Building Solutions in Ann Arbor, Michigan, HORP will raise funds and assist Haitian labor to construct multiple orphanage projects over the coming years. Haiti’s “children without family” receive no aid from their government, and Mike M and his family have years of experience in Haiti helping these most vulnerable Haitians and their caregivers with support and medical aid. The earthquake of January 12, 2010 left more than 500,000 children without family or government support, spurring the two Mikes and Andrea to establish HORP as a non-profit 501(c) charitable organization. The next project commences mid April when members of HORP will travel to Haiti to refurbish a damaged orphanage housing 20 children more than half with disabilities. Visit HORP to learn more about this worthy cause and to contribute through programs like the “Adopt an Orphanage” and “HORP Ambassadors.”

The first match of the World Cup will be played tomorrow as the home team of South Africa competes against Mexico.  Although soccer (football) isn’t as big in the United States as it is for the rest of the world, there is still much excitement and anticipation whenever the World Cup is played.

In gearing up for the big match that is taking place Saturday when our team, USA, takes on England we thought we’d share something we came across on Inhabitots.com.

“Just in time for the World Cup tournament, a group of enterprising women entrepreneurs has unveiled a soccer ball that captures and stores energy generated by play. Called the sOccket (a mashup of “soccer” and “socket”), the ingenious little ball was created by Harvard alums Jessica Lin, Jessica Matthews, Julia Silverman, and Hemali Thakkar with developing nations in mind….” click here to read the article in its entirety.

We thought we’d share some beautifully designed American Stables that we came across in the June issue of Architectural Digest for those of you who witnessed Drosselmeyer 13-1 upset in the 142^nd Belmont Stakes over the weekend.

Below are a few of our favorites.

This ranch in Montana was made out of recycled pine logs and native fieldstone.

This above stable in East Hampton, New York belongs to Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw.  The weathervane on top of the stable is in the form of a dinosaur reminiscent of Spielberg’s film Jurassic Park.

According to Architectural Digest this stable is one of “Kentucky’s showplace for racing and breeding thoroughbreds. Located in Lexington, the property has 847 acres of lavish pastureland and more than 40 buildings, including a 14-room residence, 15 white barns with red-trimmed cupolas, a sophisticated veterinary clinic, an equine swimming pool and underwater treadmill, two racetracks, a gazebo and a modest log cabin.”

AD: “Frank Lloyd Wright couldn’t design an ordinary-looking building,” says producer Joel Silver, who restored the little-known Auldbrass, Wright’s 1939 plantation in Yemassee, South Carolina. A crushed-brick walkway leads to the barn. “By folding the roof down and the corners of the doors back, Wright created something origami-like,” Silver notes.

The next Team Trilogy member we wanted to highlight is Melinda Fleming.  For those of you who have worked with Melinda, you know she is more than just our business manager.  She is instrumental in making sure Trilogy Partners runs smoothly and efficiently.  Read below to learn more about Melinda.

Melinda Fleming

I grew up in Oklahoma and every year my family vacationed in Colorado. I fell in love with Colorado and the mountains on these vacations. My husband and I moved to Colorado in 1998. I spent the first years in Summit County working for Vail Resorts and an internet company before joining Trilogy Partners in 2004.

My husband and I have a hot air balloon and we spend our spare time sharing the sport of hot air ballooning with friends. We enjoy being able to view the Rocky Mountains from our balloon, the best view in town. We also enjoy snowmobiling and snowshoeing in the winter. These are great ways to experience the back country and truly enjoy nature at its finest.

I love my job and I feel privileged to work with the team of people that makes up Trilogy Partners. The thing I enjoy the most about my job is working with our clients through the entire project. It is very fulfilling to be a part of the team that takes the designs and ideas of clients and turns them into a home. It is great to be a part of taking people’s dreams and visions and turning them into reality.

Breckenridge is now the place that I call home. I hope in five years that I am still here enjoying the lifestyle the county has to offer and I still want to be a part of the great team here at Trilogy Partners.