Building Value

Home projects near or far, quality construction is a sure thing

In a home of diverse elements, there has to be a signature Town & Country design statement somewhere. Aha, there it is: Two smoothly polished, flared-bottom tree-trunk posts, one in the foyer and the other in the kitchen.

“You don’t build a Town & Country home without one of their trees holding it up,” the homeowner, Anne Simms, points out with a laugh.

The home is truly an example of the beauty of building custom with Town & Country’s northern white cedar. It could look like what you might expect to be built by a 62-year-old company whose roots are in log and rustically elegant timber-frame homes.

Or not. Building with legendary quality and standards, it’s more likely the home exceeds expectations.

The expansive house - nearly 6,000 square feet -- melds the Simms’ custom plans with Town & Country’s reputation for quality materials, craftsmanship and design. it is set atop a wooded ridge along the Monument course at Boyne Mountain in Boyne Falls, Michigan, and for Anne and Skip, there was no question about who they would hire when they decided to build seven years ago.

“We didn’t even bother to look at other builders, and we hadn’t built before,” said Anne. “One of the nice parts was the fact they had a design team in-house. I had two plans that I liked, and I asked them if they could put them together.”

The answer was yes, and that combination produced classic details like perfectly cut cedar shakes stained a warm-as-honey brown. inside, it meant elements like the 20 mammoth square windows in the living room and stairwell; a 24-foot-tall ceiling with angles and interest; custom-carved spindles and support beams; and creative use of space in a loft area.

The coming together of those one-of-a-kind details took shape while the Simms were hundreds of miles away in Evansville, Indiana. Their busy schedules meant they could only travel north a handful of times while the house was being built.

Each time they visited, they were more impressed. “They made it so easy,” Anne added. Most importantly, Anne said, was how the firm’s staff listened to what they wanted in their home. With four adult children, all boys, and two grandchildren so far, the Simms knew from the start they wanted to create a place where their children would want to come and visit, bring family and friends and have fun.

“Town & Country knew we wanted to build a great family house, a party place,” said Anne. “They really did get a sense of who Skip and i were through the process. We were so thoroughly impressed.”

Building Value

Even when building for homeowners who are out of town or out of state - even out of the country - Town & Country’s vertical system of control over the material package and its relationships with subcontractors are constant points of pride.

For homeowners Don and Bernadette Burkhardt, whose home rests on the shoreline of treasured Walloon Lake, Mich., trusting the subcontractors suggested by the builder gave them peace of mind.

Bernadette in particular noted Town & Country’s suggestion of the Kolbe & Kolbe windows installed by Old Mission in their gracious, picturesque half-log home. “it was nice because they handled it all,” said Bernadette.

The couple, new Baltimore, Mich., natives, looked to build in northern Michigan as retirement neared. About seven years ago, as they were visiting the area, they drove past Town & Country’s model on U.S. 131.

Between the model and a tour of the home of Steve Biggs, Town & Country co-founder and Chairman of the Board, the Burkhardts narrowed in on a design plan that included two mammoth truss systems suspended in the living room, a spectacular wall of windows that open the home to the lake, and attention-grabbing 5-inch-wide hand-hewn trim boards around all the windows and doors.

The inviting floor plan includes a master suite on the main level, three bedrooms upstairs and two in the lower level, a turret-shaped dining room and a kitchen that faces the lake - a touch particularly suited for Bernadette, who enjoys cooking and entertaining.

Kevin Burns, drafting and design professional with Town & Country, said the client-design team cooperation is essential in fine-tuning such details. “Input comes from many forms: verbal, sketches, pictures, magazine clippings and more,” Burns said. “it involves a lot of listening and a lot of Q&A. Then, the designer processes all that information and develops a conceptual design in the form of loose, but to-scale, floor plans and elevations. Communication and flexibility are keys.”

Company president Stephanie Baldwin noted the company operates this way throughout Michigan, and remotely through its network of reputable builders.

Subcontractors like Old Mission Windows & Doors, based in Traverse City, appreciate the relationship with a reputable contractor, according to Marc Cesario, the company’s operations manager.

“In the building industry, there are a ton of great products, but products are only as good as the companies that stand behind them,” Cesario said. “Town & Country and Old Mission Windows have developed a culture that focuses on customer satisfaction, and we strive to exceed the customer’s expectations.”

That attention to specific requests from client direction was the hallmark of the process for the Burkhardts; for instance, as construction was about to begin, they said Town & Country’s designers suggested flipping the plans to better suit the lot and layout. now, the couple has the spectacular view of the lake rather than the cars in the garage. “They really are so flexible,” Bernadette added. “It was a delight to work with them.”

Over the course of the next 15 months, regular phone calls, emails, weekly updates and visits to the site kept construction going at a quick clip.

When they spent the first night on Thanksgiving in 2003, the log house quickly felt like home and is now the Burkhardts’ full-time residence.

“It was very easy to work with Town & Country from a remote site,” said Don. “I would recommend them to anybody.”

Complete Material Packages from Town & Country Cedar Homes include:

- Floor Systems
- Exterior Walls
- Exterior Wall Finishes
- Roof Systems – Conventionally framed pre-engineered trusses Structural log rafters, purlins & trusses Structural timber rafters, purlins & trusses
- Structural Insulated Panels
- Covered Porches
- Roof Finishes
- Decks
- Interior Partitions
- Interior Stairs
- Interior Railing
- Interior Wall Finishes
- Ceiling Finishes
- Interior Trim
- Interior Doors
- Windows & Patio Doors
- Exterior Doors
- Custom-Made Items