Work in Progress

Recently I took a drive around one particular neighborhood where I have a number of houses in various states of construction.  After quite a drought in the construction industry it sure is nice to see my work in progress.  I took some snapshots and I thought I'd  pass them along.

A Comfy Cottage
Construction by Main Street Builders

Euro Style Redux
Construction by Norton Homes

Colorful Cape
Construction by Reistad

Greek Revival for a big family
Construction by Hendel Homes

A Bold Country Statement
Construction by Main Street Builders

A Farmhouse Revisited
Construction by Owner

New Model Home Design

Ron Brenner Architects recently completed drawings for a new home to be built in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.  The home will serve as a model for Norton Homes in the Tapestry at Charlotte's Grove neighborhood.

birds eye view of front
side load vehicle entry and integrated roof lines help to diminish the impact of a 3 car garage

street level view
the design carves out 4 second floor bedrooms beneath a dramatic hip roof line

New Community Building by Ron Brenner Architects

Over at Ron Brenner Architects we are working on a new community building for the Stonemill Farms neighborhood in Woodbury, Minnesota.  The facility includes an indoor / outdoor meeting facility, teen center, splash pool and playground.  Check out the images below.

Shingle Style Lake Home

Over at ron brenner architects we have been working on a new shingle style lake home for a client of ours. You can see the you tube animation below.

The home features an L-shaped plan configuration with the 3 car garage on the front leg of the L.  This allows all the public living spaces and the 3 second floor bedrooms above to be arranged across the rear of the home; taking advantage of the beautiful lake views.

When in doubt - bid it out!

I am asked quite frequently the question - How much does it cost to build this house?

Unfortunately the only way to know how much a home costs to build is to have it bid.  This is because there are simply too many variables that have an effect on construction cost.  For instance:

• The construction climate (supply and demand) in your particular region
• Labor costs in your region
• Material costs in your region
• The quality of your builder
• The construction quality desired
• Level of service desired
• The complexity / sophistication of the design
• The quality level of the materials and finishes that you select
• Issues pertaining to your building site
• sloped or flat lot
• quality of soils
• proximity to utilities
• Proximity to suppliers / materials

To illustrate the complexity I used a free online construction cost calculator (from building-cost.net) and plugged in identical data for two separate locations - Chicago, Illinois and North Platte, Nebraska.  I assumed a custom designed 2500 square foot two story home with a 1000 square foot finished basement, two car attached garage, one fireplace and a pretty high level of custom design and construction quality.   The numbers I received were as follows:

• Chicago, Illinois - $871,000.
• North Platte, Nebraska - $672,000

Next I took the exact same specifications but just reduced the quality level by one category.  Here are those numbers:

• Chicago - $636,055
• North Platte, Nebraska - $491,800

Now the same house but reducing quality level by one more category resulted in the following:

• Chicago - $473,929
• North Platte, Nebraska - $367,513

A pretty brief glance at the numbers above illustrates my difficulty in answering the "how much does it cost?" question.  So how do I answer it?

If you want to know the construction cost of a specific home design you need to have it bid by one or several professional building contractors.  Go ahead and purchase the plans.  The dollar investment and time commitment are very minimal compared to starting a design process from scratch, and in the end you will have a realistic number you can work with.

If prior to purchasing a plan you want to gain a general idea how much construction costs are in your area; then you need to do some homework.  Visit the model homes in your area and talk with the builders.  Compare the level of design, the construction quality, size of home, amenities, exterior finishes, interior finishes, etc.  After a while you will begin to gain a better understanding of the costs for the kind of home you want.  In this process you'll also be narrowing down the builders to those that are best suited for you.

A White Farmhouse Plan

I just published a new exterior animation of our Hudson Farmhouse Plan on You Tube.  Check it out.

The design features a modern open floor plan and a main floor master suite within a classic farmhouse exterior.   You can see more at the following link:  Hudson Farmhouse

Red Barn House on Display

One of the homes we have designed over at ron brenner architects is currently showing during the Twin Cities Parade of Homes. If you have the time - and you are in the Twin Cities area check out model number 239 at 10138 Tapestry Bend in Lake Elmo. I think the house exemplifies charming country living.


The design was a collaborative effort. Mark Sova of Main Street Builders worked out a smart initial floor plan, and I crafted the exterior imagery suggesting just a few plan revisions. Mark worked with the home buyers to develop the interior decorative theme. The result is a snappy modest home that I would characterize as an eclectic farmhouse. Below are a few images.