The 2018 Connecticut IDA Winners: Builder Recognition

In the old days, a farm silo was a relatively simple structure to build. But in the case of this new farmhouse in Sharon, a 40-foot silo, made of concrete and topped with a glass dome, required considerable engineering and crafting skills by its contractor, Brenner Builders. “There wasn’t a lot of tolerance in the interior diameter of the silo,” says company president Kevin Brenner, “and so we had to custom make supports for the form in our mill shop. We had to hire a crane to drop in the staircase from above. The dome couldn’t be put in place until the stairs were inside the form.” Now that the house is done, Brenner says, “There’s nothing about this house we’re not proud of.”

Both the architect of this Weston house, David Preusch, and the contractor, Michael Kaesmann, owner of Kaesmann Builders, recognized early on that saving the 1940s-era structure wasn’t feasible. “The foundation was in poor shape, the structure itself was questionable, and the flooring was so out of level that we ended up rebuilding the whole thing,” says Kaesmann. As the project evolved, the open floor plan proved a challenge. With no interior walls to support the roof, framing is more extensive, plus the absence of decorative moldings means that there was nothing to cover up any imperfections that may arise. Kaesmann is very happy with the final outcome: “I’ve been so inspired by this house and its ultramodern design inside that I’m doing the same for a property I’m building for myself on the water in Rhode Island.”

Houses situated on the water require lots of glass and that proved to be the central challenge for Evergreen Building Systems when con-structing this Stonington residence. “Typical of our coastal projects, the key issue was how to integrate the structure required for large-span and substantially glazed spaces into sophisticated, highly crafted interior and exterior finishes,” says Tim O’Neill, a partner at Evergreen. “And while doing so, we had to pay close attention to flashing, sealing and material durability considerations. To achieve lasting elegance, the devil is always in the details.” Fortunately, there appear to have been no actual devils or dark forces at work. “The opportunity to work in close collaboration with such great clients and talented architects was such a pleasure,” O’Neill stresses. “The house turned out beautifully.”