GreenLeaf Inn - Wind Turbine Installation

A critical step in the evolution of the GreenLeaf Inn - Delavan, WI. took place this Thursday the 25th of February. I was fortunate enough to be there to witness the final step in the process, the attachment of the blades and final erection of the Nacelle (the guts) of a the wind turbine.

Attached is a picture the Nacelle inverted to assist in the attachment of the blades.

Also, here is a video of me commenting on the momentous occassion.

More pictures will be posted on Flickr later.

Long-term "green" re-roof solutions

With the new construction business at a virtual stand still in SE Wisconsin, owners are looking to spend less and save money. They are exploring more financially attractive upgrades in opting for that new roof system versus building a new facility.

Butler Manufacturing who we represent in SE Wisconsin is seeing an increase in inquires and requests for quotes and orders for first time retrofit roof customers. As highlighted above, Butler offers several retrofit roof options that are affordable, sustainable or "green", and extremely long lasting. Owners will replace a flat rubber roof as many as 4 times before the MR-24 standing seam roof from Butler finally see's the end of its life. I have plenty of pictures to support the longevity of this product not to mention it comes with a 25yr. weather tight warrenty.

We would great appreciate any opportunity to explore this option, at no cost to the property owner, to whoever maybe in need of a roof replacement, and would desire to score "green" points in the process. Since this roof will far exceed the life span of any rubber roof product, it stands-up to our "go green without spending it pledge" and at the same time will not require the scrutiny of the municipalities that might otherwise stand in the way.

Butler ThermaLiner Insulation System with options available up to R-40

Anderson-Ashton is this areas exclusive contact for this outstanding roof insulation system. This product can also be incorporated into existing roof and reroof opportunities.

The window of opportunity on construction costs is gradually being closed; municipalities need to loosen-up

I found this article http://tinyurl.com/y9mqtes by Alex Carrick (REED Construction Data) to be rather interesting. After a considerable drop in construction pricing from October 2008 to October of 2009, the tides/trends are quickly changing as prices begin to soar. Couple this with the banks tight lending practices and our governors anti-business mentality, and a not so rosy picture starts coming into focus.
Setting aside bank lending for a moment, with retail foreclosures looming, municipalities are going to be faced with an ever growing number of shuttered retail centers and a steep decline in manufacturing starts. Communities that are more business friendly when it comes to engineering requirements and material selections will see their phones ringing far more often than municipalities that require industrial building prospects to make their simple buildings look like a dairy farmer dressed in a tuxedo in a milking parlor.
It doesn't take a rabid Monty Python fan to realize municipalities will need to lighten up and that banks will need to loosen-up so that builders, developers, retailers and manufacturers can afford the material increased for casted in the article by Alex Carrick.