Pride in ownership

By Maryanne Davis Silve - 04/25/2008

Maryanne Davis Silve photo The Twin Bridges guest house and exercise building will sit with a full view of the Tobacco Root mountains to the east.

TWIN BRIDGES — Some businesses feel ownership in what they create.

The JDL Construction Co. of Sheridan has earned its reputation for excellence as they move into its 30th year as one of the premier contractors in southwest Montana.

The company has agreed to share with Montana Standard readers the construction progress from the ground up that it takes to build a high quality green home.

Dave Maddison and Ron Pack, partners in JDL, both natives of the area have been friends since their childhood. They have worked together for 29 years. However, they shy away from taking credit for their quality reputation — saying they have great employees who are seasoned artisans.

Maddison manages the excavation part of JDL and Pack runs the carpenter end. JDL does many upper end homes out of reclaimed materials.

They are just starting a new project south of Twin Bridges — a 1,500-square-foot guest house with an exercise house nearby. It will take approximately one year to complete the project.

Looking out on the snow-capped Tobacco Root mountains with a creek meandering through the back yard, guests may likely feel like they have died and gone to heaven.

As many as eight men along with subcontractors may be working on the home at once. The home will probably take a year to build because it will be on the cutting edge of green construction. It will have solar hot water and many features that make the building energy efficient.

The majority of the structure will be done with “sip” panels. They are foam panels with plywood interior and exterior. They are made in Belgrade.

In one area, the walls will be 18-inches thick. Pack said he believes most of the walls will run about 10 inches thick, but he will not know for sure until he receives the final drawings. There will be solar panels on the roof.

The house will be constructed in the “monitor style.” A monitor barn is where the sides come up and the roof goes in and then it goes up again. They were designed tall to be able to take the hay in the middle. This house will be a modified monitor style.

The guest house and exercise house will have extensive rockwork. Hand-hewn exposed wood beams will be over the door of the guesthouse.

The earth-friendly home will blend into the natural landscape with some reclaimed material and have a low impact on the surroundings.

The home is a strong testimony of the owner’s commitment to be good stewards of the land.

The first month the concrete and utility work will be done. Plans are for the concrete to start by May 1.

Pack says they do not foresee any circumstances to slow them down once they get the final plans for the structures.

It’s nice to have springtime to start the house and get the concrete work done. In the fall, Pack says you always end up with some cold weather and end up covering and heating.

The majority of the homes JDL does are large homes. They have done many homes in Big Sky, near Ennis and Sheridan and Beaverhead County.

Pack said one of the best parts of his job is the great people he has met over the years. There is also the satisfaction of knowing when you create a home that is a work of art — family and friends will enjoy, laugh and love one another for many years to come within those strong, inviting walls.

JDL’s motto sums up their philosophy and may well be the key to their ongoing success: “The bitterness of poor quality and lack of service is remembered long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”