Thermal under there

Billy and Crystal McCollum are planning a 100 percent geothermal home in Franklin. Rendering courtesy of Wilson Designers

Billy and Crystal McCollum make their living building homes.

But this time around, the owners of McCollum Homes LLC in Franklin are tackling a more personal project. They’re planning to build a home of their own, and they’re hoping the combination of innovative construction techniques and a strong conservation philosophy draws the attention of others looking to build on the outskirts of Milwaukee.

And they think they’ve found the perfect location for their project.

“Franklin is a prime area for building quality homes,” Billy said.

With a trend toward new executive homes situated among large swaths of untouched land, Franklin represents an ideal spot for the McCollums’ plan to build a 5,000-square-foot, geothermal home.

Although it is not the first home with geothermal features in the area, it is the first 100 percent geothermal home.

“The others are 75-25, meaning they draw 75 percent from the earth and 25 percent from utilities,” Billy said.

Most of those homes were retrofitted with geothermal technology, which improves energy efficiency but can’t match building geothermal from the start, Crystal said.

Geothermal heating and cooling makes use of the constant 65-degree temperature found between 6 feet and 7 feet below ground. The process runs coolant through 100-foot tubes sunk into the ground.

As the coolant goes through the tubes, it conforms to the underground temperature, and the air is then either super-cooled or super-heated through a compressed pump to heat the house in winter and cool it in summer, Billy said.

“Geothermal is a costly feature, but anyone who is greenhouse-conscious, cost-conscious, will realize this is a better opportunity,” he said.

The McCollums are paying $7,000 to $12,000 more to build a geothermal home, but they figure the system will pay for itself in a matter of years.

“It costs $500 to $600 a month to heat a house like this,” Crystal said of using public utilities.

- Jennifer Pfaff

This coloring job by Charlie Riley, 5, of Kenosha takes first place in the 3-6 age group of the Milwaukee/ NARI coloring contest. Image courtesy of Milwaukee/NARI

Young artists

Some of the kids got a little out of line at the Milwaukee/ National Association of the Remodeling Industry Fall Home Improvement Show in September at State Fair Park in West Allis.

But the stray strokes of crayon didn’t really harm the artistic efforts. In fact, the kids’ works of crayon art were the perfect tool for keeping them in line while their parents talked shop.

“It’s a nice incentive for folks who want to come into our show but don’t want to talk to a contractor with the kids running around and tugging on their pants legs,” said Milwaukee/NARI Executive Director David Feldner of the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council’s coloring contest, sponsored by The Home Depot.

Kids poured forth their creative talents by coloring in an official contest sheet depicting a smiling contractor.

Charlie Riley, 5, of Kenosha claimed the top prize in the 3-6 age group; Maggie Riley, 9, of Kenosha won the 7-9 age category; and Jessica Engelhardt, 12, of Menomonee Falls won the 10-12 age range.

The winners each received a $50 U.S. Savings Bond.

- Jennifer Pfaff