David Presents to the Earthen Construction Initiative

Happy Friday everyone! Recently, David gave a presentation to the Earthen Construction Initiative (ECI) on our Voelcker-Sueltenfuss House Rehabilitation project in Boerne, TX. ECI is a local non-profit organization founded to make earthen construction building more accessible to the many consumers, professionals, and institutions who seek the most sustainable materials for modern construction. The Voelcker-Sueltenfuss House is believed to have been constructed in 1861 by a German Immigrant named Eugen Voelcker. His daughter and her husband, Casper Sueltenfuss lived at the ranch until the early 1900s. During that time, Casper operated a rural Kendall County post office from within the main house that still exists today. The main house is constructed using traditional German fachwerk timber construction, infilled with adobe bricks and finished on both sides with lath and plaster. The main house is currently connected to a 1980s dogtrot addition that features two identical bedrooms and bathrooms. The project aims to restore the main house structure while separating and reskinning the addition to better differentiate it from the historic main house. We were able to help the client get the building on the National Register of Historic Places as well as become registered as a Texas Landmark, both of which enables the client to apply for substantial tax credits to help pay for the restoration costs. The project is about to kick off construction this summer.