Dr. Kevin Ferdinandt: Director of the Upper School, Elements of the Christian Life teacher, and builder?
With the construction of his new house, due to be completed over Spring Break 2014, Dr. Ferdinandt can add architect, designer, and builder to his list of accomplishments.
After wanting to build a house for the past 10 years, Dr. Ferdinandt and his wife, Mrs. Carrie Ferdinandt, eventually came across the ideal piece of land for their family in the Spring of 2012; a 7 1/2 acre lot in Greenfield, MN, with a creek running through the back yard, covered in trees.
With the help of friends, faculty, and workers, Dr. Ferdinandt, “Cut down 200 or so trees before the excavators came. I have been out there many days and hours.”
Despite the strenuous and time consuming labor that goes into building a house, Dr. Ferdinandt enjoys construction, stating, “I get to work on my own house. [That] makes it more valuable to me.”
This isn’t the first time Dr. Ferdinandt has launched into a construction project. While in college he did painting and taping work to pay for school expenses, and through this, learned to do things himself. In his current home he has added on a four season porch, a 2 story addition, and a workshop.
For components he doesn’t know how to construct, for example, “How to smooth concrete without making it too slippery,” Dr. Ferdinandt relies on books, Google, and Youtube.
The first things he learned from conducting a construction project in Minnesota’s ever-changing weather is that, “[You] can’t control the weather. Sometimes, in Minnesota, you have to grin and bear it.”
Another helpful tip he shared through trial and error is, “Anything you change in the process can foul up lots of things that happen afterwards.”
As for things he has learned about himself?
“I have expectations that things will go well all the time,” and, “I am very forgiving of people when they make mistakes, but not of myself when I do.”
“There is a limit to the amount of time I want to be away from my family for building,” is another thing Dr. Ferdinandt has become aware of during the process.
While the size of the Ferdinandt’s current home “doesn’t suit well for five kids,” their new home will have an increased amount of space and “more land for the kids to play on.”
Among his favorite features of the house are the wood beams, the ceiling, and the front porch. In-floor heating throughout the whole house, the kitchen, a big pantry, and the family room being separate from the great room, are also contenders for the most highly anticipated features.
“All that wood,” is another feature he is enthusiastic about.
The architecture of the house has been designed with the help of Mrs. Ferdinandt, and their styles can each be reflected in different components throughout.
“The beams, front porch, and size of the garage, are reflections of me. Colors, in-floor heating, and energy efficiency, are her,” stated Dr. Ferdinandt.
Talking to Dr. Ferdinandt about his house, you can immediately tell that he is passionate about his work.
“Some people’s form of art is painting, or drawing. Mine is wood and building,” said Dr. Ferdinandt.