Hanson Fine Building & Preservation

Thirty years ago we renovated this space, the lower level of a bank barn in Radnor, PA. It was time for a revisit. So happy to have a chance to revisit, reimagine and implement their vision. The scope included a new summer kitchen with wide plank white oak flooring throughout the spaces, rebuilt firebox, hearth upgrade new heating and cooling system and a new bathroom.

Another fine entryway addition to the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood! We matched the existing entryway doors to Historical Commission specs right down to the minute details. Stained engineered Sapele construction with Water Street Brass unlacquered hardware.

We are thrilled to report that our Gladwyne Passive House project has just passed the final test on our road to PHIUS certification. Last week, we ran the remaining blower door test and we met the threshold (on our first attempt!) for airtightness. The blower door test involves both pressurizing and depressurizing the house to measure how leaky it is, and PHIUS sets those parameters.

A PHIUS certified home has a high-performance and airtight envelope, continuous insulation, triple-glazed windows and doors for superior energy savings. PHIUS homes utilize ventilation systems that supply fresh, filtered air while exhausting stale air - resulting in excellent indoor air quality. Lastly, passive homes are quiet, durable, and built to last and they are the best path to net-zero/net-positive operating costs. These homes perform up to 85% better than conventional buildings.

Stay tuned for more photos after the landscaping has been completed.
architecture @475.supply

Another new Hanson member to introduce, Nick Haury! Nick joined Hanson in 2022 to lead the company’s on-site carpentry assignments. He brings attention to detail to classic carpentry from framing and joinery to achieving a perfect finish. Nick grew up on a horse farm in Georgia, earned a B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York, did a stint in concert production, and worked in the tech industry for 10 years – all while continuing creative hobbies – before ultimately deciding to pursue carpentry full-time. Welcome Nick!

Extensive renovations to this 1950s Mid-Century Modern house designed by Vincent Kling. Particular attention was paid to the envelope to address the fundamental energy efficiency challenge of a house of this style, including new roof and insulation, new Arcadia double-glazed windows, a large-scale masonry restoration and a new high-efficiency heating and cooling system.​​​​​​​​
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We are excited to introduce a new member of the Hanson crew, Hugh Gomory! Hugh returned to Hanson as a Carpenter in 2022 after previously interning with the company over several summers. The recent Drexel grad earned a B.A. in Global Studies with a concentration in Public Health and Sustainability. Adaptable and a fast learner, Hugh has always enjoyed working with his hands. Being on site for Hanson enables him to see sustainable construction in practice and further develop his building skills. Hugh’s ability to speak fluent Spanish has made him an asset as the crew’s unofficial translator.

Installation of a new kitchen with custom cabinets and white marble countertops; reconditioned exposed ceiling joists; new custom-fabricated steel, floor-to-ceiling bay window; new first-floor powder room at former rear staircase; reconfigured dining room walls to improve flow and communication with kitchen.​​​​​​​​
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A couple of weeks ago, Chris Hanson was invited to tour the Marvin Window and Door Co. (and their factories) in Warroad, MN and Fargo, ND. Chris, along with several other builders in our area, was a guest of Hamilton Building Supply in Hamilton, NJ. The group toured six Marvin factories over the course of the three day trip, had a few beers with Paul Marvin, the 4th generation president of the company, met with key members of the Marvin team and learned a lot about their products and their company culture. They build great windows and doors. Many thanks to John Perna and the Hamilton team- Jon Jacob and Mike Linden. Looking forward to many great projects with you in the future.of

We had a fun night last Thursday with the HFB crew and brought in a little Octoberfest cheer at the Wissahickon Brewing Co. Looking forward to the next one!

152 year old hinges! While reviewing the hardware for front doors that are getting restored, we noticed this date stamp, “Jan 18 1870” is refinishing the vestibule door and recreating the front door to match. We cannot wait to see how they turn out!

Concrete demolition underway at our new project in Fairmount. Existing photography warehouse undergoing renovation and addition to convert the space into a single family residence. Very excited to be working with Architects on this project!

We are looking for lead carpenter/superintendents with 5-10 years of experience and some familiarity with digital project management. If you are interested in learning more about our company and possibly joining our team please send an email to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.

We recently did some work to the stone bearing walls at our Passive House Retrofit in Swarthmore.

The big underpinning conundrum is v***r openness: airtightness is a critical component of building performance, but it must be balanced by moisture migration.
 
For this project, our strategy was to first expose the skeleton. Then add some bag to the bones: in this case an air-entrained lime-based mortar mix for spot parging. Next, a layer of v***r-variable Visconn liquid applied air barrier (expertly spray-applied by Oleg Dzlieri) to the entire interior volume of the stone structure. Visonn is essentially a control material that will create an airtight layer and control water transmission through the building’s envelope. The entire wall structure throughout the building is “v***r open”, meaning that the wall assembly will be able to dry itself through the entire structure.

Our Gladwyne passive house project as photographed by . We are almost finished installing the doors and windows. Once complete, a hair dryer can keep the house warm. Wowza!

We are pleased to introduce Rick Zane to the Hanson Fine Building team. Rick brings 20+ years of experience to his role as a site superintendent and project manager. He began his career as a landscape painter and eventually evolved into fine craftsmanship. Rick manages construction even in his free time, currently renovating a 1900s farmhouse into a high-performance home in Cape May. Rick’s experience and attention to detail will be a great asset to our team and we’re happy to have him!

Roof reframing at one of our passive house projects is offering a little glimmer of holiday cheer for us. Happy Holidays!

Happy Turkey Day, folks! We hope you are somewhere gathered (safely) in the kitchen with your loved ones today.

Views from a recently completed project! Perhaps the most rewarding part of our job is watching a construction zone transition into a home.

A quick shout out to Neil Goldman our project superintendent and resident Passive House retrofit specialist. Neil was on the team of professionals who collaborated on the creation of the Passive Rowhouse Manual, and is currently working on a deep energy retrofit to an existing early 20th Century Stone home in Swarthmore.



Along with some other panelists, he will be presenting some of his work this Friday 11/12 8:15AM at the AIA Philadelphia Forum on Affordable Housing: Combatting our New ‘Gravity’ with Passive (Aggressive) Efforts. Be sure to check it out at the link in our bio!!

Finally! Trespa siding and ipe sunscreen looking mighty fine on our Fitler Square project.

Vanity shots of this awesome hemlock vanity, made by Conestoga Valley Custom Kitchens, stone walls and sink by StoneTech, and designed by

Sometimes we send the boss man in for maintenance.

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Angry construction worker Mascot at the Swarthmore Passive House 👷‍♂️😠

Renovating to the EnerPHit standard to bring the beautiful 1922 Horace Traumbauer home.

Connecting the dots (veins) on the marble for this main bath in Chestnut Hill.

HFB is growing our team. We have some upcoming work in Bucks County as well as in Center City Philadelphia. Our projects typically involve either historic preservation of existing structures, or Passive House standard new construction, and we currently have one project at the intersection of both.

We are looking for lead carpenter/superintendents with 5-10 years of experience and some familiarity with digital project management. If you are interested in learning more about our company and possibly joining our team please send an email to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.

We saw these photos from and had to reshare. The Henry Avenue Bridge has always been a place of reflection for us. Designed by Modjeski and Masters, where our grandfather Hanson was a partner, this bridge sits beautifully within the landscape of Wissahickon trail.