A Labor of Love

If you’re on the hunt for one of the most unique, energy efficient, elegant and thoughtfully renovated homes, look no further than 1029 Iglehart Avenue. After nearly a decade of prideful ownership, master craftsmen Philipp Gross, owner of the Neighborhood Woodshop, and his wife Tymber Anderson, are selling their lovingly updated home, featuring countless high-end and custom upgrades - all with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind.

“This house has been restored to the bones.”

Philipp moved to St. Paul in 2010 from his home in Germany to be close to Tymber’s family. He was already a master craftsman when he moved, with a master’s degree in architectural engineering. When he saw the beautiful and intricate Victorian houses in St. Paul, he knew his woodworking skills could be used to lovingly restore and repair them. He soon started his business, which he says is “...still a very small company and planning to stay small, taking on specialty jobs large and small jobs that few others will.” He also says of his business that he wants “...to be involved in the community, giving back where we can by taking on real small projects like fixing a heirloom chair or cutting a board to size.”

“My wife and I care a lot about the environment, and are often frustrated with the status quo of the world we live in.”

The same year he established the Neighborhood Woodshop, he and his wife bought 1029 Iglehart. It was a fixer-upper that he planned to work on when business at the shop was slow, creating equity in the house and continuing to hone his skills. It turned out the shop was never slow, but Philipp and Tymber were committed to their plans for updating the house. Philipp describes some of the updates: “Nothing in this home is done cheap, quick or to the bare minimum. The walls are twice as thick and twice as insulted as your typical home. Cutting edge technology like a super efficient combi boiler providing heat and hot water and a decentralized energy recovery ventilation system provides you with fresh air 24/7 at very little energy consumption.” 

We sat down for some questions with Philipp to get a better understanding of the story:

1. You've owned Neighborhood Woodshop for years now, located right here in Saint Paul. What inspired you to start your own business?

I moved to St. Paul in 2010 from Germany to be near my wife's family. When I got here I was already a master craftsman and also had a masters degree in architectural engineering. First I thought I would seek an engineering career here in Minnesota but it soon became apparent to me that there is a lack of custom woodworking serving the need of restoring and repairing the intricate Victorian housing stock in St. Paul. I decided that this would be worth it putting my skills to work and I don't regret that decision. I usually get plenty of opportunities to put my engineering skills to work solving unique challenges each project brings along. We are still a very small company and plan to stay small taking on specialty jobs large and small that few others will.   

2. How did you acquire the skill set necessary to create such high-quality wood craftsmanship, and how have you brought those skills to your work in the local community?

I became an apprentice woodworker at the age of 16 in Germany. After completing my 3 year apprenticeship program I decided to pursue the true meaning of becoming a journeyman in my trade. Historically that meant leaving your hometown and traveling and working in different parts of the world. I spent a year in Australia and another 8 months in Ireland before returning to Germany to widen my academic knowledge and to study architectural engineering. Along those travels I met my wife and after my masters degree we moved to Minnesota where I soon after started the Neighborhood Woodshop. The Neighborhood Woodshop has two main objectives, the first is to provide quality craftsmanship to our customers offering design build solutions for specialty projects small and large and second to be involved in the community giving back where we can by taking on real small projects like fixing a heirloom chair or cutting a board to size.

3. Most people like to leave their work at the door, but it's clear with everything you've done to improve your home at 1029 Iglehart, you are not "most people", haha. What was behind the decision to make such drastic improvements to your own primary residence?

Well we bought 1029 Iglehart the same year I established The Neighborhood Woodshop. The idea was to work on the “then fixer upper” whenever we are slow at the shop to create equity. It turned out we would never be slow but the big plans for our house were still there. So we decided to take time (and money) out of our busy schedule and get it done the way we envisioned it. The biggest challenge we set ourselves was to combine energy efficiency with the beauty of older homes. For example we build triple pane windows ourselves closely matching the look of windows from 1904 and adding traditional screens on the exterior. For the siding we chose 6” smooth Smartside® resembling the cedar lap siding look but we added 3 ½” of insulation to the whole exterior of the house. We restored or replaced the wood floors, molding and interior doors as well as the staircase. We also gut remodeled the bathroom and kitchen to bring modern amenities to the house and in the process completely redid the plumbing, electrical and mechanicals to bring them up to code and serve the new fixtures.

4. Energy efficiency and sustainability seem to be the main drivers to work you've completed. Why are these so important to you?

Me and my wife care a lot about the environment and are often frustrated with the status quo of the world we live in. It can be overwhelming to be part of the solution but our skill set and knowledge allowed us to not only create a beautiful and functional home but also reduce the energy required for heating by more than 50% while increasing the comfort of the home dramatically. This is saving about 5 metric tons of CO2 emissions yearly or the equivalent of the energy a 8kWpeak photovoltaic system would produce. 

5. You've created an extremely unique and possibly one of the most energy efficient homes in all of Saint Paul. It's going up for sale soon - what would you like the next owner to know about it?

Nothing in this home is done cheap, quick or to the bare minimum. The walls are twice as thick and twice as insulted as your typical home. The windows and doors are about three times as efficient as their typical counterparts. On top of that cutting edge technology like a super efficient combi boiler providing heat and hot water and a decentralized energy recovery ventilation system provides you with fresh air 24/7 at very little energy consumption. The biggest driver of material choice was always longevity and maintenance so you can expect very little maintenance. Floors are either refinished or new wood floors providing not only beauty but also longevity. When the roof was redone we chose the re-sheath with plywood and when we re-did the siding we removed all the asbestos siding and repaired the sheathing where necessary and resided with  50 year maintenance free prefinished Smartside®. The kitchen and bathroom have been enlarged and opened up and modernized. On top of that we enlarged the bedrooms by removing clunky closets and replacing them with very functional custom built-ins making the relatively small house feel very large. This house has been restored to the bones keeping the good ones and replacing the bad ones with quality material and thoughtful design and planning.

VIBE agent Steve Anderson is incredibly excited about the unique opportunity to find the perfect buyers for this home. “In my decade of helping people buy and sell homes in the Twin Cities, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a home with so much to offer under the hood”, Steve says. Not just anyone can truly appreciate the level of detail and thoughtfulness embedded in every inch of the home, but there is someone out there who will love this home as much as Philipp and Tymber - is that you? Be sure to reach out for more information or an in-person tour.