Location: Burnsville, Minnesota
Completed: July 2017
Fypon Products Used: Rough Sawn beams, baseboard trim, crown moulding, corbels, shutters and column wrap

The young Minnesota family never pictured themselves building a new house. But when they stumbled upon the lakefront property in Burnsville, they knew they had found home.

The 2,300-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 4-bathroom home completed in July 2017 replaces another on the property; built for the summers, the original home was drafty and cold—with the energy bills to prove it. It was also set too far back from the water, missing out on the location’s premium asset.

The odd-shaped lot and the need to keep the original house in tact during construction necessitated a linear layout for the new structure.

This is most evident in the open-plan living room/dining room/kitchen, an elongated great room that is fronted by an expansive wall of glass
opening up to a 38-foot-wide deck and the lake beyond.

“We wanted something to take advantage of the land and something that is comfortable and doesn’t feel precious,” the husband says.
The resulting home “is built for the way we live, so it really is our dream house.”

The homeowners and builder Paul Vogstrom, owner of Paul Thomas Design Build, together selected exterior and interior design elements
that provide a cozy lake house vibe. Tongue-and-groove pine in the great room melds expertly with Fypon Rough Sawn beams to draw
the eye upward to the vaulted ceilings. The look—and effect—carry over to the basement, where those same beams combine with
reclaimed wood. The beams mimic wood cut with a circular saw blade, offering a subtle wood-grain look but at a fraction of the weight
and cost of heavy timber.

“That’s what we love about Fypon,” the homeowner says. “The woodgrain is so realistic looking. I fell in love with the look when
I first saw it.”

“Once I got the samples, I was amazed by how real it looks,” echoes Vogstrom. “We ended up using more than we’d planned.”
Vogstrom also relied on Fypon for the baseboard trim and “dramatic” crown molding in the master bedroom. Outside are more Fypon beams, plus corbels, shutters and column wraps. Low maintenance and resistant to moisture and insects, the polyurethane material is ideal for standing up to Minnesota’s hot, humid summers and cold, wet winters. The builder also appreciated how expertly the material blended with the pine ceiling inside and with the composite shake siding on the exterior.

In their first time installing Fypon, the crew found it was easy to work with and stained nicely. In addition, Vogstrom points out that the
polyurethane baseboard trim could be installed in direct contact with the basement’s polished concrete floor without having to worry
about wicking moisture like with wood.

Indeed, the authentic looks and premium performance provided the ideal finishing touches for the homeowners as they watched their
dream house unfold. “We were picky about materials that went into the house,” the homeowner says. “We really did our homework.
Fypon stood out, and we have no regrets.”