Destination Up North UpNorth-Spring_19_NB | Page 10

Photos by Hy-Tec Construction
use of barn wood, big timbers, cable railings and
adding outdoor showers. family has slept as many as 17 there at one
time,” says Flies.
Because a lot of cabins have been in the same
family for a generation or longer, and are now
turning over, Hy-Tec Construction, Nornberg
Builders Inc. and Nor-Son Custom Builders are
all being called on to do a lot of tear downs and
rebuilds these days. Since the “cabin” is a summer home only, few
major upgrades have occurred. Flies says new
appliances have been added, the floor has been
carpeted and a wood burning stove added.
“Insulation was recently added in the attic and
the crawl space, and the basement has been
totally waterproofed as well,” says Flies, who adds
the cabin has been painted two or three times
and the roofing has been replaced at least twice.
“It used to be there was a trend towards more
renovations, but I’d say now our work is split
50/50 between renovations and rebuilds,” says
Nornberg, who points out there’s not a lot of
vacant land left on the lakes. “A lot of these
cabins have been in families for 50 years and it’s
time. The next generation has the money and
wants to upgrade. They typically get started on
a project in the fall so their cabin will be ready in
the spring.”
Ken Flies of Eagan has been going to the
same family cabin on Lake Dunbar in Northern
Minnesota since 1960. The cabin was originally
built in 1954 by his wife’s family, and thus has
been in the same family for 65 years.
“It should more appropriately be called a lake
home, as it has two large bedrooms, a modern
bath, a large living room and kitchen. Our
The cabin has played
such a large role in his
family’s life, Flies’ son,
Elliott Foster, even
wrote a novel based
on his time there.
The award-winning
book, “Whispering
Pines: Tales from a
Northwoods Cabin,”
was released by Wise
Inc. Creative Publishing
of Minneapolis in 2015.
Flies says the cabin was originally built using
excellent wood product and redwood siding. “It
has stood the test of time exceptionally well,” he
says, “experiencing no settling or shifting.”
The Flies family has, therefore, made the
decision to leave things as they are and not
to remodel or rebuild at this time. If they were
to one day change their mind, renovation
would most likely be the course of action since
rebuilding on the original site is limited by
zoning regulations.
Photo by Nor-Son Custom Builders
10 destinationupnorth.com
Nornberg says that typically you get more bang
for the buck when you rebuild rather than
remodel, but he does have a number of clients
in the same situation as Flies who have been
limited to remodeling instead.
Photos by The Flies Family