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32 | I NSIGH T • A p r i l 2 0 15 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m I N S I G H T O N R E S I D E N T I A L CONSTRUCTION B y S e a n P. J o h n s o n T here is a bit more urgency to Kurt VandenHouten's spring ritual this year. It's been a while since VandenHouten has been this anxious about the seasonal thaw — at least since the Great Recession hit in 2009 — and the weight limits cities and counties impose on the roadways. Each day that passes until the weight limits are lied is a day he can't move heavy equipment and materials to building sites around Door, Brown and Kewaunee counties. For the first time in several years, he has a backlog of residential building sites to visit. "We are off and running with a of Van's Lumber & Custom Builders and Kurt's brother. "For the first time in a long time, we have more than 'just enough' work to sink our teeth into." e breakthrough for the industry seemed to have come in late 2013, though several contractors report the winter of 2013-2014 was a low point aer several months of promise. By summer of 2014, though, the uptick seems to have firmly taken hold. In Fond du Lac County, for instance, the Home Builders Association pared back its parade of homes to a single event in 2014. e spring show struggled, and there were no builders ready for a fall show, says Amanda Kemmel, executive officer of the association. is year, eight homes are already booked for the spring tour, and five builders have contacted her about the fall event. "We might be a bit behind some other areas, but things are picking up," Kemmel says. Residential construction is also off to a strong start in the Fox Valley Building up new momentum Area builders shed the lingering effects of the Great Recession as a boom begins number of projects where we already have the sign off and are ready to go," says VandenHouten, who heads up sales for the Egg Harbor office of Van's Lumber & Custom Builders Inc. "All the salesmen have a backlog of bidding to get out as well." e residential construction industry is roaring into 2015. Builders from Door to Fond du Lac counties report that aer several tepid years and false starts, they are seeing consistent growth and a growing backlog of work. e days of surviving project-to- project may finally be at an end. "ere is just a better vibe out there," says Craig VandenHouten, president Van's Lumber & Custom Builders Inc. has experienced a boom in demand for new residential construction in the northern counties of Northeast Wisconsin, such as this new home under construction in Sturgeon Bay. The company is experiencing one of its best years since the Great Recession hit the industry hard beginning in 2009. P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y O F V A N ' S L U M B E R & C O N S T R U C T I O N