In our first meeting with Jay Fischer, we talked about our hopes for an energy-efficient house that would fit into the Church Street historic district of Belfast. We soon fell into a pattern of monthly meetings with Jay and TJ Heintzman through which the ultimate design and many thoughtful details of our eventual house emerged. We appreciated their expertise, resourcefulness, patience, and openness to new ideas, making our ongoing mutual engagement in the project enjoyable and productive.

Now that we have been in the house for a year, we still marvel at details of the design and the quality of the materials and workmanship throughout. The interior is beautiful, full of light in all four seasons. The house is well insulated and well ventilated, so it is cool in summer, warm in winter, and comfortable to live in. The solar panels produce more than enough electric power for all our energy needs including heat, cooling, and hot water.

Finally, we are delighted with the exterior design, thanks to Jay’s discerning eye and the skill of Cold Mountain’s carpenters. It strikes the exact balance we hoped for in contemporary, yet classical design that complements the surrounding neighborhood. Indeed, every time we are out in the yard, neighbors and passersby stop to admire the house and comment on how much they like it. We feel fortunate to have had Cold Mountain build our house, and we couldn’t be happier with the process, the product, and especially the people.

Michael Wessels
Patricia Maher
Owners