Grotenhuis Builders LLC

01/16/2026

Our most recent bathroom remodel. It turned out awesome!

08/15/2025

Sometimes we run into some poorly built stuff. This is that. For years now we assumed this customer's deck was supported entirely by a steel beam (the beam was wrapped in cedar so we couldn't see it). The cedar recently rotted off in spots revealing a patched in wood beam that was woefully inadequate to support this deck! So, we replaced it with an engineered steel beam.

05/16/2024

There was not an appropriate window header in this 60's lakeside cottage. The weight from upstairs floor and exterior deck caused over an inch of settling above the window. I'm surprised the window never cracked. We jacked it back up, routed out a spot for some new steel, and put it all back together with a new window. Now it just needs the interior/ exterior to be stained/painted to match.

01/01/2024

We get a lot of questions about electric vs gas. This article explains a lot of misconceptions about electric, plus it explains a lot of what the Inflation Reduction Act provides in tax credits.

As electrification takes off, there seems to be quite a bit of misinformation flying around. Learn more about what these myths are.

02/24/2023

The ultimate attic access! I read an article about how inefficient most attic access openings are and decided to address it. This is that. Overkill? Maybe. Energy efficient and super nice for trades people? Yes.

09/02/2022

The Grotenhuis Builders engineering dept. is working overtime trying to figure out how this monster is going to go through the front door. We need some short sections of steel pipe to roll it in on. I tried giving James a Mt. Dew and a snickers … but it’s 1700lbs.

05/20/2022

Thanks for 43 years Norm! I'm confident I've watched all 1000 episodes.

05/12/2022

What happens to your old door after we replace it? We recycle/repurpose everything we can. The glass gets repurposed/recycled. The hinges, screws and steel doors get recycled. The aluminum sills get pulled apart from the plastic and recycled. If the gaskets are still good we will reuse them on other doors. Did you know that 17 of the 21 windows on the Groten-shop are actually made of glass repurposed from doors we replaced? Last year we recycled 1300lbs of metal.

05/03/2022

Working on some Shoji doors.

03/10/2022

I considered giving James a Mt. Dew and a snickers bar and having him lift the 800lb beam in place by himself, but settled on some beam jacks instead.

03/03/2022

Sarah's new lockers. We took out the old closet and built these. It was a fun project to design and build.

01/20/2022

Most of the time we replace rot for a living, but sometimes we get to build fancy drawers with variable spaced half-blind dovetails.