Drew  Nichols

SUMMARY

Growing up in Texas, working construction with his father, Drew has worked as a carpenter most of his life. He moved to Ft Collins in 1978 to work on commercial construction in the area, and he decided he enjoyed what Colorado had to offer. Drew started Nichols Construction in 1986 and primarily did framing and exterior trim. In 1990, he became a General Contractor and has been busy ever since.
Some of Drew's other interest are woodturning, blacksmithing, sculpture, and art in general. He is actively involved in the Rocky Mountain Woodturners (www.RMWT.org), a local nonprofit organization affiliated with the American Association of Woodturners (www.woodturner.org). He has participated in many art shows and displayed his art in local galleries. Drew is a founding member of the National Center for Craftmanship (NCC) and also belongs to the Northern Colorado Renewable Energy Society (NCRES).
Northern Colorado has proven to be an ideal place for Drew and his wife Martha to raise their two daughters, Liberty and Bonnie, and their dog, Buster.

YEAR STARTED IN THIS BUSINESS

1986

EXPERIENCE

Nichols Design and Construction is a residential construction Design-and-Build company. In other words, Nichols Design and Construction will take a project from concept to final landscaping. He works with quality subcontractors from excavation to final inspection. Nichols Design and Construction specializes in timberframe construction, from post-and-beam to complex mortise-and-tenon joinery. Drew will design and build passive solar homes, keying first on thermal mass and radiant floor heat--holding and maintaining the solar gain is important to a successful project.
Using reusable, renewable, and recycled materials is important as well. Using recycled lumber, beetle-kill pine, and timbers from sustainable forests are crucial to being a good builder, especially in today’s economic and ecological climate. He also keeps current with innovative and improved products such as countertops made from recycled paper, waste water pipe made from recycled plastic, and beams made from wood mill by-products that can make a home safe, economical, and good for the environment.

CURRENT PROJECT

A while ago, Bill and Cindy Henk approached Nichols Design and Construction with a request and a challenge: design and build a home that would be the most energy-efficient building using features such as radiant floor heat, passive solar, solar-voltaic power, and a 98%-efficient boiler.
The home Drew designed is a reality: It’s off-grid and in tune with its natural surroundings of the beautiful Cherokee Park area. It has 16 solar panels in two arrays of 8 panels mounted on 6-inch steel pipe set in concrete, feeding 24 6-volt marine storage batteries that send power to two Outback inverters to power the 1,600-sq-ft home. The home is constructed of 12-ft-high, 8-in-thick concrete walls set 8 feet into solid rock, with 2 8-in-thick 12-ft-high Trombe walls inside to store and maintain the solar gain. Solar gain is through 12 4-ft x 8-ft clear insulated 1-in-thick glass. Just inside the sloping glass is a 3-ft-wide, 3-ft-deep, and 48-ft-long planter to hold heat and grow plants year round.

CERTIFICATIONS & CREDENTIALS

TRADE(S)

SPECIALTIES

GROUPS & ASSOCIATIONS

Northern Colorado Renewable Energy Society (NCRES)