Otto has always been an artistic and passionate guy. Although his interests have evolved over time, his love of the outdoors, his taste for adventure, and the need to express his creativity have remained unchanged. Otto met Sara during their first year of college. He was following his passion, studying the art of dance. During a performance, he was spotted by a scout and given the opportunity to travel the world as a model. Getting to live in Paris and stay in places like Milan and New York was an incredible experience. He learned from those around him as he absorbed these distinctive cultures. Eventually, with a renewed sense of inspiration, he decided to move back to his hometown and start a new adventure with Sara.

2 years ago, Otto and Sara bought another piece of land with the dream of building their own home. With the birth of their daughter, the couple decided to rent a nearby house during construction. Since the building started in May 2022, Otto has spent most of his free time working on it. He loves a challenge and likes to experience things hands-on. Although Otto has been improving his skills from jobs completed at The Sable Project, having a stepfather in construction has proven to be very helpful. He has already learned so much since starting the build and has fallen in love with the work. The couple has had lots of help from family and friends who have been happy to lend a hand where needed, in planning, construction, and even learning to run the HM130MAX.

Otto and Sara have designed a creative and unique home. The concept is to build a fancy barn with an apartment upstairs. The 1200-square-foot structure is a split level with a workshop taking up most of the main floor. Upstairs in the loft will be a comfortable living space for their family. They want a clean, simple look with exposed beams and Maple trim. Otto plans on milling all the wood for the project with his HM130MAX. He uses wood harvested from his property, so there is no need to transport logs or lumber, saving money and limiting their emissions.

The family is mindful of where the building materials come from, trying to be environmentally conscious with their choices. One challenge is deciding on which insulation to use. Vermont can get quite cold during the winter months, so it needs to be effective. Spray foam is a popular choice among builders but Otto is looking for more ecofriendly alternatives. His vision is that any lumber that he mills on the HM130MAX can one day be decomposed back into the earth when it is no longer in use. Otto wants to keep the entire house foam free, so he has chosen to use rock wool. This flame-resistant, cotton-candy-like insulation is created by spinning molten rock and minerals with steel slag (a by-product of steel making). Carefully selecting which tools and supplies are used allows this project to have a smaller environmental impact.

Although there is no official timeline, they would like the home to be completed soon so they will have time for new endeavours. Milling his own lumber and leading the carpentry for his house have led to some new opportunities for Otto. He has been approached by many who have been impressed with his work and offered to hire him. One of his neighbours has a beautiful space that was, at one time, a children's summer camp. Only one run-down cabin remained on the property, which Otto was asked to restore. She has also hired him to build more 12' by 12' cabins out of wood milled on his HM130MAX. He has even been hired to build another house for someone who was impressed with his own.

Last spring the couple purchased a third piece of land, this time with Sara's brother. Otto and Sara now have 120 acres of tree-covered property in total. Otto has been learning how to manage the forests on his property. More importantly, he has learned how to harvest trees for lumber in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. With a variety of new skills and experiences under his belt, Otto is playing with the idea of starting a unique side business. He would like to work with clients who have large forests or woodlots where they want to build a house or structure. He would work over a long timeline with the client, managing their forest and selectively harvesting their trees to turn them into lumber for the project on his HM130MAX. 

Selective harvesting is a type of forest management where only certain mature trees are cut down, leaving the younger and healthier trees to continue growing. Otto can build the structure with the client's own wood while strengthening the forest, keeping the ecosystem intact for the wildlife who call the woods their home. There is something pleasant about knowing that the trees are staying on the same piece of land where they grew. This also means that the lumber will not need to be delivered, cutting down on transportation emissions.

Otto will use the skills that he learned while building his own environmentally conscious house and put them to use for others. Carefully choosing natural and environmentally friendly materials will help these structures have a positive influence on the planet. Wooden houses have the potential to act as carbon sinks, meaning that they can store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Not only does wood remove CO2 from the air but when you use wood instead of carbon-intensive material, like steel or concrete, it has an even bigger impact.

The HM130MAX allows Otto the freedom to take on almost any project and bring his ideas to life. The time spent in the woods creating beautiful lumber for his house is just the beginning of the adventures that Otto and his sawmill will have. He was originally drawn to Woodland Mills because of the affordability of the portable sawmills. The supportive group of sawyers in the Facebook community and the attentive customer service were what sold him. The carefree soul that he is, Otto never knows what adventure might be around the corner.   His philosophy: get the biggest mill and eventually you will need it.