Glenn MacKenzie and his brother Gary founded MacKenzie Brothers Corp. with a dream of crafting exquisite custom homes tailored to the unique needs of each individual homeowner. And over 40-plus years, the company has accomplished this mission through a dedicated focus on quality and fostering genuine relationships with each client.
It’s a legacy Glenn’s son Scott carries on today as project manager running operations beside his father.
“From the very beginning, we’ve been dedicated to building homes that reflect the highest quality and care for our clients,” Scott MacKenzie says. “That commitment has been the foundation of our family’s reputation, and we take pride in carrying it forward every day.”
Staying personally involved in each project plays a critical role in achieving these goals, Scott says, noting that customers don’t just sign a contract and get handed off to someone else. “My father and I are involved in the projects from beginning to end. We’re true partners with the homeowner.”
These efforts were on full display at MacKenzie Brothers’ recent custom build in The Pinehills, a 25-year-old planned community in Plymouth, Massachusetts, focused on sustainable placemaking via thoughtful site planning and strong design ethics.
As the MacKenzies got to know the clients and their goals, the original idea for a single-level ranch grew in size and features as the couple realized bigger design dreams for their retirement home.
The resulting project offers 4,500 square feet of living space over two stories and a finished basement, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The homeowners will still be able to age in place, with the primary bedroom and laundry room located on the first floor. Upstairs, guest bedrooms now provide ample space for friends and family.
Sited for privacy, the house backs up to the woods, with outdoor living as a central focus. The layout embraces a courtyard at its heart, providing a secluded space for entertaining. At the rear, a screened-in porch and plunge pool invite both relaxation and views.
A Focus on Performance
As with all of MacKenzie Brothers’ projects, quality was top of mind with the Pinehills house. It was part of the reason they leveraged a systems approach to the building envelope—combining Benjamin Obdyke’s HydroGap® SA housewrap, HydroFlash® GP flashing, and VaporDry® SA roofing underlayment that together create a high-performance building envelope – backed by a robust whole-home warranty.
The builder recently switched to HydroGap SA, supplied by Mid-Cape Home Centers, which helps them more easily meet new, more stringent codes in New England requiring greater energy efficiency.
HydroGap SA combines 1mm spacer technology with a fully continuous, breathable acrylic adhesive to create an unmatched air and moisture barrier. The spacers provide 96% drainage efficiency to remove water 2x faster than flat housewraps.
“We like that HydroGap SA is self-adhesive and that it’s easy to work with,” Scott says, noting that the acrylic adhesive seals around fasteners, allowing it to function as an air barrier as well as a moisture barrier.
Further, the drainage and air movement provided by HydroGap also are well-suited to the high-end cladding materials typical of MacKenzie Brothers homes, including white cedar shingle cladding, LP SmartSide, and James Hardie fiber cement.
“We’ve always tried to provide the best products for our customers and give them the best quality home we can,” he adds. “With the codes changing, we’re finding that HydroGap is going to be that product for us going into the future.”
Around window openings, MacKenzie Brothers used HydroFlash GP self-adhering flashing tape. Specially formulated with acrylic technology, the tape creates aggressive adhesion that strengthens over time for long-term protection of vulnerable areas.
Finally, the team specified VaporDry SA roofing underlayment for a complete systems approach. VaporDry SA is a vapor-permeable, self-adhered underlayment with unmatched moisture and air control for maximum drying potential. It uses the same acrylic adhesive technology for long-term adhesion and sealability, so it can serve as an air control layer as well as a water control layer. With installation for this project taking place during New England’s cold, wet winter, using VaporDry SA also helped MacKenzie Brothers dry-in the roof quickly.
Along with the characteristics of the three products, Scott MacKenzie was drawn to the benefits of a whole-home approach, which helps ensure each element works together, streamlines specification and ordering, and instills confidence in performance across the envelope. Just as important, Benjamin Obdyke’s self-adhered wall and roof products used together are backed by the BenDefense 30-year whole-home warranty. Double the length of individual product warranties, BenDefense showcases the power of a systems approach in crafting reliable building envelopes while helping builders stand out from competitors.
For MacKenzie Brothers, designing roof and wall systems that work together as a whole-home approach is just one more element to support the company’s long-held mission of creating durable, high-quality homes that stand the test of time, Scott says. “Building the best home for our clients starts with choosing the best products—inside and out, top to bottom.”
