When the father-son team of Anders and Jake Lewendal of Bozeman, Mont.-based Anders Lewendal Construction were challenged by a client to source as many locally made components as possible for their new home, the duo took things a step further.

The Lewendals built the Made In American House (above), using only American-made materials.

Teresa Burney of wrote about the Lewendal team for BuilderOnline.com:

“Once they knew they could do it, the Lewendals guessed that other home builders could too. To find out what that could mean for the country, the pair talked to the Boston Consulting Group to add up what the impact would be if every U.S. builder spent 5% of their construction spending on American-made rather than foreign parts. The verdict: in one year that would create 220,000 American jobs, the study showed.”

This paved the way for the All-American Home Initiative, which encourages U.S. builders to source at least five percent of building components and materials domestically in the name of creating jobs. The site also includes a helpful list of products made in the U.S.