The life of John Briggs is a delicate balance of entrepreneurship and philanthropy.

The owner and chief contractor of Guttersmiths installs and restores decorative rain gutters throughout the Madison area.

Through his work, he also donates time to the county's conservation outreach organization Sustain Dane.

He consults on the creation of residential rain barrel systems meant to preserve precious water resources. And several days a week, Briggs works delivering food to housebound neighbors through Meals On Wheels.

"John's one of our most conscientious volunteers," said Diane Vance, director of Meals On Wheels in Madison. "Without people like him, a lot people in our community, especially the elderly, would have nothing to eat."

Briggs' generosity is even more impressive because when he's not working on his business or helping others, he looks after his ailing father.

"I moved out here about 18 months ago. And now I find myself in this unique situation being a 27-year-old caregiver of a parent with Alzheimer's," Briggs said. "That's raised all kinds of interesting issues for me."

Briggs' father, also named John, 85, was living in Eagle River when he took ill. The retired machinist and World War II veteran requires constant attention.

"I was visiting on a quarterly basis, every three months or so. But I visited once and the clutter got to be too much for me to deal with," Briggs said.

Briggs also observed that his father didn't seem to be feeding himself properly. "Somebody had to step up to the plate. My goal is to keep him out of an assisted living facility for as long as I can," he said.

So Briggs packed up and moved. He and his father purchased a house together in Sun Prairie, a town the older Briggs knew. Bringing his contracting skills with him, Briggs started his business Guttersmiths and settled into his new community.

"At Guttersmiths we specialize in the installation of copper and aluminum seamless gutters, sort of the standard gutters you see every day, called K-style," Briggs said.

"We also offer half-round, which is something that sets us apart from some of the other gutter installation companies in Madison. Not too many focus on the historic look of half round. We also do built-in gutters, which is a specialty."

Not many homes in the Madison area were originally built with rain gutters. Those that were featured attractive copper channels. Commonly, rooflines had decorative trim and rain gutters were retrofitted in place.

Gutters attached with aluminum straps are typically nailed to the roof and are clearly visible from the ground.

But Briggs works to install gutters that suit the esthetic character of the house. He tries to keep the original molding in place and retain decorative touches.

"I guess I've always been interested in architecture and history and historic preservation," he said. "So naturally I gravitated toward doing less volume, fewer projects but more large-scale custom projects."

By specializing in historic restorations, Guttersmiths has carved out a niche in the Madison market among clients who want gutters that are both functional and pleasant to look at.

Rain barrels

But where Briggs is truly unique is in his work to install rain barrels that store roof water run-off for use in gardens.

"I think twenty percent of the world's fresh water is located in North America," he said. "We as citizens have a certain obligation to protect that watershed. Rain barrels are one way of doing it."

In a given rain event, Briggs said, the average home sheds almost a thousand gallons of rainwater. With downspouts directed most often to non-permeable surfaces like sidewalks and driveways, this water is allowed to flow into city sewers, diverted away from below ground aquifers.

By installing rain barrels Briggs hopes to create what he calls a reduced runoff initiative.

"Guttersmiths is reaching out to architects and landscapers to make them aware of runoff," Briggs said. " I can work in partnership with them. And I can say to my client, 'I'll install the gutters and the rain barrels. And my landscape architect can design a rain garden for you.' I don't know many gutter installation companies that are thinking in those terms."

Bryant Moroder, executive director of Sustain Dane, is thrilled with the prospect of more Madison residents using rain barrels.

"Water is becoming a more and more precious resource," he said. "So any time that we can localize our watering systems the less aquifer drawdown we're going to see. Individually it makes a small dent. But collectively, if every person has multiple systems it can make a big difference."

For every rain barrel system that Briggs installs, 5 percent of his profits go to Sustain Dane. As part of a gutter installation that can run between $1,000 and $10,000 depending on the size of the job, a rainwater reclamation system can reduce the use of potable water for gardening.

"Not every company is as committed to its community as mine is, even though I'm so new to the community," Briggs said. "No matter where we are in the United States we're one people. And I appreciate Madison's conscientious approach to rainwater management and progressive ideals in general. And Madison seems to appreciate that from me."