Ten years ago my brother Barry and his wife purchased 15 acres in Herkimer, New York.
They added to their spread by buying another 13 acres last year. They intend to build a house there and move to our neck of the woods in the next year. Being that he is my brother and best friend, I couldn't be more excited about the fact that once they do move, they will be just over an hour away from McDonough New York, where we are living.
Their property is situated high above the landscape you see here, what a view.
The 13 acres they just purchased borders their existing property.
It includes the field that you see here, right up to the tree line and a spring feed pond. We visited with them last month and took a ride on the 4-wheelers to check it out. If there was ever a person that deserves a long happy retirement it's my bro. He has been a union carpenter since he was 18, starting as an apprentice. He's now the head of TRI-STATE computer flooring co. inc.
https://www.tristatecomputerfloor.com/
Here's a picture of him with @farm-mom while we were checking out the property.
The guy always has a smile on his face. Here we stopped for a moment to check out the ravine that cuts through the landscape. It has to be at least 200 feet deep, and its banks are very steep.
Brother Barry is the best carpenter that I have ever run across. At the age of 17, he drew the plans for an addition to our first home. He was the lead man and without his expertise, the project would have never even been on the drawing board.
When we were both a little younger, we worked weekends constructing additions, building decks, and siding houses, using our skills however we could to make some extra money. At one point we worked side by side for 36 weekends in a row and I loved every minute of it.
Knowing that Herkimer NY was the place he would retire to, three years ago he started to plan and build a few projects before starting to build his dream home. Check out this round deck with the trees incorporated into it, what a masterpiece.
Last year he built this garage. He's the kind of guy who you ask for a helping hand and his reply is, "so when are we getting started?" He's an employee's dream come true, a boss without an attitude. At work, when he mentioned that he was building this garage, he had 6 guys from his company show up to lend a helping hand. The owners of TRI-STATE computer flooring, two brothers who are just about his age, were part of the crew. Within four days they had framed and sheathed this building.
Over the next several weekends he sided the entire garage with just the help of his wife. When it came time to install the metal roofing system, knowing he would need a hand, I was more than happy to give him some help. Within two days we had the roof completed and the garage was now watertight.
With retirement just around the corner, this year he planned on starting to build his dream home.
The trailer you see in this picture was bought in Pennsylvania and hauled to New York, providing them with shelter for the past several years. It was placed there because of the view it would give them of the terrain below. This is also where he wanted to build his home, for the same reason, the view. Before construction would begin the trailer had to be moved, which was in the plan all along.
This is where he moved it too, also building a deck off of the front door. He'll live in the trailer as the home is under construction.
So let us see what he's accomplished since moving the trailer.
We had not visited for some time
and when we did stop by for a weekend just this past month, my jaw dropped. After the masonry and excavating part of the project were completed it was game on. During his ten-day vacation in August, with the help of his wife and 80-year-old brother-in-law, they completed the framing of the basement walls and floor system. The following weekend they had the sheathing installed on the first-floor living space.
The guy is a perfectionist and as I expected the framing was something to see, with everything being right on the money!
With my knee replacement being just three months prior and with the other knee not cooperating,
I was unable to lend a hand with this part of the build. This is as far as he is taking the project this year and plans on ramping it up come May when he retires. By next year I should be good to go and my plans are to help him build the remainder of his dream home. By next year I should be running up and down this ladder, God willing.
Thanks, bro for everything you have done for me over the past several decades. Without your help, my first house would still be a two-bedroom home and with four kids at the time it may have been a little tight. 😁
They say payback is hell, but in this case, it will be heaven.
Let us take a peek at what the finished project will look like.
Front view facing the valley.
Rearview facing a little piece of paradise.
