To have a barn for my personal hobbies that include light farm work and woodworking has been a lifelong goal. But the project had its real beginnings when I met Bradley Peters. They said he was a salesman, but he was more like a consultant, architect, and personal advisor all in one. Mr. Peters listened patiently to a series of unworkable pipe dreams and guided the planning process toward what would really work. In the end, all of his gentle suggestions were accepted, and all of them were the right things to do.

Nancy wanted the building to look like a New England barn. She wanted a quality wainscot. Mr. Peters told us about the new wainscot just being introduced, took the time to show us the training film, and admitted that the crew had no experience with it yet. But it looked nice, and we decided to try it. A color matched cupola was added, and Mr. Peters suggested high windows for light and security.

Once planned, drawings and bids for subcontracting were solicited. The package was presented with a price tag that was reasonable. A timetable was suggested, and keys were promised by September.

The construction sequence was carried out like clockwork, ahead of schedule, beginning with the site preparation, delivery, and construction. All that we can say about the professionals involved in this job, beginning with the bulldozer operators of the site preparation crew, to the guys that delivered the building, and especially the Morton crew (Jeff Cleveland, Foreman; Lawrence Roles, Lead man; and Jason Kruse, Crewman)--is that they were magicians at their craft! No electricity...no problem. They made their own. Bad weather...no problem. They worked anyway. Numerous subcontractors, such as septic, well, electrical, plumbing, heating, cement, and insulation had to be coordinated...no problem. Mr. Peters acted as the general contractor, and everything happened in sequence. He even let me construct part of the interior, helping me acquire some of the special materials to do so.