Builder is a builder is a builder
Posted on July 24, 2008 - Filed Under Housing |
On my recent trip back to the mosquito Great Lake State of Michigan, my sister was showing off her”work in progress” . . . a beautiful four bedroom log cabin.
Neither my sister nor her husband are in shape to build such a cabin. A contractor must be involved. Odds are I wouldn’t know their contractor personally. But I asked anyway.
“He’s Amish.”
Mr. Tim wrote this piece last week, discussing the Amish. The timing of my conversation couldn’t have been better. The cabin was too well constructed for someone to have done it by hand. Oh sure you could argue the ancient pyramids were too well constructed without power tools so it is feasible. But my counterpoint is the Egyptians had Aliens to help them. My sister and her brother do not.
So the questions poured forth. Is it the whole Amish community helping? How does he get from his farm to their house? How do they call if there is a problem? How did they find him in the first place? Does he have a beard and resemble Weird Al?
Certainly no gaffes could be said about his work. The cabin itself was gorgeous. Set upon a basement, the two story four bedroom “house” had incredible views of the land around it. The near wrap-around decks provided plenty of outdoor seating. Yes it bothers me to not have photos to share with the class.
When my sister announced a September finish, logic dictated power tools had to be in use. And they were. Amish can use power tools; they just can’t own them. My sister also seemed quite proud of the fact that their Amish contractor was charging a 1/3 of what other contractors were charging. So far he had kept with that quote. Payments have been distributed, based on certain projects being completed.
She mentioned something I thought was rather funny. “Don’t be fooled Cliff. Those Amish got money.”
If the guy is charging 1/3 of what others are charging, I fail to see how that could possibly be. Then the light bulb went on. No overhead. The new Mercedes S-Class doesn’t even exist in a culture of buggies. The sense of fashion hasn’t changed in decades. Credit cards are a tool of the devil. What real expenses do they face?
Not many.
For having the Amish contractor, his greatest drawback happens to be the same saving grace. Since he doesn’t have a car, he needs a ride to work everyday. Yes it is a pain to pick him up every day. But at least he shows up and works all day.
If you liked that post, then try these...
Gas on September 5th, 2006
This morning, I was sharpening my claws.
Breaking Ground on September 27th, 2007
.
Comments
3 Responses to “Builder is a builder is a builder”
Leave a Reply
So how would one like yourself find one of these Amish folk in Southern California? I’m pretty sure that we don’t have any here on Long Island… We pass through Amish country when we take driving trips through Pennsylvania, but that kind of commute wouldn’t work out so well…
It sounds like your trip back to the land of Mosquitos and the state tree the Orange-roadside-construction-cones went well.
I recently shared a mini van with some Amish folk from PA. They were in Tijuana for medical and dental care.
So you may want to head over there to recruit!
Who knows… other than that the closest thing I can come up with are the Menonites in Zacatecas, Mex. Read about it here… http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/05/08/040n1est.php
@Matt: Oh I don’t think I’ll be hiring the Amish to do contractor work. Not because I’m religiously prejudice but I don’t think there are Amish around here. PA and MI seem to be the big concentration.
@Paty: Menonites are in Mexico? I’m kind of surprised by that. Maybe I shouldn’t be but oh well!