Uncle Howard's Barns
Rochester,#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, July 16, 2009
This post is from a disgruntled person who was a part of his family's unsuccessful barn assembly company 5 years ago. The family did quality work, and without his antics, they might have succeeded. His reference to assembly crew failures do not relate in any way to Uncle Howard's. Let me be very clear. Uncle Howard's sells but does not assemble kits. This work is done by home owners and contractors. Most homeowners and builders manage to get their projects done in a timely fashion. Again, Uncle Howard's does not promise dates. There are too many variables to do that. We do promise to do our best to meet the homeowner's "hoped for" delivery date. Yes, I did develop an energy efficient packaged home company in Alaska that was used for HUD housing some years back. That company was purchased by an Alaska Native Regional corporation. I signed a three year non-compete agreement and started building barns. And yes, we are still providing barns, cabins and packaged homes in Alaska. Yes, I did complain about the tax bill. Of course, I still wound up having to pay it. Let me clarify barn raisings. Uncle Howard's does not employ barn raisers. We associate with companies that do. Most of them do an outstanding job. The purpose is to get the barn frame up rapidly and accurately. Uncle Howard's takes pride in our kit designs that facilitate rapid assembly. And, yes, not every project goes smoothly. Uncle Howard's does amazingly well considering that each building is customized. We take on the difficult designs, drafting, difficult engineering, change orders, high wind loads, high snow loads, large spans, purchasing, packaging, and shipping. We tackle the hardest projects. Over 38 years, I have made many mistakes. Some more than once. Uncle Howard's is learning and improving every day. Most jobs go well, but not all. Of course our lives would be easier if customers didn't make changes and allowed more time for completion of their project. Many things are out of our control. Regarding investors, other than family, there are no investors. Regarding lumber yards, I have continually dealt with the same two lumber yards I deal with today. Regarding employee treatment, our company is small with 12 employees, half of whom are family members. Most have been with us for several years. Among them are 2 retired teachers, 2 retired state workers, 3 persons with architectural and drafting degrees, 1 minister, and 3 talented wood workers. They definitely do not condone behavior as described by this person. I hope this person is able to recover from this low place in his life.