JEN AND Tate Hedrick, owners of Hedrick Homes in Harpersfield Township, built their own home with help from family members. Convinced they could do the same for clients, Tate left his job as a union carpenter and started their home construction and remodeling business 12 years ago. The couple work together as a team and customize each home to the client? dreams and budget. CARL E. FEATHER / The Star Beacon
Published November 06, 2006 07:23 am - For many couples, the ultimate test of their marriage is building a new hom ...
Building other people's dreams
Star Beacon
HOME-GROWN BUSINESS: Husband-wife team specialize in custom home design, construction
By CARL E. FEATHER
Lifestyle Editor
For many couples, the ultimate test of their marriage is building a new home.
Tate and Jen Hedrick have built 60 of them.
The Harpersfield Township couple own Hedrick Homes, a custom design and home construction company they operate out of their residence. Tate and Jen have been in business together 12 of the 20 years they've been married.
"What we do is stressful," says Jen. "We're responsible for what is probably the biggest investment anybody is going to make in their entire life."
"It's all on your shoulders," Tate adds. "You are trying to make everything perfect for them."
Jen and Tate say working together on these stressful projects, where they seldom have a day that everything goes according to plan, has given each other an appreciation for what they go through on their jobs. It's also allowed them to establish a mutual agreement for the down time.
"The biggest rule we've tried to follow is that when the work day is done, everything is left behind us," says Tate. "In this business, you can have a lot of bad days."
They've also come to appreciate the value of periodically putting it all behind them: When the stress level gets too high, they take a trip out West or to another destination to put everything in perspective. Tate also enjoys working on the hobby farm they are building to the east of their home on South River Road.
Tate and Jen, both 38, say being in the home construction business has given them a good lifestyle, despite the stress. Their flexible schedule has allowed them to attend school and athletic events for their three children, Megan (Acord), 20; Jessie, 19; and Laramie, 17. They've also made many friends of the subcontractors who work for them and the clients for whom they've built homes.
The Hedricks says they build a relationship with their client before they build a home for them. It's a relationship that continues long after the final nail is driven.
"We've become friends," says Emily Harley of Kingsville Township. The Hedricks built a two-story country home for Harley and her partner Walt Robertson four years ago. Emily says she got the plan for their house from a magazine and the Hedricks took it from there.
"Everything went perfectly," Harley says. "We loved the experience; they were great people to work with. They were the only ones we went to and we highly recommend them."
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