Meet Our Members ~ Ben Bullard of H.B. Bullard and Company, Inc.

1/15/2022

Ben has a successful fishing trip on Red Hill Pond, 2021. Photo by Lucy Wicks

What is your name and the name of your business?
Ben Bullard, H.B. Bullard and Company, Inc.

How did you get to Sandwich, NH?
In the early 1970s, Betty and I would visit her family's summer home. We were living in Boston and going to college. She had been coming up to Sandwich in the summers since she was born and we both liked it so much that directly after graduation, we moved here and were married in the summer of 1973. At the time, there were 600 year-round residents. Sandwich was a different town than it is today. It attracted us because of the arts and crafts nature of the town, which persists today.

Ben with his young family in 1979. Photo by Marcella Winslow

Late 70s, Ben sits by his sculpture. Its current owner installs it outside in the summer
and takes it in for the winter.

What got you started in this profession?
Trained as an artist, I loved working with my hands and creativity, and building became the way to use both simultaneously. Most of the carpenters back then in our age group started working for Van Adriance in some capacity. He started a large crew and we all, as friends and co-workers, built a few houses together. After a few years we started to peel off from that to start our own ventures and partnerships.

Rich Benton and I worked together for a few years, then Roger Korpi and I partnered up for 20 years and built many beautiful buildings together. Around 2000, I started this company H.B. Bullard and Company, Inc.

Tell us about your work. What do you make, do, or offer as a service?
I started doing mostly timber frame construction. I was intrigued with Eric Sloan's books explaining the age old practice of mortise and tenon joinery in barn and house construction more than 200 hundred years ago. My first effort was building our house at Lower Corner. Trees on the property were cut down and hewed into beams with an adze and joined into a timber frame. Later we used local sawyers to mill the beams.

An example of mortise and tenon joinery, 2021. Photo by Ben Bullard

The finished barn. Photo by Ben Bullard

Our company designs and builds custom homes and barns, does restoration work on old buildings, does whole house renovations and everything in between. Eighty percent of our our work is in-house designed, twenty percent with architects. Personally I like classic design, be it house, barn or camp and the use of as much local product as I can.

The beginning of a house, 2017. Photo by Ben Bullard

The interior in progress. Photo by Ben Bullard

Almost finished… photo by Ben Bullard

What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your work?
I think the most satisfaction I get from this work is providing a beautiful home or workplace for people to enjoy over generations. It’s also fun to work with so many different people coming together to make the project a reality.

Another rewarding aspect is watching the carpenters who have worked for me over the years hone their skills and become better and better at the execution of their jobs. I thank them for making our company successful.

A finished kitchen on Squam Lake, 2020. Photo by Ben Bullard

What is the hardest?
The challenge of course is to be a good scheduler, keep everyone happy and make a consistently great product. You have to really like people and remain optimistic to do this consistent juggling.

How has this last Covid year affected your work?
Our industry is going strong in the Covid era but circumstances have changed making scheduling challenging because of lack of supply, lack of labor and availability of sub-contractors.

What are your goals and hopes for the future?
My goal at this time is to retire soon, become a recovering contractor and let the next generation of excellent builders take over! Hopefully I can use my fifty years of experience in building to inspire others to take up this vocation that I love. It is financially rewarding, and you use your head, heart and hand.

The family—Ben, Lucy, Travis, Ashley and Betty

What else can you tell us about yourself and your life in Sandwich?
Sandwich is a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family. The strong sense of community is a valuable and special aspect of our town, and one that has meant a lot to our family over the years and continues still.