My name is Rick Sheehan I live in Friend Nebraska with my best friend and wife since 1984 Lori(Roth)Sheehan .We have three children Rachel,David and Sarah. My children are 5th generation Nebraskans
I came here first after Lori and I were married in 1984 we actually honeymooned in Nebraska.We had both graduated from the same 4 year Bible college. I started my own Remodeling company just north of Boston Stoneham to be exact.In about 1987
I have worked on houses since I was a teenager.My friends and me used to paint houses in the summer.I learned to patch walls,and got into taping and finishing.From there I started to learn carpentry,working on old New England homes.
Being a carpenter has given me great opportunities to work in a lot of interesting places.I have worked In Massachusetts,New Hampshire,Vermont,Ohio,Colorado,Washington,Minnesota,Alaska.
Lori and Me and 2 of our children made Nebraska our home in 1989 when the savings and loan crisis hit .We moved into a little house on Cherry St. in Friend NE.where Sarah was born.Times were a little tough and money was real tight,after living here about 2 years an opportunity came up for me to make some decent money in Alaska,Point Barrow to be specific,the northern most town on the continent.It is the largest Inupiat Eskimo village in the world.
I went up there to get out of debt ,when I was there ,I got on a project building a Middle school it had a 80,000 square foot print with 2 levels if you don't count the "utiladors"rooms that hang under the building running under all the hallways for running utilities,the are about 36 inches enough for a man to crawl in.The Building is built off the ground since it is in the Arctic and the perma frost there is at about 1300 feet.(It never gets below 30 inches around here).Because of the permafrost the building was built on 12"x12" post that were greased and wrapped in heavy plastic then set in the ground 26 feet with gravel placed around them and water added .
This is probably the most interesting project I ever worked on.There where people on that Job from all over the world,I don't know for sure how many there were.It was biggest project I had ever worked on,people came and went in droves ,they had just started framing the floor when I got on in March,the goal was to get the building closed in before October,when it got dark and very cold ,not to mention polar bears where spotted in town on a regular basis. It was so cold almost every day,the wood was literally frozen solid ,I was almost entirely built of wood,the outside walls where built with 2"x12" Lumber the outside walls where about 12' tall you needed a crane and a lot of men(no offense Ladies). I was on that project about 1 and 1/2 years.On the last day of the job there were only 3 of us workers left plus the foreman. We did framing Finish carpentry ,building shelves,we even put the desks in the class rooms,hung the flags on the walls,installed library shelving.What ever it took.
Point Barrow is the county seat for Prudoe Bay which is where the Alaska pipeline starts.They had just finished the elementary school when I arrived there March 1992.It was the largest wooden structure elementary school in the world.The budget for the 2 schools Elementary and middle school was $60,000,000 dollars.Oil at that time was 18 dollars a barrel and the first Iraq war was going on.
Lori and the kids came up to Barrow with me as soon as I could get a house up there which every one said was next to impossible,but we believe with God all things are possible.I found out about a house from the local cable channel someone who lived in a village 250 miles away,Atqasak.I called on it ,the Lady said she had already had ten calls on it,I said what will it take for you to rent the house to me.She said whoever came up with a years rent first could have it.I called Lori back in Nebraska we had be saving money since I had been there,we figured by the time the house was available in a month we would have enough, we were going to rent a house for 1 year not having any guarantee of a steady job.We believed it was Gods will for us to be out of debt,and He had given us this opportunity.We were there like i said till the end of the project .When I got there I was in debt we left debt free.
We moved to Anchorage Alaska where I worked for the carpenters union for a while, it was not steady enough so I went to work building apartments and then to work for a custom home builder.After almost 3 years in Alaska I did not want to go through another entire winter there, Dec 18 two moose where in our backyard that day up to their knees in snow.
We drove out in a blizzard ,we arrived in friend December 23 about midnight,at Lee and Anne Roths house unannounced to surprise them.
We bought our house on Chestnut st in Friend February 1995.I worked on the house for a couple of months but then I had to get back to work.I went to work for another company for a while but decided after less than a year I would go on my own again.I had worked for several people after I left Massachusetts where I Had my Massachusetts Contractors License.I enjoy being my own boss. I have a very diversified background in the building trades.I have worked for several framing crews,I worked for a builder building and installing custom cabinets,I worked for a company that did custom finish work,I took a 2 week hands on seminar on building timber frames(post and beam).I have worked several concrete crewsI worked for a man up in Minnesota putting up structural steel farm buildings,I worked in Ohio painting barns,also as a drywall contractor,I worked for a painting contractor in New Hampshire,when Jimmy Carter was president I got into the CETA program and took a course on plant and building maintenance,studying electrical and plumbing,carpentry etc...I worked for the highway department in Huntington Massachusetts,working on the roads ,cutting tree's,plowing snow,I even worked at a saw mill for a while.I also worked for a company for a while putting up chain link fences,we had to dig a hole every ten feet,four foot deep by hand,then we mixed the concrete by hand.
My diverse background has made me more than qualified to take on any remodeling project that you might imagine I love working with my hands and building things ,I am good at listening to people ,when I do a project for people I take my job very seriously ,I understand a mans castle is his home .I enjoy helping people build their dreams.
Sriptures I endeavor to live by :
Colossians 2:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye service, as men pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
1st.Thessalonians 4:11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
2Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Ecclesiastes12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
Ecclesiastes3:12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. 14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
Thanks for taking the time to read this I hope I can reach you at a deeper level. I ask you consider giving me a chance on your next project ,I have lots of references if you need them. No project to big or small
Sincerly
Rick Sheehan
Sheehan Remodeling
311 Chestnut St. Friend Ne.
402 499 2738
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402 499 2738