Many years ago, more than 200 in fact, Benjamin Franklin flew his kite into a lightning storm to find out more about electricity. It was a rather shocking experience. He wasn’t the first to discover electricity. Nor did he do anything overly useful that I know of with it. Thomas[Read More…]
Tyler Mayhan
Tyler Mayhan is general manager of Better Barns, which is based in Oklahoma.
‘Bombs Bursting in Air’
I love the Fourth of July! Grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, playing volleyball with my friends and family, and then enjoying the beautiful fireworks display that my hometown of Pauls Valley puts on every year is something to look forward to annually. Also, Independence Day is one of my paid[Read More…]
Working It All Out
The shed industry, like all other industries, has its fair share of unique characters. I’ve worked with many different kinds of personality types over the last 15 years. Some of my co-workers have been very pleasant to deal with, and some have been, well, not so much. The key to[Read More…]
Gone Fishing
Back in the “good ole days” of Better Barns, when things were simpler and I didn’t have a family to support, there were a lot of things done that had nothing whatsoever to do with producing storage sheds. Vance and I were both young. I was in my teens, and[Read More…]
Three Men and a Barrel
Shed builders are very creative folks. You must be creative to put food on the table every week on a builder’s paycheck. My fellow hammer-swingers have learned a few things over the years to simplify tasks, and to save wear and tear on our bodies and equipment. We innovate for[Read More…]
Help-a-Hoot
We all know about hammers, speed squares, tape measures, and tool bags. Many shed builders use nail guns. Our table, miter, and circular saws see a great amount of use daily. Some of us use the flat bar and nail punch regularly. Tools are reasonably standard across the shed industry.[Read More…]
The Customer is Always Right…
I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage about customer service, which eloquently states, “The customer is always right.” If you’ve been delivering sheds for a while, you know that rule can be broken. Vance and I headed out early one morning to a nearby city to build a building for[Read More…]
For Want of an Air Conditioner, Part 3
Our on-site job in Newalla was going terribly. The first day went great, until we discovered our trim was cut wrong and decided to come back and finish on the second day. The second day was going reasonably well, until I needed a couple things from the truck, only to[Read More…]
For Want of an Air Conditioner, Part 2
If you’ll recall at the end of last issue, my crew leader—who shall remain unnamed—decided that we should bring our little F-150 the next day rather than the tool truck to a brutally hot build. Why? Air conditioning! After a stop by the hardware store for a pallet of blocks,[Read More…]
For Want of an Air Conditioner
Our on-site truck is getting on up in age and miles and has been for several years. It is a great truck for going out on location and constructing a building. The tool bed allows us to keep our guns, hoses, saws, nails, hand tools, etc., stocked and ready. All[Read More…]
