Local electrician Ken Burns has fond memories of his youth living with his family at a compact ranch-style house at 82 Berkshire Road (Route 34) in Sandy Hook.

He recalls days of playing in the spacious backyard amid fields and trees which lead to the rustic, winding Sugarloaf Road.

In the past, the area was generally agricultural, he noted. A large working farm stood across Sugarloaf Road in the area now proposed for the 42-lot Sherman Woods cluster-style residential subdivision.

Today, Mr Burns, the proprietor of Ken Burns Electrical Contractors Inc, of Hawleyville, is overseeing the swift construction of a new house at the Berkshire Road site.

The new ranch-style house is being built on the concrete foundation where a dilapidated 1,350-square-foot house formerly stood.

When a demolition crew razed the former structure on September 26, they saved the foundation and a large chimney, which both will be part of the new structure.

The decayed house drew much attention in April 2013, when it was discovered that human urine kept in more than 200 one-gallon plastic jugs was being stored in two rooms inside the building.

Police investigated, but found nothing illegal occurring there, terming the urine storage unusual but not illegal.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEPP) responded to the scene and ordered proper disposal for the human waste. 

Chief Building Official John Poeltl said the house that formerly stood there was “too far gone to save,” noting the extensive decay of the wood-frame structure. The building had extensive interior water damage, he said, noting the presence of large holes in the roof. Problems included interior mold, damaged wallboard, and a damaged kitchen.

The town had condemned the house after the extensive damage was discovered.

On September 5, Mr Burns and his wife, Kimberley, bought the decayed house on the 1.3-acre site from owner Santiago Britt of Milton, Mass., for $75,000, plus several hundred dollars in back taxes.

Mr Britt had purchased the property from a previous owner for $146,000 in February 1996.

Mr Burns had lived in the house for 15 years, from the time of its construction in 1971 until 1986.

A Swift Build

When considering that harsh weather is on the way, it is important that the shell of the new house be constructed soon so that work on the building can proceed into the coming winter, Mr Burns said. He added that he hopes to have the house ready for occupancy by January or February.

The structure is being built on speculation without a prospective buyer in mind, he said.

To make the lot on which the structure stands both more appealing and more practical, vegetative overgrowth has been removed and existing trees have been trimmed back.

When completed, the house will look similar to adjacent houses in the area, Mr Burns said. The house will be pale green in color with black shutters and white trim, he said.

“We thought this was a neat project,” he said.

Unfortunately, over the years the house where he had lived for 15 years fell into disrepair, he said.

Thus, he vowed that he would acquire it if possible and restore it. But the damage was so extensive that it made more sense to rebuild at the site than to make repairs.

“It was a blight,” Mr Burns said.

As an electrician, he will be wiring the new house.

He notes that neighboring property owners have visited the construction site and are glad that a new house will replace the decayed structure that formerly stood there.

Mr Burns said that if the project at 82 Berkshire Road proves successful, he would consider possibly improving other blighted properties in town.