09/06/2026
Labor Day 2026, I’m hanging up my tool belt and I am officially retiring from the building trades and home inspection industry.
It seems fitting to do it before the day set aside to recognize the American worker, because working with my hands, building things, and solving problems has been a big part of my life for more than 30 years.
My journey started at Bradley Central High School in Coach Darnell Baggett’s Building Trades class. Our first year, we built a home in Fox Fire Subdivision for the Rymer family. The next year, we built another across from the subdivision for Coach Baggett’s son. I didn’t realize it then, but those two years helped shape the direction of my life.
In the late 90’s I went to work framing houses with my dad. From there, I started my own subcontracting crew and eventually earned my General Contractor’s License.
Over the years, I had the opportunity to oversee the construction of more than 70 homes in our area from the ground up, including many for a local nonprofit. Those houses were always more than lumber, concrete and drywall — they were places families would call home.
In 2021, Cortney and I took everything I had learned and built Hiwassee River Retreat. Not long afterward, my son Arrie began taking over the construction business. Today, he continues that work through Bramlett Home Improvement, and I couldn’t be prouder.
Construction also led me to become a Licensed Home Inspector and start Bramlett Home Inspections, where I could use decades of building experience to help people better understand and protect the homes they were buying.
Now that knowledge is being passed down again. My son Joshua is working toward his Home Inspector license and plans to reopen Bramlett Home Inspections and continue what we started.
But looking back, what I appreciate most isn’t the buildings. It’s the people.
I had the opportunity to work alongside people I grew up and went to school with.
The industry also introduced me to people I probably never would have known otherwise, including contractors countless builders, subcontractors, suppliers, Realtors, tradesmen, customers and friends.
There are far too many to name, but I haven’t forgotten them.
I’m thankful for Coach Baggett for introducing a teenage kid to the building trades.
I’m thankful for my dad for teaching me valuable construction skills — and for not paying me what I was worth, which motivated me to go out on my own. I eventually hired him to work for me.
I’m thankful for everyone who trusted me to build, work on, or inspect their home.
And I’m especially thankful that after all these years, I get to watch my sons take some of the knowledge and experience I gained and make it their own.
I’ll always be proud to have been a builder.
Thank you to everyone who was part of the journey. Now to focus on our retreat and enjoying the things in life that I love the most.
-Ty-