The Carpenter's Grandson: Inside 3rd Generation Builders

There's a photo on the owner's website that says everything before the first sentence of the story does: a young boy standing in front of a finished log home, summer of 1986, grinning next to his grandfather. That boy is Mike Fanelli. The home was in Ulster County. And the craft running through his family was already thirty-four years old.

Today, Fanelli owns 3rd Generation Builders, a general contractor serving Ulster and Dutchess counties from an office at 1986 Ulster Avenue in Lake Katrine. The company name isn't marketing. It's a family tree measured in sawdust.

A Legacy That Started in Dobbs Ferry

It began with Frank Fanelli Sr., born in 1924 to Elizabeth and Anthony Fanelli, immigrants from Calabria who settled in Dobbs Ferry. After Army service, Frank opened Frank Fanelli Carpentry in 1952, and spent the rest of his life on job sites.

His son Bob grew up inside that business and pushed the family's skills into heavy equipment operation, excavation, and sitework — the unglamorous groundwork that every great build depends on. Bob brought his youngest son Mike along, hands-on, from toddler age.

The Log Home That Changed Everything

In 1991, Mike's parents built a log home in Ulster County. Mike, then a teenager, helped at every step and fell hard for the work. He apprenticed under different tradesmen, learning every phase of construction, and in 1999 — at just twenty-three — founded 3rd Generation Builders to honor his grandfather and father.

That decision was tested early. Fanelli steered the company through the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the team that stayed is a big part of why the company describes its culture as its real construction project.

From Excavation to Fine Finishes

What makes this contractor unusual is the span of the work. Excavation, sitework, paving, concrete, framing and siding, mechanical and HVAC, drywall, painting, finish carpentry, custom cabinetry and millwork, hardscaping, lead paint removal, even passive construction — much of it in-house. For a homeowner, that's the practical payoff: one crew, one phone call, one person accountable from the first stake to the last cabinet door.

The portfolio leans into the county's character. Projects have included homes in Woodstock, Bearsville, Saugerties, Glasco, Kingston, and Hunter — modern builds, historic renovations, and quiet functional spaces alike.

Where to Find Them

Why It Matters Here

Ulster County homes come with history — plaster walls, stone foundations, and the occasional lead paint layer in anything built before 1978. A contractor who can strip, dig, frame, and finish under one roof is built for exactly that terrain. The company's Ulster County Chamber of Commerce membership anchors it locally, too.

And there's a quiet postscript: Fanelli's teenage son is growing up the way Mike did, which means the business card might one day need a fourth digit. Frank Fanelli's carpentry shop has been open, in one form or another, for seventy-four years — and the next chapter is being framed right now.

If a project is on your horizon, the door at 1986 Ulster Avenue opens at 8 AM, Monday through Friday. Call (845) 590-4476 or email inquiries@3rdgenerationbuilders.com — three generations of answers on the other end.