My Contractor/Family Man Standoff - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 4

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 3 - January 28, 2026)

There are some who have seen me rehabbing on television before asking for advice that might help them share what they love for an audience. I have a tough time offering up words that I feel really land in a helpful way. What I have said more than once, is that a factor in what got me to that point was that I’ve messed up a lot. That’s a negative way of explaining it, perhaps not totally fair since I’ve admittedly done some things right. Hopefully though, someone or two, may read some of what I am sharing and sidestep pitfalls while they pick up a crumb that helps them keep pushing on.  

From the moment I closed on my first condemned house, until I got married, my life had been consumed with renovating and building, for both me and my clients, and then often as a volunteer. And in this season of my life, I'd steadily layered skills, growing professionally and learning how to be a better builder. Along the way I enjoyed my share of success, which slid me down the slippery road to Cockytown; I felt somewhat invincible buying and taking on houses other people considered unredeemable. This attitude could have been professionally fatal. It wasn't, but that possibility fizzled under my work boots a few times.

I failed to realize, to really fathom how my life would change so radically after I got married and became a stepfather. And although I was tuned in to the many challenges facing my wife and stepchild, a boy with a list of special needs and a schedule of therapies and appointments, I was ill-equipped in so many ways. Causing me to feel more over my head was biological fatherhood that began nine months after our honeymoon.

I had deluded myself into thinking I’d just keep chugging along as a home renovator and contractor, only making minor adjustments, tweaking what I did and how I earned a living along the way. For the first couple years, I held this optimism of me simply tinkering my way back to a new normal that would have me being as effective and productive as I’d been.

However, I was very wrong.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 5 - February 2, 2026)

Drawing Inspiration from Survivorman - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 3

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 2 - January 26, 2026)

In both building and rebuilding, moving ahead in sequence is critical. And early on, especially with my first project house, this approach was a labyrinth I muddled my way through. But project by project I figured out my best way of progressing.

I’m applying what I know of construction sequencing to this written insight into the TV phase of my career, trying to explain what’s pertinent in order that makes sense. My hope is that these details, much wordier than how I’d respond in a direct message back to a viewer or curious person far away, will answer lingering questions and perhaps help someone else get where they’re trying to go.

Hurricane Hugo slammed into the Carolina Coast in 1989. I moved to South Carolina a decade later. And a couple years after that I spotted a casualty of the historic storm. I did research on the decaying home at the county registrar's office and reached out to the property owners. However, they weren't ready to sell until the house was condemned by the local building department in 2005.

My ownership of this overgrown place coincided with Les Stroud's hit TV show Survivorman. Throughout this series, the outdoorsman hangs tough in the wilderness, by himself for days, documenting each experience as he teaches viewers how to cope if they ever find themselves in extreme circumstances. It's a pretty cool show and I imagine a few lives have been saved by knowledge viewers gained from watching this series. Although I'm not a big hiker or camper, I really enjoyed the episodes I was able to watch, and they inspired me to buy a camcorder to document the renovation of what I began to call 'The Hurricane House.'

However, the highest-ranking inspector and I disagreed starkly on the potential of the dilapidated brick.

I said to him, "It's not really that bad."

But he answered back, "This place must be torn down."

I remember what I thought in that moment. “Now it’s on.” At that point, I’d come through multiple impossible renovations with profit, and I was primed for another challenge.

However, he was the authority, the man, and like Ceasar, he could give the thumbs up or down on my permit. We both understood this. And yet, I also knew that inspectors come and go, so I entered something of a holding pattern, secured the exterior openings, and shifted my focus to other projects. And when this head official was replaced a short time later, I pulled permits and got to work.

From the start, I documented my efforts. Although I owned it outright, by myself, I needed plenty of help to bring this house back from the brink. It was good practice to hit the record button and explain how I approached each phase and the strategy from start to finish. I had no idea how to turn this footage into something watchable for my family or anyone else. I still don't. But it was fun to make the videos and a good experience overall, allowing me to look back at what I started with and compare it to the finished home I had to sell at the end. When it sold, at the height of the real estate bubble, my realtor believed that it was likely the highest square foot price in the history of the neighborhood.  

Although I had no way of knowing it, documenting the project on video was good preparation for down the road, when I had a chance to try to explain what I did on camera for people in high places.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 4 - January 30, 2026)

The Lifestyle of Rehabbing - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 2

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 1 (January 23rd, 2026)

When folks who’ve watched American Rehab Charleston or Restoring Charleston take time to reach out, I want to be sure to write back, answer questions and provide background or clarity as best as I can. Although I realize most aren’t after some longwinded essay, I’m sometimes left with the feeling that my reply didn’t fully measure up after a viewer spent time and effort sending their thoughts my way. Since the shows are still being viewed, and some remain curious, I’m providing added insight.

I enjoyed my adventure in renovating a home of my own tremendously; more than I had imagined. With the help of a team of talented tradespeople, I resurrected a condemned property left for dead, a fire damaged ranch that many felt had been destined for the county landfill.

Far from a finance wizard, I had an in-depth view of the dollars and cents, from beginning to end of my first renovation. This gave me a solid handle on the basics impacting this rehab: upfront money, subcontractor costs, vendor expenses, mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, monthly utility bills. Because of my hands on approach to many of the scopes, work I enthusiastically dug into, I realized how this sort of DIY approach could make the math work. So, when my employer went under, I dove into my own house projects full time. This was when renovating began to consume every nook and cranny of my life, and looking back, I realize that rehabbing, more than just being what I did for work, became my lifestyle at that point.

As a sidenote, I imagine some careers and hobbies to be similar, to be more than just ways of earning a living or passing time. Working in a high-end restaurant, at least that sort of kitchen, or living the life of a hardcore surfer are examples of this in my mind. I don't think this take applies to every cook or waverider, but for some I think their commitment consumes them, perhaps even to a level that can be described as an obsession. Sure, they have family and friends and the usual responsibilities, but otherwise, these passions take precedent. These chefs and ocean athletes think and speak in a way that only they understand. They make sacrifices and life choices that are next level, all for this thing they do and live and love. Smells of their trade or sport likely register differently in their minds. I’m thinking that perfection means something to them that only folks like them can understand.  

So, back to myself in this decade of my career, renovating was my life, rehabbing was my lifestyle, working with my arms and neck coated in grime and filth, speaking the language fluently, knowing which scopes are hung, which are laid, and when the word brick requires an s. I worked hard and toward each phase change; closing day, demo day, putting together the team, the fresh smell of cut lumber before insulation, wet compound on sheetrock, the fuss over those spots where multiple trades meet and require a special solution so it looks like it's been planned that way all along, meeting realtors before the house is placed on the market.

I was always working out solutions, sometimes proactively, other times reactively, in my head day and night. And in this season, I would literally dream of project houses transforming neighborhoods that didn't exist. They felt real, actual since they were part of my world for months and years as I slept. I oversaw completed or ongoing renos in my waking hours and an entirely different, non-existent collection in dreamland. It was cool and bizarre at the same time.

During this time of my life, I frequently found myself helpless as I drove by someone else's junk, curbside or in a dumpster, feeling compelled to load something I might be able to use, other’s trash I deemed too good to waste.

And I thoughtlessly dressed the part; paint splattered t-shirts, worn boots, pullovers, and holy kneed blue jeans created from day-to-day attention to wood flooring or base or quarter round. Once, a bank manager said I’d need $500 to open an account before asking, “How much would you like to deposit?” My answer was fifty grand, causing her mouth to drop open as she explained, “We’re going to verify funds with the other bank.” I looked like a raggamuffin. I was living the life of a rehabber. It was a time when tape measures were my equivalent to sex wax or bench cutters.

I had a good long run, more than most, until new ingredients began to be woven into my world of hammers and sawdust.  

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 3 - January 28, 2026)

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 1

I appreciate the time viewers have taken to reach out in response to watching me renovate one of my houses on television or on-line. People have asked about my background leading up to these projects in front of cameras. This is the beginning of a longer answer that I will share as I search for the best words.

Building has always been something I’ve enjoyed, and I came from a family that built and renovated their own homes. Playing in the sandbox as a boy was one of my favorite things to do in the backyard and LEGOS, or houses of cards were indoor go-tos. So, I spent a lot of time imagining how it might be fun to build things for real when I grew up.

In college I majored in international affairs and years later picked up an associate degree in construction engineering. Jobs during these years stoked this passion for building. I spent three summers working at a hometown lumber yard, loading and delivering supplies and materials throughout Darke County, Ohio, regularly peppering local homebuilders with my questions. And I spent five other breaks traveling as the low man on foundation and erection crews building glass and steel water tanks.

But during this decade, I was finding time to watch This Old House on Saturday mornings. And week after week, my dream to buy and renovate a home of my own, something that I would know needed to be renovated from the start, began to really grow.

I was thirty-one before I was able to call myself a homeowner, and because of student loans, I didn’t qualify for much. A bank was willing to partner with me as I took on a house condemned by local officials due to a devastating fire in the laundry room. To some, I’d made a big mistake and was wasting my time. However, twelve months later I received the certificate of occupancy, having overseen the transformation of the worst house on the block into the most valuable. And my career as a home renovator grew from there.

The Lifestyle of Rehabbing - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 2 (January 26, 2026)

Salute of Appreciation for Notes and Messages

It’s been a decade since I was in the TV phase of my career. Back then, I had no way of knowing what was around the corner, how the shows would be received or considered, and then in what ways they would pop up beyond HGTV and the DIY network. Even now, the reach of American Rehab Charleston and Restoring Charleston is surprising. And yet, since I still receive notes and messages from viewers, I’m reminded that they’re out there and inspiring viewers who find ways to contact me.

The time taken to watch, but also then to reach out with questions or comments is always appreciated and marks my day, whether positive or not. More than once, I’ve discovered a dusty DM, sometimes years after it was written. I make an effort to respond to everyone, but I’m steadily learning new things about my smartphone, stumbling onto emails or inboxes that are off my radar. And if I’ve missed a message, haven’t written someone back, I’m truly sorry.

Motivation for those reaching out seems to vary. Sometimes people have a question about a scene in one of the episodes. Other viewers ask for advice or my two cents. Some have a great home they think I should take a look at, a house with potential and too special to not save. There are also folks curious about how it happened for me, my background leading to an opportunity to renovate with the film crews. Many are interested in being on television themselves, either they’d like to get into the action with me or want to know if I can help them land shows of their own.

And I’ve also heard from people from my past, kids I grew up with who now have families and careers of their own. They’ve contacted me saying, “I recognized your voice,” or “I saw your name on the screen and told my family, ‘I know that guy!” Old co-workers now in other parts of the country have also written to tell me similar stories of the moment of them discovering me on TV.

However, there have also been disappointed viewers, underwhelmed to a point that they’ve spent time letting me know how they feel and what was not right.

As much as I enjoy writing about renovating, sharing stories or offering encouragement, I think it makes some sense to dig deeper and lay out some answers for those who remain curious.   

Happy 2026!

Passing along good wishes and positive holiday vibes. I hope everyone reading this has a happy, safe, and wonderful new year.

Somewhere in the past I remember listening to a lighthearted debate about when it becomes too late to still wish others a Happy New Year. The ultimate cutoff date that was settled on escapes me, but I feel sure January 3rd would be within the zone of acceptable by both arguers.   

I find myself like many others, resolving to recommit to healthier habits in 2026. With this in mind I am making a more heartfelt commitment towards gratitude and even less bridled kindness.

In addition, with this renewed attitude I will type a few words about how impressed I’ve become with all the talented people on the internet. The creativity so frequently on the screen in my hand is amazing, entertaining me and inspiring me while also infusing me with welcomed humility.

Peace be with you today, tomorrow, and the months ahead in our new year.

Trent