Foundations are the Key - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 36

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

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 35 - April 11, 2026)

The Golden Rule is fundamental: treat other people as you want to be treated. Some might say the standard for carpentry is measure twice, cut once. I’ll offer what many sages see as the key to building and construction in general: get the foundation right before you go vertical with the structure everyone will see.

Have you ever kept an eye on a major build and thought:

What’s taking so long?

When are we gonna get to start seeing some actual building?

The foundation phase is sometimes surprisingly extensive, especially for larger, more involved structures. But once the base is complete, activity oftentimes escalates inversely to the early phase and the structure seems to shoot up and out, with the project taking shape quickly as the permanent building assumes its position.

Over the years I’ve hears building veterans’ deliver the same message in a variety of ways, often saying something sounding like: if you don’t get the foundation right, you’ll be fighting the building the whole way. And it’s so true. The foundation is crucial in commercial, residential, and all other factions of construction. The initial efforts are consistently paramount to what’s coming along after. 

Foundational work is tedious, time consuming,
and too easily overlooked &/or forgotten
 

I’ve tried to rework this insight to sound less foreboding, more encouraging: Get the foundation right & what follows will unfold smoother.

Proactive, upfront efforts can apply to more than erecting a steel structure or framing up a house. One can apply this introductory step taking to starting a career, business, or partnership, professional or personal. If things get started off correctly, down the pike will be better than if something significant is kicked off too quickly and without proper planning.

As I described in a previous post, in December of 2013, I should have scheduled a trip up to New York City, and probably even Minneapolis. That would have established needed clarity for all involved, resulting in documented specifics that were signed off on. However, I was overly flattered, and frankly too intimidated to make this move.

Once I had something in writing with network executives, I could have begun assembling teams. These advisors would have included an attorney, business manager, accountant, project manager, and superintendent or people helping me wearing more than one of these caps. Some of us would then sit in an office scratching notes and drafting documents to be reviewed and signed. Other meetups would take place in a war room with the floorplans, architectural renderings, spreadsheets, calendars, and the site plan.

And then on the family side, commitments to help with our kids would be ironed out, dependable caregivers to pick up the slack so their young lives didn’t feel disrupted too severely during this three-month phase coming up around the bend.

After all, if the network was paying for the renovation costs, then I could invest some resources into support on my end, fulltime/four-month staff from December through March.

These are foundational steps and pieces that needed to happen before all that would follow. I was simply ill equipped to take even these steps, and in that way, not really ready for this unexpected opportunity that was more than I could have asked for or imagined.

At the end of 2013, I did not meet this moment as needed and this faltering on my part was my biggest mistake of many. I wasn’t savvy and mature enough and this initial business malpractice was where I botched my chance to really leave my mark. It’s not all really plain and very simple to understand, but this is the stone-cold nutshell truth none the less. And so, one of the lessons driven further home for me is the value in getting the foundation right, in something new like renovating with film crews, so that what follows will unfold more smoothly.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 36 - April 15, 2026)

Remember the Seven P's

Prior

Proper

Planning

Prevents

Painfully

Poor

Performance

First off, when it comes to renovating an old home (or an extremely run-down property) you can plan to be surprised.  That’s part of the adventure.  If you anticipate everything flowing in a predictable way, the unexpecteds will create more uneasiness than necessary.  You need a plan, and be ready to work it, but I’ll encourage you to remember that there will be hiccups.

It happens a few times a month; I hit the jobsite, ready to start the day, without a solid plan.  I'll kick things off  by making coffee before really deciding exactly what I'd do that day.  It's kind of fun to wing it once in a while.

However, planning things out is what I prefer and defiantly the most productive way to go.  Prior proper planning prevents painfully poor performance.  It's the best, safest, and most efficient way to push through a rehab.  I have a schedule in the form of a step-by-step plan of attack and how I exactly take on my project each day is oftentimes dictated by priorities of security, safety, basic construction sequencing, and weather.  On a daily basis, I like making a short list of ten things that I want to get done during a typical work day.  When I'm really on the ball I'll write down that list on an index card the day before.  And making the most of my day includes having material loaded on my truck with tools & equipment ready to go too.   

If you've ever seen any episodes of Renovation Realities on the DIY network, you may have an idea about what I'm getting at.  On this show, the renovators oftentimes wake up, make breakfast or coffee, and then they're ready to start.  However, how often do they get side tracked right at the beginning with other stuff before they really get down to business?    Answer: All the time.  One of them has to run the kids over to grandmas or they have to hit the box store to buy the material.  Maybe they need to go borrow a step ladder or empty the kitchen cabinets and move the appliances.  Like I said before, sometimes it's fun to show up and see what happens, but when you have a limited amount of time to work with, you need to consider the value of being a little more proactive.  If you're re-doing your kitchen, clean out those cabinets ahead of time.  Move the fridge to somewhere else the night before.  Figure out what you need and stock the garage or another room indoors.  And make time to do some research and take a few notes before it's time to start.  The internet is an awesome tool for today's DIY rehabbers.   

If you're a do-it-yourselfer and you want to make the most of your limited hours, then plan ahead.  Get the easy things out the way before the days when you need to really get down and dirty with your work.  Most of you DIYers have a couple days of the week that are your prime times to work.  It could be a weekend or another two or three day break from your paying gig.  You're really going to want to make the most of this time.  Get your game plan in mind and make your list before it’s go-time.  Make an effort to have what you'll need before you need it.  Think about getting in and out of building supply store(s) any time prior to the morning for your on-site action.  Then you can haul the material inside and get some rest before you attack things fresh in the morning.  Not only will this be more productive, it will make your rehabbing more enjoyable.
 
So remember the 7 P's, plan your work, and work your plan.  This won't eliminate all the unexpected challenges, but it will help to minimize them and it'll put you in a better frame of mind for the bumps in the renovation road.

Subdividing the Bungalow and the Duplex

The Bungalow was a Pig's Ear.  It was the worst house on the street.  In as much as I believed the home and the detached garage (see The Detached Garage at the Bungalow) could be reconstructed dramatically, I also felt certain that the overall property had potential to be more as well.  With the Bungalow I acquired a rental house with two apartments (the Duplex) and from the moment I agreed to the deal I had intentions of legally subdividing the land and creating two separate properties.

The Bungalow and the Duplex were in Charleston, SC.  Charleston is one of the country's oldest cities and it has wholeheartedly embraced it's rich history and distinct architecture.  There is nothing historical or architecturally significant about the Bungalow (and it's detached garage) or the Duplex, but since they're located within the city's jurisdiction, I had to follow the same procedures (through the city's Dept. of Planning, Preservation, and Sustainability,  the Subdivision Review Committee, and the Board of Architectural Review) as the classic antebellum homes on the city's peninsula that were built centuries ago when Charleston was one of the wealthiest cities in the nation. 

The city's process was methodical, systematic, and routine and even though I was not resurrecting historic buildings in the carriage tour districts, the folks at the City of Charleston could not have been more supportive of my plans.  They helped me very thoughtfully with all the photo and drawing submissions (and revisions) that were required and patiently answered my steady stream of questions while they walked me through the reviews, appeals, and meetings that are part of a property subdivision in our historic city.  

In the end, the people working on behalf of the city were instrumental in helping me transform one of the worst properties in the neighborhood into two that we were very proud of. 

View from the back of the property before.  The Bungalow (left) and the Duplex (right).

After - The fence that denotes the new property line will one day be covered with ivy.

See related post The Picture Window at the Bungalow