Renovating Takes Time... And That's Okay.

If you've seen any of the American Rehab Charleston or Restoring Charleston episodes, than you understand that I'm really into history.  We're at the end of football season and all the teams I pull for have been eliminated.  But the thing that holds my attention to the NFL's season finale in February is the historical ramifications.  As much as the action on the field, I know the history of the sport and that's significant in why I watch professional football.

I enjoy college football for a different reason.  There's still a historical element to my interest, but the action on the field is different, and for this fan better than the pro games.  College football is a little slower.  Not a lot, but enough that it's noticeably easier to see plays develop.  I like that.  Things happen so fast in the NFL and this leads to the propensity for significant injuries (which stinks), but it also makes it tougher to follow the action without instant replay.  

It seems like I'm off topic when I start writing about sports, but this is still about renovating old houses.  I've never considered myself a house flipper.  Flipping houses is a fast deal like the NFL action.  What I do when I renovate a Pig's Ear is a little different.  However, I think my approach is not just a better fit for my family and I, but it's also more practical for most people renovating a home of their own as a do-it-yourselfer serving in the role as their own General Contractor or Construction Manager.  In this way (in this football/rehab analogy) it's more similar to college football.  It's slower and you can see and understand things differently than in a flip that's laser focused on schedule and budget where you save time that costs money and along the way miss some valuable or worthwhile things.  

Just like I enjoy history, and the history of a sport like football, I also have a constant appreciation for the history of each of my properties.  For me, that's just part of the adventure of fixing up a house.  And not just the houses, but the neighborhood and the town.  I know some may see these things as distractions to the bottom line profit, but this is not a numbers game for me.  It's also a way of life and I'm thankful for this awareness.

I've seen how home rehabbing shows make the projects look easier than they actually are or more difficult (see Renovation Realities on DIY).  But since I've also renovated a few houses with the film crews I understand why and how the producers do it... and I get it (sort of).  A thirty minute or two hour house rehab on television is fun and can be inspirational, but it's not like the real thing.  That I do know for sure.  The real life, hand's on experience is so much better.  It's more exciting and more enjoyable in a different way, and sure it takes longer than a half hour.  But if your a DIYer, embrace the time it takes to complete your project.  Realize that it's part of the experience.  Savor it.  Appreciate it.  And make the most of this extra time.     

BTW - I'm cheering for the Philadelphia Eagles on Super Bowl Sunday, not just because they're the underdog (the Beagles), but because they've never won the big game before.

If Necessary, Just Slow Down  (May 3rd, 2012)

And That's a Wrap!!

This is the amazing production team that I spent my summer with!  They were so great!  They've all been gone a full week now and I'm really missing them.  It was like getting to work with family and close friends everyday for two and half months. 

For clarity, I don't choose the people I'm working with on the TV side.  They're sent to me from all over the country.  They're all strangers at first, not just to me, but in most cases to each other as well.  However, over time and quite quickly we grow together naturally and begin to work efficiently as a team that get's to tell the story of a Pig's Ear getting saved.  We were all just thrown together and we made it work in a special way that probably made it hard for people on the outside looking in to believe that we only all just met in June.     

I love getting to work with a tradesperson who stumbles onto a gnarly, unexpected situation on one of my projects and shrugs as they say, "It's not a big deal.  I'll take care of it."  This was what it was like working with this crew on our two houses being renovated simultaneously this summer.  Maybe there were times when they were anxious or nervous on the inside, but they didn't show it.  They were champs day after day and I am so grateful that I got to spend the long days and intense weeks with them. 

Renovating a house is an adventure.  I sometimes need to remind myself of this to gain some additional inspiration as I grind it out.  Taking on a condemned or abandoned house is even more challenging and dirty and nerve-racking.  However, it's also a lot of fun.  I really love each project.  I enjoy figuring out the unexpected and getting to the end with my sanity and hopefully some profit.

As fun as it is during normal circumstances, it's even more enjoyable with the production crew there with me in the middle of the action.  Everyday, we were there experiencing everything together.  When I'm renovating a house like I usually do, I'm alone much of the time and I frequently  don't get to share the experience with anyone.  If I discover something unique or cool, it's most often when I'm by myself.  To have others there with me is special and getting to have experienced pros right there with cameras while I'm miked up is still mind-blowing for me.

Fun, Fun, Fun!  I'm so thankful I got to do two more houses for television.

I'm not able to thank you all enough!  You're the best!

The Shatner Project (Adventure)

William Shatner, the legendary actor who I first saw as Captain Kirk on Star Trek, comes back to TV tonight in the premiere of The Shatner Project on the DIY network at 10pm EST.  The network episode page concludes the show information by describing the remodel as an 'adventure.’  I love it.

I prefer to look at life’s challenges as adventures.  At first this became a comfortable mantra for me when things went south… like vehicle break downs at the wrong place or time, a few unplanned fires I’ve been able to extinguish, or at gnarly traffic accidents or other emergency situations.  This mindset has also helped me keep my head right as I’ve been faced with dicey situations; a stranger with Alzheimer’s that needed help or a neighbor beating up his girlfriend as well as unexpected events like a pet that needs reunited with its owner or a cell phone that needs reunited with its owner.  For some, these may be viewed as inconveniences or headaches, but I accept them as things that are part of the adventure that is life.    

I love renovating these run-down properties for so many reasons and the adventure of taking on a crazy challenge is just part of it for me.  I buy the house and I know I’m going to save it, but I have no idea exactly how I’m going to get to the finish line.  I don’t know who’s going to be a part of the team along the way or who I’ll meet while I’m working.  That’s part of the fun for me.  Heading off into the unknown I guess.  For some this is no way to operate.  I understand.  But taking on a big challenge that no one else wants is not just an adventure, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow, as a professional and as someone who realizes that the world is a big classroom. 

Sometimes folks consider adventure in a far off limited sense that makes it hard to apply to modern everyday life.   Sailing a ship through pirate infested waters.  That’s an adventure that’s a good story, but not all that relatable (unless you’re someone like Capt. Richard Phillips).  Hiking through the wilderness, traveling to a foreign country, serving in the military; these are modern sceneries that we think of when we use the word adventure.  But for me, renovating a pig’s ear is an adventure, just like starting a small business, getting married, raising children, or trying to get everything on the supply list at the department store the day before school starts.  These are all adventures.  Life is an adventure. 

In The Shatner Project, Mr. Bill is serving as the Project Manager of his remodel, but c’mon… he’s Captain Kirk.  He’s really the Project Captain (… a much higher rank than a PM, for sure.)  Anyway, I’m thinking he’s ready.  He’s got the right attitude.  It’s an adventure.  So as far as Mr. Shatner’s renovation adventure goes.  Like I said, I love that, I get it, and I’ll be watching tonight.              

The Baltimore Animal House

BOOK REVIEW
From Animal House To Our House:  A Love Story

  

On May 10th, I heard Ron Tanner speak about his new book at the Charleston County Public Library.  This is one stop of his 66-City Tour telling America about his house renovation adventure(s).  I really enjoyed it.  I love hearing the experiences of other renovators and was immediately intrigued because Ron's 4,500 SF brownstone was an extremely run-down property that had been condemned.  Tanner is not a house flipper or general contractor.  He's a writer who bought a dilapidated fraternity house to get the girl.

Ronald does not shy away from the personal or intimate details that help the reader understand how he got in over his head with the Delta Upsilon House (DUH) and Ron has a self-deprecating sense of humor that shines through in each chapter that makes it easier to laugh while reading about him injured and bleeding or yelling and cursing in helpless frustration.  

However, it's fair (and perhaps obvious) to say that I especially liked From Animal House To Our House because I could relate in both general and specific ways; renovation blunders, craziness with contractors, burning the candle at both ends, bank loan deadlines, predictions of unavoidable failure from visitors, throwing out a back while trying to tie a shoe, heartwarming pet stories in the midst of the rehab, realization that some renovation tasks are a lot harder to complete than expected (while others are the opposite), and on and on.

If you're rehabbing a house, loved the movie The Money Pit, enjoy reading my posts, are an aspiring home renovator, pet lover, hopeless romantic, adventurer, or wanderluster, I think you'll enjoy From Animal House To Our House as much as me. 

From Cocky Ghostbuster to Tired Forrest Gump

Before the Financial Crisis and this real estate cool down, it had become routine for me to be feeling pretty triumphant as I left a closing after selling one of my resurrected properties...like Bill Murray and the Ghostbusting team shown below.

 

However, The Bungalow with it's Detached Garage and The Duplex have been different.  I bought it all as one property at the start of 2008.  Two Pig's Ears, one gigantic sow, and the worst property on the street by far.  You know what they say, "Go big or go home."  Well, I did just that.  In the worst economy since The Great Depression, I subdivided the land...so I owned the two worst properties on the street.  (see Subdividing the Bungalow and The Duplex).

While trying to be a husband, father, and step-father, I juggled; stacks of water, electric, insurance, and tax bills, credit card and credit line payments, and the schedules/needs of contractors, tradespeople, inspectors, and vendors.  And on top of those usual challenges, I also had to deal with drug dealers infiltrating part of the property, someone trying to steal a pricey air conditioner for copper, the loss of a new friend in the neighborhood who was cheering me on until he went to be with The Lord, the eviction of a pair of Waffle House waitresses who weren't paying rent, and an irritating medical issue that's too personal to share (but pretty funny for everyone else when I do).  Then to add to my neurosis, I was borderline OCD about keeping twelve different doors closed and locked when I wasn't there.  (See It's An Adventure.)  So I signed my name over and over again today and then let out a sigh while my daughter sat next to me at the conference table with her coloring book and crayons. 

I came, I saw, I finished my mission.  I don't feel like the Ghostbusters.  I feel more like  a worn-out Forrest Gump and I'm glad I have a Jenny of my own to give me a comforting hug and tell me she's proud of me even though I have nothing to show for it but my pictures, lessons learned, and some stories.

I didn't make any money on this pair, but I got back what I put in.  Some may see this as a loss.  Others may look at it as a tie.  I worked pretty hard to get there and I'm glad I made it.  I think I'll see getting back to where I started as a victory and begin looking forward to the next chapter.         

Inspections

First off, as I've said before, renovating a house is an adventure and the worse off the home is, the more exciting and challenging the mission will be.  Keep this adventurous spirit in mind as you read on and remember that inspections are just part of it and anyone who renovates a house has to deal with them and the people who conduct them.

Inspections are as unpredictable as permits. (see Step 7).  The process has less variations than permitting, but each town is different, and also like the issuing of the permits the building officials occasionally change the inspection procedures.  So, like permits, be prepared for anything.

If you need temporary services like electricity and water you'll need inspections (after getting permits).  If you have water and power in working order already, then that won't need inspected.

Next, if you're adding on any square footage, you'll likely need to invite someone from the building department over to see how things look before you have concrete placed.  Usually they get out of their vehicle to count, measure, and review what's been done, but I've had drive-by foundation inspections before where authorization was granted by a honk of the horn and a friendly wave.  (This was a small town and is certainly not the norm.)

After the base is complete (in an addition), the carpentry work will also require a review by the inspector.  All this has to be done to code, but one inspector might tell you you've done a perfect job and then a fellow code enforcer may cruise through a few days later and tell you things aren't quite right yet and you have to make adjustments.  So, be ready. 

In some municipalities, they require a framing inspection if you move or add any walls during the renovation.  This review usually happens before you do the plumbing, electrical, and the HVAC work.  I prefer this inspection sequence because if they want a correction or change it's easier to make it happen before everything is roughed-in within the walls, floors, and ceilings. 

After this, the next inspection(s) will be for the plumbing, gas, electrical, and heating/cooling systems before insulation and drywall.  And, some cities will want to stop by for a second framing inspection before insulation. (and they may even want to review the insulation before you cover it with sheet rock.)

Next, you'll need final inspections after the plumber, electrician, and HVAC contractors have trimmed out their work.  Some places will do all these trades at one time and call it a 'Final Inspection', while others will do them individually and then maybe come back one last time to see everything done to perfection before the Certificate of Occupancy is handed over.

When you hire contractors and tradespeople to do work for you, have them call for their own inspections.  They know what's required and will likely have a working relationship with the building officials. Once their work has been approved, be ready to receive an invoice (and write a check).  

I'm probably making inspections sound worse than they are, but just understand that these officials have authority and you need their approval to keep going.  Also, inspectors are like the people issuing the permits and oftentimes feel the way they do things is the only way.  Fighting the inspector is always an option, but that will cost time and money and I'd recommend you avoid this battle if you can.

Step 13: Come to Terms with Your Limitations

           You’ve got to know your limitations. Clint Eastwood muttered this advice in various ways during the film Magnum Force. Man, woman, or child; you need a sense of what you can do and what you need help with. It’s out there if you need it.

This step is a heart-to-heart with yourself and your rehabbing teammates, the time to put your skills and talent cards face up on the table.

What types of construction work have you done before?

What scope do you consider your strong suit?

How many hours per week can you spend on the project?

What is something you just won’t do?

How high can you climb and work on the ladder?

Do you want to just pay someone else to do work whenever possible?

What are your physical capabilities?

Can you operate equipment?

Would you rather do something yourself, if and when you can?

How do you feel about crawling and working in tight spaces?

Are you ready to get comfortable being a bit uncomfortable?

You can still ease out of your comfort zone, but to make the most of your time and budget, to be most profitable, Step 13 is the time to come to terms with your limitations.   

We learn by doing and through our missteps. I don’t mind sharing that I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my rehab career. I have accidentally ripped loose plumbing that caused water to flood my project; I’ve been jolted to attention when I touched electrical wires that were juiced—thankfully, these didn’t happen at the same time. I've also fallen from more than a few ladders, been stitched up in the emergency room, and have had to spend time and money fixing damage done accidentally. It happens.

I have over three decades of construction experience, twenty plus years working on my pig’s ears, and my state contracting license. I’ve taken on some really jacked-up properties and seen them through to completion. Yet, I still don't have all the answers. Just when I think I’m done with new curve balls, a different one comes my way. I still need to be ready for input from others from time to time. I try to consider these moments of humility as part of the adventure of renovating, and you should too.

          

          Know your limitations. Be open to getting help if and when you need it and when you can find it. You can hire contractors, tradespeople, engineers, and architects, but pump the brakes until you sort out the difference between your personal can and should. And if you give yourself the green light for Step 14, then grab your sledge, a crowbar, and some work gloves, because you’re now ready for demolition.

The Fire House - During

We call it the Fire House, because it was condemned by local building officials years after a dryer fire in the laundry room pushed the home into the category of uninhabitable.  It was the only run-down, vacant house on the street and I saw its potential immediately.  There was a towering Oak tree in the back yard, a pair of giant Pines in front, and a couple of beautiful Magnolia’s that needed pruning, but were still busting with southern charm.  The garage in the house had been converted into a large den, but there was a detached carport in the back yard that contained much needed storage space for materials, tools, and equipment that would be required for the renovation work.

It's clear to see that I'm covered with soot.  This was how it was for months until the drywall was hung.

I made a lot of new friends as I renovated the Fire House.  The families nearby and around the neighborhood were excited to learn that someone had bought the place with the intention of fixing it up.  The brick had been painted light gray, the shingles on the roof were a darker shade of gray, and the trim was a very, very dark blue that looked more like black.  It was an extremely ugly, dreary house and it’s no wonder someone called it a Pig’s Ear.  

 

For the entire year, I spent all my spare time working on the Fire House.  Nearly every evening after work and any spare time I had on the weekends.  However, to be accurate, it hardly felt like work for me because I wholeheartedly loved every minute of the time that I worked on that house.  I did all the initial cleanup and demolition by myself as well as the carpentry (framing and fine), roofing, and landscaping.  I won’t say that these were all simple tasks, but they were accomplishable as I knocked them out in progressive, steady steps before I went on to the next activity on the project.   

The converted garage included a fire place.

When I started the Fire House I was in no way an experienced home renovator.  I knew where I wanted to go and by that I mean I could picture how I wanted the home to look and feel when I was finished, but I certainly didn’t know exactly how I was going to get there.  It was an adventure (as I’ve written before) and my plan took shape in specific ways day-by-day, week-by-week, and month-by-month.  I failed more than one inspection and once had to frantically figure out how to shut off the water to the house after I started doing plumbing work I was unqualified for and had water shooting out of one the shower valves.  I didn’t let any of those missteps or screw-ups discourage me.  I was willing to admit that I had a lot to learn, I made the required corrections when needed, and I pushed on.  I hired tradesmen for the plumbing, HVAC, electrical, insulation, drywall, masonry, cabinetry, painting, and flooring.  I won’t say that these crews shared my vision or optimism for how the house would be resurrected, but as long as my checks cleared at the bank, they were happy to be a part of the team.  

This is a view from the spot of the fire.  What had once been the laundry room had become the future breakfast area next to the kitchen & the space that had been the living area would soon be the dining room.

Jump to The Fire House - Before

Jump to The Fire House - After

Renovating a House is An Adventure

        I was born in the sixties, am a child of the seventies, was a teenager all through the eighties. And that’s why I grew up with a palpable fear of quicksand. Gilligan’s Island, the Scooby Doo gang, and the Princess Bride film all made me believe that quicksand was something that I was going to be dealing with on a regular basis. However, as I write this chapter, to my surprise and relief, I can report that I’ve never had to shout for help or scramble frantically for a branch or stick to keep from sinking to my death in a remote soup of water and gritty muck.

         When you hear the word adventure, what comes to your mind? Maybe now, because of me, you’re thinking of quicksand, but would you otherwise picture pirates on the open sea or soldiers in the heat of battle? Maybe the mention of adventure makes you think about the runaway slaves in the Underground Railroad, or you may go right to thoughts of pioneers in the mountains, living off the land, hunting and fishing to survive?

I was born at Wayne Hospital in Greenville, Ohio, the biggest town in Darke County. Long before it was the county seat, it was Fort Greene Ville, named in honor of Nathanael Greene, General of the Southern Theater in the American Revolution. Our county was named for Revolutionary War General William Darke.

My family and I lived in a house on Wayne Avenue. The local hospital and our street were both named for General Anthony Wayne, nicknamed Mad Anthony because he was an infamous hot head. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were under the command of Major General Mad Anthony at Fort Greene Ville before they reunited years later for their adventurous expedition with Pocahontas to the Pacific Northwest.

          Legendary sharpshooter Phoebe Ann Moses is from Brock, Ohio, a rural area just north of my hometown. She performed for world leaders and royal families as Annie Oakley, before retiring to Greenville at the end of her life.

          We left Wayne Avenue before I started kindergarten, moving to a small farm out in the country. I went to Washington Elementary, named of course for the most famous general of the American Revolution, President George Washington. Then, like all the other kids in the district I went to school in Greenville from sixth grade until I graduated from Greenville High School in 1986.

          The following year, the house of Lowell Thomas’ birth was relocated from the small hamlet of Woodington to the museum grounds in Greenville. Thomas is best known as an adventuring newsman and pioneering journalist for Movietone Newsreel and the Voice of America. He traveled the world to interview people like Lawrence of Arabia and a fourteen-year-old Dalia Lama in Tibet.

          Maybe my own awareness of adventure traces back to these formative years in Darke County, learning about our nation’s early militia or people like Lewis and Clark, Little Miss Sure Shot, and the world traveling Thomas.

I can tell you that when I’ve been on the other side of some rotten luck, my go to mantra has been, “Life is an adventure.” When I was driving alone in the mountains and my jeep died for no obvious reason, I tried to remain calm and remember, “Life’s an adventure.” While I was in a rain forest in Papua New Guinea, concerned about getting lost and being discovered by a native tribe of cannibals, I reminded myself that, “I was on an adventure.” And when I’m digging in to one of my gnarly project houses and have to deal with a slithering snake, a rogue contractor, or an inconsiderate Mother Nature, I go to my happy place and listen to my inner monologue as I circle back to this motto and remember that, like life, renovating a house is an adventure.

Keep in mind that each renovation is different. That’s what makes it interesting and exciting, yet it also adds to the challenge. I never know exactly what I’m going to find when I open up a wall or climb in the attic. I may discover something gross, but I might also reveal a valuable or cool trinket that ends up being the high point of my day. And that, my friends, is all part of the fun.

Most of my home renovation projects have been extreme; houses that have been condemned or abandoned. One way to look at these types of rehabs is to recognize that there’s nowhere to go but up when a house is in really deplorable condition. And the bigger the challenge, the larger the payoff, but also the more of an adventure it is.

My type of project is not for everyone. However, doing a simpler project that requires a little TLC, a fixer upper, or a handyman special are still going to provide plenty of daunting challenges, interesting strangers and new friends, as well as cool discoveries. I’m just saying that when you take on a really jacked-up house, you have to be ready for just about anything. And if you’re jumping on the pig’s ear bandwagon, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride.

Contrary to what some have said, I’m not a “gluten for punishment.” Though, I admittingly love a good adventure and building things. When you put those together, you end up with a career buying and fixing up houses that other people think need a date with a bulldozer and dump truck, fueled up and ready to head to the landfill.         

          This blog is not to scare or deter anyone from buying a home that needs work. I’m actually hopeful about educating folks on what I do and how I do it. I can’t help but get excited and encourage anyone either in the market or already into a home rehab project. I’d love to make a pledge that if you read Blood, Sweat, and Pig's Ears, you won’t make any mistakes, but that’s unrealistic. It’s important to keep in mind that missteps and pitfalls are just part of the experience.   

          If and when you renovate a house, you’re going to have to deal with someone who over charges you or tries to get too deep in your pocket. It happens so just be ready for it. Be alert and try hard not to get ripped off. But if you do, cut yourself a break and be determined to learn from it and avoid a reboot of the same mistake.

You should also be prepared to feel in over your head once in a while. The good news is, you can step back to cruise the information superhighway and fill in the gap between what you know and what you need to understand better.

Be ready for a major hiccup in your schedule; a blown delivery, an out-of-stock item that puts you in a bind, or a contractor you really trusted who leaves you in the lurch. Having a contingency in the back of your mind is not planning to fail. Keeping a Plan B in your pocket at all times is prudent, and if that one falls through also, the alphabet has twenty-four more letters.

Remember not to dwell on a failed inspection as if it’s a total failure. It’s just part of your education. Address the deficiencies without arguing too strenuously with the building official. You may pay the taxes, insurance, and utility bills, but when the inspector walks across your threshold, he or she is the top dog.

          I can promise you that you’ll be working on something and getting sweat and/or blood on the thing you’re focused on. Yes, in the name of Daniel Day Lewis, there will be blood and you may even have to take a trip to the emergency room. And while you’re sitting there, waiting for the doctor, remember to close your eyes and silently—or out loud, whichever fits the moment best—say to yourself, “Renovating a house is an adventure.”