I just woke up from a dream where we were on the verge of buying another fixer-upper that was in truly execrable shape. It was an old victorian house with multiple additions over the years with several tenants already living in it. Our plan was to subdivide it further and rent out the first floor as an Air BnB. The deal fell through when we went up to the second floor, saw that the floors were completely sagging, and finally realized the enormity of the task.
After all, we had already done in real life with our never ending house remodel. It was a difficult experience, that constantly loomed over us for several years. People think that house remodels are fun. Maybe it’s an enjoyable hobby for a select few, but for most folks, it would actually be an utter slog like we experienced it.
It’s been nice to have our house more or less completed, but the best part of the experience was really learning to work with others. First, it cemented our opinion that my wife and I make a good pair. Residential architecture is the most personal physical manifestation of your vision of the future, made that much more intense because you are expending your own limited resources to actualize this vision. Furthermore, as the homeowner builder, you are continually confronted with decisions long after the main design exercise has been completed. Having gone through this crucible, we now have tangible proof that we will ultimately come up with the best solution to any problem, even if we don’t agree at the start.
On top that, it was the first time that I was the owner, both of the building and of an enterprise. As an architect, I’ve always tried to sincerely keep the owners’ best interests in mind, but when you also must cater to your boss (any employee’s true client) it just isn’t the same as being the actual owner of the building. As the homeowner-contractor, we were also suddenly thrust into the position of being a temporary GC, one who would be living in the results. Since we were on a tight budget, we had the pleasure of working with several subcontractors who delivered subpar work. As someone who has never been in a management position or owned my own business, this was a sudden baptism into conflict resolution. No one comes out of it happy, but we did get them to come back out and redo it to a meet a minimal standard and come to an acceptable compromise.
Silly as it may sound, this quixotic house remodel experience was the best preparation I could have for my new job as a project manager for the state. Now, I’m well practiced in being an Owner. When I first started the house remodel, I deferred too much the experience of my subcontractors. After being disappointed several times, I’ve learned that I need to carefully supervise their work. I’ve now taken this mindset working with my consultants. I respect their expertise, but I won’t blindly trust their recommendations. These are my buildings and I am gong to live with the results. I’ve always been fair, but now I know to be firm.
It wasn’t a fun process, and I don’t recommend doing your own house remodel if you aren’t in the AEC industry, there’s gotta be less painful ways to learn these lessons! Even though it turned out great for my career, I ain’t doing it again, in real life or the dream world.