The host of HGTV’s “Good Bones” and co-founder of Two Chicks and a Hammer shares her advice for women in the home construction industry.
When did your interest in home renovation and construction begin, and was there a specific moment or experience that sparked your passion?
You know, I never really thought about this until I had the show. Looking back, my dad’s a doctor and my mom is an attorney. It’s not like they were super handy people. My mom’s second husband always had a project going on that he was doing, so I was around it, then when I went to college, I started working for this landlord.
At first, I was a secretary, and then my sophomore year, I moved into one of his houses and they had me doing move-in and move-out inspections, so I would schedule stuff for the maintenance man.
The house originally was one house, but the previous tenants had divided it into an upstairs and a downstairs unit with wood paneling. I asked my landlord if I could take it out, and he was like, “Yeah, I don’t see why not.” I got a hammer and pried off this very poorly installed 4×8 sheet of OSB, and there was this beautiful original wood handrail they had closed to separate it. That was my first project, and I just kept at it. I continued working for him for the rest of my college career, and just just got more familiar with property management.
When I graduated, all my friends already had jobs lined up. I did not. So, I decided I wanted to buy a house. I bought an unlivable house for $37,000, and my mom and I just did all the things that we could afford to have done.
How do you deal with bad contractors?
I’ve been doing this for a couple of decades, and I still get caught in bad relationships with contractors and bad contracts. It’s hard. I think the best way to avoid bad things happening is to understand your skill set. Do your research and know the right questions to ask. If it’s a kitchen renovation, Google “pitfalls of a kitchen renovation” or the “10 worst things that I regret about my kitchen renovations.” Try to get as much knowledge as you can on your own, not because anyone’s out to trick anyone, but contractors will look for the biggest payday with the easiest job.
As a successful woman in a traditionally male-dominated field, what advice would you give to other women aspiring to enter the world of construction?
Not everyone is going to make your journey easy. The most important thing is having a good sense of self. Learn everything you can, and know enough to be dangerous. People might doubt your knowledge or have trouble taking direction from a woman, but it’s important that the men you work with respect you.
How do you think women’s mentorship impacts a successful career?
I think it’s huge. It’s nice to have someone you can empathize with and that can empathize with you. I try and answer women as much as possible and give them the advice they’re looking for, because it is tough. I think just giving other women experience in the field is so important for a successful career as well. I would love to work on a team of all women! We are incredible multitaskers and great listeners. I’ve been able to meet a lot of really strong women who are in the industry, and it is really inspiring.
Are there any skills or qualities that have led to success within your field?
I think a strong sense of self and having self-confidence — but also remaining humble. Know what you have to offer and can bring to the table. You need to have the ability to learn and the desire to share what you have learned with others.
I have also found that part of success is understanding the process and being able to predict and expedite your processes. I think this is important in a lot of fields, but particularly in construction and the skilled trades. There are so many moving parts and there’s an order of operations that leads to desirable outcomes.
I think it’s important to be adaptable and keep your mind open to possibilities of expedition and problem-solving. Regroup and redirect when things go wrong without freaking out. No matter what skilled trade you’re in, that trait is huge because that’s the nature of the business — things go wrong sometimes. They just do.
