I'm Ed. I Managed Crews for 38 Years. Here's What That Means.
My name is Ed Kowalski. I'm 67 years old. I live in Cleveland, Ohio, in a 1920s Colonial that I've been renovating for 25 years. It's still not done. The living room is unpainted. I don't care.
I started framing in 1981. Back then, nail guns were a luxury. You carried your tools in a metal box and you earned your paycheck with your back. I worked my way up through three different crews — framer, project foreman, operations manager, and finally the guy who ran an 8-to-12-person mid-range residential remodeling outfit.
I did that for 38 years. Over seven hundred kitchen, bath, basement, and whole-house jobs. I wrote the estimates. I ordered the materials. I stood on job sites every morning at 6:30 and told the crew what we were doing and why.
And I made mistakes. Big ones. The kind you don't forget.
Why I Started This Site
When I retired in 2019, I started getting phone calls. Former clients. Friends of friends. People who found my number somehow. They'd say: "Ed, I got a bid for $XX,XXX. Does that sound right?"
I'd look at it. Most of the time, it was too high. Sometimes it was too low — and that's actually worse. Sometimes the scope was wrong. Sometimes the contractor was hiding something.
I answered every call. I still do.
But I figured: if I'm going to say the same thing fifteen times a week, I might as well write it down once. That's what this site is. A written record of what I've been telling people for free since I retired.
What This Site Is
Straight answers about what renovations actually cost. Not what a designer tells you. Not what a real estate agent hints at. What the guy holding the checkbook for the materials actually pays.
Honest breakdowns of contractor bids. How we price things. What we include. What we leave out on purpose. What a fair number looks like and what an inflated one smells like.
Real talk about old houses. The 1940s through 1970s stock we have all over the Rust Belt — and the rest of the country too. Knob-and-tube. Cast iron drains. Plaster walls. Damp basements. These houses aren't going anywhere. You just have to know which problems to fix and which ones to live with.
Stories. Because you learn more from a screw-up than a success. I've got plenty of both.
What This Site Is Not
Not a DIY blog. I don't tell you to do it yourself. If you're competent, fine. If you're not, hire someone. I spent 38 years fixing what other people tried to do on a Saturday.
Not a design blog. I don't care about trending finishes. Microcement. Baseboard-less rooms. Terrazzo walls. That's a showroom, not a home. I'll tell you what lasts and what doesn't.
Not a product recommendation engine. I don't do affiliate links. I don't get paid if you click something. I don't endorse a tool or material unless I've used it for ten years and it hasn't broken.
Not a place to hire me. I'm retired. I don't take jobs. I don't come to your house. I don't give specific quotes for your specific project. What I give is the knowledge to know a fair bid when you see one.
A Few Things You Should Know About Me
I fish. Lake Erie, spring and fall. Steelhead runs. I stand there for hours. Usually I catch nothing. That's not the point.
I restore old gas-powered tools. Chainsaws. Reel mowers. A 1973 Skilsaw that cuts straighter than anything they sell at Home Depot today. Carburetors are simpler than people.
I bring my grandkids to demolition days. They swing hammers. They pull off old lathe. One of them, age six, identified a load-bearing wall. I told her she's hired. She doesn't know I'm not kidding.
I married my wife 45 years ago. Two kids. Three grandkids. She still puts up with the unpainted living room. She's a saint.
My One Rule
Every post on this site ends with some version of this:
"Of course, I've screwed up plenty of jobs too. That's why I'm telling you."
I don't pretend to be perfect. I don't pretend I haven't cost clients money or lost sleep over a bad decision. I have. But if you're willing to learn from my mistakes instead of making your own, then this site is for you.
The Fine Print
Location: Cleveland, Ohio. Rust Belt. Old houses everywhere.
Years in the trade: 38 (1981–2019).
Houses renovated: 700+, give or take.
My own house: 1920s Colonial. 25 years and counting.
Signature line: "I've been fixing houses since before cordless drills. You don't have to learn the hard way."
Get in Touch
I don't check email every hour. Sometimes I go fishing and forget my phone. But if you've got a question about a bid or a decision you're stuck on, send it. I'll answer when I can.
No sales calls. No "partnership opportunities." No guest posts. If you're selling something, I'm not buying.
Thanks for stopping by. Now go look at that bid with fresh eyes.
— Ed