The Consultant
"...in an abundance of counselors there is safety." Proverbs 11:14
Passive Aggressive
Back in 2017, I attended the Rocky Mountain Natural Building Conference, which was a formative experience for me. Emu Systems was there, a Passive House consulting and educational firm headed by Enrico Bonilauri, a handsome Italian national with a verdant beard, disarming smile, and endearing manner that belies his genius and passion for energy efficient residential construction. It was through this connection I was led to the Consultant.
See, the Consultant had also met Enrico at some conference or another, and had engaged Emu to consult on his personal residence which is located in Fremont County. Yet, after mounting costs, his pragmatism overwhelmed his ideals, and he unceremoniously dropped Enrico and the Passive House standards.
I first contacted the Consultant when he worked for a large commercial construction company in Salida, CO. He had a wealth of experience and knowledge pertaining to commercial construction techniques, and seemed like the right fit. He was planning on retiring soon and promised to look into our project.
Born on the Bayou
When we first spoke on the phone, I was transported back to an easier time. Not so far back as to have horse and buggies and handmade clothes, but nearly as far as that. Perhaps as far back as the time when families would gather around hulking, oak transistor radios on a sultry southern evening, sipping cocaine laced Cola, while drowsily listening to the Brooklyn Dodgers play-by-play.
His deep ambiguously country accent, with a cadence like honey pouring from a cool glass jar, was hypnotic. Soft, yet confident; comforting yet firm- a hug that lasted a bit too long. It was the kind of voice one could imagine weaving unforgettable fireside tales, or that an old bayou vampire might use to lull his victims to their bloody end.
Years past between our first conversation and our first meeting at my house in the fall of 2021. The Consultant arrived punctually, presented his huge hand and equally huge smile, and we sat down for a bit and talked.
He was tall enough to have to nearly duck under normal doors and moved slowly but purposely, as if conserving energy for his massive frame. He sat awkwardly in one of our dining room chairs, and looked much like a parent visiting their child in preschool.
He wore proper Dad jeans with a sharp, button-up shirt, tightly tucked and secured with a capable leather belt. His shoes were of the comfortable looking, outdoor oriented ilk, which in their relentless practicality, refuse to make any concessions to fashion whatsoever. He had large curious eyes that seemed wetter than most, and was completely bald with the exception of convincing side curtains- the kind that leave you shocked when a hat is removed for the first time. I genuinely liked the Consultant and felt good about where things might be headed. It was a blind date that certainly wasn’t love at first sight, but had enough potential to keep me from politely excusing myself to the restroom, and never coming back.
Sign Here
We made a trip to La Cresta and it was settled. He sent over the contract which essentially outlined how, for $150 and hour, he would get us over the finish line. This scared me. I didn’t even want to think about him, much less call or email, in fear I was on the clock. I’m desperately cheap at times and it’s been one of the biggest hurdles in my life. Not that I don’t like spending money- I love it. I’m actually terrible with money and lose it with alarming regularity. I just don’t like paying other people to do things that I think I might be able to do- which I probably can’t and regret even trying. It’s a sickness. Looking back, this was the beginning of the end.
We had a few meetings with Rick (one of which turned into an unseasonably wet, freezing on-site affair that had Tika shivering in the back of the car and me cursing my choice of outerwear). He helped us through some engineering and foundation design, had a few discussions about this or that, but things were stifled, due in part to my unwillingness to keep him in the loop for fear of ‘wasting’ money. Also, I realized as much as the Consultant was willing to do, he wasn’t a General Contractor and I still needed someone to actually build. As I was considering parting ways and had begun shopping for a GC, he called me and said he was coming back of retirement to consult on a multi-million-dollar mansion in Aspen, which would consume the next couple years of his attentions.
He promptly and even generously refunded the remaining portion of my retainer and that was that. I’m genuinely thankful for his time and interest in our project. It was definitely worth a few bucks to have someone to share the couch with for a while.
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