Episode 5: The Search for Bigfoot

Spring 2020 brings rain, leaks, and a new level of chaos to the Rudolph house as Shari and Kenny continue their fight to fix their sinking California castle. In this episode, the couple faces a fresh wave of insurance pirates, robotic adjusters, and legal run-around as COVID restrictions complicate everything. But amid the absurdity, a new hero emerges: they let rip their new lawyer, Rip.

Kenny unleashes their Rip-informed defence on Rounders Insurance, only to be met with form letters, denials, and a settlement offer so insulting it’ll make you laugh out loud when you hear the amount (we lifetime guarantee it). Shari breaks down the emotional toll of repeatedly reliving their story for every new adjuster who enters the arena.

Then: a breath of fresh, competent air. The Rudolphs sit down with Zach Ogden, co-founder and lead project manager at HiveMind Construction, a Philadelphia-based construction cooperative known for transparent and ethical practices. Zach brings empathy, insight, and straight talk about contractor bids, bad builds, and what homeowners should be asking before they sign anything. He also shares tales from the trenches - including a renovation disaster that rivals the Rudolph’s endless window leak.

Back in California, Kenny and Shari take their lawyer’s advice and begin the hunt for the impossible: a contractor who can fix what Brady Windows destroyed once and for all. Enter: Bigfoot. Or…Borgfoot? His partner Isaac arrives unannounced, waving a moisture meter like a Jedi lightsaber, shouting “Cut the jive!” and issuing the prophetic warning, “Sometimes small jobs become big jobs.”

Is Borg the solution? A grifter? A miracle worker? A man addicted to eating takeout out of Styrofoam containers? The signs are unclear.

What is clear: the battle isn’t over.

Along the way, Kenny, Shari, and Zach discuss:

• The cascade of insurance adjusters who ran through the Castle
• COVID-era construction protocols
• Legal wisdom from Rip, the SoCal lawyer of dreams, including where to sniff out the above board contractors in California via the State Licensing Board website
• A deep dive into co-op construction with Zach Ogden of HiveMind Construction
• The highly dramatic entrance of Borg and Isaac to the Castle
• And the ongoing search for Bigfoot…aka, a contractor who can actually finish the job

This podcast is the official companion to the book series of the same name Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco. Book 1 is available wherever you buy books, and at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Abandon-House-Survive-Repair-Fiasco/dp/B0FJYRFYKT

Next time: Whether Isaac could see the future, cast some kind of a spell, or had Borg’s number…this small job is indeed about to become much, much bigger.