There are many areas of Feng Shui consulting, such as design phase, house hunting, evaluating existing residential and commercial properties. One area of consulting involves advising clients on the best and worst times to do remodels or non-emergency repairs. The concern with doing repairs and remodels in bad timing (for the location) is that it could result in delays, accidents or injuries to the workers or the homeowner. We call this topic “Construction Sha.”
For more than 30 years I have scheduled a few dozen remodel projects, in good timing and the projects went smoothly. For 2024, I have already done several renovations, some planned well in advance and some done more spontaneously.
For the projects I’m about to discuss, they all happened in the major or minor Construction Sha directions for 2024. Why would I do that to myself? In years past, I have only done Feng Shui remedies to enhance or protect and never “poke the bear” since I have seen unfortunate things transpire when clients have done renovations in poor timing.
To be blunt, I had some selfish and mundane goals in mind, so I knowingly went forward with some moderately risky alterations to my home, in timing that was not ideal. What were they and what happened?
In early 2024, I scheduled the installation of a 15 x 30 foot patio cover. I held off from doing it in 2023 because the direction was one of the major Construction Sha directions for 2023. I noted that it would be a little better in 2024, but not completely without risk. I decided to not wait until 2025 because, frankly, I didn’t want to experience another hot summer without a big shady patio cover. I have a dog who loves our backyard and I’m forced to be outside with him, more than I would be outside on my own. For 2024, there is an annual 5 star present, and while the concerns are mostly for the interiors, the exteriors could be impacted by the annual 5 star as well. To compensate, I scheduled the installation of the patio cover in a good month and on a good day. The day chosen ended up being a rainy day and it got postponed for more than a week. Out of my control.
The patio cover installation, a one-day job, went well except the workers could not finish it, through no fault of their own. I didn’t have left over patio pavers for them to use to seal up the areas opened up for the posts. For several reasons, it ended up being a couple weeks before I could find some similar-looking pavers, had my masonry guy put them in, and then the patio cover installer came back and finished the job. It was a minor annoyance and delay.
I also had an urgent toilet replacement, right in the Sui Po for the year, in the Dog direction. It went fine. Whew! Next, I began to get really bothered by an exposed roof beam with dry rot and termite damage. How many years am I going to let that go? I didn’t like the idea that my neighbors and I have this eyesore on the front side of my house. This roof beam is right in the yearly Tai Sui for 2024, the Dragon direction. After getting a ridiculously high quote to cut the beam, replace it with new wood and bracket it to the other end of the beam, I found out that I have a neighbor who is a roofer. I invited him over for his expert opinion and he offered an affordable solution that he was willing to do for no charge in labor! Instead of cutting the beam, he said that a metal “boot” could act like a protective “slip cover.” After having the metal boot made to very precise dimensions, it fit snugly over the beam and he painted it to match the rest of the beam.
It now looks better than a new piece of wood. (See photo). This job was spread out over a number of days because he did it after his normal work hours and I was truly grateful. Now, nothing of concern happened during or after this repair job, although I am reminded that this location for 2024, the “Grand Duke” location, is in the southeast. This area is associated with the lower body, hips, buttocks, thighs, knees. It just so happens that I have been dealing with a health issue in one of those areas, but at least it is being managed and it is not serious.
I had solar panels installed in 2022 and because I feel like 2024 is going to be a wild year on many fronts, I decided spontaneously that it was time to get a whole house solar back-up battery. With that, I could truly be “off the grid” if circumstances forced it. In fact, the back-up battery was installed just days after historic solar electrical storms. There was a 10% chance that these solar flares could have taken out the electrical grid globally. We dodged a major bullet this last time, but I’m assuming that we still have a high chance for an electrical grid cyber attack or just eventual failures due to an aging infrastructure.
All that to say, I felt like “time was of the essence.” Let’s get her done! This battery installation had to go in right in the Minor Construction Sha directions for 2024. I had the original circuit breaker panel upgraded, along with networking the battery panel with the solar panel inverter. (See photo).
The job seemed to be going well, but when the city permit inspector came by, he found some minor issues which needed to be changed before the project could be signed off. More delays. But no extra costs for me. At this point I am smiling inside because I know I have pushed the envelope with projects in these no-go zones for 2024.
I also had a plumbing job under the kitchen sink counter, also in the sha zone, but I decided I didn’t want to postpone the repair. It was one of those situations where you can fix a problem sooner than later and not have to incur more band-aid repairs until the job is done right. That repair went well the day of, but it left an open hole through the back of the cabinet and drywall, yet to be covered over. A minor delay in completing the project. These areas where the plumbing work and battery installation was done are in the Southwest-1 direction. The southwest is related to the abdominal and reproductive area. Not coincidentally, I am also dealing with two minor health issues in those areas. Hmmm.
At this point, I am glad that I am done making house changes in the 2024 Construction Sha zones. The worst-case scenarios did not manifest, in part because of good monthly and daily start dates. However, another important feature to all of these repairs and renovations is that there was hardly any demolition to speak of. In fact, when you simply replace a toilet, put a metal slip-cover on a beam or hang a Tesla house battery to the wall, these are not significant demolitions where the areas are violently disturbed. Nothing had to be destroyed and no project was more than a day or two. Some projects only took hours to perform. This is key because I would NOT have instigated any remodel project that was substantial and involved major demolition. I’ve seen too much in regards to Construction Sha, where I would have postponed any bigger jobs in those zones. What I did experience in almost all of these little projects, were modest delays and minor complications. Noted.
In contrast, over the years I have had clients report to me, after the fact, when they did major renovations in the Construction Sha zones for the year, bad things did happen. The problems ranged from contractors walking off the job, stealing from the homeowner, exasperating delays, the need to go back and correct faulty workmanship, injuries to workers or occupants, and in a couple of cases, a death.
Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®
From the Architecture and Design Blog Series
