diff --git a/lib/class.js b/lib/class.js
index 1ba3f20..ee6fd57 100644
--- a/lib/class.js
+++ b/lib/class.js
@@ -774,14 +774,20 @@ function initInstance( iid, instance )
  */
 function attachPropInit( prototype, properties, members )
 {
-    util.defineSecureProp( prototype, '__initProps', function()
+    util.defineSecureProp( prototype, '__initProps', function( inherit )
     {
+        // defaults to false
+        inherit = !!inherit;
+
         // first initialize the parent's properties, so that ours will overwrite
         // them
         var parent_init = prototype.parent.__initProps;
         if ( parent_init instanceof Function )
         {
-            parent_init.call( this );
+            // call the parent prop_init, letting it know that it's been
+            // inherited so that it does not initialize private members or
+            // perform other unnecessary tasks
+            parent_init.call( this, true );
         }
 
         var inst_props = propobj.createPropProxy(
diff --git a/lib/propobj.js b/lib/propobj.js
index 536e13e..cf5e122 100644
--- a/lib/propobj.js
+++ b/lib/propobj.js
@@ -34,49 +34,55 @@ exports.setup = function( base, dest, properties, members )
 {
     var prop_pub  = properties[ 'public' ],
         prop_prot = properties[ 'protected' ],
-        prop_priv = properties[ 'private' ]
+        prop_priv = properties[ 'private' ],
+
+        methods_protected = members[ 'protected' ],
+        methods_private   = members[ 'private' ]
     ;
 
     // initialize each of the properties for this instance to
     // ensure we're not sharing references to prototype values
-    for ( prop in prop_pub )
-    {
-        // initialize the value with a clone to ensure that they do
-        // not share references (and therefore, data)
-        base[ prop ] = util.clone( prop_pub[ prop ] );
-    }
+    doSetup( dest, prop_pub );
 
-    var methods_protected = members[ 'protected' ],
-        methods_private   = members[ 'private' ],
-        hasOwn            = Array.prototype.hasOwnProperty
-    ;
+    doSetup( dest, prop_prot, methods_protected );
+    doSetup( dest, prop_priv, methods_private );
+};
+
+
+/**
+ * Set up destination object by copying over properties and methods
+ *
+ * @param  {Object}   dest        destination object
+ * @param  {Object}   properties  properties to copy
+ * @param  {Object=}  methods     methods to copy
+ *
+ * @return  {undefined}
+ */
+function doSetup( dest, properties, methods )
+{
+    var hasOwn = Array.prototype.hasOwnProperty;
 
     // copy over the methods
-    for ( method_name in methods_protected )
+    if ( methods !== undefined )
     {
-        if ( hasOwn.call( methods_protected, method_name ) )
+        for ( method_name in methods )
         {
-            dest[ method_name ] = methods_protected[ method_name ];
-        }
-    }
-    for ( method_name in methods_private )
-    {
-        if ( hasOwn.call( methods_private, method_name ) )
-        {
-            dest[ method_name ] = methods_private[ method_name ];
+            if ( hasOwn.call( methods, method_name ) )
+            {
+                dest[ method_name ] = methods[ method_name ];
+            }
         }
     }
 
     // initialize private/protected properties and store in instance data
-    for ( prop in prop_prot )
+    for ( prop in properties )
     {
-        dest[ prop ] = util.clone( prop_prot[ prop ] );
+        if ( hasOwn.call( properties, prop ) )
+        {
+            dest[ prop ] = util.clone( properties[ prop ] );
+        }
     }
-    for ( prop in prop_priv )
-    {
-        dest[ prop ] = util.clone( prop_priv[ prop ] );
-    }
-};
+}
 
 
 /**