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Rock The Block Over The Top should be the name of this tune. 

Last season's winners, on one of their own programs earlier today, built a master suite that was perfectly nice (the couple loved it), but the bathroom had one double vanity, a decent-sized shower and a toilet. WHERE'S THE REST OF IT? they would have asked on this show.

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9 hours ago, MaryHedwig said:

The twins. They put a washer/dryer in their ample closet. Brillant.

Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not but I thought it was an awful idea.  Especially since they said it was a "personal" washer / dryer which meant there will be another set in the house.  Did they put a floor drain in the closet?  I would guess not because that would have really eaten up their budget and they didn't show them tearing up the floor.

9 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Those bathrooms were just ridiculous.  What a massive waste of space!  You could house a family of four in that amount of space.  Two "water closets"? How often do two people need to piddle at exactly the same moment in a house with umpteen other powder rooms and bathrooms.

Just absurd. 

Completely agree with this.  Although, I'm not sure it was so they could go at the same time.  Keith or Evan (don't remember which one) said something and gave me the impression that they just don't like sharing toilets with someone else (even their partner I guess).

Personally, I didn't really like any of the designs this week.  I'm not a fan of first floor bedrooms and I'm really not a fan of outside doors in bedrooms.

Edited by KeithJ
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10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

That installation made of sailcloth would be an absolute dust trap!

All of their "art" is like that.  When they nail all kinds of wood scraps on the wall all I can think of the time it would take to dust each and every one.  Even textured walls are hard to clean.

Edited by Cetacean
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11 hours ago, MaryHedwig said:

The twins. They put a washer/dryer in their ample closet. Brillant.

All I could think of when I saw the washer/dryer in the closet was how stupid to fill the closet with humidity from the washer and heat from the dryer. I wouldn't want to expose my clothing to that. These houses are in South Carolina Low Country--the humidity is fierce there in summer. I don't know about houses there, but here in Georgia there are no vents in closets for air conditioning. Can you say mildew?

Egypt and Mike were robbed. Their master bedroom and bath were the best. TWO closets in the master is more desirable and very common here in my area. That adds value. JMHO.

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I thought the twins personal washer/dryer in the master closet was ridiculous.   It just confirms what I suspect, the producers decide which couple wins each week,.    I suspect that all of the teams submit drawings of what they're going to do before the contest starts, so the producers can pick a winner each week, so no one ends up dominant.    And the appraisals at the end to see who added most value are also decided by the producers.     

I thought the one twin having the crying jag at winning was bizarre.  If you can't stand to be away from your family for the contest period, then don't go to the contest.     I'm wondering if the show participation was included in the participants contract, and they really don't have a choice about joining the show?   

I can only imagine how awful having the washer/dryer in the closet would be.   I don't want to have either applicance operating when I'm trying to sleep.   And how do you keep the washer dried out to prevent mildew and mold when it's in your closet?   Front loaders are notorious for growing gunks on washer gaskets.     If you're going to do two sets of washer/dryers in a house, put them both  in the laundry room, and have room to hang and sort.    

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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I'm confused about the humidity and mildew concerns with the washer and dryer.  My laundry room doesn't have mold or mildew so why would a closet be any different?  There have to be codes around venting so I can't imagine they just shoved the units in there.

WIth that said, having it in the closet was bizarre.  Where do you fold things?  Or is that only meant for clothes that they can hang right back up?  Odd.

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I may be the only woman in the world that doesn’t lust after a “spa” bathroom. I don’t need acres of space around me just space to store what I need in there.

I hated that stupid room Jenny and Dave put in with French doors. Waste of space.

Can’t remember now which closet it was but one of them had storage right up to the ceiling. You would need a ladder to reach anything.

Keith saying he would not compromise design is fine but it’s not winning him any episodes.

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13 minutes ago, Shelbie said:

I may be the only woman in the world that doesn’t lust after a “spa” bathroom.

Table for two.  Who spends hours in their bathroom?  I certainly don't - get in and get out;  I have no intention of hosting events in there. Plus that much more to clean.

I hate the separate shower and tub thing, what a waste of space. And I would bet dollars to donuts very few of the bathtubs sitting in the center of the room ever get used.

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I wish we could see a floor plan of the house before renovations.  It is my understanding that the whole point of this competition is to take builder grade, slightly higher end homes and turn them into million dollar homes.  I don't know what the median prices are in Charleston, but I am guessing that people who pay close to 1M there will expect all the bells and whistles, compared to the Bay Area, Toronto, or Vancouver, where 1M will buy you a very basic, smallish house.

As far as the washer/dryer in the closet goes, it doesn't seem "genius" to me, but I also wouldn't worry about mold and mildew.  Lots of homes have stackable washer dryers in closets and I have never heard concerns about them.  As far as floor drains go, the closet is on the ground floor, and while a floor drain is always a good idea, it isn't code everywhere.  I have my laundry room on the first floor, have a slab foundation, and no floor drain.  And I am pretty sure that that closet, being the size of a small bedroom, does have an air conditioning vent.  I live in the desert southwest, and my walk-in closet has one.  

Mabye the other laundry room is upstairs with the rest of the bedrooms and in that case I can see the reasoning behind the decision, even if it wouldn't be a big perk to me.

The evolution of bathrooms is fascinating to me.  In our first house, we were thrilled to have a full bath and a powder room.  Then we were excited to have a tiny bath attached to our bedroom with a 30" vanity and tub/shower combo.  It was small, but it worked for us and we didn't have to share with the kids.  Now people absolutely must have the full double vanity, separate tub and shower, plus a separate toilet closet.  They look lovely but it does seem like a waste of space.  And the whole wet room trend does nothing for me. I just think about what a pain it would be to have to clean it.

Edited by 3 is enough
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26 minutes ago, carrps said:

Everybody says they want a soaker tub, but a survey I read a while back said the average use was once.

My house, built in 1987, had a soaker tub and separate shower in the master bath. I used that big soaker "garden" tub exactly twice in 30 years. It took a lot of water to fill it even part way and the water would get cold before I finished "soaking" in it. When I had the bathroom renovated I had the tub removed and the shower put in its place. I love my big new shower with a bench seat built in. The spot where the old shower was is now a big linen closet with hanging space for bathrobes.

Edited by CruiseDiva
typos!
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Sadly I think it's a matter of "experts" telling us what we want or need.  For a while it granite countertops were absolutely essential, now they are on the list of "outdated, a complete gut job" because of quartz.  Stainless steel appliances were de rigueur, we are now seeing other options.  Open shelving is for "young couples" until they find out how hard it is to keep things clean and then we'll be back to cupboards.  And ginormous, space eating bathrooms with tubs no one uses are in the forefront.  Check back in 5 years and they will be on the "must be gutted list" as well.

If people were less dazzled by hype and thought more practically....

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I just watched this week's episode this morning, and I think I agree with the judges' decision.

I don't know what's wrong with Jenny and Dave but YAWN.  Sooooo boring, drab, and bland.  And what on earth were they thinking taking out a closet for a reading nook no reader would ever use?  I read all the time, and I can tell you that's not a place I would choose to sit and read.  I'd rather have a closet.

 

The boys - again I say, have they ever cleaned in their lives?  That sail on the wall is going to be filthy in a week, and in less than a year it will have to come down. It's a liability, not an asset.  I love the two toilets, but again, I'd rather have another closet.

Egypt and Mike made good choices overall, and they were really my #1 this week (two closets wins every time), but I can see that the twins did a lot better with their choices this week than they have other weeks, and were definitely #2 for me (other than the hideous wallpaper and tile choices in the bathroom). I like the WD in the closet, but I wonder about how well it would really work to have that in there.  I guess the producers were just trying to make it seem fair? idk

I take a bath every single night, so a tub is a MUST for me.  I hate a huge shower and I hate that wet room thing.  I'm always cold when I shower if it doesn't have a door and think too much shower is a waste of space. I know I'm weird, but that's okay. 

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My stackable washer and dryer are in a little closet, and I never have any problems with mold/mildew etc.  That said, two washer/dryers seems like overkill.  I wasn’t all that impressed with any of the designs this week, but I thought Jenny and Dave’s dry sauna was awesome.  But I live in Massachusetts and the idea of a sauna at home sounds wonderful.

At the end of the day, paying $1M to be right on top of my neighbors is a no go for me.

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The washer drain is where? The dryer vent is where? My only explanation for that being a winning feature is that one of the judges was Allison. The other one went along, so no braintrust there, either--or they're just reading the script and we can skip to the ending. Mike and Egypt. (Their closet was gorgeous and well-lit. See you at the appraisals.)

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13 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I thought the twins personal washer/dryer in the master closet was ridiculous.   It just confirms what I suspect, the producers decide which couple wins each week,.    I suspect that all of the teams submit drawings of what they're going to do before the contest starts, so the producers can pick a winner each week, so no one ends up dominant.    And the appraisals at the end to see who added most value are also decided by the producers. ....

I don't think the producers decide. In the first season, Mina ("Good Bones," Indianapolis) didn't win a single challenge and didn't win the final. Last season Brian and Mika didn't win any individual challenges, but won, having the overall appraisal at the end. Most of the time I agree with the judges' top two choices, though I don't always agree with the final decision. But when there are two (or more) very good designs, the judging of the details is often subjective.

 

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On 3/7/2022 at 9:17 PM, absolutelyido said:

I think this week's competition was pretty much over when Egypt & Mike connected the garage to the house. I'm not a real estate expert, but I think being able to say that they have an attached, instead of detached, garage is huge in adding value.

 

Not sure if applies in SC, but I remember reading that in the Chicago-area, having an attached garage raises your property taxes

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19 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Sadly I think it's a matter of "experts" telling us what we want or need. 

I whine about this all of the time. People should do what makes them happy, but the frequent renovations to follow trends are wasteful and harmful to the planet (all those landfills). Many people go into debt they cannot afford in order to have huge bathrooms, massive kitchen islands, mud rooms, etc.

Quote

In our first house, we were thrilled to have a full bath and a powder room.

Three of us made do with one bathroom, including bathing a large dog.

I give the twins credit for their success in Washington State, but they have the ugliest design aesthetics I've ever seen.

Agree that the contest is rigged. They don't even try to hide the obvious signs.

Edited by pasdetrois
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The more I think about the twins washer / dryer in the closet, the more I wonder if they're actually functional or just there for show.

We didn't see them do any work to put them there.  You would need water lines going there, a drain (not necessarily a floor drain but you need a drain), an external vent for the dryer, and I would think you would want them on their own breaker and we didn't see them run any new electrical to them.

Edited by KeithJ
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1 hour ago, KeithJ said:

The more I think about the twins washer / dryer in the closet, the more I wonder if they're actually functional or just there for show.

We didn't see them do any work to put them there.  You would need water lines going there, a drain (not necessarily a floor drain but you need a drain), an external vent for the dryer, and I would think you would want them on their own breaker and we didn't see them run any new electrical to them.

Bingo! I don't know about the building code there, but my electric dryer is on a special breaker all by its lonesome in the breaker box. And wasn't the stackable washer/dryer on an inside wall right next to the closet door to the bedroom? Where was the vent and the hose to the outside? It's so hard to tell these things in the rushed "reveal" but we should have expected a no-brainer winner when Allison Victoria showed up to judge.

On 3/15/2022 at 10:02 AM, CruiseDiva said:

All I could think of when I saw the washer/dryer in the closet was how stupid to fill the closet with humidity from the washer and heat from the dryer. I wouldn't want to expose my clothing to that. These houses are in South Carolina Low Country--the humidity is fierce there in summer. I don't know about houses there, but here in Georgia there are no vents in closets for air conditioning. Can you say mildew?

So, this was my first exact thought -- so much heat and humidity in the closet. I live in SE Texas, and our W/D is in a closet at the top of the stairs. That area gets pretty toasty. Also, as someone mentioned, there should be a drain under that unit...unless the unit was placed there for show and wasn't actually installed. I don't know what the rules of the show are with regard to that. With all that said, and to be slightly fair, a lot of big closets in big homes down here actually have A/C vents in them. This could definitely cut down on the heat/humidity in the room. I didn't see one, but that doesn't mean the closet didn't have one.

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On 3/15/2022 at 11:54 AM, Shelbie said:

I may be the only woman in the world that doesn’t lust after a “spa” bathroom. I don’t need acres of space around me just space to store what I need in there.

when we first moved to this area, we rented a house that had a massive shower. Big enough to push a wheelchair in there. Had sliding doors. IT SUCKED. In the winter or on cooler days, the shower stall never fully got warm. It was okay under the water, but try to shave your legs, or use the handheld, or heck even turnaround, and part of your naked wet body was outside of the shower spray and it was COLD. I hope some of these "wet room" and massive showers you see without doors installed actually are going to have doors installed later. I don't need a steam shower in my house, but I don't want to have to stay under the water 100% of the time or freeze, either!!

Also: not having to share a toilet with my husband saved our marriage.  (okay, along with when we figured out we could have 2 different blankets but sleep in the same bed....😁)

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I don’t like the toilets shut away into little closets; I would feel claustrophobic. It also seemed like the vanities  were wedged into tiny slots. What is the point of a tub in the middle of all that space? I don’t take baths anymore because of my bad back but when I did I liked having a shelf to hold products and a hook to grab a towel and robe. The big closets are nice but I have never felt the need to display everything like it’s in a store. I don’t understand these new designs: huge kitchen and tiny living room, huge bathroom and closet but small bedrooms. I would prefer ( and have) larger living room and bedroom.

Edited by Madding crowd
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5 hours ago, SusanwatchingTV said:

That was just her speed.

Is it wrong that I wanted a team to buy something big and bulky, paint it black, and lie to her that it was an antique ...just to get her vote?

Granted, I wasn't paying much attention, but I thought the big draw of the sisters' closet was that they added square footage without losing it elsewhere (I missed how they did that) -- so, while the laundry got (strangely) fawned on, it was the bonus sq footage that added value.

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59 minutes ago, tljgator said:

Granted, I wasn't paying much attention, but I thought the big draw of the sisters' closet was that they added square footage without losing it elsewhere (I missed how they did that) -- so, while the laundry got (strangely) fawned on, it was the bonus sq footage that added value.

They bumped out a wall and stole space from the patio or porch or something.

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6 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I don’t like the toilets shut away into little closets; I would feel claustrophobic. It also seemed like the vanities  were wedged into tiny slots. What is the point of a tub in the middle of all that space? I don’t take baths anymore because of my bad back but when I did I liked having a shelf to hold products and a hook to grab a towel and robe. The big closets are nice but I have never felt the need to display everything like it’s in a store. I don’t understand these new designs: huge kitchen and tiny living room, huge bathroom and closet but small bedrooms. I would prefer ( and have) larger living room and bedroom.

I have never like the toilet closets, they are too narrow usually, and I've seen some where they are really far back from the doorway.    I bet a lot of plumbers aren't fans of working on the closet toilets either when the room is narrow.  

On the twins porch annexation to the porch, I wanted to see what the porch looks like after the closet addition.     I'm hoping the twins had an engineer's opinion on how to do the addition, and still support the load of the house structure. 

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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On 3/16/2022 at 11:35 AM, Madding crowd said:

I don’t like the toilets shut away into little closets; I would feel claustrophobic. It also seemed like the vanities  were wedged into tiny slots. What is the point of a tub in the middle of all that space? I don’t take baths anymore because of my bad back but when I did I liked having a shelf to hold products and a hook to grab a towel and robe. The big closets are nice but I have never felt the need to display everything like it’s in a store. I don’t understand these new designs: huge kitchen and tiny living room, huge bathroom and closet but small bedrooms. I would prefer ( and have) larger living room and bedroom.

I feel like the smaller bedroom trend is due to the fact that people aren't buying bedroom sets anymore.  It seems that as long as you have room for a king size bed and a couple of nightstands you are good to go.  A lot of walk in closets have drawers, so dressers are no longer needed.

I have a window in my toilet closet, not claustrophobic at all.

I think the smaller living room trend is partly due to the popularity of wall mounted televisions. It used to be that you needed wall space for the tv stand, but now that they are on the wall you can hang it up, get a sectional, and you are done.  Personally I prefer a larger room, but obviously today's home designers do not agree.

Also noticed that in newer homes the formal dining room and formal living room are no more.  I don't mind that- I rarely use mine. 

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They're the only ones without the win, and I bet the show is trying to make it more even.    The teams are just starting to discuss their designs for the loft space, and the F.R.O.G., and I already dislike the Bargain Block design.    

I like that some teams are turning the FROG into a self contained suite.    However, I hate the fuschia color in the bathroom, and the dark shower tile. I don't like the kitchen area with green wall tile, and the mix of colors.      I really don't like their wood wall in the loft. 

Why is the twin wearing that short top?   It looks awful.  I don't like the brick back splash in the twin's kitchen area.   Turning the pony wall over the stairs into a full wall for kitchen area.   I think it's at the top of the stairs, and that will make the stairs dark, and closed off.  I don't like the loft area, with the narrow desks, and the peg board. 

I don't like trundle beds, and Dave and Jenny's trundle bed didn't change my mind.   I don't think having to climb over someone in a trundle bed is a good idea.   I do like the kitchen area still has the pony wall over the stairs.  I like their shower tile.  Their loft turned into a huge laundry room, except I don't like mixed metals. 

This week's winners are Dave and Jenny.   

I like Mike and Egypt's FROG, with the Murphy bed, and induction stove, and their home work station looks so useful. 

Next week the outside yards.  

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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I’m so sick of Jenny acting as if her husband is the only person who can build things. Just STFU. 🙄 

@CrazyInAlabama I’m with you on trundle beds. At least if it is under a regular bed, there is a way to get into/out of the bed without stepping on someone. Not in this case. The upper “bed” wasn’t even a bed IMO. I can just see Mamaw and Papaw sleeping on that little thing! BTW, did Team Arkansas have a window treatment on the windows Egypt and Mike got dinged on? 
I think Egypt and Mike should have won. 
Wish someone had put a frog tchotchke somewhere in the FROG.

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I thought it was hard to decide who should have won this week (FROG and loft) since Jenny & Dave did a laundry room and no one else did. Certainly everyone else will put in a laundry room, I believe even Leslie & Lindsey even said that the washer & driver they put in the master closet would be a secondary unit. So, how can you say Jenny & Dave did best when you can't compare to everyone else's laundry room?

I liked Jenny & Dave's FROG the least. They specifically mentioned it could be used for grandparents, but that built in bed looked too small for two people, and the only way to get out of the upper bed was by stepping on the lower bed.  Not great if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

For a short-term rental, I thought Keith and Evan's FROG was the best. It looked fun and cozy for few nights' stay, and they were the only one with a real bed and full kitchen.  It was too many different colors for me to want to live in full-time, but for a few nights, sign me up!

I thought Egypt and Mike's FROG was the most functional, I liked how the desk could also be used as a dining table, if guests were staying there.

I loved the pegboard wall in Leslie & Lindsay's loft, although I would have painted it the same color as the walls so it would blend in better.

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I think Egypt and Mike should have won. 

+1. Again, most functional ideas, nice looking. A hydraulic Murphy bed? Now that was genius. Disappointed in you, Nate. Dave's bad trundle bed and goofy secretary desk were not genius in any way the word is understood to mean.

And who wants a laundry room up a bunch of stairs away from the bedrooms?

Nice to see Jeremy anyway. Irritated with you, Nate. Btw, that jacket was a bit much, still in Midtown? 

Edited by buttersister
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Egypt and Mike were talking in the beginning that they could turn theirs into a rental.  Did they forget the attached it to the house and that it's now part of the house?  In order to make that a rental, they would have to put a security door in somewhere to separate it from the house.  However, I did notice they didn't mention it possibly being a rental when talking to the judges.

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Egypt and Mike were robbed. I live in Georgia and our housing mindset here is that the FROG, more commonly called bonus room or family room over garage, is a family room or playroom. The Rock the Block house is in Summerville, SC, which is a similar demographic to my home.

The loft in that house was clearly meant to be a casual living area. The massive laundry room that Jenny and Dave created was a waste of the space. There was already a smaller laundry room adjacent to the loft and near the upstairs bedrooms. Not everyone has a houseful of children and even people with no children would appreciate a casual living area. I know that many of my friends and I use our casual space more than the 'formal' areas of our homes.

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I'd always heard it as Family Room Over Garage, too, even though they don't really have them in my area. I assumed they changed the name so the designers wouldn't be limited into only doing a family room.

I really like the Detroit guys' wall in the loft area, but that's about the only thing they did that I liked. They have a 70s vibe -- an ugly 70s vibe -- and I don't like it. Their FROG was awful. I liked individual elements, but nothing gelled. That green tile looked bad against the midnight blue walls, and the baby blue fridge added a third color that didn't go with anything. That was not purple in the bathroom; it was a particularly hideous shade of fuchsia. I don't like dark tiles in a shower.

Baldy and Blondy's was boring, and the trundle bed was dumb. We had a trundle bed when my siblings and I were kids, and we were always jumping around between levels. It's not for grampy and gramma. The tile in the FROG bathroom was pretty. That laundry room was way too big, and a waste of space - half of it wasn't even used. Why was the existing laundry room too small? It looked pretty good to me.

Egypt and Mike should have won. Smart use of space. I liked the hydraulic Murphy bed. Good light colors.

Twinies' was not my style. It looked very cheap -- and they had extra money! Too many little things in both spaces. Their loft was really geared too much to kids. Those desks were way too narrow for anyone but kids. The peg wall could turn into a real mess.

 

 

 

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With the magic of the DVR I only have to subject myself to about 15 minutes of the show. I watch the start and then the end.

The Detroit guys are just way out with their stuff and that will never fly with the judges they are using.  Their talents are better utilized in the small houses that they recycle;  those tiny places  in Detroit need something different to stand out.  These McMansions are just not a good canvas for their style.

Honestly there has not been one single room in any of the episodes that I truly like.  Who has a laundry room that's bigger than my second floor?  What a waste of space.  Trundle beds for the grandparents are just stupid.  Bathrooms the size of ballrooms are ridiculous. 

I guess I am an old crank but who needs places this big?  How do you pay the utilities?

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