House Flipping Shows

[Broderbits]

Just watched the 2nd episode of Windy City Rehab and I'm just not understanding who the target market is for this show, unless it's simply those of us thoroughly addicted to house porn. The kind of people with $1 million plus to invest are probably not sitting around checking HGTV for rehab tips, even if Alison Victoria had any to offer. At least she didn't ruin the outside of this building like she did with the 1st one.

[Tracer34]

The Windy City woman was on a House Hunters program a couple of years ago.  I remember it specifically because they showed the house she bought got stripped down to the studs. Any trace of its history was gone.

I'm currently enjoying a DIY show "Cabin Masters".  It's a fun crew and the cabins they rehab are done well -- no going overboard with "modern touches".  I'd like one of those little cabins!

[Broderbits]

1 hour ago, Tracer34 said:

The Windy City woman was on a House Hunters program a couple of years ago.

She used to be on DIY's Kitchen Crashers, a much more practical and useful show than her current Windy City Million Dollar Rehab.

[buttersister]

Holy crap that “penthouse” episode. And, please, who can find the name of the loser contractor?

[chessiegal]

I watched 10 minutes of Windy City rehab. Too much drama! I changed the channel.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I remember the WIndy City House Hunters episode.    The entire house was stripped of any remnant of historic or vintage charm, looked just like any other flip house, with a too modern interior, and had a ridiculous second story perched on the top that looked awful.     

[disconnected]

Third episode, yet an another fugly white painted brick house. Having to offset the curved arched door because of the coat closet seems like the kind of mistake a design student would make, not a professional interior designer. Only the kitchen and deck seemed like actual improvements. They spent double their renovation budget because of water and structural issues. Eventually, they took the house off the market because it didn't sell. Haven't followed up to see if they put it back on the market.

[buttersister]

I’m assuming the closing card meant she pulled it off the market until Spring 2019. With the foreshadowing of a $10k profit, which, btw, is not a win. Nor is all the exposure to her bad decisions, inability to work within a budget, craptastic communication, bad or no inspections, etc.

Also, these houses are choppy af. 

I’m hate watching at this point. 

[Terrafamilia]

BTW & FYI: Windy City Rehab has its own forum.

[buttersister]

Thank you—I had looked for it/couldn’t find it before posting here.

[juliet73]

On 1/17/2019 at 11:37 AM, Tracer34 said:

The Windy City woman was on a House Hunters program a couple of years ago.  I remember it specifically because they showed the house she bought got stripped down to the studs. Any trace of its history was gone.

 

On 1/20/2019 at 1:54 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I remember the WIndy City House Hunters episode.    The entire house was stripped of any remnant of historic or vintage charm, looked just like any other flip house, with a too modern interior, and had a ridiculous second story perched on the top that looked awful.     

I know who you're talking about, but it's not Allison Victoria. AV was on kitchen crashers for several years before Windy City Flip/Rehab.  The HH lady was some random person who was probably hoping HGTV would offer her a show. Thankfully, they did not.

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

 

I know who you're talking about, but it's not Allison Victoria. AV was on kitchen crashers for several years before Windy City Flip/Rehab.  The HH lady was some random person who was probably hoping HGTV would offer her a show. Thankfully, they did not.

I agree. Mr. Google has no mention of Alison Victoria ever being on House Hunters.

[juliet73]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

I agree. Mr. Google has no mention of Alison Victoria ever being on House Hunters.

I did a quick Google search.  Wanna Be AV is Amy Mahjoory.  Here's a link to her business(es):  http://amymahjoory.com .  She wrote a book as well and according to her Amazon bio  "Amy is an expert real estate investor, entrepreneur, published author, TV personality, national real estate coach and motivational public speaker."  *eye roll*   No further comment from me. 

Edited January 28, 2019 by juliet73

[2727]

So what's up with vent hoods? I've been catching up on a lot of flipping shows this week and am surprised at the constant design love for the monstrous things as a feature element. Custom built, made of metal, painted to look like metal, faux finished to resemble wood, looming hugely over an island ... yeesh. And so expensive!

Honestly, my homes as an adult have always had built-in microwaves over the stove, but if given the chance and a custom kitchen design, I'd buy one with a nifty downdraft vent and put it in an island. Be nice to not face a wall when cooking.

Is it [X] part of the country that loves vent hoods and I've just never lived there?

[juliet73]

12 hours ago, 2727 said:

So what's up with vent hoods? I've been catching up on a lot of flipping shows this week and am surprised at the constant design love for the monstrous things as a feature element. Custom built, made of metal, painted to look like metal, faux finished to resemble wood, looming hugely over an island ... yeesh. And so expensive!

Honestly, my homes as an adult have always had built-in microwaves over the stove, but if given the chance and a custom kitchen design, I'd buy one with a nifty downdraft vent and put it in an island. Be nice to not face a wall when cooking.

Is it [X] part of the country that loves vent hoods and I've just never lived there?

I don't understand the vent hood thing either. I hate when it's this custom made feature and it's mounted on the wall with no cabinets on either side of it. Or when they remove a wall between the kitchen and dining or kitchen and living room and then install a monster hood. Makes no sense. 

[Minivanessa]

I also hate the big overdone hoods. But I do see the point of installing a really good powerful hood to replace a wimpy microwave and hood combo. A friend did that recently. They cook a lot and are so happy to have a powerful hood that really clears the air of the cooking smells. Houses now are so air tight that the meal can be long gone but the aromas can linger on. My condo is the worst about that. ☹️

[Kemper]

I find the Windy City woman exhausting.  This is just another "flip" series; but HGTV is really pushing it for some reason or another.  I wish Boise Boys could get this kind of treatment at the network.

[chessiegal]

9 hours ago, Kemper said:

I find the Windy City woman exhausting.  This is just another "flip" series; but HGTV is really pushing it for some reason or another.  I wish Boise Boys could get this kind of treatment at the network.

So agree. I lasted 10 minutes.

[car54]

I've been binge watching Bargain Mansion --season one is on HGTV' site and I just found season 2 on the DIY channel.

I like Tamara and her dad--they do good work, no surprises on her houses usually, and she does a very respectful job of restoring older homes.

The projects are massive, so I like that she usually gives 2 episodes to one project--it seems like they put about 5-6 months on each one.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Sorry about that, but Windy City has totally irritated me with the budget overruns, and what they call vintage is not vintage to me.    The previous woman on House Hunters was awful also.  

[Minivanessa]

On 2/3/2019 at 6:00 PM, car54 said:

I've been binge watching Bargain Mansion --season one is on HGTV' site and I just found season 2 on the DIY channel.

I like Tamara and her dad--they do good work, no surprises on her houses usually, and she does a very respectful job of restoring older homes.

The projects are massive, so I like that she usually gives 2 episodes to one project--it seems like they put about 5-6 months on each one.

I also like Bargain Mansions.

I get a bit tired of Tamara's formulaic visits to some craftsperson's shop where she grabs a welding torch or wields a power tool and "helps" with creating whatever custom feature she's commissioned. Maybe they could skip that now and then. Also, it cracks me up when they constantly shoot her "laying tile" or driving in the last nail or screw on some bit of reconstruction work. Like we don't all know it's just a setup shot for the show, and we are going to believe she lays huge bathroom floor tiles wearing a cute sweater and gold watch, rings, and bracelets. 

That said, I enjoy Tamara and her dad, and the interesting variety of homes she renovates. The producers do a good job showcasing Kansas City - some really nice videography - and it's interesting to see homes that aren't in California or Texas. That's one reason I enjoyed Good Bones -  it was in Indianapolis.  

I rarely even check to see what's on HGTV.  I watch Bargain Mansions on DIY. They had a nice little marathon of Bargain Mansions running against the Super Bowl last evening. I kept flipping between those two. In case, you know, the football game got slightly more suspenseful than Tamara's renovation projects. It never did.

[2727]

[Moved over from Design Shows]

2 hours ago, car54 said:

I watched a new show called Philly Revival on the DIY channel last night and I really enjoyed it. 

Thanks for the tip! Are three only three episodes so far? I watched the ones I could find and enjoyed them as well. Like you said, Rachel is competent but low key and pleasant. They're breezy 20 minute episodes.

In addition to everything else you mentioned, she also whips out some fluent Spanish when talking to some of her subs. I think I'm intimidated.

Philly is a new city to me for flipping and the old houses are interesting. Rachel is a bit more adventurous as a designer with her finishes, which is fun to see.

[car54]

I watch through my Amazon fire stick and I see 5 episodes on their site.   The first couple are the little row houses, I think the third one was the one with the copper pipe install on the ceilings and then she did 2 bigger houses in the last couple of episodes.    The big city house with the turrets that she restored was amazing.   It was such an unusual property and she made so  much of all the historic features, then at the end she added a circular staircase up to a brand new roof deck with an incredible view.   

I really found Rachel to be amazingly likeable for this kind of show.   Usually with these flip teams one of the lead people is annoying or goofy--and she is very good natured, seems to really do good work along with her team and she seems to be very energetic and hard working.

The other thing I liked about her houses is she doesn't over-stage the houses--she seems to furnish them just enough to set the stage but unlike some shows like Good Bones, she doesn't go crazy with the accessories and furnishings.     

Yes, she speaks fluent Spanish AND she's an opera singer.    Kind of amazing to see how accomplished she is for such a young woman.

[MaKaM]

On 1/29/2019 at 9:59 AM, Kemper said:

I find the Windy City woman exhausting.  This is just another "flip" series; but HGTV is really pushing it for some reason or another.  I wish Boise Boys could get this kind of treatment at the network.

I find Windy City too much self-inflicted drama but Boise Boys was too much faux drama. The heavyset guy's constant "what are you doin'?!" stuff to the designer guy's ideas is so poorly acted that it detracts from what could be an interesting show. But still wasn't very interesting because I can't remember more than an episode where they did a hideous brick treatment of some sort and then built a house without wheelchair access for the one guy's family who needed wheelchair access. Allison is memorable for her constant screw-ups at least.

I wonder if the HGTV producers think people wouldn't watch a show without drama/conflict but I'd like to see them give it a go, at least once.

[suebee12]

Did anyone else catch the flip show from Starkville, MS(where I live) called Hammer to the Manor? It was on a couple nights ago and I was so glad I caught it! Missed it the first time and have been looking for it ever since!!

The flippers are a brother and sister team who grew up in Starkville and who own businesses here that are about vintage items. https://www.starkville.org/mississippis-college-town-to-be-featured-on-hgtv-pilot-of-hammertothemanor/

I did enjoy the show and liked how they kept the house as vintage as they could! It is a small bungalow located quite near downtown. The zoning in Starkville is a bit weird(at least to me) so that you can  have houses right next to businesses or bright new homes next to what could be considered "dumps". I did notice while watching that there seemed to be construction being done on the house next door and when I drove by, I saw I was correct. Don't know if the brother and sister are working on that house but it is being upgraded slowly.

I'm not sure if I like the "wine cave" they designed but it was interesting to see how the idea evolved. If you haven't seen this pilot, look out for it. They haven't been picked up but from their Facebook postings, it seems they still have hope!

Here are a couple photos from Google of the Before and After. The before was taken in 2013 and the after shot right after they finished in 2018. BTW, this was a Hoarder house, as you can tell from the before. Again, this was an episode that I am glad I didn't have "smellovision"! Hope these links work!

Before: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.4611065,-88.8117928,3a,75y,234.21h,69.89t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPv9UFVE19gBr5O_AmD2SHw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

After: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.4612093,-88.8119247,3a,75y,206.25h,77.1t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s1LJ3Gey1MczjsHwcNhOJMg!2e0!5s20180601T000000!7i13312!8i6656

Oh, the one thing I noted when I drove by is that while the table on the front porch was still there, the front swing was no longer there......

[2727]

If anyone is looking for a drama-free flipping show, you might like the UK series Homes Under the Hammer on Amazon Prime. The show has been airing since 2003; Amazon has 10 seasons.

Each episode shows houses or commercial properties sold at auction and catches up with the buyers after they renovate and flip/rent. It doesn't show any of the work being done, just an initial walk through by the hosts, a chat with the buyer after purchase, and then the final result. We may hear about any big setbacks during the reveal, but they aren't the point. Estate agents also evaluate the houses before and after.

There are 3-4 houses per episode, and it's all very low key, pleasant background noise.

[Minivanessa]

17 hours ago, 2727 said:

If anyone is looking for a drama-free flipping show, you might like the UK series Homes Under the Hammer on Amazon Prime. The show has been airing since 2003; Amazon has 10 seasons.

Each episode shows houses or commercial properties sold at auction and catches up with the buyers after they renovate and flip/rent. It doesn't show any of the work being done, just an initial walk through by the hosts, a chat with the buyer after purchase, and then the final result. We may hear about any big setbacks during the reveal, but they aren't the point. Estate agents also evaluate the houses before and after.

There are 3-4 houses per episode, and it's all very low key, pleasant background noise.

Oh gosh. I watched that show a long time ago, maybe on a cable channel, or ??? I'll have to look for it on Prime. I enjoyed it for several reasons, not the least of which was getting a glimpse into the type of housing available in the UK and what buyers might expect (vs. good old US house hunters with the granite countertop/stainless appliance/4 bedrooms/office/4 bathrooms yada yada.)

EAT: I went to Amazon and I'm disappointed. They show four seasons, only two of which are currently available (I'm in the US, maybe it's different elsewhere). And to get the two available seasons, you have to sign up for an additional (paid) Prime video service, apparently focused on DIY/real estate programming. No thanks.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Jeeves

[2727]

On 2/21/2019 at 8:23 AM, Jeeves said:

I went to Amazon and I'm disappointed. They show four seasons, only two of which are currently available

I noticed that too -- I went back to watch and they were gone! There are some free eps on You Tube, though.

Back to Philly Revival, Rachel and the crew actually wore helmets, gloves, eye protection and masks during demolition. Drives me crazy to see these TV people putting their bodies on the line with drywall dust and other hazards.

Edited February 22, 2019 by 2727

[Kitty Redstone]

I also enjoy Bargain Mansions and Philly Revival. 

This past Saturday DIY had a show called Gritty to Pretty.  It was really good as well!  The main guy was named Jeremy and the house was in Kalamazoo, MI.  He bought the house for $5,000 and sold it for $80k.  It was an amazing transformation and he was so likeable.  There are only two episodes so far.  Hopefully they got enough viewers to get picked up for a full season.

Several months ago there was one episode of a show featuring a couple who flipped houses in the Chesapeake Bay area that I liked as well.  The couple had a fun, sweet vibe and their remodel was well done. I haven't seen another episode since.  I hope they got picked up, too. 

ETA:  The show's name was Chesapeake Fix.

Edited February 26, 2019 by Kitty Redstone

[ForReal]

On 2/4/2019 at 6:05 PM, Jeeves said:

I get a bit tired of Tamara's formulaic visits to some craftsperson's shop where she grabs a welding torch or wields a power tool and "helps" with creating whatever custom feature she's commissioned. Maybe they could skip that now and then. Also, it cracks me up when they constantly shoot her "laying tile" or driving in the last nail or screw on some bit of reconstruction work. Like we don't all know it's just a setup shot for the show, and we are going to believe she lays huge bathroom floor tiles wearing a cute sweater and gold watch, rings, and bracelets. 

You took the words right off of my keyboard. She always steps in to take a glory shot, but she's always sparkling clean and the person doing all the work looks dusty and hard working. I realize it's part of her job to sell herself, but I get tired of all the me, me, my, mine talk.

Before I saw this show, I saw Beach Beach Builds, and I liked that woman contractor (and her relationship with her father) better. She was less braggy and more respectful of her father, from whom she seemed to have truly learned the trades. After awhile, though, every show seemed the same, which is true of this whole genre, I guess.

[Kemper]

Didn't there used to be a "Vegas Flip" topic?  If so, it has probably been moved to this thread; and that is fine because I cannot imagine it earning it's own thread. 

I watched it maybe once when it first came on HGTV; I thought it was waay over the top in tackiness; but maybe that is just me.  But I caught the tail end of an episode yesterday.  The couple (just me who thinks the woman is also extremely tacky?) had purchased a condo...maybe on the Strip?  Not sure.  But the end result was maybe one of the ugliest redos I have ever seen.  Pink! Black stripes! Everything seemed absolutely blinding.  I think the duo made a small profit because the unit didn't cost all that much (by HGTV standards).  

Has this show been renewed?  I guess the "Flip" shows don't cost the network a ton of money; and if they make enough episodes, they can marathon them for hours.  Money in the bank.  

I guess I shouldn't judge; maybe the unit was going to be sold as a rental.  Is that what people expect when they go to Vegas?  Lots of glitz, I guess.  Depending on your definition of "glitz" and glamour.  

[2727]

All the Flip or Flop cities are under the main topic, if that's the Vegas one you mean. There aren't many comments, though.

The stars are Aubrey and Bristol who specialize in, as advertised, "glitz and glamour." I watched my first episode last night and didn't like the overdone result, but my main objection to Vegas real estate is the boring sameness of tan stucco houses. 

Edited March 22, 2019 by 2727

[izabella]

I've been watching Season 2 of Restored with the Fords, 4 episodes now, after not having seen Season 1.  While I like a lot of the design Leanne does, everything so far has been white, with some black.  This last show, she went wild and added gray.  Is this all she does design-wise?  I don't know if I'll be able to handle all the white all the time, especially since so many flip and reno shows have been focused on white kitchens and baths lately.  I'm also getting a very strong Diane Keaton-ish manic pixie vibe from Leanne,

I thought the most recent episode with the gray kitchen was very cool, but not enough storage space in the kitchen.  I love that she left the brickwork in, and brought in those old floors for the new kitchen.  She really used the building's character for her design choices rather than erasing it so as to replace it with something blandly contemporary.

In the previous episode, she painted a chaise longue all white with canvas paint so the kids could write all over it.  And put in the entry way.  That might be a little too quirky for me, lol.

Edited March 27, 2019 by izabella

[mojito]

I like Restored by the Fords. They're a low-keyed twosome. I'm okay with all the white because it does brighten up these old homes, and I agree with using the decor to introduce color. I especially like that she has done white appliances. 

It's nice to see a show that's not about flipping but about pleasing a customer. (I stopped watching Fixer Upper during the second season when Chip decided to "act" more and they were constantly trying to involve me in their home lives, which I care nothing about.)

[mojito]

Just wanted to add that unlike house flipper's like Allison Victoria, Leanne and the homeowners like retaining the homes' original wood trim and panels (in my mind, a good reason to go with white walls). Occasionally, walls come out, but it's not the Fords' goal to have the kitchen visible from the front door. 

[chessiegal]

FYI - Alison spells her first name with 1 "l". not 2.

[DownTheShore]

On 3/27/2019 at 4:25 PM, izabella said:

I've been watching Season 2 of Restored with the Fords, 4 episodes now, after not having seen Season 1.  While I like a lot of the design Leanne does, everything so far has been white, with some black.  This last show, she went wild and added gray.  Is this all she does design-wise?  I don't know if I'll be able to handle all the white all the time, especially since so many flip and reno shows have been focused on white kitchens and baths lately.  I'm also getting a very strong Diane Keaton-ish manic pixie vibe from Leanne,

I thought the most recent episode with the gray kitchen was very cool, but not enough storage space in the kitchen.  I love that she left the brickwork in, and brought in those old floors for the new kitchen.  She really used the building's character for her design choices rather than erasing it so as to replace it with something blandly contemporary.

In the previous episode, she painted a chaise longue all white with canvas paint so the kids could write all over it.  And put in the entry way.  That might be a little too quirky for me, lol.

/rant on/

I've just watched several episodes of RBTF, and was coming here to post the exact same thoughts. And thanks for mentioning Diane Keaton - that is precisely who Leanne seems to be modeling her behavior on. She's just too, too cute for my taste. 😒

She seems to default to white and black as her main color schemes in every house she's done, that I've seen. I think her design style is bland and pedestrian; I like a variety of decorating styles so it's not that I dislike minimalist or modern/moderne or whatever. There is just no warmth to her finished products, no "I'd really love to live there vibe" to me.

I watched two shows in a row where she painted the entire outsides of two houses black; on one she did the trim and door all in black, too. Instead of giving it architectural interest, she turned it into an uninteresting black hole.

I really hated what she did with that Victorian, the one where the wife loves doilies and fringe. That new kitchen and the redone rooms were sooo sterile after she was done with them. I bet that woman cried after the camera crew left. And that white chaise for the kids to draw on - WTH? Yes, like parents want to teach their kids to draw on furniture, and who is going to chance sitting on it and getting color stains on their clothes?

Thanks for the chance to rant. I realize that everyone's mileage may vary.  😉😊

/rant off/

[izabella]

On 4/5/2019 at 2:05 PM, DownTheShore said:

I watched two shows in a row where she painted the entire outsides of two houses black; on one she did the trim and door all in black, too. Instead of giving it architectural interest, she turned it into an uninteresting black hole.

I did not understand that choice, and I thought both houses ended up looking like they'd been burned in a fire or something.  She could have at least painted the trim gray if she really can't stand any use of color.

I like that they adjusted the budget for other things in order to take down the wall between the kitchen and the living room in the house they did for their friends.  I could tell the wife was upset that they said they wouldn't be able to do that since that was the main thing she wanted.  I'm not sure I got "ski lodge" out of the result, but I liked it overall.  The big miss was the whitewashed stone fireplace, but without money to tear that fake stone down and start over with something else,  it wasn't a bad solution. 

Edited April 6, 2019 by izabella

[2727]

New show on HGTV tonight: Mom & Me. Mother and son in Oregon. I saw a trial episode last year where they flipped a house, if I'm remembering right. The description of the new eps says they're remodeling for clients, so seems like it's more design than flip.

11pm, two half hour episodes.

There's a dedicated forum now for Restored By the Fords. Thanks to @Refresh!

[2727]

Did anyone catch Big Texas Fix on DIY? It's set in Galveston; one episode has aired so far. The couple buy old houses that are ramshackle to the point of falling down and concentrate on restoration. Interesting Victorian styles. Really nice results from the episode I've seen and the show's introductory shots. Pleasant hosts and low conflict.

Saturdays at 9pm

[Kitty Redstone]

I liked it!  The hosts were fun, the location was great and the house turned out beautifully.  I really liked the master bath with the refurbished clawfoot tub.  Dark green, black and white is one of my favorite color combinations. 

[Minivanessa]

13 hours ago, 2727 said:

Did anyone catch Big Texas Fix on DIY? It's set in Galveston; one episode has aired so far. The couple buy old houses that are ramshackle to the point of falling down and concentrate on restoration. Interesting Victorian styles. Really nice results from the episode I've seen and the show's introductory shots. Pleasant hosts and low conflict.

Saturdays at 9pm

Thanks for the tip! I watched Episode 1 on demand late yesterday afternoon. Really liked it. Well, okay, I wasn't a fan of how they didn't sand and refinish the wood floors, but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen either. It was a very small house, and the floors were very busy, meaning they had to go with plain white sofa and other very plain choices for furniture and decor. At first I thought they were going to keep the old paint/paper on the floorboards only in the master bedroom, which IMO would have been better. 

But overall they did a good job on the little house, which has already survived some severe hurricanes since it was built in 1914 (14 years after the Great Galveston storm). 

I grew up in the region and we were there for a few memorable hurricanes, so I can't help thinking about that in connection with Galveston. The show had me thinking, hmm, maybe I'll wander down to Galveston for a little vacay one of these days . . . the beach isn't pretty but I remember it as an interesting place.

My DVR caught the second episode of this show last night but I haven't watched it yet. I'm looking forward to it.

[Minivanessa]

Just checking in to say that now I've watched two more episodes of Big Texas Flip Fix (sorry, edited to correct this), and still really like it. The husband/wife flippers are pleasant and watchable, minus overdone drama. The show includes enough footage of Galveston to add to the content and not so much it's distracting.

In the new episode last night they used shiplap on the walls in the totally rebuilt ground floor - after lifting the whole house a few feet and adding a new foundation. I can forgive them the shiplap because the house is more than 100 years old and it's authentic for the period and place.

I was SO pleased to see that neither of the flippers even talked about operating any of the equipment they hired to, first, demolish a rotting rear addition, and second, lift the house a few feet to give the basement (ground level) enough head room to be livable. (And, as noted, pour a new slab/foundation as well as frame out the ground level.) There was a little bit of "oh, this is scary" commentary mostly from the wife but not so much that I was tempted to flip channels. These flippers stood back and let the pros do their damned jobs without having to jump into the driver's seat and operate the equipment. (Looking at you, Nicole, not to mention a few others.) I really like that they seem to just know how to hire professionals and let them do their job.

At the end that house looked great. Although I kept thinking, if I bought it I would require, as a term of sale, that they get that heavy old spray-painted safe OUT of the house. Would not want to have to ever have that gazillion pound item hauled down the stairs. Yikes. Putting it up on the second floor was a total ditz move.

Edited April 21, 2019 by Jeeves
Name of show.

[2727]

I think it's likely that many of the Galveston Island houses on Big Texas Flip are going to be bought as vacation properties, so having smaller kitchens and baths doesn't chafe the way it might in other cities. I still have a grudge against open shelving in the kitchen, though.

The stamped faux brick look on the concrete floors turned out better than it had any right to.

I was expecting them to dig out the lower level to get more ceiling height, but maybe the water table there doesn't allow it. Was interesting to see the whole house raised.

I think they deserve all the profit they get.

[Minivanessa]

25 minutes ago, 2727 said:

I think it's likely that many of the Galveston Island houses on Big Texas Flip are going to be bought as vacation properties, so having smaller kitchens and baths doesn't chafe the way it might in other cities. I still have a grudge against open shelving in the kitchen, though.

The stamped faux brick look on the concrete floors turned out better than it had any right to.

I was expecting them to dig out the lower level to get more ceiling height, but maybe the water table there doesn't allow it. Was interesting to see the whole house raised.

I think they deserve all the profit they get.

Yes to the open shelving thing. I now live in the dry/dusty American West. I swear, the older I get the less interested I am in ANYTHING that's going to collect dust, like stuff on open shelves. Especially in the kitchen where you get the opportunity to add grease to the mix. *eyerolls*

I grew up in Houston and Galveston was our closest beach. I'm pretty sure that digging down below grade isn't practical or desirable in Galveston. Actually, when the city was rebuilt after the 1900 hurricane, they raised the grade of the city - or at least most of it, I'm not sure - by something like 17 feet. Existing buildings were jacked up, utility lines moved, and everything. That's always interested me because we think of such things as "modern technology" but those folks did it right after the 1900 storm. With whatever tech they had at hand. Here's an article about it: https://www.1900storm.com/rebuilding/

The house in last night's episode was built before 1900, so it must have survived the big storm. I'm not sure if it was jacked up for the post-storm rebuild or not. The grade elevation I don't think covered everything on the island, and it sloped down the closer you got to the beach. I couldn't help wondering about that as I watched, as in, was that maybe the second time in its history that someone jacked up that house?

Edited April 21, 2019 by Jeeves

[car54]

Boise Boys season 2 starts tonight.

[Minivanessa]

I stumbled on the Boise Boys last night, after a busy two hours live-snarking on My 600 Pound LIfe (don't judge). I didn't watch all of it. I thought they were entertaining. But strange. I recorded it but deleted it without watching the whole episode. The most interesting bit was their exploring the costs of accepting that "free" house that they would have to move, and showing why it wasn't a financial risk they wanted to incur.

Edited April 29, 2019 by Jeeves

[Minivanessa]

17 hours ago, LucindaWalsh said:

Southern Spitfire? Jeeez. That woman is a SNL character that morphs a dancing Elaine Benes and a manic Martin Short character. Annoying as hell.

eta Please don't get any ratings, please please please. And please for Pete's sake don't let her get her own thread here!

I'd never heard of this show and had to look it up after reading that post. I pretty much never watch HGTV anyway, but thanks for the heads-up about that trainwreck.

I've been watching Big Texas Fix on DIY. It's a young husband and wife who live and work in Galveston flipping houses. Gosh, I continue to like this show. I assume it's got a built-in limited run. Because, how many houses can they flip in Galveston? But, I'm liking it while it lasts. 

In last night's episode, they renovated a house - a rental property - that the husband inherited from his dad. I liked how it turned out, except for that parquet border in the dining room floor. It was very labor-intensive to install and could have been a stunner, but IMO they should have stained it darker than the rest of the floor. Instead they just sanded it and left it the same shade as the rest of the floor. I thought it looked odd; you had to look twice to see the different pattern of wood. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

That's so sad about the death of Nashville Flipped star Troy Dean Shafer.     38 is so young.    My condolences to his family, and friends.  

[2727]

I enjoy Boise Boys so much. Even though he goes overboard on plants and tchotchkes in his staging, Luke always tries something different and I appreciate his range of styles. I was happy that he was able to buy the house for his family last week.

The new (?) episode with the mural hit my sweet spot and I would have bought it in a minute. You know, in that dreamy way of not living in Boise and not being able to afford it. Loved the seafoam sink and tub; the white fixtures was a great contrast and made the pieces look updated.

The penny bathroom floor turned out well and I didn't even mind the sappy text. It's too bad Ashley and Michael on Big Texas Fix didn't think of it -- they used expensive premade mosiac tiles as a border in one of their bathrooms because they were too expensive to use on the whole floor.

BB, Good Bones, and Texas Fix are a great palate cleanser after suffering through Windy City!