DIY Shows: Behind The Drywall

[Taylorh2]

What a stunning house. Too bad it's in GODAWFUL Detroit. Why bother.

[dvr devotee]

I'm not sure where this show belongs, but I caught a couple episodes of a show on the DIY network earlier this week called "Sledgehammer." Has anyone seen it?

 

Basically, the contractor comes in and tells the homeowners he'll completely renovate any room they want, but the homeowners only have 30 minutes to completely demo (down to the studs!) whatever room(s) they want him to fix. If they start a room and don't get it completely demo'd before time runs out, then the half-destroyed room is ignored and the homeowners have to fix it themselves.

 

I saw two episodes, and in both episodes, the husbands severely overestimated how much time it would take to demo a room. In one episode, after demo'ing a kitchen and hallway closet, with two minutes remaining the husband ran downstairs to take down the front foyer. The wife was like "Are you sure you can get this done in two minutes?" Ignoring her, he took the sledgehammer to the drywall anyway, but he had barely 1/3 of the foyer demo'd when time ran out.

 

The other episode was worse. After demo'ing an entire kitchen and taking down two walls between the kitchen and living room, there were five minutes remaining and the husband said he wanted to go on to the three-piece guest bathroom. The wife says "Um, I really don't think there's enough time for that." and the husband says "We'll make time!" He gets the sink and the toilet destroyed, takes one good whack at the bathtub, and, to everyone's *great* surprise, time runs out before he can finish. They're a family with a small baby, so you can see the wife is upset that now they're being left with one less functional bathroom (they still had a master bathroom, though it was on the opposite end of the house), and a project her husband is going to have to take time away from the family to complete sooner rather than later.

 

I just really didn't like the premise at all. I like watching these shows to see what awesome changes can be made to old, dated houses, but to watch people, who are not professional contractors, being told to demo their own house in 30 minutes in the hope of getting a free, otherwise-expensive reno, just felt very exploitative to me. Watching demo is fun, absolutely, but seeing someone buy themselves a $20k project that they might not have the time or money to handle right now just felt really wrong to me. Was the husband dumb for thinking he could demolish an entire bathroom by himself (since it was too small for him to be in there with his wife) in five minutes? Absolutely. But the licensed contractor who was the star of the show had to know that this guy was not going to be able to completely demo a bathroom (including a tiled bathtub wall!) in five minutes, and he should have put a stop to it.

[auntjess]

Well, they warn them.  And they do get some type of help, because everything is usually all finished.
In one show the wife was pregnant, and couldn't help, and there was only one who could work on another one, and while host (can't remember if Jason Cameron or Josh Temple), helped some, they should have had a second person.

Just a really strange premise.

[auntjess]

For any fans of Unlivable, where Gary & Bama help people chose a dump, then fix it up, here's a Facebook alert from Bama.
"The words not lookin good ‪#‎Unlivable‬ fans! If y'all want more Gary& ‪#‎Bama‬ action, let @FYI hear ya RT @contractorgary http://t.co/aeuftosz2o"

I'm not on twitter, but I did post on the FYI Facebook page.

I'll post this on the Real estate show thread too.
 

[auntjess]

HGTV.ca airs a new show, I Wrecked My House.  I really hope it makes it to the US.
They posted these great pictures on Facebook, of DIY fails.  http://www.hgtv.ca/iwreckedmyhouse/gallery/?gid=ae6a3cff9247bdb4a87386015f64eb54#!/0

[auntjess]

There's a new show, The Expandables, show up in odd times.

http://www.hgtv.ca/theexpandables/episodes/
It's a LOT like Love It or List It, and the one I saw was in the same Toronto area, but at least the hosts are people you're not yet sick of.

[auntjess]

I just watched some episodes of American Rehab, on DIY, where Shalina Joy is restoring a 1910 mansion in Newark.
It had a 2015 date, but I missed it then, and don't know if if was only on today, as I found no more sheduled.
I like because she recognized that she was lacking a header when she was taking out a window, and also it's nice to see an eastern seaboard locale, as I get so sick of California shows, and Minneapolis and Atlanta are getting to be as omnipresent.

 

[Totale]

This mostly dead thread seems to be the right place for a show I've seen a couple of times and enjoyed, "Professional Grade".  The homeowner takes on rehabbing a room in their house, and various professionals are brought in before and after the work is done to critique their work and provide an estimate for what it would cost to have it done professionally.  The homeowners get the difference between what they actually spent and what the pros estimate the job as completed would have cost.  On the two I've seen the homeowners have gotten big payouts.  The last one I saw the homeowners budgeted $35K for a kitchen rehab and had to hire professionals to finish in the time allotted which brought them to $46K, but the pros said it would have cost them $80K to hire it out from the beginning, so they got $35K back from the show.  Not a bad deal, even though the homeowner was putting in 16 hour days for a few weeks.

[auntjess]

I watched that one this morning.  I think the shows are a few years old, and I remember watching them the first time around.

[EyewatchTV211]

I've liked the newer show Stone House Revival. The guy, Jeff, helps families renovate parts of their historic stone homes around Bucks County, PA, where my parents live. I love seeing those beautiful homes and the colonial period is one of my favorite historical time periods, so I really enjoy seeing how he helps homeowners balance the new while respecting and highlighting the old. 

[slf]

Caught an episode of Holmes' Buy It Right, and a couple showed him a 'lagoon' home they wanted to buy and they said their main concern w//r/t their children was the pond in the back yard because of crocodiles. "Are there crocodiles?" "Yeah, sometimes. But we like the house so much." Lol.

CON: the children could be eaten.

[Minivanessa]

1 minute ago, slf said:

Caught an episode of Holmes' Buy It Right, and a couple showed him a 'lagoon' home they wanted to buy and they said their main concern w//r/t their children was the pond in the back yard because of crocodiles. "Are there crocodiles?" "Yeah, sometimes. But we like the house so much." Lol.

CON: the children could be eaten.

OMG. I'll be on the lookout for that one. Crocodiles, FFS!!! Are people nuts? At least it might be a bit interesting.

I saw most of an episode of this show, where the couple was looking at McMansions. It was boring as sh*t, and I couldn't care less which pretentious overlarge house the dear little couple chose. However, Mike was likable and pointed out each house's flaws in a smooth and intelligent way. Of course it was quite fakey that we're expected to believe that he just walked right up to each house and immediately spotted the issues. I assume each house was carefully inspected, and the scripts prepared, before those shoots. 

[auntjess]

Must be south Florida if it's crocodiles.
There are alligators throughout the state, and they can, and do, get into retention ponds.
Haven't watched those episodes yet.

10 hours ago, Jeeves said:

I assume each house was carefully inspected, and the scripts prepared, before those shoots. 

I assume that too, because I think he only "notces" things he's already discovered.

[Terrafamilia]

I'm liking Holmes' Buy it Right. It's like House Hunters if those hunting houses cared about the important stuff instead of just the holy trinity.

[azshadowwalker]

Ran across "Restored" last night on DIY. Historic homes in Redlands, CA are restored. The big, goofy host reminds me a bit of Bill Walton, including the speaking voice that sounds like he's had years of speech therapy. Love the houses. They have done a Victorian farmhouse and a craftsman bungalow. The episodes are labeled S1, E1 and S1, E2. He's a bit much, though. Not sure if I can take this goofball in his shorts and straw cowboy hat. 

[azshadowwalker]

Another craftsman on Restored tonight. He talked someone out of tearing down a wall to go "open concept"! Yay! After he worked out a pass through that did no damage to the plaster or wood paneling, the homeowner admitted that she probably didn't want people seeing her dirty kitchen, anyway. No shit! 

[Minivanessa]

I missed the new ep of Restored last night. Hope to catch it as a repeat. Especially now that I know he talked a homeowner out of ripping up a Craftsman to go "open concept." 

I agree with you, @azshadowwalker - the guy does good work but the goofball level is high. 

[azshadowwalker]

They rerun the previous episodes when they show the new ones every Wednesday night, @Jeeves.

Edited January 20, 2017 by azshadowwalker

[WildPlum]

On 1/12/2017 at 8:38 PM, azshadowwalker said:

Ran across "Restored" last night on DIY. Historic homes in Redlands, CA are restored. The big, goofy host reminds me a bit of Bill Walton, including the speaking voice that sounds like he's had years of speech therapy. Love the houses. They have done a Victorian farmhouse and a craftsman bungalow. The episodes are labeled S1, E1 and S1, E2. He's a bit much, though. Not sure if I can take this goofball in his shorts and straw cowboy hat. 

That "I know, Riiiight?" has GOT to go, it's worse the "you guyses" from Fixer Upper. And the show is a weird mish-mash of updating and renovating, which makes sense, as I have seen a lot of very old houses with kitchens which did not have, by modern standards, a functional layout. It is nice when he uses old pictures to get an idea of what a house looked like on the exterior.

It was an episode marathon here so I can't remember the names, but the remodel for the father and his young daughter, which had his daughter's bedroom accessible only through her father's bedroom? That needed more layout work, it was a terrible design.

Plus several episodes had them staining Doug fir a very dark color - clear Douglas fir is beautiful and that dark stain hid the wood grain. A lighter stain color would have been much better.

I did like the episode where the actual contractor nixed a bunch of design ideas because of budget - the contractor had a budget and was sticking to it.

A lot of the budgets (which are, according to an article I read, split between the homeowner and production company) aren't really enough to actually restore the house or bring back things like the built-in cabinets which would have been in a lot of houses - although they did have one episode where they put back the built-in bench. By Southern California standards, Redlands home prices are fairly reasonable (once you get out east, out of Los Angeles county and into San Bernardino county, prices go down sharply) - you aren't going to have a $400,000 budget for a 1,000 sf house that, when restored, might be worth $300,000 (median Redlands house price, according to Zillow, is $368,000).

[azshadowwalker]

That was the latest episode. They run all of them every week before running the newest one. 

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the spare space for the daughter in the latest episode. I can't imagine she's there very often considering that tiny room. Sure she lives with her mom most of the time.

To be honest, I would have told him to return the space to its life as a porch, then either had the daughter sleep with dad or on the couch when she is there. No way in hell is that house going to be workable, even with the mini-room in the enclosed porch, as the girl grows up. Just restore the facade and get a bigger house later. 

Heartbroken when they cut the back of the built-in cabinet. I also wonder how the laundry closet in the kitchen will be for resale. I have heard a lot of people get ridiculously offended by laundry in the kitchen. I would have kept the laundry outside, while opening up most of the back porch. Just leave it semi-open to cover the washer and dryer.  Leave the beautiful cabinet as it was; it's diminished forever now. The kitchen could have been rearranged to keep the fridge from blocking the entry. 

I loved how attached the homeowner was to plaster. I wish he had the money to have it redone instead of hanging drywall. 

I don't know. This was my least favorite of the four episodes so far, mostly because of the design choices. 

I know riiiight definitely needs to go, as does his insistence that people "really love" something when they appear to think it's not a bad idea, but aren't exactly jumping up and down. 

Edited January 28, 2017 by azshadowwalker

[laredhead]

I just discovered Restored on DIY and have seen 4 episodes so far.  I haven't seen the one Azshadowwalker describes, but so far I like the show because there isn't much fake drama and the results are really nice so far.  I'm so over the white subway tile, two color cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and granite counter tops on every HH Renovation show lately.  I have enjoyed hearing about some of the history of the houses and loving all of the different styles of houses that are in the area where the show is produced.  In Louisiana, where I live, arts & crafts houses, Spanish style, and craftsman styles aren't plentiful.  I have always loved the craftsman style with the deep porches and built ins in the dining room and living room.  I'm looking forward to seeing other episodes. 

[azshadowwalker]

The episode of Restored last week (?) wasn't my favorite, mostly because I find nothing interesting about mid-century ranches. There are tons of them in the suburban areas of Tucson, including the house I live in, and they are so nondescript. Just boxy brick or cinderblock structures with a flat roof and no architectural detail. They were so common when I was growing up that I don't even consider them historical. I was raised in a craftsman and used to live in an early-to-mid 20th century foursquare bungalow  (made-to-order from Sears once upon a time). I spent a few years living in the Bay Area around the Victorian architecture. Those are the houses I love to see restored. 

[azshadowwalker]

For those interested, Restored has its own forum now. Just noticed it today. 

[auntjess]

DIY has some episodes of Disaster Decks scheduled on Wednesday am, first at 8:30 et, I think.
This is Paul LaFrance, messing with homeowners, like Bryan Baeumler did on Disaster DIY.
Kate Campbell is in his crew.

[auntjess]

I watched Amazing Space, on DIY.  The contractor finds place to give more usable room in old houses.
To me, it was interesting, better than yet another flip show.
http://www.diynetwork.com/shows/amazing-space

[topanga]

On 7/13/2017 at 0:24 AM, auntjess said:

I watched Amazing Space, on DIY.  The contractor finds place to give more usable room in old houses.
To me, it was interesting, better than yet another flip show.
http://www.diynetwork.com/shows/amazing-space

I caught this show by accident on DIY, but I'll continue watching it for a few reasons:

 

--I like that the contractor focuses on renovating one area of the house and not the entire home. He's able to go into more detail about how he makes the changes

--It seems like Eric (the contractor) actually does the work himself--or at least some of it. 

--There are fewer staged 'surprises' than on other flipping shows 

--And last, but not least, Eric is very easy on the eyes. And seems like a nice guy.

I just wish some of the episodes were away from the same few towns in Connecticut. Otherwise, the homes will start to look identical, no matter what the projects are.

[auntjess]

4 hours ago, topanga said:

I just wish some of the episodes were away from the same few towns in Connecticut. Otherwise, the homes will start to look identical, no matter what the projects are.

That's true with other shows too, the stone house one, Vanilla Ice, and all of those craftsman houses where ever.
I guess that since he does the work, he keeps it in his area.

[laredhead]

I saw my first episode of Amazing Space last night.  It was a small farmhouse style plan and they reconstructed an entire staircase.  The original stairs looked very narrow and I can understand the owner wanting a new stairwell.  I don't know how her older dog is going to navigate that new open stairwell though.  He might be even more reluctant to try to climb them.  At some point, he will be a downstairs dog.  It was a nice project though and I liked the end result. 

[auntjess]

DIY is show episodes of Leave It to Bryan (Baumler) this week, at 4:30 AM, ET, at least for the next few days.

[Spunkygal]

A new season of Restored premieres on January 10! 

[Sarnia]

I came across "Restored by the Fords" recently and enjoy it quite a lot, particularly because it features houses with very interesting architectures and character. The design/build team are a sister (design) and brother (build) and they have a nice dynamic. The design and staging is not one note, and I've usually liked the end result. Anyone watching?

[chessiegal]

5 hours ago, Sarnia said:

I came across "Restored by the Fords" recently and enjoy it quite a lot, particularly because it features houses with very interesting architectures and character. The design/build team are a sister (design) and brother (build) and they have a nice dynamic. The design and staging is not one note, and I've usually liked the end result. Anyone watching?

I watch because it comes on when I'm expecting to see a new House Hunters. I have seen ZERO promotion for this show. I'd like it better if I wasn't expecting something else. Fixer Upper gets promoted  dozens of times a day.

[chessiegal]

OMG! Restored by the Fords completely destroyed/ruined a wonderful mid-century modern that an architect designed for himself. That whitewashed rope chandelier was trash!

[rcc]

Maine Cabin Masters is a good show I found this morning.

[chessiegal]

54 minutes ago, rcc said:

Maine Cabin Masters is a good show I found this morning.

It has it's own forum. I enjoy it too.

[Spunkygal]

Caught a few episodes of Rustic Renovation while eating lunch today and I really enjoyed it. The hosts are Chase and Brock, two brothers in Minnesota. One especially impressive result was their treatment of an old, rusted, dilapidated quonset hut! A lot of people would have just torn it down. The owner wanted it as a guesthouse and after the brothers were through with it, I would gladly rent it. It was so unique and charming. I'm glad we have the DIY channel to bring interesting shows since HGTV has become so tired and boring.

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Caught a few episodes of Rustic Renovation while eating lunch today and I really enjoyed it. The hosts are Chase and Brock, two brothers in Minnesota. One especially impressive result was their treatment of an old, rusted, dilapidated quonset hut! A lot of people would have just torn it down. The owner wanted it as a guesthouse and after the brothers were through with it, I would gladly rent it. It was so unique and charming. I'm glad we have the DIY channel to bring interesting shows since HGTV has become so tired and boring.

Isn't that the truth. There are shows I like on HGTV - HH, HHI, Home Town, beach, Caribbean, etc. but spare me any Property Brothers, the incessant Fixer Upper marathons, and Love it or List it. Hate them. I like Maine Cabin Masters and Restored. Rustic Renovations is good too. 

[Spunkygal]

7 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Isn't that the truth. There are shows I like on HGTV - HH, HHI, Home Town, beach, Caribbean, etc. but spare me any Property Brothers, the incessant Fixer Upper marathons, and Love it or List it. Hate them. I like Maine Cabin Masters and Restored. Rustic Renovations is good too. 

Honestly, I am tired of HH and HHI. I will record an occasional HHI episode if it is in a European country that I'm interested in, especially UK or France. I am just tired of the whole dang channel! 

[auntjess]

I saw Gritty to Pretty, a one-off at 4 AM or such, and enjoyed it.
I think it was older, and I don't see it on the schedule.

[smittykins]

I like Building Off The Grid as well.

[laredhead]

I really like Building Off the Grid because of the odd locations that are shown, and the different styles of houses.  The earth home on a recent episode was very different. 

[Kemper]

I love the show on HGTV (can't remember the name..found it completely by accident) that features the couple with the 2 or three kids.  It takes place in Warsaw, Va.  I think.  The manor house has been in the family for generations.  The couple (really non-irritating..I'm amazed) is doing wonderful things with the house.  It is historical and they are doing their best to stay within the historical framework while modernizing the house.  There is even a grandpa that flits in and out.  Since I have only seen two episodes, I am guessing that they are trying to make some money off the property.  I think they are opening the house for weddings, etc.  Love the show and the premise.  That is why HGTV is not promoting it and why it won't ever be on in prime time.  We can't interrupt The Brothers, The Flippers, and Chipanna.  I seem to be turning bitter.  lol

[laredhead]

Kemper, I've seen that show and have a couple of unwatched episodes on my DVR.  You are correct that it is drama free, and the only ship lap visible was there 200 years ago when the house was originally built - ha, ha.

[Gam2]

This was a 10 episode special. Look up “Mt. Airy Plantation in Warsaw, VA”. It will tell you all you need to know. I loved those shows and that family. Very interesting history too.

[auntjess]

I've been enjoying Scott McGillivray's Buyers Bootcamp, where he picks a person who owns a flippable property to work with.
They show up on DIY, no set schedule.  Some were from last year, but I see new dates on some.
https://www.diynetwork.com/shows/buyers-bootcamp/episodes

[2727]

3 hours ago, auntjess said:

I've been enjoying Scott McGillivray's Buyers Bootcamp, where he picks a person who owns a flippable property to work with.
They show up on DIY, no set schedule.  Some were from last year, but I see new dates on some.
https://www.diynetwork.com/shows/buyers-bootcamp/episodes

I've always liked Scott and his low-key personality and kind expertise, but damn, his shows are hard to find! Like you said, they just pop up willy nilly on the schedule and are often marked as new when they're repeats.

I liked the episode with the two female owners because they seemed to do a bit more work alongside him and he showed them some useful maintenance tips like how to fix the leaky faucet.

One of the couples had renters in their place and Scott choose not to partner with then because he didn't want to evict the tenants. Such a nice person!

I caught up on all the Home Town episodes last week and managed to overlook the similarities to Fixer Upper enough to enjoy them.  Erin and Ben aren't nearly as annoying, except I wish the producers didn't insist they stay clamped to each other during interviews, or make Erin sit on his lap. They've an affectionate couple, we get it!

[chessiegal]

Home Town has its own forum. Someone on that forum said Erin has said on her blog she is introverted and feels more secure when doing talking heads if she's touching Ben.

[auntjess]

13 hours ago, 2727 said:

I've always liked Scott and his low-key personality and kind expertise, but damn, his shows are hard to find! Like you said, they just pop up willy nilly on the schedule and are often marked as new when they're repeats.

I have it set as series record, for my dvr, works until they switch channels.
I was glad he picked the sisters, too, because I wanted to see what he'd do with that strange house.  I was disappointed that they didn't add another bathroom.
I guess, because I've had my great-nephews around a lot, I'd be terribly uncomfortable if I didn't have another bathroom, just in case.
 

[friendperidot]

I looked, didn't see a separate board for it, so I guess it can go here. I just got DIY yesterday for the first time, ever and I am so enjoying. Watched a lot of episodes yesterday of Maine Cabin people, I found that thread. But I can't find one for Barnwood Builders. I've watched an episode and a half. I'm glad there are people who are rescuing and recycling and reusing, but if this episode doesn't get better, I'll find something else next hour. The first episode was about a log church in West Virginia. It seems to me it could have been half an hour, they spent half the time talking about what the church meant to the community, what community meant, how many souls had been saved and so on and so on and so on. I thought to be fair, I'd give another episode a chance, now they're build a LARGE cabin in Georgia, in the very hot August sun and on the day of the eclipse, and so far, they've spent entirely too long talking about the heat. This does seem to follow the show pattern for the Treehouse Builders (is that one still on? Used to be on Animal Planet) they build, they have crew hi-jinks, they talk about other stuff, they build, they show how they found stuff, they visit another something that was built either by them or someone else, more crew hi-jinks, more talk about the weather, some building, then a decorator comes in, more weather talk, some building, etc., etc., etc. I think I'll be looking for another way to spend next hour.

[chessiegal]

Barnyard Builders is something I've quit watching. DIY has better shows. (And Rehab Addict isn't one of them - can't stand Nicole Curtis. She actually got on the PTV forum for her show and dissed people who dared to criticize Her Royal Highness).