Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Savannah

[Dan Hintz]

It must be very frustrating to finally have a home and then not be able to keep it.

HGTV's Dream Home has yet to have a successful homeowner... they all end up having to sell it off because the taxes alone are a killer (who has the tax money for a $2mil prize?). One couple tried to keep it, I believe, but they ended up declaring bankruptcy within a year.

[Belinda Barfield]

Dan,

I had a discussion once with one of the reps selling raffle tickets for the local St. Jude's Dream Home regarding the same thing. I didn't need a 4000 sq ft home in one of the nicest subdivisions in Savannah. Why would I spend $100 for a ticket to win something on which I couldn't pay the taxes? I just gave them the $100 and told her to sell my ticket to someone else.

[Marty Paulus]

HGTV's Dream Home has yet to have a successful homeowner... they all end up having to sell it off because the taxes alone are a killer (who has the tax money for a $2mil prize?). One couple tried to keep it, I believe, but they ended up declaring bankruptcy within a year.

I have heard the same thing. The houses are in exotic locations and would require the winners to move from where they currently live and work. I know I couldn't do that at this point in my life. Maybe one day soon though....

[Brian Elfert]

The stories have at least gotten less far fetched than at the beginning. Ty used to make phone calls and had things like modular houses supposedly shipped overnight. There is no way that modular house had not already been in planning and construction for several weeks.

I often wonder how they deal with permits and such. They obviously work with the city in advance. They probably have an inspector on call or on site 24x7 so they aren't stuck waiting on an inspection.

[Rick Davidson]

The one I worked on bout a month ago I asked these questions. I was told the plan was a canned plan from ABC that they modified for the build. They were working on it for about 6 weeks before it ever got started. Things like walls, trusses ect were pre built off site and trucked in (by police escort). They worked with the city to have inspectors ready. there were inspections done any time of the day or night as needed. They actually built everything up to code with all inspections done and permits in place.

[John Pratt]

There is a tremendous amount of preplanning before the family is even selected. When the families make a final selection list, they send out people to the individual towns to coordinate all of these things. Some of this coordination also affects who is finally selected. One of the production staff explained to me that they actively engage the city governments to make sure it is going to run smootly and on the tight time schedule. He also explained that they actively seek out the local vendors for the donations of all the materials to include furnishings in the house. He stated that if they cannot get enough material donations (in addition to the stuff they already get from Sears) then it could seriously affect whether that family is chosen for the build. It comes down to money for ABC.

[Neal Clayton]

they should change the title of the show to...

"demolition of a superior structure to rebuild a plastic/plywood replacement for the benefit of plastic/plywood building product manufacturer commercials"

[Pat Germain]

I'm not surprised ABC works closely with the local city to make sure all permits and inspections are done in a timely manner. And I'm not surprised that city officials will bend over backwards to accomodate them. Almost any city council will do anything to help a major TV show "advertise" their town in a positive light and avoid looking bad.

Imagine how crummy a city council would look if Extreme Makeover announced, "Well, we were supposed to be done yesterday, but the city inspectors never showed up and we're still waiting for the occupancy permit so this disabled little girl can enjoy her new home". Of course, if any of us were building a house, that would be the likely scenario.

Similarly, I used to travel a lot back in the 1990's. I started to notice wherever I went, the local radio station would announce the City Council had banned the upcoming Marilyn Manson concert. Then, magically, everything would be back on at the last minute. Right. It became apparent to me that whomever promoted Marilyn Manson would ask the local city council to announce they were banning the show (which, technically, they can't do anyway). Then the promoter would get free advertising and lots of a hype for a week while everyone expressed their opinons and outrages. Finally, when the show was back on, it would sell out as a supposed example of "sticking it to the man". Since a sold out show generates more taxes from ticket and concession sales, everybody wins.

[Brian Elfert]

they should change the title of the show to...

"demolition of a superior structure to rebuild a plastic/plywood replacement for the benefit of plastic/plywood building product manufacturer commercials"

Huh? Superior structure? Most of the homes they tear down are real dumps although there are a few I wonder why they tore them down.

From the little we see of the construction process the new houses look to be very well built. Would you want to be a builder that built one of these houses and get negative press later if the house is faulty? They rarely use vinyl siding like many new homes. They seem to use stucco, cement siding, or other quality siding products.

Many of you may not remember that for the first season or two this show actually did remodel homes instead of building new ones. I don't know why they stopped doing that, but it is probably easier to just build new in 7 days. A renovation could run into any number of time consuming issues.

[Pat Germain]

Huh? Superior structure? Most of the homes they tear down are real dumps although there are a few I wonder why they tore them down.

From the little we see of the construction process the new houses look to be very well built. Would you want to be a builder that built one of these houses and get negative press later if the house is faulty? They rarely use vinyl siding like many new homes. They seem to use stucco, cement siding, or other quality siding products.

Many of you may not remember that for the first season or two this show actually did remodel homes instead of building new ones. I don't know why they stopped doing that, but it is probably easier to just build new in 7 days. A renovation could run into any number of time consuming issues.

Good points, Brian. Also, I'm thinking of the many renovations I've seen on TOH. Time and time again, there's a problem with lead paint, asbestos and other serious issues. For a historical home or a nice old Victorian, I can understand taking the extra time and spending the extra money (lots of extra money!) to remove that stuff. But for a rundown tract house or farmhouse, why bother?

My family renovated a 100 year old farmhouse when I was in high school. It ended up being a complete waste of time and money. Sure, some older homes were well built by experienced craftsman. But most of them were thrown together with whatever the farmer could find by whomever was willing to help. Or they were slapped together by the lowest bidders a tract developer could find. I think well-built, older homes are the exception rather than the rule.

This is why whenever someone said, "They don't build them like they used to," Norm would would answer, "Yes, and it's a good thing they don't".

[Belinda Barfield]

Just a few snippets from the local news regarding the condition of the property.

"Overnight Friday, crews had readied the site by removing a dilapidated inground pool made of plywood covered in plastic. (Neighbors say a former owner once kept swans there.)"

"But before the Simpson's old house could be demolished Saturday, the crew and dozens of volunteers tended to a little salvage and a lot of showmanship.

They removed 22 six-pane, double-hung windows from the house, along with the ornamental front door frame. Those salvaged materials will be donated to Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity, which salvaged appliances, fixtures and other materials from the home's interior Friday night."

"The crew called it a Southern-fried demolition.

It went like this: With cameras rolling, celebrity designer Paul DiMeo would sledge-hammer a brick from the fence. Host Ty Pennington would ask him what he was doing. They repeated the process again and again until the theatrics of it were satisfactory.

Then the bricks, along with a toilet seat, a shutter and several doorknobs, were batter-dipped and deep-fried in the side yard with apron-clad volunteers in chef's hats filling in as kitchen help."

"Matt Vickery, who himself runs a construction and remodeling business, grew up next door to the now- demolished house. It was piecemeal inside, he said, with unfinished, poorly designed remodels throughout.

"The downstairs was never occupied and the addition had a tree growing through it," he said.

Vickery's mother and step father still live next door to the house he called "impossible to salvage, an investor's nightmare."

"It's a blessing to see this house go," Vickery said. "It's a better blessing to see something built back.""

[Neal Clayton]

Huh? Superior structure? Most of the homes they tear down are real dumps although there are a few I wonder why they tore them down.

From the little we see of the construction process the new houses look to be very well built. Would you want to be a builder that built one of these houses and get negative press later if the house is faulty? They rarely use vinyl siding like many new homes. They seem to use stucco, cement siding, or other quality siding products.

Many of you may not remember that for the first season or two this show actually did remodel homes instead of building new ones. I don't know why they stopped doing that, but it is probably easier to just build new in 7 days. A renovation could run into any number of time consuming issues.

this one wasn't. if you go through the pictures from the news articles, it wasn't even that old. looks like a typical 20s/30s soft red brick 4 square house to me. the brick/mortar all looked like it was in fine shape, and the roof looked pretty straight.

[Brian Elfert]

this one wasn't. if you go through the pictures from the news articles, it wasn't even that old. looks like a typical 20s/30s soft red brick 4 square house to me. the brick/mortar all looked like it was in fine shape, and the roof looked pretty straight.

Are you talking about the Savannah house?

I'm confused because Belinda's post says it was a complete dump and you're saying it looks like a fine house.

[Brian Elfert]

One thing they don't tell you on the show is that at least on some of the builds the project is really 8 days. The 8th day is inserted between the door knock day and the demolition day. This 8th day is used for moving everything out of the house and prepping it for the demolition. Presumably they have to get all of the utilities disconnected and so on.

[Belinda Barfield]

Are you talking about the Savannah house?

I'm confused because Belinda's post says it was a complete dump and you're saying it looks like a fine house.

Brian, just for clarification I haven't personally seen the house but only quoted the newspaper articles. From the photos the house looks to be in pretty good shape.