Favorite Home Improvement Show

houseinthewoods

I believe that there is an ongoing lawsuit over a Makeover project that was never finished here in Kansas City. What was done was done poorly, and there were significant portions of the project that were just abandoned when the filming was done.

I can't find anything on Google to support this. Perhaps it didn't reach the lawsuit stage, but there was a lot of discussion locally at the time about the crews walking away when the cameras left...

evapman

Without a doubt IMHO Norm, Tommy, Rich are the men!! This old house and Ask this old house.

Holms on homes after them, the only trouble I have with holms on homes is the unlimited budgets, not realistic at all, but they do good work for sure. most of the others are just hacks.

TReally

Its Holmes on Homes for me

He's the main reason I stopped using drywall screws all the time

toeey1

Ive never seen his show but it seems to be popular on here.

SO what were you using drywall screws for? Besides drywall that is

sdsester

I think the problem I have with all the shows is you don't really get an honest idea of budgets and expenditures against them. The house flippers are not cutting even 1099s for most people working on the projects (loved the Carolina's guys that were using uninsured teen or college worker help, for example and counseling them to stay out of the business in the process!?). Things like Sell This House are not being honest about what it costs to paint things even with the crappy Behr paint they use and I bet you Roger is getting a deep discount from Pier 1 on candles and from FTD on flowers most cannot get? Even Holmes on Homes and the old standby, This Old House do not disclose the real costs of things and as you would have to go out and buy them without show sponsorship. This Old House, way back in the old days, used to come clean and admit they sailed over the top on what they thought things would cost. Very misleading and it gives the DIYer false impressions IMO.

I can get my clients some reasonably nice deals but no free windows, cabinets and appliances in return for showing off product labels and work on their places. The designers and architects I work with have their connections too but come on people. It all costs money and wouldn't you really appreciate a show that told you honestly, how much?

Oh well, Sell this House is on this morning and I am just working on bids with it on in the corner of my eye. Tanya is beyond cute and might even be considered hot by some and if you have to watch someone paint? I wonder what the former Miss Canada (or was she just a contestant hoping for World Peace?) would look like in real painter's whites and actually holding a real long handled angled sash brush made out of something other than plastic?

And let's see, what to use. A coat of primer over needed patches or a coat of primer and paint in one. 15x20 semi-glossed dining room to start, wallpapered ceiling (just paint over it and as shown in the video, the coverplates too) with new table cloths, a bowl of fresh fruit, tons of fresh flowers, Pier 1 candles by the thousands (hoping the fire insurance is intact), and paint (Behr of course) with labor? $289 was the number, inclusive, I was going to plug into my bid! Amazing! That is what the dining room the show was working on ended up costing too! Toss some cookies on the counter and campfire memories incense into the gas burning logs. House will be sold in seconds.

Oops. I forgot. I don't flip homes. I restore them for people who want to keep, love and live them them for a bit. I may have to up my bid to $389.

kimberly13

I love these shows! "Women's ****" I've heard them called, how true! My favorite is Sweat Equity -- so many ideas and techniques. Show me a project, teach me the language (tools, techniques, materials), a quick run-through of the phases involved, and then let me run to the web and craftsmen in the community to figure out how to weave it into the remodel. They've taught me how to ask much better questions.

On Yard Crashers the other day, they were building a water feature, and casually mentioned a 'sheer descent.' OMG. I've been looking online for months for this plumbing feature to incorporate it into a shower stall, but I didn't know the search term. I found bathtub faucets: wrong angle, too expensive, but could not find the garden feature. Sheesh! 'Sheer descent,' wouldn't have guessed that in a million years. But armed with the right search term, suddenly I'm finding dozens of options to create my waterfall shower. Did I mention I love these shows?

whataboutj

I watch almost all the shows on DIY channel and like them all. They all have their place but I may a bit different in that I don't take any of them for 100% the truth. I only watch them for ideas or to see how a technique looks if I haven't done it before (laying floor, leveling ground, etc).

I like kitchen impossible a lot because I have been planning a full kitchen remodel and seeing the different kitchens and features has been very helpful. Bart (I think that's his name) is definitely getting paid something because he constantly refers to "Earning his paper".

Sweat equity and 10 grand in your hand are good too.

Ask this old house is definitely the most realistic of them all but the hosts are definitely dry/boring compared to the other shows. They are definitely workmen first and hosts second which is why the show is good.

I will have to check out Holmes on homes - the new season starts this Sunday

TReally

Since I had a surplus of them after gutting and drywalling my living room a few years back, I would find my self grabbing them for almost any project around the house that needed a fastener (except outside). Unfortunately its too late now, but I used them when framing in plumbing soffit and building shelves in my pantry and my fireplace mantle. Now I have a boxes of exterior grade deck screws I grab instead, unless its REAL light duty.

sdsester

Knock off the negative comments about other posters
Moderator

Kevin M.

New Yankee Work Shop. I think Norm motivated quite a few folks to go buy some tools and build some things. My wife is all broken hearted because Norm is retiring. Must be that flannel shirt and calm demeanor.

It seems like I am seeing Holmes on Homes everywhere. I wish he would quit staring at me, he is making me nervous.

4just1don

If any of you didnt know,,,the 'Extreme makeover' house builds in seven days actually are more like 14. A local guy worked on one and said they are are all false. Also said they work on several at a time and while the filming crew is in town that day,,lots of goof off stuff,,,rest of time all biz.

Holmes on homes is good,but he gets full of himself too. I always wondered who was bank rolling those reno's.

Those Big amazing reno's are pure goofy with people expanding a 1200 house to a 5-6000 foot one,,,what would that look like in a neighborhood of 1200's

And those flip shows are the worst for facts. Goggle the bashing on Armando Montalongo once,,,there is about 3 hours of reading about the whole false pretense that show is.

My fav is 'hometime' with that hot babe Marriam Johnson or how ever thats spelled. I NEED a housemate like her!! OR that gal from 'Property Ladder'. Both of them sound like they know there stuff besides.

Any time I see the flip shows tiling a shower over drywall I want to puke!! I like to 'do it right',,wish I had a bottomless pit of money to do it .

Scuba_Dave

Yeah, most of them I just view for the entertainment value
There are a few that are pretty much on track for DIY
But a lot of them are just entertainment
They might show ideas, possible design & color schemes
There was one where they did a custom wrought iron gate for a basement bar
I'd say that could cost a couple grand or more just for that
But if you had some wrought iron gates that you found someone getting rid of....

Some of the stuff you just know they do is more then what normally would be done
One electric panel looked a mess, so they took everything out & rewired
New panel & the works, surge protector beside it
Most people would keep the panel - it was newer...and put the other $$ towards the surge

HitLines

I have all of seasons 1-5 of Holmes on Homes. Great show but the lack of any budget is kind of disingenuous to anyone wanting to tackle a similar situation. He starts with a basement remodel fix and ends up pulling down the entire roof. It's interesting to watch but I would like a stricter budget instead of being in "savior mode" to the homeowners. Also a break-down of how much money was spend in general. He usually has a crew of 4-8 people over a month. Labor and material should be added up at the end of each show.

Have you see the season 6, episode 5 "Gone to Pot?" It was amazing the level of damage done to that house.