Home Improvement Shows

[mountainsoft]

And who said all appliances have to be the same color or brand.

We have a Maytag dishwasher, Frigidaire range, and a Whirlpool refrigerator. All black, low end, no frills, does the job perfectly.

Honestly, I think white or stainless appliances would just look stupid in our house. Then again, black has always been my favorite color.

We did splurge when we had to replace our dishwasher. We paid twice as much as the old dishwasher and it cleans about half as well as the cheap one we had before. Figures.

 

[Koolau]

The contractor who bought the townhouse across the way from me dismounted the cabinets, sent them out to be refinished, then re-installed them.

The 1920s house where I grew up had in its kitchen white enameled metal cabinets with all stainless steel appliances and SS countertops...same SS piece was both countertop & backsplash (seamless)...I'd love to have seen how they formed that.

It was "modernized" by tearing out the original kitchen, butler's pantry, the servant's half-bath, & two large pantries down to the studs and rebuilding with an island in the middle to make an eat-in kitchen...according to the owners at the time (~15 years ago) all of that cost over $100,000.

ca 1968 I w*rked for a body-shop jobber. In addition to delivering windshields, rocker-panel replacements and body filler, we delivered automotive paint - lots and lots of automotive paint. THAT year was a big year for the new colored fridges and stoves as well. No more white appliances - all colored appliances (or else you were CHEAP!) Sears had the latest in Harvest Gold, Avocado and Copper. So, when I carried (our version of) Bondo into a body shop, I would see - next to a crunched Chevy - a white fridge or stove ready to be painted with automotive paint. We learned how to mix the colors so that they would look good on the used white appliances. It was a whole new profit center for my company.

Oh, and that year, we also began marketing (to body shops) "fake" vinyl-top spray paint. It was difficult to apply and I saw more "bad" jobs than "good." But there were a couple of "artists" in town I delivered to who got it right. (These were the couple of guys who could match metal flake paint or even candy-apple paint following an accident.) Once they had worked their magic, you couldn't tell it wasn't a factory installed vinyl top. The texture and color were perfect. But I digress. Now returning you to our regularly scheduled discussion of Home Improvement Shows, so YMMV.

 

[sengsational]

I've never watched HGTV, but used to be a regular This Old House viewer. And watched a lot of Ask This Old House. I liked the personalities of the regulars over the years. I don't recall too many instances of doing dumb stuff just for TV drama. Lately the recordings have been piling up, unwatched; probably 2 or 3 seasons of both TOH and ATOH.

 

[Music Lover]

I worry that these shows mislead people into thinking they can do any job and it will turn out OK. Flip Or Flop, for example: they make huge mistakes, or miss obvious problems in almost every episode, yet they still end up making a huge profit. "I can do that!" says the naïve viewer, then goes out and loses everything on a bad flip. I realize you can't keep people from making mistakes, but these shows seem to be actively misinforming, which is a problem.

I know a couple that flip houses. He is a contractor with a lot of contacts and she is a very capable DIYer. They haven't lost money on a house yet but they've never made a big profit either. A few times they barely broke even after all the expenses were factored in. I can't envision a scenario where rank amateurs making mistakes can turn a profit unless they get lucky timing the market.

The most important part of flipping houses is picking the right house but they never show that part. It doesn't matter how good you are if you can't find a house where the selling price after improvements is greater than the original purchase price plus renovation and other costs.

 

[EastWest Gal]

If I want to watch gratuitous destruction, I look for reruns of Mythbusters. At ieast it's funny. don't really enjoy HGTV and house flipping shows. I watched a couple on days when I was utterly bored.

 

[finnski1]

I've never watched HGTV, but used to be a regular This Old House viewer. And watched a lot of Ask This Old House. I liked the personalities of the regulars over the years. I don't recall too many instances of doing dumb stuff just for TV drama. Lately the recordings have been piling up, unwatched; probably 2 or 3 seasons of both TOH and ATOH.

That's the only one I still watch. I like the cast and have actually seen every show since the beginning with Bob Vila in 1979 and then Steve Thomas(not well liked ) to now with Kevin O'connor. That's right. I've watched all 42 seasons. One of my favorite TV shows period.
Don't think I've missed very many of the Ask This Old House episodes either.
Both very useful.

 

[Koolau]

If I want to watch gratuitous destruction, I look for reruns of Mythbusters. At ieast it's funny. don't really enjoy HGTV and house flipping shows. I watched a couple on days when I was utterly bored.

DW loves ALL the shows about rehab, decorating, flipping, etc. Decorating was her "major" in university. She ended up working for a paint/wallpaper store for a couple of years ($2/hour.) She has designed all our various rehabs and has brought them in UNDER budget. She volunteered for a "Neighborhood Housing" project which was partially federally funded. She could find ways to decorate houses "on the cheap" (basically for the cost of the interior paint and an occasional curtain.) Her approach was always practical and simple. One of her fellow Neighborhood Housing volunteers spent DAYS sponge painting a living room - very avant-guarde, very chic. When the "tenants" moved in, they painted over the room in a dark green exterior paint. DW did her best to stifle a giggle. YMMV

 

[travelover]

If I want to watch gratuitous destruction, I look for reruns of Mythbusters.......

Yea, I still re-watch the exploding water heater episode when I need amusement.

 

[Koolau]

Yea, I still re-watch the exploding water heater episode when I need amusement.

Or the powdered creamer explosion - that one was a bit uncontrolled and actually frightened the participants.

 

[Sunset]

We have been enjoying the "Sell this House" show.
The 2 main characters visit a house that has not sold in months, and help the folks tidy up, paint, rearrange furniture so it will sell.
They have people tour the house first and record comments, then after fixing , have the same people tour again.

You can easily tell the people who tour are "in on the game" as their comments on the second tour are so very similar.

However, it does really show dense folks some things that can be done to Vastly improve the look of a house for cheap.

All this happens in 3 days...

 

[travelover]

Or the powdered creamer explosion - that one was a bit uncontrolled and actually frightened the participants.

Made me look - OMG

 

[Walt34]

...not everyone takes a sledgehammer to perfectly fine cabinets. Even if they're not good enough to sell many people repurpose them in the basement or garage for storage, or give them away to friends or family.

When the next door neighbor at our old house was redoing his kitchen he gave me a couple of the cabinets and I put them to use in the shed. The corner cabinet was especially useful there because it took up almost no space where it was located.

On the topic of the shows, I find them dreadfully boring but DW likes to watch them.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Someone here raised the point about HGTV shows giving ideas for remodel. We happened to select a contractor who also did a design proposal, including tiles and faucets. We loved his recommendations and they were definitely in line with HGTV look. We did select the countertop with our contractor tagging along. We had the choice of quartzite or anything we wanted and we finally selected an exotic granite slab for the 2 bathroom countertops and they look amazing after installation. The showers and floors are a mixed of marble - for shower floor and accent, niches and entry way into the shower, and marble-look porcelain on the shower wall and bathroom floor.

 

[pdxgal]

However, I'm constantly amazed at the dumb things the "professionals" do.

If memory serves, Chip and Joanna Gaines of "Fixer Upper" were fined a substantial amount for not following OSHA safety protocols when doing demolitions with possible lead paint, or something like that.

 

[Jerry1]

I've never watched HGTV, but used to be a regular This Old House viewer. And watched a lot of Ask This Old House. I liked the personalities of the regulars over the years. I don't recall too many instances of doing dumb stuff just for TV drama. Lately the recordings have been piling up, unwatched; probably 2 or 3 seasons of both TOH and ATOH.

I like Ask This Old House but my favorite is the Holmes shows. Holmes on Homes and Holmes - Make it Right. I like watching people in the trades that do things right. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find one to actually do any work on my house, but I’ve found a couple that were pretty good. HVAC and electricians seem to have there stuff together better than most.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

If memory serves, Chip and Joanna Gaines of "Fixer Upper" were fined a substantial amount for not following OSHA safety protocols when doing demolitions with possible lead paint, or something like that.

Yep, to the tune of $40K. Which to the average American would probably be a couple hundred bucks...if that.

Nonetheless, they did go above and beyond in making amends as detailed in this overview:

https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/mag...novation-rule-settlement-information#overview

Video footage of Magnolia’s renovations of older homes appearing in several seasons of “Fixer Upper” reviewed by EPA did not depict the lead-safe work practices normally required by the RRP Rule. After EPA contacted Magnolia with concerns about the company’s compliance, Magnolia took immediate steps to ensure compliance with the RRP Rule, including to obtain RRP certification and training for the firm and its staff and to ensure active compliance across all ongoing renovation projects.

EPA’s review of information it obtained with Magnolia’s cooperation found evidence of noncompliance at renovations of 33 properties. Among the violations subsequently alleged by EPA were that Magnolia did not comply with the following requirements and precautions of the RRP Rule

 

[Souschef]

DW is my general contractor, having supervised the massive upgrading of her last home.
Here is what she supervised in our new home:
Selecting granite countertops for our kitchen along with a new sink and faucets
Replacing the stove, microwave and dishwasher contractor grade white appliances with better ones in a dark color
Since the boxes for our cabinets were good, had them refinished and new drawers made
Replaced the old carpet in the living room, dining room, den, and hall with hardwood flooring.
This was done over a period of years, so it really was not too much DTD

 

[MC Rider]

We gutted our 1956 kitchen in 2012 and rebuilt. The tile counters got the sledge, but the contractors took the cabinets and put them in the garage. Eventually we used them in the garage. They are only attached by gravity.



Donated the old appliances, light fixture, and even the kitchen sink and faucet to Habitat for Humanity. Waste not want not they say.

 

[kcowan]

Grand Designs is a great limited series if you get to see it. It is a whole different league that make Chip and JoAnne seem like amateurs. British, nine seasons, 212 episodes, 3 award-winning of 5 nominations.

IMDB Summary

 

[mountainsoft]

Grand Designs is a great limited series if you get to see it.

Yeah, we watch a lot of British DIY shows too. I kind of got tired of Grand Designs as it didn't show much of the construction stages, mostly just before and after kind of stuff.

I also enjoyed Amazing Spaces with George Clarke, as well as a few others I can't recall now.

 

[papaof2]

Been doing 90% of my home repairs for years - including copper plumbing with a torch and solder. Now too old to be painting the second story from a ladder or replacing the roof, so that's hired out to reputable companies I've used before.

If you can't do a GOOD job, then DO NO DAMAGE. My wife still watches some of the "home makeover" shows but I stopped after one too many cabinet removal with a sledgehammer.

The cabinets in the basement workshop area came from a friend's house when they got new cabinets. The maple finish makes for some high end basement workshop cabinets ;-)

 

[BasketCase24]

What? It’s not REALITY?

Next thing you’ll tell me is that Wrasslin’ ain’t real, neither?!?

 

[CardsFan]

Or the powdered creamer explosion - that one was a bit uncontrolled and actually frightened the participants.

Made me look - OMG

Made me look too. Wow!

But, then again, people do not understand how a grain elevator can explode. Air + flammable substance, combined with a spark and POOF!

I worked at coal power plants part of my career, and I can tell you they were terrified of a coal dust explosion. My company at the time made a pile of money selling a foam to hold down the dust particles.

 

[DrRoy]

We watch a number of these too. I rather enjoy My First Flip, and Renovation Realities where amateurs are doing the work. The stuff they mess up is entertaining.

 

[Koolau]

Made me look too. Wow!

But, then again, people do not understand how a grain elevator can explode. Air + flammable substance, combined with a spark and POOF!

I worked at coal power plants part of my career, and I can tell you they were terrified of a coal dust explosion. My company at the time made a pile of money selling a foam to hold down the dust particles.

I got to tour our coal-fired power plant (primarily steam plant for production use and domestic heat) at my plant site of Megacorp. They kept it so clean you could eat off the surfaces. Coal explosions happen when coal dust slowly accumulates on surfaces. A tiny explosion dislodges all the dust at once and, voilà! See the Myth Busters creamer explosion. Ba BOOM! YMMV