‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ – the television show famous for changing lives – is being rebooted to run again on ABC in early 2025. When people find out I’m a project manager for the show, they often ask me if we In fact (wink, wink) Build a house in 7 days.
My response: “No. No, we don’t. This house was completed in 106 hours. Day 1 and Day 7 are blocked for TV.” The production company and on-camera talents block off those 2 days to shoot the first, story elements and the latter.
Getting the job done quickly sheds light on what works and what is wasted effort when building or renovating a home. Building a house in 106 hours means we need a lot of small things so that we can manage the big things. This is a completely transferable insight to everyday home improvement – including my own professional work – and that’s what I’ll be talking about in this article.
Mark Clement during an overnight appearance on ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ in his first appearance on ABC.
Use correct names of things.
One of the pinches of working with large groups of people in different parts of the country is that there are regional names for things that we have to spend time thinking about, so we all know the same name for everything. Call from.
In DIY, this means knowing the names of the things you’re working on so you can at least understand local building codes, shopping for materials, and any instructions included with the materials. Building a deck? You should know the difference between ledger, band joist, and field joistBeam is not a ceiling. Railing is not any railing.
is setting up chair railKnowing the names of the cuts you are making makes them easier to make. “Inside-right” is where you press or handle the adjacent wall. An “out-right” is where you wrap around a protruding wall.
Knowing these little things means you don’t have to think about them, whereas what you should really be thinking about is getting the cut you want. finished project,
Mark and Theresa Clement are overseeing a project during the first half of ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ for ABC.
Set up a planning table.
In TV parlance, a jobsite is called a “set.” After all, we’re making a TV show And Home. And at the extremes, nothing is situated accidentally. 20 dumpsters (which fly in and out throughout construction), heavy equipment, porta-potties, and other infrastructure… they all go somewhere for a reason.
A DIY jobsite benefits from the same intention. You can arrange your workplace as you wish, but a horizontal surface is important to perform the task safest and most efficiently. Think of efficiency as an extra track in your brain so you can focus on what you’re trying to accomplish instead of tripping over an extension cord.
On Extreme, My Boss Makes a “planning tableWhich is the place for everything from reading spreadsheets to storing deliveries. On a DIY project, a simple banquet table or sawn plywood works well to manage all the work stuff – plans, keys, coffee cups, extra box of fasteners. If it’s not on the floor or under your feet, you probably won’t have to move all those items around to get to work or search for that missing box.
Theresa Clement is overseeing the creation of part of the design element for the ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ project.
Work while standing.
You may be surprised to learn how many new expensive homes are what I call “built with dirt.” Production manufacturers move faster and instead of setting up sawmills, they simply dump the lumber on the ground and walk away. I think it’s a waste of me and my energy Know This can cause trouble for DIY projects.
If you’re building new garage cabinets, installing a luxury vinyl plank (LVP) floor, or installing a new storm/screen door, you may not get the results you envision. Tools and Materials On the ground. And you Desire Tire yourself out trying to run a miter saw on your lawn. (Lawns are for lawn mowers.) Create a work table and find ways to support long pieces When they are cut to length.
Practice your skills.
The only way to complete the 106-hour cycle of Extreme is if the main people have completed all elements of building the house first. The only thing that’s new is acting out the stages of creation at 3 a.m. with your 50 newest friends.
We weren’t born knowing how to use a circular saw face moldingIf you’re planning on adding crown molding to a room to spruce it up, and are a little confused about how to tackle it, take a look at the details on the actual crown molding you plan to install. Don’t wait until the day to practice. Get a piece of crown and spend some time practicing cutting and coping techniques. You will find and resolve critical points so that the project has a better chance of success.
Theresa Clement on the ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ project, which is lit so everyone can work at night.
Light the project properly.
There is no “night” on an extreme build. I was stunned when I experienced it for the first time. I was so focused on getting my project going that I just looked up at the tower lights – then down at my watch – and I didn’t even realize it was 10:30 at night.
Coming back to the real world, we also need to look. And what I’ve noticed in remodeling basements and painting bedrooms is that darkness is not a problem. “Dim” is the problem. Let’s say you’re painting a bedroom ceiling and need to cut around a ceiling light. they should be closed and shining from below,
It’s a similar scenario in a basement. Sure, you can see where you’re walking, but in the dim light the copper plumbing and brown framing are all the same color. Wire under joist? Invisible. use the torch Highlighting details impossible to see otherwise.
