Renovation Realities

Stephen and Pomai Futral are not happy with their kitchen. With their second child arriving any day, pregnant Pomai refuses to raise another child in their non-functional, mid 80's kitchen. Although Pomai considers herself a handywoman, Stephen is an accountant and is not used to the exhausting physical labor. They plan to gut their entire kitchen and install new cabinets, flooring, ceiling panels, and move the ceiling fan. But their renovation has to happen fast since Pomai is due to go into labor soon. Stephen works very hard for his "queen" Pomai who has taken on the role of project manager. They hit a few snags in the process but eventually they complete Pomai's dream kitchen.

Charlene Brown is trying to renovate her fixer-upper home in Pasadena, California. However, she has run out of money and has had to put the renovations on hold. Her plan is to move some roommates in so that Charlene can make some cash. But there is a problem: only one roommate would have access to the bathroom. To fix this, Charlene has decided to create a hallway allowing both roommates access to the bathroom. But it's a rocky ride when Charlene is completely unprepared and her friend Stephanie is over dealing with all the nonsense. The rocky ride takes a nosedive when a fed up Stephanie calls it quits ending not only the renovation, but their friendship too.

Mauricio De Lama recently bought a house with his girlfriend, Janette. She's decorated the entire house, leaving Mauricio living amongst a sea of pretty pillows and flowers. Needless to say, he's desperate to have his own 'man space' free of all the girlie decorations. Mauricio has enlisted his buddy Han Lee, to transform his boring, old garage into a 'Man Only Zone.' However, neither Mauricio nor Han Lee have ever lifted a hammer, let alone used a power tool. In fact, they have to call their friend Mike to borrow some tools, and his truck to haul the supplies needed. From the start, these guys don't have a clue about home renovation, and it shows. From insulation and drywall goofs to assistance on window framing over the phone, these guys prove that it's sometimes worthwhile to know a little about home renovation.

Steven and Betsy Finn are a young couple living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Betsy, an award-winning professional photographer, operates her studio out of their basement. It's a barren space with nothing more than some backdrops hanging on one wall, and a seating area with miss-matched couches against another. Wanting to make the space more client-friendly, they plan to insulate the basement floor and walls, lay plywood subflooring, frame the walls, install drywall, update the electrical system, add new lighting, and lay laminate flooring, all in just five days. They start out making decent time, until a violent storm knocks out their power, forcing them to stop work earlier than anticipated. The setbacks become a recurring theme as the couple battles scheduling conflicts, unfamiliar tools, and hunger-fueled blowups throughout the renovation. After five days of backbreaking work, not to mention blowing through their budget, Steven and Betsy finish less than half of the renovation and they soon realizes that this renovation is going to longer than either of them ever expected.

Kelvin and Charlene Wiebe just bought their first home, and it's the definition of a fixer-upper. In fact, the kitchen is so bad that they cannot move in until it's completely gutted and rebuilt. To make matters worse, the end of the month is only 4 days away and if they don't finish on time, they'll be stuck paying another month's rent at their old place on top of the new mortgage. As the renovation begins, the Wiebes battle setbacks ranging from mice nests to rotten sewage pipes leaking down their wall. As they near the end of the job, a granite countertop can't be cut in time and they end up missing their deadline.

After Debbie's husband passed away 3 years ago she decided to buy a1920's Georgian Colonial home to give herself a new start. Her home has tons of character, but just as many cracks. With Debbie's list of renovations, she enlists the help of her friend Wanda and decides to tackle the hardest project first - the sunroom. Their problems begin almost immediately as they try using a heavy concrete saw and then struggle to lift a 300lb door into the 2nd story room. On the final day with the rain rolling in and the sunroom open to the elements, Debbie comes to the realization that her project is going to take more than just a few days. It's going to take weeks and the renovation is put on pause.

Kody and Elisabeth Powell moved from the snowy banks of Utah to the unbearable summertime temps of Austin so that Kody can attend the University of Texas. The couple bought the house with the goal of renovating everything in sight-starting with the kitchen. Almost every surface in the kitchen is painted blue, so they set out to turn their self described "blue nightmare" into an updated space complete with new appliances, new flooring, new shelving, and of course, a new color. With only a few days before Kody begins classes, the rush is on for the couple to essentially gut their kitchen and start all over. Between a pesky microwave that refuses to come off the wall, a lost receipt that derails an entire day's work, a two-year old who craves constant attention, and the couple's lack of professional expertise, Kody and Elisabeth begin to seriously doubt they'll ever finish in time. But with a lot of focus and determination, Kody and Elisabeth finish with no time to spare-their work culminating in an ultra-modern space the family can only describe as "awesome."

Chris and Patty Sebolt love their150-year-old home full of open spaces, historic details and charm. The only thing they're not crazy about is their small first floor bathroom with an entryway barely big enough for Chris to fit through. They were in desperate need of a renovation so they began moving the bathrooms outer wall, pushing the staircase back and expanding the doorway. Between endless interruptions from their children, remnants of mice living in their walls, and trying to figure out how to build an entirely new staircase, the Sebolts have plenty of setbacks. But in the end, they push through and end up with a bathroom that has plenty of space and lots of charm to fit in with the rest of their home.

Stephen and Pam Cichon are an eclectic couple living in a 1920's pink stucco castle in St. Petersburg, Florida. Built to match the house, the garage is in desperate shape. The roof leaks like crazy, and the water damage has caused the support beams to bow and buckle. In other words, it could collapse at anytime. Even though Stephen has plenty of experience with this type of work, nothing can prepare him for the follies that ensue. From nearly collapsing through the roof and onto the concrete below, to some hired help that can't seem to live up to his standards, Stephen's renovation is full of mishaps. With his back feeling worse every day, Stephen is determined to push through-even if it means he can't move once the job is finished.

Luke and Sarah Allen live in a nice home in a nice neighborhood, but the house was built in the 1950s when rooms were small and choppy. This is an issue for the Allens because Luke is a youth leader at a local high school and they need an open space to hold meetings with the kids. So Luke and Sarah decide to find a solution on their own and begin renovating, starting by knocking down the wall that separates the two rooms they want to combine. After days spent disagreeing on the safest way to take down their load-baring wall and trying to figure out how to lift a 700 pound beam to replace it with, the Allens finally end up with the space and comfort they needed.

Matt Martin has spent countless hours and thousands of dollars renovating his fixer-upper home. Only one thing stands in the way of its completion, the unsightly old roof. Not only is the roof an off-center eyesore, it is also full of leaks that threaten to ruin the rest of the work he has completed inside. That's why Matt enlists the help of his big brother Casey and together they begin taking the old roof down piece by piece. They start off strong, but when the brothers begin to encounter unforeseen obstacles like unstable, rotted wood and damaged tarpaper, they are faced with the biggest obstacle of all, each other.

Vicki and Mark Teed live in a palatial spread in a small town just outside Ann Arbor, Michigan. They have grown tired of their current master bath and with just a handful of vacation days to work, Mark believes he can deliver on Vicki's dream of a completely updated and welcoming master bath. What Mark hasn't counted on, however, is Vicki's desire to help. Mark is a mechanical engineer by trade, who is also well versed in home improvement, but Vicki has no experience on any level of home improvement. From demoing walls that were meant to be spared, to breaking every tool, tile, and toaster she touches, Vicki just can't seem to catch a break during the renovation. And therefore, neither can Mark. With the project just over half complete, and no vacation time left for either of them, Vicki and Mark decide to call the renovation to a halt while they still have even half a bathroom standing.

Jon Sheard is a family man with a passion for playing music. But now that Jon's music room is right next door to the newest edition of the Sheard home, their 1-year-old son Alec, Jon's loud jam sessions have been put on hold. He decided the best solution would be to renovate the detached garage and convert it into a space where he can rock out without waking up the baby. With help from Jon's brother Kevin, the renovation begins. They tear out old cabinetry, install a new door, but right when they start making progress Kevin's wife goes into labor leaving Jon at a stand still. With the clock ticking Jon's dad steps in to fill Kevin's shoes, but their father and son battle between old technology and new slows the project down. In the end, Kevin comes back to help finish the job and Jon's rock room is complete.