Home improvement and similiar shows

2191 Views 33 Replies 23 Participants Last post by murgatroyd, Sep 11, 2007

betts4

Discussion Starter · Sep 9, 2007

Sitting here on a lazy Sunday morning, I was cruising the channels and kept running into the home improvement and landscaping and clean your house shows.

TLC usually has some cool stuff. 'While you were out' is always inspiring, and neat to see, however frustrating because I would love to do some of that stuff in my house, and know that I can't....they have oodles of people doing it.

I think that is what bugs me about all of these shows. There is plenty of help. Not just designers, but drone workers to do the drone stuff. I would love to do some of what I see in my house, but I don't have the manpower. Sigh.

I do like Clean Sweep and have done that not as a whole house, but in one room. It helped. And 'what not to wear', well, I will watch, but I yell at the tv.

Do you have a favorite of this type of 'come into someones house and do somethng to it' shows?

1 - 20 of 34 Posts

uncdrew

· #2 · Sep 9, 2007

They definitely don't show lots of the labor involved, and they certainly don't factor that into the price for the reno.

We did this door trim for $53 -- saved the homeowners $600. Yeah, $600 in labor.

They also leave out the tools. Most of us don't have all those tools that they use.

They are fun to watch, and I'm addicted to them.

betts4

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 9, 2007

uncdrew said:
They also leave out the tools. Most of us don't have all those tools that they use.

They are fun to watch, and I'm addicted to them.

Do you have a nail gun? I would love one of those. And they never use duct tape as much as I do!

wendiness1

· #4 · Sep 9, 2007

That's my biggest gripe - not accounting for the cost of labor and not revealing they had a lot of help behind the scenes.

uncdrew

· #5 · Sep 9, 2007

betts4 said:
Do you have a nail gun? I would love one of those. And they never use duct tape as much as I do!

I do have a nail gun. Not a great one, but a decent one.

Thing is, I'm kind of old school in a lot of ways. Something about swinging a hammer makes me feel good.

balboa dave

· #6 · Sep 9, 2007

I think I watch them all. These are on HGTV.

Divine Design is one of the best. Candice Olson has unbelievable talent at giving the owners everything they ask for while taking it to a whole 'nother level. She's a little goofy too, and seems to have a lot of fun.

Designer's Challenge is usually interesting. Three designer's compete for the same job with the same budget, and the owners pick and build the design that suits them best. It's surprising how different the three designs are.

reDesign is OK. Kenneth Brown has good taste, but usually has to talk the owner into making the changes he wants. But the show is honest, in that some of the mistakes and changes are shown too.

uncdrew

· #7 · Sep 9, 2007

I go a bit less design and more home improvement/repair.

Ask This Old House
Over Your Head
Don't Sweat It
Property Ladder

SueAnn

· #8 · Sep 9, 2007

I'm hooked ...always have been.

My first crush was Norm Abraham.

jtlytle

· #9 · Sep 9, 2007

I have two air nail guns. Electric Miter saw is on my wish list.

"Monster House" was fun to watch, that's it.

Over Your Head, Don't Sweat It, and Property Ladder are pretty good too.

We watch a lot of Divine Design show. A lot of excellent ideas!

TonyTheTiger

· #10 · Sep 9, 2007

I thought Tim Allen was great in that show. He even has BETTER DIY skills than me!!!!

Graymalkin

· #11 · Sep 9, 2007

The problem with home improvement shows is that you need a LOT of tools. There's no way to justify that kind of monetary investment if you have only a one-bedroom apartment. I'd also have to do all the work myself, and some of those things require two people.

jtlytle

· #12 · Sep 9, 2007

SueAnn said:
I'm hooked ...always have been.

My first crush was Norm Abraham.

Humm Norm Abram ?

Gregor

· #13 · Sep 9, 2007

The home improvement shows also don't show you what happens when stuff goes horribly wrong, like when you break a piece of plumbing trying to remove it with the wrong tool or driving a nail into an electrical line trying to hang a shelf.

The shows would be much more entertaining if they showed that stuff and how to correct it

betts4

Discussion Starter · #14 · Sep 9, 2007

Gregor said:
The home improvement shows also don't show you what happens when stuff goes horribly wrong, like when you break a piece of plumbing trying to remove it with the wrong tool or driving a nail into an electrical line trying to hang a shelf.

The shows would be much more entertaining if they showed that stuff and how to correct it

That could be a great concept! How to fix mistakes. And they could show actual real mistakes that happen to us. There was one that followed a renovation from start to finish, but it was all done by the couple. The show didn't help, but just recorded. Hearing the participants grunt groan and deal with problems like getting something too big to fit thru the door, that made a good perspective.

TeighVaux

· #15 · Sep 9, 2007

The shows are interesting to watch to see the final result. On top of not accounting for the cost of labor, materials, and tools, they also don't bring up that the homeowner would have no idea how to be able to do the job. Or even what tools or materials are needed in what quantity at what price.

Even if I somehow had all the tools, material, equipment, and laborers to do a kitchen or bath remodel, I would not have the first clue how to do it.

Also, on some of the home improvement shows where the homeowners are doing it themselves (esp on Property Ladder, Flip That House), they don't follow basic safety rules (wearing open toed shoes, not wearing eye protection when doing demolition, and my favorite, digging up yards without checking where the gas lines are).

jradosh

· #16 · Sep 9, 2007

I also love these shows. For me it's not so much about "how to do it" (although it used to be with "This Old House" and "Hometime", but not so much anymore). No... for me it's about "what is possible". The shows are inspirational, or in some cases ("Trading Spaces") cautionary tales.

The Flush

· #17 · Sep 9, 2007

Holmes on Homes is my favorite home improvement show as it shows him fixing other contractor's screw ups.

Swirl_Junkie

· #18 · Sep 9, 2007

The Flush said:
Holmes on Homes is my favorite home improvement show as it shows him fixing other contractor's screw ups.

I agree, I used to watch pretty much all of these. And now I can't stomach a Trading spaces at all. They're horrible, and up close the work is incredibly shoddy.
Some of the design shows are good, but show too little of the actual work, which is what interests me.
I guess it just boils down to what interests you. If you're a dreamer and want to watch design, or if you'd rather see The guts of the project.

New Yankee Workshop, Holmes on Homes, and an occasional Bob Vila are watched here.

TeighVaux

· #19 · Sep 9, 2007

jradosh said:
I also love these shows. For me it's not so much about "how to do it" (although it used to be with "This Old House" and "Hometime", but not so much anymore). No... for me it's about "what is possible". The shows are inspirational, or in some cases ("Trading Spaces") cautionary tales.

From an aesthetic viewpoint, I love to see the results. Fun to see what is possible. I realize that on some of the shows, that the homeowner is not paying for most of the remodel (the show is).

When did the country turn from what they can afford to what is possible (i.e. what they want)

I'll add shows like Househunters to the list.

It seems many homeowners are taking out too much mortgage to buy showcase houses, sellers/flippers are doing state of the art/showcase remodels, most of which are way too much for the neighborhood or the buyers' budgets.

Househunters is my favorite where often the breadwinner has a mid level job and the other spouse is a stay at home mom/dad and they are out looking at half million dollar homes and then "six months later", we see a top to bottom showcase style remodel (funded with more debt).

How did homeowners manage to survive before 2003 without master bedroom "retreats" with "en suite bathrooms" with all the trimmings, granite counter cops, top line cabinets, pools, jacuzzis, a bedroom for each kid (plus a home office plus a guestroom).

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classicsat

· #20 · Sep 9, 2007

I like the more professional contractor ones like Holmes On Holmes, This Old House, and Home Time.

I quit watching Trading Spaces when Paige Page (her married name BTW) and Ty Pennington left (Pennington's new show is too "busy" for my tastes, FWIW).

I also watch the real estate shows where they are buying.

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