The phrase “all sizzle and no steak” is a good one to describe how building professionals feel about home remodeling shows as seen on HGTV and such. Much like the forensics field has been affected by the TV series CSI, carpenters and project managers now must deal with the fantasy of Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  

Gone is the leisurely pace of Bob Villa and Norm Abram in the original episodes of This Old House. Today’s remodeling shows are reality TV moving at a frantic pace toward the “big reveal” that draw the big ratings. The educational aspect has been sacrificed for entertainment, and while it is very entertaining, it has very little to do with reality.

Homeowners who use remodeling programs as the template for their projects are continually upset by sticker shock (the shows give obscenely low costs) and timelines (the shows gloss over proper procedure). “On (fill in the name of a remodeling show), it doesn’t take this long to do a kitchen,” has become a common comment on job sites, and it’s just as discouraging to a carpenter as it would be for a husband to say to his wife, “That dress looks different on you than it did on Halle Berry.” There’s a distinct difference between fantasy and reality, and reality should not be considered the 2^nd runner up.

So, what do real-life remodeling professionals think of home remodeling shows? We asked the Mosby Building Arts project managers for their thoughts on the topic.

Tim Wahlig, who is also our estimator, summed up what it’s like for a carpenter to watch these show: “I am like a sports fan watching my football team lose.” He shares more observations:

“Some things I have noticed on the remodeling shows is the sheer lack of realism. Time lines are simply impossible if the work were to be done correctly. Costs listed are even worse. I just saw last week that they paid $675 for an entire standard “L” shaped kitchen, including dish washer, sink, faucet, cabinets, countertop and flooring!!!!  Let’s get real; you can’t do that at Hoods much less Home Depot (who sponsor many of the shows). Then the whole project took a weekend? Obviously, they do not show the 20 man crew in the background actually doing the work of the actors.

“Also, on the kitchen rehabs I’ve seen, they used sledge hammers to take out the cabinets. I am sure this is simply to make the show more exciting but they never say anything about the extra work it requires to repair the damage to the walls, floor and ceiling that this kind of demolition creates. This adds more time to the project but they still get it done in a weekend. And the poor craftsmanship of it all is sickening.  Then there is the lack of code compliance and inspections; I have only heard them mention inspections 1 or 2 times, and that’s just irresponsible. “

Dennis Shasteen picks up on the irresponsibility angle: “A lot of important steps of a job are not shown, and people may think they’re not necessary. This can cause lots of problems for homeowners,” especially if they try do the work themselves only to find out later it’s not up to code and has to be done all over again.

Viewers want to see action and results, which means half of a project is left out of an episode. “Most of the shows don’t show all of the extra manpower used to get the job done in a timely manner,” says James Roney. “They don’t show all of the support crew and trade partners that help prepare and execute a project. Labor costs are usually not given because they get volunteer and free labor.”

Editing out all the trades and disciplines needed on a project makes a kitchen in a weekend seem possible. Thomas Miller responds, “That’s impossible, and it’s not good for our profession. Homeowners watch that and think the project can be done in that time!”

“Even if you can build a house in 24 hours, I don’t want to live in it,” says Jill Huckelberry, adding that, “My Mom can’t understand why it takes me longer than 30 minutes to do her projects.” To bring an episode in at a half hour, John Yocco adds that, “I notice that steps are skipped to complete jobs faster. For a painting job, they skip over priming and sanding.”

Wahlig agrees wholeheartedly and adds, “I am so tired of watching people ruin rooms by painting over wallpaper, destroying furniture and building everything out of MDF. They show half-baked craftsmanship, or teach the art of hiding a problem.”

“Well, take a look at some of the materials they use – they’re cheap,” says Miller. Chris Fischer points out that when they are good materials, “they’re sponsored by Lowe’s or Home Depot. They provide materials for free or at a steep discount. These things should be disclosed.”

To which Rich Oris Jr. adds, “Not only do they get things for next to nothing, but they get them fast. They get a countertop in one day!” Rick Henson elaborates on that with, “The problem is they never show what happens when the wrong product shows up at the jobsite, or it arrives late, and what this does to the production schedule. They manage to make it look perfect every time.”

In the real world, a job done properly requires careful planning and organization of all crafts and trades, and most remodeling shows just aren’t interested in showing the paper work and scheduling concerns of a building professional. The pride that true building professionals take in their craft must not make for interesting TV, nor do they seem concerned about deadlines or projects that come in over budgets that were unrealistically low in the first place. And it never seems to rain on TV, whereas in real life, spring rains are a big monkey wrench in meeting construction deadlines.

But Wahlig points out that there is an upside to the pure farce and fantasy that is home remodeling shows: “On the good side, shows like this keep Mosby Building Arts busy with people who get in over their heads with a do-it-yourself project, or need us to correct the work of a contractor who went for the quick fix. And it’s the quick fixes as seen on TV that creates a challenge for the professional remodelers. Sometimes we walk into homes with homeowners that have a pre-conceived notion of how fast a project should move and how much it should cost, and it’s an uphill battle to help them.

“These shows need to be used as entertainment only! Viewers need to realize that these shows are an OK resource for ideas but not a real representation of our industry.”

This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 1:17 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.