This First House (2026) s01e06 Episode Script
Home Sweet Home
1
[
[ Baby
[ Baby babbling
[ Baby babbling ]
-It's been eight months since
we first met our two families.
-Hey, Jorge.
-Hey, guys.
-We are very excited
to work with Zack and Camille.
-We've watched Crystal
and Jorge's search for houses
-This is tiny.
Is this an abandoned house?
Is this safe?
-A lot of houses.
-Love the natural light.
-Can you imagine being here,
babe?
-make offers
that got rejected
-They decided
to go with another offer.
-We didn't have a chance.
Disappointing.
-And accepted
Can you believe this?
-No, I can't.
-No.
-We got an offer accepted.
-and rejected again.
-The deal fell apart.
-What happened?
I'm just gonna have to sort of
go back to the drawing board.
-"I need a roof.
I need a floor."
-Exactly. Exactly.
-For Nick and Hannah,
we've watched the reality
of a renovation budget sink in.
-Always more expensive
than we thought.
-Yeah.
Even when you know that.
-Yeah.
Even when you know that.
-And how building
permit restrictions
can change the scope
of a project.
-We got some corrections
from the building department.
-I thought that was going
smoothly.
-Now that we know the inspector
is not going to accept option A,
we've got to do
this window well.
-Crystal and Jorge
finally found their first home.
-Congratulations.
The house is yours.
-A condo an hour outside
of New York City.
-Welcome to your home.
-Though it did get flooded
a week after they closed.
-Nick and Hannah
weren't able to create
a full guest suite downstairs.
-Yes!
-But they did add
a second bathroom.
-It's a whole room
that wasn't there.
-And create an office space
that will meet their needs
while they wait for an adoption.
-Someday our child
will be able to watch this
an probably tease me
about how much I cried.
♪
-For our generation,
buying and renovating
your first house can be scary.
-We only have three weeks.
It's a hard deadline.
-But it doesn't have to be.
-I'm moving in no matter what.
-[ Both laugh ]
-Today, we'll wrap up
the finishing touches
on both projects.
-Homeownership is a process.
I had thought when we moved in,
like, we'll be done in a month,
and then I thought
maybe a few months.
-And we'll get to see
our families settle
into their first house.
♪
♪
♪
-So typically on
"This Old House",
when you're wrapping up
a project,
you walk through
with the customer
and then the whole team,
the trade partners,
get together for a little party
and get to enjoy
the space together
and see all
the finishing touches.
-Peter and Kay,
you still have your old house,
but it now has all new parts.
I'm Tom Silva, the general
contractor for "This Old House".
I think homeowners appreciate
a gift, you know.
I made a cookie jar
for one of our homeowners
out of an old beam.
Baby rattle.
Yeah, I made a couple of those.
A few of those.
Turning some burls.
-On one of our projects,
he turned a doorknob.
-That's a piece of red oak.
-This is amazing.
I think the only person
who might be a bigger
Tom Silva fan than me is Nick.
He is a huge "This Old House"
fan, a huge Tom Silva fan.
So I think he's going to be
pretty excited to have a vase
that Tom Silva mostly turned.
So I thought I would try
and hit him up to see
if he could teach me
how to at least turn.
Maybe there'll be a gift
that comes out of it.
Well, do I look the part?
-You look the part.
-Alright.
-Alright, so the first thing
we got
is the orientation of the wood.
Long grain. That's a spindle.
To turn a spindle, first,
we're going to use a spindle
roughing gouge right here.
The key is
how you position the tool.
The tool rest needs to be down
just a little bit below center
of the live center right here.
So when I enter the wood
it's going to be just
above the center.
So when you start your cut
you always hang down low,
bring it up with my body
and my hand,
and I'm going to push
with my body.
So when I push,
you never take and push it
with your hand like that.
Nice and smooth, nice and easy.
-Tom Silva is a pretty important
guy for me.
I'm not the type of person
to idolize anyone,
but if I were,
it's definitely him.
He's got all the traits
of a builder
that I think are important,
and I think
to be a real master builder,
you can't just be good
at project management.
You have to be good at
physically doing the little bits
and understanding
how they get done well.
And he's exemplified that
for years.
-I'm going to do a small cut.
I'll do about a couple
of inches.
Then I'm going to let you try.
And I'm going to put it
on the rest.
I'm going to slowly come up,
make contact.
You can see I'm hitting my bevel
and the saw dust
is coming right over the edge.
And I'm just going to slide
the whole thing forward.
Come back up, get a cut,
and push with my body.
So I'm pushing in
with my right hand,
pushing my body
to move the tool.
Alright?
The idea is to make it all one.
Alright. You want to try it?
-Yeah.
-So down on the handle
so you can find that bevel.
-I'm so nervous
about the tool getting stuck
that I'm gripping this thing
like I'm hanging off it.
-Well, it's your first --
It's your first time.
I met Zack, it was probably
around four years ago.
If I had half
of his organization,
I'd be much better off.
I mean, you open his truck up
and everything
where it has to be.
Open my truck up,
there it is on the floor.
-We both speak
the same language of hard work,
and I think once we
sort of connected on that,
it's just been wonderful.
-Bevel, edge, rock.
This is a spindle gouge
for detail work.
It relaxes me.
It gets stuff off my mind.
I can think and I could focus
on what I'm doing, too.
So sometimes if I've got
something I don't want to think
about,
I go down and focus on this
little thing turning around.
It's my Zen. Yeah.
This is a skew for roughing
and detail work on spindles.
♪
-I think you're
just showing off now
at this point with that one.
-It's all rolling using
the tip and the bevel to push.
♪
-That's so satisfying.
-Yeah. I mean,
it -- it's very satisfying.
There's a little finial.
♪
So I have to be careful
that I don't put too much force
on the piece
to make it break away.
-That's too cool.
♪
Doesn't look quite as, uh
[ Both laugh ]
-Well, it's your first time.
It's your first time.
You're doing great.
He's got a good sense of humor,
and I like that.
You got to have --
You got to be light.
You got to keep things going.
And if things happen, you
deal with it, and you move on.
And I like that about him.
We wanted to take that piece
off,
use a parting tool.
♪
There's your first
whatever it is.
-There's my first,
uh, pawn for a chess set.
-Yeah. There you go.
Do you want to try
turning a little bud vase?
-Go big or go home.
-Do
-Do you
-Do you want
-Do you want to
-Do you want to try
-Do you want to try
turning
-Do you want to try
turning a
-Do you want to try
turning a little
-Do you want to try
turning a little bud
-Do you want to try
turning a little bud vase?
-Go big or go home.
Let's do it.
-There you go.
♪
-I think Nick is going to be
pretty excited to not so much
have a vase that I turned,
but definitely have a vase
that Tom Silva
at least mostly turned.
♪
-So let's drill a hole
for the bud to go into.
♪
Don't take too much off.
You're going to start at the
edge and work your way in.
♪
Push the tool down
if you're coming up to the neck.
Down with the tool,
if you don't have any bevel.
-Yeah, I definitely felt at
times like that movie "Ghost",
you know, where he's like --
he's like, "Zack."
[ Laughter ]
♪
I think when I first started,
I was just holding
everything really hard,
and I was just positive
that as soon
as I touched the tool
to the spinning wood,
it was just gonna, like, kick.
But yeah, once I got a sense
for what the boundaries were,
I got more confident.
-Okay, I think you're good.
Let's see.
Oh, look at you.
Nice job. Nice job.
And you said you couldn't.
-I was
-Well, now that it stopped
-Now that -- [ Laughs ]
-No, it looks good.
-It was a lot of fun.
He's obviously very comfortable
around a lathe.
He's very comfortable
working with me.
And it's just --
just a lot of fun.
-Put our sanding paste on.
♪
You feel that?
-Glass.
-Yeah. Pretty nice.
So now what we'll do is
we'll put a finish on that.
So we'll use some oil.
♪
Nice job. Look at that.
Zack's got his act together.
Him and his wife
are a good team.
They're organized really well.
I don't think he needs
a lot of advice
on how to wrap something up.
It can be a rat race at the end.
Pressure is on, and the both of
them can definitely handle it.
-I like it.
-Very nice.
-It looks like the top
of a beer bottle,
but I'm pretty proud of it.
-I think it looks great.
Make sure you keep water
in there so it won't wilt.
-I think our homeowner
is going to be
very happy with this.
-Yeah.
-Thanks so much.
-My pleasure.
My advice to Zack is
to keep doing what you're doing
because you're doing it right.
♪
-So when you get to
the end of the job,
it can be hard to know
what do you do?
What if things don't look
like they're coming together?
So here's what we typically do.
When you're, like, 99% done
or 85% done,
we'll have the homeowner
come out,
do a little walk through
with us,
we'll make a list of everything,
and then our team
will tackle those things.
When the homeowner agrees
that that list is complete,
it is their project to take over
and we'll get out of here.
-Slip-covered furniture.
I know what you're thinking.
Isn't that outdated?
But hear me out.
They're not your grandma's
slip-covered furniture.
They've come such a long way.
They are now modern,
super sleek,
could give you
that nice coastal feel.
And many retailers
are selling them.
-No good deed goes unpunished.
That could not be more true
for me this year.
I bought
this washer and dryer,
but the dryer is on this side,
so I just ignored it
and let my wife struggle.
And I would just sort of do this
whenever I had to get stuff out.
Right.
But then one day I said,
I'm gonna do the right thing,
I'm gonna change it,
but I have no time.
I'm running a business.
We got television shows,
radio shows,
all this stupid media stuff
like this stupid --
So I did it in a rush.
Lost the piece or a washer
or something.
So now, ever since then,
you have to, like, touch it
just right to get it to start.
And we just live this way
forever.
Instead of fixing it,
I shot a reel.
-So we're at the point
in the project now
where we can begin
thinking about what to put
into the built space,
which is maybe my favorite part.
The decorating and the really
making it feel like our home.
In Nick's work from home office,
we were trying to figure out
what could we do creatively
with some furniture
to be space efficient
and still cost effective.
Luckily, we have Kathryn here.
Zack and Camille connected us.
I had mocked up this out of
paper because that's my medium.
[ Chuckles ]
But she's going to show us
how to turn something
much better than this, even,
into wood, that we can have
a real functional piece.
-What I'd like to build
with Hannah today
is a multifunction
storage bench,
designed to work
as open shelving,
provide concealed storage,
and comfortable seating
with the addition
of a cushion on top.
-Hey, Kathryn.
-Hey, Hannah.
How are you?
Welcome to your
backyard workshop.
-Yes. You really set up shop.
It looks good.
-Just here prepping
for the multifunctional bench
we're going to make together.
-Yes. You really leveled up.
This was the unfinished version
I think I showed you
to share my idea.
This is the finished version.
-I love it.
Absolutely.
This was a good base for me.
Now I know what you guys wanted,
I thought we could add storage,
a bit of softness with a bench.
Still have your bookcase,
so that way it's used
for different purposes.
-I love that,
and I especially love
that we're putting something
extra nice
in the space for Nick,
because he is going to
be working out of the basement.
-It's my pleasure to help.
You want to come join me?
-Yeah, yeah. Let's get into it.
-Let's do it.
So we're just going to take
the pieces that I cut
-Okay.
-over to the workbench.
They're labeled so we know
what parts will go where.
Hannah's going to help me
with this project.
I'm super excited about it.
But I do want to give it
a bit of light sanding
around the edges
before we do attach them
together.
With this bottom, the first step
that we're going to do
is go ahead
and add the sides to this.
This just gives us
a little extra help.
Okay.
But what makes this task easy
would be to fasten it
with a nail gun
and then with a screw.
Nail gun?
-Makes me a little nervous.
-[ Laughs ] Don't be nervous.
Don't be afraid.
I'm just hoping
that she enjoys this process.
You want to try to keep your
hand as straight as possible
if you're slanted with it,
your nail might come out here,
might come out there.
Sometimes people don't know
they have a skill
until they try something.
So give it a shot.
-At least it's the bottom.
-Yeah.
-So if it goes wrong,
you'll never see it.
Although I'll think about it.
-No. Okay, so
Be careful. Absolutely.
Follow manufacturer's
instructions with the tools,
you know.
Be very careful
in what you're doing.
So this is 3/4 inch wood.
-Okay.
-So we want the middle
of that
-Like that?
-Yeah.
Ready?
-Alright.
And then just pull the trigger?
-Just pull the trigger.
Boom. There you go.
-Okay.
-How did that feel?
-That felt good.
-Wasn't bad, right?
-I could do that all day.
Maybe I do have woodworking
in my future.
-[ Laughs ]
-So
-So we're
-So we're going
-So we're going to
-So we're going to flip
-So we're going to flip it
-So we're going to flip it
over,
and now we're gonna
add the centerpiece.
We have 11 inches of depth
for your bookcase.
And so we want to make sure
that we line up
the finished side
of your bookshelf
back with that 11 inches.
We'll just add some screws
to hold this together.
-It's not going in.
-Put a little pressure.
Just a little pressure. Okay.
-That only took
twice as long as yours.
My gosh.
-It's coming together.
-Yes.
-So while we have this
flipped over,
what I would like to do
is just put the casters on.
-This feels more forgiving
than screwing the wood together.
-It really is.
Put some glue.
We want it to be nice
and flush with the back.
And then nail it.
One more major piece to put on
before we add trim,
which is going to be the lid.
So you'll be able
to flip this up.
So I'm going to first add
the piano hinge to this.
-Okay.
♪
-It's just a matter
of adding trim.
♪
My God, it's coming together.
-How heavy do you think
this is?
-We did -- To try to eliminate
as many holes as possible
on here, we use pocket holes.
It's a kit. So they have their
own fasteners and drill bits.
-Oh, wow.
-So we're just going to drop
the screw into the hole
and just drill.
[ Drill whirring ]
Just that easy.
-It's definitely doable
with two people.
-Yeah. For sure.
-But it is heavy.
-It's a nice solid one.
What do you think, Hannah?
-It's excellent.
Thank you so much.
-You did a great job.
-Well, you did a great job.
-You did a great job.
Did you enjoy this process?
-I did, it was more manageable
than I thought.
You made it easy.
-Okay.
What was your favorite part?
-I'm tempted to say
seeing it finished.
-Okay. [ Laughs ]
-But not because I didn't enjoy
the process, I really did.
You helped me to feel empowered
with the power tools.
-That's a goal.
Today went really well.
I had such a great time building
the multifunctional bookshelf
bench storage bin with Hannah.
The best part
was just being able to share
the processes with her.
-Today was great.
I felt like I did a lot of
looking over Kathryn's
shoulder, which didn't feel
particularly helpful,
but it was helpful to me
because I learned a lot
and I'm just thrilled
with our finished product.
We came a long way from this,
whichis done. [ Chuckles ]
-So, yeah. Now you have
your bookshelf
-Yes.
-in front.
-Our secret storage
in the back.
-Your secret storage
in the back.
That's, like, the best part.
-That is the best.
-Yeah.
So what are you gonna --
How are you gonna finish it?
-Well, let's sit
and talk about that.
-Okay. Let's do.
What do you think?
-Yeah, it's bigger
and heavier
than I expected it to be,
but that's gonna make it last.
So those are certainly
good things.
Because again, I see this as,
like, a family heirloom piece.
It's a gift to Nick for now,
but I can see our kid, like,
hiding things in the storage
and, um, us all just
really enjoying it together.
I know it's just a piece
of furniture,
but it represents a lot more.
Plus, I may also etch
a little heart
and plus H in there for just
a little sweetness to Nick.
♪
-So now that Crystal and
Jorge have their first home,
it's a great time
to go visit The Home Depot.
We're going to put together a
first-time home buyer tool kit.
Some of the essentials.
They're going to really get you
through
those first couple of projects.
Let's do some shopping.
-Great. I'm excited.
-We'll get a utility knife.
-Nice.
-Let's get this plier set.
-Great.
-And adjustable wrenches.
Here we go.
-I don't have those.
-Now you do.
I think it's a good idea
to get you a hammer.
This is a good option.
Steel construction.
So it's very durable,
and a curved grip.
-Sweet.
-Alright.
We've got the level
and the stud finder.
-Oh, nice.
I don't have one of those.
-These are very useful.
-Yeah.
-And tape measure.
♪
Okay, so I think
this is going to be
a really important one for you.
This is a 2-in-1 combo kit.
It has a drill driver
and an impact driver.
It has the batteries,
the charger,
a bag for it all to go in.
And the batteries are
even interchangeable
with other RYOBI tools.
So if you have any others
at home,
this will be really easy to use.
-Very cool.
-Alright, so obviously
this is all a starting point.
You'll certainly need
more tools in the future.
But you know you can always
come back to the Home Depot.
They have what you need.
-That's for sure.
-Alright.
Should we go check out?
-Thank you so much, Camille.
-Of course.
Okay.
We got all these tools here.
We're ready
to do a little project.
So, what are we hanging today?
-Today we're hanging
our wedding photo right about
-Okay, perfect.
I'm just gonna stick
a little piece of tape
so we remember
where we want the top.
Let's grab the tape measure.
We want to find
the center point. 35 1/2.
Make a little mark at 17 3/4.
What's the drop we need to
-It's about 5 1/4.
-Okay. Perfect.
So we're going to measure
5 1/4 down
from our mark up here.
You want to grab
the stud finder.
This is great
because it not only
detects the studs in the wall
but also any live wire.
So if there were any wires
in the wall
we wouldn't want to hit them,
right?
-[ Stud finder beeping ]
-Oh, look at that.
There happens
to be one right there.
Grab your picture hanger
and the hammer.
Get that nail in the wall.
Alright, moment of truth.
Time for that level.
We want to look for
that bubble in the vial
and make sure it's in the center
between the two lines.
Look at that. Perfect.
-Thanks, Camille.
A lot of great tips.
-And you've got all these tools
to get started
on some other projects.
But, you know, you can always go
to the Home Depot
if you need more.
-That's for sure. Thanks.
-I, like many people, love
the way a curated space looks,
but I have all this children
and family and dogs,
and it's a mess.
When we designed this kitchen,
we made this look like a Hoosier
cabinet, or reminiscent of it,
and it had
the unexpected benefit
of these legs coming down.
So it allows you
to sort of gather clutter
around the legs of the cabinet.
And it's allowed me to find a
perfect spot for my cookie jar,
and it looks sort of curated.
There's intentionality
to the clutter,
and I love that
about this design.
You might want to try it.
-I thought I'd give you
a quick tip
on smart home doorbell cameras
like this,
or external cameras.
You want to make sure
if they're Wi-Fi connected,
that you have good Wi-Fi
coverage.
So what I recommend
for everybody,
take out your phone,
go to a speed test site
or an app,
and run speed tests
from the location
that you're actually going to
be installing the device at.
And if you're not getting
north of 10,
15 megabytes per second,
you definitely want to look
to add a Wi-Fi extender
or potentially add
a mesh network.
And that way you're
going to get better coverage
and make sure the devices
like this
are actually going
to work for you.
-We're
-We're on
-We're on our
-We're on our way
-We're on our way now
-We're on our way now
to
-We're on our way now
to see
-We're on our way now
to see Crystal
and Jorge today.
-The leaves changing,
it really is coming full circle.
Because when we met with them
the first time,
it was pretty cold out.
-Here we are.
-Right up the stairs
on the left, yeah.
I bet they're thrilled
that this process
is coming to a close.
I mean,
a long time of house hunting.
-Is this an abandoned house?
-And then a renovation
on top of that.
-Yeah, I like all of them.
Honestly.
-[ Laughs ] Awesome.
-I would say no part of this
process has been easy for them.
-Well, look at that.
Here we are.
-There's no real sign
of that flood that we saw.
Management did a great job
cleaning this up.
-I know Jorge was really
hoping for a ground level unit.
-It just goes to show you
that sometimes
what you think you want
is not actually what you want.
Right. That's one thing
you learn pretty quickly.
♪
-[ In Spanish ]
El perro siempre
[ In English ]
Since we've moved here,
our life has changed
in every single way.
-"Oh, no."
-[ In Spanish ] Dijo la gata.
-"Oh, no."
-Dijo el perro.
[ In English ] I just think our
home life is much more dynamic.
The kids are so much happier,
excited, and outgoing.
They've just been learning
so much.
-Hey.
Just seeing the kids playing
and Mateo running around
made it feel like home.
But getting a couch
really put the cherry
on top of the cake for us.
-[ Speaking gibberish ]
-Almost instantly
it started to feel like home
because Crystal's very good
about organizing things.
-We also love
that we were able
to put our own personal style
into our place.
This is the first time
we've chosen everything
before we moved in,
so I think we really
appreciate that.
-We have a proper living room,
a proper dining room,
proper kitchen.
-Being able to step outside
with the kids
just so that they can get
fresh air or play
or throw a ball
has been really great, too.
-Having parking just makes
such a big difference.
The amount of parking tickets
I've gotten in my life
-Oh, I love this area.
Anything we can think of
is 10 minutes away from us.
-And just peaceful, quiet.
It's -- It's very nice.
-Hi.
-Hey, Zack. Hey, Camille.
How are you guys doing?
-So good to see you.
-You, too. Come on in.
-Nice to see you.
-Thank you.
-Wow, this looks great.
-So this is it. Welcome.
-Hey, guys.
This looks so good.
-I know, doesn't it?
-Love the floors.
And I can see the vision now.
-Are you getting
grandma feelings in here?
-I am.
-Such good grandma core.
-Wishing I wore
my cardigan today.
[ Laughter ]
-It's very cozy and warm.
-It's beautiful.
And it's so spacious,
now that it's furnished.
-It does feel spacious.
-What about this painting?
Looks like a work in progress.
-It is, it is.
I'm working on that.
You know, that's our --
It's a cover
of the Black Mirror.
-No way. You painted that?
Yeah.
-Let me check it out.
-Camille, why don't we head
to the kitchen and check it out?
-Oh, good. Oh. Let's go.
-So, what are these lines?
You, like, draw it out first?
-Loving the new space.
-I love it so much.
Especially compared
to my wall kitchen in Bayonne.
-You had, like,
a few cabinets there.
-I had a few cabinets.
-But they're two dimensional.
-Yeah.
I think it looks so, like,
modern, but vintage.
And there's just
so much more space now.
-Oh, yeah.
-This is where the magic
happens. [ Laughs ]
-You had to say it.
Man, I love how big this is.
-Yeah, much bigger
than what we had before.
-This looks amazing.
Where'd you buy that?
-This is an old dresser
we had.
I cut all that molding by hand
and glued it on there.
-Look at these miters.
-And painted it, you know.
Don't look too closely,
because then you'll see
-Don't look too closely.
I'll notice there's
a knob missing.
What's the story there?
-The kids got to it,
and I'm trying to find it.
-It looks great.
-Thanks, thanks.
-What about the closet?
That looks a little different.
-Yeah. Kathryn really helped
me out with this closet.
-It's pretty legit.
-Yeah. You know, whole system.
I have a lot
of storage organization.
My shirts up here,
my pants down here.
And I have a bunch of supplies
on this side, so.
-And key to every good
marriage --
don't share closets.
I don't know how people
make that work.
-That's another question.
-It's not happening.
-Yeah.
-Alright, let's see
the kids' room.
-Okay.
-So it's just been
way more functional.
-That's great.
-Yeah.
-It's still the same footprint,
but having, like,
the full size cabinets must
have really made an impact
on how you store things, right?
-Yeah.
You know, we can just have
more plates than four.
I just love
how much countertop we have now.
-I love the cottage core,
grandma core hardware
that you have.
And I think the beautiful
backsplash
really adds
another element here.
-I was worried when I saw it
that it was too gray,
but then it matched
the floor perfectly.
-Another upgrade.
-Yeah.
-And the full extension drawers
now, right.
-That is amazing.
I didn't even know --
-Compared to before.
These drawers are
Being older,
they're not full extension.
If you put them on the counter
there, you're going to only see,
really, you have all this extra
space at the back.
And they close nice and soft.
-Closes so slow.
They don't slam their fingers,
too.
-Right.
That's a big improvement.
-Thank you so much for
all your input and your help.
It's really been,
like, an efficient,
functional, beautiful kitchen.
-That's what you want, right?
-We get a lot of compliments,
too.
-Oh, good. Excellent.
-See, this is the kids' room.
Remember last time
we were in here,
it was empty
and we were painting it.
This is a great tip.
I've never done this before.
-Somebody finished it.
It looks great.
-Yeah, they love it.
-This rug -- adorbs.
-Super comfortable
and absorbs a lot of the jumping
around and stuff, so
But the kids love it.
It's super bright in here.
They like to play in here.
And we worked on the receptacles
in here.
-Tamper resistant so the kids
can't put anything inside them.
-Exactly.
-I love it.
-So this is the bathroom?
-Looks good.
-Kordian did a great job
helping us out with this vanity.
-Those drawers have to be
a lifesaver.
-Yeah, exactly.
A lot of storage,
a lot of counter space.
Love the marble.
A great upgrade,
and, you know, of course,
you helped me with the caulking.
-That was probably the
most fun of the whole project.
Is this a fun project?
[ Laughs ]
I felt you doubted it at first.
And look at it now.
-Super valuable lesson, too.
You know, we still have
some work to do here,
patch some things up,
but we love it.
-Never ending projects.
-Yeah.
-I love it.
I'm so happy for you guys.
This is great.
-Thanks a lot, Zack.
We appreciate it.
-Well,
-Well, I
-Well, I gotta
-Well, I gotta say,
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really proud
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really proud of
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really proud of you
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really proud of you guys.
You've left this sort of
indelible mark on us.
-Yes.
-Like, in terms of your --
your, uh, like, heartiness.
-Yeah.
-No part of this process
to me was really easy
or what you expected.
-Yeah.
And you did it with Grace.
-Yeah.
And just, like, such good --
such a good partnership
the two of you have, like,
the love you have for each other
is, it hasn't wavered.
I have so much confidence in you
as a family.
And I'm glad we got to be,
like,
a tiny little part of that
along the way.
So much fun.
But you made -- you made this
fun for us, that's for sure.
-Thank you so much.
Thanks for inviting us
into your home.
-Thank you guys.
We were -- We were super blessed
by the whole experience,
because it's one thing
to buy a home,
it's another thing
to do it on TV.
-That's a big one, too.
-It's another thing
to do it with two babies.
-Yeah.
-We couldn't have done it
without you, really.
And that's true.
-We were so happy
to do this job and that's --
and that's how we feel.
-Yeah.
It's the people.
That's what it's all about.
-So
Alright, let's get out of here
before nap time ends
for you guys.
-Alright. Thank you.
-Just looking for a home,
you think it's going to be
exciting,
but really, it turns out to be
crowded open houses
for homes that you don't really
have an interest in.
-Doing this while we had
a newborn baby
and a one-year-old
[ Baby crying in distance ]
-No.
-Is that here or next door?
-No, that's here.
-That's Sadie.
Look, she's so happy.
-So, here, let me clean
her boogers.
-[ Sadie laughs ]
-[ Laughs ] Sadie.
-Jorge, when we went to see
this place, he didn't like it.
And I had to do a lot
of convincing.
-You sort of start out thinking,
like, this is what's for us.
This is what we need.
I'm not settling for less.
And then you realize, like,
you can't afford what you want.
[ Both laugh ]
You sort of have to make
the decision between,
are you going to compromise
to accomplish the overall goal
for your family?
Or are you gonna sort of hold
strong and just say,
now's not the time,
or we're not doing this?
So yeah, I think it was -- it
was a process for me especially.
I think Crystal
was more open-minded.
So she was able to sort of cut
through and say like, you know,
in order for us to get
the things that we need,
we do have to look further out.
We do have to consider places
that maybe 2 or 3 months ago
we wouldn't have considered.
But now learning
what we have learned,
we sort of have to just
open up our minds a little bit.
I guess what I would want to say
is be more realistic,
but I wouldn't listen
to that advice.
That's the problem.
It's like the advice
I would give myself
is to be more realistic and to,
you know,
sort of lower, you know,
your -- be more open-minded.
But I don't feel like --
Because I feel like
that's what she
was telling me at that point
and I wasn't listening.
So doing it
while being filmed and --
and sort of having to put it
on the back burner,
the fact that the whole world is
going to see and all that stuff,
so it's very challenging.
You know, would I advise anyone
not to do it?
No. You know, I think it's --
it's an adventure, it's a risk.
One of the reasons
why we did it
was so that
we can look back on it one day,
especially for our kids.
You know, at least some
people will see this
and it will encourage them,
inspire them, teach them.
And for those reasons,
we think it's worth it.
♪
♪
♪
♪
-Say, "Bye," Mateo. Bye.
-Bye. Sadie, say, "Bye."
-[ Sadie babbles ]
-Awe, Sadie.
-Color temperature
is measured in Kelvin.
And here are the five
most common color temperatures.
2,700 K.
And that's going to be great for
your bedrooms and living spaces.
Second is 3,000.
This is going to be great for
your kitchens and dining areas.
Next, 3,500 K.
Great for your home office
and hallways.
4,000. Bright and crisp.
Perfect for your bathrooms,
laundry areas, and garages.
Lastly, 5,000 K.
Great for workspaces, basements,
wherever you want
maximum brightness.
♪
-Let's talk about paying
your contractor.
Typically, when you get
a contract that's rather large,
like this porch behind me,
for example,
you're going to have
a payment schedule,
and that's going to say perhaps
10% when we order materials,
10% when we show up,
10% when framing is done.
And the payments are tied
to milestones.
Now, as a consumer,
you always want to make sure
that there's money
held back at the end
before the scope of work
is substantially complete,
so if there's anything missing
that you're unsatisfied with,
you have some money
to hold on to
to make sure
the contractor comes
and finishes the work.
♪
So we're on our way now
to Nick and Hannah's.
I'm excited to see what
it looks like coming together.
-I think Nick is probably
getting his new office set up.
-They may not need it
right away,
but at least
if a baby shows up tomorrow,
they have that all ready to go.
-Yeah, and the patio, too.
-Yeah, the patio turned out
really good.
I'm excited to see
what that looks like
with some of their belongings
out there.
-I know,
I hope they get a couple
of little firepit evenings.
-I mean, the important thing
is it's safe.
What they had was
pretty dangerous, honestly.
-Yes.
-And, um, it's nice to just get
those projects out of the way
before there's a baby
in the picture.
I mean, they need to make
the main thing,
the main thing.
-No one wants that construction
around nap times.
Oh, nap time is sacred.
-Nap time is sacred. [ Laughs ]
-Nap time is sacred.
Don't interrupt it.
-The big things are in.
They've got plumbing,
washer and dryer installed,
and they can move
into the space.
-Alright, here we are.
I can't wait to see it.
Let's go.
-Hello.
-Hello. How's it going?
-Good. Welcome back.
How are you?
-Yeah.
Look at that garage door.
I haven't seen it yet.
-Yeah.
Wait till you hear it.
You really can't hear it.
Which is the best part.
-What a what a big improvement.
-Yeah.
-I really want to see
the backyard.
-Sure. I can take
you back there. Yeah.
Let's head this way.
-Alright.
-Let's check out
that washing machine.
-Alright, let's go
take a look.
So originally we wanted to do
the whole lower level --
garage
and the entire basement.
And we did get a lot of that.
We got -- Basically
the garage is done.
See how quiet it is?
-It is super quiet.
-You can barely hear it
upstairs.
-That's so much better.
It looks like there's pretty
good head clearance, right?
-I think there's even better
clearance
than what we had before
because of a modification
they did to the header.
-And the big thing is safety,
really.
Before, you had some holes
in the ceiling.
There was this non-compliant
door over here.
Now you have a 90-minute
fire rated door,
a one-hour fire rated ceiling.
That's gotta be some peace
of mind.
-It's great.
And even the insulation
is fire resistant.
I mean, I really love
the drywall detail.
Abraham did a sweet job
to get drywall nice
and flush up against the sill
on the front.
And these floors.
I mean, before we had, like,
two different types of concrete,
old and new, and it was uneven.
We had a little puddle
that would sometimes swarm
in the corner,
and now it's, like,
perfectly sealed
and got this great
epoxy flake coating.
-Yeah. That's great. And you
did it inside, too, right?
-Yeah. It goes all the way
into the basement.
-And look at that. No step.
Remember we had that step
you had to go over?
-Yeah. I mean, you saved us
a lot of tripping there.
-Wow. Look at this.
I love these garden beds.
-Yeah. It's gonna be great
for gardening come springtime.
Try to do some fruits
and vegetables
and get a little farm
to table going on.
We had a garden
that we had built
and we rolled up the grass
like carpet.
But now we have
a raised garden bed
that looks a lot more beautiful,
a lot more functional.
-Access back here
is really tough.
I know that with the fence there
and everything,
I had to kind of carry
everything by hand.
But what a transformation.
-Yeah, and I know
Nick was very touched
that y'all did that
so that his yard
didn't end up too torn apart.
-I know, that's so much
to rehab.
-Ton of hard work on that.
Yeah, yeah.
-Much easier, too, to water
when it's over there.
-Yeah. Hopefully I'll do
a better job gardening.
I have less excuse now
than what I've done in the past.
-Wow.
-And look at this.
I mean, the old ceiling has been
totally cleaned and painted.
The walls have been sealed,
and they now look uniform.
This floor still has
a concrete feel to it,
but it's just way more resilient
and uniform.
-I mean, it's surprising
what paint does, right?
We've got technically
a coating on the floor,
coating on the wall,
coating on the ceiling.
And even though there's
still infrastructure up here,
really kind of disappears
to some degree, right?
-Yeah. This is a much better
basement space.
-And you got rid of some
of the mess of pipes
that were there, too.
That looks good.
-The other side
of the basement,
which is eventually
Nick's office
and our guest bedroom,
is ready to be created.
We've got kind of the foundation
set with the floors,
and we just have to build
some walls and add some lights
and move in furniture.
-That was a change
to expectations in terms
of timing and scope.
And changes to expectations
feel hard.
So that was an adjustment
that took a while,
at least for me to accept and
embrace, and I feel good about.
So check out this furniture
that Hannah and Kathryn made.
-That looks so good there.
And it does a great job
covering up the sump pump there.
That's perfect.
-Yeah, I love the finish
that Hannah's put on
and even the poly coat.
It's gonna be nice and durable.
She even used a soldering iron
to leave me a little message.
-She's got those nice
finishing touches.
-She does.
-It's all stained and finished.
-I'm really pleased with it.
-And this little screen
you put here
does a nice job of masking
the electrical utilities
until you get this wall built.
-Yeah, yeah, it's a nice touch.
♪
-So the patio space
was in rough shape.
There was remnants
of an old deck,
and also the concrete pad was
cracked and kind of crumbling,
and so were the stairs.
So it was kind of
a safety issue,
but also it was just
kind of ugly to look at.
We basically have been
able to remedy all of that
and then really upgrade
even the appearance,
not just the function
of the patio.
-It's gorgeous. And the stairs
now. Loving this new railing.
Really going to keep
little ones safe.
And big ones, too.
-Big ones, too.
-[ Both laugh ]
-Yes.
-Yeah. I like the new direction,
too.
-That was Nick's idea.
Yeah, yeah.
And it was really just
for accessibility
of bigger things like appliances
if we're ever needing to swap
something out.
But it looks good, too.
So I'm really excited as we,
you know,
have some warm weather again
to just enjoy lounging out there
and entertaining out there.
Before we just had
the little dining table
and so I would eat out there,
but now we have a couch.
It just feels like more
of a sense of space
with the shade sail
and the lights.
And so it just looks
ready for a party,
which I'm excited to have.
-Maybe get
a little fire going.
-Yeah,
we can roast marshmallows.
Yeah, we've got the space
to eat,
to entertain, to lounge,
which is great.
Um, wanna take a seat?
-Yeah. Sounds great.
-So, yeah, you were saying
there was some water pooling
around here?
I think what's causing
it is actually,
we forgot to remove
this sock from the end.
This works in a slop sink,
but it doesn't work
with a direct drain like this,
so that'll just go
straight in like that
and you won't have a problem.
-Good to know.
-This is a big difference.
Remember, we had that puddle
of water here
the first day we were here?
-It's not sewage, right?
-Oh, yeah.
-Oh, my goodness.
I'll never forget that day.
-[ Laughs ]
It's a whole different space
now.
-Even before that,
this place was pretty dirty
and really empty.
-I used to refer to our basement
as the haunted house.
There were cobwebs everywhere.
I would go down, I would start
a load, I would leave.
It was not a space
to be stayed in.
Now it's probably one of
the nicest areas of our house.
-Now it does feel
just totally clean and finished,
and it makes sense to be doing
cleaning in a space like this.
-It looks good.
And you got a bathroom.
I mean, that changes the metrics
of the whole house.
-Two bathrooms is definitely
twice as much as one,
and it feels like so much more
than that
to have an extra bathroom.
-And a walk in shower now.
That's great.
-The bathroom, it's a whole room
that wasn't there.
Every time I walk
into that space,
I feel like I'm not
in my own house,
but in a good way.
It's just so different.
-There's a lot of issues
you can run into
when trying to plumb
in the basement.
We didn't encounter
nearly as many as we could have.
This is probably bigger
and nicer than the one upstairs.
-Yeah, Mike really crushed
the details on this one.
It looks good.
-I love the craftsmanship.
-What's up, ladies?
-Oh, look who's joining us.
-How'd it go in the basement?
-Great.
-We fixed the laundry problem.
-Excellent.
-So, what do you guys think
of this process
now that we're wrapping up?
-Well, I've learned a ton,
and I can't tell you enough
about how much I appreciate
learning
from skilled tradespeople
and learning from you two.
You know, learning is about
the most important thing to me,
and I got a ton of it
in this process.
-That's fantastic.
How about you, Hannah?
-I'm just trying not to cry.
[ Laughs ]
Um, [voice breaks] but I'm just
so grateful for everything you
and your teams have done for us.
Um, it was such a long shot
to get to work with you.
[ Normal voice ] Um,
and we just feel so privileged
for the opportunity
and, again, everything you've
done for us and our family.
So thank you.
-It's been wonderful.
We've really enjoyed the process
and getting to know you guys
and your family, and I can't
wait to see your family grow.
-Oh, thanks.
-Well, you got the tears
coming, Hannah,
but you mentioned Nick's
a bit of a Tom Silva fan, right?
-Maybe the biggest.
-Maybe the biggest,
maybe bigger than me.
He made something for you.
-Oh, my goodness.
-This is from Tommy himself.
So there you go.
-Wow. Tom.
Thank you so much.
It works pretty good
right out here.
-There you go.
That is so special
and so thoughtful.
Thank you so much.
[ Sighs deeply ]
I think processes like this,
um, you do learn a lot.
Not just about the work
that's happening,
but about yourself
while you're doing it
or about your partnership.
Yes!
Homeownership is a process.
I feel like I'm living
a nightmare.
I had thought when we moved in,
like, we'll be done in a month.
Um, and then I thought
maybe a few months.
-Wastewater.
-That makes it sound
a little better.
-Yeah.
-I think just realizing
that it's not maybe
ever going to be done,
because when you do one thing,
you have, like, a new
worst top thing to address.
Knowing that, I think, helps,
and then trying to enjoy it
as much as you can
in the meantime.
-Did get to help
or at least learn
from some of the skilled trades.
-I did a lot of cleaning.
We both did a lot
of deliberating
and making decisions.
We've gotten to meet
so many truly great people
throughout this process.
I obviously got to build
that furniture with Kathryn.
I just am still so thrilled
about how she took, like,
my simple,
silly idea and just made it so
much more than I ever imagined.
-I really enjoyed working with
Sean and his creative ideas
-We don't need to know
the Pythagorean theorem here.
-and Kathryn
and Jose just killing it,
helping me move
all those pavers.
A huge kudos to the patio crew.
-I would say expect
the unexpected.
Overprepare for your budget,
because things tend to cost
more than you want.
Overprepare for time
because things can take longer,
and just even your own time.
I love watching
home improvement shows,
but I've always been confused
when the homeowners are stressed
about doing renovations
because I think,
well, they're not doing it.
They have probably
more than average help.
And so did we.
And it was still a lot.
And I've been hesitant
to talk about that stress
because I don't want to seem
ungrateful.
We are so grateful.
But it is still a lot.
-Zack and Camille
have been very enjoyable.
I find that they can bring
humor and honesty
to some difficult situations,
which is kind of crucial.
-And they're just good people.
They, um, they have real
integrity, which is so valuable.
Also humility, which makes
them really easy to work with.
And I have to say,
I'm so grateful to everyone.
I'm going to get
emotional talking about it,
but I'm so grateful to everyone
[voice breaks] throughout this
whole process
and everything
they've done for us.
Um, but I'm most grateful
for Nick
because he is so knowledgeable.
[ Normal voice ]
He's always learning more.
He's so capable and so willing.
Um, and so everything you've
done for us is just so much.
I'm just so thankful.
So thank you. [ Chuckles ]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
-You got it there, sonny boy?
[
[ Baby
[ Baby babbling
[ Baby babbling ]
-It's been eight months since
we first met our two families.
-Hey, Jorge.
-Hey, guys.
-We are very excited
to work with Zack and Camille.
-We've watched Crystal
and Jorge's search for houses
-This is tiny.
Is this an abandoned house?
Is this safe?
-A lot of houses.
-Love the natural light.
-Can you imagine being here,
babe?
-make offers
that got rejected
-They decided
to go with another offer.
-We didn't have a chance.
Disappointing.
-And accepted
Can you believe this?
-No, I can't.
-No.
-We got an offer accepted.
-and rejected again.
-The deal fell apart.
-What happened?
I'm just gonna have to sort of
go back to the drawing board.
-"I need a roof.
I need a floor."
-Exactly. Exactly.
-For Nick and Hannah,
we've watched the reality
of a renovation budget sink in.
-Always more expensive
than we thought.
-Yeah.
Even when you know that.
-Yeah.
Even when you know that.
-And how building
permit restrictions
can change the scope
of a project.
-We got some corrections
from the building department.
-I thought that was going
smoothly.
-Now that we know the inspector
is not going to accept option A,
we've got to do
this window well.
-Crystal and Jorge
finally found their first home.
-Congratulations.
The house is yours.
-A condo an hour outside
of New York City.
-Welcome to your home.
-Though it did get flooded
a week after they closed.
-Nick and Hannah
weren't able to create
a full guest suite downstairs.
-Yes!
-But they did add
a second bathroom.
-It's a whole room
that wasn't there.
-And create an office space
that will meet their needs
while they wait for an adoption.
-Someday our child
will be able to watch this
an probably tease me
about how much I cried.
♪
-For our generation,
buying and renovating
your first house can be scary.
-We only have three weeks.
It's a hard deadline.
-But it doesn't have to be.
-I'm moving in no matter what.
-[ Both laugh ]
-Today, we'll wrap up
the finishing touches
on both projects.
-Homeownership is a process.
I had thought when we moved in,
like, we'll be done in a month,
and then I thought
maybe a few months.
-And we'll get to see
our families settle
into their first house.
♪
♪
♪
-So typically on
"This Old House",
when you're wrapping up
a project,
you walk through
with the customer
and then the whole team,
the trade partners,
get together for a little party
and get to enjoy
the space together
and see all
the finishing touches.
-Peter and Kay,
you still have your old house,
but it now has all new parts.
I'm Tom Silva, the general
contractor for "This Old House".
I think homeowners appreciate
a gift, you know.
I made a cookie jar
for one of our homeowners
out of an old beam.
Baby rattle.
Yeah, I made a couple of those.
A few of those.
Turning some burls.
-On one of our projects,
he turned a doorknob.
-That's a piece of red oak.
-This is amazing.
I think the only person
who might be a bigger
Tom Silva fan than me is Nick.
He is a huge "This Old House"
fan, a huge Tom Silva fan.
So I think he's going to be
pretty excited to have a vase
that Tom Silva mostly turned.
So I thought I would try
and hit him up to see
if he could teach me
how to at least turn.
Maybe there'll be a gift
that comes out of it.
Well, do I look the part?
-You look the part.
-Alright.
-Alright, so the first thing
we got
is the orientation of the wood.
Long grain. That's a spindle.
To turn a spindle, first,
we're going to use a spindle
roughing gouge right here.
The key is
how you position the tool.
The tool rest needs to be down
just a little bit below center
of the live center right here.
So when I enter the wood
it's going to be just
above the center.
So when you start your cut
you always hang down low,
bring it up with my body
and my hand,
and I'm going to push
with my body.
So when I push,
you never take and push it
with your hand like that.
Nice and smooth, nice and easy.
-Tom Silva is a pretty important
guy for me.
I'm not the type of person
to idolize anyone,
but if I were,
it's definitely him.
He's got all the traits
of a builder
that I think are important,
and I think
to be a real master builder,
you can't just be good
at project management.
You have to be good at
physically doing the little bits
and understanding
how they get done well.
And he's exemplified that
for years.
-I'm going to do a small cut.
I'll do about a couple
of inches.
Then I'm going to let you try.
And I'm going to put it
on the rest.
I'm going to slowly come up,
make contact.
You can see I'm hitting my bevel
and the saw dust
is coming right over the edge.
And I'm just going to slide
the whole thing forward.
Come back up, get a cut,
and push with my body.
So I'm pushing in
with my right hand,
pushing my body
to move the tool.
Alright?
The idea is to make it all one.
Alright. You want to try it?
-Yeah.
-So down on the handle
so you can find that bevel.
-I'm so nervous
about the tool getting stuck
that I'm gripping this thing
like I'm hanging off it.
-Well, it's your first --
It's your first time.
I met Zack, it was probably
around four years ago.
If I had half
of his organization,
I'd be much better off.
I mean, you open his truck up
and everything
where it has to be.
Open my truck up,
there it is on the floor.
-We both speak
the same language of hard work,
and I think once we
sort of connected on that,
it's just been wonderful.
-Bevel, edge, rock.
This is a spindle gouge
for detail work.
It relaxes me.
It gets stuff off my mind.
I can think and I could focus
on what I'm doing, too.
So sometimes if I've got
something I don't want to think
about,
I go down and focus on this
little thing turning around.
It's my Zen. Yeah.
This is a skew for roughing
and detail work on spindles.
♪
-I think you're
just showing off now
at this point with that one.
-It's all rolling using
the tip and the bevel to push.
♪
-That's so satisfying.
-Yeah. I mean,
it -- it's very satisfying.
There's a little finial.
♪
So I have to be careful
that I don't put too much force
on the piece
to make it break away.
-That's too cool.
♪
Doesn't look quite as, uh
[ Both laugh ]
-Well, it's your first time.
It's your first time.
You're doing great.
He's got a good sense of humor,
and I like that.
You got to have --
You got to be light.
You got to keep things going.
And if things happen, you
deal with it, and you move on.
And I like that about him.
We wanted to take that piece
off,
use a parting tool.
♪
There's your first
whatever it is.
-There's my first,
uh, pawn for a chess set.
-Yeah. There you go.
Do you want to try
turning a little bud vase?
-Go big or go home.
-Do
-Do you
-Do you want
-Do you want to
-Do you want to try
-Do you want to try
turning
-Do you want to try
turning a
-Do you want to try
turning a little
-Do you want to try
turning a little bud
-Do you want to try
turning a little bud vase?
-Go big or go home.
Let's do it.
-There you go.
♪
-I think Nick is going to be
pretty excited to not so much
have a vase that I turned,
but definitely have a vase
that Tom Silva
at least mostly turned.
♪
-So let's drill a hole
for the bud to go into.
♪
Don't take too much off.
You're going to start at the
edge and work your way in.
♪
Push the tool down
if you're coming up to the neck.
Down with the tool,
if you don't have any bevel.
-Yeah, I definitely felt at
times like that movie "Ghost",
you know, where he's like --
he's like, "Zack."
[ Laughter ]
♪
I think when I first started,
I was just holding
everything really hard,
and I was just positive
that as soon
as I touched the tool
to the spinning wood,
it was just gonna, like, kick.
But yeah, once I got a sense
for what the boundaries were,
I got more confident.
-Okay, I think you're good.
Let's see.
Oh, look at you.
Nice job. Nice job.
And you said you couldn't.
-I was
-Well, now that it stopped
-Now that -- [ Laughs ]
-No, it looks good.
-It was a lot of fun.
He's obviously very comfortable
around a lathe.
He's very comfortable
working with me.
And it's just --
just a lot of fun.
-Put our sanding paste on.
♪
You feel that?
-Glass.
-Yeah. Pretty nice.
So now what we'll do is
we'll put a finish on that.
So we'll use some oil.
♪
Nice job. Look at that.
Zack's got his act together.
Him and his wife
are a good team.
They're organized really well.
I don't think he needs
a lot of advice
on how to wrap something up.
It can be a rat race at the end.
Pressure is on, and the both of
them can definitely handle it.
-I like it.
-Very nice.
-It looks like the top
of a beer bottle,
but I'm pretty proud of it.
-I think it looks great.
Make sure you keep water
in there so it won't wilt.
-I think our homeowner
is going to be
very happy with this.
-Yeah.
-Thanks so much.
-My pleasure.
My advice to Zack is
to keep doing what you're doing
because you're doing it right.
♪
-So when you get to
the end of the job,
it can be hard to know
what do you do?
What if things don't look
like they're coming together?
So here's what we typically do.
When you're, like, 99% done
or 85% done,
we'll have the homeowner
come out,
do a little walk through
with us,
we'll make a list of everything,
and then our team
will tackle those things.
When the homeowner agrees
that that list is complete,
it is their project to take over
and we'll get out of here.
-Slip-covered furniture.
I know what you're thinking.
Isn't that outdated?
But hear me out.
They're not your grandma's
slip-covered furniture.
They've come such a long way.
They are now modern,
super sleek,
could give you
that nice coastal feel.
And many retailers
are selling them.
-No good deed goes unpunished.
That could not be more true
for me this year.
I bought
this washer and dryer,
but the dryer is on this side,
so I just ignored it
and let my wife struggle.
And I would just sort of do this
whenever I had to get stuff out.
Right.
But then one day I said,
I'm gonna do the right thing,
I'm gonna change it,
but I have no time.
I'm running a business.
We got television shows,
radio shows,
all this stupid media stuff
like this stupid --
So I did it in a rush.
Lost the piece or a washer
or something.
So now, ever since then,
you have to, like, touch it
just right to get it to start.
And we just live this way
forever.
Instead of fixing it,
I shot a reel.
-So we're at the point
in the project now
where we can begin
thinking about what to put
into the built space,
which is maybe my favorite part.
The decorating and the really
making it feel like our home.
In Nick's work from home office,
we were trying to figure out
what could we do creatively
with some furniture
to be space efficient
and still cost effective.
Luckily, we have Kathryn here.
Zack and Camille connected us.
I had mocked up this out of
paper because that's my medium.
[ Chuckles ]
But she's going to show us
how to turn something
much better than this, even,
into wood, that we can have
a real functional piece.
-What I'd like to build
with Hannah today
is a multifunction
storage bench,
designed to work
as open shelving,
provide concealed storage,
and comfortable seating
with the addition
of a cushion on top.
-Hey, Kathryn.
-Hey, Hannah.
How are you?
Welcome to your
backyard workshop.
-Yes. You really set up shop.
It looks good.
-Just here prepping
for the multifunctional bench
we're going to make together.
-Yes. You really leveled up.
This was the unfinished version
I think I showed you
to share my idea.
This is the finished version.
-I love it.
Absolutely.
This was a good base for me.
Now I know what you guys wanted,
I thought we could add storage,
a bit of softness with a bench.
Still have your bookcase,
so that way it's used
for different purposes.
-I love that,
and I especially love
that we're putting something
extra nice
in the space for Nick,
because he is going to
be working out of the basement.
-It's my pleasure to help.
You want to come join me?
-Yeah, yeah. Let's get into it.
-Let's do it.
So we're just going to take
the pieces that I cut
-Okay.
-over to the workbench.
They're labeled so we know
what parts will go where.
Hannah's going to help me
with this project.
I'm super excited about it.
But I do want to give it
a bit of light sanding
around the edges
before we do attach them
together.
With this bottom, the first step
that we're going to do
is go ahead
and add the sides to this.
This just gives us
a little extra help.
Okay.
But what makes this task easy
would be to fasten it
with a nail gun
and then with a screw.
Nail gun?
-Makes me a little nervous.
-[ Laughs ] Don't be nervous.
Don't be afraid.
I'm just hoping
that she enjoys this process.
You want to try to keep your
hand as straight as possible
if you're slanted with it,
your nail might come out here,
might come out there.
Sometimes people don't know
they have a skill
until they try something.
So give it a shot.
-At least it's the bottom.
-Yeah.
-So if it goes wrong,
you'll never see it.
Although I'll think about it.
-No. Okay, so
Be careful. Absolutely.
Follow manufacturer's
instructions with the tools,
you know.
Be very careful
in what you're doing.
So this is 3/4 inch wood.
-Okay.
-So we want the middle
of that
-Like that?
-Yeah.
Ready?
-Alright.
And then just pull the trigger?
-Just pull the trigger.
Boom. There you go.
-Okay.
-How did that feel?
-That felt good.
-Wasn't bad, right?
-I could do that all day.
Maybe I do have woodworking
in my future.
-[ Laughs ]
-So
-So we're
-So we're going
-So we're going to
-So we're going to flip
-So we're going to flip it
-So we're going to flip it
over,
and now we're gonna
add the centerpiece.
We have 11 inches of depth
for your bookcase.
And so we want to make sure
that we line up
the finished side
of your bookshelf
back with that 11 inches.
We'll just add some screws
to hold this together.
-It's not going in.
-Put a little pressure.
Just a little pressure. Okay.
-That only took
twice as long as yours.
My gosh.
-It's coming together.
-Yes.
-So while we have this
flipped over,
what I would like to do
is just put the casters on.
-This feels more forgiving
than screwing the wood together.
-It really is.
Put some glue.
We want it to be nice
and flush with the back.
And then nail it.
One more major piece to put on
before we add trim,
which is going to be the lid.
So you'll be able
to flip this up.
So I'm going to first add
the piano hinge to this.
-Okay.
♪
-It's just a matter
of adding trim.
♪
My God, it's coming together.
-How heavy do you think
this is?
-We did -- To try to eliminate
as many holes as possible
on here, we use pocket holes.
It's a kit. So they have their
own fasteners and drill bits.
-Oh, wow.
-So we're just going to drop
the screw into the hole
and just drill.
[ Drill whirring ]
Just that easy.
-It's definitely doable
with two people.
-Yeah. For sure.
-But it is heavy.
-It's a nice solid one.
What do you think, Hannah?
-It's excellent.
Thank you so much.
-You did a great job.
-Well, you did a great job.
-You did a great job.
Did you enjoy this process?
-I did, it was more manageable
than I thought.
You made it easy.
-Okay.
What was your favorite part?
-I'm tempted to say
seeing it finished.
-Okay. [ Laughs ]
-But not because I didn't enjoy
the process, I really did.
You helped me to feel empowered
with the power tools.
-That's a goal.
Today went really well.
I had such a great time building
the multifunctional bookshelf
bench storage bin with Hannah.
The best part
was just being able to share
the processes with her.
-Today was great.
I felt like I did a lot of
looking over Kathryn's
shoulder, which didn't feel
particularly helpful,
but it was helpful to me
because I learned a lot
and I'm just thrilled
with our finished product.
We came a long way from this,
whichis done. [ Chuckles ]
-So, yeah. Now you have
your bookshelf
-Yes.
-in front.
-Our secret storage
in the back.
-Your secret storage
in the back.
That's, like, the best part.
-That is the best.
-Yeah.
So what are you gonna --
How are you gonna finish it?
-Well, let's sit
and talk about that.
-Okay. Let's do.
What do you think?
-Yeah, it's bigger
and heavier
than I expected it to be,
but that's gonna make it last.
So those are certainly
good things.
Because again, I see this as,
like, a family heirloom piece.
It's a gift to Nick for now,
but I can see our kid, like,
hiding things in the storage
and, um, us all just
really enjoying it together.
I know it's just a piece
of furniture,
but it represents a lot more.
Plus, I may also etch
a little heart
and plus H in there for just
a little sweetness to Nick.
♪
-So now that Crystal and
Jorge have their first home,
it's a great time
to go visit The Home Depot.
We're going to put together a
first-time home buyer tool kit.
Some of the essentials.
They're going to really get you
through
those first couple of projects.
Let's do some shopping.
-Great. I'm excited.
-We'll get a utility knife.
-Nice.
-Let's get this plier set.
-Great.
-And adjustable wrenches.
Here we go.
-I don't have those.
-Now you do.
I think it's a good idea
to get you a hammer.
This is a good option.
Steel construction.
So it's very durable,
and a curved grip.
-Sweet.
-Alright.
We've got the level
and the stud finder.
-Oh, nice.
I don't have one of those.
-These are very useful.
-Yeah.
-And tape measure.
♪
Okay, so I think
this is going to be
a really important one for you.
This is a 2-in-1 combo kit.
It has a drill driver
and an impact driver.
It has the batteries,
the charger,
a bag for it all to go in.
And the batteries are
even interchangeable
with other RYOBI tools.
So if you have any others
at home,
this will be really easy to use.
-Very cool.
-Alright, so obviously
this is all a starting point.
You'll certainly need
more tools in the future.
But you know you can always
come back to the Home Depot.
They have what you need.
-That's for sure.
-Alright.
Should we go check out?
-Thank you so much, Camille.
-Of course.
Okay.
We got all these tools here.
We're ready
to do a little project.
So, what are we hanging today?
-Today we're hanging
our wedding photo right about
-Okay, perfect.
I'm just gonna stick
a little piece of tape
so we remember
where we want the top.
Let's grab the tape measure.
We want to find
the center point. 35 1/2.
Make a little mark at 17 3/4.
What's the drop we need to
-It's about 5 1/4.
-Okay. Perfect.
So we're going to measure
5 1/4 down
from our mark up here.
You want to grab
the stud finder.
This is great
because it not only
detects the studs in the wall
but also any live wire.
So if there were any wires
in the wall
we wouldn't want to hit them,
right?
-[ Stud finder beeping ]
-Oh, look at that.
There happens
to be one right there.
Grab your picture hanger
and the hammer.
Get that nail in the wall.
Alright, moment of truth.
Time for that level.
We want to look for
that bubble in the vial
and make sure it's in the center
between the two lines.
Look at that. Perfect.
-Thanks, Camille.
A lot of great tips.
-And you've got all these tools
to get started
on some other projects.
But, you know, you can always go
to the Home Depot
if you need more.
-That's for sure. Thanks.
-I, like many people, love
the way a curated space looks,
but I have all this children
and family and dogs,
and it's a mess.
When we designed this kitchen,
we made this look like a Hoosier
cabinet, or reminiscent of it,
and it had
the unexpected benefit
of these legs coming down.
So it allows you
to sort of gather clutter
around the legs of the cabinet.
And it's allowed me to find a
perfect spot for my cookie jar,
and it looks sort of curated.
There's intentionality
to the clutter,
and I love that
about this design.
You might want to try it.
-I thought I'd give you
a quick tip
on smart home doorbell cameras
like this,
or external cameras.
You want to make sure
if they're Wi-Fi connected,
that you have good Wi-Fi
coverage.
So what I recommend
for everybody,
take out your phone,
go to a speed test site
or an app,
and run speed tests
from the location
that you're actually going to
be installing the device at.
And if you're not getting
north of 10,
15 megabytes per second,
you definitely want to look
to add a Wi-Fi extender
or potentially add
a mesh network.
And that way you're
going to get better coverage
and make sure the devices
like this
are actually going
to work for you.
-We're
-We're on
-We're on our
-We're on our way
-We're on our way now
-We're on our way now
to
-We're on our way now
to see
-We're on our way now
to see Crystal
and Jorge today.
-The leaves changing,
it really is coming full circle.
Because when we met with them
the first time,
it was pretty cold out.
-Here we are.
-Right up the stairs
on the left, yeah.
I bet they're thrilled
that this process
is coming to a close.
I mean,
a long time of house hunting.
-Is this an abandoned house?
-And then a renovation
on top of that.
-Yeah, I like all of them.
Honestly.
-[ Laughs ] Awesome.
-I would say no part of this
process has been easy for them.
-Well, look at that.
Here we are.
-There's no real sign
of that flood that we saw.
Management did a great job
cleaning this up.
-I know Jorge was really
hoping for a ground level unit.
-It just goes to show you
that sometimes
what you think you want
is not actually what you want.
Right. That's one thing
you learn pretty quickly.
♪
-[ In Spanish ]
El perro siempre
[ In English ]
Since we've moved here,
our life has changed
in every single way.
-"Oh, no."
-[ In Spanish ] Dijo la gata.
-"Oh, no."
-Dijo el perro.
[ In English ] I just think our
home life is much more dynamic.
The kids are so much happier,
excited, and outgoing.
They've just been learning
so much.
-Hey.
Just seeing the kids playing
and Mateo running around
made it feel like home.
But getting a couch
really put the cherry
on top of the cake for us.
-[ Speaking gibberish ]
-Almost instantly
it started to feel like home
because Crystal's very good
about organizing things.
-We also love
that we were able
to put our own personal style
into our place.
This is the first time
we've chosen everything
before we moved in,
so I think we really
appreciate that.
-We have a proper living room,
a proper dining room,
proper kitchen.
-Being able to step outside
with the kids
just so that they can get
fresh air or play
or throw a ball
has been really great, too.
-Having parking just makes
such a big difference.
The amount of parking tickets
I've gotten in my life
-Oh, I love this area.
Anything we can think of
is 10 minutes away from us.
-And just peaceful, quiet.
It's -- It's very nice.
-Hi.
-Hey, Zack. Hey, Camille.
How are you guys doing?
-So good to see you.
-You, too. Come on in.
-Nice to see you.
-Thank you.
-Wow, this looks great.
-So this is it. Welcome.
-Hey, guys.
This looks so good.
-I know, doesn't it?
-Love the floors.
And I can see the vision now.
-Are you getting
grandma feelings in here?
-I am.
-Such good grandma core.
-Wishing I wore
my cardigan today.
[ Laughter ]
-It's very cozy and warm.
-It's beautiful.
And it's so spacious,
now that it's furnished.
-It does feel spacious.
-What about this painting?
Looks like a work in progress.
-It is, it is.
I'm working on that.
You know, that's our --
It's a cover
of the Black Mirror.
-No way. You painted that?
Yeah.
-Let me check it out.
-Camille, why don't we head
to the kitchen and check it out?
-Oh, good. Oh. Let's go.
-So, what are these lines?
You, like, draw it out first?
-Loving the new space.
-I love it so much.
Especially compared
to my wall kitchen in Bayonne.
-You had, like,
a few cabinets there.
-I had a few cabinets.
-But they're two dimensional.
-Yeah.
I think it looks so, like,
modern, but vintage.
And there's just
so much more space now.
-Oh, yeah.
-This is where the magic
happens. [ Laughs ]
-You had to say it.
Man, I love how big this is.
-Yeah, much bigger
than what we had before.
-This looks amazing.
Where'd you buy that?
-This is an old dresser
we had.
I cut all that molding by hand
and glued it on there.
-Look at these miters.
-And painted it, you know.
Don't look too closely,
because then you'll see
-Don't look too closely.
I'll notice there's
a knob missing.
What's the story there?
-The kids got to it,
and I'm trying to find it.
-It looks great.
-Thanks, thanks.
-What about the closet?
That looks a little different.
-Yeah. Kathryn really helped
me out with this closet.
-It's pretty legit.
-Yeah. You know, whole system.
I have a lot
of storage organization.
My shirts up here,
my pants down here.
And I have a bunch of supplies
on this side, so.
-And key to every good
marriage --
don't share closets.
I don't know how people
make that work.
-That's another question.
-It's not happening.
-Yeah.
-Alright, let's see
the kids' room.
-Okay.
-So it's just been
way more functional.
-That's great.
-Yeah.
-It's still the same footprint,
but having, like,
the full size cabinets must
have really made an impact
on how you store things, right?
-Yeah.
You know, we can just have
more plates than four.
I just love
how much countertop we have now.
-I love the cottage core,
grandma core hardware
that you have.
And I think the beautiful
backsplash
really adds
another element here.
-I was worried when I saw it
that it was too gray,
but then it matched
the floor perfectly.
-Another upgrade.
-Yeah.
-And the full extension drawers
now, right.
-That is amazing.
I didn't even know --
-Compared to before.
These drawers are
Being older,
they're not full extension.
If you put them on the counter
there, you're going to only see,
really, you have all this extra
space at the back.
And they close nice and soft.
-Closes so slow.
They don't slam their fingers,
too.
-Right.
That's a big improvement.
-Thank you so much for
all your input and your help.
It's really been,
like, an efficient,
functional, beautiful kitchen.
-That's what you want, right?
-We get a lot of compliments,
too.
-Oh, good. Excellent.
-See, this is the kids' room.
Remember last time
we were in here,
it was empty
and we were painting it.
This is a great tip.
I've never done this before.
-Somebody finished it.
It looks great.
-Yeah, they love it.
-This rug -- adorbs.
-Super comfortable
and absorbs a lot of the jumping
around and stuff, so
But the kids love it.
It's super bright in here.
They like to play in here.
And we worked on the receptacles
in here.
-Tamper resistant so the kids
can't put anything inside them.
-Exactly.
-I love it.
-So this is the bathroom?
-Looks good.
-Kordian did a great job
helping us out with this vanity.
-Those drawers have to be
a lifesaver.
-Yeah, exactly.
A lot of storage,
a lot of counter space.
Love the marble.
A great upgrade,
and, you know, of course,
you helped me with the caulking.
-That was probably the
most fun of the whole project.
Is this a fun project?
[ Laughs ]
I felt you doubted it at first.
And look at it now.
-Super valuable lesson, too.
You know, we still have
some work to do here,
patch some things up,
but we love it.
-Never ending projects.
-Yeah.
-I love it.
I'm so happy for you guys.
This is great.
-Thanks a lot, Zack.
We appreciate it.
-Well,
-Well, I
-Well, I gotta
-Well, I gotta say,
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really proud
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really proud of
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really proud of you
-Well, I gotta say,
I'm really proud of you guys.
You've left this sort of
indelible mark on us.
-Yes.
-Like, in terms of your --
your, uh, like, heartiness.
-Yeah.
-No part of this process
to me was really easy
or what you expected.
-Yeah.
And you did it with Grace.
-Yeah.
And just, like, such good --
such a good partnership
the two of you have, like,
the love you have for each other
is, it hasn't wavered.
I have so much confidence in you
as a family.
And I'm glad we got to be,
like,
a tiny little part of that
along the way.
So much fun.
But you made -- you made this
fun for us, that's for sure.
-Thank you so much.
Thanks for inviting us
into your home.
-Thank you guys.
We were -- We were super blessed
by the whole experience,
because it's one thing
to buy a home,
it's another thing
to do it on TV.
-That's a big one, too.
-It's another thing
to do it with two babies.
-Yeah.
-We couldn't have done it
without you, really.
And that's true.
-We were so happy
to do this job and that's --
and that's how we feel.
-Yeah.
It's the people.
That's what it's all about.
-So
Alright, let's get out of here
before nap time ends
for you guys.
-Alright. Thank you.
-Just looking for a home,
you think it's going to be
exciting,
but really, it turns out to be
crowded open houses
for homes that you don't really
have an interest in.
-Doing this while we had
a newborn baby
and a one-year-old
[ Baby crying in distance ]
-No.
-Is that here or next door?
-No, that's here.
-That's Sadie.
Look, she's so happy.
-So, here, let me clean
her boogers.
-[ Sadie laughs ]
-[ Laughs ] Sadie.
-Jorge, when we went to see
this place, he didn't like it.
And I had to do a lot
of convincing.
-You sort of start out thinking,
like, this is what's for us.
This is what we need.
I'm not settling for less.
And then you realize, like,
you can't afford what you want.
[ Both laugh ]
You sort of have to make
the decision between,
are you going to compromise
to accomplish the overall goal
for your family?
Or are you gonna sort of hold
strong and just say,
now's not the time,
or we're not doing this?
So yeah, I think it was -- it
was a process for me especially.
I think Crystal
was more open-minded.
So she was able to sort of cut
through and say like, you know,
in order for us to get
the things that we need,
we do have to look further out.
We do have to consider places
that maybe 2 or 3 months ago
we wouldn't have considered.
But now learning
what we have learned,
we sort of have to just
open up our minds a little bit.
I guess what I would want to say
is be more realistic,
but I wouldn't listen
to that advice.
That's the problem.
It's like the advice
I would give myself
is to be more realistic and to,
you know,
sort of lower, you know,
your -- be more open-minded.
But I don't feel like --
Because I feel like
that's what she
was telling me at that point
and I wasn't listening.
So doing it
while being filmed and --
and sort of having to put it
on the back burner,
the fact that the whole world is
going to see and all that stuff,
so it's very challenging.
You know, would I advise anyone
not to do it?
No. You know, I think it's --
it's an adventure, it's a risk.
One of the reasons
why we did it
was so that
we can look back on it one day,
especially for our kids.
You know, at least some
people will see this
and it will encourage them,
inspire them, teach them.
And for those reasons,
we think it's worth it.
♪
♪
♪
♪
-Say, "Bye," Mateo. Bye.
-Bye. Sadie, say, "Bye."
-[ Sadie babbles ]
-Awe, Sadie.
-Color temperature
is measured in Kelvin.
And here are the five
most common color temperatures.
2,700 K.
And that's going to be great for
your bedrooms and living spaces.
Second is 3,000.
This is going to be great for
your kitchens and dining areas.
Next, 3,500 K.
Great for your home office
and hallways.
4,000. Bright and crisp.
Perfect for your bathrooms,
laundry areas, and garages.
Lastly, 5,000 K.
Great for workspaces, basements,
wherever you want
maximum brightness.
♪
-Let's talk about paying
your contractor.
Typically, when you get
a contract that's rather large,
like this porch behind me,
for example,
you're going to have
a payment schedule,
and that's going to say perhaps
10% when we order materials,
10% when we show up,
10% when framing is done.
And the payments are tied
to milestones.
Now, as a consumer,
you always want to make sure
that there's money
held back at the end
before the scope of work
is substantially complete,
so if there's anything missing
that you're unsatisfied with,
you have some money
to hold on to
to make sure
the contractor comes
and finishes the work.
♪
So we're on our way now
to Nick and Hannah's.
I'm excited to see what
it looks like coming together.
-I think Nick is probably
getting his new office set up.
-They may not need it
right away,
but at least
if a baby shows up tomorrow,
they have that all ready to go.
-Yeah, and the patio, too.
-Yeah, the patio turned out
really good.
I'm excited to see
what that looks like
with some of their belongings
out there.
-I know,
I hope they get a couple
of little firepit evenings.
-I mean, the important thing
is it's safe.
What they had was
pretty dangerous, honestly.
-Yes.
-And, um, it's nice to just get
those projects out of the way
before there's a baby
in the picture.
I mean, they need to make
the main thing,
the main thing.
-No one wants that construction
around nap times.
Oh, nap time is sacred.
-Nap time is sacred. [ Laughs ]
-Nap time is sacred.
Don't interrupt it.
-The big things are in.
They've got plumbing,
washer and dryer installed,
and they can move
into the space.
-Alright, here we are.
I can't wait to see it.
Let's go.
-Hello.
-Hello. How's it going?
-Good. Welcome back.
How are you?
-Yeah.
Look at that garage door.
I haven't seen it yet.
-Yeah.
Wait till you hear it.
You really can't hear it.
Which is the best part.
-What a what a big improvement.
-Yeah.
-I really want to see
the backyard.
-Sure. I can take
you back there. Yeah.
Let's head this way.
-Alright.
-Let's check out
that washing machine.
-Alright, let's go
take a look.
So originally we wanted to do
the whole lower level --
garage
and the entire basement.
And we did get a lot of that.
We got -- Basically
the garage is done.
See how quiet it is?
-It is super quiet.
-You can barely hear it
upstairs.
-That's so much better.
It looks like there's pretty
good head clearance, right?
-I think there's even better
clearance
than what we had before
because of a modification
they did to the header.
-And the big thing is safety,
really.
Before, you had some holes
in the ceiling.
There was this non-compliant
door over here.
Now you have a 90-minute
fire rated door,
a one-hour fire rated ceiling.
That's gotta be some peace
of mind.
-It's great.
And even the insulation
is fire resistant.
I mean, I really love
the drywall detail.
Abraham did a sweet job
to get drywall nice
and flush up against the sill
on the front.
And these floors.
I mean, before we had, like,
two different types of concrete,
old and new, and it was uneven.
We had a little puddle
that would sometimes swarm
in the corner,
and now it's, like,
perfectly sealed
and got this great
epoxy flake coating.
-Yeah. That's great. And you
did it inside, too, right?
-Yeah. It goes all the way
into the basement.
-And look at that. No step.
Remember we had that step
you had to go over?
-Yeah. I mean, you saved us
a lot of tripping there.
-Wow. Look at this.
I love these garden beds.
-Yeah. It's gonna be great
for gardening come springtime.
Try to do some fruits
and vegetables
and get a little farm
to table going on.
We had a garden
that we had built
and we rolled up the grass
like carpet.
But now we have
a raised garden bed
that looks a lot more beautiful,
a lot more functional.
-Access back here
is really tough.
I know that with the fence there
and everything,
I had to kind of carry
everything by hand.
But what a transformation.
-Yeah, and I know
Nick was very touched
that y'all did that
so that his yard
didn't end up too torn apart.
-I know, that's so much
to rehab.
-Ton of hard work on that.
Yeah, yeah.
-Much easier, too, to water
when it's over there.
-Yeah. Hopefully I'll do
a better job gardening.
I have less excuse now
than what I've done in the past.
-Wow.
-And look at this.
I mean, the old ceiling has been
totally cleaned and painted.
The walls have been sealed,
and they now look uniform.
This floor still has
a concrete feel to it,
but it's just way more resilient
and uniform.
-I mean, it's surprising
what paint does, right?
We've got technically
a coating on the floor,
coating on the wall,
coating on the ceiling.
And even though there's
still infrastructure up here,
really kind of disappears
to some degree, right?
-Yeah. This is a much better
basement space.
-And you got rid of some
of the mess of pipes
that were there, too.
That looks good.
-The other side
of the basement,
which is eventually
Nick's office
and our guest bedroom,
is ready to be created.
We've got kind of the foundation
set with the floors,
and we just have to build
some walls and add some lights
and move in furniture.
-That was a change
to expectations in terms
of timing and scope.
And changes to expectations
feel hard.
So that was an adjustment
that took a while,
at least for me to accept and
embrace, and I feel good about.
So check out this furniture
that Hannah and Kathryn made.
-That looks so good there.
And it does a great job
covering up the sump pump there.
That's perfect.
-Yeah, I love the finish
that Hannah's put on
and even the poly coat.
It's gonna be nice and durable.
She even used a soldering iron
to leave me a little message.
-She's got those nice
finishing touches.
-She does.
-It's all stained and finished.
-I'm really pleased with it.
-And this little screen
you put here
does a nice job of masking
the electrical utilities
until you get this wall built.
-Yeah, yeah, it's a nice touch.
♪
-So the patio space
was in rough shape.
There was remnants
of an old deck,
and also the concrete pad was
cracked and kind of crumbling,
and so were the stairs.
So it was kind of
a safety issue,
but also it was just
kind of ugly to look at.
We basically have been
able to remedy all of that
and then really upgrade
even the appearance,
not just the function
of the patio.
-It's gorgeous. And the stairs
now. Loving this new railing.
Really going to keep
little ones safe.
And big ones, too.
-Big ones, too.
-[ Both laugh ]
-Yes.
-Yeah. I like the new direction,
too.
-That was Nick's idea.
Yeah, yeah.
And it was really just
for accessibility
of bigger things like appliances
if we're ever needing to swap
something out.
But it looks good, too.
So I'm really excited as we,
you know,
have some warm weather again
to just enjoy lounging out there
and entertaining out there.
Before we just had
the little dining table
and so I would eat out there,
but now we have a couch.
It just feels like more
of a sense of space
with the shade sail
and the lights.
And so it just looks
ready for a party,
which I'm excited to have.
-Maybe get
a little fire going.
-Yeah,
we can roast marshmallows.
Yeah, we've got the space
to eat,
to entertain, to lounge,
which is great.
Um, wanna take a seat?
-Yeah. Sounds great.
-So, yeah, you were saying
there was some water pooling
around here?
I think what's causing
it is actually,
we forgot to remove
this sock from the end.
This works in a slop sink,
but it doesn't work
with a direct drain like this,
so that'll just go
straight in like that
and you won't have a problem.
-Good to know.
-This is a big difference.
Remember, we had that puddle
of water here
the first day we were here?
-It's not sewage, right?
-Oh, yeah.
-Oh, my goodness.
I'll never forget that day.
-[ Laughs ]
It's a whole different space
now.
-Even before that,
this place was pretty dirty
and really empty.
-I used to refer to our basement
as the haunted house.
There were cobwebs everywhere.
I would go down, I would start
a load, I would leave.
It was not a space
to be stayed in.
Now it's probably one of
the nicest areas of our house.
-Now it does feel
just totally clean and finished,
and it makes sense to be doing
cleaning in a space like this.
-It looks good.
And you got a bathroom.
I mean, that changes the metrics
of the whole house.
-Two bathrooms is definitely
twice as much as one,
and it feels like so much more
than that
to have an extra bathroom.
-And a walk in shower now.
That's great.
-The bathroom, it's a whole room
that wasn't there.
Every time I walk
into that space,
I feel like I'm not
in my own house,
but in a good way.
It's just so different.
-There's a lot of issues
you can run into
when trying to plumb
in the basement.
We didn't encounter
nearly as many as we could have.
This is probably bigger
and nicer than the one upstairs.
-Yeah, Mike really crushed
the details on this one.
It looks good.
-I love the craftsmanship.
-What's up, ladies?
-Oh, look who's joining us.
-How'd it go in the basement?
-Great.
-We fixed the laundry problem.
-Excellent.
-So, what do you guys think
of this process
now that we're wrapping up?
-Well, I've learned a ton,
and I can't tell you enough
about how much I appreciate
learning
from skilled tradespeople
and learning from you two.
You know, learning is about
the most important thing to me,
and I got a ton of it
in this process.
-That's fantastic.
How about you, Hannah?
-I'm just trying not to cry.
[ Laughs ]
Um, [voice breaks] but I'm just
so grateful for everything you
and your teams have done for us.
Um, it was such a long shot
to get to work with you.
[ Normal voice ] Um,
and we just feel so privileged
for the opportunity
and, again, everything you've
done for us and our family.
So thank you.
-It's been wonderful.
We've really enjoyed the process
and getting to know you guys
and your family, and I can't
wait to see your family grow.
-Oh, thanks.
-Well, you got the tears
coming, Hannah,
but you mentioned Nick's
a bit of a Tom Silva fan, right?
-Maybe the biggest.
-Maybe the biggest,
maybe bigger than me.
He made something for you.
-Oh, my goodness.
-This is from Tommy himself.
So there you go.
-Wow. Tom.
Thank you so much.
It works pretty good
right out here.
-There you go.
That is so special
and so thoughtful.
Thank you so much.
[ Sighs deeply ]
I think processes like this,
um, you do learn a lot.
Not just about the work
that's happening,
but about yourself
while you're doing it
or about your partnership.
Yes!
Homeownership is a process.
I feel like I'm living
a nightmare.
I had thought when we moved in,
like, we'll be done in a month.
Um, and then I thought
maybe a few months.
-Wastewater.
-That makes it sound
a little better.
-Yeah.
-I think just realizing
that it's not maybe
ever going to be done,
because when you do one thing,
you have, like, a new
worst top thing to address.
Knowing that, I think, helps,
and then trying to enjoy it
as much as you can
in the meantime.
-Did get to help
or at least learn
from some of the skilled trades.
-I did a lot of cleaning.
We both did a lot
of deliberating
and making decisions.
We've gotten to meet
so many truly great people
throughout this process.
I obviously got to build
that furniture with Kathryn.
I just am still so thrilled
about how she took, like,
my simple,
silly idea and just made it so
much more than I ever imagined.
-I really enjoyed working with
Sean and his creative ideas
-We don't need to know
the Pythagorean theorem here.
-and Kathryn
and Jose just killing it,
helping me move
all those pavers.
A huge kudos to the patio crew.
-I would say expect
the unexpected.
Overprepare for your budget,
because things tend to cost
more than you want.
Overprepare for time
because things can take longer,
and just even your own time.
I love watching
home improvement shows,
but I've always been confused
when the homeowners are stressed
about doing renovations
because I think,
well, they're not doing it.
They have probably
more than average help.
And so did we.
And it was still a lot.
And I've been hesitant
to talk about that stress
because I don't want to seem
ungrateful.
We are so grateful.
But it is still a lot.
-Zack and Camille
have been very enjoyable.
I find that they can bring
humor and honesty
to some difficult situations,
which is kind of crucial.
-And they're just good people.
They, um, they have real
integrity, which is so valuable.
Also humility, which makes
them really easy to work with.
And I have to say,
I'm so grateful to everyone.
I'm going to get
emotional talking about it,
but I'm so grateful to everyone
[voice breaks] throughout this
whole process
and everything
they've done for us.
Um, but I'm most grateful
for Nick
because he is so knowledgeable.
[ Normal voice ]
He's always learning more.
He's so capable and so willing.
Um, and so everything you've
done for us is just so much.
I'm just so thankful.
So thank you. [ Chuckles ]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
-You got it there, sonny boy?