# Favorite Home Improvement Show



## majakdragon (Sep 16, 2006)

I occasionally watch some of these shows. I get a kick out of watching "so called" professionals use channel-locks backwards when tightening plumbing fittings. The problem with all of these shows is that the viewers do not pay attention to the Disclaimers. These shows do not illustrate the whole process of a job, just the high lights.


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## houseinthewoods (Jan 17, 2010)

I never miss Holmes on Homes. He shows you what you can do with an unlimited budget. He's got a charitable foundation, home inspection company, builds houses, and his own line of work clothing. They're starting a new season on Sunday.

Ask This Old House has an occasional good segment. Just yesterday they showed a complete shower install using the Schluter Kerdi system. 

While I think the host is a doofus, the DIY show "10 Grand in your Hand" does a good job helping you to decide what to leave to the pros and what you can reasonably do by yourself.

While it's not very instructional, we enjoy House Crashers on DIY. It's fun and entertaining if not entirely practical.

The wonderful thing about having a DVR is that you can record all this stuff, preview what they are doing in a particular episode, and delete it if you're not interested.


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## vsheetz (Sep 28, 2008)

My wife and I watch HGTV often. We get lots of ideas and information from the various shows. We know well that they do not show all the details and steps, and may not always do it the way others may. This does not detract substantially from the entertainment value and actual DIY value.

That said, the most authoritive source of information I have found anywhere is this forum - from reading the questions of others and responces to questions I have posed. Many thanks to all who helped us to complete a major remodel of our home in this last year!


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## Big Bob (Jul 27, 2007)

Tool Time :laughing:

with "Tim the toolman Taylor"


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## Giles (Jan 25, 2010)

My favorite that I watch, or record every day--
Holmes on Homes
Renovation Realities
Sweat Equity


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## fetzer85 (Dec 4, 2009)

I like to watch Holmes on Homes but there's a boatload of commercials!

Ask This Old House is pretty good, depending on the material.

I like the house flipping shows too - Flip This House, Property Ladder, etc...

I don't have DIY network but I've considered getting it in the step-up package. I was flipping through the free stuff in On Demand and found some DIY shows, something about cool tools. It was ok but the host was an idiot - not sure if it's the same person you mentioned houseinthewoods.


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## burnt03 (Sep 20, 2009)

Big Bob said:


> Tool Time :laughing:
> 
> with "Tim the toolman Taylor"


lol, I was going to say the same thing. Seems like most of my projects go the same was as Tim's :no:


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## ccarlisle (Jul 2, 2008)

Holmes on Homes is all about doing it right, not how much it costs, not on a budget, not to look all frilly and nice and certainly not to please the aspirations of Generation Xers who are still living in the reals estate bubble. 

Just doing more than minimum code. Look what he did in California and in New Orleans. 

Too bad more US programs don't take this approach and stop shoddy workmanship where it starts...:yes:


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## mleriger (Mar 1, 2010)

I'm partial to DIY Disaster but my all time favorite was the Adam Carolla project.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Sorry but the best has to be "Sell This House" on A&E. I've mentioned that Tanya painting in heels and designer clothes and Roger staging houses with Behr primer and paint in one painted over wallpaper is just so in there for me. And why remove coverplates before painting? It is just extra work and the little screws fall out of your fingers. Cannot believe a pro painting firm would be proud of such things but hey, if it works and they stay busy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6baQIGP4u6A

Slap on paint, re-arrange the furniture and unload the sucker on the next owners. The American Way in a half hour show. The only show worse when it comes to lack of quality is Design on a Dime and they don't even try to disguise things that look crappy. 

Candace, Divine Design, does some nice work. Debbie Travis used to be the best interior designer on television and her projects always looked liveable. 

I am old enough to remember the early days of This Old House when they took on humble abodes and reasonable projects a person could more easily identify with. Some of the projects these days are hardly the run of the mill restoration projects though. Ask This Old House is a pretty good show save for the silliness that could be skipped.

I like Extreme Makeover because they usually tear everything down or blow it up and put up something new in a week. My clients who watch it ask me why it takes so long for their projects to be finished if Ty can get plans drawn from scratch on Monday, approved, all the materials ordered and a whole house built in five days with inspections, new furniture, landscaping and everything with not a miscut board or misordered piece of anything in an entire 5-7,500 new construction house! I of course have no reasonable answer but that I am slow, fat and lazy I guess.


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## Ivy (Oct 25, 2009)

Kitchen Impossible and Sweat Equity are my favorites on the DIY channel.


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## tpolk (Nov 7, 2009)

I have my own reality show here its called :this dam house"


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## CoconutPete (Jan 22, 2010)

I've recently re-discovered Holmes on Homes - I LOVE that show. I just get a huge kick out of Mike tearing s$!T down while mumbling under his breath "oh god, look at this.... buncha idiots slapeed this together in an afternoon ... what is wrong with people".


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## cellophane (Sep 29, 2009)

majakdragon said:


> I occasionally watch some of these shows. I get a kick out of watching "so called" professionals use channel-locks backwards when tightening plumbing fittings. The problem with all of these shows is that the viewers do not pay attention to the Disclaimers. These shows do not illustrate the whole process of a job, just the high lights.


they are a mildly entertaining way to get ideas for designs and techniques - especially if you are just starting out. most of the shows now tend to go overboard with what they are doing. i caught a few minutes of one today before work where a woman bought a house and was expanding it from a "cozy 2000 SF" to a more "family friendly 5000 SF" (their [paraphrased] terms) and had a budget of almost $1,000,000.


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## RDS (Feb 29, 2008)

Renovation Realities is an absolute riot. These people get no help from TV 'experts' -- they just do it themselves and let a camera follow them around as they (frequently) screw things up. The dry, mocking captions which the show adds are hilarious. Plus it's marriage therapy -- seeing how badly some of these couples work together on projects, and how ill-informed some of them are, my wife and I realize we're not doing so badly.


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## Bill7 (Dec 18, 2009)

Tool Time :laughing:

with "Tim the toolman Taylor"


No bout a doubt it!!!


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Yeah...I think Tool Time is the best ar arr arrrrrrrrrrrr

For "Reality" I like Holmes on Homes


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## toeey1 (Feb 10, 2010)

fetzer85 said:


> I like to watch Holmes on Homes but there's a boatload of commercials!
> 
> Ask This Old House is pretty good, depending on the material.
> 
> ...


I love the show cool tools but not because of the host. The tools are awesome but the host is an idiot. He is extremely annoying


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## toeey1 (Feb 10, 2010)

sdsester said:


> .
> 
> I like Extreme Makeover because they usually tear everything down or blow it up and put up something new in a week. My clients who watch it ask me why it takes so long for their projects to be finished *if Ty can get plans drawn from scratch on Monday, approved, all the materials ordered and a whole house built in five days with inspections, new furniture, landscaping and everything with not a miscut board or misordered piece of anything in an entire 5-7,500 new construction house!* I of course have no reasonable answer but that I am slow, fat and lazy I guess.


That stuff would have to be done weeks or months in advance. I wonder how long before most of the stuff breaks in those extreme makeover houses. Ya cant build a house in 7 days and expect a house to be problem free.


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## william duffer (Feb 10, 2010)

I like Dirty Jobs because that is what my house is. Mike can come here and work on it.:icon_cheesygrin::nuke:. But really I am going with Holmes on Homes, great show.


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## 747 (Feb 11, 2005)

hgtv the guy who turns a basement into rental income.


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## ClumsyCarpenter (Mar 10, 2010)

How nice it would be to have that unlimited Holmes on Homes budget to make sure everything was done correctly.

I really wanted to like Yard Crashers since it was in the same vein as House Crashers, but I swear his solution to everything is to either gravel the backyard or put down a concrete patio.


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## Giles (Jan 25, 2010)

I don't want to "hyjack" this thread but I have always wondered what compensation the homeowner receives for having his project videoed?
Like with "Holmes on Homes" thousands of dollars are involved in a repair and I wonder just how much these repair jobs cost the owner.
Surely it not free!!


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Holmes on Homes is my favorite. I like the way he points out what's wrong and why it's wrong. Then he shows how to fix it the right way, using the best products and practices available (when the show is being taped).

As far as who pays for the work being done on the houses, it's different with each home owner. He has each family pay what they can and a lot of the time he picked up the tab on the rest. On the Christmas episode, a lot of the contractors worked for free. 

He's not making that show anymore. He's doing a new series about home inspections. I hope HGTV shows that in the U.S. pretty soon. It's been on TV in Canada for a while now.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Giles said:


> I don't want to "hyjack" this thread but I have always wondered what compensation the homeowner receives for having his project videoed?
> Like with "Holmes on Homes" thousands of dollars are involved in a repair and I wonder just how much these repair jobs cost the owner.
> Surely it not free!!


Yeah. And how much companies pay to have their products featured ever so subtle-like with the label of even crappy stuff showing in every shot. Behr paint comes to mind. Bet it is substantial but still cheaper than advertising.


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## RDD_1210 (Mar 11, 2010)

747 said:


> hgtv the guy who turns a basement into rental income.



I have to agree. I find myself really enjoying this show. Doesn't show as much of the hands on stuff but I love the premise of the show.


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## jpelzer (Feb 21, 2009)

Holmes on Homes, hands down the best, Renovation Realities a close second. 

I always watch This Old House, but I can't stand when they spend time on the color choices, etc. Do they really need to (poorly) stage a 15 minute scene with the homeowner choosing which size of white subway tile she wants for the backsplash? Or talk about drapes? Or paint color? 

I bought Mike's book, it's pretty good.


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

> I bought Mike's book, it's pretty good.


Me too. I haven't bought the second one yet, or his magazine. Hopefully soon though.


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## Itsdanf (Jan 29, 2009)

Renovation Realities is fun to watch. I couldn't believe the one show, where the idiot decided to use a recip saw to cut a gas line, when he didn't know whether the gas was shut off. I can't imagine WHY the camera man stayed in the same room for that shot!  :no:

Too many of the shows these days focus on entertainment instead of education. A novice could watch Sweat Equity all day, and not really learn enough to do the projects on their own. 

I miss the old This Old House, Hometime, etc. (Also, while not necessarily home improvement, I miss New Yankee Workshop now that Norm's retired).....


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## houseinthewoods (Jan 17, 2010)

toeey1 said:


> I wonder how long before most of the stuff breaks in those extreme makeover houses.


I believe that there is an ongoing lawsuit over a Makeover project that was never finished here in Kansas City. What was done was done poorly, and there were significant portions of the project that were just abandoned when the filming was done.

I can't find anything on Google to support this. Perhaps it didn't reach the lawsuit stage, but there was a lot of discussion locally at the time about the crews walking away when the cameras left...


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## evapman (Mar 25, 2007)

Without a doubt IMHO Norm, Tommy, Rich are the men!! This old house and Ask this old house.:thumbup:

Holms on homes after them, the only trouble I have with holms on homes is the unlimited budgets, not realistic at all, but they do good work for sure. most of the others are just hacks.


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## TReally (Jul 7, 2009)

Its Holmes on Homes for me :thumbsup:

He's the main reason I stopped using drywall screws all the time :wink:


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## toeey1 (Feb 10, 2010)

TReally said:


> Its Holmes on Homes for me :thumbsup:
> 
> He's the main reason I stopped using drywall screws all the time :wink:


Ive never seen his show but it seems to be popular on here. 

SO what were you using drywall screws for? Besides drywall that is


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

I think the problem I have with all the shows is you don't really get an honest idea of budgets and expenditures against them. The house flippers are not cutting even 1099s for most people working on the projects (loved the Carolina's guys that were using uninsured teen or college worker help, for example and counseling them to stay out of the business in the process!?). Things like Sell This House are not being honest about what it costs to paint things even with the crappy Behr paint they use and I bet you Roger is getting a deep discount from Pier 1 on candles and from FTD on flowers most cannot get? Even Holmes on Homes and the old standby, This Old House do not disclose the real costs of things and as you would have to go out and buy them without show sponsorship. This Old House, way back in the old days, used to come clean and admit they sailed over the top on what they thought things would cost. Very misleading and it gives the DIYer false impressions IMO.

I can get my clients some reasonably nice deals but no free windows, cabinets and appliances in return for showing off product labels and work on their places. The designers and architects I work with have their connections too but come on people. It all costs money and wouldn't you really appreciate a show that told you honestly, how much?

Oh well, Sell this House is on this morning and I am just working on bids with it on in the corner of my eye. Tanya is beyond cute and might even be considered hot by some and if you have to watch someone paint? I wonder what the former Miss Canada (or was she just a contestant hoping for World Peace?) would look like in real painter's whites and actually holding a real long handled angled sash brush made out of something other than plastic? 

And let's see, what to use. A coat of primer over needed patches or a coat of primer and paint in one. 15x20 semi-glossed dining room to start, wallpapered ceiling (just paint over it and as shown in the video, the coverplates too) with new table cloths, a bowl of fresh fruit, tons of fresh flowers, Pier 1 candles by the thousands (hoping the fire insurance is intact), and paint (Behr of course) with labor? $289 was the number, inclusive, I was going to plug into my bid! Amazing! That is what the dining room the show was working on ended up costing too! Toss some cookies on the counter and campfire memories incense into the gas burning logs. House will be sold in seconds. 

Oops. I forgot. I don't flip homes. I restore them for people who want to keep, love and live them them for a bit. I may have to up my bid to $389.


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## kimberly13 (Mar 13, 2010)

I love these shows! "Women's ****" I've heard them called, how true! My favorite is Sweat Equity -- so many ideas and techniques. Show me a project, teach me the language (tools, techniques, materials), a quick run-through of the phases involved, and then let me run to the web and craftsmen in the community to figure out how to weave it into the remodel. They've taught me how to ask much better questions. 

On Yard Crashers the other day, they were building a water feature, and casually mentioned a 'sheer descent.' OMG. I've been looking online for months for this plumbing feature to incorporate it into a shower stall, _but I didn't know the search term._ I found bathtub faucets: wrong angle, too expensive, but could not find the garden feature. Sheesh! 'Sheer descent,' wouldn't have guessed that in a million years. But armed with the right search term, suddenly I'm finding dozens of options to create my waterfall shower. Did I mention I love these shows?


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## whataboutj (Nov 16, 2009)

I watch almost all the shows on DIY channel and like them all. They all have their place but I may a bit different in that I don't take any of them for 100% the truth. I only watch them for ideas or to see how a technique looks if I haven't done it before (laying floor, leveling ground, etc).

I like kitchen impossible a lot because I have been planning a full kitchen remodel and seeing the different kitchens and features has been very helpful. Bart (I think that's his name) is definitely getting paid something because he constantly refers to "Earning his paper".

Sweat equity and 10 grand in your hand are good too.

Ask this old house is definitely the most realistic of them all but the hosts are definitely dry/boring compared to the other shows. They are definitely workmen first and hosts second which is why the show is good.

I will have to check out Holmes on homes - the new season starts this Sunday


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## TReally (Jul 7, 2009)

toeey1 said:


> SO what were you using drywall screws for? Besides drywall that is


Since I had a surplus of them after gutting and drywalling my living room a few years back, I would find my self grabbing them for almost any project around the house that needed a fastener (except outside). Unfortunately its too late now, but I used them when framing in plumbing soffit and building shelves in my pantry and my fireplace mantle. Now I have a boxes of exterior grade deck screws I grab instead, unless its REAL light duty.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

_Knock off the negative comments about other posters_
_Moderator_


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## Kevin M. (Nov 26, 2009)

New Yankee Work Shop. I think Norm motivated quite a few folks to go buy some tools and build some things. My wife is all broken hearted because Norm is retiring.  Must be that flannel shirt and calm demeanor. :thumbsup:

It seems like I am seeing Holmes on Homes everywhere. I wish he would quit staring at me, he is making me nervous.


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## 4just1don (Jun 13, 2008)

If any of you didnt know,,,the 'Extreme makeover' house builds in seven days actually are more like 14. A local guy worked on one and said they are are all false. Also said they work on several at a time and while the filming crew is in town that day,,lots of goof off stuff,,,rest of time all biz.

Holmes on homes is good,but he gets full of himself too. I always wondered who was bank rolling those reno's.

Those Big amazing reno's are pure goofy with people expanding a 1200 house to a 5-6000 foot one,,,what would that look like in a neighborhood of 1200's

And those flip shows are the worst for facts. Goggle the bashing on Armando Montalongo once,,,there is about 3 hours of reading about the whole false pretense that show is.

My fav is 'hometime' with that hot babe Marriam Johnson or how ever thats spelled. I NEED a housemate like her!! OR that gal from 'Property Ladder'. Both of them sound like they know there stuff besides.

Any time I see the flip shows tiling a shower over drywall I want to puke!! I like to 'do it right',,wish I had a bottomless pit of money to do it .


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Yeah, most of them I just view for the entertainment value
There are a few that are pretty much on track for DIY
But a lot of them are just entertainment
They might show ideas, possible design & color schemes
There was one where they did a custom wrought iron gate for a basement bar
I'd say that could cost a couple grand or more just for that
But if you had some wrought iron gates that you found someone getting rid of....

Some of the stuff you just know they do is more then what normally would be done
One electric panel looked a mess, so they took everything out & rewired
New panel & the works, surge protector beside it
Most people would keep the panel - it was newer...and put the other $$ towards the surge


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## HitLines (Aug 31, 2009)

I have all of seasons 1-5 of Holmes on Homes. Great show but the lack of any budget is kind of disingenuous to anyone wanting to tackle a similar situation. He starts with a basement remodel fix and ends up pulling down the entire roof. It's interesting to watch but I would like a stricter budget instead of being in "savior mode" to the homeowners. Also a break-down of how much money was spend in general. He usually has a crew of 4-8 people over a month. Labor and material should be added up at the end of each show.

Have you see the season 6, episode 5 "_Gone to Pot_?" It was amazing the level of damage done to that house.


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