#renovation

#renovation

The Truth About House Hunting and Home Renovation TV ShowsPeople who have bought, sold, or renovated homes already know, but if you haven't, don't expect these experiences to be anything like what you see on HGTV. The first thing to remember is that the difference between reality TV and scripted shows is that reality TV uses volunteers instead of professional actors and doesn't expect them to memorize full scripts. Otherwise, these are highly produced fictional stories. An internet meme makes fun of house buying budgets: No one with any savvy believes a young couple who walk dogs or sculpt for a living can spend half a million dollars for a house. But that's just the beginning. Most of the people who are buying houses on TV already own their dream home, which might even be one of their options to buy on the show. Renovations are done for speed and looks, and probably not by the stars of the TV series. House flippers don't complete a project in one episode, nor do they make the easy money it appears they do. The exception is the show This Old House. It's been on the air since 1979, before reality TV was a thing. The projects are not quick, cheap, and easy (remember, you can only have two maximum); they are realistic. There's much more to the fiction behind home purchase and renovation shows, revealed by the people who appeared on them, which you can read about at Lifehacker.(Image credit: Tomwsulcer) #HGTV #realityTV #renovation #realestate

A Gallery of Home Improvement Failures(Image credit: power-cube)Given enough time, every homeowner will have stories of regrets and mistakes in home maintenance and improvements. Some are our own mistakes, when we try to do something we aren't all that experienced at. Others are regrets over hiring workers who didn't know what they were doing, or else didn't care. That can be unavoidable in this day and age when the most skilled tradespeople prefer new construction jobs or long term contracts, leaving you to hire not the best, but the only people willing to take on your job.

A List of Features that Might Affect the Value of Your HomeThe National Association of Home Builders keeps tabs on the features that people say they want when looking for a house to buy. Or conversely, things that will turn them off. If you are trying to sell your home, or just want to keep up with modern trends, there are probably some parts of your house that could be updated to raise its perceived value. And if you've lived with these things in your home for years, you might not even notice how dated they are. Some of these tips are fairly easy fixes, such as trimming overgrown trees and shrubs that bring down the curb appeal. Fitting a fireplace with an energy-efficient insert might be well worth the investment. Others will take some planning and money, like adding storage space and replacing countertops. On the other hand, if you are buying a home, knowing what other buyers want and don't want can give you an edge. Find a home that has dark kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpet and you might be able to put in a bid that no one will top. These are things you can fix yourself. Read about the features that might bring your home value down in this crazy real estate market at Lifehacker.(Image credit: Beyond My Ken) #homevalue #renovation #modernization #housingmarket

Family Found a Wall of 1,600 Hidden Retro Baseball Cards while Renovating Their HouseA newly-bought mid-century home in Boise, Idaho was found to have a wall with 1,600 retro baseball cards underneath its shingles. The Brodt family, who bought the house and were about three weeks into their home renovation, were shocked to see the vast amount of cards."I was surprised, shocked, confused. I wasn't sure what I was looking at until we continued to pull down the shingles,” Melissa said. The cards belonged to the previous homeowner, a man named Chris Nelson, whose room has that wall as its focal point. "We just had all these cards and my mom was like, 'well, why don't we do this?' and I was game," he said. "So we spent a weekend gluing baseball cards to the wall."

Couple Discovered a 115-Year-Old Hidden Mural during a Renovation ProjectDiscovering a hidden old mural is the last thing you are going to expect when building a bar and a gathering place.Nick and Lissa Timm started a renovation project at the end of 2021 to convert a building in Okanogan, Washington, into a pub for their community. When they removed the plaster that covered up the walls, they found a hidden 60-feet long and 20-feet tall mural painted on canvases. A lake, cabins, and trees were illustrated in the painting.The Okanogan County Historical Society responded to the Timm’s discovery by sharing a 1915 newspaper clipping which revealed that the murals painted were for the Hub Theatre at that time. "The new improvements at the Hub include 120 feet of panoramic landscape scenery in light tans,” the clipping stated.

The Risks of Letting a TV Show Renovate Your HomeMagnolia Network is a new television channel owned by Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines, of Fixer Upper fame. Magnolia was originally planned to replace the DIY Network on cable TV, but instead launched on the Discovery+ streaming service a couple of weeks ago. One of the new shows on the network is Home Work, a renovation show starring Candis and Andy Meredith.Home Work was pulled from the schedule after only a few days due to viral allegations from three of the homeowners who contracted for renovations through the show. The claims include long delays in the contracted work (which is at least partially due to the pandemic), demands for way more money than the project was supposed to cost, and shoddy workmanship. The Merediths blame the contractors. Magnolia Network did an internal investigation and found no "ill or malicious intent” on the par of the Merediths, and reinstated the show on Thursday. So what happened? Three families who contracted renovations through Home Work, the Bennions, the Hawleys, and the Goateses, tell their side of the story at Buzzfeed News. (Image credit: Pete Ryan) #renovation #realityTV #HomeWork 