Extreme Makeover Home Edition continues to amaze me.

Once again, Extreme Makeover Home Edition doesn't disappoint and never ceases to amaze me. The current build starts with the family being invited to attend a New York Mets game. Ty comes out to the mound to throw out the first pitch, bullhorn in hand, and yells, "Good morning Lutz family!"

They continue to find amazing families with heart-wrenching stories: Kathleen Lutz has an inoperable brain tumor and is the adoptive mother of 6 children with Down Syndrome.

I can only wait to see this episode air.

A win-win at Yankee Stadium: Lutz family's Long Island home to get 'Extreme Makeover'

Degnan at Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Part 2

Doing the trim package at Extreme Makeover Home Edition was, without a doubt, the most challenging part of the project. Our shift was from 3 AM to 3 PM on Day 5 of the project, a Tuesday. We were recruited by my friend and frequent Green Built Home Makeover volunteer, Mike Twohig, whose company trims for Veridian Homes in addition to other custom builders for whom he works. Even though he has a substantial employee base—over a dozen people, he figured we needed 20 trimmers to get the job done.

Nighttime work at the site:

Now, 20 people in a 2500 sq ft house may not seem ALL that bad. But, on top of this there were about 10 cabinet installers and another 10 people whom we didn't know what they were doing! So, in fact, there were closer to 40 people in the house, and it was a crowd.

We planned to arrive to the site around 2 AM so that we could begin unloading equipment and start as soon as possible. It was a very hot July, and even in the middle of the night it already seemed warm. As the day continued we were certainly sweating buckets! It didn't help that the super-mix of concrete for the foundation was still curing in the walls and under the floor. So even through the insulation, heat was radiating into the finished basement. Walking into the unfinished basement with no insulation protection was nearly unbearable. I would guess it to be 120 degrees from the heat of the curing concrete in that area, while it was in the 90's during the day inside the house.

We divided into teams and each had our own area of production—window jambs, casing, doors, baseboard, etc. Challenges arose, whether it was locksets that had the wrong setback or window extension jambs that were too narrow. To be honest, I cannot now even tell you how we solved many of the challenges. What's the most important thing is that the work was completed— and it was very well done! The bumps in the road were many, but the finished product would not reveal that story. It was very good!

The evening before, Monday night, Anthony and I were called upon to help with some of the quality control. Monday afternoon, we had been working happily in the Production Tent, helping craft the special projects for the Design Team. Around 6 PM, David Simon of Veridian approached me and asked us to make repairs to the main stairway. There was miscommunication and the stairs, which were to have a finished layer of hardwood floor on them, were instead framed for a standard carpet installation. Left alone, they would not have met building code which measures from the rough dimension of carpeted stairs, but from the finished dimension of wood-surfaced stairs and floors.

The bed that Anthony helped to build:

While we wished to get some rest before our early wake-up call, Anthony and I headed in for the stairway repair. Another carpenter overheard and offered to make the repair to the basement stairway. Anthony and I went at the main level stairs, taking off the 1-1/2" thick treads and replacing them with 3/4" thick ones. When finished with another layer of 3/4" hardwood, these stairs would now comply with code.

While we were working, I heard David behind me talking to the camera. We had been given strict instructions not to intentionally look into a camera if they were near us when we are working - if we are on film, they want us working rather than hamming it up! David approached me and said something like, "We had a little problem with the stairway, but Abe is here to repair it. You can see he's putting on lots of adhesive to make sure there are no squeaks when the house is done, right Abe?" "No squeaks, David!" I replied. Unsure of the filming status, my back was to the camera the whole time. As it turns out, I did make it on film -- just not on the show. Anthony and I can be seen in Veridian's behind-the-scenes DVD that they privately produced.

The site is a production studio as much as it is a construciton site. Here they are filming Paige Hemmis. I was in the background working on Paul DiMeo's project but did not make the cut.

We thought we were done and packed up our tools and started to carry them out to load up. Soon, a project manager ran out after us and cried, "We need you to tear the basement stairs apart again! The other guys didn't fasten them correctly!" Much to our dismay, at that point (less than 6 hours until we had to be back on site), we found out that while the other carpenters replaced the treads, they did not properly fasten the treads and risers, leaving the thinner 3/4" material to flex. Luckily the adhesive was not yet dried, so our second demolition went much faster. Anthony drove in concealed screws to securely fasten the risers to treads, and within an hour the stairs were finally done correctly!

People have asked me about quality control on these homes. It is my experience that this home had excellent quality control, consistent with Veridian's standards. In fact, every one of Veridian's foremen/supervisors were on the job—someone was there 24 hours per day in charge of quality control, and that is how the stairway error was discovered, checked, fixed twice, and re-verified. The home was tested by Wisconsin ENERGY STAR™ Homes and a private, independent building inspection team was on site 24 hours per day to handle any inspection issues so work could continue. While errors certainly did happen, I choose to focus on the way that they were fixed. In any home, the final product is what counts. Errors can be fixed when they are caught, and the team was there to make sure it happened!

Volunteers Nick Hoehl and Jon Benninger is the basement "outdoor room" of the house - Paul DiMeo's special project. Abe helped fabricate the brackets from which the equipment is hung.

So we finally packed up our equipment after fixing the stairs, grabbed a late dinner around 9:00 PM, and then headed to a nearby vacation cottage belonging to one of Mike Twohig's employees. We wound down, got about 3 hours of sleep, and did make it back to the jobsite for our 3:00 AM starting time. And going full circle, that is how this story began.

The brackets:

Degnan at Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Part 1

I spent about 3 days working at the Extreme Makeover Home Edition project in Richland Center in July 2008. Lisa and I also spent the first day there, known as the Braveheart March or the Blue Shirt March. The construction process was thrilling but challenging. We at Degnan Design Builders were there to help Twohig Construction, doing the trim carpentry for Veridian Homes.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Lisa and I arrived early Saturday morning in Richland Center. There were hundreds of people waiting to be shuttled to the site about 7 miles outside town, tucked high on a beautiful farm hill. Our job that day was to be part of the cast, as the army of Blue Shirts arriving to help build the new home. It was demolition day!

The story of the demolition was a "Storybook Demo" because the owner, Shelly Anders, is an elementary school teacher. It was a little like "The Little Engine that Could" since there was a small excavator "learning" how to tear the house down with the help of a bigger excavator. As we were back from the center of the circle formed around the Design Team, we could hear little of the story until we actually saw the TV show several months later.

The Design Team members were all present, including Ty Pennington, Paige Hemmis, John Littlefield, Paul DiMeo and Eduardo Xol. There were lots of "takes", they shot and re-shot the march and the demo from lots of different angles, and of course Ty had to climb up on the pile of debris with his camera for some shots for the family.

Monday, July 28, 2008

On Monday morning, I got a call from Mike Twohig asking me to get out to the site sooner than we had planned. Our trim shift was supposed to be from 3am to 3 pm Tuesday July 29. Instead, Anthony Caracci and I packed up immediately and headed for Richland Center. The funny thing is, just before we arrived Gary Zaicek from Veridian also called with a similar request, but he had better news for me: He wanted Anthony and I to work in the production tents, helping build the special projects for the design team. Well, twist my arm! Work on the special projects and maybe meet a designer? We were thrilled. Little did we know, we'd do more than just meet them in passing.

By the time we arrived on site around noon, the house looked as you see it in the third photo. The framing was complete. In fact the exterior was half done! Anthony and I quickly got started in the production tent.

My assignment in the production tent was cutting tube steel to make brackets for Paul DiMeo's special project, which was an "outdoors room" for the 2 older boys who live at home. Anthony began building furniture for two different things. He was involved in building the bed for Shelly Ander's bedroom, which was Ty Pennington's special project. He also helped build the computer desk for John Littlefield's special project, the younger son's bedroom.

My assignment at that point was pretty simple: I had to cut a few dozen pieces and then grind the ends to prep them for welding. Paul DiMeo was working on the assembly of various things right in the same tent, so I got to chat with him on and off as we were working. I found out a few things about him. For one, he's a smoker! But, I asked him whether he was an actor or a craftsman first. Paul told me that he became a tradesman - a welder, I think he said - in order to pay for acting school. And, that is how it all started for him. (I found out Paige Hemmis's answer too but I'll talk about that later.)

Around 6 PM, we were thinking about dinner and winding down so we could rest for a few hours. To be back at the site and be set up by 3 am, we figured we'd have to be up and at it by 1 am again. Those plans quickly changed, as David Simon from Veridian approached me with a special assignment: to re-build the stairway!

Upcoming parts of the blog: Stay tuned for more!

1. Good quality control - the stairway example
2. The night of trimming.
3. Home - for a while.
4. Punch list - the most thrilling part, got to see it all!
5. An hour in the bedroom with Paige Hemmis. Installing furniture.
6. Homecoming
7. Who else was there to help... Bob Degnan, Andy Schneider, Nick Hoehl, AnneMarie Dresen, her brother-in-law(?), Jon Benninger... more...

Degnan Design Builders Wins Another Remodeling Award

Degnan Design Builders, Inc. announced it is the winner of A Cut Above the Rest remodeling award presented by the Wisconsin Builders Association (WBA) Remodelers Council. The award was received for the Kitchen Under $50,000 category.

The award was accepted by Abe J. Degnan, Vice President of Degnan Design Builders, Inc., at the WBA State Convention in Wisconsin Dells. “We’re proud to showcase the work of our wonderful clients, and honored to accept this award. We strive to create value for our clients, and to make the homes we remodel into the best that they can be. The award is recognition from our peers that we have achieved those goals,” said Abe J. Degnan. Degnan Design Builders, Inc. continues the winning tradition of excellence with nine awards over the last three years.

The award-winning entry can be viewed here:

"It Looks Like Something From A Magazine": Kitchen Remodeling under $50,000

Degnan Design Builders, Inc., based in DeForest for 25 years, is owned by the father and son team of Robert A. Degnan and Abe. J. Degnan. They focus on efficiency and quality as well as craftsmanship and professional customer service in remodeling and new homes. Degnan Design Builders, Inc. is an Energy Star and Green Built certified builder delivering durable homes with excellent indoor air quality. Degnan Design Builders, Inc. is committed to better serve its clients through continuing education and professional designations, including Certified Graduate Remodelor™ (CGR), Certified Graduate Builder (CGB) and Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS).