Home renovation shows are among the most popular on reality TV. Over the last 10 years, dozens of these types of shows have hit the airwaves, and surprisingly, they still haven’t gotten old. There’s something oddly entertaining about watching spaces transform right in front of your eyes. Plus, if you’re into doing DIY projects for your own home, these show can be a great source of inspiration. But while the main attraction for most of these shows is the final reveal at the end, things may not always be as good as they seem. When the camera crews and experts are gone for good, these renovated homes don’t always live up to the expectations. Keep reading to learn why many home renovation shows are often followed by a trail of destruction.
The Timeline
Admit it, you’ve wondered how long these shows really spend on their projects. Making major changes to a home isn’t something that should be done quickly. Of course everyone wants projects to be completed within a reasonable amount of time. But many of these shows are filming on very short schedules. This means that in a lot of cases, the projects are not given the same time and attention to detail that they would be if they were being completed privately. This leads to things such as paint, drywall, and structural issues being rushed or overlooked. Even though things may look good on the surface, the longevity of the renovations is something that many viewers have called into question.
For example, an internet user with deep knowledge of the home renovation process listed all of the things that could possibly be wrong with many of these renovated homes. He said, “Patching over a cracked foundation? Replacing a patch of shingles to fix a leak without replacing the tar paper? Air nailing anything without marking where the studs are behind it? No nails stops where plumbing and electrical go through studs? Pulling structural walls without supports before the beams are installed? Laying self-leveling thinset over buckled slabs? Air-conditioning heating and even water heaters installed with no structural support and no drains? Removing code required handrails for aesthetics? Thinset over cracked driveways?”
A former employee on a home renovation show said, “They aren’t houses they are TV sets, and built accordingly. Cheap materials, rushed labor, corners cut, buildings codes violated, and a really nice shiny coat of paint to hold it all together. Toss in some throw pillows for staging, don’t forget to save the receipt so they can be returned after the photos are done.” In the end, it looks like many of these shows focus on aesthetics and not necessarily quality.
What Happens To The Houses After The Shows Are Done Filming
Depending on the show and the circumstances surrounding the house, many of these properties are eventually put on the market. Most of the time, the houses are marketed as having been on a TV show. Of course, this is a tactic to draw people in. However, now that you have a bit more insight you may want to think twice before putting in an offer on one of these homes. On the surface, it may be cool to say you live in a house that was featured on a TV show. But having to deal with the problems that come with that house might not be worth it when it’s all said and done.
A real estate agent in Wyoming described one of these renovated homes as the “Biggest POS in the area”. He added, ” Large projects, undone. Lots of finish work that was so bad it would only look good on a tv screen, code violations everywhere. The family wasnt selling it because they were trying to get rich, it was just a nightmare to live in. If I was given it I’d take it, expecting to dump about 50k in martials alone fixing it. No way I’d pay for it.”
If you are considering one of these homes, you shouldn’t necessarily write a house off just because it’s been on a TV show. There are some projects out there that actually turned out quite nicely, and the buyers never experienced any unusual issues. Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell which shows produce high-quality homes and which don’t. As with any other real estate purchase, it is important to do as much research as possible. Hopefully, the truth about these projects doesn’t ruin your love for the shows. After all, it’s still reality TV at the end of the day.
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