They've done two shows in my area. Both times, they've run afoul of the weather. They scheduled them in winter. Bad idea.
Enthusiasm waines in the early hours of the morning when you need 50 framers, 50 drywallers, 30 masons, 25 roofers, 40 finish carpenters and about 30 cooks to feed all of them and it's pouring down rain and 30° outside.
In both builds they booked the volunteers, but underestimated the number of people who would actually stick it out. People came from miles around to be a part of it, but those who were actually qualified to do the work were NOT stupid. They stayed home. It turns out that being on TV didn't mean as much as being PAID for their efforts. In other words, been there done that (working in less than ideal conditions) was the show stopper.
So, ABC put the word out. They needed anyone with a talent to show up. The two families were the Dore falmily and the Kirkwood family. If you watch the shows you won't see alot of the turmoil. Of course, it's edited out. They almost didn't get these done on time. Filming in the PAC Northwest in winter was a mistake. I doubt if they'll ever make another one in Washington. At least it won't be in the winter.
As it turned out, the Kirkwoods divorced. As part of the settlement, they would need to sell the house. Their new $550,000 home has sat empty for almost a year looking for a buyer. I drive by it occasionally and it's still for sale. The yard has gone to hell. The grass/sod all died. The house has boarded windows. The driveway has tall weeds shooting through the expansion joints.
It seems Mr. Kirkwood wasn't prepared to have his taxes go from $2200 a year to almost $6000.
Another ABC miracle...
