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00:00Good morning.
00:02Just another day of making our favorite small town better.
00:04Erin, we got to go, babe.
00:06Go fix some old sad houses.
00:08Ben, let's go.
00:09Growing up, I didn't see what was so special about Laurel.
00:12So every day we make sure our girls see it.
00:14Good morning, Katie.
00:15Hey.
00:16Can you believe we fixed up over 100 houses in Laurel?
00:18There's so much opportunity.
00:20So many unloved houses.
00:22I don't know what is going to go wrong in here today.
00:25I'm sure something.
00:27Girl, the bat just flew through here.
00:29That's not good.
00:31No way.
00:32We're about to see the house for the first time.
00:34This is the best part.
00:35Oh, my God.
00:37Holy cow.
00:38Are you serious right now?
00:40Ben, did you make this?
00:41Yeah, I made this.
00:43The real truth of living and working in your hometown is that you're going to see these people everywhere forever.
00:48It's your superpower, Erin.
00:50Color is her superpower.
00:51It is.
00:52It is perfect.
00:53Every day is different when you're renovating houses in Laurel, Mississippi.
00:59Such a great street.
01:08Mm-hmm.
01:09Wish it were mine.
01:10So the Gallaghers have been ready to fix their house for a really long time.
01:14And they've finally called to say, do y'all want to come over and talk about it?
01:20As far as Laurel goes, this is as historic as you get.
01:23It's the oldest house on this street.
01:25We know each other, but we've never been in their house somehow.
01:27So we're going to get to finally walk through their house that's a little bit famous.
01:31Look at this.
01:32Hello.
01:32Oh, good morning.
01:34Hey, y'all.
01:35What a day to sit on the porch.
01:38I'm so excited about this house.
01:41I mean, this is an iconic house.
01:42And you've lived here your whole life?
01:44Whole life.
01:45Parents bought the house in 1970.
01:47I'm 56 years old now, and most of that was spent here.
01:50Two older brothers, two older sisters.
01:52Definitely been the galla at her house forever.
01:54Wow.
01:55The Whitakers had it before we did, and that's the only two families.
01:58That means there's going to be lots of original features that you love.
02:02That's right.
02:02I love the front porch.
02:03How old is your youngest now?
02:05Mick is 19.
02:06Logan's 21.
02:07Jacob's 22.
02:09All three of them were born in this house.
02:12Having the boys grow up here is a blessing, really.
02:17This house is home.
02:20We've had all their birthday parties.
02:22Tons of kids always come.
02:24It's a great house, and it has so many memories from his family and our family.
02:30The best memories, I think.
02:35Yes.
02:36Just trying to raise the boys and get through that, the house has kind of taken a toll.
02:43In the last six months or so, things have definitely worsened.
02:47It always seems like once you get one problem fixed, there's another one coming on the other side.
02:52Mm-hmm.
02:52I think we need new windows because our power bill is like $900.
02:56Oh, my gosh.
02:57Mm-hmm.
02:57You got to prioritize, and kids are always going to be your first priority.
03:01That is very true.
03:02And now they're out of the house, so it's time.
03:04Yes.
03:04Yes.
03:05You don't want to do anything upstairs right now, correct?
03:07No.
03:08We've done a lot to the upstairs, so we're good there, I think.
03:11So how much are we wanting to spend?
03:13Around $250,000.
03:15Dang!
03:16Yeah, that's what we're hoping to get from the bank.
03:18That's a big budget.
03:19I don't know.
03:20That's a lot of house.
03:203,900 square feet.
03:22Right.
03:22Yes.
03:22Five bedrooms, two and a half baths.
03:261904, when it was built.
03:27It's a historic house.
03:29It's in the historic district.
03:30There are rules and guidelines that we have to follow.
03:33As far as building materials and practices and styles and...
03:37It all costs more.
03:39So today, we're just going to walk through the house and give them some ideas, and then
03:43we'll come back later with a budget.
03:45Oh, my gosh.
03:46These doors!
03:48They're cool, aren't they?
03:49They're so great.
03:51And you like the dark trip.
03:53This is the part about the house that's awesome.
03:55What's the story on this door?
03:56This used to be my father's chiropractic office in the 70s, and so that was the entrance to
04:02the clinic, which there's a sign outside for the clinic still.
04:05You got to keep the sign.
04:06Yeah, it's pretty cool.
04:07He practiced here in the house till the late 70s, and then he purchased our office, which
04:13we are in now, which is just a block over.
04:15Drop your shoulders.
04:17There we go.
04:18And we've been practicing there for over 20 years.
04:21At some point, obviously, there was some type of globe or light that was on the top of
04:26this banister, but it wasn't there in our family's lifetime.
04:30When we were young, we would dare each other to put our finger in, and, you know, get a little
04:33shock.
04:34You were just living your life.
04:36That's right.
04:36That's right.
04:37That's right.
04:38It's tiny.
04:40You can hurt yourself walking in, so be careful.
04:43Oh, my gosh.
04:45This is it.
04:46You have been cooking in here for 20 years.
04:49I know.
04:50This is rad.
04:51It's tiny.
04:52Our oldest calls it the hallway with appliances.
04:54You can't open the freezer.
04:57If someone's at the stove, someone's got to move.
04:59How do you do this?
05:00It's important to know the route.
05:02One way in, one way out.
05:03That's right.
05:03Wait, you're going.
05:05Go the other way.
05:05Come in that way.
05:07Get your food.
05:08It's all laid out here.
05:09And then you have to go out into the den.
05:12Wow.
05:13These are your cabinets.
05:14And this is why I don't want open cabinets.
05:16That's going to be lead paint.
05:18200%.
05:18Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:19And a little more of the history of the house.
05:21Also, you can see lots of markings.
05:23It goes back on.
05:24This isn't just your kids.
05:25This is a million kids.
05:26Jeff, nine years.
05:28Yeah.
05:29Nieces and nephews.
05:30Families.
05:30Oh, OK.
05:31Yeah.
05:31We would have to keep that.
05:33And then this is like the den?
05:36Right.
05:36That's the den.
05:37Maybe someday, soon, our kitchen.
05:40OK.
05:41That makes a lot of sense.
05:42Yeah.
05:42You would love it if all of this could be kitchen.
05:45A huge refrigerator.
05:46OK.
05:47If that's what you want.
05:48Yes.
05:48OK.
05:48What do you think if we open up this wall
05:51between your living room and kitchen?
05:52And right here, you could put your huge side-by-side fridges.
05:56And what if we did an appliance garage for coffee?
05:59And then you could put to the right of it a wall oven.
06:02And I want eight burner stoves.
06:05Ooh.
06:05You're cooking now.
06:06I'm cooking.
06:07OK.
06:07So on this wall, we could put your range and hood vent.
06:10Oh, nice.
06:11And the counter space left and right of it
06:13with lots of cabinetry and storage.
06:15Can you see it?
06:16I want a big island.
06:18OK.
06:18And where we're standing, you could put a huge island
06:22with barstool seating, maybe a sink in the island.
06:25And then on the wall to the right,
06:26we would lose that door to the utility room.
06:29These windows would shorten up.
06:31So you have counter space.
06:32Yeah.
06:33Drawers, drawers, drawers, drawers.
06:35New cabinetry left and right where your food stores.
06:38Quartzite countertops, new lighting.
06:40Unbelievable.
06:41Those are the must-haves.
06:42Like Quartzite countertops.
06:44That's the most expensive stone countertop.
06:47Does that feel non-negotiable?
06:48Yes.
06:49You're going all the way.
06:50All the way.
06:51Do you want to open to the dining room?
06:53That would be awesome.
06:54Whoa.
06:55What is this light?
06:56This is cool.
06:58It's beautiful, isn't it?
06:59Is that original to the house, too?
07:01And actually, that light hung in the Peabody Hotel.
07:04No way.
07:04Yay.
07:05Yes.
07:05That's cool.
07:06That's so cool.
07:06That's Southern Royal.
07:08Yeah.
07:08We've been there.
07:09Oh, nice.
07:10In through here, this is our guest bedroom.
07:13Okay.
07:14Only bedroom on the first floor.
07:15This is what we would love to be the primary.
07:18This is from that explosion in 69?
07:21Yes.
07:21The tank car explosion?
07:22Yes.
07:22Oh, my gosh.
07:23It comes up all the time.
07:26The explosion was the train derailment.
07:29And a lot of train cars were exploding.
07:32Of course, everybody in Laurel thought they were being bombed by someone.
07:35It moved the whole house.
07:36You could still see the crack in the ceiling when they tried to shift it back.
07:39Nothing in this house is level.
07:41Nothing.
07:41Nothing's plump.
07:44But the wall.
07:45The wall, that doesn't look like that was...
07:47Yes.
07:48No insulation.
07:49You can see a little light.
07:50Yeah, I was going to say, I see daylight.
07:51That seems real concerning to me.
07:54Old houses are wonderful.
07:55They have so much character.
07:56Mm-hmm.
07:57But then new houses have their charms, too.
08:00Yes.
08:00Which of the modern comforts for you are you really after here?
08:04Well, there's no overhead lighting in here.
08:06Old houses never did.
08:07Yeah.
08:08Love a statement light.
08:09We like eclectic kind of stuff.
08:10We like the old with the new.
08:12Okay.
08:13And then behind this door...
08:14Yeah, the hinges are not on there, so be very careful.
08:17This is the room that we do not speak of.
08:20The dilapidated room.
08:21Whoa.
08:22Oh, yeah.
08:24Sad condition.
08:26Yes, sir, but I don't know how far I would go inside.
08:28Whoa!
08:30Not...
08:31Wow.
08:31Not good.
08:33And water just constantly beat that roof in.
08:37Once you stay in the doorway, there's going to be a little more support.
08:40It is hard to let people see what's been happening to the house that we have not been able to correct, um, I guess monetarily in the last few years, so...
08:53Yeah.
08:54That's, um...
08:55It's bad.
08:56Expensive.
08:57Yeah.
08:58Do you remember this from childhood, this room?
09:00Oh, that was actually the x-ray room for my father's clinic.
09:03These two rooms are the first rooms where I've been, like, concerning about structural things.
09:08Issues.
09:09Yeah.
09:09What are those two rooms there?
09:11There is a little storage closet and also a little bath.
09:14I mean, it is tiny.
09:15That could be a walk-in closet.
09:17Yeah.
09:17Okay, so if the bathroom on that side of the room is going to be the closet, then we could
09:22look at making the dilapidated room your bathroom.
09:26We'd like a big walk-in shower, zero entry.
09:30You want a five-star hotel.
09:31Yes.
09:32Yes.
09:32All right, I'm going to throw out some ideas.
09:34Let's have two big windows left and right of the bed so the bed could be centered on the
09:38wall in the room.
09:39That would make sense, wouldn't it?
09:40Obviously, we've got to update the walls, a new dramatic light fixture, and then tear
09:46out everything where the old small bathroom was, make this one big walk-in closet.
09:52Oh, nice.
09:53And then the terrible room becomes your very fancy bathroom.
09:58You could have a big walk-in shower to the right, the full width of the room.
10:02Oh.
10:03And when you open the door, you would be facing your vanity.
10:06To the left, a cased opening with the toilet tucked over to the left.
10:09The floating toilets, wall-mounted, easy to clean.
10:13I'm all about easy to clean.
10:14Oh, yeah. Easy to clean.
10:15Easy to clean.
10:16You could do linen closet to the right, and we could do all those luxury finishes that
10:20you really love, like big pieces of marble, the backlit mirror, the five-star hotel look.
10:26But we won't be able to give you any firm numbers on that until we assess what is going
10:31on structurally.
10:32We just need to bring in someone who's going to definitely know what that costs.
10:37Okay.
10:38Before, um, we know if 250 works for everything that you want, because you've got great taste,
10:44and great taste usually isn't cheap.
10:46Yeah.
10:47I need to give you my design survey.
10:48Okay, okay.
10:49So I can know everything that you love.
10:51Okay.
10:51I know it's only a block away, but y'all need to go ahead and start packing up and moving
10:55to Jeff's sister's place.
10:56We have more unknowns than knowns, and so the process is going to be different.
11:02I am cautiously optimistic.
11:03I'm scared.
11:05You can see there's some rot here on the front.
11:07Oh, yeah.
11:08Around here, it's a lot worse.
11:10Good gracious.
11:11Yeah, this is a bit of a doozy.
11:12A doozy is an understatement.
11:15Some contractors have said, I won't touch this one.
11:17Chris knows a lot, and Chris is Cliff Norman's son-in-law.
11:21It's Cliff's company.
11:22Cliff is Yoda.
11:23Very wise he is.
11:25The first thing, you'd have to check the seals to make sure those seals are okay.
11:28The seal, that's the main beam that everything sits on.
11:31All the way around the house.
11:32Don't do that.
11:33Don't do that.
11:33Unless you're prepared to stay here all afternoon and hold it up.
11:36This thing is a mess.
11:37It's a real mess.
11:39You can see it's already deteriorated all the way up the building.
11:42The water's gotten in at the roof.
11:44It looks like it's leaking at all of the windows.
11:47Yeah, a rot underneath every window.
11:48Yep.
11:49Oh, my gosh.
11:50Okay.
11:50It looks like there have been some desperate attempts to try to cover holes.
11:55You can see how many times it's been patched.
11:58There is a deeper problem here.
12:00Looking from the street, it doesn't look that bad.
12:03And then you get close, and it's really bad.
12:06That corner post has failed, and it's broken all the way back here.
12:10It would just be simpler to rip it off and start new than try to fix what's there.
12:15Like the utility room, screen porch, and sunroom.
12:17Just that little part right there.
12:19Any idea what it would cost to be comprehensive about the whole house?
12:23It's a big number, because that old wood siding would be astronomical.
12:27On top of that, if you go back with historical windows on this thing, it's going to be 50 or 60 grand.
12:32And if we could get a vinyl pass, you'd be spending half that.
12:37Can you give us a quote soon, so we can come back to them and let them know?
12:41Yeah.
12:41You got any other ideas?
12:43You got a match.
12:44We have torn a house down.
12:46For less than this.
12:47But this house is significant to the history of Laurel, and to the history of this family.
12:53So you got to do what you got to do to fix it now.
12:57Hiding out of sight, no.
13:01Morning, night.
13:04Look at there.
13:06Hey, hey.
13:07Hey, look.
13:08Oh, I'm excited.
13:09You want to walk out here?
13:10We got the estimate back from Cliff, and it's way above their budget.
13:15$250 is a lot of money.
13:18The number they hear is going to hurt their feelings.
13:20I think you just need to rip the Band-Aid off.
13:27It's $400,000 to do it all.
13:29Oh.
13:30Oh, my.
13:31That's very different than the number that you were planning on.
13:33Yeah.
13:34Yeah.
13:35I'm really sorry.
13:37It is definitely more than what we expected.
13:41It is a little scary.
13:43Heart-wrenching.
13:44Yes.
13:45Heart-wrenching, I think.
13:47Right.
13:48Because that's a lot of money.
13:49It is.
13:51Here's why.
13:52The siding is in such bad shape that we would end up having to remove all of it.
13:58You're reaching a tipping point with the house before you can make anything pretty.
14:02You have to fix everything that's wrong with it, or you have to walk away from it.
14:07Yeah, we don't want to walk away from it.
14:08It will become unsafe.
14:09Right.
14:10When we love this house, we don't want anything to happen to it.
14:14You got to save it.
14:14We got to do what we got to do.
14:15We need to go back and talk with the bank and see if we can get a little more cash flow.
14:21So we are going from a $250,000 budget to a $400,000 budget.
14:26That would be the biggest renovation we have ever done, for sure, for sure.
14:30Now, that extra $150,000 is just on the exterior.
14:33I want to show you what $150,000 looks like.
14:37I love it.
14:38That's awesome.
14:39That is awesome.
14:40The house has always been green.
14:42Yes, and we love that it's going to stay green.
14:45New siding all over.
14:47New windows, but keeping the style that they are now.
14:50These moss-covered steps, this mature landscaping, these things are good.
14:55Stain added to your cedar shakes to bring them back to life.
14:58Yeah, it's beautiful.
15:00I want to talk about something in the backyard.
15:02Okay.
15:02We're going to go through the best case scenario with them,
15:05so they feel excited to have that conversation with their banker.
15:11All right, here's what I'm thinking.
15:12All of this would be torn off.
15:15The sunroom, the screen porch, and the utility room would be gone,
15:19because that's where so much water is getting into your house.
15:23And there's just nothing you can do about that until you start fresh.
15:26And that nook where we stepped out of the kitchen, that would become the half bath.
15:31Okay.
15:32You would pass through it into a big laundry room, utility room.
15:35Keep these brick steps, though.
15:36You would build out to those.
15:38Now, imagine if the screen porch went all the way across the back of the house.
15:41Wow.
15:42I love everything.
15:43It's just the price tag that's a little scary.
15:45Yeah.
15:45There's things that we can do to make it more affordable.
15:48Composite siding would be cheaper.
15:51But the historic board has to approve it, and that's not always easy.
15:55That is a lot more money.
15:56We'll have to go speak with the bank and see what we can do.
15:59Go to the bank, and we'll all go to the historic board and tell them everything.
16:03Yeah.
16:03We all have homework, so we don't really know what we're going to get into here.
16:08It makes us feel unprepared, which makes us really nervous.
16:12I have to see Chris and Jeff everywhere I go.
16:15It's highly motivating for things to go right.
16:17Like, that's the real truth of living and working in your hometown, is that you're going
16:22to see these people everywhere forever.
16:24How are we feeling?
16:31How are y'all?
16:31Well, what did the bank say?
16:34We could only get $350,000.
16:36That's $50,000 short of where we want to be.
16:39But if they approve the composite siding and the aluminum windows...
16:43And that's it.
16:43...we don't have a problem here.
16:45Plus, Josh and I was on the board.
16:46If anyone is going to understand the importance of using different materials to save a house,
16:52it's going to be Josh.
16:53This is a $50,000 meeting for us.
16:55That's how much money we need to save today.
16:58And for some people, that might be the budget for their entire renovation for their entire house.
17:03We're on the verge of this house falling down.
17:06I've seen them do changes on some of the houses there.
17:09It completely takes away from the beauty of it being in a historic area.
17:15Our homeowners have $350,000 to save this house, top to bottom, inside and out.
17:22Typically, with a house this age, it would have wood framing for the window.
17:26So we would be looking to do a vinyl or aluminum window.
17:30That'll save us about $30,000.
17:32Composite siding would save us around...
17:34Around $20.
17:36And that gets us where we have to be to save the house.
17:38Our job here is to preserve the historic integrity.
17:43We found that one of the worst ways to do that is to not allow anyone to make changes to the houses.
17:48All in favor?
17:52Aye.
17:53So aye.
17:54All right, the motion carries.
17:55Congratulations.
17:56Good.
17:57Saved that house.
17:58Thank you, thank you.
18:00Kitchen.
18:00The outside's getting fixed.
18:03Windows.
18:04Primary.
18:06Everything.
18:08First things first, we have to tear off the back of the house.
18:17That's going to be step one of demo.
18:18How are we feeling about this?
18:20Feeling a little nervous.
18:21But before we do that, we're going to remove the antique chandelier.
18:26The Gallagher's love this chandelier.
18:29No pressure.
18:31And it doesn't feel fussy.
18:32I got it.
18:33It's very delicate.
18:34These thin little pieces of wire that are holding each crystal.
18:38And those are rusted and breaking.
18:41So we have to very carefully move it somewhere safe.
18:46It can be hung from one of the rafters in the attic until we're ready for it.
18:52Oh, these stairs are a workout without a giant chandelier.
19:02Woo!
19:03There she is.
19:04I'm going to get you some water.
19:05Yeah, water.
19:06You look like you earned that.
19:07The back of the house is too far gone.
19:19It's soggy.
19:20The ship has sailed.
19:21We've got an excavator.
19:23Well, we need to be precise.
19:24That's right.
19:27We need careful removal because we don't know if this house is going to stand up if it were
19:32to get bumped.
19:33Oh, I don't like how the back wall is wobbling.
19:39Hey, Mike, this is moving too.
19:43Oh, oh, oh.
19:44The house.
19:45Mike, the whole house is moving.
19:49Oh, oh, oh.
19:49It's wiggling the whole thing still.
19:51The living room wall could collapse and the second floor above it drop.
19:56When you hit it, the whole thing moves.
20:04The whole thing?
20:05Can you try to lift up on the roof?
20:07Can you grab it?
20:09There you go.
20:10This house is not encouraging.
20:23It's going to be several weeks before I feel real confidence about what shape the house is
20:29in, so then I can really start to see what it will look like.
20:34The siding has lead in it, and this is just to put the siding straight into the plastic
20:41and wrap it up.
20:42We are going to dig in to the siding.
20:45We're going to see just how far does the rot go.
20:48Why are we going so slow?
20:49We're worried about it falling down.
20:50We're just taking off sections so we can put sheathing back to hold it together.
20:54To keep it from falling.
20:55Yeah.
20:57Look at that.
20:58Oh, boy.
20:58That's a new one, too.
21:00That just came off like that.
21:01Yep.
21:02Where's your knife?
21:03The existing's so soft.
21:06That's crazy.
21:07What would make this rot so quickly?
21:09I don't know.
21:10This is not what you want to find on the first day.
21:12This is way worse than I expected it to be.
21:16I mean, like, that's wild.
21:18There's nothing there.
21:19It doesn't make sense of how it rotted the way it did.
21:22I mean, the only thing that could have happened is if you had a super cool interior of the
21:26house and an extremely hot exterior and basically created a rainstorm dew point inside the wall
21:32that rotted this out.
21:35We budgeted to sister every stud in the house?
21:38No, we're not prepared for that.
21:40We're dipping into contingency.
21:41Every project, we also require a 10% contingency fund, which is 10% of your total budget.
21:50So $350,000 means they will have a $35,000 contingency fund.
21:55The Gallagher's have savings to cover theirs.
21:58I am worried that we will need to use all of that.
22:01We may run into more rot.
22:03Hopefully, it is not everywhere.
22:06If it's everywhere, then we may be pulling back on some of the projects.
22:23God, these guys are fast.
22:24Yeah, I know.
22:25It's not as bad as we thought it was going to be yesterday.
22:28Structurally, there's enough meat there that it's solid, which is awesome.
22:32We are still having to fix a lot of the studs.
22:34It was built incorrectly.
22:36On the north side, they are insulating.
22:41And we are sheathing the side of the house now.
22:43That's how fast it's going.
22:44So they'll just keep on demoing.
22:46Several more days ahead.
22:48Then we might finally be able to go inside.
23:03Look at this!
23:05Oh, wow.
23:06These are important.
23:07You have to take the doors off, and I'll keep them and give them to them.
23:11Love those old recipes.
23:12I know those are going to be Jeff's mom's.
23:14Some are really old.
23:15And the height chart.
23:17That is the most precious thing a family can have.
23:20I mean, this has Jeff at age two.
23:22Well, you and your golden retriever hair need to get out of here.
23:25I've got golden retriever hair today, so I'm off the hook.
23:32Oh, I see what you said.
23:33Okay.
23:35This is not trash, Drew.
23:43Look at that.
23:44Look at that right here.
23:44So that room had the fabric on the walls?
23:50Yeah.
23:50Behind that is old pine that has been sealed.
23:54So that wall may have been what was holding up the whole house.
23:58Once we get all of the lead evaded, then we can start building back.
24:03All right.
24:15Not a window in the house.
24:17It's so dark in here now.
24:19It's like a cave.
24:21Very open air back here.
24:24Yeah.
24:25There's some crazy framing going on.
24:27Real crazy.
24:30All right.
24:31It's safe to stand right here.
24:34I'm going to climb down.
24:35Chris, am I good?
24:35Yeah, you're good.
24:36Come on down.
24:37Today, we're pouring a new footer for...
24:40The addition on the back.
24:40The addition.
24:42There's like six additions off the back of this house.
24:44None of them were done properly.
24:46This will be the first time an addition is done correctly on this house.
24:49That's exactly what I was about to say.
24:57So once the trench is full,
24:59then you start building with the blocks.
25:02Yeah, we'll let it sit a few days,
25:04and we still got a lot of framing going on back here.
25:07Yeah.
25:08In the primary bath,
25:09there was nothing holding up that second floor
25:11where it's hanging over.
25:12How much of the contingency have y'all used?
25:14So we were like 8,000 last week,
25:17and then as we got up to the dormer
25:19and then onto this back section,
25:21it's looking like we're going to be closer to 15.
25:23We've used a chunk.
25:24I do hope that we don't go above our contingency
25:27because that's the point where we have to go back to the Gallaghers
25:30and say, okay.
25:31Here's some things we can't do.
25:33So when is the back of the house
25:34going to start looking like the side of the house?
25:36Come a long way,
25:36but we've still got a way to go.
25:38The house, believe it or not,
25:40was worse than we thought.
25:42No one who lives in Marl knew
25:44that this is the shape the house was in.
25:46It's just crazy.
25:5491 and what?
25:5591 and 180.
26:00We're building a primary bathroom.
26:02The most important thing about the primary bathroom,
26:05zero-entry shower.
26:06It's easy to clean.
26:07Easy to clean.
26:08We got to redo this wall to bring it out
26:10so it'll square up the room.
26:12Because everything in this house is so twisted.
26:15Feeling good, huh?
26:16Yeah.
26:17They're trying to frame up the back porch,
26:19laundry room, utility room.
26:21It's coming.
26:21It's high.
26:26Off in them hills, all you can do is pay the bill.
26:31Look at that man work.
26:32Golly, look at that.
26:34How many windows are we actually installed?
26:35This 43 is what my count was so far.
26:38Since this is the historic district,
26:39we had to get special permission to use these windows.
26:42Yes, sir.
26:43So this will be more efficient and look the same.
26:46Exactly.
26:50That is sweet as butter.
26:5241 to go.
26:5341 after this one.
26:54Yep.
26:55We have a busy day.
26:58Get her done, done, done.
27:00Make that mobile run, run.
27:02Get her done, done, done.
27:03Gotta get her done.
27:08Yeah.
27:09I wanted you to see how well everything is tied in back here,
27:13the way it's supposed to be.
27:15Blueberries are still living.
27:16We don't have fruit yet, but it's coming.
27:19That's nailed down so you can walk on out.
27:20This makes me so happy.
27:23Do you remember how I said
27:23there weren't going to be any more problems?
27:26We got a big one.
27:29What the heck are we going to do?
27:31This is the biggest challenge we've ever had.
27:33They have to fight through.
27:34If we're going to make them wait so long,
27:36we need to give them something to help them hang on.
27:38Let's finish out the primary suite
27:39and show the Gallagher's.
27:41This is what we like to call the appetizer reveal.
27:46Lubbock's.
27:47Do you want to see the kitchen?
27:48Oh, heck yeah.
27:48We're missing a lot.
27:50Hmm.
27:57Big problem?
27:58Yeah.
27:59What's wrong?
28:00We started tearing up the floor in the kitchen.
28:03Our intention was to marry these floors here.
28:07But if you look right here,
28:09you can see how unlevel this floor is.
28:12Over here, we've got like three-quarter inches high.
28:15And over here, we're almost a quarter inch low.
28:18I don't feel like we can patch this.
28:19I mean, we're putting this insanely beautiful kitchen back in this space.
28:22Right.
28:23Like, look, you're on a trampoline right now.
28:25Right.
28:25You see that?
28:26Yeah, I see it.
28:27We can't put a $60,000 kitchen on top of spongy floors.
28:30What the heck are we going to do?
28:31The Gallagher's entire house is hard pun.
28:34The floors, they're gorgeous.
28:35But in the two rooms that we're consolidating to create one big kitchen,
28:40none of them are the same level now that we've pulled out the flooring that was in there.
28:45They're all like that.
28:46What I think we need to do is completely rip out the flooring and level it all the way across.
28:53And then lay all new floor.
28:55But the whole house is hard pun.
28:57Yeah.
28:57This is going to cost us about $11,000, $12,000.
29:01Jeez.
29:02Tearing out all the floors and subfloors and some of the joys is a hit on the timeline.
29:06It's a hit on the budget.
29:07And we've already started building back.
29:10And to discover something this bad is huge.
29:14In the heart of the house.
29:15Right in the middle of it.
29:16But here's the thing.
29:17It's going to be fixed right.
29:19We're already how much over?
29:21About $15,000.
29:22We're getting close to $30,000 over.
29:24That's the biggest contingency we've ever spent.
29:27We're 75% into the contingency and 30% into the project.
29:33We're hundreds of thousands of dollars into this.
29:36So we have to see it through now.
29:37We have to fight through.
29:39I would probably want to see it with my own eyeballs if I'm the Gallagher's.
29:42Go ahead and mourn them.
29:44This is going to take several more weeks now.
29:46Yeah.
29:47We need to bring in the Gallagher's.
29:48All right.
29:49Well, they're at Jeff's sister's house.
29:50So that's just around the block.
29:51I'll shoot them a text.
29:53I'm not looking forward to seeing the disappointment on their face.
29:57Hey!
29:58When we tell them it's going to take a lot longer, it's going to cost a lot more.
30:02Don't be freaked out.
30:04Uh-huh.
30:05It's very upsetting to bring the Gallagher's into this house where they raise their children,
30:10where they have every memory they can see in their mind's eye, and we've gutted it.
30:14Oh, my gosh.
30:16This is going to be your kitchen.
30:18Not every homeowner gets to see their house at this midway point.
30:22We don't normally invite the family in to see the patient on the table opened up.
30:26Uh-huh.
30:28It's a little unsettling.
30:30It's jarring.
30:31I was a little dumbfounded growing up in the house my whole life, knowing the way it was.
30:36I'm hesitant about it, anxious about it.
30:40This is where the problem happens.
30:44The floor is lower than the old kitchen there.
30:47Yes.
30:48But then when you get back here, the den is higher than the old kitchen.
30:52There was no world where we patch in and you love this.
30:56We want the whole thing to feel so rock solid and so done that you never worry about anything ever again.
31:03So we would take up the flooring and subflooring in both rooms, bring it up level.
31:07Okay.
31:08Bring in new historic pond flooring that would match the rest of the house.
31:12Oh, wow.
31:14It would cost $12,000 to do this.
31:17Out of your contingency fund, we've already used $15,000 because the rot was even more extensive than what anyone anticipated.
31:27Mm-hmm.
31:27At this point, they're so far into it, the only way out is through.
31:33If you're going through hell.
31:35Keep going.
31:36You just got to keep going.
31:37If you're going to go to this trouble, we might as well do it right.
31:41This way.
31:41So you don't have to ever worry about it again.
31:44Yes.
31:45It's also going to take a few more weeks.
31:47So we're going to be a little delayed now because of the kitchen flooring.
31:50They have so much work cut out for them on that house because it needs so much TLC.
31:56But we are putting our faith in Ben and Erin.
31:59We are.
31:59I thought maybe you would be happy to see your bedroom and your bathroom in a couple weeks.
32:05Oh, that would be awesome.
32:06Because we can finish that.
32:07We can finish that early.
32:08And then, you know, it's a little appetizer before the main course.
32:13That's awesome.
32:15Our biggest bargaining chip in this town is that we deliver when we say we'll deliver.
32:20I wish it were not as expensive, but you're also never going to worry about it again.
32:25I don't think I trust the house to be good yet.
32:28But I think it could still give us trouble.
32:31My mama told me so many years ago.
32:36I can't see what you do, but the good Lord always knows.
32:40Every time we open a part of the house that has not been opened in 100 years, you are risking what else are you going to discover.
32:51We have one of the most beautiful houses in the historic district, and it was about to fall down, and these people were living in it.
32:57And no one knew.
32:58It feels like there's an actual spotlight on us, because everybody in the neighborhood cares very much about this house.
33:05And we're messing with Laurel history.
33:07Yes.
33:08This is the biggest construction project I have ever been a part of.
33:11And it's an heirloom home that's multi-generational.
33:15Which means this is the biggest challenge we've ever had.
33:17Because we've never had to delay so bad, we went to the team and said, let's finish out the primary suite and show the Gallagher's.
33:34It's a long time to ask people to wait without showing them anything at all.
33:37And it lets them know they can trust us.
33:39So this is just us giving them a little snack before the meal.
33:42What's up?
33:43Mr. Stubbs.
33:44I'm your big brother.
33:45Cabinet man extraordinaire.
33:47Man, what have we got here?
33:49An old one.
33:49I've seen a lot of cool things just walking in.
33:51I need you to replicate that historic shape and styling.
33:55The closet will be such an upgrade for them.
33:58So before, this was a very small bathroom.
34:03And that was the closet.
34:04So we've joined them to make one big his and hers closet.
34:08This side will be hers.
34:10It's got a little more room.
34:11So we're going to have shoe racks, double hanging rods on this wall,
34:16dress hanging here, then a built-in dresser, then open shelving to the ceiling,
34:22and then double hanging for Jeff.
34:24Yep.
34:25And then another built-in dresser in that corner with the shelving above it.
34:29What about shoes?
34:31No mention of shoe storage for Jeff was given to me.
34:34Maybe he's not a shoe guy like he.
34:36I'm a boot guy, not a shoe guy.
34:37You're a boot guy.
34:50Good morning.
34:52Good morning.
34:53Oh, my gosh.
34:54Look at the tile.
34:56It's huge.
34:57That's a 24 by 48.
34:59Isn't it cool?
35:00We've never used such expensive and fancy tile,
35:04but these huge slabs are supposed to give the effect of having marble on the walls in the shower.
35:09Vertical, so the veining runs up.
35:12She wants as few grout lines as possible.
35:14And then this, the honed finish goes on the floor so it's not slippery,
35:19in the shower and on the floor in the bathroom.
35:21It's going to go a lot faster than these little small tiles we've been doing.
35:25Good.
35:25I'm not a one-trick pony.
35:27See?
35:27I can do oversized tile.
35:29Once we get going, it's going to cover a lot of area quick.
35:32Yeah.
35:33I'm excited.
35:34It's like the wallpaper of tile.
35:35Yeah.
35:36All these little bitty ones we used to, it takes forever to get up there.
35:39I'm giving you a vacation.
35:40That's right.
35:48Just try not to, like, shake it around.
35:50I'm not trying to scare you.
35:52Bathroom vanity countertop is coming today.
35:55It is the most brittle, the most popular, the most expensive.
35:58It's a Taj Mahal quartzite countertop.
36:01Quartzite is 50% more expensive than just granite.
36:04But Chris said the countertops are a non-negotiable for her.
36:07Looks like a five-star hotel.
36:09It does.
36:09This could be the start of something.
36:18You see the light, then you discover the light.
36:26We tied against the top good?
36:28Mm-hmm.
36:29Tied as little bit.
36:29And the tank itself is countersunk in the wall, low profile.
36:34She wanted it easy to clean.
36:35Chris had lots of very specific requests for her bathroom.
36:38Can you reach it?
36:39Including a lighted mirror, so it feels like a five-star hotel.
36:43Anti-fog feature is pretty cool.
36:44Don't let my wife see that, because she won't want it at my house.
36:47If we're going to make them wait so long, we need to give them something to help them hang on.
37:00We want them to see the bedroom and bathroom, because it looks good.
37:04Andrew's custom-built mahogany poster bed makes the room feel quality.
37:10I love any piece of furniture that you know will become an heirloom.
37:14I hope that seeing their bedroom and bathroom will be enough to get them through the weight that's ahead of them,
37:21because we're not really close on the rest of the house.
37:23But this is pretty exciting.
37:29How's your sister's house going?
37:31It's going pretty good.
37:32I think we're a little more settled.
37:34A little bit of a homey feel, I guess.
37:35Yes.
37:35As much as you can get.
37:37This is what we like to call the appetizer reveal.
37:39I've never done one before, but this is it.
37:42This is a job site, okay?
37:44Yes.
37:44Disregard the dumpsters.
37:45Your dumpsters.
37:46Dead grass from where the roof is piled up.
37:49Yeah.
37:50Oh, man.
37:50Check her out.
37:51That looks awesome.
37:52The gal of her house.
37:54It looks great.
37:55No holes.
37:56Yeah, no holes.
37:56That is not the color your house will be.
37:58That's the primer.
37:59Soon we'll paint the whole thing.
38:01All right, here we are.
38:06Wow.
38:06Okay.
38:07Wow.
38:07Two dust.
38:09I remember this.
38:11Yeah?
38:12Yeah.
38:12Looks like it's...
38:13All right.
38:13Bedroom we go, right?
38:14Yes.
38:14Okay, I'm excited.
38:16Uh-huh.
38:16Hold on.
38:17You ready?
38:18All right.
38:19Check it out.
38:21Jiminy Cricket.
38:22Oh, my God.
38:24Oh, my God.
38:27Oh, I love it.
38:28Oh, man, that's great.
38:30Oh, it's so...
38:32Yeah.
38:33Look at this bed.
38:34He likes it.
38:36Oh, my gosh.
38:37Love it.
38:39Good.
38:39This is gorgeous.
38:41Our friend, Andrew Reid, custom-built this mahogany bed.
38:45Oh, my...
38:46It is...
38:47I love mahogany.
38:48Beautiful.
38:49Love it.
38:50Absolutely.
38:50It is gorgeous.
38:51It is so pretty.
38:54Uh-huh.
38:55Oh.
38:55Again.
38:56Uh-huh.
38:57I can't believe this is my house.
38:58It's a more casual version of a formal bed, which I think is kind of the story of your house.
39:02Yeah.
39:03This house is a very grand house, but y'all are a little more casual.
39:06Look at the light fixture.
39:08Yeah.
39:09And I love your lamps.
39:10Wow.
39:11Oh, I was wondering where they would show up.
39:15And the windows are totally different.
39:17Yeah, only two.
39:18But there's no crack.
39:20You can't see daylight.
39:21That's what I'm asking for.
39:22Oh, my gosh.
39:22That is lovely.
39:24You should see what that little bathroom closet hall became.
39:30Nice.
39:31Ooh.
39:32Oh.
39:33Oh, yeah.
39:37Oh, my gosh.
39:40Yeah.
39:41This is crazy how big this is.
39:43It's unbelievable.
39:44Look at all the storage.
39:44Oh, my gosh.
39:45Oh, my gosh.
39:46Oh, my gosh.
39:47Here's your dresser.
39:48Good.
39:49Yes.
39:49Here is where your shoes can go.
39:51And here is where Chris's can go.
39:55He has more shoes than me.
39:57Is that so?
39:57Really?
39:58Yes.
39:59It's very interesting.
40:00I've seen something like that before.
40:01I've heard of people like that.
40:03Oh, yeah, yeah.
40:05It's a huge problem.
40:06Yeah.
40:07Because his feet are size 14.
40:08Oh, yeah.
40:09The bathroom was over there.
40:11Yeah.
40:11The closet.
40:12The hall.
40:12Storage.
40:13Yeah.
40:14Y'all have got to see the bathroom.
40:16Come here.
40:16Come here.
40:16Come here.
40:17See this.
40:17Oh, boy.
40:17Oh, I'm so excited.
40:20Oh, my.
40:27Look at the floor.
40:29Man.
40:30Oh, my.
40:33This can't be my house.
40:34Look at the faucets.
40:36It's incredible.
40:37You wanted it to feel like a five-star hotel.
40:39So you just hold it to brighten the light.
40:43Oh.
40:44I know.
40:44Look at this shower.
40:49Zero entry.
40:52That is lovely.
40:54I'm going in.
40:55Oh, my gosh, baby.
40:56Oh.
40:57Yeah, look.
40:57Oh, it is.
40:57Oh, I love the niche right here so you don't see the crap.
41:02You can hide your crap.
41:04This is something else, Mom.
41:06Oh, my gosh.
41:07And I love these big tights.
41:10Oh, good.
41:11So easy to clean.
41:12That was the goal.
41:13I want it to feel like a five-star hotel, the thinnest and fewest grout lines possible.
41:19Yes.
41:20Yes.
41:20Check out your toilet closet there.
41:22Oh, yeah.
41:23Okay.
41:23It's different than anything we've ever done.
41:25Oh.
41:26Honey, we got the floating toilet.
41:27Oh, the floating toilet.
41:30The best part about that, easy cleaning.
41:33I love it.
41:34Everything here is lovely.
41:37Yeah?
41:37I love the primary suites.
41:40It's beautiful.
41:40Remember what this was?
41:42Yeah.
41:42Quite a turnaround.
41:43Yes.
41:44Yeah.
41:44Yeah.
41:44Primary suite is incredible.
41:46That was a wonderful little taste.
41:48It's hard to believe it's our house.
41:50The kitchen is coming.
41:52It is coming.
41:53Do you want to see the kitchen where it is at this point?
41:55Oh, heck yeah.
41:55It's not beautiful.
41:57That's okay.
41:57It's sturdy.
41:58It's sturdy.
41:59Which for this house?
42:00We're getting somewhere.
42:01It is saying a lot.
42:01We're getting somewhere.
42:03So just, you know, step carefully.
42:05We're missing a threshold.
42:06Okay.
42:06We're missing a lot.
42:08Yeah.
42:09But look, you can really, like, feel the space.
42:11The space.
42:13The volume.
42:14Yes.
42:14Mm-hmm.
42:15It's a lot of kitchen.
42:16There are walls.
42:17Hopefully, there'll be no more delays.
42:20There is so much work left to do.
42:34Mm-hmm.
42:35So much.
42:35The kitchen is my baby that I'm worried about.
42:38Let's hope and pray that there are no more surprises.
42:42Hopefully, they can do what they say.
42:44In a month or two, they can come home and see the rest of it.
42:49Hopefully.
42:50You are witnessing the end of the longest project in hometown history.
42:57That just made me want to throw up.
42:59Is this going to be something that's going to make them cry?
43:01I would love to do that.
43:03This is going to be crazy.
43:05Woo-hoo!
43:07Oh, my God.
43:08Wow.
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