# The HGTV effect...



## SSC (Feb 8, 2011)

greg24k said:


> These shows are for entertainment purposes to attract audience and to make believe they know what they doing on the show. They don't care what they break or destroy, the viewers and the network pay for it not to mention the tool companies who donate tools for advertisement reasons. I actually talked to someone who was working on the set and we discussed some show I'm not sure which show, I think it was with the guy and a women and he said it takes and few hours and a crew of carpenters to install the kitchen for a show and it takes 2-3 days of takes to install one cabinet by the people who do the show... It's all BS.
> Someone mentioned Bob Villa, isn't he the one who build that smart house on TV and some one purchased the house for million's of dollars (5m if I am not mistaken) and then they had that 48 Hours show talking about Bob was being sued because everything in the house was messed up... lights would go on and off randomly, he got locked inside the house because the security system failed, etc. That is when they canceled the show and he started doing commercials after that.


The only thing i ever liked about Bob Vila show was that he seemed to walk around the site and talk with the pros on the job - the guys who were actually working


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## WestEndReno (Jan 31, 2010)

these shows are great for all of us. look at the renovation buzz its created. yes, i agree with all of the complaints about unrealistic shows but its all for ratings. if it gets people to spend money on their homes, i'll take the work.


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## RenaissanceR (May 16, 2006)

*Rehab Addict*

[deleted]


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## rescraft (Nov 28, 2007)

*Will do it myself*

Read an article yesterday on the Borgs (HD & Lowes) sales predictions for the spring and there was the usual stuff: "We're predicting sales up blah, blah %) etc. 
But a line in the article caught my attention. Basically it said consumers planning to do work on their homes before and including last year said 47% would hire a contractor to do the work, but this year only 20% would hire a pro; the rest would do it themsleves. The HGTV effect?


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## SSC (Feb 8, 2011)

WestEndReno said:


> these shows are great for all of us. look at the renovation buzz its created. yes, i agree with all of the complaints about unrealistic shows but its all for ratings. if it gets people to spend money on their homes, i'll take the work.



I have to disagree with you. The "renovation buzz" that these shows created Is 90% about the HO doing it themselves. If all of us contractors have to compete over the very few that are left who want to hire a pro then were screwed.


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## tbronson (Feb 22, 2010)

There is one thing I enjoy about Homes on homes...


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## MikeGC (Dec 6, 2008)

I want to pile on some more because I find other things irritating too. 

The men (designers and husbands) especially on the designer challenge type shows are more femmy than my daughters pink toy poodle. Ill leave it there. Friggen Pansies

Every time I see painting they paint the middle third of the wall first and leave the bottom and top. They never have an extension handle, ladder, trim brush. Duh

There is way too many alternative lifestyle couples on these shows too. The whole channel is a freak show. 

What is so much fun about karate chopping, kicking or sledge hammering drywall to remove a wall? Get a grip. Id like to see them use their heads. It might knock some sense into them especially when they hit a stud. Probably break the stud with the rocks they have in there.

Power tool infomercials make me want to puke too.


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## rescraft (Nov 28, 2007)

Customers always ask me "I bet you get alot of satisfaction when you do demolition!" I say no, not really because you have no idea how much work its going to be to put it back to original.


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## BradingCon (Dec 17, 2010)

RenaissanceR said:


> Get a kick out of "rehab addict", where a real estate salesperson also performs
> old house restoration. Surprised OSHA/EPA haven't taken notice. as on one
> episode the 'restoration specialist' was sanding down cabinets outside, no RRP procedures seen. IMHO, the host provides mostly 'eye candy' for the viewers...
> 
> J


 
Yes, she does provide mostly eye candy. And not too bad if I say so myself. But I have seen her do some pretty questionable stuff on her show. But I give her some leeway because of her looks and her ability to run a sawzall:thumbup:


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## Rob PA (Aug 30, 2010)

This same "effect" has spread to commercial facilites. Most "in house" maintenance crews are doing more and more work themselves vs contracting out. They think they know the deal? I have seen more wiring errors and screw ups in the last few years then ever before. I'm not saying im perfect, but some of it is common sense. 

If a acuator motor is bad, replace it. Dont unhook it leaving it hanging by its leads. This one wire nut on one I found not too long ago was resting up against a boiler line and melted the nut and was arcing out. 

My wife made me laugh. She works at a bank. Their maintenace department is not allowed to change out a ballast. They sub it out. Usually 125-175 charge. But she said the other day they switched out an electric hot water tank? Im thinking the tank has more liability if something fails with the water and all. Im just confused.


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## duckdown (Dec 16, 2008)

I guess I am the exception, I believe the following:



I encourage my customers to understand what higher quality looks like. If your customers understand quality and you can deliver it, you can one up the rest of the hacks in our profession.
Holmes on Homes is correct, there are a lot of sloppy contractors who take advantage of homeowners by doing things way too cheaply. Some of us will do anything for a buck.
The vast majority of costs are in the labor and not the materials for low-end jobs. By stepping up the material, he is actually providing better value.


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