Renovation Realities

I stumbled upon a show last night that I'd never seen before. I was channel surfing because I wasn't quite ready to go to bed and my usual channels weren't thrilling me with their content. Oh my gosh, I have not laughed so hard (and also empathized) in a LONG time. I was a giggling maniac. The show is called Renovation Realities and it's on the DIY Network. It's a show about real people doing real renovations on/in their home. There is no glamorous host, it's kind of like a video diary of what happens. That's not the funniest part though, as you are watching the trials and tribulations of the homeowners, the editors of the show add pop overs that are hysterical. Of course, they promote the DIY Network, but they are also a bit sarcastic and, did I mention, funny? Well, at least to me they were.

For instance, on the one episode, the homeowners were renovating their kitchen. I mean a total overhaul, sink, cabinets, adding an island. They estimated it would take 4 days (even I knew that was not gonna happen). They got to the flooring and the guy was trying to use a hand tool to scrap off the tile or whatever it was. He's huffing and puffing and commenting it's gonna take a long time. The pop over at this point says...that's why they invented power tools! Then they show the guy using a power tool and it's going much more smoothly. LOL The second episode I watched involved two female middle school teachers who wanted to fix up their kitchen. They live in New York. They were going to take out a part of a wall to create a breakfast bar. The one gal was trying to find the studs in the wall using a stud-finder. Then she drew lines across the wall (not vertically)where she said the stud was. The pop over said something like going to diynetwork would help her learn the direction of studs. Or later, when they went to get supplies for the renovation and upon arriving home, sorted the supplies. Each wondered where the other put the sink. Um...they forgot to buy it! (the popover mentioned it, too). They had to go back to the store and get the sink and take it home on the subway! They also came across some electrical conduit in the wall and thought it was a gas line. The gal said she was comfortable continuing the project even though she thought the line was a gas line! The other gal was a bit more cautious saying they could explode! I'm giggling remembering that part. I'm for sure gonna look for the show again. If you get the DIY Network, you might want to check it out for a good laugh. Oh and at the very end they show the completed project, how long it REALLY took and if they stayed on budget. The first kitchen overhaul took 4 weeks, but they stayed on budget. The second, with the teachers, took 4 days instead of three and they were $2000 over their $1000 budget. Ouch.

Lest you think I'm terrible for laughing at this. I'm not above laughing at myself and my attempts and fixing things up. The caulking in our one and only bathroom that has a shower/tub was in desperate need of replacing. Initially Steve thought we should get a handyman to do the job. My friend, Erin G, insisted I could do it myself. I procrastinated forever and a day, but thought I'd surprise Steve and get it done yesterday. Yes, laugh at me, I actually thought I could do it in one day. Shows what I know! I got all the caulk out in one day, if that means anything. I also sprayed the heck out of it to kill the mold that was growing...ewwww...I won't gross you out with a picture of that, okay? I thought Steve might get really mad at me for starting and not completing the project (remember, we don't have another tub/shower), but thankfully he wasn't, especially when he saw the mold. Whew. So, I think, let it dry overnight and Steve can wash up in the sink in the kitchen. Um that would be NO. He still wanted to take his shower. He told me to duct tape trash bags over the open areas and he'd take a super quick shower. I didn't really want to do it, but I did it anyway.

Here's what it looked like: LOL A true blue Red Green moment.

I asked him if it worked after he took his shower. He said yes. Only when I checked it after he went to work, and I'd say not so much! The area was definitely wet. Shoot. I've got a fan blowing in there now  to be sure it's extra dry and will attempt to caulk in a bit. Wish me luck!

Yes, I decided to do this as a surprise, since he surprised me by agreeing to purchase my thrift store finds. The surprise may definitely be on me, if I find out I can't caulk! LOL