Good Bones (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - An Old Victorian House Gets a New Facelift - full transcript
Mina and Karen nearly break the budget to buy a 2,100-square-foot Victorian house they discover is well worth saving.
I'm Mina,
and this is my mom, Karen.
And we're renovating Indianapolis,
one house at a time.
Every rotten, nasty house
that we see...
- Oh!
- Holy moly.
...we try and buy.
Then with a little vision... And a lot of hard work...
...we create beautiful homes
for our neighbors.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Wow.
I don't want to build
crappy houses for my neighbors.
I just don't.
- Are you crying already?
- It looks amazing.
Every tragic house...
There's the bath tub!
...deserves a second chance.
Holy God.
This smells awful.
Because underneath
all that mess,
we might find
some really good bones.
Get your sister!
Get her!
Grandma's outside.
I am not their grandmother.
You're their grandma.
They're my kids.
I'm their mom. You're my mom.
Therefore,
you're their grandmother.
We live
next door to each other.
We live next door
to each other,
so we're very close
all the time.
Very close all the time.
Sometimes too much.
This morning,
we're gonna check out
our latest purchase,
which should be vacant
by now, we hope.
I'll change. I'm meet you
out front in a couple minutes.
- Okey-doke. All right.
- Got treats, Sophie,
literally
in my pocket right here.
You can't turn left here.
- I'm turning right.
- Okay, good.
You can turn left here.
- Do you want to drive?
- No, no, I don't want to drive.
I just want to tell you
how to drive.
Today, we're heading to Barth
in Fountain Square
by the brewery.
Fountain Square is amazing.
There's still houses
that need love,
but it's changed dramatically
in the last five years.
Fountain Square
has an awesome community feel.
This is a really eclectic neighborhood,
and it's where we live,
so that's why it's so important
for us to improve
the houses here,
one at a time.
So we bought Barth
like four or five months ago
for $15,000.
We didn't really
get a good look.
I think it was a good price.
And we're in Fountain Square
proper, which people love.
Fountain Square proper.
Proper.
Mm, yes, very proper.
I mean,
it's a super small house.
I'm guessing we're gonna have
to do an addition
'cause it was so tiny.
Good side, it's super close
to Fountain Square brewery.
Yes, that's
what we liked about it.
But I think it's gonna
be a younger person, couple,
so I think we need to make it
a little--
- Fun?
- Fun, funky.
I like funky.
So, a 2-bedroom,
2-bath bungalow
will usually sell like hotcakes
in Fountain Square
because there's a lot
of first-time homebuyers
like younger couples
not with big families yet.
- Right.
- Oh, my goodness.
It is so small.
This is really tiny, Mom.
I don't even know
what we're gonna do with that.
It's so closed.
- It's like a little toy house.
- It is.
It's like
that one could eat it.
The fact that it's tiny
is not a plus or a minus.
You just spit on me.
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to spit on you.
No.
She's way too free
with her fluids.
We can make this work.
I mean, on the front,
new siding, new trim,
new front door
that's got a little bit more
charm, a little more modern.
- And this fence?
- The picket fence looks so sad.
- It's a sad fence.
- Oh, yeah, it's sad.
I see it a lot
more modern in my head,
like something horizontal,
but still low.
This is the smallest house
we've ever bought.
- Oh, it definitely is.
- Yeah.
- Well, we got to make it bigger.
- I'm already thinking
we got to nearly
double the size of this house
because the average home price
in the neighborhood
is a little over $200,000.
And to get that price
or higher,
we have to have
at least 1,100 square feet.
- How much do you love that?
- Yeah.
- You can keep the eagle.
- Can I keep the eagle?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
It's like a treasure.
And it's, like, right there
on the front of the house.
There's the first treasure.
"No trespassing."
-"Beware of dog."
-"Beware of dog."
And... beads.
- This key does not work.
- What do you mean
- the key doesn't work?
- I mean the key does not work.
I feel like these were put here
for you to wear.
You are not--
Don't touch me with those.
A lot of the homes we buy
do not come with keys.
Right, the key
is a screwdriver.
The key is a screwdriver,
a pry bar, a window.
No doorknob on that door.
That makes it a window.
Yeah.
That one's screwed shut, too.
I can't get back
far enough
to get you going
through this window.
Aah!
What happened?
The cat. The cat.
- Aww.
- Whew! Kitty, you scared me.
- Where's the kitty?
- Hi.
Frequently,
there are people squatting.
It's not like
I'm this crazy sissy.
But you are a sissy.
She's burly,
but she's a little sissy.
- A little.
- I'm burly?
That's not, like, a nice thing
you say to girls.
- Stout?
- She's called me brawny before.
Brawny, stout, burly.
Just keep on flattering me.
- Are you gonna dead-worm it?
- Yeah.
Oh, my goodness.
I want to help you,
but this is
more entertaining.
Hello!
Is anyone here?!
So, we've got our full bath.
Look up.
So, they've got
this drop ceiling.
We've got at least--
What's that?
At least 18 if not 24
more inches of ceiling height,
- which is nice.
- Oh, easily 24. Easily.
Need me to get the camera
up there?
Can you?
Do you want a boost?
We're gonna get on here.
Oh, all right.
- All right.
- Here.
- I like that.
- Ta-da!
I think the ceiling
is plaster,
and then this wall is drywall.
- Can I get down now?
- Yes, you can get down now.
- All right. Where we going now?
- Kitchen.
So, existing kitchen, none
of this really matters, 'cause
we're gonna move the kitchen up
to the front of the house.
It doesn't make sense
for it to be back here.
There are dishes
and water bottles in the sink...
- Okay.
- ...like, that are wet.
Hello?!
Okay, you can go
in the next room first.
You can go first there.
Is there anyone in there?
We're good?
Well, there's stuff
in here.
- Somebody's been living in here.
- But no one's here.
Okay, I can deal with it
as long as he's not here.
This is the end of the road.
We're clear.
Geez, oh, Pete,
my heart's just pounding.
If it was any bigger,
I wouldn't go in.
But someone's clearly
squatting here.
We have a house guest,
possibly two.
Our house guest
might have a pet cat.
- We only met the cat so far.
- So far, just the cat.
God, but the cat scared me.
You know what makes me
a little bit nervous
is the dishes in the sink
and the cup in the corner.
- Well, they're dirty.
- They're dirty, and they're wet,
which makes me think
recent, right?
It's not fun kicking squatters
out of our home.
The first step with dealing
with a squatter is ask nicely.
The second step
is ask not nice,
and the third step is just
take their stuff out
- and start doing demo.
- Doing what you're gonna do,
right.
It's our house.
So, this is the one
existing bedroom.
This bedroom
will no longer be here.
Where this bedroom is will
actually be our new kitchen.
Okay.
- Come on!
- I'm coming, I'm coming.
- So, living room.
- Oh, look at that.
- That's nice.
- A welcoming committee.
- Come on!
- I'm coming, I'm coming.
- So, living room.
- Oh, look at that.
- That's nice.
- A welcoming committee.
I'm guessing there's probably
nothing salvageable.
Flooring wise.
I probably shouldn't touch
this carpet, but--
It's carpet, padding,
vinyl, vinyl, vinyl.
There layers,
and then subfloor,
so no flooring
that's gonna be salvageable.
- I didn't expect it.
- We pretty much have
like a 600-square-foot
rectangle.
So, we can deal with that. We're
gonna open it up. I'm with you.
So, when you walk
in the front door,
this wall between the bedroom
and the living room
will come down. The wall
in this hallway will come down.
We'll have one big open kitchen,
dining, living room space.
So, what we're gonna do
out here--
- Ooh, it's bright.
- Everything behind the peak,
so this whole shed roof,
this is all gonna get torn off.
And this is where our two-story
addition's gonna pop up.
And we'll have the master
bedroom on the first floor,
and the second bedroom
and bath on the second floor.
So, that means the roof line
for this addition
- is gonna be higher.
- Significantly higher.
We've got our weird,
little garage back here,
though, that we need
to figure out what to do with.
It's right in the middle
of the yard,
with our new addition
coming out to here.
But it looks so solid.
I hate to tear it down.
We'll see.
Got some pretty,
little geodes over there.
I'm sure you could do
something fun with them.
- Yeah.
- Crack 'em open,
put 'em on a little end table
for the open house, or--
That's a pretty one, too.
That's a quartz.
- Clean that up a little bit.
- It's just dirty.
Every house to her
is a treasure hunt.
Like, what goodie can we find,
and what can we do with it?
I found a nickel on the ground
right outside the house.
- It's very exciting.
- A whole nickel!
A nickel.
So, what do you think
overall?
We paid $15,000
for this one, right?
Yeah, bought the house
for $15,000.
We'll probably end up putting
about $140,000 into it,
unfortunately,
which will put us
all-in at $155,000.
- Okay.
- And realistically,
I think we can sell
for around $200,000,
but take a stab at $219,000
and list it there
and just see
what kind of feedback we get.
I think my breakdown
of our profit margin
shows that it's nice
if we can make money,
but there's so many other
reasons we do what we do.
For me, at least,
it's not about the money
at all.
It's about having an impact
in our neighborhood.
So, the squatters moved out
when we asked them to,
and the cat belongs
to the neighbor, apparently,
so we are good to go
on demo.
Today is Day 1,
demo at Barth.
Hopefully just a two-day job.
It's a little, baby house.
I've got
three days scheduled.
I want it down
in a day and a half.
Tad's my little brother,
and he heads up our demo crew.
Don't do anything
terribly stupid.
If you have questions,
come ask us
before you do the stupid thing.
We'll tell you
if you can do it or not.
We'll do our best.
Typically, when I'm saying,
"Don't be stupid,
don't do something stupid,"
I'm specifically talking
to my little brother, Tad.
Tad, on a regular basis,
does stupid things.
- Those are my tools.
- I'll break 'em.
Ow.
- Is that one pretty?
- That one's pretty.
Okay, that's all of 'em.
We saved some rocks.
Doesn't she look like a happy,
little kindergartner?
Like, "I got rocks today,
and they're so shiny!"
People who buy the house,
they like to know
that we saved this.
Yeah, they're like, "Oh,
this was in the house before?
That's so cool that it's
back in the house now."
He's just not the most agile.
I feel like this is a bad plan
to have you up there.
Mina, I played
collegiate football.
The only person
I care about competing with
is my little brother, Tad.
So, like, when he was up
in the ceiling kicking it down,
I felt compelled to show him
how much better I could do it.
I'm a lot faster at that
than you are.
- Me?
- Yeah.
I don't think so.
Go do something productive.
Just stick that in there.
Oh, geez, Tad.
Let me get out of your way.
Ah, you see
all that termite damage?
Look at this.
- Oh, my gosh!
- So, look at this board.
It's just, like, dirt.
It's sawdust!
Look at that.
There's live termites in there.
Right there. See it?
Oh, my God!
There's like a whole family!
There's live termites
in there. Right there. See it?
Oh, my God!
There's like a whole family!
We've had termite damage
in every house,
but we've only had live termites
in one.
Live termites
are a bigger challenge
'cause it's more money,
and you have to kill them.
If we put new wood in,
and we haven't killed them,
they're gonna eat new wood, and
this house is gonna fall down.
- Hey, Lenny!
- Yeah?
There's a bunch
of termite damage.
Lenny is my dad's third wife's
first husband,
so he's always been
around the family
in a very, like, strange way,
but he's amazing.
That's really bad.
The sill plate doesn't even
look like it exists anymore.
Oh, that's really bad.
Lenny works for us,
and he runs
our construction team
and helps us
crunch the numbers.
So, your completely
uneducated assessment
of how expensive this is gonna
be until we get further in--
Just this wall here,
600 bucks.
Now, once we open up the rest
and see if it's
the entire house,
take this 5 feet
and multiply it.
Cha-ching,
cha-ching, cha-ching.
It is more money
for the termites.
That means more framing.
That means termite treatment.
Look.
You got us a new toy!
Lenny brought an excavator
to demolish the garage.
There's just
one little problem.
We don't know
how to operate that machine.
This brings the bucket up.
- Okay.
- When you pull it back...
It brings the bucket down.
When you push forward,
it brings it down.
All right, fire it up.
Aah!
The thing is, we usually don't
demo with big machinery
because we get the entire house
but leave the frame intact.
Here, the entire garage
is coming down,
so that's
a special treat for us.
- Come on, girl!
- I am!
- Go!
- Push!
- Come back up.
- Go higher!
Ah, you missed it.
I want to do it!
Let Mina have a turn.
It's killing her.
See, Mina drives
with unchecked aggression.
Okay.
It's really fun
but terrifying.
I think if I had,
like, a couple weeks' practice,
- I'd get it down.
- Push it down.
I'm done!
I think on the job site, Tad
tries to, like, teach people.
Like, "I got this.
I'll show you how to do it."
And then I'm like, "No, dude.
Wait. That's not how you do it."
He took down a chimney
at chest height.
Not how you take down a chimney.
You take it down from the top
so when you take it down
at chest height
it doesn't tip over,
which it did.
I can tell him
to not be stupid.
He's still gonna do
stupid stuff.
- Oh, no!
- Oh! Oh!
- Oh!
- Don't touch me.
- You're gonna slide off.
- You're so dirty!
Oh, God.
This is, like, so gross.
So, now that demo's done,
we need to sit down,
put our heads together,
and figure out how exactly
we're gonna work the floor plan.
how we're gonna use the space
in the new addition
and make it
the most efficient.
Blew up nice and big so you may
not even need your glasses.
Look at that.
I don't need my glasses.
This is bea-- Thank you.
Thank you very much.
- That was nice of you.
- I do what I can.
So, this is our current
first-floor plan.
One bedroom, one bath.
Well, the problems with Barth
were multi-faceted.
The biggest problem with Barth
is it's just tiny.
And we need, for resale,
to get two bedrooms,
and at least a bath
and a half in there.
And in the existing footprint,
that just wasn't happening.
This space used to be
the living room and the bedroom.
- Right.
- And we opened it all up.
And then we're gonna change
that bedroom
into a long galley kitchen.
Yeah, so you're gonna
have cabinets here,
and then this is
your little breakfast bar.
- Right.
- With some stools.
So even though
we don't have a dining room,
we'll still have
a lot of seating.
- Yes.
- And then the current kitchen
and bathroom,
it'll serve two purposes.
We'll take half of it
to do, like, a laundry room,
a coat closet,
a half bath,
and then the staircase
up to the second floor addition,
and then the rest of it will get
added on the back here.
And that's where we're gonna put
all the bedroom space.
We'll have a master,
with a bathroom
on the first floor,
and then
another bedroom upstairs
with a slightly smaller bathroom.
I think the two stories
are gonna make
this little house work.
It's gonna make the best use
out of what's
a really small space.
- It's gonna be functional.
- It's gonna be clean.
It's gonna be
contemporary, yes.
I mean, that's just insane.
Lenny just e-mailed me
the budget numbers for Barth,
and I am not liking
what I'm seeing.
Turns out, there was way
more termite damage at Barth
than we originally thought,
and fixing it is gonna
send our budget
over $131,000,
which is way more than we ever
anticipated spending
on this house.
Hello?
- Hi, nerd.
- Hello?
I am not happy
with you boys.
- This e-mail?
- Yeah.
You're crazy!
So, you want to see more
behind-the-scenes footage
of our renovations
and floor plans?
You know,
where Mom harasses me
about the toilet placement
and pocket doors.
- Hi, nerd.
- Hello?
- This e-mail?
- Yeah.
You're crazy!
Lenny's estimates
are kind of ever-evolving.
He helps
watch over the budget.
But even though it's gonna cost
more than expected
to get rid
of the termites,
I just don't trust his math
this time.
$131,500
without the garage.
And it's 1,200 square feet.
$131,500...
with the garage.
Without the garage.
It says, "does not include."
No, it's with the garage.
Yeah, this is
with the garage.
So now, does that
make you happier, Mina?
I mean,
it makes me a little happier,
not, like, a ton happier.
I was hoping
it'd be around like $115,000.
Holy cow!
We're not getting rich off this.
Our profit margin is not huge,
and then we split it
between the two of us.
- These aren't real.
- These are fake.
These aren't real.
- These are fake, FYI.
- We're not that fancy.
- We can't have nice things.
- They're like $20,
but they make me feel pretty
when I look like this.
Morning, Leonard!
Boss women are here!
Where we are at Barth's
right now is good.
We've made a lot of progress.
The demo is all done.
The foundation's been fixed.
The first and second story
have been framed,
and then today is trusses,
which is the roof.
So, this house
was so ate up in termites,
we were able to save
five studs. That's it.
It would look
to the ordinary person
like we've wasted our time.
We should have just torn it down
and redone it.
It's not what we do.
It's just disrespectful
to just bulldoze it.
It's like it didn't even matter,
and it did matter.
Why wouldn't you rebuild it
and give it a chance
to breathe again?
I'm giving myself goosebumps.
I get a little excited sometimes.
She's gonna cry again
or something.
- But it's true!
- What she said.
Trusses are a structural element
of the house,
and it's important
that they're done right.
We get ours made custom
for our houses.
They come precut,
giant triangles.
You could build the structure
on-site with 2x4s,
or you can preorder 'em custom
fit, so that's what we did
'cause it makes it a little bit
quicker, a little bit easier.
One, two, three.
Wait, wait, wait.
We can't control
the material cost,
but Mom and I can come in
and cut back
on some of the labor cost.
- Hang on, hang on.
- Mom!
Sorry, sorry.
That doesn't look
like a secure knot.
Through the hole, there we go,
around the tree, rabbit.
The bunnies and stuff.
There you go.
That's beautiful.
Pull.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
Ohh.
She doesn't like to admit it
because she's not afraid
of a lot of things,
but she is afraid of heights.
Not spiders,
not basements, not--
But heights,
that's her Kryptonite.
Yeah, I don't like being
in high places, that is true.
Ready?
Up one.
Okay.
Climb.
- All right, I think--
- Whoa, whoa!
Whoa.
One, two, three.
No.
- You got it, you got it.
- Mom, get up.
- Take a step. I got this.
- Wait, wait.
- Sorry.
- Geez.
You got to push up a step.
One step, that's all.
Hey, in inches.
There you go.
Inches.
You ain't going nowhere.
We got you.
Hey, when you are lost,
I will come find you.
Thank you, Leonard.
- They got it.
- Ahh.
- Breathe.
- You're okay.
Breathe.
- Girl!
- You did it.
No, you're just awesome
in every way,
in every conceivable way.
I'm glad you think that.
I have not seen you
not be awesome, ever.
Well...
- She's such a brown-noser.
- I'm not a brown-noser!
- He's awesome!
- He is awesome.
Maybe you ought to try that.
Maybe the numbers will go down.
It's true.
Step, move, push.
The roof system
went up in...
- Couple hours.
- Couple hours? Like two hours.
It makes it really quick.
It's efficient.
And when working on a timeline,
that's helpful.
Today, we're
at a local brewery
just around the corner
from the house on Barth,
and we're hoping we can pull
our design plan together.
These are kind of
what I'm thinking.
I'm just gonna put lots
of all these things out here.
- Ooh.
- You like this flooring?
- I really like that flooring.
- That's a hewn maple.
You know
why you love it so much?
- 'Cause it's expensive?
- Yeah.
I love starting
with the floors, though,
because they're gonna set
the design tone
for the entire house.
There's a masculine feel
to this house,
so we're gonna go
with masculine colors.
So, if this is our cabinets,
I think the walls
should all be somewhere in here,
- just something barely gray.
- I like that.
So, it's gray,
which is kind of urban
and masculine,
but it's gray on top
- of this subtle wood grain.
- Organic.
So, if everything else is gray,
and we're gonna go with chrome,
I want the counter
to soften it just a little bit.
I would like some natural stone
in the kitchen.
Definitely.
Something that's got
some white.
Like a Carrara marble
or Super White,
something with white
with some gray veining.
I think what we need
to end up doing, though,
is something
really dramatic.
So what I'm thinking
is the waterfall,
so, like, the big,
huge wraparound
with the natural stone.
- It'll soften it a little bit.
- Soften it just a little bit.
The high-end marble countertop
is pretty expensive and way more
than I would typically want
to spend for a starter home,
but it's gonna make
such an impact,
it'll definitely
be worth it.
How do you feel
about this?
You know
I love a white bathroom.
I love subway tile,
but I think Barth
is, like, screaming
for something
a little more funky
than just regular
subway, so--
A little more cosmopolitan.
- It's really classic.
- But it's a twist on classy
because it's oversized,
and then we're gonna take it
and turn it vertical
and do a vertical
subway pattern
to make it just
a little more fresh.
It's gonna feel like we've done
something really interesting.
And also,
it's gonna bring your eye up.
Which brings us
to outside colors.
I think we can get away
with something bright
like a bright green.
I mean,
all these are really nice.
- I like this one.
- That color
with something back along the
lines of this kind of trim?
I think gray trim
would be good.
There are some decisions
that are outside
both of our comfort zones,
but we choose
to make them anyways.
Yes, because sometimes you want
your house to make a statement,
and it's gonna draw
a certain kind of person.
And I like those people
in our neighborhood,
people who think
a green house is awesome.
What color
do we want to do the door?
There's a blue color
that would go with that.
That one's got a good punch
against the green.
- The green.
- I like that.
We don't make any decisions
unless we agree on them,
which to me is just a challenge
to make her agree with me.
Really, most of the time,
that's the situation.
That happens a lot.
So, the couple that's interested
in buying Barth,
they're just so cute
and seem so excited.
Ta-da!
Wow.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Wow.
That's awesome.
So, the next one's
25 inches, too.
All right.
This house is at the tail end
of the first big chunk of stuff.
We're wrapping up
the outside.
Siding's almost done.
So is the deck.
And on the inside,
we're finishing up
electrical and plumbing.
So, all the wires
are run through the wall.
And upstairs
on the back addition,
we're wrapping in the bathroom
and sitting room
and drywalling
the entire house.
On this house,
we went outside both
of our comfort zones,
and we chose some really bold,
exciting colors.
Vibrant.
And I think
it looks great so far.
The only reason
I think we can pull it off
is 'cause
it's a small house.
You see this cute,
little triangle of bright green,
and on the back, you see
a slightly bigger one
of bright green.
This is the right house
to take that risk on.
You're gonna be shocked
when I say
I already have
a very strong idea
of what I want these counters
to look like,
but I think you're
gonna agree with me.
Don't look exhausted
just listening to me.
I started talking
10 seconds ago.
Today, we're gonna go
find some stone for Barth.
We're finding
a very specific stone--
what I want.
Mm, this place
makes me so happy.
I think there are a number
of things
that people see
when they walk in a house
that says to them, "These people
cared about this house,
and they did
a really good job."
And one of those things is,
if you have a beautiful slab
stone countertop,
- that says to a buyer--
- They didn't cheap out.
- Whoever built this...
- They kicked it up a notch.
...was willing
to put some money in.
We've definitely gone down
a very specific road with Barth.
It's urban and young
and a little bit funky.
The reason
I like this for Barth,
this is very graphic.
There are a lot
of geometric shapes.
There's a lot
of strong lines.
The Super White granite
has a very graphic feel to it,
and I just like that granite
so much.
I would put it everywhere.
I want that piece.
It's a very similar
color palette.
It is a beautiful piece
of stone.
I love all the color
and more subtle movement.
Mm-hmm.
For me, putting this slab
of marble in there
makes the house
a lot more versatile.
You could put charming,
white bar stools,
and it's gonna be
a little softer.
Ugh, it's so pretty.
I really like that piece.
See? I told you!
I told you! I told you!
I think a lot of people
think of marble
as very fancy
and very expensive.
That Carrara marble
was actually less expensive
than the Super White granite.
I want this!
I know from past experience
we can't afford this.
- Right.
- Right.
- But I like this better.
- Yes.
- Look how happy she is now.
- I am.
I never pick
the less expensive thing,
so the fact that I like this
better is amazing.
I went in with a mission,
and I achieved it.
And part of the mission
was getting this lady
to see what I wanted
and agree with it,
and I achieved that.
And I think we're both
very happy with our choice.
I still want Super White.
- No, you don't!
- Oh, yeah, I do.
That's not what you said
when we were there.
You 100% said
that you liked
that piece of stone better.
- I might have said that.
- She said it.
All right.
Let's do this.
So, the pressure is on now
to get this house done,
because I just got word
that we have some prospective,
interested buyers,
which would be the best
possible situation
because we wouldn't have
to put the house on the market
if we could convince them
to buy it as soon as it's done.
So hopefully in the next few
days, the house is looking good,
and I'll set up a showing
and get them in to check it out.
Yes.
So, we got here this morning,
and our thought was,
we were gonna make sure
the tilers knew
the pattern
we wanted the tile put in.
And we were gonna
help tile upstairs.
The problem is,
the tub is too far
away from the wall,
so we have a gap.
Like, the tile can sit in,
and then--
Turns out, no one's tiling.
We leave the site for one day
to get marble.
We come back,
and there's problems.
There's always problems.
The tub is too far away
from the wall.
Can we take the tub out?
The gap between the tub
and the greenboard
is too large.
Like, the tile can sit in,
and then--
Turns out,
no one's tiling!
We didn't get
the flange tub?
Remember? We were supposed
to get the flange tub?
- No.
- No? Okay.
Apparently, it's 'cause
I bought the wrong tub.
We will put a piece
of greenboard on the back,
and we will stabilize the tub,
and it's gonna be fine.
And then we're gonna tile.
What are you guys doing?
When I walked in,
she looked like a monkey.
She was holding it by her feet,
banging it open
like there was something
in there she was gonna eat.
What are you doing?
- Look.
- Oh.
I'm making a lamp.
We're trying
to crack open geodes
that we found at Barth.
And they say, "Oh, just tap,
just score it,
and it'll crack open."
Well, that's
not quite true.
This looks-- Like, I feel like
you're gonna slip
and take off a foot.
It could happen.
I did a practice one.
Look at that one.
This is a lot harder.
That other one broke
before this.
These items that I find
are like the houses.
They look like trash
to everyone else,
and they're not.
Just doesn't seem like
it's doing much.
Why don't we try using
the masonry bit
and drill a couple,
and then try to crack it?
The drill's in the truck.
Mina went to get the drill
'cause we're gonna try drilling
pilot holes or something,
and I really was invested in
getting the geode cracked open
before she got back
with the drill.
Yes!
And boom!
Look how pretty that one is!
So pretty.
I didn't need to crack any more,
because this one's gorgeous.
- Right?
- It's really pretty.
And it cracked
just perfectly.
That is gorgeous.
- Now what?
- We're gonna make two lamps.
It's just gonna kind of go
right like that.
Ta-da!
Now you have a lamp.
Lovely.
So, we're at Barth wrapping up
the kitchen cabinet install,
which looks awesome.
Last door.
Here, I'm gonna hand you this.
- Those cabinets are killer.
- Yeah.
They better be killer, 'cause
they were a lot of money.
All right, flooring.
Let's go.
So, we're on our way.
Flooring and cabinets,
they're a big part
of being on our way.
The outside of the house
is getting wrapped up.
We've got the fence. Inside,
what we have left to do
is really the finishing stuff,
and next up,
we have to tackle countertops.
Ooh!
This is the most
incredible countertop ever.
That's our backsplash, Mom.
Ugh. It's just so pretty.
That marble says,
"Come sit here,
eat a delicious meal,
and just enjoy life,
because I'm that beautiful."
It's just gorgeous.
It's so pretty.
It looks awesome.
Ohh.
Everybody's rushing around,
so Mina puts me in a room
with a vanity
that needs to be assembled,
I didn't put you in it.
You took it up there,
and you started assembling it.
You're much happier being
in a room, doing one project,
- than you are--
- Managing the whole shebang.
And I'm jumping around, figuring
out all the other problems
'cause it's exciting.
Like, this is a fun time.
All the finish guys are in,
so there's trim stuff,
paint stuff.
The awning out front is getting,
theoretically, installed.
It looks kind of tricky.
It's not assembled,
and there's a lot of pieces.
But when it's put together,
and it's installed,
then it'll make a statement.
Ooh, Mom,
look at the metal!
So, everything
is coming together.
The kitchen looks amazing.
The appliances just came in,
and they're that dark gunmetal.
They look really cool.
I mean,
stainless steel is pretty,
but it's just, like,
a little bit different.
I'm feeling good 'cause
we're right on schedule.
The back deck is finished.
The fence is up.
The front porch
and awning are looking great.
So now that we've wrapped up
all our punch list items,
and the structure's good to go,
and we're gonna do a deep clean,
and then bring
all the furniture in.
We're taking a break
from construction
to grab some snacks
at one of our favorite markets
in Fountain Square.
Have you ever had
these coconut chips?
Mina, they have glazed
and roasted figs.
So, didn't you have a showing
over at Barth?
I did.
I met the Realtor
and the couple,
and they're my age-ish.
- Oh, good.
- Super cute.
They seemed really positive,
asking a bunch of questions
that lead me to believe
they're going to buy it.
They're young.
They're fun.
It's their first home.
They're getting married,
so this is the beginning
of their new life
in this awesome new home
in this amazing neighborhood.
But we just need
to get a move on,
because they get
married soon,
and I know they want to move in
before the wedding.
So, now that we have
an interested party
that wants the house
and wants to move in,
we're even a little more
under the gun to get it done
and get it done quickly
so we can close.
We can get our investment
back out of it
and roll that
into the next property.
Will you take one? Yeah.
I'm really excited
to stage this one
because I think we've done
such a good job
with our colors, right?
- 50 shades of gray.
- Yeah.
The whole house
is shades of gray,
and then we're gonna
make it pop
with all the furnishings
and decor we put in it.
It is really exciting
to be this close to the end
and seeing the landscaping
getting done
and getting
the furniture loaded in.
But there's still a lot
of little, tiny details.
We have buyers coming
on Monday
to look at it and say,
"Yep, we're buying it."
And so it has to be in "Yep,
we're buying it" condition.
I think the couch
is really good for the space
because it is
a smaller living room.
The furniture in the space
totally pulls it together.
It's urban,
slightly masculine.
We have these dramatic, chrome,
kind of sharper edged finishes,
but they play off the organic,
curved bar stool backs.
Since lot of the houses
we're working with are so small,
there has to be a cohesive feel
through them
with color, texture, lines,
all that stuff,
because when things
break the eye,
it stops your brain. Your brain
can't flow through the house
and just think,
"Everything was amazing.
I can't even
put my finger--"
She sounds just like me
right now.
I didn't know
what was about to happen.
That was beautiful.
Your mother's words
just came out of your mouth.
- How do you feel about that?
- Not good.
Not good.
Mina's grooving
on the chair.
Here. Stop spinning.
There you go. Good.
And then Buddha.
Om.
So, the couple that's interested
in buying Barth,
they're engaged.
They're just so cute
and seem so excited.
So, there's been
some pretty significant changes
since you were here last.
When Catherine and Matthew
last saw the house,
it was a construction zone,
and now
that it's finally done,
we're really excited
to show it to 'em
and see if they love it
enough to buy it.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Wow.
Wow. That's awesome.
It's so bright and beautiful.
This is great.
You did such a nice job on this.
I'm really impressed.
So, when we bought this house,
it was totally termite eaten.
So, after
we finished gutting it,
it's just the tidiest, sturdiest,
cutest little house
on the block now.
This is so different
than the first time we saw it.
I can't even believe
this is the same house.
Ta-da!
Wow.
Oh, wow.
Oh, my gosh.
This is so cool.
A lot of things
in this house
are exactly
what I would have picked.
So I feel like they're already
mentally moving in.
- This is good.
- This is good.
The whole color palette
came together so well.
Even though
there's a lot of gray, right,
but the light walls--
I love it.
We blew out the wall
between the living room
and the only bedroom
in the house,
and those are now
our existing living room,
kitchen,
and bar/dining space.
Come in the kitchen.
Explore all the storage
that could be yours.
These cabinets are fantastic.
Yes. And we've got all,
like, the chrome accents
blinging off each other.
It's really useful
that the cabinets
go all the way to the ceiling.
It makes the ceilings
feel, like, so tall
'cause you walk in,
and it just brings your eye
up to the ceiling.
This marble's
absolutely gorgeous.
It is. It's beautiful.
So, we wanted to create
this massive island
with the waterfall overhang,
so you still have tons
of seating.
You could fit five to six people
easily sitting there,
which is what you would
put around
a standard
dining room table.
If you're going
to present a home to a buyer
that doesn't have a dining room
or really room to put a table,
you have to create
a dining option
that's substantial.
You just want
to touch it, don't you?
- I do, I do.
- I'm just petting it.
I lured you in
with my marble.
We'll move on to
the master bedroom and bathroom,
and hopefully get you hooked
a little more.
First, we've got the hallway
off here
that has your coat closet,
stacked washer and dryer,
and a half bath,
but we're gonna go back
to the master bedroom and bath.
Wow.
- Look at that light fixture.
- I love that light fixture.
Plus two closets?
I mean, the storage is great.
I like that the curtains
go all the way to the floor.
See the lamp bases?
So, I made these lamps.
- Oh, my gosh.
- That's a geode
that she found
in the backyard.
Cracking those suckers open
is not easy.
So, that's a little part
of the house
that, if you buy this house,
you get to enjoy
those geodes every day.
Did you guys peek in?
I haven't peeked
in the bathroom.
The en suite?
Wow.
It feels really bright
and clean in here.
It would be so nice
to have two sinks.
- It would.
- And look at that bathtub.
- It's huge.
- And there's a window.
- Yeah.
- More natural light.
This bathroom
is like a sanctuary.
I like a spa-like experience.
I love a white bathroom.
I'm gonna go with 9 out of 10
people like white,
which is important,
because part of the business
is selling the house.
From this wall back
is all new construction.
There was a little, funny,
little shed
on the back of the kitchen.
And from there back
is our new addition
that houses the master suite
and then, on the second floor,
the additional bedroom
and bathroom.
We're gonna go upstairs next,
and I think that's gonna be
kind of like the cake topper
because it's very unexpected.
- Let's go look.
- Now it's time to look at that.
- Great.
- Go ahead.
Oh, wow.
I was not expecting this
at all.
Right?
How awesome is this?
This is great. I can definitely
see us using this space.
So, we've got not only a lot
of space in the room,
but wall-to-wall
closets again.
The nook is great just
to have somewhere to have a desk
because I work
remotely, so...
- Oh.
- Oh, perfect.
- So it's perfect for you.
- It is.
Another thing I like,
too, is just the ceiling height.
Do you guys want
to check out the bathroom?
Yeah, let's go.
It's a really clean look. Yeah.
Yeah, the modern vanity,
the vertical subway tile.
It'll be nice
to have a second full bath.
So, you want to go take a look
at the backyard?
I can't wait.
I feel like the dog's
really gonna like the backyard.
- Oh, look at this.
- Yay. There's a fence!
Nice big, tall fence,
nice big deck.
Wow. This deck is huge.
Enough yard for a dog,
but not too much yard
to be high maintenance.
- So, what do you guys think?
- We love it.
Yeah, I think we need to make
a quick decision here
'cause I don't think
it's gonna last long.
No, it probably won't.
I can't imagine the house
is gonna stay on the market
for terribly long,
so take a little bit of time
but not too much. We really want
you guys to buy it.
- Yeah, we do.
- So, this was really fun.
So, we'll talk about it
and crunch some numbers and--
- Get back to me soon.
- Yeah.
So, we bought the house
on Barth for $15,000.
Our renovation costs ran
a little higher than expected,
about $160,000.
Adding Realtor fees,
closing costs,
and other incidentals,
our total investment
comes to $189,000.
Good news is, we did sell the
house to Catherine and Matthew
for $225,000,
giving us a profit
of $36,000.
Barth is one more house
that we can stand back and go,
"We did something good here."
I love
when people love the house.
I want to make people happy.
I want to make
a neighborhood happy.
I just want to make the world
a better place
one house at a time.
and this is my mom, Karen.
And we're renovating Indianapolis,
one house at a time.
Every rotten, nasty house
that we see...
- Oh!
- Holy moly.
...we try and buy.
Then with a little vision... And a lot of hard work...
...we create beautiful homes
for our neighbors.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Wow.
I don't want to build
crappy houses for my neighbors.
I just don't.
- Are you crying already?
- It looks amazing.
Every tragic house...
There's the bath tub!
...deserves a second chance.
Holy God.
This smells awful.
Because underneath
all that mess,
we might find
some really good bones.
Get your sister!
Get her!
Grandma's outside.
I am not their grandmother.
You're their grandma.
They're my kids.
I'm their mom. You're my mom.
Therefore,
you're their grandmother.
We live
next door to each other.
We live next door
to each other,
so we're very close
all the time.
Very close all the time.
Sometimes too much.
This morning,
we're gonna check out
our latest purchase,
which should be vacant
by now, we hope.
I'll change. I'm meet you
out front in a couple minutes.
- Okey-doke. All right.
- Got treats, Sophie,
literally
in my pocket right here.
You can't turn left here.
- I'm turning right.
- Okay, good.
You can turn left here.
- Do you want to drive?
- No, no, I don't want to drive.
I just want to tell you
how to drive.
Today, we're heading to Barth
in Fountain Square
by the brewery.
Fountain Square is amazing.
There's still houses
that need love,
but it's changed dramatically
in the last five years.
Fountain Square
has an awesome community feel.
This is a really eclectic neighborhood,
and it's where we live,
so that's why it's so important
for us to improve
the houses here,
one at a time.
So we bought Barth
like four or five months ago
for $15,000.
We didn't really
get a good look.
I think it was a good price.
And we're in Fountain Square
proper, which people love.
Fountain Square proper.
Proper.
Mm, yes, very proper.
I mean,
it's a super small house.
I'm guessing we're gonna have
to do an addition
'cause it was so tiny.
Good side, it's super close
to Fountain Square brewery.
Yes, that's
what we liked about it.
But I think it's gonna
be a younger person, couple,
so I think we need to make it
a little--
- Fun?
- Fun, funky.
I like funky.
So, a 2-bedroom,
2-bath bungalow
will usually sell like hotcakes
in Fountain Square
because there's a lot
of first-time homebuyers
like younger couples
not with big families yet.
- Right.
- Oh, my goodness.
It is so small.
This is really tiny, Mom.
I don't even know
what we're gonna do with that.
It's so closed.
- It's like a little toy house.
- It is.
It's like
that one could eat it.
The fact that it's tiny
is not a plus or a minus.
You just spit on me.
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to spit on you.
No.
She's way too free
with her fluids.
We can make this work.
I mean, on the front,
new siding, new trim,
new front door
that's got a little bit more
charm, a little more modern.
- And this fence?
- The picket fence looks so sad.
- It's a sad fence.
- Oh, yeah, it's sad.
I see it a lot
more modern in my head,
like something horizontal,
but still low.
This is the smallest house
we've ever bought.
- Oh, it definitely is.
- Yeah.
- Well, we got to make it bigger.
- I'm already thinking
we got to nearly
double the size of this house
because the average home price
in the neighborhood
is a little over $200,000.
And to get that price
or higher,
we have to have
at least 1,100 square feet.
- How much do you love that?
- Yeah.
- You can keep the eagle.
- Can I keep the eagle?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
It's like a treasure.
And it's, like, right there
on the front of the house.
There's the first treasure.
"No trespassing."
-"Beware of dog."
-"Beware of dog."
And... beads.
- This key does not work.
- What do you mean
- the key doesn't work?
- I mean the key does not work.
I feel like these were put here
for you to wear.
You are not--
Don't touch me with those.
A lot of the homes we buy
do not come with keys.
Right, the key
is a screwdriver.
The key is a screwdriver,
a pry bar, a window.
No doorknob on that door.
That makes it a window.
Yeah.
That one's screwed shut, too.
I can't get back
far enough
to get you going
through this window.
Aah!
What happened?
The cat. The cat.
- Aww.
- Whew! Kitty, you scared me.
- Where's the kitty?
- Hi.
Frequently,
there are people squatting.
It's not like
I'm this crazy sissy.
But you are a sissy.
She's burly,
but she's a little sissy.
- A little.
- I'm burly?
That's not, like, a nice thing
you say to girls.
- Stout?
- She's called me brawny before.
Brawny, stout, burly.
Just keep on flattering me.
- Are you gonna dead-worm it?
- Yeah.
Oh, my goodness.
I want to help you,
but this is
more entertaining.
Hello!
Is anyone here?!
So, we've got our full bath.
Look up.
So, they've got
this drop ceiling.
We've got at least--
What's that?
At least 18 if not 24
more inches of ceiling height,
- which is nice.
- Oh, easily 24. Easily.
Need me to get the camera
up there?
Can you?
Do you want a boost?
We're gonna get on here.
Oh, all right.
- All right.
- Here.
- I like that.
- Ta-da!
I think the ceiling
is plaster,
and then this wall is drywall.
- Can I get down now?
- Yes, you can get down now.
- All right. Where we going now?
- Kitchen.
So, existing kitchen, none
of this really matters, 'cause
we're gonna move the kitchen up
to the front of the house.
It doesn't make sense
for it to be back here.
There are dishes
and water bottles in the sink...
- Okay.
- ...like, that are wet.
Hello?!
Okay, you can go
in the next room first.
You can go first there.
Is there anyone in there?
We're good?
Well, there's stuff
in here.
- Somebody's been living in here.
- But no one's here.
Okay, I can deal with it
as long as he's not here.
This is the end of the road.
We're clear.
Geez, oh, Pete,
my heart's just pounding.
If it was any bigger,
I wouldn't go in.
But someone's clearly
squatting here.
We have a house guest,
possibly two.
Our house guest
might have a pet cat.
- We only met the cat so far.
- So far, just the cat.
God, but the cat scared me.
You know what makes me
a little bit nervous
is the dishes in the sink
and the cup in the corner.
- Well, they're dirty.
- They're dirty, and they're wet,
which makes me think
recent, right?
It's not fun kicking squatters
out of our home.
The first step with dealing
with a squatter is ask nicely.
The second step
is ask not nice,
and the third step is just
take their stuff out
- and start doing demo.
- Doing what you're gonna do,
right.
It's our house.
So, this is the one
existing bedroom.
This bedroom
will no longer be here.
Where this bedroom is will
actually be our new kitchen.
Okay.
- Come on!
- I'm coming, I'm coming.
- So, living room.
- Oh, look at that.
- That's nice.
- A welcoming committee.
- Come on!
- I'm coming, I'm coming.
- So, living room.
- Oh, look at that.
- That's nice.
- A welcoming committee.
I'm guessing there's probably
nothing salvageable.
Flooring wise.
I probably shouldn't touch
this carpet, but--
It's carpet, padding,
vinyl, vinyl, vinyl.
There layers,
and then subfloor,
so no flooring
that's gonna be salvageable.
- I didn't expect it.
- We pretty much have
like a 600-square-foot
rectangle.
So, we can deal with that. We're
gonna open it up. I'm with you.
So, when you walk
in the front door,
this wall between the bedroom
and the living room
will come down. The wall
in this hallway will come down.
We'll have one big open kitchen,
dining, living room space.
So, what we're gonna do
out here--
- Ooh, it's bright.
- Everything behind the peak,
so this whole shed roof,
this is all gonna get torn off.
And this is where our two-story
addition's gonna pop up.
And we'll have the master
bedroom on the first floor,
and the second bedroom
and bath on the second floor.
So, that means the roof line
for this addition
- is gonna be higher.
- Significantly higher.
We've got our weird,
little garage back here,
though, that we need
to figure out what to do with.
It's right in the middle
of the yard,
with our new addition
coming out to here.
But it looks so solid.
I hate to tear it down.
We'll see.
Got some pretty,
little geodes over there.
I'm sure you could do
something fun with them.
- Yeah.
- Crack 'em open,
put 'em on a little end table
for the open house, or--
That's a pretty one, too.
That's a quartz.
- Clean that up a little bit.
- It's just dirty.
Every house to her
is a treasure hunt.
Like, what goodie can we find,
and what can we do with it?
I found a nickel on the ground
right outside the house.
- It's very exciting.
- A whole nickel!
A nickel.
So, what do you think
overall?
We paid $15,000
for this one, right?
Yeah, bought the house
for $15,000.
We'll probably end up putting
about $140,000 into it,
unfortunately,
which will put us
all-in at $155,000.
- Okay.
- And realistically,
I think we can sell
for around $200,000,
but take a stab at $219,000
and list it there
and just see
what kind of feedback we get.
I think my breakdown
of our profit margin
shows that it's nice
if we can make money,
but there's so many other
reasons we do what we do.
For me, at least,
it's not about the money
at all.
It's about having an impact
in our neighborhood.
So, the squatters moved out
when we asked them to,
and the cat belongs
to the neighbor, apparently,
so we are good to go
on demo.
Today is Day 1,
demo at Barth.
Hopefully just a two-day job.
It's a little, baby house.
I've got
three days scheduled.
I want it down
in a day and a half.
Tad's my little brother,
and he heads up our demo crew.
Don't do anything
terribly stupid.
If you have questions,
come ask us
before you do the stupid thing.
We'll tell you
if you can do it or not.
We'll do our best.
Typically, when I'm saying,
"Don't be stupid,
don't do something stupid,"
I'm specifically talking
to my little brother, Tad.
Tad, on a regular basis,
does stupid things.
- Those are my tools.
- I'll break 'em.
Ow.
- Is that one pretty?
- That one's pretty.
Okay, that's all of 'em.
We saved some rocks.
Doesn't she look like a happy,
little kindergartner?
Like, "I got rocks today,
and they're so shiny!"
People who buy the house,
they like to know
that we saved this.
Yeah, they're like, "Oh,
this was in the house before?
That's so cool that it's
back in the house now."
He's just not the most agile.
I feel like this is a bad plan
to have you up there.
Mina, I played
collegiate football.
The only person
I care about competing with
is my little brother, Tad.
So, like, when he was up
in the ceiling kicking it down,
I felt compelled to show him
how much better I could do it.
I'm a lot faster at that
than you are.
- Me?
- Yeah.
I don't think so.
Go do something productive.
Just stick that in there.
Oh, geez, Tad.
Let me get out of your way.
Ah, you see
all that termite damage?
Look at this.
- Oh, my gosh!
- So, look at this board.
It's just, like, dirt.
It's sawdust!
Look at that.
There's live termites in there.
Right there. See it?
Oh, my God!
There's like a whole family!
There's live termites
in there. Right there. See it?
Oh, my God!
There's like a whole family!
We've had termite damage
in every house,
but we've only had live termites
in one.
Live termites
are a bigger challenge
'cause it's more money,
and you have to kill them.
If we put new wood in,
and we haven't killed them,
they're gonna eat new wood, and
this house is gonna fall down.
- Hey, Lenny!
- Yeah?
There's a bunch
of termite damage.
Lenny is my dad's third wife's
first husband,
so he's always been
around the family
in a very, like, strange way,
but he's amazing.
That's really bad.
The sill plate doesn't even
look like it exists anymore.
Oh, that's really bad.
Lenny works for us,
and he runs
our construction team
and helps us
crunch the numbers.
So, your completely
uneducated assessment
of how expensive this is gonna
be until we get further in--
Just this wall here,
600 bucks.
Now, once we open up the rest
and see if it's
the entire house,
take this 5 feet
and multiply it.
Cha-ching,
cha-ching, cha-ching.
It is more money
for the termites.
That means more framing.
That means termite treatment.
Look.
You got us a new toy!
Lenny brought an excavator
to demolish the garage.
There's just
one little problem.
We don't know
how to operate that machine.
This brings the bucket up.
- Okay.
- When you pull it back...
It brings the bucket down.
When you push forward,
it brings it down.
All right, fire it up.
Aah!
The thing is, we usually don't
demo with big machinery
because we get the entire house
but leave the frame intact.
Here, the entire garage
is coming down,
so that's
a special treat for us.
- Come on, girl!
- I am!
- Go!
- Push!
- Come back up.
- Go higher!
Ah, you missed it.
I want to do it!
Let Mina have a turn.
It's killing her.
See, Mina drives
with unchecked aggression.
Okay.
It's really fun
but terrifying.
I think if I had,
like, a couple weeks' practice,
- I'd get it down.
- Push it down.
I'm done!
I think on the job site, Tad
tries to, like, teach people.
Like, "I got this.
I'll show you how to do it."
And then I'm like, "No, dude.
Wait. That's not how you do it."
He took down a chimney
at chest height.
Not how you take down a chimney.
You take it down from the top
so when you take it down
at chest height
it doesn't tip over,
which it did.
I can tell him
to not be stupid.
He's still gonna do
stupid stuff.
- Oh, no!
- Oh! Oh!
- Oh!
- Don't touch me.
- You're gonna slide off.
- You're so dirty!
Oh, God.
This is, like, so gross.
So, now that demo's done,
we need to sit down,
put our heads together,
and figure out how exactly
we're gonna work the floor plan.
how we're gonna use the space
in the new addition
and make it
the most efficient.
Blew up nice and big so you may
not even need your glasses.
Look at that.
I don't need my glasses.
This is bea-- Thank you.
Thank you very much.
- That was nice of you.
- I do what I can.
So, this is our current
first-floor plan.
One bedroom, one bath.
Well, the problems with Barth
were multi-faceted.
The biggest problem with Barth
is it's just tiny.
And we need, for resale,
to get two bedrooms,
and at least a bath
and a half in there.
And in the existing footprint,
that just wasn't happening.
This space used to be
the living room and the bedroom.
- Right.
- And we opened it all up.
And then we're gonna change
that bedroom
into a long galley kitchen.
Yeah, so you're gonna
have cabinets here,
and then this is
your little breakfast bar.
- Right.
- With some stools.
So even though
we don't have a dining room,
we'll still have
a lot of seating.
- Yes.
- And then the current kitchen
and bathroom,
it'll serve two purposes.
We'll take half of it
to do, like, a laundry room,
a coat closet,
a half bath,
and then the staircase
up to the second floor addition,
and then the rest of it will get
added on the back here.
And that's where we're gonna put
all the bedroom space.
We'll have a master,
with a bathroom
on the first floor,
and then
another bedroom upstairs
with a slightly smaller bathroom.
I think the two stories
are gonna make
this little house work.
It's gonna make the best use
out of what's
a really small space.
- It's gonna be functional.
- It's gonna be clean.
It's gonna be
contemporary, yes.
I mean, that's just insane.
Lenny just e-mailed me
the budget numbers for Barth,
and I am not liking
what I'm seeing.
Turns out, there was way
more termite damage at Barth
than we originally thought,
and fixing it is gonna
send our budget
over $131,000,
which is way more than we ever
anticipated spending
on this house.
Hello?
- Hi, nerd.
- Hello?
I am not happy
with you boys.
- This e-mail?
- Yeah.
You're crazy!
So, you want to see more
behind-the-scenes footage
of our renovations
and floor plans?
You know,
where Mom harasses me
about the toilet placement
and pocket doors.
- Hi, nerd.
- Hello?
- This e-mail?
- Yeah.
You're crazy!
Lenny's estimates
are kind of ever-evolving.
He helps
watch over the budget.
But even though it's gonna cost
more than expected
to get rid
of the termites,
I just don't trust his math
this time.
$131,500
without the garage.
And it's 1,200 square feet.
$131,500...
with the garage.
Without the garage.
It says, "does not include."
No, it's with the garage.
Yeah, this is
with the garage.
So now, does that
make you happier, Mina?
I mean,
it makes me a little happier,
not, like, a ton happier.
I was hoping
it'd be around like $115,000.
Holy cow!
We're not getting rich off this.
Our profit margin is not huge,
and then we split it
between the two of us.
- These aren't real.
- These are fake.
These aren't real.
- These are fake, FYI.
- We're not that fancy.
- We can't have nice things.
- They're like $20,
but they make me feel pretty
when I look like this.
Morning, Leonard!
Boss women are here!
Where we are at Barth's
right now is good.
We've made a lot of progress.
The demo is all done.
The foundation's been fixed.
The first and second story
have been framed,
and then today is trusses,
which is the roof.
So, this house
was so ate up in termites,
we were able to save
five studs. That's it.
It would look
to the ordinary person
like we've wasted our time.
We should have just torn it down
and redone it.
It's not what we do.
It's just disrespectful
to just bulldoze it.
It's like it didn't even matter,
and it did matter.
Why wouldn't you rebuild it
and give it a chance
to breathe again?
I'm giving myself goosebumps.
I get a little excited sometimes.
She's gonna cry again
or something.
- But it's true!
- What she said.
Trusses are a structural element
of the house,
and it's important
that they're done right.
We get ours made custom
for our houses.
They come precut,
giant triangles.
You could build the structure
on-site with 2x4s,
or you can preorder 'em custom
fit, so that's what we did
'cause it makes it a little bit
quicker, a little bit easier.
One, two, three.
Wait, wait, wait.
We can't control
the material cost,
but Mom and I can come in
and cut back
on some of the labor cost.
- Hang on, hang on.
- Mom!
Sorry, sorry.
That doesn't look
like a secure knot.
Through the hole, there we go,
around the tree, rabbit.
The bunnies and stuff.
There you go.
That's beautiful.
Pull.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
Ohh.
She doesn't like to admit it
because she's not afraid
of a lot of things,
but she is afraid of heights.
Not spiders,
not basements, not--
But heights,
that's her Kryptonite.
Yeah, I don't like being
in high places, that is true.
Ready?
Up one.
Okay.
Climb.
- All right, I think--
- Whoa, whoa!
Whoa.
One, two, three.
No.
- You got it, you got it.
- Mom, get up.
- Take a step. I got this.
- Wait, wait.
- Sorry.
- Geez.
You got to push up a step.
One step, that's all.
Hey, in inches.
There you go.
Inches.
You ain't going nowhere.
We got you.
Hey, when you are lost,
I will come find you.
Thank you, Leonard.
- They got it.
- Ahh.
- Breathe.
- You're okay.
Breathe.
- Girl!
- You did it.
No, you're just awesome
in every way,
in every conceivable way.
I'm glad you think that.
I have not seen you
not be awesome, ever.
Well...
- She's such a brown-noser.
- I'm not a brown-noser!
- He's awesome!
- He is awesome.
Maybe you ought to try that.
Maybe the numbers will go down.
It's true.
Step, move, push.
The roof system
went up in...
- Couple hours.
- Couple hours? Like two hours.
It makes it really quick.
It's efficient.
And when working on a timeline,
that's helpful.
Today, we're
at a local brewery
just around the corner
from the house on Barth,
and we're hoping we can pull
our design plan together.
These are kind of
what I'm thinking.
I'm just gonna put lots
of all these things out here.
- Ooh.
- You like this flooring?
- I really like that flooring.
- That's a hewn maple.
You know
why you love it so much?
- 'Cause it's expensive?
- Yeah.
I love starting
with the floors, though,
because they're gonna set
the design tone
for the entire house.
There's a masculine feel
to this house,
so we're gonna go
with masculine colors.
So, if this is our cabinets,
I think the walls
should all be somewhere in here,
- just something barely gray.
- I like that.
So, it's gray,
which is kind of urban
and masculine,
but it's gray on top
- of this subtle wood grain.
- Organic.
So, if everything else is gray,
and we're gonna go with chrome,
I want the counter
to soften it just a little bit.
I would like some natural stone
in the kitchen.
Definitely.
Something that's got
some white.
Like a Carrara marble
or Super White,
something with white
with some gray veining.
I think what we need
to end up doing, though,
is something
really dramatic.
So what I'm thinking
is the waterfall,
so, like, the big,
huge wraparound
with the natural stone.
- It'll soften it a little bit.
- Soften it just a little bit.
The high-end marble countertop
is pretty expensive and way more
than I would typically want
to spend for a starter home,
but it's gonna make
such an impact,
it'll definitely
be worth it.
How do you feel
about this?
You know
I love a white bathroom.
I love subway tile,
but I think Barth
is, like, screaming
for something
a little more funky
than just regular
subway, so--
A little more cosmopolitan.
- It's really classic.
- But it's a twist on classy
because it's oversized,
and then we're gonna take it
and turn it vertical
and do a vertical
subway pattern
to make it just
a little more fresh.
It's gonna feel like we've done
something really interesting.
And also,
it's gonna bring your eye up.
Which brings us
to outside colors.
I think we can get away
with something bright
like a bright green.
I mean,
all these are really nice.
- I like this one.
- That color
with something back along the
lines of this kind of trim?
I think gray trim
would be good.
There are some decisions
that are outside
both of our comfort zones,
but we choose
to make them anyways.
Yes, because sometimes you want
your house to make a statement,
and it's gonna draw
a certain kind of person.
And I like those people
in our neighborhood,
people who think
a green house is awesome.
What color
do we want to do the door?
There's a blue color
that would go with that.
That one's got a good punch
against the green.
- The green.
- I like that.
We don't make any decisions
unless we agree on them,
which to me is just a challenge
to make her agree with me.
Really, most of the time,
that's the situation.
That happens a lot.
So, the couple that's interested
in buying Barth,
they're just so cute
and seem so excited.
Ta-da!
Wow.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Wow.
That's awesome.
So, the next one's
25 inches, too.
All right.
This house is at the tail end
of the first big chunk of stuff.
We're wrapping up
the outside.
Siding's almost done.
So is the deck.
And on the inside,
we're finishing up
electrical and plumbing.
So, all the wires
are run through the wall.
And upstairs
on the back addition,
we're wrapping in the bathroom
and sitting room
and drywalling
the entire house.
On this house,
we went outside both
of our comfort zones,
and we chose some really bold,
exciting colors.
Vibrant.
And I think
it looks great so far.
The only reason
I think we can pull it off
is 'cause
it's a small house.
You see this cute,
little triangle of bright green,
and on the back, you see
a slightly bigger one
of bright green.
This is the right house
to take that risk on.
You're gonna be shocked
when I say
I already have
a very strong idea
of what I want these counters
to look like,
but I think you're
gonna agree with me.
Don't look exhausted
just listening to me.
I started talking
10 seconds ago.
Today, we're gonna go
find some stone for Barth.
We're finding
a very specific stone--
what I want.
Mm, this place
makes me so happy.
I think there are a number
of things
that people see
when they walk in a house
that says to them, "These people
cared about this house,
and they did
a really good job."
And one of those things is,
if you have a beautiful slab
stone countertop,
- that says to a buyer--
- They didn't cheap out.
- Whoever built this...
- They kicked it up a notch.
...was willing
to put some money in.
We've definitely gone down
a very specific road with Barth.
It's urban and young
and a little bit funky.
The reason
I like this for Barth,
this is very graphic.
There are a lot
of geometric shapes.
There's a lot
of strong lines.
The Super White granite
has a very graphic feel to it,
and I just like that granite
so much.
I would put it everywhere.
I want that piece.
It's a very similar
color palette.
It is a beautiful piece
of stone.
I love all the color
and more subtle movement.
Mm-hmm.
For me, putting this slab
of marble in there
makes the house
a lot more versatile.
You could put charming,
white bar stools,
and it's gonna be
a little softer.
Ugh, it's so pretty.
I really like that piece.
See? I told you!
I told you! I told you!
I think a lot of people
think of marble
as very fancy
and very expensive.
That Carrara marble
was actually less expensive
than the Super White granite.
I want this!
I know from past experience
we can't afford this.
- Right.
- Right.
- But I like this better.
- Yes.
- Look how happy she is now.
- I am.
I never pick
the less expensive thing,
so the fact that I like this
better is amazing.
I went in with a mission,
and I achieved it.
And part of the mission
was getting this lady
to see what I wanted
and agree with it,
and I achieved that.
And I think we're both
very happy with our choice.
I still want Super White.
- No, you don't!
- Oh, yeah, I do.
That's not what you said
when we were there.
You 100% said
that you liked
that piece of stone better.
- I might have said that.
- She said it.
All right.
Let's do this.
So, the pressure is on now
to get this house done,
because I just got word
that we have some prospective,
interested buyers,
which would be the best
possible situation
because we wouldn't have
to put the house on the market
if we could convince them
to buy it as soon as it's done.
So hopefully in the next few
days, the house is looking good,
and I'll set up a showing
and get them in to check it out.
Yes.
So, we got here this morning,
and our thought was,
we were gonna make sure
the tilers knew
the pattern
we wanted the tile put in.
And we were gonna
help tile upstairs.
The problem is,
the tub is too far
away from the wall,
so we have a gap.
Like, the tile can sit in,
and then--
Turns out, no one's tiling.
We leave the site for one day
to get marble.
We come back,
and there's problems.
There's always problems.
The tub is too far away
from the wall.
Can we take the tub out?
The gap between the tub
and the greenboard
is too large.
Like, the tile can sit in,
and then--
Turns out,
no one's tiling!
We didn't get
the flange tub?
Remember? We were supposed
to get the flange tub?
- No.
- No? Okay.
Apparently, it's 'cause
I bought the wrong tub.
We will put a piece
of greenboard on the back,
and we will stabilize the tub,
and it's gonna be fine.
And then we're gonna tile.
What are you guys doing?
When I walked in,
she looked like a monkey.
She was holding it by her feet,
banging it open
like there was something
in there she was gonna eat.
What are you doing?
- Look.
- Oh.
I'm making a lamp.
We're trying
to crack open geodes
that we found at Barth.
And they say, "Oh, just tap,
just score it,
and it'll crack open."
Well, that's
not quite true.
This looks-- Like, I feel like
you're gonna slip
and take off a foot.
It could happen.
I did a practice one.
Look at that one.
This is a lot harder.
That other one broke
before this.
These items that I find
are like the houses.
They look like trash
to everyone else,
and they're not.
Just doesn't seem like
it's doing much.
Why don't we try using
the masonry bit
and drill a couple,
and then try to crack it?
The drill's in the truck.
Mina went to get the drill
'cause we're gonna try drilling
pilot holes or something,
and I really was invested in
getting the geode cracked open
before she got back
with the drill.
Yes!
And boom!
Look how pretty that one is!
So pretty.
I didn't need to crack any more,
because this one's gorgeous.
- Right?
- It's really pretty.
And it cracked
just perfectly.
That is gorgeous.
- Now what?
- We're gonna make two lamps.
It's just gonna kind of go
right like that.
Ta-da!
Now you have a lamp.
Lovely.
So, we're at Barth wrapping up
the kitchen cabinet install,
which looks awesome.
Last door.
Here, I'm gonna hand you this.
- Those cabinets are killer.
- Yeah.
They better be killer, 'cause
they were a lot of money.
All right, flooring.
Let's go.
So, we're on our way.
Flooring and cabinets,
they're a big part
of being on our way.
The outside of the house
is getting wrapped up.
We've got the fence. Inside,
what we have left to do
is really the finishing stuff,
and next up,
we have to tackle countertops.
Ooh!
This is the most
incredible countertop ever.
That's our backsplash, Mom.
Ugh. It's just so pretty.
That marble says,
"Come sit here,
eat a delicious meal,
and just enjoy life,
because I'm that beautiful."
It's just gorgeous.
It's so pretty.
It looks awesome.
Ohh.
Everybody's rushing around,
so Mina puts me in a room
with a vanity
that needs to be assembled,
I didn't put you in it.
You took it up there,
and you started assembling it.
You're much happier being
in a room, doing one project,
- than you are--
- Managing the whole shebang.
And I'm jumping around, figuring
out all the other problems
'cause it's exciting.
Like, this is a fun time.
All the finish guys are in,
so there's trim stuff,
paint stuff.
The awning out front is getting,
theoretically, installed.
It looks kind of tricky.
It's not assembled,
and there's a lot of pieces.
But when it's put together,
and it's installed,
then it'll make a statement.
Ooh, Mom,
look at the metal!
So, everything
is coming together.
The kitchen looks amazing.
The appliances just came in,
and they're that dark gunmetal.
They look really cool.
I mean,
stainless steel is pretty,
but it's just, like,
a little bit different.
I'm feeling good 'cause
we're right on schedule.
The back deck is finished.
The fence is up.
The front porch
and awning are looking great.
So now that we've wrapped up
all our punch list items,
and the structure's good to go,
and we're gonna do a deep clean,
and then bring
all the furniture in.
We're taking a break
from construction
to grab some snacks
at one of our favorite markets
in Fountain Square.
Have you ever had
these coconut chips?
Mina, they have glazed
and roasted figs.
So, didn't you have a showing
over at Barth?
I did.
I met the Realtor
and the couple,
and they're my age-ish.
- Oh, good.
- Super cute.
They seemed really positive,
asking a bunch of questions
that lead me to believe
they're going to buy it.
They're young.
They're fun.
It's their first home.
They're getting married,
so this is the beginning
of their new life
in this awesome new home
in this amazing neighborhood.
But we just need
to get a move on,
because they get
married soon,
and I know they want to move in
before the wedding.
So, now that we have
an interested party
that wants the house
and wants to move in,
we're even a little more
under the gun to get it done
and get it done quickly
so we can close.
We can get our investment
back out of it
and roll that
into the next property.
Will you take one? Yeah.
I'm really excited
to stage this one
because I think we've done
such a good job
with our colors, right?
- 50 shades of gray.
- Yeah.
The whole house
is shades of gray,
and then we're gonna
make it pop
with all the furnishings
and decor we put in it.
It is really exciting
to be this close to the end
and seeing the landscaping
getting done
and getting
the furniture loaded in.
But there's still a lot
of little, tiny details.
We have buyers coming
on Monday
to look at it and say,
"Yep, we're buying it."
And so it has to be in "Yep,
we're buying it" condition.
I think the couch
is really good for the space
because it is
a smaller living room.
The furniture in the space
totally pulls it together.
It's urban,
slightly masculine.
We have these dramatic, chrome,
kind of sharper edged finishes,
but they play off the organic,
curved bar stool backs.
Since lot of the houses
we're working with are so small,
there has to be a cohesive feel
through them
with color, texture, lines,
all that stuff,
because when things
break the eye,
it stops your brain. Your brain
can't flow through the house
and just think,
"Everything was amazing.
I can't even
put my finger--"
She sounds just like me
right now.
I didn't know
what was about to happen.
That was beautiful.
Your mother's words
just came out of your mouth.
- How do you feel about that?
- Not good.
Not good.
Mina's grooving
on the chair.
Here. Stop spinning.
There you go. Good.
And then Buddha.
Om.
So, the couple that's interested
in buying Barth,
they're engaged.
They're just so cute
and seem so excited.
So, there's been
some pretty significant changes
since you were here last.
When Catherine and Matthew
last saw the house,
it was a construction zone,
and now
that it's finally done,
we're really excited
to show it to 'em
and see if they love it
enough to buy it.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Wow.
Wow. That's awesome.
It's so bright and beautiful.
This is great.
You did such a nice job on this.
I'm really impressed.
So, when we bought this house,
it was totally termite eaten.
So, after
we finished gutting it,
it's just the tidiest, sturdiest,
cutest little house
on the block now.
This is so different
than the first time we saw it.
I can't even believe
this is the same house.
Ta-da!
Wow.
Oh, wow.
Oh, my gosh.
This is so cool.
A lot of things
in this house
are exactly
what I would have picked.
So I feel like they're already
mentally moving in.
- This is good.
- This is good.
The whole color palette
came together so well.
Even though
there's a lot of gray, right,
but the light walls--
I love it.
We blew out the wall
between the living room
and the only bedroom
in the house,
and those are now
our existing living room,
kitchen,
and bar/dining space.
Come in the kitchen.
Explore all the storage
that could be yours.
These cabinets are fantastic.
Yes. And we've got all,
like, the chrome accents
blinging off each other.
It's really useful
that the cabinets
go all the way to the ceiling.
It makes the ceilings
feel, like, so tall
'cause you walk in,
and it just brings your eye
up to the ceiling.
This marble's
absolutely gorgeous.
It is. It's beautiful.
So, we wanted to create
this massive island
with the waterfall overhang,
so you still have tons
of seating.
You could fit five to six people
easily sitting there,
which is what you would
put around
a standard
dining room table.
If you're going
to present a home to a buyer
that doesn't have a dining room
or really room to put a table,
you have to create
a dining option
that's substantial.
You just want
to touch it, don't you?
- I do, I do.
- I'm just petting it.
I lured you in
with my marble.
We'll move on to
the master bedroom and bathroom,
and hopefully get you hooked
a little more.
First, we've got the hallway
off here
that has your coat closet,
stacked washer and dryer,
and a half bath,
but we're gonna go back
to the master bedroom and bath.
Wow.
- Look at that light fixture.
- I love that light fixture.
Plus two closets?
I mean, the storage is great.
I like that the curtains
go all the way to the floor.
See the lamp bases?
So, I made these lamps.
- Oh, my gosh.
- That's a geode
that she found
in the backyard.
Cracking those suckers open
is not easy.
So, that's a little part
of the house
that, if you buy this house,
you get to enjoy
those geodes every day.
Did you guys peek in?
I haven't peeked
in the bathroom.
The en suite?
Wow.
It feels really bright
and clean in here.
It would be so nice
to have two sinks.
- It would.
- And look at that bathtub.
- It's huge.
- And there's a window.
- Yeah.
- More natural light.
This bathroom
is like a sanctuary.
I like a spa-like experience.
I love a white bathroom.
I'm gonna go with 9 out of 10
people like white,
which is important,
because part of the business
is selling the house.
From this wall back
is all new construction.
There was a little, funny,
little shed
on the back of the kitchen.
And from there back
is our new addition
that houses the master suite
and then, on the second floor,
the additional bedroom
and bathroom.
We're gonna go upstairs next,
and I think that's gonna be
kind of like the cake topper
because it's very unexpected.
- Let's go look.
- Now it's time to look at that.
- Great.
- Go ahead.
Oh, wow.
I was not expecting this
at all.
Right?
How awesome is this?
This is great. I can definitely
see us using this space.
So, we've got not only a lot
of space in the room,
but wall-to-wall
closets again.
The nook is great just
to have somewhere to have a desk
because I work
remotely, so...
- Oh.
- Oh, perfect.
- So it's perfect for you.
- It is.
Another thing I like,
too, is just the ceiling height.
Do you guys want
to check out the bathroom?
Yeah, let's go.
It's a really clean look. Yeah.
Yeah, the modern vanity,
the vertical subway tile.
It'll be nice
to have a second full bath.
So, you want to go take a look
at the backyard?
I can't wait.
I feel like the dog's
really gonna like the backyard.
- Oh, look at this.
- Yay. There's a fence!
Nice big, tall fence,
nice big deck.
Wow. This deck is huge.
Enough yard for a dog,
but not too much yard
to be high maintenance.
- So, what do you guys think?
- We love it.
Yeah, I think we need to make
a quick decision here
'cause I don't think
it's gonna last long.
No, it probably won't.
I can't imagine the house
is gonna stay on the market
for terribly long,
so take a little bit of time
but not too much. We really want
you guys to buy it.
- Yeah, we do.
- So, this was really fun.
So, we'll talk about it
and crunch some numbers and--
- Get back to me soon.
- Yeah.
So, we bought the house
on Barth for $15,000.
Our renovation costs ran
a little higher than expected,
about $160,000.
Adding Realtor fees,
closing costs,
and other incidentals,
our total investment
comes to $189,000.
Good news is, we did sell the
house to Catherine and Matthew
for $225,000,
giving us a profit
of $36,000.
Barth is one more house
that we can stand back and go,
"We did something good here."
I love
when people love the house.
I want to make people happy.
I want to make
a neighborhood happy.
I just want to make the world
a better place
one house at a time.