Extremely Amazing - Part 2
Kelly and I were going to be part of the "Braveheart March" but then it took longer than we could impose on our friend to watch Blake, so we stepped out of the march. This was the first time Extreme Makeover: Home Edition had been in Texas and they said it was the first time anyone had ever shown up with a state flag. I think those California types had no idea what they were getting into when it came to Texas pride.
So get this schedule....
Thursday is bullhorn day where the family leaves. From Thursday afternoon to Friday, the "tent and trailer city" is built. They have to lay rock pads, bring in lighting (serious lighting), set up all the trailers, set up catering (this is an unbelievabe part of the whole deal), set up their own cell tower, get all their satellite feeds in place....just one thing after another. It is unbelievable what a "city" it really does become. Each small part of making this happen is a huge deal. Crowd control, building all the tents for woodworking/building, security, just one thing after another. It was so cool. The house comes down on Saturday and when we swung back by there Saturday evening about 5:30 p.m., the foundation was being poured while the old house was still being hauled away. At one point, I think I counted about 15 dumptrucks. I think the ones that brought in the sand/dirt for the foundation left with a load full of rubble. And all of this was happening on a small road - it was paved - hardly big enough to handle all of the huge equipment. I talked to the man with the roof trusses and he said he didn't know if he could make it to the site...his load was over-length, over-height, and over-width.
Here are the marchers getting ready to march towards the torn down house.
The march arrives at the pile of rubble with Ty and the designors waiting on them. (You could basically keep track of where Ty was during this whole thing by just following the sound of screaming women!)
We are really fans of Paul and Preston, but it was still neat having the other crew here. From left to right - Eduardo, Ty, Ed, Tonya, and Michael.
posted by Joanie @ 1:02 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
So cool! Can't wait for the next installment. Okay, we have this family disagreement about how EMHE does this, maybe you know some answers now and can help us out. The show makes it look like they arrive on "bullhorn day" and THEN start planning what to do, and Alan is amazed that they can pull everything together in a week. I say they must surely have already measured and planned and ordered all materials ahead of time (especially when they're not doing a total tear down). Did you get any data on that aspect, or did the total start-over on this house preclude all that?
Alice
I used to always wonder how every family is dressed and ready to go at 7:00 a.m. on bullhorn day. Fact of the matter is, they are told on Tuesday for the 1st time that they have been chosen. Then they spend 2 days getting ready for their trip and I'm sure packing up their world and telling what needs to be kept and what needs to be trashed.
I do not know when they are chosen...but have to imagine that someone comes out to scout out their property before they are ever told about it, because I think the pre-fab part of the house is all arranged way ahead of time...it would just have to be. Think of lining up all the permits and inspections ahead of time...all that must take a lot of pre-planning.
This building site was moved slightly over from the old house site, which made it easy for construction to begin before the old house was completely gone. That's not a luxury that EMHE usually has.
You know we would have driven down there and kept Blake. Can't believe you didn't call.
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