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Reality shows got started with Real World and Road Trip on MTV. They signaled the decline and eventual total disappearance of music videos on MTV, because they were massively less expensive to make and also popular. From the very beginning, supposedly "unscripted" reality shows were actually scripted, too. There are a few rare exceptions, but almost all reality shows are written and directed. As for watching Holmes, you used to be able to see whole episodes on HGTV's website, here, which is how I watched like 10+ of them maybe a year ago. Now they seem to be gone, but you can still watch House Hunters Renovation, which I haven't seen so I can't recommend.
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May 30, 2014 18:07
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I liked Disaster DIY on Canadian HGTV as well. Bryan is so dreamy.
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May 30, 2014 18:38
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Wolfsbane posted:There's also Grand Designs, which features idiots with too much money making terrible design decisions. The trick to watching Grand Designs is to find the episodes where the people don't have too much money. I agree that the episodes where the owners just throw buckets of cash around tend to be terrible (one of the worst was the conversion of an old guild hall). Here's one of the better episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4bwNmFcOco
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May 30, 2014 18:48
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Digital War posted:The trick to watching Grand Designs is to find the episodes where the people don't have too much money. I agree that the episodes where the owners just throw buckets of cash around tend to be terrible (one of the worst was the conversion of an old guild hall). I'm about halfway through that video and really enjoying it.
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May 30, 2014 19:15
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Leperflesh posted:House Hunters Renovation, which I haven't seen so I can't recommend. OK I just watched an episode ("Suburban Kitchen Fixer") and it was OK. The couple had a budget of $600k but were both recent grads, an art student and a sound engineer, so I was confused about how they were simultaneously rich as gently caress and also seemingly not very rich at all. Also questionable taste in interior decoration. But they actually did some of their own work, encountered surprises and dealt with them, and you could mostly get a sense for what they were actually doing. And no scripted bullshit interpersonal drama to try and make it more interesting or whatever. B+ would watch again.
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May 30, 2014 19:36
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Digital War posted:The trick to watching Grand Designs is to find the episodes where the people don't have too much money. I agree that the episodes where the owners just throw buckets of cash around tend to be terrible (one of the worst was the conversion of an old guild hall). I agree the ones made by artists or whatever tend to be much better buildings, and it can be a really inspiring show. It's just that the other sort are much more thread-appropriate 
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May 30, 2014 19:37
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Leperflesh posted:OK I just watched an episode ("Suburban Kitchen Fixer") and it was OK. The couple had a budget of $600k but were both recent grads, an art student and a sound engineer, so I was confused about how they were simultaneously rich as gently caress and also seemingly not very rich at all. Also questionable taste in interior decoration. But they actually did some of their own work, encountered surprises and dealt with them, and you could mostly get a sense for what they were actually doing. And no scripted bullshit interpersonal drama to try and make it more interesting or whatever. The whole House Hunter series drives me nuts because the premise is always like "Greg and Luanne have a budget of $650,000...." and I am like I should just watch any other show to worships rich fucks for entertainment. Show people how to pick a winner in the sub $300,000 bracket for gently caress's sake.
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May 30, 2014 19:50
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It really makes me wonder if the show isn't giving them a couple hundred K just to push them into more expensive/bigger houses? Or even if the whole thing is a sham and they're just going to immediately flip the house as soon as the show is over.
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May 30, 2014 19:54
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Leperflesh posted:It really makes me wonder if the show isn't giving them a couple hundred K just to push them into more expensive/bigger houses? Or even if the whole thing is a sham and they're just going to immediately flip the house as soon as the show is over. Uh they're filming after the house is under contract, in all cases.
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May 30, 2014 19:56
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Right, that makes sense; they wouldn't spend money starting to film if there was any risk the couple would maybe not buy that house, or any house. I guess it's just kids with huge inheritances/trust funds, and generally rich couples. Have you guys seen that show filmed in Vegas with that guy who is a huge dick and his interior designer wife he's a huge dick to (but she has no concept of staying inside a budget) who buy, fix up and flip houses? I watch it while cringing the whole time because I hate them both a lot, but they show a lot of the renovation and you can tell it's fairly real - that is, they're really buying shitholes at auction and then fixing up and flipping them. God that guy is such a cock though.
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May 30, 2014 20:00
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There are a couple of episodes of Grand Designs with really low budgets, even one or two under £50k, they're almost always the best.
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May 30, 2014 21:13
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Holms on Homes is the best construction based "reality" show. He goes in a fixes lovely renos and sometimes sort of goes after the people who did it. But the main thing is fixing the bad stuff not sensationalism or drama.
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May 30, 2014 21:15
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If you like Holmes on Homes, don't forget to look for Holmes Inspection and Holmes Makes it Right.
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May 30, 2014 21:37
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Baronjutter posted:Holms on Homes is the best construction based "reality" show. He goes in a fixes lovely renos and sometimes sort of goes after the people who did it. But the main thing is fixing the bad stuff not sensationalism or drama. I've seen on most of the episodes where he specifically has a woman student working/interning on stuff. He'll talk to her for a minute about what program she's with (often they're with programs to get more women into skilled trades), and then just leaves her alone to do WORK. They don't have a pink hard hat and a tank top with a hammer on it, or any stupid crap showing her using a saw or a hammer with two hands, and I really appreciate that. There was one I saw where he built backyard fences for a neighborhood where all the houses were built on either side of a large common yard. The owners had all paid a contractor, but he dug 45 holes in a not straight line and left with their money. They were currently seeking a class action lawsuit against the company and winning. Holmes was building the fence and they show a homeowner with a pixelated face come and talk to him. They didn't air the conversation, but showed Holmes audibly bitching about "you all join together to bust this guy who takes your money, and now you want me to build your fence HIGHER so your neighbor can't see in? WHAT?" I like him.
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May 30, 2014 21:45
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Also if you want to see the type of people who build poo poo like in this thread just youtube "Canada's Worst Handyman". It's like Canada's worst driver but every episode the group are given expert instruction on super super basic poo poo then have to do a simple task and it's absolutely amazing how even after being shown and tutored many gently caress it up or just get lazy/stubborn and do it their "better way". As the series goes on episode to episode they slowly "fix up" a house. It gets terrifying when they start dealing with electricity or plumbing.
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May 30, 2014 21:54
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Amykinz posted:I've seen on most of the episodes where he specifically has a woman student working/interning on stuff. He'll talk to her for a minute about what program she's with (often they're with programs to get more women into skilled trades), and then just leaves her alone to do WORK. They don't have a pink hard hat and a tank top with a hammer on it, or any stupid crap showing her using a saw or a hammer with two hands, and I really appreciate that. Mike Holmes's daughter, Sherry Holmes, is on most of his shows. He has a couple other women on his crew as well. He also has a non-profit foundation that helps kids learn a trade. He's a cool dude. Most of the criticism towards him is his tendency to overbuild and you'll see contractors who complain about unreasonable expectations on job sites. Most homeowners don't understand that there's building things up to code and then there's building things way beyond that, and I can see how that would be frustrating, but I've never seen anyone knock his work.
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May 30, 2014 22:03
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A lot of people see "code" as like the maximum, the ridiculous gold plated standard the nanny state wants us to aspire to. But in reality it's the loving bare minimum for things not to fall down or catch on fire. If you can't afford to build to or above the code you shouldn't be building anything.
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May 30, 2014 22:21
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FCKGW posted:He's a cool dude. Most of the criticism towards him is his tendency to overbuild and you'll see contractors who complain about unreasonable expectations on job sites. Most homeowners don't understand that there's building things up to code and then there's building things way beyond that, and I can see how that would be frustrating, but I've never seen anyone knock his work. I think the biggest annoyance with Holmes is the lack of any pricing being mentioned. Granted, labour rates will vary from location to location, but ball park figures wouldn't hurt. It's been awhile since I've watched the show, but from my re-collection, they usually mention how much the homeowner's initially paid the previous contractor. It's usually far too low, implying they went with a lowest bid (25k for a kitchen remodel when it should have been closer to 50k). Then Holmes comes in, and fixes everything, but for what would probably amount to 75-80k. Now people watching are thinking THAT quality of work should be had at their house for bargain basement prices. Not knocking the guy though, since I'm now part of his referral program. If it's anythign like the show I was on (Property Brothers), then there is a lot of smoke and mirrors for ratings anyways.
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May 30, 2014 22:25
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Baronjutter posted:Also if you want to see the type of people who build poo poo like in this thread just youtube "Canada's Worst Handyman". It's like Canada's worst driver but every episode the group are given expert instruction on super super basic poo poo then have to do a simple task and it's absolutely amazing how even after being shown and tutored many gently caress it up or just get lazy/stubborn and do it their "better way". The best season is the one where they not only get to design and build their own sheds, those sheds later get sold at auction with all proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity. Those poor buyers.
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May 30, 2014 22:30
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Reggie Died posted:It's been awhile since I've watched the show, but from my re-collection, they usually mention how much the homeowner's initially paid the previous contractor. It's usually far too low, implying they went with a lowest bid (25k for a kitchen remodel when it should have been closer to 50k). Then Holmes comes in, and fixes everything, but for what would probably amount to 75-80k. Actually, I always wondered about Holmes and other shows like that. Are they billing the homeowner for their work, or is it done for free? I know Baumler and Scott McGillivray work to budgets on their shows, so I guess it depends?
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May 30, 2014 22:42
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Reggie Died posted:I think the biggest annoyance with Holmes is the lack of any pricing being mentioned. Wait, you were in Property Brothers? Do you have a blog or anything where you detailed this experience?
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May 30, 2014 22:52
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Phy posted:Actually, I always wondered about Holmes and other shows like that. Are they billing the homeowner for their work, or is it done for free? I know Baumler and Scott McGillivray work to budgets on their shows, so I guess it depends? I don't think they're ever billing the homeowner. It'd be difficult to separate "we did this for TV purposes" from "we did this as part of ordinary and reasonable cost of doing your job." Probably they also make the homeowner sign a waiver that they won't sue if everything falls to poo poo an hour after the TV crew leaves. And they probably pay the homeowners for their TV appearances, since there's unions and SAG would get upset or something.
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May 30, 2014 23:00
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Turnquiet posted:The whole House Hunter series drives me nuts because the premise is always like "Greg and Luanne have a budget of $650,000...." and I am like I should just watch any other show to worships rich fucks for entertainment. Show people how to pick a winner in the sub $300,000 bracket for gently caress's sake. We discussed it in the bad with money thread in BFC. There was one episode where two brothers and a sister buy a $650k house in San Diego, which was wayyyyy at the top of their price range. Oldest brother and sister work at the same place, little brother doesn't work because he's "trying to get into medical school" and was planning to live there rent free. The oldest brother wanted to spend more like $300k, but the sister insists that they need the bigger house. The older brother was worried that the siblings would go their separate ways and he'd be stuck with a house he could't afford. Someone in the thread internet detectived them (because they use their real names on the show), and found their facebook accounts. Since the show has aired, the little brother still isn't in med school, and the sister got married. I bet they aren't living there anymore!
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May 30, 2014 23:11
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Digital War posted:Here's one of the better episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4bwNmFcOco This was amazing, thank you for linking it. That master bedroom was gorgeous...
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May 31, 2014 00:17
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Shame about the stairs, though, that really kind hosed everything up.
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May 31, 2014 00:20
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Baronjutter posted:A lot of people see "code" as like the maximum, the ridiculous gold plated standard the nanny state wants us to aspire to. But in reality it's the loving bare minimum for things not to fall down or catch on fire. If you can't afford to build to or above the code you shouldn't be building anything. I started binge watching this because of this thread. One of the things I really like (being former code enforcement) is that he seems to reinforce the fact that permits are there to HELP YOU AS A HOMEOWNER. It's your independent check that things were done to minimum standards. And to tie into your post.....yes, totally minimum in most cases. I also like how he's called out code officials/inspectors for allowing total bullshit to pass. Edit: WHY DOES HE KEEP CALLING "QUARTER ROUND" "THREE QUARTER ROUND"? Motronic fucked around with this message at 02:02 on May 31, 2014 |
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May 31, 2014 00:31
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A curious patch request I saw while walking the site and our fir extinguisher stickers got here. I hate subcontractors. http://i.imgur.com/t5a1JKr.jpg http://i.imgur.com/8a7vhSS.jpg
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May 31, 2014 00:33
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Loopyface posted:and our fir extinguisher stickers Please do not make fun, christmas tree fires are a very serious safety hazard.
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May 31, 2014 00:39
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Fucknag posted:Please do not make fun, christmas tree fires are a very serious safety hazard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qoZFnA-yic I don't know why people don't use real candles anymore...
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May 31, 2014 00:40
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GreenNight posted:Wait, you were in Property Brothers? Do you have a blog or anything where you detailed this experience? I was involved in an episode, but had at most 4 seconds of air time. Phy posted:Actually, I always wondered about Holmes and other shows like that. Are they billing the homeowner for their work, or is it done for free? I know Baumler and Scott McGillivray work to budgets on their shows, so I guess it depends? The rumours I've heard about Holmes on Holmes gels with my experience on the Property Brothers. The homeowners get ALOT of free poo poo; appliance packages (although mine got switched out last minute, huge PITA), HW floors, tile, paint, and I *believe* counters. As well as a decent furniture/decoration budget. I also think the abatement team did the work pro-bono. We billed them for our time just like any other project though. In addition, all of our trades that were used (flooring installers, millwork, drywallers ect) were paid in full through us. The designers were independent from both us and the show; I'm not sure what their payment process was.
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May 31, 2014 01:45
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I was interviewed for a short lived HGTV show where they take homes that aren't selling on the market and fix whatever poo poo is hosed up with your house. The producers interviewed us and explained that any renos would be free. I assume most of these programs operate like that, although they usually stay under the 20k range. I'm not sure who pays for Mike Holmes' large renovation budgets but I don't think the homeowner is on the hook for it.
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May 31, 2014 02:53
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I want to say they mentioned in one of the specials that the homeowners pay for materials, but labour is covered by HGTV/the production company. They're probably not cheap to re-do but I'd imagine that at some point you're so deep into it that anthing is worth it to get poo poo fixed for good.
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May 31, 2014 03:33
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Plus it's like car work, the materials are pennies compared to the labor costs.
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May 31, 2014 04:08
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Chicken Doodle posted:The best season is the one where they not only get to design and build their own sheds, those sheds later get sold at auction with all proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity. Those poor buyers. I just started watching this and holy poo poo.
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May 31, 2014 08:26
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XooWh_1U9Ew What's with the comments on DIY videos? Yeah, I know it's youtube, but every idiot who has ever seen a tile floor feels compelled to share their poorly-written opinion on why everything is done wrong. I imagine 95% of the commentors there are the type of contractors that do the sort of work that Holmes has to tear up.
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May 31, 2014 19:18
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canyoneer posted:What's with the comments on DIY videos? They're comments on YouTube, and thus have negative value by default. My house has a small nook next to the kitchen. The previous owners had installed a...shelf, I guess you'd call it, at countertop height (so there was a working surface, but no cabinet beneath it). The shelf was made out of something similar to melamine; not very nice looking. I bought a cheap cabinet and laminate countertop to put in instead, and today I went in to remove the old stuff and install the new. Turns out the previous installer had glued the sidesplashes and backsplash to the walls, rather than caulk them to the countertop. Also, the countertop was supported by a couple of 2x4s that were screwed into the walls...except some of the screws that were used were too short, so they were only secured to the drywall. Good thing, honestly, because that meant I could just pry them away from the walls, instead of dealing with the stripped, painted-over screwheads. I finally got the cabinet and countertop in, but I'm going to have to do a lot of careful touching-up where the drywall paper ripped.
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May 31, 2014 20:34
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Not strictly construction but that feeling when you peel off woodchip wallpaper to find a second layer of it underneath. gently caress the previous owner of this place.
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Jun 1, 2014 09:52
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Budgie posted:Not strictly construction but that feeling when you peel off woodchip wallpaper to find a second layer of it underneath. gently caress the previous owner of this place. We've got several walls here that are made from disintegrating horse hair plaster. The maintenance guy just put a layer of sheetrock over it in several places. I honestly can't blame him. Horse hair plaster is horrific stuff to work with. If it starts falling apart, the entire wall crumbles.
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Jun 1, 2014 16:26
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It is not really that bad when it is in good shape, but it usually all looks fine up till the moment when every key has fallen off and the whole wall falls apart at once. I have torn multiple tons of that poo poo out of my house and I'm not even done yet.
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Jun 1, 2014 22:57
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Cakefool posted:I just started watching this and holy poo poo. This is season 2 I think, and I can't find season 1 on youtube, and the season 2 videos have horrifically bad choppy audio that makes them unwatchable. Did you find them hosted somewhere else?
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Jun 1, 2014 23:08
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