Russell Holmes of ‘Renovation Impossible’ Is Warned About One Home’s ‘Dirty Little Secret’
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On “Renovation Impossible,” contractor Russell Holmes has seen houses in fairly sorry states, but it’s rare that the homeowners warn him of “a dirty little secret inside” before he enters.
In the episode “That ’70s House,” Holmes has agreed to help homeowners Nathan and Marianne Reed in Denton, TX. While the house looks fine from the curb, the interior is a time capsule, with a yellow Formica and linoleum kitchen, a dark-paneled family room, and even gold shag carpeting.
“Dirty little secret? Understatement! This is a tragedy,” Holmes declares.
Holmes’ job is to help the Reeds renovate their house in 10 days for $40,000.
Making matters worse, Nathan and Marianne can’t agree on how to fix their house.
“Compromise is different in any home renovation, but not impossible,” says Holmes. “It’s my job to make sure that everyone is happy in the end. With the Reeds, it’s going to be a challenge. These two? They couldn’t be further apart.”
As we know by now, however, Holmes is the master of the compromise, as well as upcycling and putting in a little sweat equity to make everyone’s dreams come true.
Check out how Holmes pulls off his latest renovation, and take note of what might work around your own abode, too.
Broken appliances can kill
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When Holmes walks into the kitchen, he sees red tape over one of the oven knobs.
“What’s that for?” he asks.
Marianne explains that it’s to remind her not to turn on the oven, because the heat sensor is broken.
“And it just gets hotter and hotter and hotter until it explodes,” she continues.
“You have broken appliances,” says Holmes, “which are actually dangerous to you and the house and the family.”
“But it still works,” Nathan offers. “I think we can get another five years out of it.”
“Hey, Nathan, when you start cooking, then you can have an opinion about this,” Marianne snaps back, then shares a high-five with Holmes.
Incidentally, Holmes remedies this situation by taking Nathan to a pizza-making class. Nathan is so gobsmacked by all that goes into food prep, he finds an extra $9,000 to add to the budget for top-of-the-line appliances.
For more storage, take cabinets all the way up to the ceiling
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Designer Paige Poupart suggests getting rid of the kitchen’s bulkhead and building the cabinets right up to the ceiling.
“Not only are the cabinets going to be walnut, but they’re going to solve the storage issue,” says Holmes.
“Aesthetically, with having those taller lines in there, it changes the dynamics of the way the kitchen lays out,” he continues. “It actually looks bigger because it looks taller, and it looks like you have a higher ceiling.”
Upcycle by turning things upside down
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Holmes and Poupart visit a vintage shop for inexpensive accessories. Holmes finds a gold bowl-type planter that he wants to turn upside down and use as a hanging lamp. Paige thinks it’s awfully big.
“A nice mid-modern light fixture would normally cost about two grand,” he says.
This upcycled light, on the other hand, ends up costing only $125—and it looks great.
Repurpose old cabinets and bookshelves
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As gross as the kitchen cabinetry and the old bookshelves look, Holmes insists they be carefully removed and saved.
“Normally, we would take a sledgehammer to all these cabinets,” says Holmes. “But the only way we’re going to make that budget here is by repurposing some of the material. What the cabinets are made out of, it’s good wood. But everything else can get thrown in the dump.”
The savings are huge: “A new wall unit can typically run about $2,300,” he explains. “But by using old metal, plus the wood from the Reeds’ old bookshelf, we’re going to save about two grand.”
From these castoffs, he builds a stylish wall unit for about $300.
Laminated veneer lumber beams save serious money
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During the remodel, Holmes’ crew find a bow in the ceiling—and while attempting to fix it, they find the ceiling beams are cracked and need to be replaced. Uh-oh! We’ve seen on many a renovation reality show that replacing beams can totally break the budget.
But Holmes has a thrifty solution. They don’t need fancy, solid-wood beams. They’ll use LVL, or laminated veneer lumber.
“LVL is actually a bunch of really small slices of wood glued together with a special epoxy to make it really rigid,” says Holmes. “Installing these beams is going to correct the sag in the ceiling.”
And get this: Two LVL wood beams cost only $600!
How does this latest renovation end up?
The Reeds, who have been relatively tough customers, can’t believe what they see after only 10 days of construction.
“My mind is blown,” Nathan exclaims. “Everything looks brand-new.”
“I’m so thankful for everything they did,” says Marianne. “Everything’s perfect.”
In the end, Holmes admits that this house “had the potential to be a nightmare, and it was. It didn’t go super smooth. But look how it turned out: at budget, at deadline, repurposed, upcycled, reused sweat equity, and Nathan and Marianne love it.”
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