Original subtitles

Jonathan: This is stephanie and chris' forever home.

Strawberries? Ooh. Want one?

-Mm. I like it. -That's pretty good.

Drew: Not only did they buy

their charming house 15 years ago,

but they also inherited the best neighbors.

We love our neighborhood and our neighbors.

We've got four people in the neighborhood that have keys to our house.

Oh, nice. Jonathan: Since then, they've welcomed two children

and became the hangout spot for this tight-knit community.

Chris: We can't picture bringing our kids up anywhere else.

Yeah. We want to stay here.

Drew: Even though change doesn't always come easy...

I can't tell if you guys are about to cry

or you're about to scream in laughter. I might cry.

Drew: ...This house desperately needs its quirks worked out

so they have more room to grow.

So they need us... Good.

...To help them stay in the home they love.

[ shrieks ] [ chuckling ] oh!

Oh, my gosh!

♪♪

jonathan: A house is four walls.

Drew: A home, that's where memories are made.

[ laughter ]

that's what I'm talking about!

Oh! [ laughing ] oh, my...

This is "property brothers"...

"forever home."

♪♪

I actually love this neighborhood.

I didn't even know it was here.

Well, you've got transit nice and close over here,

and you can tell there's a lot of families around here.

Plus, walking distance to the water, parks close by.

Look how cute this is.

Hey, guys.

-Hey! -Oh, hey!

-How you doing? -Good.

I love that you have your own farmers market here.

We're working on it. It's amazing.

Drew: Strawberries? Want one?

Ooh. You grew these yourself?

Miniature, tiny strawberries.

Mm. I like it. -That's pretty good.

Yeah. So, is the home as appetizing

as the vegetable and fruit garden?

Mm, maybe not quite as.

Parts of it. There's, like, beautiful parts of it.

You've been here how long?

-15 years. -Wow.

So you guys have only lived here?

-Yeah. -Yeah.

It actually does look like a fairy-tale home when you walk up.

Chris: Yeah, right from the first time we came to the house,

it had this beautiful, little white picket fence.

It looked like something out of a storybook.

Kids were playing road hockey.

It had, like, this super family feel.

We love our neighborhood and our neighbors.

We have tons of friends on our street.

We have four people in the neighborhood that have keys to our house.

Drew: Oh, nice. And I heard you have a beer business.

Yeah. I'm a beer importer.

I sell, and we brew some beers. I'm a partner in a brewery, too.

And steph works for the company, too, actually.

-Oh, really? -I'm the boss.

Okay, there we go.

I knew it. I actually could tell.

Well, kids, why don't you play in the backyard for a bit.

Mommy and daddy can show us through.

-Okay, cool. -Alright. Sounds good.

Alright.

♪♪

alright. Okay.

Tight, tight.

We love to entertain, especially at christmastime.

It's packed.

You can imagine, a christmas tree in here

makes it even tighter. Jonathan: Yeah.

What makes a house feel like a home to you?

Well, I mean, as you can see,

we got a lot of pictures of the family around.

We got a lot of the kids' artwork.

We'd like it to feel nice and warm,

and we'd like it to feel like you're loved.

Yeah. This is uniquely laid out.

We have tried so many different configurations here.

We've had the sofa here. We've had a bigger sofa there.

I swear that we tried everything.

You actually have a decent amount of square footage

to work with here, it's just a matter

of positioning in a way that helps you entertain.

We'd like a bigger space for so many reasons,

just for family,

so we have somewhere to spread out together.

The kids really want an l-shaped sofa

so they can get in there and watch tv.

It'd be nice to have a tv on the floor.

You know, that's right. No tv at all.

Yeah, there's no tv. We just make faces in the mirror.

[ chuckles ] what's your best face?

Oh, my gosh. That's a pretty good face.

No, that's jonathan's best face.

That's my face.

[ laughter ]

oh, you have a full, four-piece bathroom.

Stephanie: It's the original bathroom.

There was never a second story in this home, right?

Yes, it was a single story home.

A four-piece would've been the only bathroom in the house.

Yeah. Jutting out into your living room.

Drew: Yeah, this is really eating into the space.

Yeah, it is a little awkward when you have people over, too,

because if you're having dinner,

no one really wants to use the bathroom.

And so, how big of a dining space do you need?

Uh, we need to be able to seat about six people most days,

and we'd like to be able to have 10.

So a nice, big table.

-Yeah. -Okay.

I like that you spent some money in the kitchen.

We did this nine years ago.

Okay. My dad did it.

So, we did save a lot of money doing it ourself.

Wait, what? I was here, too.

Well, you did a little bit.

Ohh!

[ laughs ]

it actually looks nice.

I wish that we had found some way to put an island in.

I would love it so that the kids, when we're making dinner,

they could be doing their homework at the counter.

For entertaining, just a better flow.

It would be a challenge to get an island in here.

Right. Chris: Kids are tearing through here,

going up and down to the basement and out here.

I don't know. We cut some corners, saved some time,

left the original tile, and it's really dated.

Yep. [ laughter ]

now, what about the backspace here?

Oh, that's our pantry back there.

Drew: Oh, wow, okay. This is a pretty big space,

but there's a pantry that's not really being utilized.

It's like a junk room. We store everything possible.

You've got maps stuffed up above the cabinet.

Chris: Those are previous years' calendars.

Yeah, we have memories stored in there.

So, this is your memory room.

Somewhat. We do have a wall right here of memories.

It records all of the kids' heights.

-And their friends', too. -I love that.

I have never seen a family

who also marks their friends' heights.

I think that's kind of cool.

I think it really shows how warm and inviting you guys are

for bringing people into your home.

You also have jonathan and me...

Chris: So, up here someplace?

-Exactly. -It's the top.

Right there. Perfect.

Yeah, you know, I think there's a lot that we can do.

Because of this addition, any wall could be structural.

But my hope would be to push this one back,

reducing the size of the pantry for a wider kitchen and island,

or maybe we just remove the pantry altogether

for one big kitchen.

-That would be perfect. -Yes.

We would definitely have to put our heads together,

probably, and think about...

Hmm. Yes.

What do we want to do in this place, yeah.

[ laughter ]

oh, gosh.

It's going to take some thinking.

This is not a very comfortable chair. No!

This house works really well for this family.

They love to entertain in their backyard.

The second floor addition has two adorable bedrooms

for the kids, and a master bedroom with a den.

Oh, wow. I love that, with all the glass.

And good to have the extra space.

So it makes sense for us to rework their entire main floor

into something much more functional.

We want to make sure that you, in 10 years,

don't regret not doing something.

Yeah, we've had this house for 15 years,

and we thought we were gonna live here for 2.

You know, we thought we'd never bring kids up in a city,

we want to live in the country.

Then we just found this community.

We can't picture bringing our kids up anywhere else.

-Yeah. -We want to stay here.

Drew: You have your dream outdoor space,

your dream neighborhood.

And inside, you just want to make this a dream, as well.

-Yes. -Yeah.

It would definitely take a lot of work.

What are you thinking of spending?

About $125... Thousand.

-Okay. -Give or take.

Okay, that's a good budget.

Now, to help inspire you, I want to show you

an updated house that has a lot of the elements

I think you'll love -- better flow,

better function for entertaining,

but also a better aesthetic.

Oh. That'd be great.

If you guys pack all your stuff up, that would be great,

and then, once I get the feedback

from the inspiration tour, I'll present a couple options,

and we'll be on our way.

-Oh, great. -Great.

It's a good thing you have a lot of friends in the neighborhood

that can help you move your stuff.

Chris: I know. [ laughter ]

I love how connected stephanie and chris are to their community.

They just have so many memories in this house.

Can you believe this is going to be totally different?

Super excited, actually.

That's why I love what we do,

because you can renovate a house,

but not the neighborhood.

I think my fondest memory

is when bella and I were sitting on the sofa,

and she stuck a peanut up her nose.

And then she sneezed it out?

At the hospital. At the hospital.

Yeah. She probably got ice cream for that.

♪♪

♪♪

I've been looking forward to this for a long time.

Stephanie: Just the excitement of what's to come

is really amazing.

I am guessing that you guys have wanted to get rid

of this bathroom forever.

Oh, yes, please. Get rid of it. Yeah. Now!

Before you start smashing things,

we'll get you guys to take the toilet out

because it's your house.

You're gonna muscle it? Just need a couple of back rubs, yeah.

Do this, honey!

Get in there. Try not to splash pee water on your way.

Oh, geez.

Oh, yeah. Ohhhhh!

Got some pee water.

It's on my foot!

-Got pee water on the foot! -Pee water on my foot!

[ laughter ]

chris: I've hoisted a few toilets in my life,

but this was the most sentimental lifting of a toilet

that I've ever had.

♪♪

chris: Oh, yeah!

♪♪

it feels so great to put the sledgehammer through those walls.

Steph wanted to sledgehammer it ages ago.

How's that feel?

Amazing.

♪♪

whoo!

Alright. Why don't we see if we can pull this tub out.

There we go.

Whoo! [ grunts ]

alright. Enough of that.

Now serious stuff.

I am a little concerned, with the age of the home

and the way that they did their addition,

that this probably is all structural.

And now that the wall's opened up,

and just looking at the ceiling,

I can see a lot that's unsafe and not to code.

Wow. I can't even believe this.

Jonathan: This probably is all structural.

It's probably all holding the load of our ceiling.

But we won't really know until we dig in deeper.

Stephanie: It's a little worrisome.

What's to come -- that's difficult to think about.

Chris: Mm-hmm.

Alright. I love the fact

that we can donate these cabinets,

so we don't have to damage them.

And it actually has stayed in good condition.

Chris: We had a lot of fun times here.

We did a lot of cool stuff.

But I'm not going to miss the dysfunctionality of it.

Alright, grab a hand on either side of this one,

and we'll take them down one at a time.

One, two, three.

There we go.

Yeah.

There we go.

Steph and chris have tried to do a little projects

here and there over the years, but they've never actually

corrected what's wrong with this home,

so we are starting from scratch, and we're gonna do things right.

I'll get you guys out of here.

I'll let you know once we've got some options for you.

It won't be long before we have real plans

of what we're really going to do. Alright?

-So excited. -Good job, guys.

While stephanie and chris are out with drew

working on some inspiring design ideas,

rocco, from my construction team, and I

are going to start with the adorable height chart.

I want to save those memories and find a new spot for them.

♪♪

oh, my goodness. Alright.

This might just work.

We might be able to actually do this.

Success.

-Yes! -Yes!

Awesome.

♪♪

drew: Stephanie and chris loved their vintage home,

so I'm showing them a house that has been tastefully updated

to help them understand what can be done

to improve an old space like theirs.

That's a nice house, right?

Yeah, it looks like they just finished renovating.

It's all updated.

Stephanie: Can't wait to see what it looks like inside.

Yeah, it's a small footprint,

but they've really maximized every square inch.

-Great. -Come on in.

Wow. Wow.

♪♪

this is beautiful.

It's super open. I like it.

Yeah. I love the open concept.

It is so nice to have this much open space.

Like, when we're entertaining, we want to have everyone feel

that old-school kitchen party,

where everyone's part of one big, ongoing thing.

They don't have a big bathroom right here

clogging half the living room.

They tucked it away over here.

-Oh! -Really? Wow.

What a great idea.

Even with your house,

there's a way we can tuck away the bathroom

so it doesn't feel like it's in your living room,

it's actually where it should be.

I like the floor, too.

Like, this is really nice, going all the way through.

And I wasn't sure how much I'd like the wide planks, but --

yeah, it's very, very nice. It is nice, yeah.

And then, of course, the kids are desperate

for an l-shaped sofa.

Oh, yeah. A nice, little sectional.

I mean, you'll have the space.

It's lovely.

Would you guys get a lot of enjoyment

out of a kitchen like this?

-Oh, yes. -Oh, yeah. Wow.

I love this island. I love all the drawers.

Look at this.

It's going to fit everything we need to do on a daily basis,

but also when we're entertaining.

This is exactly what we're looking for.

Now, for the backsplash,

they have it matching the countertop.

They have a slab style.

I think we would like to do something different.

Just to add a bit more fun.

Okay. Some sort of tile.

Something to contrast beautifully with the countertop. Yes.

What do you think of the texture of the cabinets?

I would want something a bit warmer.

Yeah, they went for a modern feel in here,

and we can find something that has

a bit more of a classic charm while still feeling fresh.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

And in your dining room,

what do you want to have for a table? How big?

This is a great size. Definitely 6 on a daily basis,

and up to 10 for holidays and parties.

Alright, there's a lot of info here

that I can give to jonathan.

He'll put some options together for you.

I'd be happy in this kitchen.

Alright, I'll send jon in -- "please take this kitchen

and just photocopy it," and put it into your house.

Looking at this house with stephanie and chris was perfect.

I think the fact that they want to photocopy

these finishes for their home

means that we're all on the same style page.

Entertaining is important to this family,

so we need to open things up and maximize their space.

Maintaining a powder room on the first floor is ideal

now that the old one has been removed.

They'd love new hardwood floors throughout.

Of course, we've got a special

l-shaped sofa request from the kids,

an island in the kitchen would be perfect for daily life

or when they're hosting,

and with more open space, they'd hope for more room to dine.

♪♪

hold the cutting! It's the sample train!

I need a little surface.

Jonathan: You're always very demanding.

The inspiration tour went very well.

A lot of great information -- but they want fresh, updated.

They love the idea of something like white cabinets.

I like the low profile on the shaker, too.

So they're cool with doing something different?

Yeah. Yeah, they love that.

For the island, they thought maybe some wood from the cabinets.

Ooh. Pick a color.

I'm not going to force any on you.

The one that's sticking out?

-Yeah. -It's nice.

Yeah, it is nice. Like, I like how that looks.

Yes. Now, countertops -- off-white or gray?

Any of these options would be great.

I guess it kind of depends on which wood tone you go for.

Cool. I like that.

And then, are they willing to do something

more interesting with the backsplash?

I like that we've got different shapes, different styles.

They're totally open to style. Alright.

And, last but not least, most importantly,

flooring is gonna be key, color wise.

Do they want to go darker on the floors?

They just love wood floors.

And so, I think they would be comfortable with anything. Okay.

I like those lighter shades there

and something in a wider plank to give it a rustic vibe.

You know what's interesting to me?

You always come in here with your fancy-pants samples,

you put them right in the middle of the workspace.

As a loving brother,

I'm trying to make it so you don't need

to come over to the office, I bring it right to you here,

and then I always strategically get a call, and I have to go.

So, see you later. You're so selfless.

[ laughs ]

♪♪

drew: I can't wait to share my design ideas

with stephanie and chris, but I'm also interested

in seeing their reaction to this gutted home.

I'm really nervous. I don't know what it's gonna look like.

♪♪

jonathan: Hey, guys.

[ chuckling ] oh! Oh, my gosh.

Oh, man!

Look at the size of your living area.

[ laughs ]

-oh, my gosh. -Wow.

I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm also excited.

They should probably be a little bit nervous, too.

If they've ever seen stephanie mad...

Yeah. He's not lying.

[ both laugh ]

chris: Oh, man! That is unbelievable.

-That is a lot of space. -Holy moly.

Stephanie: Wow. Look at the stairs!

They're not blocked off anymore.

Holy smokes.

It's just totally different space with the walls gone.

It is unbelievable.

I was a little sad --

obviously, the height chart where the kids were,

we knew that was going. Yeah.

All of the kids' years lined up along the wall there,

and our friends' kids, and probably us on there, too.

You know, I'm going to miss that part.

I can't tell if you guys are about to cry

or if you're about to scream in laughter. I might cry.

I'm, like -- I'm terrified,

but I just think of, oh, the future.

Like, what we can do now with this much space is just...

To me, that's so much more important.

Yeah. We got all that feedback from you guys

on the inspiration tour.

We've come up with two options that are pretty incredible.

-Okay. -Okay.

Option number one -- with the bathroom gone,

your living room will feel huge,

and cozying up in front of the tv will be easy,

especially on that sectional the kids wanted.

Your dining room will also be much roomier,

which will be perfect

for hanging out with all your neighbors.

Now that your old kitchen and pantry are a blank slate,

I want to tuck your new powder room into the corner

to make sure you don't lose out on the convenience

of a main-floor bathroom.

Then I'd build you your dream kitchen

with all those beautiful finishes

you didn't give yourself last time,

including a ton of pantry storage on the opposite side.

You'll also get that island you've always wanted

so you can host better parties,

or just sit the kids down with homework.

-Ha ha! Yay! -You're speaking her language.

Yeah. Yeah, you said the island was number-one priority,

you have to have seating for the kids in the kitchen.

Yeah, have to have an island. Yeah.

And still having a powder room on the main floor

is perfect because, you know,

we have four people in our family,

and one bathroom is not going to be enough.

Now, option one would take eight weeks,

and it would come in at your max budget of $125,000.

-Okay. -Is there anything missing?

Draft taps? There's no draft taps.

But that's fine. That's fine.

Or maybe, just to throw it out there,

there could be another option.

No way! [ laughs ]

option two.

Here's that stuff. Here's that.

Stephanie: We want option one.

We don't even have to hear option two.

[ laughter ] option two --

we give you the same great living space,

except that we'd give you a kitchen

that's almost double the size.

By removing the wall

and saying goodbye to the powder room in the corner,

I could give you the ultimate kitchen

with way more cabinet space.

You'd also get a bigger island to work with

and more seating to hang out.

But the best part would be a bonus bar area

fitted with a beer tap.

You would never see the keg, but you would have the tap there.

Look at these two reactions.

Just, uh, where do I sign for that one?

[ laughter ]

what's the price on the second option?

-Good question. -Straight to the business.

Jonathan: Alright.

Option two would come in a little bit quicker,

at seven weeks, but it would still cost $125,000.

So, really, what you're thinking about is,

do you want the bathroom

or a kitchen that's 40% bigger and a draft tap?

Stephanie: Well, he wants the bathroom.

I don't think there needs to be a bathroom, he does.

Ohhh. I think there needs to be a bathroom on the main floor.

It's nice to have a bathroom on the main floor.

See, this is funny, because I thought 100%

it was going to be chris fighting for option two.

But you're kind of leaning over towards option two.

If I can have a bigger kitchen, I want a bigger kitchen.

You're all about the kitchen.

I mean, this is something you guys have to work out.

We can't make this decision for you, and I know it's tough.

I mean, it is nice having a second bathroom. Yeah.

But it's also nice having a lot bigger kitchen.

I jest, obviously, with the draft tap,

and it's funny until it gets real.

But I wouldn't sacrifice a powder room on the main floor

for more kitchen.

Oh, I want a bigger kitchen.

We're going to have to arm wrestle.

No, I agree.

It is nice to have a powder room on the main floor,

and going in a one bathroom...

-It'd be too hard. -It'd be really difficult.

You know, with kids on the verge of being teenagers,

we were going to have one shower.

Like, I was already stressing.

And so, I think the bathroom is the make-or-break for me.

I think if you can fit

all of the things we want in our kitchen

and still give us a bathroom, that's our best option.

Option one or option two?

It's option one.

[ laughter ]

option one. Option one, yeah.

Option one? Okay, this is good.

With all these amazing ideas in your minds,

we're going to kick you out.

When you come back, it's going to be

your whole-new space.

-Amazing. Thanks, guys. -Alright. See you guys.

Exciting.

I thought it was gonna be the expanded kitchen. Yeah.

♪♪

jonathan: Now that stephanie and chris

have come to a consensus on the design,

my team and I can finally start on building this new layout.

Got some wood. Jonathan: Sweet.

It's actually a much better idea, too --

salvaging the existing hardwood as our subfloor --

because it's 3/4-inch, so it's nice and thick,

making the floor much more robust.

We'll patch this with the 3/4-inch.

Everything will be totally level by the time

we put the hardwood in. Yeah. Okay.

♪♪

of course, the only issue

with using the existing hardwood as subfloor

is that there isn't a straight line to be found,

so cutting the edges will make it easier

to squeeze in new plywood.

You can't do this with every floor, but when you can,

I love it because it saves us money.

Jonathan: Good.

Drew: Nice.

With the old kitchen cleared out,

we're ready to start

on stephanie and chris' new kitchen.

Hold your breath, and whpsht!

[ wood bangs ]

but first, we need to construct a wall

that'll divide it from the new powder room.

♪♪

is the laser off? I'm in line with the stud.

No, it's got to be with the laser.

Okay, then the set has to be moved. Yeah.

What was this in line with, then?

Jonathan: Sometimes it can be hard to find a flat surface

in old houses like this.

It seems that the ceiling has a bit of a lean,

which is making my stud fall slightly off center.

This isn't unusual for a house like this.

It just makes it a little more difficult

and takes a lot more finesse.

90 1/2.

-That was a good one. -That'll work.

Rocco: Can I steal that pencil?

♪♪

alright, it's starting to look like a bathroom.

Look, we just got over 3 extra feet in our kitchen,

so this is awesome.

It's the only way we could get them their island.

-Right. -Alright.

It's coming together.

♪♪

[ chuckles ] okay.

I just thought of an amazing way that we can save some money.

Came across old school newspapers.

November 14, 1955.

Wow. That is old.

Look at that -- 139 bucks, we can get a sink cabinet.

What a deal. Sweet deal.

Even better, I can get permanent waves in my hair for only $5.

Now, that's a steal.

That is something that I could get some use out of.

So, look at the difference.

All these ceiling joists are just strapped onto

the new joist from the next story.

When you step back, look at how much lower it is right here.

These joints shouldn't be moving.

Look how soft it is.

Oh, man.

That's terrifying.

I think there could be something seriously wrong here.

Oh, man.

Jonathan: We should not have that much movement.

My thought is, if all of sudden,

we start cutting everything back,

we're gonna add a week and a lot of expense.

So, I think, before we do any more work on the ceiling,

I'm going to have to bring in my engineer

and make sure there's nothing structurally wrong here.

I think they bought a great house with character,

but it's gonna take a lot of work.

Absolutely.

But I'm not worried about these walls,

so let's continue drywalling. Alrighty.

If we do find any kind of a structural issue,

that would delay everything, and I don't take that lightly,

especially when families are living outside of their homes.

One, two, three.

It's always important to try and keep things on schedule,

so we'll do everything we can to stay on track,

like finishing up these walls.

♪♪

how's it going?

Hey, drew. How are you? Good.

I'm blown away that you guys were able to keep the frame

without damaging the height chart.

No problems.

I have a cool idea. Sure.

What if we actually cut it down?

I see there's a little piece down here.

I'm guessing this was their dog.

-Tedward. -Tedward.

I don't know who tedward is.

Dog or cat, yeah.

But why don't we cut this piece off down here,

cut that section there, create a piece of art with it.

Perfect. Nice, little keepsake.

But it's kind of thick.

What would you think about framing it

with some of the original wood?

I might be able to find some.

Oh, yeah. That would be awesome.

That's actually even better.

I love the idea of repurposing, if we can.

Yeah. Oh, it's gonna be good.

Drew: Destroying this family's height chart

would have been devastating.

These things take years to make, and they're irreplaceable.

Their children, their pets,

the neighborhood kids have all placed their marks here,

so creating something special with this makes a lot of sense,

and it'll be a great surprise.

So, here's a couple salvaged pieces. Okay.

Let's put a couple pieces around this.

I think that's a great idea. It'll look awesome. Yeah.

Jonathan: As my electricians have been finishing up inside,

they've had to peel back more of the ceiling,

and now it's obvious that all of that has to come down.

That's too bad.

The drywall is unstable, and at this point,

I wouldn't consider keeping it. It's just unsafe.

But now, with everything opened up,

the bad news just keeps on coming.

It's this one, right?

We can now see that the staircase

is not properly supported.

It's just hanging off the second floor,

which is incredibly dangerous.

So I definitely want the engineer to look at this asap.

A family's been living here for 15 years,

unaware of the danger right under their feet.

And while we're waiting for the engineer,

there's not really a heck of a lot more we can do inside,

so I've decided we can use this time to move outside

and spruce things up in the backyard.

Alright. Ready for some fun?

The family has given a lot to their community,

and they love hosting their neighbors.

So let's give something back to them.

Let the magic begin.

Drew's already started

freshening up the barbecue table.

I think we should revitalize this.

But I have my eye on an even more important project.

Jonathan: Oh-ho!

You had better not be stealing chris' beer,

because if you take the kegerator,

he will probably take you out.

Matt: [ chuckles ] yeah.

I wanted to do something kind of cool.

I would love to build it in

and make it look like an actual bar piece.

Give it some character.

He's got all this wood

that's been sitting around here, collecting dust.

I figure we may as well clean it up

and make, like, a bar so that people could stand here,

they could order their beer.

Have a bit of an overhang. Yeah.

Yeah, this would polish up nice.

That's nice wood.

What chris and stephanie decided

not to go with the beer tap in their design,

but because they host the neighborhood so often,

I think a proper bar would be a great surprise.

[ grunts ]

yeah, I think that'll be nice.

I think it'll look awesome.

♪♪

that's the whole -- same situation here

'cause they did the same thing on the other side.

Yeah, I mean, that's bad practice.

My engineer arrived, and, unfortunately,

as I expected, he's told me that the entire stair structure

is not supported properly, which is incredibly hazardous

and will also be very expensive to fix.

So I need to bring in stephanie and chris.

But it breaks my heart to deliver bad news like this.

But we can't move forward with anything else in this reno

until we fix the problem.

Wow. Ceiling's down.

Jonathan: You remember, we were doing some demolition,

and I was pointing out

that there was a lot of inconsistencies in here?

When they did the addition and they added the other story,

they kept the old ceiling

and never properly secured it to the new ceiling joists.

The more rocco and I started to pull things down,

the more we realized, there's no way we would ever

be able to get that ceiling to look like anything.

It was all wavy, and it was loose.

So we took down the old ceiling.

It just wasn't salvageable.

The more we started to peel back,

the more we realized this is not to code.

Okay. Your stairs and these joists

are all hanging off of one board,

which is totally illegal. Oh, man.

You're not supposed to be hanging a load off it.

This can't even be considered a post

because there's nothing underneath it.

You're supposed to carry your load right down to the --

so there's nothing in the basement that goes...?

Nope. There were a lot of shortcuts taken here.

So I had my engineer take a look,

and he says the repairs needed to fix all of this

will require us to install two beams

on each side of the staircase structure,

then I'd have to attach them using a third beam in the center

to properly secure the staircase.

Three beams and all of this extra drywall

is going to add 3 weeks and $20,000.

-Oh, man. -Oh, my gosh.

Three beams and all of this extra drywall

is going to add 3 weeks and $20,000.

-Oh, man. -Oh, my gosh.

So, like, how... [ exhales sharply ]

20 grand's a lot.

I know that you're already spending a lot on the renovation

and that's a huge amount to tack on top of it.

What are we gonna do now? 20 grand.

I know, it's a lot of money.

I can manage with the 3 weeks, but the 20 grand is...

It's a lot. It's a big blow. It's a big blow.

Yeah. I don't know if you ever noticed any movement on the stairs.

The stairs were always really squeaky.

And it's crazy to think that our family's been living

in this house for almost 20 years,

going up and down these stairs.

That makes me feel bad -- terrible as a parent.

You want to know that your home is safe.

[ sighs ]

we don't have a choice.

The biggest benefit of opening everything up

is now we can see everything.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

And then we'll start figuring out

how we're gonna make this budget work.

-Okay. -Okay?

It's not like we can't not do it -- we have to do it.

And I guess we have to look on the bright side of everything.

The house will be very sound when we move back in.

$20,000 more sound.

♪♪

[ birds chirping ]

jonathan: Alright. So, first things first.

I guess we've got to kind of cut this back a bit?

Yeah, we're going to cut the stock out.

Then we can at least hop in

and start pulling the joists out.

Sure.

Alright.

Altering the structure of the house is a delicate process.

We have to be careful not to damage

anything adjacent to the stairs,

so we need these beams to fit like a glove.

We're good to just pop these two joists now.

Running into a problem this big is rare.

I care deeply about all of my projects

and the families I work with, so I take it personally.

There is no bigger priority for me

than making this house safe.

Stephanie and chris have been amazing through all of this.

They have incredible strength, and I'm grateful

that they trust me to do this job properly.

Of course, the price on this project has gone way up,

so moving forward,

I'm doing my best to find savings wherever I can.

♪♪

jonathan: With the beams finally in place,

now I can dedicate all of my time

to getting this house done.

Well, let's divide and conquer.

You finish on the inside,

and then I'll go out back, and I'll finish what we started.

Okay. I will gladly give the bar project to you.

Just don't mess it up.

Well, I'll have you know I'm quite the crafty fellow.

I just wish it wasn't so cold already.

You can do it.

Hey, look how it turned out.

Oh, wow, that looks great.

Beautiful. That's it.

It's gonna make a beautiful bar top.

Yeah. Gonna put a couple more supports,

one on this side and two on the back.

Okay. Put the top on and clad it, and we're done.

So this will slide right in?

You want to try it on?

Oh, nice. The kegerator is perfect.

This is going to turn into

the ultimate outdoor entertaining space.

This is one of my favorite projects. Yes.

[ grunts ]

♪♪

drew: This journey has been a lot for stephanie and chris,

but jonathan and I are committed,

this entire team is committed, to turning this thing around

and bringing the fun back to this renovation.

You got that one? Yeah.

I'm so glad that we're throwing in this extra project.

At this point, anything we can do to help them

love their home even more than they already do

will hopefully help put all this bad news behind them.

Yeah, that's perfect. That's gonna look great.

Whoo! This is gonna be the most stylin' bar chris has ever had.

♪♪

jonathan: Now that our structural work is finally behind us,

we've been racing forward to stick to the new timeline

that we gave stephanie and chris.

With the majority of the drywall complete,

we can now put the finishing touches on our electrical

by prepping for the new recessed lighting.

♪♪

[ birds chirping ]

drew: One, two, three. [ grunts ]

watch your step.

Around a little bit. Back your way in.

Rocco, you wanna grab the side?

This is our end piece, right?

-Alright. -It's like a dance.

This isn't the cha-cha, this is the construct-cha.

[ chuckles ] no?

That was bad.

That's a big island, wow.

It's huge. We've got our tile, as well.

[ grunts ]

so, two tiles. This is our kitchen.

This is the floor tile for the bathroom.

This gives a little, subtle hint of color,

as well, which is nice.

We know that steph loves color,

so she'll be blown away by the island and by the color. Yeah.

Do you guys want to work on this,

and I'll start sticking some tile down?

-Sure. -Yep.

♪♪

jonathan: In order to save stephanie and chris some money,

I've decided to switch out some finished

for alternatives that are still beautiful,

but that are far more cost-effective materials.

I think the bathroom tile is a great example of that.

Going from concrete to porcelain

is a change that you'd never know costs less

by looking at it. Yeah, exactly.

And I love the pattern. It's going to add

some serious personality to their small powder room.

Last, but not least.

Alright, so... That's a lot of storage, actually.

It's tons.

I was worried originally, but this feels good.

And I think this actually makes the kitchen feel

a little more grand, as well, because these cabinets

will carry the line of the kitchen further.

-Okay. -Alright. Great.

♪♪

jonathan: I brought in some extra help

to make sure we get the hardwood down properly and fast.

There is no better method than gluing and nailing

to ensure that they stand the test of time.

♪♪

the kitchen has been carefully designed

to make sure they get the most out of their storage

and to give stephanie that island

that she's always dreamed of.

♪♪

floating shelves, done properly, are much more secure

than anything you could just buy at your local store.

These ones are custom fabricated,

and they'll be strong enough to hold an elephant --

or just a lot of dishes.

♪♪

alright, I have gifts. Oh, you have gifts?

Guess what I have? A bone to pick.

What? What do you mean?

Of all the time you spent out here,

you couldn't just clean up behind yourself?

Well, I was busy.

I -- I've been making this thing look presentable.

Don't try and distract me

with how good both the bar and this look.

I mean, you're lucky because he loves that rustic kind of feel,

but this looks like night and day.

And also, the little gifts here,

this is just the beginning.

We have an outdoor patio set.

We have a five-piece sectional, lounger.

This is going to be the ultimate space for entertaining.

Let's do this --

I want you to sit there, and I want you to envision

how amazing this space is going to be...

Ahh! ...Sipping on some suds

and soaking up that sun.

And then everything else -- ohh!

[ both laugh ] oh, you jerk.

Now I got to sweep it up. Darn it!

♪♪

after all this work and some late nights,

it feels good to be done.

I'm excited for them to move back in.

This family has been waiting long enough.

I just can't believe they've been here for 15 years,

and so the kids have only ever known this space.

This is great. The only thing I don't like

is that that picture is a little crooked.

-This one? -Yeah.

Uh, a little tilt on that one right there.

-This one? -Yeah.

Uh-huh. And a little tilt on that one right there.

-This one? -Perfect. Yeah.

Drew: Stephanie and chris had a budget of $125,000.

They chose option one, which put them right at their max budget,

and that originally came in at an 8-week timeline.

However, once we discovered the staircase structure

was compromised, that timeline increased to 11 weeks,

and their budget ballooned an additional $20,000

to $145,000.

But with some clever cost savings,

like swapping out for more affordable

finishes and furnishings,

I was able to save them $6,000,

for a grand total of $139,000.

This looks like it should've been here the whole time.

Yeah. Before, they had the function

of the extra storage, but no beauty.

Now they've got the blend of both worlds.

But was that really functioning for storage?

Not properly.

Stephanie: It's time to see the house.

-Yeah. You excited? -So excited.

We've been waiting so long. Oh, man, I can't hardly wait.

Well, good things come to those who wait.

[ shrieks ] [ chuckling ] oh!

Oh, my gosh!

♪♪

jonathan: You excited?

So excited. We've been waiting so long for this.

Oh, man, I can't hardly wait.

Drew: Well, good things come to those who wait.

And we've been waiting. [ laughter ]

stephanie: Oh, my gosh! I'm nervous!

[ shrieks ] [ chuckling ] oh!

Oh, my gosh!

It's gorgeous.

It's so big! Like, it's so much bigger.

That's what happens when you get rid

of a humongous bathroom in the middle your main area.

It made your living space so small.

It was like a feature of the main floor.

And now, it's just such a dramatic change.

I can't even believe... Wow. Wow!

Oh, my god! Look at all the photos!

Oh, my goodness.

It's so beautiful.

[ laughs ]

I just never -- I never thought it would be like this, ever.

It's really overwhelming to -- it's shocking.

Wow, it's so beautiful.

Oh, the kids are going to go crazy... The kids are gonna love this.

...When they see this.

Drew: This is a house without problems now.

You just got to come in and enjoy.

Oh, yeah -- wow. This is really nice.

This couch is really nice. Yeah. It's gorgeous.

Everything is so beautiful,

and I can't believe we have a proper-sized living room,

finally. Jonathan: You needed to have

a more connected living space.

Now, can't you picture all the kids and friends

and family running around here?

-Yes. -Oh, yeah.

♪♪

wow, look at this table!

Live-edge table. It's lovely.

Alright, this is our dining area.

We have a real dining area now,

and it's not on the edge of the bathroom.

Jonathan: Your ceilings had so many problems.

The walls were crooked. Everything here.

Now it's clean all the way across.

Your floors run continuously.

-Oh, yeah. -The floors are gorgeous.

It's wild how spacious it feels in here.

It just feels like a real house.

Yeah, a home. A home, yes.

Exactly. Well, that was the goal.

I just can't wait to see the kitchen.

It's your kitchen. If you want to check out the kitchen...

-Oh, we're dying to. -Alright. Let's go!

Go, go! Go ahead!

Oh, my gosh.

Oh!

♪♪

look at how gorgeous this is!

-Wow! -Ohh!

Oh, my goodness.

Chris: These countertops are beautiful.

What is that? It's a honed finish.

-Really? -So beautiful.

The color and the texture.

What is it made of? It's quartz.

It is quartz, but it just has a different finish on top.

Amazing. Did you think you would get an island this big?

No. We weren't even sure we could actually get an island.

Not only did you get an island

with lots of space on both sides...

Two stools on the side, and look at all the storage.

You have storage for days now.

-Wow. -Oh, incredible.

That is wild.

Holy moly. Crazy spacious.

Lots of storage. What is that?

So, this is a down vent.

Instead of it going up, it goes down,

and it vents out the side of the house.

Oh, amazing. Living on a spaceship now.

That's wild. [ laughter ]

holy smokes.

Like, with this shifted back, there's so much space here.

Just capturing that extra couple feet,

pushing that wall over that way.

-Yeah. -Oh, yeah.

Oh, look at this tile!

That's beautiful tile. It's gorgeous.

These new appliances look incredible.

This is going to be a game changer in our kitchen.

-Oh, wow. That's wild. -This is a great kitchen.

Like, you know, I feel like I don't deserve this.

I'm not -- I'm not good enough for this type of...

-Oh, you -- you just have -- -you deserve it!

Yeah. You definitely deserve it.

I deserve it. Yeah, she deserves it.

We tried to keep some of your memories.

Ohh! Ohh! [ laughs ]

oh, that's amazing! Oh, my goodness!

We did the best we could to preserve it,

and the wood for the frame is actually

the studs from within the wall where that was.

-No way! No way! -Ohhh!

Stephanie: That's so amazing. I can't believe it.

I didn't know this was happening. Thank you.

I didn't, either!

It has years -- years. Lots of memories on there.

Stephanie: It's gorgeous.

For christmas this year, it's just gonna be so, so amazing.

I'm sure we're gonna get swamped with people wanting to come over.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Starting today.

-Starting today! -Aah!

Now, you didn't need a tub.

You didn't need all that wasted space.

We found a much better space

and tucked your powder room in around the corner.

Oh, you guys! We gotta see this.

♪♪

oh, really? Ooh!

Oh, wow. Wow, that's beautiful.

Ohh!

It actually looks pretty spacious.

Yeah, it feels so big.

It's beautiful.

♪♪

I know there was hiccups in the timeline.

If I push on the ceiling, it doesn't move now.

[ both laugh ]

and these stairs won't fall down.

No, stairs aren't going to fall down.

It's important to make sure that everything is safe.

Yeah. That everything is done right.

We were able to get everything fixed,

so a safe home and it's a beautiful home.

It's everything we wanted, and then about 60%, 70% more.

Wait. Is it everything that you wanted?

What are missing?

[ imitates beer fizzing ]

-right. -Oh, well.

We didn't get the draft. Yeah, there's no...

Well, we may have done a little something extra

for you guys outside.

-What?! -Follow us.

[ laughs ]

♪♪

[ laughing ] oh!

Oh, my goodness!

This is crazy.

Wow! Aah!

It's a bar!

-You got your tap. -That's unbelievable!

[ laughing ] ohh!

This is crazy. My barbecue's all redone, too.

Oh, yeah. That looks so good.

And look at all the seating. Stephanie: We have furniture!

We've been talking about getting furniture for out here,

but we couldn't decide on anything.

Obviously, it's a little cold outside,

and I assume you'll use this

mostly through the spring, summer, fall.

Now that everything is cleaned up,

you've got a great space out here.

I think, whether you're inside or out,

you will have so many friends around you all the time.

-Oh, yeah. -Yes.

That bar top is made from your reclaimed wood.

-No way! -Oh, no way!

Really? Yeah.

Oh, wow. This was that wood that we had here.

Yeah, we repurposed it. Oh, wow.

That's unbelievable.

What I think we need to do --

why don't we go get the kids and show them the house inside,

and then bring over a bunch of family and friends?

-Sounds great. -Let's do it, yeah.

Your first party.

-Whoo! -Whoo!

Stephanie: It's so exciting.

We cannot wait to start entertaining.

Yeah, it's amazing.

It's our forever home.

Come on in!

-Hey, guys. -What do you think?

I think it's good.

Bella, what's going on?!

Jonathan: I hope that means you love it. Mm-hmm.

Your mom and dad said that they really wanted

to do this for you guys.

Think of all your friends you can have over,

all the birthday parties, all the good times.

Come and try it out. Test it out.

Does it feel like home? Yeah.

Drew: This has been such an emotional roller coaster

for this family -- and for us.

But I've got to say, I'd do it all over again

just to see those reactions one more time.

Oh, my gosh, seeing the kids come in

just reminds me of why we do all this.

And giving people their forever home

is just the best feeling in the world.

-Hey! -Hey!

[ all cheering ]

hey, guys. Come on in!

[ all cheering ] come on in!

-Whoa! -Awesome!

Come on in, everybody.

-Come in! -Yeah, yeah.

-Wow! -Wow!

-Guys! -Hello, hello.

Can dance in here now. That's how big it is.

[ indistinct conversations ]

by the way, I want to get a headcount here,

because there's no way before

you could have had this many people in here

and see everybody where they are.

There's 24.

You've already counted 24.

Jonathan: And we still have room, too.

Let's go!

Come on, check it out!

-Wet deck. -It is.

[ kids exclaiming ] nice.

-Oh, look at that! -There's the bar!

[ laughter ]

jonathan: I'd like to raise a glass

not only to the coolest bartender I know,

but to the coolest family I know.

And you can tell you're pretty amazing

because you're surrounded by people who think the same.

-Cheers! -Cheers!

[ cheers and applause ]