Ty Penington

[laundromat]

I watch Extream Makeover faithfully every Sunday night and don't see as many of the homes destroyed being stripped of the re-useable products and salvaged. If they're so conservative and want to help save our environment and need money to help the chosen families save on their mortgage,why isn't there more of the actual use of things like windows,doors,cabinetry and appliances???

 

[polkanut]

Chuck,

I've wondered about that for some time myself, hmmmm.

 

[MikeS]

Just A Guess

I've watched episodes from Season One on DVD; several showed perfectly good items being earmarked for Habitat for Humanity, to be used in homes built by the organization. I'm not sure if that's a regular policy of EM:HE, but I agree it should be. Many of the homes have perfectly good items that can be reused and spruced up--including, of course, the appliances! Maybe an inquiry to the EM:HE folks at abc.com is in order?

 

[autowasherfreak]

Spice Up My Kitchen does the same thing. Cupboards, windows, doors, cabinets, and appliances could be reused instead of going to the landfill.

 

[yogitunes]

yeah...how green is it to rip out say a kitchen or bath and toss everything to the dump...if we all did it this GREEN way...our landfills would overflo...so much for the environment...

I mean if the room was in shambles...yes, rip it out and look for better products to rebuild with....but to tear down a descent home rather than update a current one...where is the recycling in this?

 

[dogboy44]

decent home?

most of the episodes I have seen of this, the families are chosen usually are suffering from a variety of personal tragedies and live in a complete shithole. to reuse/resize existing materials might be more that they are able to do in the one week timeline they operate in. Aren't many of the materials used coming from post consumer sources? How many houses do they do a season, 6 or so? Many many times the will include a clubhouse/mueseum/rec center to the community as well so a large number of people are helped as well.

 

[countryford]

on the same note

"Save My Bath" on HGTV is another one that doesn't salvage the stuff. I don't know how many times I have seen them renovating a 50's pink bathroom and instead of taking the pink tub/toilet/sink, they take a hammer to them instead and throw them into a dumpster. I sent them an email asking if they are so into going green why they don't donate the items to places like habitat for humanity.

 

[alr2903]

Very true of the plumbing fixtures, but maybe the show has a "legal issue" with using vintage appliances. Just a thought, but heaven forbid there would be a fire or other serious mishap.

 

[autowasherfreak]

I sent a similar e-mail to Spice Up My Kitchen, but never got a response from them, but I wasn't really expecting to either.

 

[pturo]

"How do you build a new house in one week, Ty?". "Well, me and my girlfriend....my girlfriend Crystal."

Kathy Griffin

 

[pturo]

Stupid to rip out good cabintes, especially if you like the kitchen layout...get new doors or hardware, or even paint them. Painted cabinets are chic, and look better than those 70's oak beveled things. If you are doing hardwoods in a kitchen for the floor, do painted cabinets so as not to be overwhelmed by wood. Paint is more transformative than constuction of something to replace it, which costs thousands and thousands, when you already have the base. Get new countertops, paint the cabinets and you will save thousands plumbing, labor and what passes for shit on new kitchen cabinets.