The last time around, we reported on the latest beneficiary of
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition being Kirkland, Washington resident, Connie Chapin, whose 100-year old ancestral home was already on its last posts and shingles.
Ty Pennington and his crew of fast and hard-working home builders showed up on Chapin's doorstep on Wednesday, September 26.
The century old structure was torn down the following day, with
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition scheduled to replace it with the Chapin family's brand-new residence in a week. However, due to unforeseen complications brought about by the old house's construction materials and the inclement Washington weather, the big reveal had to be pushed back a day.
When workers began tearing down Connie Chapin and her brood of four's old home, they found that it was built using toxic paint and insulation. To prevent the lethal materials from contaminating the atmosphere of the Chapins' neighborhood, they had to take down portions of the structure piece by piece, instead of simply knocking it down like they normally do. The tedious process slowed down the workmen's progress considerably.
Aside from taking the extra precaution of carefully dismantling the antiquated domicile,
Extreme Makeover also had to contend with the area's rather uncooperative climate. Several days of rain pushed back efforts on the reconstruction, putting the workers way behind schedule. As if that weren't enough, a fire broke out at a nearby hotel on Monday. As a result, the show's resident landscapers required treatment for smoke inhalation.
Pennington and the rest of his
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition staff and crew were left with no alternative but to holler for extra help to try to recover lost ground due to the series of setbacks. Fortunately for them and for the Chapin household, hundreds of additional volunteers came in full force after the plea for assistance went out on radio and television.
Despite the added manpower, however, construction efforts still weren't finished in time for the family's scheduled return last Wednesday night.
"Well, you know, we pull off miracles every week. We build a house in a week, every week. But uh..." Johnny Littlefield, a member of the show's design team, could only say regarding the unexpected setback.
Despite the delay however, one volunteer was convinced that the wait will be worth if for Chapin, who has eked out a living to support her four children after her divorce by teaching underprivileged children how to swim in her old backyard pool.
"They'll be very happy with what they see," Nancy Allen assured.
The moment of truth for the big reveal finally took place Thursday, October 4, when Connie Chapin and her kids, 16-year old Molly, 14-year old Anna, 12-year old Rachel and 9-year old Danny came home on board a limo that drove them to their new doorstep at a quarter to 11am.
The episode of
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition featuring the Chapins airs sometime in January.
-Rosario Santiago, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: KOMO TV
(Image Courtesy of Seattle Post-Intelligencer)