7/27/2009 2:35:00 PM A Look Inside 'Extreme Makeover'
Above, volunteer workers finish the home's exterior during the weekend of the build, while dozens of spectators watch, below. An estimated 3,500 volunteers chipped in during the course of the project.
Large team pulls it off
ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is a strange combination of a hyperspeed home building project and a national TV production.
The process begins with the selection of a family. The Hamptons - Chris and Niki and their six children - were chosen because of their story. The parents had two kids of their own and adopted four nieces and nephews out of foster care.
Senior Producer Diane Korman said ABC received a lot of support for the Hamptons.
"We search in every corner of the country for families that are deserving of the makeover," she said via e-mail. "When hundreds of letters came in about the Hampton family, we wanted to meet them and see if we could help."
Builder Sam Clifton of Millstone Custom Homes, who led the construction effort, said the entire project proceeded without any workers getting hurt - a monumental task considering there were 600 skilled laborers and 3,000 additional volunteers on the job.
"I build a house in six months ... but (ABC) came aboard and said, 'You're going to do it in six days - each day represents a month of your life,'" Clifton said. "It felt like it."
Almost as colossal as rebuilding in a week was the effort to keep the Hamptons from finding out, especially considering the list of people in on the secret.
Greene County and Ash Grove officials, the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield, the build team, and all the Hamptons' neighbors met with ABC officials earlier this month to find out what needed to be done.
"They made it very clear to us that if word gets out that this is the family, (they'd pull) the plug and (go) somewhere else," Greene County Commissioner Harold Bengsch said. "That's a motivator."
The project went off without a hitch, and ABC's Korman called it "one of the smoothest" the network has worked on, crediting Clifton and his team.
Wall-to-wall coverage
On the media side of the equation, Springfield's ABC affiliate, KSPR, had the monumental task of covering the weeklong process.
News Director Brad Belote said the live production for his station went smoothly.
"We talked to other ABC affiliates about what to expect, and the views were largely negative in terms of access and ability to cover events, so we were prepared to be shut down at every turn," Belote said. "Fortunately, the team was great to work with - I never came away with the inability to get pictures or information."
KSPR had anchors on site for every newscast during the week, reporters providing additional stories, and Belote continuously posted Web updates. On July 21 - the day the family saw the new home - Belote said the station doubled its record for page views at www.kspr.com.
"There has been a lot of reporting on stuff that needs to be fixed, and here was a story about a solution that didn't come from Washington or City Hall," he said. "It came from people helping people, and I think there's a great hunger for that in the current environment."
Business benevolence
While producers and build team leaders remain mum about costs of the home or the products and services donated for the project, hundreds of local companies and organizations contributed goods, services or monetary donations to the Hampton home.
Among them:
• PFI Western Store organized the donation of a new horse barn for the family as well as customized saddles and bridles for all the family members. The Hamptons raise horses and are officers in the Missouri Family Rodeo Association. "The crew came in, and we told them to pick out anything they wanted," said PFI owner Randy Little. "They filled their truck up twice, and then they came back again."
• Drury University offered full tuition to the six children. Dean Charles Taylor said the Hamptons' story mirrors the way Drury thinks of its alumni, faculty and students as extended family. He also noted that Drury has now provided architectural services on three "Extreme Makeover" episodes. Chris Hampton's mother earned a master's degree from the school, while Niki Hampton attended Drury's Cabool campus, he said.
• Through a combination of corporate and individual donations, the Hamptons' mortgage has been paid off.
• Rainbow Recreation of the Ozarks donated a new playground.
• Missouri Storm Shelters installed a shelter rated to withstand an EF-5 tornado.
• Farmers Insurance donated a year of home insurance.
• Metro Builders Supply provided the home's lighting and appliances.
• Meek's donated all framing and construction materials as well as all the doors and windows.
• Rave Design Services donated the home's audio and visual equipment, along with a security system and a year of monitoring.
• Purina Mills donated horse, chicken, dog and cat food for a year.
• M&M Landscaping donated the landscaping services as well as a year of maintenance.
Demolishing a home and building a bigger one in its place, completely furnished and move-in ready, in one week is an extreme process. But it can be done - if there are 3,500 volunteers to do the work and hundreds of companies to contribute the materials.
Reporter Jeremy Elwood followed the building process launched by ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" for the Hampton family home near Ash Grove. Here are excerpts from his notebook; more coverage is at The Fine Print* (link below this story).
Day 1 - Tuesday, July 14
More than 300 local volunteers are on site where Chris and Niki Hampton and their six children will get a new home next week. After a two-hour rain delay, the family got its "wake-up call" from ABC show host Ty Pennington just before 11 a.m.
"'Good morning' - that's all I heard, and then the kids just started screaming," said a still visibly overwhelmed Chris Hampton.
Both parents say the reality hasn't yet sunk in: The family is vacating their one-bedroom home, where the three girls sleep in bunk beds in the former utility closet and the boys bunk in the dining room, for more spacious digs.
The plan now is for the team from Millstone Custom Homes and hundreds of local construction workers and volunteers - an estimated 3,500 during the course of the project - to transform the site in less than a week.
Day 2 - Wednesday, July 15
The hectic pace and excitement of the first day of shooting at the Ash Grove site was matched on Day 2 by the waiting and anticipation.
The show's producers decided to demolish the home in the manner best suited for the job. They blew it up.
It could have been done the old-fashioned way with wrecking balls and bulldozers, but they chose dynamite. This is, after all, television.
Photographers and videographers were set up just across the street to capture the moments - until the show's director approached us.
We were informed that once the crew was ready to start wiring the home, everyone would be moved back 500 feet for safety. We were free to leave our video cameras closer to the house, but no guarantees for their survival.
The demolition actually happened in three phases - a small shed went first followed by a barn and then the home. Even the hardened show staff, staying behind its 500-foot safety barrier with the rest of the spectators and media, was surprised by the power of the blasts.
Day 3 - Thursday, July 16
What a difference a day makes.
At midafternoon July 15, the old one-bedroom house of Chris and Niki Hampton was still standing, and the family's barn had just been demolished. By midafternoon today, the foundation for the new home is down, concrete is set and walls are going up.
The site has transformed from an atmosphere of waiting and anticipation to a beehive of activity - volunteers in blue shirts scurrying back and forth, hammering walls, guiding beams into place and looking for more to do.
Workers from hundreds of companies and organizations that have donated time, materials and services trudged on through some rain.
Day 4 - Friday, July 17
Amazing. That's the word volunteers at the site kept using today.
They're amazed at the speed with which the home has seemingly sprung from the dirt. By midafternoon Friday, the entire structure was in place, the roof had been shingled, windows and doors installed and exterior stone work was under way.
They're amazed at the spirit of cooperation among the dozens of construction workers on the job site - many of whom work for companies that usually compete against each other for jobs.
And they're amazed at the amount of work that can be done by dedicated volunteers. Construction worker Carl Hawn said that after midnight last night, build organizers got tired of asking workers to come in and eat, so they finally had to bring food out to the workers.
Hawn has worked for general contracting companies in the past and has experience with virtually every piece of heavy equipment on site.
Carol Johnston doesn't have any experience with heavy construction - but she answered the call for seamstresses. She met with designers today. Others are doing whatever it takes, from picking up rocks to fetching water.
Days 5 & 6 - Saturday and Sunday, July 18 & 19
The home site has been closed to the media for fear of giving away the secret interior design.
Landscaping is under way, with earth-movers pushing mounds of soil and landscapers tilling dirt in preparation for flowers and trees.
There's a feeling of purpose to the whole process - every member of the sea of blue shirts both inside and outside the Hamptons' future home moves quickly and determinedly toward their next task. They know what is at stake: a new life for a deserving family. Everyone is doing whatever it takes to complete a seemingly incomprehensible task.
Day 7 - Monday, July 20
The Ash Grove build site has taken on an almost rock concert atmosphere.
Most of the work on the new home is complete - and just in time, because the family returns tomorrow from a weeklong vacation at Walt Disney World in Florida.
The team of builders is preparing to hand over the keys to the house.
And all over the site, there's a palpable feeling of excitement. Dozens of spectators have set up camp. Some are preparing to watch as ABC "moves the bus," and others are waiting to see Ashley Tisdale, star of the "High School Musical" films, perform a free concert Tuesday. When Tisdale made a brief appearance in the front yard preparing to shoot a segment for the show, a chorus of screams of "We love you, Ashley!" arose from spectators.
Day 8 - Tuesday, July 21
The wait is over.
The Hampton family has returned from their weeklong vacation and got to see their new home Tuesday evening.
It was an intimate affair - just Chris and Niki Hampton, their six kids, and the TV crew ... and the media ... and the thousands of people who showed up to help "move that bus" ... and "High School Musical" star Ashley Tisdale ...
But the mob scene in Ash Grove must surely have been worth it for the family that has been through so much change in recent weeks, from the adoption of four nieces and nephews to their selection as ABC's next deserving family for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
