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Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Comes to Raleigh
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Best Kept SECRET in town
By
Jane Shealy, Photos courtesy of the King Partnership
It was the best kept secret in town.
By the time Ty Pennington leapt off the bus shouting “Good Morning, Riggins Family!” local builders and subs had known for weeks that ABC’s hit reality show had chosen the Riggins’ family home on Poplar Street for an Extreme Makeover.
Even before the dust from the demo had cleared the afternoon of December 2nd, HomeLife Communities and 84 Lumber suppliers were pouring over sets of blueprints spread across the hood of a large white pick-up. And while they weren’t surprised, they were anxious to get started. “I’m excited,” said Lonnie Brown, a production manager for HomeLife Communities. “I’ve been waiting a week to do my job.” Brown confessed that the construction company, tapped to head up the extreme build, had known about the project for more than a month, and had been making covert field trips to the site for several weeks.
The challenge set before us was to build a house in 106 hours, said Don Mead, Raleigh Division President of HomeLife Communities. “We did it in 94.” “That’s not to say there weren’t a few challenges,” Brown said. “Rain put the framing behind schedule. But, with help from subcontractors, vendors, volunteers and the City of Raleigh, we made up the time.
 It was an incredible challenge. We worked hard, but it was for a very good cause. And, for a family in need we don’t mind helping out.”
The Riggins family was brought to the attention of the show’s producers by a close friend, who described the family's perseverance in spite of hardships and their generosity to others. Linda has severe arthritis and William is blind. They are the parents of three children, and for the past 15 years they have worked with Building Together Ministries, mentoring disadvantaged parents, helping with after-school programs and providing a place for a Mennonite congregation to worship. The former school where the ministry is located also got a facelift courtesy of the television show.
“We feel very fortunate to have been a part of this project,” Mead said. “It was the greatest team-building experience we’ve ever had. Providing a new home for a deserving family is one of our proudest accomplishments.”
The builder’s relationship with the family didn’t end the day the show did. The following day, Mead and his crew went back to make sure the Riggins’ were happy with their new home and that their neighbors were satisfied with the clean-up. Heavy equipment had left its mark on neighboring properties, so HomeLife re-landscaped those yards, resurfaced the parking lots they used and planted trees in front of a neighboring church.
“We’ve been over to visit the Riggins’ once a week,” Mead said. “We went over and had ice cream with the kids one day. They’re a glorious family.”
Likewise, he had nothing but praise for the design team. Not only are they a good-looking group, but talented, down-to-earth, friendly and helpful, Mead said. Still pumped up about the experience, he told producers if they ever needed a helping hand they should call him. They took him up on his offer and called him to Tampa in mid-January to assist a builder there.
Tom Peters, owner of Tom Peters Construction in Zebulon, echoed Mead’s sentiments. “I would do it again, and I’m sure my guys would be right beside me.” Peters, who frames houses for HomeLife, had the daunting task of framing the nearly 4,000-square-foot house in 14 hours instead of the usual four to five days.
 He accomplished the task with a crew of 45 instead of seven or eight, and deliveries of pre-cut timbers and pre-fab parts were carefully orchestrated. “It was like putting a puzzle together.”
The pressure was tremendous, Tony Poole, of 84 Lumber, acknowledged. He, Peters and Brown weren’t at all sure that what they were trying to do could be accomplished in such a short period of time. Now that they’ve done it, they have two new problems.
The first is coming up with an answer for future clients who ask, “Why is it going to take you five months to finish my house when you finished the one on Extreme Edition in less than a week?” The second, Brown laments, is “Now, building a house in more than a week will be boring.” n
Jane Shealy is a Freelance Writer
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