Renovation Realities

Amanda Laird and her boyfriend TJ Sybilrud are renovating their nasty, outdated kitchen to create a more modern space. They've done several other projects together in their new house, but they quickly learn that the kitchen isn't so easy. When they recruit Amanda's dad for help, Amanda and TJ learn the hard way about the dangers of electricity!

Terry Bullman and Blair Ramsey are renovating their backyard living space. The couple wants to expand their existing patio and update their screened porch, all while sticking to an extremely tight budget. But as the problems quickly mount, so do the dollar figures. Terry and Blair realize their bare hands are no match for Mother Nature and are forced to call in some heavy-and expensive-reinforcements.

Kevin and Tiffani Searer just bought the house of their dreams. Unfortunately, the backyard isn't so perfect. So they decide to turn their boring backyard into a beautiful outdoor patio, but they soon discover that this isn't as easy as they think. Kevin quickly learns why plumbing should be left to the professionals!

Travis Confer and his girlfriend Krista Kelley have recently purchased a home with a lot of space outside, but inside is a different story. They decide to expand their tiny master bedroom by adding a walk-in closet and door that leads out to a new deck. They are confident in the beginning, but soon learn that this renovation isn't going to be as easy as they thought.

Mark Grelle and his fiancee Molly want to turn his attic into a master suite, and they are starting by adding a bathroom. Mark and Molly quickly learn that they are in way over their heads and must call in the help of a plumber. But no plumber or mathematician can help Mark perfect his math skills in order to frame the bathroom walls. Can this newly engaged couple pass the test of this renovation?

Marc and Luisa Rueckert are renovating their cramped kitchen. They want to create more room for their growing family by gutting the entire space and modernizing everything in it. Their different ways of approaching the job create challenges far more difficult than moving a wall or replacing a ceiling. The couple quickly learns that the key to a big project - and a successful relationship - is learning how to work together through the good and the very, very bad.

Kristy Hirko enlists the help of her uncle Bob to renovate the ugly, old front porch on her rental home so that she can sell it. Renovation might not be new to uncle Bob, but to Kristy, renovation is completely foreign and the pair faces endless challenges that threaten the outcome of this project.

Alice Marie Wolter wants nothing more than a brand-new kitchen to replace her nasty out-of-date one. She's recruiting her friend Carrie to help her rip out every one of her kitchen cabinets, tear up the floor and create a pass-through into Alice Marie's sunroom. However, cutting into a cement wall proves to be a very daunting task, especially since Alice Marie is afraid her house will collapse when she does it. The drama is never-ending as Alice Marie attempts to install a heated floor as Carrie helplessly looks on. Hanging cabinets proves to be the unraveling of Alice Marie when a horrible discovery leaves both women wishing they'd never taken on a project this big and this unpredictable.

Paula Bartello is known as the "hostess with the mostess" but doesn't have the modern kitchen to match. So she's enlisted the help of her friend Julie to help give it the face-lift it needs. But will this renovation prove to be too much for them to handle?

Gina and Joey Simmons want to turn their junky attic into a new master bedroom and bathroom. Even though they have renovated most of their house together, this project quickly turns into a battlefield. Can these two full-time students put aside their differences long enough to finish the project?

Ali and Tom Antonacci are only a few months away from the birth of their first child and want to get their kitchen renovated before the new baby arrives. Between the potential hazards buried behind their thick 85-year-old walls and Ali's physical state, this means a lot of the heavy lifting will be placed on Tom. He insists he knows what he's doing, but after a few surprises it's clear that they might be in over their heads.

Giacomo Abrusci wants to turn his guest room into a place guests actually want to stay. So the experienced Giacomo enlists the skills of his friend Yale Scott to make this happen. The only problem is that Yale's skills are pretty much nonexistent. Whether it's tearing up the ceiling or installing a skylight, these two show that although renovation is about hammers, nails and hardship, it is also about knowing what your friends are made of.

Luke and Michelle Ward live in a high-rise building in Brooklyn, New York, with an amazing view of Manhattan. The only thing that's not amazing is their tiny, outdated kitchen. So they decide to open it up and give it a face-lift, but the couple soon discovers that their kitchen renovation is going to be a lot harder than they thought.