A Space Coast Makeover

A local family gets Brevard in the national spotlight

By Ryan Seeloff

How better to bring a community together than to have the nationally known team from Extreme Makeover; Home Edition make a stop on the Space Coast to rebuild a home?

The Hurston family of Canaveral Groves received the great news that their home would be getting a 'Makeover' courtesy of Lifestyle Homes, ABC and the Ty Pennington led crew the day before the project began. To read all about the Hurston family and the efforts behind this build visit http://www.extrememakeoverspacecoast.com.

What Destination Brevard will do during this week long event is head out to the site each day for progress reports on the build as well as photos (the gallery above will have the latest photos, but the rest will be found at the bottom of this page) and some videos throughout the process. Stay up to date on our Facebook page and new photos will be uploaded each evening along with any videos we may have taken.

Day 1- The first day of the build consisted of preparing the site for demolition, setting up the area for spectators, filming the beginning of the show (including a countdown with the spectators), demolishing and clearing the house, and prepping the lot for the build.

There was what could be the opening shot of the show with designers Michael Moloney, Paige Hemmis, and Eduardo Xol walking up the street towards the house decked out in NASAesque gear flanked by a pair of for real NASA astronauts.

The trio of designers made a few more appearances and the host of the show Ty Pennington was visible on the set and even pressed some flesh with the spectators for a few moments prior to the house being demolished.

Just after 1 p.m. two track hoes started ripping into the two story structure and reduced it to a pile of rubble within a few minutes. Then the debris trucks moved in to get rid of the Hurston's old house and the prepping of the lot began. That about wraps up Day 1, but soon the site will be filled with crews putting together a brand new house for the Hurston's.

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Day 2- Upon arriving at the site of the build there were still teams working on the concrete slab that had been poured overnight. Soon the work was done, the concrete blocks were delivered (I was told that this is the first 'Extreme Makeover; Home Edition' home built with concrete block), and the sub contractors were hard at work to put up the exterior walls of the house.

Over 100 volunteers from local Winn Dixie stores were on hand to volunteer today and every one of them seemed to busy helping all over the job site as cement blocks were moved to the correct part of the house by small groups of volunteers.

During the day it seemed as though this team of mixed company (literally mixed companies) worked together better than could be imagined even with the dozens of inexperienced helpers that roamed the site either working on a project or waiting to be called for the next one.

Several signs showing just how much local fans enjoy having the Extreme Makeover team in our very own backyard.

Throughout the day volunteers were able to walk over to the catering tent to enjoy a variety of donated food while inside the V.I.P. tent Uno's Pizzeria and then Pizza Gallery & Grill made sure those with this special access had a chance to fill their tummies.

A couple members of the cast were spotted during the day and there were several hundred spectators watching the progress of the build throughout the day.

As the day turned to evening the studs for the interior walls and the plywood for the roof arrived and that work could be finished overnight.

Check back tomorrow on our Facebook page for updates throughout the day and there will be a new photo gallery for your viewing pleasure tomorrow evening.

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Day 3- Arrival to the work site this morning found a (large) piece of an aircraft fuselage being prepped to move inside the house. Where exactly it went and for what purpose you will just have to wait for the show.

Let me also say that after the show airs on ABC later this year (possibly mid to late spring??) I will be allowed to publish photos taken from inside the house and some 'Behind the Scenes' videos. For example, today's photo gallery which is featured above, only contains half of the photos taken on the site today.

The cast of Extreme Makeover; Home Edition was up and in action this morning filming throughout the interior and exterior of the house. Wrapping up the morning session around 11:30 the cast headed back to wherever they relax while the crews kept up the rapid pace set yesterday by the masonry crews.

Overnight crews had built the interior walls and most of the second story. Next to the house the garage even had the roof put on sometime during the night. This morning through the afternoon saw the trusses for the main house being lifted up and attached.

A trench was dug from the street to the side of the garage, quite a bit of work was done to the rear of the house and the garage, and the windows arrived just after lunch time.

The crowd of spectators seemed quite small today, but that should change as the week progresses. There are still opportunities to volunteer to work on the house, but you have to come out early and hope for the best. If you come out on Tuesday you'll probably have your picture taken during the day and posted right here tomorrow night.

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Day 4- One word..... Wow! That just about sums up the emotions of the spectators in the crowd this morning. Overnight the interior walls were framed out, the roof was put on (shingles came later in the day), many of the windows were installed,wiring was run, and this morning the trucks loaded with supplies were pulling an Energizer Bunny (they kept going and going).

There was a bit of filming early in the morning inside the house and then again right around noon out in front of the house. Word had it the Ty is at the other build, but will be back soon (yes they film two shows at one time if you can imagine the stress that puts on the cast).

Throughout the morning and into the afternoon drywall was being installed at a feverish pace inside and stucco was going up on the exterior walls (there were over 60 workers working on the stucco). The exterior of the chimney was being covered with stone and the shingles arrived and were starting to be installed.

Day 5 spectators can expect to see a house just about ready for the designers to do their thing as it is not hard to believe that they could actually paint the house tonight or early tomorrow morning. What is left??? Well the flooring needs to be put down, the kitchen and bathrooms need to be finished, and that is just the beginning. Then there is whatever the designers have planned for outside the home (I have heard rumors, but we'll just have to see what those rumors evolve in to.

Once again there were many photos/videos taken inside the house, but you will have to wait until the show airs before they can be made public.

You can be sure that the next 60 hours leading up to Friday will be filled with non-stop action on the build site as the cast and crew work to finish the house for 'Reveal Day' on Friday. Look for updates from Day 5 starting around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning on our Facebook page.

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Day 5- Well well, the house was looking great Wednesday morning after another night of work at a feverish pace. Work was still being done on the roof, The exterior received a coat of primer (or is the house going to be white?), the kitchen cabinets started to get installed, tile was placed on paitos and in the bathrooms, some interior painting was started, the solar panels have arrived and are starting to be installed on the roof, trim was going up through the house, and some landscaping and other exterior projects were started.

Eduardo and Michael were on the site today at least twice filming some clips and the tv production crew was seen on scene (ha ha) a few more times looking to set up future clips.

Evening update--- Yawn! First time out at the site at night (ha ha again. The humor just flows so naturally at midnight) as I was curious how much work would get done after dark as the deadline looms.

More interior painting has been done since this afteroon, the projects in the backyard are coming along nicely, is the roof done yet???, more trim work is being completed, cabinets are going in the bathrooms while the kitchen cabinets are still being installed, and there are dozens of other projects going on this evening. Can't wait to see what progress will greet the cameras in the morning. Yawn.....

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Day 6- Well the week is winding down and the work is furiously finishing up. Today saw the appliances installed in the kitchen and laundry room, painting was finished up both on the exterior and interior, bathrooms were being completed, there was still some tile work being done, and some furniture was brought in (yes there was more done, but it's all hush hush for now).

Outside there were people working and running around like the busy anthill this build has been each day. Plants were planted, mulch and other ground cover laid down, several projects were finished up in the backyard, and pathways were pressure washed.

Both Michael and Eduardo were seen throughout the day filming clips for the show and were giving some pointers to some of the volunteers as they shared their visions of the build.

This afternoon, evening, and overnight surely will continue to be just as busy as everyone tries to get the house ready for 'Reveal Day' tomorrow.

Destination Brevard will be back on site Friday morning and will not leave until it's all over sometime in the late afternoon hours. Check our Facebook page for updates from the site and of course you will see photos tomorrow night.

Don't forget that we have dozens of photos and clips of video that we will be able to publish once the show airs. You'll get 'Behind the Scenes' like you have never seen before.

Come out tomorrow and share in the excitement as the community comes together to present the Hurston's their newly built home.

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Day 7- 'Reveal Day' is here and the work was still going strong this morning as crews worked on different projects trying to get them all done in time for the Hurston family to receive their new home. As you could probably guess some things went exactly according to plan while others went a bit awry.

Several Winn Dixie employees stopped in to fill the fridge, freezer, and pantry so that the Hurston's would not have to worry about making a trip to the store so they could eat the first meal at their new home.

Work in the backyard was finished while Eduardo and Michael filmed a scene where the Hurston's chickens were brought back to their new coup (where one hen laid an egg within an hour of being in the new hen house).

A half dozen koi were put into the pond in the backyard, final touches were made to the landscaping, and soon the backyard became a place for everyone on the site to take a breather while some scenes were shot in the house.

As the day waned the crowd of spectators grew in size and they were quick to pick up the volume if given any reason to scream. Several scenes were filmed with the spectators and each scene had a few takes to make sure the production crew would have enough to get it right for the show.

The 'Extreme Makeover; Home Edition' bus showed up and that really got the crowd wound up as they could sense the finale coming.

There was the practice limo run with a fake family to really get the crowd wondering where the real family was. Then there were multiple takes of the crowd yelling " Move that bus!" and the bus pulling away in a cloud of dust only ot back up for another run.

Ty and the designers showed up on set and the anticipation grew as the crowd wondered what was next. Several more shots were filmed (a few in front of the bus) and then the limo containing the Hurston family arrived. Footage was shot with the cast and family and then the bus pulled away so the family could see their new home for the first time.

Tears of joy flowed from the family members and they were led up their driveway to the house. We'll check in tomorrow to see what they think of their new home and get a few more photos to share.

Don't forget to check back after the show airs (I heard rumors of a mid-February air date) as we wil then be able to publish photos of the interior of the house as it was built and a whole bunch of video.

Photo Galleries

Day 1- Day 2- Day 3-