If you and your spouse thought it would be a good idea to spend the COVID-19 shutdown making your DIY dreams come true and are now consulting divorce attorneys, there’s a new TV show for you to watch.
“Help! I Wrecked My House” debuts Saturday, Sept. 12, on HGTV. It’s the latest home improvement series starring Jasmine Roth, the Huntington Beach-based creator of the HGTV hit “Hidden Potential” and Emmy-nominated “A Very Brady Renovation.”
Roth and her team wrapped up filming their new series in March, just as COVID hit — and one month from giving birth to her first child.
There are six episodes, which means you will get to know six families whose DIY projects turned into DIY disasters.
Roth says she got the idea for the show because she found herself fielding calls from frazzled fans.
“They tried to DIY their renovation, thinking ‘Ya know what? That doesn’t seem that hard. I got this.’ People get excited, and I get that.”
The reality, though, is that it can wind up costing more money and time than if you just hired a professional. Roth, who built her own house in Huntington Beach (a two-story California-casual craftsman she calls The Ross Homestead) and owns Built Custom Homes, says the show is a bit of a cautionary tale.
“People see us on TV and we’re just going for it, so they will go in and take down a wall without understanding what’s holding up the roof. But by the time we swing a sledgehammer, we’ve done our leg work. We’ve called the engineer.”
She’s heard tales of people who have tried to rewire their house with no training. “That’s scary,” she says. “Same thing with plumbing, and anything to do with gas. Always call a professional. Safety first.”
Of course there are people out there who have the skill sets to take on complicated projects. But if you’re not one of them she has some advice: “Do your own paint. That’s a good place to start.”
The houses Roth’s team tackles in the new show are located in Anaheim Hills, Costa Mesa, Glendora and Long Beach.
“They are extreme examples,” she says. “These people tore their houses apart. They really went for it. It’s crazy. So I go in with my team and fix whatever they tried to do themselves, so they really love their houses again.”
And love each other again.
For every jump-in-the-deep-end DIY dreamer there is often a partner who isn’t entirely on board, or is at least a little nervous. And when projects go sideways, as they often do, friction has been known to ensue.
“Spoiler alert: There’s always a happy ending,” Roth says laughing. “But this is a big deal for families. They save money to do a renovation and then find out they’ve done it wrong. It’s a lot to stomach. It’s a punch in the gut. This show has that layer of coming to grips.”
Roth believes the timing couldn’t be more perfect with pretty much the entire world going stir-crazy during the shutdown. For some, busting out the crafts and cake decorating kits just wasn’t enough.
“I have friends who have never even been to a hardware store (who are) like, ‘I’m gonna redo my kitchen!’”
Roth will live tweet all six episodes and promises “fun games” for her 212,000 Instagram followers.
In the series premiere, she helps a young Orange County family who tore up their bathroom, kitchen and backyard before raising the white flag.
Since filming ended (and the shutdown kicked in), Roth said she’s been “laying low” with her husband Brett and baby Hazel.
The family just moved into their new house (a few blocks from their old house). They just put their old house, two blocks from the sand in Huntington Beach, on Airbnb.com. It’s a three-story, the first house she ever built.
“It’s kind of my baby,” she says.
Fans can book it for stays starting Oct. 1.
Roth is also excited that “A Very Brady Renovation,” her miniseries which aired in 2019 drawing 28 million viewers, has been nominated for a 2020 Emmy — although it’s the one year that the Emmys are virtual.
She’ll find out if she won Monday, Sept. 14 when the category for outstanding structured reality program category is announced.
And if YOU wrecked your house? You can go to HGTV and apply to be on the show. But, Roth warns, having spent hours sifting through videos, you’ve got a lot of competition.
‘Help! I Wrecked My House’
When: Series premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12
Channel: HGTV