‘This Old House’: Remodeling Is a Tricky Business

For Dave and Susan Dickinson, in the beginning there was anticipation: Home remodeling for a discount price and national television exposure on PBS’ “This Old House.” In the middle there was frustration: Soaring costs and a completion date that often seemed unreachable. And in the end there was relief: After six months, the carpenters and television crews had left and their old house was now practically new.

The Dickinsons were as surprised as anyone when the producers of the show picked their Santa Barbara home last fall to be featured in six episodes of the multiple Emmy Award-winning home fix-it program, now gearing up for its 10th season on PBS this October.

While others sent in elaborate plans, detailed pictures and formal letters in response to a Santa Barbara News Press article, Susan simply enclosed a photo of the house and a small description explaining that she and Dave wanted to convert the attic in their 1 1/2-story bungalow into a master bedroom.

From more than 100 initial responses, the Dickinsons were among the 40 finalists. Then the producers whittled down the possible homes to 10, which they visited.

“Everyone asked us, ‘Why were you so lucky?’ ” said Dave, a commercial-loan officer. The Dickinsons believe their selection was sealed when the producers met them and saw their family photos.

“They had seen on our family room wall the pictures of the triathlons we participated in and the pictures of family and friends . . . they saw the potential for sweat equity,” said Susan.

They also had the advantage of youth (he is 30, she 29), which Dave feels was important too. “I wouldn’t recommend it for someone who is 80,” he said.

But the Dickinsons soon found they would need every bit of their youthful fortitude to withstand the pressures of having their home ripped apart and remodeled at a swift pace. Dreams of expanded living quarters and mini-stardom quickly turned into mega-frustration.

As anyone knows who’s ever done extensive home-improvement work, interesting things can happen when people armed with shovels, hammers and power saws invade your home.

“This Old House” told the Dickinsons, whose son Sam was born in July, 1987, that they would be able to live in the house during the process and that there would be little disruption to their lives. Not so, as they soon found out.

“That disappeared because once they took off the roof, they started walking around to pound down the new framing and they managed to step through the ceiling a number of times,” said Dave.

When a structural engineer found that the existing foundation could not handle a second floor, the news got worse: The house would have to be jacked up while the foundation was reinforced, which meant that utilities would be cut off in one form or another for a month and a half. Still, the Dickinsons were able to get by with a little help from their friends.

The Dickinsons had plenty of chances to get their own hands dirty. Susan and her mother did most of the tiling in the new bathroom and Dave and his friends dug out a large ditch to gain access to the main house drain when the plumbing backed up.

The experience also taught the Dickinsons something about being on television. They have become mini-celebrities in the Santa Barbara area.

“Almost every day I hear from somebody somewhere,” said Susan, “either on the phone or walking down the street or in the grocery store. We still get people driving by and craning their necks.”