KINGSTON — As curious onlookers made a mad dash Wednesday to the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition site to welcome home the Dore family, construction crews and volunteers were just as frenzied putting the house together at last the minute.
It was the day of the “revealing” of the 3,200-square-foot, Craftsman-style home that was built this week for the Dore family — Roseanne, Jessica, Sarah and Aariel — whose house was destroyed by a fire in March. They were chosen by ABC’s Extreme Makeover last week to be receive a new home, which was built by Dallas, Texas-based Centex Construction and designed by the show’s celebrity stars during the last five days.
During construction, the family was sent to Walt Disney World in Florida and was expected to return at noon on Wednesday. And in the 11th hour, crews were rushing to remove trash, bring furniture into the house, hang Venetian blinds and add the final touches.
The crowd that had gathered in the observation area of the construction site was watching in earnest as well, especially for a glimpse the show’s host, Ty Pennington. Several of them were determined to get the best spot possible.
“We were waiting at 5:20 a.m. (for the shuttle),” said dedicated fan Sharon Byerly, who brought her niece Becca Gifford and friend Lauren Sarver from Belfair.
“This is our favorite show because it’s good,” added Gifford added, who was wearing a plastic yellow hardhat in spirit of the show’s theme. “There is a happy ending every time and Ty’s really hot.”
An estimated 700 volunteers, which included members from the Navy, Girl Scouts and local residents, put in 10,000 man hours to build the house from scratch on the 2.5-acre property.
Richard Meier, a missile technician on the USS Ohio at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, spent Tuesday cleaning, spreading mulch, unloading a hot tub onto the back deck and installing carpet. He worked crowd control Wednesday.
While Meier said he could have cared less about the Hollywood aspect, he was happy to volunteer his time and was impressed with the whole operation.
“Just how everyone pulls together, it’s insane how fast it all happened,” he said. “I’m just here to help. That’s all I care about, lending a hand. It has been awesome what we’ve done for the family.”
Finally, shortly before 2 p.m., the Dore family arrived, stepping out of a white SUV limousine, their hands covering their jaw-dropped mouths in astonishment at the improvements to their property. A North Kitsap Fire & Rescue truck blocked their view of the house for about 10 minutes until it pulled away to reveal the home to the family.
“Thank you!” one of the family members yelled out as the Dores looked at the home and waved to the 1,000 or so people who were cheering for them.
While crews were tight-lipped about the home’s interior amenities (you have to wait until the show airs), there are six bathtubs, two showerpans, seven toilets, nine sinks and 17 faucets in the house, plus two yurts in a side yard for Roseanne’s Girl Scout troops. But primarily, crews made sure to create what the family simply wanted — a functioning home.
The show airs regularly on Sunday evenings on ABC, but it is still unclear when this episode will run, possibly six to eight weeks at the earliest. A step by step progress of the site’s construction can be viewed at www.centextreme.com.
