Christina Hall's Client Goes Rogue With DIY Demolition Work on $235,189 Project
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Christina Hall has dealt with her fair share of homeowners who have committed surprising faux pas. During the season finale of Christina on the Coast, the home renovation expert’s client couldn't resist a little DIY demolition.
On their first visit to the custom Tudor home located in San Clementine, California, Hall and her design partner James Bender noticed that the homeowner opened up a small portion of a shear wall in the kitchen to see if it could be removed. Unfortunately, Hall got a $100,000 quote for removing the wall. The homeowners decided to put that money toward revamping their outdoor space instead. But that minor demo discovery was quite the foreshadowing moment.
During another visit to the home, Hall and Bender were shocked to find that one of the homeowners got started on the kitchen demolition himself—before the design plan was completely finalized and before the design duo sent their team in to do the demo. “It’s not often I have homeowners doing their own demo,” Hall said.
“You are very impatient,” Bender added upon seeing that the homeowner ripped out the kitchen cabinetry, took off part of the tiled kitchen backsplash, and put another seemingly random hole in a kitchen wall that was eventually removed.
After the surprising turn of events, Hall said that her team would finish the rest of the demo. The homeowner agreed his work was finished... but, alas, that wasn’t the case. Hall and Bender later found out that he removed the home’s dumbwaiter himself (and saved parts of it for sentimental value, because that feature is what sold him on the home in the first place). “You don’t even know what he’s been doing,” his wife said. “I am so happy the professionals are finally here because every day I would come home from work and something else would be demoed."
Hall then spotted that the client also demoed the fireplace, which wasn’t part of the original plan. Luckily, he got Hall’s stamp of approval. She said it looked so much better without the wooden mantel and agreed to give it a fresh update.
While demolition isn't a typical home renovation task for clients, at least the unexpected work didn't result in any major problems—especially since the final price tag for the project (which included the kitchen, living room, deck, and bar) came out to $235,189.
Love knowing what your favorite HGTV stars are up to? Same. Let’s keep up with them together.
Follow House Beautiful on Instagram.
You Might Also Like
