Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
This is a homeowner's worst nightmare. Six feet of water.
Just days after they move in,
a hurricane comes through and just wipes it out.
This entire floor is totally destroyed.
We need to help them get it fixed.
The birth of their first child is just weeks away.
But with dangerous delays...
Turn it off! It's smoking!
Don't jinx us.
...we're gonna have our work cut out for us on this one.
And you can't bring a baby home to a construction site.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
You know, people know
how bad the Jersey Shore got slammed by Hurricane Sandy,
but a lot of people don't realize
how bad Hoboken and Jersey City got hit, too.
You know, you drive down the streets, Hoboken looks fine,
but the damage to, you know, people's homes is just --
It's gonna take forever.
Yep. It's gonna take a long time to fix it.
So, you already met Steve and Michelle, right?
Yeah, after the hurricane,
they were one of the first people's basement
that I pumped out.
They're a really nice couple.
They didn't really know what to say on the phone
when I said we would just come over and do it, but, uh...
When you told me how much water you saw inside
and what you pumped out...
The day I saw it, there was
four or five feet of water in their house, so...
With the baby on the way, we got to get it done for them.
We're gonna walk from here.
It's this way.
I mean, you remember how bad 7th Street was right here.
Oh, my God. It was five feet high.
Yeah.
This block in particular --
This whole block was, like, up to here.
Hi! How are you?
When Hurricane Sandy hit,
we didn't know what we were gonna do
or how we were gonna get the water out of our house.
So, having Anthony come out so quickly to our aid
at that point was just really amazing.
I know you guys are new homeowners
and you got a new baby on the way,
so I just -- I didn't want you
bringing a new addition into the family
with the state that the basement's in.
Thank you so much.
MICHELLE: And then to hear that both cousins
would help us rebuild our home,
we're very excited.
You guys want to show us the basement?
I want to see it dried out.
I only remember it with this much water in it.
So, let's go check it out.
This is the main floor, of course.
Yeah, we were only in the house
for 45 days before the storm hit,
so we're still waiting on our furniture, actually,
for this area.
But no damage here, right?
Yeah.
Let's get over and check it out.
The way that the water just rose so quickly,
it was only two stairs away from being in our kitchen.
If it came to that second step, you had...
six feet and a couple inches of water down here.
Wow.
And that was all -- even the backyard.
MICHELLE: It went right through the backyard.
All right, so, let's get down here and actually see.
Wow. This entire floor is totally destroyed.
There's nothing left here.
So, you had furniture down here.
MICHELLE: We had a couch, a love seat.
It's our family room down here.
There was a team that came in and actually
just pulled everything out of the house,
and then they just started gutting away.
Those few days were really tough.
Our life and what we've had
and what we've assembled over the last seven years
was thrown out to the curb.
There were a lot of little things.
We had pictures and, you know, it was -- it was --
What? You okay?
It's okay.
ANTHONY: The hurricane happened, the disaster happened,
so let's take it for positive
and build back what you want.
Entertaining is a big part of our lives.
We throw a ton of parties.
There's an annual festival in Hoboken
called Hoboken Saint Pat's in March.
Ugly sweater party.
Yeah, we do holiday parties.
I wrote them all down,
so if I don't have invitations to every one,
we're gonna have an issue.
Oh, you'll get an invite. Don't worry.
Now, as far as the overall design of the floor plan,
I can see a bathroom area.
We got the washer/dryer area.
We got some closets.
Are we good with this open floor plan?
STEVE: Absolutely.
Obviously, we want to get this tile up.
If you want to be going with a nice, polished concrete floor,
you know, then you're not having to replace that again.
Maybe a little, like,
industrial-chic kind of look down here.
That's great.
Do you guys mind a few surprises?
We're all for it. That would be awesome.
MICHELLE: Especially with the baby on the way,
we're just really excited to make it our home again
and make it welcoming for our new little one.
Holy cow.
The force of the water destroyed this door.
All right, guys. Let's load in.
ANTHONY: Demo is pretty light on this one,
but we still got to get out that tile floor.
That's everything. Let's start breaking stuff.
ANTHONY: So, removing this tile is a little bit tricky.
We want to make sure we get out the tile in the thin set,
but we don't want the chipping gun
going through their concrete subfloor.
JOHN: One great thing about going with concrete floors
is you're not adding any extra materials to your flooring,
and we need all the extra height we can in that basement.
We're meeting Steve and Michelle over at the Turtle Club,
a restaurant and bar
just a few blocks away from their place.
The Turtle Club was also flooded during Hurricane Sandy,
and I actually pumped out their basement
just before I met Steve and Michelle.
I don't know if you guys happened by,
but Cory was making burgers out front
and just handing them out to people as they came by.
I think everyone around here was just doing all they could.
STEVE: Absolutely.
All right, man. I appreciate it.
We're gonna get these guys designed up.
Thank you.
All right, so now we can get into
what we're gonna be doing here.
So, what we want to do is create
a living-room area up front for relaxation,
and then more of an entertainment space,
like a bar area, in the back,
and then pocket doors that'll separate the two.
Obviously, in the back, where the stairs are,
those stairs need to come out.
So, I think we want to
change the materials on those stairs.
A great, like, galvanized-metal staircase.
Oh, 100%.
From just a convenience standpoint,
we're worried about maybe water coming down again.
You guys are gonna have nothing to worry about.
That's great.
In the back by the windows,
we want to create a bar area.
We'll put in base cabinets so you have
plenty of storage and countertop space,
and then above, we're gonna install open shelving
so you can show off your stemware.
We'll go with a backsplash.
We'll run it all the way up to the ceiling.
So, we'll do something that has some color in it,
that'll really play throughout the rest of the apartment.
That's great.
I think the last major thing
is we want to do something both functional
and aesthetically cool with your television,
so we're gonna create a shadowbox.
This is gonna set your TV further back into the wall
That's great.
And we're also gonna put some LED lighting behind the TV
to give it a nice glowing effect.
I see the smile coming.
We're talking technology. The man's happy.
Good.
If we can shake the room upstairs,
that's what I want.
Maybe when the baby's born --
It's rocking, rocking. Exactly. See?
JOHN: Our electrician, Bob, called us over
to Michelle and Steve's with a serious concern.
So, what were you telling me about the cable, now?
BOB: Well, the problems that we're having here
is that all inside the cables
are saturated with water due to the flood,
and we're getting a lot of short circuits.
So, if there's enough of a short
and the water connects the circuit,
Correct.
All right, so, I mean, with all of us here,
it's the best time to flip a switch.
JOHN: Let's check it out. Why don't you go up there?
I'll flip. Everybody look at the basement.
If we see anything, obviously,
we got to kill the lights right away.
If we got an issue, we'll address it.
[ Sighs ]
All right, An, hit the breaker!
All right, here we go.
Bob, is that smoke?
An, turn it off! Turn it off!
JOHN: We're over at Michelle and Steve's,
checking on the electrical wiring
that was flooded out from the storm.
Is that smoke?
An, turn it off! It's smoking.
Turn it off!
ANTHONY: It's off!
Oh, look at this.
What happened? Oh, man.
BOB: That's what happens when the water's in the cable.
It's a good thing we were here.
So, now we got to pull the whole --
We got to pull all the cable.
Everything in the basement has to be changed.
Ceiling, too?
Ceiling, too.
What does this add to your job, time-wise?
Three days.
Three days. [ Sighs ]
[ Sighs ]
Big thing is Michelle's pregnant,
so we're trying to get this done.
I mean, she's ready to pop at this point.
We'll bring in extra guys.
I know you guys will bust to get it done.
I appreciate it.
We got to fix it,
because they'll burn the whole house down.
ANTHONY: With the electrical work under way,
we're working on the new concrete floors.
Concrete's a great choice for basements,
'cause if it does flood again, it doesn't need to be replaced.
JOHN: The floors are gonna reflect a lot of light.
You have that nice high polish that is really gonna make it
feel nice and bright inside there.
ANTHONY: We know Steve and Michelle love to entertain,
and we know that they love wine,
so we want to build them a custom wine bar.
And we're thinking we could use some reclaimed wine barrels
to do that.
Not a bad place to go to work every day.
A buddy of mine actually owns a winery in Brooklyn,
which was affected by the hurricane as well.
We're gonna go and see if he can help us out with a barrel.
Yeah, Red Hook took a little bit of a beating down here.
How much did you really lose?
2012 vintage -- all lost.
2011 and '10 in storage --
most of that is gone.
Yeah.
We're not giving up. That's for sure. Yeah.
We have a barrel, too, for you guys.
That's awesome.
We were thinking about doing the barrel whole,
but, I mean, these half barrels look --
Right?
They look awesome like this.
It's a great look.
I can also show you guys around a little bit.
Yeah, let's see it.
Oh, dude. This is awesome, huh?
This is great.
The working side of the winery.
We have about 80 barrels in this room.
This one's for you, yeah.
Wow. That's great.
So, let me just get it for you guys.
Yeah.
This had wine in it before the storm,
so it was lost, but at least it's going to a good home.
Absolutely.
Repurposed and reused again.
Just like Steve and Michelle,
this winery had five feet of water inside
and lost everything.
ANTHONY: But they're fighting, they're already building back,
and that's exactly what we want to do for Steve and Michelle.
Meanwhile, back in Hoboken, all the drywall is up.
We're installing the pocket doors
that separate the bar area from the living room.
Cabinets are going in, along with an island.
We're also gonna build them a rustic table on wheels,
which will slide inside.
There's no time to waste.
Yeah, I mean, that baby can come at any time.
Today we're over at the firehouse.
We're prepping the wine barrel
for Steve and Michelle's custom bar.
Where are we? I feel like we're in Minnesota.
Oh, my God.
It's not every day you get your hands on a good wine barrel.
You know, it fits the project perfectly
because they're both wine drinkers.
The only thing that's not fitting the project right now
is the temperature that we're operating at.
Hey, you stealing my gloves?
I am stealing your gloves.
[ Laughs ]
[ Drill whirring ]
Stole his gloves, now his hands are freezing.
I hate you.
So, right now, these screws are keeping the bands
really tight and taut around the wood.
As soon as we cut this barrel,
all the wood is gonna want to fall away.
Aah!
Thick steel, huh?
Galvanized, too.
Makes it a lot harder to cut through.
Keeping them warm on the fire.
Oh, yeah.
Yep.
Yep, there she is.
Worked exactly like I was hoping it was gonna.
It always does, buddy.
[ Laughs ] Don't jinx us.
Wow!
Look at that!
Smell that wine, too?
Oh, dude. That is cool!
That's so cool!
A little test piece.
So, we're gonna need two.
That's gonna look so awesome!
This is 12 foot.
Plane the whole thing.
ANTHONY: All the wood we're using for the top of the bar
came out of a few different brownstones here in Hoboken,
so they need to be planed down.
He loves to fight you.
Taking off that rough outer core,
you can see all the grains and coloration in the wood.
That's pretty.
JOHN: Lightly sand. Cut it in half.
It's gonna look good.
[ Sighs ]
All right. At least that one project is done.
Hey, guys. Good timing. Good timing.
I got a little bit of news today.
Steve and Michelle just called.
Baby arrived a few days early.
Yeah.
Is everybody healthy?
Everybody's great. He's happy as could be.
Well, I guess that's the good news.
Bad news for us --
You can't bring a baby home to a construction site.
ANTHONY: We're close to the finish line,
and Steve and Michelle are getting ready to
bring their baby home from the hospital in just a few days,
so there is no slowing down now.
Refuge.
Oh, that's great.
JOHN: And yesterday,
just to keep us on our toes and keep things interesting,
a blizzard hits the Northeast.
When that happens here in Hoboken,
it makes it a nightmare, so we are just trying
to get as much done as possible right now.
JOHN: So, heading down to Edison today
to pick up the stairs that we have
for Steve and Michelle's basement.
Want to give them back a metal stair
that will never have any issue
if it does flood down there again,
and the best way to do it is powder-coating these stairs
and getting a pristine finish on them.
Once that powder coat goes on the metal...
It lasts forever.
Right.
Won't rust, won't peel.
Powder-coating process was really great.
I actually got to go inside the booth.
I got to spray down a little bit.
It was just spraying that powder on.
Worked out great,
and then I got to go see it go in the oven.
It's 25 foot long,
and it gets up to 800 degrees in temperature.
Great.
And then we take it out, let it cool,
and it's ready to be wrapped and taken away.
We are really under the gun right now.
We have about two days left on this build,
and I have to get these stairs installed.
MAN: What's going on, John?
We have a ton of work going on inside,
and we have to get the stairs done.
The steel pieces for these stairs are incredibly heavy.
[ Exhales sharply ]
It's not the easiest install to do,
and we have really tight quarters
back here in the back of the house.
And on top of all this, the welding smoke
is actually setting off the fire alarm.
[ Fire alarm beeping ]
We're gonna go herringbone in the middle.
Yeah, and then we do, like,
a five-inch band on the bottom.
The backsplash is going up. It looks awesome.
It's a completely new tile that's out.
This herringbone pattern
and all the different little flecks of color that are in it
are really gonna stand out.
Not only do we have to finish all our construction work,
we've got to finish all our design work, as well.
So, we've got the wine-barrel bar
that we're building for them.
JOHN: When we were over with Steve and Michelle,
one of the things they told us
was that the basement is really an entertaining spot.
When friends and family come over, I'm sure everyone
is gonna gravitate to that bar and ask them about it.
ANTHONY: We've also got the table
that slides underneath their island.
Steve and Michelle are big wine drinkers, and they love to entertain,
so the notches that we're cutting in the table
are meant to hold the wine glasses.
I used a router to round out the edge
so the glasses will rest nicely in the notch.
ANTHONY: Do it.
Boom.
Yeah, look at that. Ain't going anywhere.
That's really sweet.
It's really nice. I'll tell you one thing.
Could have a lot of people over.
I mean, what do we got here? 15 of them?
You flip the glasses upside-down
and you store it like that.
So dust doesn't collect.
The dust master over here.
[ Laughs ]
Next up, we need to get some poly on this.
That is nice.
It's got a nice, soft glow to it, doesn't it?
Oh. So pretty.
This'll protect against any wine spills or food.
It basically just seals the wood.
It's nice that it can be stored away.
It's hidden in the island.
This island did exactly what we wanted it to do --
give them a little extra countertop space.
Park it in the garage, baby.
Sweet.
Oh, that is cool, man.
I really like the way that came out.
The old hidden-island trick.
[ Laughs ]
We've been really under the gun on this one.
We've had a fire that started down here.
We've had a blizzard.
And the baby.
That's awesome. That's beautiful, man.
I cannot be more excited
to give this back to Steve and Michelle.
Wow. That's great.
ANTHONY: And they're coming home with their baby
from the hospital tomorrow,
so we couldn't have cut this one any closer.
STEVE: It's fantastic!
Oh, my God.
JOHN: Steve and Michelle
are coming home from the hospital.
We're so excited to meet their new baby, Lily.
You know, they were still
moving into their brand-new home,
and then the disaster struck,
and you had their lives turned upside-down.
Out of something bad came something really good.
Come on down to your new basement area.
Oh, my God.
This is awesome.
JOHN: Looks a little different than the last time that we stood down here.
There's color down here, too.
ANTHONY: The new steps -- all powder-coated metal,
totally weatherproof,
and we know you wanted polished-concrete floors.
MICHELLE: Yes.
Now I want polished-concrete floors,
because these came out absolutely incredible.
MICHELLE: It's beautiful.
Look at the backsplash. I love that.
JOHN: We went with the herringbone pattern,
and we did the glass shelves
so the stemware can be on display
and you see that beautiful tile
wrap all the way up to the ceiling.
And it still looks so open.
ANTHONY: One of the things you can't see, too,
'cause the cabinetry is covering it,
but we've got you a dishwasher down here.
Wow!
If you got a whole bunch of party glasses or whatever,
you've got one going down here and one going upstairs.
That's great. Really convenient.
Perfect for entertaining.
We wanted to give you something very personal from us,
so what we did was we built you a custom island
with a rolling table that holds your wine glasses.
Storage upside-down,
but when you go to serve them,
you can line them all up, pour all your glasses,
and then wheel them out into the next room.
Oh, that's awesome.
[ Laughs ]
Yeah.
And to round out the entertaining space,
we built you guys a custom wine bar.
That bar top is gorgeous.
That's amazing.
Definitely, like, kind of brings in
that vibe of being at a vineyard.
Classes it up, I'll tell you.
And I love the wine barrels.
One of my good friends is a winery owner in Brooklyn,
so we went out there and we got a wine barrel from him.
They were hit pretty hard by the hurricane, as well,
so he was so happy to give us a barrel
and knew that it was going to good use.
It's beautiful.
We're definitely gonna partake in some wine
as quickly as possible, fill up our wine fridge.
Now that I can have a glass...
...again.
This is the new bath that we did for you guys.
Oh, my God. That's gorgeous!
STEVE: Wow! Look at that tile!
Wow. It's like a spa.
That is fantastic!
We're gonna get so spoiled.
We won't use our upstairs bathrooms anymore.
JOHN: All right, guys.
You have your new living-room area.
MICHELLE: [ Laughing ] Oh, my God.
I'm just so impressed
at how warm and inviting everything looks.
We are floored.
Wow.
This is awesome.
JOHN: I know what Steve's looking at.
I've never seen him smile so big.
Got something special for you, buddy. Here we go.
That is awesome!
JOHN: There you go.
LED lighting behind the TV.
I mean, at night, that looks --
For movie night.
ANTHONY: John found these amazing shades.
You've got a sheer curtain
that lets light in and you can see,
or you can go completely private.
That's really cool.
You've got multiple settings, and you can
create different patterns with the light.
That's great.
Guys, congrats on the baby. Enjoy the new home.
After the hurricane hit, it was pretty devastating to us.
Definitely on that first day, I went
from feeling, you know, very hopeless in a lot of ways
to seeing the compassion that Anthony and John had
to come help us pump out,
and then starting to rebuild.
Wow. We could put you in here.
And today I'm just thrilled about our new beginnings
and bringing our little girl home
and being able to enjoy this space with her.
[ Speaks indistinctly ]
She's at home in her new home.