I’m a big fan of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I can’t get through one episode without a few tears streaming down my face, but it’s worth it. It is truly a feel-good show. As you can imagine, I was elated to hear that our Archadeck of Columbus office recently participated in the show’s Christmas build (aired on 12/16/2011).
The house was built for the Rhodes family. The Rhodes had recently opened their home up to their adult daughter who was recently diagnosed with brain tumor and her four kids, however, the house they had at the time was slowly falling apart and was WAY too small for seven people. That’s where the Extreme Makeover team comes in!
Mike Reeder, the owner of Archadeck of Columbus, was asked to be a roof-top deck over a detached garage for the family. He installed a Timbertech deck with aluminum rails, stairs and a beautiful cedar pergola (if you haven’t seen this episode, it’s available online).
Here’s Mike’s memory of the day:
“I was asked to arrive on the 4th day of the build. I got there at 6am and left at 1am the next day, a full 19 hours. Upon arrival, you could feel the love. For the first four hours, we helped with the interior framing of the house. Despite being up all night, the framers were working to finish that step. And boy did they! In the one day I was there the framing was complete, electrical and drywall was installed and painting was started.
The rooftop deck that we built was great, the perfect getaway for the family to grill out and watch their beloved Ohio State football team.
The Extreme Makeover build was a great personal experience for me. It was amazing to see the amount of volunteers. They weren’t just construction workers, but people who just wanted to give back to this family and the community.”
We are so proud of Mike and his team for their work on the Rhodes home. Not only was it a wonderful project, but it went to a well deserving family. The only negative? He didn’t see Ty.