Jasmine Roth of ‘Help! I Wrecked My House’ Finds the Worst Bathroom Upgrade Homeowners Are Doing Today
HGTV
Renovation expert Jasmine Roth is a sucker for a good family story, and does she ever find one on the latest “Help! I Wrecked My House.”
In the episode “Empty Nester’s Woes,” Roth meets Cory and Paul, who have raised four sons in the midcentury house they bought 27 years ago. Now that their “boys” have moved out and started their own families, these parents are left to make the house work for just them—and the kids and grandkids when they come to visit.
They’ve started a few projects, like ripping out shelves and closets and adding a new HVAC system, but there’s a lot of unfinished business in the house—including holes in the outside walls. Without the boys around to help with the heavy lifting, the couple are at a loss to finish what they’ve started.
So Roth comes in to tie up loose ends and make the home work for Cory and Paul as they start this new phase of their life. They’ve given Roth a $110,000 budget to complete the process, which includes redoing the living room, family room, dining area, and primary suite.
Here’s what she finds—and fixes—which might inspire some changes around your own abode. Take a look and learn!
Don’t leave electrical wires exposed
Exposed wires that need to be tended toHGTV
As Roth enters the living room, she finds that Cory and Paul have removed the old mantel above the fireplace and haven’t replaced it with a new one yet. In its place, she finds an old electrical outlet that’s still connected to the system—and exposed wires.
“When you took the mantel off, did you expect to find electrical?” Roth asks them. “Because that looks real old and real shady.
“This isn’t a great way to leave electrical. That’s not electrical tape; that’s painter’s tape,” she observes, pointing at the blue wrap.
Roth will make sure to cap the electrical wires and cover the outlet. When it comes to renovations, safety should always come first.
Borrow spare room space for a larger en suite bedroom
A new bathroom was added with space borrowed from a spare bedroom.HGTV
As Roth steps into the spare bedroom adjacent to the parents’ room, she gets a great idea of expanding the primary suite.
“This was their sons’ room,” she says. “They don’t live here anymore. The goal is to still have this be a bedroom, just a smaller bedroom, then to have the main bedroom with an en suite bath and a walk-in closet. Win, win, win, win.”
Roth goes on to explain, “Cory and Paul’s house has a lot of rooms that are only used when the kids and grandkids come to visit. So taking some space from one of those unused rooms to make a walk-in closet and expand the bath makes perfect sense.”
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Carpet in the bathroom is the worst idea
Dreaded carpet in the bathroomHGTV
Roth takes a tour of the primary bedroom and finds that Cory and Paul carpeted over the wood floor. Then she steps into the bathroom.
“There’s carpet in here as well,” she cries.
“This was supposed to be very temporary,” explains Cory. “We’ve always wanted to redo this bathroom, and we just haven’t.”
“A bathroom is a moist place, and carpet and moisture don’t mix,” says Roth. “The carpet looks like it’s in great condition, but hopefully there aren’t any surprises when we rip the carpet up.”
Luckily, the floor beneath the carpet seems fine, so Roth says good riddance to the rug. Already, the bathroom looks much better!
New, better bathroom floorHGTV
Never use plastic pipes outside
Dreaded plastic pipes running outsideHGTV
Of course, there were surprises. As Roth and her team work on the old bathroom, they find ants have crawled through the walls.
Scott Cross, who’s part of Roth’s crew, steps outside to see where the ants are coming from—and finds a huge problem.
“You’ve got waterlines running outside made of plastic,” he explains. “You can’t have that. Rodents are going to chew right into that. This type of waterline shouldn’t be exposed outside.”
“The way this plumbing was done is incorrect,” explains Roth. “They’re using plastic pipes outside, so we’re going to replace those with copper, and then we have to seal this whole thing up.”
Replace sliding doors with accordion doors
Bigger, better accordion doors replace the old sliders.HGTV
The sliders in the family room are so old, Cory and Paul don’t even know if they’re made of tempered glass. This could be a real problem if one of the grandkids runs into the slider and it shatters.
“Replacing these old sliding doors with tempered, folding accordion doors was a must for this family,” says Roth. “Not only will they let in more light, but they’ll give Cory and Paul peace of mind as their grandkids come over. They don’t have to worry about anything being dangerous.”
It will cost $6,000, but it’s worth it. “It opens up their backyard and makes their house feel way bigger,” says Roth “And we’re merging indoors with outdoors, which is a core element of midcentury design.”
Does Jasmine Roth rescue this house?
Roth has the genius idea of having the sons come back to help with the remodel so they’ll still feel as if the house is theirs. They’re so thrilled to return and honor their loving parents that it brings a tear to their eye.
The sons returning to helpHGTV
With the kids’ helping out, Roth is able to get everything done with her $110,000 budget, and Cory and Paul believe it was worth every penny.
“I would have never imagined it. I love it,” says Paul.
“I don’t believe it’s the same house,” exclaims Cory. “We love everything! They kept the integrity and character of the house, but it looks updated. It looks new!”
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