Beach House

Malibu, CA

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Bob takes on a worn out California ranch house on stilts on Malibu Beach and converts it into an elegant Spanish-style villa worthy of its glamorous location. New cement caissons are poured to support the structure and special attention is paid to complying with California's stringent seismic code. Intriguing design ideas are drawn from visits to neighboring homes and museums. The house gets an elegant winder staircase, a state of the art sprinkler system, and environmentally friendly blown-in cellulose insulation. Authentic barrel tiles are selected for the roof and the crew visits the Mexican facility where the tiles are manufactured. While in Mexico, Bob also drops in at the rustic workshop of JR Cermica, where the home's hand painted interior tiles are being made. Back on site a local artisan demonstrates his technique for distressing woodwork to create a very convincing antique appearance. Landscaping utilizing mature plantings transforms the courtyard into a California paradise.

Along the way, Bob dons his cement boots with comedian Tim Allen to help him out with his very own Home Improvement project in Beverly Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

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	Show Information:	View all videos from this project

	Selecting the Site (HA0314) Dates Aired: December 7-13, 1992 \| June 7-13, 1993 Kicking off a new season in sunny California, Bob takes a helicopter tour over Los Angeles, then a driving tour of possibilities for his new project with a realtor. He ... View show summary
	House Tour (HA0315) Dates Aired: December 14-20, 1992 \| June 14-20, 1993 Bob tours his newly-acquired Malibu beach house with contractor Joe Fitzgerald to discuss structural improvements. Next, he tours the Adamson Estate Museum, just down the beach, for a look at ... View show summary
	Pouring the Caissons (HA0316) Dates Aired: December 21-27, 1992 \| June 21-27, 1993 To provide support for the new Malibu house, holes are dug in the beach and the new cement caissons are poured. Bob and Joe discuss what to look for in ... View show summary
	Demolition and Grade Beam Installation (HA0317) Dates Aired: December 28-January 3, 1993 \| June 28-July 4, 1993 Bob takes a look at the newly-completed caissons with the architects, and demolition continues: we remove a tree from the courtyard, tear off the roof, and talk about what to ... View show summary
	Building the Staircase (HA0318) Dates Aired: January 4-10, 1993 \| July 5-11, 1993 Bob and Joe discuss the structural work being done on the Malibu house, and California's tough building codes for earthquake safety. Next, we visit the unusual home of TV star ... View show summary
	Framing and Insulation (HA0319) Dates Aired: January 11-17, 1993 \| July 12-18, 1993 The second-floor walls are framed and erected at the Malibu beach house, and the framing of an authentic California Spanish "hip" roof begins, using huge timbers. Downstairs, we flash forward ... View show summary
	Installing Windows and Sprinkler System (HA0320) Dates Aired: January 18-24, 1993 \| July 19-25, 1993 Bob takes a trip to Wisconsin to see how our special custom windows are made; back at the site, he and Joe install one. We also see the installation of ... View show summary
	Monitoring Network and Waterproofing (HA0321) Dates Aired: January 25-31, 1993 \| July 26-August 1, 1993 Bob discusses the many cutting edge, environmentally sound features of our Malibu project with an ecological consultant, then visits "Home Improvement" star Tim Allen for a tongue-in-cheek tour of his ... View show summary
	Tile Roof and Stucco (HA0322) Dates Aired: February 1-7, 1993 \| August 2-8, 1993 Bob's California Spanish beach house gets authentic barrel tile roof, and he takes a trip to the factory in Mexico where these clay tiles are manufactured. Comedian Tim Allen gets ... View show summary
	Distressing and Hanging a Door (HA0323) Dates Aired: February 8-14, 1993 \| August 9-15, 1993 After catching up with a progress report in Malibu, Bob shows us how to "distress" woodwork to make it look antique. We see this process used as well on the ... View show summary
	Tile Layout (HA0324) Dates Aired: February 15-21, 1993 \| August 16-22, 1993 After a trip to Ceramica J.R., the rustic Mexican workshop where our hand painted tiles were made, Bob shows us some of the spectacular tile layouts in the works for ... View show summary
	Stone Columns and Custom Cabinets (HA0325) Dates Aired: February 22-28, 1993 \| August 23-29, 1993 The Malibu beach house gets a pair of cantera stone columns in the entry foyer; we see how the pieces fit together and what to do when they don't. An ... View show summary
	House Tour (HA0326) Dates Aired: March 1-7, 1993 \| August 30-September 5, 1993 In his grand finale here in Malibu Beach, Bob and our designer, Robyn, take us on a tour of the finished California-Spanish dream house, complete with breathtaking finishes and furniture. ... View show summary