TV Shows with Bob Vila

Bob partners with St. Petersburg Neighborhood Housing Services (SPNHS), a NeighborWorks affiliate, and Tampa Armature Works (TAW) to create affordable, energy-efficient, storm-ready housing from recycled steel shipping containers. David Cross of TAW shows Bob how these abandoned shipping containers make ideal building units-- they are built to last and can be fitted with windows, doors, and super-insulating ceramic paint for a quick-build solution that is right for today's energy and climate challenges. Together with SPNHS and Barrow Construction, Bob and the team build a roomy, single-family home that improves this once-blighted neighborhood and creates opportunity for first-time home ownership.

Bob undertakes the partial remodeling of a historic Victorian home in Rowley, MA. The house is a classic New England gem with many partitioned rooms, a large yard, and preserved wetlands beyond. The owners want to make their home more family friendly, and to open it up for casual entertaining. The architect helps create a design that works for the house and the family. From permits and approvals to the addition of a mudroom and a deck to the installation of cabinets and cozy radiant heat, this project focuses on family space. Appliances are modernized and updated, while architectural details like the Queen Anne window, reproduction trim, and copper roof are added to restore the original character to this historical beauty.

A coach house in Chicago is reborn! This project includes gutting and rebuilding the interior structure, finishing the basement, and adding a roof dormer. Local artists even show Bob how to give the newly renovated home some panache with a creative, Chicago-style decorating approach and faux-finish painting techniques.

Bob tracks the progress of a two-family greystone in Chicago's Wicker Park undergoing a remodel. The project documents a low-budget renovation of the two apartments and concludes with a decorator's tour showcasing the eye-catching results.

Bob’s first project for Bob Vila's Home Again is a Cape Cod-style home in Marstons Mills, MA. Bob takes the viewer through all the steps of building a house from scratch: from architect’s plans and foundation digging to framing, cedar shingling, installing a heating system, and using artist’s paint techniques on the interior.

Bob rejuvenates a modest but classic Florida house, focusing on light, ventilation, and outdoor living. Projects include opening walls, improving air conditioning and ventilation, blowing in some insulation, and putting in a new entry.

A worn-out, 17 year-old raised ranch, with problems familiar to many homeowners, gets a new look. The façade is re-sided and repainted, windows are replaced, and a new entry is built. Inside, the new bath and kitchen, which are added, provide the project highlights.

Bob takes on the expansion of a 35 year-old ranch house in Wayland, MA. With an eye on the budget, projects include European kitchen cabinets, a state-of-the-art closet system for the master bedroom, custom built-in bookshelves, an eye-catching fan detail on the front façade, and a private deck off the master bedroom.

Bob tackles a remodeling and construction project on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard. The expansion of the cabin transforms a tiny vacation home into a spacious family retreat with an authentic 'Vineyard Victorian' look.

Bob explores the concept of sustainable design by putting resource management theories into practice for everyday living. Projects include a pre-cast foundation system, earth-friendly septic system, energy-efficient appliances, recycling bins, mulching pile, and more.

Bob heads to Cape Cod in the dead of winter to watch over the construction of a custom, high-tech greenhouse. The design and construction of a new addition to the front of an existing house afforded the creation of this greenhouse/conservatory, and of a new front entry pavilion that features a mahogany pergola supported by limestone columns.

Bob tackles the revitalization of an exquisite Federal-style home, built in the early 1800s, which survived the Civil War but barely survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989. A major aspect of the project is the painstaking process of restoring the original plaster ornamentation and woodwork to their original detail.

This innovative and functional post-and-beam barn structure is designed to provide space to store, and perform work on, boats and cars. The story centers around creating a state-of-the-art, ergonomically efficient, well-lit, and safe environment.

A master bedroom suite in a compact 1930s Colonial Revival home in suburban Newton, MA gets a makeover. Bob details the process of building the foundation, from forming and cement pouring to inspection and backfilling. Also, Bob sees how the interior baseboard molding and window trim is milled to match what exists in the rest of the home.

Bob transforms a worn-out California beach house on stilts into an elegant Spanish-style vila, worthy of its glamorous location-- Malibu. Projects include an elegant winding staircase, a state-of-the-art sprinkler system, environmentally friendly blown-in cellulose insulation, and seismic code compliance.

Bob oversees the remodeling of a Studio City bungalow in Los Angeles, CA. It's a vintage kit house, purchased from a Sears & Roebuck catalog in 1923 and built in Hollywood.

This project features the remodeling and expansion of the kitchen and family room of a 15-year-old suburban Miami tract house. Innovative and fun projects include walls built using insulated concrete forms, stucco application, and glass block walls.

The accessible home project follows an urban renewal story, involving grass-roots activism and affordable housing. Bob reports on nine newly built three-bedroom homes, focusing on the one of those units with accessibility for people with disabilities.

The theme of community building in the historic Elmwood neighborhood of Providence, RI is the focus of this project. Rather than tackling one house, Bob is helping 11 neighbors tackle smaller projects like porches, kitchens, bathrooms, and even a third-floor artist's studio.

Bob highlights the world of stylish city living, by chronicling the conversion of an apartment in Boston's Leather District. This apartment's getting a top-of-the-line treatment: cutting edge design, custom-made furniture and casework, sleek modern fixtures and state of the art appliances.

In Richmond, Virginia, the oldest continuously occupied governor's mansion in America is in need of serious repairs, and Bob's team is there to help. Projects include the complete overhaul and modernization of the basement to include a state-of-the-art caterer's kitchen for official functions, all new mechanical systems, and updates for handicapped accessibility.

Bob heads to the Low Country: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Steeped in tradition, this historic suburb of Charleston is the scene not only of a remarkable new home, but of a remarkable transformation in suburban living at the newly-developing community of I'On.

Bob introduces the latest in sustainable materials and efficient building techniques on a Habitat for Humanity build. The project documents a five-day process that transformed an empty lot into a snug, comfortable, and sustainable home.

Located just five miles from downtown Boston, Bob's scouts discovered a Victorian-era house in a neighborhood of family homes on tree-lined streets that was past due for a full-scale renovation.

The home's new owners, a work-at-home family, have set goals to modernize the home's floor plan, update the building's mechanical and electrical systems, and add home office and work spaces for two busy professionals.

The wooded New England setting, with quaint towns and covered bridges, provides the perfect backdrop for building a traditional Vermont-style farmhouse.

Bob works with the Quechee Lakes Development Company to build a residence that hearkens back to the past yet satisfies the needs of a family in the new millennium.

This project deals with two very different notions of home. Bob begins on New York City's Upper West Side, where an 1890s Brownstone is revitalized through high-quality craftsmanship and sensitive design. New York's past meets its present, as the entire floor is recaptured and refurbished to create a spacious urban apartment on the doorstep of Central Park.

At the same time, Bob works with a Cape Cod developer to apply Massachusetts land use statute 40B to create affordable housing, and a neighborhood of homes in Mashpee, MA. These Energy Star certified homes show how quality building practices and reasonable asking prices can work together to provide livable, affordable homes and neighborhoods to those who work in our communities.

This project focuses on the construction of a Colonial-style home built with both history and the future in mind. While the 4-bedroom, 4-bath home will have a traditional exterior and interior detailing, the plan will suit the needs of a modern family, including easy-maintenance fireplaces, a great room, master suite, sun room, 3-car garage, and a large walk-out basement with plenty of room for recreation and indoor/outdoor living.

Beautifully sited on wooded acreage with breathtaking views of some of the most beautiful countryside in New England, this Arts and Crafts style bungalow certainly doesn't look factory-built. You'd never know it was a modular home unless Bob took you to the Pennsylvania factory where it was built, almost from start to finish.

The house goes down the assembly line from framing, through wiring and plumbing, all the way to the installation of flooring and priming for paint.

The house is trucked to its pre-fabricated foundations on the lot, and start all the finishing touches that will prove that a modular house doesn't have to be a cookie-cutter affair.

In this condo renewal project, Bob and the crew demonstrate how to use space, color, and choice finishes to make the most of a small space.

The kitchen is converted into an elegant dining space looking onto the living area, while a closet is transformed into a bar with recessed lighting and glass shelves. And the small bathroom turns into an oasis with luminous glass tile, a wash of color, and sleek new fixtures.

Pocket doors with an antique-look are installed so as to separate the living and sleeping spaces, and furniture is selected to reflect Miami's unique personality.

Finally, the outdoor space overlooking Biscayne Bay is made practical and, perhaps most importantly, comfortable.

Bob heads to the DUMBO neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York for this project involving an abandoned warehouse built in the mid-19th century.

DUMBO is a traditionally industrial area re-emerging as a vital new community of urban lofts and studios.

Unused since the mid-1950s, our little building (it's a mere twenty feet wide) last saw duty as a pepper factory. Our adaptive reuse will yield three ultra-hip apartments with commercial space at street level.

Rehabbing the building will include restoring the brick façade, installing a rooftop skylight, and many other jobs from which you can learn helpful lessons applicable to any remodeling work.

The manager for this project is real estate professional Chris Vila, Bob's oldest son, who helps guide this complete rehabilitation of a beat-up building in the city that never sleeps.

When a hurricane hits, it's not just the house that's endangered, it's the homeowners, the neighbors, and the community. When hurricanes strike again and again, as they did in Florida in 2004, the effects are devastating. In Season 1 of Bob Vila, Bob works with FLASH -- the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes -- to completely rebuild a home that was destroyed in Punta Gorda, Florida. Using current technology and new standards for storm-ready housing, Bob and the crew build a new home of pre-cast concrete that is cast in place with a structural system designed for integrity. Bob looks at the key elements of a home and how they protect or compromise the overall structure when high winds and wind-borne rain strike, as well as why some building systems fail and others succeed. The new Punta Gorda home will feature integral roof and envelope tie-down systems, advanced roof trussing technologies, and impact-resistant windows. Working with the builder, FLASH, and FEMA, Bob learns how current building codes are making new and upgraded housing safer for Florida residents. He also visits a home under repair and looks at how to guard against further damage to your home and surrounding homes while fixing damage from a first storm.

A young family with an old house repurposes their wet basement to create family and recreational space for their active, growing kids. First they create a dry environment within the basement. Next, a full frame-to-finish basement finishing system is installed. The homeowners take advantage of the sloping grade by replacing old double-hung windows with impact-resistant and energy-efficient models that let daylight into the space without using curtains for insulation or compromising security. Innovative plumbing solutions help the family add a small bathroom and a small laundry room to the layout. Ventilation, plumbing, security systems, and storage are all explored. Hip furniture, carpeting, and smart storage solutions make this space ideal for the growing family. The new door to the basement leads to a refurbished yard that is low-maintenance and practical. A new fence brings privacy and innovative storage, potting, and utility sheds. This family will have plenty of room to grow and thrive without needing to move.

This 26-episode project centers around the remodel of Bob's own gracious Shingle Style home in Cambridge, MA. It's a house with a lot of history and beautiful architectural details, many of which were obliterated in remodels of the 50's and the 70's. On the centennial of the house's construction, Bob gets together the best talents in the business to recreate and renew it to its former glory, making some important modifications along the way that will transform this into a 1990's dream house.  Bob demonstrates how to approach a project like this one, where there's a hodgepodge of original details mixed with the results of various attempts at modernization over the years. 

With some experts to help him do the architectural sleuthing, Bob discovers surprises like a pocket door that's been hidden in a wall for decades and finds out which wallpaper might have been used in the dining room in the 1890's. In the kitchen, Bob provides ideas for today's kitchen remodelers with an eye for both historic charm and modern efficiency.  In addition to the improvements to the family spaces, Bob finishes the basement to to include the perfect workshop for weekend projects. 

Offsite field trips include visits to elegantly restored historical homes, showrooms, and factory tours to learn more about the materials and details of the project.

In Melrose, MA, Bob helps a young couple expecting their first child to prepare their home. The focus is on creating a safe home with a strong emphasis on indoor air quality and a healthy living environment. Bob learns about finishes, paints, and emissions that can be dangerous for babies as he tours the American Lung Association designer showhouse in West Palm Beach, FL. He talks to industry specialists about safe fabrics and soft goods that will keep the environment chemical-free and learns about safe window solutions. Bob also focuses on the need to reduce noise pollution in the home. In an effort to create a more soothing home environment, Bob learns how to quiet ceilings, walls, and floors using products and building techniques. The expectant parents in Melrose are babyproofing their kitchen, installing safety gates, and also upgrading their home, insulating for sound and thermal efficiency, and updating the bathroom and shower. Bob reviews child safety products with industry specialists as they outfit the Melrose home from top to bottom in preparation for the new baby.

In Bob’s new Building Green Web series, he focuses on green projects that are embracing the cleanest and most efficient technologies. He demystifies green home design and construction as well as the myth that building green has to mean building expensively or unattractively. His premise is that homes are where people can make the biggest difference, and he not only demonstrates how – he shows viewers how they can put changes into place that will actually save them money while saving the planet. Whether he’s touring a contemporary urban apartment complex in the South Bronx, NY, a Georgian Colonial house in Westchester that had to rebuild after extensive mold damage, or an earth-bermed house made of salvaged materials in upstate New York, he helps people save the best of the past while incorporating the newest advances.

More and more homeowners are converting their houses into multi-generational homes for themselves, their children, and their aging parents. In Norwell, MA, a couple decides to add on to make room for their mother who wants to move closer to family and to help, should she need it. The walls and floor of the addition are built of energy-efficient ReddiForm insulated concrete forms (ICFs).  This high-efficiency, thermally smart home also has a solar roof to help reduce the family’s utility bills and usage. Air quality is a top priority, so all steps are taken to dry the house completely and stop mold from starting once the walls are put up. A deck, beautiful windows, flooring, a fireplace faced in stone, doors, and worry-free trim complete this new home for grandmom.