Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Tracking 40 Years of History in the This Old House Timeline

bob vila this old house

I learned firsthand about home building from my father, who built our family home by hand. I’ve written more than a dozen books about remodeling, buying your dream home, and visiting historic homes across America. Vila Inc., which had won an award from Better Homes and Gardens magazine for fixing up a Victorian house in Newton Center, Massachusetts.

Bob Vila’s 10 “Must Do” Projects for April

The 0.84-acre property features 175 feet of water frontage, a pool, a hot tub, and a dock. For many years, the spacious backyard has been the site of parties and Easter Egg hunts, as well as the venue for Vila’s daughter’s wedding. The home has been in the family for quite some time; Vila’s wife, Diana Barrett, purchased it from her late mother’s estate for $6.1 million. Tom Silva, a prominent American carpenter, construction contractor, and television personality, has become a beloved figure on the iconic show This Old House. With his expertise and charismatic presence, he has gained a dedicated following. Fans can continue to look forward to his skilled craftsmanship and invaluable contributions to the show’s revitalization projects.

Why Bob Vila’s ouster from “This Old House” reflects deeper tensions around public television

To shoo away hair spray, apply toothpaste and rub it in with a microfiber cloth before wiping the area clean. The first host of This Old House was designer-builder and remodeling expert Bob Vila. He hosted the program from 1979 to 1989, when he left This Old House to become a spokesman for Sears Roebuck & Company. From 1990 to 2005 he hosted the spinoff program Bob Vila's Home Again, and from 2005 to 2007 he hosted Bob Vila. Despite successfully launching his own show, tension between Vila and “This Old House” persisted due to conflicting commercial realities.

Tracking 40 Years of History in the This Old House Timeline

According to Boston Magazine’s oral history, Vila only made $200 per episode at the start of the series, later increasing to $800 per episode. Vila appeared in 235 episodes of the series in a 10-year period, meaning the minimum he could have made from the show was $47,000 over a decade and the maximum $188,000. As a skilled handyman and contractor, he treated the hosting gig as a side business for his contracting firm R.J. Vila Inc., but if it were his only job, he would likely be making more money with a standard white-collar desk job, even at 1988 wages.

Rather than today’s more common HGTV-driven approach of showing a “flip” over the span of an entire episode, the show focused on the process, detail by painstaking detail. BobVila.com is the complete toolbox and ultimate resource for inspirational ideas and nitty-gritty know-how. Our goal is to carry forward Bob Vila’s decades-long tradition of helping people maintain and upgrade their homes to live better each day. ITunes – Select seasons and episodes of This Old House and Ask This Old House are available for purchase.

WGBH, the station that produced the show, faced financial difficulties and sought alternative revenue streams, such as launching This Old House Magazine. Vila eventually left “This Old House” to focus on producing his own show, “Home Again,” which aired until 2007. Contrary to popular belief, Bob Vila did not leave “This Old House” voluntarily. In 1989, he was fired from the show after a contract dispute with the producers. However, he continued to pursue his passion for home improvement through other projects and eventually returned to television.

TOH takes on the renovation of a drafty, nearly century-old cottage in Jamestown, RI. High-efficiency systems and a solar array aim to meet all the household’s energy needs. TOH partners with Homes for Our Troops and a local builder to construct a house adapted to the needs of a wounded veteran. TOH undertakes a timber-frame prefab in Weston, MA, most of it built in a New Hampshire factory.

bob vila this old house

Get the latest This Old House news, trusted tips, tricks, and DIY Smarts projects from our experts–straight to your inbox. It’s a complicated line to straddle—and it may be an even more complicated one now that Roku is in the picture—but it’s far from an uncommon one in the world of public television. The Home Depot, already a dominant national chain in the late ’80s as well as an underwriter for This Old House, took umbrage at the fact that Vila was a commercial spokesman for a smaller competing chain called Rickel.

Episodes

Vila and his wife, Diana Barrett, earned a profile in The Boston Globe for the project, which Vila and Barrett personally restored with an eye to keeping its classic qualities intact. (They, of course, bought the home for themselves.) This profile earned Vila the notice of the Boston-area public television WGBH, which was looking for someone to host a home-improvement show. Before O'Connor joined the cast, he was a homeowner who appeared on Ask This Old House, seeking help with wallpaper removal.

It's been nine years since his last new TV show aired, which made us wonder what he's up to. This Old House’s first on-air host actually started out as its first homeowner. In the never-aired pilot for what eventually became This Old House, Bob and his wife showed a Boston Globe reporter around the circa-1840 Newton, MA, house the couple had restored. Still, it’d be understandable if Vila saw simply promoting his local contracting business as failing to properly capitalize on his national television profile. If Vila wanted to make any serious money off his status as a home-improvement guru, he would be required to become a pitchman. Not only does your home exterior give a first impression to guests, it can also influence real estate transactions by attracting potential buyers.

Home Improvement icon Bob Vila downsizes with $12.5 Palm Beach purchase - New York Post

Home Improvement icon Bob Vila downsizes with $12.5 Palm Beach purchase.

Posted: Wed, 13 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Vila’s affable nature, handyman skills, and passion for home improvement translated seamlessly onto the fictional screen, captivating audiences globally and further solidifying Vila’s status as a home improvement legend. Vila left “This Old House” to produce his own show called Home Again, which continued until 2007. Katie Nolan is the senior editor of audience development for BobVila.com and has been with the team since 2016. In her current role, she creates and develops content for BobVila.com newsletters and social media. BobVila.com reflects all the experience and wisdom I’ve gleaned from my long career in and around construction and remodeling. I’ve studied and visited thousands of remarkable homes across the country and worked alongside pros, learning firsthand the challenges and tricks of their trades.

Bob Vila, America’s Favorite Handyman, Asks $52.9 Million For Waterfront Florida Home - Mansion Global

Bob Vila, America’s Favorite Handyman, Asks $52.9 Million For Waterfront Florida Home.

Posted: Fri, 10 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

PBS App – The current season and specials from This Old House and Ask This Old House. PBS.org – The current season and specials from This Old House and Ask This Old House. Create TV – Like PBS, new episodes generally premiere on Thursdays or Saturdays but could be scheduled throughout the week. Find full episodes of This Old House and Ask This Old House on the TV or digital platform of your choice. A stained carpet can be cause for concern, and while toothpaste may not be the best solution for large spills, it’s perfect for removing the evidence of a drop of red wine or pasta sauce from your living room rug. Use a toothbrush to rub toothpaste into the stain before rinsing the area with a damp cloth.

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