For Melanie English, homeownership has been a struggle.
She’s tried to tackle repairs on her house in Akron’s West Hill neighborhood, but she said it’s just been one thing after another.
When you’re a single mother raising three children and working as a school bus driver, there isn’t a lot of time or money left for maintenance projects, she said.
But a basketball star and a TV-show host are coming to her rescue.
English’s house is undergoing a complete renovation, thanks to the LeBron James Family Foundation and Nicole Curtis of the show Rehab Addict on the HGTV and DIY networks.
Work on the project started Sunday when dozens of volunteers showed up at the house on Rhodes Avenue to rip up carpet, tear off wallpaper, remove broken concrete and do the myriad other demolition tasks needed to prepare the house for a transformation.
English’s 11-year-old daughter, Mariah Riley, won the home makeover in a drawing involving sixth-graders in James’ Wheels for Education mentoring program. Only those who had lived up to the academic and behavioral promises that are central to the program were considered for the renovation and for nine yard makeovers that were done this past weekend.
“It’s all because of her,” English said. “She kept her promise to LeBron.”
The work on the house is being done in an eight-day, 24-hour blitz. And as big undertakings often go, this one hit some snags right from the beginning.
Delayed start
Heavy rain Sunday morning pushed back the start of work a few hours. And Curtis, who was coming in from California, encountered a flight delay that kept her away from the early action.
Nevertheless, volunteers jumped in enthusiastically. Some formed a fire line to carry chunks of concrete from the front yard to a trash bin on the street. Another operated a backhoe that stripped sod in the backyard. About a dozen people crowded the attic bedroom, spritzing and scraping walls in a painstaking effort to rid it of its stubborn wallpaper.
“One lesson I’ve learned: I’m never putting up wallpaper,” volunteer Rochelle Thomas of Akron said.
In a second-floor bedroom, Julie Brandle was on her knees, prying carpet staples from the pine floor. She was one of 17 volunteers working that day from Metis Construction Services in Kent, a company she owns with her husband, Steve. It’s the general contractor on the project.
They were there because “it’s our responsibility,” she said. “If you’re a successful business, it’s your responsibility to help people.”
The help is needed. The house has an extensive list of problems: a leaky basement, poor wiring, mildew, broken light fixtures, sagging porches, a leaking water heater and much more, said Jack Plas, who is overseeing the renovation in partnership with Curtis.
Top priority
The number of electrical outlets are so insufficient that the family had to use an extension cord to plug the microwave oven into a receptacle in the living room. The underside of the sink “is literally frightening,” he said. The rain that morning had revealed a leak in the chimney, which quickly vaulted to the top of the priority list.
“That’s just one of many little surprises you get with a project like this,” said Plas, a carpenter by trade who helped build James’ house in Bath and now works as his estate manager.
Still, the house has a certain nostalgic attraction for him. He said he grew up in a house much like it in Elyria, where the 11 family members all shared one bathroom and the house next door was so close the families could converse through their windows.
Remodeling plan
The plan is to remodel the bathroom and kitchen in English’s house and spruce up the other rooms, Plas said. Work will also include replacing the crumbling asphalt driveway, creating an outdoor living area and installing new landscaping.
Most of the contractors working on the project are from the Akron area, and all are donating their labor. Local vendors donated materials.
The action is being recorded by crews from Departure Films, the company that produces Rehab Addict and other shows for HGTV and DIY. Producers from three shows are teaming up on the project, said Ivan Leon, who normally works as senior producer on Rev Run’s Renovation but is operating a camera during the Akron makeover.
“It’s a big event,” he said, “so we’re excited.”
While the work goes on, homeowner English is being housed in a townhouse with her children, Mariah, Xavier and Ezekiel Riley, and her friend and housemate, LaToya Barnett. English said she was eager to help, although she expected her family’s participation would be limited to preserve the surprise at the end.
What was she hoping for?
Maybe air conditioning, she said. But any changes would be welcome.
“It’s a blessing to get this done,” she said.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBBreckABJ, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckABJ and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.