HIP Chick meets DIY Guy

Well, was I a lucky lady last week? I got to meet Jeff Devlin, host of DIY Network’s “I Hate My Bath.” A few months back, I had seen Jeff on the NBC 10! show talking about quick bathroom spruce ups. I had been a guest the week before, so I reached out to him – one Philly guy and one Philly girl trying to help homeowners get it done right. Jeff was so friendly in our Facebook conversations; I just had to connect in person. So weeks later, he graciously met me (and my two sons) at a coffee house even after a full day of taping.

We chatted about the DIY world, home ownership, our occasional screw-ups and our personal growth over the years. Jeff had started in construction doing restoration work on old homes, reclaiming wood before it was popular; a guy ahead of the times. Those work challenges led him to a bigger challenge: buying his own antique homestead. He told me about the journey of taking this home from disrepair to picture perfect for his family. Here is his hilarious story of a hidden surprise in the old home’s walls:

Jeff was opening a wall in the basement, removing plaster and lathe when he found a grey cord, so grabbing his voltage meter (the safe thing to do with unidentified wires), he tested the cord. Good, the line was dead. He tugged and tugged to remove the cord but it would not budge, so he grabbed pliers and yanked hard.  The cord came flying out of the wall … with a petrified dead rat attached! The cord was not an electrical line at all. It was a rat’s tail! As the rat flew from the wall cavity, he screamed like a little girl (his words) and stepped away. He had been testing the dead rat’s tail for power. Let’s just say – it was dead, definitely dead!

Jeff’s parting words of wisdom for the do-it-yourselfer are pretty simple.
• Do your homework- ask questions, read books, watch videos, seek pro advice
• Do trial runs- if you’ve never cut crown molding before, buy extra and make practice cuts
• Know your limitations- if you get in over your head, call a pro in to finish. That does not equal failure. It is just being smart.
• Have fun and be proud of what you have done.

Jeff Devlin has a new show coming to the DIY Network soon. I can’t spill the beans on details, but many of the homes are from the Philly area, so tune in. You can follow him on Facebook and at www.jeffdevlin.net for DIY ideas and advice. I am grateful for his time, openness and encouragement.