Linda and William Riggins’ home was demolished last Saturday, but not by a hurricane, tropical storm or tornado. When the “Extreme Home Makeover” design team arrived at the Riggins’ door step to inform them that they were selected for the show, having their house demolished was the first step towards a new home and a new life. The Riggins were more than happy to comply.
Volunteers began working immediately to build a new house in its place, with students covering many of the midnight to 6 a.m. shifts.
Nicki Ryba, a freshman in First Year College, volunteered on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Ryba said she witnessed the destruction of the house as she worked.
“They drove the cars into the house in the morning,” she said. “They used a crane around 1:30 or 2”
She said she did not work on construction projects during her shift.
“They were just taking down the house — we took out trash. We never actually did anything with house.”
Within two days, however, a house stood where the hole had been.
Jessica Gryglewicz, a freshman in First Year College, said she did various jobs during her Monday night shift.
“They had just installed the cabinetry, and there was a lot of debris inside the house that needed to be taken out,” she said. “We were then drafted to go upstairs and be on call in the master bedroom and bathroom.”
Gryglewicz said she couldn’t believe the speed at which volunteers and cast members completed projects.
“It was amazing how fast everything went,” she said. “All the installers and carpenters finished the cabinets and it was time to lay tile in the master bathroom.”
Spectators and volunteers were encouraged to contain their enthusiasm for Ty Pennington and other stars from the series and refrain from asking for autographs and photos.
“We worked in the same room as Paulie [one of the show’s designers],” Gryglewicz said. “It was nice to see they weren’t just famous faces — they actually worked.”
Kenny Woodruff, a junior in First Year College, said he worked to finish final details on both the house and the neighboring community center.
“They started us off moving mats on the driveway,” he said. “Then they took us to the community center where we cleaned and vacuumed because they were almost ready to move the furniture in.”
Woodruff said an unexpected request for volunteers gave him an opportunity to view the inside of the house.
“A guy came over and needed some people to carry a refrigerator. Me and three other guys moved it inside,” he said.
Deepti Vanguri, a senior in business management and communication, coordinated the volunteer efforts on the part of N.C. State.
After attending the “reveal” at which the Riggins family came back to see their home after a week of vacation, Vanguri said she sees the difference between what viewers see on the show and what happens in the live setting.
“When you see it on tv, you think it flows — you realize how much it actually takes to get that perfect shot,” she said. “You get to see a whole production of this caliber and what it entails.”
Vanguri said the presence of the Riggins’ church choir, their children’s teachers and classmates’ families added to the excitement of the reveal.
She said coordinating student volunteers went smoothly throughout the week and help was abundant.
“One of the greatest things is that everyone was so flexible and so cooperative,” Vanguri said. “It was such short notice, but we were able to fill up [volunteer slots], and then some.”