Steve Frasher does everything to the extreme. Even on television.
The Brandon resident worked as the project manager on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition from 2005-2006.
‘We had five days and nine hours to rip one house down and put another up,? Frasher said. ‘Someone was working 24 hours a day.?
He was involved in each of the 24 houses constructed during the show’s third season.
Frasher was also a contractor in Fox’s Renovate My Family from 2004-2005 and TLC’s Town Hall in 2005.
In each televised project, Frasher was responsible for both construction and demolition. Preferably not in that order.
‘The project manager has to know construction and be able to look into the future and see what needs to be done in a certain time,? Frasher said. ‘Ultimately, I had 96 to 106 hours to build, but I tried to do it in 96 so the design team could go in to set up the furniture and hang pictures.?
Frasher worked closely with the the Extreme design team. He said the host, Ty Pennington, is not as loud in person as he is on screen.
‘Ty is totally opposite in person: quiet and laid back,? he said. ‘When that camera turns on, it’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But he’s very good at what he does.?
While Ty keeps to what he does best, Frasher focuses on one of the things he excels in: coming up with creative methods to tear down homes.
‘I have to think of different ways to demo a house,? he said. ‘We wanted to blow up a house in Washington, but I said no, because the neighbor’s house was too close.?
Instead of explosives, the team decided to cut down the large pine trees surrounding the house, letting the trunks crush the structure.
‘One time, we even used a SWAT vehicle to run a house over,? Frasher said.
While demolition is done creatively to ensure entertainment, it is not the heart of the projects Frasher has worked on.
‘When I was on Renovate My Family, there was a family in Las Vegas who lost their daughter to brain cancer at 17,? Frasher said. ‘She just started having headaches and, within a year, she had passed away.?
The family got permission to bury their daughter in their backyard, Frasher recalled.
‘Her dad would go out to her grave every morning and have a cup of coffee,? he said. ‘The family was not moving on.?
When Frasher’s team had to remodel the family’s home, they took extreme care in respecting the memory of the daughter.
‘There was a mark on the wall where they measured her for the last time,? he said. ‘We took so much care with that little, itty bitty mark. We cut it out, and I made a shadow box with the plaster inside to hang on the wall of the remodeled room at 66 and a quarter inches. That’s how tall she was.?
Frasher said the momento meant as much to him as it did to the family.
‘All of the families have great stories, though,? he said, remembering the different projects he has worked on over the years.
Currently, Frasher has a radio show called ‘The Wise Guys,? where he and his co-hosts talk remodeling, insurance and real estate. He also owns the company Phoenix Restoration.
‘On the shows, my job was to marry production and construction,? he said. ‘And I had a lot of fun.?