# How good of a handyman is/was Bob Vila? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-a-handyman-is-was-bob-vila/566259 "2011-01-03T20:46:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-a-handyman-is-was-bob-vila/566259/21 "2011-01-04T19:12:14Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > That glasses guy in the interim between the two - what a dweeb. Hated that guy! Was that “Steve” with the fancy hair? ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-a-handyman-is-was-bob-vila/566259/22 "2011-01-04T19:14:35Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Was that “Steve” with the fancy hair? It looks like it’s even fancier now… retch… [http://www.stevethomashome.com/](http://www.stevethomashome.com/) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-a-handyman-is-was-bob-vila/566259/23 "2011-01-05T02:34:29Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I like This Old House (although the local PBS station seems inconsistent in scheduling episodes), but I thought Ask This Old House was supposed to be about stuff that the average homeowner is capable of doing on their own. But some of the projects clearly require a team of professional laborers, or special tools or skills that a homeowner isn’t going to have. And I’d love them to explain how to identify and hire people to do stuff. Like what do you ask a contractor when looking for someone to do a kitchen remodel? This is what I didn’t like about the show. There is a fine line when repairs to a home are no longer economically worthwhile and it’s time to trade up to a nicer home. But in Bob’s world, you have an unlimited supply of cash and labor. Although you’ve turned that old dump of a home into a beautiful masterpiece, you would never be able to get your money back out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-a-handyman-is-was-bob-vila/566259/24 "2011-01-05T04:29:17Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > HOMEOWNER: Once they removed the interior walls and exposed the chimney we realized the whole thing was wired for 67v, and will have to be removed. Unfortunately, the flue is part of the foundation, requiring a complete tear-down. > > BOB: That’s too bad. > > I don’t know how frequently it happened, but there were a number of episodes where a $30,000 relatively minor renovation turned into a $100,000+ major operation, and Bob’s reaction was “that’s too bad.” Mrs. Raza and I now use that phrase at appropriate (and, unfortunately, oft-occuring) times. He was probably responsible for the $30K figure in the first place. At least on THO, He had a well-deserved reputation for initially identifying a problem as something minor until further investigation revealed the true extent. This is why my hobbyist carpenter brother-in-law saw him as a laughingstock. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-a-handyman-is-was-bob-vila/566259/25 "2011-01-05T13:55:06Z")
Compared to current host Kevin O’Conner, Bob Vila comes across in the older episodes as something of a dweeb who doesn’t know how to swing a hammer. However, in the early days of TOH, the show was still sort of marking out new territory and finding its way. It was the first real home renovation show and they were experimenting with the format. As it evolved to its current iteration, it became clear that having a host who was simultaneously learning, and willing to jump in and shovel out the muck, was much more appealing to the average homeowner than a guy who walked around in a button-down shirt with no blisters on his hands. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-a-handyman-is-was-bob-vila/566259/26 "2011-01-05T22:23:48Z")
Kevin’s actually getting pretty good these days and the guys aren’t teasing him on camera near as much as they did the first couple of seasons. I like Kevin. He’s a likable guy and I think they choose the “average homeowner guy” as host because it gives someone for the viewer to relate to. BTW, if you watch ATOH on your PBS station you’ll find it doesn’t have any more ads than TOH does. 😉 Both shows have about 25 minutes of content. I haven’t seen enough of the Bob Villa episodes to comment on his skills. Of course, I still want a “WWTD” bracelet. (What would Tommy Do?") ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-a-handyman-is-was-bob-vila/566259/27 "2011-01-05T23:10:44Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > This is what I didn’t like about the show. There is a fine line when repairs to a home are no longer economically worthwhile and it’s time to trade up to a nicer home. > > But in Bob’s world, you have an unlimited supply of cash and labor. Although you’ve turned that old dump of a home into a beautiful masterpiece, you would never be able to get your money back out of it. But as **Gus Gusterson** pointed out, on This Old House, the vast majority of the materials and labor are actually paid for by the homeowner. Only a few are donated, and it’s not enough to make the project financially feasible. So whether it’s a good investment or realistic for most homeowners, it is “real”. It’s not like the show is paying for completely unrealistic upgrades nobody would ever spring for, because the family that owns the home actually is paying. \*I assume the homeowner has always paid, if the show paid in Bob’s days hosting it then I rescind my comment for that span of time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-a-handyman-is-was-bob-vila/566259.md?page=1)