I recorded this and just watched it, and I must say, wow, what an episode. I usually don't get moved by television, ever, but I thought that it was very touching and unexpected.

At first I was like, oh god. Just what we need. Another "Look what Katrina did!!" news special with a little extreme makeover home edition added onto it. But I think that they did a good job of balancing everything and finding time to put a little architectural info into it. I feel like I learned more and was more intrigued by this episode more than any of the others I've seen. And I feel like I can actually use this information in a conversation someday.

Also, since there wasn't any large buildings to climb (amazingly they were able to incorporate something NOT heights related and it still made sense with the premise of the show!) we didn't have to hear Danny whine the whole episode. I suppose he was complaining when he was talking about eating the concrete, but I was pretty amused when he compared it to licking a foot. I half expected him to start freaking out when he climbed the ladder, but I was pleasantly surprised! Also, he didn't give himself that much credit when he didn't do a WHOLE lot, and actually corrected himself when he used the term "we", which was good. He should do that more often or stop saying "we" since it's obvious he doesn't contribute that much.

A nice episode. I actually like this one better than the roller coaster one now, and I hope that Discovery produces more winners like this.

can anyone tell me what the manufacturer of the home was ?

MY NAME IS JOHN ANDREW BROWN AND I LOVE YOUR SHOW
BUILD IT BIGGER I WHACH THE SHOW OVER AT MY GRANDMALS HOME EVERY TIME

The idea and purpose of this episode was great. My girlfriend of two and a half years was born and raised in Pass Christian, MS. Her father used to be an Alderman there and used to run a small business (which has since pretty much lost all of its business and has pretty much come to an end). She was (and still is) in the same situation as Rose Brown was, in that her entire house was washed off of its foundation and all she has left is a slab of concrete and a pool full of sand.

The manufactured hurricane resistant houses (I think a lot of people will be hesitant to call them hurricane-proof until another category 5 hits and they survive) are a great thing. Also just for reference, I'm a college graduate and have worked at one of the more important political think tanks in the state since before Katrina, and my girlfriend has a year of college left.

However the episode is slightly upsetting to my girlfriend and myself. Danny, the host, is a little insensitive about the whole situation. It all seems to be some sort of a light hearted joke to him. He takes little care when he's "helping" construct the house. He clearly doesn't know what he's doing at some points... One Example: He drops the roof on the house down to quick, and was off by a foot. This messed up the glue for the entire top of all the walls that were already standing.

To him, it was just an "oops", but to people who are supposed to live in these houses and/or have lost their houses... this is supposed to be a place where someone is supposed to live... It means a lot to them... It's not something to joke about. These people have lost everything. It's no joke when you're rebuilding a huge part of their life. My girlfriend is in tears just watching the episode right now(mostly from the memories, she's just a little annoyed at Danny).

And also towards the end of the episode, Danny apparently forgets how to pronounce Pass Christian. It's not pronounced like the Christian religion... It's pronounced like Chris-chee-yan. They get pretty picky about it. You would be too if your whole town was blown away but forgotten about years later (and still mostly in shambles) b/c the government is more concerned with wars on the other side of the planet and dealing with "The terrorist threat".

Here's a URL to a picture I took of my girlfriend's property two weeks ago (as of 7-6-08):http://www.stealingallyourmhz.net/Coast_Pics/100_6085.JPG

I have other pictures if anyone is interested, email me at IEatJunkMailConstantly@gmail.com

Thanks!

kiffou: I replied on your other forum post, but I'll reply to your question here too.

It's Safeway Homes in Lexington, MS. Here's URL of a press release relating to Rose Brown's house and the show:

http://www.ecd.org/News/PressReleases/Press%20Release%20-%20Pass%20Christian%20Homeowner%20Featured%20on%20Discovery%20Channels%20Build%20It%20Bigger.pdf

As a carpenter, and custom home builder I had 2 problems with this episode.
Two times he pointed out things Safeway homes were doing and said that they do not typically do them on "standard" or "conventional" homes, on both counts he was wrong.

As the workers were nailing on the OSB to the outer wall, he said something about how in conventional homes people only nail the corners, but at Safeway, they "fuse" the OSB to every stud.
Building codes require that you nail OSB to the framing every 4 - 8 inches (depending on where you live) on every stud. They were not doing anything unique.

Again near the end of the episode he pointed out the hurricane straps,
these are also required by building code and are on every new home.

I just saw this episode for the first time. It was terrific! I, too, have family and friends who were devistated by Katrina in the Pass Christian area. At the end of the episode, Danny makes a comment about seeing Rose's finished house on this website. Does anyone know where those pictures or videos can be found. I have gone through the website without any luck. Would appreciate it if someone could point it out for me. Thanks...