Yea I'd say the radiant snow melt system was a bit over the top, but it was just one small aspect of what I presume was a multi-million dollar renovation on a modern style home. It was an awesome project, but it wasn't something that a typical DIYer who likes those types of programs could ever even consider.

I get the point that they want to introduce some new things and not talk about the same topics on every project, so a bigger project is necessary from time to time, but my fear is that if they continue to go this direction they will end up like Hometime.

Hometime started off with simple DIY projects that the average person might consider doing themselves. Maybe remodel a bathroom, or build a workshop. Or maybe remodel a kitchen or build a deck. But as the years went on soon they were building these million dollar homes and spending a lot of their time discussing interior decorating and high end finishes and high end whole house audio video distribution systems. Hometime was finally cancelled, and I think that had a lot to do with it... because people can't relate to that sort of thing. They got away from their original premise which is what made the show popular in the first place.

This Old House is a great show, but it is great because it has been something people could relate to. It is real. It is genuine. If people want drama or unrealistic outcomes they have most of the shows on HGTV to look at. TOH is one of the original reality shows and they don't need to fake anything, so I just don't want them to continually shift towards this projects which can only be referred to as somewhat elitist. I mean most people can't spend $5,000 on a custom range hood nor can they afford to have $20,000 of light fixtures custom designed for their project.

Most real homeowners buy materials at Home Depot or Lowes. They make decisions to install laminate counters because granite won't fit in the budget. They choose a basic wood siding instead of cedar shingles due to labor costs. They buy their furniture at the local big retail store instead of asking a designer to custom design the piece with a specific fabric imported from Italy. That is just real America. I might be wrong, but people who have a $3MM budget on a renovation probably don't do a lot of DIY and probably aren't watching this type of show. It is obvious many of the homeowners we have seen on some of the more recent projects are more familiar with ball gowns instead of ball valves and the only type of framing they are familiar with is the type that goes around the artwork they purchased from an exclusive gallery in downtown NYC.