Construction continues on 'Extreme Makeover' home

This is what you don’t see on TV. Early Tuesday afternoon, volunteers unloaded equipment from trucks near the Pine Mountain Valley space that will hold a new home for Greenville High School football coach Jeremy Williams and his family.

Then, the murmurs started. Something big was about to happen.

Volunteers spotted Michael Moloney, interior design specialist on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” on the main site — an area characterized largely by dirt and mud.

Then, Ty Pennington, host of the ABC reality show, appeared.

It threw some volunteers off guard. They’d heard megaphone-shouting Pennington had left town.

But Pennington was there, just in time to cheer as the first piece of the Williams’ modular home was lowered to the ground.

That moment’s feel-good energy resonates uniquely when you see it in person. Just ask 18-year-old Macy Lammert of Columbus.

“It’s touching and heartwarming how people come together,” she said.

Lammert was at the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” site on Tuesday volunteering with fellow Northside High School seniors Erin Bell and Avery Barker, both 18.

Their responsibilities consisted mainly of unloading equipment, but like most volunteers, they were flexible.

“They say volunteers, people run,” Bell said. “They don’t ask questions.”

The home will go to the four-member Williams family. Dad Jeremy has Lou Gehrig’s disease and his 6-year-old son, Jacob, has spina bifida.

Early Tuesday, the home’s site was mostly a muddy foundation. But insiders weren’t discouraged.

“We are pretty much on schedule,” said Andy Miller, president of Nationwide Custom Homes.

The Virginia-based company is leading the project with its parent company, Palm Harbor Homes, plus local builders and community volunteers.

The home’s modular nature — constructed of pre-made sections — makes it easy to see progress rather quickly, Miller said.

Today the site will start to look like a general footprint of the home, he added.

The final product will be a 4,155-square-foot home designed to accommodate the family’s needs.

Their previous home had problems like a cracked and sinking foundation and mold-infected walls.

The big reveal — complete with cheers to “move that bus!” — is slated for Saturday.

This story was originally published February 24, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Construction continues on 'Extreme Makeover' home."