Extreme Home Makeover: Eager audience lines 8th Street to get a peak

Moorhead, Minn. (WDAY TV) - Work at the Extreme Makeover home in South Moorhead continues at this hour. Tonight, the Grommesh home is off the property and in North Moorhead. Crews tonight are building a new basement.

Earlier today, crews used timbers, tires and iron to jack up and roll the Grommesh home down Highway 75. Hundreds gathered to witness the house move, which turned one of the busiest roads in Moorhead into a movie sound stage. The challenge now is taking an empty lot and turning it into a new home for the Grommesh family by the weekend.

“Every day is a month. When you see this property in 24 hours, you will see a month's worth of work completed.”

There is no shortage of action near the makeover project. People are lining 8th Street to get a peak for themselves.

There are several weeks until show time for ABC's extreme Home Makeover, but the show in Moorhead has already begun with an eager audience.

Bree: “It's a first in a lifetime to have happen.”

Rena Kubitz drove 50 miles from Pelican Rapids on her birthday.

Rena:” This is the best birthday ever! I love the show and I think it's a great thing for the family and I'm so excited it's happening in Moorhead!”

TV stars, camera crews, and thousands of volunteers will keep the area abuzz 24 hours a day.

Bree: “I wanna run over there right now!”

Judi: “I want to meet Ty Pentington because he's a saint! It's fun! Maybe I get to see Ty penington again.”

Bree: “You get to actually see everything that happens and not just what's on TV.”

Cindy and Gary Nolte weren't star struck, but awestruck when they discovered the home getting the makeover, used to be theirs for 8 years. In fact, Gary's uncle built it.

Cindy: “Immediately Gary said I have to pound a nail or something in this place.”

Gary was called in last night as a volunteer to remove sheetrock from the basement, sheetrock that he put in.

Gary: “I did a better job than I thought putting it up and then I found some things in the ceiling and thought those are mine! Like an old fishing pole!”

Cindy: “Feeling Teary. We put a brick fireplace on this house that they took off and I thought oh my goodness, that was a big deal for is, and the Lambardi trees are gone, but it's for a good reason. I'm so thrilled for the family that's being awarded. They deserve it.”

For now, this is the best view you can get, until tomorrow when there will be a designated spectator area right next to the construction.

It's a signature sign of an F-M area project, people dropping everything to come together. If not to volunteer at least to show support and a genuine interest in seeing people in their community succeed.

Darvin: “Oh we'll come by everyday and have a quick look.”

Bree: “I just can't wait until I can help tomorrow. I'm going to have even more fun.”

24 hour security monitors the build which will also run through the night.

Traffic is the biggest issue so far. There are three check points in and out of the 4-block radius surrounding the construction site. Only workers and people who live in the neighborhood are being let in and out.

“There is not a great security risk as there would be in an area with a higher crime rate. What we're doing is trying to keep flow moving as easy as we can and when we do start accepting visitors on Tuesday, keeping those visitors in the designated visitor area.”

A lot of the officers are volunteering their time to help monitor the project area.

Tags: extreme home makeover, your city, kelsey soby, moorhead, extreme, home, makeover, grommesh, charity, home, news