Preview: HGTV’s Rock Solid Builds is a party on the Rock

By Greg David, TV, eh?

I’ve written a lot about home renovation shows over the years.

As such, I can get bored with the usual “take an old house, be surprised by shocking electrical or plumbing behind the walls, wonder if the job will come in on time and budget, and marvel at the final results” formula. It can get as tired as peeling wallpaper.

But Rock Solid Builds is like nothing I’ve seen before.

Debuting Thursday at 10 p.m. Eastern on HGTV Canada, Rock Solid Builds is as quirky as the location it’s set in: Brigus, Newfoundland. It’s there we meet up with Randy Spracklin of Newfound Builders and his team of equally entertaining folks renovating and building homes on The Rock. This third-generation builder—dad Scott is also part of the crew—takes on projects in one of the most beautiful places in the world. But also one of the most rugged and hard to get to; delayed shipments of supplies from the mainland are regularly faced by Newfound Builders.

Yes, the jaunty fiddle-heavy music and accents are the first thing to set Rock Solid Builds apart from, say, Backyard Builds or Save My Reno, but it adds to the charm exuded by Randy Spracklin, who tackles weather, design and construction issues with a crooked smile and quip.

In Thursday’s debut, Randy, Scott, Nikki and Paul document putting the finishing touches on one home, adding two additions to another, and beginning work on a 200-year-old home. It’s that last home, dubbed Earle House, that intrigued me. After all, adding another foot to ceilings isn’t something you see every day. The first three layers of flooring are peeled back to reveal the original, 200-year-old beams, which Randy explains were probably cut close by and squared off. Floorboards were attached with square nails forged locally.

It’s a heck of a history lesson not only in home building but building in a fabulous, unique part of the country. I can’t wait to see more.

Rock Solid Builds airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. Eastern on HGTV.