This isn’t your average home reno reality show, promises Mickey Fabbiano and Sebastian Sevallo.
The best friends and brothers, not by blood but through marriage, bonded over asbestos removal and levelling during family dinners.
And now the quirky contractor duo have teamed up for a new HGTV show, which puts four shabby North Vancouver homes in the spotlight.
Fabbiano met Sevallo when their siblings got married.
As if those last names don’t give it away, the new-found friends started dreaming up their home reno plans over “a lot of pasta puttanesca,” at Fabbiano’s Nonna’s house.
“We were finishing each other’s sentences within the first five minutes,” says Sevallo. “And we were like, ‘Quick, we need to do a TV show before this gets old.”
Both guys were born into the construction industry.
At five years old Fabbiano was swinging a hammer and by high school, he was a full-fledged member of his family’s construction team. Fabbiano and his father would drive through Vancouver neighbourhoods, keeping an eye out for investment properties.
Sevallo, meanwhile, was always working with his hands from a young age, building flower pots and other gifts for his mom, with help from his carpenter father.
“Just being one of those Lego kids growing up – I mean that naturally blossomed into really wanting to build,” says Sevallo, who eventually started doing home renovations.
The friends with a passion for fixer-uppers scored their TV show contract after being approached through colleagues in the construction industry.
“And we thought, what a great way to showcase what we love to do and show people it is possible to live in this city,” says Fabbiano.
Fast-forward, or rewind rather, to last fall and winter when Fabbiano and Sevallo filmed inside four homes in the Lynn Valley and Blueridge areas for their new show Worst to First.
“Don’t be surprised if you see snow,” says Sevallo.
The series follows Fabbiano and Sevallo as they help 10 families transform the most undesirable homes on the block into the envy of the neighbourhood.
“We want to show people that with the right circumstances it is attainable to be in your dream home in your ideal neighbourhood,” says Sevallo.
By nature, North Vancouver can throw a wrench in construction plans.
“We live in a rainforest and North Van is in the heart of that for sure, so you guys get the weather better than most. You will find moisture and all sorts of problems because of the way things were done back then,” explains Fabbiano of older home construction.
Unforeseen challenges are a guarantee with renovations. Most times Fabbiano and Sevallo can predict what will happen, just not when – which makes for great TV.
“We can’t see through walls, we have no idea,” says Fabbiano. “There’s always something, so you just plan for the unseen and act accordingly.”
There was one house in particular in North Van that offered the boys a big surprise.
“Once we removed the siding, the house was in a crazy state of disrepair and rot. I mean, pretty extensive – that was a big speed bump on that one,” says Sevallo.
Viewers can also expect the boys to bring some witty banter.
“Mickey and I, as similar as we are, we definitely have different styles of working. What you can expect to see from the show is Mickey bringing his big bold ideas to the table and me trying to reel him in constantly,” says Sevallo with a laugh.
Each episode features a pair of prospective homeowners standing in their dream neighbourhood and shown a few diamonds in the rough to choose from.
The viewers watch the whole process play out as the guys help guide the families through the purchase and renovation.
The families didn’t commit to a minimum financial requirement for the renos when they signed up for the show.
After the purchase price, Fabbiano estimates the homeowners are putting in between $100,000 to $200,000 on average to fix it up.
What can that coin get you? It depends on the homeowner, says Fabbiano.
“For the most part it’s able to get you a pretty beautiful dream home. We are able to renovate three to four different rooms in the house and give them nice finishes – it really depends on a case by case basis, but ultimately the homeowners come away with their dream home.”
The boys are no strangers to the North Shore. Fabbiano spent the last six years helping to design and build the Grouse Mountain terrain park.
Meanwhile, the friends hiked on Mount Seymour during a break in filming.
“You live in a beautiful, beautiful place,” says Fabbiano.
Worst to First premieres Monday, Sept. 4 at 10 p.m. on HGTV.
