- Insider “Home Work”Candis and Andy Meredith, hosts of the show, refute claims against them.
- Magnolia Network pulled the program after homeowners claimed that the couple had destroyed their homes.
- The couple stated that the problems that they encountered were not unusual in reality television and construction projects.
Candis and Andy Meredith share their side of the story “Home Work” controversy.
Chip and Joanna Gaines pulled their show on Friday through Magnolia Network. “Home Work,”After homeowners who were featured on the series claimed that the couple exceeded their budget and caused damage to their homes, the series was removed from the air and re-evaluated.
Wednesday’s Merediths meeting addressed homeowners Aubry Bennion (Teisha, Jeff Hawley), Vienna and Rob Goates concerning their claims. “Home Work”Insider will give you the opportunity to share your experience.
The Merediths acknowledged that not all of their ‘Home Work’ renovations went according to plan.
Andy and Candis stated in their statement that they believed the “Home Work”Renovations sometimes took longer than expected in some cases. However, the Merediths claimed that the issues that emerged were normal construction problems that were compounded due to reality television.
Andy explained to Insider that the Merediths served as consultants for renovation projects. “Home Work,”The actual construction of the homes was done by licensed general contractors in localities. He said they acted as the go-between for clients and the contractors, which meant they took the brunt of people’s frustrations when issues came up — even if they couldn’t control things like contractors’ schedules.
“I think a lot of the anger and the hurt was focused on us personally because we were the ones in the middle trying to make everybody happy,”Andy said.
Noam Galai / Stringer Getty Images
Andy acknowledged that Andy was right. “a lot of truth”Bennion claims that they took on too much work at once and that they didn’t manage the daily operations of the renovation well due to their lack of experience. After sharing this, Instagram: 18-post taleBennion spoke out last week about her experience working with the Merediths and said that it led to a host of issues that she claims lowered the home’s value and caused thousands of dollars in repairs.
Candis stated that the homeowner timelines were unrealistic and she would not accept them. “full responsibility”That is why.
“I know that these people are hurt, and I know that renovation is hard,”Andy said. “We know how stressful it can be dealing with contractors in your house and budgets and timelines and things fluctuating. We’ll never minimize that pain.”
He continued to state that the story about him has been told many times. “Home Work”So far, the outcome has been overwhelmingly positive. Candis stated that they wanted to make a statement because of the controversy. “Home Work”Their children and their children who say they are being bullied at school.
Andy and Candis said that they didn’t know Aubry Bennion felt her renovations had ruined her home.
Insider spoke to Bennion on Friday about problems she experienced with her kitchen renovations throughout the duration.
Insider heard from the Merediths that they understood her concerns about the renovation but not the full extent of them.
Bennion stated previously to Insider that her kitchen remodel was expected to take three weeks and cost $25,000,000.
According to the Merediths, the project was more expensive than expected and took longer than expected. Bennion paid them $13,000. The Merediths claimed that they paid $32,000 from their own pockets for the kitchen renovation at Bennion.
Bennion claimed that her renovation cost $39,000 total. A large portion of that money was spent on fixing the issues caused by the renovation.
Bennion was one example.An Instagram postMerediths built a deck on the back of her kitchen, but it was over a sprinkler system. This created a drainage problem. Bennion wrote that the deck almost caused her home to flood and that she was unable to get it fixed. Sensitivity to lowerHer home’s value. Insider told her that it cost $18,000 to repair the house.
Bennion also stated that Candis, Andy and her husband made a trip down to Paris during the middle of Andy’s renovations. Instagram postAbout her “Home Work” experience. The Merediths stated that they traveled to France on a work trip for the Magnolia Network. “production”It was paid for. Magnolia Network, according to a source familiar with the matter, did not learn that the Merediths went to Paris almost a year after it happened.
Andy and Candis stated that Bennion’s public comments about her negative experience with her were surprising because of the excitement she displayed about her new kitchen on February 20, 2020.
Bennion previously She stated on Instagram that she wouldn’t show photos of her kitchen renovations.Internet “because it cleans up nice and, with the right filter, is worthy of every wow and word of praise for everyone who doesn’t have to live in it or had to live through what it took to get there.”
Bennion also stated in her own words Statement on InstagramShe “feigned excitement”The Merediths thought that Bennion was excited about the filmed reveal even though they were unaware that cameras were still being filmed.
The Merediths continued to state that they believed there was no such thing as a “perfect world.” “were hard conversations and misunderstandings about this project and budget”Throughout the renovation, Bennion was there “but we were absolutely under the impression that we had resolved those issues together.”
The Merediths claimed that they didn’t know Bennion had lingering issues with her renovation until Candis texted Candis on April 28, 2020. Candis was more than two years after the reveal. Bennion shared previously a Take a screenshot of this conversationOn her Instagram. The Merediths stated that they have not received any communication from her since. When Insider asked Bennion about the claims of the Merediths, Bennion didn’t immediately respond.
According to the Merediths, they did not know that Teisha and Jeff Hawley were unhappy with their renovation.
They said that their experience with Hawleys was very similar to Bennion’s.
Teisha Instagram: a postJeff Meredith was her husband and she gave the Merediths $45,000 for their renovation of their living room in four weeks. Ten weeks later the Merediths revealed to the Hawleys that $40,000 was needed to make the project successful. Teisha explained in an interview that the Merediths had already given $45,000 to Jeff and Teisha. Follow-up post. The couple eventually pulled out of the renovation.
“We had been living in our basement for months at this point including Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays,”Hawley posted on Instagram. “We were exhausted, we had just been told all of our funds were used and our home was torn apart with bubbling floors laid.”
Candis said that the project was almost finished when she was told not to return, even though it wasn’t complete by the Hawleys.
“The first part — demo, rough electrical, rough plumbing, drywall, mud tape, texture — takes the bulk of your money,”She spoke.
Candis stated that she thinks she could have communicated better with the Hawleys about the possibilities for their home. She also said that they should have been made aware that the materials that were available for their project would not be the best quality for their budget.
Candis also said that Teisha raised their budget to $64,698 herself after they had a “difficult conversation”About the project. Insider also received screenshots from what appeared to be friendly conversations between Teisha Hawley and Jeff Hawley.
Candis and Andy Meredith
Andy and Candis Meredith
“We had no sense whatsoever that they were as dissatisfied as they claim,”The Merediths stated. “We got within a week of completing the project when Jeff asked for a phone call.”
Candis says Jeff Hawley stated on the call that he would sue Andy for not having their countertops delivered by Friday. “threatened.”Candis stated that he pulled out from the renovation because she didn’t want to agree.
The Merediths stated that they have not received any communication from the Hawleys in person since February 20, 2020.
Merediths claimed that all the parties had signed contracts. “Home Work”Although homeowners stated mediation was to be the first step in the event of disputes between clients and Merediths, none of their clients used mediation.
Insider asked for the contract to be reviewed by The Merediths, but they declined. Insider reached out to the Hawleys for comment but they did not respond immediately.
According to the Merediths, they haven’t made any money from these clients
Vienna and Robert Goates were the homeowners who spoke out to Insider about their loan of $50,000 for a renovation they never completed.
Candis and Andy have so far only paid $14,000 back of that amount.
Insider was told by the Merediths that they had given that money their contractor.
Insider was told that the contractor had not returned the money and stopped responding to messages. The Merediths decided to pay the Goateses their own money. Insider was not able to access the details of the contractors because the Merediths were concerned about privacy.
Insider heard from Candis and Andy, who said they had reached an agreement to repay the loan as well as the Goateses’ interest fees and legal costs.
They stated that they were still paying the loan back at the time of writing. Insider had access to the correspondence between Candis’ lawyer and the Goateses regarding the payments. Although they acknowledged that they may have been late with some of these payments, the Merediths stated that they are still making every effort to make them.
Insider reached out to the Goateses for comment but they declined to speak with us.
The Merediths do not feel like homeowners want to resolve their problems.
Candis and Andy said to Insider that they are “frustrated”The homeowners with issues have not spoken directly to the homeowners.
“Although we acknowledge how difficult things have been for homeowners, we have always been available to discuss, and we would’ve been more than open to hearing how they were feeling to come to some kind of agreement,”Candis. “We were always willing to try to make something better for them. And ultimately we genuinely just wanted them to love their homes.”
Andy “it’s obvious”They were made to answer charges. “prepared and launched at us at a time to hurt us the most personally and not in a way to fix or to address the actual issues,”They were also intended “to take us down.”
“We’re not here to take away anything that they’re feeling,”Candis shared her thoughts on the homeowner’s experience, saying that renovations are difficult, especially when it is a television series, and that the timelines can be challenging. “were too crazy.”
But “it is very hard for us to see the narrative being written on one side,”Candis added. “We’re just trying to say that we genuinely did everything we could in the moment.”
“We just wish they would have come to us before this two-year mark, when the network was launching,”Candis. “And we really wish we could have worked it out.”
Get in touch with Insider to learn more about Candis Meredith and Andy. “Home Work,” email [email protected].