Save My Bakery: Real. Hard. Work.

Did we really do interior and exterior makeovers for Save My Bakery in 48 hours?

Of course not. Are you crazy?

It was less than that.

Weather: Hello polar vortex thank you for chapping every part of my body.

TV: You can’t run a circ saw 10-feet from host and cake maestro Kerry Vincent folding fondant into a rose petal.

If it weren’t for our team and our tools, we’d still be sucking wind and be buried somewhere in a snowbank. So for you tool junkies and skeptics: Here’s a look inside Save My Bakery and full-tilt boogie speed.

We set up two shops on every Save My Bakery. (Why two? I’ll explain below.)

And I’m not kidding about the 48-hour thing. We had to roll in set-up and get whackin’ so I put speed on the track and minutes on the clock by modifying work benches for mega-mobility and hit-me-again ruggedness that lead to lighting set-ups and no-fuss operation. Juiced by DeWalt tools, Diablo blades, Sleep Innovations work mats and Stanley organization we made sawdust by the pound. And with our uber-tough Arborwear jackets, we looked good doing.

And in two days our team brought Theresa’s designs to life and changed people’s lives forever. That’s no joke.

In our main work area—tents, see polar vortex above—Shop Captain Andy Doyle made magic happen ripping miles of cedar and pine on our table saw bench. Essentially a table with outriggers to hold the table saw, we could roll in, plug in and get cutting in minutes. I also modified the MyFixitUpLife Super Saw Station for our miter saws so we could have uber in-feed/out-feed, storage and mobility all in the same system (yes, I just named it that). Andy further modified it and made midnight miters you, well, see every week on Save My Bakery.

Customer Service Enforcer Matthias Lowjewski made his own ‘Save My Bakery‘ systems that were tough enough to wrestle sharks and he became our track saw master. Shuffling sheets of 3/4-inch birch plywood like playing cards, he laid out, sized, and managed lumber like a madman bent on craftsmanship. He also hung shades, cut tile and worked so long in the snow on one epi that I had to run him through a snow-blower (he’s fine; the next day he was back to being cut-man).

Our second shop was ‘mobile.’ We set up the MyFixitUpLife Super Saw Station 2 outside the bakeries to cut molding, flooring, and studs. We got rained on, snowed on, frozen and wind-whipped. We dealt with everything from automobile traffic to customers oblivious that we were working to midnight, passersby ‘looking for work’ and got stymied by site conditions and sleeplessness that would have made other contractors go home.

Greg DiBdernardo somehow managed to make it all hysterical and before long we were all talking like him. He doesn’t just nail something, he ‘bombs it in.’ Even the camera guys were talking like him. No one knows what it means. He even plowed the parking lot when the snow made it impossible to move.

Tom Johnstone yinned to the yang. The more more bleeding edge our builds became, he remained, somehow, (damn him) cool. He delivered an air of sophistication and never-say-die craftsmanship that makes good teams great. Perfect.

Nick Nasokbow and Craig Ostrander walked out of their daily, non 48-hour makeover lives, to join our reindeer games and they crushed it.

Each man took care of the bakeries and of Theresa, like knights (I know, melodrama; but I love my wife and that’s how I feel). You’ll see them on TV. A second here, a snippet there. But they’re the muscle behind the makeover. The brains behind the beauty. Every one a leader. Every one a pro.

Impact drivers and recip saws are tough. They’re tougher.

And faster. They bent time to make 48-hours happen faster than that.

Mark

A licensed contractor, tool expert, wood and outdoor enthusiast, and elite Spartan Race competitor, he writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Check out his book, The Carpenter's Notebook.

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