NORWAY – It’s been three days since she heard the news, and Sarah Nobles still lets out uncontrollable “whoas!” every time the subject comes up.
The Nobles, who live in Norway, are the first family to be chosen for a new reality television show called the “Hot Squad” on Maine’s WB.
Something like the ABC reality show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” except not as extreme, “Hot Squad” is based on the same premise of choosing a family and renovating their home in just a few days.
But unlike “Extreme Makeover,” where a group of designers tears down a house to rebuild it so it’s bigger and more splendid, “Hot Squad” will use energy experts and revamp a house so it’s more energy efficient.
“We can’t quite compete with a team who pulls a house down and builds a mansion,” John Marshall, the show producer, said Thursday. But the show plans on spending between $40,000 to $50,000 “to button up” the Nobles’ home, which is a simple white house overlooking Lake Pennesseewassee on Route 118.
“Ahhhh!” Sarah Nobles, 34, gasped when she heard how much might be invested. Sitting at the kitchen table, she and her husband, Brett, 37, agreed the work will put them ahead 10 years in their home improvement plans.
And they credit their four children.
As their parents talked about their thin windows, the heating bills (around $330 a month), how they met (13 years ago; Brett proposed on their second date) Brett II, 11, Brandon, 9, Bowen, 8, and Willow, 4, swirled around the house, unraveling a ball of string and setting off flashes as they took photos.
The children made a video to send in when they heard about the contest, which competed against hundreds of other submitted videos by Maine families, according to Marshall.
“Each gave a tour of their own bedroom and told about drafty windows and the noisy road,” Sarah said. “We just let them talk and said, Go.'”
“Not only did they need the help, but I loved the children, they were so sweet,” Marshall said. “They all give their own tour of their own room; it was so sweet and so endearing.”
Marshall said the show is meant not only to entertain, but also give information to Mainers struggling with high heating bills this winter.
The makeover starts around Feb. 4, and will take about a week. Marshall said Efficiency Maine, a Maine Public Utilities Commission program, is sponsoring the show, and many companies have donated to the program. They will pour a slab of concrete for a new foundation, install insulation, replace all the windows and possibly the refrigerator, throw down new rugs and provide some new furniture.
He said any volunteers in Norway who might like to help out with the work should contact him at the television show.
While the house is being redone, the Nobles will go on vacation. The four-star Harraseeket Inn in Freeport has agreed to host the family, and local restaurants will provide meals.
Brett said he’s taking a week off from his job with New Beginnings, a Lewiston social service agency for adolescents, and Sarah will get time away from her job at the Great Wall, a Chinese restaurant in Norway. The kids will take time off from school.
“I am a very shy person,” Brett said, as he pondered being on the show.
Sarah said, “It’s 15 minutes of fame. We can do it for this. It’s an amazing gift.”
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