Murder Basement Makeover

Chuck (Host): Hey y’all, I’m Chuck Dixon and we’re about to surprise Trevor with the basement makeover of his dreams. Trevor reached out to us six months ago letting us know he was in dire need of our help. Let’s take a quick look.

Submission video: Hi, my name is “Trevor” and I need a basement makeover. I bought this beautiful house a few months ago. The previous owners renovated everything, which overall is great, but unfortunately that included the entire basement. So yeah, there’s a bar area, a second living room, a full bath, and a spacious bedroom.

Chuck: As you can see, Trevor needs our help. Let’s go make his day!

*rings doorbell*

*The door cracks open.*

Trevor (homeowner): Hello?

Chuck: Trevor, I’m Chuck Dixon…

Trevor: Oh my god!

Chuck: …and you’re on Murder Basement Makeover!

Trevor: (jumping up and down) Oh my god! Oh my god!

The show cuts to the opening credits with flashes of the Host, Lead Designer, Lead Builder, and a montage of happy homeowners.

Back from credits, the team is in the living room area of the basement.

Jess (Designer): Trevor, what is your vision? What vibe would make you feel most at home?

Trevor: I’m honestly not completely sure. I know it’s silly, but I like what I’ve seen in the movies with cement floors, plastic hanging, and I guess greenish lighting…why is there always a greenish tint?

Dean (Builder): That’s only for the movies. You can’t effectively clean up after yourself with shoddy lighting like that.

Trevor: That’s what I was thinking!

Jess: Since you seem to be open, walk us through your usual PLAN/DAY/ATTACK. For instance, do you prefer to start in the home and then move to the basement or begin in the basement?

Trevor: See, this is why you all are professionals. Thank you for asking that. So I start by inviting the person back to my house, always with me driving so there’s no worry about an extra car. I made sure to get a house with a garage and parking in the back so the neighbors can’t see anyone entering or exiting. Or should I say, not exiting. *everyone laughs* I will say, having a door from the outside directly to the basement would be convenient since the garage is detached. 

Dean: What is your disposal method? In or outside of the home?

Trevor: Outside. Which is why a door would be great. A drain in the floor is a must-have, along with a pulley system, and chains with hooks.

Dean: I think I have an idea of what you need and possibly what you might want, but just don’t know it yet.

Chuck: Trevor, you’re in good hands. For the next week, our team will be working on your basement. Will you be able to stay clear of the work site until we’re finished?

Trevor: It isn’t going to be easy, but yes! I’m so excited!

*Swipe to the following day*

Chuck: As you can see, our crew has already made some major headway with part of the basement. Dean, I can see that you’ve completely gutted the bathroom. Can you walk us through what’s going on? 

Dean: Absolutely, Chuck. We’ve busted out the south wall so we can add room for a claw foot tub. The wall behind the claw foot tub will be slightly raised and sloped downward so any liquid on the floor will flow directly under the tub and wall and into a floor drain that we’ll be installing later. We’re also installing a shower curtain bar above the tub strong enough to hold 4 adult bodies, and Jess is hand-making the sharpest curtain hooks you’ve ever seen, so they’ll also be multi-functional. A person walking into this bathroom will see a regular, beautifully renovated bathroom and will suspect nothing. Their guard will be completely down if Trevor chooses this as his attack room.

Chuck: This is why we have the best crew. I’ll let you get back to it. *Walking over to Jess* Jess, what are you working on over here?

Jess: Chuck, I am super excited about this build. His basement is massive and allows us to really have fun with it and gives us the room to do things we’ve always wanted to do. As you noticed with the bathroom, we’re keeping that beautiful renovated look. We’re doing the same for the living room area. This is the first thing people see when they walk down the stairs. This area needs to look inviting, cozy, and like a place someone wants to be. We switched out Trevor’s stuffy leather couch with a plushy sectional sofa and added some throw pillows and blankets. We put top-of-the-line, industrial-grade fabric protection on every piece of fabric in the room. You could have Carrie’s prom down here and not leave a stain. I also added some books to his built-ins about poetry, French Impressionism, and the works of David Foster Wallace. Then we put candles on the coffee table to add more flaming ambiance to the fireplace, but the thing in this room that I’m proudest of is that. *Points to a box placed at the center of the mantel*

Chuck: *walks over* What am I…? No, you did not.

Jess: Yep! It’s an urn of his dead cat, TwoMews-Lautrec. Well, his fake dead cat, but what says, “I’m a caring person” more than that?

Chuck: You’re a genius. This crew really is the best.

*Swipe to another day*

Chuck: Hey, everyone! We’re on day 3 of Trevor’s basement makeover. Let’s check in with Dean at the back of the house to see what he’s up to. 

Dean: Hi, Chuck, coming over to check in?

Chuck: You know I am! It looks like you’ve dug up a good portion of the yard. What’s going on?

Dean: Well, Trevor was right about needing an entrance directly from the outside, so we’re making him one. It’s a huge undertaking, but one we felt was too important not to see through. 

Chuck: I can’t wait to see the finished product! *To camera* Now let’s get inside and see what Jess is up to.

Jess: Hello, hello!

Chuck: So this room is what used to be the bedroom, right?

Jess: Right. So there will be this inviting living room when you first go down into the basement. In the living room, there are two doors: one for the bathroom, and then this door. Right now, we’re making a closet so that when anyone comes over, it just looks like a regular closet. But when Trevor presses the hidden switch, the entire thing will swing open. I’m talking the ceiling, the walls, the floor, everything. And behind there, there’s a whole other room. It’s multifunctional. Yes, it’s a secret door, but he’ll also just use it as a closet, and he can’t be climbing over things or pulling everything out every time he wants to enter and exit. It isn’t practical, and it frankly starts to make something fun a bit of a chore.

*Swipe to the last day*

Chuck: We decided to show you, the viewer, the rest when we do our big reveal to Trevor. That’s how excited we are about this build. So, let’s get to it, shall we!? 

*Walks over to Trevor*

Chuck: Now, Trevor, you have patiently waited for us to finish with your new basement. What do you say we get down there?

Trevor: I can’t wait!

Chuck: Okay, so what do you think about the first room?

Trevor: Um. It isn’t what…

Jess: Let me walk you through it. You have your date, right? No one is going to want to go down into a basement unless it’s a basement like this. This room is inviting. It has a romantic fireplace with poetry. There’s a tv to watch movies or whatever you need to do. Plus, if law enforcement comes over for any reason, your basement is a regular basement.

Trevor: Oh, that’s slick, okay. 

Chuck: Check out your bathroom.

Trevor: Oh wow, it’s a lot bigger. I love the claw foot tub, it’s huge! That will easily fit a body.

Dean: And the shower curtain bar and hooks are multifunctional as well. Plus the floor has a barely noticeable slope that goes under the floorboard into another room with a drain.

Trevor: *excitedly* Oh, man.

Chuck: Let’s keep going. Open that door.

Trevor: *opens closet door* This used to be an entire bedroom, and now it’s… a closet.

Jess: Trevor, I want you to press that switch behind the door jam.

*Entire closet swings open like a door and immediately unveils a concrete floor, embalming table with straps, and chains hanging from the ceiling* 

Trevor: *face lights up* Oh my god.

Jess: We put in some lockers over here, hung up some jumpsuits, and put some booties and head coverings on the top. You can put your everydays in one and have your steriles in another. The third you can maybe put the victim’s clothes? Three look better than two, and lockers can give a mysterious, creepy vibe. We also installed remote control lighting that you change the color. So if you want to make it green, or any other color that might be unsettling for your victims, you can do that with the click of a button.

Dean: We put 3 floor drains so wherever things might occur, you’ll be good. On the wall by the table, you’ll notice a painting by John Wayne Gayce. Flip that top light switch.

*Painting spins to reveal tools like bone saws, rib spreaders, chisels, butcher knives, etc. Trevor puts his hand over his mouth and has tears in his eyes.*

Dean: Even if the victim doesn’t see it, you’ll get to enjoy it. Plus it helps keep the dust off your instruments. Take care of your tools and they’ll take care of you.

Trevor: I don’t even know what to say. I’m…

Chuck: We aren’t even done.

Trevor: What? How?

Jess: Go ahead and give that pipe on the wall a good pull.

*Trevor goes over and pulls on the pipe. A hidden door opens to reveal a large mud room.*

Chuck: They made you a mud room, but if you look over here, there’s a dog washing station. If someone comes down here, it makes sense that there wouldn’t be access to the house, because this is renovated for your “future dog grooming business.” You would want to keep the business separated from the home. Again, there’s a drain in the floor with a perfectly plausible explanation. You have an area to sit for changing shoes, hanging coats, hats, or… “other things” wink, wink. And these beautiful French doors that lead outside.

Dean: The doors are of course soundproof, as is everything else. You could hold a full-on opera downstairs and no one would know it upstairs or outside. The French door glass can also go from clear to clouded with the press of a button.

Trevor: There are no words to tell y’all how grateful I am. Thank you so much. From the bottom of my heart. I can’t say it enough.

Chuck: Trevor, it really was our pleasure! *Looking at and walking toward the camera* This was such a fun build! Will the next build be at your house? You never know. Check us out next time on Murder Basement Makeover!