The most memorable DIY projects are often the ones that go completely sideways. Josh McGrath, broker-owner of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Central and the 2025 president of the West Virginia Association of REALTORS®, considers himself a “DIY Survivalist.” He isn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves to save a property from disrepair.
McGrath recalls a foreclosure purchase that he had bought sight unseen as a rental property. It turned into a literal biohazard cleanup. “I had to put myself in an entire Hazmat suit and clean out the house because of the filth that was left behind,” he says. “The house had sat vacant for about three years so it was full of every kind of rodent you can imagine.” The amount of trash in the home accumulated into “mountain-size” proportions. “I had to have the city come with an actual backhoe and scoop the trash into a trash truck because it wasn’t even anything we could get into bags,” McGrath recalls.
Despite the mess, McGrath has no regrets about buying the property. It actually turned out to be one of his favorite investment properties. “We found beautiful hardwood floors under the carpet that we were able to refinish,” he says. “We took down a wall, opened up the kitchen and we restored it back to a 1930s craftsman with this wonderful covered front porch.” He liked the house so much he didn’t sell it but kept it as a rental.
McGrath’s story is a reminder that sometimes it takes getting dirty—even in a Hazmat suit—to turn a real estate disaster into a true triumph.
Here are some more of his confessions as a DIY remodeler who has a knack for saving homes that others may be quick to dismiss.
Longest weekend project you ever tackled: “Trying to retile four floors in a beach condo. I thought I could do it in a weekend, but it was 15 hours a day over several days.”
Your go-to paint color: “Worldly Gray from Sherwin-Williams. It’s a good neutral that blends well with both beige and gray.”
The tool you can’t live without: “My tape measure. As funny as it sounds, I have one in every car, in all of my bags, every office—because inevitably if I’m out and about and there’s something on sale at Lowe’s or Home Depot, I’m like: ‘Oh, that’ll work! I need to know how big it is … if it’s the right size vanity or right size door.’”
The most overhyped DIY trend: “Wallpaper. Everybody is back into wallpaper. While I love it in certain spaces, if you don’t put it up correctly, it’s a disaster to deal with. You think you can just paint over it or you can take it down—and then you find that you messed up the wall. So, I caution people, be careful how much wallpaper you put in your house.”
One remodeling project you’d never skip before selling: “I would not skip the idea of making sure your kitchens and bathrooms are as updated and refreshed as they can be. You can do little things to make a bathroom and a kitchen look good without having to completely redo them. But those are two rooms that everybody pays the most attention to whenever they are house shopping. So, if you’re looking at selling—kitchens and bathrooms sell houses.”
The one home upgrade that almost never pays back: “A pool. Don’t put in a pool and think you’re going to get your money back. You’re not. It’s going to create good marketability but only for somebody who wants a pool. But for people who don’t want a pool, they’re not paying for it.”
Fastest, cheapest way to make a home look more expensive: “Fixtures—whether you upgrade the lighting fixtures or the hardware on the kitchen cabinetry. You can buy super cheap lighting that they call ‘contractor grade’ at most places, or you can find a step or two above at lighting warehouses. At certain times, you may even find a sale for really nice lighting at a really discounted price. Lighting will absolutely change the entire look and feel of a home. It’s something you see as soon as you walk in the door—so it makes a strong first impression that buyers will notice.”
Which is the biggest disaster: A paint spill or wrong measurements? “The paint spill—probably because of where it spills and what you’re going to have to do to fix it. If you spill it on carpet, the carpet’s done and you have to replace it all. You spill it on the floors, you have to pull up all that floor and redo it. If it’s a wrong measurement, I can usually either make it fit by redoing the size of the hole, if it’s a window or door. It may delay me, but it may not be as big of a disaster as spilling paint.
Ever call a pro to fix your fix? “Absolutely—especially if it’s for plumbing. I can do about anything but for whatever reason, I’ll fix the plumbing and maybe a week later, it’s usually worse than it was when I tried to fix it the first time. I have learned if it’s a plumbing issue—just call the plumber.”
Worst DIY injury: “I would say I’ve hurt my pride more than anything else because I’ll take on a project that I think I’m going to be able to knock out. And then when I can’t, inevitably the contractor that I end up calling knows, my friends know and my family knows.”
