When the Stout residence gets a house call, it's usually a friend wanting to play or a neighbor asking for a cup of sugar.
So when the crew of "Ron Hazelton's HouseCalls" rang the doorbell early one Saturday morning and began dragging in enough television production equipment to make their home look like it belonged in Hollywood, Ginny Stout was a bit surprised. Overwhelmed, in fact.
"This is wild," she said. "I didn't think it would be this complicated. I thought it would be on camera with Ron asking questions."
Almost, but not quite.
Hazelton's nationally syndicated home-improvement show, which airs Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. on KTVX-Ch. 4, made a 10-hour stop at the Stout residence in Layton Saturday to film a seven-minute segment for the upcoming season.
"Seven minutes — and it takes all day long," said Steve Stout, getting his first taste of acting. "Whew!"
The Stouts were lucky enough to get Hazelton's help and funds (up to $400) to put up a cork wall border in the basement of their home. The project took a bit longer than normal because the Stouts were filmed by "HouseCall's" TV crew as Hazelton coached the duo in putting up the cork wall.
"These are projects people can tackle in a weekend," said Hazelton, who's also the home improvement editor for the ABC morning show "Good Morning America," which also airs locally on Ch. 4. "I like to get the family involved. People can relate to them. And when the project is finished, people get a lot of satisfaction out of doing these kind of things them-
selves. They have bragging rights."
Ginny said she wanted the wall to display mementos and artwork of her four children — Nate, 16; Chelsea, 14; Hilary, 10; and Ryan, 7 — who were on hand, drawing pictures and drinking soda pop while the film crew kept Mom and Dad busy downstairs.
"It's kind of cool, I guess," said Nate, who had to be called off a date for the show.
Ginny and Steve were originally going to put the cork wall up themselves using glue, but when Ginny heard "HouseCalls" was coming to Utah, she decided to share her thoughts with the show in hopes of getting some professional help.
"We thought we would just glue the cork on the wall, then we realized it would make quite a mess if we ever wanted to take it down," Ginny said. "So we didn't really know what to do."
Talk about timing.
About a month ago, Ginny heard a morning radio personality announce that Hazelton's show would be passing through Utah to film a couple of segments and was looking for Utah homes that needed help with weekend-type projects.
So Stout logged on to Hazelton's Web site www.RonHazelton.com and posted her cork wall project idea, along with a few others, in hopes of being selected.
A week or two later, a scout from Hazelton's show showed up, took pictures of the home, talked with the family and told them they were one of seven projects the show was looking at in the area.
A few days later, the Stouts received a phone call and were told they had been picked for the show. (Salt Lake resident Robert Rampton was also selected for the show. His art and plate rail project was filmed Sunday and will also air in October.)
"The kids were so excited," said Ginny. "My youngest (Ryan) would wake up every morning and ask, 'Are they coming today?' "
Ryan couldn't have missed Hazelton as he pulled up Saturday morning in his custom-built motor home. Portraying Hazelton himself about 50 times his life size on the side, the rig is something even John Madden would be jealous of, as it took up half the street in front of the Stout home.
"I hope none of the neighbors mind," said Ginny.
Hazelton travels the country with his wife, Lynn, as they spend two weeks on the road filming the show and then return home to New York for three weeks to plan upcoming trips and work on projects for "Good Morning America."
Time on the road doesn't bother Hazelton; he enjoys seeing the country and meeting new people. "The odd thing is, we're traveling, but we do have a home," he said. "Wherever we are, once we get in the motor home for the night it feels like home. It's a much better experience than going into a different hotel room every night."
Sure, Hazelton said, it would be easy to film his show at a different home in New Jersey every week, but he believes his show wouldn't be in syndication in 86 percent of the country if it was all about home improvement.
To add flavor (and viewers) to "HouseCalls," Hazelton devotes about eight minutes of each show to his "Americana" segment, which, in the viewer's eye, places him in different parts of the country. It also gives him the chance to give viewers a geography lesson of sorts.
"With 'Americana,' I become the student," he said. "Here in Utah, I am going rock climbing to give viewers a chance to really see the beauty of the area. It's designed to give relief from the projects."
Originally, Hazelton said his idea for the show was to have him jump out of a motor home with cameras and go at it. After his first few shows last year, he realized that with television, it would be more complex, with all the lighting, sound, etc., involved.
What has become most important to him, though, is that people learn to do things themselves.
"It's much more about giving direction, about teaching, and saying, 'Here, you take the tools and give it a try,' you know?" he said. "I want people to have their own experience."
The Stouts' experience was a dizzying one.
Ginny and Steve stayed up late painting their walls after they learned the show was coming. They alerted their neighbors that Hollywood was coming to town, and Ginny even had a friend who wanted to dress as a "French maid" to be in the show.
"I hope we haven't inconvenienced anyone," she said. "My home is looking like one of those mobile outposts from 'M*A*S*H.' "
On Saturday, Ginny and Steve spent the majority of the day repeating themselves, doing scene after tedious scene. Each time, the crew would turn their home's air conditioning on and off. Steve just shook his head when asked what the electric bill was going to look like.
The kids, meanwhile, spent the day chatting with reporters and taking phone messages. Ryan kept trying to sneak downstairs but was shooed away each time.
"I want my mommy back," he said. "When are they going to be done?"
Ryan learned nothing about cork walls or home improvement Saturday, but he did learn one thing: Fame has its price.
E-mail: ptruman@desnews.com