By Megan Scott

By noon on Thursday, the Cowan-Brown family’s home was torn down and dumpsters filled with trash and rubble were removed in order to make space for the new home. Volunteers spent the day setting up the infrastructure needed to support the build while watching the cranes lift the house and throw it in the trash.

At approximately 10 a.m., the cast and crew of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition were on site to film the demolition. Cameras were placed in metal boxes and scattered throughout the house so that they wouldn’t miss a minute. Ty Pennington made a video to send to the family and fired up the crowd.

Sponsors provided snacks and lunch to feed the hungry volunteers while they waited to go back to work and watched the builders and excavators clear the lot.

Hallmark Homes, the construction company in charge of the project, President Paul Schwinghammer was on site to organize the demolition and start of the rebuild. Schwinghammer said they were put in charge of creating a better home for the Cowen-Brown family. One of the biggest changes: the location. (But that question won’t get answered until the Reveal.)

On Friday, the morning Schwinghammer and his crew will begin building the frame of the new house and pour concrete into the foundation.