The Design Team launch their cross country building expectation beginning with a family that was in the process of renovating their home when Olivia, the youngest daughter, was diagnosed with a life-threatening form of leukemia. Everything was put on hold while she received treatment.^{[n 1]}

Ty's secret room – Olivia's dollhouse-themed bedroom (Ty's very first secret project)
Design team – Ty, Constance, Michael, Paul, Preston, and Tracy

First Appearance of Ty Pennington, Constance Ramos, Michael Moloney, Paul Dimeo, Preston Sharp, and Tracy Hutson

Trent Woslum was serving in Iraq when he received an email from his wife that they had been contacted by the show to receive an Extreme Makeover. Trent’s wife, Dawna, and their three sons were sent to Disneyland for the week while the house was renovated. They were surprised on their return to find that Trent was home.

Ty's Secret Room - The boy's bathroom (the only time Ty took on a bathroom as a secret project)
Design team – Ty, Constance, Michael, Paul, Preston, and Tracy

Jack Cox is a youth pastor whose wife, Wendy, is a stay-at-home mom raising three girls. The design team remodeled the house for the family.

Ty's secret room - A backyard that Ty calls "Tyland"
Design team – Ty, Constance, Michael, Paul, Preston, and Tracy

Contessa Mendoza is a social worker and a single mother, who also chose to take in two foster kids. The team also customized the car of the older foster child.

Ty's secret room - Analicia's undersea-themed room
Design team – Ty, Constance, Michael, Paul, Preston, and Tracy

The McCrory family was a family of four that was pregnant with triplets. Grandma, who had come to help take care of the family, was sleeping out in the garage. The team expanded the house to make room for Grandma and all the new babies.

Ty's secret room – Tom's "sports bar" garage

"Sweet" Alice Harris is a woman in South Los Angeles who has worked for 35 years to help her neighborhood. Her block, and her home, was flooded in a storm. Her husband, daughter, and two grandchildren also live in the house with her. The team also worked on several projects around the neighborhood.

Ty's secret room - A dorm room for where visitors can sleep in

Robert Gil was in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. His mom quit her job to give him full-time care. The design team renovated the house to make his life easier including an aquatic therapy pool.

Ty's secret room - Andrew's car-themed room

After tracking down his father, Freeman Hardin, Jr. brought him to live with his family. They had no place for him to stay in the house, so he was living in a trailer.

Ty’s secret room – Ty converted the trailer into a state-of-the-art movie theater.

An SUV crashed into the house of the Tugwell family. No one was injured but a large part of the house was destroyed. The Extreme Makeover team also helped arrange for the engagement of the Tugwell’s daughter to her boyfriend.

Ty’s secret room – Ty created a secret storage room off of the den.

Martha Walswick lost her husband to cancer, leaving her to raise nine children alone. The nine children and mom were crammed into a very small home, which the team expanded to give all the kids bigger bedrooms and more common space.^{[n 2]}

Ty’s secret room – Ty worked on Philip and Gregory's bedroom.

Keenan Powell, a 16-year-old boy, lived with major mold and dust allergies. His mom, Carrie, has had a hard time keeping up with all of his health challenges and trying to keep the house as hypo-allergenic as possible. The team re-did the house, including installing a state-of-the-art air filtration system.

Ty's secret room - Keenan's basketball-themed room
Design team – Ty, Alle, Dawson, Michael, Paige

Diane Scott and Mark Cadigan both died within three weeks of each other, leaving their eight children to fend for themselves. The older siblings moved back to the house in Livermore, California to keep the family together, but the house is way too small for them. On top of all that, they all had to share one bathroom.

Ty's secret room - Danny's rock-and-roll themed room

Brook Imbriani gave blood to a local blood drive, and then was told that a baby girl with leukemia was a match with her bone marrow. Nancy Ramirez, the baby’s mother, nominated the family for a home makeover. At the time, Brook was living in a house with her two kids, her mother, her sister, her brother-in-law, and her nephew.^{[n 3]}

Ty's secret room - Pool cabana