Karen E. Laine Falls Through Floor in Nightmare ‘Good Bones’ Renovation Mishap

Renovation projects are no easy feat, and nobody knows that better than Karen E. Laine. The Good Bones star was grateful to walk away unharmed when she fell through the floor while she and her team were pulling up rotting floors in her Wilmington, North Carolina project.

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom property that has proven to be one of the HGTV star’s most difficult projects yet, and things seemed to reach a crux during Good Bones Season 9, Episode 2, which aired on HGTV on Friday, Aug. 21. As she and her team were pulling up “rotten” floors in the property, which was built in the 1900s, the floor beneath Laine’s feet suddenly gave way, sending her plummeting to the floor below. The renovation master thankfully didn’t suffer any injuries in the fall, telling her crew, per Closer, “I’m fine, I landed on my squishy part.”

Unfortunately for Laine, the fall seemed to be the least of her concerns. The renovation project has proven to be quite ambitious, with the star lamenting, “I already fell through the floor once alright, which means this entire floor system needs to be replaced and I can see that the foundation needs to be replaced too.” According to Laine, “a brand new continuous pour foundation all the way around the outside of the house” would cost around $3,000.

“This is a lot more money than I thought… How do I live the rest of my life if I spend that much of my nest egg on this house?” she asked in a confessional. Although Laine said she could walk away from the project, sell the home, and “be done,” she said, “there’s no way I’m giving up on my dream. I’m just not.”

Laine ultimately moved forward with the project, the episode showing the tense moment that the house was lifted with a jack so the foundation could be poured, Laine telling cameras, “the house is in the air, which is fine but its wobbling. It made some noises like it wasn’t happy about its situation but its holding. We’re OK.” Once that nerve-wracking part of the renovation was done, Laine was able to focus on more exciting aspects of the project, revealing that she envisioned making the home “bold and colorful.” She recruited the help of a local muralist to help bring her vision to life with a stunning mural for the new property.

Laine and her team are set to finish up their Wilmington project in the Wednesday, Aug. 28 episode of Good Bones, which will air on HGTV at 9 p.m. ET. Ahead of the episode, Laine offered a tease on Instagram, where she posted a video highlighting the build.