Hey, How'd You Hammer Your Way onto the DIY Network, Kayleen McCabe?

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The handyman-turned-host on breaking into lifestyle TV

By Danielle Burrows - February 7, 2012

Building a pergola from scratch while cameras follow your every hammer and nail? For Kayleen McCabe, that's reality TV.

McCabe never aspired to be a celebrity or to be on camera at all, for that matter. Always skilled at handiwork, she had worked as an occasional gun-for-hire handywoman for almost a decade when she caught wind in 2009 of Stud Finder, DIY Network's search for a new series host. Even after becoming the lone female among five finalists, she figured an appearance on NBC's Today (in which she showed Hoda Kotb and Piers Morgan how to screw into hardwood without a pilot hole) would probably mark the height of her proverbial 15 minutes – she was wrong.

With her DIY series, Rescue Renovation, headed into its fifth season, the former contractor spoke with us about lessons learned so far and why she owes everything to... a table....

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