BLACKSBURG -- When Bob Fetzer first got the call about participating in "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," the president of Building Specialists figured it was probably a Halloween hoax.

After all, the voice mail message came in at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 31. And Fetzer had never heard of the television show, despite its being one of the 10 most popular in the nation and its aim to completely transform an entire house in just one week.

He asked an employee to check it out anyway.

Fetzer's life has been madness ever since.

In the weeks following the Halloween phone call, the 30- to 40-employee company that is serving as the project's general contractor has been thrust into what Fetzer calls "the Super Bowl of building."

The company's participation has required hundreds of hours of planning, dozens of phone calls for help, a six-figure contribution of labor and materials and, when it's all said and done, a frenzied 107 hours of construction work.

It's enough to make anyone ask, "Why?"

First, it's about being able to help a member of their community, say Fetzer and officials with other businesses who are volunteering.

When work on the Ardmore Street house is complete Sunday, the neighborhood will welcome home Carol Crawford Smith and her two sons.

Smith, a world-class ballet dancer, contracted multiple sclerosis about five years ago and now has trouble walking.

The house that was torn down Tuesday was built in 1952 and had multiple steps inside and out. The one that is rising in its place will be handicapped accessible.

In addition to community good will, the more than 120 companies involved will likely benefit from exposure. The businesses are donating everything from perimeter stone and concrete to sandwiches and photography services.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" airs Sunday nights on ABC and features a design team led by celebrity carpenter Ty Pennington. During its second season, the show attracted 15.8 million viewers.

Many local fans have braved the cold to watch the house's progress. Kept from the actual construction site, the onlookers stand behind metal barricades covered in banners advertising participating businesses.

On Wednesday, the banners included Macado's, Newcomb, the town of Blacksburg and Building Specialists.

Richard Newcomb is president of Newcomb Electric of Roanoke, which is donating the material and labor needed to furnish the home with electrical and plumbing work, sheet metal, heating and air conditioning, and communications and telephone service.

The cost of all that? About $75,000.

"It's not very often that businesspeople get the opportunity to do a massive project that's high-profile and that does somebody a lot of good and that lets you show off your craft," Newcomb said.

He added that, while the business may benefit from the publicity, even if it doesn't, Newcomb won't be disappointed. "Anytime you can get your name out, it's good for business, and I think a large amount of our employees and their families like to know they're working for a business that does this," he said.

ABC lists on its Web site all of the names and phone numbers of businesses that donate. The site gets 4.6 million hits in the 24 hours after the show airs, said coordinating producer Diane Korman.

Plus, Korman said, vendors that donate products worth more than $4,000 are in the credit rolls, and local businesses are encouraged to put out their own press releases and publicity while on site. Companies can use the show's logo with network approval.

Matt Gentry | The RoanokeTimes

Bob Fetzer; other company banners and logos

Seated in a trailer at the work site/television set Wednesday, Fetzer wore a bright blue jacket. Embroidery on the chest read "Building Specialists." Embroidery on the shoulder bore the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" logo.

"It's a great opportunity to showcase our work and our employees," Fetzer said of the show. "What better arena can we have to showcase our design quality on a national level?"

But while Fetzer said it took his firm just 20 minutes to decide to participate once officials knew the details, there were businesses that simply weren't interested.

In charge of pulling together the services and resources needed for construction, employees with Building Specialists called about 200 local businesses for help.

At least 20 firms turned them down. Among the reasons they gave, Fetzer said, was an inability to meet the production schedule, a large number of employees out because of hunting season and recent participation in a similar charitable project.

In addition to the companies that declined to participate, Fetzer said a few businesses came out of the woodwork to help.

"Last Wednesday night, I was ready to throw in the towel because we didn't have windows and doors," said the Roanoke-based executive.

MW Windows & Doors of Rocky Mount came to the rescue, he said, offering not only the windows and doors, but also the employees to install them.

If the experiences of local businesses match those of some of the companies that participated in previous "Extreme Makeover" episodes, contributions may bring more than increased community spirit.

Dan Ferguson of Atlas Construction of Arkansas was team captain for the show that transformed the home of Colleen Nick and her children.

Ferguson estimated his company donated $20,000 to $30,000 worth of labor to the project.

Since the Nick family's story aired this spring, he said he's gotten some 500 acknowledgements and 15 to 20 promises of business because of it.

"At the end of the show, they'll show in the credits who is responsible for what, and people will see it there," Ferguson said.

"We haven't really pushed it," he added. "It's more word of mouth."

That will likely come as good news to Fetzer, who said Building Specialists has donated material and labor worth "much more than $100,000."

"As a small company, we've got an advertising budget of $40,000 annually," Fetzer said. "I said to my marketing and PR person, 'We're probably going to have to forget any advertising for the next three to four years.' How else can we justify it?"

On the Net: abc.go.com/primetime/ xtremehome/featured/ sears311.html?ad=EMHE