AlisonTHOMPSON

Pounding sounds of hammers hitting nails echo through the house.

Floors are covered with wood chips and sanding dust.

The smell of fresh paint fills the air.

These sights, sounds and smells exhilarate Alison Thompson, a beautiful red-headed, blue-eyed hairstylist of more than 20 years who bulldozes down the notion that men are best suited for home renovation.

Alison is as much a whiz with adjustable wrenches and hammers as she is with scissors and shears. Her passion is completing time-consuming, challenging home renovation projects.

The 43-year-old Sorrento resident has purchased five homes and used her handywoman skills to transform them from ugly and bland into magical and grand. The jobs can be strenuous and downright messy, but by the time the dust settles, homes once decrepit and unlivable have been restored to their former glory and beyond. She then makes a profit by renting or selling the homes.

A genuine passion and can-do attitude provides Alison with all the right “tools.” There’s no project too big for this sweet, down-to-earth, hammer-swinging whirlwind.

Nailing Down A Love

Alison developed a do-it-yourself spirit at the tender age of 5. She and her family lived in an old plantation home in Missouri that had no air conditioning and constantly needed repairs. Alison, the youngest of five children, was more than happy to assist her father.

“He always told me that if you want something done right then you needed to do it yourself,” she recalls. “He never hired contractors and never went to mechanics.”

A self-described “daddy’s girl,” Alison and her father worked tirelessly so their home could exude charm and character throughout, in every nook and cranny. She dabbled in a little of everything — crown molding, woodworking, painting, plumbing and trimming.

“Our goal was to help the home maintain its prestige and character,” she says. “I learned a great deal from him.”

Hammer Time

That knowledge proved invaluable for Alison, who moved to Lake County with her family in 1984 and graduated from Eustis High School in 1989. She attended the Art Institute of Atlanta and worked as a hairstylist in Panama City and New York City before moving back to Lake County in 1999.

Around that time, Alison applied for a loan for a house she planned to renovate and sell. To say she had her work cut out was an understatement. The termite-infested house had no flooring, every screen was ripped out, walls were covered with holes and the plumbing was not up to industry standards.

But the enormity of the task ahead did not faze Alison. She charged full-steam ahead. On weekdays, she worked nine hours inside her Mount Dora-based hairstyling suite. After arriving home, she would spend four hours completing various projects.

“I was very dedicated and spent the entire weekend doing things around the home. On mornings I had to go to work, I’d wake up do small things like paint one section of a wall or change a light fixture. I even planted bushes in the rain,” says Alison, who lived in the home throughout the renovation.

Some of the more daunting tasks included gutting the walk-in shower and replacing studs behind the tile, chiseling out tile in the foyer and cutting and installing baseboard in the living room. She put down wood flooring in the foyer, dining room, living room and hallway.

She also had to locate furniture on an extremely limited budget. “At that time, I didn’t have lots of money so I bought furniture at yard sales, and I actually found my dining room chairs on the side of the road. I refurbished those chairs and still have them today.”

The massive renovation took 11 months.

“Nobody could believe it was the same house and [they] told me it looked like a model home,” she says. “In fact, [they] thought the floors looked so nice that they asked if I had them done by Floors by Scott, one of the leading flooring companies in Lake County.”

Needless to say, the value of the $80,000 home she purchased skyrocketed. Alison sold it for $124,000.

“After I sold the house I was debt free from school loans and credit cards and still had plenty of money to invest into the next home,” she says. “Even though it was a massive undertaking, there’s nothing more exciting than seeing the finished product. I knew I wanted to renovate other homes and enjoy that same feeling.”

Making Dreams Come True

Alison also puts her skills to good use as a volunteer for Make-A-Wish, an organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.

Several years ago, Alison was surprised when she heard the heartfelt wish of a Tavares teenager battling neurofibromatosis, a disease where tumors form on nerve tissue.

“The girl asked for a bedroom makeover because that’s where she spends much of her time. I was surprised because most kids want to meet a rock ‘n’ roll star or go on a nice vacation.”

Alison put down wood floors, replaced all electrical outlets and provided a ceiling fan, bookcase, lamps and picture frames.

“This particular project was lots of fun because I had a chance to make the difference in the life of a small child,” says Alison, who has been a Make-A-Wish volunteer for six years.

“We held a party so she could see the finished project and her eyes lit up. She was so excited.”

A GREAT MOM, TOO

Alison’s big heart is also evident as a mother of two children. Six years ago, she adopted a beautiful girl, Olivia. In 2012, the Department of Children and Families informed her that Olivia had a baby sister. Alison also adopted Piper, who today is two.

“Being a mother is exhausting, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s so fulfilling and presents a new challenge each day.”

Even with a full-time job and raising children, Alison hopes to renovate additional homes in the future.

When her girls are older, Alison can teach them what few other girls their age or gender know, like how to guide a powerful circular saw the length of a plywood panel.