By Clyde Noel

Los Altos homeowners Tom Urban and his wife Rebecca Sweet sent an e-mail to “Ron Hazelton’s House Calls” television show detailing a description of an outdoor kitchen they wanted to build in their back yard.

Hazelton and his crew showed up at the Los Altos couple’s home to televise their project. The home improvement series regularly takes viewers on the road with a mobile workshop stopping at homes and helping people with all kinds of projects.

“This is like Christmas in July,” Sweet said. “The television crew came and set up in the back yard and they televised putting in an outdoor kitchen in the back yard.”

Now in his third season, Hazelton travels coast to coast sharing tips and techniques for the television audience as he televises projects. The series can be seen on KGO Sundays.

Hazelton speaks to the homeowner on camera and explains how to complete the project. He asks for minimal help from the homeowner.

Hazelton joined Good Morning America in 1996, and since that time has been featured as their home improvement editor.

The surprises on each project are not known until the carpet is pulled up or the wall is cut into. Ron enters each home unsure of exactly what he will discover. In the Sweet and Urban home, he had to cut through the wall to install the natural gas lines leading to the Weber grill.

“Outdoor kitchens are becoming very popular,” Hazelton said. “It takes entertainment to a whole new level, transforming the ordinary backyard cookout into an extraordinary event. A grill island can become the focal point of your yard and it could change the way you think about outdoor cooking.

“I like to compare my work to Charles Kuralt and his ‘On the Road’ shows several years ago,” he said. “I decide where to go after people tell us what they want and then we pick six spots in a region and do them. We tape six shows in three weeks.”

The local schedule includes installing a frame for a flag inside a Mountain View home, replacing a deck in Pacifica and a project in San Francisco.

Jim Cirialiano, producer and director for Ron Hazelton’s House Calls, said he wasn’t sure when the Los Altos project would be shown, but probably sometime during December.

All equipment, including the grill, is provided by Lowe’s Companies free of charge.

For more information on “House Calls,” check www.ronhazelton.com .