Port Moody resident Chantal Beaudoin is getting the surprise of her life.

The single mom is this year's recipient of an extreme home makeover, courtesy of the Home Team from Coquitlam's Cornerstone Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Drawing inspiration from the TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the local Home Team renovates one residence per year to help a family in need. Beaudoin's bungalow is their fourth major undertaking, in addition to two smaller projects.

The non-profit outreach group chose Beaudoin from four other nominees since she was in most dire need of home repairs.

Six years ago, Beaudoin lost her leg in a train accident. She spent the next 18 months at G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre, where she was treated for injuries including head trauma.

Since then, she has tried to make the most of her situation. She supports her 10-year-old son, Taylor, on a disability pension supplemented by child support.

Now Beaudoin is spending 12 days in Pemberton while a team of about 200 volunteers overhauls her home, located in the 2900 block of St. George St. Although she knows renovations are underway, she has no idea what they actually entail.

Project co-ordinator Russ McCann said crews began working Wednesday from 6 a.m. to midnight to complete the project by next Sunday. They are nearly doubling the size of the house by adding an 800-square-foot addition, which will be wheelchair accessible with a master bedroom, second bedroom, bathroom and laundry room.

"The whole goal is to make life hopefully easier here for the family by making things simpler for Chantal and her son. She's a single mom and she doesn't have the resources to do any of this work," McCann said.

"We notified her over the phone to tell her she was chosen. It was amazing. She was pretty overwhelmed and shocked. She's tried to do a lot already around here to make things easier for her. She's pretty resourceful, given the circumstances. We just thought that we can improve on that and give her a nice home here in Port Moody."

And there's no shortage of work to be done. The 60-year-old home has plumbing and electrical issues, and the gutters are in poor shape. Crews also plan to change all the windows, put on a new roof and landscape the garden.

"It's raining and all that good stuff, but we're working away at it. We've got quite a few people here right now, probably 20 or 30 people here on site trying to sort out all these odds and sods," McCann said.

"There's always challenges with these types of projects. This project involves building almost an entire house. It's really intense."

Tradespeople from across the Lower Mainland are volunteering their time and skills to complete the 12-day overhaul, and local companies have donated the materials. McCann estimates the renovation is worth at least $200,000 in labour and supplies.

"A lot of people are helping out here," he said. "It's pretty amazing all the people that are willing to donate their time and materials and efforts."

The renovated home will be revealed to Beaudoin on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 4 p.m., and the public is invited to attend.

jmcfee@thenownews.com