INDIANAPOLIS -- The 2300 block of Oxford Street is a very busy place this week as work on Indianapolis' "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" home continues day and night.

With recipient Bernard McFarland and his family far away on a show-provided Paris vacation, the hammering, sawing and buzz of machinery is keeping neighbors up at night, but most of them have a good humor about it, 6News' Julie Pursley reported.

Lights, cameras and plenty of action permeate the scene, essentially putting residents of the set of an ABC TV show constantly. Streets are barricaded, but residents can come and go.

"It's 24 hours," said neighbor Mary Williams, who lives across the street. "This is so exciting ... and it couldn't be given to a more deserving person than Bernard."

Williams said she tried to endure the noise and stay in her home on Sunday evening.

"Those bulldozers and the backhoes -- you could hear them clunking all night long, so I didn't get any sleep," she said.

But, show producers took care of that.

"They said if the noise got to be too much for me, they would put me up in a hotel," Williams said. "(I stayed in) the Columbia Club."

The show is reaching out to many people who live nearby. Some are getting fresh coats of paint on their houses and others are getting new landscaping.

Volunteers are busy near McFarland's home to help other homeowners, such as William Ricketts, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1944.

"All of this work that's been going on out here -- I'm flabbergasted," Ricketts said.

One week of organized chaos for residents could translate into enjoyment for generations to come, so most are willing to put up with temporary inconveniences.

Ricketts said he hopes the improvements will help convince residents to take better care of their neighborhood.