April Wilkerson's Role on 'Assembly Required' Is Integral to the Show's Success

Roughly 30 years after their starring roles in Home Improvement, Tim Allen and Richard Karn reawakened their love for construction projects with Assembly Required, a competition series that shines a spotlight on builders from all over their country. But they're not doing it alone! They've been joined by resident expert and independently successful builder April Wilkerson.

Years of hard work, experience, and a devout extensive following online prove that April is definitely not new to woodworking and construction in general. With that being said, here's what we know about the accomplished builder and her role within the program.

According to her official History biography page, April has assumed many titles throughout her career, including "a maker, a DIYer, a woodworker, and a metalworker." With a YouTube following exceeding 1.3 million, she is passionate about building virtually everything she can with her own two hands and encouraging others to do the same by following her beginner-friendly tutorial videos.

In February 2013, April apparently had zero knowledge of power tools but was forced to take matters into her own hands when she realized that certain things she wanted for her home were out of her price range. So, she simply built them herself!

Over time, both her Instagram and YouTube pages have become chock-full of handy videos about how to craft beautiful household items for a fraction of the cost most retailers charge.

Born in 1987 in Texas, April graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2012 with a degree in business management. That's obviously a bit of a far cry from her current career pursuits. This is because she initially considered woodworking to only be a hobby that she did on the side. Well, that's exactly what it was... until she started going viral online.

When April began her blog, she and her husband had a laundry list of home improvement projects they wanted to undertake, which were documented through that page. Over time, her following grew exponentially and she became regarded as one of the most well-known builders on the internet. 

Thanks to her impressive following, April was cast as the third member of the Assembly Required cast and has been integral to the show's continued success since its February 2021 premiere.

Although April only took up woodworking as a hobby to start, she has accrued an impressive net worth for her efforts in sharing creative content with fans. According to YouTuber Facts, April has a net worth of $448,000, a sum that she accrued largely from the ad revenue, sponsorships, and products she has promoted on her channel. When you then factor in her yet-to-be-disclosed compensation for taking part in Assembly Required, April surely has a good chunk of change put away in the bank by now.

Per the show's official description, Assembly Required focuses on spotlighting talented builders from across the nation who compete to win a grand prize through a variety of construction-related tasks. Each episode features three builders who are given a build to complete in 90 minutes. 

After the first round, one contestant is eliminated and the other two advance to the next challenge which lasts for a full five days. After the five days are up, one of the remaining contestants is declared the winner of $5,000 and a fun souvenir from the show.

Beyond the competition element, Tim, Richard, and April dive into the unique historical elements behind the tools and techniques used to create the competition's builds and how they have impacted construction as a whole. Given the massive departure from what went down on Tool Time, the fictional show within Home Improvement (ideally, there will be way fewer injuries for Tim!), Tim and Richard are finally working together on what they love in a serious capacity.