[1] Vila graduated from Miami Jackson High School[2] and studied journalism at the University of Florida.
He then went to Europe for two years to study and travel, before returning to the US and enrolling at the Boston Architectural Center.
[9] Vila also appeared on three episodes of the situation comedy Home Improvement during 1992 and 1993 as himself on Tool Time, the fictional show within the sitcom, where main character and cable TV host Tim Taylor (played by Tim Allen) saw him as a rival, and made futile attempts to outdo Vila.
Contrary to Home Improvement, when Allen was interviewed by Nintendo Power and asked if he could make a video game, Allen proposed one about aspects of carpentry, and the end scene would be the player being featured on Bob Vila's Home Again.
Vila has appeared on the Home Shopping Network selling a range of tools under his own name brand that he founded in 2016.