This Old House

Mark Seen

The Dorchester House - 1 Jan 2, 1979 Our host, a Boston designer and builder, tours the dilapidated turn-of the-century house in Dorchester, Massachusetts, that will completely renovated in the next 13 weeks. Our host talks with a realtor and a house appraiser to determine the condition and problems of the property.

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The Dorchester House - 2 Feb 2, 1979 Renovation has begun and the carpenter has find rot in the eaves. The kitchen, one of the hardest remodeling jobs, gets some attention, and we look into the history of the home.

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The Dorchester House - 3 Feb 16, 1979 Work on the house has uncovered some unforeseen problems from the roof to the plumbing, and at a moment, the dream kitchen is a nightmare. But our host has some solutions.

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The Dorchester House - 4 Mar 1, 1979 It's time to insulate the house, remove the old furnace, and replace it with a new-energy-efficient heating system.

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The Dorchester House - 5 Mar 2, 1979 This week the ceilings are leveled and renovated. The bulkhead is repaired and renewed. Our hosts talks about the kitchen lighting and answers some viewer questions.

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The Dorchester House - 6 Mar 16, 1979 How are we going to heat the house? This week our host talks with a heating specialist about baseboard heating, the heating plant in the basement and the water heater. We take a look at the bedroom closets and a new kitchen skylight.

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The Dorchester House - 7 Apr 2, 1979 Plasters, roofers, and carpenters are hard at work. The kitchen walls are plastered, the chimney get some attention, and works starts on the crumbling front porch.

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The Newton House - 1 Jan 2, 1981 Our host introduces the Bigelow House, a rambling 19th-century hilltop home in Newton, Massachusetts, designed by noted Victorian architect H.H. Richardson. The challenge - convert the abandoned structure into five modern condominium units, while preserving its architectural integrity. Vila and our master carpenter talk about the best way to tackle the project.

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The Newton House - 2 Jan 16, 1981 Our host discusses plans for renovating the barn unit - insulation, demolition and replacing broken windows.

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The Newton House - 3 Jan 31, 1981 Demolition is nearly complete and our host shows us some of the problems uncovering he's uncovered - including extensive damage from carpenter ants, vandals and rot.

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The Newton House - 4 Feb 2, 1981 Our host discusses some of the key decisions to be made about condominium sales. Also, plans are made to install woodburning stoves in the ice house and the woodshed.

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The Newton House - 5 Feb 16, 1981 We're ready to do some plumbing at the house. Our master carpenter shows us how to pour concrete wall and Tom Wirth, our landscape architect discusses the lay of the land.

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The Newton House - 6 Mar 1, 1981 The exterminator gives us a top-to-bottom bug check. Professor John Coolidge talks about the architect of the Bigelow House, H.H. Richardson - considered the foremost Victorian architect of the 19th century.

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The Newton House - 7 Mar 2, 1981 Our host discusses plans for a new, historically compatible five-car garage. The electrician begins wiring and a solar energy expert recommends the best location for a solar collector.

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The Woburn House - 1 Jan 2, 1982 Our host introduces you to the newest project - a 1950s ranch-style tract house in Woburn, Massachusetts, that is badly in need of elbow room. Our host and our master carpenter discuss the possibilities for creating space where none presently exists. And they take a tour of the neighborhood to see how other homeowners have transformed their houses from the 1950s into roomier, energy-efficient homes for the 1980s.

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The Woburn House - 2 Jan 16, 1982 It's time to pour the footings for the breezeway/greenhouse between the house and the garage. Then the house gets a high tech energy audit, complete with on-the-spot computer print-out and recommendations for cost-effective solutions to specific energy problems.

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The Woburn House - 3 Jan 29, 1982 Our host assesses the efficiency of the house's heating planet. Our master carpenter builds the framing for the breezeway/greenhouse, and replaces windows. Back inside, our host is busy steaming off the old wallpaper.

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The Woburn House - 4 Feb 2, 1982 Our host discusses plans for installing a wood burning stove in the family room. Our master carpenter roughs in the new bath off the master bedroom, then goes outside to check the condition of the roof.

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The Woburn House - 5 Feb 16, 1982 Our host shows us how to waterproof a basement and install a wood stove and a free-standing chimney. Our master carpenter is busy putting in the new windows and doors.

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The Woburn House - 6 Mar 1, 1982 Our host helps install the shower in the new master bathroom. Then he and our master carpenter shows us how to construct kitchen cabinets.

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The Woburn House - 7 Mar 2, 1982 Our host and our master carpenter tear down the old wood panelling in the basement wreck room. Upstairs, it's time to install the new kitchen countertops and decorate the master bath.

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The Arlington House - 1 May 16, 1982 Our host takes you on a tour of the newest project - a three-story Greek Revival farmhouse in Arlington, Massachusetts. Over the next 26 weeks, he and his crew of building craftsmen will transform this old house from the 1850s into an idea house for the 1980s that gives viewers and homeowners a new sense of what a home can be.

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The Arlington House - 2 May 29, 1982 Our host considers the many remodeling possibilities for the old house with architect Jock Gifford and landscape atchitect Tom Wirth. Where to begin!

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The Arlington House - 3 Jun 2, 1982 Our host brings in the crane and demolition of a portion of the old farmhouse begins. Later, our hosts talks with a slate contractor about the old slate roof and discusses the merits of sandblasting.

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The Arlington House - 4 Jun 16, 1982 Our host and his crew jack up the garage, relocate it, and consider turning it into a workshop/garden shed. The crew also conducts a window and door energy audit.

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The Arlington House - 5 Jun 29, 1982 Our host and master carpenter undertake the task of framing in the new 1982 wing of the 1850s Greek Revival farmhouse.

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The Arlington House - 6 Jul 2, 1982 Our host and crew tackle the insulation of the old farmhouse's new wing.

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The Arlington House - 7 Jul 16, 1982 Our host and crew assess the old farmhouse's electrical need and update wiring for today's lifestyle.

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The Brookline House - 1 Oct 2, 1983 Our host kicks off the new season with a retrospective look at the first four seasons of This Old House. Combining original clips with updated footage, he recalls the restoration of a rundown Victorian house, the conversion of a mansion into condominiums, the expansion of a 1950s tract house and the rehabilitation of a Greek Revival-style farmhouse.

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The Brookline House - 2 Oct 9, 1983 The star of this season's the All New This Old House is revealed: an energy-efficient solar home to be built from scratch in Brookline, Massachusetts. Our host introduces the new house site and talks to designer Steven Strong of Solar Design Associates about construction plans.

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The Brookline House - 3 Oct 16, 1983 Designer Steven Strong and our host review the design of the new house step-by-step, from conception to final plans. A survey engineer describes the surveying process and how the house will ultimately be situated on the lot.

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The Brookline House - 4 Oct 23, 1983 The work of digging a foundation for the new house begins. When the crew hits a rock ledge, they are forced to drill and blast in order to put in the bottom of the foundation.

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The Brookline House - 5 Oct 30, 1983 Our host discusses construction of the foundation for the solar house in Brookline with the crew chief. Later, our host visits a couple in Sherborn, Massachusetts who have dismatled, moved and reassembled an historic house.

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The Brookline House - 6 Nov 6, 1983 Landscape architect Tom Wirth discusses plans for a pool on the new site. Our host inspects the completed footings for the new house foundation.

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The Brookline House - 7 Nov 13, 1983 Our master carpenter supervises concrete pouring and waterproofing for the foundation of the new house. Later, our host visits a solar home in Lexington, Massachusetts.

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In and Around Boston - 1 Oct 6, 1984 Our host looks into the concept of ""sweat equity"" will fuel the series. The season's first project consists of converting an attic into a new master bedroom and bathroom. Our host meets homeowners Rob and Jennifer to begin planning for what the job will entail, in consultation with our master carpenter and Richard Trethewey.

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In and Around Boston - 2 Oct 13, 1984 While the designs for the new bedroom and bathroom are being finalized, our host and the homeowner look into such details as wiring, piping and telephone hookups. After a visit to the Lynn Ladder & Scaffold Company in Lynn, Massachusetts, Rob and Jennifer begin demolition, with help from our master carpenter.

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In and Around Boston - 3 Oct 20, 1984 Exterior work for the new bedroom and bathroom gets underway, including framing and sheathing. Our host and our master carpenter discuss the new deck, exterior trim, sliding glass door, and new double hung window.

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In and Around Boston - 4 Oct 27, 1984 Work continues on the new bedroom and bathroom, with Rob and Jennifer tackling the job of shingling, including the installation of flashing. Meanwhile, the rough plumbing work begins.

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In and Around Boston - 5 Nov 3, 1984 The new bathroom begins to take shape, as homeowners Jennifer and Rob install a new fiberglass shower with our host's help. Our host and Rob also tackle electrical work.

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In and Around Boston - 6 Nov 10, 1984 Accompained by Richard Trethewey, Rob and Jennifer visit a plumbing fixtures store. Later, the bathroom floor is tiled and work begins on the new outside deck.

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In and Around Boston - 7 Nov 17, 1984 It's time for the finishing touches to be applied to the new master bedroom and bathroom. Our host says goodbye to the weary but satisfied homeowners and their space, and previews the season's next project - the conversion of an unfinished basement into a family room.

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The Newton Cottage - 1 Oct 11, 1985 Our host meets with homeowners Linda and Bill to plan the first project: a two-story addition to an 1860s Victorian in Newton, Massachusetts. The new free-standing structure - connected to the original building via skywalk - is slated to consist of a one-car garage and storage area with an interior staircase leading to a second-floor family room and home office. A member of the Boston-based Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) will be on hand to point out the historically significant features of the original house.

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The Newton Cottage - 2 Oct 18, 1985 Final plans for the addition are reviewed with the architects. Then we make an encore visit to the United Wrecking Company to see what gems can be culled from the Connecticut salvage yard.

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The Newton Cottage - 3 Oct 25, 1985 A hole is dug for the foundation of the new addition, and the slab is poured. Our master carpenter demonstrates the carpentry skills necessary for framing.

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The Newton Cottage - 4 Nov 1, 1985 As our host gets into the nuts and bolts of roof installation, the Victorian's homeowners learn the art of shingling. Meanwhile, our master carpenter tackles the finish work by trimming the addition's windows.

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The Newton Cottage - 5 Nov 8, 1985 Construction continues with the installation of the staircase. Homeowners insulate the structure and our master carpenter discusses and demonstrates the framing and installation of windows. Our host takes a side trip to Diamond Head, Hawaii, to tour the construction.

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The Newton Cottage - 6 Nov 15, 1985 The garage door is installed, while work on the water and heating systems for the new bathroom proceeds with rough plumbing and gas fitting. Homeowners the get a lesson in rough electrical wiring.

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The Newton Cottage - 7 Nov 22, 1985 Tile is installed in the new addition. On an excursion to Seattle, Washington, our host looks at a renovated hotel and visits elegant houseboats.

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The Reading House - 1 Oct 17, 1986 Our host reviews last season's projects - including the popular ranch-home makeover - and introduces the new project: the renovation of a 40-year-old Cape-style home. Homeowners Claire and John tour the house and our master carpenter surveys the project.

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The Reading House - 2 Oct 24, 1986 Architect Scott Finn goes over plans for renovating John and Claire's Cape-style home, and demolition and excavation begin. Richard Trethewey gives advice on plumbing and heating needs; and our host takes viewers on a tour of a 200-year-old Cape home.

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The Reading House - 3 Oct 31, 1986 The mason arrives to work on the footings and foundation of John and Claire's Cape home. Our host then takes viewers to a high-tech concrete block factory. Our master carpenter starts framing the family room addition, and our host looks at the new windows the homeowners have selected. John and Claire start planning the interior design of the new addition, while the crew begins demolition of inside walls.

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The Reading House - 4 Nov 7, 1986 The guys review progress on the Cape renovation, and then our master carpenter shows how to cut rafters and frame the roof, which is sheathhed with plywood.

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The Reading House - 5 Nov 14, 1986 Our host reviews the progress to date on the renovation of John and Claire's Cape-style home. New windows are installed, and we turn our attention to the roof, where roofing paper, snow-and-ice shield, and shingles are applied.

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The Reading House - 6 Nov 21, 1986 Work on the Cape's mechanical systems begins, as rough plumbing, a central vacuuming system, and wiring for a new security system are installed. Our master carpenter starts the foundation for a new deck to be built at the back of the house, and the gas line is laid for the new heating system.

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The Reading House - 7 Nov 28, 1986 Homeowner John shows our host his expertise in the fine points of blueboard. Our master carpenter works on the foundation of the new desk, and the plumber pays a visit.

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The Westwood House - 1 Jan 2, 1987 The ninth season of This Old House gets underway as our host tours the Weatherbee Farm, a 1785 farmhouse, with homeowners Bill and Cynthia and architectural historian Sara Chase from the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

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The Westwood House - 2 Jan 16, 1987 Our master carpenter assesses the condition of Weatherbee Farm and architect Mary Otis Stevens discusses plans for restoration of this 1785 landmark structure. Our heating and plumbing expert pays a visit to the new project, and discusses heating and cooling systems with the homeowners.

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The Westwood House - 3 Jan 29, 1987 Our master carpenter continues to assess the condition of Weatherbee Farm. Architect Mary Otis Stevens shows homeowner Cynthia the model she has created of the farm. Our host and homeowner Bill help out as the dismantling of the ell begins.

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The Westwood House - 4 Feb 2, 1987 Our host and master carpenter discuss the progress of the Weatherbee Farm restoration. Lead removal expert John Vega inspects the house, Richard Trethewey discusses the heating plans for the new kitchen wing and shows the homeowners the radiant heat system in his own house. The foundation for the new win is poured, the homeowners steam off wall paper from the plaster walls, and electrician Buddy Bisnaw stops by to discuss rewiring the house with our host.

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The Westwood House - 5 Feb 16, 1987 Our master carpenter supervises the raising of the wall that finishes enclosing the partially framed new kithcen addition. Our host checks in with the homeowners and gives an update on the restorations progress.

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The Westwood House - 6 Mar 1, 1987 Our host and master carpenter install true divided light French doors in Weatherbee Farm's new kitchen addition. Homeowners Bill and Cynthia start roofing the addition with Western red cedar shingles. An asbestos removal expert shows us how this hazardous material is removed from the basement pipes.

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The Westwood House - 7 Mar 2, 1987 Our host gives an update on the progress of the Weatherbee Farm restoration. Windows are installed in the new wing, and our host takes viewers to Bayport, Minnesota, to visit a state-of-the-art window factory that covers 50 acres.

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The Lexington Bed and Breakfast - 1 Sep 2, 1988 Our host tours Lexington real estate with agent June Goodwin, looking at older homes as well as newer construction. We tour a new condo development, and then meet our new project's homeowners, Mary-Van and Jim Sinek.

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The Lexington Bed and Breakfast - 2 Sep 9, 1988 Mary-Van and Jim Sinek discuss expanding their side-by-side, two-family Lexington home with a new addition, which will double the existing square-footage of one unit and include a new master bedroom and bathroom, enlarged and efficient kitchen with adjacent breakfast room / dining room for family reunions and the bed-and-breakfast operation a spacious family room, two outdoor decks: one for family use, the other for b-and-b guests; and an attached two-car garage. Our host visits a local bed and breakfast for a behind-the-scenes look at how it's done. Then Jim and our host discuss the architect's model for the project.

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The Lexington Bed and Breakfast - 3 Sep 16, 1988 Our host shows us how to use a laser level, which excavators use to achieve uniform depth for foundation footings. He, our master carpneter and excavator Herb Brockett discuss excavation plans and begins the loam removal. Then our host pays a visit to the Metropolitan Home's Showcase, a five-story classic Manhattan townhouse decorated by world-class artists and designers including Mario Buatta, David Hockney, Norma Kamali and Wolfgang Puck to beneift AIDS patients.

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The Lexington Bed and Breakfast - 4 Sep 23, 1988 Our host and master carpenter meet with Gene Romanelli to discuss foundation footings and begin pouring the concrete garage slab. Our host then discusses a revised floorplan with the architect. Interior demolition begins in the old part of the house. Our host tours another local bed and breakfast with owners Joan and Fletch Ashley.

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The Lexington Bed and Breakfast - 5 Sep 30, 1988 Jim Sinek and the guys remove the interior wall in the living room. Our host meets with concrete specialist Rich Toohey, and then watches the installation of the bulkhead. Richard Trethewey pays a visit to discuss the existing heating system and the possibilities for a new one.

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The Lexington Bed and Breakfast - 6 Oct 7, 1988 Our host watches demolition in the kitchen, including the removal of the sink and cabinets. Then he and Mary-Van discuss options for the new kitchen. We meet up with Tom Silva to learn the finer points of house framing. Our host joins Mary-Van in the demolition of the kitchen ceiling.

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The Lexington Bed and Breakfast - 7 Oct 14, 1988 After getting a progress report from our host, our master carpenter confers with Tom Silva. Our host then meets with Tom Wirth to discuss a wheelchair accessible-entry for the new house. Then he meets again with Mary-Van to discuss the budget and further changes in the floorplan.

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The Concord House - 1 Jan 2, 1989 This Old House returns for its eleventh season with our master carpenter, who introduces the series' new host. The guys survey the project: an 1835 barn in Concord, Massachusetts, and talk to the homeowners, Lynn and Barbara, who want to dismantle and rebuild the barn and live in it.

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The Concord House - 2 Jan 16, 1989 The guys send homeowners Lynn and Barbara to Nantucket, while they visit a bar that has been remodeled into a home, and take a look at a timber-frame house designed by Jock Gifford. In Concord, the farm's old gas tank is removed.

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The Concord House - 3 Jan 29, 1989 Timber-frame expert Tedd Benson and the crew dismantle the barn. Homeowners Barbara and Lynn meet with designer Jock Gifford to plan their new home, and visit a nearby carriage house that had been converted to a residence.

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The Concord House - 4 Feb 2, 1989 Down the hill from the building site in Concord, well-driller Dave Haynes prepares to fill a well. The guys work on the foundation, and a septic tank is installed.

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The Concord House - 5 Feb 16, 1989 We travel to Brattleboro, Vermont to take a look at a factory where stress-skin panels are made. After openings for doors and windows are cut, these panels will be applied to the barn's post-and-beam frame. In his Alstead, New Hampsire, workshop, timber-framer Tedd Benson shows us how traditional post-and-beam buildings are designed using computer-aided-design technology.

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The Concord House - 6 Mar 1, 1989 At the Concord site, Tedd Benson and other members of the Timber Framers Guild of North America lead a workshop where students learn how to measure, cut and join timbers for the barn's post-and-beam frame. We then go to Wiscassett, Maine, to visit a sawmill and watch as a tree is transformed into timbers ready for use in the barn's frame.

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The Concord House - 7 Mar 2, 1989 The barn's massive frame is put up by hand at an old-fashioned barn-raising, and topped off with a tree for good fortune.

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The Jamaica Plain House - 1 Sep 2, 1990 We begin our 12th season with the restoration of Hazel Briceno's triple-decker, three-family home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Together with the Residental Development Program of the Public Facilities Department of Boston, we'll renovate all three floors. First, we soak in the sights and sounds of Jamaica Plain. Then our host heads off to meet with Lisa Chapnick, head of Boston's Public Facilities Department. Finally, the guys introduce homeowner Hazel Briceno and meet contractor Abel Lopes.

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The Jamaica Plain House - 2 Sep 9, 1990 The guys explore lead paint-health hazards, inspection, and removal.

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The Jamaica Plain House - 3 Sep 16, 1990 The issue of vinyl siding is discussed. Cellulose insulation is blown-in from the interior. A variety of replacement windows is reviewed. Kithcen and bathroom redesign begins with Glenn Berger.

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The Jamaica Plain House - 4 Sep 23, 1990 Abel Lopes explains construction of rear porches. Our master carpenter shows us how to install the new replacement windows. Vinyl siding goes on, kitchen and bath design plans are unveiled, and our plumbing and heating specialist discusses the homeowner's options.

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The Jamaica Plain House - 5 Sep 30, 1990 Our master carpenter works on front porch. We get a lesson from the plastering crew on blueboarding. We then tour a Canadian gypsum mine and New Hampshire factory where gypsum rock is turned into wallboard.

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The Jamaica Plain House - 6 Oct 7, 1990 The guys discuss the basement windows. Landscape architect Tom Wirth makes a preliminary lanscaping survey. The guys go over the pre-inspection plumbing. We then tour a factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, where PVC plastic pipe is made. Hazel visits Glenn Berger's showroom to choose kitchen cabinets, counters and flooring.

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The Jamaica Plain House - 7 Oct 14, 1990 Home magazine editor Joe Ruggiero tours the house and discusses with Hazel ideas for interior decorating on a budget. Our master carpenter reconstructs the front porch post. Our host gets a lesson on plastering.

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The Wayland House - 1 Sep 6, 1991 The 13th season opens with a visit to Hazel Biceno's triple-decker in Jamaica Plain, site of the 12th season's main project. We then go to Wayland, Massachusetts, site of this year's house, and meet homeowner Chris Hagger, who gives him a tour. The crew casts a cold, contractor's eye on the 1815 National Historic Register home and tells the Haggers (Chris, wife Joan, and children Andrew and Jason) that they'll need to spend a sizable chunk of their $200K budget on basic repairs and upgrades.

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The Wayland House - 2 Sep 13, 1991 Work begins on Kirkside, with Tom Silva and crew beginning to remove the old ashphalt shingles. Our host discusses roof ventilation and drip edge with our master carpenter and Tom, then catches up with Greg Clancy, an architectural conservator. With the help of an architectural model, Greg and Chris Hagger discuss the house's history and the issue of ""how far back"" to restore it. Meanwhile, a percolation test has been run to determine where to site the new septic field.

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The Wayland House - 3 Sep 20, 1991 The guys and homeowner Chris Hagger discuss Chris' decision to go with architectural-grade shingles on his new roof. On the roof, the crew installs shingles and a roll-out roof vent. Our host then visits a recycling facility that processes construction debris as well as community recyclables. Back at the house, a preservation mason gives the fireplaces and chimneys the once-over, recommending a careful cleaning for the former and rebuilding for the latter.

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The Wayland House - 4 Sep 27, 1991 The guys begin to dismantle the front portico in preparation for its restoration to its 1888 look. Our host meets George Lewis, chairman of the Wayland Historic District Commission, to discuss the commission's concerns, while up on the roof our general contractor installs a rubber roofing system. Inside, Chris Hagger and designer Jock Gifford discuss ways of improving some preliminary kitchen plans and look at the problems confronting the master suite space.

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The Wayland House - 5 Oct 4, 1991 Mason Lenny Belleveau teaches us the ins and outs of chimney-top flue dampers from and then checks out the work on the chimney sweeps. Down at sill-level, the guys discuss the replacement of one part of the sill and the consolidation of another using an absorbable epoxy. SPNEA head restoration carpenter Tom Decatur demonstrates another version of the epoxy used for filling voids in rotted wood. The crew demolishes the kitchen, and kitchen designer Glenn Berger recaps the evolution of the kitchen Chris and Joan Hagger.

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The Wayland House - 6 Oct 11, 1991 The guys tours the site, looking at the grading and draining work of Herb Brockert. The crew jacks the western facade and replaces rotted sections of the sill. SPNEA's Greg Clancey does some preliminary detective work in his task of determining the building's 1888 color scheme. Richard Trethewey removes the old steam boiler and discusses heating options for the upper floors.

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The Wayland House - 7 Oct 18, 1991 The crew pours footings for the new portico, and the guys tour the demolished bathroom and kitchen, reviewing framing plans. Outside, we meet deleader Dave Rugato, whose crew is scraping lead painf off the building. Electrician Paul Kennedy shows us some of his preminary concerns with the wiring of the new spaces, and landscape architect Tom Wirth walks the property with homeowner Joan Hagger.

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The Lexington Ranch - 1 Jan 2, 1992 The new season kicks off with a visit to the Haggers at Kirkside in Wayland. The lawn has come in, and the place looks great. Then it's off to Newton, where a developer has found it economically sound to buy up tired little ranches and upgrade them ratically - the idea the show will explore this season. In Lexington, our host meets Brian and Jan Ioge, and their children Brennan and Sarah, in the ranch house they've lived in for the past nine years. They want to expand it, and the crew agrees that the basic structure is sound and can be added onto without the need for repair first. The guys tell the Igoes they'll help them on their project.

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The Lexington Ranch - 2 Jan 16, 1992 We meet architect Graham Gund in his offices at Bulfinch Square, a historic complex he restored. After a tour of the offices, Graham takes our host to look a house he designed in the Massachusetts countryside. He agrees to take on the redesign of the Igoes' ranch. Meanwhile, our master carpenter investigates a new style of insulated concrete foundation forms. At the ranch, architect Rick Bechtel discusses the Igoes' wish list with them.

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The Lexington Ranch - 3 Jan 29, 1992 Architect Graham Gund reveals his plans for the Igoes' ranch, using a model and drawings. The crew begins to file a for a building permit and to figure material and labor cost using a computer program. Meanwhile, our host takes viewers back to London to see Jeremy and Carla Vogler in their now-complete flat.

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The Lexington Ranch - 4 Feb 2, 1992 Our host catches up with homeowners Jan and Brian Igoe, urging them to vacate the premises before the demolition begins. The guys discuss the strategy of laying down fiberboard to protect the house's oak floors during construction. Tom Silva tracks down Richard Trethewey to find out how he plans to heat the new addition. We meet foundation contractor Ken Lewis hard at work digging the front bump-out's footing and learn about the Dig Safe program. (Ken hits an unmarked water pipe.) Then we take a look at the foundation hole for the new addition. A concrete cutter puts a doorway through the old foundation wall to connect with the new cellar. Graham Gund and Rick Bechtel discuss continuing design changes to the new addition.

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The Lexington Ranch - 5 Feb 16, 1992 Arborist Matt Foti and crew remove a large swamp marple from the site. Tom Silva takes us to see another, simpler ranch expansion he did in a nearby town. Back at the site, our master carpenter and host discuss the new polystyrene insulating foundation forms Ken Lewis is installing; then the concrete is pumped over the house and into the completed forms. Later, our host checks in to see the slab poured and termiticide applied to the new foundation's perimeter.

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The Lexington Ranch - 6 Feb 29, 1992 Lumber arrives on the site, and mason Lenny Belleveau applies a hard cement coating to the above-grade portion of the styrofoam foundation forms. Architect Graham Gund leads a tour of Church Court, an adaptive reuse project where a burnt-out church was transformed into a condominium.

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The Lexington Ranch - 7 Mar 2, 1992 With the roof demolished, the crew begins to deck over the second floor. The addition is decked over, and our master carpenter and architect Rick Bechtel discuss plans for the new front entrance. Our host talks with homeowner Brian Igoe about his new chimney, and then tours a ranch renovation in a nearby town.

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The Belmont House - 1 Sep 3, 1993 The season starts in front of a magnificent example of Victorian architecture, then we visit the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities to lean more about the style. Then we arrive at our subject house, Dean and Lauren Gallant's 1907 Shingle-style Victorian. After a spin around the outside, we go in and meet the homeowners, who show us the rest of the house and discuss their plans for it. Richard Trethewey checks out the systems and our master carpenter decides to have the siding checked at a lab to see if it contains asbestos.

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The Belmont House - 2 Sep 10, 1993 The asbestos removal crew begins to strip the house of shingles, under the watchful eye of a state official. As a prelude, our master carpenter visits a lab to confirm that the shingles contain asbestos, while our host meets a doctor who confirms the health dangers of the fiber. Back at the house, the crew sets up pump-jack staging, and the Gallants talk about the estimate ($91,000) versus what they can afford ($80,000).

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The Belmont House - 3 Sep 17, 1993 Our host visits a landfill engineered to accept hazardous waste, such as the asbestos off the side of the Gallants' house. Back at the house, Richard Trethewey helps Dean fix a leaky sink in the upstairs library, in preparation for setting up a temporary kitchen in the space while the old kitchen is demolished and rebuilt. Our master carpenter gives Dean and Lauren some help in removing the cabinets from the old kitchen, and they continue the job by pulling down plaster, lathe and blown-in insulation.

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The Belmont House - 4 Sep 24, 1993 The guys meet Dean as he's removing damaged wood shingles, which have been revealed now that the asbsetos siding is off. Earlier, our master carpenter and general contractor surveyed the building, assessing which shingles would need replacement, and gave Dean a lesson with a shingle ripper tool. The crew begins to patch in with new shingles, and Lauren describes her plans for the new kitchen so far. Finally, Dean begins to remove the old chimney, using an aerial lift to access it.

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The Belmont House - 5 Oct 1, 1993 While the guys use a new airgun and lightweight nylon hose to shingle the base of one of the turrets, Dean reviews some options for rehabbing and improving the energy performance of the building's windows. We then visit a house where a company is installing insulated glass in old sashes, preserving the historic loof of the house while modernizing its windows.

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The Belmont House - 6 Oct 8, 1993 Dean tries out various ways of removing paint from the window castings - heat gun, heat plane, and chemical strippers. Upstairs, our master carpenter replaces the old window band moldings with new stock. Lauren and kitchen designer Phil Mossgraber use a model to take a walk through the proposed new kitchen. Then our host revisits last season's main project, the Graham Gund-designed redo of Jan and Brian Igoe's ranch.

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The Belmont House - 7 Oct 15, 1993 Our host arrives to find the crew getting ready to frame up the gutted kitchen. First, though, the plumbing stack had to be moved; Richard Trethewey shows what's involved in such a project. Tom Silva explains how past work has compromised the framing system, and how he plans to insert a carrying beam and jack up the floor. Outside, homeowners Dean and Lauren strip the last bit of paint an oval window frame using a caustic paste. Dean shows our host newly discovered rot on the porch walls, and the two discuss the idea of putting wood shingles on the front slope of the roof. Dean visits a jobsite to see the details of shingling over an eyebrow window. The window crew begins refitting the old windows with insulating glass, and our host helps the crew put in the engineered lumber beam in the kitchen.

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The Acton House - 1 Jan 2, 1994 The season begins with a tour of the country's oldest wood-frame house: the Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts, built in 1636. We then go to the season's project house (and the oldest house the show has worked on): a 1710 colonial in Action, Massachusetts, owned by Terry and Sima Maitland. Though suffering from bad sills and much settling, its real problem for this family of five is lack of space. The Maitlands' $150,000 budget will barely cover an addition, and our master carpenter and Tom Silva advise them to ""let sleeping dogs lie,"" and not attempt to correct many of the original house's problems, which would soak up that amount and more.

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The Acton House - 2 Jan 16, 1994 The day begins with the crew moving the old milk shed to another spot on the property. Inside, Richard Trethewey has done an energy audit and determined that, with the addition of a stand-by hot water tank, the current heating plant is sufficient to handle the needs of the new addition. Architect Chris Dallmus reviews with the Maitlands the many design ideas they mulled before deciding on the addition's final layout. The need for the addition results from the lack of usable space in the original house. To illustrate the space-eating effect of the large central chimney, our host visits Minuteman National Historical Park and tours a ""naked"" chimney stack with hisorical architect Larry Sorli.

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The Acton House - 3 Jan 29, 1994 Homeowner Terry Maitland cuts down a tree to make way for the new foundation, while the crew lays out the excavation lines using a small laser level. Excavation contractor Herb Brockert arrives to dig, while out back the old septic field is expanded with a new tank and new leach lines. Inside, the guys review the demolition plans, pointing out the importance of not going beyond the planned areas of reconstruction. Architect Chris Dallmus guides us through a model of the new addition and discusses a possible window choice. Halfway through the excavation, Herb hits large boulders or ledge at about four feet, dashing the Maitlands hopes for a full basement.

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The Acton House - 4 Feb 2, 1994 We tour the newly demolished back areas of the house, and see how woefully underframed they are. In preparation for the new foundation, the crew suspends the gable end of the old house with ""pins"" of engineered lumber supported both inside and outside the building. Herb Brockert removes part of the old rubblestone foundation, and a small-batch concrete delivery truck pours footings for the addition's lally columns. Steve revisits the Gallants' Victorian to see how they're liking it. A few days later, a performed concrete foundation system arrives on site and is swung into place with a crane. Soon, a transit truck arrives and the crawlspace gets a slab as part of the foundation system.

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The Acton House - 5 Feb 16, 1994 At the site, lumber - conventional and engineered - has arrived, and the crew begins to attach the sill to the foundation. Terry Maitland lays down fiberboard to protect his old floors during construction, and discusses with our host his concern about the lead content of the old building: one of his children, who has been monitored for the past year, had a slightly elevated blood lead level. Our host promises the show's help. He then takes Terry into the basement, points out how little is holding up the living room, and suggests Terry replace the lally column that somehow got knocked down. We visit a c. 1760 tavern that has been moved across the state and rebuilt as a private home, with painstaking attention to historical accuracy. Back at the site, the first of the wood I-beam joists go in.

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The Acton House - 6 Mar 1, 1994 The framing crew continues working on the addition; a large steel beam to carry out the upper floor is lowered into place. A framer demonstrates a pneumatic tool for attaching metal hangers to wood. The guys lay down the second floor deck, using construction adhesive and tongue and groove plywood. Inside, we find Terry Maitland putting in a footing for the missing basement lally column. We then meet a lead paint inspector, who uses an x-ray machine to gauge the presence and concentration of lead paint in the old building. Tom Silva works on replacing the rotten and underframed back of the old building. We meet a lightning protection inspector from Underwriters Labs, who assesses the building's system.

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The Acton House - 7 Mar 2, 1994 With the addtion weatherweight, its massing is apparement and seems to make a successful match with the old building. Inside, Tom Silva shows us the lightweight steel partition walls he's building, and Sima Maitland checks out the new windows and first floor plan. We then tour a plant in Tennessee where power tools - including the circular saw he follows from start to finish - are made. Back at the site, Tom Silva shows us how to the exterior trim on one of the new windows.

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The Salem House - 1 Oct 1, 1995 The show opens the season with a tour of Salem, Massachusets - the Witch Trials Memorial, the town's formerly bustling waterfront, the residential grandeur of Chestnut Street, the House of the Seven Gables, the Peabody-Essex Museum and the old town hall. Convinced that this is the town the show should work in, our host tours two houses that are for sale with realitor Betsy Merry. While one is in too fine shape, the other needs a lot of work. It's an estate property on the market for $239,000. We meet a couple who is considering making an offer on it - they have two children and one on the way and only six small rooms in their current house. Meanwhile, our master carpenter and general contractor check out the property. Their conclusion: Lots of repairs needed, mostly the result of neglect, but essentially the building is sound.

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The Salem House - 2 Oct 8, 1995 Their bid of $205,000 accepted, the Guinees take possession of the house. Our host meets their banker, who explains some of the financing of the deal. Deborah walks through her wish list for the house: a kitchen, master suite and some way of getting off-street parking. Meanwhile, our master carpenter has begun work on the old window sash in the dining room. He removes the stops, loosens the paint and caulk-encrusted lower sash, removes it and begins the process of taking out the glass. Scraped of loose paint, the broken wood is epoxied back into a strong unit and primed. Museum curator Dean Lahikainen gives us a tour of the Pierce-Nichols house, Salem architect Samuel McIntire's first commission. Built in 1782 and remodeled in the Federal style in 1801, it is one of America's finest late-colonial buildings.

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The Salem House - 3 Oct 15, 1995 We visit the island of Nantucket, where architect Ann Beha's firm is expanding and renovated the historic Atheneum, the town library. She agrees to help out in Salem. In Salem, the crew erects aluminum pump jack staging - a safe and efficient system, especially when many trades will be working on the exterior. We tour a couple of paint jobs with painting contractor Mike McManus and asks him to squeeze our house into his schedule.The guys finish reglazing the old window sash, using old-fashioned mouth-blown restoration glass. In the basement, Richard Trethewey points out an inefficient electric water heater that currently handles both sides of the house, and an oil heater that could use some tuning up. Our master carpenter points out ""cooked,"" degraded old clapboards on the upper third of the building and recommends replacing them.

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The Salem House - 4 Oct 22, 1995 On a hot July day, the crew got the existing children's bath and future master bath. They discover a flooring system that probably cna't support the heavy load of two bathrooms' worth of china and tile, and decide to beef it up before starting the rough plumbing. Up on the roof, mason Lenny Belleveau reflashes and repoints the chimneys, replacing a poorly built cricket and sealing it with a rubber membrane. Painting contractor Mike McManus powerwashes the building, and architecture students measure the building to prepare ""as-built"" drawings for the architects to use. Architect Pamela Hawkes visits the site and considers a suggestion of cutting through the house's rear ell with a porte cochere to gain access to the back yard and solve the parking problem.

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The Salem House - 5 Oct 29, 1995 Tom Silva shows us the reframed bathrooms, with floors stiffened by flipping the original joists and sistering on reinforcing members. The bathtub arrives, and the crew horses it upstairs, where plumber Charles Cashin is rough-plumbing the new children's bath and master bath. Restoration painter John Dee uses dental tools to reveal the finest of the portico's details. Before he could get to that stage, however, he had to painstakingly remove about 20 layers of built-up paint, aided by a paint stripping gel. We see wood restorer John Stahl use an epoxy repair system to work on the historic windows on the first floor. The Dutch system replaces rotted wood with workable epoxy and uses a flexible silicone for glazing compound. Architect Ann Beha presents some possible color schemes to homeowner Deborah Guinee, and later, after painting some samples on the building, she choses colors (blue body, white trim, black shutters) that she will present for approval to the Salem Historical Commissio

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The Salem House - 6 Nov 5, 1995 The crew insulates the exterior wall of the kids' bath with blown cellulose. Tom Silva shows us a paint-on bathtub protector that peels off after construction is complete. We meet roofer James Shea, who has three options, with prices, for the repair of the slate roof. Since the roof can be seen on the street, the Historical Commission will need to approve one of the options: slate repair, replacement of rear hip with fibberglass shingles or replacement with artificial slate. Then we're off to Frankfurt, Germany to visit ISH, the world's largest plumbing and heating exposition. Back in the bath, the crew puts up drywall, using a quick-setting joint compound.

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The Salem House - 7 Nov 12, 1995 We arrive to find Mike McManus and his painting crew continuing their prep work, dry scraping and hand sanding, per Board of Health regulations. The new staging now has safety nets, protecting passerbys from falling tools or debris. Inside, our master carpenter shows us how to lay out and install tile in the kids' bath, using both a stationary and a hand-held wet saw. We revisit the Maitlands' colonial farmhouse in Action, to see how they're liking it. Back at the house, homeowner Deborah Guinee shows us the drawings of the covered carriageway the architects have put together; she'll have to take them in front of the Historical Commission to see if they will approve the scheme.

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The Nantucket House - 1 Sep 29, 1996 This Old House sets out for Nantucket the classic way, aboard a Streamship Authority vessel. On island, they tour one of our master carpenter's first jobs, a clothing store. Linking up with designer Jock Gifford, we take a walk up Main Street, one of the finest preserved streets in America. At the subject house, a tour reveals small rooms and poor systems, but a project with a lot of potential. Accordingly, we meet island contractor Bruce Killen and then the homeowners, Craig and Kathy McGraw Bentley.

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The Nantucket House - 2 Oct 6, 1996 The crew starts the work day surf casting with local expert David Goodman (and full-time tile contractor) - and even catch a striped bass and a bluefish. At the house, Jock Gifford and the Bentleys use a model to go over the new design for the new house. Whatever they decide they want to do, all exterior changes will have to be approved by the island's Historic District Commission (HDC). We meet commission head Mark Avery to hear about to hear the group, its mandate, likes, dislikes, and proceedings; meanwhile Jock takes us on a photography expedition around the island as he prepares a presentation to the HDC about exterior changes - dormers, decorative shingling - proposed for the Bentley house. In the basement, Richard Trethewey finds very little plumbing or heating equipment worth saving; he then follows the energy story on Nantucket, from wind power to electricity generation to fuel oil to LP gas to wood. In a word, it's all expensive, so the choices the Bentleys make for their hom

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The Nantucket House - 3 Oct 13, 1996 The show starts with a visit to Nantucket's Unitarian Universalist church, a beautiful showcase of restrained New England architecture and trompe l'oeil painting built in 1809. At 3 Milk Street, we catch up with general contractor Bruce Killen, who has his building permit and is well into a gut job on the building. Reasons for this dramatic course include the fact that the building will need insulation, upgraded wiring and plumbing, new windows and trim, and a notable change of floor plan; it will also get rid of the bulk lead paint. Outside, mason Don Kissell is accepting a load of concrete for the new addition's footings. Our master carpenter takes a trip to an island plant to see where the concrete is mixed. We hear designer Jock Gifford's report on the Historic District Commission's judgement: the additions were approved, but any exterior details will have to be proven to have been on the building originally. To that end, Syd Conway, who grew up in the house, drops by to share some

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The Nantucket House - 4 Oct 20, 1996 Our master carpenter goes lobstering with contractor/lobsterman Pierre Garneau, who has a family license to put out 10 traps. At the house, mason Dan Kissell takes down the unneeded (and unsafe) chimneys, careful to salvage the old bricks, which can fetch up to $2.50 a piece. Homeowner Kathy McGraw Bentley is assigned the task of cleaning the bricks of their old mortar. Engineered lumber arrives on site, in time for reframing to begin both inside the building and on the platform left by the recent demolition of the kitchen ell. We learn how to mix the perfect motar with the masons, who are beginning to build the concrete block foundation for the new addition. Inside, job foreman Patrick Hehir and the crew work to insert a new engineered lumber beam into the second floor system, and begin to sister on 2 x 8s to the existing 2 x 6 joists.

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The Nantucket House - 5 Oct 27, 1996 The show starts with a visit to Sankaty Head Light, a Coast Guard property of the exposed Eastern edge of the island. Built in 1850, it like the rest of the houses along the the bluff that leads up to it, is in danger of being washed away by the encroaching Atlantic. Coast Guard Capt. Bill Batson gives us a tour and discusses the options for the future. Back at the house, general contractor Burce Killen checks out the nearly entirely reframed house and discuss the efficiency and code considerations that led to such a radical reworking. Outside, designer Jock Gifford shows homeowner Kathy McGraw Bently a sample of the new windows he's specified for the house, featuring true divided lights, interior energy panels, factory installed trim, and a factory applied three-part exterior pait finish guaranteed for ten years. The Bentleys need to go before the Historic District Commission to obtain approval for the colors they want to use on the building; upon approval they can order the windows.

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The Nantucket House - 6 Nov 3, 1996 The show opens with a little clamming, looking for quahogs at a secret location. At the site, we meet designer Jock Gifford, who uses the model of the house to explain the work going on: cutting a hole in the roof to accept the addition's gable. Inside, we meet framing contractor Paul O'Rourke, whose crew makes the cut, assembles the gable wall on the second floor, and pushes it up into place. On the roof, Bruce Killen reviews the progress the new wood shingle roof and the ingredients that go into a roof designed to last 50 years, even in the harsh island environment: heavy roof sheathing, tarpaper, bitumen membrane along edges and in valleys, copper valleys and drip edge, a three-dimensional mesh that allows a layer of air beneath the shingles, and the shingles themselves - #1, vertical-grained, thick-butted (5/8"") Western red cedar. Homeowner Craig Bentley considers the possibility of using a ground-source heat pump to both heat and cool the building, a good choice on an island with

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The Nantucket House - 7 Nov 10, 1996 The show begins at Nantucket's Old North Wharf, much of which dates from the early 18th century and site of several small cottages available for rent. At the site, homeowner Kathy McGrew Bentley shows us the window sash color approved by the Historic District Commission, as well as the outside placement of the chimney, which had previously been slated for inside the building. Contractor Bruce Killen describes the cost of the extra framing work so far: $30,000. Outside, mason Dan Kissell shows us how to parge the new concrete block foundation so that it matches the old foundation, while cedar roofer John Rex reveals the secret of the roof's decorative diamond detail. Out at Bruce Killen's workshop, Bruce helps refrubish the building's old fornt doors, using custom knives to replicate the moldings and a large belt sander to remove the paint from the frames. Finally, lighting designer Melissa Guenet and electrician Sally Kay Bates shows us the plans for the second floor.

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The Milton House - 1 Sep 28, 1997 The show opens in the historic town of Milton, Massachusetts, founded in 1662 and the site of the c. 1725 Colonial home the show purchased for renovation and eventual sale. The This Old House crew looks the old structure over, including the massive post-and-beam barn on the property. The diagnosis: questionable room layout for modern life, some rot, but a remarkable sound house with a lot of potential. Jinny Devine, owner for the past 38 years, recalls raising her family of four boys in the home.

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The Milton House - 2 Oct 5, 1997 Our host arrives to find excavator Herb Brockert preparing to knock down the rotting ell off the barn. The crew salvage a few valuable bits before it goes, including the cupola and an arched window. A group of young men, from a program that acts as an alternative to juvenile detention, work to dismantle the brick patio in the back of the house and haul in fiberboard to protect the house's delicate old floorboards. Architect Rick Bechtel and our host discuss some ideas about reworking the house's floorplan, including moving the kitchen from the dark northeast side to the sunny south. Our host goes to New York City to visit the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club Decorators Show House, which has been going annually for 25 years, to get ideas for turning the Milton house into a similar showcase at the end of the renovation. Richard Trethewey checks out the the house's aging heating system, complete with solar collector.

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The Milton House - 3 Oct 12, 1997 The show opens with a visit to the top of Great Blue Hill and its historic weather observatory (built in 1885) to view the sights: the town of Milton, downtown Boston (8 miles northeast), and the 7,000 acres of parkland that comprise the Blue Hills Reservation. At the jobsite, the crew takes up planks in the front part of the barn in preparation for turning it into a garage; the structure reveals various areas of rot and poor construction. Forms are in place to accept the concrete coming to make up the new workshop's foundation, and landscape architect Tom Wirth assesses some of the site's challenges, including a lack of proper accesss to the front prospect of the house. Historic photos shows a gravel or shell drive that once passed by the home's front, and Tom thinks a similar scheme would be appropriate. Insulation specialist Graeme Kirkland shows us the results of a blower door test he's conducting: the house changes its interior air 11 times an hour in a simulated 15-mile-an-hour w

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The Milton House - 4 Oct 19, 1997 Our master carpenter lays out lines for subslab ductwork in his workshop, and the crew strips off the barn's old shingles. They will use a shingle panel system when they replace the siding. Tom Silva shows us his new jobsite trailer, leased complete with office and secure storage room. A surveyor works to put together a certified plot plan, while we see the excavation work around the main house for the kitchen foundation and for a perimeter drain along the front rubblestone foundation for years. In the barn, our master carpenter puts in one of the new post to make room for the garage to come - earlier he used new one-piece footing forms and a waterborne lazer level to provide solid bases for the new posts, poured by a small-batch concrete delivery truck. In the future media room, the crew removes the lally column, holding up the building with jacks and a cripple wall before inserting a flitch beam of laminated veneer lumber and steel.

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The Milton House - 5 Oct 26, 1997 Our master carpenter's workshop continues to take shape, as Richard Trethewey lays out radiant floor heating tubes over a layer of rigid insulation. We meet audio/visual systems contractor Steve Hayes to get a preview of what the new media room may look like, and visit a showroom to see the range of equipment options. We see a virtual walk-through of the new workshop put together by Randy Levere, while the crew tears down the old kitchen addition, which has revealed itself to be woefully built. Paint stripper Brooks Washburn uses a paraffin-based paste to remove dozens of layers of old paint from the front staircase, and our host suggests trying it out on the historic front facade. Finally, the concrete arrives to complete the floor of the new workshop.

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The Milton House - 6 Nov 2, 1997 A big day on the site: the structural insulated panels for the new workshop are hoisted into place - they, along with a massive ridge beam of engineered lumber, form the entire workshop structure, complete with window, door, and sklight openings. We are introduced to a range of metal roofing available to top off the workshop, while our host meets furniture and finishes restorer Robert Mussey in his shop, brings him back to the house, and gets some advice on the care and feeding of the historic pine paneling. Landscape architect Tom Wirth checks in with Milton town civil engineer Jim Greene about moving the driveway and any wetland issues involved.

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The Milton House - 7 Nov 9, 1997 The house's new spaces are framed and sheated, giving us a chance to tour the new kitchen and media room. The front facade is now completely stripped of its burden of 200 years' of paint, ready for primer and a new color. Architect Rick Bechtel and window specialist Mike Roach discuss the new windows they are specifying for the new work (all wood units, double hung, insulating glazing, applied six-over-six muntins), and decide that, rather than being replaced, the historic sash of the front part of the building should be restored and weatherstripped. At the workshop, we see now, low-cost, breathable building wrap, then watch as the crew installs one of the new skylights. Then a roll-forming machine spits out metal roof panels for the building's new standing-steam roof. Finally, we see the engineered wood product that is being used to trim out the house - it's very stable, warpfree, consistent, and cheaper than clear pine.

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The Watertown House - 1 Sep 27, 1998 Our 20th year on public television began with the renovation of a circa 1886 Victorian with a large circa 1915 rear addition, in the Boston suburb of Watertown, Massachusetts. Essentially untouched since it was built, the house was recently purchased by a young couple from nearby Cambridge, Christian Noen and Susan Denny, who were attracted by the classic neighborhood, spacious yard, and the relative affordability of Watertown. Along with the This Old House gang and designer/architect team Sandra and Tony Fairbank, they plan to address the house's many problems: a boggy basement and backyard. paint-encrusted siding, crumbling chimneys, outdated heating and wiring, and a labyrinthine floorplan that masks the house's spacious 5,000 square feet.The show opens with the This Old House team visiting a potential project project that the show decided to pass on: ac. 1720 colonial that was nearly destroyed by a chimney fire. They tour the house to see what a fire can do to a building, and meet

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The Watertown House - 2 Oct 4, 1998 Our host opens the show with a visit to the Watertown Arsenal, now decommissioned and slated for redevelopment into office space. The highlight of the property is the Italianate Commander's Residence, a brick mansion being given to the town by the developer for use as a community center. At the project, the crew experiments with methods of stripping the exterior of its paint burden, while our host visits a renovated house in Cambridge, whose design was the reason Christian and Sue chose their designer/architect team, Sandra and Tony Fairbank. Richard Trethewey checks the state of the heating plant (grossly oversized) and the pipes (mostly OK), and Sandra Fairbank and Christian go over a proposed reordering of the house's tangled floorplan.

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The Watertown House - 3 Oct 11, 1998 The crew begins to dismantle the grand oak staircase as the house's new floorplan comes into focus - seen in a vitural-reality walkthrough, it calls for removing all three staircases and repositioning one in the center of the house, providing a sensibleand easily navigated layout on both the first and second floors. We visit the house next door, which is for sale, with Realtor John Petrowsky, to get an idea on what the market is like and whether Christian and Sue are on the right track in the scope of their renovation. A professional crew removes abestos from the basement of the project house, and the staircase comes apart in the three large sections.

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The Watertown House - 4 Oct 18, 1998 As a professionally installed scaffolding system rises up to the roof ridge, landscape archtect Clarissa Rowe walks around the lot, assessing problems - mostly an overabundance of weedy trees and terrible drainage - and possible solutions. Our master carpenter relives his western odyssey with the US Forest Service, 22 miles into the wilderness by horseback to repair parts of an historic Service compound. Back at the house, the old second bath floor is demoted, but not before the crew save the old sink and some of the tiles.

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The Watertown House - 5 Oct 25, 1998 The landscape work begins with landscaper Roger Cook and arborist Matt Foti marking trees slated for pruning or renoval and Matt's crew relieving the yard of some of its overgrown burden. Inside, the crew begins to rebuild the old oak staircase in the center of the building while mason Lenny Belliveau assesses the state of the flues with the help of a tiny ""lipstick"" camera. Atop the scaffolding, we learn how he has rebuilt the chimneys from the roof up, copying the corbelled and decorated originals.

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The Watertown House - 6 Nov 1, 1998 The team's work to complete the reframing of the second floor starts with the use of engineered lumber, which makes for wide clear spans in the new kitchen area. Landscape architect Clarissa Rowe shows us two plans for the yard. Thinking ahead, homeowner Christian Nolen visits a hands-on showroom to choose high-end appliances for the house, while Sue Denny and a/v specialist Steve Hayes review a new wiring and distribution system that will ensure that, no matter how data is spent or recieved in the future, the walls will never have to be opened to rewire.

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The Watertown House - 7 Nov 8, 1998 The show opens with a walk along a newly restored natural corridor lining the banks of the Charles River in Watertown. The result of years of hard reclamation work by the Metropolitan District Commission, it forms part of an unbroken systems of walk and bikeways stretching from the mouth of the river west to Waltham. Back at the house, the crew opens up a water-damaged corner of the building to find rot, carpenter ants, and termites, Homeowner Christian Nolen is presented with a plan to heat and cool the building efficiently, while still using the existing ductwork. Our host visits the Browne House, circa 1690, the oldest house in Watertown, and one of the first restoration efforts by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. At the site, historic preservationist Andrea Gilmore explains the architectural features that make our subject house a Queen Anne Victorian, and she reveals its original colors.

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The Billerica House - 1 Sep 26, 1999 The new season starts with a visit to Chub Whitten's Colonial home in Ipswitch, Massachusetts, that we toured at the beginning of last season. Then it was a burned wreck; now, a year later, it is impeccably restored. After Dick Silva talks about the fire, he leads a tour the ruins of the house. Then our host meets with Dick and his wife Sandra to discuss their plans for the future, which are to rebuild on the same spot. Finally, we see the basement heating plant which investigators believe may have been the source of the fire.

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The Billerica House - 2 Oct 3, 1999 We visit the Billerica Fire Dept. to hear what it was like to fight the Silva fire, and how it might have been prevented or at least kept more manageable. Back at the house, our host meets with the Silvas' insurance agent, who explains the benefits of having a ""guaranteed replacement cost"" endorsement on one's homeowner's policy - it provides for rebuilding after a complete loss. Public insurance adjuster (and former This Old House homeowner) Dick Benedetti shows us some of the process by which he is writing up the insurance claim for the Silvas. Architect Chris Dallmus begins to discuss the design of the new structure with homeowners Dick and Sandra Silva, while outside a perc test is run for the new septic system and lanscape contractor Roger Cook takes an inventory of the plants that did and did not survive the fire.

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The Billerica House - 3 Oct 10, 1999 Tom recounts the day the machines came to tear down Dick and Sandra's old house. All that's left is a hole in the ground. Arborist Matt Foti and his crew take down two 75-year-old Eastern white pines damaged by the fire and cut them into 2x10 planks on a mobile saw mill. An environmental testing crew arrives to take soil samples, as the fire department suspects fuel oil was spilled on site during the fire. If tests shows that concentrations are high enough, a mitgation will be required by the state's department of environmental protection. Another team arrives to re-establish the height of the water table, digging a hole by hand, to satisfy the town's building department that the foundation's proposed elevationis legal. Architect Chris Dallmus shows us a model of the house-to-be, a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath structure whose style Chris describes as ""village Victorian,"" modelled after some houses he found in Billerica's town center.

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The Billerica House - 4 Oct 17, 1999 A full month after our last time on site, the foundation is just being completed, the construction schedule having fallen victim to a three-week soil cleanup process. With the complex, 30-corner foundation walls up, it's time for a proactive termite treatment beneath the slab, using a new class of chemical, that rather than acting as a barrier, allows termites to enter the treated zone unknowingly, upon which they die. Its continuing efficacy in the ground has been proven for seven years and counting. Before the slab is poured, the crew installs an underlayment of 2"" styrofoam insulation and a clip-in system for radiant heat - at half the price it was only a few years ago, Richard insists we put the tubing in every slab we pour, even if it isn't used right away. Then our host takes viewers to a Florida house built by a major insurance company to showcase tips for loss mitgation - everthing from sprinklers to kick-proof door jambs. Back at the site, the slab is poured, and homeowners Di

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The Billerica House - 5 Oct 24, 1999 Homeowner Dick Silva gives a tour of the newly framed up first floor, and Tom Silva shows some of the hallmarks of a good framing system. In the basement, our master carpenter explains how the floor joists meet two steel beams to maximize headroom, while our host and crew held a metal post in position. We then visit the Florida factory where the wooden I-beams used in the house's floor are made - 25 miles' worth a day. Back on site, architect Chris Dallmus explins some of the srtategies he's using to reduce the mass and appearance of the proposed three-car garage. Finally, framing contractor Eric Machemer and crew raise the last of the first-floor walls and the building begins to climb into the sky.

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The Billerica House - 6 Oct 31, 1999 Homeowner Dick Silva gives a tour of the framed and sheated house and reports that he and Sandra have recieved a very satisfactory insurance settlement on the structure; the settlement on the contents awaits a complete inventory. We pay a visit to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, where firefighters learn hands-on the techniques that save lives and buildings. Back at the house, the crew discusses the fine points of shed dormers, while framing contractor Eric Pierce puts one together in a fast and professional way. Mason Lenny Belliveau shows us his system: veneer brick on the concrete foundation face, a matching full brick for the chimney.

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The Billerica House - 7 Nov 7, 1999 The new windows have arrived. They're made from an extruded composive of PVC and sawdust, and we visit Minnesota to see the factory. The crew puts up corner trim using two layers of cementitious board, while mason Lenny Belliveau shows us a new tool that extrudes cement grout like icing for a cake. Lenny forms the new hearth, and the guys move on to installing one of the new windows.

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The Charlestown House - 1 Sep 24, 2000 The This Old House crew welcomes to the 22nd season of This Old House from the main deck of the beautifully restored USS Constitution, which is docked in Boston Harbor's historic Charlestown Navy Yard. After disembarking, they trek up to Bunker Hill, to learn about the site of the famous Revolutionary War battle and the story of the monument's construction. Along the way, they pass the some classic examples of the 17th and 18th century urban architecture, many of which have been recently restored. Soon thereafter, Steve is given a walking tour of Charleston by local realitor Frank Celeste, who tells a remarkable story about his rise, fall and recent rebirth as one of Boston's most sought-after communties. Celeste then gives him a lead on a young couple who recently purchased a three-story 1865 Second-Empire style brick townhouse on famed Bunker Hill Street, and who are in need of some renovation help. Steve agrees to meet with Dan and Heather Beliveau to learn more about their dreams f

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The Charlestown House - 2 Oct 1, 2000 Host Steve Thomas opens the show from City Square Park, a Charlestown, Massachusetts, landmark that once was overshadowed (literally) by elevated train tracks and highways. A citizen-led group succeeded in having them removed and replaced with a beautiful public park. Steve interviews Rich Johnson who played a key role in this urban revitalization project. Then he heads to the subject house to meet with homeowner Dan Beliveau and architect Jack French to discuss the their goals and ideas for the renovation. Afterwards, Jack takes Steve to visit one of his firm's projects, a decommisssioned Catholic school that was converted into condominiums. We then visit with the homeowner of a beautifully restored, neighboring townhouse to learn more about her approach.

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The Charlestown House - 3 Oct 8, 2000 The Charlestown townhouse can be found on the route of one of the country's oldest parades, the Bunker Hill Day Parade. Host Steve Thomas gets the scoop on the parade's 225-year-old history and its annual events from the locals. Afterwards, he checks in of the flurry of activity at the jobsite including Tom's removal of the old brick patio and the abestos-abatement crew's work in the kitchen and basement. Later, Steve meets with homeowner Dan Beliveau and project architect Jack French to review the two options for expanding the structure and the building permit and zoning approvals needed. We review choices for improving the old windows, and then Tom and Richard discuss the challenges of updating the home's cooling and heating systems. Finally, Dan Beliveau rolls up his sleeves and works alongside the crew to demolish the old kitchen.

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The Charlestown House - 4 Oct 15, 2000 Steve Thomas can be found opening the show from Boston Harbor again, this time aboard the STS Sagres, the stunning Portuguese entry in the Tall Ships Parade. Meanwhile, viewers check out the towering scaffolding around the Charlestown townhouse. When Steve arrives at the job site, Dan takes him on a tour of the gutted kitchen and baths that reveal the full interior space available for construction. What exactly Dan and Heather will be able to build in this space remains undecided, as Steve finds out when he visits Boston's Inspectional Services Department with architect Jack French. While some parts of the promised building plan are approved, others are flagged for a for a zoning review. In the basement, we find Tom shooting lines to create a level new floor before prepping the area for the pouring of concrete. Heating and plumbing expert Richard Trethewey is able to shed light on the pipes, explaining how PVC pipes can line pre-existing clay pipes, eliminating the need to cut through

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The Charlestown House - 5 Oct 22, 2000 Hard rain doesn't appear to hold back progress on the Charlestown renovation. Dan climbs the new scaffolding to take in the gray view of the city and to discuss the issues of putting a roof deck on the building's hip roof. Meanwhile, host Steve Thomas learns about filling in a flue channel, which is a structural element of the house before finding out the prognosis of the plaster from preservationist Rory Brennan. Richard takes Heather to a nearby plumbing salvage yard to see if owner Fran Fahey might be interested in swapping a classic clawfoot tub and pedestal sink for the fancy radiators her house no longer needs. The work on the basement hits a milestone as the new floor is poured, and Tom and Dan waste no time laying out and framing in the new rooms in the basement once the floor is set.

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The Charlestown House - 6 Oct 29, 2000 Steve and Tom commute to the Charlestown job site in style - about Tom's boat. They arrive on site to find landscape contractor Roger Cook and his crew removing the massive granite curbing along the back patio and the old concrete steps at the rear entrance. In the process they unearth an old gravestone. Chimney specialist Mark Shaub gives a report on state of the home's four fireplaces and the staggering costs involved in getting them all to work. Steve helps Tom put in new floor joists, before taking viewers to visit one of the Charlestown's oldest residents, the Navy Yard.

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The Charlestown House - 7 Nov 5, 2000 Host Steve Thomas recaps with homeowner Dan Beliveau the recent Boston Zoning Board of Appeals decision that gives the go-ahead for the project's master bath addition and roof deck. With approval in hand, the work commences in earnest. This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Steve how the new HVAC duct system will be zoned to provide maximum comfort. Historic conservator Andrea Gilmore visits the project house and assesses the condition of its brownstone lintels.

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The Manchester House - 1 Sep 23, 2001 Steve and our master carpenter approach the latest project house by water, finding a convenient dock at the base of the property. They meet Janet McCue, who is busy supervising the family's move out of the house for the duration of the project, and her husband David, who gives them a tour around the inside of the rambling building. Steve meets architect Stephen Holt, who shows a picture of the house looked 100 years ago. For inspiration, they visit a classic Shingle-style home, built in 1881 and lovingly maintained ever since. Back at the subject house, Richard Trethewey and Tom Silva pull up in their own boat to begin a mechanical exam of the house with our master carpenter. Their verdict: a solid, well-plumbed structure to build on. The McCues describe their hopes for the project: better communication between house and yard, a relocated and improved kitchen, expanded master bath and bedroom, and a great room for music performances and relaxing.

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The Manchester House - 2 Sep 30, 2001 The day starts off with the landscaping works of Roger Cook. He and his crew cut down a few trees that were threatening the house, have move a dozen or so rhododendrons and azaleas that are in the way of the new addition, and are preapring to move a 25-foot evergreen and a 20-foot dogwood by balling the roots and using a large excavator. Inside, architect Stephen Holt shows a model of the proposed renovation to homeowner David McCue and Steve. Essentially, he hopes to restore the building to its former architectural beauty on the outside, while overcoming some floorplan problems to make it work better for the McCues inside. Part of the interior rearrangement includes putting the kitchen front and center in the house, something that wouldn't have been found in the original Shingle style building. To prove it can be done, Holt takes David and Steve to a nearby house, of a similar vintage, where he accomplished just such a change for the client. Back at the house, our master carpenter and

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The Manchester House - 3 Oct 7, 2001 Steve sees the seaside public rotunda and ""chowder house"" our subject property looks out on, with Manchester Historical Society president John Huss as guide. At the house, nearly four dumpsters worth of gutting has occured, and Steve, our master carpenter and Tom take a tour of the building to see what has been revealed of its renovation history and discuss what is planned for this job. Architect Stephen Holt and homeowner David McCue continue to discuss options available to give the McCues the feeling of space and light they crave for the kitchen and living room - some are radical and expensive, some rely more on minor but clever changes. One thing they can't include is a change in footprint: the concrete has arrived for the footings for the new addition and porch. In the basement, the start of an oil leak in one of the old steel tanks has forced Richard Trethewey's hand, and he's brought in two new polyethylene-lined tanks from Europe, guaranteed never to rot. Finally, Steve learns f

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The Manchester House - 4 Oct 14, 2001 With the new concrete walls poured, it's time to damp-proof them, just one more in a series of tasks that adds up to nearly $30,000 for the new foundation - which is simply the cost of building to code. Reviewing the immense amount of demolition done, and the work left to do, Steve asks the obvious: wouldn't it be cheaper, faster, and better to simply bulldose this tired old building and build a fresh replica? Our master carpenter and Tom have done the math, and while it might be simpler, it would cost about $1 million more than the planned renovation. Besides, adds Tom, we are saving the old place, which is worth something. After taking a tour of one of the great surviving Shingle style buildings, H. H. Richardson's Stonehurst in Waltham, Massachusetts, Steve comes back more convinced than ever that saving what little is left of the McCues' house is the right thing to do.

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The Manchester House - 5 Oct 21, 2001 The foundation has been backfilled and carpenters are busy putting up the forms for the new terrace. Inside, the area for the new kitchen and family room has been completely opened up, thanks to a 3800-pound steel and laminated lumber beam Tommy and his crew engineered and inserted through the side of the building. Within the new space, kitchen cabinet designer and builder Ted Goodnow works with David and Janet McCue to begin to lay out the new kitchen, pantry and office. Ted takes David and Steve to a nearby kitchen built his firm to get some more ideas about design features and materials. Back at the house, Tommy and our master carpenter investigate some archeology revealed during demolition: original fabric of the building, including the roof, a dormer and a gabled sidewall. The original wood roof shingles are an important factor as our master carpenter begins to consider roofing choices with roofing contractor Mark Mulloy and product rep Steve Miller, who shows them a treated shing

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The Manchester House - 6 Oct 28, 2001 Steve finds our master carpenter in the new jobsite office trailer, complete with secure storage - good for keeping paperwork safe from the work going on inside the house and for keeping track of delivered materials. Tom shows Steve the progress on the job, including the restored dormers, straightened floors and an ingenious metod of raising the kitchen/family room ceiling by shaving 2"" off the joists and stiffening the remaining structure with engineered lumber and steel to form flitches. Window specialist Jay Harman shows our master carpenter three different windows to consider for the renovation: pine, aluminum clad, and Alaskan yellow cedar. Each has its own qualities (and price point), but for maintenance by the water, the choice may very well be the clad. Finally, kitchen cabinet designer and manfacturer Ted Goodnow and homeowner Janet McCue show Steve a full-size mock-up of the kitchen they're considering.

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The Manchester House - 7 Nov 4, 2001 Steve tries his hand at driving the jobsite forklift, successfully (if shakily) delivering a load of plywood to the thir floor. Inside, he and Tom discuss their concerns about the planned kitchen, office and gameroom, and Tom shows Steve an alternate location for the latter: the now-spectacular dormered third floor. In preparation for residing our old house, our master carpenter learns the finer points of red cedar shingles and bleaching oils from specialist Rick Farrar. Steve takes a harbor tour with architect Steve Holt to see what has happened to some of the town's great old houses - everything from total restoration to total removal. One of the notorious removals was that of Kragsyde, considered by some to be the greatest example of the Shingle style - it was demolished in 1929. Though it's gone, an exact replica has been built by a couple in Swan's Island, Maine, and Steve visits them to see their remarkable achievement.

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The Winchester House - 1 Oct 11, 2002 Host Steve Thomas recreates a homeward commute from the 1920s, returning by train to Winchester, Massachusetts, a town that retains much of its original early 1900s character. Waiting for him at the station is master carpenter Norm Abram in a classic Ford Model A ""Woody."" A short drive through town brings them to a 1922 Colonial Revival home in a charming neighborhood known as the ""Flats."" Steve steps out back door to find new homeowner (and master gardener) Kim Whittemore pruning perennials. Their tour of the first floor reveals a tired but well-maintained house in need of updating. Meanwhile, general contractor Tom Silva, Norm and plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey search for trouble spots. Convinced that the home has ""good bones"" and needs primarily only surface work, Steve and Norm seal the deal with new homeowners Kim Whittemore and Bruce Leasure welcoming them to the This Old House Family.

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The Winchester House - 2 Oct 18, 2002 Host Steve Thomas checks in with general contractor Tom Silva and painting contractor Jim Clark, who are busy testing means by which to strip nearly 30 layers of lead-based paint from the exterior of the house. In the backyard, landscape contractor Roger Cook shows homeowner Kim Whittemore how to properly ball and burlap several trees and shrubs, moving them to safety before construction begins. Looking to enlist the help of a good architect, Steve meets project architect David Stirling, whose firm has worked on some 120 houses in Winchester; they tour a beautiful home he designed from the ground up. Later, back at the project house, they meet up with homeowner Bruce Leasure to sketch out some solutions for the master suite.

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The Winchester House - 3 Oct 25, 2002 Master carpenter Norm Abram arrives on site to find the demo crew suspended over the roof dismantling the top of the unused kitchen chimney. Architect David Stirling and homeowner Kim Whittemore look at the latest plans for expanding the kitchen and improving flow on the first floor. Meanwhile, landscape contractor Roger Cook meets with entomologist Bob Childs to explore ways to save the property's signature hemlocks from a potentially fatal infestation of woolly adelgids, which have been attacking forests up and down the East Coast.

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The Winchester House - 4 Nov 1, 2002 Host Steve Thomas lends carpenter Charlie Silva a hand in slowly jacking up the second floor, then general contractor Tom Silva glues and bolts reinforcing LVLs to the damaged floor joists. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey arrives to drain the heating system and disconnect the old radiators. In the kitchen, homeowner Kim Whittemore and a friend take down the chimney brick by brick. The next day, some unwanted trees are cut ""up"" rather than cut down, as they are chain-sawed apart and lifted piece by piece out of the backyard with the help of a large crane.

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The Winchester House - 5 Nov 8, 2002 It's time to begin excavation on the new Kitchen foundation! Excavater Jeff Dervin brings in a backhoe to knock down the back entry porch. In the basement, master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva jackhammer through the floor to install footings for a new steel support column. Architect David Stirling presents homeowners Bruce Leasure and Kim Whittemore with a new layout for the master suite, and landscape contractor Roger Cook invites host Steve Thomas and Kim to see a nearby vintage greenhoue for inspiration.

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The Winchester House - 6 Nov 15, 2002 Contractor Mark Dimeo uses a 30"" diamond blade to cut a new doorway into the existing basement foundation. Host Steve Thomas checks in with painting contractor Jim Clark to see how a new non-toxic chemical paint stripper is working on the multiple layers of exterior paint. Architect David Stirling and homeowner Kime Whittemore discuss strategies to deal with the house's asymmetric roof dormers. Then, Steve and Kim go shopping for the new addition's windows.

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The Winchester House - 7 Nov 22, 2002 Master carpenter Norm Abram shows host Steve Thomas the new foundation for the kitchen addition and explains how to properly anchor it to the old foundation. General contractor Tom Silva and his crew begin demolition on the rotted sections of the sun porch, and Norm explains why they should salvage the roof to save both time and money. Down the street, Steve and homeowner Kim Whittemore visit a recently renovated sun porch, kitchen and media room for design ideas. In the master suite, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey lays out a plan for the rough plumbing.

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The Concord Cottage - 1 Oct 12, 2003 Norm welcomes new host Kevin O'Connor abord with a visit to one of the most ambitious TOH jobs to date, the Manchester-by-the-Sea project. Wanting to tackle a big job like this one his first time out, Kevin instead ends up in historic Concord, Massachusetts, with a small (but sweet) 20- by 26-foot garden shed that homeowners Jeff and Janet Bernard want to convert into an in-law cottage for Janet's retired parents. Protected by local zoning laws, the shed can't be torn down and rebuilt, so Tom will reframe the c. 1894 building from the inside out, and Richard will face the challenges of bringing water, sewer, and gas lines into the building for the first time ever. The cottage is the smallest project in This Old House history, but everyone agrees that, although there's not a lot to work with, there's still a lot to do. Janet takes Kevin to see the inspiration for her project, a small garage apartment that's part of an estate currently on the market in Concord for $7.2 million.

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The Concord Cottage - 2 Oct 19, 2003 Work can't begin at the jobsite until permits are issued, so Kevin takes Janet to meet the Concord building commissioner, John Minty, to see what potential roadblocks she's facing in trying to turn an accessory building into a full-time residence. Then Kevin meets local architect Holly Cratsley to see a new home she designed to look like an old home, and an accompanying timber frame barn. Meanwhile, with flashlights, ladders, and archival photographs, Norm and preservation architect Leonard Baum reconstruct the architectural history of the project house, learning that the building started out as a one-story chicken coop with a hip roof, and that it is needed older than the zoning law itself - a finding that's essentual to moving forward with the town.

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The Concord Cottage - 3 Oct 26, 2003 Kevin arrives to find the newly issued building permit affixed to the building and work finally getting underway. Holly is officially on board, and Kevin pays a visit to her office to see the first pass at floor plans, elevations, and a scale model of the cottage. Zoning laws only allow for a modest increase in overall volume, so the new one-bedroom cottage will be less than 1,000 square feet when it's done. Norm and Tom prepare to brace a bowed wall, but find a badly rotted sill that needs replacing before they can proceed. Putting Kevin to work, they build two temporary walls; once they're in place, they takt the weight off the compromised outside wall. The rotted sill comes out and a new, pressure-treated sill goes in. Then Kevin visits a converted carriage house in Winchester, Massachusetts, that's full of great ideas for the project. Unexpected rain postpones the excavation for the foundation of the new addition.

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The Concord Cottage - 4 Nov 2, 2003 Tom shows Kevin the progress of the new utility trench - a time-consuming and expensive undertaking that (with several thousand dollars in permit fees) has already eaten up $30,000 of the budget. Concrete cutting contractor Peter Dami is on site to make way for the final connections, using a diamond-plated coring drill to bore holes through the 10-inch foundation wall. Kevin finally meets the most important person on the job: Janet's mom Jaqueline Buckley, who will actually live in the cottage with her husband, Len. Richard takes Kevin to visit Norm at the New Yankee Workshop to see how the shop is heated and cooled - he's thinking of using some of the same solutions (radiant heat, baseboard, split system A/C) at the Concord cottage. Looking for an interior designer who knows how to work with small spaces, Kevin meets Tricia McDonagh in Boston's South End to see how her design firm made a 600-square-foot apartment feel more spacious and inviting. Inside the cottage, all four walls have

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The Concord Cottage - 5 Nov 9, 2003 Master electrician Allen Gallant installs PVC conduit two feet below the surface of the driveway to allow the 200-amp service to reach the cottage. Using a ""mouse,"" a string, a pull rope, and a vacuum (known to the trade as a ""fishing system"") his crew hauls the heavy electrical lines underground from the street to the cottage, a span of more than 200 feet. Architect Sarah Susanka shows Kevin a 3,000-foot-square house that illustrates the fundamental design principles outlined in ""The Not So Big House,"" her best-selling book. On the second floor of the cottage, carpenter Jason Wood sisters new 2x8s to the existing 2x4 rafters and cuts a hole in the roof to accommodate the new dormer. Norm and Tom push the old roof section out and let the light in upstairs for the first time in almost 100 years.

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The Concord Cottage - 6 Nov 16, 2003 Kevin arrives at the project house fresh from a jog around the track at Emerson Field - several acres of playgrounds, tennis courts, and ball fields - right in the Bernards' backyard. Janet ask Tom to relocate the porch stairs on the main house, which now seem too close to the future parking court, and too imposing. Tom suggests some options, but advises Janet to consult Holly, before they proceed. Roger shows Kevin a 100-year-old Concord grape vine that's growing right in the middle of the work zone. Chances of the vine surviving a transplant are slim, so Roger opts to leave the vine as is, protect it, and propagate it in place. Out back by the future sunroom, Norm shows Kevin how to set two-by-six pressure-treated sills squarely on the new foundation using sill seal foam insulation and fasteners. In nearby Lincoln, Massachusetts, Kevin meets park ranger Lou Sideris for a look at Minuteman National Historical Park and the Hartwell Tavern, a 1733 building that was the typical country i

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The Concord Cottage - 7 Nov 23, 2003 Kevin visits the Concord Museum, which houses one of the oldest collections of Americana in the country, including one of the lanterns that hung in the church on the night of Paul Revere's ride and several items relating to the life of local Concord resident Sam Staples, the man who built our project house. Tom and master plumber Ron Coldwell show Kevin the progress on the rough plumbing and how adding a shower at the last minute affected the layout of the first floor powder room. In search of other elegant small pieces, Kevin travels to Nantucket, Massachusetts, to meet homeowner Harvey Jones for a look at his charming North Wharf boathouse as well as two recently renovated guest cottages near the center of town. Back at the cottage, Norm discovers that the stairs to the second floor are too steep for older residents to navigate and that headroom is tight on the landing. Tom suggests eliminating a step to reduce the rise, allowing him to both shorten and lower the landing platform to

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The Carlisle House - 1 Oct 10, 2004 This Old House celebrates 25 years of home renovation by going back to its roots. The season opens with Kevin and Norm taking a look at the first This Old House project in Dorchester, Massachusetts - a house the show brought, renovated, and sold in 1979. This season we'll be homeowners again, with some of the proceeds from the sale of the 25th anniversary centerpiece project endowing a new scholarship for the building arts. To find just the right house, Norm takes Kevin to Carlisle, Massachusetts, a beautiful New England town 20 miles outside Boston. After looking at several properties, This Old House decides to take on an 1849 Greek Revival-style farmstead that's big on charm, but needs a lot of work to be comfortable for a modern family.

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The Carlisle House - 2 Oct 17, 2004 Have house, will renovate! Thanks to an accepted bid, This Old House is now the proud owner of a classic New England farmstead in Carlisle, Massachusetts. To be sure that the house will have all the right amenities, Kevin and Norm meet with a local real estate agent Laura Baliestiero to see what buyers are looking for in Carlisle. Then Kevin asks architect Jeremiah Eck to do the design work, and also checks in with the town's Board of Appeals to understand the bylaws affecting our project. Former resident Eleanor Duren shares photos and memories of her years growing up on the farm.

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The Carlisle House - 3 Oct 24, 2004 Kevin finds Roger clearing land for a much-needed job site parking lot. Architect Jeremiah Eck walks Norm and Kevin through a 3-D model of his proposed design. Highlights include dramatic reuse of the existing timberframe barn as a ""living hall,"" an updated floor plan incorporating the kitchen and dining room in the new connecting ell, and an addition containing a generous master suite. Tom brings in a barn jacking crew to lift the 65-ton barn two feet off the ground so his crew can repair the foundation and replace the first floor deck. Demolition contractors arrive to knock down the failing ell, which will be rebuilt using structural insulated panels.

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The Carlisle House - 4 Oct 31, 2004 Tom brings in an excavator fitted with a hoe ram to jackhammer away the ledge standing in the way of our new basement. Using a 3D model, Richard explains the anatomy of a septic system, and what we'll have to do to bring our system up to code. Under the jacked-up barn, Norm shows the state of the existing rubble stone foundation. For inspiration, Kevin travels to Vermont to meet Ken Epworth of ""The Barn People,"" a group that rescues, restores, and relocates old timber frame barns. Ken shows Kevin how the old barns came down in the field, and how they go back up as restored barns and dramatic living spaces.

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The Carlisle House - 5 Nov 7, 2004 Kevin visits Great Brook Farm State Park, a 1,000-acre park and the last working dairy farm in Carlisle, Massachusetts. Tom shows Kevin how he created a custom crushed stone flooring for the foundation using a ""stone slinger"" - a high-speed conveyor that projects stone as far as 75 feet. Norm oversees the installation of a new insulated foundation system that's pre-cast in a factory and then trucked to the job site. Certified arborist Matt Foti shows Kevin and Roger how to relocate the septic tank without harming an old catalpa tree that might be worth saving.

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The Carlisle House - 6 Nov 14, 2004 Tom uses laminated veneer lumber to make up 40-foot beams that will support the first floor deck of the barn. Kevin meets panelized construction specialist Jim LeRoy to watch the I-joist floor panels for the new ell swinging into place with a crane. Norm meets structural insulated panel expert Frank Baker to see the SIPs wall system go up. After discovering that several of our old trees are sick with the fatal diseases Dutch Elm and Ash Yellows, certified arborist Matt Foti brings in two crews with bucket trucks to safely remove them. At the end of the day, Tom and Norm are surprised to learn that the barn was built with one side shorter than the other - a quirt that will cost them time and money.

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The Carlisle House - 7 Nov 21, 2004 Detectorist Bob Phillips discovers a cannonball at the job site that may be a souvenir from the war of 1812. Norm shows Kevin the progress on the framing of the old Greek Revival house and the new connecting ell. Tom introduces Kevin to two carpentry students that are part of the This Old House 25th Anniversary apprenticeship program. Then Tom explains how he's built up all ten posts on the short side of the barn by using scarf joints to make the connections. Kevin travels to New Haven, Connecticut, to visit the Yale Building Project, a graduate class that requires Ivy League architecture students to learn by doing as they design and build a stylish urban home in a low-income neighborhood. Back at our project, Norm meets structural insulated panel expert Frank Baker to see another application for the SIPS technology - it's a fast way to install an insulated structural floor.

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Cambridge, MA 01 Oct 7, 2005 The new season finds the experts at This Old House in historic Cambridge, Mass., working on a mid-century Modern house for biotech bachelor, George Mabry. At the project house near Harvard Square, host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram discover that George's house is the sleeper on a street of renovated beauties. Problems include water damage, structural issues, failing plumbing, and an outdated floor plan that locates the master bedroom near the front door. The kitchen, renovated 13 years ago, and many aspects of the landscape, will stay. General contractor Tom Silva shows Kevin the failing 50-year-old tar-and-gravel roof, while plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Norm the house's original boiler and early radiant-heat system, both of which are still in use. Despite concerns about working in a congested city neighborhood, the team is up for the challenge, and the change of pace, of working on a Modern home.

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Cambridge, MA 02 Oct 14, 2005 Host Kevin O'Connor arrives to find homeowner George Mabry moving out and general contractor Tom Silva moving in. With a building permit in hand, Tom starts with the carport, dismantling it piece by piece on order to gain better access to the house. Kevin meets landscape architect Gregory Lombardi to evaluate the existing landscape, and finds that while much of the back yard is worth saving, the rest of the site will need to be completely reworked. Master carpenter Norm Abram meets project architect Will Ruhl at another modern house he recently designed on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Then, back in Cambridge, Will presents his design for George's house with the help of computer renderings and a 3-D model. The new house will still be Modern, but tempered by a warm palette of natural materials. The expansion allows for a combination library/dining room on the first floor (along with a powder room, mudroom, and wet bar), a new master suite upstairs, and a private guest suite housed in the new third-floor loft. Certified arborist Greg Carbone arrives to begin clearing the lot of the overgrown and dying trees

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Cambridge, MA 03 Oct 21, 2005 A week of rain from a springtime Nor'easter hasn't stopped work on the house, nor on the lot. Landscape contractor Roger Cook shows host Kevin O'Connor the progress—the trees are cleared, the access road is in, excavation for the new foundation is complete, and the form work is underway. General contractor Tom Silva discovers extensive rot and termite damage on the Eastern elevation, and what he thinks is a failed footing in the basement. Master carpenter Norm Abram finds that the problem is not the footing, but rather under-structured framing from two previous renovations. Homeowner George Mabry shows Norm the exterior materials he's thinking of using; stucco and stone with accents of wood siding. In nearby Lincoln, Mass., Kevin meets educational director Peter Gittleman to see the Modern house Walter Gropius designed and built for his family in 1938. Gropius' modest house was revolutionary in its impact at the time, and is today a museum and monument to the Modern movement.

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Cambridge, MA 04 Oct 28, 2005 Host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram visit the independently owned neighborhood shops of nearby Huron Village. Back at the house, Kevin lends Norm and general contractor Tom Silva a hand jacking up the old floor joists of the future library to make it level with the floor of the new addition. Landscape architect Gregory Lombardi presents a plan for the front yard featuring stone walls and courtyards organized around a water feature. Certified arborist Jack Kelly shows landscape contractor Roger Cook a treatment of horticultural oil that will protect the property's hemlocks from a fatal infestation of wooly adelgid. Down the street, Kevin meets curator Nancy Jones for a tour of the legendary Longfellow House. Built in 1759, the Georgian-style home has been lived in continuously for 250 years by luminaries such as General George Washington and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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Cambridge, MA 05 Nov 4, 2005 Master carpenter Norm Abram shows Host Kevin O'Connor the newly discovered problems at the project house, most of them caused by the poor workmanship of a previous contractor. In the living room, one structural fix is already underway as general contractor Tom Silva prepares to install a flush frame beam made from LVLs that will carry the load of the second floor. Pest management expert Dan Fleicher shows Kevin the extent of the termite and carpenter ant damage, and suggests possible treatment options. Landscape contractor Roger Cook reveals the anatomy of new landscape walls; they'll be natural stone veneer over reinforced concrete. Kevin visits Six Moon Hill, a utopian neighborhood of modern houses created by The Architects Collaborative in 1948. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin one of the challenges he's facing in this minimalist modern house — no place to hide necessary ductwork.

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Cambridge, MA 06 Nov 11, 2005 Master carpenter Norm Abram and host Kevin O'Connor open the show at Cambridge Common — the city's oldest public open space and a center of rebel activity in the early years of the American Revolution. Back at the project house, Kevin lends Norm and general contractor Tom Silva a hand framing in the "not quite flat" roof above the library — it has a slight pitch to shed water. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin a new software program that allows him to design the HVAC system on a laptop and run heat loss scenarios for the house while changing variables like windows, insulation, and various kinds of ductwork and heating. Landscape contractor Roger Cook brings homeowner George Mabry to one of the largest stone yards on the East coast to begin selecting hardscape materials for the landscape.

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Cambridge, MA 07 Nov 18, 2005 Host Kevin O'Connor finds master carpenter Norm Abram and homeowner George Mabry discussing the recent water damage in the old kitchen, and George's new inclination to renovate the entire space. Master mason Lenny Belliveau gives Kevin a lesson in block work while he builds up the lower landscape wall to the proper height. Kevin travels to Los Angeles to see a restored modern house that once belonged to Hollywood legend Gary Cooper. In the entry to the library, general contractor Tom Silva shows Kevin how he's using fir two-by-fours turned sideways to frame for the future pocket door.

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East Boston, MA 01 Oct 6, 2006 For the first time ever, the experts at This Old House gathered house proposals via www.thisoldhouse.com, and now find themselves working with two single female homeowners in the dynamic neighborhood of East Boston. The challenge for this new season is to renovate their 1916 two-family house on a modest budget. While the house needs new wiring, plumbing, and insulation — the homeowners hope to spend most of their money on stylish new kitchens and baths. Downstairs, homeowner Liz Bagley wants an open, contemporary look, with a new back porch. While upstairs, her aunt, Chris Flynn, prefers a more traditional approach that includes adding a new bath in the attic, and greatly expanding her kitchen. After a thorough inspection, host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram discover additional problems with the roof, heating systems, and an aggressive vine that's engulfing the house.

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Episode 2 Oct 13, 2006 Host Kevin O'Connor meets local architect Craig Buttner to see how he saved money on this own renovation by doing the work himself and by using salvaged materials. Craig agrees to draft some plans for the East Boston house, while general contractor Tom Silva meets historic masonry specialist John Lambert for a closer look the stucco exterior of the project house. In a perfect world, the 90-year old stucco would be replaced, but the homeowners might only be able to afford a temporary patch and paint job. Out front, landscape contractor Roger Cook shows Kevin how a street tree might be strangling the sewer pipe with its roots, causing backups in the basement. Options include removing the tree, and/or replacing the pipe, so to find out how bad the damage is, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey uses a snake equipped with a tiny video camera to investigate.

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East Boston | Design and Demolition Oct 20, 2006 Landscape contractor Roger Cook puts homeowner Liz Bagley to work removing the dead privets on her property. Architect Craig Buttner walks Liz through three options for opening up her kitchen, the last one calls for a radical reorganization that would address some traffic-flow problems, but it could also be a budget breaker. Master electrician Allen Gallant shows master carpenter Norm Abram that although the panel boxes have been updated in the basement, much of the original knob and tube wiring is still active and in need of replacing. In preparation for demolition, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey drains the heating systems and begins removing radiators that will be saved and reused. Environmental consultant Sam Covino discovers asbestos in Liz's kitchen that will need to be professionally abated, but that does not stop general contractor Tom Silva from showing Liz and friends how to demo the old cabinets, plumbing fixtures and ceilings to make way for the new.

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East Boston | Urban Garden, Asbestos, City Sewer Oct 27, 2006 Landscape architect Stephanie Hubbard shares her strategies for creating a "bold and simple" urban landscape in East Boston. Abatement contractor Brian Fitzsimons and crew remove asbestos-laden flooring and mastic from the first floor kitchen. Upstairs on the second floor, general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram carefully remove the original mouldings that will be saved and reused if possible. Then, host Kevin O'Connor lends them a hand knocking down the partition wall that currently separates two bedrooms, to make space for the new kitchen. City contractors arrive outside to excavate the sewer main and lateral to the house — they discover both are chronically choked with tree roots, and in need of repair.

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East Boston | Refrigerator, Hot Plate, and Bad Larry Nov 3, 2006 Despite both of their kitchens being gutted, aunt Chris Flynn and her niece Liz Bagley are still bunking in together in the upstairs unit, getting by with just a refrigerator and a hot plate in the dining room. Kitchen designer Kathy Marshall shows Kevin and Liz two possible schemes for Liz's new kitchen in the first floor apartment. Master plumber Bill Kane shows plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey a new pipe relining system that will line the old cast iron sewer pipe lateral with a new, continuous pipe made out of resin to protect against future tree root infiltration. On the second floor, host Kevin O'Connor lends general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram a hand hauling in and installing a new carrying beam that will allow for an open floor plan. Master electrician Allen Gallant shows Kevin how he's snaking new wires through the old walls using a fishing system and a flexible steel drill bit

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East Boston, MA 06 Nov 10, 2006 Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey and homeowner Chris Flynn haggle with salvage expert Harry James as he prepares to remove antique plumbing fixtures from the house. To make way for the new kitchens, Kevin and the homeowners lend general contractor Tom Silva a hand taking down the central chimney from the top, brick by brick. Master carpenter Norm Abram visits the jobsite of the first art museum to be built in Boston in nearly 100 years, the Institute of Contemporary Art, which features a dramatic glass cantilever and a tight construction deadline. Back at the house, kitchen and bath designer Kathy Marshall shows Norm how she plans to squeeze a new, no frills, full bathroom into the attic for Chris. The new bathroom will be built first, before demo takes place in the old second floor bathroom, so the homeowners won't have to move out.

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Episode 7 Nov 17, 2006 Homeowner Chris Flynn takes host Kevin O'Connor to the highest point in East Boston to see the spectacular view of downtown, and a national religious shrine featuring a 35-foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary. General contractor Tom Silva shows Kevin some of the problems with rot on the front porch, and failures in the old stucco exterior, while landscape contractor Roger Cook enlists the help of the homeowners to remove all of the ivy that is engulfing (and damaging) the building. Kitchen designer Kathy Marshall shows master carpenter Norm Abram the design and finish choices for the upstairs unit's kitchen, while plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey roughs in a new full bath in the attic space on the third floor. On the first floor, flooring contractor Patrick Hunt pulls back the old wall-to-wall carpeting to discover a fir floor that needs to be replaced, and two rooms worth of valuable long leaf pine flooring in beautiful condition. In the basement, demolition contractor Bob Gagliard breaks up and removes the old cast iron boiler.

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Newton, MA 01 Oct 5, 2007 The 30th anniversary season of This Old House opens with the crew beginning a small but sophisticated addition to a 1915 Dutch Colonial Revival that includes a new kitchen, home office, and family room. Homeowners Bill and Gillian Pierce love their old house but it lacks family space, flow, and a modern kitchen. Architect Paul Rovinelli presents his plan for the addition, while problems are identified in the old house, both in the basement and in the landscape. Host Kevin O'Connor visits a similar house in the neighborhood that has been opened up and expanded, while general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram arrive to begin the demolition with Bill. By the end of the day, the three-season porch has been removed, and work is well underway.

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Newton, MA 02 Oct 12, 2007 Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva remove the old vinyl siding from the exterior of the house, exposing not only the original wood clapboards underneath but also lots of repair work that needs to be done. Inside, architect Paul Rovinelli takes host Kevin O'Connor and homeowner Gillian Pierce through the plan for the new kitchen, which calls for a modest expansion, building as Gillian puts it, "just what we need," and nothing more. One early proponent of that style of thinking was architect and author Sarah Susanka, so Kevin travels to her own "Not So Big" home in Raleigh, North Carolina, to see some smart ideas for restrained remodels that won't break the bank. Back in Newton Centre, landscape contractor Roger Cook breaks up the old porch slab to make way for the foundation for the new addition.

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Newton, MA 03 Oct 19, 2007 Host Kevin O'Connor finds general contractor Tom Silva in the backyard prepping the footings for the new porch columns. Landscape contractor Roger Cook brings in civil engineer Mike Kosmo to do the perk test needed for the new landscape plan. To learn more about the form, architect Treff LaFleche shows Kevin a stunning neighborhood Shingle-style house that he purchased, renovated, and sold 3 years ago. The turn-of-the-century home features a curved wrap-around porch, dramatic entry hall, charming inglenook, and, similar to the renovation plans the team has in store, it has a new open kitchen and family room that connect visually with the rest of the house. Back on site, Roger finds certified arborist Matt Foti removing a rotted red maple from the side yard with a tree crew and crane.

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Newton, MA 04 Oct 26, 2007 General contractor Tom Silva removes the temporary support beam that has been holding up the back corner of the house. Meanwhile, engineered lumber specialist Craig Smith shows master carpenter Norm Abram the "green" framing materials to be used in the new kitchen. Norm, Tom, and host Kevin O'Connor remove the old kitchen walls and install a new 16' beam to open up the space. Master electrician Allen Gallant shows Norm how the shoddy wiring installed over the years has created unsafe conditions and code violations throughout the house. Kitchen showroom co-owner Yael Peleg presents her vision for an "unfitted kitchen," while kitchen designer Donna Venegas shows Kevin and homeowner Maddy Krauss how the concept is incorporated into the floor plans and design choices. Back in Newton, Tom and Kevin reframe the structure of the floor under the master closet to strengthen, level, and tie it in with the rest of the floor in the new master bath.

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Newton Centre Project, Part 5 of 16 Nov 2, 2007 Landscape contractor Roger Cook installs 200 running feet of pre-cast concrete to create a retaining wall that will define the perimeter of the new backyard. Inside the house, wallpaper historian Richard Nylander helps host Kevin O'Connor date and evaluate the historic wallpaper throughout the house, while general contractor Tom Silva frames for a new window in an old wall. Kevin makes a trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to see how three 19th century buildings are being moved as part of a construction project at Harvard Law School. The million-dollar move, which has been planned for five years, requires the buildings to be lifted and rolled down Massachusetts Avenue on hydraulic dollies steered by remote control.

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Newton, MA 06 Nov 9, 2007 After a brief stop at Johnny's Luncheonette for breakfast, host Kevin O'Connor meets paint color specialist Ann Pfaff to learn what colors might be appropriate for the Shingle- style house. Back in Newton, general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram build the 12-foot wall of the new kitchen bump out that will contain a built-in bench for the kitchen table. In the South End of Boston, Kevin visits stained glass designer Jim Anderson at his workshop to see the restoration and rebuilding of the home's four historic windows. In the home's backyard, under the new porch, landscape contractor Roger Cook uses a pay-as-you-go concrete truck to pour a small buttress wall that will support the exposed rubble stone foundation.

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Newton Centre Project, Part 7 of 16 Nov 16, 2007 Host Kevin O'Connor drives up to the house to find general contractor Tom Silva helping load up a truck for the "Building Materials Resource Center," a local non-profit that will be selling the project's surplus materials to needy homeowners at discounted prices. Inside the house, Tom shows Kevin the progress on the porch, kitchen, and master bath, where his crew is installing several new windows. In the basement, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey gives an update on the mechanical systems. To learn more about the home's Milford Pink granite foundation being a sign of wealth at the time the house was built, architect Treff LaFleche takes Kevin to see how the same stone was used on the Boston Public Library, and also how the granite is quarried and split to best match the home's existing stone. Back on site, Roger installs the new Milford Pink granite, and also matches the old mortar.

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The Weston House 01 Oct 3, 2008 For the new season, host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram reveal that This Old House will be building new—a prefab, eco-friendly home that will feel like an old barn. Homeowners Amy & Pete Favat love their land, but have outgrown their 1970s-era home, so they'll deconstruct the old house to make way for a new one that will better suit their active family. To achieve their vision of a vacation home "all year round", custom homebuilder Tedd Benson and his staff are designing and prefabricating the new state-of-the-art timberframe home, with general contractor Tom Silva pulling it all together on site. To see how Tedd's panelized system looks in the field, Norm and Tedd visit a recent project in Center Harbor, New Hampshire, while back in Weston, Tom works with deconstruction contractor John Grossman to take the old house apart by hand, in a way that saves landfill space, and allows the reuse of building materials.

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The Weston House 02 Oct 10, 2008 Host Kevin O'Connor drives up to find the old house gone, and general contractor Tom Silva finishing the job by demolishing the chimney and foundation with an excavator. The old concrete and brick will be crushed, trucked away, and used as base material for new roads, while the rest of the house will eventually find new life as affordable housing, but for now it's being stored at the ReStore in Springfield, Massachusetts. John Grossman shows Kevin how the non-profit center operates, and how much salvaged material came out of our house. Up at the shop in Walpole, New Hampshire, Kevin meets architect Chris Adams and homeowner Amy Favat to see how she planned her family's dream home, and to take a tour of the new house—via a 3-D software program that allows them to design and "build" the house virtually.

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The Weston House 03 Oct 17, 2008 Host Kevin O'Connor arrives in Weston to find homeowners Amy & Pete Favat in the backyard, cutting back the spring overgrowth so the workers can get through. General contractor Tom Silva begins building the new house by setting the pre-cast foundation walls that are poured in a factory then trucked to the site and lifted in by crane. In New Hampshire at Bensonwood, builder Tedd Benson shows Kevin the work in the timberframe office, and demonstrates how his crew is using sophisticated software and computer-controlled cutting machines to begin fabricating over 300 timbers for the project. Back in Weston, the next step is to pour the slab for the basement and garage floor, so plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey installs a new insulated in-slab radiant heating system. Landscape architect Wes Wirth presents a plan for the new yard that helps deal with the wetland setbacks, excessive road noise, challenging topography, and existing garden beds.

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The Weston House 04 Oct 24, 2008 With 75 percent of the new prefabricated house being built in a workshop, host Kevin O'Connor opens the show at Bensonwood in New Hampshire, where today it's all hands on deck. General contractor Tom Silva meets up with builder Tedd Benson to see how his crew prefabricates interior and exterior wall systems, while next door in the timberframe shop, job captain Mark Roentsch shows master carpenter Norm Abram the assembly of salvaged Douglas fir and live oak timbers that will frame the dining area. Master electrician Allen Gallant works inside with the Bensonwood crew to pre-wire the building with a new plug and play wiring system, while security system contractor Greg Smizer preinstalls chases and wiring for alarm and data cables. Once in Weston, work on site will be a matter of connecting the wires and getting inspections.

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The Weston House 05 Oct 31, 2008 Homeowners Amy and Pete Favat are on site in Weston for the first day of "raising" their new house but the excitement is soon tampered by unexpected rain. After a two-day rain delay, the Bensonwood crew begins by craning in and setting the mechanical room module and all of the walls for the basement level. In the New Hampshire workshop, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey and mechanical systems manager Paul Boa fabricate the floor panels and add radiant heating and insulation in the comfort of a controlled environment. Back on site in Weston, the completed floor systems are craned into place. Despite continued rain, the crew manages to close in the basement level, and Amy gives host Kevin O'Connor a tour of the amenities on that floor—parking for two cars, a mudroom, workshop, powder room, kitchenette, and media room.

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The Weston House 06 Nov 7, 2008 The second week of the house raising begins with a ceremonial timberframe raise on the first floor—by hand. The rest of the job will be done with a crane including lifting a forty-eight foot long assembly of Douglas Fir timbers and live Oak crucks that will run the length of the entire first floor. Timberframe captain Mark Roentsch shows host Kevin O'Connor how the assemblies are joined together and flow into place. Homeowner Pete Favat shows Kevin the new kitchen space, while master carpenter Norm Abram travels to Claremont, New Hampshire, to see the custom kitchen being fabricated and finished using hand-applied milk paint and distressing techniques used to make the new cabinets look at home in an "old" barn. Back in Weston the first floor exterior walls featuring windows and some finishes already installed are craned into place.

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The Weston House 07 Nov 14, 2008 Two weeks into the new house raising, master carpenter Norm Abram meets architect Chris Adams for a tour of the first and second floors. At the Bensonwood shop in Walpole, New Hampshire, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey meets plumbing contractor Lynne Keating to see how she is running PEX water supply lines and ABS drainage pipe to the back-to-back kids bathrooms, both of which are assembled in the shop as one pre-built "module". Back in Weston, to keep pace with the fast building schedule, landscape contractor Roger Cook is already working on building the landscape plan. It calls for an elaborate drainage plan with a rain garden on the tail end to help protect the wetlands from surface runoff and contaminants. Homeowner Pete Favat and his daughter Juliette lend a hand building the rain garden and planting it with native plants and seeds.

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Newton Centre Project 01 Oct 11, 2009 The 30th anniversary season of This Old House opens with the crew beginning a small but sophisticated addition to a 1915 Dutch Colonial Revival that includes a new kitchen, home office, and family room. Homeowners Bill and Gillian Pierce love their old house but it lacks family space, flow, and a modern kitchen. Architect Paul Rovinelli presents his plan for the addition, while problems are identified in the old house, both in the basement and in the landscape. Host Kevin O'Connor visits a similar house in the neighborhood that has been opened up and expanded, while general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram arrive to begin the demolition with Bill. By the end of the day, the three-season porch has been removed, and work is well underway.

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Newton Centre Project, Part 2 of 16 Oct 18, 2009 Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva remove the old vinyl siding from the exterior of the house, exposing not only the original wood clapboards underneath but also lots of repair work that needs to be done. Inside, architect Paul Rovinelli takes host Kevin O'Connor and homeowner Gillian Pierce through the plan for the new kitchen, which calls for a modest expansion, building as Gillian puts it, "just what we need," and nothing more. One early proponent of that style of thinking was architect and author Sarah Susanka, so Kevin travels to her own "Not So Big" home in Raleigh, North Carolina, to see some smart ideas for restrained remodels that won't break the bank. Back in Newton Centre, landscape contractor Roger Cook breaks up the old porch slab to make way for the foundation for the new addition.

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Newton Centre Project, Part 3 of 16 Oct 25, 2009 Host Kevin O'Connor and general contractor Tom Silva discuss the homeowners' decision to stay in the house during construction, and they agree it won't be easy. Homeowners Bill and Gillian Pierce are already living out of boxes and coolers, because today their kitchen will be gutted back to the studs. In the basement, the laundry room can stay for the time being, but the entire heating system is also coming out today, as plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey goes straight to work with a reciprocating saw and a sledgehammer. Outside, Tom shows Kevin how he's extending the old windowsills with wood and epoxy to replicate the historic "ears" of the sill that were cut off by the vinyl siding contractor years ago. Gillian sets up a temporary kitchen in the basement, while Kevin gets some bad news from master electrician Allen Gallant. The exterior service components are water-damaged beyond repair, and due to some hidden (and ungrounded) knob-and-tube wiring, nearly ninety percent of the old house will have to be rewired to meet building code. Out back, Tom uses interlocking, insulated concrete forms to form the foundation for the new addition, just before the concrete truck arrives for the pour.

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Newton Centre Project, Part 4 of 16 Nov 1, 2009 Host Kevin O'Connor meets general contractor Tom Silva in the kitchen to see some bizarre and inadequate framing that he recently discovered in the old kitchen ceiling. As a result, they have to reinforce and level the entire ceiling using an angle iron, a laser level, and multiple new LVLs. Then, Kevin visits Long Island, New York with architect Russell Versaci to learn about the origins of our house style, the Dutch Colonial Revival. Back in Newton Centre, master carpenter Norm Abram leads the effort to frame up the first floor platform for the new addition.

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Newton Centre Project, Part 5 of 16 Nov 8, 2009 Homeowner Gillian Pierce shows host Kevin O'Connor the progress—the first floor family room is entirely framed in, and up above, general contractor Tom Silva is building the gable-end wall for the new addition. Kevin climbs up top and lends a hand with the wall raising. Out front, master electrician Allen Gallant prepares to upgrade the service from 100 amp to 200 amp, but first he sets up temporary jobsite power by making up a new main connection from the street—with live wires. In the basement, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin how he's using a composite pipe made up of PEX and aluminum to run new lines to the old radiators. Out at the new addition, Tom walks Kevin through the complex roof framing, and they get a sense of the new library and home office space for the first time.

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Newton Centre Project, Part 6 of 16 Nov 15, 2009 Work on the Dutch Colonial Revival continues as master carpenter Norm Abram recaps the progress on the addition, then turns his attention to the kitchen where general contractor Tom Silva and host Kevin O'Connor are working to reframe the existing walls to accommodate new door and window openings. Upstairs, Tom installs a large new window in the library that is really six individual window units grouped together, while downstairs, kitchen designer Tamara Raymond helps homeowner Gillian Pierce envision her new kitchen with the help of paper mock-ups. Kevin pays a visit to former This Old House architect Treff LaFleche to see how he renovated his 1906 Gambrel-style Victorian to achieve superior energy efficiency and a LEED green building certification.

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Newton Centre Project, Part 7 of 16 Nov 22, 2009 Landscape contractor Roger Cook welcomes certified arborist Matt Foti to Newton Centre to prune all of the existing hemlock trees on the corner of the house, and along the driveway. Inside, master electrician Allen Gallant installs a bath fan in the new powder room that looks like a recessed light, but it has hidden ventilation capabilities built in. Host Kevin O'Connor travels back to Austin, Texas to revisit our first certified green building project—a 1920s bungalow that was expanded to accommodate a family of four. Nearly three years later, the homeowners and their builder report back on how the house is performing. Back in Newton Centre, general contractor Tom Silva shows Kevin how he's roofing the new addition to match the existing house using an architectural asphalt shingle.

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Auburndale House, Part 1 of 16 Oct 8, 2010 This Old House opens a brand new season by helping the Sharma family renovate their 1940's house on Boston's famous Charles River. Out front, the home's bland exterior will receive a curb-appeal makeover thanks to the creative ideas of architect Chris Chu. On the inside, the house will get a new, larger kitchen, updated baths and loads of new windows to take advantage of the spectacular views out back. General contractor Tom Silva conducts a structural investigation and cites concerns about a new EPA law affecting all contractors dealing with lead paint in 2010. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey finds asbestos in the usual spots in the basement, but with the help of asbestos inspector Glenn Potter, it's also discovered hiding in the ceilings, walls, under the kitchen sink and even in the joint compound. Work gets underway as landscape contractor Roger Cook puts erosion control in place to protect the flood plain, while asbestos abatement contractor Brian Fitzsimons begins what will be nearly two solid weeks of asbestos removal.

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Auburndale Project, Part 2 of 16 Oct 15, 2010 Landscape contractor Roger Cook preps for the new foundation of the entry hall by removing the old overgrown and badly pruned yews. Out back, host Kevin O'Connor finds general contractor Tom Silva and lead paint specialist Ron Peik demolishing the sun porch within the limits of the new national EPA lead law that now affects all contractors working on houses from 1978 or earlier. Master carpenter Norm Abram and homeowner Allison Sharma learn more about the grand estate that once occupied the neighborhood by visiting its original gatehouse, which is now a private home. Tom shows Kevin the progress on the excavation out front and out back, where Tom has transferred the load from the rear wall of the house, inbound, to a series of three temporary walls so work can begin. A team of concrete cutters arrives to set up and begin the process of cutting through the 10" thick concrete foundation walls. After the final cuts are made, they drop out a 16-foot section of the rear foundation wall to make way for the new family room addition.

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Auburndale House, Part 3 of 16 Oct 22, 2010 The morning starts with the arrival of a 17-foot-long steel beam that weighs 900 pounds. It will carry the load of the house over the 16-ft. opening that was made in the rear foundation wall. Because the site is so hard to access, general contractor Tom Silva uses a crane to lift it up and over the house and place it carefully on a temporary wall near the installation site. Then, host Kevin O'Connor and Tom's crew lend a hand installing it. Master carpenter Norm Abram meets with product specialist Bill Gaines to see the insulated concrete forms being used not only for the foundations, but also for the above-grade walls on the new additions. Inside, Kevin welcomes Chris Kimball from America's Test Kitchen, to help us understand the "time capsule" of a kitchen that we have from 1940 and where the new design is headed for our homeowners in 2010. Back outside, the forms are complete and the concrete truck arrives to pour the foundation and walls. At the end of the day, Tom and Kevin discuss how the new lead laws affect interior work and how to properly test for it. Using proper protocol, the kitchen is gutted and the wall to the dining room comes down.

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Auburndale Project, Part 4 of 16 Oct 29, 2010 Host Kevin O'Connor arrives to find most of the demolition complete, and the house entirely opened up. General contractor Tom Silva shows him the progress and then they get to work taking the dip out of the old kitchen floor by working from below, down in the basement. Inside, master carpenter Norm Abram frames up the new mudroom and powder room on the first floor using Tom's preferred method of framing up new walls: cutting all of the stock to length; assembling the walls on the floor; and standing them up one at a time. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey meets Massachusetts State Director of Flood Control, Bill Gode, to see how the Charles River has been literally formed and shaped by several major engineering projects over the years, including three major dams. Back at the project house, as Tom contends with the termite-damaged sill out front, Kevin welcomes pest control expert Todd McNamara to see his "eco-friendly" plan to address the termites and also the carpenter ants out back.

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Auburndale Project, Part 5 of 16 Nov 5, 2010 Master carpenter Norm Abram meets homeowner Allison Sharma to review progress and see the new front entry and framed up kitchen. At the garage, he helps general contractor Tom Silva turn the flat roof into a pitched roof with the help of some prefabricated trusses. Kitchen designer Donna Venegas and homeowner Raveen Sharma review the layout of the new kitchen with the help of a paper mock-up. In the backyard, landscape contractor Roger Cook and urban ecologist Peter DelTredici show host Kevin O'Connor the native and non-native species taking over the flood plain. Norm and Tom review the layout for the new back deck and walkways and get to work setting 12 new footings to support them. Later, they frame up the floor of the new sunroom using engineered lumber.

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Auburndale Project, Part 6 of 16 Nov 12, 2010 Work continues on the Auburndale project, as general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram frame the flat roof over the new sunroom. To shed water, the roof will be pitched slightly. Tom accomplishes this by tapering both the LVLs and the roof rafters. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Norm an expensive change order in the basement bathroom, and he also shares the news that the homeowners have decided to add air conditioning. Meanwhile, host Kevin O'Connor visits the Boston Public Library to learn about the former resident of the home, one of Boston's most famous street photographers, Jules Aarons. At the library, Curator Aaron Schmidt and son Phillip Aarons share their perspectives on the man and his work. On the second floor, Richard shows Kevin the progress on the rough plumbing and explains the layout of the new back-to-back bathrooms. Out on the future roof deck, Kevin finds Tom finishing up installing the underlayment on the flat roof. He lends a hand gluing down the rubber membrane, overlapping the sections, and caulking the joints.

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Auburndale Project, Part 7 of 16 Nov 19, 2010 In the basement, host Kevin O'Connor finds plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey finishing up the installation of the floor-warming radiant heat that will be in the slab under the new family room. A concrete pump truck arrives to pour all of the concrete on the basement level, including the footings for the new deck, and a team of concrete finishers works to create a smooth and level new basement floor. In a tile showroom at the Boston Design Center, Kevin and homeowner Allison Sharma meet interior designer Melissa Gulley to begin making aesthetic decisions for the entire project. Melissa gets a feel for Allison's style by looking at images she loves, pulled from books and magazines. Back at the house, general contractor Tom Silva is busy installing the new energy efficient, vinyl clad casement windows in what was formerly one of the darkest corners of the house. He cuts in new window and wall openings to reveal the spectacular views of the Charles River for the first time in that corner.

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Bedford Project, Part 1 of 16 Oct 7, 2011 Work begins on a 300-year-old farmstead.

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Bedford Project, Part 2 of 16 Oct 14, 2011 The crew transplantis shrubs and plants to a safe place until the job is complete. They also clear small trees and overgrowth that are in the way of the new family room addition.

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Bedford Project, Part 3 of 16 Oct 21, 2011 The crew removes old clapboards and opens up a hole in the old fieldstone foundation that will connect the old basement space to the new. They also patch a rotted sill.

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Bedford Project, Part 4 of 16 Oct 28, 2011 Framing up the new roof that will overlay the existing roof; repairing the exterior chimney; weaving in bricks.

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Bedford Project, Part 5 of 16 Nov 4, 2011 Work begins on clearing the backyard. The crew assembles and raises the gable wall for the family room addition and repairs a historic windowsill.

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Bedford Project, Part 6 of 16 Nov 11, 2011 The family room addition is framed up and sheathed. The crew installs new post supports in the kitchen accommodate a new stove vent hood and repairs the window sash.

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Bedford Project, Part 7 of 16 Nov 18, 2011 The crew tops off cellulose insulation in walls, builds raised beds out of fieldstone, and waterproofs the roof.

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Cambridge, Part 1 of 15 Oct 5, 2012 Homeowners hope to turn a two-family Victorian-era house into a one-family home.

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Cambridge, Part 2 of 15 Oct 12, 2012 Removing a central chimney brick by brick; eco-resale store; removing a sick Norway maple.

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Cambridge, Part 3 of 15 Oct 19, 2012 Relocating a load-bearing partition wall; color choices for the home's exterior; interior styles.

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Cambridge, Part 4 of 15 Oct 26, 2012 Ceiling work on the first floor; Swedish style; Skylight for the master suite.

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Cambridge, Part 5 of 15 Nov 2, 2012 Getting Around Cambridge. Removing steps to roof deck; keeping ducts out of roof rafter bays; hiding the air handler.

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Cambridge, Part 6 of 15 Nov 9, 2012 Exterior Improvements. Repointing the old brick foundation; repairing the front porch; rebuilding the rotted historic porch railing; spray foam insulation.

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Cambridge, Part 7 of 15 Nov 16, 2012 Old and New in Harmony. Replacing the concrete front walk with a new bluestone design; modifications for replacement windows; shower waterproofing system; paint prep.

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Jersey Shore Rebuilds 2013 Part 1: Sandy and the Jersey Shore Oct 6, 2013 For the first time, This Old House takes on three homes at the same time. The team meets the homeowners and discusses rebuilding stronger, smarter, and safer.

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Jersey Shore Rebuilds 2013 Part 2: Drastic Measures Oct 13, 2013 The team discusses how FEMA impacts building requirements, and foundation options. The Manasquan home is razed. Kevin takes a tour of Bay Head. Trouble begins at Point Pleasant.

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Jersey Shore Rebuilds 2013 Part 3: Getting to Work Oct 20, 2013 The Mantoloking home is examined from a new angle while the Bay Head house begins framing. The team learns about a innovative foundation to be used on the Point Pleasant home. And the shows visits a business in Bay Head that has already successfully rebuilt.

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Jersey Shore Rebuilds 2013 Part 4: Built for Speed Oct 27, 2013 The show visits the boardwalk at Seaside Heights to view reconstruction. The Bay Head home has a new deck installed. The Point Pleasant project gets crushed! A visit to the factory that will make the Manasquan house in only one week.

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Jersey Shore Rebuilds 2013 Part 5: Lines in the Sand Nov 3, 2013 The windows are installed at the Bay Head house. At Point Pleasant a new dinning room is installed in place of the garage. And the modular home arrives on site in Manasquan.

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Jersey Shore Rebuilds 2013 Part 6: Go With the Flow Nov 10, 2013 Breakaway walls and flood vents are installed at the Point Pleasant. The work on the modular home continues. What plants and trees survived Sandy?

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Jersey Shore Rebuilds 2013 Part 7: Stories From Sea Level Nov 17, 2013 Footings are added in Bay Head home. Point Pleasant gets stone veneer, fiber-cement siding and composite decking. Manasquan project is finished. Pro surfer Sam Hammer visits the show. And marine biologist Chris Wojcik talks about the bay.

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Charlestown 2014: Part 1: 35 Years of This Old House Oct 5, 2014 Season 36 opens in Boston, where an 1850s-era Greek Revival house is to be upgraded. The homeowner would like to improve the kitchen and the third floor, where the master suite is located. The retaining walls also need work.

Mark Seen

Charlestown 2014: Part 2: Brick Rowhouse Blues Oct 12, 2014 A fix for a major problem: exterior walls that are bowing outward. Two weeks of work in the basement, meanwhile, has lowered the floor by several inches; the radiant heat-insulation system is installed; and it's shown how the roof is under-structured. In other events, Norm revisits a Charlestown townhouse featured on the show 14 years ago.

Mark Seen

Charlestown 2014: Part 3: A Bridge to Charlestown Oct 19, 2014 How the old chimney will be modified for gas fireplace units. The framing progress is also spotlighted, including in the breakfast area and the third-floor master suite; and rebuilding the backyard retaining walls commences. Also: a chat with a structural engineer about one of Charlestown's most iconic structures, the Zakim Bridge; and a visit to a salvage yard that has architectural elements from the Greek Revival period.

Mark Seen

Charlestown 2014: Part 4: Wood and Water Oct 26, 2014 The progress on the now-approved dormer is spotlighted. Elsewhere, Insulation and wallboard are put into place; and a reclaimed brick veneer is installed on the kitchen bump out. Also: the world's last wooden whaling ship is observed arriving at the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Mark Seen

Charlestown 2014: Part 5: Gardens & Greek Revival Style Nov 2, 2014 The ductwork for the new direct vent gas fireplace units is worked on; subtle Greek Revival details are added to the interior window trim; and the exterior window trim is painted. Also: Sullivan Square Community Garden; and Beacon Hill's hidden gardens.

Mark Seen

Charlestown 2014: Part 6: Kitchens and Baths Nov 9, 2014 A major upgrade begins: adding a Greek Revival-style front door. On the second floor, new wood wainscoting is installed; a feature wall insert for the master shower is created with marble basket weave tile; and small section of copper roof is added to the roof.

Mark Seen

Charlestown 2014: Part 7: Rowhouse, Lighthouse Nov 16, 2014 A basement door is concealed; the new Cararra marble island top is spotlighted; a PVC fence is installed on top of the retaining wall; the front steps are given new life with a grinder, a router, epoxy and non-slip exterior paint; and the salvaged marble mantel and surround are installed in the sitting room. Also: the transformation of a Boston lighthouses into a summer home.

Mark Seen

Belmont Victorian: Dude, Where's My Victorian Oct 4, 2015 A new project begins in Belmont, MA with a focus on salvage and restoration. Homeowners Katherine and Murat Bicer plan to revive their 1895 Victorian by building a front porch, refurbishing the original windows and opening up the kitchen.

Mark Seen

Belmont Victorian: The Kitchen Came Tumbling Down Oct 11, 2015 Roger saves the plants that have to come out to make way for the porch. Tommy starts demo to open up the kitchen and determine how he’ll support the weight of the house. Norm learns about Victorian details. The window pulley systems are repaired.

Mark Seen

Belmont Victorian: Bracing The Basement Oct 18, 2015 Tommy replaces rotten lally columns in the basement. Norm removes the marble sink and claw-foot tub from the guest bath to restore. Richard discovers an historic house with 19th Century air conditioning and plumbing. Tommy saves hardwood floors.

Mark Seen

Belmont Victorian: It's All About Beams Oct 25, 2015 Installing flitch beams in the kitchen; a tour of a laminated veneer lumber factory; rear-mounted toilet; a plan for the shade-covered backyard.

Mark Seen

Belmont Victorian: It's Foundation Time Nov 1, 2015 Tommy calls in an excavator to begin work on the footings for the new porch. Norm meets homeowner Katherine and kitchen designer Linda Cloutier in the new open kitchen to discuss the layout. They head to Linda's showroom to see the cabinet and counter selections. Kevin helps Tommy and his crew frame in the new closet and bathroom for the master suite. On the third floor, in order to fix the ice damage throughout the house, Tommy must first remove all of the old fiberglass insulation. To do this he uses a giant vacuum. Back on the second floor, Norm and Tommy resize an existing door to fit in the smaller opening for the kids' bath.

Mark Seen

Belmont Victorian: Opening the Entry Nov 8, 2015 Kevin meets mason Mark McCullough as he starts laying blocks for the mudroom foundation. Tommy builds a custom bay window for the new kitchen. Norm visits the shop where the original windows are undergoing restoration. Tommy shows Kevin how he uses a Dutchman's patch to cover the holes left from abandoned electrical outlets in baseboards. Kevin meets homeowners Katherine and Murat at the Boston Design Center, where we meet their interior designer Amanda Reid and learn about her plans for the formal living room. Kevin finds Tommy putting in another beam to open up the front entryway.

Mark Seen

Belmont Victorian: Victorian 2.0 Nov 15, 2015 Kevin meets Richard in the basement and learns about the plan to keep the existing boiler but add a ducted system and a condenser for air conditioning. Tommy's excavation crew replaces the old steel main water line at the front of the house. Kevin learns how mason Mark McCullough lays brick for the new porch piers. Kevin finds Tommy pouring a concrete "rat slab," which will protect the mudroom against moisture and critters. Richard visits the tile showroom where homeowner Katherine and designer Amanda Reid are making final selections for the bathrooms.

Mark Seen

Arlington Arts & Crafts | Arts and Crafts Class Begins Oct 2, 2016 Homeowners plan to restore and expand their early English-style Arts and Crafts Home; plans for mechanical and plumbing systems.

Mark Seen

Arlington Arts & Crafts | A New Look, Inside and Out Oct 9, 2016 Sorting through colors and wallpaper ideas for the living room; demolishing old plaster walls; landscape plan; removing an old silver maple tree.

Mark Seen

Arlington Arts & Crafts | Make Way for the Family Room Oct 16, 2016 Installing a new steal beam; removing an oil tank; digging a new foundation; visits to other English-style Arts and Crafts houses.

Mark Seen

Arlington Arts & Crafts | Foundation Fundamentals Oct 23, 2016 Building a new foundation; specimen trees.

Mark Seen

Arlington Arts & Crafts | A Steely Den Oct 30, 2016 Following steel beams from fabrication to installation; working on the HVAC plan for the second and third floors; sizing a firebox.

Mark Seen

Arlington Arts & Crafts | One Brick at a Time Nov 6, 2016 Working on the fireplace; designing a new kitchen with custom cabinets; changing the pitch of two dormers.

Mark Seen

Arlington Arts & Crafts | To Paint or Not to Paint Nov 13, 2016 Custom range hood; rebuilding the original chimney; options for the first floor; including the living room panels.

Mark Seen

Newton GenNEXT | A House for the Next Generation Oct 8, 2017 A new season begins with a focus on the next Generation. Homeowner inherits her childhood home but make changes with husband to accommodate their children and in-laws. Mike Rowe visits to discuss the need for a new generation of skilled tradespeople.

Mark Seen

Newton GenNEXT | A Few Good Landscapers Oct 15, 2017 Tom finishes the forms for the new foundation and pours the concrete with a new intern. Richard gets the house safe for demolition. Roger and his apprentice save roses and lilacs from being trampled by construction. Mold is found in the basement.

Mark Seen

Newton GenNEXT | Generation Next Arrives Oct 22, 2017 Tom’s crew and intern install a beam to support a new opening to the kitchen. The homeowners start making decisions with their interiorselect finishes with their interior designer. Three apprentices arrive and build the essentialget new tool belts. Their first job is to tackle the front porch.

Mark Seen

Newton GenNEXT | Construction Gets a Jumpstart Oct 29, 2017 Kevin and Tom build a new subfloor. Richard, the homeowners, and designer hunt for an old clawfoot tub. Tom shows the apprentices how to check the front porch level and how to build a hip roof. Kevin visits Baltimore to learn about a job training program.

Mark Seen

Newton GenNEXT | All Decked Out Nov 5, 2017 The apprentices learn the basics of framing a deck while around the corner the chimney gets demo’ed. The homeowners work with their interior designer to create a custom pattern for their tile floor. The flue for the wood burning stove gets installed.

Mark Seen

Newton GenNEXT | This Old House U. Nov 12, 2017 A big day for the apprentices as they learn how to frame a wall in the master bedroom, build a drain stack for the master bath and lay decking on the front porch. Meanwhile the homeowners visit their kitchen cabinet designer.

Mark Seen

Newton GenNEXT | Approaching Half Way Nov 19, 2017 Flooring from the dining room is used to make a barn door. Roger teaches a horticulture class in the field. Tommy and Charlie break through the basement foundation wall to find uninsulated crawl space. Garage floor gets radiant heat. New columns on front porch.