Work begins on a 300-year-old farmstead that is rich in Colonial history. The homeowners plan to preserve the historic part of the house, while adding space and modern amenities with two small additions.
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In Cambridge, Mass., the crew turns the inside of a dark, divided 1887 two-family home into an open, Scandinavian-style one-family.
Deconstruction continues on the 1887 two-family home; arborist Jack Kelly removes a sick Norway maple; the architects reveal the plan via a 3D computer model; a visit to a house where homeowner Sally Peterson found design ideas.
The unique features of a balloon framed house, including studs that run from sill plate to top plate, with floors that hang from that structure; appropriate colors for the outside of a Victorian-era house.
Varying ceiling height; designers show how Scandinavian modern style evolved from more rustic Swedish country interiors; framing upgrades; installing a new skylight.
Combining traditional and modern elements in a landscape; getting rid of steps to a roof deck by dropping the structure into the second floor ceiling; using a chainsaw and stump grinder on a Norway maple stump.
The old brick foundation is re-pointed; rowing on the Charles River.
The existing concrete front walk is replaced; architect Michael Kim discusses planning modern houses inside the shells of old ones; how modern and traditional can live in harmony.
A 60-year veteran of the plastering trade; Norm and Tom match an old staggered shingle pattern; a sneak peek at the Scandinavian modern interior design; radiant heat and the boiler go in.
Painters put up a tinted primer with airless sprayers; trimming out the double-hung widows; custom copper gutters are installed; a fireplace specialist.
Installation of Southern yellow pine boards on the ceilings for architectural interest; PVC porch boards and a customized railing system complete the roof deck; pre-finished maple flooring; a custom cap for the roof deck railing.
A new window seat is made to fit into an old bay window; maple stair treads are installed; a custom newel cap made from southern yellow pine; a whitewash stain with a lacquer finish makes the ceilings look Swedish.
Two lightweight plastic drywells are used to deal with water coming off the roof; cabinetry details and custom wood create a Scandinavian-inspired kitchen; a new thermostat that learns habits and preferences; the old deck is covered with deck tiles.
A stone specialist uses Italian sandstone to achieve a rustic finish; a state-of-the-art Pennsylvania shop for woodworking minds; a butcher block top for the kitchen island is made with a joinery technique called a dovetail key.
Roger finishes the driveway and planting; a wallpaper installer puts up a hand-drawn wave pattern in the powder room; a simple workshop is made in the basement with materials from the home center.
Reinstallation of an old-school doorbell that the homeowners wanted to keep; functional features in the new kitchen; an energy audit on the building.
Norm and Kevin begin the second project of the season, upgrading a 1935 English-style cottage into an accessible residence for aging parents.
Bizarre and unsafe framing from a previous renovation must be fixed; kitchen footings are in progress; an architect explains the key considerations needed to build accessible homes, including one-floor living, good lighting and barrier-free showers.
Water infiltration damages the house and must be prevented from happening again; a landscape architect shows the plan for the side patio and details how it allows for ease of entry into the house and provides proper drainage.
An aquatic systems specialist assesses the existing water feature; the anatomy of a water well; a drilling expert helps diagnose water problems; a renewable energy specialist explains how the site is ideal for geothermal heating and cooling.
The new windows are on site and largely installed; exterior trim goes on the building; the PVC stock is glued up; the sill profile is run on a molding machine; geothermal installation.
Expert clammer Shep Means; the infrastructure work finally settles down outside; a review of the floor plan; an update on rough plumbing and ductwork progress.
Insulation goes up in the Essex cottage; boarding ceilings; a plastering contractor shows how to achieve a rustic look using rounded corners.
Putting up 8-inch pine shiplap barn boards on the walls at the project's entry; the finished patio and plantings.
A tile installer lays black slate tile on the floor; a mason uses structural stucco to achieve the rustic plaster look of the original chimney; how a preservation carpenter helped music icon Daryl Hall assemble and restore an 18th-century estate.
A recap of the geothermal heating and cooling system installation process and how the whole system comes together with the heat pumps in the basement.
Interior screens for the signature casement windows; installing the Dutch door for the passage between the kitchen and sun porch; sconces at the entry; LED fixtures in the trees for general lighting; wall washers at the masonry walls.
Three homeowners are determined to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy.
Norm tours the Bay Head, N.J., revetment project; the Point Pleasant house project faces setbacks; Richard helps Rita say goodbye to her Manasquan house before it's torn down.
A home's new first floor is framed four feet in the air; helical pull-down micro-pile technology screws the house in place, as timber piles are driven into the ground for a new modular home.
A race to fix the pier and boardwalk in Seaside Heights, N.J.: a compact concrete crusher breaks up an old concrete slab; a house built in a factory.
A Texas contractor explains how sand shoaled in Barnegat Bay is being dredged after Sandy; structural hardware and windows are installed in Bay Head; the Point Pleasant garage becomes the new dining room.
Barrier island ecology; breakaway walls and flood vents are installed; plants and trees that survived Hurricane Sandy and those which didn't; how to landscape for the future on a barrier island.
Professional surfer Sam Hammer; marine biologist Chris Wojcik; sea level foundation footings; fiber cement siding; composite decking; flooring and fixtures are in; Rita's house is finished.
One year after Superstorm Sandy, three projects conclude on the Jersey Shore; the Mantoloking miracle; garage doors; designing a planter; an interior design that repurposes what was once a garage; a wharf-side wrap party.
Kevin and Tom tackle an Italian-style home with an awkward layout; Richard helps get the demolition started.
Tom and Kevin make some dramatic discoveries while demolishing the kitchen and baths; Roger moves a massive rhododendron; Norm checks out one of the finest surviving examples of the Italianate style.
Replacement of the inadequate foundation under the addition; a new slab is poured in the basement to bolster the walls; in the ceiling, the original plaster molding and medallion are found almost completely intact.
The addition's new roof is connected to the old one; masonry repairs with a new mortar additive provide a waterproofing solution for the basement; Norm and Tom fix a door in the foyer.
A system is devised to ensure a flat ceiling in the newly expanded kitchen; the basement's existing concrete floor is leveled with the help of a pressurized hydrostatic altimeter and self-leveling concrete.
A view-changing ribbon of windows in the kitchen; the second floor addition is tied in with matching clapboards; the first floor gets a unique vertical beadboard detail; a hole is made in the old rubble stone foundation to receive a new window.
Letting light into the yard with selective tree pruning; Norm gets a brief history lesson on the neighborhood via local a historian and neighbor.
Patching holes in old oak veneer floors left from moving around walls and duct openings; interior designer Christine Tuttle shows the work she completed at an 1870 Italianate style home in Dedham, Mass.
Reality TV star Edgar Hansen's renovation skills are tested; patching cracks at the front entry; water lines are fished through the building.
Using new granite steps with an antique look to dramatically improve the appearance of the front entry; repairing severely damaged plaster moldings and medallion by hand; using 3D scanning, modeling, and printing technology for repairs.
The right way to remove a hydrangea that has roots that are undermining the foundation of a house; nonprofit Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety conducts the first ever indoor hailstorm to see how various building materials hold up.
Opening up the street to install a new main water line; installing new pre-finished Brazilian chestnut flooring in the kitchen; a business that can replicate historic wood gutters out of durable fiberglass in custom colors.
A new period-appropriate brick walk is installed; trim is applied to door and window casings using both coped and mitered joints.
Cutting down 12-inch square mint green marble tiles to make more decorative, smaller pieces for the kids' bathroom; making an oval mirror frame at the oldest continuously operating mill site in America.
A landscape designer reveals her plan to improve the front yard; a fence contractor installs a custom fence and arbor to the backyard; a sliding barn door is built using salvaged antique wood from the attic; alternatives to common shade plants.
Installing the teak island top for the kitchen; installing a solid-surface vanity top in the master bath; a small electronics nook for the new TV and playroom; hanging handmade wallpaper in the powder room and dining room.
A truckload of fresh sod is rolled out; a locally made custom copper hood is installed in the kitchen; crown molding; installing a pedestal sink in the powder room; customizing space for maximum storage.
Kevin and Norm tour the completed project; Tom stows things away in the attic with the help of a new fire-rated pull-down stairway; a mechanical room that features a new style of energy-efficient circulator pump.