This Old House

Building an eco-friendly home from scratch; designing and prefabricating the home; visiting a recent project in New Hampshire; taking the old house apart in a way that reuses building materials; salvaged building materials have been harvested.

Tom Silva finishes the demolition; some old materials will be used to build new roads, while the rest will find new life as affordable housing; Kevin meets architect Chris Adams and homeowner Amy to take a tour of the new house via 3D software.

The new house in Weston; the work in the timber frame office; using sophisticated software and computer-controlled cutting machines to begin fabricating over 300 timbers for the project; installing a new insulated in-slab radiant heating system.

Host Kevin O'Connor opens the show at Bensonwood in New Hampshire; prefabricated wall systems; pre-wiring the building with a new wiring system; the crew gets ready for the dramatic house raising that will take place over the next three weeks.

The crew begins craning in and setting the basement level; fabricating the floor panels and adding radiant heating and insulation in a controlled environment; the completed floor systems are craned into place.

Mark Roentsch shows Kevin how the assemblies are joined together; Pete Favat shows Kevin the new kitchen space; Norm travels to New Hampshire to see the kitchen being finished; first floor exterior walls are craned into place.

A tour of the first and second floors; Roger is working on building the landscape plans for an elaborate drainage plan with a rain garden; scarf joints; with the final roof rafter in place, a traditional tree branch dedication ceremony is held.

The building envelope is almost complete; the Bensonwood crew places the last of the roof panels and sets the five-thousand pound cupola to cap off the house; Tom Silva shows how the windows are properly flashed and installed.

Installing a New England fieldstone natural stone veneer; making custom wallboards for the Weston home; back in Weston, Tom shows homeowner Pete Favat the new custom garage doors and how they are installed and operated.

On the roof at the project house in Weston, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin O'Connor the new solar hot water system, perfect for the cold climate; tile contractor Mark Ferrante preps a shower stall for tile.

At the project house in Weston; Jeff Wolfe is installing solar panels; a prefabricated Habitat for Humanity house that volunteers assembled in 8 days; red distressed vertical boards; custom half-round copper gutters and decorative brackets.

Installing granite steps on the entry porch and flooring on the first floor; test-driving new appliances before buying them; installing a cure for the cell phone dead zone; a few unexpected options for furnishing a timber frame home.

A local non-profit farm stand; general contractor Tom Silva puts down composite decking; how the town of Weston is working towards sustainable harvest trees for its residents to use; a neutral paint color palette is selected for the second floor.

Learning more about the LEED for Homes program and how the Weston house will qualify; how they build window trim kits in the Bensonwood shop and how they are installed at the project house; the new industrial steel staircase.

Roger installs a berm and fence; Wes Wirth and Amy review the native plants they've chosen; Richard shows Kevin how the house is being cooled with a split-type air conditioning system; Tom Silva installs a handcrafted copper owl weathervane.

Completing landscaping work; reviewing how the choices of lighting, hardware and wood finishes contribute to the barn effect; finishing the security system and industrial light fixtures; a signature table for dining room; touring the finished job.

Kevin O'Connor and Norm Abram restore a neglected 1904 brownstone in Brooklyn; converting the former rooming house into a three family home while preserving and restoring period detail wherever possible.

A visit to Prospect Park; Norm meets Michael R. Streaman and Karen Shen to check framing progress and kitchen layout; Richard meets with contractors for options on the old heating system; Roger visits a garden center and a roof garden in Tribeca.

Norm meets local refinisher John Thomas for an assessment of the wood finishes in the house and how to properly restore them; some period-appropriate tile combinations for the bathrooms and kitchen; converting the old steam radiators to hot water.

Inspecting the new exterior paint job; white oak flooring is laid down in the parlor with two decorative accent strips of cherry; plaster crown moldings are replicated; the progress on a new retaining wall; the brick patio; new replacement windows.

Checking the progress in the owner's unit as the new white oak flooring is installed; the showerhead combination that includes a master showerhead, a handheld showerhead and tub filler; the paint color scheme for the first floor; a new privacy fence.

Installing vintage spiral stairs; the new plaster medallion is installed in the parlor; laying down click-together linoleum floor tiles; Norm Abram sees how the original five panel interior doors are rehabilitated.

A faux painting technique to disguise old and damaged woodwork; a custom kitchen is installed in the owner's unit; window treatment options; arranging a mud bed for tile; mosaic floor preparation; the finished countertops arrive for the kitchen.

Norm reinstalls door trim in the library; Kevin finds marble from Italy and manmade quartz resin being made into countertops; Richard checks the electrical service and mechanical room; Mauro Zanutto shows Kevin his method for grouting the floor tile.

Michael Streaman reinstalls beautiful restored white oak entry doors that were absent for several months; in the kitchen, a new pot filler over the range is installed; Norm sees the new temporary wall in the master bedroom that creates a nursery.

Sod is laid down; installing the last of the spindles at the base of the main staircase; the finished rental apartment on the top floor; the completed master bedroom level; the crew gathers on the front stoop to celebrate the project's completion.