This Old House - Season 34

This season, TOH turns a dark, divided 1887 two-family into an open, Scandinavian-style one-family.

Kevin visits an "eco" resale store in Springfield.  Arborist Jack Kelly removes a sick maple.  The architects show Kevin the plan, then visit a house down the street for design ideas.

Norm shows the antique features of the building.  Tom relocates a load bearing wall.  Kevin learns about appropriate colors for the house.  Tom frames in the basement.  The electrical service is upgraded.

Tom works on the ceiling and fits a skylight.  Kevin learns about our house's style in Fairfield.  Norm shows the framing progress on the second floor.  Richard arrives with ductwork.

Kevin joins Cambridge locals biking to work.  An architect presents a plan for the yard.  Tom removes steps to the roof deck.  Roger tackles the stump from the maple.  Plumbers use pipe to dull sound.

A mason repoints the foundation.  Norm and Tom repair the front porch.  Kevin visits Community Rowing.  Spray foam insulation begins in our balloon frame house.

Roger replaces the front walk.  Tom shows Kevin the replacement windows.  A tile contractor uses a shower waterproofing system.  Kevin sees a modern home in Brookline.  A painting contractor starts prep.

Kevin O'Connor meets plasterer Vito Bucco.  Norm Abram and Tom Silva match the old shingle pattern.  Kevin visits interior designers Andrew Terrat and Dee Elms.  Radiant heat and the boiler are going in.

Kevin O'Connor and Norm Abram find the painters spraying the house a sunny yellow, while Tom Silva trims out the windows.  Copper gutters and wood-burning fireplace go in, and homeowner Sally Peterson explores commercial-grade cooking appliances.

Tom Silva shows Kevin O'Connor how he's installing Southern yellow pine board accents in key spots to coordinate with the maple flooring that Norm Abram is installing.  Tile is set the master bath, and the roof deck gets PVC porch boards and custom rail.

Roger Cook installs granite steps, and Kevin O'Connor helps Tom Silva build a window seat and MDF doors disguised as wainscoting.  Norm Abram works on the treads and newel cap on the stairs.  Pine ceiling accents get whitewashed and lacquered.

Kevin O'Connor helps Roger Cook install plastic drywells to keep the yard from flooding and checks out the new cabinets with kitchen designer Kathy Marshall.  We learn about programmable thermostats and ipe deck tiles that go right over an old deck.

Roger Cook is getting the plants in; the hearth and woodbox are lined with sandstone.  Norm Abram visits Paul Grothouse who's fabricating the huge butcher block countertop.  Richard Trethewey installs wall-mounted lavatory faucets.

Finishing touches are coming together: the driveway, walk-in closets, home automation and some remarkable wallpaper.  Norm Abram visits local glass artist Carrie Gustafson, and Tom Silva's helping homeowner John Stone build a workbench.

The last details come together for the Cambridge project finale: Granite posts set off the landscape and the revived vintage doorbell crowns the foyer.  Designers Dee Elms and Andrew Terrat make the sleek, white Scandinavian modern interior come alive.  Homeowners Sally Peterson and John Stone, and the crew give a final salute!

The season's second project finds Norm and Kevin back on Cape Ann, in Essex, Massachusetts.  John and Julie Corcoran hope to turn their 1935 English-style cottage into an accessible in-law residence.

Kevin visits the Institute for Human Centered Design.  Tom and Roger level out the site in Essex.  Norm, Tom, and Kevin remove a dormer and frame the kitchen roof.  Roger makes retaining walls.

Tom repairs water damage.  He and Norm replace a sill.  Kevin sees the plan for the patio.  Roger adds veneer to the walls. Norm meets a Bucksport architect to see the accessible house he designed.

Roger restores the water feature.  Kevin and Richard revive a water well.  An electrician digs a trench to the street.  Ross Trethewey explains why the site is ideal for geothermal heating and cooling.

Tom and Kevin pick window trim.  Richard brings Kevin up to speed on the geothermal installation, and two 350-foot deep wells are drilled.  Dynamite is used to make space for the pipe.

Kevin and Roger explore the Essex clamming scene.  Richard talks rough plumbing and ductwork progress.  Radiant floor panels, a lightning rod, and a metal roof are fitted.  Roger makes a bluestone patio.

Insulation and drywall go up at the cottage.  Richard gets a look at septic innovation.  Norm brings out the decorative timbers and he and Tom fabricate the final joint and install the pieces.

Norm meets a shipwright.  Tom puts up barn boards.  Kevin sees the finished patio and plantings as well as a house designed for ALS.  Hearth tiles are laid.  Tom builds a mantel from reclaimed oak.

An installer lays new tile.  A mason parges the top of the brick chimney.  The flooring is stained. Norm meets the carpenter who restored Daryl Hall's estate.  A mud job forms the bed for hearth tiles.

Richard talks the geothermal system.  The mudroom is tiled.  Kevin tours a Seattle home.  Tom installs countertops.  A contractor fits the window trim pieces.  Tom brings in an antique farm table.

Norm and Kevin visit an antiques shop.  A Dutch door is fitted.  Kevin sees new lighting and the living area.  Richard shows the basement.  Norm sees the caregiver suite.  The homeowner's parents arrive.