Seasons & episodes

With the wet plaster and carpeting removed from the house, some heretofore hidden features of the house are repealed, including a former window and the original fireplace detail. Our master carpenter sees the roofing replaced with a modified bitumen membrane system, our host meets with the architect and homeowner's daughter Mary Ellen Frank. He also tours an example of Mediterranean Revival-style architecture with Margot Ammidown of the Metro-Dade Historic Preservation Office, while Richard Trethewey checks out the state of the house's plumbing with plumber Eddie Faccaviento.

Tree cutter Tony Sisto takes down a ded tree, with some difficulty, while our master carpenter checks the installation of the house's new air conditioning system. Contractor Rich Groden explains his plan to make water run off the sun porch roof better, and we get an update on the electricans' progress. Our host meets with a window sales rep, who is ordering up as many standard-size replacement windows as he can get away with in order to avoid far more costly custom units. A concrete beam is repaired in the sun porch, and we visit Dr. Bob Sheets at the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables.

Our host opens the show at ""Mt. Trashmore"", a collecting point - one of about a dozen in South Dade - for all the debris hurricane Andrew generated. Back at the house, we see how the plaster walls are being patched and finished. Our host tours the grounds with landscape architect Kevin Holler, who has devised a long-term master plan for the property. The windows arrive, and contractor Rich Groden explains their features and method of installation. We tour the kitchen and hear designer Cecilia Luaces' plans for it. finally, we visit a small Miami factory where cement tiles are being custom-fabricated to replace the broken clay ones currently on the house.

We see progress on the house with general contractor Rick Groden: window patch-in, interior plastering and trim. He then meets the man who is patching the exterior stucco. Our master carpenter talks with Brian Stamp about a concrete pour meant to strengthen faulty arches in the porch section, and then visits a home destroyed by hurricane Andrew - a structural engineer explains why the house failed. Finally, kitchen designer Cecilia Luaces supervises the installation of the newly arrived cabinets.

The final three days. The painters are hard at work; our master carpenter replaces a window that was broken during construction and shows us the hi-tech coated plastic membrane inside the panes that makes these windows energy efficient. Upstairs, our host sees that the pine floors have been sanded and refinished. We then watch a screened pool enclosure go up in a matter of hours, and checks out the new garage doors and the landscaping. Inside, tile goes down in the kitchen and around the fireplace. Our master carpenter visits a housing development where because most of the homes are below the flood plain, houses must be raised up to meet code. Back at the house, our host talks to Margaret O'Donnell Blue, the 76-year-old owner of the house, and takes a final tour of the completed kitchen with designer Cecilia Luaces. At the wrap party, Brian Stamp tells about the budget ($75,000 paid out by the homeowner - $10,000 more than their insurance settlement - and $75,000 of donated materials).

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Our master carpenter rides a horse into the Washakie Wilderness in northwestern Wyoming, where US Forest Service carpenters are repairing, with hand tools only, a National Historic Register log cabin.

Our host visits an eight-color historically accurate paint job west of Boston, under the supervision of SPNEA's Andrea Gilmore. Andrea comes to the Belmont house to advise homeowner Lauren Gallant about the paint colors she's considering. The guys critique the trim details on the porch, which has been poorly repaired and patched over the years. Using inference and a turn-of-the-century architectural pattern book, they make an educated guess at to what the original look mhst have been. Richard Trethewey helps plumber Maura Russell work on the PVC piping in the new laundry room, then he and our host meet up with plumber Christine Ernst in the basement.

Our master carpenter gives us a tip on hiding nails when shingling, while our general contractor builds a cedar and fir deck for the new back entry. Out on the front porch, our master carpenter begins replacing the old, ""wrong"" square columns with new round ones, choosing between polymer/fiberglass/marble columns and traditional wood ones. Going with the wooden ones, he primes them with alkyd, coats the interrior with a tripolymer sealant and uses vented, polyurethane caps and bases. Then we take a trip to the Jimmy Carter Habitat for Humanity Work Project in Winnipeg, Canada.

In a big day at the jobsite, arborist Matt Foti and his crew cut down four conifers that had been hiding the house and keeping it damp. In the kitchen, the crew installs new true-divided-light windows, while on the roof, Jim Normandin is beginning to lay on the new wood shingles. Finally, in preparation for the paint job, painter Lou DiSanto and crew powerwash the building.

Our host Russell, who is completing the rough wiring in the kitchen. Lighting designer Melissa Guenet reveals her plan for lighting the kitchen and new bedroom, while outside, Larry Torti and his crew lay down an old-style macadam driveway. Up on the roof, our master carpenter and roofer Jim Normandin carefully shingle over the eyebrow window.

We arrive to see the new paint colors going up, while Tom Silva continues to re-detail the porch trim with proper fascia and wood gutters. Meanwhile, our master carpenter visits the island of Martha's Vineyard to see the oldest carousel and a full-blown hstoric restoration of an 1891 Queen Anne. Back at the house, kitchen designer Phil Mossgraber and homeowner Lauren Gallant shows us their choices for kitchen countertops, cabinets and flooring. Finally, arborist Matt Foti gives the oak a fall feeding.

Our host meets landscape contractor Roger Cook as he and his crew install a plastic drywell in the cramped space next to the garage. Homeowner Dean Gallant insulates beneath the kitchen floor, using breathable poly-wrapped insulation, which is easier to handle than the unwrapped product. In the kitchen, the crew has insulated both the exterior walls and some interior partitions (for sound transmission reduction) and put up a tough, cross-laminated vapor barrier that won't rip during the rough and tumble of drywall installation. At the rear of the kitchen, our master carpenter puts in the new back door. We meet historic interiors expert Susan Hollis, who is advising Lauren Gallant as to the proper Arts and Crafts-style wallpapers and lighting fixtures to use. Finally, our host visits the stained-glass workshop of Peter Mattison and Charles Billings, who are repairing the damaged windows from the Gallants' house.

Our host arrives to find the crew putting down rubber membrane roof on the garage, while homeowner Dean Gallant helps Roger Cook lay a concrete block terrace outside the back door. Meanwhile, artisans Peter Mattison and Charles Billings installed the leaded glass windows they've repaired. We then travel to the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut, a perfectly restored Victorian. Back at the site, homeowner Lauren Gallant is hard at work cleaning up the dust left from tearing down her sand-finish ceilings, which have been redone to a glasslike smoothness by the wallboard/plaster crew. Our host meets them in the kitchen, where they've used a fiberglass backer board around the perimeter for the tile backsplashes. He sees the device they use to lift drywall panels up to the ceiling, and watches as the brown base and veneer top plaster coats go down.

Our master carpenter checks out the new retractable awnings, while our host meets storm window installers who are protecting the leaded glass with custom units. Inside the house, Sarai Stenquist and her assistant Bruce Vivia put up a complex ceiling of wallpaper, and we take a tour of the California studio where the paper is made.

Our host arrives to find the crew fishing off the last of the porch's historic details, which is was able to duplicate thanks to a home movie provided by a previous owner. Charlie installs a new downspot with an improved fastening device. Inside, Tom Silva and master carpenter have hung the new kitchen cabinets, Jeff Hoskings has restored kitchen and living space floors, and tilers. Joe and Chuck Ferrante are beginning the countertops, using a new tile backer board homemade Arts-and-Crafts style tiles. Finally, we watch as an authentic linoleum floor goes down in the mudroom.

The final days. Our host arrives to find Don Franklin of DeAngelis Iron Work installing a new railing on the front stairs, while inside lighting designer Melissa Guenet shows him her completed work in the new powder room and kitchen. Our master carpenter checks out the new garage door with dual safety reversal features. Plumber Maura Marshall and Richard Trethewey go over the new bath china, kitchen sinks and recycled radiators. The next day, Lauren shows off the new Arts-and-Crafts syle lighting fixture hanging in the arcade, and we take a tour of the Shingle-style house where the craftsman who made it works and lives. Back in the arcade, historic interiors expert Susan Hollis and carpet merchant John Burroughs unroll a period carpet that provides the final touch to the room. In the kitchen, designer Phil Mossgraber gives us a final tour, pointing out appliances and finishes. Next stop: Hawaii.

The guys padde into Honolulu, Hawaii, to begin an eight show series on the renovation and expansion of homeowner Christiane Bintliff's oceanside bungalow, built in the 1930s. The house sits on part of a larger parcel given to her great-great-great-grandfather by Hawaii's King Kamehameha III in return for his services as admiral of the royal navy. Despite the apparement termite damage and out-of-date systems, Chtistiane is determine to save this old-style island home. So our master carpenter goes off to the lonely island of Molokai to see the restoration of Father Damien's church, recently completed by the firm of Ching Construction, and our host visits a stunning renovation of an oceanside home by architect Norm Lacayo. With the team assembled, the jobsite is blessed by Hawaiian minister the Reverend Abraham Akaka.