Seasons & episodes

The guys start the workday by climbing Diamond Head for a view over the city of Honolulu. At the jobsite, our host meets contract supervisor Roland Lagareta to discuss the permitting process and demolition. Our master carpenter meets site supervisor Rob Varnet to see progress on replacing termite-ravaged beams and joists, catches up with with the electrician, sees the pouring of pier foundations, and meets roofer Jim Wilkinson, whose crew is starting the removal of the house's four layers of old roofing. Homeowner Christiane Bintliff gives us a update on her plans for the house. We visit Waimea on the island of Kauai, where a man named Mike Faye has a collection of old plantation houses restored to original condition and used as vacation rentals. We go to architect Norm Lacayo's downtown Honolulu office to see a model of the house, with improved floorplan and addition.

The show opens at the Punchbowl, an extinct volcano crater that is the site of the National Memorial Cementry of the Pacific, burial place of Americans who have fallen in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. On site, the new addition begins to take shape, with stud walls up and prefabricated trusses arriving on site. All lumber is pressure-treated to battle the resident termites. Homeowner Christiane Bintliff decides to go with a wood shingle roof, as the original house had, and our host talks to roofer Jim Wilkinson about the reasons behind the high - $21,000 - labor cost involved. We visit the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor and learn of the events that brought the US into World War II. Back on the job, engineer John Allison and project super Rob Varner discuss options to tie the roof down to the sidewalls to protect against the lifting effect on high winds. Inside, our master carpenter shows us the unique way the original building is put together, and then builds a new single-wall

The show opens at Hanauma Bay, a sea-filled crater whose marine life attracts thousands of visitors a day, creating a conservation dilemma. At the site, project superintendent Rob Varner gives us a tour of the framed-up addition and rebuilt kitchen area. Up on the roof, our master carpenter sees the hurricane tie-down system connecting the roof to the sidewalls, and roofer Jim Wilkinson and crew install copper valleys, treated red cedar shingles with a 30-year warrantee, and a three-dimensional nylon mesh underlayment that allows the shingles to ""breathe"" and dry more evenly. Inside, electrician Pierre Jaffuel shows us how he's using underfloor junction boxes to cope with the original building's single-wall construction, which leaves no room for buying wires. Project architect Dan Morgan and window maufacturer Sue Marvin discuss the specifications of the new windows, made to match the originals, but with weather and termite-beating features.

The show begins at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, a 1927 beauty known as the Pink Palace, one of the first two luxury hotels on the beach ar Waikiki. At the site, our master carpenter explains how the addition's siding will be made to look like the original's board and batten, then catches up with job super Rob Varner to see how the lanai is being reinforced with a welded steel frame. Inside, the kitchen wall is opened to give Christiane the ocean view she's wanted. We visit Lolani Place, home to Hawaii's last king and queen, and the United States' only royal palace. Built in 1882, its painstaking restoration is one of the country's finest. Back at the site, ""invisible"" audio speakers are built into the ceiling, and project architect Dan Moran shows us recessed halogen lights for the ""art wall,"" prairie-style exterior light fixtures, and brass entry hardware with a moleculary bonded finish that the manufacturer warranties as tarnish-free for life.

The show opens at Aloha Tower, built in 1921 and now part of a redevelopment effort by the same gorup that built Baltimore's Harborplace and Fanueil Hall in Boston. At the site, our host sees gound treatment for termites, our master carpenter trims out the vestibule with poplar, using a coping saw. Downtown, we visit a woodworkers' co-op where Christiane's built-in entertainment center is being built out of native koa wood, with a rack-and-pinion TV lifter. The security system for the house is reviewed, and our host visits architect Norm Lacayo's latest commercial project, Harbor Court, a mixed-use skyscraper on Honolulu's waterfront.

Our host opens the show at Halekii heiau, an ancient Hawaiian temple on the island of Maui. Surrounded by an industrial park and tract housing, it is an example of the tension between the development and historic preservation. At the site, we check out what's left on project supervisor Rob Varner's punch list, and tour the house. Our host visits a termite fumigation job where the entire house is tented and poisonous gas injected. Richard Trethewey reviews the new solar hot-water system and shows us the split-system air-conditioning units. We then visit a house in Maui designed in 1936 by the dean of Hawaiian architecture, Charles W. Dickey.

The final days in Hawaii. Our host starts the show in Kalapana on the Big Island, where a 1992 lava flow from Kilauea volcano obliterated much of the town and its famous black sand beach. At the house, lanscaper John Mitchell and crew install plants, to be watered by an in-ground irrigation system. Inside, Rob Varner shows off the new sisal-like wool carpet in the addition, as well as track lighting and fans in the studio. Decorative painter Angela Adams works on tropical motif in the powder room, and the guys see the imu (pit) where the luau's pig will be cooked on the final day. The next day, Christiane gives our host a tour of her new kitchen, and he continues into the master suite. In the living room, our master carpenter oversees the installation of the room divider/TV box. Finally, the luau, with thanks to all who made the project a success.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Redwood clapboards - finger-jointed and preprimed - start to go on the addition; our general contractor shows us a trick with a ""story pole,"" which helps him space the clapboards evenly across a given field. Our master carpenter explains the challenges of waterproofing and venting the shallow pitch of the addition's shed roof, while in the master suite, we see Dickie Silva screwing down the floor deck with an automatic-feed screw gun. After a tour of the master bath and new second-floor common areas, homeowner Terry Maitland and the lead abatement contractor discuss how the old house's woodwork will be treated during the upcoming deleading process. Our master carpenter warns Terry that the trick will be removing the old windows carefully so as to minimize damage to the interior plaster and exterior siding. Richard Trethewey investigates an old water well discovered on the property - with a proper pump it could supply irrigation water for the yard.

As he contemplates installing replacement windows in the original building, our master carpenter explains that it might make sense to replace the old, heavily weathered clapboards on the fornt facade instead of having to cut each window's trim into them. On the less-weathered west side of the house, the guys shows us just what's involved in installing a replacement window and retaining the original clapboards. We watch the deleading crew in action as they remove lead paint from the original building. Richard Trethewey follows the installation of the well pump and tank, and visits a lab to have the water tested.

Tom Silva shows us his reroofing progress - stripping of old shingles, plywooding sheathing, new shingles, redge vent. Down at ground level, the old clapboards have been stripped off the front facade, revealing the reason for the bellying out of the lower left side. Associated interior demolition reveals wide feathered paneling behind the living room's plaster. The structural deficiency is solved by rebuilding part of the wall. In search of ideas for exterior paint colors, we visit historic Deerfield, Massachusetts, a town of remarkably preserved 18th and 19th century homes. Back at the site, landscape contractor Roger Cook installs a gravel path using steel edging and rice stone.

Homeowners Terry and Sima Maitland puzzle over exterior paint colors, settling on a pumpkin for the field and cream for the trim. They discuss a few details of the farmer's porch that may be reconsidered: a post up against the body of the main house, trim treatment along fascia, and a gutter. Inside, our host checks out a new central vacuum system, while the guys review the heating and cooling systems for the new addition: radiant baseboard downstairs and in the master bedroom, in-wall radiant tubing for mudroom, stairwell, and master bath. Preservation mason Steve Roy diagnoses the fireplaces on the first floor and decides that the chimney should be rebuilt from the roofline up. Finally, landscape contractor Roger Cook supervises hydroseeding of the lawn.

Tom Silva tests out the old-fashioned v-shaped gutter he made for the front porch, then takes us on a tour of the house, explaining his preparations for the spray-in insulation. Most of these are like for any other insulation job, like his use of vent chutes to keep the roof cool, though he did have to cover the windows to protect them from overspray and put up one side of the interior walls for those rooms he wants insulated for sound. Paul Kennedy explains the challenges he faced in working with the house's steel studs. Our master carpenter follows the spray-in urethane insulation process - from mixing the two-part formula on a truck to spraying it into stud bays, where the liquid expands to 100 times its volume, to cutting away the excess to allow for the drywall. The system not only insulates, but acts as a vapor barrier and air sealant as well. Outside, painter George Hourihan reveals some tricks of the trade.

We see Terry busily caulking the battered clapboards of the west gable in preparation for the top coat of paint. Painter George Hourihan applies the gloss latex top coat to body and trim. We join mason Lenny Belleveau to take down and rebuild the chimney from the roofline up. Our master carpenter meets up with archtect Chris Dallmus for a research trip around Action to find the proper design for a new front enterance, since the old one is now too rustic for the house. Sima Maitland reviews her choices for flooring: recycled longleaf and shortleaf southern yellow pine and old white pine. She decides on the white pine, and we visit the lumberyard where it and a wide variety of other 18th and 19th century architectural components are on display.

At in-ground propane tank is installed for cooking and drying. Inside, the wallbaord is up, plaster is going on the ceiling, and Tom Silva demonstrates a new vacuum sander for finishing off the taped seams on the drywall. Richard Trethewey installs a flexible stainless oil-burner flue liner in the chimney, which will prevent flue gases from considering and damaging the mortar and bricks. our master carpenter uses a new jig to drill out holes for the rear exterior door's lock set. Sima visits a tile store to pick out a slate tile, and the Ferrante brothers use a diamond wet saw to cut it before installing it in the mudroom, laundry room and half bath.

We arrive to find Jeff Hosking installing the salvaged floorboards he found in a New Hampshire yard. Jeff discusses the challenges of working with such material, and shows a stationary double-drum sander he uses to take off a little of the boards' rough surface at a time. Upstairs, Joe Ferrante applies a colored grout to the slate tile in the master bath. In the dining room, homeowner Terry Maitland - after checking out a similar house nearby - decides to take down the plaster ceiling, in the hopes that an original beam and joist floor system lurks beneath. Unfortunately, what they find is not very preety... On a more positive front, the guys build a historically accurate entryway for the house back at the workshop. Finally, a new lightning arrest system goes on the building.

The crew installs the new front entryway. Kitchen designer Glenn Berger leads a tour of the new kitchen, and our host takes viewers to the Bath, Maine, showroom and workshop where it was made, Glenn examines the restaurant-style range and hood. Upstairs, painter George Hourihan paints the master bedroom with combination sprayer and roller, while in the master bath, Richard Trethewey shows us how to install a new toilet.

Our host arrives to find installer Michael Griffiths laying out a carpet for the master suite. It's made of recycled soda bottles. Inside, he meets up with Tom Silva, who shows him the new ceiling in the dining room (reboarded, plastered, and given a faux box beam) and explains the work involved in finishing off the replacement windows. Homeowner Terry Maitland discusses with them his expenses for the project (around $190,000) and the amount of donated materials (around $120,000) - the target of $150,000 was exceeded because of all the unforseen work in the old part of the house. Steve meets interior designer Bill Reardon, who explains his approach to the project. Part of it includes a decorative wall finish of joint compound and successive latex paint washes, as applied by artisan Julia Clay. Up in the master suite, the carpet has gone down quickly, and our master carpenter prepares to install brass door hardware. We take a tour of the Reading, Pennsylvania, factory where it was made