Seasons & episodes

The final days. We arrive to find the telephone company burying a new multipair line into the house, leaving the west gable free of overhead wires. Landscape architect Tom Wirth uses a mockup to help Terry Maitland decide where to site the old milk house. Jeff Hosking shows us how he finished the old pine floors to achieve an amber luster. Lighting designer Melissa Guenet gives us a look at the combination of old-fashioned and recessed fixtures, both incandescent and halogen, that she specified for the new spaces. Upstairs, Paul Kennedy installs a paddle fan in the master bedroom's cathedral ceiling, while the crew discusses the remaining problem areas that the Maitlands will someday have to face: sills, drainage, and an unsafe outbuilding. Richard Trethewey takes us on a plumber's final tour through the basement and bathrooms, and interior designer Judy George shows us the decorated rooms.

The crew heads west to California's Napa Valley and Dennis Duffy's circa 1906 farmhouse. Essentially untouched in the last few decades, the house needs a new, larger and brighter kitchen, as well as a new roof and a reinforced foundation. To help out on the project, our host enlists noted Valley architect Jon Lail, whose residences include a shingle-style home being built on the outskirts of St. Helena. Then we check out the work of general contractor Jim Nolan, whose company renovated and rebuilt the offices, winery, and tasting rooms of Merryvale Vineyards in downtown St. Helena.

Work begins on the Duffy residence, with Jim Nolan's crew tearing off the back porch with a backhoe. We visit architect Jon Lail's office to see the proposed kitchen addition and are treated to a ""virtual reality"" walk-through of the space as constructed by computer designer David Munson of HOK Architects, a large firm that employs the technique to present and analyze its large commercial projects. Our host visits Sterling Vineyards, a remarkable architectural statement perched on a mountain at the northern end of the valley. Back at the house, the septic tank has collapsed under the weight of the backhoe, and job foreman Jeff Castille shows us the termite damage and crumbling foundation that further demolition has revealed.

After a period of heavy rains and flooding, Napa Valley - and the jobsite - are a soggy mess. The show opens in sandbagged downtown Napa, then head to the job, where foreman Jeff Castille and crew have spent the week levelling the kitchen area with steel beams and hydraulic jacks. Jeff shows us the water level he used. Outside, the concrete truck arrives to pump in the mix for the steam walls. On site, our master carpenter visits a rammed-earth house being constructed on a nearby hillside. Our host checks out the condition of Dennis's roof with roofing contractor Mike McDermott, and Richard Trethewey takes Dennis to a San Francisco bath showroom to consider choices for his bathroom and kitchen.

The show start with a visit to Napa Valley's oldest wooden, gravity-fed winery, home of Trefethen Vineyards. At the site, our master carpenter meets plumber George Biter, who shows his rough work, including ABS and cast iron piping. General contractor Jim Nolan describes how a large laminated-veneer-lumber beam was hoisted into place, spanning the new kitchen and precluding the need for a mid-room support post. New French doors go into the west wall of the old dining room, and our host visits the Palo Alto factory where the energy-efficient plastic film inside the glazing is made. Back on site, we check out the foundation plantings that are threatening Dennis's house, and take a look at Dennis's little vineyard. Then it's off to the other extreme of the winemaking art: Opus One, a joint venture between the valley's Robert Mondavi and France's de Rothschild family.

We check out the mustard plants in a vineyard near the farmhouse before heading over to a very busy jobsite. There, contractor Jim Nolan shows us the extra work that has had to be done to save us the old front porch; the chimney has also been torn down. The roofing crew strips and sheathes the old roof, which has been straightened and reinforced with purlins and braces. Job foreman Jeff Castille shows us around the newly framed kitchen and we meet electrician Al Curtice, who is installing incandescent can fixures and a fluorescent valence light around the kichen ceiling soffit. We tour the champagne caves of Schramsberg Vineyards, while our master carpenter visits a crew who is busy digging a cave for a new winery. On site, Dennis meets with kitchen designer Paul Price to lay out the proposed cabinet footprint and choose cabinet door patterns and finishes, as well as solid surface countertops.

With remarkable progress at the site, we tour the exterior with Jim Nolan, seeing fir decking, trim details, traditional redwood siding and a synthetic stone facing for the foundation. Meanwhile, our master carpenter visits a nearby factory where wine barrels are made from American oak. Back at the site, our host sees the new semi-custom kitchen cabinets being installed - their features include solid-oak white-stained faces, morticed European hinges, full-extension, dovetailed, solid-wood drawers, and a two-part epoxy finish. The oak floor has been installed - quartersawn 5/16"" x 2"" strips with a walnut inlay - and we catch up with floor man Ron Spiteri to see how it went down. The next phase of finish work is mouldings and trim, and we see how finish carpenter Jim DePriest handles the casework around a door.

The show opens at Clos Pegase, a winery designed by noted architect Michael Graves. At the site, the rains continue, and so does progress. Our master carpenter follows the installation of the solid-surface countertop, while Richard Trethewey points out the important features of the new hot-water system: earthquake strapping, a circulating pump on a timer and the magnesium rod which prevents corrosion of the tank. A water softener goes in, and electrician Al Curtice installs a three-way dimmer that dims from two locations. Finally, we tour a remarkable winery property that's for sale in St. Helena.

The final day opens at a scenic overlook on the first clear day in a week. On site, the painters are applying the exterior topcoat, carpenters are cutting the last pieces of trim and architect Jon Lail is on-site to check out the final product. Meanwhile, Richard Trethewey shows us the utility room - a small toilet and shower room, a lavatory and a laundry with plenty of storage space. The kitchen has an island sink with water purification unit; a trash compactor; three-bowl sink with disposal; two undercounter thermal-convection ovens; a quiet dishwasher with a pause function (for turning on after people have left the room); a gas cooktop with retractable hood; and a built-in refrigerator that operates for around $85 a year. The push towards more efficient appliances and buildings began in California, and Richard meets with the chairman of the state's energy commission to learn about its programs. We see custom wood doors and brass hardware go in, then visit a stunning private wine ce

The show opens the season with a tour of Salem, Massachusets - the Witch Trials Memorial, the town's formerly bustling waterfront, the residential grandeur of Chestnut Street, the House of the Seven Gables, the Peabody-Essex Museum and the old town hall. Convinced that this is the town the show should work in, our host tours two houses that are for sale with realitor Betsy Merry. While one is in too fine shape, the other needs a lot of work. It's an estate property on the market for $239,000. We meet a couple who is considering making an offer on it - they have two children and one on the way and only six small rooms in their current house. Meanwhile, our master carpenter and general contractor check out the property. Their conclusion: Lots of repairs needed, mostly the result of neglect, but essentially the building is sound.

Their bid of $205,000 accepted, the Guinees take possession of the house. Our host meets their banker, who explains some of the financing of the deal. Deborah walks through her wish list for the house: a kitchen, master suite and some way of getting off-street parking. Meanwhile, our master carpenter has begun work on the old window sash in the dining room. He removes the stops, loosens the paint and caulk-encrusted lower sash, removes it and begins the process of taking out the glass. Scraped of loose paint, the broken wood is epoxied back into a strong unit and primed. Museum curator Dean Lahikainen gives us a tour of the Pierce-Nichols house, Salem architect Samuel McIntire's first commission. Built in 1782 and remodeled in the Federal style in 1801, it is one of America's finest late-colonial buildings.

We visit the island of Nantucket, where architect Ann Beha's firm is expanding and renovated the historic Atheneum, the town library. She agrees to help out in Salem. In Salem, the crew erects aluminum pump jack staging - a safe and efficient system, especially when many trades will be working on the exterior. We tour a couple of paint jobs with painting contractor Mike McManus and asks him to squeeze our house into his schedule.The guys finish reglazing the old window sash, using old-fashioned mouth-blown restoration glass. In the basement, Richard Trethewey points out an inefficient electric water heater that currently handles both sides of the house, and an oil heater that could use some tuning up. Our master carpenter points out ""cooked,"" degraded old clapboards on the upper third of the building and recommends replacing them.

On a hot July day, the crew got the existing children's bath and future master bath. They discover a flooring system that probably cna't support the heavy load of two bathrooms' worth of china and tile, and decide to beef it up before starting the rough plumbing. Up on the roof, mason Lenny Belleveau reflashes and repoints the chimneys, replacing a poorly built cricket and sealing it with a rubber membrane. Painting contractor Mike McManus powerwashes the building, and architecture students measure the building to prepare ""as-built"" drawings for the architects to use. Architect Pamela Hawkes visits the site and considers a suggestion of cutting through the house's rear ell with a porte cochere to gain access to the back yard and solve the parking problem.

Tom Silva shows us the reframed bathrooms, with floors stiffened by flipping the original joists and sistering on reinforcing members. The bathtub arrives, and the crew horses it upstairs, where plumber Charles Cashin is rough-plumbing the new children's bath and master bath. Restoration painter John Dee uses dental tools to reveal the finest of the portico's details. Before he could get to that stage, however, he had to painstakingly remove about 20 layers of built-up paint, aided by a paint stripping gel. We see wood restorer John Stahl use an epoxy repair system to work on the historic windows on the first floor. The Dutch system replaces rotted wood with workable epoxy and uses a flexible silicone for glazing compound. Architect Ann Beha presents some possible color schemes to homeowner Deborah Guinee, and later, after painting some samples on the building, she choses colors (blue body, white trim, black shutters) that she will present for approval to the Salem Historical Commissio

The crew insulates the exterior wall of the kids' bath with blown cellulose. Tom Silva shows us a paint-on bathtub protector that peels off after construction is complete. We meet roofer James Shea, who has three options, with prices, for the repair of the slate roof. Since the roof can be seen on the street, the Historical Commission will need to approve one of the options: slate repair, replacement of rear hip with fibberglass shingles or replacement with artificial slate. Then we're off to Frankfurt, Germany to visit ISH, the world's largest plumbing and heating exposition. Back in the bath, the crew puts up drywall, using a quick-setting joint compound.

We arrive to find Mike McManus and his painting crew continuing their prep work, dry scraping and hand sanding, per Board of Health regulations. The new staging now has safety nets, protecting passerbys from falling tools or debris. Inside, our master carpenter shows us how to lay out and install tile in the kids' bath, using both a stationary and a hand-held wet saw. We revisit the Maitlands' colonial farmhouse in Action, to see how they're liking it. Back at the house, homeowner Deborah Guinee shows us the drawings of the covered carriageway the architects have put together; she'll have to take them in front of the Historical Commission to see if they will approve the scheme.

The crew assesses the condition of the clapboards on the back of the building, patching presents a large investment of labor, while total replacement will be a big materials hit. Our host promises to take the issue up with the homeowners. Meanwhile, painter Mike McManus and crew apply the first coat of tinted primer - and they like the way the new paint goes on. We then attend the Salem Historical District Commission meeting, where architect Pamela Hawkes presents the carriageway drawings, commissioners ask questions, neighbors voice opinions and the commission votes to approve the concept, asking for more details of the floor. The guys grout the new bathtub wall. The tile floor is in, but before it went down they had to install a premade underfloor tubing system for heat and a cementitous underlayment. Outside, restoration painter John Dee is putting the final coat of paint on the portico. In preparation, he used a wood filler known as Swedish putty to smooth out the surfaces to a nea

We arrive to hear some troubling news: Some of the neighbors - not pleased with the Historical Commission's approval of the carriageway plan and worried about traffic flow, fumes, and the change to the facade - are thinking of appealing the decision. Upstairs, however, work on the kids' bath proceeds, with the installation of a new vanity, solid-surface counter with bowl, and lighting sconces. Our plumbing and heating specialist puts in a new sink faucet and shows us an electronic valve that shuts down when the clothes washer is off, reducing the chances of leaks. Downstairs, architect Ann Beha walks Deborah Guinee through the proposed new kitchen. After the bathroom mirror is installed, a crew arrives to fabricate and install a wire shelf system for the bathroom closets. Finally, the crew begins demolition for the new kitchen.

Our host recounts the latest Historical Commission meeting, in which the original approval of the carriageway was sent aside and the whole issue reconsidered. Because of discrepancies between the drawings and the actual house, the commissioners vote to visit the jobsite, see a mock-up of the carriageway, and vote on its appropiateness at a later meeting. Kevin Guinee expresses his frustration at not knowing whether or not that part of the project can move forward. Around back, the crew is replacing the crumbling wood side with a cement-based clapboard that's 60% the cost of cedar. Up on the roof, our host watches as roofer James Shea pulls out and replaces a broken slate; 100 more to go. He also is replacing the old zinc hip flashing with copper fastened with brass screws. The guys review progress in the rebuilt kitchen shed addition, in which Tom Silva used a keyed system of engineered beams to carry the weight of the exterior wall above over a wide span. They install two skylights in

The City of Salem's tree-planting program puts in a Callery pear (pyrus calleryana 'red spire') in fornt of the Guinees' house. In the kitchen, the guys examine the new windows - custom-made with sills and casings to match the existing ones on the house. They feature glass recycled from the original kitchen windows, which were too big to accommodate the countertops. The guys recall the scene earlier when Historical Commission members and interested neighbors visited the site to see a mock-up of the proposed carriageway. Roger Hopkins arrives to realign the granite steps, and Tom Silva puts a time capsule underneath, containing a TOH shirt, a Silva Bros. shirt, and a copy of TOH magazine. Upstairs, the crew cuts through a wall to reconnect the guest room to the Federal for the first time in 120 years. Our host takes the old clawfoot tub to a company in Ludlow, Massachusetts, to get it refinished.

Lighting designer Josh Feinstein shows Deborah lighting treatments for the kitchen and living room, while electrician Jeff Perry works to fish wires for the spots that will highlight the mantelpiece. Kevin Guinee reviews the progress so far and how much money remains in the Guiness' war chest (answer: only about $30,000 out of an original $110,000). We check the state of the new plumbing with plumber Charlie Cashin, then see the new high-velocity forced hot air heating system for the upper two floors. Finally, the guys remove wide pine boards from the attic for the use in the new master bath.

Our host arrives with news from the latest Historical Commission meeting: a decision on the issue of the carriageway will be made in three weeks. The Guinees asked for a continuance because the corrected drawings arrived only a day before the meeting and they wanted everyone, themselves included, to be fully up to speed on the details. Despite the continuance, public comment was heard, and a lot of it was against the carriageway. Out back, our master carpenter begins to build a trash shed that will allow the Guinees to store their cans and recycling bins. The crew uses engineered lumber to stiffen the floor of the boys' bedroom. Our host visits the Andrew-Safford house, a 1819 late-Federal that is part part of the Peabody Essex Museum, that been renovated by a local charity as a designer showcase. Back at the house, a slow-expanding insulation foam is injected into the walls, the shed is finished off, and the guys compare the merits of two types of storm windows: one-piece interior and

Our host arrives to see a wallboard delivery truck in action, while inside the wallboard/plaster crew works in the dining room. Upstairs, the guys address the out-of-square conditions in the guest bedroom by rejiggering the door casings for visual appeal. Our host uses a personal computer program to help Deborah Guinee work on the design of her kitchen-to-be, and he pays a visit to wallpaper expert Richard Nylander at the Harrison Gray Otis house in Boston, home of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, to get a tour of the Federal home and pick up samples of wallpaper for Deborah to consider in her historic rooms.

Homeowner Kevin Guinee tells us that, for now, they have withdrawn their petition to build a carriageway, citing lack of time to build, lack of remaining funds, Deborah's pregnancy and the highly charged atmosphere in town surrounding the issue. The Guinees will finish off the room where the carriageway may someday go as a simple family room. Richard Trethewey arrives with a stainless steel flue liner to prevent condensation from the highly efficient gas furnace from forming in the old chimneys, leaching through and damaging both the mortar and surrounding ceilings and walls. We meet a representative of the regional electric company, who shows us a new, more-efficient water heater being installed on the rental side of the building and explains the company's position on heating water with electricity. The guys fabricate a run of seamless aluminum gutter, and a crew installs a protector that keeps leaves from collecting in the gutter while still allowing water to be collected. We then vi