Seasons & episodes

We meet artist Don McKillop, who is painting a portrait of the Guinees' house, while across the street a brick sidewalk is installed in front of the house. Inside, floor man Jeff Hosking finishes the rough wide pine flooring in the master bedroom, while painter Mike McManus uses a high-volume, low-pressure sprayer to paint hte fine woodwork in the guest bedroom. We take a tour of a replica village that recreates Salem's earliest days days a fishing settlement in 1630. In the backyard, a children's playset goes up to the approval of the Guinee boys. Our host reviews with James Shea the completed roof job - fiberglass shingles on the back slope, repaired slate on the front, new copper flashing throughout - with roofer James Shea, and Charlie Silva puts up a hybrid storm window system: single-pane interior units for the historically sensitive front facade windows; high-quality triple-tracks for the rest of the building. Finally, the guys begin to install the newly painted kitchen cabinets

A historically inspired Federal-style fence is installed to replace the rotting pickets in front of the house. Tom Silva installs a new mortice lock in the front door using an automatic morticing tool. In the kitchen, we meet with Julia Clay, who is painting a diamond pattern on the floor, while in the powder room decorative painter John Parsons is creating a mock library on the walls. We then visit Salem's Peabody Essex Institute for a sampling of its collection, which includes artifacts from the city's maritime past and original records from the witch trials of 1692. Back on the site, our master carpenter installs a new, full-light patio door in the family room to allow more light in, using a new kind of adjustable screw to set the jambs. The crew hauls the newly restored bathtub upstairs to the master bathroom, where it matches beautifully with the new toilet and pedestal sink. Our plumbing and heating specialist has found found antique-look chrome bath fixtures that comply with mod

The final days. We arrive after a snowstorm to find the front hall floor finished with a faux marble treatment by decorative painter Julie Clay. In the kitchen, Tom Worthen installs a ""man-made slate"" countertop. It's a dense composite of Portland cement and a mica-like mineral, often used in laboratories, but suitable for domestic applications. Upstairs, Michael Griffiths installs a dense carpet made from recycled soda bottles. In the McIntire room, historical goods merchant John Burrows supervises the installation of a historically accurate carpet, and we visit the factory in England where it was made on a narrow loom whose design has remained much the same since 1790. Then we check out the new alarm system, complete with low-temperature sensor. Josh Feinstein gives our host the tour of the new lighting. The guys examine a pop-up ventilator for the new modular cooktop and we see period-reproduction furnishings in the living room and guest bedroom, where we meets the latest addition t

This Old House heads south to the historic splendor of Savannah, Georgia, where Mills and Marianne Fleming have purchased an 1884 Italianate Victorian townhouse on Monterey Square, one of the city's most beautiful. We tour the house, whose rotting back porches will be replaced by a permanent structure holding an expanded kitchen and dining room on one floor, and a master bedroom and bathroom on the second. Other needed improvements include restoring the heart pine flooring, adding guest bathrooms, installing HVAC system to cope with the region's high heat and humidity and improving the facade with an appropriate iron balustrade and wooden shutters. Mills leads a ""greatest hits"" tour of downtown Savannah. Then contractor J.T. Turner, whose firm has restored many homes and buildings in the historic district, shows us a job in progress and a finished restoration. Finally, Turner's job foreman, Mark Fitzpatrick, goes over the subject house and gives us his take on the main challenges facin

The show begins with the TOH guys antiquing and then heading over to the jobsite on Monterey Square. With demolition of the rear porches complete, the Turner Construction team, led by Mark Fitzpatrick, has moved on to framing, using engineered lumber where possible. Mark tours the project from garden-level apartment to roof. We visit the next door twin of the Flemings' house for clues about its original floors, lighting, mantlepieces and archway between front and rear parlors. Homeowner Mills Fleming and designer Jeff Verheyen review some of the changes - mainly in bathroom placement, number and design - that have occurred since the original blueprints were drawn up. Meanwhile, plumbing contractor Ernest Hutson shows us how to vent an understairs powder-room toilet with an air-admittance valve that precludes the use of a through-the-roof vent. Viewers then tour the architectural and plumbing splendors of the Owens-Thomas House, an outstanding example of the English Regency style built

The show opens at Wormsloe Plantation, ruins of a 1736 dwelling on the banks of the Inland Passage and the earliest remnant of those colonial times in Savannah. Back at the project house, a new water main is going in on Gordon Street. Inside the new historically accurate (true-divided-light, single-thickness glass) windows have arrived, and project manager Mark Fitzpatrick applies brick-mold trim to one and installs it. The high-velocity air-conditioning ducting and air-handlers are now on site. Viewers then tour the Green-Meldrim house to see its many methods of keeping cool in the days before electricity. Atop the Flemings' house, a new terne metal roof and a fluid-applied acrylic and polyester mesh roof, new and old. A pull-down attic stair is installed, while out back masons reuse local ""Savannah Grey"" bricks from the original structure to build up a veneer on the new addition.

The show opens at an architectural salvage shop in downtown Savannah; the proprietress drops by the jobsite to buy some of the salvaged plumbing fixtures and woodwork. The strip oak flooring is ripped up to reveal the original heart pine beneath - it's in great shape and can be refinished. A new spray-on cellulose insulation is perfect for the irregular and thin spaces against the exterior masonry walls of the building. The exterior of the new addition is paneled over with medium-density overlay board, ideal for exterior painted surfaces. Finally, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil author John Berendt takes us a tour of the Savannah portrayed in his best-selling book.

The show opens at Fort Pulaski, a Federal fort taken over by Confederate forces early in the Civil War, only to fall to superior weaponry, rendering its masonry construction obsolete. At the site, new mouldings, custom milled to match the existing ones in the house, have arrived and are stacked neatly and out of harm's way in the carriage house. Upstairs, job supervisor Mark Fitzpatrick uses a fax service to up-to-date specs for the new appliances so that he can rough in electronics and gas accurately. Upstairs, drywall contractor Kevin Landry is using a vacuumed sander to smooth out his joints. Viewers then check out a new batt insulation made of cotton scraps and meet flooring contractor Mike McMurray, who will lay a new heart pine floor in the addition and make it match the old, which he will also be refinishing. We see paint and wallpaper prep, and a new plaster ceiling medallion made by master plasterer Jean-Francois Furieri. We visit the Lucas Theater restoration project, where F

The show opens at Congregation Mickve Israel, where Rabbi Belzer takes us on a tour around the 1876 building and shows us the congreation's Torah, the oldest in America, brought over with the original temple members in 1733. At the house, city preservation officer Beth Reiter confers with Mills Fleming about the exterior paint colors and the way they will be applied to the stucco building. Inside, paper hanger Peter Bridgman works on one of the four ceilings he is treating with wallpaper. Before he could proceed, paper hanger Don Taylor had to stabilize the cracking plaster with a system of paper-barrier paint and fiberglass fabric. Finish carpenter Steve Scherz shows us some of the elaborate new moldings going up, including a cornice made up of seven separate elements, design to imitate the building's original plaster cornices. We visit blacksmith Johnny Smith's forge, where he is fabricating a new wrought iron railing for the Flemings' house, while back at the house, tile contractor

The show opens with a visit to the Port of Savannah, one of the busiest container ports on the East Coast and a major employer for the region. He delivers the new cedar shutters to the jobsite, while the heat pumps are hoisted onto the roof. Installer Jimmy Woods shows us the new maple cabinets going into the kitchen. The building's front facade gets a lift as project manager Mark Fitzpatrick removes the old sheet metal ""pigeon guards"" that were obscuring the lintels. We visit nearby Gulfstream Aerospace, where state-of-the-art business jets are built and fitted out with cabinetry of the finest veneers. Back at the house, we see a floor mosaic go down in the entrance vestibule; its intricate Greek key and acanthus leaf design is formed of porcelain tile cut by computer-controlled water jet. We check out the new and old heart pine floors, matched perfectly by specialist Mike McMurray and crew. Finally, paper hanger Peter Bridgman continues his work in the rear parlor.

The final days in Savannah. We visit a preservation expert in charge of saving Pulaski Monument in Monterey Square, which is falling victim to the ravages of acid rain, sulfur, and bacteria. At the house, we meet up with homeowner Mills Fleming, who is busy programming his new security system via a touch-tone phone. Blacksimth Johnny Smith is installing the new wrought-iron railing for the house's front stairs. Inside, lighting designer Cyndee Sessoms shows the sand-cast and crystal chandelier lighting fixtures she chose for the house, while in the kitchen, Mills sees the completed cabinetry and stainless-steel appliances. The granite countertops are in, and we visit the local shop where they were fabricated. On the main staircase, we check out brass dust corners, period hardware that keeps dust from collecting in stair's corners. Outside, paint contractor Parker Chapman works to make sure the house will be ready for the final day. The final morning starts with Savannah mayor Floyd Ada

This Old House sets out for Nantucket the classic way, aboard a Streamship Authority vessel. On island, they tour one of our master carpenter's first jobs, a clothing store. Linking up with designer Jock Gifford, we take a walk up Main Street, one of the finest preserved streets in America. At the subject house, a tour reveals small rooms and poor systems, but a project with a lot of potential. Accordingly, we meet island contractor Bruce Killen and then the homeowners, Craig and Kathy McGraw Bentley.

The crew starts the work day surf casting with local expert David Goodman (and full-time tile contractor) - and even catch a striped bass and a bluefish. At the house, Jock Gifford and the Bentleys use a model to go over the new design for the new house. Whatever they decide they want to do, all exterior changes will have to be approved by the island's Historic District Commission (HDC). We meet commission head Mark Avery to hear about to hear the group, its mandate, likes, dislikes, and proceedings; meanwhile Jock takes us on a photography expedition around the island as he prepares a presentation to the HDC about exterior changes - dormers, decorative shingling - proposed for the Bentley house. In the basement, Richard Trethewey finds very little plumbing or heating equipment worth saving; he then follows the energy story on Nantucket, from wind power to electricity generation to fuel oil to LP gas to wood. In a word, it's all expensive, so the choices the Bentleys make for their hom

The show starts with a visit to Nantucket's Unitarian Universalist church, a beautiful showcase of restrained New England architecture and trompe l'oeil painting built in 1809. At 3 Milk Street, we catch up with general contractor Bruce Killen, who has his building permit and is well into a gut job on the building. Reasons for this dramatic course include the fact that the building will need insulation, upgraded wiring and plumbing, new windows and trim, and a notable change of floor plan; it will also get rid of the bulk lead paint. Outside, mason Don Kissell is accepting a load of concrete for the new addition's footings. Our master carpenter takes a trip to an island plant to see where the concrete is mixed. We hear designer Jock Gifford's report on the Historic District Commission's judgement: the additions were approved, but any exterior details will have to be proven to have been on the building originally. To that end, Syd Conway, who grew up in the house, drops by to share some

Our master carpenter goes lobstering with contractor/lobsterman Pierre Garneau, who has a family license to put out 10 traps. At the house, mason Dan Kissell takes down the unneeded (and unsafe) chimneys, careful to salvage the old bricks, which can fetch up to $2.50 a piece. Homeowner Kathy McGraw Bentley is assigned the task of cleaning the bricks of their old mortar. Engineered lumber arrives on site, in time for reframing to begin both inside the building and on the platform left by the recent demolition of the kitchen ell. We learn how to mix the perfect motar with the masons, who are beginning to build the concrete block foundation for the new addition. Inside, job foreman Patrick Hehir and the crew work to insert a new engineered lumber beam into the second floor system, and begin to sister on 2 x 8s to the existing 2 x 6 joists.

The show starts with a visit to Sankaty Head Light, a Coast Guard property of the exposed Eastern edge of the island. Built in 1850, it like the rest of the houses along the the bluff that leads up to it, is in danger of being washed away by the encroaching Atlantic. Coast Guard Capt. Bill Batson gives us a tour and discusses the options for the future. Back at the house, general contractor Burce Killen checks out the nearly entirely reframed house and discuss the efficiency and code considerations that led to such a radical reworking. Outside, designer Jock Gifford shows homeowner Kathy McGraw Bently a sample of the new windows he's specified for the house, featuring true divided lights, interior energy panels, factory installed trim, and a factory applied three-part exterior pait finish guaranteed for ten years. The Bentleys need to go before the Historic District Commission to obtain approval for the colors they want to use on the building; upon approval they can order the windows.

The show opens with a little clamming, looking for quahogs at a secret location. At the site, we meet designer Jock Gifford, who uses the model of the house to explain the work going on: cutting a hole in the roof to accept the addition's gable. Inside, we meet framing contractor Paul O'Rourke, whose crew makes the cut, assembles the gable wall on the second floor, and pushes it up into place. On the roof, Bruce Killen reviews the progress the new wood shingle roof and the ingredients that go into a roof designed to last 50 years, even in the harsh island environment: heavy roof sheathing, tarpaper, bitumen membrane along edges and in valleys, copper valleys and drip edge, a three-dimensional mesh that allows a layer of air beneath the shingles, and the shingles themselves - #1, vertical-grained, thick-butted (5/8"") Western red cedar. Homeowner Craig Bentley considers the possibility of using a ground-source heat pump to both heat and cool the building, a good choice on an island with

The show begins at Nantucket's Old North Wharf, much of which dates from the early 18th century and site of several small cottages available for rent. At the site, homeowner Kathy McGrew Bentley shows us the window sash color approved by the Historic District Commission, as well as the outside placement of the chimney, which had previously been slated for inside the building. Contractor Bruce Killen describes the cost of the extra framing work so far: $30,000. Outside, mason Dan Kissell shows us how to parge the new concrete block foundation so that it matches the old foundation, while cedar roofer John Rex reveals the secret of the roof's decorative diamond detail. Out at Bruce Killen's workshop, Bruce helps refrubish the building's old fornt doors, using custom knives to replicate the moldings and a large belt sander to remove the paint from the frames. Finally, lighting designer Melissa Guenet and electrician Sally Kay Bates shows us the plans for the second floor.

The show opens at Nantucket's Whaling Museum with curator Mike Jehle. At the site, we see the first of two wells being drilled for the Bentley's ground-source heat pump; they meet an expert in the technology, Carl Orio, who explains how the heat pump works off the ambient temperature in the groundwater. Then we take a tour of some of the island's best open spaces, preserved through the efforts of the Nantucket Land Bank, a public body that competes against developers on the open market using funds it receives from a 2% fee accessed on every real estate transaction on the island. Back at the site, homeowner Kathy McGrew Bentley is hard at work at decisions about her kitchen and floors - our master carpenter reviews wood floor options with her and general contractor Bruce Killen. Our host discusses decisions about the electrical and lighting plans with lighting designer Melissa Guenet and electrician Sally Kay Bates.

Before heading over to the job site, we visit the 1827 African Meeting House, a former school, church, and meeting house used by Nantucket's black population until the 1920's and now the object of a restoration effort. Contractor Bruce Killen builds a new door frame for the restored Victorian double doors, which he and the crew hang. Then we go to Switzerland to see one man's solution to the high cost of building and real estate there: high-quality factory-built houses.

A visit to Nantucket's Life-Saving Museum teaches viewers about a key part of the island's maritime past. Meanwhile, the site is a flurry of subcontractor activity. Mason Dan Kissell shows us the rounded firebox - a traditional Nantucket design - he's building into the Bentley's new chimney. Upstairs, electrician Sally Bates is roughing in workboxes, using airtight plastic surrounds for those in the outside walls to aid in keeping the building well insuated. Installer Eric Branzetti runs the tubing for the central vacuum system and shows us the motor unit in the basement. Plumber Butch Ramos gives a tour of the rough plumbing, while out at Bruce Killen's workshop, work begins on the elegant Victorian brackets that will support the roof over the restored front entrance. Finally, the crew starts to wrap the house with a spun-bounded fabric to keep the winter drafts from blowing through the old sheathing.

The show begins with a visit to the Wharf Rat Club, a collection of old-timers who gather to chat each morning in a former quahog-sorting shack on Old North Wharf. Then we check out the progress at the house: a Victorian-detailed chimney is complete, as is the custom bulkhead door. Inside, general contractor Bruce Killen goes over the features of the newly arrived windows - wood construction, factory-applied two-color paint scheme and exterior trim, interior energy panels, vinyl sash guides, tilt-in cleaning, excellent weatherstripping - and we see one go in. Then we meet energy conservation specialist David Weitz, whose company is using a three-part system - foam, high-density fiberglass batts and extra-tough vapor barrier - to bring This Old House up to the highest of insulation standards set for new housing. At the workshop, our master carpenter finishes off the exterior brackets by making intricate decorative in-fill on the bandsaw.

Dr. Tim Lepore, the island's leading specialist in tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease and babeosis, tells us more about their prevalence here and what can be done to avoid them. At the house, preparations are underway for the installation of the restore Victorian double doors. Inside, Richard Trethewey shows us the new metal ductwork for delivery heating and cooling service for the house; he visits the shop where the metalworking is done. Outside, we get a lesson in sidewall shingling with Eastern white cedar, the preferred siding on Nantucket. Then we visit the Nantucket dump, rapidly reaching its capacity, and see the recycling facility that supervisor Jeff Willet hopes will reduce the flow of material and extend the life of the landfill. Back at the house, Bruce Killen and crew put up the front door roof, install the double doors and see what brackets will look like at the restored entrance.

Realtor Hammie Heard shows us around the Dreamland Theatre, a downtown Nantucket landmark. First a Quaker meeting house, then a straw hat factory, then a roller rink, then part of a hotel on Brant Point before finally becoming the island's biggest movie theatre in 1904. Now for sale for $4.2 million, it stands as 15,000 square feet of pure potential with a great view. At the house, Bruce Killen takes a look at the interior insulation, used for sound deadening and heat zoning, and unpacks the new etched glass just in from California. Based on a rubbing of the surviving front door glass panel, it's a perfect match and the final touch on the refurbished Victorian entry. Our host arrives to see bluebarders David and Eric Sandrson tackling the tricky angles of the upstairs rooms, then goes with designer Jock Gifford to see a Victorian-style kitchen in another island home, part of Jock's work to help the Bentley's decide on the work of their new kitchen. Also helping in the kitchen design an