Seasons & episodes

Roger Cook and Christian Bilodeau plant 30-foot evergreens as a screen in the backyard, using Christian's tree spade. Tom updates us on the project's progress: termite damage has necessitated replacement of all three porches, rough wiring is well underway, and rough plumbing has already been inspected. Out on the front lawn, homeowners Christian and Sue put a first coat of finish paint on some of the 8000+ new red cedar shingles and shows us the historically accurate new paint scheme: light olive for the body, straw for the trim, and a pumpkin red for the decorative shingling and window sash. Electrician Allen Gallant links the house up with the live Boston Edison service from the street, while the crew cut through the roof for the new sklight. Finally, we visit the granite quarry and finishing yard where new pink granite blocks are being prepped for use on the front part of the Watertown house's foundation, matching the rest of the granite around the sides and back of the building.

The This Old House team installs a zero-clearance fireplace with a handsome cast-iron firebox. Window rehabilitation specialist David Liberty shows us his method of refurbishing the building's existing windows using old-fashioned, long-lasting materials. Show friend George Putnam works with a new stripping chemical to relieve the decorative carving on the front gable of its layers of paint, while our host visits the new owners of last season's home, the 1724 Colonial in Milton, Massachusetts. Our master carpenter checks in with a/v specialist Steve Hayes as he pulls ""futureproof"" wiring bundles through the walls and back to a central switching box. Finally, custom cabinet maker Ted Goodnow and homeowner Sue Denny shows us the progress they've made towards finalizing the kitchen's look.

A busy day on site: the back decking is coming along with a new undermount system. The insulation crew is hard at work inside spraying on foam insulation. Up top, Mark Schaub and his crew prepare to line the chimneys with a concrete lining poured down around bladders in each of the flues, and in the backyard, Dick Washburn shows us a unique dipping tank for stripping one of the house's old mantles of paint. In the relative quiet of the workshop, our master carpenter is fabricating a quartersawn white oak raised-panel piece for the bottom of the stairway. Finally, mason Lenny Belliveau works on the newly arrived pink granite blocks for veneering the foundation at the front of the building.

Exterior painting by Steve Kiernan and crew is underway out back, as is the erection of a white cedar combination fence and trellis along the driveway. In the kitchen, Fred Morgan explains to us the ancient process of terrazzo flooring, with a modern twist: instead of concrete, epoxy is used. Drywaller Mike Couillard shows us a tiler backing board, that unlike cementitous board, can be worked with regular drywall tools, as well as 56"" wide drywall sheets that eliminate a seam when used in high-ceiled rooms such as ours. In the basement, Bill Clayton takes us through the perimeter drain and sump system his company has installed to deal with the flooding the house suffers during heavy rains. Roger Cook and crew unload trees and shrubs from a local nursery and begin sitting them around the yard. Finally, our host gets a lesson in granite work as Lenny Belliveau completes the foundation's stone veneer.

The show opens with a plumbing and heating tour of the basement, with stops at: a pressure-reducing valve that steps down the incoming water pressure from 110 psi to a more useful 65 psi; no-hub cast iron waste lines; two-burner high-efficiency boiler; and a topnotch ducting job that interfaces with an air handler, humidifier and electrostatic air cleaner. Upstairs, the terrazzo floor is polished. Our team istalls a new window with guts of wood fiber and resins, a wood veneer interior and vinyl-clad exterior. Lighting designer Doreen Le May Madden takes us to a nearby lighting showroom to see what she has come up with for homeowner Sue Denny. Among the surprises is a fiber-optic lighting package.

A huge drywall goes in under the front lawn to handle water pumped out of the basement slump, and chimney specialist Mark Schaub and crew shows us the newly ""Rumfordized"" front parlor fireplace and the cast iron Victorian fireplace inserts they've installed in the dining room and in Sue's office. Homeowner Sue Denny uses a biodegradable stripper to remove built-up varnish from the old oak doors, while Tom and our master carpenter fabricate new fluted post and replica goosenecks for the house's porches. The new copper shingle system is being installed on all the porch roofs.

The This Old House team shop for lunch supplies at Eastern Lamejun Bakery, one of the oldest Middle Eastern grocery stores in the counrty. (The Watertown area is home to one of the largest Armenian populations in the country.) At the jobsite, Augustin Crookston and crew install copper gutters and downspouts as homeowners Sue Denny and Christian Nolen sift through the dumpster for some expensive mosaic tiles that were mistakenly thrown out during a jobsite clean up. We visit a larger-scale mine, the Kennecott Utah Copper facility in Salt Lake City, to see the complex process by which pure copper is extracted from ore. Back at the jobsite, floorman Pat Hunt and his crew restore the house's original quartersawn oak flooring and install new material that matches. Finally, the crew install the quartersawn oak wainscot that our master carpenter made in the New Yankee Workshop.

Our host arrives on site to find the building's exterior nearly complete: the new paint scheme is on, the copper gutter system is complete, and Tommy and crew have finished the front porch, from copper shingle roof to new front steps. Roger Cook and his crew are putting in a rice-stone front walk and garden path, leading to the formal herb garden at the house's south side. Inside, the big story is the arrival and installation of the kitchen cabinets. We visit the custom shop where they were made. In the front hall, finishes expert John Dee shows us how he is matching the old, stripped oak of the central staircase to the new oak of the wainscot, using different shades of traditional shellac. Upstairs, Joe Ferrante installs a complex pattern of marble tiles in the master shower, while the crew reassemble the scattered pieces of the central balustrade, handrail and newel posts.

Our host arrives to find Roger Cook and crew installing sod on the front lawn, while inside painting contractor Steve Kiernan gives him a lesson on proper prep and priming in the media room. The crew install the commercial-style hood over the cooktop in the kitchen. Our host continues the finishes tour by observing the decoratitive painting techniques of Iris Marcus, who is putting up a ""silk moiré"" pattern on the walls of the dining room. Our host takes us to see the other hand of the house's security system, visiting a central station that monitors houses and businesses across New England, while our master carpenter checks in with the closet system installers, who are working with a custom product made in Italy. We find electrician Allen Gallant working of the fiber-optic equipment that supplies light to the oak stairway. Finally, termite man Steve Marken injects a blanket of protection around the building's perimeter to insure that all the fine renovations will remain bug-free.

The final days of the Watertown project start with Richard Trethewey's tour of the completed kitchen, complete with stainless-steel cleanup sink, the completed baths, and the laundry. We get a lesson in wallpapering from expert John Gravallese. Hint #1: use a ton of single-edge razor blades. Decorative painter Julia Purinton and her crew show us their two-tone striped wall treatment in the guest bedroom. Craftsmen install a restored stained-glass panel in the front door and a brand-new one in the front wall. Lighting designer Doreen Le May Madden shows us the finished lighting package in the kitchen - including a dimmable fluorescent ceiling fixture - and the dining room, and Christian prepares some hors d'oeuvres in his new kitchen. We check out Susan's new office, where she's using a high-speed cable modem to surf the internet, including the new This Old House and New Yankee Workshop sites, and moves on to find Steve Hayes setting up the media room with some new, adjustable and tunab

Our host and master carpenter find paradise at the end of the famed U.S. Route 1 - Key West, Florida. Along the island's back streets they discover their latest renovation challenge, a Conch captain's house built by a shipwright in 1866. Over the course of seven new episodes, they will team with homeowner Michael Miller, who will also serve as the project's architect, to expand the vintage structure and refine its interior and exterior details. Watch and learn: A history of Key West architecture of embodied in the subject house.

After catching the famous Mallory Square sunset the evening before, the This Old House team gets to work, first checking in with general contractor Roger Townsend to see the jobsite's progress while our master carpenter visits the local lumberyard to look at some of the building materials Key Westers use to beat the elements and stay true to local architectural traditions. Homeowner/architect Michael Miller takes us on a tour of one of his projects, and old Conch cottage converted into a library and guest room. Its porch is quintessential Key West - tongue-and-groove painted decking, simple columns, full dimension exposed rafters and beadboard ceiling - and serves as a model for what Michael and Helen want to do to their back porch. Back on site, excavator Ray Vanyo starts digging the pool, only to come across a buried cistern and a floating piece of Key West History. Watch and learn: The best materials to build with in semi-tropical and hurricane-prone climates.

The show opens at one of Key West's most popular destinations, Harry Truman's ""Little White House,"" where the President visited for many years after having originally been sent to the island to recover from a severe cold and exhaustion. Our heating and plumbing expert gives HVAC contractor Charle Roberts a walk-through of the high-velocity, flexible-duct air conditioning package, making its debut in Key West. Out back, pool excavator Ray Vanyo continues to struggle with the challenge of working in a confined space. Back at the jobsite, homeowner Michael Miller shows us his plans for the new library. Finally, our four Northerners sneak off to watch the sailboats battle it out in the Key West Race Week heats. Watch and learn: Innovations in water conservation.

The show opens at Truman Annex, a planned community on land that was formerly Key West's naval station. Later in the show, we tour another planned community, the town of Celebration, with archtect Graham Gund. A Disney venture, it was built from scratch over the last four years, with the participation of some of the world's best-known architects. Back at the project house, Roger Townsend shows us the fully framed great room and the nearly complete rough plumbing and electrical work, as he awaits inspections before the insulation crew arrives. Homeowner Michael Miller finally makes his decison about the back porch: take it down and rebuild it in a style more in keeping with the rest of the house. Finally, we check out lap-siding Key West-style, and the foam insulation, another island first, starts to go in. Watch and learn: Porch construction and building and commuinty development.

The show opens at Key West's biggest industries - cruise ships. The This Old House team takes a tour of Carnival's Ecstasy, in port for the day. Back at the house, a glazier cuts and beds restoration glass - mouth-blown, like glass from the 1800s - in the new replacement sash. Outside, lead carpenter Bev Horlick and crew use 3"" x 4"" rafters to frame up the new porch roof, a crew sprays concrete to form up the new pool. Then we take a ride up to Savannah, Georgia, to tour the millwork sohp that is building the library cabinets to homeowner Michael Miller's specifications. The show ends with us checking out the new skylight. Watch and learn: Building fine cabinetry and considerations for insulating island homes.

Just as they're getting used to all the sunshine, the crew realizes it's almost time to wrap up the Key West project. The activity on site is intense. Window installer Charles Malta reviews the options in balancing the traditional sash he's installing - vinyl with springs, tube, tape and good old prop sticks. We see the Italian-made kitchen going on in and admire its style, mechanics and ease of installation. Afterward, the molded urethane window trim is applied in the dining room. In the library, we see the first of the cabinets to arrive from Savannah and then take a tour of an exquisitely restored and furnished Key West ""eyebrow"" house. Back on site, the flooring contractor inlays the river-recovered heart pine floor with a diamond pattern of rare curly pine. With a thunderstorm quickly approaching, we watch v-crimp metal roofing go on the new rear roof. Watch and learn: How to install metal roofing.

On our last day in Key West, viewers get a look at the new pool, its cleaning system and the heat pump that both heats and cools it. (Key Westers have to chill down their pools during the brutal summers.) Inside, we see the handiwork of tileman Tom Lapp, who is putting the finishing touches on a beautiful entryway of black and white, concrete Cuban tiles. Outside, painter Perry Fergus and crew are using a latex topcoat for the house's body and trim, and a high-gloss oil for the new shutters. Vierers then visit the local shop where they were made. Back at the house, lead carpenter Bev Horlick installs the first of several mahogany French doors made by the same shop, using heavy brass hinges and tarnish-proof handles. Our host checks out the new lanscaping with contractor Mari Blair, who has used a variety of native plants, an irrigation system and low-voltage lighting. Our master carpenter agrees with homeowner Michael Miller that rushing the cabinetry in the library is not a good idea,

The new season starts with a visit to Chub Whitten's Colonial home in Ipswitch, Massachusetts, that we toured at the beginning of last season. Then it was a burned wreck; now, a year later, it is impeccably restored. After Dick Silva talks about the fire, he leads a tour the ruins of the house. Then our host meets with Dick and his wife Sandra to discuss their plans for the future, which are to rebuild on the same spot. Finally, we see the basement heating plant which investigators believe may have been the source of the fire.

We visit the Billerica Fire Dept. to hear what it was like to fight the Silva fire, and how it might have been prevented or at least kept more manageable. Back at the house, our host meets with the Silvas' insurance agent, who explains the benefits of having a ""guaranteed replacement cost"" endorsement on one's homeowner's policy - it provides for rebuilding after a complete loss. Public insurance adjuster (and former This Old House homeowner) Dick Benedetti shows us some of the process by which he is writing up the insurance claim for the Silvas. Architect Chris Dallmus begins to discuss the design of the new structure with homeowners Dick and Sandra Silva, while outside a perc test is run for the new septic system and lanscape contractor Roger Cook takes an inventory of the plants that did and did not survive the fire.

Tom recounts the day the machines came to tear down Dick and Sandra's old house. All that's left is a hole in the ground. Arborist Matt Foti and his crew take down two 75-year-old Eastern white pines damaged by the fire and cut them into 2x10 planks on a mobile saw mill. An environmental testing crew arrives to take soil samples, as the fire department suspects fuel oil was spilled on site during the fire. If tests shows that concentrations are high enough, a mitgation will be required by the state's department of environmental protection. Another team arrives to re-establish the height of the water table, digging a hole by hand, to satisfy the town's building department that the foundation's proposed elevationis legal. Architect Chris Dallmus shows us a model of the house-to-be, a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath structure whose style Chris describes as ""village Victorian,"" modelled after some houses he found in Billerica's town center.

A full month after our last time on site, the foundation is just being completed, the construction schedule having fallen victim to a three-week soil cleanup process. With the complex, 30-corner foundation walls up, it's time for a proactive termite treatment beneath the slab, using a new class of chemical, that rather than acting as a barrier, allows termites to enter the treated zone unknowingly, upon which they die. Its continuing efficacy in the ground has been proven for seven years and counting. Before the slab is poured, the crew installs an underlayment of 2"" styrofoam insulation and a clip-in system for radiant heat - at half the price it was only a few years ago, Richard insists we put the tubing in every slab we pour, even if it isn't used right away. Then our host takes viewers to a Florida house built by a major insurance company to showcase tips for loss mitgation - everthing from sprinklers to kick-proof door jambs. Back at the site, the slab is poured, and homeowners Di

Homeowner Dick Silva gives a tour of the newly framed up first floor, and Tom Silva shows some of the hallmarks of a good framing system. In the basement, our master carpenter explains how the floor joists meet two steel beams to maximize headroom, while our host and crew held a metal post in position. We then visit the Florida factory where the wooden I-beams used in the house's floor are made - 25 miles' worth a day. Back on site, architect Chris Dallmus explins some of the srtategies he's using to reduce the mass and appearance of the proposed three-car garage. Finally, framing contractor Eric Machemer and crew raise the last of the first-floor walls and the building begins to climb into the sky.

Homeowner Dick Silva gives a tour of the framed and sheated house and reports that he and Sandra have recieved a very satisfactory insurance settlement on the structure; the settlement on the contents awaits a complete inventory. We pay a visit to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, where firefighters learn hands-on the techniques that save lives and buildings. Back at the house, the crew discusses the fine points of shed dormers, while framing contractor Eric Pierce puts one together in a fast and professional way. Mason Lenny Belliveau shows us his system: veneer brick on the concrete foundation face, a matching full brick for the chimney.

The new windows have arrived. They're made from an extruded composive of PVC and sawdust, and we visit Minnesota to see the factory. The crew puts up corner trim using two layers of cementitious board, while mason Lenny Belliveau shows us a new tool that extrudes cement grout like icing for a cake. Lenny forms the new hearth, and the guys move on to installing one of the new windows.