This Old House

The Boston neighborhood of Charlestown is the location of the next THIS OLD HOUSE project, the expansion and renovation of newlyweds Dan and Heather Beliveau's just-purchased 1865 brick townhouse. The project entails converting the existing basement into a two-bedroom rental unit and the upper two floors into a single family home. The house's location on Bunker Hill Street, only two blocks from the Bunker Hill Monument, promises to inspire a number of side stories that celebrate both the history and renaissance of Charlestown. Visit the This Old House website.

Description Air Time This Old House -- no episode information available. This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey reports on water usage and conservation issues facing the Florida Keys. Host Steve Thomas visits "The Little White House," which served as President Harry Truman's "home away from The White House," during his administration. Thomas also learns the local lore surrounding Key West's adopted son including, his habit of buying coffee with autographed dollar bills and his notorious poker games that lasted 'til dawn. Master carpenter Norm Abram reports on the interior design challenges of the Key West project. Dec 1 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Host Steve Thomas visits two of Florida's most interesting real estate developments -- Key West's Truman Annex and Orlando's Celebration. Host Steve Thomas is given a tour of the much talked about town by one of the project's architects and THIS OLD HOUSE series alum, Graham Gund (he served as architect for This Old House's 1992 Lexington ranch renovation). Back at the job site, the renovation process is in high gear as the old porch is demolished to make way for a new one with refined Key West-style. Dec 4 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Master carpenter Norm Abram revisits Savannah, Georgia, to convince the THIS OLD HOUSE alums at Savannah Millworks (they built the doors for the Savannah Victorian Italianate rowhouse in 1995) to build the library for the Key West project. Host Steve Thomas reports on the considerations involved in insulating island homes and checks out the new, historically accurate windows, which will replace the project house's old metal louvers. Dec 5 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Host Steve Thomas checks out the installation of the new Italian kitchen. Master carpenter Norm Abram travels to a nearby Marathon Key woodworking shop to learn how they craft wooden shutters for island homes, and then makes it back to the project house in time to watch the installation of the new library. And finally, the project house is crowned with a storm-tolerant, "v-crimp" galvanized roof. Dec 6 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Host Steve Thomas visits the island home of Key West's favorite son -- Ernest Hemingway. At the project, the landscape renovation is completed with the installation of some native island plants. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey tests the new air conditioning system. And finally, Steve joins master carpenter Norm Abram for a walk through of the newly renovated Key West project, before toasting the conclusion of the series' 20th anniversary season. Dec 7 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. In the first of 18 episodes, tragedy turns to triumph as the entire THIS OLD HOUSE crew rebuilds fellow carpenter Richard Silva's Billerca, MA, home following a devastating fire. A new house rises from the ashes, with special attention to solid, traditional building methods, low maintenance materials and systems to ensure fire will never have a chance again. Dec 8 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Fire departments from five neighboring communities were enlisted to douse the blaze at Dick Silva's home which burned for nearly six hours and became the lead evening news story on several Boston-area television stations. Host Steve Thomas meets with their insurance agent and learns that having a "guaranteed replacement cost" endorsement on one's policy provides for rebuilding after a complete loss. Then he meets with public insurance adjuster, Dick Benedetti, who explains the process of writing insurance claims as he accounts for the Silvas' losses. Homeowners Dick and Sandy Silva begin the process of rebuilding when they meet with architect Chris Dallmus to discuss the design of their new house. Outside, landscape contractor Roger Cook takes an inventory of the plants which survived the fire. Dec 11 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. General contractor Tom Silva recounts the day the machines came to tear down Dick and Sandra's old house and surveys "the blank slate" upon which their new one will be built. Host Steve Thomas gets the ball rolling for the rebuild when he meets with architect Chris Dallmus to review his architectural model of the house-to-be -- a two-story "village Victorian" with four-bedrooms and three-and-a-half-baths. In the process, he learns that Dallmus's vision for the new structure was to respect the character of the surrounding neighborhood with its modest Cape and ranch houses and to reflect Billerica's architectural history. The process of cleaning up the surrounding property in the aftermath of the fire begins. Arborist Matt Foti and his crew take down two 75-year-old Eastern white pines damaged by the blaze and recycle them into 2x10 planks on a mobile saw mill. An environmental testing crew arrives to take soil samples and determine whether fuel oil was spilled on site. And finally, a third team arrives to re-establish the height of the property's water table and to ensure that the foundation's proposed elevation is legal and meets the requirements of Billerica's building department. Dec 12 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. After weeks of environmental clean-up and construction delays, host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram arrive at Dick Silva's property and find the foundation for his new house almost complete. To finish the job, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, general contractor Tom Silva, and Norm install some state-of-the-art Styrofoam insulation and an innovative radiant heating system. Meanwhile, Steve travels to Deerfield Beach, Florida, to visit a demonstration home which was built by an insurance company and contains 150 ideas you can use to avoid becoming an insurance claim statistic. When he returns to the job site, he finds homeowners Dick and Sandy Silva trying to decide which brick veneer to choose for the exterior of the foundation. Dec 13 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Host Steve Thomas is given a tour of the newly framed first floor by homeowner Dick Silva and then catches up with general contractor Tom Silva who shows him the hallmarks of a good framing system. Downstairs, Norm shows Steve how innovative, engineered wooden I-joists provide a column-free space before he travels to the Florida factory which makes them. Meanwhile, Steve meets with architect Chris Dallmus to review some of his strategies for reducing the mass and appearance of the proposed three-car garage. Finally, framing contractor Eric Machemer and crew begin to raise the walls of Dick Silva's new house. Dec 14 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. When host Steve Thomas stops by the construction site in Billerica, Massachusetts, he is greeted with great news from homeowners Dick and Sandy Silva -- they received a satisfactory insurance settlement for the loss of their home. Having been at work when the fire started, the Silva family was fortunate enough to have escaped personal injury. But lingering speculation about the challenges the firefighters faced in trying to douse the out-of-control blaze, is what leads Steve to visit the Massachusetts Fire Training Academy in Sudbury, Massachusetts. There, he dons state-of-the-art fire gear for a first-hand experience of the extreme life-threatening situations firefighters encounter and the techniques they learn to save lives and buildings. When Steve returns to the job site, mason Lenny Belliveau shows him his system for matching the brick veneer facing on the foundation with that of chimney. And finally, master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva discuss the fine points of shed dormers while framing contractor Eric Pierce demonstrates how to construct one. Dec 15 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. The arrival of new, state-of-the-art windows for the Billerica house inspires host Steve Thomas to visit the Minnesota factory where they are manufactured. Before installing the new windows back at the site, master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva affix corner trim made out of innovative cementaceous boards that carry a 50-year warranty. And finally, Thomas returns to the job site to help mason Lenny Belliveau form the new hearth for the Silvas' home. Dec 18 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Host Steve Thomas interviews James Crowe, inventor of a new, synthetic slate roofing material, which is made from recycled automotive rubber and industrial plastic trimmings. Roofer Mark Mulloy demonstrates his technique for laying the material and predicts that if it lives up to its 50-year warranty claim, it will be a hit among renovators everywhere. Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva take over Dick's Quonset hut to set up the woodworking shop where they will work on the carpentry projects for the new house. Later, Thomas catches up with plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey to review the factors that will determine the layout of the house's waste pipes. Dec 19 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. With an eye towards the new century and emerging technologies, the local electric utility arrives on-site to extend wiring from across the street to a new pole erected in a discreet location on homeowner Dick Silva's property. As host Steve Thomas learns, the new construction provides an occasion to prepare for the advent of home audio, video and computer services of the future. Afterwards, he joins kitchen designer Phil Mossgraber and homeowner Sandy Silva as they review her wish list for the kitchen. THIS OLD HOUSE features two more stories about fire safety and protection. Plumbing and heating expert, Richard Trethewey, learns about the necessary steps involved in designing a sprinkler system from the head of the American Fire Sprinkler Association. Then, Thomas travels to Underwriters Laboratories Inc., the world-class, not-for-profit safety testing and certification organization to witness the testing of fire-safety products. Dec 20 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Master carpenter Norm Abram crafts a sample raised-panel door for the Silvas to consider for their new kitchen. Host Steve Thomas meets with landscape designer Stephanie Hubbard to review the design challenges of the project. Then, he checks out a new breaker called an arc-fault arrestor that can detect arcs -- such as those commonly found in frayed cords and worn wires -- before a fire starts. Tom Silva demonstrates his technique for window flashing, before getting back to work on building the porch deck out of Brazilian ipé wood. And finally, the cementaceous clapboards are installed to the acclaim of the homeowners and construction crew alike who believe they look like 'real wood.' Dec 21 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. In a nod to the future, THIS OLD HOUSE enlisted PC Computing magazine's editor-in-chief Paul Somerson to consult on how the Silvas' home should be wired in anticipation of new home technologies. Kitchen designer Phil Mossgraber and homeowner Sandra Silva are down to the final decisions in the kitchen -- natural fir cabinets, linoleum floor, counters of a material called kirkstone -- and they debate the merits of two different island designs. The sprinkler system is roughed in, and sprinkler specialist Jack Viola shows Steve where the water comes in and (hopefully never) it comes out. Media systems designer Mitch Klein shows Steve his plans for outfitting the living room with a surround-sound television package including the rather unorthodox placement of a plasma-screen TV in the wall over the mantel. Finally, landscape designer Stephanie Hubbard unveils her plan for the property, which includes moving the Silvas' beloved frog pond. Dec 22 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. With all the walls hung and plastering well underway, the interior of the Billerica house begins to take on its final form. Host Steve Thomas is given a tour of the newly walled top floor by enthusiastic homeowner Dick Silva, before meeting with the Canadian inventor of the home's open-cell polyicynene foam insulation. Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva build the last of the kitchen and bath cabinets, while landscape contractor Roger Cook works with stonemason Roger Hopkins to shape granite steps for a new walkway up from the driveway. General contractor Tom Silva shows Steve the cementatious shingle panels being used on the garage walls, while metal fabricator Tom McGregor works on a lead-coated-copper flat-seam roof over the kitchen bay window. Finally, Tom and Norm build a fir face-frame for the bathroom vanity using pocket-screw technology. Dec 25 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Landscape contractor Roger Cook and his crew begin to install a stone wall along the driveway, using split stone from North Carolina -- a material that is available in home centers nationwide. In the process, Roger shows host Steve Thomas his method of building with geotextile and proper drainage to ensure the wall won't succumb to frost heaves over time. General contractor Tom Silva installs the new custom-designed interior doors, which are made from medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Later, Steve visits the factory that makes the expanded urethane millwork used in the interior and exterior of the Silvas' house. Upon his return, homeowner Dick Silva shows him some of the schemes he's considering to hide the flat-screen TV over the mantle when it's not in use. In the workshop, master carpenter Norm Abram builds heavy-duty cabinet drawers with slide hardware to match. Dec 26 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. THIS OLD HOUSE magazine editor-in-chief Donna Sapolin rounds out the team effort on the Billerica project when she reviews the interior design challenges involved in outfitting the Silvas' new home from top to bottom. With list in hand, she invites host Steve Thomas to accompany her to a nearby furniture showroom to check out some of design work already underway. On the building front, Richard Trethewey checks on the new forced air unit for the Billerica project while general contractor Tom Silva sprays fast-drying lacquer on the new cabinet doors. Out front, landscape contractor Roger Cook shows Steve the flexible and long-lasting steel edging he chose for the landscape's walkways. Master carpenter Norm Abram is found off-site turning legs for the kitchen island in THE NEW YANKEE WORKSHOP. Dec 27 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Master carpenter Norm Abram visits a converted woolen mill in Billerica, Massachusetts, where a local cabinetmaker is building the Silvas an entertainment center out of tiger oak. Master electrician Allen Gallant shows host Steve Thomas the workings of the new emergency power generator, a quiet natural-gas-powered unit that will supply the house's 'essential services' (heating plant, refrigerator, well, some lights) with electricity in the event of a blackout. Steve checks out the beautiful new wooden garage doors and then meets inventor John Crowley to learn about his 'kit of parts' wainscoting. Dec 28 9:00PM 11:00PM This Old House -- no episode information available. Host Steve Thomas travels Kirkcaldy, Scotland, to a linoleum factory. Back at the job site, Steve meets with landscape contractor Roger Cook to review the variety of paving options available for the Billerica house before checking out the drywell the landscaping crew installed to protect the structure's north side from excess water. General contractor Tom Silva gives Steve a ride on the kitchen island's new pullout pastry board that is supported by 300-pound-rated slides. Richard Trethewey tests the new air conditioning chiller to prove just how quiet these machines have become and then explains how the new iron-removal unit will handle the house's well water. Finally, the lawn receives a hydroseeding treatment just before the arrival of the New England winter. Dec 29 9:00PM 11:00PM

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