This Old House

Celebrate the 40th season of the groundbreaking PBS home improvement series with this anniversary special. The program includes interviews with hosts and cast members, vintage clips, and favorite moments and renovations from the series that inspired an entire genre of television programming. Learn about the evolution of the series from current and alumni hosts Kevin O'Connor, Steve Thomas, and Bob Vila.

Highlights and chronicles 43 years of Norm's incredible career featuring classic moments, archived footage, interviews and memories from celebrities, friends, peers and those who worked alongside him. Norm's inspiration reached far and wide for a humble man who became a national celebrity through his uncompromising craftsmanship, trademark plaid shirt, impersonations on popular sitcoms, bits on late night TV shows, morning shows, nationally syndicated cartoons and as the ultimate authority in home improvement. Norm appeared in over 1000 episodes of This Old House, worked on over 50 home renovation projects and hosted more than 280 episodes of The New Yankee Workshop.

Our host, a Boston designer and builder, tours the dilapidated turn-of the-century house in Dorchester, Massachusetts, that will completely renovated in the next 13 weeks. Our host talks with a realtor and a house appraiser to determine the condition and problems of the property.

Renovation has begun and the carpenter has find rot in the eaves. The kitchen, one of the hardest remodeling jobs, gets some attention, and we look into the history of the home.

Work on the house has uncovered some unforeseen problems from the roof to the plumbing, and at a moment, the dream kitchen is a nightmare. But our host has some solutions.

Our host introduces the Bigelow House, a rambling 19th-century hilltop home in Newton, Massachusetts, designed by noted Victorian architect H.H. Richardson. The challenge - convert the abandoned structure into five modern condominium units, while preserving its architectural integrity. Vila and our master carpenter talk about the best way to tackle the project.

Our host discusses plans for renovating the barn unit - insulation, demolition and replacing broken windows.

Demolition is nearly complete and our host shows us some of the problems uncovering he's uncovered - including extensive damage from carpenter ants, vandals and rot.

Our host introduces you to the newest project - a 1950s ranch-style tract house in Woburn, Massachusetts, that is badly in need of elbow room. Our host and our master carpenter discuss the possibilities for creating space where none presently exists. And they take a tour of the neighborhood to see how other homeowners have transformed their houses from the 1950s into roomier, energy-efficient homes for the 1980s.

It's time to pour the footings for the breezeway/greenhouse between the house and the garage. Then the house gets a high tech energy audit, complete with on-the-spot computer print-out and recommendations for cost-effective solutions to specific energy problems.

Our host assesses the efficiency of the house's heating planet. Our master carpenter builds the framing for the breezeway/greenhouse, and replaces windows. Back inside, our host is busy steaming off the old wallpaper.

Our host takes you on a tour of the newest project - a three-story Greek Revival farmhouse in Arlington, Massachusetts. Over the next 26 weeks, he and his crew of building craftsmen will transform this old house from the 1850s into an idea house for the 1980s that gives viewers and homeowners a new sense of what a home can be.

Our host considers the many remodeling possibilities for the old house with architect Jock Gifford and landscape atchitect Tom Wirth. Where to begin!

Our host brings in the crane and demolition of a portion of the old farmhouse begins. Later, our hosts talks with a slate contractor about the old slate roof and discusses the merits of sandblasting.

Our host kicks off the new season with a retrospective look at the first four seasons of This Old House. Combining original clips with updated footage, he recalls the restoration of a rundown Victorian house, the conversion of a mansion into condominiums, the expansion of a 1950s tract house and the rehabilitation of a Greek Revival-style farmhouse.

The star of this season's the All New This Old House is revealed: an energy-efficient solar home to be built from scratch in Brookline, Massachusetts. Our host introduces the new house site and talks to designer Steven Strong of Solar Design Associates about construction plans.

Designer Steven Strong and our host review the design of the new house step-by-step, from conception to final plans. A survey engineer describes the surveying process and how the house will ultimately be situated on the lot.

Our host looks into the concept of ""sweat equity"" will fuel the series. The season's first project consists of converting an attic into a new master bedroom and bathroom. Our host meets homeowners Rob and Jennifer to begin planning for what the job will entail, in consultation with our master carpenter and Richard Trethewey.

While the designs for the new bedroom and bathroom are being finalized, our host and the homeowner look into such details as wiring, piping and telephone hookups. After a visit to the Lynn Ladder & Scaffold Company in Lynn, Massachusetts, Rob and Jennifer begin demolition, with help from our master carpenter.

Exterior work for the new bedroom and bathroom gets underway, including framing and sheathing. Our host and our master carpenter discuss the new deck, exterior trim, sliding glass door, and new double hung window.

Our host meets with homeowners Linda and Bill to plan the first project: a two-story addition to an 1860s Victorian in Newton, Massachusetts. The new free-standing structure - connected to the original building via skywalk - is slated to consist of a one-car garage and storage area with an interior staircase leading to a second-floor family room and home office. A member of the Boston-based Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) will be on hand to point out the historically significant features of the original house.

Final plans for the addition are reviewed with the architects. Then we make an encore visit to the United Wrecking Company to see what gems can be culled from the Connecticut salvage yard.

A hole is dug for the foundation of the new addition, and the slab is poured. Our master carpenter demonstrates the carpentry skills necessary for framing.

Our host reviews last season's projects - including the popular ranch-home makeover - and introduces the new project: the renovation of a 40-year-old Cape-style home. Homeowners Claire and John tour the house and our master carpenter surveys the project.

Architect Scott Finn goes over plans for renovating John and Claire's Cape-style home, and demolition and excavation begin. Richard Trethewey gives advice on plumbing and heating needs; and our host takes viewers on a tour of a 200-year-old Cape home.

The mason arrives to work on the footings and foundation of John and Claire's Cape home. Our host then takes viewers to a high-tech concrete block factory. Our master carpenter starts framing the family room addition, and our host looks at the new windows the homeowners have selected. John and Claire start planning the interior design of the new addition, while the crew begins demolition of inside walls.

The ninth season of This Old House gets underway as our host tours the Weatherbee Farm, a 1785 farmhouse, with homeowners Bill and Cynthia and architectural historian Sara Chase from the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

Our master carpenter assesses the condition of Weatherbee Farm and architect Mary Otis Stevens discusses plans for restoration of this 1785 landmark structure. Our heating and plumbing expert pays a visit to the new project, and discusses heating and cooling systems with the homeowners.

Our master carpenter continues to assess the condition of Weatherbee Farm. Architect Mary Otis Stevens shows homeowner Cynthia the model she has created of the farm. Our host and homeowner Bill help out as the dismantling of the ell begins.

Our host tours Lexington real estate with agent June Goodwin, looking at older homes as well as newer construction. We tour a new condo development, and then meet our new project's homeowners, Mary-Van and Jim Sinek.

Mary-Van and Jim Sinek discuss expanding their side-by-side, two-family Lexington home with a new addition, which will double the existing square-footage of one unit and include a new master bedroom and bathroom, enlarged and efficient kitchen with adjacent breakfast room / dining room for family reunions and the bed-and-breakfast operation a spacious family room, two outdoor decks: one for family use, the other for b-and-b guests; and an attached two-car garage. Our host visits a local bed and breakfast for a behind-the-scenes look at how it's done. Then Jim and our host discuss the architect's model for the project.

Our host shows us how to use a laser level, which excavators use to achieve uniform depth for foundation footings. He, our master carpneter and excavator Herb Brockett discuss excavation plans and begins the loam removal. Then our host pays a visit to the Metropolitan Home's Showcase, a five-story classic Manhattan townhouse decorated by world-class artists and designers including Mario Buatta, David Hockney, Norma Kamali and Wolfgang Puck to beneift AIDS patients.

This Old House returns for its eleventh season with our master carpenter, who introduces the series' new host. The guys survey the project: an 1835 barn in Concord, Massachusetts, and talk to the homeowners, Lynn and Barbara, who want to dismantle and rebuild the barn and live in it.

The guys send homeowners Lynn and Barbara to Nantucket, while they visit a bar that has been remodeled into a home, and take a look at a timber-frame house designed by Jock Gifford. In Concord, the farm's old gas tank is removed.

Timber-frame expert Tedd Benson and the crew dismantle the barn. Homeowners Barbara and Lynn meet with designer Jock Gifford to plan their new home, and visit a nearby carriage house that had been converted to a residence.

We begin our 12th season with the restoration of Hazel Briceno's triple-decker, three-family home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Together with the Residental Development Program of the Public Facilities Department of Boston, we'll renovate all three floors. First, we soak in the sights and sounds of Jamaica Plain. Then our host heads off to meet with Lisa Chapnick, head of Boston's Public Facilities Department. Finally, the guys introduce homeowner Hazel Briceno and meet contractor Abel Lopes.

The guys explore lead paint-health hazards, inspection, and removal.

The issue of vinyl siding is discussed. Cellulose insulation is blown-in from the interior. A variety of replacement windows is reviewed. Kithcen and bathroom redesign begins with Glenn Berger.

The 13th season opens with a visit to Hazel Biceno's triple-decker in Jamaica Plain, site of the 12th season's main project. We then go to Wayland, Massachusetts, site of this year's house, and meet homeowner Chris Hagger, who gives him a tour. The crew casts a cold, contractor's eye on the 1815 National Historic Register home and tells the Haggers (Chris, wife Joan, and children Andrew and Jason) that they'll need to spend a sizable chunk of their $200K budget on basic repairs and upgrades.

Work begins on Kirkside, with Tom Silva and crew beginning to remove the old ashphalt shingles. Our host discusses roof ventilation and drip edge with our master carpenter and Tom, then catches up with Greg Clancy, an architectural conservator. With the help of an architectural model, Greg and Chris Hagger discuss the house's history and the issue of ""how far back"" to restore it. Meanwhile, a percolation test has been run to determine where to site the new septic field.

The guys and homeowner Chris Hagger discuss Chris' decision to go with architectural-grade shingles on his new roof. On the roof, the crew installs shingles and a roll-out roof vent. Our host then visits a recycling facility that processes construction debris as well as community recyclables. Back at the house, a preservation mason gives the fireplaces and chimneys the once-over, recommending a careful cleaning for the former and rebuilding for the latter.

The new season kicks off with a visit to the Haggers at Kirkside in Wayland. The lawn has come in, and the place looks great. Then it's off to Newton, where a developer has found it economically sound to buy up tired little ranches and upgrade them ratically - the idea the show will explore this season. In Lexington, our host meets Brian and Jan Ioge, and their children Brennan and Sarah, in the ranch house they've lived in for the past nine years. They want to expand it, and the crew agrees that the basic structure is sound and can be added onto without the need for repair first. The guys tell the Igoes they'll help them on their project.

We meet architect Graham Gund in his offices at Bulfinch Square, a historic complex he restored. After a tour of the offices, Graham takes our host to look a house he designed in the Massachusetts countryside. He agrees to take on the redesign of the Igoes' ranch. Meanwhile, our master carpenter investigates a new style of insulated concrete foundation forms. At the ranch, architect Rick Bechtel discusses the Igoes' wish list with them.

Architect Graham Gund reveals his plans for the Igoes' ranch, using a model and drawings. The crew begins to file a for a building permit and to figure material and labor cost using a computer program. Meanwhile, our host takes viewers back to London to see Jeremy and Carla Vogler in their now-complete flat.

The season starts in front of a magnificent example of Victorian architecture, then we visit the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities to lean more about the style. Then we arrive at our subject house, Dean and Lauren Gallant's 1907 Shingle-style Victorian. After a spin around the outside, we go in and meet the homeowners, who show us the rest of the house and discuss their plans for it. Richard Trethewey checks out the systems and our master carpenter decides to have the siding checked at a lab to see if it contains asbestos.

The asbestos removal crew begins to strip the house of shingles, under the watchful eye of a state official. As a prelude, our master carpenter visits a lab to confirm that the shingles contain asbestos, while our host meets a doctor who confirms the health dangers of the fiber. Back at the house, the crew sets up pump-jack staging, and the Gallants talk about the estimate ($91,000) versus what they can afford ($80,000).

Our host visits a landfill engineered to accept hazardous waste, such as the asbestos off the side of the Gallants' house. Back at the house, Richard Trethewey helps Dean fix a leaky sink in the upstairs library, in preparation for setting up a temporary kitchen in the space while the old kitchen is demolished and rebuilt. Our master carpenter gives Dean and Lauren some help in removing the cabinets from the old kitchen, and they continue the job by pulling down plaster, lathe and blown-in insulation.

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.

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.

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

The show opens in the historic town of Milton, Massachusetts, founded in 1662 and the site of the c. 1725 Colonial home the show purchased for renovation and eventual sale. The This Old House crew looks the old structure over, including the massive post-and-beam barn on the property. The diagnosis: questionable room layout for modern life, some rot, but a remarkable sound house with a lot of potential. Jinny Devine, owner for the past 38 years, recalls raising her family of four boys in the home.

Our host arrives to find excavator Herb Brockert preparing to knock down the rotting ell off the barn. The crew salvage a few valuable bits before it goes, including the cupola and an arched window. A group of young men, from a program that acts as an alternative to juvenile detention, work to dismantle the brick patio in the back of the house and haul in fiberboard to protect the house's delicate old floorboards. Architect Rick Bechtel and our host discuss some ideas about reworking the house's floorplan, including moving the kitchen from the dark northeast side to the sunny south. Our host goes to New York City to visit the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club Decorators Show House, which has been going annually for 25 years, to get ideas for turning the Milton house into a similar showcase at the end of the renovation. Richard Trethewey checks out the the house's aging heating system, complete with solar collector.

The show opens with a visit to the top of Great Blue Hill and its historic weather observatory (built in 1885) to view the sights: the town of Milton, downtown Boston (8 miles northeast), and the 7,000 acres of parkland that comprise the Blue Hills Reservation. At the jobsite, the crew takes up planks in the front part of the barn in preparation for turning it into a garage; the structure reveals various areas of rot and poor construction. Forms are in place to accept the concrete coming to make up the new workshop's foundation, and landscape architect Tom Wirth assesses some of the site's challenges, including a lack of proper accesss to the front prospect of the house. Historic photos shows a gravel or shell drive that once passed by the home's front, and Tom thinks a similar scheme would be appropriate. Insulation specialist Graeme Kirkland shows us the results of a blower door test he's conducting: the house changes its interior air 11 times an hour in a simulated 15-mile-an-hour w