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Private Notes
This Old House is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the crew will turn the inside of a dark, divided 1887 two-family into an open, Scandinavian-style one-family. Kevin O'Connor tours the house, while Roger Cook finds surprises outside. Richard Trethewey does an eye-opening energy audit. Architect Marcus Gleysteen shows Kevin his Scandinavian-style home. Tom Silva brings in deconstruction experts to remove unneeded parts, carefully peeling back the layers.
Deconstruction continues and Kevin visits an "eco" resale store in Springfield, MA. Arborist Jack Kelly removes the sick Norway maple that, left untouched, would come down on its own one day soon. The architects show Kevin the plan via a 3-D computer model, then they visit a house down the street with homeowner Sally Peterson to see the design ideas that first caught Sally's eye.
With the interior opened up, master carpenter Norm Abram shows host Kevin O'Connor the bones of the building, and the unique features of a balloon framed house—studs that run from sill plate to top plate, with floors that hang from that structure.
On the first floor, general contractor Tom Silva needs to relocate a load bearing partition wall, and take the dip out of the floor. He uses temporary supports, makes up a carrying beam, inserts the new structure, and then removes the old wall. Out front, Kevin and homeowner Sally Peterson meet Susan Maycock from the Cambridge Historic Commission to learn about appropriate colors for the outside of her Victorian-era house, and how many homeowners get it wrong by using too many colors in the wrong places. While the outside of her home will be traditional, inside it will be anything but, so Sally takes Kevin up to Porter Square to see the style she's after via a shop where owner Dale Anderson curates a collection of vintage and current Scandinavian items for the home. Back at our house, Tom continues to frame in the basement, but this time without wood—he's using new tongue and groove foam panels with embedded plastic studs and wiring chases. Kind of like a partial ICF, he installs them against the fieldstone foundation with a foam construction adhesive. Master electrician Allen Gallant shows Kevin how he's upgrading and relocating the electrical service on the house.
After a quick coffee in Porter Square, host Kevin O'Connor finds general contractor Tom Silva working on the architect's plans to vary ceiling height on the first floor for dramatic effect. Kevin lends a hand in the living room as they use two-by-fours and strapping to drop the ceiling by eight inches in two key places. Then, Kevin travels to Fairfield, CT to meet designers Edie Van Breems and Rhonda Eleish to learn how our house's Scandinavian modern style evolved from more rustic Swedish country interiors. Back in Cambridge, master carpenter Norm Abram shows Kevin the framing progress on the second floor where there will be three bedrooms, a laundry, and a shared bath. Norm notes where Tom made the ceilings flat without necessarily needing to be level in the bedrooms. On the third floor, they review the framing upgrades, and Kevin helps Tom install a new skylight so it will never leak. At the end of the day, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey arrives with ductwork and plans to introduce air conditioning to the house for the first time in its history.
Kevin joins the legions of Cambridge locals by biking to work on a vintage bicycle restored locally. Landscape architect Greg Lombardi presents a plan for a yard that combines both traditional and modern elements. Tom shows Kevin how he's gotten rid of the steps to the roof deck by dropping the structure into the ceiling of the second floor. Roger arrives to tackle the giant stump left over from the old Norway Maple, first with a chainsaw, then a stump grinder. Richard shows Kevin how they've kept the ducts out of the roof rafter bays to preserve that space for insulation, and on the second floor, how they've hidden the air handler at the top of a hall closet. The plumbers have also been creative by using cast iron on the vertical runs of waste pipe in the bedrooms to dull sound, and by using a new polypropylene green pipe for supply lines as an alternative to copper. The new system incorporates connections that are fused using high heat.
Mason Mark McCullough shows Norm how he's repointing the old brick foundation with great care and a type N mortar that is slightly softer than the brick so it will give before the brick does. Then Norm and Tom repair the sagging front porch by jacking up the porch roof, replacing one of the rotted posts with a match from a local salvage yard, and then fastening the roof back to the house. Kevin visits Community Rowing on the Charles River to see how they make the Cambridge pastime of rowing available to everyone, including kids, disabled vets, and even general contractors. Back at our house, the historic porch railing is rotted and paint-caked, but the conservation district says we must replace it in kind, so Tom and Kevin re-build it out of 2x2 stock ripped down from 6x6s. Tom details the fire blocking and fire caulking as spray foam insulation begins in our balloon frame house.
Roger replaces the existing concrete front walk with a beautiful new bluestone design. They jackhammer out the old walk and start the prep for new. Tom shows Kevin the modifications he specified on the replacement windows to make them more acceptable to the Historic Commission. On the third floor, tile contractor Mark Ferrante, uses a shower waterproofing system made up of prefab components that can be customized for any size shower. We're not the only ones planning a modern house inside the shell of an old one—architect Michael Kim shows Kevin how he did just that in Brookline, and how modern and traditional can live in harmony. Painting contractor Mauro Henrique starts paint prep and shows Kevin the shades of yellow the homeowner is considering for the exterior.
After a taste of the local Japan Town, host Kevin O'Connor meets Vito Bucco, a 60-year veteran of the plastering trade. Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva match the old staggered shingle pattern. In Boston's South End, Kevin visits interior designers Andrew Terrat and Dee Elms for a sneak peek at the Scandinavian Modern vision. Radiant heat and the boiler are going in.
Norm and Kevin arrive to find the painters putting up a tinted primer with airless sprayers, turning the house from a bland grey to a sunny (and Swedish) yellow. Inside, Tom and Norm get to work trimming out the double hung widows on the second floor with an elegant, modern detail specified by the architect. Back outside, Norm finds custom gutter fabricator Augustin Crookston on site again to form and install the custom copper half round gutters for our project. Kevin meets homeowner Sally Peterson and appliance expert Sandy Lashway to explore the benefits of upgrading to professional grade ranges and ovens at a hands-on showroom. Back at the house, Richard meets fireplace specialist John Sullivan to see the Danish-designed zero-clearance wood burning fireplace insert he's providing for the living room. With the fireplace installed, homeowner John Stone shows Kevin the design and storage options they considered for fireplace wall, including the final design.
Norm drives up to find the paint job and the gutters complete, and the effect of the yellow, white and black with the copper is fresh, and decidedly Swedish. Inside, our Scandinavian-style house will be white on white, except for some key accents of wood. Tom shows Kevin how he's installing Southern yellow pine boards on the ceilings at the bay windows for architectural interest. On the third floor, the designers have chosen to add some color in the form of bright blue mosaic floor tile. Tile contractor Mark Ferrante shows Kevin how he's using the same mosaic to create a feature strip on the vanity wall to break up an entire wall of oversized white subway tile. Out on the roof deck, Tom uses cellular PVC porch boards and a customized railing system to complete the space. In the kitchen, Norm shows Kevin the prefinished maple flooring they are using and how he's working from the middle of the floor out, to compensate in case the exterior walls are out of square. At the end of the day, the last detail is installing a custom cap for the roof deck railing.
In the side yard, Roger installs two new sets of granite steps to access the old deck. Tom shows Kevin how he's making a new window seat fit into an old bay window. Norm installs the last of the maple stair treads, and creates a custom newel cap out of southern yellow pine. In the master bedroom, Tom shows Kevin how he concealed access doors within the wainscoting for the knee walls. Painting contractor Mauro Henrique use a whitewash stain with a lacquer finish to make our southern yellow pine ceilings look Swedish.
Kevin meets proprietor Jack Woker at his record store in Porter Square to see why people still love and appreciate vintage vinyl. Back at the house, Roger shows Kevin how he's using two lightweight plastic drywells to deal with the water that will come off the roof. Inside, kitchen designer Kathy Marshall shows Kevin how she used cabinetry details and custom wood finishes to create a Scandinavian-inspired kitchen. Norm meets HVAC consultant Evan Trethewey to see a new thermostat that claims to be able to learn your habits and preferences. Tom shows Kevin how he's refurbishing the old pressure treated deck by covering it over with click-together Ipe deck tiles.
Kevin arrives to find Roger putting in the plants before the weather turns. He's using a mixture of traditional plants and modern grasses to achieve the same mix of old and new as the rest of the project. Inside, the fireplace is ready for its hearth. Stone specialist Danny Puccio shows Kevin how they are using pietra cardosa (Italian sandstone) turned upside down to achieve a rustic finish that goes with the Swedish theme. The sides of the woodbox are getting the same stone, right side out with a honed finish. Norm visits Paul Grothouse in his state-of-the-art Pennsylvania shop for a meeting of the woodworking minds. The butcher block top for the kitchen island has a "waterfall edge" made with an eye-catching joinery technique called a dovetail key. Paul trucks the island top to Cambridge, where the whole crew lends a hand getting it in the house, and in place. On the third floor, Richard is working on a waterfall of his own – he shows Kevin the progress on the plumbing trim out and the wall mounted fixtures for the double vanity sinks.
