This Old House - Season 39

A new season begins with a focus on the next Generation. Homeowner inherits her childhood home but make changes with husband to accommodate their children and in-laws. Mike Rowe visits to discuss the need for a new generation of skilled tradespeople.

Tom finishes the forms for the new foundation and pours the concrete with a new intern. Richard gets the house safe for demolition. Roger and his apprentice save roses and lilacs from being trampled by construction. Mold is found in the basement.

Tom’s crew and intern install a beam to support a new opening to the kitchen. The homeowners start making decisions with their interiorselect finishes with their interior designer. Three apprentices arrive and build the essentialget new tool belts. Their first job is to tackle the front porch.

Kevin and Tom build a new subfloor. Richard, the homeowners, and designer hunt for an old clawfoot tub. Tom shows the apprentices how to check the front porch level and how to build a hip roof. Kevin visits Baltimore to learn about a job training program.

The apprentices learn the basics of framing a deck while around the corner the chimney gets demo’ed. The homeowners work with their interior designer to create a custom pattern for their tile floor. The flue for the wood burning stove gets installed.

A big day for the apprentices as they learn how to frame a wall in the master bedroom, build a drain stack for the master bath and lay decking on the front porch. Meanwhile the homeowners visit their kitchen cabinet designer.

Flooring from the dining room is used to make a barn door. Roger teaches a horticulture class in the field. Tommy and Charlie break through the basement foundation wall to find uninsulated crawl space. Garage floor gets radiant heat. New columns on front porch.

While the apprentices get a lesson in roofing, Kevin visits Rhode Island to watch how an elaborate Chippendale railing is put together. A new slab of concrete goes in the basement for moisture prevention. Richard shows how ductwork is put together.

Tommy builds a shower seat made of foam. Richard connects steel piping. Tommy teaches how to install replacement windows. Tommy shows Kevin and Joe how he makes a jig for the exterior shingled flair detail.

Granite goes down for wood stove. Nathan installs the porch ceiling. Kevin visits a home in Rhode Island where the exterior trim is pine. Richard reviews the placement of components at mechanical wall. Mauro shows how to repair holes in old plaster.

Tommy trims the rough interior columns. Liz makes a stained glass window. Kevin tours a flooring factory in Pennsylvania. Richard visits a voc-tech school plumbing class. Norm shows Kevin a few new tricks he’s learned for installing stair treads.

Norm installs an old door in the hallway. Roger watches a stone wall being installed in pre-made sections. Kevin visits a career day for the trades. In Rhode Island, twin built-in beds are made. Tommy re-installs a corner cabinet in the dining room.

Roger explains why some preventative tree work is needed. Homeowner Liz gets a lesson on tiling. The original black newel post is discovered to be walnut. The apprentices graduate after ten weeks of hard work.

Liz helps Norm lay composite decking. Charlie makes exterior decorative brackets. Kevin watches a quartz countertop get installed. Roger’s crew paves the front walk. Liz puts in her stained glass window. Dry wells are needed for storm water runoff.

Kevin finds Tommy and Charlie installing a fireback on a kitchen wall. Roger returns the roses and lilacs he saved and brings in some new plants. The island countertop goes on. Kevin watches a crew install a garage door. The wood stove finally arrives.

It’s the wrap of another great project. Kevin tours the renovated house with the homeowners. What was once Liz’s childhood home has been transformed into a house for the next generation. Their kids and Joe’s parents arrive to check it out.

A new series begins in Charleston, SC, where Kevin and the team introduce two projects: a brick 1840s “single house” – unique to Charleston’s historic downtown district – and a multi-generational 1890s home in a nearby transitioning neighborhood.

Demo starts on the Charleston projects. Homeowner Judith discusses planting options with Roger and then Roger visits a nursery that can provide what she needs. Kevin tours the American College of the Building Arts. Richard goes privy diving.

An old fireplace will house a new stove. Tommy discusses using interior casework with exposed brick. The kitchen house brick needs repointing. Roger tours hidden gardens. Across town, demo continues while Tommy and Judith look at flooring options.

A new foundation starts out back while out front Roger determines if a crepe myrtle can be saved. Kevin visits Fort Sumter. The single house mantel and windows get restored and the old kitchen house will get connected to the main house.

Kevin meets a lumberjack on the Edisto River. In a house with no stud walls, Tommy watches how pipes are disguised, and Richard seeks out places for HVAC equipment. Kevin learns about Single Houses. A crepe myrtle gets pruned and Tommy talks termites.

Richard works on rough plumbing at the Elliotborough house while Kevin, Judith, and Julia meet a kitchen designer. The rotting porch gets assessed. A new old floor goes down at the single house. Tommy and Mark snake wires through a brick wall.

The old piazza columns get restored off site. The iron gate is fabricated by blacksmith students at a local college for the building arts. Modern light fixtures are selected for an old house. New siding mixes with old to meet historic district codes.

Judith looks at house colors starting at Rainbow Row while Tommy inspects the termite damage at her house. At the Single House Tommy catches up with the progress. A timber frame teacher and his students build a pergola offsite and dry fit it.

The pergola goes up in the garden of the single house. Ross Trethewey takes a look at the latest in smart home technology. Ultra-modern cabinets are installed in the kitchen. A local craftsman puts the finishing touches on a dining table made of old cypress; At the Elliotborough house, Richard checks out the HVAC plan while repointing begins on the original fireplaces.

Custom iron gate at the Charleston Single House; final tours with homeowners; send off from piazza.