The This Old House Hour

What’s the Miter with the Corner; Restore Fireplace, Porch Swing (17x22)

Air date: May 11, 2019

Our Mid-century Modern house mixes stained and painted siding, typical of this style of architecture. Kevin finds Tommy using two methods for the corner edge detail. The stone wall on the front of our house was in rough shape and the sewer work took it over the edge. It’s Mark McCullough’s job to put it back together. But first he has to find a source for puddingstone. Thirteen years ago we tackled our first mid-century modern, a rundown house in Cambridge, MA. Tommy and Kevin go back to the house to compare that project to our Brookline mid-century modern. Back at the house, rough electric is well underway. Kevin finds our electrician, Heath Eastman, installing modern LED downlights in the kitchen. Our old house handled rain water by sending it to the town sewer. That’s no longer allowed. Jenn and Kevin find Roger’s crew installing two large tanks under the new driveway. They will filter and store the runoff. Roger and Jenn share some tips for killing weeds without hurting the lawn; Mark delicately restores a damaged historic fireplace that is built with custom, nearly irreplaceable bricks; Richard and Ross discuss improvements to thermostats and how they contribute to comfort in a home; Tom adds structure to a porch in order to safely hang a swing.