The This Old House Hour

Raise A Second Story; Ductless Humidifier, Planters (18x4)

Air date: Oct 24, 2019

With the gables installed on both sides of the addition, Kevin O'Connor finds Tom Silva and Jeff Sweenor building and raising the narrow gambrel roof profiles on either end. The next step is to stand the two second floor dormer walls on the long sides of the house. With the windows framed out, Tom and Kevin throw in with Jeff and his crew to finish sheathing before they raise the walls. As part of the Generation Next initiative, each season apprentices are invited to join the building team so they can learn on the job. Kevin introduces the three newest apprentices, Kathryn Fulton, Ryan Dolan, and De’Shaun Burnett. Each come to the jobsite with a different background story and are ready to dive in with the crew. The original house had the most basic of waste water systems, a cesspool. The new construction means the homeowners must upgrade their system. Richard Trethewey meets with engineer Jeff Balch to find out the modern plan for waste water—including a biological system that significantly reduces the amount of nitrogen that’s released to a leaching field. Meanwhile, heavy lifting continues as Jeff’s team wraps up framing the second story and attic of the house. Kevin assists Jeff with installing the LVL ridge. Tom shows the three new apprentices how to measure and cut the roof rafters while the rest of the crew starts to install them. Tom explains the uses and purposes of different types of screws; Richard travels to Park City, Utah to install a whole house ductless humidifier; Ross and Richard discuss changes to electric bill payment structures; Jenn installs a front entry planter for a homeowner that will last through the winter.