This Old House

Cambridge 2012: Exterior Improvements (34x6)

Air date: Nov 08, 2012

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.