This Old House

Adding to the Project - The Concord Cottage (25x6)

:

Host Kevin O'Connor arrives at the project house fresh from a jog around the track at Emerson Field - several acres of playgrounds, tennis courts, and ball fields - right in the Bernard's backyard. Homeowner Janet Bernard asks general contractor Tom Silva to relocate the porch stairs on the main house, which now seem too close to the future parking court, and too imposing. Tom suggests some options, but advises Janet to consult her architect, Holly Cratsley, before they proceed. Landscape contractor Roger Cook shows Kevin a 100-year-old Concord grape vine that's growing right in the middle of the work zone. Chances of the vine surviving a transplant are slim, so Roger opts to leave the vine as is, protect it, and propagate it in place. Out back by the future sunroom, master carpenter Norm Abram shows Kevin how to set 2 x 6 foot pressure treated sills squarely on the new foundation using sill seal foam insulation and fasteners. In nearby Lincoln, Massachusetts, Kevin meets park ranger Lou Sidiris for a look at Minuteman National Historical Park and the Hartwell Tavern, a 1733 building that was the typical country inn of the Revolutionary War period. With an approved plan, from the architect and an excavator on site, Tom digs the footing for the new porch stairs.