The This Old House Hour

Eight Is Enough Stairways; Fix Foundation, Textured Ceiling (17x20)

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With seven different levels, mid-century modern homes have no shortage of stairs. Kevin finds Tommy figuring out how many risers are needed for stairs going from the new living room to a loft. In the basement, demo has exposed the old concrete foundation walls on the ground floor. Kevin finds Tommy starting to insulate those walls. He uses a lightweight foam system with studs and channels for electric wires built into foam. Our homeowners are big fans of radiant heat, and there are several varieties of radiant going into our project. Richard and Kevin Bilo install a radiant system under a wood floor in the new loft. In the kitchen, the stove is against a huge bank of windows, so Tommy explains the plan for getting the exhaust gasses out of the building. Norm and Richard spent months working on a project in Santa Fe, New Mexico. To celebrate our 40th season on air, they’re heading back 30 years later to see how everything has held up. Mark repoints a crumbling fieldstone foundation and shares an important lesson about water management on the outside of the house; Tom discusses the proper disposal techniques for oily rags to prevent spontaneous combustion; instead of scraping, Mauro smooths over a textured ceiling using joint compound.