Old shingles with asbestos are removed and new foundation is formed in a factory. Kevin tours Jamestown. In the second half: Tom repairs a basement window; and Ross visits NASA to learn about the International Space Station.

Jeff shows Kevin how he's framing the net zero house; Richard demonstrates heat loss and gain to design a balanced HVAC system; Mark installs a stone walkway; Mauro breaks down painter's tape; Tom builds a headboard

New apprentices join the team in Rhode Island as the roof goes up; Kevin and Tom take a tour of Judith's finished house in Charleston; Richard installs a garage heater; Tom teaches sanding; Ross installs a security system

Installing crown molding; stripping wallpaper; insulation rafter tails; shopping for lighting.

Building a storage bench; replacing a cartridge in an old shower valve; roof insulation begins; installing windows; Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) Visits.

Changing the swing of a door; designing a tropical landscape; putting up cedar roof shingles; raising the barn; insulating the basement

Sealing the home against air leaks; fabricating porch columns and rails; completing the exterior wall system; repairing and updating a fireplace surround.

Heat pump; applying stone veneer; installing a wall-hung toilet; building a vanity; building a swing set; automated construction

The difference between blueboard and drywall; properly sizing the solar array; installing a wood ceiling; replacing a concrete walkway with brick; building a table

The existing basement has a very low ceiling. The homeowners want to turn the area into more usable space, so Mark McCullough takes a jackhammer to the concrete floor so he can dig it out and create more headroom. Outside, the foundation has been poured and framing has begun. Norm teaches Erick and Carly how to lay the sill. Our Generation Next program highlights a program at Ft. Stewart in Georgia that is turning grunts into soldiers of the building trades. The town of Brookline requires our builder to inspect the old sewer line from the inside. Richard works with a plumbing company in the basement with a tool designed to record the pipe from the house to the street. The architect for our project has refreshed the modern box design of the exterior, made popular in the 50s. Now our homeowners are focused on the interior space, where they want to ramp up that modern feel. Kevin finds Sunil meeting with interior designers who are starting the process. Mauro helps a homeowner clean up and repaint a rusty metal railing; Richard discusses some innovations that can make clearing a clogged sink easier; Tom and Kevin build a wine rack out of a reclaimed beam.

The foundation on our Mid-Century Modern house has no footings. Kevin finds Mark McCullough fixing the problem by pouring a buttress along the foundation. As part of our 40-year anniversary, we are revisiting some of our most memorable projects. Kevin travels to Manchester by the Sea in Massachusetts to check out one of our largest restorations. Back in Brookline, Richard shows how a Mid-Century Modern open floor plan with high ceilings means there is very little space for HVAC ductwork. New technology will help solve that problem. Like most Mid-Century Moderns, ours has deep soffits. Kevin finds Tommy and Charlie fashioning them out of PVC. Tommy explains the need to compensate for expansion and contraction based on the weather. Inside, our homeowners want an open kitchen so Tommy, Norm and Charlie show our apprentices how it’s done. Jenn partners with an ecologist in Cheyenne, Wyoming to learn about different types of prairie grasses and how to care for them; Kevin learns about ways to make a home more resistant to wildfires; in Future House, Ross sees a robotic, ground-mounted solar array that mimics a sunflower.

The homeowners want living space in the basement. To clear the space of lally columns, Tommy, Charlie, Kevin and the apprentices install a steel beam. A sleek, modern kitchen with lots of glass means limited options for electrical wall outlets. Kevin finds Sunil working with electrician Heath Eastman to decide where receptacles can and must go. The flat Mid-Century Modern roof lends itself to a rubber surface. Kevin finds Tommy working with the roofing company to install one on the addition. One of the first apprentices from the Generation NEXT initiative was Nathan Gilbert, who has continued his career as a carpenter. Tommy pitches in with Nathan on a small project in order to find out what he’s been up to since he graduated from the program. Forty years ago, one of Norm’s first projects for This Old House was to install a skylight on our first renovation in Dorchester, MA. Today Norm teaches the next generation of tradespeople how to master that skill. Our apprentice, Carly, is the student. Jenn travels to Orlando to upgrade an irrigation system; the team looks at more Home Inspection Nightmares; Tom discusses kitchen renovations; Kevin returns to upstate New York to build an Adirondack-style outdoor chair with maker Jimmy DiResta.

There are four hardscapes in the yard that require stone. Today Jenn travels with our homeowners, Sunil and Neha, and Blair, the landscape architect, to a stone design center to pick out material. Back at the house, Tommy installs the skylight that Norm framed out. A completely new sewer line and water main to the street goes in outside. Kevin finds Richard working with Jimmy McLaughlin’s crew as they make a mess of the street. A good sub-floor is key to a solid, quiet floor. Tommy shows Kevin some sub-flooring skills he learned years ago. Downstairs, the original foundation of our project has a bad crack that could be a problem in the future. Tommy and Kevin watch Hugo Provetti repair the fissure with a foundation epoxy. Richard travels to Los Angeles to update a water filter on a retro faucet; Mark explains the uses for different types of masonry jointers; Nathan explains when and how to use a Japanese pull saw; Tom demonstrates the correct materials and techniques required for re-caulking a bathtub.

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.

The final roof section of the house is over the new living room addition. It’s unique because it cantilevers out over a balcony. But as Kevin finds out from Tommy, that means installing the rafters takes more care. In the kitchen, the main counter is up against a wall of windows and that causes a problem for venting the drain for the sink. Richard shows Kevin how to install a bow vent to send the pipe down through the basement. Outside, Kevin finds Tommy giving our apprentice Erick a lesson in letting siding breathe. The HVAC crew has been busy with ductwork and today Richard is helping install an air handler for the bedroom wing. A flat roof in New England can turn into a wintery mess if ice and snow slide onto a doorway. Kevin finds Tommy installing cleats on the roof over an entrance. Tom teaches a homeowner how to replace split-level stair treads in his mid-century modern home; Jenn shares some tips about pruners; Richard shortens a gas pipe for a homeowner whose new stove does not fit against the wall because it is getting stuck on the pipe.

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.

Windows are a defining feature of a Mid-Century Modern house. Kevin travels to a glass factory in Wisconsin to see how plate glass is manufactured and to Minnesota to see our windows come together. Back at the house, a massive window goes in above the sliding balcony doors. Our project has taken us into the cold New England winter. But there’s still much work to be done, including exterior painting. Kevin finds Mauro deciding what to do on a 30-degree day. The driveway runs downhill into the garage. A drain at the bottom handles rain, but what about snow? Richard helps Kevin Bilo install a radiant heating system that will make short work of removing snow. The patio installation is an integral part of our project’s drainage system. Kevin finds Jenn and Roger installing permeable pavers. Ross tests out a new, smart stud finder; Nathan travels to Portland, Oregon to repair an original wood floor that was burned from a face-down hot iron; Tom gives a general overview of a table saw and the best techniques to use it safely and effectively; Jenn helps a homeowner replace and improve foundation plantings that have been crushed by snow piles.

Door jambs in a mid-century modern home have no trim. For our crew, it’s a style they don’t often see. Today Kevin finds Tommy installing interior doors with no trim. Our homeowners have decided to use large-format tile on the floors of three levels of the house. Kevin finds Mark Ferrante handling 80-pound tiles as he lays them in the living room. Kevin and Richard revisit a project we did in Key West in 1999, for our 20th season. Back in Brookline, the homeowners want a gas fireplace in the living room, so of course it has a sleek, modern look. Kevin finds Chris Weiner and his crew doing the installation. The cabinets for the kitchen are modern but it takes old-fashioned skills to install them properly. One of our original apprentices, Nathan Gilbert, is back as the lead carpenter on this kitchen project. Tommy is working with Nathan and his father, Bill, on the install. Tom discusses the conversations a homeowner and a contractor should have before starting a renovation project; Richard travels to Orlando to diagnose and repair an HVAC system that is creating way too much humidity; Mauro demonstrates the technique for using a paint sprayer; Mark travels to Denver to patch a hole in a brick wall.

Doors are hung, floors are going down; it’s time for finishing touches. Kevin finds Shawn McEvoy and his team installing a closet organization system in the master bedroom. Our apprentice Carly’s next lesson is installing a modern baseboard. Her teacher: the master Tom Silva. The master bath has a unique drain in the wall. Kevin gets Mark Ferrante and Kevin Bilo to show him how magnets create the illusion of a hidden drain. The flooring chosen by our homeowners comes pre-finished, but not the stair treads, and there are a lot of stairs in this house. Tommy helps our restoration expert Wayne Towle stain the treads to match the floors. More last-minute details include hardware for the interior doors. Kevin finds Sunil at a local hardware store where Daniel Heyligers helps sort through the options. A challenge for any cabinet installer is to make the bathroom cabinets appear to float on the wall. Kevin finds our former apprentice, Nathan, working with his father in the master bath. Tom demonstrates how to sharpen a knife; Mauro teaches a homeowner how to re-stain her deck; Mark demonstrates the best way to build a fire in order to prevent smoke from filling up the room; in Future House, Ross travels to Los Angeles to learn about innovations being made to automatic water shutoff valves.

The lackluster mid-century box is a modern marvel once again. Kevin and Tommy arrive to assess the transformation of the exterior of the house. After using the new front entry and walking through the mudroom, they take in the heart of the home, opened up to allow for a spacious working kitchen and eating area with clear sightlines into the living room. Homeowners Sunil and Neha celebrate the high ceilings, abundance of glass, balconies and hanging gas fireplace. Sunil takes Tommy upstairs to the bedroom level, where they now have a master suite with ample clothes storage and a bathroom with sleek, modern accents. In their daughter Nisa’s room, installer Zak is finishing up his work on the motorized window shades. In the basement, Richard shows Kevin the multiple mechanical and electrical closets, laundry room, gym area and garage. Charlie joins the discussion to discuss the heated driveway to help melt snow and prevent flooding. On the lower living level, Sunil and Tommy tour the guest suite, complete with a kitchenette, bathroom and private entrance. Outside, Jenn shows Kevin the new patio with sitting wall, and explains their plans to develop proper drainage for rain. Back inside, Sunil and Neha show Kevin around their dining area, pantry and kitchen, where panels hide appliances and a custom hood adorns the gas and induction cooktops. Everyone joins to celebrate the completion of the project. Jenn helps a homeowner add some curb appeal using Victorian plants to match the design of his house; the team shares more home inspection nightmares; Mauro demonstrates how to accurately match a paint color; Tom and Kevin hand carve wooden serving utensils using leftover pine from a previous Build It project.