This Old House

Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram arrive at the latest project house in Newton, Massachusetts, An 1897 Colonial Revival in late Victorian Shingle transitional-style.

Host Kevin O'Connor sees the plans for a large new patio, the kitchen, plumbing and heating and the 100-year old chimney. Roger Cook cuts down the giant yews obscuring the front of the house.

Prepping the footings for new porch columns. A perc test for the new landscape plan. Shingle style review and plan. Removing a rotted red maple from the side yard with a tree crew and crane.

The temporary support beam and old kitchen walls are removed. Old wiring created code violations. Floor plans and design choices are revealed. The closet ties in with the new master bath.

Installing pre-cast concrete to create a retaining wall. Evaluating historic wallpaper. Putting a new window in an old wall. 19th century buildings are moved as part of a construction project.

What colors might be appropriate for a Shingle-style house. Building the 12-foot wall of a new kitchen bump out. Stained glass restoration. A concrete truck pours a small buttress wall.

Progress on the porch, kitchen, and master bath. An update on the mechanical systems. How granite is quarried and split. Installing the new Milford Pink granite and also matching the old mortar.

Transplanting a large shrub to help with screening. Work on the fieldstone sitting wall. Installing a replacement window. Adding radiant heat panels. And crafting a beautiful 3-inch teak island top.

Building a fieldstone and mortar sitting wall. Troublesome conditions with the wood-to-ground contact. Termite pest control. New home designs - clean and open on the inside.

Prepping the exterior for paint. Bluestone patio and massive bluestone stairs. Wrapping exterior columns with shingles. Spray foam insulation is put in. Lighting restoration to meet modern needs.

Saving the old plaster in the billiards room. Selections for the home's lighting, paint colors, and furnishings. Norm shows rare and valuable antique pool tables, and sees work on the pool table.

The kitchen is plastered, the new white oak flooring is down, and the cabinets have just arrived. A new generation of kitchen garbage disposers. Waterproofing the shower by using a paint-on membrane.

This Old House travels to New Orleans, Louisiana, to help a fourth-generation resident of the Lower 9th Ward return home, while following stories of rebuilding and recovery throughout the city.

Back in New Orleans, Kevin meets homeowner Rashida Ferdinand and her architect Rick Fifield for a look at the plans and model of the proposed work to her shotgun single.

Host Kevin O'Connor visits the French Quarter with Vieux Carre Commission Director Lary Hesdorffer to see how one of the most important neighborhoods in America faired during the storm.

Norm Abram takes Kevin across the Mississippi River by ferry to Algiers Point, home of the first This Old House New Orleans project back in 1990, to see how it fared during Hurricane Katrina.

Host Kevin O'Connor and Norm Abram visit the local's alternative to Bourbon Street—the neighborhood jazz clubs of Frenchmen Street, where the New Orleans music scene is still alive and well.

Host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram take a ride through the city of New Orleans with streetcar driver Sue Daniel, who is known locally as Streetcar Sue.

The Dollut Steamboat house. Holy Cross house's new quartz countertops made using laser technology. Cabinets, flooring and paint. A lesson in making a window stool and apron. Reclaimed pine flooring.

Kevin and Roger visit a tradition on Poydras St., Mother's Restaurant, to sample the local cuisine. Roger and landscape architect Brian Sublette create public and private space on our lot.

Host Kevin O'Connor meets District Fire Chief Tim McConnell to see how his firemen are rebuilding 22 damaged firehouses with the help of volunteers and the Denis Leary Foundation in NYC.

Kevin O'Connor and the Krewe of Zulu prepare for Mardi Gras. In Holy Cross, Roger Cook finds metal worker Joe Strain finishing the installation of the "hoop and scroll" iron fence.