The Nantucket House - 6
The show opens with a little clamming, looking for quahogs at a secret location. At the site, we meet designer Jock Gifford, who uses the model of the house to explain the work going on: cutting a hole in the roof to accept the addition's gable. Inside, we meet framing contractor Paul O'Rourke, whose crew makes the cut, assembles the gable wall on the second floor, and pushes it up into place. On the roof, Bruce Killen reviews the progress the new wood shingle roof and the ingredients that go into a roof designed to last 50 years, even in the harsh island environment: heavy roof sheathing, tarpaper, bitumen membrane along edges and in valleys, copper valleys and drip edge, a three-dimensional mesh that allows a layer of air beneath the shingles, and the shingles themselves - #1, vertical-grained, thick-butted (5/8"") Western red cedar. Homeowner Craig Bentley considers the possibility of using a ground-source heat pump to both heat and cool the building, a good choice on an island with
More from Season 18
Episode 1
The Nantucket House - 1
This Old House sets out for Nantucket the classic way, aboard a Streamship Authority vessel. On island, they tour one of our master carpenter's first jobs, a clothing store. Linking up with designer Jock Gifford, we take a walk up Main Street, one of the finest preserved streets in America. At the subject house, a tour reveals small rooms and poor systems, but a project with a lot of potential. Accordingly, we meet island contractor Bruce Killen and then the homeowners, Craig and Kathy McGraw Bentley.
Episode 2
The Nantucket House - 2
The crew starts the work day surf casting with local expert David Goodman (and full-time tile contractor) - and even catch a striped bass and a bluefish. At the house, Jock Gifford and the Bentleys use a model to go over the new design for the new house. Whatever they decide they want to do, all exterior changes will have to be approved by the island's Historic District Commission (HDC). We meet commission head Mark Avery to hear about to hear the group, its mandate, likes, dislikes, and proceedings; meanwhile Jock takes us on a photography expedition around the island as he prepares a presentation to the HDC about exterior changes - dormers, decorative shingling - proposed for the Bentley house. In the basement, Richard Trethewey finds very little plumbing or heating equipment worth saving; he then follows the energy story on Nantucket, from wind power to electricity generation to fuel oil to LP gas to wood. In a word, it's all expensive, so the choices the Bentleys make for their hom
Episode 3
The Nantucket House - 3
The show starts with a visit to Nantucket's Unitarian Universalist church, a beautiful showcase of restrained New England architecture and trompe l'oeil painting built in 1809. At 3 Milk Street, we catch up with general contractor Bruce Killen, who has his building permit and is well into a gut job on the building. Reasons for this dramatic course include the fact that the building will need insulation, upgraded wiring and plumbing, new windows and trim, and a notable change of floor plan; it will also get rid of the bulk lead paint. Outside, mason Don Kissell is accepting a load of concrete for the new addition's footings. Our master carpenter takes a trip to an island plant to see where the concrete is mixed. We hear designer Jock Gifford's report on the Historic District Commission's judgement: the additions were approved, but any exterior details will have to be proven to have been on the building originally. To that end, Syd Conway, who grew up in the house, drops by to share some
Episode 4
The Nantucket House - 4
Our master carpenter goes lobstering with contractor/lobsterman Pierre Garneau, who has a family license to put out 10 traps. At the house, mason Dan Kissell takes down the unneeded (and unsafe) chimneys, careful to salvage the old bricks, which can fetch up to $2.50 a piece. Homeowner Kathy McGraw Bentley is assigned the task of cleaning the bricks of their old mortar. Engineered lumber arrives on site, in time for reframing to begin both inside the building and on the platform left by the recent demolition of the kitchen ell. We learn how to mix the perfect motar with the masons, who are beginning to build the concrete block foundation for the new addition. Inside, job foreman Patrick Hehir and the crew work to insert a new engineered lumber beam into the second floor system, and begin to sister on 2 x 8s to the existing 2 x 6 joists.
Episode 5
The Nantucket House - 5
The show starts with a visit to Sankaty Head Light, a Coast Guard property of the exposed Eastern edge of the island. Built in 1850, it like the rest of the houses along the the bluff that leads up to it, is in danger of being washed away by the encroaching Atlantic. Coast Guard Capt. Bill Batson gives us a tour and discusses the options for the future. Back at the house, general contractor Burce Killen checks out the nearly entirely reframed house and discuss the efficiency and code considerations that led to such a radical reworking. Outside, designer Jock Gifford shows homeowner Kathy McGraw Bently a sample of the new windows he's specified for the house, featuring true divided lights, interior energy panels, factory installed trim, and a factory applied three-part exterior pait finish guaranteed for ten years. The Bentleys need to go before the Historic District Commission to obtain approval for the colors they want to use on the building; upon approval they can order the windows.
Episode 7
The Nantucket House - 7
The show begins at Nantucket's Old North Wharf, much of which dates from the early 18th century and site of several small cottages available for rent. At the site, homeowner Kathy McGrew Bentley shows us the window sash color approved by the Historic District Commission, as well as the outside placement of the chimney, which had previously been slated for inside the building. Contractor Bruce Killen describes the cost of the extra framing work so far: $30,000. Outside, mason Dan Kissell shows us how to parge the new concrete block foundation so that it matches the old foundation, while cedar roofer John Rex reveals the secret of the roof's decorative diamond detail. Out at Bruce Killen's workshop, Bruce helps refrubish the building's old fornt doors, using custom knives to replicate the moldings and a large belt sander to remove the paint from the frames. Finally, lighting designer Melissa Guenet and electrician Sally Kay Bates shows us the plans for the second floor.
