This Old House · Season 16 · Episode 5

The Acton House - 5

Tuesday, February 15

At the site, lumber - conventional and engineered - has arrived, and the crew begins to attach the sill to the foundation. Terry Maitland lays down fiberboard to protect his old floors during construction, and discusses with our host his concern about the lead content of the old building: one of his children, who has been monitored for the past year, had a slightly elevated blood lead level. Our host promises the show's help. He then takes Terry into the basement, points out how little is holding up the living room, and suggests Terry replace the lally column that somehow got knocked down. We visit a c. 1760 tavern that has been moved across the state and rebuilt as a private home, with painstaking attention to historical accuracy. Back at the site, the first of the wood I-beam joists go in.