This Old House · Season 23 · Episode 10

The Manchester House - 10

Saturday, November 24

Steve begins the show in a municipal parking lot in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where once stood a beautiful 250-year-old Georgian home. Later in the show, he takes viewers to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, where the house - and the lives of the many families that live there - have been recontructed. At the jobsite, mason Lenny Belliveau builds the new addition's exterior face from water-stuck brick, while inside, our master carpenter checks out Dan McLaughin's use of an insulating chimney system made from pumice. It goes up quickly and keeps the chimney stack warmer, preventing the buildup of the column of cold air that normally dumps out, spreading smoke into the room. Tommy shows Steve his method of putting in a wooden floor over concrete that was previously outdoor patio space; his scribing technique is one Steve's never seen before. Finally, architect Steve Holt shows our master carpenter his design for the new fireplace inglenook, based in part of old photos t