Kevin O’Connor arrives at the house and tours the first floor of the Westford Colonial Revival, which had a fire many years ago and only has a few beautiful trim details remaining.
Looking down the hole of a former chimney, he discovers Charlie Silva working in the basement. Charlie is digging out the old slab so he can put in closed cell foam insulation under a new concrete floor so that the basement can become conditioned space.
Framing has already started on the new hip roof to replace all that was burned from the original house. Charlie, Tom Silva and Tim Berky install the last of the hip beams and corresponding roof rafters.
Downstairs, building scientist Joe Lstiburek explains to Kevin how the house’s original exterior wall components began to fail at keeping the siding from drying out when insulation was added years later. When siding isn’t allowed to dry via air flow, it expands and contracts which causes the exterior paint to fall off. He shows Kevin an exterior wall mockup of what Charlie’s plans are to keep the house insulated and energy efficient but also dry.
Out back, Kevin meets Mark McCullough, who is working with a local stone cutter to slice through the original foundation to create a garage door opening into the existing basement. Mark, Kevin and Charlie remove and stack the foundation stones so that they can be repurposed later in the project.
Original Air Date: Apr 3, 2025, Season 46; Ep. 18 23:42
Products and Resources
- General contractors: T.J. Berky Builders
- Masonry contractors: Jack Doherty Contracting
- Siding materials: Huber Engineered Woods
- Insulation manufacturers: Icynene
