This Old House Season 12, Episode 16: The Jamaica Plain House - 16

The Jamaica Plain House - 1

We begin our 12th season with the restoration of Hazel Briceno's triple-decker, three-family home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Together with the Residental Development Program of the Public Facilities Department of Boston, we'll renovate all three floors. First, we soak in the sights and sounds of Jamaica Plain. Then our host heads off to meet with Lisa Chapnick, head of Boston's Public Facilities Department. Finally, the guys introduce homeowner Hazel Briceno and meet contractor Abel Lopes.

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The guys explore lead paint-health hazards, inspection, and removal.

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The issue of vinyl siding is discussed. Cellulose insulation is blown-in from the interior. A variety of replacement windows is reviewed. Kithcen and bathroom redesign begins with Glenn Berger.

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Abel Lopes explains construction of rear porches. Our master carpenter shows us how to install the new replacement windows. Vinyl siding goes on, kitchen and bath design plans are unveiled, and our plumbing and heating specialist discusses the homeowner's options.

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Our master carpenter works on front porch. We get a lesson from the plastering crew on blueboarding. We then tour a Canadian gypsum mine and New Hampshire factory where gypsum rock is turned into wallboard.

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The guys discuss the basement windows. Landscape architect Tom Wirth makes a preliminary lanscaping survey. The guys go over the pre-inspection plumbing. We then tour a factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, where PVC plastic pipe is made. Hazel visits Glenn Berger's showroom to choose kitchen cabinets, counters and flooring.

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Home magazine editor Joe Ruggiero tours the house and discusses with Hazel ideas for interior decorating on a budget. Our master carpenter reconstructs the front porch post. Our host gets a lesson on plastering.

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A visit to the Charlotte, North Carolina, chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a national organization that provides affordable housing through no-interest loans, sweat equity and volunteer help. Richard Trethewey explains the water and gas supply and the water heaters back at the triple-decker.

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The guys install the new front porch columns and build a railing system. Abel Lopes and Amy Wrigley tour the house to see progress on the back shed, deleaded window trim and the new tile in bathroom. The guys then discuss baseboard heating and the boilers.

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The crew installs the brackets they've built the workshop. The front door is stained and sealed. Hazel and Tom Wirth visit a nursery for the end-of-month season bargains, and Howard Husock, a housing researcher, takes viewers on a field trip to Worchester, Massachusetts, home of many fine triple-deckers.

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Our host tries some sanblasting to get rid of the graffiti on front of the house. Our master carpenter installs some of the trim he made in the workshop. Our host takes viewers to Japan, where he tours a typical apartment and visits a model home park, where shoppers can choose among a variety of prefabricated houses.

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Tom Wirth and Hazel lay out the plants for the front garden and a picket fence is installed. Our master carpenter and Abel discuss the upcoming lead reinspection for the stripped trim on the first floor and take a look at the store-bought old-style trim on the second floor. We return to Japan, where we tour a modular home factory and watch as a home is constructed at a jobsite in a mere four and a half hours.

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We tour the vacant city-owned lot across the street with Stephanie Bothwell, senior landscape architect with the City of Boston. There, trees and bushes are being planted as part of a neighborhood-approved lot improvement scheme. Stephanie and Tom Wirth visit horticulturist Gary Kohler at the Arnold Arboretum to view suitable trees for city landscaping. Back at the house, Glenn Berger gives us a tour of the kitchens, as our master carpenter installs cabinets in Hazel's unit. Finally, we visit the Chicago Home Center Show, the largest of its kind.

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Our host and Amy Wrigley tour two Public Facilities Department houses that will soon be on the market. At the workshop, the guys pre-hang the front door and install its lock system.

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At the house, the guys install the new front door. Hazel's security system is reviewed. Jeff Hosking checks out the state of the house's floors, sanding what he can. Our host then takes viewers to the historic Gardner-Pingree House in Salem, Massachusetts, to see how floorclothes are made.

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The guys visit the International Carpetry Apprenticeship Contest in Seattle, Washington. Back in Jamaica Plain, Richard Trethewey and our master carpenter look over some of the newly arrived appliances, and our host goes across town to check out a modular triple-decker going up on an abandoned lot.

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The final day. Boston's Mayor Ray Flynn drops by to welcome Hazel to the city and gives her a wreath. Designer Joe Ruggiero shows us the three different treatments he gave each floor of the triple-decker, and we see how the stenciling and checkerboarding in the foyer were done. Out at the workshop, the guys build a folding screen for the first-floor dining room.

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