Bob studies the architect's plans to get a better feel for what the house will look like when it's finished. The side entrance to the home will have a covered porch, and there will be a double garage in the back with a big gable. Front and back gabled ends are critical design elements defining this as an old style farmhouse. Also distinctive are the many windows enabling the homeowners to take advantage of the spectacular view.

In the recent past many of New York's historical landmarks have had facelifts to keep them both structurally and aesthetically sound as well as true to their roots. One of the architectural firms behind several of these projects, the New York and Washington, D.C.-based Beyer, Blinder, Belle Architects & Planners, has joined the Home Again crew to lend their expertise in the architectural restoration. Bob meets with Jack Beyer in front of the old Pepper Mill to get up to speed on the exterior design plans for the rehab project. Beyer discusses some of the pitfalls with landmark buildings, including the multiple overlapping regulatory agencies which approve changes to a buildings structure, mechanics, and style. Bob discovers that the building is being converted for at least the second time. It was originally a three-floor residential building, but was later converted to commercial use. Beyer observes that while the building is in need of extensive repair it is structurally sound and stable. HE shows Bob sketches of the proposed renovations, which include two entrances, commercial space on the ground floor with a show window, and a possible added story set back from the fa�ade. Beyer is cautiously optimistic that the addition will gain Landmarks' approval since the building is a contributing landmark, not a specially designated landmark.

Walking behind the house, Bob makes a few observations about the design. He points out that the house and old barn were not exactly parallel to each other creating some issues fo the breezeway addition. Th architect chose to build the breezeway parallel with the barn, but as the roof is right onto the house, when you look at the roof overhang right on the corner of the addition it subtly increases in width in one direction. Another interesting feature of the architect's design is a 4 ft. wide and t10 ft. long "gang plank"-like balcony coming out from the second floor masterbath.

While on the third floor of the Medford house Bob looks at the Pella window installation in the gable end. The architect's original plan called for one big glass triangle but this would have involved a great deal of structural reworking, so the plan changed to installing two smaller triangular windows with 2 x 4s retained in the middle maintaining structural stability. In a flashback to the installation, carpenter Matt Alexander removed the exterior wall covering from the area and used a chalk line to mark the opeing for the new windows. next he cut away the sheathing with a reciprocating saw to create the opening, folded out the nailing flange on the custom Pella windows and nailed the flange to the sheathing. The windows are aluminum-clad, with double glazed argon-filled low-E glass.

Bob meets up with structural engineer Steve Siegel on the Medford's home third floor. The attic is right from the 1880's and clearly no longer meets code. As the homeowner intends to create a home office up there with cathedral ceilings, structural changes will be required. Steve explains that the existing structure is undersized and will need to be reinforced. The 2 x 6 rafters are pretty widely spaced at 2 feet on center with flimsy 2 x 3 collar ties. To create useable living space Steve suggests taking out the existing collars and putting in a ridge beam to support the whole load of the roof. To do this Siegel would put a piece of wood (possibly a 2 x 6) at every rafter pair and then position the ridge beam just below. However, this configuration might conflict with the architect's plan to fill the whole gable end with a big glass triangle.

Bob meets with Ron Gan, the general contractor for the project, to discuss the changes that will be made. After reviewing construction drawings, Gan is satisfied with the architect's plans to open up the narrow space. Bob and Ron go inside where Lenny from Inner City Demolition is making some exploratory holes in the ceiling to figure out the next steps in removing the load bearing wall. He has verified that the second floor joists sit on the bearing wall studs and found there is metal lath over wooden lath and arched doorways which were all added in a later renovation. The load bearing wall will be taken out and replaced with a single beam. Bob and Gan look at a section of the house and Gan shows Bob where the studs will be removed and replaced with a header to carry the weight. Through the header the weight of the floors above will be transferred down posts that go down through to the basement and are anchored on concrete footings. Before removing the wall, however, the structure must be shored up and the beam must be engineered.

Bob and Charlie look at a couple of the old posts that the architect intended to reuse. However, Charlie discovered that they had been reworked once before and when he opened them up and looked inside he found that they were hollow. To make them fit he'd have to extend them three feet longer which would involve a lap and since they're hollow they wouldn't be very structurally sound. So it looks like new posts will be in order.

Bob and architect Greg Rochlin tour the exterior of this season's project, Bob's own 100-year-old shingle style home in Cambridge, Mass. Bob notes the various features of the existing house and discusses the previous remodelling projects.

Bob meets up with Ray Adams from Pella to look at the new Pella French doors that Charlie will be installing in the library. The door is from the Architect's Series. It's a simulated divided light door. The glass is Pella's Insulshield glass, an argon filled glass with a low-E coating. It's one large piece of glass with extruded aluminum on the outside for the muntin bars and all wood on the inside. This makes it more energy-efficient than a true divided light door. It's an active/inactive door - the active door has all the hardware in it. It comes all bored out. You can lock the inactive side, but if you wish, you can open both doors up to create a nice opening.

If you're looking for an alternative to laminate or stone for your kitchen, try using stainless steel. The steel arrives at the factory in sheets. These sheets are processed as soon as they reach the plant. They first go through a routine of cutting and shaping to engineer's plans. Once they have been formed to the correct design, they are welded and then polished. The end result is easy to install and looks great.