Broken or rotten shingles should be repaired to keep a home protected against the elements.

To protect new shingles, apply a penetrating stain. Stain soaks in and protects the wood from the weather, and won't crack, peel, or chip. Brush liberally along the bottom edges of each course then over the face of the shingles with a generous coat of stain. Start on the top course and work your way down. For an authentic weather look, use a transparent stain.

Bob meets with Michael Shiels to discuss the progress on the modular home project�s exterior construction. Bob points out some of the features that give this home its custom built exterior feel, including Cedar clapboard shingles on the lower half and Cedar shake shingles on the upper portion of the exterior walls areas as well as steel roofing. Cedar shakes are applied as a panel to the exterior of the house. Ken Clark from Cedar Valley Shingle is on location to demonstrate the installation of these panels and explain how they are produced at the factory for quick installation at the home site. At the factory, two-foot-by eight-foot plywood sheets are laid out and band saw cut, kiln dried, Western Red Cedar shingles are stapled and glued to the sheet. The band saw cutting process increases the open grain on the wood and allows for a better penetration of stains and sealers to extend the life of the shingle. The plywood backing increases the �dead� air space and increases the insulating value of plain cedar. The corners are made at the factory to conserve time and materials at the job site. The interlocking panels and pre-constructed corners can shave 75 percent off the install time of standard shakes. The shingles are also available pre-finished.

House nine of the Elmwood project. The front porch project continues with new red cedar shingles and a paint job.

Bob talks with Al Roberta who is painting the Medford house. The house needed a lot of prep work before painting. The home's original wood shingles had been covered for 30 to 40 years by manmade shingles during which time they had gotten pretty baked and oxygen-starved and subsequently brittle. Some of the shingles were replaced but for budget reasons those that could be were saved leaving behind a patchwork of new and old shingles to be painted. Al is using an oil-based primer from Sherwin Williams that will both seal the house giving it a nice hard shell and also act as a stain-blocking agent as the new cedar shingles have a tendency to bleed. Al is applying the primer with either a small 3-inch roller or with a cutting brush. It's not an easy job to paint a house with so many angles. The finish coat is a latex topcoat. It's a Sherwin Williams Duration product that goes on twice as thick as conventional paint. The topcoat is rolled and back-brushed. Weather-permitting the job should take about three week.

House seven of the Elmwood project. Homer Earl from the Cedar shake and shingle bureau tells us what makes a good shingle. Also a look at Sikkens Cetol1 shingle stain products. Bob Ryley and Bob apply side shingles.

Bob reviews some of the work done on the house so far. The house was built in 1921 and the exterior stucco walls are in good shape overall. The woodwork, however, was in bad shape as it is 80 year-old wood combined with New England winters. Most of the wood trim was repaired using western red cedar. The gutters on the gambrel roof were also replaced. The porch columns were repaired after suffering insect damage. These stone columns were filled with concrete by mason Kevin Latham. Some new stucco was added where the back door was removed and replaced with a new slider and small window. To add this stucco wall, wire lath is placed over felt paper and plywood. Then a brown coat is added and allowed to cure before the finish coat goes on. Fergus Cullen of CertaPro Painters reviews the issues involved with painting the house. Different parts of the home's exterior are older than others. The old stucco is in good shape, while the new stucco needs to be primed and painted using a couple of coats. The window uses a couple of different materials. The frame has been replaced with Azek, which does not need to be painted but will be painted to match the rest of the trim. The Azek is especially effective in areas where there is a lot of moisture and rot may be a problem. The natural wood surrounding the window will also be primed and painted to match everything else. In some areas the old paint is peeling off in sheets and "alligatoring" or creating check marks in the paint. The old paint used in these sections is likely lead paint and does not have the flexibility New England winter and summer temperature fluctuations. All the areas with chipping and peeling paint will be scraped down, the edges sanded, and then primed. When complete, the texture will be retained but there will be no chipping or peeling involved. Some shingles on the lip of the roof have sustained significant water damage. The damaged shingles are replaced and painted with a solid color stain. This stain looks like paint but penetrates into the wood. There will be a little difference in texture between the old shingles and the new, which comes with having an older home. The most important thing to remember when painting at the end of the season is overnight temperatures. Painting is possible as long as the overnight temperatures are above 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The paint must be given time to cure at the proper temperatures. Painting is also not possible during times of high humidity, which is a problem that plagues hot, humid climates in the South.

Bob talks with Dean Stewart of Woodport Doors about the interior door being installed. The door is a four-panel contemporary door with mission sticking, commonly referred to as a Shaker-style door. The door features an engineered-wood core with a birch-veneer face. Since it was not clear if the homeowner wanted to stain or paint the door, birch was selected because of its versatility. The engineered wood is a high-density material, making the door stabler and resistant to problems like warping.

Bob meets Ryley outside where he is putting sidewall shingles on the new addition. Bob points out the newly trimmed window and the ten inch wide piece of felt around it called a spline. The spline is common in the Northeast to prevent moisture from coming in between the trim and the shingle once shrinkage has occurred. Ryley explains that he is using a red cedar eighteen-inch perfection shingle that is rejoined and rebutted to form a perfectly square shingle. This type of shingle is higher in quality and price than a standard white cedar shingle, but it is better for taking paint and stain. Because Ryley is using an eight-inch exposure on the shingle, he can use a third fewer shingles on the project. He uses a story pole up the corner of the house as a guide for each row of shingles. Bob and Ryley take the strapping off and raise it to the next chalk line to start a new row. The chalk string is moved so that it can hold the shingles in place. Ryley and Bob put the shingles on the strapping and cut the middle ones to size. Then they are nailed in place and the process repeats. Ryley uses five penny galvanized box nails nailed twice into each shingle.

Bob discusses the red cedar clapboard being added to the exterior of the house. A storyboard is used to ensure accurate spacing, and the boards are applied from the bottom up. Stainless steel nails are used to eliminate any bleed onto the cedar board.