Bob Vila meets with contractor Ed Weller, who explains how the steel-framed kitchen table will support a surface of Surell and also how the table will be mounted.

A butcher block table can help make your kitchen much more efficient: Built to take a beating, butcher block doubles as a functional chopping surface as well as an eating or serving table. Butcher block is made of hard maple, a dense, strong wood that doesn't add flavor to what you're chopping on it. It's cut across the grain so it will wear evenly without warping. Just keep it clean and oil it occasionally; it will last for years.

This 1920s-era house had almost no exterior lighting and not even a place to plug in the Christmas lights. Electrician John Schiavone installed new lighting outlets for the exterior and interior of the home. The lighting fixtures and table lamps in the living room are all operated by wireless control. Ben Wilson Jr. of Lutron/Keyes North Atlantic reviews the features of this system. The control unit has five settings for the homeowner to set, which will control various lights in the house. The system seeks out and uses wireless frequencies that are not currently in use and will not impede the use of other wireless devices in the area. Each room of the house is equipped with a dimmer switch that for manual operation.