The new family room is all done and furnished and looks terrrific. Bob talks with Sarah Monzon, the homeowner who also acted as the general contractor on the project, about the remodeling work done on the room. The room was a "cave" according to Monzon before the project was started. A pitted soapstone sink was previously used as a laundry and had become an eyesore. The room was also cluttered with accumulated junk. Because of the shortage of space in the house, the family decided to finish the basement to add to the living space of the home. Monzon acted as the general contractor for the project because there wasn't money budgeted for the expense, which was not necessarily an experience she would choose to repeat. The local inspectional services department provided a large amount of information for the novice general contractor. It is imperative before homeowners do any work on their home that they obtain the necessary permits and find out what is safe and what is not. If homeowners do work on their homes without a permit and anything goes wrong, insurance will not cover the damage. Before any work was done on the house, the basement floors were concrete and heating ducts crisscrossed the ceiling. There was flooding damage in the basement during the past fall which needed to be corrected and prevented in the future. Basement Systems was called in to install a perimeter drain and drainage system. A lot of existing plumbing was then moved from the ceiling to make more headspace and a new HVAC system was installed to move the heating ducts. The new central air system complete with an air filter made the house much more livable. In one of the smaller spaces in the basement, a new bathroom was installed with the help of technology from Saniflo. Owens Corning Basement Finishing Systems was then called in to install new finished walls. Many of the mechanical devices in the basement are now hidden behind the walls but are still accessible as the walls can be easily removed. A new entertainment center was then installed in the finished basement featuring a S1 Digital Media Center. The media center allows the homeowner to browse digital pictures taken using the family's digital camera or to set the image as wallpaper for the screen. Television shows can be watched or recorded using a schedule guide. The media center also can store home videos, movies, and music. New reclining chairs from Bell'O were put in the entertainment room. When laying protection from flood damage in a basement, it is important to elevate wood from the concrete floor. Instead of using a plywood underlayment, a plastic tile system was used which interlocks and can be screwed down onto the concrete. Plastic webbing underneath the tiles diverts any water which may come up through the concrete or spill in the basement to the perimeter drain. Slide-Lok cabinets were put in the basement to increase storage space. The Slide-Lok wall system was put in place to hang tools in the workspace. The husband of the family is a musician and uses much of the storage space to hold his instruments. Because the room can double as rehearsal space, two and a half inches of fiberglass are in the walls to reduce sound transmission to the outside. The basement has a small office space for the husband as well. Accents throughout the space correlate with other things in the room. The lampshades on the desk have a design which relates to the flooring product. The floor does not have a wall-to-wall carpet although it looks as if it does. The floor is from Binvetec and features tiles of carpet which stick to the floor. The product has interlocking patterns which can easily be layed down. Bean bags from Sumo were put in the room for lounging in and the kids love to play on them. A stairwell fishtank from AquaVista is only four inches deep.

More and more baby boomers are looking to expand space in their homes to make room for aging parents. Bob talks with Howard Brickman, an old friend of the show, who specializes in hardwood flooring installations. Brickman is adding space to his home to make room for his mother-in-law. The house was originally built by Brickman 24 years ago and the family has been living in it ever since. The home is two stories, approximately 2,500 square feet with four bedrooms and a full basement. The size of the home will roughly double to make room for the new space. A full bedroom, bath, kitchenette, and a large living area will be created in the project. The home is in Norwell, Massachusetts, hwere glacial activity left a mix of soil types, large rocks, and groundwater in the area surrounding the home. There were some conservation issues that delayed the building permit for about eight weeks.

Bob meets with Pat Fricchione and Dave Boniello from Simplex Industries to observe the delivery of the modular home pieces to the home site. The 15 ton pieces are craned directly from a truck bed onto the Superior Wall�s Insulated Concrete Form basement foundation. Prior to delivery Simplex Industries scouts the route from the plant to the home site to insure the fifteen plus foot wide sections can be trucked safely down the road. Simplex must also obtain permits or permission from every state they traverse; this insures they are in compliance with department of transportation regulations. On site a team of skilled workmen secure heavy-duty cables to pick-up points on each section to maintain a uniform weight distribution and prevent the twisting or bending of the home�s frame.

Bob and developer John Druley walk through a home under construction by Qualker Homes in Falmouth, Massachusetts. This standard design is used for both the market-priced and affordable homes. The overall dimensions of the house are 26 feet by 36 feet. A center-door entry leads to 13-by-18-foot living room on one side and a 16-by-13-foot master bedroom on the other. The back of the house has a 13-by-18-foot kitchen with a back door and a window onto the backyard, a half-bath and laundry, and an entry to the master bedroom with full bath, tub-shower combination, double-bowl sink, and linen closet. The upstairs has two bedrooms with operable skylights and a full bath. This three-bedroom, two-and-one-half bath Cape will be lotteried as an affordable home to eligible families who make between $29,000 and $65,000 per year, and who qualify for a traditional mortgage. The home is stick-built with traditional 2X4 framing, oriented strand board (OSB) exterior sheathing, low-e glass, tilt-in vinyl windows, and gas heat. Bob and Druley point out that an affordable home must be affordable to operate and heat as well as being affordable to purchase.

…from over 4,500 local agents and dozens of major carriers • Take advantage of discounts for the simplest of home improvement projects • Identify easy ways to save up to 25% on your monthly rates Compare Online Homeowners Quotes…

…on. Choosing to use Sears for your home improvement needs is a decision you will be happy…
…can count on Sears to complete your home improvement project with high quality materials, workmanship…
…process. Additionally, your Sears home improvement always includes: · Quality materials…

…authorities on home improvement. Under this…
…arrangement, Bob Vila and Web.com…
…to work with Bob Vila, an icon of home improvement, adds tremendous…
…successful home improvement television host, Bob Vila remains one…

…15 /PRNewswire/ Home improvement expert and "sweat equity" pioneer Bob Vila has been watching…
…trusted name in home improvement. "At Bob Vila.com, we've…
…the mystery out of home improvement while promoting…

…of his 25-year career on television, Bob Vila has traveled far and wide covering the home improvement industry. Now if you've ever wondered…
…area, you can check using the Official Bob Vila Google Map. The map shows project locations…