BobVila.com

Bob joins Ron Boyajian and the painters for the prep work and painting of this 100 year-old wooden Victorian. The painter explains that they power wash the surface with a 50/50 mix of bleach and water to blast away loose paint and kill any mildew. He then shows how to feather the edges of the paint with a sander for a smooth finish. A drop cloth, and a catch on the sander keep chips out of the soil, but it's critical to check for lead content in the paint before disturbing it. Boyajian shows Bob the moisture meter used to check the moisture content in the wood and verify the right type of paint to use on the surface. At around 10 percent moisture, a latex paint will adhere without peeling, but at 25 percent, oil-based paint will peel, so it's important to get an average for the house. Boyajian gives Bob the basics on priming before painting. At 60 percent bare wood, he says it's best to prime the entire house. California Paints uses their Trouble-Shooter linseed-oil-based primer to hold back the tannic acid in the new cedar clapboards so that they won't bleed into the new paint. The painter shows the proper technique for covering clapboards, using a hand-brushing technique to cover the butts first and then the face of the clapboards for good coverage. This primer is tinted to half the depth of the color of the finish coat so that it will hide any imperfections in the top coat.

In the sunroom, Howard Brickman is at work sanding the floors. Starting with a drum sander, he begins by sanding the floor at a 20-degree angle to get the surface flat and smooth. Next, he runs the sander with the grain to maintain an even finish. Brickman stresses the importance of using the proper sequence with the abrasives. For this particular floor he will use 2 different grits, although it is not unusual to use 3 or more. After finishing with the drum sander, Howard uses an edger/spinner to get in close to walls. The key to using the edger is to practice smooth, elliptical motions to keep the surface even.

John Spellman of Cape Cod Counter Works shows Bob the installation of the shop-made laminate counters in one of the Mashpee, Massachusetts, homes. They were fabricated in the shop and are now being fit to the cabinet frames and walls of the kitchen. Spellman finds that there is a bulge in the wall that keeps the counter about � inch off the wall, preventing it from sliding into place and accommodating the range that will sit between the cabinets. Spellman scribes the counter with a pencil to show how much will need to be removed to fit it flush against the wall. He then uses a belt sander to grind away at the counter until he has almost reached his scribing line. He puts the counter back in place to check the fit. It is nearly flush to the wall and just proud of the opening for the range. He estimates another 1/16 inch will need to be shaved off the countertop to make a perfect fit.

Howard Brickman has begun sanding the old growth Eastern white pine floor in the bedroom. Like the sunroom, the fine quality of the millwork from Carlisle requires only about 2 passes. The next step is the finish. Brickman is using Tung Oil from Carlisle. This will take about 4 coats to complete. Next Bob and Brickman head back to the sunroom, where they are finishing up. Before he can apply the finish, Brickman smoothes the edges of the room with a hand scraper and palm sander. Next, he runs a floor polisher over the surface and then vacuums. Brickman is using Carlisle Tung Oil here as well. He begins by applying the oil to the corners with a hand sponge then uses a roller on the rest of the floor.

Bob and home owner Gavin repair and refinish a 75 year old oak floor. Becuase the thickness of the new patch floor panels differ from the original, a belt sander is used to level them down to match.

Bob visits Fred Goode's Brattle Works workshop to see how the fencing is manufactured. Everything is made from Western Red Cedar. The rough lumber is 1 1/4 by 4 inches. In the first step in trellis production the boards go through the custom designed dado machine. The machine has 11 blades that cut the dados into the board all at once. Next the molder rips the board into three different strips on the full length basis. In the assembly process a bead of water-based, water-proof glue is applied in each of the dados and the strips are spread out on the assembly table where the measurements are already laid out. The cedar comes in with 15 to 20% moisture which prevents warpiture when the fencing is installed and lives out in the weather. Once the dados are put together it is secured with an aluminum fastener around the entire piece which will hold it together while it's cured. Next the stubs are cut off with a 15 foot panel saw. Finally the panel is run through a sander to smooth the top and the bottom. Making the lattice work involves a similar process. The fine pieces for the lattice work are cut on the molder using a cutting head that rips 14 one inch by 5/16s thick strips in one pass. For assembly the horizontal strips are laid down on the table and glue is applied. Next they are assembled by hand at the lattice assembly table using knobs to guide the work. They are fastened using an air gun with stainless steel fastenersaround the perimeter and then in a pattern across the middle.