Bob talks to Ken Lanoie of Owens Corning about adding sound attenuating insulation to the nursery. Lanoie describes the QuietZone Solserene Ceiling Fabric System used in the project. A Solserene ceiling is made up of three components, with high-density fiberglass boards to absorb sound installed in a track system that holds them in place. The boards are then covered with fabric. Lanoie reviews the installation process of the boards, followed by the fabric covering. After the boards are put in place, fabric is stretched over it and tucked behind the track, which has teeth to grab the fabric and secure it. QuietZone Solserene comes with a tacking knife to assist in the process. The system helps reduce the echo effect of noise in rooms with hardwood or stone floors, plaster walls, and other hard surfaces. The fabric is pulled so tight it looks like a normal plaster ceiling and can follow and architectural configuration, including angles, dormers, and rounded edges. It costs about six dollars per square foot.

Barry Driscoll from Driscoll Electric is installing some new Lightolier recessed fixtures specially designed for use in remodels. These are low voltage fixtures with the new evolution trim, Lightolier's new recessed style light. It has a transformer inside it and is fed with regular fourteen two cable. The light gets wired with regular 110 and the step down transformer steps it down to 12 volts, 50 watts. As Bob is trying to preserve the original horsehair and plaster ceiling, Barry carefully makes a 5" hole for the housing of the fixture with a hole saw. Next he uses a Rotozip to cut through the old lath. Then he moves some of the existing insulation at least 3 inches away from any part of the light that will be recessed into the ceiling. After connecting the wires, Barry puts the housing into the ceiling, pulls a strap down through the housing, pushes the housing into place and folds the strap back up. To further secure the housing he lifts the two sets of clips to the top of the drywall where the wood lath is and push them straight in and tightens the set screw inside the housing to secure the trim.

Mike Kintzing from Owens Corning introduces Bob to a new to residential acoustical ceiling product. QuietZone's Solserene attaches directly to hard surfaces to absorb reverberations. Solserene is a unique product in that has no visible seams in rooms less than 16 feet wide. During the installation, an acoustical high-density fiberglass panel is screwed to the ceiling. Then the installer mounts a retention track around the room. The fabric is then stretched flat and flush to the ceiling. Solserene fabric is a flame-retardant, locking-knit woven polyester that does not fray when cut. From underneath, it looks like a standard drywall or plaster ceiling.

Sonya and Bob Berle lead Bob Vila through a tour of one of the Vanderbilt�s most elegant dining rooms. The Berles have restored the ornate plasterwork ceilings and cornices that were the inspiration for New York�s Grand Central Station�s ceiling. The plaster is almost completely original but needed to be re-toothed with epoxy to the ceiling lathe. The reproduction furnishings, gathered from the US and Western Europe reflect the style of the home�s last addition in 1910. Many of the windows have original sills, sashes and hardware but the glass has been replaced with thermal panes by routing out the existing frames. The room�s colors were chosen with an eye for detail, as a white ceiling would have made the plaster carvings invisible in the brightly lit room.

Richard Marks, the restoration contractor who's responsible for much of the expert work being done in and around Charleston, S.C., takes a tour of the elegant but quite run-down Federal-style house, the revival of which we'll follow in the shows to come.

Structural engineer Rene Mugnier explains how to fix the kitchen ceiling and two floors above, which are found to be dangerously unsupported, with the addition of a new load bearing structural beam.