by Sarah Bammel

Created on: May 25, 2009

This Old House is a television show that shows how to fix up your house; it doesn't have to be centuries or decades old. If you're looking to redo your kitchen these guys can help give ideas and show how to do it.

The original air date was in 1979, with Bob Vilia as the host. He stayed with the series until 1989 when Steve Thomas took on the roll of host. The latest host, Kevin O'Connor took over in 2003. He was found through This Old House's sister show, Ask This Old House, when he was featured in a segment but was asking so many questions that they asked him to host This Old House.

The current crew of This Old House includes Norm Abram, master carpenter, Roger Cook, landscape contractor, Tom Silva, general contractor, Richard (Rich) Trethewey, plumbing and HVAC, and the host Kevin O'Connor.

This Old House chooses two projects each season. According to their FAQ page, http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/faqs/0,00.html#2, the first project they try to locate in or around their base in Boston so that the crew can be with their families for a significant part of the season. Then the winter project they try to find in a mild climate so outdoor work can be done during the cold winter months.

The homeowners fund the renovations, although This Old House arranges for discounts and donations whenever possible.

For the show's 30th anniversary they are going back to where they started, Boston, Massachusetts where they are working on a project in the Roxbury neighborhood. The crew will be working with affordable housing non profit Nuestra Comunidad to renovate a foreclosed 1870s Second Empire. This latest project will air on PBS starting in January of 2010.

As far as home improvement shows go, this is a pretty good show to get your information. If there is a specific question you need answered though, this is not necessarily the show to get the answer from.

They take you from start to finish through the demolishing, and remodeling of the project. The first show is a walk through of the project house, where the crew will point out all the rot and problems with the house and talk with the homeowners and go over their hopes for what the outcome of the project will be.

The show is best if you intend to renovate an entire room. They talk about different material possibilities and why they chose the material they did. Just because they use a certain material for their project does not mean it is the best for yours. It is important to listen to the qualities of all the materials they look at, but keep in mind there are other materials to use. They only look at a few of the materials, usually more common materials or the latest materials that just hit the market.

References:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/house-project/ove rview/0,20277827,00.html Project Overview, Roxbury House Project by Keith Pandolfi

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/faqs/0,00.html#2 FAQs; This Old House

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Old_House Wikipedia; This Old House

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