This Old House Hour

The Lexington homeowners want to stay in the house during the renovation, so Tom shows Kevin how he's going to demo in phases, keeping the kitchen intact for as long as possible. Today, they'll tackle exterior demo only, starting with the back porch. Norm explains the framing of the first floor platform. Roger gets underway with the layout and excavation for the new footings for the first floor addition. The new prefab footings are unloaded into the backyard, set, leveled and plumbed. Kevin explains the building permit process and the role of the building commissioner, Fred Lonardo, as he comes in to make his first inspection. On ASK THIS OLD HOUSE, electrician Scott Caron connects a homeowner's basement lighting system to one switch. Richard shares some tips on air conditioning maintenance. The guys ask "What is it?" And Roger shows a homeowner how to rejuvenate a crabapple tree.