This Old House

Kevin

Year was 1957. Best-selling cars had tail fins and Elvis was all shook up. That same year, this house made quite a splash. 60 years later, the modern had worn off this mid-century, but after months of work, the luster returns. What happened to all this plumbing here?

Richard

I've never seen anything like this before.

Roger

There's already rot going on in that trunk.

Kevin

So what have you found up here?

Tom

Well, a bit of a surprise.

Richard

It's really the classic plumber's lament.

Kevin

Nice!

Don

See this main roof form? We're just gonna pull that forward till it's even where this existing deck is.

Kevin

Definitely says mid-century modern.

Tom

The money's in the detail.

Kevin

That is beautiful. Hi, there. I'm Kevin O'Connor. And welcome back to a special episode of "This Old House," special, because today, we give this mid-century modern home back to our homeowners. Tommy, a lot has happened to this house since nine months ago when we first rolled up to it in a 1957 Chevy.

Tom

A lot has happened to this house. You know, in the '50s, this house really was pretty basic. It was nothing but a box with a sloped roof on it.

Kevin

Basic, but I bet you back in 1957 when this house was built, in this neighborhood of otherwise traditional-looking homes, that that little box of a house made a pretty big statement.

Tom

I bet it did, but you know what? It's making a big statement now. I mean, look what we did. We more than doubled the size of it. On that side of the house, we put a master suite with a guest suite down below. And on this side, we added a -- a family room, a loft, and a garage down under.

Kevin

But changes outside and in.

Let's have a look. Tom

Absolutely.

Kevin

Nice to have a proper entryway for the first time, a place to take your jacket off or your shoes off.

Tom

Yeah, remember that bench that we built on "Ask This Old House" on the "Build It" segment?

I do. Tom

We actually built that out of one sheet of 3/4-inch MDF.

Kevin

That's a nice gift for our homeowners.

Tom

Yeah.

Kevin

And, man, look at this transformation.

Tom

What a difference, huh?

Kevin

Boy, what a difference. So, when we first got here, the kitchen was tucked back into this corner,

nasty little spot. Tom

Right. And we had a little dividing wall here that made an "L" shape and there was a post that went up to support the beam. We had to put a bigger beam up, because we wanted to remove that post.

Kevin

Right.

Tom

And over here where the stairway is, there was a fireplace with a big chimney. We took that out.

Kevin

Yep, because the original staircase was over there going down half a level. Eventually, we closed it off. I think we had to put a containment system in for the asbestos abatement.

Tom

Yeah, the guys had to have someplace that they could walk in and then walk out, get cleaned up. You don't wanna carry any asbestos dust out with you.

Kevin

And now, we've got ourselves an eating area back here, the working kitchen, wide open, sleek, modern look, and clear sight lines into the addition, which is all of this space right here. Hey, Sunil. Hey, Neha.

Neha

Hey,

Kevin. Sunil

Kevin, how are you?

Neha

Hi, Tommy.

Kevin

Some finishing touches, putting up the artwork.

Yep. Kevin

Wow. So, I hear you are the painter of all the modern art?

Sunil

That's right.

I made this at 2

00 A.M. last night, so...

Kevin

I love it. Finishing touches. Well, why don't you guys come on down here and tell us what you think of your new home?

Sure. Kevin

Neha, what do you think?

Neha

Oh, I love it, Kevin. This is what we had envisioned. Like, there are small spaces, but the ceilings are high and they're looking out to each other. So, it's -- it's awesome. I think that's what we wanted, so, great, thank you.

Kevin

What you wanted is what we wanna hear, so that's good.

Yeah. Sunil

No, I love it, as well. You know, all the glass and -- and modern looks, sleek lines, no, um -- no trimwork. Uh, and -- and the balcony, that's right. I -- I really love the siding. You know, Charlie came up with the idea of putting the horizontal siding on the inside, as well. I think it looks really nice. And -- and there are no houses close by, so it's a nice, open look on the outside.

Kevin

Lot of engineering to get all this glass in, Tommy.

Tom

Well, I mean, you've got a glass wall, basically, and you have to make sure that it's supported, because we had the roof to support, we have to worry about lateral movement. So, we fabricated some steel columns and a couple of steel beams to carry all that weight and that's what you need to do it.

Kevin

And as you say, the siding that Charlie suggested to put on here, this is horizontal for all the new addition, to contrast with the vertical. And we've even got the cable rail system, which you cleverly used outside as well as in. Um, and another thing that you did outside and in, was your choice of flooring. We've got it out on the balcony, as well as in the house.

Sunil

That's right. Um, you know, originally, our idea was to, um, get poured concrete and like, finished concrete, but, uh, we were told it would be too heavy. I mean, we could build whatever for the addition, but for the existing house, it would have been too heavy.

Right. Sunil

Uh, so, um -- so, we chose this tile and now in retrospect, I think it was a very good choice. In fact, might even look better than concrete now.

Tom

Well, this tile is actually a porcelain tile meant to look like concrete. It's about 3/8- to 1/2-inch-thick. Needs a lot of thin-set. And it's tricky to make each one even and level. And two guys had to put it down, 'cause it's very heavy.

Kevin

So, maybe a happy accident, too.

Yeah. Kevin

And, Neha, you asked us for a balcony and when I heard it, I kind of scratched my head, but now that I see it, I get it.

Sunil

Yeah, I always wanted something like a loft to look over the living space. Read a book, snooze, or just, uh -- just hang out there.

Kevin

As you say, separate spaces, but still open.

Wide open. Kevin

Beautiful living room. You guys asked for fireplace. You had a couple things on the list, though. You said you wanted something that was floating and you also knew that you wanted gas.

Sunil

Right, we wanted the convenience of a gas. You know, press a button and it comes on. And -- and the floating design was very appealing, but, uh, we learned by, you know, looking and -- and going to, uh, the people who make this is that, for it -- for it to be a gas fireplace, it had to be wall-mounted, because the gas line cannot come from the top.

Right. Sunil

And -- and it has to come from the back or from the bottom. So, for it to be floating, this is what we -- we picked.

Kevin

An iconic, modern look.

Tom

Yeah, definitely, and it's a lot of work to mount this to the wall. I mean, we used steel studs behind the wall, we used fireproof, uh, insulation, and we used a cement board, and plastered over it, so you don't ever have to worry about a fire.

Kevin

Well, we wanna see every inch of the house, so I think I'm gonna go start with Richard downstairs and I know you guys are gonna check out the upstairs.

Tom

Yeah, we're gonna check out the master suite and see what's going on up there.

Neha

And I will go to the favorite spot in the house.

Kevin

Okay.

Sunil

Let me show you the bedrooms, Tommy.

Tom

Okay. You know, the stairway we're going up, I think this is the only one in its original location.

Sunil

I think you're right, Tommy.

Tom

These oak wood floors are beautiful. They're white oak. It's an engineered material with a veneer on top. The veneer is nice and thick, so over time, if somebody wants to refinish these floors, someone that knows what they're doing, these floors could probably be refinished four times.

Sunil

Oh, that's good to know. And -- and remember the bathroom we had here?

Tom

Oh, I remember the one that they said it was renovated.

Sunil

Yeah.

Tom

Well, it was kind of updated, it wasn't really renovated. And this bathroom shower is huge. The floor is sloped right there and the drain is underneath that wall.

Sunil

That's right, and -- and obviously, we're gonna have a glass partition here so we can shower without the water spilling out.

Tom

Yep.

Sunil

And look at this countertop we chose. We used the same material in a different color as the kitchen. Um, and, you know, it's porcelain-like, it's tin. Uh, and we also used it for the backsplash. I think it gives it a nice, clean look.

Tom

It gives it a nice, clean look. It's a manmade product and it feels like stone. I like the accent lighting in the vanity and I like the fact that it's floating. You know what you're really gonna love, are these heated floors.

Sunil

Yeah.

Tom

Now, where the master bedroom is, this is actually part of the new addition.

Sunil

That's right, and -- and, you know, we always wanted, uh, high ceilings in the -- in the bedroom, because it isn't that much of floor space. But having the high ceilings, these, you know, opposing roof lines and a lot of windows bring -- bring in a lot of natural light, so I love that about this room.

Tom

It's a bright space and you've got

a lot of storage right here. Sunil

That's right. You know, initially, we -- our plan was to get a walk-in closet and that didn't work out. But these -- these are beautiful and they give us a lot of storage, in fact, more than we might even need.

Tom

Yeah, you've got a lot of shelving, you've got a lot of drawers. And the units on each side of this unit,

a lot of hanging places. Sunil

That's right.

Tom

And this room up here that's now your daughter's room, I remember that there was a big plate-glass window here that looked down into the family room.

Sunil

That's right, and -- and, you know, this used to be the master bedroom, despite that big glass window looking down.

Tom

I remember the floor had asbestos in it, the ceiling had asbestos in it.

All that had to go. Sunil

Yeah, exactly. And, uh, you know, remember there used to be a closet here that, uh, now we replaced with a bathroom for our daughter.

Tom

Really nice. And in your daughter's room, you added a little more space with closets and actually, more windows.

Sunil

That's right. You know, um, I think we -- we probably have over 14 windows now and -- and this being a busy part of Brookline and -- and that being a busy street, we -- we need privacy. And we've called upon Zac and his team to -- to install some modern shades for us.

Tom

Now, these are all custom-fit, Zac, right?

Zac

That's right, yeah. Every single one of these are, uh, custom-fit. What we do first is we show up at the job site, put up our brackets, and take measurements then to a 16th-of-an-inch.

Tom

All right. And then what?

Zac

From there, we can order our fabric, so that it fills the whole space of the window. When we come back with your fully cut fabric, we roll them on the tubes and put 'em right back up like we're doing today.

Tom

And how are these operated?

Zac

So, these here are all operated with a hard-wired motor.

It's actually in the tube here. Tom

Mm-hmm.

Zac

Uh, yeah, so these can be controlled, uh, with a on-wall keypad, with a handheld remote, or with an app that you can use anywhere in the residence.

Tom

That's quiet. Are these room-darkening shades?

Zac

Yeah, so what we chose for the bedroom here is the room-darkening material. Uh, it's great to keep the light out. You can sleep in a little bit during the day, in you need to. Uh, but for the rest of the residence, we went with the solar fabric, so let's some light in, you get to enjoy the space a little bit better.

Tom

Yeah, and the solar fabric will actually keep some of the hot sun out in the summertime.

Zac

That's right, yeah. You can keep all that heat out, uh, and save some money on the electric bills, as well.

Tom

How big can you make 'em?

Zac

Uh, we can go, uh, custom sizes, all the way up to 18 feet if someone wants 'em.

Wow. Zac

That's right.

Tom

Well, that's pretty cool.

Kevin

Hey,

Richard. Richard

Hey, there. How are you?

Kevin

A basement that we no longer have to duck under beams, which was not always the case down here.

Richard

Right, there was the big chimney over here, the mechanical system was right here. And I gotta tell you, this building is beautiful. But if I don't see another mid-century modern again

mechanically -- Kevin

You don't like 'em?

Richard

Well,

there's no attic. Kevin

Right.

Richard

And now they want -- this is all a finished basement, so this is no logical place for the mechanical systems anywhere. You know, we thought about putting the mechanical room here. Uh, we got radiant everywhere for heating and we got air conditioning coming out through here, but no space. So, right here, we thought about. No. Exercise room.

Kevin

Yep. Boom. Laundry room.

Richard

So, laundry. Okay, and that's logical. Wants to be right here, close. All right, what about here? Well, this is electrical. So, we can't -- so, we could maybe sneak in our air handler right here for the mini-duct system. Okay, and so the regular trunk is like this. But now we gotta get out and go underneath that beam. Remember there was a big steel beam right here.

Kevin

We took one out, but we put a new

one up into the ceiling. Richard

Right. So, we have to transition to as low as we can, 'cause otherwise if it was this low, look what would happen. The door wouldn't have worked, so this allows us to provide air conditioning to that whole rest of the first floor.

Kevin

But not the heat, right, 'cause we need a boiler for the radiator.

Richard

Right. So, we still haven't found a place for the boiler.

Follow me. Kevin

To the garage. And this is where we cut through the original foundation. This is all new space in here.

Richard

Right, so we see this wide open space and we go, perfect, mechanical room, and they said, no, no, we want to put a smart car here.

Kevin

Car-and-a-half in a one-car garage.

Richard

So, here it is. So,

come on in here. Kevin

Oh, we're ducking again.

Richard

Of course. So, this ground central for all the hydronic system. So, it starts with a heating boiler right here. Gas-fired condensing boiler, big mass, super-efficient, vented to outside. Now, we take that water, we come along here. Remember we have radiant with two different types of conditions. One is wood floors and one is tile floors. So, here's our mixing valve for the wood floors, with a super-smart pump and a backup pump and these'll exercise back and forth every day.

Kevin

Okay.

Richard

On the tile floors, another mixing valve, another smart pump right here. So, now we've got the two different temperatures constantly changing to match. Every single room's got its own thermostat, too.

Very nice. Richard

We also come this way. We pipe to this heat exchanger right here, where there's water on this side and there's antifreeze on the other, so for our snow melting system.

Kevin

So, the water is making the antifreeze hot. That's what's going outside?

Richard

That's right. Right, and here's one of our radiant manifolds right here. These are strategically placed throughout the building. And you can see the supply and return with a shut-off zone for every single room.

Kevin

Labeled, beautifully laid out.

Richard

But there was no room for the hot water heater. So, we put that back, way back across the other side of the building and piped to it.

Kevin

Everything is usually in one big room. Here, you had to split it out amongst three rooms.

Richard

Right. And we have one more thing we had to deal with, which is we have a kitchen hood over the stove. By code, we have to bring fresh air in to replace the air that goes out through the hood. And for good measure, we added a heating element, too, 'cause we live in a cold climate.

Kevin

Well, you did a good job hiding everything, because the finished basement is beautiful. And, Charlie, we even end up with a finished garage, which is beautiful.

Charlie

It's a beautiful garage, has a nice epoxy finish with its own

zone radiant heat in the slab. Kevin

Very nice.

Charlie

But one of my favorite things is the heated driveway. And the heated driveway is not just a luxury, we actually put it in for function, because the driveway pitches back to the garage. We're worried about snow and all of a sudden, some rain comes in, things melting. We don't want it to go into the garage.

Richard

You also don't want the cars sliding down on ice into the garage door.

Charlie

You don't. And actually, the heat is off of a sensor in the slab. It senses temperature and moisture,

so it only comes on when needed. Kevin

Right.

Charlie

And then we put a strip drain at the end of the driveway, which drains into those tanks that Roger put into the ground.

Kevin

Yeah. So, a lot of industry in this area, but a big improvement from where we were. No garage, used to be just a sea of asphalt.

It's pretty nice. Charlie

Pretty cool.

Tom

Now, this was the old front door of the house, but now the new front door is over on that side of the building. We had a wall here that divided this space. And the stairway that led up to the living room is right here.

Sunil

That's right. And now with that wall gone, you know, the -- the bedroom there was really small, it's a little bit bigger now. And, uh, we'll probably use the space for watching TV and -- and have a desk, like a small office area.

Tom

Right. We also dug the floor down about eight inches and that gave us room for radiant heat and insulation. And able to lower the floor to give about three inches of ceiling height and that wall right there is the existing foundation wall to the house.

Sunil

Yeah.

Tom

And right here is the new location for the stair to get you upstairs from here. But remember the big fireplace and chimney that was here?

Sunil

That's right,

it was big. Tom

It was big. A lot of work taking that out. Now, because of the framing and the style of the house, we had to split up the utilities in four different locations. So, more ductwork here, radiant heat manifolds, and water lines right here also.

Sunil

Right, and this is the door that separates the guest suite from, uh, the rest of the house. It's kind of a private area that could be closed off, if needed.

Tom

Right. And I know this area has its own bathroom and a nice little kitchenette here.

Sunil

With a sink and a cooktop and a bunch of storage, uh,

for the guests. Tom

Yeah. You used the case countertop material that we used upstairs.

Sunil

Right.

Tom

Has pull-out drawers, a wine cooler. And right here is where we started our demo when we first needed to see if it was a wood floor or concrete floor. Step down one step and this is through the old foundation, so this is all new here, has a nice high ceiling and lot of windows, so it doesn't feel like a basement at all.

Sunil

Yeah.

Tom

Lot of trees outside for privacy to block the street.

Sunil

Yeah. We've got windows on three sides of the house and, uh, a private exit, uh, for the guests, so they could leave without entering the main house if --

if they wanted to. Tom

Yeah, that's nice. So, if your parents or your wife's parents wanna stay, they have a place to stay. Beautiful concrete stairs with a nice landing and a walkway out to the street.

Kevin

Hey,

Jenn. Jenn

Hey, Kevin.

Kevin

Looking good out here.

Jenn

Yeah, you remember what it used to look like?

Kevin

Oh, man, it was not much, right? I think it was a -- sort of just a pile of weeds right here, a little bit of poured concrete for a patio.

Jenn

Yep.

Kevin

This is a big improvement.

Jenn

There was no structure, and the great thing about this, this is all usable space now.

Right. Jenn

Um, and don't forget, this patio has permeable pavers down, so the water is gonna go through and be captured.

Okay. Jenn

And then going over here, there's a sitting wall that runs along the whole perimeter. And extra seating is always great in a patio area. And then in Phase 2, they're gonna put up a fence to give them a little bit of privacy.

Kevin

There's always multiple phases

when it comes to landscaping. Jenn

Absolutely. And another great thing, this is right off the dining room, so we're coming out to this entertainment patio, food, barbecue, it's just easy access.

Love this new entryway. Jenn

I know. Let me show you what else we have going on. Down here at the driveway, we're at the bottom of a slope. The water just comes dripping off this hill, so we're working with the town to come up with a plan to manage that.

Kevin

So, maybe a berm or a piece of stone for curving right here, just to deflect the water.

Jenn

Right, just to redirect it.

Kevin

All right, little bit of work there, but, oh, look at that, huh? That is my favorite side of the house. That's the addition, screams mid-century modern. We've got the garage beneath, the balcony, the big overhang.

It's beautiful. Kevin

Love that. Okay. And in the front yard, boy, this was a mess when we got here. We had all those invasives lining this wall,

also pushing the wall forward. Jenn

Right.

Kevin

So, Roger took the invasives off and out, Mark fixed the wall for us. So, now you've put some beautiful screening back.

Jenn

Yeah, so these are all arborvitae and it's just gonna be one big hedge of green. So, you get a green screen, little privacy from the street, cuts down on the noise from the cars.

Kevin

So, these will fill in and basically become a solid wall?

Jenn

Exactly. And there's two different kind of arborvitae. This is a western arborvitae and down there at the entry are emerald-green arborvitae.

Little bit more ornate. Jenn

Mm-hmm.

Kevin

Uh, it's cold, but the sod is down and that's gonna come back beautifully green in the spring.

Jenn

This is gonna be prolific green and just provide a nice clean space.

Kevin

You know, it's a tight city lot, but you did as much as you possibly could with it. Privacy green, beautiful. Nice job,

Jenn. Jenn

It looks great.

Kevin

Doesn't it, really? Jenn just showed me the outside and it is really coming together.

Sunil

It's awesome,

yeah. Neha

Yeah. It's still Phase 1 out there, but I think it's looking good for that.

Kevin

Not Phase 1 in here, though, right? Phase complete.

Neha

No, I think we're done here.

Kevin

Yeah.

Neha

A little dining area here, um, just leading right into the patio that you just saw outside.

Mm-hmm. Neha

Um, nice, good doors. This is the powder room. It's small, but it's nice to have it on the first floor.

Kevin

Yep, it'll do the trick and it worked for us, too. We stuck a ton of mechanical equipment up in that ceiling, including a, uh, vent for the stove about 20 feet away. And, Sunil, you've got yourself a pantry.

Sunil

Yeah, I know, we somehow snuck in a pantry in this modern house. It's -- it's not that big, but it still provides a lot of storage, so we're super-excited about that.

Kevin

Mm-hmm.

Sunil

And here, we have a big island. We've always wanted some seating in the kitchen. And we used the same porcelain-like thin material with a clean waterfall edge, so I think I really like that look.

Kevin

Crisp look. I like it, too.

Sunil

Exactly. It's got three -- three people who can sit, um, comfortably there.

Neha

And this is our appliance garage. Our mixer, our blender are going to live in here. There's a nice countertop and when we don't need them, they hide behind these cabinets.

Kevin

The uppers are high gloss, I love that, and the lowers have got that black matte finish.

Neha

Yeah, and this is our dishwasher

hiding behind this panel. Kevin

Yep. So again, tuck it all away, right. That just blends right into the other cabinets. And look at the size of the sink, biggest I've seen.

Neha

Yeah, I love this sink. It's extra wide and it has like multiple levels. It comes with multiple access space that you can store at multiple levels, so it's great, I think. I love it.

Kevin

Very clever. Nice.

Sunil

Right, and here's the cooktop. So, originally, we were going to get just the fire or the gas-burning one, but we love the induction, as well, so we got both. And we had to get a matching white hood above our --

Kevin

Yep, and this is a custom unit and a little bit of an engineering challenge, because the vent ductwork couldn't go through the roof of the building, had to go 25 feet behind us. So, that's the solution there. And here's the solution for the electrical outlets. You guys were thinking pop-ups, maybe. Heath was able to find just enough room to put 'em up there.

Sunil

I think that they look really good and I -- I did not want pop-ups,

so that's great. Kevin

Awesome.

Sunil

And, uh, here's a refrigerator column, so here's the freezer hiding behind the high-gloss column.

Kevin

And that's what you wanted, hidden appliances. And so look at that. There's the fridge. Tons of space, plenty of room, but when it's closed, you'd never know it's there. So, Mariette and Samantha, you guys actually designed our kitchen for us, so thank you for that. And Erick and Carly, you guys did a lot of hard work on this project. I hope it was a good experience.

Erick

Yeah, it was a really good introduction for me.

Carly

And I really enjoyed the summer working with the best of the best and, you know, learning everything we did.

It was great. Kevin

Well, we enjoyed working with you and we wish you the best of luck for Generation NEXT and into the future.

Thank you. Kevin

All right, and fellas? A mid-century modern, not an easy house to make. Came with a lot of challenges, right, Charlie?

Charlie

Yeah, one of the charges was, uh, the interior trim. We had to install the interior doors before we actually could plaster it to 'em, 'cause the door frames were the finished trim.

Kevin

Right.

Tom

And the other thing, with a mid-century modern, the existing structure was light. So, we added a lot of weight, we have to figure out ways to sister and straighten the existing structure, hide beams into it so you don't see it. It can be a challenge.

Richard

No problem at all for us. No attic, no basement, eight levels, all glass, plenty of room to run stuff. Our mechanical team was awesome.

Kevin

Your team did a great job. A lot of people on this project did a fantastic job. Now it is your house. The whole family is here.

Yeah. Kevin

Your cousin Shruti coming in with your daughter Nisa. Come on in, guys. Are you ready to take the house over and to move in?

Sunil

We are ready, yeah. There's a few small items remaining, but otherwise, this looks so awesome.

We can't wait. Kevin

All right, well, it's been a pleasure working with you guys.

Good luck with the new house. Sunil

Thank you very much.

Kevin

And that is a wrap for our 40th season here in Brookline, Massachusetts, but we are right on to Season 41. Time for a wrap party, so until then, I'm Kevin O'Connor, for all of us at "This Old House." What do you say, guys? Everyone ready for a party?

Cheers and applause

Kevin

All right. Nice job. Nice job. All right.