This Old House

Kevin

Today on "This Old House," we start our newest project. So, how long was the house empty when you guys got it?

Tamiko

We think around four years.

Kevin

Believe it or not, we've actually seen worse.

Tom

The back of the house is about an inch and a half lower than the front of the house. We got to solve that problem.

Kevin

This season, we're in Detroit, Michigan, tackling two different projects. Oh, my word.

Tom

If this house is gonna be saved, this is one less that we have to tear down.

Kevin

Frank, you are a brave man to take on this project. Are you excited?

Frank

Yeah. We're eager to get started.

Kevin

A Detroit family found a home with lots of potential. Now, they're planning on doing most of the work themselves, but "This Old House" is here to help out. So, what have you found up here?

Tom

Well, a bit of a surprise.

Tamiko

I can't wait to see what the finished product is gonna be. Ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh

Kevin

This is Detroit. It's been called the heartbeat of America. Motor City. Music City. It's the place where the modern factory was invented and where those factories won a World War. From 1900 to the '60s, the factories attracted millions of workers. They were paid good wages. But recently, Detroit has been called down and out. Deserted. Bankrupt. The houses that were the homes to the richest middle class in America are empty and broken. Many words can be used to describe Detroit, but "quitter" isn't one of them. Today on "This Old House," we start a new project where we follow the people who are turning these neighborhoods back into an oasis for families. Ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh Stephen Henderson is an editor at the Detroit Free Press. He grew up here in the city. And, in fact, this is his childhood home. Hey, there, Stephen.

Stephen

Hey, Kevin. How are you?

All right. Stephen

Good to see you.

Kevin

So, what happened to your house?

Stephen

Yeah. Well, like much of the city, it has fallen on pretty tough times. Disinvestment and abandonment have come to visit on my home just like so many other houses around the city.

Kevin

So, you grew up here? You lived here?

Stephen

I did. I was born here. We lived here until my parents divorced when I was about 2. I moved downtown with my mom and my sister. But I was here every weekend with my dad till he died in the mid-1980s.

Kevin

And if you look beyond all the blight, it looks like a pretty nice house. Was it, growing up in?

Stephen

It is a very typical house for this part of the city, built in '20s and '30s for the growing number of auto workers who had money in their pockets and needed places to live.

Kevin

And we have seen substantial working-class homes like this all throughout entire neighborhoods, and that's because of the prosperity that was Detroit.

Stephen

It was the auto industry. I mean, at one time, we had, I think, the largest number of single-family, stand-alone homes and home ownership of any city in America.

Kevin

So it's a middle-class metropolis.

Stephen

Yeah,

yeah. Kevin

So, what happened?

Stephen

Well, the auto industry turned out not to be the safest bet over 80 years. I mean, we had a really good, long run of that, but the deindustrialization and disinvestment really changed the picture there. Disinvestment in our cities, the turn away from the city and toward the suburbs -- so that you get to 1990 or 2000, and we've lost almost a million people in the city of Detroit. And neighborhoods like this fell into the disrepair that we find them in now.

Kevin

So, we've come here to do a project, and we've actually heard some glimmers of optimism, reasons why people are excited about the return of Detroit. Is that going on?

Stephen

Yeah. I don't think there's any question that there's investment, there's new investment and interest in the city. But now people are turning toward the neighborhoods and starting to think about what's happened here and what's happened to the people who live here. There are still lots of people who live on this block who have endured all of this. What's their future look like?

Kevin

And what does the future look like for your childhood home?

Stephen

Well, over four years, I've been able to put together a plan to make it a little better than this, I hope. I've got a grant from the Knight Foundation to create a professorship at Maryville College, which is not too far from here. That person will work there, they will live here, teach at the college, and use this as a literary center for the students at the college, as well as the folks up and down the block.

Kevin

So you are gonna restore and refurbish this house.

We are. We are. Kevin

Good news. But we're gonna join that effort, as well, and we're pretty thrilled to be here in Detroit to work on a house of our own.

Yeah. Kevin

I appreciate your time.

Stephen

Absolutely. Thank you very much.

All right. Thank you. Stephen

Absolutely.

Kevin

What happened with most abandoned houses is that they were taken over by the city of Detroit, by an organization called the Detroit Land Bank, which started a number of programs to try and reverse the blight. In some places, they just tear down the abandoned houses and then offer the empty lots to the neighbors for $100. The Land Bank offers most of these homes at auction. The price starts at $1,000, and it's up to the homeowners to fix them up. If they don't, they go back to the city. And that's what happened with our project house -- a Detroit family found a home with lots of potential, and they put a bid in. Now, they're planning on doing most of the work themselves, but "This Old House" is here to help out. Richard, Tommy, and Scott Caron are here to assess the house. And, obviously, our homeowners are here, as well. Hey,

guys. Good to see you. Tamiko

Hi.

Frank. Frank

Hello, Kevin.

Kevin

So, a second-generation fireman here in the city. And you are a brave man for taking on this project. You ready to go?

Frank

Yeah. We're eager to get started.

Kevin

All right. I love to hear it. And, Tamiko, Frank's wife, I hear you're gonna be working on the interior of the house?

Tamiko

That is correct.

Kevin

What have you got in mind?

Tamiko

I plan on resurfacing the floors, doing the walls, little interior decorating.

Kevin

Nice. A brave lady, too. Great. And, Carolyn, Frank's mom, you're gonna be moving in with everybody. What do you think of this whole affair?

Carolyn

I think it's an absolutely wonderful affair. I have a supportive, wonderful family, and we're just gonna have fun.

Kevin

Great. All right. So, a family affair. We love to hear that. And, Frank, I know you're anxious to get with Tommy,

to start assessing the house. Frank

Yes.

Kevin

And he's actually out back waiting for you.

Frank

Okay. I'll head back there now.

Kevin

All right. And if you guys don't mind, I'd love a tour of the inside.

Tamiko

Sure. Follow me,

Kevin. Carolyn

Sounds good.

Tamiko

Kevin, this is our living room.

Kevin

Look at this. And quite a room it is.

Wow. Tamiko

Yes, it is.

Kevin

So, how long was the house empty when you guys got it?

Tamiko

We think around four years.

Kevin

Four years. And when you showed up, were you just taken with these windows?

Definitely. Kevin

Beauties.

Tamiko

I mean, with the crests and the stained glass, the wood trim...

Yep. Tamiko

It's all natural.

Kevin

So, we've got a single-pane leaded-glass window. They've got, looks like, a storm on the outside, or at least on some of them.

Mm-hmm. Kevin

We can see daylight, and we can see a lot of water damage, so there's some work that has to be done there. But you know what? They're intact, and that's great.

Tamiko

That's a great thing. Then we have the molding up on the ceiling.

Kevin

Oh, look at that. It goes all the way around the room.

Tamiko

All the way around the room.

Kevin

Then, on the wall, a cove, a little detail on the ceiling.

Terrific. Tamiko

Yes. Then we have our natural fireplace.

Kevin

So, that is actually -- To me, the surround looks like it's in good shape. We'll have to figure out if it works or not. But that is gonna make a statement in this room.

Tamiko

Definitely. And then these lovely hardwood floors.

Kevin

Boy, I think you caught a break with these. They actually look like they're in pretty good shape. They'll need to be sanded, but I don't think you're gonna have to replace many of them.

Right. Hmm. Kevin

Beautiful.

Tamiko

And this is our formal dining room.

Kevin

Yep. You excited about that?

Tamiko

I am. Love the detail work right here over the archway.

Kevin

Oh, yeah. So, some plaster casings right there.

That's nice. Tamiko

And our ceilings.

Kevin

More plaster around the perimeter, and a plaster medallion, as well.

Tamiko

Definitely.

Kevin

So, the ceiling's actually in pretty good shape. I mean, there's no water damage in this room. And sometimes, when the houses are abandoned, as you know, they dig into the walls and ceilings, steal the pipes, but not here.

Tamiko

Yeah, we lucked up in this area. Then we have our study back here.

Kevin

Oh, look at this, huh?

Yeah. Kevin

Check that out. Vaulted ceilings?

Those look great. Tamiko

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Kevin

Although they didn't fare as well in here. You can see we've got the peeling paint. In the corner here -- and this corner's really bad -- we've got some water damage. So, a leaky roof, ice dams. We'll have to have Tommy take a look and figure that one out.

Yeah. Kevin

But a room with a vaulted ceiling is pretty cool.

Tamiko

Mm-hmm. Can't wait to see what the finished product is gonna be. Here we have our kitchen.

Kevin

Ooh, yeah. This space needs a lot of work. Doesn't it?

Tamiko

Yeah.

All right. Tamiko

Definitely.

Kevin

It looks like the rest of the family is here. Hey,

gang. Monet

Hi.

Carolyn

Let me introduce you to my grandson, Christian...

Kevin

Christian, nice to meet you.

Carolyn

...and

Monet. Monet

Nice to meet you.

Kevin

Monet, nice to meet you. So, how about you guys? You gonna help out with this project?

Christian

Most definitely. I look forward to assisting in the demolition with my father, as I've done in the current home that we stayed in. So I look forward to doing it here, as well.

Kevin

Perfect. You're hired. And how about you, Monet? You gonna help?

Monet

Yeah, well, I'm not so good with a hammer, but I think I can help out with painting.

Kevin

All right. Well, we need a painter, too. So you're both hired. Great. And what's the plan for the kitchen space? What are you guys thinking?

Tamiko

Getting rid of this wall right here.

Kevin

Okay. We'll have Tommy look at that and figure out if it's a bearing wall and how to deal with it. And then in here?

Tamiko

Oh, definitely. Get rid of the soffits, the cabinets.

New countertops. Kevin

Sure.

Brand-new floors. Kevin

Okay.

Tamiko

Definitely new appliances.

Kevin

So, we've heard this before.

Basically a brand-new kitchen. Tamiko

Yeah.

Kevin

Everything goes. All-new stuff?

Mm-hmm. Kevin

All right. Well, this is a big open space if he gets this wall down,

so that'll be nice. Tamiko

Yeah.

Kevin

All right. How about upstairs?

Tamiko

Okay. I'll definitely take you up. And here we have our half-bath.

Kevin

What do you want to do with this?

Total gut. Kevin

Okay.

Tamiko

Here we are on our stairwell.

And another beautiful window. Kevin

Oh, that is gorgeous. Some privacy glass so your neighbors aren't looking right in, but plenty of light coming off.

That's a beauty. Tamiko

Mm-hmm. Then we have our hallway, with a lot of peeling paint.

Kevin

Yep. We got a lot of paint coming off. But you know what? There's no holes in the walls or the ceilings, the moldings are all intact.

You can work with that. Tamiko

I love it. I'll tell you something I can't work with -- this bathroom.

Kevin

Oh, you don't like the bathroom? Wow.

Tamiko

No.

Kevin

Lot of tile in here. All right. Little beat-up. Look at the floor. So, we're cracked down here. Something is settling or leaking. And -- Oh, no way. So, was this where the thieves take out all the fixtures and the copper?

Yes. Kevin

Look at that. They just blow right through the wall. Whew! All right. And what about the pink? I love it.

Tamiko

No, can't deal with pink.

You don't like the pink. Tamiko

Not at all.

Kevin

So, what do you want in here?

Tamiko

Total demolition of this bathroom.

Kevin

Mm-hmm.

Tamiko

I want to install a new shower stall.

Kevin

Oh, we got an old one there.

Tamiko

Yeah. Definitely a Jacuzzi tub.

Kevin

So, all right.

Tamiko

Get rid of that vanity.

Kevin

This goes away?

Tamiko

Yes.

A new double sink. Kevin

Yep.

And a new toilet. Kevin

Complete gut job.

Everything new. Tamiko

Complete gut.

Kevin

And how about the bedrooms?

Tamiko

We have three bedrooms over here.

Kevin

Okay.

Tamiko

We have the master bedroom.

Kevin

Yeah. Pretty good size.

Tamiko

Yes. It got his-and-hers closet.

Kevin

Nice. And, again, you know, the ceilings and the moldings are all intact. The walls, even the floors in this room look pretty good.

Those will clean up. Tamiko

Yeah. Then we also have cedar closet.

Kevin

That's in really good shape. You can sand that down and bring it back. And then another bedroom in here?

Yes. Kevin

This is good. Again, the floors, ceiling, walls all look good.

Tamiko

Yeah.

This is our guest room. Kevin

Mm-hmm.

Tamiko

We also have a sun-room in the back.

Kevin

Oh, yeah. Wow. This is a really bright room, huh?

Mm-hmm. Kevin

Three walls of windows? This is gonna be nice.

Yeah. Kevin

All right. Well, you know what? You got some blemishes downstairs. You know, the kitchen's pretty beat up. But believe it or not, we've actually seen worse. This house has got a lot of great details. You've got a lot to work with. The interior space is pretty good.

Tamiko

Yeah. I'm excited.

Kevin

Yeah, well, so are we.

Frank

Hey, Tommy. What do you have there?

Tom

I actually have an atmospheric level. Works like an altimeter in an airplane -- it tells it how high or low it is.

Frank

Okay.

Tom

Well, this tells me how out of level your house is.

Oh. Tom

What I do is, I pick a point in the front of the house, and I set it at zero. I will then come around the back, and I take the same row of brick that I took it off of, and I put my level up against it, and it tells me that the back of the house is about an inch and a half lower than the front of the house.

Okay. Tom

All right. Now, the reason I'm doing that is because I looked at the brick around the back here, and I noticed that there's some cracking. All right? Especially around this window. And then over here, you can see that there's cracking right here that's stepping over to this basement window.

Frank

So, do you think there are any problems with the foundation?

Tom

Well, I don't think the foundation is a problem right now, but I look right here, this major crack under this window and the other window. When I look at the window, I can tell that there's a lot of water getting in behind these walls. And in the wintertime, that water will freeze,

causing problems like this. Frank

I see.

Tom

So I think what we need to do is drag out some of these joints with a diamond cutter and re-tuck-point the joints and then watch them for a couple of years and see if it reoccurs once the water problem

is solved. Frank

Okay.

Tom

The other issue is, you want to make sure, when you gut this room, we can then look at the wooden structure inside to make sure that's not damaged.

I see. Tom

All right? All right. Let's take a walk around the side. So, Frank, I know you're a fireman, and you were injured on the job. Are you gonna be all right doing this job?

Frank

I've got my son and some friends to do some of the heavier lifting.

But we're gonna get it done. Tom

Great. Well, you can stand back

and bark out all those orders. Frank

Exactly.

Tom

Well, I don't want you to do anything that's gonna re-injure that shoulder of yours.

Frank

I don't either,

Tommy. Tom

Great. All right. Now, I was looking at these front stairs right here. I don't know what's going on. I don't know whether or not the ice pushed them over and pulled them out, but they're really bad. And this is tipping back in. I think we can tear this apart. But the slab right here looks pretty good.

Frank

Will we be able to save any of the bricks?

Tom

Well, hopefully we'll be able to save a lot of them. And I also want to try to save some of these treads. They're pretty nice, and hopefully we can reset them.

Frank

Good.

Tom

Frank, we watched the company install this protective glass around the first-floor windows. This is actually made of a polycarbonate. You can hit that with a sledge hammer and you're not even gonna break through it.

Frank

Yeah, Tommy, we had to put these in to ensure nobody would break in during construction.

Tom

It's a good idea. We have a lot of work to do to those original windows, also.

Frank

What do you think's going on with this bay area, with the discoloration of the bricks and the rotted wood around the windows?

Tom

Well, if you look up top, that piece of stone that runs around the top, behind that is a drop-down.

That piece is called a parapet. Frank

Okay.

Tom

And what they did is, they actually built a flat roof on top of that, but they didn't bring the roof out far enough past the edge of the parapet. So when the rainwater came off the roof, it sticks to the parapet -- surface tension -- and it brings the water right around the edge of the stone, down the face of the brick, wraps itself right around the headers over the window, and goes in and rots out the windows.

Frank

I see.

Tom

All right, so, now, if you look up top there, you can actually see that there's a downspout that sticks into the brick about three courses down. So, that tells me that in behind that brick or that parapet wall, there's some kind of a flashing detail there, and it probably has a leak in it.

We got to solve that problem. Frank

I see.

Richard

Theft and vandalism are two of the things that plague the abandoned homes in Detroit, and the thieves usually start right down here in the basement. There's plenty of stuff to go after. There was once copper water lines that have all been taken out of here. Much of the copper wires are gone. The furnace that once sat right here, that disappeared. That was a furnace that had a blower. You heated or cooled the air. Went into the ductwork. There used to be a tank-type gas water heater right here. That's gone. Hey,

Frank. Frank

Hello, Richard.

Couple things missing. Frank

I see.

Richard

But there's some good news and some bad news. You got gas, so it's a straight replacement furnace and water heater.

We can get you that. Frank

Okay.

Richard

The water, though, is an issue right here. This is the main water supply that comes from the street to here. And look at this. This is actually galvanized steel pipe. This is probably original to 1939. Now, there's a very good chance that that pipe is clogged inside, and we might get all this plumbing done and you'll have no water pressure.

Frank

And how would you test for that?

Richard

Next time I come back, I'll bring a pressure gauge, and we'll see what kind of pressure we have, and I'll do a couple other tests, and we'll be sure.

Frank

Okay. Sounds good. And what do you think about this ductwork?

Richard

I mean, the ductwork, back in this era, they had to do it right. Look at this. It's beautiful. It comes off here. It splits to each room. There's a damper to deflect it. The sizing is perfect. You know, we don't have to do anything to the ductwork. I would recommend, though, that we seal and insulate this ductwork that we can get at, because if we have air-conditioning, I don't want it sweating in the summer or it losing heat in the winter.

I see. Richard

All right. So, we'll have new PEX water lines

that will come from here. Frank

Okay.

Richard

And we're gonna have to get it through the building. But you run it like wire, like an electrician runs wire. So, imagine, we're gonna have a hot and a cold line that comes to here. At this point, we are right underneath your second-floor front bathroom right here. So we'll fish a couple lines right up in there. And if you get that gutted out upstairs, then we can run that new water up there. Your cast-iron stack pipe comes right down here. That's the drain from the bathroom. That runs under the floor, and it works this way towards the back of the building. And I want to assume that that drain line is just fine, but a couple things have my attention right here. We're right underneath the first-floor bathroom and the kitchen right here, and this is the other stack. Now, there's normally no water in this, but look at this. This is actually completely split, as if water got in and maybe froze. I see it's all clogged up here. So, next time I'm here, I'm gonna bring the camera. We'll go down and see what's going on.

Okay. Richard

Hey, Scott.

Scott

Hey, guys.

Richard

What'd you see in the electrical world?

Scott

I found some stuff, spent a little bit of time. Do you mind if I borrow Frank?

Richard

You got him.

Scott

Let me show you what's going on in here. Well, the good news is that the electricity in the basement here is in great shape 'cause of the ceiling. The ceiling protected all the wiring from the thieves, even though it's all copper. Now, we got a couple systems going on here. We have a 1950s-era alarm system here with all kinds of contactors and relays. We don't use that anymore. Over here, they updated it to a more modern Solid State one, maybe 15, 20 years ago. Still, we can do better than this. Now, this is the main system. It's a 100-amp system. The power comes in from the utility, goes from here, and distributes itself throughout the house. Now, in 1939, they didn't have a ground wire when they ran for the lights and for the outlets. We can deal with that upstairs. That's the biggest thing. Let's go up and look at it. Frank, up here on the first floor, before we get to the wiring, I want to show you something I noticed.

Frank

Okay.

Scott

This right here was the doorbell. The doorbell was right here, and it had these beautiful brass columns right here. Those are gone. Someone grabbed those. But they built it in. They made it a real showcase. When someone rang that doorbell, it just resonated throughout the halls

and everything. Frank

Okay, good.

Scott

Let me show you about the outlets now. So, back in 1939, they had a hot and a neutral, no-ground, two-prong outlet up here. And you can see that right here. Now, most things only use a two-prong. Television, cellphone, you don't need that third grounding prong. So this is completely acceptable in all living areas. However, in the wet areas, like your bathrooms and your kitchens, we got to replace that.

Frank

So we'll be rewiring the kitchens and the bathrooms?

Scott

Yeah, probably just pull new wires right to it.

Frank

Okay.

Scott

Now, in every old home I go into, there's always one thing that's really cool. Can I show you what I found in your home?

Sure. Scott

All right. Man, I love this room. Look at the plaster medallion. Isn't that nice?

Frank

Very nice.

Scott

You know what this is over here?

Frank

I have no idea, Scott.

Scott

So, we have an outlet right here.

Two-prong. Frank

Okay.

Scott

You know what these knobs are -- are antenna wires. So, you would, before television, a big radio right here. Family would be gathering around, listening to the radio. You hook up your antenna right here, it made it all possible.

Frank

Well, I don't think we'll be using an AM radio, but that wall makes a nice spot for a big-screen TV.

Scott

Yeah, I'm with you. I agree. Looks nice.

Kevin

Whew. Hey,

Frank. Frank

Hey, Kevin.

Kevin

Think you and Tommy may have settled on a plan?

Frank

Yeah, we're gonna totally remove the whole roof and replace it. I've got some of my buddies here from the fire department. Close friends.

We're gonna put a new roof on. Kevin

All right. Well, we can use all the hands we can get. And I'll actually give you a hand, too, if you want.

That would be great. Kevin

All right. I'll get the harness on. We'll get up there. Frank, you got a second layer of asphalt underneath the top one. We'll see what's underneath that.

Frank

Okay.

Kevin

Oh, it is, Frank. Under the second layer of asphalt, you got another layer -- wood and cedar.

Frank

Hopefully that's the last one.

Kevin

Well, we're gonna find out. All right, Frank. Well, this is what we got. These cedar shingles were put down on what they call skip sheathing. So you don't have any plywood sheathing underneath this. Looks like this whole roof's gonna have to come off

and be re-sheathed. Frank

Okay. Well, me and my guys will have it done by the next time you guys get here.

Kevin

I love to hear that. And we will be coming back. So, until next time, I'm Kevin O'Connor...

Frank

And I'm Frank Pope.

Kevin

...for "This Old House" here in Detroit. Next time on "This Old House"... Oh, man. Why is it so full of stuff? This is very unsettling.

Tom

There's a lot of work that needs to be done, but the bones of the structure are great. The rest of the neighborhood, as you look around, is still in really, really good condition. We want to make sure it stays that way.

Kevin

...we continue our story of rebuilding Detroit... Oh, my word....by shining a light on a civic-corporate partnership ridding the neighborhoods of blight house by house. That's next time on "This Old House."