This Old House Hour — Season 18
## The Nantucket House & The Tucson House: Season Overview Prepare to be captivated by two distinct lives, two strikingly different homes, and a shared thread of secrets woven through them both. This season plunges you into the worlds of two families – one nestled in the charming coastal elegance of Nantucket, the other basking under the sun-drenched skies of Tucson. In *The Nantucket House*, we meet a family grappling with a sudden inheritance that brings them together amidst simmering tensions and long-held resentments. As they navigate the complexities of their newfound wealth and the sprawling estate it encompasses, buried truths begin to surface, threatening to unravel everything they thought they knew about each other – and themselves. Simultaneously, *The Tucson House* introduces us to a family facing its own set of challenges in the vibrant landscape of Arizona. Here, ambition clashes with tradition, and the pursuit of happiness is complicated by unexpected obstacles and hidden agendas. As they strive to build their dreams, they must confront difficult choices that will test the bonds of loyalty and redefine what truly matters. Both houses hold stories waiting to be told – tales of family, legacy, and the enduring power of secrets. This season explores how the weight of the past shapes the present, and how even in paradise, shadows can linger.
*This Old House* journeys to Nantucket in the traditional manner, traveling by ferry. Once ashore, the team explores one of a master carpenter's early projects: a clothing store. Joining forces with designer Jock Gifford, we stroll along Ma…
The day begins with surf casting alongside local expert David Goodman, a tile contractor by trade, and they manage to land both a striped bass and a bluefish. Back at the house, Jock Gifford and the Bentleys consult a model, reviewing the p…
The program opens with a visit to the Unitarian Universalist church on Nantucket, a graceful example of restrained New England architecture featuring intricate trompe l'oeil painting, constructed in 1809. Located at 3 Milk Street, we meet g…
The master carpenter joined contractor and lobsterman Pierre Garneau on his lobster fishing trip, benefiting from a family license allowing ten traps. Back at the house, mason Dan Kissell carefully dismantled unnecessary and hazardous chimn…
The program opens with a visit to Sankaty Head Light, a Coast Guard facility perched on the exposed eastern edge of the island. Constructed in 1850, the light, like the houses lining the bluff leading to it, faces the constant threat of ero…
The program begins with a small expedition for clams, seeking quahogs at a secluded spot. There, we encounter designer Jock Gifford, who employs a scale model of the house to illustrate the construction process: a hole is cut in the roof to…
The program opens on Nantucket’s Old North Wharf, a district largely composed of structures dating back to the early 1700s, and home to several charming rental cottages. Here, homeowner Kathy McGrew Bentley details the window sash color app…
The program begins at Nantucket's Whaling Museum, where curator Mike Jehle introduces the episode. There, we witness the commencement of the first of two wells being drilled for the Bentley residence’s ground-source heat pump. We meet Carl …
Prior to arriving at the construction site, we pause at the 1827 African Meeting House, a building that once served as a school, church, and community gathering place for Nantucket's Black residents, continuing in that role until the 1920s.…
The Nantucket Life-Saving Museum offers visitors a glimpse into a vital chapter of the island's maritime history. At the same time, the grounds hum with the activity of numerous subcontractors. Mason Dan Kissell points out the curved firebo…
The program opens with a visit to the Wharf Rat Club, a gathering of seasoned men who meet each morning in a former quahog-sorting shack on Old North Wharf for conversation. Next, we observe the advancements at the house: the Victorian-deta…
Dr. Tim Lepore, the island's foremost expert on tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease and babesiosis, offers insight into their prevalence here and practical measures for prevention. At the residence, preparations are being made for the…
Real estate agent Hammie Heard offers a tour of the Dreamland Theatre, a downtown Nantucket landmark steeped in history. Originally a Quaker meeting house, it later housed a straw hat factory and a roller rink before becoming part of a hote…
Following a journey to Coatue, a preserve on Nantucket Island, with Jim Lentowski, director of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, we explored the landscape's natural beauty and a 1920s fishing shack once utilized by the foundation’s ran…
At the Nantucket Marine Lab, we meet its director, Rob Garrison, to learn about initiatives to bolster the island's scallop population. Back at the house, Bruce Killen explains that the Historic District Commission deemed a proposed Victori…
The master carpenter joined Captain Tom Mleczko aboard his fishing vessel, seeking the legendary striped bass and landing one with his very first cast. Still riding the wave of success, he arrived at the factory to find a pressed-metal ceil…
Following a visit to the Milestone Cranberry Bog during the October harvest, the program connects with Bruce Killen, who reviews the remaining tasks – it appears the project will not be completed by the final taping. Inside, tiler David Goo…
The final Nantucket reveal begins with the crew waist-deep in the water, gathering plump bay scallops. Back at the house, a flurry of activity marks the home stretch. Our master carpenter points out a wallbed unit being installed in the lib…
For its winter season, *This Old House* journeys to Tucson, Arizona, for an ambitious eight-part project: the renovation and expansion of Jim and Colleen Meigs' 1930 Pueblo Revival home. Before commencing work, we take a tour of Tucson’s di…
The program begins at Casa Cordova, one of the few remaining structures from early Tucson. Constructed in 1848 within the original presidio walls – a walled fort – the Casa is now preserved as part of the Tucson Museum of Art. At the constr…
The program begins with a walk through the breathtaking landscape of Sabino Canyon, nestled in the northern foothills of Tucson. Back at the house, a construction crew is busy preparing and pouring a colored concrete floor with decorative s…
A traditional Mexican breakfast fuels the crew for a day at the job site, where time-honored craftsmanship meets cutting-edge technology. Gilberto Chavez and his team apply interior plaster using time-tested methods, while a high-tech stucc…
The program begins at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, where the seemingly natural landscapes are the product of meticulous human craftsmanship, including the casting and construction of artificial rock formations. New windows have recentl…
A preliminary stop before commencing work takes us to the Air Force's AMARC, a sprawling repository of retired aircraft, preserved in the Tucson desert for potential use as spare parts, long-term storage, or eventual dismantling. Meanwhile,…
Following a visit to Tucson's Hotel Congress, a landmark established in 1919 and once a refuge for John Dillinger in 1934, we return to the Meigs residence. The driveway is paved with concrete pavers, uniform in size yet displaying a pleasi…
With the Tucson project nearing completion, our host journeys to Biosphere 2 in Oracle, a short distance away. This site of two ambitious experiments in self-sustaining ecosystems now functions as a laboratory for Columbia University's eart…
