Episode guide

This Old House: Season 8

26 episodes · first aired Oct 16, 1986

The Reading House; The Brimfield House; The Phoenix House

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1 The Reading House - 1 Oct 16, 1986 Our host reviews last season's projects - including the popular ranch-home makeover - and introduces the new project: the renovation of a 40-year-old Cape-style home. Homeowners Claire and…
2 The Reading House - 2 Oct 23, 1986 Architect Scott Finn goes over plans for renovating John and Claire's Cape-style home, and demolition and excavation begin. Richard Trethewey gives advice on plumbing and heating needs…
3 The Reading House - 3 Oct 30, 1986 The mason arrives to work on the footings and foundation of John and Claire's Cape home. Our host then takes viewers to a high-tech concrete block factory. Our master carpenter starts…
4 The Reading House - 4 Nov 6, 1986 The guys review progress on the Cape renovation, and then our master carpenter shows how to cut rafters and frame the roof, which is sheathhed with plywood.
5 The Reading House - 5 Nov 13, 1986 Our host reviews the progress to date on the renovation of John and Claire's Cape-style home. New windows are installed, and we turn our attention to the roof, where roofing paper…
6 The Reading House - 6 Nov 20, 1986 Work on the Cape's mechanical systems begins, as rough plumbing, a central vacuuming system, and wiring for a new security system are installed. Our master carpenter starts the foundation…
7 The Reading House - 7 Nov 27, 1986 Homeowner John shows our host his expertise in the fine points of blueboard. Our master carpenter works on the foundation of the new desk, and the plumber pays a visit.
8 The Reading House - 8 Dec 4, 1986 We travel to the New Yankee Workshop to see work begin on custom cabinets for the Cape home, with assistance from a expert woodworker. Our host takes a side trip to admire old-fashioned…
9 The Reading House - 9 Dec 11, 1986 Custom-made kitchen cabinets are installed in John and Claire's home, and Claire turns her attention to the new bathroom, where she installs tiles. Our master carpenter works on interior…
10 The Reading House - 10 Dec 18, 1986 Our host takes a trip to see how the synthetic marble material for the new kitchen countertops is made. Plumbing fixtures are installed in the new bathroom; a lighting consultant pays a…
11 The Reading House - 11 Dec 25, 1986 The Cape receives new flooring and our host visits Sweeden to tour the factory where this do-it-yourself product is manufactured. The exterior of the house is stained.
12 The Reading House - 12 Jan 1, 1987 Work on John and Claire's Cape home is completed. Interior designer Bette Rosenberg leads a tour the house, with its new kitchen featuring high-tech appliances, family room, upstairs…
13 The Brimfield House - 1 Jan 8, 1987 In search of inspiration for a vacation home, our host visits Hyannis on Cape Cod to tour a beach-front home, a luxury condominium and lakeside property. The season's second project gets…
14 The Brimfield House - 2 Jan 15, 1987 A dowster explains the art of finding water to our host and landover Bob Houde; a well is dug; and a surveyor goes over the fine points of a perc test. The importance of a water-quality…
15 The Brimfield House - 3 Jan 22, 1987 We visit a vacation home similar to the one being built in Brimfield, and the homeowner meets with architect Jock Gifford. Later, the new vacation home begins to materialize as lumber…
16 The Brimfield House - 4 Feb 5, 1987 Our master carpenter shows us how to install double-hung windows, explains skylight installation and puts a sliding glass door in the vacation home.
17 The Brimfield House - 5 Feb 5, 1987 Ricard Trethewey pays a visit to Brimfield to discuss the vacation home's heating needs with our host and the homeowner. An exhibition in Malmo, Sweeden, shows the latest designs in…
18 The Brimfield House - 6 Feb 12, 1987 The vacation home receives interior finishes such as decorative, low-maintenance plywood paneling. Viewers visit our master carpenter's workshop to watch as he builds screens for the…
19 The Brimfield House - 7 Feb 19, 1987 An energy-efficient wood-burning stove is installed in the vacation home. Our host larns about the new water purifier. We then learn how to hang interior doors. Kitchen appliances and…
20 The Brimfield House - 8 Feb 26, 1987 Our host takes viewers on a tour of the finished vacation home. A flooring expert shows how vinyl floors are installed and the vacation home receives various electrical finishing touches…
21 The Phoenix House - 1 Mar 5, 1987 This Old House visits Pioneer, Arizona, a typical ""Wild West"" town, and our host meets Phoenix homeowners Tom and Ellen to tour their adobe-style house. The homeowners meet with their…
22 The Phoenix House - 2 Mar 12, 1987 Our master carpenter pays a surprise visit to This Old House's Phoenix renovation project, and Tom and Ellen begin work on their Southwestern renovation project.
23 The Phoenix House - 3 Mar 19, 1987 Tom and Ellen's Phoenix home receives exterior insulation and flashing, as well as a typical Southwestern viga and latilla ceiling in the master bedroom for added protection from the heat…
24 The Phoenix House - 4 Mar 26, 1987 The flat roof of Tom and Ellen's Phoenix home is protected with cold membrane roofing, and tiles are laid on the balcony. Our host takes viewers on a tour of an unusual modern ""castle""…
25 The Phoenix House - 5 Apr 2, 1987 Fixtures are installed in the remodeled bathroom of Tom and Ellen's Phoenix home, and the house receives energy-efficient windows. Our host checks on the progress of the new reading nook…
26 The Phoenix House - 6 Apr 9, 1987 Awnings and special sun-shade screening are used to protect Tom and Ellen's Phoenix home from the southwestern heat, and balcony doors are hung. The landscape designer puts the finishing…