Old House My House

Why is it that every time the new project (Roxbury) get mentioned, we are presented with pictures of a Dorcester project that Menino stuck his fat face in front of? I'm sure TOH tried to take advantage of the publicity from the Mayor's visit, but you're causing considerable confusion amongst your viewers as to exactly where the project is and which picture it actually looks like.

Having just restored a Second Empire here in Corning NY I am very surprised that the TOH contractor has already decided to ditch the original siding which is still underneath. You can tell its there by how far the asb sticks out on the window casings. Save some $$$ and remove the asbestos before you decide. You just need to take it off gently. See the finished product http://rtvpix.com/RE-4473-KJKRS2-01 needs underline

I would like to see TOH go back to their original mission and concentrate more on projects like this rather than the more upscale projects they've been leaning toward. It will also be awesome if TOH sticks to their original mission of showing the viewer how homes are put together and how the restoration work is done rather than taking us on the endless side trips. They're interesting but have no real bearing on the work at hand.

Although I like the new stype projects, I agree that the side trips are a bit much. I like to see the project house, not things like other projects in the area.

The side trips fill in time slots sometime it takes weeks to complete one part of a project be four they can move on to something new. you are supposed to learn how things are made and what it takes to get a job done from watching the side trips

I love TOH and will always watch this show however I would also love to see them get back to their original mission. Or at least limit the side trips a bit. I learn so much from watching the superior craftsmanship seen on the show. Let's see even more !

I really need an un biased opinon. i am putting on a addition and because of your show i am planning on installing radiant heat. my problem starts with the fact that i am converting from oil to gas. so my question is after taking into account the efficiency, the current furnace conversion and cost is it better to use a tankless water heater or basically start over with a condensing high efficiency gas boiler.

I am very confused because each contract is saying a different thing when presenting options. any feed back is appreciated.

With the Roxbury project first show on air zfevqsthis week it's not a great time to have the web cams down!!

Sorry about that..cursor in the wrong place!!

Can anyone tell me how the Roxbury house is sited? Which way is north? south? Which side of the house gets the morning sun? And I agree about the webcam. When is it coming back up?

I remember the original Roxbury show... what happenend to that home... that is a side trip I would like to see! Web camera was a disappointment, can't wait either. Fiona that is a great ?? on your new space, you should Ask This Old House on the other 30 minute show. I would love to know, also, what the best way would be. May be they can gicve us some hints on how to hire the right people for the job.

Unreal they could have built brand new for the money this rehab is costing.With city budget cuts all over who decided that this place needed to be saved?Oh and I agree would rather watch how it's done than see all the side trips.They are interesting but I want to see more of how it's done.

Wow I know the new homeowner. We went to college together. That is wonderful

Thanks for your comments. The webcams are down because construction on the project is complete and people are about to move in. The webcams were up from June through January, the time it took to complete the project.

So Jen Wells... great news on the camera... your answer doesn't explain why the Previous project was up then??? and where is the video feed record??? Anybody?

Well, what a show the house is a mess ... and not worth the redue..could take the old plans and redue new for less$$

The web cam archives don't seem to be up either - I'd really love to see those.

I'd also love to know how much it cost for this one. I'm all in favor of rehab over tear-downs but what exactly was saved on this one?

I find this project an incredible waste of resources. It would have been much cheaper to completely demolish the house and build a new one with the same design. With all that has been done to the foundation and siding and work arounds, it is not the same old house as it was before. It is incredibly expensive to work with old houses.

And we wonder why this country economically is in the shape it is in!!

JBR

With all the architects, designers, engineers,project coordinator's couldn't they figure out basic math and know this would never be cost effective? This should not have been a "restoration" because there was nothing left to restore. It should have been a total demolition and then rebuilt using the same style. A restoration project must factor in the financial aspects before work is begun. Clearly this was not done and the taxpayers are the ones who must pay for it once again. I have been watching programs for many years and this is the most wasteful project in the thirty-year history. It looks nice but anything will if you spend that much $$$. It would be helpful to post on the Web site the actual costs in detail. After all, I hope that any viewer would not think they could purchase a house in that condition and actually renovate in a cost-effective manner.

Iam pleased to see that I'm not the only one that was shocked to see that they rebuilt this mess. Twenty years from now, when what's remaining from the original structure starts to sag, the owners will curse the decision to have rebuilt this structure. This project reminds me of the Washington,DC rebuild. It turned out well,but was equally depressing to watch it.

To be completely fair, I forgot to mention in my prior post that I was impressed with the General Contractor. I believe his name was David Lopes(??)

Hi, Missed the show for a while and have a couple of questions. Is there any attempt at Green remodeling and reuse? Did the house really go to a deserving Roxbury resident or is it another 'gentrification' project? Today when I watched there was a woman helping landscape who was referred to as the owner, yet she talked about her existing house. If she already has a home, why is she being considered for another that is supposed to be for Roxbury residents? There needs to be more affordable projects for people who already live in the neighborhoods. Many apologies if I have it wrong - have missed a lot. Thanks.

I've watched this show since the first project. NEVER, have I been so astounded and disappointed in watching what is being done to a house that should have been torn down and built new. I don't care what anyone does with their own money, but this is predominantly done with direct or indirect taxpayer dollars. Simply outrageous! I guarantee if you come back to this house in a few years it will be an uninhabitable dump, but with a good foundation! Unbelieveable!

what a waste of money..this house should have been razed and a new one built. Probably twice the cost to rehab a rotten old building. In a few years it will be a dump again....just watch.

I would like to see a comprehensive list of total cost verses value on this one and others for that matter. I wonder how realistic these projects are for an average person with out subsidies, advertising and programming values, skewing the equation. In this economy fancy frills and over building mite put the house out of reach of most people or make the whole project insolvent.