December 31, 2007
Wrap day―clockwise from top: Executive producer Jeff Ruhe, producer Deborah Hood, general contractor Tom Silva, host Kevin O'Connor, landscape contractor Roger Cook (on phone), production assistant Heath Racela, director David Vos, cameraman Steve "Dino" D'Onofrio, master electrician Allen Gallant.
As I write―exactly one week after the wrap party―we are about to spend the first night in our new home! Despite a major snowstorm, we had a great time with everyone from the show and project, as well as our friends and neighbors who joined later.
However, looking back to just forty-eight hours before the wrap party, we were facing a huge effort to bring everything together…
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December 9, 2007
The Guys share in the limelight of the show, but supporting them are the dozens of other guys who have passed through our home and whose cars and trucks have lined our streets over the past seven months. As our project draws to a close, I'd like to recognize their contributions.
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December 6, 2007
What was originally the formal dining room is now the family room. Sitting in the middle of the home, it straddles the formal front rooms and the more modern kitchen in back.
In order to provide a smooth transition, we've painted the wainscoting, trim, and picture molding white. While the architectural detail gives a nod to the formal spaces, we felt that painting the wood would signal that this was now a less formal space.
We even considered painting the fireplace white…
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December 3, 2007
The treatments of our floors were one of the last elements to come into play. We worked with Pat Hunt from Hunt Hardwood Floors to explore our options.
On the third floor, we added a new floor to the bathroom, and sanded the hallway and billiard room. We chose a darker stain than the natural wood, which ties into our furniture and color schemes on that floor.
On the second floor, we sanded and repaired all the floors, and difference from old to new is dramatic.
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November 28, 2007
You never know where the table saw is going to show up next. Over the course of the project, I've seen the carpentry equipment move all over our property. There's everything from band saws and table saws to mitering to molding setups.
Before demo and when the weather was nice, a lot of the equipment started off in the basement or garage.
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November 25, 2007
Believe it or not, the project wrap is 3 weeks from now. Judging by the look of the kitchen, things will be picking up pace very quicly. Already, the crown molding has started to go up and the floors are being stained this Thanksgiving weekend.
Over the remaining two and a half weeks we should see a lot of things get done in the kitchen.
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November 15, 2007
One of the great gifts of being part of TOH is getting to know everyone involved with our project. Tommy, his sub-contractors, and the rest of the TOH team make up a close-knit family, some of whom have worked together for well over 20 years.
On Friday, November 9th, this family lost a brother in Joe Ferrante, their lead tile contractor. At our home at the end of the day, Joe suffered a heart attack and passed away on his way to the hospital.
I first met Joe on a warm, sunny day, upstairs in our son's front bedroom. I introduced myself and asked a few questions about the work we were
going to do in the front bathroom. About an hour later I had learned
much about his craft, many interesting experiences, how he got into the
business through his father and about working with his brother Mark.
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November 9, 2007
My head spun when Maddy first took me to see tile samples…fuggetaboutit. So many styles, textures and colors. As great as the tile was, I had total sensory overload or whatever, and I couldn't handle another minute.
No problem delegating that. Thanks to Maddy and our designer Abbey Koplovitz, they picked great tiles and schemes with help from Catherine Mitchell from Tile Showcase.
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November 4, 2007
Without always mentioning the specifics, Tommy consistently stresses the importance of details. While we're usually up to date on the work being done, I inevitably find out about something that reflects Tommy's high standards.
For example, when we installed a new rear basement door, the door
frame was both scribed against the granite and the trim was cut to match
the original from the front.
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October 29, 2007
Our
basement was an afterthought through much of the design process. We always knew that this would function for multiple uses, especially as a
mudroom for particularly bad weather, when we would have the protection of the deck above.
In addition to a mudroom, we wanted to use the back part of the basement for a laundry, workroom and exercise room. But from floor to ceiling, there were multiple surfaces with different elevations and finishes.
The transformation began with the laundry area.
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