The WORST episodes of This Old House

#1 - Saratoga Springs: Amped Up

Season 43 - Episode 35 - Aired 7/7/2022

The old electrical service is upgrade. Cold weather inverter heat pumps will heat and cool the house. An original window sash becomes an awning window. A vocational student has a welding project for the backyard. Various types of insulation are used.

#2 - The Newton Cottage - 5

Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/7/1985

Construction continues with the installation of the staircase. Homeowners insulate the structure and our master carpenter discusses and demonstrates the framing and installation of windows. Our host takes a side trip to Diamond Head, Hawaii, to tour the construction.

#3 - The Westwood House - 12

Season 9 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/17/1987

Our host and master painter Sam Perry discuss the progress of Weratherbee Farm's exterior paint work. The new addition is blueboarded, and plaster Calvin Mills demonstrates his art. Security systems specialist Edmund F. Baker shows us the hard-wired security system recommended for the house. Our master carpenter instructs homeowner Bill in replacing window sash cords.

#4 - The New Orleans House - 4

Season 12 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/22/1991

#5 - The New Orleans House - 5

Season 12 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/1/1991

#6 - The Dorchester Triple Decker: House Fire Reclamation

Season 42 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/18/2021

The back porches on the triple decker are brought to code. Ice blasting is used to get rid of the fire odor. New vinyl gets installed on the entire house while homeowner Carol considers new accent colors to match the siding. Framing begins inside.

#7 - The Dorchester Triple Decker: Finish Work Begins

Season 42 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/13/2021

Tom and Kevin reinstall upper cabinets that survived the fire. HVAC contractor James shows Richard the plan for hot water and heating. Kevin joins Carol and her sister to shop for appliances. Tile installation and window trim.

#8 - The Seaside Victorian Cottage: Outside Details

Season 42 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/10/2021

Mark shows off a cobblestone apron at the driveway. The crew reinforces old floor joists. Tom helps hang a drop finial on the exterior and then he and Jeff install a swinging window. Kevin meets with paint experts to discuss choosing exterior colors.

#9 - The Dorchester Triple Decker: Our 3 Decker

Season 42 - Episode 26 - Aired 6/3/2021

Illegal fireworks caused a fire in the Dorchester triple decker and then COVID-19 happened. Charlie Silva and a team of local contractors put this house back together, and after a long wait, Carol and her family can now move back into their home.

#10 - Summer Special: Scandinavian Modern

Season 42 - Episode 27 - Aired 7/11/2021

This Old House has followed the rebuilding of over 70 homes. But after 42 years only one of those was a Scandinavian Modern. This Cambridge, MA house started life as a dark, divided 1887 two-family home. We turned it into a bright, open Scandinavian-style one-family. In this summer special, we compress the efforts to restore this beauty into one episode. Follow the action as Tom Silva, Norm Abram, and Roger Cook, along with their teams, take this old house from rundown to remarkable.

#11 - Concord: Solid Foundation

Season 43 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/21/2021

The foundation is waterproofed. Mauro and homeowners discuss exterior paint colors. Tom and the designer look at newel post options. Kevin talks to architectural historian about Cape style homes. The new foundation is braced for backfilling.

#12 - Concord: Dormer Day

Season 43 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/28/2021

Kevin helps Tom to adjust where the old house is out of level with new addition. Then he meets Mark to look at stone veneer. Charlie needs to raise the rafters on the back dormer for more headroom. Kevin and the homeowner and designer look at tile.

#13 - Saratoga Springs: Watertight Doghouse Dormers

Season 43 - Episode 36 - Aired 7/14/2022

New water and sewer lines are run. The house is brought up to code with fire sprinklers. A new slate hearth is installed. Original 1890s chalkboards are restored and reinstalled at the Dracut Centre School. Doghouse dormers are made watertight.

#14 - Nashville: Shelter From the Storm

Season 46 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/7/2024

Pressure is on at the Nashville house to finish on time. Zack Dettmore flies in to help builder Javier Gutierrez install a composite deck. Jenn Nawada meets homeowner Rachel and landscape designer Max Finkbeiner to discuss plans for the front yard. Kevin O'Connor meets with TEMA director Patrick Sheehan for tornado safety tips. Homeowner Adam and builder Lyn Bowman go over safe room plans.

#15 - Ridgewood: Ridgewood Revival

Season 46 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/2/2025

Zack is back! The team arrives in New Jersey for a project with builder Zack Dettmore, homeowners Peter and Kay, and their 1930s colonial. Kevin O'Connor and Peter tour the first floor to plan an expansion. Kay and Tom Silva discuss upgrades for the second floor. Richard Trethewey reviews plumbing upgrades in the basement while Jenn Nawada and the homeowners discuss patio plans.

#16 - Ridgewood: Swiss Mix

Season 46 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/9/2025

Kevin O'Connor arrives at the house where Zack Dettmore and Tom Silva are busy prepping the new addition's foundation. After, he meets with architect Jeff Jordan to review the overall layout of the project. Meanwhile, Jenn Nawada and Zack look at the rainwater management system. Later, Zack travels to Switzerland to visit the factory where the project's house wrap is made.

#17 - Ridgewood: Sugar Maple Revival

Season 46 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/13/2025

Jenn Nawada meets tree care expert Matt Chase, who points out issues harming the Sugar Maple. In the basement, Richard Trethewey meets Kordian Rak, who discusses the new combo boiler heating both radiant and domestic water. Kays mother and Tom Silva cut tile for the pantry backsplash. Kevin O'Connor meets electrician Matthew Sczensy, who suggests a wireless light switch instead of rewiring.

#18 - Carolina Comeback: Coming Home

Season 47 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/15/2026

Western North Carolina celebrates as five families return home a year after Hurricane Helene. In Swannanoa, Kevin tours Jim and Allie's, then Miah's, while Mark stops by Cat and Jeremy's. In North Asheville, Jenn admires Melinda's new yard while Zack and Matt check out the interior, and Richard visits Paula's East Asheville home before everyone gathers at a local brewery to celebrate.

#19 - Needham: Pouring It On

Season 47 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/29/2026

Kevin O'Connor helps Tom Silva salvage kitchen cabinets for a new pantry. Outside, Charlie Silva and Mark McCullough demolish the chimney from top to bottom. Kevin meets architect Marcus to learn how removing the chimney adds space and reshapes the layout. Out back, Charlie preps for the foundation pour of the addition and explains the need for a retaining wall before cutting a basement doorway.

#20 - Needham: Getting Our Ducts in a Row

Season 47 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/12/2026

Richard Trethewey meets with the HVAC subs who are here to re-duct the house to make the system more efficient. Charlie Silva demos the third-floor ceiling to make room for new insulation. Meanwhile, Tom Silva and Kevin O'Connor install a double-hung window located in the dining room that looks onto the front porch. Back inside, Kevin and Charlie address a sloped floor in the parlor.

#21 - Needham: Going Through Customs

Season 47 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/2/2026

Heath Eastman works alongside tile installer Mike O'Neil to install electric heated floors beneath fresh tile. Kevin O'Connor tours a Cape Cod shop crafting custom kitchen cabinets, meanwhile, Mauro Henrique repaints old cabinets for the butler's pantry. Later, bookcases are rebuilt to hide ductwork and reach the ceiling.

#22 - Walpole ADU: Board & Batten Down the Hatches

Season 47 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/21/2026

Kevin O'Connor visits a North Georgia factory to see how luxury vinyl plank flooring is made, then checks its installation in the Walpole ADU. Zack Dettmore helps build durable MDF wainscoting in the mudroom, and a smart lighting system with wired and wireless switches illuminates the exterior of the renovated ranch and new ADU.

#23 - The Melrose House - 3

Season 7 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/20/1986

Work proceeds inside and out on Tug's attic, as the roof is shingled and skylights and windows are installed. Our host is given a special tour of New York's Trump Tower, where luxury and elegance abound.

#24 - The Reading Ranch - 7

Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/16/1986

We go on an encore field trip to Ryland Homes, Maryland-based manufacturers of prefabricated houses renowned for low cost and energy efficiency. Back at the construction site, our host and our master carpenter work with Frank to build the deck on his new second-story addition.

#25 - The Newton Cottage - 7

Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/21/1985

Tile is installed in the new addition. On an excursion to Seattle, Washington, our host looks at a renovated hotel and visits elegant houseboats.