This Old House

The Salem House - 8

The crew assesses the condition of the clapboards on the back of the building, patching presents a large investment of labor, while total replacement will be a big materials hit. Our host promises to take the issue up with the homeowners. Meanwhile, painter Mike McManus and crew apply the first coat of tinted primer - and they like the way the new paint goes on. We then attend the Salem Historical District Commission meeting, where architect Pamela Hawkes presents the carriageway drawings, commissioners ask questions, neighbors voice opinions and the commission votes to approve the concept, asking for more details of the floor. The guys grout the new bathtub wall. The tile floor is in, but before it went down they had to install a premade underfloor tubing system for heat and a cementitous underlayment. Outside, restoration painter John Dee is putting the final coat of paint on the portico. In preparation, he used a wood filler known as Swedish putty to smooth out the surfaces to a nea