This Old House

The Lake Forest Dream Kitchen - 4

Steve and Norm arrive in Lake Forest to find local carpenters braving the cold, crafting custom cedar siding for the exterior of the kitchen addition. In the former greenhouse, Richard shows Steve how he saved the homeowners valuable real estate by putting radiant heat under the floors, and in the walls of the new eating area. Local historian Paul Bergmann shows Steve a shoreline mansion built in 1911 by one of Chicago's top architects, Benjamin Marshall. A reminder of a bygone era, it's for sale for $25 million. Project manager Jim Eimerman shows Norm the new steel beam in the basement, added to level out and support the kitchen floor above, and how the solution to this problem was the cause of another: the floor jacking caused substantial cracks in the plaster in other parts of the house.