This Old House returns for an ambitious Season 46, bringing viewers inside three remarkable historic home renovations across the United States. The season kicks off on PBS on September 26 and streams free on The Roku Channel starting September 30, offering fans an unprecedented look at how professional builders tackle radically different restoration challenges. From a 1929 brick cottage in Nashville to a fire-damaged 19th-century home in Massachusetts, the projects showcase the artistry and engineering behind preserving America’s architectural heritage. Whether you are tackling a full restoration or simply looking for smart renovation strategies, the lessons from these builds are invaluable – much like the advice found in Sweeping The Seasons In Arizona Contract Sweeping Strategies For Desert Climates, which explores how regional climate shapes construction planning and material selection across different environments.
The Nashville Brick Cottage: Adding Second-Story Space in a Historic District
Season 46 opens in East Nashville, one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in Music City. The project centers on a 1929 brick cottage owned by a young family of four who desperately need more living space. The challenge is significant: the home sits within a designated Historic District, meaning its footprint and exterior character must remain completely untouched. Adding a rear addition or expanding outward is off the table. The solution lies upward. The team converts what was previously an unused attic into a fully finished second floor, effectively doubling the home’s livable square footage without altering a single inch of its foundation or street-facing facade.
This approach – building up rather than out – is a textbook strategy for historic urban neighborhoods where zoning and preservation rules strictly limit expansion. By working within the existing roofline and adding dormers for headroom and natural light, the renovation respects the cottage’s original proportions while delivering modern functionality for a family of four. The structural work involved reinforcing the existing floor joists to carry new live loads, running mechanical ducts through tight roof cavities, and designing a stairwell that fits within the original floor plan without consuming too much main-level space. For context on how construction media continues to spotlight these techniques, the Smithsonian Channel To Premiere New Show About Construction Sunday Night January 3 2021 highlighted a growing public appetite for behind-the-scenes building content, reflecting how audiences are eager to learn more about the craft of renovation.
Restoring a 1930s Colonial Revival in Ridgewood, New Jersey
From Nashville, the crew heads to Ridgewood, New Jersey, where a 1930s Colonial Revival home awaits a comprehensive transformation. The homeowners purchased the property in 2019 and now plan to rework nearly every system in the house. The scope includes new plumbing and HVAC infrastructure, larger windows to maximize backyard views, and redesigned living and entertaining spaces that better suit a modern lifestyle. General contractor Zack Dettmore returns to work with the This Old House team, emphasizing that the collaborative effort between trade partners and subcontractors made the ambitious timeline possible. At the Nashville reveal, Zack shared that the support team of coworkers and trade partners behind the scenes is what makes these ambitious renovations possible.
Colonial Revival homes from this era are known for their symmetrical facades, side-gabled roofs, and formal floor plans. The challenge in Ridgewood is updating those compartmentalized interiors without losing the architectural character that defines the style. Opening up sightlines through strategic wall removals, upgrading mechanical systems behind existing plaster, and selecting window styles that match the historic aesthetic are all part of the balancing act. The new plumbing and HVAC work alone requires careful planning – running modern ductwork through a 1930s structure built around radiators means finding creative pathways through closets, soffits, and chases without destroying the ceiling heights. For homeowners looking at similar envelope upgrades, How To Weatherproof Your Outdoor Decorations For All Seasons offers practical seasonal maintenance tips that complement larger renovation goals and help protect the investment you make in upgrading your home.
Reviving a Fire-Damaged 19th-Century Home in Westford, Massachusetts
The season’s most dramatic project takes place in Westford, Massachusetts, where the team takes on an 1893 home that suffered a three-alarm fire several years ago. As Kevin O’Connor explains, the fire started in the back left corner and took off the entire roof, leaving the structure in a state of ruin that most contractors would have condemned. Originally built by a Scottish immigrant working in the textile trade, the home represents a piece of New England’s industrial-era residential architecture. The restoration aims to bring it back to its original glory while introducing modern structural reinforcements that will protect it for another century.
Key elements of the Westford restoration include rebuilding the hip roof to match the original profile, installing a grand window walk that opens the rear elevation to the landscape, and carving a new garage through the existing foundation. The foundation work alone is a major engineering feat. Cutting through 130-year-old stone and masonry without compromising the structural integrity of the walls above requires careful shoring, load redistribution, and precise demolition sequencing. The hip roof reconstruction demands skilled framing carpenters who understand how to replicate period-appropriate roof geometry, including the correct pitch, overhang detailing, and eave returns that define 19th-century New England homes. For those working on projects involving site grading and infrastructure layout, Surveying New Railway Line Construction provides useful parallels in how precise measurement and elevation planning guide large-scale builds.
Comparing the Three Renovation Approaches
Each of the three Season 46 projects tackles a fundamentally different renovation challenge, and comparing them reveals a spectrum of strategies for historic home preservation. The table below breaks down the defining characteristics of each build side by side.
| Project Location | Year Built | Primary Challenge | Key Strategy | Unique Element |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville, TN | 1929 | Adding space within historic district footprint | Second-floor attic conversion with dormers | Historic district restrictions |
| Ridgewood, NJ | 1930s | Modernizing systems while preserving character | New HVAC, plumbing, and larger windows | Zack Dettmore contractor collaboration |
| Westford, MA | 1893 | Restoring structure after severe fire damage | Full roof rebuild, foundation cut, window wall | Three-alarm fire recovery |
Beyond the specifics, the projects share common threads. All three require deep coordination between general contractors, trade specialists, and the homeowners. All involve working with existing fabric – whether it is a 1920s balloon frame, 1930s plaster and lath, or 19th-century stone foundation – rather than building from scratch. And all demonstrate that the most successful renovations are those that respect what came before while confidently introducing what comes next. The careful balance between preservation and modernization is what makes This Old House such a valuable resource for anyone planning their own historic home project.
Key Lessons for Historic Home Renovations
Across all three projects, several universal principles emerge that apply to any historic home renovation, whether you are updating a single room or tackling a full restoration. These are not optional steps – they are the difference between a renovation that lasts and one that creates expensive problems down the road.
- Always commission a structural engineer before altering load-bearing elements, especially in homes built before modern building codes were established in the mid-20th century.
- Test for hazardous materials like lead paint and asbestos before disturbing any pre-1978 finishes, insulation, or flooring materials.
- Source period-appropriate replacement materials from salvage yards and architectural reuse centers rather than mass-market suppliers, which rarely carry historically accurate profiles.
- Plan for the unexpected by setting aside at least 20 percent of your total budget for hidden issues that emerge once walls, ceilings, and floors are opened up.
- Work with contractors who have demonstrated experience in historic preservation, not just new construction – the skill sets are fundamentally different.
- Document everything with photographs and written notes before demolition begins; having a visual record of original conditions is invaluable when rebuilding period details.
- Work with local historic preservation commissions early in the planning process to understand what changes are permitted before you commit to a design.
Ask This Old House Season 23: Practical Home Improvement for Real Homes
Alongside the new season of the flagship show, Ask This Old House returns for Season 23 with the full crew of experts including Kevin O’Connor, Tommy Silva, Richard Trethewey, Jenn Nawada, Mark McCullough, Mauro Henrique, Heath Eastman, Lee Gilliam, Nathan Gilbert, and Ross Trethewey. The series focuses on hands-on home improvement projects, answering real homeowner questions with practical demonstrations that viewers can apply to their own homes. In the Season 23 premiere, a compelling dual storyline unfolds: Nathan is pulled between helping Richard update a bathroom for a homeowner who wants to age in place and helping Tommy replace a wooden gutter.
The aging-in-place bathroom project resonates particularly strongly with modern homeowners. Homeowner Margaret shared that she grew up in the home and wants to stay there as long as possible, a sentiment that echoes across the country as more Americans choose to retrofit their homes for accessibility rather than relocate. Her request reflects a major national trend: adding grab bars, widening doorways, installing curbless showers, and choosing slip-resistant flooring are all interventions that make a home safer and more comfortable for every stage of life without sacrificing style or resale value. For homeowners considering a complete room overhaul, New Bathroom provides a helpful framework for planning layouts, selecting fixtures, and coordinating trades for a successful renovation from demolition through final finishing.
The wooden gutter replacement, meanwhile, is a craft that fewer and fewer contractors know how to execute properly. Wood gutters were standard on American homes before seamless aluminum became dominant in the 1960s and 1970s, and maintaining or replacing them on a historic home requires specialized carpentry skills that have largely disappeared from the trade. Tommy’s segment serves as a reminder that older homes often demand techniques that have been forgotten by the modern building industry – making shows like Ask This Old House a vital resource for preserving traditional building knowledge and passing it on to the next generation of homeowners and tradespeople.
Both This Old House Season 46 and Ask This Old House Season 23 reinforce the same core message: good renovation work is a blend of respect for history, technical skill, and creative problem-solving. Whether you are watching the Nashville crew carve living space out of an attic, the Ridgewood team thread ductwork through a 1930s frame, or Tommy shape a wooden gutter by hand, the craftsmanship on display is worth studying and applying to your own projects.
To catch all the new episodes, tune in to PBS starting September 26 or stream for free on The Roku Channel beginning September 30. For more renovation insights and project guides covering everything from foundation work to finishing touches, explore the educational articles available across our site.