Charlestown 2014: Brick Rowhouse Blues

S36 E2: Kevin arrives to find Tom solving a major problem with the house: The exterior walls are bowing out from the weight of the roof over 160 years. His solution: build a structural wall inbound of the brick, lash the brick to the structure with threaded rods and epoxy, and then parge the whole thing. In the basement, news is brighter: Richard shows Kevin the result of two weeks of hand digging and a week of rough plumbing. The floor is down several inches, the sewer line tucked neatly in the floor, and the radiant heat/insulation system is currently going in. On the third floor, Norm shows Kevin how the roof has been under-structured since it was originally built. The structure they added in the 1980s helped, but it still needs more. Tom joins to get the first of two massive LVLs tucked into the pockets in the brick sidewalls, and fastened in place. To see how it's holding up, Norm revisits the townhouse we renovated in Charlestown 14 years ago. Back at our house, Tom shows Kevin how he's going to open up the back wall for the new bump out. It starts with using two temporary steel "needles" through the reinforced rear wall to hold the weight of the house while a new steel beam is inserted. Then, the bricks can come down one by one to make a small new addition for the breakfast area.