In this episode, builder Marty Dunham heads to Connecticut. In Norwich, he examines the peculiar layout of a 300-year-old Saltbox house. And the woodchips fly as he fires up the chainsaw and helps finish up some structural repairs.

In the early 1900s, buying a home was as simple as ordering it through the Sears catalog. Across the country over 75,000 Sears kit homes were built. Delivered in 30,000 pieces, they offered affordable and well-built housing to a growing middle class.

The Spanish Revival (or Spanish Colonial Revival) home takes cues from all over the Mediterranean, mixes those with pre-Columbian buildings, drops it over a conventional stick frame, and makes a uniquely American home.

More of our series focusing on historic houses. Today, host and contractor Marty Dunham helps restore and refloat the famous floating homes of Portland, Oregon.

Ever since sailors ventured into open waters, mariners have needed lighted signals to guide them safely through the night.

Our host, contractor Nick Mystrom, lands in Northern Idaho to erect a 2-story medieval castle tower in the same manner used by masons almost 1,000 years ago.

Speed is the key word for this down-and-dirty build--Lewis and Clark, racing Oregon winter chill, built the 50 foot by 50 foot Fort Clatsop, a double-structure shelter with seven rooms, a sentry box, and parade ground, in just 15 days.

With America's cities and industrial centers rapidly aging and growing, thousands of buildings must be destroyed in order to be raised up again. These structures and their internal components will be transformed and recycled. There is great value not only in the structural materials, such as concrete, brick, and steel, but also in a wide array of vital, non-structural items like copper wire, stairways, plumbing, insulation, ventilation systems, and even glass. For many of the more grand structures, their hand-crafted and unique architectural features must be carefully removed and restored to new life. For all these activities there is a vast demolition industry to provide the expertise, skills, and the increasingly specialized tools to do the job.

The average American throws out more than four pounds of trash a day, nearly 300 million tons annually. An army of technologically advanced machines processes garbage, from the local collection trucks to the landfill compactors. In facilities called "Murfs," millions of tons of resources are given a second life. The water bottles you tossed in your recycling bin might become your new blanket. Electricity may be generated from the garbage you set out at your curb. Discover their unusual after-life as new products are created from garbage.

The Massachusetts Central Artery/Tunnel Project, a.k.a. The Big Dig, is the most amazing municipal construction project in U.S. history. Its objective--to replace Boston's decaying highway infrastructure with 160 new highway miles, half of which run underground and underwater. After 14 years construction, its cost--$11 billion!

In this episode, builder Marty Dunham heads to Connecticut. In Norwich, he examines the peculiar layout of a 300-year-old Saltbox house. And the woodchips fly as he fires up the chainsaw and helps finish up some structural repairs.

In the early 1900s, buying a home was as simple as ordering it through the Sears catalog. Across the country over 75,000 Sears kit homes were built. Delivered in 30,000 pieces, they offered affordable and well-built housing to a growing middle class.

The Spanish Revival (or Spanish Colonial Revival) home takes cues from all over the Mediterranean, mixes those with pre-Columbian buildings, drops it over a conventional stick frame, and makes a uniquely American home.

More of our series focusing on historic houses. Today, host and contractor Marty Dunham helps restore and refloat the famous floating homes of Portland, Oregon.

Ever since sailors ventured into open waters, mariners have needed lighted signals to guide them safely through the night.

Our host, contractor Nick Mystrom, lands in Northern Idaho to erect a 2-story medieval castle tower in the same manner used by masons almost 1,000 years ago.

Speed is the key word for this down-and-dirty build--Lewis and Clark, racing Oregon winter chill, built the 50 foot by 50 foot Fort Clatsop, a double-structure shelter with seven rooms, a sentry box, and parade ground, in just 15 days.

With America's cities and industrial centers rapidly aging and growing, thousands of buildings must be destroyed in order to be raised up again. These structures and their internal components will be transformed and recycled. There is great value not only in the structural materials, such as concrete, brick, and steel, but also in a wide array of vital, non-structural items like copper wire, stairways, plumbing, insulation, ventilation systems, and even glass. For many of the more grand structures, their hand-crafted and unique architectural features must be carefully removed and restored to new life. For all these activities there is a vast demolition industry to provide the expertise, skills, and the increasingly specialized tools to do the job.

The average American throws out more than four pounds of trash a day, nearly 300 million tons annually. An army of technologically advanced machines processes garbage, from the local collection trucks to the landfill compactors. In facilities called "Murfs," millions of tons of resources are given a second life. The water bottles you tossed in your recycling bin might become your new blanket. Electricity may be generated from the garbage you set out at your curb. Discover their unusual after-life as new products are created from garbage.

The Massachusetts Central Artery/Tunnel Project, a.k.a. The Big Dig, is the most amazing municipal construction project in U.S. history. Its objective--to replace Boston's decaying highway infrastructure with 160 new highway miles, half of which run underground and underwater. After 14 years construction, its cost--$11 billion!

In this episode, builder Marty Dunham heads to Connecticut. In Norwich, he examines the peculiar layout of a 300-year-old Saltbox house. And the woodchips fly as he fires up the chainsaw and helps finish up some structural repairs.

In the early 1900s, buying a home was as simple as ordering it through the Sears catalog. Across the country over 75,000 Sears kit homes were built. Delivered in 30,000 pieces, they offered affordable and well-built housing to a growing middle class.

The Spanish Revival (or Spanish Colonial Revival) home takes cues from all over the Mediterranean, mixes those with pre-Columbian buildings, drops it over a conventional stick frame, and makes a uniquely American home.

More of our series focusing on historic houses. Today, host and contractor Marty Dunham helps restore and refloat the famous floating homes of Portland, Oregon.

Ever since sailors ventured into open waters, mariners have needed lighted signals to guide them safely through the night.

Our host, contractor Nick Mystrom, lands in Northern Idaho to erect a 2-story medieval castle tower in the same manner used by masons almost 1,000 years ago.

Speed is the key word for this down-and-dirty build--Lewis and Clark, racing Oregon winter chill, built the 50 foot by 50 foot Fort Clatsop, a double-structure shelter with seven rooms, a sentry box, and parade ground, in just 15 days.

With America's cities and industrial centers rapidly aging and growing, thousands of buildings must be destroyed in order to be raised up again. These structures and their internal components will be transformed and recycled. There is great value not only in the structural materials, such as concrete, brick, and steel, but also in a wide array of vital, non-structural items like copper wire, stairways, plumbing, insulation, ventilation systems, and even glass. For many of the more grand structures, their hand-crafted and unique architectural features must be carefully removed and restored to new life. For all these activities there is a vast demolition industry to provide the expertise, skills, and the increasingly specialized tools to do the job.

The average American throws out more than four pounds of trash a day, nearly 300 million tons annually. An army of technologically advanced machines processes garbage, from the local collection trucks to the landfill compactors. In facilities called "Murfs," millions of tons of resources are given a second life. The water bottles you tossed in your recycling bin might become your new blanket. Electricity may be generated from the garbage you set out at your curb. Discover their unusual after-life as new products are created from garbage.

The Massachusetts Central Artery/Tunnel Project, a.k.a. The Big Dig, is the most amazing municipal construction project in U.S. history. Its objective--to replace Boston's decaying highway infrastructure with 160 new highway miles, half of which run underground and underwater. After 14 years construction, its cost--$11 billion!