Original subtitles

and may contain mature subject matter.

Viewer discretion is advised.

and may contain You may begin to build.

(Nikki): Boo-yeah!

Gotta watch that wire.

(Randy): Easy!

Pivot.

Oh my lord!

(Randy): So, they're here right now pouring concrete.

We're getting the footings in

and we're supposed to get like

15 centimetres of snow.

(Randy): This might be our snowfall to last for the whole year.

(upbeat folk music)

(Randy): I'm Randy Spracklin, third generation builder,

proud Newfoundlander!

My team and I are building on one giant cliff

in the Atlantic Ocean.

They don't call it a rock for nothing!

We fight the elements year-round

to get the job done.

It might be tough for some, but not for us.

Because when this is your view, it's worth it.

(upbeat music)

(Randy): Brigus, you know, it's beautiful.

You got the landscape, you're right on the water.

Everybody kind of know everybody.

It's that small town where,

oh you needs a hand today? Let's go do it.

(Randy): There's a lot of homes here in Brigus.

Drive down the road,

and there's something that we did with it.

Either we built a deck on it,

we fixed some of the shingles, fixed someone's fence.

Or we even built it from the ground up.

A lot of contractors will take these old homes,

and tear them down, and start from scratch,

but we go totally the opposite.

When someone built that 200 years ago,

they did it for a reason.

It's just amazing the work they put into it

and the history that it brings, so...

we're kind of bringing it back to life.

(Randy): Great find today, Nikki.

(Nikki): Oh yeah, for sure.

(Randy): Imagine what we could do with this old lumber.

(Nikki): You don't find stuff like this. This is one of a kind.

Like the wallpaper. Look at the round sticks

and all the wormholes.

That's mother nature made that.

Can't buy that in any big-box store.

Crazy. I'd love to get the opportunity

to work with some of this some time.

Being the rookie, I'm allowed still

to make a couple of mistakes here and there.

But that time is gonna come to an end.

So, you gotta learn it as you're going.

Hey, maybe one day we'll come in the shop,

I'll teach you how to do something with the old wood,

but right now we got a lot of projects outside,

so we better get back there.

Awesome.

(upbeat music)

And right now, we're as busy as ever.

Three big projects on the go right here in Brigus.

Ready? Go.

There's the addition on the Earle's House.

It's 200 years old. We're adding a piece on the back

to give them more room for entertaining.

Up on the hill, we're renovating the Mitchell's residence.

It's a newer house, and we're making it bigger

by adding a kitchen addition.

Bam!

(Randy): On the other side of Brigus

at my mom's new place,

we only got a hole in the ground,

and there's still a long way to go.

Fun stuff!

(upbeat folk music)

(Randy): Hi, how you making out, Tim?

I'm good, Randy.

(Randy): But busy as we are,

there's always room for another project.

This one is special.

It's the Gushue's family home.

It goes back generations,

and it's in the harbour of Brigus.

I know your house got a lot of history to you,

so let's go in and check.

We're meeting up with Tim and Valerie

and we're going to go over their reno.

We're building a piece on to the side of their house.

It's gonna be the living room made bigger.

Their master bedroom is gonna be made bigger.

Their whole focus is the water, the view.

The new addition is actually inspired by lighthouses.

When you're inside, you get that kind of...

feel in looking out over the water.

Come aboard.

(Randy): The addition on the side is gonna be

two stories, shaped like an octagon.

On the main floor, we're extending their living area.

It'll be a great area for when friends come to visit.

On the top floor is going to be more of a study area

off the master bedroom.

We're gonna have a lot of windows. He loves the water.

And so, to be able to look out over the Brigus Harbour

is gonna be amazing for them.

On the outside, we're getting rid of the old deck,

and adding a new covered porch.

Perfect spot enjoy the view.

And we got a total budget of $80,000.

- After you. - Oh, thanks!

Beautiful character on the house.

Look at the handrail and stuff you've got.

(Tim): Oh yes, we used to slide down that as youngsters.

Oh, did you!? Oh, there you go. That's great. A lot of history.

(Tim): Absolutely right.

(Randy): This house means a lot to them

because that was his father's house.

It's 150 years old.

Tim's father and grandfather was born in this house.

Tim spent a lot of time here when he was a kid,

and now it's his.

So, we're going to take down this wall.

(Tim): Yeah.

And we're gonna bump it out,

and then you're gonna have

this new addition.

Give you a lot more space, and a lot more light.

(Tim): Yes, absolutely.

And just have a very, I think, peaceful area

that we can watch nature happening around us.

(Randy): Let's go upstairs and have a look at what we're gonna do with your room.

Renovating a family home,

a little bit of pressure, just because we're trying to keep that history.

Even though now he's grown up and moved on and got a family,

we still want him to feel like when he was a little boy

coming down over them stairs.

(Tim): Now, one of the interesting things

in this room here

is there are virtually no windows.

(Tim): There's one window. (Randy): Yes.

(Tim): But cold wind comes off the ocean.

- Oh, yeah. - So typically...

there were very few windows on the east side of these houses.

(Randy): When we build the addition,

the windows are gonna be energy efficient.

We'll take down that piece of wall,

same thing we're doing downstairs.

And you're gonna have a nice big space, actually.

(Tim): So, this will be the captain's cabin.

I'll be looking out the window with my telescope,

wave to the ships as they sail by.

(Randy): Maybe a few whales?

Cross my fingers on that!

Tim and I certainly had a debate about both areas,

but he wanted to have an area

where he could make it the Captain's...

- Captain's quarters. - ...quarters.

(Randy): I see you got some nice wide boards as well, exposed.

Oh, I'm glad you mentioned that.

It's all the way through here.

We were very excited when we discovered this.

That is something that we'd like to try and preserve here as well.

(Randy): Yes. Well, this floor is just beautiful.

Look... look at the width of it, and look at the length.

(Tim): Yeah, it's wonderful.

And even the markings, the way they used to mark 'em years ago kinda...

(Tim): The old mill marks.

That's better than any hardwood you're gonna buy today.

That's what I think, anyway. We're of the same mind.

We're keeping history alive, for sure.

- You got it. - We know you have a passion

for that, and so we're very excited to be working with you.

We always take on a project like this

just because it got so much history.

A lot of other builders, they'll kinda look at it,

tear it down, build new,

but bringing that back to life really, really excites me

just because he's still gonna tell the story

about when he was a young boy coming down over them stairs.

So why lose that?

But before we start the framing,

there's something special we need to do.

There'll be no peace in my mind

until we conduct the ceremony of the placing of the coins.

We're gonna place these coins in the northeast,

and they'll be part of the foundation.

(Randy): This is a custom in the early stages of ship building.

Coins are often welded to the keel of the ship

to bring good luck to the crew and all who sail.

As we place those coins,

we ask the powers that be

to keep you and your crew safe,

to guide your hands as you build this structure,

and for it to bring happiness, prosperity,

and love to all that come in.

Awesome. Sounds good!

Alright. You may begin the build!

(Randy): Thank you.

(Valerie): Thank you.

(Randy): This house is 150 years old,

and probably guaranteed there's gonna be rot.

There's gonna be problems. A lot of people may be scared

on that, but after watching my father and grandfather

doing it, to me it's just the norm,

and that's why we're not afraid to tackle this

and make it a beautiful home.

But the age of the house is not the only challenge we're up against.

We're up against the weather.

In a single day, we could have a nice, beautiful sunshine morning.

Then come lunch time, we got a dump of snow.

And then come suppertime, the rain could take it all away.

So schedules... they go out the window really fast.

(upbeat music)

(Randy): At the Gushue house down at the harbour,

we're starting to build the two-story addition

with amazing views of the ocean.

There's a sitting area downstairs and a study upstairs.

And we're getting ready to start framing up the floors.

So, we got Paul and Nikki. What are you at, boys?

(Nikki): Woo-hoo! (Paul): How are you going?

So, yeah, we're getting ready to get 'er done.

(thudding)

(Nikki): Whoa! (Randy): Easy!

Did you get that?!

(all laughing)

(upbeat music)

(Randy): The house is right on the water,

and we can get a gust of 120 any normal day,

so we need to put a lot of nails into everything that we're doing

so it'll last for another 150 years.

Our objective today is to get the floor joists on,

get it sheeted over, and...

possibly get the walls in and framed up.

Depending on how good they are, we'll get them all done.

Well, that's a big hiccup if we gets rot!

(Paul): The beauty of renovating is it's always full of problems,

it's always full of issues.

Because the old house is never perfect.

And you're trying to make it

as good as what you're building.

That's a little bit rotted out. We always kinda expect it.

(Randy): Being on the ocean, there's a lot of humidity in the air,

so there's guaranteed to be rot.

We can deal with rot, because we got the extra lumber.

We bring it all in from the mainland,

so as we're building the structure,

we can fix it.

We're having a little bit of trouble with the lumber.

Our lumber is shipped in, and we kinda got a bad batch.

(Randy): It got a lot of knots,

and it might have some cracks into it.

It's normal in the wood,

but not normal for a floor joist.

When we're building a floor,

like, a knots and cracks can't go into it

because you got a chance of it actually breaking.

So we gotta pick through it so we can build a good floor.

It's pretty frustrating just because...

the last thing you want to do is put a bad piece of lumber

in somebody's house.

(Randy): We're showing Nikki how to frame today.

With the Gushue's house on the harbour,

we're making great progress with the lighthouse inspired addition.

(Al): 118 and a half.

(Randy): There's gonna be a sitting area downstairs,

and a study upstairs.

95 and an eighth.

(Randy): The bad batch of lumber that we found

really slowed us down on framing the first floor,

so we had to be very picky with the lumber.

We managed to get the first floor done,

but now Nikki and Al needs to start the second floor.

Much harder of a job.

Let's have a race!

No racing!

So I'm framing the upper level of Gushue's here today.

And sure enough, Randy starts in competition mode.

"Let's have a nail race!"

Okay, are you ready?

Alright.

One, two, three.

(Randy): So, Nikki's our rookie.

She's been with us a year-and-a-half,

and she's come a long way.

Oh-ho, we were close! (laughing)

We're getting her more harder tasks to do.

So, framing this second floor is a perfect one to start.

Nikki's slowing me down!

Of course.

No!

(Nikki): Me and Randy, we like to carry on,

make bets, have a good time.

He's got experience, knowledge,

and if you make a mistake, he's like,

"Alright, did you learn from it? Okay. We'll go from here."

What we'll do, we'll get Al to push it up over the ladder.

We'll lay one, then we'll get another one.

(upbeat music)

Bang this side first.

We'll see if you can do any better with the sledge

this time compared to last time.

Make sure he's in the centre, yeah.

(Randy): Nikki's getting to the point where I think

she can definitely take on these bigger jobs.

Definitely great, because me and Paul

can step back and take care of some other tasks.

Man! Look at the friggin sunshine!

So man first wall up! Look, look at that! Just look at it!

(Randy): It's awesome! (Nikki): Sun shining through!

Awesome! Awesome!

(Randy): Now that me and Nikki got the first wall up,

I need to go look at other jobs.

You got this?

It's all on her to frame up the wall, but hey,

Al's still there

just in case she might needs a little bit of help.

Al's gonna cut for her, she's gonna measure,

she's gonna frame up the wall, so, uh...

If tomorrow we comes back, and it don't blow down,

she did good. (honking)

This is my first time framing by myself.

I've always had Paul

or somebody up framing with me.

So the seven inches would hit me right here.

I feels bad for you but you're gonna have to come up.

Trying to get your points to line up perfectly

to hit your 45

to make that octagon shape is a little bit of a struggle.

I'm almost out too far.

I need to go out further towards the road.

We gonna be out quite a bit to put up eight sides.

Because that feels like I'm out by a mile.

(Nikki): Oh! One more like that!

Good! You're dead on!

Let me check it.

And this is perfectly in line on top.

Ta-da! One more done.

I'd say Randy's tickled pink here today.

I didn't destroy the van, it didn't go overboard,

so we're good!

(upbeat music)

(Randy): We got three or four big projects on the go

all at the same time.

On the edge of Brigus, my dad and I

are building my mom's house from the ground up.

This is a personal project for me,

but I still have to fit it in in my busy schedule.

So, they're here right now pouring concrete

and we're getting the footings in.

My mom's new place is gonna be a two-bedroom,

two-bathroom house, with an attached garage.

The kitchen and the living room is going to be an open concept

and I'm putting in some wood features

to really give it that hideaway in the woods feel.

We want it to be that perfect spot for the whole family

to get together any time.

We didn't think this was gonna happen today.

We were watching the weather all week,

and we was supposed to get like 15 centimetres of snow today.

This might be our snowfall to last for the whole years.

A big snowstorm at this point could shut us down.

If the concrete is buried under snow, it could be days,

it could be weeks, it could be months before we get back at it.

At least now we can get the walls on,

then we can start actually putting some wood to the concrete.

(upbeat music)

(Randy): Paul and Nikki's at the Gushue house.

They're finishing off the roof.

They had it all framed this morning,

sheeting it over now, get it shingled,

do the lift tomorrow morning.

We're adding a lighthouse inspired addition

to the side of the house. On the bottom level

is an extension to the living room,

and on the top, it's a study.

And the roof is something special as well.

With a normal pitched roof,

when you just got two sides, ten times easier.

You're just laying all the trusses in place.

This one got eight sides, and it gotta go to a point.

Very complex. So you imagine being very high in the air

trying to build all that.

Hint why we're building it on the ground.

So, every measurement gotta be just right.

I say I'll pick that up tomorrow

and put it right tight to the building.

'Cause I got to put the legs down,

then I got no movement, right?

Once I lays them down, I'm done.

(Paul): There's always challenges when you're gonna build a roof on the ground,

let alone the challenge of trying to build it to the precise measurement.

You got to be able to get it up there once it's built.

The biggest worry would be if Randy dropped it.

(laughing)

The game plan for tomorrow is to take this big thing

and stick it up there.

But we got wires in the way we gotta watch out for.

Hopefully there's not much wind.

If it's blowing 100, she's going up tomorrow.

(chuckling)

(Randy): Come hell or high water,

that's going on that roof tomorrow.

So this roof has to withstand winds over 100 km/h

so we gotta make sure the sheeting's down good,

the trusses are nailed in, plus the shingles.

So, here in Newfoundland we do shingling a little bit different.

In a lot of places, they only just put four little dabs of tar,

but here in Newfoundland, to keep them on with our harsh elements,

you have to gum the full length of the shingle.

Most worrying is gonna be when we get it up

and I actually gotta shift it in over that roof,

because actually the boom is...

the farther out you go, the more...

you know, weight has gone on the front,

so the machine can actually tip up.

So hopefully that don't happen tomorrow.

()

(Randy): Down on the harbour, at the Gushue's house,

the addition is all framed up

and I have the whole team there to raise the roof.

We definitely gotta have someone on this side,

'cause the wires are there.

It's pretty easy to move, gotta watch that wire.

And make sure she don't swing.

(Randy): We're getting ready to lift this roof on.

Very small window of opportunity.

Yeah, we got probably like, two hours to get this on

before the wind picks up. We're supposed to be gusting

50 to 60 today,

so you don't want this up in the air spinning around.

We got the roof all done.

So, we got it all sheeted, and we got it all shingled.

This thing got eight sides,

and all eight sides gotta fit perfectly,

and we won't know until we lay it on the walls.

Today, we're using a big lift

to hoist it on top of the structure.

(Randy): We're good to go.

This is the next big step

to making it weather tight before winter hits us.

If everything goes smooth, it should be an hour, tops.

You know, we'll see what happens.

See how good Paul is with his measurements. Wha...?

(Randy laughing) (Randy): We'll see.

(Randy): Adding big pieces like this

is always nerve-wracking.

Either one of those go wrong,

we gotta start all over again,

and it's gonna cost me more time and more money.

(Randy): How are you making out? (Tim): Good!

(Randy): With the lift going today,

the homeowners wanted to see, so...

hopefully it all goes good.

(Valerie): It actually is a large space!

You don't want to make it smaller, do you?

- No! - That's good!

It's always nervous

having the homeowners here.

Sometimes it's a bad luck thing

having them watching.

That's when the worst case scenario is gonna happen.

You just gotta keep giv'n her.

You know, you can't stop now.

(suspenseful music)

Tell me how close I can go that way.

As I goes up, I wants to go out.

Come over this way with your tag a little bit.

(honking)

Uh, Al?

(suspenseful music continues)

Oh, put it down so I can go up.

Yeah. I thought you were telling me to go down.

I was like (bleep) no!

(Randy): Easy!

(Randy): Just look at that!

Now that's awesome! It's up there!

(laughing)

The dangerous stuff is done there now

so we just gotta make sure it's all lined up,

get it in place, nailed on.

(upbeat music)

(Valerie): Oh my gosh, it's beautiful!

(Randy): What you expected?

Precisely.

- Yes. - More than I expected!

Well, that's good.

Nice to see ya, and I'd better get back at it.

Alright.

(Randy): See you later.

That went good!

(upbeat folk music)

(Randy): As busy as we are with all of our jobs,

I always find time for a friend and a returning client.

In the centre of Brigus, we're doing a bathroom upgrade

for Glenn, who wants it as a surprise

for his wife, Martha.

So, this is a fun washroom to do whatever we want.

I got a budget of $10,000,

so I'm keeping the footprint, but adding more character.

Glenn is an architect. He was actually the one

that drawed up Earle's house.

So, they did a little bit of a barter system,

and brought down some wood.

(Randy): That's good? Excellent. (Glenn): Perfect. Thanks.

(Randy): This vanity, even though it's beautiful,

it takes up so much space,

so we're gonna have to put a new one in to shorten it up,

but that ain't gonna go to waste.

We'll use that somewhere else.

(floor creaking)

As you hear squeaking, we're gonna be

taking up the floor, putting down the new tile floor,

taking out the tub, new tub surround,

and giving it a fresh coat of paint.

(Glenn): Randy's doing final selection of materials

and installation,

because we completely trust Randy.

It's working the old-fashioned way

where there's enormous trust between client and builder.

(Randy): When something's so old you'll be able to go in

and like rip it all apart

and put it back together and make it beautiful,

that's what it's all about.

Alright, Nikki, you ready to see what we got to do today?

How big is this bathroom?

Ha! Big enough to work in.

(Nikki): You got the water turned off?

(Randy): No.

- Let's get that done first. - Why?

I don't wanna get full of water!

I thought you needed a shower today.

No.

Water on.

Okay.

Water on, water off.

So you don't need to do both?

I got two of 'em off.

I mean... (indistinct)

She don't trust me. What?

(Nikki): Who don't love demo? Demo's wicked.

I should be the boss on this one!

Pfft! I'd better go home then!

I think I'm gonna loosen these. (thudding)

Aww! (Randy laughing)

Did you get that on camera?

(Nikki): This is released. You wanna try to get this out?

(Randy): Alright, pick up.

Gotta lay it over here.

The wainscoting looks okay.

Look, they even got the plywood down.

So the plywood on the floor means we actually

don't need to go down with a subfloor.

They already put one down. Hopefully that's good enough.

We'll see how they screwed it,

because where we're putting tiles, we don't want any of that

squeaking or bounce.

(Randy): Toilet?

No, I haven't touched the toilet.

In demo, especially in the bathroom,

everything gotta go.

Especially the toilet.

Waa-waa...

I'll leave that job to our new plumber apprentice.

Do you gotta get a cup, or bowl, or bucket or anything?

You gotta go get a cup.

That's fun!

So why aren't you doin' it?

Because I wants to show you all the ropes.

- Oh, I'll watch. - Start with the toilet.

(Randy): No, no, no.

(Randy gagging)

All on a Monday!

(Randy): I love working with Nikki on demo,

especially when you find something

that you don't wanna touch.

She don't mind touchin' it.

All eyes on you.

Dirty toilet!

Doing a toilet is a lot like Randy.

They're both full of shit.

- Ow! (Nikki): Aww, muffin.

Suck it up, buttercup.

I'm gonna try a different plan of attack,

see if that's gonna work.

- Got the big guns. (Randy): Wicked!

- Wanna give it a shot? - There you go. Give'r.

(upbeat folk music)

(Nikki): We just got all the tiles off,

and Randy wanted us to pull back the plywood

to make sure it's good and clean in behind.

Hey, hey!

(Nikki): Everything looks good.

The next step is to get that tub out.

(Randy): The tub wasn't deep enough, so we replaced it

with a drop-in tub,

which we'll charm out with a great wainscoting feature.

Tub's out!

Today we definitely kept on the timeline.

You know, we didn't run into any... too many hiccups.

(laughing)

(indistinct chattering)

The next thing is to bring in the plumbers tomorrow

to hook up that bathtub,

and then start actually putting stuff back together.

Actually fit pretty good, you got lucky!

That's what these numbers are for, right?

(upbeat music)

(Randy): Back down at the Gushue's place, we're getting really close

on making the house weather tight.

(saw whirring)

Hi.

(Randy): Bright sunny day!

You don't get many of these in the winter time,

so we gotta take advantage of this.

We're putting in the windows,

so we gotta prep for them, put them in,

and then we're also installing the roof

on the front of the house as well.

Hey Nikki, you got my other two rafters?

Uh, the same measurement, 85 and a quarter?

Yeah they're all alike.

'Kay. Coming up.

(Paul): Waitin' on 'em.

(Randy): We're hitting it full steam ahead.

We got all the whole crew going mad trying to get

the outside of this place done,

button it up so if we do get weather coming in the week,

we can still work on the inside.

How come that's three quarters, not a quarter?

(Nikki): That one's three quarter?

(Paul): Recut!

(Randy): You're not gonna get ahead of the game recutting!

(Randy): Tsk, tsk, tsk! (Paul): Rookie! Rookie!

(Nikki): Bite me! Bite me!

Myself and Paul, we've got a really love-hate relationship.

(Paul): Oh, jeez, perfect spot up here to sit down

sun tanning while I'm waiting on materials.

Recuts takes forever, hey rookie?

(Nikki): Living the dream up there.

(Paul laughing)

(Paul): I can hear you mumblin'!

(Nikki): I thinks of him as a brother.

When we're getting along, we're getting along.

When we're not, look out, you don't want to be around.

Supervisors.

(Randy): We're here right on the edge of the Atlantic,

and like, we're gusting at 120 plus,

then you're probably getting minus 30

with the wind-chill. So before we're actually

gonna be able to put in the windows,

we're gonna put in one-inch Styrofoam.

It'll help from all that cold breeze

and help keep the heat in.

It's gonna make a big difference to his heat bill.

(upbeat music)

(Randy): We got a big delivery today.

We got all the windows coming for the new addition.

It's gonna be a lot of light. A lot of glass.

If one gets broken, we're... we're screwed.

We're back-tracking.

Like, these windows were about a month,

probably two months, trying to get 'em here.

(Randy): You got the cleats on. How's that working out?

(Worker): Good.

See, I should have cleats on!

(Nikki laughing)

It's precious cargo, it's glass.

So, you gotta watch your step.

So we got six fixed...

...and four...

(Randy): There's a window pattern,

the way we're gonna install 'em.

I'm pretty sure it's them four there.

(Nikki): The other side again.

(Randy): The way the homeowner wanted the windows done,

was some windows fixed,

so there's no break in the middle of them,

it's all solid glass, and some open.

Hopefully he don't change his mind!

That'd be disastrous too.

(Randy): The homeowner wants the fixed ones

in a... area where there's a view,

so you sit there in the morning, you look out

over the water, pretty beautiful.

And the open ones where they can kinda

get a cross-breeze.

(cell phone rings) (Randy): Uh-oh.

(Nikki): Tell the mayor you'll call him back, you're busy!

(laughing)

I just got a phone call from the office.

(suspenseful music)

So, a big change.

(Nikki): The homeowner changed his mind on the window schedule?

(Randy): Yep.

(Nikki): We got bad news.

The window schedule got changed around a little bit.

The homeowner changed his mind on which way

he'd like to position the windows with the open and the fixed.

So we need to relocate, haul 'em all out, redo 'em.

Look at Paul, standing up watching again.

(Randy): So after having three windows in,

the homeowners decided to actually

change them around. Because where we had the openings,

was actually the view of the water.

So, the homeowners wanted that with no obstructions.

Wanted all clean glass,

so we had to take two out and move them around.

A little bit of a setback,

but definitely good to catch it now.

Can you imagine if we would've had all them windows in

and had to go backtracking? We'd lose another day.

Pretty sure this one is right. We hope.

(upbeat music)

(drill whirring)

(Randy): In the centre of Brigus,

we're updating Glenn's bathroom,

and he's a returning client and friend.

The room is demo'd, and now the fun part.

Putting it all back together.

We gotta frame the little wall.

Kinda put your vinyl plate down,

put your two end studs,

while you're holding up your top plate...

Gotta hold the top plate for me.

And then just put two studs in the middle.

(Nikki): Excellent!

This is a good-sized project for Nikki to handle.

It's not too big, not too small.

She's able to take care of it

while I go look at other projects.

(Nikki): So, the homeowner wanted to continue

this wainscoting look right across the bathtub,

hence the reason why we had to build this new wall

to catch the new pine.

(Nikki): Matching the old with new,

I gotta fill in the nail holes, put a coat of paint on it.

So that way you'll never know that it was ever missing.

Gonna make it match perfect.

Doing that wainscoting is a big job,

and getting trusted to do it makes me feel better

that they're giving me more opportunity to try some of these interior finishes,

which is something I really enjoy doing.

We're done.

(upbeat music)

(Randy): Down on the harbour,

I have the whole team at the Gushue's house.

(Nikki): Thanks, Harv. (Harvey): You're welcome.

(Randy): Today we're sheeting over the new overhang

over the front porch, and then we've gotta shingle it.

The big dilemma right now,

the shingles are on the inside the new addition,

which doesn't have a door.

So, we got this little opening

that we're going to open up

and someone gotta get in.

Who's it gonna be?

We gotta figure out who's going in that hole.

You.

(Paul): Everyone here cuts their teeth.

You go in line.

Rookie: crap job.

(Nikki): Take it for the team!

Rookie, crap job. (Nikki): Take it for the team!

Go fit! (laughing)

Nope! Come on, we're doing rock, paper, scissors!

She is the rookie, so...

even though we play all the tricks,

it's a learning curve, and it's good for her

to know the trade.

Rock, paper, scissors.

Oh!

Best two out of three?

(laughing)

Which one is it?

The littlest one.

You said you wouldn't go in there easy!

I'm not in there yet!

Just like a gymnastic!

(Nikki): You should've got it yourself!

(laughing)

That what you want? And the bundle?

Yeah.

(upbeat music)

(Randy): As well as building the new addition

and redoing the front porch,

we're also redoing the siding.

The homeowners love how everything is taking shape.

They want the outside to look just as good too.

Yeah so, we're replacing all this old clapboard.

It kind of, you know, served its term,

so we're gonna go with a more new modern product,

which is vinyl siding.

It helps, you don't have to paint it every year,

and it's more durable to like,

the sunlight and the weather.

It's maintenance, free pretty much.

There's rotted.

There's a little bit of repair there.

Not a good thing to find. We gotta fix this up.

Not in the budget. It's not planned.

This is the thing when you renovate some of the old houses,

that you might find things like this.

So we found more rot.

Corner boards is always the place for rot, and sills.

Worst case scenario, this whole corner stud

is completely gone.

We won't know that until we keep working our way up.

That's misery.

(Randy): In the centre of Brigus,

the bathroom upgrade at Glenn's house is taking shape.

Nikki's taken charge and painting the wainscoting.

I got to be honest, no, I don't enjoy painting.

Exterior painting, yes. Interior...

(Randy): When Nikki's finished painting,

Paul's coming in to install

the custom built-ins we made.

Ready for prime and paint!

(Randy): Once the shelves are in,

the tilers can come and install the floor tile

I picked out.

I know the vintage look will appeal

to the history buff in Glenn.

While everyone is taking care of the bathroom,

I made some custom shelves out of 200-year-old wood

from the Earle's house, and I need some special

brackets to mount it.

So, at the forge in town, the blacksmith is on the job.

(Kyle): I'm Kyle, I'm the head blacksmith,

I've been working as the head blacksmith now

for the past three years.

We're one of two historical

forges in Newfoundland, at the moment.

This building is 130 years old,

so it has a lot of really great history behind it.

It's great making items for the community.

I'm from the town. It's nice being able to walk around

and seeing all of my, you know, items

kind of decorating everybody's homes.

This year, we're kind of more so going

into custom work as well.

That's where I find the most enjoyment out of this,

trying to figure out how to make new items.

You can't get much more original than this!

(upbeat folk music)

(Randy): Glenn's house is 150 years old,

so these brackets is a special detail

to bring the history of Brigus to life.

The Gushue house on the harbour

is one of those historic homes.

We built a new piece on the side,

and we're always excited to blend the old with the new.

Today's the day we're gonna take down the two walls.

It's a blustery old day.

Don't wanna be outside, so we're going inside

and open up this space.

(Nikki): You ready to cut that hole?

(Randy): It's pretty norm. Cut the opening,

beat it down. But one concern is...

somebody got to fit through a hole upstairs,

'cause we can't get in from the outside.

(Paul): Ah, you gotta go up 12 inches to clear your next floor.

I'm downstairs working,

and Nikki and Randy is upstairs.

They really don't wanna cut through the wall

and ruin all the old boards and the potential, so...

they need someone to go through the wall

and through this tiny little hole.

(Paul): Hey I can fit through about 8 by 20!

(Nikki): 20? Well I'd say you're the right one for the job, then!

He said he can fit through that hole?

You wanna try and fit through an 8 by 20?

You buying lunch?

If he gets through? (laughing)

Nikki said she will!

No, I didn't! Randy will.

(Randy): So, we always place bets

on getting the feed. Especially at Ralphie's.

That's a place where we always go every Friday

to get a feed of chicken.

I'm not too worried about buying lunch for Paul.

He's never fitting in that hole.

(Randy): Hey Paul! (Paul): Yo.

(Randy): This is your hole.

But then again, he'd do anything for a free feed.

(Nikki): Get out of his way so he can get through.

(Randy): Just run and jump.

(Paul): Run and jump! (laughing)

I wouldn't even try.

(Paul): You don't know for sure

if you're gonna fit or not, but...

when it's a feed on the line, you gotta go.

(Nikki): Do you want me to kick you and push you through?

(laughing)

(Nikki): Oh, my god!

(all laughing)

(Nikki): That's crazy. He did it!

He's like a...

(Nikki): Whoa. He just fit through that!

(Randy): He's like a snake!

Way to go, Paul!

(Randy): Nikki, your turn.

Jeez, wonder who's coming next?

(Nikki): Nobody! (laughing)

(Randy): Now we gotta half-buy him lunch.

Yeah, it was worth it to see that, though.

(upbeat music)

(Randy): So when we're taking down the walls,

we gotta be careful. It's made of nice old lumber,

and like, got the marks from the saw mill,

so we're going to try and get'em in

the biggest pieces that we can,

'cause the homeowner wants to save them

and probably use them on his own project.

We'll cut along the side,

and we'll try and pop 'em off in one piece

as much as we can.

The wood is very old. It's easy to break in two.

That's why I'm trying to take my time.

(Randy): It's always fun to take down old walls

'cause you never know what you're gonna find.

It's kind of like a treasure hunt.

It's a hockey card.

Years ago, they probably put something in there

or dropped something, and we'll be the ones to find it.

(Harvey): Randy Moller.

(Randy): Oh, yeah? (Harvey): Quebec Nordiques.

So we're taking down two walls at the same time.

Paul and Nikki's on the top floor,

and me and Harv is on the bottom floor.

It's almost time to go through there now.

You out of the way, Harv?

(Harvey): Oh yeah, no, giv'er.

(upbeat folk music)

(Nikki): Boo-ya!

We did it. We made a hole!

(Randy): This is the opening now.

This is actually the size it's going to be.

The homeowners should be happy.

Whoa! 10:30! We got an hour before lunch! Wicked!

(Nikki): Jeez, we got time to go for a coffee before lunch!

(Randy): Ha!

(Nikki): That's why Paul's so happy coming in,

he gets his feed paid for today.

(Randy): Paul, whadda you want?

We lost a bet today. (laughing)

As long as I can remember,

we've been coming here every Friday to get a feed,

and the whole team comes.

(Paul): Thank you very much.

Next time you wants to bet on other food, let me know!

(Randy): I know, huh? (laughing)

He would've dislocated his arms to get through that hole today!

After dinner, it mightn't have happened.

Enjoy your feed, Paul.

Must be nice.

That's it. You should know better than to bet food with me!

(laughing)

(upbeat music)

(Randy): So after a good feed, we're back at Glenn's house

to put the finishing touches on his bathroom.

Turn! Pivot!

(Randy): First Nikki and I gotta put the new vanity in the right spot.

I like the tile they chose for the shower.

When Glenn sees this, he's gonna be amazed with it.

(Randy): He's been letting me run with the design decisions.

Glenn's wife, Martha, has been away,

so when she sees it, she's gonna be really excited.

(Randy): Glenn, have a look at the washroom.

(Glenn): Oh my!

What a transformation!

This is outstanding! Oh gracious!

Wonderful.

For the timeline that we had, and the budget that you had,

you know, we were able to take that old tub and make it new.

Your old vanity, if you remember,

was out a nice ways, so we put one a little bit shallower,

which is a little bit more of a modern look.

Changed the hardware.

I know this must have been challenging for you.

The walls are not straight. The floors are not straight.

It's a very old house,

but you've been very hugely successful.

(Randy): It was a small washroom,

so we didn't change any of the footprint,

we didn't change the plumbing around,

so we had to make it work.

And with a few little tweaks here and there,

it looks like we did a whole lot more,

but we did a little bit less.

And then we actually put the wainscoting

on the front of it, so Nikki did a great job with that.

We did the drop-in tub,

so we were able to put the wainscoting underneath it

to kind of tie in with the existing wainscoting

around the washroom. So that...

That's a nice feature to tie that tub into the walls.

(bright music)

We love, kind of, putting in the new stuff

to tie in with the old, and if you look at it, it looks old.

We definitely added a lot of character to something new.

We're gonna have to renovate the rest of the house Randy, to suit this!

(Randy): Yes! - As good as this.

(Randy): Glad you love it!

In the existing washroom, they had like,

old shelves there, and we figured

we wanted to do something new,

so Paul actually went back to the shop,

built custom built-ins,

and they're shelves with a cabinet door on the bottom.

These custom shelves,

that's actually 200-year-old wood.

(Glenn): Where did they come from?

(Randy): It's your buddy's. Came right out of his floor!

(Glenn): Did it? Out of Fred and Pam Earle's house?

So we see, we really do know the barter system

is alive and well in Brigus! - I know, right?

Seeing you got the firewood! (Glenn): Got firewood from them,

now I got shelves from my friend?! That's wonderful.

(Randy): These brackets were made by the forge just down the road.

Oh, that is wonderful!

Locally made by the forge here in Brigus?

Locally made.

Oh, that's fantastic. Oh, that's just great.

Having the brackets made in the local foundry

is just wonderful, because it helps tie

this house to Brigus,

so the heritage ties together.

I like it! It's so unique.

We'll always have a story in that!

Oh, thanks, appreciate it, and you're welcome.

(Glenn): Martha is really gonna love this.

Oh, my lord!

Oh, my God!

I'm speechless!

(Glenn): What a transformation, eh?

I can't believe it!

Oh, my God!

(laughing)

(Glenn): Those are floorboards from Fred and Pam's.

(Martha): Oh, for God's sake!

And the floor tile is just exceptional!

Randy has this innate ability to solve problems,

to be creative, and just to think

about innovative things. Wonderful!

Glad you like it.

So when you doing the rest?

(all laughing)

(Martha): Look, Dibley! You've got a new bathtub!

(panting)

(light music)

(Randy): Weather in Newfoundland changes fast and hits hard.

We got a little bit of snow, but there's another system on the way.

So, I raced back to my mom's new place to really push ahead.

Right now we're trying to get the walls up.

(suspenseful music)

(Randy): We're putting the forms up, and the forms

is gonna hold the wet concrete until it dries.

It takes 24 hours for the concrete to dry,

and then we're able to take the forms off,

and then we have a basement.

We've been delayed a lot. This was supposed to happen

probably like a month ago,

but every time we think we're gonna start it,

we have some other kinda bad weather.

We're luckily enough today

that we're able to pour it, but...

it's not ideal to pour concrete in the middle of the winter,

especially when it's so cold.

But we got another 70 cm of snow coming,

so we wanna get this poured before this comes.

Our deadline is spring, so we gotta make this happen.

I better not jinx myself, 'cause now something'll happen!

(low eerie music)

(Randy): This'll set me back big time.

(Randy): Next week on Rock Solid Builds.

It's just too much snow.

Everything was shut down, state of emergency.

Put a wrench in everything.

I hate waiting around,

especially when there's so much stuff to do.

(Scott on walkie-talkie): I'll let you decide.

It's probably gonna be a no-show today.

This window gotta go in because we got another big storm coming Friday.

That strapping made it bad. No!

The wind's starting to pick up too.

Welcome to your new old home.

- Oh, my God. - Oh!

(Pam): Oh, wow!