This Old House

Nearly a year after Superstorm Sandy, Norm and Kevin take stock of the recovery along the Jersey Shore, and the progress at the three projects we've been following. In Bay Head, builder Kevin D'Anunciaao is still a few weeks away from completing the job, but homeowner Chris Laird and designer Jules Duffy are eager to show Norm a preview of how the house will look when it is finally finished. Knowing that many communities still have years of rebuilding ahead, Richard visits one of them, Mantoloking, to see how one house there survived a breach that took out a dozen surrounding houses. Kevin checks out the finishing touches on the Point Pleasant project: new garage doors to help conceal the pilings underneath the house, and a sapele mahogany front door built to withstand the elements. Inside, designer Tracy Pearce has worked serious magic with the new spaces, Carlos and Maria have managed to save their dream kitchen, and all agree they've come a long way since Sandy. In Manasquan, Richard finds landscaper Heather Aran planting some container gardens to add color to the front of Rita's new house. Inside, Rita's just about moved in a long way from the mud-and-mold-filled house she had to tear down. While she's had to spend more money than she expected along the way, she is sitting pretty once again, surrounded by family and friends on her new deck. Roger joins Kevin, Norm and Richard for a wharfside party to celebrate the friends they've made on the inimitable Jersey Shore. From beaches, boardwalks and surfboards to house lifting, pilings and breakaway walls, it's been a wild ride and the Shore may never be the same as it was before Sandy. But three houses later, things are definitely looking up.