This Old House(R) Crew Hits the Road for the 2005 'Meet This Old House' Tour

This Old House(R) Crew Hits the Road for the 2005 'Meet This Old House' Tour

America's Favorite Home Improvement Team Crosses the Country to Meet Fans at Day-Long Events in Six Cities and Make House Calls for the Emmy-Nominated Ask This Old House(R)

NEW YORK, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Have you ever wanted to tell This Old House master carpenter Norm Abram in person that you just might own more flannel shirts than he does? Can you imagine talking to general contractor Tom Silva about your sticky windows? Do you wish you could ask plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey about that noisy baseboard heater? Would you like to hear first hand from landscape contractor Roger Cook about how to properly trim your hedges? Have you ever dreamt of actually being the person who wins the Ask This Old House "What is it?" challenge?

Well, now's your chance! The This Old House experts will travel across the country to meet fans in person during the second "Meet This Old House" tour. Built by The Home Depot(R), the tour will feature a series of day-long events in the metropolitan areas of six cities across the country, from August through October 2005.

It all begins with a kick-off event on Thursday, August 18th, at a place that has undergone its own series of renovations, New York City's Grand Central Terminal. From there, Norm will join Kevin, Tom, Rich, and Roger as they pair off, bringing events to local Home Depot locations across the country in Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston, Dallas, and Atlanta*. Each event will feature inspiration, information and instruction on everything from interior design to tool box supplies. In addition, there will be sweepstakes and giveaways, Ask This Old House "What Is It?" challenges and Q&A with the This Old House experts.

"Last year's Meet This Old House tour gave us the invaluable opportunity to meet so many of our fans across the country, from first-time homeowners to veteran home enthusiasts, from adults who grew up watching the show to children who came with their toy tool belts," said This Old House host Kevin O'Connor. "We can't wait to hit the road again to say 'thank you' to our audience in person-and where better to kick it off than at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. We look forward to bringing our fans a behind-the- scenes look at the show, share the fun we've had creating it, and give them an insider's look at our first contemporary This Old House project in historic Cambridge, Massachusetts."

The first Meet This Old House tour took place from August through November 2004, as part of a year-long 25th anniversary celebration integrating television, publishing, Internet, and special events. The tour visited The Home Depot locations in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston and Atlanta.

And They Make House Calls, Too!

While on the road, Tom, Rich, and Roger will also be busy ringing the doorbells of local homeowners, for the 4th season of the Emmy-nominated Ask This Old House on PBS (check local listings). The series visits homeowners across the country to provide first-hand guidance on home-maintenance challenges including everything from a rotting porch to noisy pipes to an under-performing lawn. Viewers who are interested in receiving a House call may submit questions at http://www.thisoldhouse.com/.

The new season of The This Old House Hour (This Old House followed by Ask This Old House) premieres exclusively on PBS Thursday, October 6, 2005 at 8 p.m. ET (check local listings).

The 2005 Meet This Old House Tour Schedule

The 2005 Meet This Old House tour event dates, locations, and featured talent are as follows*:

-- New York, NY, Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal Thursday, August 18th, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Featuring general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Roger Cook, and host Kevin O'Connor.

-- Seattle, WA, The Home Depot 7345 Delridge Way Thursday, September 8th, 12 noon-8 p.m. Featuring general contractor Tom Silva and host Kevin O'Connor.

-- Plymouth, MN, The Home Depot 1705 Annapolis Lane Thursday, September 22nd, 12 noon-8 p.m. Featuring landscape contractor Roger Cook and host Kevin O'Connor.

-- Natick, MA, The Home Depot 339 Speen Street Thursday, September 29th, 12 noon-8 p.m. Featuring general contractor Tom Silva and plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey.

-- Dallas, TX, The Home Depot 6000 Skillman Thursday, October 6th, 12 noon-8 p.m. Featuring general contractor Tom Silva and landscape contractor Roger Cook.

-- Atlanta, GA, The Home Depot 6400 Peachtree Dunwoody Road NE Thursday, October 20th, 12 noon-8 p.m. Featuring master carpenter Norm Abram and plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey.

*Featured talent at each event is subject to change.

Day-of-event highlights will include: -- On-Stage Appearances by the This Old House Crew -- Fans will have the opportunity to get up close and in-person with America's favorite home improvement team, as they talk about life behind the scenes the series, sharing memorable moments, lessons learned, and favorite projects. Fans will want a front-row seat to have the chance to learn directly from the This Old House crew, while getting answers to their toughest home improvement questions, and an insider's look at the new This Old House Cambridge project. -- "Ask The Designer" -- Instant design advice from This Old House design consultant Karen Walden, who will be on hand illustrating ideas using a variety of elements including color swatches, wallpaper books, countertop samples, hardware samples, blankets and throws, carpet samples, backsplash tile samples, decorative molding samples, floor samples including vinyl ceramic, wood, and linoleum floor tiles. -- "All About Color" Session -- Karen Walden will lead an informative and fun session that addresses the psychological and emotional characteristics of color, covering the definitions of primary, complementary, or secondary colors, and hues and tints. She will offer answers to questions such as, "How do you make a room seem larger or cozier?" and discuss which colors work best in particular rooms. -- Sponsor Clinics and Demonstrations -- Featuring first hand instruction from industry experts on topics such as how to install a lockset and how to install a toilet. Also, the day will include surprise challenges and games from our sponsors providing attendees the opportunity to win prizes. -- "Tool Challenge" -- An interactive activity offering an opportunity to test some of today's most state-of-the-art tools**. -- "What is it?" Challenge -- This challenge is based on the popular Ask This Old House "What is it?" segment. Audience members will get to play along with the crew to guess the name and use of a particular item for a chance to win a $250 gift card from The Home Depot. -- This Old House Grand Sweepstakes -- The chance to enter on site during the event, or on www.thisoldhouse.com/anniversary to win. Grand-prize winner to receive a two-year lease of a Ford F-150 truck***, first- prize winner to receive a $5,000 gift card to The Home Depot, second- prize winner to receive $3,000 in Discover gift cards, and third-prize winner to receive a trip to the current This Old House project house, plus other great prizes. -- Giveaways -- This Old House and sponsor goodies will be included in a Meet This Old House tour gift bag.

Please visit http://www.thisoldhouse.com/tour for additional tour information.

**Tool challenge will not take place at New York Grand Central event due to safety regulations.

***Grand-prize vehicle lease not available in New York. If grand-prize winner is a resident of New York, he/she will be awarded lease cash value of $14,000.

The 2005 Meet This Old House Tour Sponsors

The 2005 Meet This Old House tour is built by The Home Depot. Additional tour sponsors include some of the most distinguished household brand names including American Standard Companies, Discover Card, Ford, STRAIT-LINE Electronic Tools, Industrial Tools, James Hardie Building Products, LG Electronics, U.S.A., Liquid Nails Adhesives, Philips Lighting Company, Ridgid Tools, Schlage, State Farm, and Trane.

About This Old House, The Multi-Media Lifestyle Brand

This Old House is the No. 1 multi-media home enthusiast brand, offering homeowners trusted information and expert advice through award-winning television, a highly regarded magazine, an information-driven Web site, a comprehensive line of books, a DVD series, and live events.

This Old House Ventures, Inc. is a business of Time4 Media(R), a multi- media company whose enterprises include leading magazines, Web sites, television and radio programming, feature films, and events and exhibitions. Time4 Media is a subsidiary of Time Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

Press contacts Jennifer Welsh Frederika Brookfield National Publicist Communications Director WGBH Boston This Old House Ventures, Inc. 617.300.5470 212.522.5809 jennifer_welsh@wgbh.orgfrederika_brookfield@timeinc.com

Kathryn Hathaway Photography contact National Associate Publicist Bailey Vatalaro WGBH Boston National Promotion Assistant 617.300.5305 WGBH Boston kathryn_hathaway@wgbh.org 617.300.5328 bailey_vatalaro@wgbh.org

Source: This Old House

CONTACT: Jennifer Welsh, National Publicist of WGBH Boston, +1-617-300-5470, jennifer_welsh@wgbh.org; or Frederika Brookfield, Communications Director of This Old House Ventures, Inc., +1-212-522-5809, frederika_brookfield@timeinc.com; or Kathryn Hathaway, National Associate Publicist, +1-617-300-5305, kathryn_hathaway@wgbh.org, or Photography Contact: Bailey Vatalaro, National Promotion Assistant, +1-617-300-5328, bailey_vatalaro@wgbh.org, both of WGBH Boston

Web site: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/

------- Profile: Ent