David: For nearly 30 years, master carpenter Abram has been showing homeowners, woodworkers and couch potatoes how to restore the beauty of antique homes on "This Old House" on PBS-TV. But this year, the producers at "This Old House" wanted to try something different -- building a new home and using the skills of Abram, contractor Tom Silva and their crew to bring the charms of older homes to modern construction.

"We were looking for the right opportunity to build new," said producer Deborah Hood. "We wanted to see what would happen if we took our collective experience and used it to build a new house that feels old using green building methods."

The crew found their opportunity when they met the Favat family of Weston, Mass. The Favats had bought a 1970s cape in Weston, just outside of Boston, and though they loved their land, they weren't crazy about the home. After consulting with "This Old House," the Favats had their old home deconstructed and donated more than 80 percent of the used building materials to groups including Habitat for Humanity. In place of the old house, the Favats are having a new, prefab timber frame home installed.

New Hampshire-based Bensonwood is building the home in a series of panels at their Walpole facility.

"Bensonwood makes a different type of prefab than what people are used to," said Abram. "Because it's timber frame, it gives more options for construction projects."

"Nearly 75 percent of the building will take place here, including installing windows, drywall, siding and electrical wiring," said Greg Boiles, project manager for Bensonwood.

The panels will then be shipped to Weston, Mass., and put together on site by the "This Old House."

To help give the brand-new house a bit of old-world charm while following green building methods, "This Old House" called on Bingham Lumber of Brookline and their wide array of reclaimed and recycled wood.

Tom Bingham, 34, travels all over the country, from Maine to Tennessee, buying old timbers from houses, barns and buildings that are being demolished. Back in Brookline, the timbers are hewn and planed into clean boards used for everything from flooring to paneling to furniture.

"Our customer base is interested in the environment, so we began buying reclaimed lumber," said Bingham. "We harvest the timber by taking down buildings and barns, some built in the 1800s. When we saw it, we find some of the most fantastic materials."

Yesterday, Bingham, the third generation to run the lumber company since his grandfather established it in 1946, took Abrams and a camera crew shooting footage for "This Old House" on a tour of the facility.

Bingham Lumber has been charged with making the interior wall panels for the Favat house. The wainscoting for the panels is made from reclaimed Eastern white pine, while the upper portion of the panels is constructed of new wood. Bingham's mother, Joyce, is in charge of painting and distressing the panels to give them the look of old barn board.

Abram said the panels will give the house an older look, but will also provide energy efficiency to the home.

Being part of "This Old House" has been a fun experience for Bingham.

"Norm is a hero to a lot of us," said Bingham. "It's been great having him here."

The new season of "This Old House" will air on PBS stations in October.visit .

Source: Nancy Foster - New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent