Local business featured on ‘This Old House’
PHOTOS PROVIDED
Round Grove Products owner and founder Scott Widmer, left, with Kevin O’Connor, host of “This Old House.”
DGKN staff report
DALTON A fairly new, growing local business that provides a unique product and service filled a need for a 130-year-old house this past year in Rhode Island.
Now, the public is able to view the project – and they may recognize some familiar Wayne County faces.
The owner of Round Grove Products and two of his employees, along with the customized fireplace/brick oven combination unit assembled at 12980 Arnold Road, in Dalton, will be featured on an episode of PBS’ “This Old House,” slated to air beginning Thursday.
Round Grove Products manufactures outdoor fireplaces and brick ovens for international distribution to landscape contractors, hearth retailers, and homeowners.
In June, the homeowner of the seaside Victorian project contacted Round Grove owner and founder, Scott Widmer, about the opportunity to work with “This Old House.”
Season 42 is “The Seaside Victorian Cottage.” According to thisoldhouse.com, the three-bedroom, one-bathroom Queen Anne Victorian in Narragansett, Rhode Island, sits on a corner lot, steps from the beach. It is in poor condition with rot, deterioration, and structural damage. The design will replicate the exterior architectural details, such as the curved shingles and the “rising sun” patterned clapboards, as well as improve the foundation and footings, fix and expand the deteriorating porch, and replace the rotting roof, the website states.
“I am especially grateful for the opportunity to install a fireplace/brick oven combination unit for the Seaside Victorian project with ‘This Old House,” Widmer wrote in a news release. “We worked for a couple months on their design constraints and then built the unit in September. We assembled it several times in the shop to make certain we hadn’t missed any details and then traveled to Rhode Island in December for the jobsite installation.
“I was pretty nervous to be working on-camera alongside these television hosts and building experts whom I had been watching since the ’80’s! The Round Grove family is proud to showcase our work for the national TV audience and wish the homeowners many happy memories around their Round Grove fireplace, brick oven, and outdoor kitchen!”
Was so proud to say I know those folks to my neighbors here in South Carolina.