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In the fall of 1993, after sifting through nearly 200 proposals, we joined with homeowners Lauren and Dean Gallant for one of our favorite projects: the renovation of their 1907 Victorian in Belmont, MA.

Norm builds a tall pine clock based on an English country clock found on London's King's Road

Norm builds a secretary writing desk out of pine

Although Norm researched arbors in old England, the one that he builds is inspired by versions from the New England island of Nantucket

Norm's version of the indispensable kitchen staple, the butcher block, features a hard endgrain maple top instead of the usual parallel grain. Go to The New Yankee Workshop to see measured drawings for all projects

Norm teaches viewers how to make flat panel doors as well as glass panel doors for the display area of this English country cupboard

Norm Abram builds a four-shelf hanging corner cupboard, inspired by an 18th-century original, is built from hard sinker pine but has a plywood carcass to bolster stability

Norm's take on a sideboard is white oak with three drawers, fiddle-shaped legs and a pot board (a large open shelf between the legs for storage)

Norm Abram builds a simple, versatile English country pantry table that can serve as a bedside table, writing desk and more

Norm creates two outdoor planters: one that's square with raised panels and a second that's simpler, larger and rectangular, with vertical slats

Norm Abram shows how to build a Delft rack - an oak rack that is the ideal way to display china and figurines - with a cornice molding built up from up five different-shaped pieces of wood that "read" as one

This tall English country plant stand is perfect for a temperamental fern

Norm builds his version of a perennial favorite, the Victorian kitchen table, using a design that combines the best features of three tables he studied in Britain

Steve and Norm drive up to the site with only two days left.

Steve sees progress on the house with general contractor Rick Groden. Norm talks with Brian Stamp about a concrete pour meant to strengthen faulty arches in the porch section.

Norm sees how the plaster walls are being patched and finished, while Steve tours the grounds with landscape architect Kevin Holler.

Steve helps tree cutter Tony Sisto take down a dead tree, with some difficulty, while Norm checks the installation of the house’s new air-conditioning system.

Norm sees the roofing replaced with modified bitumen membrane system, Steve meets with the architect and homeowner’s daughter Mary Ellen Frank.

Steve and Norm find a 1917 Mediterranean Revival-style home that was directly in the path of Andrew, surviving structurally intact but with significant water damage.

Steve and Norm arrive with the entertainment center. Tom installs prefabricated cherry-veneer panelling. Don Martini shows Steve the security system. The crew and homeowners unite for the wrap party.

Jeff Hosking and crew install a floating strip floor system, while Norm continues work on the entertainment center at the workshop. Tom is installing maple stair treads.

Steve visits an iron fabrication shop to see how the front railings are being put together. Roger Cook plants pre-owned tree. Norm trims out a dormer window.

Lighting designer Melissa Guenet gives Steve a tour of the lights going into the new great room and kitchen. Norm works on the carcass and inlaid panels of the Igoes’ new entertainment center.

Norm builds an outdoor lidded bench out of reclaimed cypress reclaimed from a river in rural Georgia