Archives

Landscape architect Tom Wirth visits the site and accepts the challenge of reworking the approach to the house’s front entrance. Norm Abram visits timber-framer Tedd Benson.

Norm's take on a dovecote is smaller and is actually a perfect accessory to a garden or country landscape

Homeowner Jan Igoe gives Steve a tour of the developing spaces inside this old house. Norm shows Steve how he is attaching closet sills to the concrete floor.

Norm's single bed bed is built from maple and pine is a four-poster with robust turnings on the posts and scrolled and serpentined cut-outs on the headboard

Norm's entry-way umbrella stand is built from light oak and features a mirror and clay pot holders to catch the raindrops from the resting umbrellas

With the roof demolished, Tom Silva and crew begin to deck over the new second floor. Norm and architect Rick Bechtel discuss plans for the new front entrance.

Norm's oak wheelbarrow features removable sides for greater versatility and medium-density overlay plywood for a smooth and durable bed

Lumber arrives on the site, and mason Lenny Belleveau applies a hard cement coating to the above-grade portion of the styrofoam foundation forms.

Norm builds a classic console table with graceful curved legs cut on the band saw and a simple country finish over knotty pine

Norm fashions four versions of neighborhood fencing in Eastern white cedar, inspired by a visit to Colonial Williamsburg

Arborist Matt Foti and crew remove a large swamp maple from the site. Tom Silva takes Steve to see another, simpler ranch expansion he did in a nearby town.

Norm designs a tall chest more daunting in size than in difficulty of construction. Its repetitive design makes it simpler to build than its size suggests

Norm collaborates with Victory Garden to build a gardener's work bench

Norm and Tom discuss laying down fiberboard to protect the house’s oak floors during construction. Tom tracks down Rich Trethewey to find out how he plans to heat the new addition.

Architect Graham Gund reveals his plans for the Igoes’ ranch, using a model and drawings. Steve takes viewers back to London to see Jeremy and Carla Vogler in their now-complete flat.

Norm build a coffee table using his Yankee ingenuity to convert wood recycled from a pallet to usable pieces and demonstrates planing, edging, and other preparation techniques

Norm builds a child's wagon from readily available materials: threaded rod axles, aluminum angles for axle braces, and non-toxic fire-engine red enamel paint

Norm investigates a new style of insulated concrete foundation forms. Architect Graham Gund takes Steve to look at a house he designed in MA.