This Old House

Turning a Garden Shed into a Home - The Concord Cottage (25x1)

Air date: Oct 11, 2003

Master carpenter Norm Abram welcomes new host Kevin O'Connor aboard with a visit to one of the most ambitious This Old House jobs to date, the Manchester-by-the-Sea project. Wanting to tackle a big job like this on his first time out, Kevin instead ends up in historic Concord, Massachusetts, with a small (but sweet) 20 x 26 foot garden shed that homeowners Jeff and Janet Bernard want to convert into an in-law cottage for Janet's retired parents. Protected by local zoning laws, the shed can't be torn down and rebuilt, so general contractor Tom Silva will reframe the c. 1894 building from the inside out, and plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey will face the challenges of bringing in water, sewer, and gas lines to the building for the first time ever. The cottage is one of the smallest projects in This Old House history, but everyone agrees that although there's not a lot to work with, there's still a lot to do. Janet takes Kevin to see the inspiration for her project, a small garage apartment that's part of an estate currently on the market in Concord for $7.2 million.