This Old House

Electrifying the Little Cottage - The Concord Cottage (25x5)

Air date: Nov 08, 2003

Master electrician Allen Gallant installs PVC conduit 2 feet below the surface of the driveway to allow the 200-amp service to reach the cottage. Using a "mouse," a string, a pull rope, and a vacuum (known to the trade as a "fishing system"), his crew hauls the heavy electrical lines underground from the street to the cottage, a span of over 200 feet. Architect Sarah Susanka shows host Kevin O'Connor a 3,000-square-foot house that illustrates the fundamental design principles outlined in her best-selling book, The Not So Big House. On the second floor of the cottage, carpenter Jason Wood sisters new two-by-eights to the existing two-by-four rafters, and cuts a hole in the roof to accommodate the new dormer. Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva push the old roof section out, and let the light in upstairs for the first time in almost 100 years.