This Old House

Access to and Visions of a Beautiful Yard - The Concord Cottage (25x12)

Uitzenddatum: Dec 27, 2003

Host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram arrive at the jobsite to find the base coat of the driveway down, and the new fancy cut shingles finally up on the gable end of the cottage. Landscape contractor Roger Cook shows Kevin how he's laid out the new brick walkway, and raised the grade by the front door to allow for a comfortable 6-inch stair rise. The homeowners have already secured permission to add a ramp for increased accessibility, should it become necessary in the future. In the kitchen, Kevin's surprised to find there's no outside cabinet company on this job - the kitchen's so small that general contractor Tom Silva's crew is building everything on site. Tom and Norm build the base cabinet for the pantry out of veneer plywood, while Roger takes Kevin to see a recently renovated garden center that's currently growing plants on more than 650 acres. They meet owner Wayne Mezitt to select, tag, and dig some of the plants for the Concord project, including Japanese tree lilacs, stewardia, and several spectacular pink diamond hydrangea. Back at the Concord Cottage, in the first floor bathroom, tiling contractor Joe Ferrante shows Norm and Kevin the challenge he' s facing in pitching the whole bathroom floor to a corner drain, while incorporating radiant tubing into the mud job. With just over eight weeks to go on the project, Kevin and Norm check in with Janet and her mom on the status of the job.