The House That Norm Built - on PBS

[Rich Engelhardt]

I guess it airs tonight for members of the Insiders and on Monday Oct 3rd for the rest of us that aren't.
Check local listings for times.

I ran across this info on a Facebook group dedicated to Norm Abrams and I don't have any other details except what this link gives:
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/this-old-house/23330908/watch-the-house-that-norm-built

I'll be right in the middle of a move and will miss it.

[Curt Harms]

There may be a way to stream it once you get settled. The guy has certainly had an impact on the hobby/DIY market and gives more solid advice than most of the DIY TV shows.

[Richard Coers]

Ate pizza with Norm once, he came to town to open a new Ace Hardware. Nice guy. This show should be sponsored by the pin nailer manufacturers. He single handedly put them in every shop in America.

[Jamie Buxton]

Ate pizza with Norm once, he came to town to open a new Ace Hardware. Nice guy. This show should be sponsored by the pin nailer manufacturers. He single handedly put them in every shop in America.

Wasn’t it a brad nailer which he used so much?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Norm on both "This Old House" and "New Yankee Workshop" has cost my wife a lot of money, but I have a well-stocked standalone woodworking shop as a result. :D I miss his participation in TOH and I miss his show!

[Randall J Cox]

I always looked forward to watching him on Saturdays. Randy

[Jim Becker]

I think it's great that they have produced this, given Norm recently retired full time from the TV stuff. It's a nice tribute and I hope to watch it at some point.

[Richard Coers]

Wasn’t it a brad nailer which he used so much?
Jamie, you are correct in today's lingo. We called brad nailers as pinners before they invented headless pins. Bought my first brad nailer in 1987. A rebuild Duo-Fast that cost $99. Google said that would be $267 today.

[Brian Runau]

Thanks for the heads up. Brian

[Alan Lightstone]

Doesn't show up in my zip code for DirecTV on two PBS stations here. :confused:

[Paul Haus]

Thanks for the heads up. Brian

For a carpenter to become a PBS 'star' is quite an accomplishment.
I watched a lot of TOH and NYW programs over the years. This man did more to get people into WW (IMO) than pretty much any other single person. Again, this is my opinion, Norm A was a carpenter most of the time vs. a cabinet maker. He made good functional furniture comparable to remodeling a house. He wasn't a Sam Maloof, but then again he never pretended to be IMO.

[Mike Congiusti]

I'm an insider so I watched it on Friday. I think it was well done and Norm got teary eyed when Tommy gave his best wishes. I won't ruin it any further. I will say Norm looked a little gaunt to me. I hope he is OK. I just loved watching him and I’ve built several of his projects.

On a side note, as an insider I was able to watch all the New Yankee shows. Last month I received a message that as of 9/5/22 the license agreement was ending and I would not be able to watch the show. The website newyankee.com has also been deleted. I thought Morash held the rights to the show. I don’t understand after all these years this agreement ended. I was able to download any and all plans for free.

[Pat Germain]

I remember woodworkers busting on Norm for using his brad nailer so much. But consider he was taping a TV show. It would have been pretty awkward to constantly stop and come back the next day to let the glue dry. So he ran a bead of glue, nailed it and kept going. Anyone who wanted to build the same project could easily do so without using nails.

I've been a huge Norm fan since I first started watching "This Old House" when I was a kid. I really admired Norm's practicality and humility. I learned just so much from that guy. He helped to dispel a lot of myths about home building. First and foremost, when people said, "They don't build them like they used to", Norm would say, "Yeah, and it's a good thing they don't". Some people still believe older homes are far superior to new construction. Unless the older home was a high-end, custom build, it's typically not true. (I helped my parents restore a home built in the late 1800s and it was thrown together with a mish-mash of parts and materials.)

I remember watching an episode of This Old House with Steve Thomas. Steve was telling us about Norm varnishing a recently installed banister. When Steve turned to look at Norm, he suddenly looked perplexed and said, "And you're using a ten cent brush?". Norm replied, "It's what the manufacturer recommends". No elitism with Norm.

Some people would also bust on Norm for using plywood for furniture. To this he would simply say if they had plywood 100 years ago, they would have used it. Touche'.

[Jack Frederick]

I remember the uproar in FWW when Norm was on the cover. The following month the comment section was hell & damnation for having polluted the sacred pages of the woodworkers magazine with a “carpenter.” All I know for sure is that as I look across my shop, Delta, LN, Makita, Dewalt & many other manuf smiled all the way to the bank. Norm got me into woodworking. As such it is a love/hate relationship;)
I look forward to seeing this new show. Back in the early ‘00’s I worked on a few TOH segments from Rich Trethewey’s side of things. Funny how it worked out. You would work on the segment with great inclusion anticipating being on camera, but when the cameras rolled…get real! Rich & I were Reps in the P&H, H&C industry and the show is great for his business. He is a good guy. It was interesting and all in all a pleasant experience. I did play in a couple of Bob Villa’s shows after he had left TOH. So often you look at a show like this and say to yourself, “I could do this.” Then when you see the how the show actually gets produced you have a better understanding of what it takes. The organization, the timing and the output are impressive and not everyone could do it.

[Mel Fulks]

I always liked Norm , I think that’s the norm. Every time he picked up a tool he would give the pre-amble of “ Now I’m just gonna use my
( insert tool name here)”. A clear signal that he did NOT lend out tools ! I think that’s why some people don’t like him.

[Frederick Skelly]

Back in the early ‘00’s I worked on a few TOH segments from Rich Trethewey’s side of things. Funny how it worked out. You would work on the segment with great inclusion anticipating being on camera, but when the cameras rolled…get real! Rich & I were Reps in the P&H, H&C industry and the show is great for his business. He is a good guy. It was interesting and all in all a pleasant experience. I did play in a couple of Bob Villa’s shows after he had left TOH. So often you look at a show like this and say to yourself, “I could do this.” Then when you see the how the show actually gets produced you have a better understanding of what it takes. The organization, the timing and the output are impressive and not everyone could do it.

Good story Jack. Thanks for sharing it.
Fred

[Pat Germain]

Years ago I had lunch with David Marks. He told me a story about being on airplane next to a guy reading a magazine article about Norm. He turned to David and said something to the effect, "Have you heard of Norm Abram? He's a amazing. You could learn a lot from this guy". To which David Answered, "Is that so?". :)

I never understood people who bashed Norm. I genuinely think people bash Norm out of jealousy and to give themselves a false sense of superiority. It's perfectly alright for people to say they don't do things like Norm, but there's no reason to bust on him.

FYI, I was able to watch "The House That Norm Built" with the PBS app on ROKU. You can do a free 7-day trial and then cancel if you like.

[Richard Coers]

The biggest hub bub about Norm making furniture was that he ignored seasonal wood movement for several years of New Yankee. His glue it and nail it was at the heart of ignoring that law of nature.

[David Bassett]

Doesn't show up in my zip code for DirecTV on two PBS stations here. :confused:

I don't know how they generated that info. It didn't show up for my zip code either, but it was there at Monday 9pm (Pacific, so our normal 3 hour delay) on our major PBS station. The listing didn't mention TOH or NYW, so searching didn't work (and was probably why the zip code listing didn't have it.)

[Alex Zeller]

I bet Norm would have done even better had DVRs been invented back then. Granted he had almost every hand tool made in multiple brands but he spoke clearly, is able to articulate what he was trying accomplish, and did it in a way that people who wanted to make stuff but thought it was too hard feel like they could.

[Mel Fulks]

The biggest hub bub about Norm making furniture was that he ignored seasonal wood movement for several years of New Yankee. His glue it and nail it was at the heart of ignoring that law of nature.

I don’t remember if Norm was using air dried wood or kiln dried stuff. Or some of both. Many shops that buy and use mostly kiln dried
stuff from trusted steadily used suppliers don’t do any acclimating . Kiln dried might be harder to work ….but we didn’t have to grow it ,chop it, or dry it.
Commercial shops will sometimes let kiln dried stuff “acclimate “ some …. and it’s a good way to get a little time away , ‘cuz they have a big
job going that has to be finished first !

[Curt Harms]

I never understood people who bashed Norm. I genuinely think people bash Norm out of jealousy and to give themselves a false sense of superiority. It's perfectly alright for people to say they don't do things like Norm, but there's no reason to bust on him.


I remember a lot of people saying "If I had Norm's shop & tools, I could produce stuff as good or better than him". No, most of them couldn't.

[Curt Harms]

I bet Norm would have done even better had DVRs been invented back then. Granted he had almost every hand tool made in multiple brands but he spoke clearly, is able to articulate what he was trying accomplish, and did it in a way that people who wanted to make stuff but thought it was too hard feel like they could.

VHS and Beta were very much a thing, I recorded many NYW episodes. Norm's coming off as Every Man was one of the reasons for the show's success IMO.

[Richard Coers]

I don’t remember if Norm was using air dried wood or kiln dried stuff. Or some of both. Many shops that buy and use mostly kiln dried
stuff from trusted steadily used suppliers don’t do any acclimating . Kiln dried might be harder to work ….but we didn’t have to grow it ,chop it, or dry it.
Commercial shops will sometimes let kiln dried stuff “acclimate “ some …. and it’s a good way to get a little time away , ‘cuz they have a big
job going that has to be finished first !

I was talking about seasonal wood movement. Are you suggesting that kiln dried wood doesn't move? You might want to research that.

[Mel Fulks]

Some woods might move some even after being kiln dried, but much less than air dried. You can test it by cutting off ends of KD and air
dried wood and soaking them in water for a day ,or many days.

I’ve worked with Old Timers who complained about kiln drying. Yes kiln dried can be harder to work than air dried , but now we have
machines! They saw machines like Union guys see a bum applying for a job while drink wine out of the bottle.

[Richard Coers]

Some woods might move some even after being kiln dried, but much less than air dried. You can test it by cutting off ends of KD and air
dried wood and soaking them in water for a day ,or many days.

I’ve worked with Old Timers who complained about kiln drying. Yes kiln dried can be harder to work than air dried , but now we have
machines! They saw machines like Union guys see a bum applying for a job while drink wine out of the bottle.
Not some woods might move, ALL woods move. It's not guess work or estimating, not folk lore and not the difference between air dried and kiln dried. It is science based on percentages of humidity and temperature! Still don't believe me, glue up 3' of wood width and measure the width several times a year. https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/fnr-163.pdf

[Mel Fulks]

I did read it, did not see any fault , and I did not see anything that contradicts what I posted. The author has a sentence …that kinda’ goes
like this, “ trouble was likely because of improper drying “ I would have quoted it , but I remembered it’s still there !

[Greg Funk]

Some woods might move some even after being kiln dried, but much less than air dried. You can test it by cutting off ends of KD and air
dried wood and soaking them in water for a day ,or many days.Depends on the temperature and location of the air drying. If it's air dried in Phoenix there won't be much difference in wood movement between kiln and air drying. It's a function of the moisture content of the wood not really how it was dried. You can't air dry to a low MC in Seattle in the winter.

[Mel Fulks]

Depends on the temperature and location of the air drying. If it's air dried in Phoenix there won't be much difference in wood movement between kiln and air drying. It's a function of the moisture content of the wood not really how it was dried. You can't air dry to a low MC in Seattle in the winter.

I disagree, kiln drying is pretty much irreversible. Try soaking a piece kiln dried in the same water as a piece of air dried . The air dried will
swell up , then be a bit smaller when dried out . Think it’s still called “ compression ring set”. The kiln dried will maintain same size or at
least closer than the air dried.

[Greg Funk]

I disagree, kiln drying is pretty much irreversible. Try soaking a piece kiln dried in the same water as a piece of air dried . The air dried will
swell up , then be a bit smaller when dried out . Think it’s still called “ compression ring set”. The kiln dried will maintain same size or at
least closer than the air dried.Not sure where you live but properly kiln dried material will move just like air dried wood. Most hardwood flooring sold locally is kiln dried and it moves noticeably between summer and winter. In some locations there isn't a significant difference in the EMC of wood between summer and winter but on the west coast all wood moves between seasons.

You might be referring to case hardening that can occur if improperly dried in a kiln.

I'll leave you with this excerpt from Wagner Moisture Meters (https://www.wagnermeters.com/forest-products/industry-info/when-kiln-drying-does-not-work/) (not a scientific article but I expect they know a little about wood movement):

Wood may have the majority of its moisture removed during the kiln drying process, but it does not lose the ability to reabsorb moisture from its environment. Whether from a direct water source, moisture in an adjacent material or even humidity in the air, by its very nature, wood will be ready to absorb any moisture it contacts. Kiln drying doesn’t “fix” the MC level of a wood product; it merely reduces the amount of moisture to a generally workable range.

[Mel Fulks]

It can certainly reabsorb some moisture, but it is not going to behave same way it did before the kiln drying. Architects don’t allow use of
air dried unless the wood they want can’t be bought any other way. I again recommend the test .

[Phil Gaudio]

Had there been no Norm Abram: there would be no SawMillCreek.

[Richard Coers]

It can certainly reabsorb some moisture, but it is not going to behave same way it did before the kiln drying. Architects don’t allow use of
air dried unless the wood they want can’t be bought any other way. I again recommend the test .
You are the only one stuck on air dried vs kiln dried. Architects don't want air dried because it is not sterlized and can bring bugs into a project.

[Richard Coers]

Show is on right now in Peoria. Norm doesn't look too good. He's just 73. Edit; he says at the end of the show that he is in good health. Good news.

[Mel Fulks]

You are the only one stuck on air dried vs kiln dried. Architects don't want air dried because it is not sterlized and can bring bugs into a project.

No, architects are concerned about a number of things . When they draw wide wood paneling for a house in the millions they like to know that
there will be no problems. One place I had just joined did a lot of panels ,and had a lot of failures. When I told the owner that if he let me do the
WHOLE JOB I would guarantee that all the panels would have no defects and that I would give $20 to anyone who found an open end on any
panel. There were about 125 panels ,and some were 8 feet tall. Ball room had 14’ ceilings. 5 million dollar job in 1980. I always use
“sprung” joints cut on jointer. I posted all of this probably in my first year here.

[Greg Funk]

It can certainly reabsorb some moisture, but it is not going to behave same way it did before the kiln drying. Architects don’t allow use of
air dried unless the wood they want can’t be bought any other way. I again recommend the test .Here are some more reasons Architects prefer kiln dried wood:

Dr. Gene Wengerd, Ph.D of Wood Doctor’s Rx, LLC, says, “kiln-dried logs and timber are better than air-dried products as the moisture content is lower in kiln dried material which means, in turn, that most of the natural shrinkage that will occur in wood as it dries will occur during the drying process rather than after installation. As a result they will be more stable - requiring less caulking and less problems, like doors and windows sticking.”

Other benefits he says is “the material is 10 to 20% lighter than air-dried and 50% lighter than green logs and that the logs are sanitized from mold, mildew, stain fungi and decay fungi (which cause rot), plus insects, their larvae and eggs, are all killed when temperatures exceed 130°F. Furthermore, as these pathogens require water for their daily activity, the drying also eliminates the required moister.”

He also stated that “when wood is heated over 150°F in the kiln, the sap, pitch or resin in the wood that would be liquid at room temperatures is evaporated. The likelihood of seepage of sap after installation is virtually eliminated.”

Another point he made, is that “kiln dried wood is ready for the application of the finish, and that in many cases, the finish itself will penetrate deeper with kiln-dried wood, providing longer lasting finishes.”

[Ken Fitzgerald]

What a career. I had no idea his shows had won 19 Emmy awards including the Day Time Emmy for Lifetime Achievement.

Great show!

[Greg Funk]

Show is on right now in Peoria. Norm doesn't look too good. He's just 73. Edit; he says at the end of the show that he is in good health. Good news.Norm's lost a lot of weight from the New Yankee Workshop days and I think, unfortunately, when you lose a significant amount of weight you tend to look a little more wrinkly than if your wrinkles are 'filled out'. Cyclists often joke they're race ready when their family asks if they're sick.

[Dave Lehnert]

Post starts about Norm. Turns into a post about Kiln vs air dry wood. :rolleyes:

Not sure how many would admit to it, but not many of us would own a biscuit joiner if not for Norm.

[Brice Rogers]

I enjoyed watching the show tonight. I probably have watched hundreds of his shows.

He didn't look well. There are rumors that he has cancer. He's lost a lot of weight.

But, I loved his shows and learned a bunch. And learned that I could do things that otherwise I would have avoided. Like doing a major cabin remodel, doing my own grading calcs and permit, designing and making plans for a house in San Diego County and building it (I used a general contractor but was on site twice a day for 6 months. :-)

[Curt Harms]

I enjoyed watching the show tonight. I probably have watched hundreds of his shows.

He didn't look well. There are rumors that he has cancer. He's lost a lot of weight.
.....................


I do recall some years ago that Norm was having issues with his nasal passages, possibly due to inhaling wood dust for decades. I've never heard or read anything about cancer.

[Richard Coers]

No, architects are concerned about a number of things . When they draw wide wood paneling for a house in the millions they like to know that
there will be no problems. One place I had just joined did a lot of panels ,and had a lot of failures. When I told the owner that if he let me do the
WHOLE JOB I would guarantee that all the panels would have no defects and that I would give $20 to anyone who found an open end on any
panel. There were about 125 panels ,and some were 8 feet tall. Ball room had 14’ ceilings. 5 million dollar job in 1980. I always use
“sprung” joints cut on jointer. I posted all of this probably in my first year here.
I get it Mel, you wouldn't agree with me if I said the sun rises in the morning and sets at night. Because I didn't make a list of kiln dried advantages, I was wrong about sterilization?

[Mel Fulks]

Richard ,I think it was a good discussion. Slightly different takes on all subjects serve to clarify for the hundreds of men and women who were following ! I am glad to write that
I enjoyed it, and that I seldom fail to read all posts. I am certain that our small differences helped some readers more fully understand the
subject.
Mel

[Roger Feeley]

Im always amused by the tremendous number of handheld machines Norm has. I swear he has a router for every router bit. I thought it would be fun for him to step over to his fluoroscope to check an old board for nails.

[Randy Heinemann]

Thanks for bringing it to our attention. It was a touching, nice tribute to a guy who many of us have watched for many years. Especially on New Yankee Workshop I because aware of techniques I didn't know about. It was a nice positive thing in a world which isn't so positive these days.

[Curt Harms]

Im always amused by the tremendous number of handheld machines Norm has. I swear he has a router for every router bit. I thought it would be fun for him to step over to his fluoroscope to check an old board for nails.

Don't suggest it! :D:D

[Keith Pitman]

If you are in the Denver area, the Norm program will air on Channel 6-KRMA-on Saturday October 8 at 3:30pm.

[Bob Potter]

This was a great show. It showed a very tender side of Norm. At one point he became very emotional and couldn't speak for a little while.
He inspired me when I first started woodworking and built some of the things he built. Taught me not to give up and to be able to solve my own problems when things went wrong as they sometimes do.

[Edwin Santos]

Thanks for posting about this, I wouldn't have otherwise known about it.

I took up woodworking in the early 90's and Norm's show was a big inspiration. This retrospective brought back a lot of memories. I'm still amazed Norm and the producers were able to pack as much instruction as they did into 30 minutes.

There was something special about Norm's patient, quiet kind of confidence. I can't even imagine him screwing something up and cursing or flinging a piece of wood across the shop.
I've often wondered if things like that happened and were edited out, but something tells me they didn't.

[Rich Engelhardt]

It was a good show. I managed to catch some of it!

I strung together some old speaker wire for an antenna and managed to pick up a PBS channel over the air.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I'm not sure what Roku is or why this works, but here's a link to it: https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/4e7c1a455272561688bb8fb06e805ee6

[michael langman]

Thanks a million for posting the link Dan. I missed the show and was totally bummed till I watched it today with your link.

[Chris Fairbanks]

Thanks a million for posting the link Dan. I missed the show and was totally bummed till I watched it today with your link.
Agreed. Thanks Dan