Master Carpenter Norm Abram has been a key figure on This Old House since the series' 1979 premiere. The carpenter-turned-celebrity and former resident of Nantucket was "discovered" by producer Russell Morash, who had initially commissioned Norm to build a barn on his suburban Boston property. He was so impressed with Norm's work that he invited him to help in the renovation of a rundown Victorian house in Boston's historic Dorchester section--with a WGBH cameraman recording the process. This Old House, the resulting series, was an instant success, and Norm has been the master carpenter ever since.

Ten years after the premiere of This Old House, Norm was made the host of its spin-off series, The New Yankee Workshop. Norm's five books--The New Yankee Workshop, Classics from The New Yankee Workshop, Mostly Shaker from The New Yankee Workshop, Outdoor Projects from The New Yankee Workshop and Norm Abram's New House--are all published by Little, Brown and are available at bookstores nationwide.

Born in Rhode Island and raised in Massachusetts, Norm learned the construction trade during high school and college vacations, building custom homes with his carpenter father. He attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he studied mechanical engineering and business administration. In 1975, after three years as a site supervisor for a firm involved in major construction work throughout New England, Norm founded Integrated Structures Inc., a general contracting firm.

Norm lives with his wife, Laura, and their children in a new home he recently built outside Boston. Its design and construction are shown in Norm Abram's New House.