This Old House

New Orleans | Saints in the City

Master carpenter Norm Abram takes host Kevin O'Connor across the Mississippi River by ferry to Algiers Point, home of the first This Old House New Orleans project back in 1990, to see how it fared during Hurricane Katrina. Back at the 2008 project in Holy Cross, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Norm the plumbing layout, and how HVAC contractor Raul Mena is planning on heating and cooling the house. Across town in Broadmoor, Norm and Kevin lend a hand installing windows with the non-profit group Rebuilding Together, who are renovating a house for wheelchair-bound homeowner, Sonia St. Cyr, at no cost to her. At Musicians' Village, Branford Marsalis shows Kevin around and introduces him to the youngest resident in the village, saxophonist Calvin Johnson, who joins Branford in a duet of "When The Saints Go Marching In." Despite the wreckage at our jobsite, landscape architect Brian Sublette starts working with Rashida to draw up a plan for her yard and gardens.