Ask This Old House

Old houses can be full of surprises, both good and not so great. If you’re lucky, you can stumble upon a good surprise—like original hardwood floors underneath old carpeting. Listen as This Old House Builder Charlie Silva gives tips to homeowners on how to save their original wooden staircase that was ruined by roofing nails and carpeting.

We love old houses, but sometimes renovating them can lead to frustration. While construction on older homes is known to be sturdy, many of them come without modern conveniences—like central air conditioning. In this episode, This Old House Home Technology Expert Ross Trethewey gives advice to homeowners on how to add an efficient central air system to a historic 1913 row house in Washington, D.C.

Have you ever had a home improvement project done professionally, only to see it fall apart a few years later? In this episode, This Old House Mason Mark McCullough helps a homeowner whose patio pavers rise and push into the backyard after every winter.

Looking to give your bathroom a facelift? In this episode, This Old House Builder Charlie Silva gives tips to a homeowner on how to upgrade her tired-looking sink and shower fixtures, as well as deal with a leak coming from behind the grout, to create a more relaxing and peaceful space.

It’s that time of year again—time to pull out the festive holiday lights and start decorating the exterior of your home. If you’re stuck trying to figure out how you’re going to wire and plug in all of these lights, This Old House Master Electrician Heath Eastman explains how to safely plug in lights—especially if your home is missing an exterior outlet. 

Small home improvement projects can sometimes leave you stumped. Listen as This Old House Carpenter Nathan Gilbert helps a homeowner whose kitchen sink doesn’t meet the underside of the countertop, leaving a large gap for water to leak inside of the cabinet.  

Sometimes a project in an old house is about making something work, but also look original. Listen as This Old House Mason Mark McCullough gives his thoughts on repairing rare brick in a historic home built in 1896.

Taking care of your yard can be a mystery, especially if it has a steep slope. What’s the best way to landscape a hilly yard? This Old House Landscape Contractor Jenn Nawada shares her best tips for choosing easy to care for plants that bloom throughout the year.

Mistakes can happen with rushed renovations, and small errors can lead to big frustrations. Builder Charlie Silva discusses with Chris Ermides the best way to fix an incorrectly hung bedroom door.

Electrical wiring can be tricky in old houses. In this episode, Master Electrician Heath Eastman discusses the reasons why outlets in an older home aren’t showing that they are grounded, with some even showing reverse polarity.