Posts

How to Whitewash a Brick Fireplace: Before doing any work, use painter’s tape, masking paper, and drop cloths to ensure paint only ends up on the brick. Mix a flat, water-based paint with water in a bucket at a 1:1 ratio. Paint the watered-down paint onto the brick with a wide paintbrush. Immediately follow behind with a rag to dab off some paint until the desired effect is achieved. Resources: For the fireplace, Mauro watered down a can of Ultra Spec 500 flat white primer, manufactured by Benjamin Moore....

Previous episode: S42 E30 | Next episode: S43 E2 In this episode: While Tom Silva is on vacation in Florida, he has a strange dream about Paul Revere and the start of the Revolutionary War, but the historic figures seem very familiar to him. He awakes to a call to discover he’s needed back home to join the crew at the latest project in Concord, MA. Still puzzled by his dream, he gets into the car with Richard Trethewey, Jenn Nawada, and Kevin O’Connor to meet the homeowners, Megan and Lincoln, at their 1880 Cape-style house....

The Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area has been steadily growing for years, becoming an established region for both government officials and people from all walks of life. The current population is close to 5.4 million. With that growth comes demand for houses throughout the city and surrounding suburbs. Real estate agents support buyers and sellers, giving them a competitive edge in a fierce market, advising on important decisions, and lining up tours of the best houses for their clients....

Before: Gloomy Cookspace When it comes to blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor living, the backyard is at the front of most homeowners’ minds. For Adriana Daringa and Ben Corotis, the impediment to rear access was a laundry shed tacked on to their 1904 bungalow in Emeryville, CA. But the couple—partners in the architectural firm ADBC—soon saw the upside: Scrap the shed, which sat on a deck platform, and they could build out their barely-there kitchen, adding proper footings and a beam to support a wide opening in the house’s back wall....

While homeowners insurance can give Spokane residents peace of mind that their home is protected against unexpected events, such as a fire or flood, it doesn’t offer protection for major appliances and systems that break down due to normal wear and tear. If your heating system suddenly breaks in the dead of winter and you don’t have coverage in place, you could be on the hook for thousands of dollars in repairs....

Glass block is a popular choice for bathrooms, and it’s easy to see why. Rather than partitioning spaces between the sink, toilet, and shower or tub with dark walls that can make the room feel claustrophobic, keep the light as well and add some privacy. If you replace one or more of the solid walls with glass block walls or windows, you can transform a tight space into a bright space — without sacrificing privacy....

Natural warmth and beauty make wood a favorite for floors. But when the topcoat finish wears through, the porous surface of the wood is open to stains — especially beneath dining room chairs, in front of a sink and in other high-traffic, high-spill areas. Oil soap and all-purpose cleanser remove some stains, especially when the spill is fresh. But it’s impossible to scrub out stains that have soaked into the wood fibers....

Looking to cut new granite countertops for your kitchen? The tools required aren’t terribly uncommon or much different from tools for cutting sheet goods like MDF, for, say, bookshelves or a closet makeover. In terms of skills, if you can cut a sheet of plywood straight, there’s no reason you can’t learn how to cut granite equally as straight. What to Know Before You Start Cutting Granite Countertops Caveat #1: Use a Professional This is a significant caveat....

Using a one-pipe thermostatic steam radiator valve, you can regulate the temperature and make every single radiator it’s own zone. For safety reasons, before you follow the steps below and in the video, make sure your thermostat is turned off. How Does a Steam Thermostatic Radiator Valve Work? The head of the thermostatic radiator valve senses the temperature that it is in the room. The radiator pushes the steam through the supply pipe into the valve....

Top 5 Paint Sprayers Best Medium Flow Rate: Graco 262800 Magnum X5 Stand Airless Paint Sprayer Best Cart: Graco 262805 Magnum X7 Cart Airless Paint Sprayer Best Storage: Graco 257025 Magnum Project Painter Plus Paint Sprayer Best Containers: Wagner 0518080 Spraytech Control Spray Max HVLP Paint or Stain Sprayer Most Portable: REXBETI Ultimate-750 Paint Sprayer Best Medium Flow Rate: Graco 262800 Magnum X5 Stand Airless Paint Sprayer This Graco paint sprayer can spray up to 0....

Garages tend to be darker than other areas of your home because they don’t typically have windows to let natural light in. To make your space functional for DIY projects, the This Old House Reviews Team created this guide on the best garage lighting ideas. Keep reading for our lighting recommendations. Top 5 Garage Lights Amico Ultra-Thin LED Recessed Ceiling Light HYPERLITE LED High Bay Light TALOYA Flush-Mount LED Ceiling Light hykolity Linkable LED Shop Light FaithSail LED Wraparound Wrap Light Amico Ultra-Thin LED Recessed Ceiling Light This product comes with 12 six-inch recessed lights....

Every well-thought-out mudroom has five essential features. Here, one family worked the details to effectively and inexpensively bring order to what had been a toy- and school-supply-strewn back-door entry off their kitchen. Storage There’s no easier—or thriftier—way to add multiple levels of stowaway space than with a wall-mounted unit like this one made from metal standards, adjustable brackets, and shelves fashioned from salvaged school bleachers (you can substitute ready-made shelves). Expect to pay about $175 for a similar DIY setup using stock parts from the home center....

Age Range: 6 to 12 years Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Kids are fascinated with digging and playing in dirt. Which is why a sandbox is a perfect alternative to the backyard mud pit. Self-contained, free of debris, and easy to dig up with the most plastic of toys, a sandbox can keep kids occupied for hours. And as This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shows here, building one is as straightforward as stacking lumber in a square, fastening it together, and filling it with sand—a feat that can be accomplished in an afternoon....

Old For-Sale Listings “As a realtor, I was excited to see houses for sale from 1910. What shook me up was there were no phone numbers to call the realtors.” -Ted Wood via Facebook “I found this unusual tower-drain supply faucet spout hookup in an old mill house in Mooresville, NC. I’ve seen lots of these tubs, but they never had this original contraption. I’ve also seen lots of tower drains, but not that also included the supply and faucet contraption....

In this video, paint expert Mauro Henrique cleans the vinyl siding of a house with a power washer. He first explains the basics of a power washer and discusses the differences between colored tips when it comes to pressure washing, and why it is extremely important to know what each means. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time What to Use to Wash Siding The preferred tool to clean vinyl siding is a power washer....

Steps: Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Tools & Materials Pipe wrench If a sink is gurgling after the toilet flushes, there’s probably a good chance the drain is not ventilated properly. Replace whatever pipe fitting is at the drain past the P-trap with a T fitting. Run pipe from the bottom of the T to the main drain line and then run pipe from the top of the T to the vent system of the house....

In this video, Heath Eastman installs LED strip lights to the underside railing of a deck. Heath helps a homeowner transform their dark deck into a suitable hangout spot for after the sun goes down. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time What is Undermount Lighting for a Deck? By adding undermount lighting, it can provide light for the deck but also illuminate where you might be walking. They are also very easy to conceal....

In this video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva installs time-saving shingles. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Installing fiber-cement siding Transfer the wall stud locations to the exterior wall surface. Snap vertical chalk lines to represent the center of each stud. Apply a bead of exterior-grade caulk to the two lower corners of the front wall. Press a length of aluminum Z-channel flashing into the caulk, then fasten the flashing to the wall with 1¼-inch roofing nails....

Question: The metal ductwork in the ceiling of our finished basement pops and bangs every time the furnace comes on in the winter, then makes more noise after the furnace shuts off. Is there anything we can do to stop the banging?—William Tucek, Seattle, Wash. Answer: Metal ducts make all sorts of noises. In some cases, excessive air flow can cause whistling. Sometimes, pressure differences between the supply and return ducts can move their walls in and out, resulting in a rumbling sound called “oil-canning....

Garage doors are one of those things that you probably don’t think about. They go up and they go down. But after opening and closing them every day for six or seven years, the springs that help to support the weight of the garage door lose their strength or even break. Then what? You could call a professional and spend a couple hundred dollars for the repair, in addition to the replacement parts....