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After 43 years, 1,000 episodes of This Old House, more than 50 home renovation projects, and 280 episodes of The New Yankee Workshop, Norm Abram is retiring from the show. This Old House is honoring his legacy with a one-hour tribute special, The House That Norm Built, premiering Monday, October 3rd at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check your local listings) and streaming for free on The Roku Channel. This special chronicles 40 years of Norm’s incredible journey and features classic moments, archive footage, interviews, and memories from celebrities, friends, peers, and those who worked alongside him....

Steps: Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Tools & Materials Level Open ended adjustable wrench Putty knife Mini hacksaw Shut the water off to the toilet. Flush the toilet until the bowl is empty. Use a sponge and a bucket to remove the remaining water. Disconnect the water line from the toilet. Remove the bolt cap covers, nuts, and washers from the closet bolts on both sides. Carefully remove the toilet and place it on the drop cloth....

In this video, This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey adds a new spigot. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Steps for Installing a Water Spigot Outside Drill ¼-inch-diameter hole through house siding and rim joist. Be sure hole falls between two floor joists in basement. Now enlarge the ¼-inch hole with 1⅜-inch-diameter self-feeding wood-boring bit. From inside the basement, buff-clean a nearby water-supply pipe with a strip of emery cloth....

Steps: Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Start by removing the old door from the closet opening. Measure the width of the door opening and order a door that size or smaller, to make it easier. Cut the 2x4 studs to length and then secure them to the sides of the door opening using framing screws and the drill. Use additional 2x4s or rip down additional stock as needed until the opening is roughly 2” wider than the width of the door....

In this video, This Old House host Kevin O’Connor and Rick Castino from Operation Independence remodel a home for a wheelchair-enabled homeowner. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Steps for retrofitting a home for accessibility Meet with the homeowner and his or her physical therapist to determine which rooms need to be altered to make the home accessible. Identify the best entryway into the house. A two-car garage offers ample room to enter and exit a vehicle, and maneuver a wheelchair, especially during inclement weather....

A door is a precision instrument. It should consistently snap into its latch, clear its jamb, and swing effortlessly on its hinges. The fine tolerances needed to achieve this kind of performance help explain why hanging a door is considered a true measure of carpentry skill. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time “I started out using little more than a hammer, a chisel, and a screwdriver,” says This Old House general contractor Tom Silva....

Previous episode: S19 E22 | Next episode: S19 E24 In this episode: Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey and carpenter Nathan Gilbert team up to help a homeowner to create space for and install a dishwasher. Richard received an email asking for help installing a dishwasher in a 1950s built home. Installing a dishwasher can be a straightforward job but if the kitchen has never had a dishwasher before, cabinetwork will need to be done....

There was a time you could kick back in glorious solitude right in your own backyard. Then the family next door cleared some trees on their lot. And on the other side, the neighbors’ new master suite includes a second-story deck with nice views—into your yard. Suddenly, you feel like you’re living in a fishbowl. As larger houses occupy ever-smaller lots and the demand for outdoor living areas grows, privacy is at a premium....

Steps to Refinishing Your Stair Treads: 1. Sand. Start by sanding down the treads to bare wood with the 80 grit sandpaper. This will require a combination of power sanding and hand sanding to get in the tight corners and around balusters. When power sanding, Nathan uses a random-orbital sander equipped with a dust extractor. He sands as much of the surface area as the random-orbital sander will reach, and then switches to hand sanding using a sanding block equipped with sand paper....

Consisting of upper and lower wheels with a table to support the work between them, a band saw runs a continuous, flexible blade around the wheels. What is a Band Saw Used for? Band saws are versatile. While they don’t cut straight as well as a table saw does, they’re safer to use. And while a table saw can cut joints such as dadoes and rabbets that a band saw can’t, these joints are also easily cut with a router....

Carpenter Nathan Gilbert takes us to the Tool Lab to discuss power drill drivers. Nathan explains that manufacturers have produced drill drivers loaded with batteries and options. There are different types, including light, medium, and heavy-duty. Nathan breaks down drill driver configurations and price ranges. Finally, he shows the other parts on most modern models. Drill Drivers Aren’t New Technology The first drill drivers are now over 100 years old. They were heavy, required an extension cord, and had very few safety features....

Weatherstripping, or attaching seals around an entryway door to fill in the gaps, is essential to maintaining the energy efficiency of your home in the winter (keeping the chilly air out) and in the summer (keeping the air conditioning in). Consider that even a tiny 1/8-inch gap around a typical entryway door is equivalent to having a 5 ½-inch-diameter hole on an outside wall. Closing that gap can go a long way in lowering your energy bill....

What A View With only having seen a preview of what the Westerly Ranch looked like before renovation, the Insiders arrived on Thursday, Sept. 26 to see the finishing touches being done on the pristine home. Keep reading to see how much fun our Insider VIP guests had on the set of the final Westerly Ranch episode! P.S. Not an Insider yet? For the chance to be a part of exclusive events and experiences like this one, sign up today!...

Blinds allow you to control how much natural light you have in your home. They can also be used to block your windows to keep neighbors from seeing in. To find the best blinds for your home, read our review below. Top 5 Blinds Most Customizable: Windowsandgarden Custom Cordless Single-Cell Shades Best Roller Shades: ShadesU Window Shades Most Decorative: US Window and Floor Faux Wood Inside-Mount Cordless Blinds Best Mini Blinds: Achim Home Furnishings Cordless Morningstar Light-Filtering Mini Blind Best Blackout Blinds: Redi Shade Original Blackout Pleated Paper Shade Most Customizable: Windowsandgarden Custom Cordless Single-Cell Shades After selecting your desired color and approximate size, you can press the “customize now” button to put in the exact dimensions of your window for a better fit....

Top 5 Portable Air Conditioners Best For Small Rooms: BLACK+DECKER Portable Air Conditioner Best For Large Rooms: Whynter Dual-Hose Portable Air Conditioner Best Smart Unit: Midea Three-in-One Portable Air Conditioner Best Multifunction Unit: SereneLife Four-in-One Portable Air Conditioner Quietest Unit: Whynter Elite Portable Air Conditioner Best For Small Rooms: BLACK+DECKER Portable Air Conditioner The small size and low weight of this portable air conditioner make it perfect for dorm rooms, cabins, campers, and other spaces up to 150 square feet in size....

Homeowners insurance protects your home in the event of a catastrophic event. Manufacturers’ warranties protect individual products from defects. But what about plain old wear and tear damage to your home’s appliances and systems? For that, you need a home warranty. These contracts cover repair or replacement of worn-out home appliances and systems, no matter how old they are. There are many home warranty companies that serve the Memphis area. They may look similar, but there are subtle differences in coverage, service, and trustworthiness....

Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn a commission. People afflicted with allergies are smart to seek out the best hypoallergenic mattress they can find. When allergens like pollen, dust, or pet hairs invade your bed and irritate your eyes, nose and skin, they also wreak havoc on your ability to get a good night’s sleep....

The scientific word for these voracious pulp-eaters is cryptobiotic: They’re so good at hide-and-seek, you may not know they’re there—but they are. The most common subterranean variety nests in moist soil in every state save Alaska. While termites may be helpful in the forest, where all that munching dispatches dead stumps, when they move from the yard to your house, they can clean you out. And guess what: Insurance doesn’t cover the damage....

Getting Started A Superior Walls precast concrete panel is carefully placed on a bed of gravel to form the foundation of the home. The panels are pre-engineered and custom manufactured off site in indoor production facilities, eliminating any on-site soil contamination such as the form oil used for poured concrete walls. No on-site sprays or bituminous coatings are required to make the walls dampproof. The panels were delivered directly to the jobsite where certified crews installed the precast wall panels....

Previous episode: S18 E22 | Next episode: S18 E24 In this episode: Richard Trethewey tests a new kind of faucet; Mark McCullough travels to Chicago to install a wood mantel on a homeowner’s 1980s contemporary fireplace; Ross Trethewey and Mauro Henrique discuss how to remove cigarette smell from a home and why it is important to do so; Heath Eastman helps a homeowner connect four separate switches that control six lights in the same room....