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OFFICIAL RULES NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN Sponsor: This Old House 2022 Saratoga Springs Wrap Party Giveaway (“Giveaway”) is sponsored by This Old House Ventures, LLC/Roku, 262 Harbor Drive, Stamford, CT 06902 (“Sponsor”). Giveaway Entry Period: The Giveaway starts at 12:00:01 AM Eastern Time (ET) on Friday, May 13, 2022 and ends at 11:59:59 PM ET on Monday, May 23, 2022 (“Giveaway Entry Period”). A Day starts at 12:00:01 AM ET and ends at 11:59:59 PM ET each calendar day of the Giveaway Entry Period....

Not all cakes need icing, but they’re arguably better with the sweet concoction. The same goes for a room decked in trim. Read on to steal these ceiling trim and molding ideas to add more style to your rooms. Special thanks to the KB Classical Moulding catalogue, available at kuikenbrothers.com, for guidance on molding styles and history. The Purpose of Crown Molding It isn’t essential, but adding crown molding goes a long way in achieving old-house charm....

Once you’ve made the leap to home ownership in Los Angeles, you want to make sure you’re protecting your investment. Although homeowners’ insurance will cover you in the event of a catastrophe, it won’t help if a major system or appliance breaks down because it’s old or overused. That’s where a home warranty comes in. For the price of a monthly premium and a small service fee, a home warranty will pay the cost of repairing or replacing the items that it covers....

Even with doormats, shoes can track dirt, mud, and other debris onto your floors. To keep your hardwood shiny and tiles spotless, you can use a floor cleaner. Here are our top recommendations. Top 5 Floor Cleaners Best For Mops: Swiffer WetJet Multipurpose Floor Cleaner Best Hardwood Cleaner: Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner Best Disinfectant: Pine-Sol All-Purpose Cleaner Longest Lasting: Fabuloso Multipurpose Professional Cleaner Best Ingredients: Aunt Fannie’s Floor Cleaner Vinegar Wash Best For Mops: Swiffer WetJet Multipurpose Floor Cleaner Pros and Cons ✔ Comes in several scents, including this lavender one✔ Eliminates sticky messes✔ Comes in a two-pack...

A hardworking space doesn’t have to be hidden away behind closed doors-—as long as it’s thoughtfully designed. Take this “corner office” created by Tee Miller in the living room of her Mercer County, NJ, home. Before Shown: Immediately visible upon entering the house, the storage unit functioned well but didn’t enhance the room’s looks. After To integrate the space with the rest of the room, Tee started by clearing out the clutter on the existing shelving unit, which was full of function but too dark and clunky for her current style....

This video, featuring This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, shows how to pour a storm shelter inside a garage. Watch as they explain the need to cut away the garage floor and pour an even thicker foundation. You would need to do this if retrofitting a bathroom or closet, as well. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Steps for Building a Storm Shelter Cut out and remove the concrete slab from the garage floor, and dig down 28 inches....

In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook and chainsaw safety expert Tim Ard cut down a dead tree. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time How to Cut Down a Tree Look up into the tree to ensure there aren’t any obstacles, including overhead wires or other trees, which would prevent the tree from falling to the ground. Identify a clear escape route that leads approximately 20 feet away from the tree....

New carpeting almost always enhances the look and feel of a space. But installing traditional rolled carpet is labor-intensive and expensive, and waiting for a busy carpet installer’s schedule to open up is a pain. Luckily, if you learn how to install carpet tiles, you can achieve the same look and feel for less time and money. Installing carpet tiles is easy, and since it’s a DIY-friendly job, it’s also affordable....

Steps: 1. Start by shutting off the boiler and the cold water feed to the boiler. 2. Drain the system using a hose and vent each radiator in the house. 3. Remove the temporary caps using the pipe wrenches. When using the wrench, be sure that it touches the pipe in three places so it does not damage the pipe. 4. Disconnect the spud from the radiator valve. 5. Apply the pipe dope to the threads of the spud and seal it with the single strand wicking....

In this video, Richard Trethewey demonstrates a couple of ways to fix a leaky hose spigot. Richard explains that there are two places a spigot usually fails—the bonnet and the stem— and shows how to easily stop the leak and extend the life of your spigot. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time How Do You Keep Outdoor Spigots from Freezing in Winter? With your average spigot, the washer sits on the outside of the house, so in the winter, water is prone to freezing if it is not shut off and drained....

In this video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva replaces crumbling, missing mortar. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Steps for repointing a brick foundation Spread a drop cloth at the base of the brick wall. Use a pointed raking bar to scratch the mortar from the horizontal bed joints between the rows of bricks. Remove one more than 1 inch of mortar. Remove the mortar from the vertical head joints with a brick chisel and masonry hammer....

Tile is the most popular choice for walls in new and remodeled baths because it’s impervious to water, extremely stain-resistant, easy to clean, and available in dozens of colors, sizes, and styles. With the right tools and materials—and the patience to lay out the tiles properly—tiling a shower or bath surround is a job that most homeowners can pull off. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time For the project shown here, we enlisted the help of tile contractor Joe Ferrante, who has been laying tile for This Old House projects since 1986....

Video type not supported: {“section_type”=>“Video”, “video”=>{“video_id”=>“ksjia8ie”, “video_title”=>“How to Clean and Restain a Deck”, “alt_text”=>“How to Clean and Restain a Deck”, “caption”=>“This Old House general contractor Tom Silva breathes new life into a weather-beaten wood deck. Don’t have a deck? Build one! But, don’t lift a finger without our time-tested guidance on making all the right choices for this popular outdoor project. For those, check out Read This Before You Build a Deck....

Before: Bland, White A kids’ bath should feel fun, but youthful design choices should be undoable on a dime. Before Adam and Jill Sharkey purchased their 1905 Craftsman home in Santa Barbara, CA, the family of four had been sharing a single bathroom. “I foresaw some serious tension if we didn’t give the kids their own space,” says Adam, an architect. He wanted the new house’s second bath to be one the kids could grow into without it looking too childish later on....

The beauty creating a piece of art using wood slats is that no two pieces are alike. The pattern, wood grain, and finish make each assembly completely unique. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time For this project, I will be using a bundle of wood lathe. The pieces are a quarter-inch thick and 1 ½-inches wide. Steps for Making Wood Wall Art 1. Miter the Pieces Using a miter saw, cut the end of each slat at a 45-degree angle....

Steps for Anchoring Hardscaping with Plants: Start by selecting the plants for around the hardscape. In general, Jenn considers the following when selecting plants: Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Be sure to select plants that will bloom in different seasons, so there’s always some color along the walkway. Take note of how much sun the area receives and select plants that will thrive in those conditions accordingly. Consider colors. At Mark’s house, Jenn picked a Japanese maple to bring out the red of the brick walkway, and she also picked a few varieties of evergreens, which is the complementary color of the red walkway....

Steps: Shut the water off at the toilet. The shut off valve should be to the left of the toilet. Flush the toilet to drain out as much water as possible. The rest can be removed with a sponge and a bucket. Break the water connection from the hose to the toilet tank. It usually can be loosened with hands alone. Use the open ended adjustable wrench to loosen the closet bolts on both sides of the toilet....

Tag along with carpenter Nathan Gilbert as he helps a homeowner install an awning over their main entry door. First, the two get to work cutting custom mounting blocks for the homeowner’s vinyl siding. Then, Nathan creates a custom mounting frame that will allow the awning to sit correctly over the siding. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time How to Install an Awning Lay the awning template flat on a work surface....

In this video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shows how to custom-fit PVC trim to a stone surface. Project details Skill Cost Estimated Time Steps for installing exterior trim around a chimney Measure 1 inch from the edge of a length of 5/4 x 5-inch PVC trim and draw a pencil line. Hold the trim board against the stone chimney and use a 4-foot level to ensure it’s plumb....

Most homeowners don’t think about sealing the air ducts of their home—but the process is crucial to keeping your house energy efficient. Ducts are what distribute heat and air conditioning to the various rooms of your house, and often these passages have gaps in their connections, allowing the conditioned air to leak out before it reaches the intended room. A significant amount of energy can be wasted this way. What’s more, if leaky ducts are situated in spaces that get dusty or dirty, those pollutants can get sucked into the system and distributed throughout the house....