This Old House Radio Hour

The future of home security — from smart locks and cameras to Wi-Fi safety and DIY alarm systems. Plus, Grammy-winning banjo player Alison Brown takes us inside Nashville’s legendary Hillbilly Central, we tour a historic 1811 log home and a lakeside A-frame in Indiana with Cheap Old Houses, and our pros answer your DIY questions on fascia repair, smart mirror installation, ventless dryers, and roof moss removal. All of this, plus we’re answering your home improvement questions at 877-This Old House Radio Hour! — That’s (877) 864-7460. In This Episode You Will Learn: How to build a layered modern home security system with high-security locks, cameras, alarms, and Wi-Fi safeguards. (1:04) The right way to repair fascia boards, prevent wood rot, and protect your roofline with proper priming and painting. (11:18) How to safely install a smart mirror on a tiled bathroom wall, including wiring tips and circuit planning. (14:09) The surprising benefits of a ventless dryer—from saving energy to reducing fire risk and adding placement flexibility. (21:24) The best way to remove moss and lichen from your roof without damaging shingles, plus tricks to stop regrowth. (27:14) A mason’s simple fix for mortar that’s drying too fast, saving time and material on any masonry project. (50:06) KEYWORDS #homesecurity #smartlocks #smartcameras #alarmsystems #passwordsecurity #smarthome #deadbolt #homesafety #ThisOldHouseRadio Hour #alisonbrown #nashville #ventlessdryer #smartmirrorinstallation

Discover how tool lending libraries are transforming DIY, get expert advice on fixing crank-out windows, troubleshoot EV charging electrical mysteries, and explore a soulful Hawaiian home restoration—plus insider tips for buying your next air conditioner. From hands-on repairs to design inspiration, this episode of This Old House Radio Hour delivers practical know-how you can use right now. In This Episode, You Will Learn: Replacing or removing a glass tile backsplash (25:42) Step-by-step solutions for repairing or replacing a crank-out window sash without breaking the bank (8:06) Expert troubleshooting for electrical issues caused by EV chargers, solar panels, and GFCI outlets (13:56) Fixing weather stripping on a wood front door (21:06) How to choose the right air conditioner for your space—covering BTUs, efficiency, noise levels, and must-have modern features (40:07)

Tech Radar’s Lance Ulanoff reveals the one smart home upgrade that truly changes how your house functions—and it’s not what you think. Plus, Daryl Hall gives a tour of his 1787 farmhouse, and our experts answer your calls on noisy windows, wobbly railings, and cracked concrete floors. In This Episode, You Will Learn: The one smart home upgrade worth investing in—and how it actually works (1:00) What to do if your stair railing is wobbly and unsafe (09:05) How to block out highway noise with an interior storm window (20:16) The best way to fix and seal a powdery, cracked concrete floor (26:11) How Daryl Hall restored his 1787 farmhouse—and what it taught him about (32:49) Keywords: #SmartHomeUpgrade #SmartThermostat #SmartHomePrivacy #DarylHallHouse #ThisOldHousePodcast #HistoricHomeTour #DIYHomeRepair #NoisyWindowsFix #CrackedConcreteFloor #StairRailingRepair

Designer Stacey Lapuk shares how to reinvent your home post-divorce—creating spaces that reflect who you are now, not who you used to be. Plus, we dig into generator basics, haunted house tales from cartoon voice legend Billy West, and DIY fixes for rusted beams, drawer upgrades, and countertop repairs. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How to redesign your home after divorce or heartbreak (0:55) What to know before buying a generator (portable vs. standby) (40:21) Whether rust on steel beams is a structural issue—or just cosmetic (8:05) If soft-close drawers can be added to existing cabinetry (17:43) The best way to fix chips in cultured marble countertops (23:07) #breakupdesign #postdivorcehome #generatorbuyingguide #rustrepair #softclosedrawers #culturedmarblefix #BillyWest #ThisOldHouseRadioHour #hauntedhouse #billywest #futurama #renandstimpy All of this, plus we’re answering your home improvement questions at 877-This Old House Radio Hour! — That’s (877) 864-7460.

This week on This Old House Radio Hour, we’re talking about something you can’t see but definitely feel: the air inside your home. Kenneth Mendez, president of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, shares the smartest, science-backed ways to improve indoor air quality—from high-heat laundry to HEPA vacuums—and explains why your bedroom might be the most important place to start. Then, The Splendid Table’s Francis Lam takes us back to the New Jersey home of his childhood. With vivid stories of birthday parties, incense-filled kitchens, and Hardy Boys books read in a mirror-covered living room, Francis reflects on how homes carry our deepest identities and contradictions. We also help callers tackle squeaky floors, stubborn drafts, mismatched temperatures, and that infamous 1970s gold bathtub. Plus, a fresh edition of House Rules and a real estate segment from Cheap Old Houses featuring a tiny Gothic summer cottage and a quirky Kansas gem for under $55,000. All this, plus a “Simple Fix” from Tom Silva that will stop your window drafts cold. In This Episode, You Will Learn: How to reduce indoor allergens room-by-room (0:55) Where to place air purifiers for maximum impact (3:56) Tips for dealing with uneven heating in split-level homes (17:13) How to fix squeaky wood floors with a DIY plug-and-glue method (22:49) When that faint stain on your drywall means trouble—and when it doesn’t (27:53)

From designing homes that support neurodivergent family members to building your cat the ultimate backyard enclosure, this episode is packed with practical advice for every kind of household. Plus, we tour author Sloane Crosley’s West Village apartment and share DIY fixes for leaky outlets, drafty attics, wood siding, and crumbly foundations. • Inclusive Home Design (:55) • Attic Insulation 101 (8:42) • Restoring Old Wood Siding (16:38) • Painting Stone Foundations (26:28) • Building the Perfect Catio (39:37) Keywords: #InclusiveHomeDesign #NeurodivergentSupport #DrSusanFaja #SensoryFriendlySpaces #AtticInsulationTips #WoodSidingRestoration #CatioBuild #SloaneCrosley #PictureHangingHack#HomeDIYProjects #HistoricHomeRestoration #CatLoversDIY #SealDraftyOutlets #CalmingHomeDesign #HomeImprovementTips #Catio #ThisOldHouse

Want to block out noisy neighbors, fix roof leaks, or renovate a retro gem? This episode features YouTube’s Soundproof Guide Martin Poirier, comedian Paula Poundstone’s emotional home story, and expert answers to your biggest home questions—from radon and chimneys to indoor pool flooring and Lustron houses. • Soundproofing for Renters (0:55) • Radon Mitigation Simplified (8:34) • Tracking Down Roof Leaks (17:43) • Best Flooring for Indoor Pools (22:17) • Why Lustron Homes Still Shine (40:21) Keywords: #SoundproofingTips #MartinPoirier #PaulaPoundstone #LustronHomes RadonMitigation #RoofLeakFix #IndoorPoolFlooring #SteelHouseDesign #RetroHomes #QuietHomeSolutions #HomeImprovement #DIYFixes #ChimneyRepair #ThisOldHouse #SoundproofGuide

From renter-friendly kitchen hacks with Hedley and Bennett founder Ellen Marie Bennett to backyard beekeeping tips from TikTok’s Bowser Bee, this episode is packed with smart solutions and inspiring stories—including a 5,700 sq ft hand-carved cave home in Utah. Plus, we answer your top home repair questions about cracked ceilings, woodpecker damage, antique doors, and post-blast brickwork. • Smarter Kitchen Flow: (0:54) • Cracked Ceiling Fixes (8:53) • Woodpecker Deterrents (17:28) • How to Hang an Old Door (22:13) • How to Start Beekeeping (40:49) Keywords: #KitchenOrganization #TinyKitchenTips #BackyardBeekeeping #OffGridLiving #HomeRepairTips #ThisOldHouse #BowserBee #EllenMarieBennett #WoodpeckerDamage #DIYBrickRepair #HomeImprovement #BeehiveSetup #AntiqueDoors #CaveHome #GrantJohnsonUtah #HedleyandBennett

Expert babyproofing tips from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to keep your home safe from newborn to toddlerhood—plus clever fixes for shifting floors, cracked stucco, and prepping your home for hurricanes. • How to babyproof for every stage (1:03) • How to shift floating floorboards (8:13) • Repair cracks in stucco around windows (17:32) • Portable generator safely for hurricane-prone homes (26:25) • How to keep your A/C running efficiently (39:13) Keywords: #babyproofing #homeimprovementtips #CheapOldHouses #portablegenerator #stuccorepair #floatingfloors #toddlersafety #newbornsleep #JCourtneySullivan #ThisOldHouseRadioHour #ACmaintenance

We explore the return of the American porch with architect Charlie Hailey, tour Nathaniel Rateliff’s mountain recording retreat, and answer your toughest DIY questions—from brick repair and deck fixes to bathroom ventilation and arc fault detectors. Plus, we dig into urban gardening tips with Detroit’s Kamaria Gray—whether you’ve got a backyard or just a windowsill, we’ve got the tools and tips to help you grow. • Porch design tips (0:55) • Masonry fix: Water-damaged brick (8:35) • Deck repair: How to fill an old hot tub hole (17:03) • Arc fault detectors: Are they worth it? 21:22) • Bathroom ventilation (26:24) • Urban gardening tips (40:29) • Simple Fix: Tip smoother paint jobs (49:55) Keywords: #porchdesign #urbanfarming #NathanielRateliff #DIYhomeimprovement #brickrepair #deckrepair #ventilationtips #arcfaultdetectors #gardeningtips #homeprojects #ThisOldHouseRadioHour #charliehailey #hoodsteadfarm #kamariagray

Get these amazing cleaning tips from TikTok’s “Clean That Up” guy Brendan Pleshak. Plus, how to preserve vintage tile, test for lead paint, upgrade rake boards with PVC, fix lawn grubs, stop sewer backups, and hear “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” host Peter Sagal’s hilarious story of buying the wrong house. • DIY Vinegar Cleaner (0:55) • Vintage Tile Advice (9:48) • Flooding Solutions (17:27) • Lead Paint Safety (21:38) • Rake Board Repair with PVC (26:49) • Peter Sagal’s House of Horror (32:37) Keywords: #cleanthatup #brendanpleshak #ultimate cleaning tips #DIY vinegar cleaner #natural cleaning hacks #lead paint safety #how to replace rake board #PVC trim repair #vintage tile restoration #combined sewer flooding #grub control lawn #bucket seeding hack #Peter Sagal #waitwaitdonttellme #This Old House Radio Hour

Make your home safer for seniors with these aging-in-place upgrades, fix fireplace switches and tile holes, and refinish butcher block the right way. Plus, we compare gas vs. induction, share a DIY weed killer that works, and hear from Third Eye Blind’s Stephan Jenkins about restoring his Victorian home. • How to make your home safer for seniors (0:55) • Wiring a wall switch for a gas fireplace (8:38) • How to hide tile holes after glass shower reinstallation (16:35) • The best food-safe finish for butcher block counters (23:04) • Fixing HVAC issues in multi-level homes (27:36) • Stephan Jenkins’ renovation journey in a San Francisco Victorian (32:56) • Gas vs. induction: Which is right for your kitchen? (41:09) • Simple Fix: DIY weed killer you can mix in minutes (49:46) Keywords: #aging in place #fireplace switch repair #butcher block finish #shower tile repair #gas vs induction #DIY weed killer #Stephan Jenkins #San Francisco Victorian #home safety upgrades #This Old House Radio Hour

The Neat Method shows us how to declutter any space—no label maker needed—plus expert fixes for damaged brick, cedar beams, and peeling garage doors. We also share a simple trick to drill safely into walls and hear from Marketplace host David Brancaccio on rebuilding after a wildfire. • The best way to organize any space (1:08) • Fixing a floating floor (9:27) • Repairing bricks with damaged faces (17:50) • Water-stained cedar beam solutions (23:14) • How to repaint a steel garage door without peeling (26:42) • David Brancaccio’s journey of loss and rebuilding after fire (32:51) • Cheap Old Houses: A circular midcentury gem and a 7,200 sq ft schoolhouse (40:20) • Simple Fix: How to drill safely without hitting pipes or wires (49:48) Keywords: #JunkDrawer #HomeOrganization #DIYHomeRepairs #NeatMethod #GarageDoorPainting #BrickRepair #ThisOldHouse #WildfireRecovery #SimpleFix #CheapOldHouses #HomeImprovement #HowToDrillIntoWallsSafely #DavidBrancaccio

Learn how to bring more balance and flow into your home with feng shui tips from architect Cliff Tan, plus expert guidance on porch restoration, wall insulation, brick painting, and propane retrofits. Plus, make your lawn look like Fenway Park with pro tips from former Boston Red Sox groundskeeper David Mellor. Keywords: #feng shui home tips #Cliff Tan feng shui #feng shui furniture placement #how to paint brick #how to insulate block walls #how to restore a porch #propane heating retrofit #David Mellor lawn tips #Fenway #lawncare # Boston Red Sox #This Old House Radio Hour

Expert tips to keep bugs and critters out of your home from the Bug Boys. Plus, William H. Macy gives us a tour of his hand-built Vermont cabin, and Cheap Old Houses spotlights affordable historic homes in Ohio and Michigan. Keywords: #spring pest prevention #how to get rid of bugs #pest control tips #William H. Macy #cabin #woodworking #DIY cabin build #cheap old houses #historic homes for sale #Ohio homes #Michigan real estate #Rust Belt property #This Old House Radio Hour

This week on This Old House Radio Hour, we meet Bo Petterson—a 66-year-old dad, DIYer, and unexpected TikTok sensation. Known to millions as @DadAdviceFromBo, Bo began posting home repair videos with his daughter Emily as a way to help her recover from a traumatic brain injury. What started as a private act of love has grown into a viral force for good, offering step-by-step repair tips, emotional support, and the quiet reassurance that it’s okay not to know everything. Then in *My Old House*, acclaimed author Walter Mosley returns to the South Central Los Angeles bungalow where he grew up—a 1,500-square-foot home filled with fruit trees, family, and the kind of detail that shaped his voice as a writer. With warmth and reflection, Mosley explores the power of place, the meaning of identity, and the memories that never leave the walls we call home. Plus: your DIY questions, a round of *What’s That Sound?*, the surprising history of toilet paper etiquette, and Mauro Henrique’s clever painter’s tape workaround you’ll want to try this weekend.

This week on This Old House Radio Hour—what does it mean to rebuild not just homes, but entire communities? Sunset Magazine editor-in-chief Hugh Garvey joins us to discuss the magazine’s special issue devoted to the rebuilding of Altadena and Pacific Palisades in the wake of January’s devastating wildfires. Sunset, a voice in California architecture for over 125 years, has assembled an extraordinary coalition of architects, planners, artists, and historians. Together, they offer not just a plan, but a call to action—for fire-resilient homes, culturally grounded design, and a West that can weather what’s coming. Then we travel from the hills of Los Angeles to the streets of Tulsa, where Danny Boy O’Connor—from House of Pain—takes us inside his remarkable second act. After bottoming out, he bought a run-down house for $15,000... and it just happened to be the house from The Outsiders. What followed was a full restoration, a pilgrimage, and a new life. We take a tour of the Outsiders Museum and meet the community that made it possible. Later, Cheap Old Houses is back—Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein spotlight a dreamy 1870s Victorian in Fredonia, Kentucky and an off-the-grid cabin on federal forest land in Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, both for under $100,000. Plus, another round of House Rules, our listener-powered game that tests your home renovation know-how. And in The Simple Fix, we show you how to find a stud in your baseboard—without breaking the wall. And as always, we’re taking your calls. Got a house problem, project hurdle, or just need a little advice? Call us at (877) 864-7460. All that and more, coming up on This Old House Radio Hour.

This week, we meet writer Patrick Hutchinson who bought a $7,500 off-the grid, moss-covered Craigslist cabin—and taught himself to fix it with YouTube and trial and error. How he went from clueless to carpenter and changed his life. Actor Alessandro Nivola shares how his Brooklyn row house became a living tribute to Brutalism, family, and art history. Plus: – Mold or mystery? Our experts explain why cutting drywall might just save your house. – What to say to an electrician who won’t touch your knob-and-tube wiring. – Why workwear is having a high-fashion moment—and what that says about the way we live. – And a simple fix using a golf tee that just might realign your door and your DIY confidence. Got a home issue? Call us at (877) 864-7460. We’ve got the experts—and a few surprises.

On this week’s This Old House Radio Hour, architects Jack Becker and Andrew Linn of BLDUS in Washington, D.C. explain how they’re turning the sustainable food movement into a sustainable building movement with their “Farm-to-Shelter” philosophy—drawing inspiration from Chef’s Table and using regional, regenerative materials to create homes that are beautiful, healthy, and good for the planet. Then, bestselling author Ariel Lawhon (Frozen River) returns to her childhood bunker in Taos, New Mexico, built by her father with no electricity or running water, in this week’s “My Old House.” Plus, Cheap Old Houses returns with listings in Oil City, PA and Garfield, WA, we play a new listener game called House Rules, and our expert team fields your DIY questions—from mysterious outlets and noisy neighbors to fence repairs and stubborn carpet glue. Need help with your home? Call us at 1-877-864-7460 or email us at, questions@thisoldhouse.com

Adam Savage—former MythBuster and maker movement icon—joins us to talk about the philosophy of tools, the joy of failure, and building a 200-hour replica of Hellboy’s revolver. Then we visit Charleston to uncover the truth behind those sideways-facing row houses (spoiler: it’s not about taxes). Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash invites us into her lovingly restored 1855 Manhattan brownstone, where music, memory, and steampunk-Jane-Austen style live in harmony. Plus, our experts take your calls—from crooked kitchen cabinets to leaking pond pumps—and face off in a hilarious round of What’s That Sound?