Ask This Old House

A Detroit beekeeper talks about how to start a hive; phone apps that have made work easier; building a step stool using a mobile CNC router.

Painting wainscoting; what homeowners should know before switching a home to all electric; building a sandbox.

Tom repairs an old dining room built-in with hand tools and a bar of soap; the team shares more home inspection nightmares; Heath Eastman makes his first house call to install a chandelier in a homeowner's dining room.

Ross and Richard discuss indoor air quality; Richard helps a homeowner replace her polybutylene piping with conventional PEX; home inspection nightmares; selecting drop cloths; Tom explains different methods for silencing a squeaky door.

Replacing a standard toggle switch with a reproduction antique push button switch to match the rest of the house; in Albany, N.Y., Ross explores ways to make drilling for and installing geothermal heat pumps more affordable for average homeowners.

Tom checks out a women-only DIY class; Jenn helps a homeowner select, place, and install plants for her terraced garden; the ways homeowners and contractors should communicate to set appropriate expectations for home improvement projects.

Mark explains the history and function of Colonial-era beehive ovens and restores one in a house built in 1750; Richard explains the failure points in toilet tanks and how to repair them; Jimmy DiResta invites Tom to his shop for a welding lesson.

Replacing a traditional stair railing with more modern cable railing; why standard PVC should not be used to vent gas appliances and what should be used instead; upgrading a standard, flat panel hollow core door to look more modern.

NOLA copper lantern fixtures; why toilets overflow; restoring rusty outdoor furniture.

Kevin O'Connor works with maker Jenn Largesse; Jenn Nawada revives a stoop; Heath Eastman adds a fireplace insert.

Installing a ceiling light; installing the temperature rating system for ceiling lights; the uses for different types of trowels; building a tool storage shelf.

Planting an indoor garden; the basics of using a hole saw; replacing a common terra cotta hearth with slate tile.

Replacing a shower valve with a conventional pressure balanced one; refinishing stair treads; removing moss from a roof.

Installing a weatherproof outdoor TV enclosure; essential preparation to take before a renovation; replacing a crumbling fire pit with a sleek, modern square design.