—Richard Bowman, Waldorf, MD. Why Is My Toilet Gurgling? A: I’d bet that one of your plumbing vents is blocked. Most people think that those small pipes that stick out of a roof are there to exhaust sewage smells, and that’s true. But they also equalize the air pressure in the drain pipes so waste water can flow freely. You can see how the principle works by sticking one end of a straw into a glass of water and then covering the other end with your finger....
How to Fix a Fireplace Resources & Tips Working with masonry can be dusty, and the silica dust produced by working with it is hazardous to your health. To minimize the dust, Mark recommends hanging up plastic tarps around the entire work area to confine it to one space, and he also recommends using dust-collecting tools. The grinder and HEPA vacuum Mark used on this project are both manufactured by Bosch....
Steps: To install the dryer vent, use a small drill bit to drill through the side of the wall of the house. Pick a spot that’s near the base of the home and free from obstructions. With the small hole as a guide, use a 2½ inch hole saw to saw through the house siding and into the basement. Place a bead of caulk around the dryer vent where it connects to the building....
Steps for Installing a House Hydrant How to Fix a Leaky Hose Spigot
Steps for installing a new threshold Shopping list: New oak threshold Wood shims Tri-polymer caulk, for sealing joint between floor and threshold Expanding polyurethane sealant, used to adhere threshold Pressure-treated lumber, used to fill in subfloor and bolster toekick 100-grit sandpaper Exterior paint or stain and topcoat varnish 2-inch decking screws, used to fasten subfloor Tools:
Baseboards were often three-piece affairs consisting of a flat plank, a decorative cap molding, and a rounded shoe molding to cover gaps along the floor. “In old houses, you often see the fanciest baseboard in the front room downstairs,” says This Old House general contractor Tom Silva. In houses built after World War II, however, fancy gave way to cheap, and the vital floor-to-wall transition became the domain of thin, featureless one-piece trim....
A miter joint is where the ends of two pieces of molding are cut at equal angles—45 degrees for a square corner. A butt joint is where the square-cut ends of the legs meet the edge of the head at 90 degrees. The casing can be molded or flat, and whether the casing legs and head meet at the top of the door in miter joints or butt joints depends partly on which you choose....
The heater is located in what used to be a kitchen but is now a newly renovated family room. The placement used to make sense as it sat across from the cabinets, refrigerator, and sink. Where Should Baseboard Heaters be Installed? However, with everything removed, the heater is now placed opposite of the windows. Richard explains that baseboard heating is most effective when it is wrapped around the exterior walls of the house....
Steps for Replacing a Bathroom Faucet: Resources: Richard installed a Glacier Bay 4 in Centerset 2-Handle Low-Arc Bathroom Faucet, which can be found at The Home Depot. The plumber’s putty and wrench sets Richard used can be found at any home center. The specialty faucet wrench Richard used to break the connections underneath the sink is an EZ Change Faucet Tool, which is manufactured by Rigid. Material: Bathroom faucet Tool:
While oily rags do not pose the risk of spontaneous combustion as long as they are left uncovered by other objects and allowed to dry flat, Tom likes to soak them in water and then allow them to dry flat. In this video and the steps below, he shares how to safely accomplish this task. Steps to Dispose Oily Rags How to Dispose of Grease and Cooking Oil
Steps: Stretch a mason’s line to establish the position and angle of the stone steps. Mark a cut line onto the stone using a tracer chisel and 3-pound sledgehammer. Bore several holes into the stone along the cut line using a pneumatic drill. Place feathers and wedges into the holes, then pound in the wedges to split the stone. Using long steel bars, rotate stone slab up onto its edge....
In this episode: Dry-in is almost complete at the Cottage on the Cape. Matt explains the multi-layered roofing system that will be installed when the sheathing is completed. With the sheathing over the ADU finished, Chris joins Pete on the roof to see how the skylights will fit in with the layers and learn how the opening will be made water-tight. Back on the ground, a ScapeWell gets built along the side of the house for additional egress and provide natural light to the finished end of the basement, and Chris jumps in to help with the install....
There are two schools of thought about installing cabinets. Do you install the lowers first or the uppers? Lots of people install the lower cabinets first. Once the lowers are in place, it’s easy to use them as a handy shelf for holding tools and for bracing the uppers as you install them. As you see in the video, we like to install the uppers first with nothing underneath them to get in the way....
Steps for Soldering Resources To solder, Richard explains that you need solder, flux, a blowtorch, a pipe cutter, and a pipe cleaning tool. Depending on the location of the work, protective items, such as a spray bottle of water or a flame shield, may also be needed. All of these items can be found at home centers and plumbing supply houses. Shopping list Pipes Fittings Flux Solder Safety glasses Gloves Rags Bucket...
If you’re a fan of Ask This Old House on TV, you’ll love the Ask This Old House podcast. Hosted by This Old House Editor Chris Ermides, you’ll hear from home enthusiasts around the country, who ask questions about the toughest projects in their homes. Learn from trusted This Old House experts, including Tom Silva, Richard Trethewey, Jenn Nawada, Heath Eastman, Charlie Silva, Ross Trethewey, Mauro Henrique, and Mark McCullough, who share tips and tricks to help listeners tackle their home improvement projects with confidence....
Looking to maximize your dollar for a new mattress purchase? Our Nectar mattress review explores how this memory foam mattress offers hard-to-beat value, comfort, edge support, and pressure relief well-suited for most body types and sleep positions. It also comes at a disruptively low price point and is augmented by a generous 365-day sleep trial and a lifetime warranty. Nectar Mattress Review: Maximize Your Bang for Buck The Nectar sleep experience has a lot to offer....
For ideas, we showed their blank canvas to architect Michael Hiller of Hiller Albert Design Group, in Milton, Pennsylvania. Pulling in Vintage Detail “I wanted to introduce some points of interest,” Hiller says. Drawing from early-20th-century design details that wouldn’t overpower the house, he added a front porch trimmed with cottage-inspired stonework, plain columns, and a gabled roof supported by a Craftsman-style truss. Wood steps lead to a welcoming brick path, and a divided-light front door matches the windows....
It’s real wood at it’s finest At the heart of LIFESPAN trim and siding is radiata pine (Pinus radiata), also called Monterey pine. This evergreen tree is native to California, but it’s sustainably farmed in New Zealand, where LIFESPAN works with growers who prune the trees to yield long lengths of clear, knot-free wood. Radiata pine grows fast with a uniform density that’s easy to work with drills, saws, sanders, and routers....
