Repairs & How To

Problems with plaster, woodwork, pocket doors–find advice here for old-house inspection, repair, and maintenance.

Product of the Week

Products of the Week

Osborne Wood Products

Repairs & How To

Video: Architectural Salvage With Brent Hull

Expert advice on choosing architectural salvage for any old house project.

Repairs & How To

Video: Coping Joints for Baseboards

Shop craftsman Mark Hopkins from Woodsmith magazine demonstrates how to install coped joints for baseboards.

Repairs & How To

Video: How to Cut Rosettes With a Drill Press

You can make a rosette for your house with a drill press and a rosette cutter.

Repairs & How To

Video: Starter Hand Tools With Brent Hull

The first hand-tools you should buy when you buy your first house.

Repairs & How To

How to Lay a Brick Walk

Old-fashioned, textural, good beneath your feet: brick walkways are preferred, and practically de rigueur in some parts of the country.

Repairs & How To

The Complete Guide to Painting Your House

Expert advice on painting your house: prepping, paint types, tools, and cleanup.

Repairs & How To

How to Get Rid of Ants

Ants are a wonder of nature, but no one wants to see them in their kitchen. Or tunneling through walls. What are the best methods for getting rid of ants?

Repairs & How To

Bathroom Retrofits & Other Plumbing Fixes

Think it’s time to change out old plumbing fixtures for new ones? Not so fast. Restoration may be the smarter, better route.

Repairs & How To

How to Repair Metal Ceilings

Tin-plate or steel, metal ceilings remain popular because they are inexpensive and highly decorative. The only enemy is rust.

Repairs & How To

The Cowling Chair & Other Ball Chairs

A classic of industrial design, the Ball Chair is a swiveling room within a room. These newly-designed Cowling Chairs are an industrial-modern take on that classic design.

Repairs & How To

Shop Tour: Adams Architectural Millwork

We take a behind-the-scenes look at Adams Architectural Millwork.

Repairs & How To

Is your house bursting at the seams? Do you long for private office space, a guest retreat, or a kids’ bonus room? The solution might be right over your head: no need to leave the neighborhood, or even put on an addition.

Repairs & How To

Identifying the Best Window Attachments for Your Comfort

Learn the pros and cons of both traditional storm windows and storm window inserts to determine which work best for your home’s windows.

Repairs & How To

Moving Toward Fossil Free

Changing energy markets and evolving technology make it possible to heat, cool, and ventilate homes of any age with (mostly) clean, all-electric power—and less of it. Heating home water, formerly an energy hog, is turning into an energy sipper, too.