The BEST Episodes of Ask This Old House
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Feb 23, 2021
Network: PBS
The crew at This Old House take on some pretty big projects, which means they can only work on one or two houses a year. But homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions on smaller projects, and the TOH crew is ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by viewers - and the crew even makes house calls!

#1 - Garden Pruners; Shutters; What Is It? A Tankless Job
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired Dec 19, 2002
In the Ask This Old House loft, Roger and garden tool expert Paul Schneider discuss different types of hand pruners. Tom helps two homeowners repair and reinstall their broken shutters. Back in the loft, Steve, Tom, Roger and Richard examine two unfamiliar objects and try to guess how they're used. Richard shows Steve several models of instantaneous water heaters, then visit a local homeowner to examine his tankless hot water system.

#2 - Garden with Native Species; Replacing a Door with a Window
Season 10 - Episode 21 - Aired Feb 23, 2012
Roger shows a homeowner how to plant a garden using native species, and Tom replaces a door with a window.

#3 - Bathroom Floor Tiling; Weatherstripping a Front Door
Season 10 - Episode 22 - Aired Mar 1, 2012
A contractor shares tips for tiling a bathroom floor while Tom helps a homeowner weatherstrip her front door.

#4 - Financing Solar Panels; Framing Walls for Basement-Remodeling
Season 10 - Episode 23 - Aired Mar 8, 2012
Instalilng solar photovoltaic panels; framing walls for a basement-remodeling project.

#5 - Old Window Restoration; Installing a Kitchen Sink Water Filter
Season 10 - Episode 24 - Aired Mar 15, 2012
Tom shows how to restore old windows while Rich helps a homeowner install a kitchen sink water filter.

#6 - Manual Transfer Switch; Fixing a Clogged Sewer Line
Season 10 - Episode 25 - Aired Mar 22, 2012
The This Old House crew brings in an electrician to install a manual transfer switch, and Rich helps a homeowner fix a clogged sewer line.

#7 - Custom Fireplace Mantle; Repairing a Leaking Kitchen Faucet
Season 11 - Episode 3 - Aired Oct 18, 2012
General contractor Tom Silva builds a custom fireplace mantel for a homeowner. Then, Roger shares some tips about garden edging. Afterward, Richard helps a homeowner repair a leaking kitchen faucet.

#8 - Restoring Terrazzo Floors; Repairing a Cracked Floor Joist
Season 11 - Episode 14 - Aired Jan 3, 2013
Host Kevin O'Connor heads to Del Ray Beach, Florida to restore Terrazzo floors. Then, Kevin, along with landscape contractor Roger Cook, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and general contractor Tom Silva ask "What Is It?" Afterward, Tom helps a homeowner repair a cracked floor joist.

#9 - Solving a Melted Mystery; Whole-House Energy Audit
Season 11 - Episode 22 - Aired Feb 28, 2013
General contractor Tom Silva helps a homeowner solve the mystery of her melted vinyl siding. Then, Tom, along with host Kevin O'Connor, landscape contractor Roger Cook, and plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey ask "What Is It?" Afterward, Kevin and a specialist perform a whole-house energy audit

#10 - Irrigation System; Installing a Heat-Pump Water Heater
Season 12 - Episode 10 - Aired Jan 11, 2014
Installing an irrigation system designed for a desert climate; new style of heat-pump water heater; reusing an old garden hose reel.

#11 - Baseboard Hole-Patching; Maintaining a Lawn Mower
Season 12 - Episode 21 - Aired Mar 29, 2014
Replacing a shower valve; repairing damage to a baseboard; keeping a lawn mower in excellent shape.

#12 - Mailbox Replacement; Ask Kevin: Window Anatomy
Season 13 - Episode 22 - Aired May 2, 2015

#13 - Noisy Baseboard Heating Fix; Recessed Kitchen Lighting
Season 13 - Episode 23 - Aired May 9, 2015

#14 - Electrical Vehicle Charger Install; Kitchen Sink Install
Season 13 - Episode 25 - Aired May 23, 2015

#15 - Building a Simple Table; Getting Rid of Tree Stumps
Season 12 - Episode 23 - Aired Apr 12, 2014
Building a simple table from solid fir; removing tree stumps; solar energy.

#16 - Vinyl Floor; In-Ground Sprinkler
Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired Feb 3, 2007
Tom travels to Sacramento to help homeowners repair a damaged section in the vinyl flooring in their kitchen. In the Ask This Old House loft, Tom, Richard, Roger and Kevin examine an unfamiliar object and try to guess how it is used. Then Roger goes to Las Vegas to help a homeowner repair his leaking in-ground sprinkler system.

#17 - Hydroponic Garden; Hot- and Cold-Water Outdoor Faucet
Season 13 - Episode 9 - Aired Jan 3, 2015
A hydroponic garden is built; and a hot- and cold-water outdoor faucet is installed.

#18 - Kitchen Makeover, Attic Stair
Season 14 - Episode 13 - Aired Jan 30, 2016
Installing a new attic staircase; updating a kitchen; blowtorches

#19 - Conserving Rainwater; Removing an Interior Wall
Season 8 - Episode 16 - Aired Jan 23, 2010
Landscaping contractor Roger Cook helps a homeowner conserve water by installing an innovative rainwater collection system. Then Roger, along with host Kevin O'Connor, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and general contractor Tom Silva ask, "What is it?" Then Tom helps a pair of homeowners connect two rooms in their home by removing an interior load-bearing wall.

#20 - Laying Sod in the Backyard; Installing a Wireless Thermostat
Season 11 - Episode 4 - Aired Oct 25, 2012
Landscape contractor Roger Cook helps a homeowner lay sod in his backyard. Then, Roger, along with host Kevin O'Connor, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and general contractor Tom Silva ask "What Is It?" Afterward, Tom shares a tip about finding measurements without doing math. Plus, Richard installs a wireless thermostat to control a heating system.

#21 - Hanging a Flat Panel TV; Controlling Insects Without Pesticides
Season 11 - Episode 16 - Aired Jan 17, 2013
Master electrician Scott Caron helps a homeowner hang a flat-panel television on the wall and conceal all the wiring. Back in the workshop, Scott shows Kevin examples of many different types of electrical outlets. Roger heads to Miami to help a homeowner control the insect pests in her yard without the use of pesticides.

#22 - Leaky Skylight; Repairing a Noisy Toilet
Season 12 - Episode 6 - Aired Nov 9, 2013
Tommy replaces a leaky skylight. Richard quiets a noisy toilet.

#23 - Broken Sash Cords; Plant Bulbs
Season 13 - Episode 17 - Aired Mar 28, 2015
How to repair broken sash cords; and plant bulbs. Also: historian Doris Kearns Goodwin guests in the "What Is It?" segment.

#24 - Smart Thermostat Install; Barn Solar Install
Season 13 - Episode 26 - Aired May 30, 2015

#25 - Loose Railing; Smart Thermostat
Season 18 - Episode 13 - Aired Feb 1, 2020
Nathan travels to a Sears kit house in Richmond, Virginia to tighten an old, loose stair railing; Mauro demonstrates how to strip paint off of old door hardware; Heath explains the uses and purposes of different types of electrical boxes; Richard replaces an old thermostat with a smart thermostat without replacing the original two wires in the wall.