Ask This Old House

The proper way to edge a lawn and flower bed; lessons on choosing drill bits; choosing the right type of fire extinguisher.

Trap under a bathroom sink; brick walkway; plaster ceiling; drywall.

Mending fences; mixing valve in shower; upgrading an old drill.

Cutting a pass-through in a kitchen wall; continuously running toilet.

Removing bolts and screws with stripped or damaged heads; edge along a concrete walkway; roof of a front porch; rotting post.

Sprucing up the front of a house by building window boxes for flowers; installing sod to create a brand-new lawn.

Installing a rain diverter; extending the life of a hot water heater; installing thermostatic valves on steam radiators.

Adjustable shelves; testing soil before planting; hot water for a bathroom.

Lessons on leaky valves and how to repair them; replacing a rusty cellar door with a new fiberglass model; repairing a leaky drip irrigation hose.

Mysterious sound from plumbing system; three basic cuts necessary to install crown molding; replacing hard-to-find bathroom tiles.

Ladder safety; rebuilding a crumbling retaining wall using interlocking concrete blocks.

Fixing cracked stucco; lawnmower maintenance; removing dehumidifier condensate.

Re-seeding a damaged lawn; installing a kitchen sink.

Replacing a broken window pane in an exterior door; different types of safety glass; pruning a Pin Oak tree.

Installing new storm windows; tips for getting shrubs ready for winter; lessons on carbon monoxide detectors.

Recreating different molding profiles; sinking a brick patio; a new way to strip wallpaper.

Repairing and replacing rotting deck balusters; hooking up a refrigerator's ice-maker and water dispenser.

Clogged bathtub drains; replacing double-hung window weights; planting a low-maintenance garden.

Recycling yard waste through composting; removing an old cast-iron house trap on a sewer line.

Leveling an uneven concrete floor before installing hardwood; repairing a leaky water shut-off valve; selecting the right air compressors for a job.

Residential electrical service panel; installing a 220-volt receptacle; hand tools for the gardener; installing a macerating toilet.

Shopping for a new riding lawnmower; replacing a rotting wooden threshold; how garbage disposers work and how to keep them working like new.

Clearing a clogged vent stack with the aid of a fiber-optic plumbing snake; building an ice skating rink in a backyard.

Installing an electronic air cleaner on a forced-air furnace; tools for removing ice from concrete walkways; properly venting a bathroom fan to outside a house.

Tricks for using a tape measure; fluorescent light fixtures; replacing the aluminum cover of a baseboard heater.

Installing window boxes on a brick townhouse; different copper pipe connections, including a new solderless system. Installing a perimeter drain.