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To get the most house for your money, avoid serial ownership. Instead: Buy once, stay put and renovate. But do so with prudence; renovation addicts often find themselves in mansions among ranches. And choose a contractor with the same care you would a spouse. Here's how.
By Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine
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This Old House rips open a Victorian labyrinth in Watertown, Massachusetts, starting with 72 plaster walls.
By Cynthia Sanz
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A husband and wife tackle a mail-order greenhouse kit. Their most indispensable tool: a sense of humor.
By Jack McClintock
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Window-maker Patricia Vloeberghs imbues every perfect pane with her own blood, sweat and tears.
By Brad Lemley
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Radiant floor heat, installed correctly, keeps toes toasty with hot-water tubes embedded in concrete underfoot.
By Curtis Rist
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Getting rid of mice takes more than setting out traps and cheese. For starters, skip the cheese.
By Joseph D'Agnese
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This Old House Magazine pours the foundation for 200 tons of Dream House in Wilton, Connecticut
By Joe Carter
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James Madison's Virginia plantation embodies the highest ideals and lowest realities of the man and his age
By Walt Harrington
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The anatomy of light switches has changed little in 100 years, but the variety of designs has mushroomed.
By Kate Brauman
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The Great Booty Grab
Home Shows overwhelm the senses and blister the feet, but they're heaven for grown-ups who still love trick-or-treating.
By Jeanne Marie Laskas
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Rotary Club
For tough, tiny jobs: tough, tiny tools that carve, cut and grind.
By Curtis Rist
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The Rasp Waltz
Sharp, pointy teeth on a metal shaft deftly shape wood, plaster and plastic like a cat's tongue sculpting a pat of butter.
By Jeff Taylor
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Miracle Blocks
Autoclaved aerated concrete-AAC-may be a mouthful, but it's lighter than masonry concrete, insulates acoustically, conserves energy, cuts and stacks effortlessly and resists fire, decay and termites. So why aren't all houses built of this stuff?
By Jack McClintock
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Bust the Dust—and Germs
Perfect drywall means nobody noticing how good your work is.
By Hope Reeves
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Replacing snaggletoothed spindles restores a staircase's dignity.
By Hope Reeves
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Gutter Swipes
No matter whose advice you take regarding those fiendish sluiceways hanging on your house, the leaks keep on coming.
By Brock Yates
Scott Omelianuk, Editor of This Old House magazine, began his long relationship with home improvement at age 15, when he started working after school as a carpenter's gopher. After years of jobsite toil and practical jokes—including being s
