Ask This Old House

Original Air Date: Week of October 10, 2002

In the debut episode, host Steve Thomas joins plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Roger Cook, and general contractor Tom Silva in the Ask This Old House loft to give viewers a chance to ask questions and get expert advice about their homes. Tom shows Steve how to build a replacement window screen using inexpensive parts purchased from a home center. Roger demonstrates how an old olive barrel can be modified to act as a rain collector and be used to water a garden. Responding to a letter from a homeowner, Richard and Steve demonstrate how to find and fix a leak in a 20-year-old dishwasher. Roger demonstrates the proper technique for sharpening lawn mower blades. Tom hits the road for the first House Call of the season, to a tall homeowner whose low ceiling threatens to knock him out on his way to the basement.