Home Safety How To & DIY
Improve the value of your home by discovering our home safety step-by-step tips & ideas.
Creating a Forever Home: Aging in Place
Here’s how you can go about aging in place not just gracefully but gradually—without giving up the house you love.
How to Deep Clean Your House
Go beyond the weekly dust swipe-and-sweep and gear up for what pros call a "deep cleaning." Read our tips for deep cleaning your living room, bathroom, kitchen and laundry appliances.
Changing Locks on a New Home
Here’s how to change a door lock on a new house to keep your home safe and secure.
Keep Basements Mold-Free
Planning to create or redo a below-grade living space? Finished basements are vulnerable to damage from storm-water intrusions, leaking pipes and hot-water tanks, or simply high humidity. Lower the risk of mold or mildew taking hold by remodeling with materials made to shake off damp conditions
Yes, You Should Test for Radon—Again
Turns out it’s still a threat. Here’s what to do
How to Stop Break-Ins
Discover your home's vulnerable spots before you go away on vacation, and learn how to prevent burglaries for less than $250
Keep Mold From Taking Hold
Mold spores are a problem anywhere it's humid, but in post-Katrina New Orleans, the scourge was hard to beat; here's how the owner of the TOH TV NOLA project did it
How to Install a Wall Safe
Safeguard your valuables in 4 easy steps
What You Need to Know About Lead
Learn more about this potentially deadly substance
Workshop Safety for Kids
12 tips for making sure your pint-sized DIYer is protected
How to Install a Door Lockset
In this how-to video, add a new lockset with This Old House general contractor Tom Silva
Childproofing Your Home
Take preventative measures to protect your children from household dangers
Clean the Air in Your House
The stuff you breathe inside your home might be as filthy as an L.A. smog storm. Here's what you can do about it
Fire Safety and Prevention Checklist
It's not enough to have evacuation plans. It's not even enough to have a fire detector on every floor. Learn what experts say homeowners need to do now
How to Pick a Lock
How to choose one, that is: An overview of residential locks
How to Install a Lockset
A step-by-step guide from This Old House master carpenter Norm Abram
Breathing Easier
Simple, low-cost ways to make the air in your home cleaner and healthier.