This Old House

{{Short description|American home improvement television series}} {{About||the song|This Ole House|other uses|}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}} {{more citations needed|date=February 2017}} {{Infobox television | image = This Old House logo (2).png | caption = | runtime = 30 minutes | num_seasons = 47 | creator = Russell Morash (through WGBH-TV) | presenter = {{Plainlist| *Bob Vila (1979–1989) *Steve Thomas (1989–2003) *Kevin O'Connor (2003–present) }} | starring = {{Plainlist| *Norm Abram (master carpenter, 1979–2022)<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.boston.com/news/tv/2022/05/24/this-old-house-norm-abram-retire/#:~:text=Norm%20Abram%2C%20master%20carpenter%20for,will%20air%20on%20Monday%2C%20Oct| title='This Old House' legend Norm Abram set to retire| first=Ross| last=Cristantiello| date=May 24, 2022| newspaper=The Boston Globe| access-date=June 10, 2023| archive-date=June 8, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608072908/https://www.boston.com/news/tv/2022/05/24/this-old-house-norm-abram-retire/#:~:text=Norm%20Abram%2C%20master%20carpenter%20for,will%20air%20on%20Monday%2C%20Oct| url-status=live}}</ref> *Tom Silva (general contractor, 1986–present) *Richard Trethewey (master plumber and HVAC, 1981–present) *Roger Cook (landscaping and garden expert, 1988–2020)<ref name="ATOHFallon">{{cite AV media |people=Jimmy Fallon; Kevin O'Connor |date=January 7, 2020 |title=Ask This Old House Experts Show Jimmy How to Survive Winter at Home |url=https://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/ask-this-old-houseexperts-show-jimmy-how-to-survive-winter-at-home/4095706 |time=0:21–0:43 (21 seconds to 43 seconds) |website=NBC |access-date=January 8, 2020 |archive-date=January 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108120946/https://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/ask-this-old-houseexperts-show-jimmy-how-to-survive-winter-at-home/4095706 |url-status=live }}</ref> *Jenn Nawada (landscaping and garden expert, 2020–present) *Heath Eastman (electrical expert) *Mauro Henrique (painting expert) *Mark McCullough (masonry expert) *Ross Trethewey (technology expert) }} | country = United States | language = English | company = This Old House Ventures (since 2001) <br> WGBH-TV (1979–2019) <br> WETA-TV (2019–present) | network = {{Plainlist| * PBS (1979–present) * syndication (2001–present) }} | first_aired = {{start date|1979|2|20}}<ref name=TOHHistory>{{cite web |title=History of This Old House |url=http://www.thisoldhouse.com/this-old-house/21072197/about-this-old-house |website=This Old House |date=January 18, 2020 |access-date= |archive-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507041151/https://www.thisoldhouse.com/this-old-house/21072197/about-this-old-house |url-status=live }}</ref> | last_aired = present | num_episodes = 1,196 | list_episodes = List of This Old House episodes | related = ''Ask This Old House'', ''Inside This Old House'', ''The New Yankee Workshop'' }}

'''''This Old House''''' is an American home improvement media brand with television shows, a magazine, and a website. The brand is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The television series airs on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television network and follows remodeling projects of houses over a series of weekly episodes.

Boston PBS station WGBH-TV originally created the program and produced it from its inception in 1979 until 2001, when Time Inc. acquired the television assets and formed This Old House Ventures. WGBH also distributed episodes to PBS until 2019, when WETA-TV became the distributor starting with season 41.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://current.org/2019/06/this-old-house-moves-from-presenter-wgbh-to-weta/| title='This Old House' moves from presenter WGBH to WETA| first1=Dru| last1=Sefton| website=Current| date=June 26, 2019| access-date=October 24, 2019| archive-date=October 24, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024064054/https://current.org/2019/06/this-old-house-moves-from-presenter-wgbh-to-weta/| url-status=live}}</ref> Warner Bros. Domestic Television distributes the series to commercial television stations in broadcast syndication. Time Inc. launched ''This Old House'' magazine in 1995, focusing on home how-to, know-how, and inspiration. In 2016, Time Inc. sold ''This Old House Ventures'' to executive Eric Thorkilsen and private equity firm TZP Growth Partners (although it continued to have a special partnership deal with its former parent company).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lieberman |first1=David |title=Time Inc. Sells 'This Old House' To Eric Thorkilsen, Who Created The Franchise |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=2016-04-01 |url=https://deadline.com/2016/04/time-inc-sells-thid-old-house-eric-thorkilsen-1201729864/ |access-date=2016-05-14 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111230623/https://deadline.com/2016/04/time-inc-sells-thid-old-house-eric-thorkilsen-1201729864/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=barr>{{cite magazine |last=Barr |first=Jeremy |title=Time Inc. Sells 'This Old House' Magazine, Brand |url=http://adage.com/article/media/time-sells-house-magazine-brand/303363/ |date=April 1, 2016 |magazine=Advertising Age |access-date=June 6, 2016 |archive-date=June 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609030723/http://adage.com/article/media/time-sells-house-magazine-brand/303363/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On March 19, 2021, Roku acquired ''This Old House Ventures''.<ref name="Roku Buyout">{{cite news |last1=Spangler |first1=Todd |title=Roku Acquires 'This Old House' Business, Including 1,500-Episode Library |url=https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/roku-acquires-this-old-house-1234934808/ |magazine=Variety |date=March 19, 2021 |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-date=March 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319211723/https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/roku-acquires-this-old-house-1234934808/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On March 11, 2025, American Public Media and KPCC Los Angeles announced that they will air the radio version of ''This Old House'' on Public Radio Stations.<ref>[https://www.americanpublicmedia.org/blog/iconic-series-this-old-house-comes-to-public-radio-with-new-weekly-show Iconic Series This Old House Comes to Public Radio with New Weekly Show], 11 March 2025, ''American Public Media''.</ref>

==Overview== ''This Old House'' and its sister series ''Ask This Old House'' are often broadcast together as ''The This Old House Hour'', which was originally known as ''The New This Old House Hour''. Both shows are owned by This Old House Ventures, Inc. and are underwritten by GMC and The Home Depot.

Two of the original underwriters were Weyerhauser and Owens-Corning. Weyerhauser, a lumber distributor, had donated more than $1,000,000 a year to the show by 1989.<ref name="Beck">{{cite news| last=Beck| first=Barbara| title=Was 'This Old House' host fired for wrong commercial endorsements?| newspaper=The Modesto Bee| date=April 4, 1989| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1948&dat=19890404&id=JaQuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3dcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6613,3110369| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713000717/http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1948&dat=19890404&id=JaQuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3dcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6613,3110369| url-status=dead| archive-date=July 13, 2012| access-date=2010-03-25}}</ref> ''This Old House'' is also underwritten by State Farm Insurance, HomeServe, and Marvin Windows and Doors. Other underwriters throughout the show's tenure have included Parks Corporation, Glidden, Montgomery Ward, Ace Hardware, Kohler, Schlage, Century 21 Real Estate, Toro, ERA Real Estate, Angie's List, Amica Mutual Insurance, GAF, Mitsubishi Electric, and Lumber Liquidators.

The third series to share the name is ''Inside This Old House'', a retrospective featuring highlights from previous episodes. Old episodes are also shown under the program name ''This Old House Classics'' and were formerly shown on TLC under the name ''The Renovation Guide''. Only the episodes with original host Bob Vila aired under that name. {{As of|2006}}, ''Classics'' are also carried on the commercial non-broadcast DIY Network as well as syndicated to local TV stations.

''This Old House'' was one of the earliest home improvement shows on national television. As such, it was initially controversial among building contractors, and some cast members were afraid that they were giving away secrets of the building trades.<ref name="Storrs">{{cite news |last=Storrs |first=Francis |title=This Old House: An Oral History |newspaper=Boston |date=February 2009 |url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/2009/01/this-old-house/ |archive-date=October 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007203745/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/2009/01/this-old-house/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> As time passed the show grew into a cultural icon, and producer-director Russell Morash became known as the "Father of How-To".<ref>{{cite news| last=Collins| first=Geneva| title=Russell Morash: This old Yankee leads a guerrilla crew| url=http://www.current.org/wp-content/themes/current/archive-site/people/peop711m.html| newspaper=Current| date=June 23, 1997| access-date=January 11, 2013| archive-date=November 29, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129045927/http://www.current.org/wp-content/themes/current/archive-site/people/peop711m.html| url-status=dead}}</ref>

thumb|Russell Morash—creator, producer and director, 1979–2004

==History== [[File:Kevin oconnor 2011.jpg|thumb|upright|Kevin O'Connor, host since 2003]] Begun in 1979 as a one time, thirteen part series airing on WGBH, ''This Old House'' has grown into one of the most popular programs on the network. It has produced spin-offs (notably ''The New Yankee Workshop'' hosted by Norm Abram), a magazine, and for-profit websites. The show has won seventeen Emmy Awards and received 82 nominations.

thumb|Norm Abram, Master Carpenter 1979–2022

Although WGBH acquired the first two project houses (6 Percival Street in Dorchester and the Bigelow House in Newton) for renovation,<ref>{{cite book |first1=Bob |last1=Vila |title=Bob Vila's This Old House |url=https://archive.org/details/bobvilasthisoldh0000vila/page/22/mode/2up| year=1981 |publisher=E.P. Dutton |isbn=978-0-5254-7670-2 |pages=22–39 |access-date=June 10, 2023 |url-access=registration}}</ref> the series originally focused on renovating older houses, including those of modest size and value, with the homeowners doing some of the work as a form of sweat equity. The series covering the renovation of the Westwood house (Weatherbee Farm) became something of a cult classic because of an escalating dispute between the hosts, Vila and Abram, and the homeowners over the direction the project was taking. Vila remarked at the end of the Westwood series that the owners could have contributed more "sweat equity". As the show evolved, it began to focus on higher end, luxury homes with more of the work done by expert contractors and tradespeople.

Vila left ''This Old House'' in 1989. For much of his time as host, as he only earned between $200 and $800 per episode,<ref name="Smith">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Ernie |title=Why Bob Vila Left "This Old House" |url=https://tedium.co/2021/08/13/bob-vila-this-old-house-departure/ |website=Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet. |access-date=30 April 2025 |language=en}}</ref> Vila had taken on various commercial endorsements with the blessing of WGBH and show producer Russell Morash. Earlier in 1989, Vila had been approached by Supermarkets General Corporation, the owner of the Rickel chain of home improvement stores, to replace Bruce Morrow as the company's television spokesman. Vila's decision led to major underwriter and Rickel competitor Home Depot, as well as its lumber supplier Weyerhauser, to respond by pulling support. Vila declined to stop working with Rickel and news articles variously report that Morash fired him,<ref name="Beck"/> or that he quit.<ref name="Degn">{{cite news |last1=Degn |first1=Donald |title=LEAVING PBS AFTER ETHICS DISPUTE WAS 'BEST THING' TO EVER HAPPEN |url=https://www.deseret.com/1995/12/3/19207812/leaving-pbs-after-ethics-dispute-was-best-thing-to-ever-happen/ |access-date=30 April 2025 |work=Deseret News |date=3 December 1995 |language=en}}</ref>

thumb|Steve Thomas, Host from 1989 to 2003

Steve Thomas took over hosting duties after Vila's departure, remaining with the program until 2003. Cast members noted that the show became more of an ensemble production after Vila left.<ref name="Sharpsteen">{{cite news| last=Sharpsteen| first=Bill| title=If I Were a Carpenter| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-06-22-tm-5671-story.html| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=June 22, 1997| access-date=August 14, 2024| archive-date=December 1, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201205007/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-06-22-tm-5671-story.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:KSC00pp1958.jpg|thumb|Across from the Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Control Center at the Kennedy Space Center, Steve Thomas (left), host of This Old House, and Norm Abram (second from left), master carpenter on the series, watch as a videographer (in front) checks his camera. With them is astronaut John Herrington. The cast and crew of This Old House are filming at KSC for an episode of the show.]]

Since 2003, Kevin O'Connor has been the host of ''This Old House''. Before O'Connor joined the cast, he was a homeowner who appeared on ''Ask This Old House'', seeking help with wallpaper removal. During O'Connor's tenure as host, Abram's role increased to that of a near co-host. In at least a few season-opening episodes (in Cambridge, Carlisle, and Austin), Abram appeared alongside O'Connor to introduce the new project, and Abram also filled in for O'Connor when O'Connor's son was born during the Carlisle project.

[[File:Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi, (center, with master carpenter Norm Abram, left, and host Kevin O'Connor, right, from the) public television show, This Old House, (at renovation site - DPLA - ab09d753027079848e33a729a5d3c0f2.jpg|thumb|Norm Abram (left), with HUD Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi (center), and ''This Old House'' host Kevin O'Connor (right), at a renovation site in 2006]]

Beginning with the 2007–2008 season, ''This Old House'' and ''Ask This Old House'' are presented in a high-definition television format.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary season, ''This Old House'' worked with Nuestra Comunidad to renovate a foreclosed home in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Nuestra Comunidad is a non-profit development corporation that acquired this 1870s era Second Empire style home from a bank foreclosure.

thumb|The front of the Los Angeles House project in the Silver Lake neighborhood, Season 32 - 2011. thumb|The rear of the Los Angeles House project in the Silver Lake neighborhood, Season 32 - 2011

In 2016, Time Inc. sold ''This Old House'' to a joint venture operating as This Old House Ventures, LLC.<ref name=barr/>

To celebrate the 40th season in 2019, a retrospective and revisit of some of the more-notable projects were incorporated into a handful of episodes, with some of the original homeowners providing tours. The first house highlighted was the original 1979 project house in Dorchester.

On March 19, 2021, TZP Growth Partners completed the sale of This Old House Ventures to Roku. All 1,500 episodes of ''Ask This Old House'' and ''This Old House'' will be made available to owners of Roku streaming products free with ads, and through their dedicated 24/7 Streaming TV channel.<ref name="Roku Buyout"/> PBS will still have rights to air episodes on their platforms.

==Theme song== {| class="wikitable" ! Title !! Artist !! Composer(s) !! Years in use |- | Louisiana Fairytale || Fats Waller || Gillespie, Parish, Coots|| 1979–2002<ref>{{cite journal |first=Thomas E. |last=Ahr |title=Show and Tell |journal=Cincinnati |page=27 |date=January 1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-sCAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Louisiana+Fairytale%22&pg=PT9 |access-date=March 17, 2023 |archive-date=August 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826025759/https://books.google.com/books?id=L-sCAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Louisiana+Fairytale%22&pg=PT9#v=snippet&q=%22Louisiana%20Fairytale%22&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TOHFAQ11">{{cite web|url=http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/faqs |website=This Old House |title=FAQs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129093314/http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/faqs |access-date=17 March 2023|archive-date=29 November 2011 }}</ref> |- | This Old House '97|| rowspan=3|not credited || Peter Bell || 2002–2011<ref name="TOHFAQ11" /> |- | rowspan=2|Untitled || Bill Janovitz || 2012–2021<ref>{{cite news| last1=Shanahan| first1=Mark| last2=Goldstein| first2=Meredith| url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2012/10/02/this-old-house-has-new-song-bill-janovitz/sYvSegho2rty5dHqs8QvXO/story.html| title='This Old House' has new song by Bill Janovitz| date=2 October 2012| newspaper=The Boston Globe| access-date=17 March 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120212558/https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2012/10/02/this-old-house-has-new-song-bill-janovitz/sYvSegho2rty5dHqs8QvXO/story.html| archive-date=20 November 2012| df=mdy-all}}</ref> |- | Jordan Critz || 2021–present<ref name="TOHS43E7">{{cite AV media |date=11 November 2021 |title=This Old House: Masonry Lessons Season 43 Episode 07 |language=English |url=https://www.thisoldhouse.com/the-concord-country-cape/22776177/s43-e7-masonry-lessons |access-date=17 March 2023 |format=streaming |time=23:28 |publisher=This Old House Productions, LLC |df=mdy-all |archive-date=March 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317153119/https://www.thisoldhouse.com/the-concord-country-cape/22776177/s43-e7-masonry-lessons |url-status=live }}</ref> |}

==''Ask This Old House''==  {{Unreferenced section|date=March 2020}} thumb|upright=0.5|''Ask This Old House'' logo from 2002 to 2013

thumb|''This Old House'' logo with Icon

thumb|''Ask This Old House'' logo In 2002, Time Inc. created a spinoff of ''This Old House'' entitled '''''Ask This Old House'''''. The show was inspired by a similar feature in ''This Old House Magazine''. It takes place in "the loft" of a rural barn somewhere in the Boston area. The regulars on the show have been Kevin O'Connor, Tom Silva, Richard Trethewey, and Roger Cook. Norm Abram does not appear on ''Ask This Old House''. In later seasons, the spin-off program added landscape expert Jennifer Nawada Evans, eventually replacing Roger Cook, who retired due to unspecified health issues.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 2018 |title=A Letter from Roger Cook |url=https://www.thisoldhouse.com/more/letter-roger-cook |access-date=June 10, 2023 |website=This Old House|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429051414/https://www.thisoldhouse.com/more/letter-roger-cook |archive-date=April 29, 2019 }}</ref> Other experts making regular appearances include masonry specialist Mark McCullough, paint and finish specialist Mauro Henrique, and electrician Heath Eastman. Ross Trethewey is the show's building engineer and leads the TV segment called "Future House", covering home automation and related technology.

Magazine readers or show viewers submit home repair or improvement questions to the four regulars, who sometimes also invite guest experts to answer more-specialized questions. Most of the questions are answered in the home-base loft, but one or two homeowners in each episode receive an on-site visit from one of the show's hosts. The visiting host assists in starting or completing the task with the homeowners' hands-on participation. Over the course of several seasons, at least one of the traveling team members has been featured in a segment in each of the 50 US states.

''Ask This Old House'' had a program segment called "What Is It?".{{when|date=July 2021}} In this segment, three of the four regulars would offer humorous guesses as to the function of an unusual tool or device, before the fourth regular would reveal its actual use. The segment was so popular that it would sometimes feature notable celebrity guests such as Jimmy Fallon, Nick Offerman, and Richard Mastracchio, the latter of whom broadcast from space.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMqekr99bJw|title=Celebrating 20 Years {{!}} What Is It? {{!}} Ask This Old House|website=YouTube|publisher=This Old House|date=August 7, 2022|access-date=September 30, 2023|archive-date=July 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714213134/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMqekr99bJw|url-status=live}}</ref> Beginning with the 2007–08 season, ''Ask This Old House'' added a "Useful Tip" segment provided by a viewer of the show; this is a revival of a short-lived feature of ''This Old House'' when Bob Vila hosted the show. Another occasional feature is "Home Inspection Nightmares", in which viewer-submitted photographs of badly-made or deteriorated home installations are shown and commented on by the hosts.

The opening sequence of ''Ask This Old House'' consisted of a GMC van towing the dark-blue ''Ask This Old House'' trailer from around Massachusetts before reaching the barn at the end. The 25-second version of the opening sequence showed Tom Silva, as passenger, picking up four coffees from a drive-through. The original version had Steve Thomas as the driver. The 40-second version of the opening sequence showed Kevin O'Connor as the driver. In both versions, after the van pulls into the barn driveway, the footage cuts to Richard Trethewey handing out the coffees to the other three regulars. The original opening sequence has since been modified, and still shows the travels of the small trailer which has the ''Ask This Old House'' logo prominently displayed.

''Ask This Old House'' has been nominated for five Emmy Awards.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

==''This Old House'' magazine== ''This Old House'' magazine was first published in 1995<ref>{{cite journal| first=Steve| last=Black| title=Life spans of Library Journal's "Best Magazines of the Year"| journal=Serials Review| date=2009| volume=35| issue=4| pages=213–217| doi=10.1080/00987913.2009.10765248| s2cid=220292393}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Top 100 U.S. Magazines by Circulation| url=http://www.psaresearch.com/images/TOPMAGAZINES.pdf| work=PSA Research Center| access-date=June 4, 2016| archive-date=November 15, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115225953/http://www.psaresearch.com/images/TOPMAGAZINES.pdf| url-status=dead}}</ref> by Time Inc. and discontinued in 2024. Published eight times per year,<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Products |url=https://www.thisoldhouse.com/our-products |website=This Old House |date=2016-08-26 |access-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-date=January 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121232557/https://www.thisoldhouse.com/our-products |url-status=live }}</ref> the magazine had a circulation of over 950,000 and reached nearly 6 million consumers each month. Nathan Stamos<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/nathan-stamos-named-this-old-house-publisher_b83960 |title=Nathan Stamos Named ''This Old House'' Publisher |last=O'Shea |first=Chris |date=June 5, 2013 |website=FishbowlNY |access-date=January 23, 2014 |archive-date=August 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826025832/https://www.mediabistro.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> was the publisher. {{As of|2016|04|01|df=US}}, Susan Wyland, best known for her tenure on Time Inc.'s ''Real Simple'' magazine, became the magazine's editor in chief, replacing Scott Omelianuk, who had been editor for 12 years.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/this-old-house-time-1201743736/| title=Time Inc. Sells 'This Old House' To New Owner| last=Steinberg| first=Brian| date=2016-04-01| work=Variety| access-date=2017-07-26| archive-date=December 8, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208210515/http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/this-old-house-time-1201743736/| url-status=live}}</ref>

ThisOldHouse.com is the brand's website and features how-to projects and inspiration and tips for homeowners. The website also serves as the online destination for the television show and includes bios on the cast, information on all of the home projects, and live webcams of the current house projects.

==''Inside This Old House''== {| style="float:right;" |- |right right |} A short-lived spin-off of the ''This Old House'' franchise, '''''Inside This Old House''''', was shown primarily on the A&E Network and originally aired from 2003 to 2004. The show was very much like ''Ask This Old House'': it was shot mainly in the "loft", was hosted by O'Connor, and featured the regular experts listed above and also Abram (master carpenter). However, unlike ''Ask This Old House'', usually one or two experts were used throughout the episode and a specific theme was discussed. The theme was usually a particular topic (e.g., landscaping, installing doors, etc.). Along with the in-house expert, and sometimes a guest expert, clips were shown of past episodes of ''This Old House'' (mainly the original episodes with Bob Vila) to further illustrate the point as well as revisit past projects undertaken over the previous 25 years to see what the homeowners have done since airing. Each episode ended with a segment called "Inside Out", which featured one of the two guest commentators, Jimmy Dunn and Doreen Vigue, and one of the experts, with a brief and comedic overview of what was discussed on the show.

==''This Old House: Trade School''== In 2017, The CW network began airing a new spin-off, ''This Old House: Trade School''. It is also hosted by Kevin O'Connor and is repurposed to meet E/I regulations for people 13 to 16 years old as part of the ''One Magnificent Morning'' program block. ''Trade School'' features the stars of ''This Old House'', Norm Abram, Tom Silva, Richard Trethewey, and Roger Cook, showing what it is like to work alongside these seasoned pros.

==''This First House''== In September 2025, a new spinoff of ''This Old House'' was announced by Roku. The new spinoff ''This First House'' follows younger homebuyers as they find their first home. It will premiere in 2026.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2025/09/this-old-house-spin-off-this-first-house-roku-1236505485/ |title=‘This Old House’: Roku Fixes Up Youth-Skewing Spin-Off Aimed At Millennial Homebuyers |work=Deadline |date=September 4, 2025 |first=Peter |last=White |access-date=April 12, 2026 }}</ref>

==Episodes== {{Main|List of This Old House episodes}}

==Personnel== ===Current cast=== As of 2022,<ref name="TOHS44E1">{{cite AV media |date=29 September 2022 |title=This Old House: Atlanta Postmaster's House Season 44 Episode 01 |language=English |url=https://www.thisoldhouse.com/atlanta-postmasters-house/23373648/s44-e1-welcome-to-atlanta |access-date=4 October 2022 |format=streaming |time=23:42 |publisher=This Old House Productions, LLC |archive-date=October 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004160147/https://www.thisoldhouse.com/atlanta-postmasters-house/23373648/s44-e1-welcome-to-atlanta |url-status=live }}</ref> the cast is as follows: * Kevin O'Connor (host) * Tom Silva (general contractor) * Richard Trethewey (plumbing and heating expert) * Jenn Nawada (landscape contractor) * Mauro Henrique (painter) * Mark McCullough (mason) * Heath Eastman (electrician) * Charlie Silva (home builder) * Ross Trethewey (building engineer) * Nathan Gilbert (carpenter) * Lee Gilliam (landscape contractor)

===Former cast===

* Norm Abram (master carpenter, 1979–2022)<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.thisoldhouse.com/23126199/this-old-house-to-air-tribute-special-to-master-carpenter-and-television-trailblazer-norm-abram| title=This Old House® To Air Tribute Special to Master Carpenter and Television Trailblazer, Norm Abram| date=19 May 2022| website=This Old House| access-date=7 September 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705184054/https://www.thisoldhouse.com/23126199/this-old-house-to-air-tribute-special-to-master-carpenter-and-television-trailblazer-norm-abram/| archive-date=5 July 2022| url-status=live| df=dmy-all}}</ref> * Roger Cook (landscape contractor, 1988–2020);<ref name="ATOHFallon"/> * Steve Thomas (host, 1989–2003)<ref>{{cite news| last1=De Vries| first1=Hilary| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/garden/for-this-old-program-an-all-thumbs-host.html| title=For This Old Program, An All-Thumbs Host| date=11 September 2003| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=3 October 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004154610/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/garden/for-this-old-program-an-all-thumbs-host.html| archive-date=4 October 2022}}</ref> * Bob Vila (host, 1979–1988)<ref>{{cite news| last1=Clark| first1=Kenneth R.| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/garden/for-this-old-program-an-all-thumbs-host.html| title='This Old House' Host Keeps His Ads, Loses Job| date=1 April 1989| newspaper=Chicago Tribune| access-date=3 October 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004155005/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-04-01-8903310435-story.html| archive-date=4 October 2022}}</ref>

===Hosts=== The first host of ''This Old House'' was designer-builder and remodeling expert Bob Vila. He hosted the program from 1979 to 1989, when he left ''This Old House'' to become a spokesman for Sears Roebuck & Company. From 1990 to 2005 he hosted the spinoff program ''Bob Vila's Home Again'', and from 2005 to 2007 he hosted ''Bob Vila''.

For the original program, Vila was followed by Steve Thomas, who hosted from 1989 to 2003. In 2003, Thomas left the show and was replaced by current host Kevin O'Connor.

==In popular culture==

Like many successful programs{{examples|date=January 2025}}, ''This Old House'' has found its way into the humorist's eye{{clarify|date=January 2025}} on occasion{{when|date=January 2025}}. The most famous example{{according to|date=January 2025}} is ''Tool Time'', the "show-within-a-show" on the American television situation comedy ''Home Improvement''. Tim Allen played Tim Taylor, a character inspired by Bob Vila, while Richard Karn portrayed Al Borland, a character based on Norm Abram. Bob Vila also guest-starred from time to time as Tim's rival and archenemy. In one episode in 1994, Vila challenges Tim to a hot rod race and Tim tells Vila that he will kick Vila back to "That Old House". When Vila tells Tim that he's no longer on "This Old House" and that he started a new show called "Home Again", Tim says he'll kick Vila "Home Again".

HBO's ''Hardcore TV'' parodied ''This Old House'' as "This Old Whore House", "This Old House of Style", and "This Old House Party". ''Bill Nye the Science Guy'' parodied the show as "This Old Brain", as well as "This Old Climate"; both featured Pat Cashman as Bob Liam. Nick at Nite's ''On the Television'' parodied the show as "This Old Backyard".

In 1985, PBS produced its own parody of ''This Old House'' titled "This Old Shack", which featured "Bob Villa" and master carpenter "Paul Thumbs" in a three-part rehab in Arlington. In the seventh season of the second series of ''ZOOM'', there was a parody of ''This Old House'' retitled as "This Old Place" wherein "Abe Norman" (a parody of Norm Abram), played by Kyle Morrow, would fix something (e.g., a washing machine) that would never function as it should. On one occasion, he put a gown in a washing machine and it came out as the shirt he was wearing currently.

The Disney Channel's ''The All New Mickey Mouse Club'' parodied the show as "This Old Home", which featured renovations on the candy house from Hansel and Gretel. Fred Newman portrayed Bob Vilalalala (a parody of Bob Vila). In 1986, ''Late Night with David Letterman'' parodied ''This Old House'' as "This House Needs Work with David Letterman", wherein Chris Elliott portrayed a head carpenter. In 2000, Blame Society Productions released a parody of ''This Old House'' titled "My Old House with Bob Voila". ''Almost Live!'' parodied ''This Old House'' as "This Here Place", which featured Pat Cashman as "Bob Bobbin".

In 1988, John Larroquette portrayed Bob Vila on the NBC late-night sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' in a parody of ''This Old House'' with homeowners Tom (Kevin Nealon) and Peggy McGuinness (Victoria Jackson) in which he rehabilitates an 1865 Victorian farmhouse to have load-bearing walls that sweat blood. Another SNL sketch shows Phil Hartman portraying a robot named XG-7000 who hosts a PBS show called "Robot Repair", with the name later being changed to "This Old Robot".

Fox's long-running sketch comedy show ''Mad TV'' did a parody called "This Cold House". Fox's ''In Living Color'' parodied ''This Old House'' as "This Ol' Box". Damon Wayans portrayed a homeless person named Anton Jackson, who talks about renovating a large cardboard box where he lived.

In the mid-1980s, a special on PBS station WTTW-Chicago starring Jim Belushi ostensibly showcasing three pilots for potential new programs featured Belushi as "Bobby Viola," the host of a parody titled "This Old Car." [https://mediaburn.org/video/this-old-car/]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.thisoldhouse.com/}} * {{IMDb title|id=0078701|title=This Old House}} * {{IMDb title|id=0369081|title=Ask This Old House}}

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