This old house general contractor tom silva shares some tricks for installing a new sturdy staircase balustrade.
Old house with attic.
Make sure you have storm windows in place.
Attics tend to have the perfect conditions for mold growth hot humid and an abundant food source with the wood sheathing.
If you think attics are creepy crawly spaces meant solely for cobweb dusted storage think twice.
For the most part the attic is a big factor in heat loss.
Here are our top picks for attic renovations chosen by the editors of this old house.
After the attic windows are the second major problem.
How to replace a stair railing.
How to insulate window weight pockets.
Home house mold what causes attic mold how to remove it.
For anyone living below the mason dixon line it is never worth the expense to retrofit an old house with wall insulation.
Attics are one of the most common areas of mold growth in the home.
There are a couple creative yet expensive ways i would consider retroactively insulating the walls of an old house if you are in a far northern climate where it might make financial sense.
How to replace a pull down attic staircase.
Other ways on how to insulate an old house.
In this how to video this old house general contractor tom silva shows an energy efficient way to insulate old windows.
Ask this old house general contractor tom silva removes an old attic staircase and replaces it with a new one.
The following are other measures you can take to keep heat in.
Whether using loose fill or batts put the vapor barrier closest to the warm side of your installation where hot moist air would get in facing the house s interior in cold climates beneath floor insulation and the attic s interior in hot climates on top of floor insulation.
This old house s two minute expert explains what goes into creating a bonus room under the rafters.
In contrast a house built using roof trusses will have an attic space full of angled web framing that connects the top chords analogous to rafters to the bottom chord which frames the ceiling beneath the attic space.
5 steps to finishing an attic.
Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents.
Still that doesn t mean we should ignore other common heat leaks.
See all the winners and finalists from the search for america s best remodel 2015.
Making an attic into a master closet.
It was packed to the ceiling with old boxes records big plastic bags filled with toys and stuffed animals and a steamer trunk full of halloween costumes.
Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool.