Ask This Old House Studio Workshop Wonders

Carpentry

Landscaping

Plumbing

Electrical

Memorabilia

“The Ask workshop is our clubhouse, our family room, our garage. Sure, we film a lot of TV there, but it’s also a home base where we can let our hair down and be ourselves.”

Insiders Visit the Ask This Old House Workshop

—Kevin O’Connor, This Old House host The crew area is decked out with memorabilia from the show—like the autographed photo of NASA astronaut Captain Mike Foreman, who visited the loft during Season 15—as well as some personal photos of the guys. They’re on pages from an album put together for a segment in Season 10. The basketball and football pics are of Roger; Richard’s senior yearbook write-up (lower left) notes “plumbing only a part of his future.” (True, since he’s also an HVAC pro!)

Backstage

Even in “backstage” areas rarely seen on TV, details like a vintage time clock and punch cards enhance the classic workplace feel. Though they’re decorative, the gym lockers are helpful for extra storage.

Ask TOH Table Saw

This self-stopping table saw made its first appearance back in Season 5 (remember how it wouldn’t cut the hot dogs?). The ear-protection sign continues the safety theme, and nods to an award the show won in 2016 from the National Hearing Conservation Association. The license plates hail from across the country—Hawaii was picked up when AskTOH visited its 50th state in Season 15, Missouri belonged to the show’s director and producer, and the others were sent in by fans.

Coffee Station

The drip coffeemaker is a classic workshop detail that’s not just set dressing. It’s no Starbucks, but it does brew coffee—perhaps most notably in an episode from Season 14, when host Kevin O’Connor poured a cup as he made his entrance. (Actually, he poured cup after cup until they got the shot right!)

Trethewey Corner

Often referred to as the “Richard” end of the studio (though “Trethewey” might be more apropos, since his son Ross has taken over some of the right side), this area features a pull-down map of the U.S. The map’s more than Americana: It’s suggestive of the show’s educational appeal, plus, on a practical level, it’s helpful for talking about issues specific to different parts of the country.

Stairwell Entry

The sign to the right in the stairway isn’t just any antique. It dates to about the 1930s, and the “F.W. Morash” renting the apartments was the grandfather of Ask This Old House creator Russ Morash (who also created This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop, among other shows). F.W. Morash was a home builder, but when the Great Depression made it difficult to find buyers, he began renting some of the duplexes he’d built.

Storage Area

The low-ceilinged center of the workshop boasts extensive storage, from a barrel of scrap lumber for testing tools to a section of roofing that’s been used multiple times (most recently in Season 17, when Tommy showed Kevin the right way to install a drip edge). The shelves along the back wall keep a vast assortment of tools, hardware, adhesives, paint, and more at the ready.

Inspiring Details

Lots of the loft’s decor points up AskTOH ’s national scope, but there are locally inspired details, too. To the left of the stairway, among saw blades, shutter dogs, and other old-house miscellany, there’s a Boston-centric collection: a figure of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, a bobblehead of our own Tom Silva, and, above them, a salvaged sign from the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, better known as “the T.”