Who doesn’t love a good podcast these days? As a busy mom, wife, and homeowner, podcasts are sometimes the only way I can absorb new information. And right now, I’ve gotten into a few old house podcasts I’d like to share.
Why Podcasts?
Why do I love podcasts? Lots of reasons:
- Podcasts are free entertainment as well as a great education. (I’m kinda frugal…)
- I can listen to them anywhere – in the car, while walking the dog, while cleaning out all the junk in the garage.
- They are perfect to listen to while doing mindless chores. Every night after dinner, when it’s time to clean the kitchen my whole family tends to abandon me (hmmmm…..) BUT podcasts are there to keep me company. This past weekend I binged a podcast for 3 hours while steam-cleaning the sour milk out of the back seat of my car (grrrr… I love my kids, I love my kids….)
Right now I’m in love with the following podcasts. The genius of these podcasts is that they blend the practical advice we need to become better homeowners with entertaining stories, all in an easily digestible format.
If you are tackling the challenges of owning an old house or even just appreciate old houses, these podcasts are for you.
1. True Tales from Old Houses Podcast
If I created an old house podcast, I would want it to be just like this.
The host, Stacy, is relatable and inspirational. Stacy and her husband bought 135-year-old Blake Hill House, lovingly referred to as BHH, in 2014. She wasn’t completely gung-ho about buying an old house. At first, she was hesitant and worried about the unknowns of an older house. And I’m completely with her. I felt the same way when we bought our house. And now, I don’t think I could ever not live in an old house.
She put her fear and discomfort aside, and quickly grew to love living in an old house. And ever since, she has been blogging about the joys and nightmares of old home ownership. In the fall of 2018, she started the True Tales from Old Houses podcast. In 2019, she added a co-host, Devyn Caldwell, from Our Philly Row blog.
I like how this informative and motivational podcast reflects the multi-faceted aspects of owning an old house. It addresses everything from old house loves to old house woes, and everything in between.
Some episodes celebrate other old house owners who share a passion for caring for their old houses. Other episodes interview professionals in the industry chock-full of home maintenance tips and resources. And in some, it’s just Stacy and Devyn talking about their current house projects. Devyn has a passion for research! Listen to Episode 8 about light bulbs – you’ll never look at a light bulb the same way again!
2. Old House Love Podcast
From Larissa Munsch, the creator of Instagram’s OldHouseLove, comes a fun, light-hearted and practical podcast on all things old houses.
I follow Old House Love on Instagram (along with an impressive 107k other people!), but it wasn’t until I listened to Episodes 9 and 10 of True Tales from Old Houses where Stacy and Devyn interview Larissa and her husband Kris that I knew about this podcast.
It’s a newer podcast (started in January 2019) and at the date of this blog post, with less than a dozen episodes. But it’s already worked it’s way up to the top of my favorite podcasts.
Larissa and Kris are dedicated old house folks. Like crazy dedicated. They moved a bungalow, affectionately titled, “The Governor” from Ness City Kansas to their farm 71 miles away. Yes, you read that right. 71 miles away.
Larissa and Kris’s podcast is approachable, genuine, and down-to earth. It’s like hanging out on the front porch swing with your high school friends on a warm summer night sipping PBR (appears to be Kris’ beer of choice). And like high school, there’s always a dirty joke here and there. The jokes are cheesy (especially listen to the ads from their “sponsors” – hilarious) but it’s part of the sass and grit that differentiates this podcast as one of my favorites.
3. Clearstory Podcast
From the folks at This Old House, Clearstory is a podcast that sheds light on the surprising stories behind our homes.
At first thought the name for the podcast – Clearstory – was a bit confusing. What did that mean? But in architecture, a clearstory (also spelled as celerstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. The purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. And this podcast is meant to shed light on the surprising stories behind our homes. Honestly, sounds like a stretch to this average homeowner, but it doesn’t stop me from looking forward to a new episode on Thursdays.
Clearstory talk about traditional home issues that I would expect from This Old House – plumbing, framing, renovations, roofing – but it also ties in home topics from an unexpected angle. For example, how politics and world events can shape our homes. Episodes address questions like: What can Las Vegas teach us about lowering our water bills? How did the Great Chicago Fire change the way we frame houses today?
Host Kevin O’Connor (c’mon how can you NOT like this guy?) digs into the systems, structures and materials in our homes from unexpected angles. You’ll hear from the usual This Old House suspects Richard Trethewey, Tom Silva, Jeff Sweenor and experts, as well as industry leaders, historians, and builders.
In Season One, my favorite episode was Episode 9: Construction Waste A Dumpster Dive which discusses the life cycle of all the materials that leave our homes during a renovation and demolition, and the current and emerging technologies to keep all that waste out of landfills.
4. Fix It Home Improvement Podcast
I’ll start off by saying this podcast is not specifically geared toward old house owners. BUT add it to your list- it is well worth a listen. It was the first homeowner podcast I started listening to a few years ago, and got me hooked to the value of home podcasts.
The Fix It Home Improvement podcast covers projects that every homeowner should know and products for home and garden. This weekly podcast, started in 2014, is run by Jacy, a previous real estate investor and hardware store owner, and Cindy, who worked through the ranks in Jacy’s hardware store.
Admittedly, I don’t listen to every episode all the way. Some products I have no need nor interest in buying. BUT I do listen to the first few minutes of each episode.
Why?
Jacy usually provides a history of the product or topic under discussion. And we old house folks love our history, right? For example, in one episode I learned tips to keep rabbits out of my garden PLUS learned that the idea for the killer rabbit in Monty Python and Holy Grail is based on a carving located in the Cathedral of Notre Dame of a knight running away from a rabbit. Did you know that? Neither did I. You will always learn something interesting in every episode – guaranteed.
Fix It also maintains a YouTube channel where Jacy dives further into DIY home repair tips, routines and products for home and garden. And Jacy and Cindy are also authors of the ongoing best selling series of home improvement e-books, Home Improvement Solutions: What Every Homeowner Should Know. As of this post (June 2019) there are on Book 7. And considering they are usually only a dollar or two (and sometimes free), you can’t go wrong.
5. Home School’d Podcast
I just came across this podcast a few weeks ago and it has quickly become one of the my favorites. It’s a newer podcast, starting about 2 months ago (September 2019). The goal of Home School’d is to educate and empower today’s homeowner (aka me!) to tackle every aspect of owning a home with confidence.
Every week hosts Aaron Massey and Tracy Pendergast interview a guest instructor. Aaron runs MrFixItDIY.com, a site dedicated to home project how-to’s, builds and plans. Tracy is a lifestyle blogger at Hey-Tracy.com where brings together her favorite things: family, food, general life hacks, blended with the transformation of her home through a balance of DIY and hiring professionals.
Like Fix It Home Improvement podcast, not all the episodes are focused on owning an old house. BUT it’s certainly on their radar considering in just two short months of podcasting they have already interviewed both Scott Sidler of The Craftsman Blog and Elizabeth Finkelstein of Circa, two huge powerhouses in the old house community.
On a personal level, this podcast resonates immensely with me. Why? This podcast echos my mission as a homeowner and home blogger – to tackle the various aspects of homeownership in a way that’s practical yet still fun.
Bonus Podcast #1
If you’ve read this post before, the 5th podcast I recommended was The Money Pit – This Old House. Since this is no longer active, I’ve moved this down to a bonus podcast.
This podcast was a sideshoot The Money Pit’s Home Improvement main podcast, which is a nationally syndicated, call-in radio show that helps listeners with their home repair and improvement problems. It’s been on the air for over ten years.
In this old house podcast, the hosts of The Money Pit, Tom and Leslie, welcome This Old House cast members Kevin O’Connor, Tom Silva, Richard Trethewey or Roger Cook each week to share tips, tricks and expert remodeling advice gained from their decades of experience working on old homes.
What I like about it? It’s short and to the point. It’s shorter than the other podcasts, so when I know I don’t have a half-hour, I’ll listen to this one. Also, I don’t have time to watch This Old House episodes on tv, so this is my way to stay up to date with the cast. And the guys at This Old House kinda have some experience in old houses ?
This podcast will be absorbed into the main Money Pit podcast as of July 1st, 2019. I do listen to the main podcast but I’m not as dedicated to it as The Old House version. (I’m not a huge fan of call-in radio shows but admittedly this is one of the better ones). It will be interesting to see how combining these two podcasts will impact the show.
Bonus Podcast #2: 99 Invisible Podcast Episode 323
This podcast isn’t dedicated to old houses. 99% Invisible, is about “the thought that goes into the things the rest of us don’t think about – the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world.”
BUT there is one episode that discussed a type of old house that I find fascinating. Episode 323 – The House That Came in the Mail dives into the history of the “kit house”.
From 1908 to 1940, the Sears catalog offered complete mail-order houses to the would-be homeowner. (Note there were other catalog companies that offered house kits). In other words you could order an entire house (a “kit house”) from a catalog.
Kits consisting of 12,000-30,000 building parts (doors, windows, nails, even the mantel to the fireplace) would be shipped, along with a lengthy (about 75-page) instruction booklet. Wow. Can you imagine buying a house on Amazon? There were several manufacturers, from the well-recognized Sears & Roebuck, to Montgomery Ward, Aladdin and Gordon-Van Tine.
Do you listen to any of these podcasts? If so, what’s your thoughts? What are some of your favorite old house podcasts? I’m always looking for more podcasts to add to my list.
Related Posts
Every consider researching the history of your old house? If so, check out my mega-post (44-page!) Beginner’s Guide to Tracing Your House’s History.
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