Ask the Old House version of MeFi?

December 5, 2010 7:18 AM

I've got a new-to-me old, old house and 1001 questions about how to fix it. I've found lots of great articles on old-house stuff, but I'm dying to find a site like Ask Metafilter, but specifically for old-house people--a place to ask and answer and discuss. Does such a thing exist?
posted by largecorp to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

Yes.
posted by beagle at 7:26 AM on December 5, 2010

Old House Web has some good forums. I have also relied on my subscription to Old House Journal - they have a great archive and you can order back issues through their website.
posted by minervous at 7:35 AM on December 5, 2010

The Garden Web home forums are quite good, both for asking new questions and just reading up on the questions you might not even think to ask.
posted by SomeTrickPony at 8:40 AM on December 5, 2010

Breaktime Classic. The old Breaktime forum was sponsored by Fine Homebuilding magazine before Taunton decided to fly their forums into the ground. This is an independent offshoot that has been gathering up the disaffected Breaktime posters for the last year. You have to register to post, but it's free, and I haven't seen any indication that they leak e-mail addresses.
posted by Bruce H. at 8:49 AM on December 5, 2010

I've found The Canadian Woodworking and Home Improvement forum to be really helpful.

I've gotten some really timely, great advice at Mike Holmes website and it has a forum now.

Lastly (because there's no forum) a great site for the owners of old, broken down homes is HammerZone.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:12 AM on December 5, 2010

There are also various Building Research Institutes at the national level that are super helpful for solving problems that get debated endlessly on those forums. Like where to put the vapor barrier in a really cold climate or which is the best material for run off friendly driveways. They are non profits engaged in actual research and if I was at home I would give you a link to the one I use but I will try to remember to do it tomorrow!
posted by fshgrl at 10:43 AM on December 5, 2010

One site fshgrl may be thinking about is the Building Science Corporation, home to the incomparable Joseph Lstiburek. Unlike a lot of handyman sites and forums, BSC and similar institutions are actually produce scientific, empirically derived solutions for construction problems.

That being said, I also nth HammerZone and the GardenWeb sites.

If you have structural issues or other issues in the domain of a Professional Engineer, I recommend the eng-tips forums. You have to put up with a lot of cantankerous engineer dick-measuring, but it's the next best thing to hiring a PE.

Obviously an online forum is not a substitute for hiring a professional if you really need one, right?
posted by werkzeuger at 11:34 AM on December 5, 2010

That is the site I was thinking of, thanks. It has been incredibly helpful to me in deciding between various contractor recommendations, conventional wisdom, etc.
posted by fshgrl at 5:12 PM on December 5, 2010

Excellent, excellent, excellent. Thanks so much for the excellent suggestions!
posted by largecorp at 5:47 PM on December 5, 2010