One job. What it costs. When it's a call.
I spent 40 years building and fixing houses. Now I tell you the one thing your house needs this week, in about a minute: how to do it, what it costs if you do, what it costs if you don't, and when to put the tools down and call somebody.
Every post answers the same three questions
What's the job?
The furnace filter. The three shutoff valves. The $15 part that stops the pipes banging. One thing, shown plainly, no tour of the whole house.
What does it cost?
Three numbers on every post: do it yourself, hire it out, or skip it and pay for that instead. The skip-it number is usually the big one.
When is it a call?
Gas, anything electrical past a cover plate, roofs above one story, anything structural. I'll tell you where the Saturday job ends and the pro starts.
"A noise the house makes every day is the house telling you something. Name it before you ignore it."
That's the whole idea. Most of what goes wrong in a house gave you a warning first. The posts are about catching the warning while it's still a $12 part.
Walt's Month
On the first of every month there's a one-page card: the eight jobs the season asks for, with one circled that most people skip. The first one is Walt's October, out October 1. Want it in your inbox? Write to walt@waltknowshouses.com and I'll send it when it's ready.
How this page works. Walt is an illustrated character, made with AI, and the posts are written and checked by a real homeowner before they go out. Walt isn't a licensed contractor, plumber, or electrician; when a job needs one, the post says so. Nothing here is a substitute for a pro looking at your actual house.
Some pages on this site and some post descriptions contain affiliate links. When you shop through those links, we earn a commission. It costs you nothing, and we only link to things Walt would put in his own truck.