This Old House

Review by eFreeware

This Old House is a free streaming app from the home improvement brand of the same name. It puts the company's television catalog on phones, tablets and TVs, and it carries the same name as the long-running show that made the brand familiar. The main reason to consider it is simple: if you already watch This Old House or Ask This Old House, this is the brand's own way of delivering those episodes on demand.

The app is free to download, with an optional Insider membership sold inside it. That structure makes the download an easy starting point and leaves the paid tier as something you grow into if the free selection isn't enough.

What you actually get on opening it

The core of the app is a streaming library. More than 1,400 full episodes are available, and new ones are added every week, so the catalog keeps growing rather than sitting still. Episodes play on a TV, a tablet or a phone, so the show can follow you from the living room to a smaller screen.

This is a viewing app, not a project planner or a tool for measuring a room. What it offers is the programming itself: the walkthroughs, the repairs and the advice that the shows are known for, presented as episodes you choose and watch.

The brand behind it is well established. Across TV, its website and a membership program, This Old House reaches over 40 million consumers monthly, the developer says, calling it the top home improvement brand. The two shows, This Old House and Ask This Old House, are EMMY award-winning, and the companion site is described as Webby Award-winning. That track record is the reason the app exists at all, and it is the strongest argument for trying it.

Two shows, one library

The catalog covers both of the brand's television programs. This Old House follows whole-house projects and long renovations, while Ask This Old House takes on smaller questions and single fixes. Having both in one place means you can move between a full renovation series and a shorter segment-style show without switching apps.

For someone planning work on an older property, that combination is useful in a low-key way. Watching a project from start to finish gives a sense of sequence and budget, while the question-and-answer format covers the smaller jobs that come up along the way. The app doesn't organize your own project for you, but the episodes themselves work as background research.

Because new episodes arrive weekly, the library stays current with whatever the shows are covering in the present season. That is the main difference between this and buying a fixed box set: the collection is meant to be returned to rather than finished.

The Insider membership

The paid layer here is called Insider, and the developer presents it as a membership program rather than a one-off purchase. Subscribers can watch the full archive without ads. The free app, by contrast, is described as offering the episodes.

That is a familiar split for a streaming service, and it is worth reading plainly. The free download gets you into the library; the membership is the optional upgrade. If you only want to sample the shows, the free tier is the natural place to start. If you want to work through years of projects in order, the membership is the part that makes that possible.

The app itself is a free download that offers in-app purchases. I'd treat the membership as a single upgrade with the two stated benefits.

What it needs from you

This is a streaming app. Watching appears to need a connection, at home or on mobile.

Beyond a connection, the only requirement is an interest in the subject. You open it, pick an episode and watch. That is the whole shape of the experience, and for a companion app to a television brand it is the right one.

The app has been on Google Play since December 2019 and has been updated as recently as August 2026, so it is a long-running product rather than a new experiment. It has more than 10,000 installs and a 3.8 average from 222 ratings, which suggests a modest but real audience. The content rating is Everyone, so nothing here is restricted.

How it fits into a renovation

The people most likely to get value from this are the ones already invested in the brand. If you watch the shows when they air, having the same episodes on demand on whatever screen is nearby is a straightforward convenience. If you own an older house and enjoy seeing how experienced tradespeople approach repairs, the library is deep enough to keep you occupied for a long time.

It also suits anyone who likes to learn by watching rather than reading. The episodes do the teaching, and the two formats cover both large projects and small fixes, so there is something to match the size of whatever you're facing. A homeowner weighing a kitchen remodel and a homeowner with a sticking door can both find an episode that speaks to them.

Where it is narrower is in what it isn't. This is a video library for one brand's programming, with a paid tier on top. If you want a reference tool you can consult mid-project, or a place to store your own measurements and plans, the app is built for watching shows instead. That is a clear enough purpose, and it is worth judging it on those terms.

A straightforward pick for fans of the shows

The This Old House app does one thing and does it in a way that makes sense: it puts a large, growing library of the brand's episodes on the screen you happen to be using. The download is free to try, new episodes arrive weekly, and the Insider membership adds the full archive.

The 3.8 rating from a few hundred reviewers tells you it is a niche product rather than a mass-market one, which fits a single-brand streaming app.

Start with the free version and see how far the available episodes take you. If you find yourself wanting to work through the older projects without interruptions, the membership is the obvious next step, and the app makes that choice available without hiding the free option behind it.