Hi, I’m Bob Vila
I’ve spent my career helping people upgrade their homes and improve their lives.
You probably know me from TV, where for nearly 30 years I hosted a variety of shows—This Old House, Bob Vila’s Home Again, and Restore America with Bob Vila. I also spent years as a correspondent for Today and The CBS Early Show. Oh, and let’s not forget my cameo appearances on Tim Allen’s sitcom, Home Improvement, where I got to star as myself. That was something else!
Before my life in broadcasting, I launched my own residential remodeling and design business. Earlier still, I served as a Peace Corps volunteer, building houses and communities in Panama. I learned firsthand about home building from my father, who built our family home by hand.
My mission has always been to educate and empower Americans to better understand and more confidently improve where they live—and to have fun and get satisfaction from doing it.
Over the years I’ve supported many causes dealing with housing and architectural preservation, including Habitat for Humanity, helping them “blitz build” a house in Yonkers, New York, which we put on TV. In all things, in the community as on the jobsite, I’ve believed throughout my career that “a job worth doing is a job worth doing right.”
Notable Appearances
- April 4, 2018Bob Vila on how he built a legacy on home improvement (Fox Business)
- December 13, 2012CNN Red Chair interview: “Bob Vila’s ‘accidental career’” (CNN)
- June 10, 2010Bob Vila: Television Academy Full Archive Interview (Television Academy Interviews)
In the News
- March 18, 2026 · Renew magazineStill Growing
- May 24, 2023 · Television Academy / Emmy MagazineFoundation Interviews: Bob Vila
- May 6, 2023 · DoItYourself.comThe Godfather of DIY: A Conversation with Bob Vila
- June 24, 2022 · BobVila.comBob Vila Is Honored With the Daytime Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement
- September 24, 2019 · CNBCThe original handyman Bob Vila on finding success by accident
- July 5, 2019 · The New York Times‘This Old House’ Turns 40 (also on Boston.com)
- April 1, 2019 · WGBHRestoration Of Hemingway House In Cuba Has Roots In Massachusetts
- January 29, 2016 · InhabitatInterview: Home Improvement Legend Bob Vila Talks to Us About Green Building
- January 1, 2014 · National Trust for Historic PreservationBack Story: Bob Vila on Being House Proud
- December 2013 · National Trust for Historic Preservation (Saving Places)A Conversation with Home Renovation Expert Bob Vila
I’ve written more than a dozen books about remodeling, buying your dream home, and visiting historic homes across America. It’s fair to say that buildings, especially homes, are my life’s work.
1980
This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
Little, Brown
1981
Bob Vila’s This Old House
Dutton
1986
This Old House Guide to Building and Remodeling Materials
Warner Books
1990
Bob Vila’s Guide to Buying Your Dream House
Little, Brown
1993
Bob Vila’s Guide to Historic Homes of New England
Lintel Press / Quill
1993
Bob Vila’s Guide to Historic Homes of the South
Lintel Press / Quill
1993
Bob Vila’s Guide to Historic Homes of the Mid-Atlantic
Lintel Press / Quill
1993
Bob Vila’s Toolbox: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Portable Hand and Power Tools
William Morrow & Co.
1994
Bob Vila’s Guide to Historic Homes of the Midwest and Great Plains
Lintel Press / Quill
1994
Bob Vila’s Guide to Historic Homes of the West
Lintel Press / Quill
1994
Bob Vila’s Workshop: The Ultimate Illustrated Handbook for the Home Workshop
William Morrow & Co.
1999
Bob Vila’s Complete Guide to Remodeling Your Home
with Hugh Howard
Avon Books (revised edition, Collins, 2002)