Know your new house before your first night in it.
Send the address and the home inspection report. Within 24 hours we send back a finished manual for that one house: where the shutoffs are, the panel, HVAC and water heater with their ages, every repair the inspector flagged with the right pro, top-rated local pros and a month-by-month calendar. Printable, and on your phone. No app, no setup.
Early access: ordering opens soon and nothing is charged to reserve. Pool or spa? Add the Pool & Spa section for $39. Realtors: your first manual is free, then 5 closing gifts for $299.
You got the keys. Nobody gave you the manual.
Closing day comes with a stack of paperwork and not one page about the house itself. Then the first surprise shows up: a tripped breaker with a faded label, an AC filter size nobody wrote down, a water heater of unknown age, or a hard freeze with no idea where the water shutoff is.
The home inspection told you what was wrong on one day, in 40 pages of checkboxes. It does not tell you how to run the house every day after. We turn that report into the manual.
Questions every new owner asks
- Where do I shut off the water, fast?
- Which breaker is the kitchen?
- What size air filter do I buy, and how often?
- How old is the water heater? The AC? The roof?
- What do I do before a hard freeze?
- What should I be doing each month?
Address and report in, manual out
It takes a couple of minutes. Photos are only for what is still missing.
Your address
We pull public records automatically: county, utility providers, city sewer or septic, well likelihood, freeze dates and current watering rules.
Your inspection report
Upload the PDF from your inspector. We pull the panel, water heater, HVAC units, appliances, shutoffs, roof and every repair the inspector flagged, each cited to its page.
Photos, only if needed
If something is still blank, like the breaker list or a filter size, we ask for just those photos. Then you get your PDF and phone copy within 24 hours.
Everything about your house, on a few pages
Every manual is built for one house. Sections that do not apply are left out, and anything we could not confirm is marked, never guessed.
Emergency shutoffs
Water, gas and electric: where they are, from your inspection report, plus how to use them.
Breaker panel list
Your panel label, cleaned up and typed out, with circuit sizes.
Heating and cooling
Filter sizes, where they go, unit ages and the service rhythm.
Water heater
Age, size, the yearly flush and the safety valve check.
Smoke and CO alarms
Which ones are past their replace-by date.
Appliances
Brand, model, serial, age, filter part numbers and a link to each manual.
Irrigation, roof and gutters
Controller, backflow, shutoff and the seasonal checks.
Plan-ahead list
What is getting old, oldest first, so big bills are not a surprise.
12-month calendar
Only the tasks that apply to your house, month by month.
Freeze plan
Your local freeze dates and what to do before, during and after a hard freeze.
Trusted local pros
Top-rated plumbers, electricians, HVAC, roofers and more near your home, with phone numbers. Nobody pays to be in the rated list.
When to call a pro
Clear lines for gas, electrical, plumbing and roof problems.
Repairs the inspector flagged
Every deficiency from your inspection report, with its page number, the right kind of pro and the parts for small fixes.
Tools and parts list
The exact filter sizes, parts and tools each task needs, with links to buy them.
Well and septic (rural homes)
Pressure tank, pump breaker, septic care and pumping rhythm, when your home has them.
Pool & spa add-onADD-ON
Valve map, pump schedule, water targets and a weekly routine.
See exactly what you get
A full sample for a fictional home with a pool. Click any page to open the PDF.
One price per home. No subscription.
Less than one service call, and you keep it for as long as you own the house.
Home Manual
For one home you own or just bought.
- Every section of the whole-home manual
- Built from your inspection report and public records
- Repairs the inspector flagged, with the right pro for each
- Trusted local pros near your home
- Delivered within 24 hours, reviewed by a tradesman
- Printable PDF plus phone copy, no app
- One free update within 60 days
Pool & Spa add-on
Add to a Home Manual when the house has a pool or spa.
- Pool equipment map with numbered valves
- Valve positions for pool, spa and spillover
- Pump schedule by season
- Water targets for your pool type
- Written by a 16-year pool company owner
Realtor 5-pack
$59.80 per closing gift, pool add-on included.
- Your first manual is free: one per agent, no card needed
- 5 gift codes, use any time
- Team 10-pack: $549 ($54.90 each)
- Your name and photo on the cover
- Pool & spa add-on included free
- Zero setup: upload the report, we do the rest
- Branded thank-you email to your client
Ordering opens soon. Reserve your spot now: nothing is charged, and we will let you know when ordering opens.
Built by someone who has fixed it, not just read about it
First Night Manual was started by a former handyman who then spent 16 years running Dallas Pool Patrol, a pool service company in the Dallas and Greenville, Texas area that grew to 110 pools at its peak.
After years of walking new owners through their breaker panels, water heaters and pool pads, the same questions kept coming up: where do I shut the water off, what size filter does this take, and how old is this thing? Every manual follows the checklist built from those visits.
A new homeowner guide written for your house, not every house
Search for a new homeowner guide and you get checklists written for a house that does not exist. They tell you to "know where your water shutoff is" without telling you where yours is. First Night Manual is the opposite: a home manual made for one address, from the inspection report and records for the equipment that is actually there.
Why a home manual beats a generic checklist
Your breaker panel, your water heater, your HVAC filters and your shutoffs are specific. A home owner's manual that names the brand, the size, the age and the exact spot saves the trip to the hardware store with the wrong filter and the panic when a pipe bursts in January.
Bought a house? Start with these five things
- Find and test the main water shutoff.
- Label or confirm the breaker panel.
- Write down every HVAC filter size and set a change reminder.
- Check the dates on smoke and CO alarms.
- Find out how old the water heater, AC and roof are, and plan ahead.
Your First Night Manual does all five for you and puts the answers in one place you can pull up on your phone.
Built for your climate
Every manual includes the average first and last freeze dates for your address from NOAA records, a freeze plan for your house and a maintenance calendar tuned to your region. Texas homes also get local watering rules and utility details from state records.
Own a pool? Get your pool manual too
New pool owner? The Pool & Spa add-on is a pool manual for your exact equipment: what each valve does, how long to run the pump, and the water targets for your pool. Read about the pool owner manual.
Questions, answered
Can I order today?
Not yet. Ordering opens soon. Reserve your spot on the early-access list now and we will let you know when it opens. Nothing is charged to join the list, and prices are as shown: $79 per home, +$39 for the Pool & Spa section, $299 for a realtor 5-pack. Realtors get their first manual free (one per agent, no card needed).
What exactly do I get?
A PDF manual (and a phone-friendly copy) for your home: where your water, gas and electric shutoffs are (from your inspection report) and how to use them, every repair the inspector flagged with the right kind of pro, a cleaned-up breaker list, HVAC filter sizes and ages, water heater age and flush steps, smoke and CO alarm dates, appliance models and ages, irrigation and roof basics, a plan-ahead list of what is getting old, a 12-month maintenance calendar, a freeze plan with your local freeze dates, trusted top-rated local pros by trade, and a tools and parts list matched to your equipment. Rural homes also get well and septic pages. It comes as a printable PDF and a phone copy: no app to install.
Are there affiliate links in the manual?
Yes. The tools and parts list links to products at Amazon, The Home Depot and Lowe's. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, and we may earn a commission from other retailers. It never changes your price, and you can buy the parts anywhere.
How long does it take?
Most manuals are delivered within 24 hours of receiving your inspection report. If something we need is not in the report, we email you a short list of photos to add.
What do I need to send?
Your address and, if you have one, your home inspection report PDF. Any standard report works; Texas TREC-form reports read best. From the address we pull public records: utility providers, city sewer or septic, freeze dates and watering rules. From the report we pull your panel, water heater, HVAC, appliances, shutoff locations, roof and the inspector's repair list. Photos are optional and only for whatever is still blank.
What happens to my inspection report?
We use it only to build your manual. We never sell or share it, and we delete it 30 days after delivery unless you ask us to keep it for updates. The manual cites the report page for each fact so you can check it. If a realtor sends us your report, they must confirm you agreed to share it. (Draft policy; final terms before launch.)
I don't have an inspection report. Can I still order?
Yes. Once ordering opens, order with your address, and we build the public-records part right away. Then either send about 20 phone photos from our checklist or upload the report later from the link in your confirmation email.
Is this a home inspection?
No. It is a plain-English guide built from public records, your inspection report and any photos you send. It does not replace a licensed home, electrical, gas, plumbing or roof inspection, and it does not re-inspect anything. When something needs a pro, the manual says which kind.
How do you know how old my equipment is?
From the model numbers, serial numbers and manufacture dates in your inspection report or photos. Many manufacturers encode the build date in the serial number. When a date cannot be read, the manual marks it Confirm and lists it on the last page.
I have a pool. Is that included?
The Pool & Spa add-on ($39) adds your pool equipment map with numbered valves, valve positions for pool and spa mode, equipment ages, a pump schedule, water targets for your pool type and a weekly routine. It is written by someone who ran a pool service company for 16 years.
Do you work outside Texas?
Yes, anywhere in the US. Freeze dates come from NOAA records for your address, and the calendar is tuned to your region. Our automatic utility lookups are most detailed in Texas today; elsewhere we confirm providers from your report and with you.
How is this different from a home app?
Most home apps start empty, or ask your realtor or you to set them up and keep them updated. We do the work: you send an address and a report, and a finished manual comes back within 24 hours, reviewed by a former handyman. It is a printable PDF and a phone copy, so there is nothing to download, no login and no subscription.
How do you pick the local pros?
From public Google ratings near your home: 4.7 stars or better with at least 20 reviews, best first, with the date we checked. Nobody pays to be in that list. If we ever show a paid Featured partner, it is labeled, and we never take payment from home inspectors, title, mortgage or home warranty companies. Your realtor receives nothing from any listing.
What happens to my photos?
Same as your report: used only to build your manual and deleted after delivery unless you ask us to keep them. See the privacy page (draft).
Can I get a refund?
If the manual misses the mark, tell us within 30 days and we will fix it or refund you. (Policy draft; final terms before launch.)
Ordering opens soon. Nothing is charged to reserve.