Ask This Old House

Kevin

Today on "Ask This Old House"...

Mark

This is a museum piece, this fireplace. I mean, I'm out of my mind right now. I don't even know where to start.

Sean

Do you like it?

Mark

I love it. You still have the cooking arm for the pots...

Yeah. Mark

...the stone hearth. I bet you these stones came right from the backyard and placed as the hearth

300 years ago. Sean

Mm-hmm.

Mark

I'll repair one of the oldest types of fireplaces in the country.

Tom

Check out this coatrack. I'm getting a lesson on how to weld, and Jimmy DiResta is going to show me how to build it.

Jimmy

Another good clue for welding is, you want to hear the sound of frying bacon consistently.

Richard

And is your toilet constantly running? You'd better go catch it.

Laughs

Richard

Only kidding. I'll show you how to fix it.

Mark

If you want a taste of what it was like to live in a house a couple hundred years ago, all you have to do is head out to a living history museum like this one in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. But to me, my attention goes right to the masonry. During the Colonial era, the fireplace took the place of most of our utilities and appliances. They had to provide heat, light, and hot food, and that's why they had to be built to be as functional as possible. For cooking, I'm going to use this crane, which articulates in and out to keep me away from the flame. I can add a pot and push it right over the fire to cook. For a hot flat surface, I can rake some ash, add some coals. Then I can use a special frying pan called a spider. That'll cook my bacon and eggs. Or I can use a trivet and an iron to press my clothes. So one of the coolest things about the early American fireplace is right here. It's the beehive oven, and it was built right next to the fireplace, so it could use the same flue. The way these things work is simple. We're going to build the fire up front, and the way this is shaped, it's going to hold that heat for a long time. At that point, I'm going to pull the coals out, and then I'm going to wet down the bed with a wet broom, and then I'll be ready to cook. The things that need the hottest temperature are going to go in first, and then as the morning goes on, we're going to be able to put in stuff that does not need as much heat. By the mid-1800s, beehive ovens weren't being made anymore, but the ones that are still in existence today are used for pizza ovens and sometimes for baking bread. This homeowner e-mailed us about the original beehive oven he has in his house. This is really a great place. If you look to the left, that was built in 1835, but if you go over to the right side, that's the original portion of the house. That was built in 1750, which predates the Revolutionary War.

Sean

Mark,

welcome to our home. Mark

Oh, wow. So this is 1750 all day long. I mean, beautiful wide pine floors.

You have the exposed beams. Sean

Yep.

Mark

This is a museum piece, this fireplace. I mean, I'm out of my mind right now. I don't even know where to start.

Sean

Do you like it?

Mark

I love it. You still have the cooking arm for the pot.

Yeah. Mark

This stone hearth -- I bet you these stones came right from the backyard and placed as the hearth 300 years ago, so... But this is the gem right here, the old beehive oven.

Sean

Yes, it is.

Mark

Okay, so now I can see why you e-mailed us.

Sean

Yeah, so we've cooked pizzas in here a couple times, and we want to cook breads in here also, but each time I use it, I think that it's becoming more and more deteriorated, so I wanted to see if it could be fixed.

Mark

Okay. So first thing I can see is that the brick on the bed of the oven, they're gone.

That's pretty bad. Mark

Yep. We're going to have to take those out and replace those, and now look over to the right. You can see six or seven more brick that are kind of in the same condition.

Sean

Right.

Mark

But that's not my biggest problem.

Look at this opening. Sean

Yeah, it's very small.

Mark

It's very small, and I have to work deep into the oven box, so I'm going to have to find access either through the back maybe. I can go through the side, but I'm going to have to find access somewhere, and when you're dealing with a 300-year-old beehive oven, it's very brittle, and any wrong move that I make could cause it to collapse, which is what we don't want to do, as you know.

Sean

We're willing to take the risk. We love the history of it, but we also want it to be usable and practical in our house, so we're very excited about the possibility.

Mark

All right. Then we're going to get at it

and make it work. Sean

Okay.

Mark

All right, Sean. All right. So I was lucky enough to find an access panel. Unfortunately, it's just a bit too high. You can see this dome. That's the top of our beehive oven.

Sean

Right.

Mark

Connects very nicely into the chimney.

Yep. Mark

So what I'm going to do is I'm going to cut my access panel right here.

Okay. Mark

Luckily for us, it doesn't have to be too big. Any house that was built before 1978 we have to assume had lead paint.

Sean

I think this house would definitely qualify.

Mark

And it definitely qualifies, but if we were to make a bigger hole, we'd have to fall into full lead protocol, which means masking off this room. You and I are in a suit.

We have full respirators on. Sean

Okay.

Mark

But because we're going to keep this hole under 6 square feet, we don't have to abide by those stringent rules, but we do want to work safe, so you and I will keep those respirators on. Anything that falls to the ground, we're going to scoop up with a HEPA vac, and then we should be good to go.

Buzzing

Mark

Covering this beehive oven is a stucco coat of mortar. I'm going to have to take it off to get to the brick, and I'm going to start right here. So what we found is, we do have two courses of brick.

Sean

Is that a problem?

Mark

It's not a problem. That means we're 8 inches thick, so we're happy with that.

Okay. Mark

The only problem is, is every time I bang that outer layer of brick, I may affect what's on the inside. So again, I'm just going to have to go as careful as possible at all times, no matter what I'm doing.

Pounding

Okay. Mark

All right. So that's the first one. All right. Now we're going to go after the bed brick. All right. We got the demo out of the way.

Sean

Yeah, those bricks were really crumbly, Mark.

Mark

Right. So the reason for that is back in the 1700s, they just didn't have a kiln hot enough to cook these bricks to the temperature that they had to be to withstand

that intense heat in that oven. Sean

Right.

Mark

But now that we're doing something brand-new, we have the opportunity to make a choice.

Sean

Okay.

Mark

This is what they call a firebrick. It could withstand heat up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. If I was building something brand-new, fireplace or chimney, this is what my firebox would be made of.

Sean

Okay.

Mark

But because we're in restoration mode, we have a little bit of leeway on what we're going to use. So what we have here is a city hall paver. It doesn't have the fire rating of a firebrick, but it will definitely withstand the heat that we're going to produce out of that oven.

Okay. Mark

But more importantly, it's aesthetically pleasing.

Sean

Yeah, it matches the original much better than the firebrick.

Mark

Right. So let's get going.

Sean

Okay.

Mark

So access is pretty tough for this beehive oven, so it's going to require that I use two masons --

myself and Val Naire. Sean

Yeah, I see what you mean. That's a pretty tight area to be working in.

Mark

Well, that's why we needed two masons. We're going to work both ends. We're going to be able to pass the material to each other and point to each other's work-up. We are using a type-N mortar. That's because the temperature is going to fluctuate as you use the oven, and the type N gives us a little more flexibility. And for this application, we're going to mix it a little wetter, and that's because the brick are so dry that we didn't want the water to be sucked out of the mortar. All right, Val. I'm going to come in.

Val

Yeah, it's right there.

Mark

All right. Well, we got the oven back into one piece.

Terrific. Mark

All right. So the only thing we're going to have to do now

is get that access hole fixed. Sean

Right.

Mark

You might want to bring in a specialty plasterer because that's the original horsehair plaster to the house.

Sean

Okay.

Mark

You could probably do it yourself, but I think it's a job for a plastering contractor.

I understand. Mark

Okay.

Sean

You guys did an absolutely terrific job. We can't wait to cook pizzas in it.

Mark

The only thing you're going to have to do about that is just wait 28 days for that mortar to cure, and after that, pizza city.

All right. Sounds good. Mark

All right?

Sean

I was enthralled the whole time.

I was nervous but confident. Mark

All right.

Sean

Wonderful work, Mark. Thank you very much.

Mark

Great. You're welcome.

Kevin

Leaky toilets, Richard -- how many have you seen in your day?

Richard

Couple, couple thousand.

I bet. Richard

You know, a toilet is a big water consumer in any house, but it's even worse when you have these insidious leaks inside the toilet tank itself because you won't see them on the floor, but they will continue to use water all day, all night. And it means a lot of water consumption.

Okay. Richard

So I thought we would just take a little primer on how a basic toilet works. Okay, it has two parts. One is the bowl. One is the tank. Inside the tank, there are two important components. One is the flush valve, and that makes the water leave the tank,

and the other is the fill valve. Kevin

Mm-hmm.

Richard

So when I lift the tank lever, the flapper opens, and now all the water that's in the tank will come down into the bowl suddenly, create enough of a siphon action to scour that bowl clean and send it to drain.

Kevin

Yep. And then as this tank emptied, that little device that opened falls back down...

That's right. Kevin

...seals it up

so we can refill the tank. Richard

That's right. And then this device has only one job. The fill valve just has to do that, has to refill that tank to the right level, okay? So the most common problem inside these tanks is in this flush valve, and that is in the flapper itself. You see this flapper right here?

Kevin

Yep.

Richard

It can get worn over time, so this is the part that when the tank lever lifts, this has a little float on it to get it out of the way, so the water will leave the tank suddenly.

Kevin

Rushes through there into the bowl.

Richard

That's right, down to the bowl, and then it wants to drop. Well, over time, this part, it's a rubber part. It can get worn, and so now what happens is, water will just drip, drip, drip. So the replacement is pretty straightforward. You turn off the water down here, and now this has two little ears. Okay, you see them right here?

Kevin

Yep.

Richard

And so we'll bring a new one in. Okay, and you clip it on. But you're only half done. Now, a really important part is to adjust this chain. Now, the chain comes in links with a little hook at the top. Now, if you put this onto the tank lever, and you made it too taut, look what would happen.

Kevin

You'd have that little, tiny leak underneath here.

Richard

The same issue as if it was worn, okay? So you want to make sure it's not too taut, but conversely, if you made it too loose, you could activate the tank lever, but it wouldn't lift it enough...

Yeah. Richard

...to make it flip out of the way and flush, okay? So this has to be just the right length, and there's those chain links, so you can make it just right.

Kevin

So this is one place where we can have a leak.

Richard

That's right.

Kevin

You're talking about other places?

Richard

Absolutely. The other part of this flush valve is the overflow right here. Now, this is an important safety device. If this fill valve was ever bad, what would happen? Water could continue to rise.

Mm-hmm. Richard

The flap is holding, and now you could flood a house completely away, so you've got to make sure that that's there.

You'd see that leak. Richard

Absolutely. But what you want to make sure is that the setting of this fill valve makes the water level be about 1 inch down

from the top of this overflow. Kevin

Mm-hmm.

Richard

Now, what I find happens is, sometimes, people don't adjust this correctly. Now, the adjustment is pretty straightforward, and what will happen is -- If the water level is too high, watch this.

Kevin

It keeps filling the tank...

Correct. Kevin

...past where it should.

Richard

Yep. So now, if you ever lifted off a toilet tank, and you saw this condition right here, see this? What happens is that water could just keep drip, drip, dripping down into the bowl and down the drain, keeping that water meter spinning.

Kevin

Essentially leaking through the overflow.

Richard

Right. You know, in the old days, we'd have a fill valve like this that had a bent brass rod with a big float like this.

Kevin

Oh,

yeah. Richard

You might remember.

A big ball. Richard

You'd bend the rod and everything else. And they've lost favor because it was hard to get that rod to sort of be just right. So now the modern ones have the float built in. Well, how do you adjust that? Well these, I could just make it be whatever height I want it to be, okay?

Kevin

Wow, just sort of adjustable.

Richard

Because this is the float right here. With this one, we can just loosen or close this thread right here to make the float be right, but you need the right water level here. It has to leave at the right speed, and then when you're done, everything has to close off tight.

Saving leaks once again. Richard

Yes, they're gone.

Kevin

Nice job, Richard.

Tom

Hey, Jimmy. How are you?

Jimmy

Tom,

nice to meet you. Tom

Nice to meet you. I know my friend Kevin's been here a couple of times.

Jimmy

Yeah.

Tom

You did some projects with him. I think you did a big table.

Jimmy

Yep, the farm table, we did.

Tom

Yeah, and I love that Adirondack chair

that you welded up. Jimmy

Oh, yeah, steel.

That was a nice look. Jimmy

Right on.

Tom

So what do you got for me today?

Jimmy

We got this coatrack. This is just for reference and size.

Okay. Jimmy

I want to make a coatrack that's going to have some ability to not rock.

Tom

Yeah.

Jimmy

I want to make a sturdy coatrack today.

Tom

Yeah, that's a little flimsy. So this is wood, and you're not going to do wood.

Jimmy

No.

Tom

So what do we got for material?

Jimmy

Take a look at this. We got this 2-by-2-inch steel. It's 16-gauge wall.

Tom

Yeah, that'll be nice and heavy.

Jimmy

I use this to make a lot of tables in the shop.

Tom

Okay, and then what are we going to use for hooks?

Jimmy

We have these railroad spikes that I got out of my blacksmith shop.

Tom

So this will be fun.

You're going to weld these on. Jimmy

Yep.

Tom

Now, I did welding years ago, but I used to weld on the jobsites where I'd weld the steel Lallies to the plates and then to the Lally columns and the I-beams and stuff like that.

Right. Tom

But that was stick welding.

Jimmy

Yeah, that's the old-school way.

Yeah. Jimmy

Still used, but today, we're going to use MIG, wire-fed, little bit easier for a shop environment like this.

Tom

Always wanted to learn how to MIG weld, so you're the man.

You could teach me. Jimmy

Today is the day.

Tom

All right. Let's get started.

Jimmy

Let's go. This one 6-foot piece of steel is going to become all four of our legs.

Buzzing

Jimmy

When I cut my first finished piece, I use that for the template to make the next three legs.

Tom

That way, all the angles and the lengths of the legs will be the same.

Jimmy

Exactly.

Tom

All right. Here we go.

Jimmy

How you doing?

Tom

I'm doing all right.

Jimmy

You hot?

Tom

It is a little hot, but you have these fans going, so that's a help.

Jimmy

Right on. Well, we need to wear our protective gear because when the weld occurs, it creates a light that's enough to give you a sunburn. It will burn your eyes too.

Tom

Oh,

yeah. Jimmy

So we need a shield. These are auto-darkening hoods, so we can keep them down the whole time, and we also have to wear gloves, so...

Tom

Right, right, it makes sense.

Tough it out. Tom

Safety is good.

Yeah. Tom

All right.

So tell me about the machine. Jimmy

This is a MIG welder. The wire comes off of this spool. It's mechanically fed through this 10-foot cord and comes up out of the handle.

Okay. Jimmy

See that? And the gas comes out at the same time.

Tom

All right. So tell me about the gas. Why do we need it?

Jimmy

We need gas to shield the weld because oxygen will create oxidation, and that's not good for a weld. It won't make a good, pure weld. You know how you stick weld, and it's covered with the clay? People think it's clay, but it's flux. That shields the stick-weld process. That's why when you're done, you got to chip away the slag.

Tom

All right. Right.

Jimmy

And right here, the slag, in quotes, would be the gas shielding that weld.

Tom

So there's nothing to chip off it.

Jimmy

Not with this process, yeah.

Yeah. Jimmy

Right on.

Tom

All right. So let's get started.

Jimmy

Let's go. Okay, we're going to practice on some scrap pieces just to get a reference point of your ability.

Tom

Make sure I don't ruin the coatrack.

Jimmy

Right. Okay. And so the hardest part is going to be able to see through the hood and see what you're doing because the minute you pull that trigger, that light is going to emit, and it's going to auto-darken, so you're going to have to try and decipher what you're looking at.

Okay. Jimmy

All right? So let's start with a tack.

I'll let you do the first tack. Tom

All right. You want me to do the first tack?

Jimmy

Go for it. And I have turned down for our 16-gauge, so we should be good.

Tom

So when you pull the trigger, the wire is going to complete -- just keep coming.

That's right. Tom

So I have to keep moving.

Jimmy

Well, with this, one of the biggest mistakes most people make is, they go too fast.

Yep. Jimmy

Okay. What I'm going to have you do is use one hand as a rest just to guide the tip, and what you want to do is hold it right at the seam about a 1/2 an inch away at about a 30-degree angle and pull that trigger. If you can see the seam, just give a little bit

of a wiggle to cross the seam. Tom

Okay.

Jimmy

Count to one, 1,000, three.

Tom

All right. Here we go.

Jimmy

This is just a reference. So the hardest part is going to be able to see what you're doing.

Crackling

You're right. Jimmy

Okay.

Laughs

Tom

You're right. The hardest part is to see what I'm doing, see?

Jimmy

Yep. Now I'll do it,

and you copy me. Tom

All right.

Jimmy

Now right away, I see your hold-out was too far away.

Tom

Yep.

Jimmy

So you got to get right in there. And another good clue for welding is, you want to hear the sound of frying bacon consistently.

Tom

I like bacon, so that's good.

Jimmy

You heard that was a bit spattery? That was a bit spattery?

Tom

Yeah.

Jimmy

You want a consistent sound. Now listen to my sound. Remember your sound. Now listen to my sound.

Tom

Okay.

Steady crackling

Jimmy

You hear the difference?

Tom

I definitely hear the difference.

Jimmy

Yep. You got to stay a little bit closer, too. I noticed right away, you were very far away. You need to maintain that gap of about 3/8ths to a 1/2 inch.

Okay. Jimmy

And just hold it steady. Don't go anywhere. I noticed you were kind of wiggling in space.

Tom

Yeah. I was trying to find the line. I really can't see it,

but... Jimmy

Well, you know what? Let's just get a weld first, if --

Tom

All right.

Jimmy

As long as you get that dot, then you start getting a better reference. Then we could decide where it goes.

Tom

All right. So maybe there's hope.

Both laugh

Tom

Let's give it a try.

Jimmy

Closer, closer, closer, closer, closer, closer, closer. Try that. Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it. Okay. You heard the difference in sound.

Tom

I did hear the difference in sound, yep.

Jimmy

So, yep, yep. So you're getting better already on your second weld ever.

Wow. Jimmy

All right. Now we just got to hit the mark.

Both laugh

That's next. Tom

I'll agree with that one. I definitely have to hit the mark.

All right. Jimmy

But you're close.

Yeah. Jimmy

You're close. That's why it's important to position yourself just before you're about to go, so you could -- Sometimes, you'll see a welder do this. You'll see a welder position himself and then make this move, so he's got a little bit of muscle memory. So even if he can't see it, he knows he needs to go that way.

Tom

I see,

yeah. Jimmy

You understand?

Tom

So I'll try it again.

Steady crackling

Jimmy

Slowly, slowly. Slowly. That's better, much better. That's great. Wow. It takes some structure.

That's definitely better. Jimmy

Looks great. You're getting it, your third time.

Tom

Little better than the other side.

Jimmy

Okay. This is going to be our position for our first two legs. I'll make a deal with you. I'll tack them, and you try and run the bead between the tack.

Sounds like a deal. Jimmy

Let's do it. Ready?

Here we go. Tom

Go for it.

Steady crackling

Jimmy

Let me get that one more. Hang on. Ready? All right. Those are very light tacks just to make sure we're all connected.

Yep. Jimmy

And so now... what's comfortable for you, you kind of went from this way to this way before maybe.

Tom

Yeah, I could go either way.

Yeah. Tom

Yeah.

Jimmy

See what's comfortable for you, and see if you can throw a bead on there.

Steady crackling

Jimmy

Go to the end. Keep going, keep going, keep going. Good. Much better. How you feeling? You want to go for that one?

Tom

Yeah, let's go for it.

Steady crackling

Jimmy

There you go, perfect. And the speed is nice. You're getting it.

Tom

Sounds good.

Crackling continues

Jimmy

Speed up a little bit. That's it.

Tom

Looks good, not rocking, looks plumb. All right. So now we're ready for the pin.

Jimmy

Considering these have a sharp tip on them, I want to cut them back so it's a little bit flatter, gives us more welding surface area as well.

Whirring

Tom

So I know that you're just eyeballing that angle when you cut the spike.

Jimmy

Yep, because I can just fill it in later with the weld.

Tom

Makes sense.

Crackles

Jimmy

I'm going to make the top shelf of our coatrack out of a leftover piece of 2-inch-thick sapele. We're using here boiled linseed oil.

Tom

You know, I've used linseed oil on wood, but I've never tried it on metal before. Nice job on the coatrack, Jimmy.

It looks beautiful. Jimmy

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for coming.

Kevin

Next time on "Ask This Old House"...

Whirring

Kevin

Maker Jenn Largesse will show us a few tricks on the miter saw.

Largesse

These projects were made specifically only using a bevel-cut feature. It's really easy once you decide how many sides you want your shape to have.

Man

And this mantel is begging for a fireplace, but there isn't enough room to fit one. I have a solution for that.

Jenn

In Brooklyn, I'll turn this messy, weedy front stoop into something more inviting.