Ask This Old House

Kevin

Today on "Ask This Old House"...

Tom

In Utah, I'll transform this ho-hum handrail into something that makes a statement.

Nathan

This looks fantastic. I'm so happy with how it turned out. Thanks for coming to Utah.

Tom

My pleasure, I'm glad you like it.

Richard

You probably don't think much about the pipes that vent your water heater or your furnace. I'll tell you why you should.

Kevin

Nobody likes a plumbing leak, but if it's water, you can deal with it. If it's carbon monoxide, game over.

Tom

Deadly,

absolutely deadly. Kevin

Okay.

Nathan

Do you have an outdated door like this? I'll show you how to make it look like new.

Kevin

Oh, I'll tell you what. It's an easy upgrade, and it makes a huge difference.

Mauro

And I'll brighten up the front of this house

with just a little paint. Shannon

I love it.

Mauro

It's amazing what a little paint can do, huh?

Tom

Nathan, how are you?

Nathan

Good, Tommy, how are you doing?

Tom

I'm doing well,

thanks. Nathan

Welcome to Utah.

Tom

Thank you, it's nice to be here. Boy, driving up here, I noticed a lot of these houses in this development.

Nathan

Yeah, this neighborhood went in in the early 2000s. My wife and my family -- we've lived here for about nine years.

Tom

Great.

Nathan

You know, a lot of these houses are pretty similar, a lot of the same finishes, and we've been working to make our house a little bit different. Let me show you what we've been up to inside.

Tom

Love to see what you got going on in there. Oh, this is really nice, wide-open space in here.

Nathan

Yeah, welcome to our house. My wife and I have been working hard

to personalize it a little bit. Tom

Yeah.

Nathan

We added this wainscoting detail

here in our entryway. Tom

Very nice.

Nathan

Right at that part, and then we had carpet and tile throughout the house, and we tore all that out and put in this nice wide-planked laminate flooring.

Tom

Some shiplap siding and, oh, boy, look at this handrail. I love this handrail, nice and solid.

Nathan

And there's one last piece that we need to tackle.

Tom

Okay.

Nathan

And that's this eyesore right here.

Tom

Yeah, it does look a little bit out of place.

Nathan

Yeah, it just doesn't quite blend with what we're trying to do, and then it's also -- you know, it's just kind of your run-of-the-mill railing, you know?

Tom

Yeah, I mean, this is pretty --

Nathan

Most of my neighbors have the same railing.

Tom

Yeah, this is pretty stock stuff. You get this at The Home Center, oak railing and balusters, so what do you have in mind?

Nathan

So I was thinking if we could do something a little bit more square with the wood, like a nice, square newel post here, and then what I think would really look cool is if we could do some cable railing.

Tom

Absolutely, I'm up for that, so why don't we get started by taking the old one out?

Nathan

Great.

Tom

Let's work it done nice and easy. Oh, yeah, pull it up. Oh, look at that, no nails. Okay, all of the old balusters are removed. The railing's taken out. We've cleaned everything up, but we left the old newel post.

Nathan

And why did we leave this? I thought we were getting rid of this.

Tom

Well, you know what? This is really in here nice and solid, and to take it out and then refasten something in there really doesn't make much sense. Now, there's a local mill shop that actually makes stair pots down the road here, and this is made of poplar. It's mitered on all four corners, so it looks like a solid block of wood, but it's actually designed to go right over the existing newel post just like that.

Nathan

Oh, that's pretty cool.

Tom

Yeah, and at the top, they even mill up a cap like that to make it really look contemporary. Alright, so, now to get started, what we're gonna do is calculate our height, and then we can take the length off of our bottom. We'll need to scribe that to the floor. Alright, I'm gonna slide this down, down to the floor, and then you hold two levels on it. Hold it plum in both directions, and I'll mark the bottom to follow the floor. Alright, now I'm gonna adjust my scribes to my line that I want right there, bring it down. Mark it across the bottom on all four sides. Alright. You still good?

Nathan

Still good.

Tom

To make our scribe cut, I'm going to start with an oscillating saw. And to finish that cut up, I'm gonna switch to a Japanese pull saw. And then I'll clean it all up with a chisel......and smooth it out with a sander. Okay, Nathan, lay that piece of 5/4 up there. Now, that's gonna be the transition or the end piece for the floor to transition into the stairway, so we've already squared that end up, and that's tight against the newel post. What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take this newel post, push it tight to the wall 'cause that's where it's gonna go, and mark our length. We'll cut that. Now, before we cut the length, I want to take this piece. I want to cut a rabbet in this bottom corner right here and remove this piece so that the floor will go in there and still allow the floor to move and float. With our pieces cut, I'm gonna assemble the entire railing system in the garage and install it as a unit. This machine makes mortises in each piece. Then these tenons glue into the mortises, holding everything together. Okay. You ready?

Nathan

Ready.

Tom

These screws will hold the railings to the newel post while the glue sets up. I'm gonna get down there, see if I can line my end up. You balance it. You good?

Nathan

I'm good.

Tom

Alright, now, let's keep it up and level. As you can see, we cut the top of the newel post off, nice and flat, so we want to try to get this down, keep it parallel with the wall but also kind of level. I'll see if I can get it down in here, and we'll slide it down together. There you go. Just put some of this construction adhesive own. This will really hold it. We'll put a few screws in it. Once the adhesive dries, you'll never get it off. Okay, you ready? I've got it in. Are you even with the post?

Nathan

Yep.

Tom

Alright. Let's work it right down. Alright, here's the cable that we're gonna use for our railing system to go in between the newel post and parallel to the floor. Alright, I got a roll of it. These are the fasteners that fasten the cables to the newel posts. If you notice, there's two different types, alright, and there's a thread on it right here that's a wood thread and then a machine thread that screws into the fastener. This one right here is adjustable, so when we screw this into the newel post, we screw this in onto the machine thread, leaving it back a little bit. Put the cable in, hold this with the wrench, and then we can hold this steady here and put the wrench, make this tight. When it screws down onto the thread, it will make the cable tight on this end.

Nathan

Okay.

Tom

Okay, now, the building code says that any opening on a stairway, like between a baluster, can't be wider than 4 inches.

Nathan

Okay.

Tom

Since the cable could deflect, we're going to space our fasteners 3 inches. This picket acts as a template for drilling our hole, but it will also act as a support for the cable because building code also says that the cable cannot run more than three feet without something to support it. Alright, so now we're ready to start the cable, so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna feed the cable through the hole. Alright, so now take the end of the cable and push it in, and then pull back, and it should lock itself in. Now, I'm gonna pull it tight, and right here on these adjusters, there's a line that I need to cut this cable, so that's my reference point. I'll pull it tight, take my cutters, line it up with the line, cut it. Now, I take the cable and push it in. Okay, there. Alright, so now we're ready to start tightening these, and the manufacturer wants you to start in the middle and then alternate your way out. Alright, so put the wrench on the outside one right there. That will hold it steady, and I'm gonna turn this one in onto the machine thread, and that should tighten the cable. Alright, Nathan, there you go. Your railing is all in. Now, all you have to do is sand it up, fill some holes and stain it whatever color you want.

Nathan

This looks fantastic. I'm so happy with how it turned out. Thanks for coming to Utah.

Tom

My pleasure, I'm glad you like it. Hey, send me a picture when it's done.

Nathan

Will do.

Kevin

Hey, Richard.

Richard

Hello, sir, how are you?

Kevin

Alright. What are we talking about today?

Richard

We're talking about venting of gas appliances, whether it be a water heater like this, a furnace, or a boiler. It has a flame down below, has flue products that have to get outside the building, so it has temperature, has carbon monoxide, and usually has some moisture in it too.

Kevin

Okay.

Richard

So historically, we use this, galvanized smoke pipe. It would come here. It would go into a chimney, it had plenty of lift, right?

There's plenty of draft. Kevin

Carry a lot of heat.

Richard

It'll go right up the chimney and right out to atmosphere

through the top of the chimney. Kevin

Yeah.

Richard

But as we made efficiency important, as we made equipment more efficient, it meant that we were extracting more energy or heat out of the flue products and using it in the water or in the building.

Kevin

Less heat, less lift.

Richard

Correct, so less temperature, so then you couldn't really use the galvanized smoke pipe anymore 'cause it didn't want to go up naturally. You needed a fan, and you really couldn't let it sit in here with moisture in it 'cause it could rust the metal.

Kevin

And you're saying "sit" because instead of going up, we now start to vent these things sideways

out the side of the house. Richard

Direct vent to outside.

Richard

So the local installers went, and they found whatever material they could find readily available. On the East Coast, they use standard PVC pipe like this. This is drain waste and vent pipe that you'd see readily available at the Plumbing Supply or The Home Center.

Kevin

What's wrong with that?

Richard

Well, it was never designed to be able to take that kind of temperature over time. A simple plastic can get brittle over time. If you expose it to heating and cooling, temperature, age, it'll start to get brittle, so here is what it should look like right here.

Kevin

Nice and white.

Richard

Here is one that's been in for a long time here. You can see it discolored on the inside even more dramatically. Talk about brittle. Here is a pipe that was actually installed in a building. It was built in, and it expanded and contracted,

and it broke off here. Kevin

Whoa.

Richard

So now, it leaked into the building with carbon monoxide right here.

Kevin

Nobody likes a plumbing leak, but if it's water, you can deal with it. If it's carbon monoxide,

game over. Richard

Deadly,

absolutely deadly. Kevin

Okay.

Richard

So they established a standard that said from now on, you have to have -- If you're gonna use a PVC, it has to be a PVC that's been designed and tested for use as a gas vent.

Kevin

Okay.

Richard

So it would look like this. It would clearly say gas vent right on the piping.

You can see it. Kevin

Gas vent categories.

Richard

The other part of the standard is both the pipe and the fitting should be manufactured

by the same manufacturer. Kevin

Why is that?

Richard

Well, here is an example here. This is two different manufacturers. Do you see how loose this is?

Kevin

Oh, yeah.

Richard

Okay, now you might be able to put enough glue in there to make it, but you Don want to rely on the glue. You want the fitting itself to be tight.

Kevin

Because you want it airtight.

Richard

Yeah, this is the way it should be, you know?

Kevin

Oh, yeah. Got it,

okay. Richard

Okay? Okay, so that's an important standard.

Kevin

So I guess the lesson is, I mean, we're looking for this for new installation.

Richard

Yeah,

yeah. Kevin

If we have that?

Richard

Well, if you see in your basement as a homeowner that this is fully discolored, it might be time to have a pro come in and check it and find something that's a little safer.

Kevin

And as is always the case, a good CO detector is cheap insurance.

Richard

Cheap insurance, absolutely. Be safe.

Kevin

Good information, thank you. Hey,

Nathan. Nathan

Hi, Kevin.

Kevin

So you're thinking about upgrading an old door for us, huh?

Nathan

Yeah, the old hollow-core doors.

Kevin

Why, these things were everywhere, weren't they?

Nathan

They really were during the '50s and '60s, during the postwar boom, and they were putting them in every house, cheap,

easy to make. Kevin

Yep.

Nathan

They were hollow on the inside. There might be some cardboard or a few ribs in here to stiffen it up, some pine on the side, so you do your hinges and your doorknob.

Mm-hmm. Nathan

But very simple.

Kevin

And very light, like you said, not much to them.

Nathan

No, not at all.

Kevin

So the upgrade, what are you thinking?

Nathan

Well, a lot of people like the six-panel door,

which is what we have here. Kevin

Yeah.

Nathan

This is a raised six-panel door made up of rails and stiles. It's a really great look, and it's actually pretty easy to replicate.

Kevin

So you're thinking on this one, how you gonna do that?

Nathan

I'm gonna get some decorative trim. We'll nail it on, but first, let's strip the hardware off.

Kevin

Alright. Let's get it on the table.

Nathan

Alright, let's start with a 4-inch top rail. Now, we're gonna mark the layout of the door. Generally, rails and stiles are about 4 inches, but they grow a little bit larger as you go down the door. I'm gonna center my midrail on the doorknob, and it's okay if there's a little bit extra on the bottom rail. Then we can use a straightedge to connect the lines. Now that we have our layout, I know all the parts that I need. I'm gonna pull the measurements, cut all my rights first, then flip it over, set a jig, and cut all my lefts. Can you run a bead of glue on the inside of the line?

Kevin

You got it.

Nathan

Our trim pieces are glued to the face of the door and then are tacked down with a brad nailer. We got our trim nailed down. I puttied the holes, and I put some caulk around the trim,

so it's nice and tight. Kevin

Mm-hmm.

Nathan

So we're ready to start painting.

Kevin

And what did you pick for a paint?

Nathan

I used a -- I picked a satin finish because over the years, it's gonna be exposed to a lot of hands, so it handles the dirt pretty well.

Kevin

A little extra durability than the flat.

Nathan

Yeah. Brushing it on by hand, you get a nice kind of grain texture to it, where if we rolled it, you get a little bit more of a nap, so it's not bad to put that grain look to it. We have two coats of paint on it. It's nice and dry. We can install our new hardware.

Kevin

Getting rid of the old brass.

Nathan

I'm gonna gonna go for a more modern look. And there you have it. For a bedroom door, you might want to do both sides, but if it was a closet door, maybe just one side and paint the rear.

Kevin

Right, well, I'll tell you what. It's an easy upgrade, and it makes a huge difference.

Nice job. Nathan

Thank you.

Shannon. Shannon

Hey, Mauro.

Nice to meet you. Shannon

You too.

Mauro

Thanks for having us here.

Shannon

Yeah, welcome. This is our house. As you can see, we're on a busy road.

Mauro

Very busy,

yeah. Shannon

Yeah. So we wanted to update the curb appeal, and last summer we painted our door, and then we thought, "How else could we update the house and update the curb appeal?" Maybe the shutters, maybe go with a darker color, like a navy blue, make it pop.

Mauro

Oh, I like the idea. I like the front door color. I like the idea of this navy blue for the shutters 'cause right now we have this light gray siding and light blue shutters. They all kind of blend in together.

Shannon

Yeah, we were thinking, should we buy new shutters, or should we just paint our existing shutters?

Mauro

To me, the shutters looks in very good condition. I don't see a reason for you to buy new ones. Let's take them off, label them, and paint them.

Shannon

Awesome.

Mauro

Each shutter is held in place with six screws right through the face. Alright. Let's flip this over, and this is gonna be our shutter number 11. Alright, so we know exactly where to put them back. Okay, we're gonna start by cleaning the shutters up. You'll notice there's a little bit of dust on it. We're gonna mist with some clear water, and then we're gonna do some scrubbing. We're gonna mix this biodegradable detergent with water. The cleaner is concentrated. We're gonna add in one cup for 4 gallons of water. Alright, Shannon. I want you to dip your brush in there, and we're just gonna scrub the shutters just like that.

Shannon

Is there anything special about these brushes?

Mauro

Not really, it's just, like, a medium stiff, just good enough to scrub the vinyl. We want to get all the dust off, so the paint can stick. Let's make sure to get on this side, too. Let's spray off the back side and make it clean. Alright, Shannon, our shutters are completely clean, and you know it has this factory finish on it. I want to replicate that finish, and I'm gonna use this airless spray machine. The airless spray means it pumps the paint directly from the can, and it you can rent at The Home Center. I have already primed. I get all the water and air out of the system. It only pumps paint now. What do you think about the color?

Shannon

I love it. It's exactly what we're looking for.

Let's do it. Shannon

Yeah.

Mauro

Alright. Go ahead. See, you can't go like this. Look.

You're doing like this. Shannon

Okay.

It's kind of hard to stand. Mauro

Yeah. You got to go like this. Stop... Stop... Stop. Every time when you're out of the shutter, you let the trigger go.

Okay. Mauro

Okay. let me show you this little bit. Just like this. Okay?

Shannon

Okay. So what kind of paint this?

Mauro

It's an exterior premium paint that is good for almost any surface, including vinyl. Don't tilt the gun, yeah, yep. Go all the way out, okay?

Yeah. Shannon

Do I stand like this?

Mauro

That's it, perfect. That's good. Don't forget to overlap by 50 percent always. Yep. Nice, another one, yep, beautiful. Overlap by 50 percent always. Yep. Yep. Yep. Keep going. Yep. Keep going. You can see that I covered the grass with the drop cloths because definitely there's gonna be some overspray. First coat's dry, and now it's time for the second and final coat. Love that. It is important to line up the screws with the old holes. That's why we labeled all the shutters when we took them out. I want you to come right behind me and touch up the screwheads with a little bit of paint. Well, Shannon, take a look at it. What do you think?

Shannon

I love it.

Mauro

It's amazing what a little paint can do, huh?

Shannon

Yeah, compared to what the house looked like this morning, it really looks incredible.

Mauro

Perfect, are you happy?

Shannon

I'm so happy.

Mauro

If you're happy, I'm happy.

Kevin

Next time 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.

Man

Do you like it?

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's gonna show me how to build it.

Jimmy

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

Kevin

And...

Richard

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

Chuckles

Richard

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