Ask This Old House

Kevin: On "Ask This Old House," our experts travel across the country to answer questions about your house.

Today, Jenn travels to Idaho to meet a homeowner whose backyard has become a community gathering spot and is in need of some TLC.

Marina: Are you ready to shovel with us?

Jenn: Yeah.

Keep it moving.

Marina: Okay.

Awesome.

Adrienne: We like the rough side out on these boards.

Jenn: I like the texture, too.

Kevin: And are your window wells in rough shape?

Mark will show you how to replace them.

Mark: It's not as easy as it looks.

Kevin: On "Ask This Old House."

Jenn: Hey, Adam.

Adam: Hey, Jenn.

Welcome to Idaho.

Jenn: Thanks.

I heard you're quite the man here in Coeur d'Alene.

Adam: One of many hosts of these dinners that we started here.

Jenn: Fantastic.

So Monday night dinners.

Tell me all about this.

Adam: Well, I moved here about eight years ago.

I didn't know a single person, so I grew up with a mom who's just my role model, my inspiration.

And she raised us with a dinner called Monday night dinners that when we were all moving out of the house, she said, "Can we just come together every Monday and just have dinner with each other?

I'll cover the food.

Just let's get together."

Jenn: Having a meal together.

That's what every family should do, yeah.

Adam: Yeah, yeah.

Jenn: Or friends.

Adam: Yeah, everybody.

Jenn: Because friends become your family.

Adam: 100%.

Yeah.

And so I just decided to start walking around town and saying hello to strangers and invited them to have dinner at my home.

Jenn: Okay.

Adam: And I honestly didn't think a single person would show up.

And 11 people came to the first dinner.

Jenn: Amazing.

Adam: And we just had our 94th Monday night dinner.

We have thousands of people that come to them now.

Jenn: That's incredible.

I mean, sometimes you just need to say hi and it opens up the floor to everything.

Adam: People meet you in the middle.

Jenn: Yeah.

Adam: Every time.

Jenn: Well, let's go look at the space.

I want to see how you -- where you put everyone, how it's organized and what you need help with.

Adam: So this is the backyard here.

This is where we do it all.

Jenn: Very cool.

Tell me about this space up here.

Adam: So, every Monday night dinner, we have a band.

Jenn: This is a great little stage.

Adam: Yes.

Jenn: Fantastic.

Adam: Yeah.

These are only shade for the yard right here.

Jenn: It makes a big difference.

Adam: Very special space.

Huge.

Yeah, and then we have our communal seating here, which I love.

You know, you just put strangers together and people just start naturally talking to each other and sharing food with each other.

Jenn: Every other country does this, yeah.

Adam: Isn't that cool?

Jenn: It's a great conversation piece.

Adam: Simple.

Jenn: Yeah.

Adam: And then sand pit for the kids and then a climbing wall.

Every Monday night dinner I climb to the top to be able to take a picture of everybody.

We get the whole group together.

Jenn: That's incredible.

So this is the main flow of traffic?

Adam: Main flow, yeah.

Jenn: People from the front through here?

Adam: This is our biggest challenge.

And this is why I really wrote in to you guys, because right now it feels open because it's just you and me right here.

But imagine hundreds of people in this small backyard, so this can get really bottlenecked and we're just trying to find a way.

Jenn: So you need to organize the space and make it more accessible.

Adam: Yes, yes.

Jenn: Okay.

And over here is the food area?

Adam: Yeah.

So this is really like the main epicenter of all the cooking.

So this deck was actually just donated last year.

We actually -- It was just usually on dirt.

Um, but so pretty much everyone comes in and we have one gentleman, Kyle, who's our grill master that cooks for hundreds of people at every single dinner on this one little grill right here.

This was actually just donated, so it's a smaller grill.

Jenn: Everything is cooked from this?

Adam: Hundreds of people every single dinner, yeah.

Jenn: Okay, so I see, just first off, like, you don't have enough space and then the orientation of your cooking, you're facing out here to the road when you want to be facing and watching all your friends have a great time.

I think you really need an outdoor kitchen.

You need countertop space.

Then you can maybe even incorporate some of these pieces into it and then face out this way.

I spoke to one of the local designers here, this woman Adrian, who's amazing, and we discussed layout.

So outdoor kitchen being one, your friends need to know a path, a path to follow, something they don't even have to think or ask and just it'll help with congestion.

And then really, an overall cleanup of the whole yard.

Adam: I can't even tell you how much of a dream.

I mean, we've never made a penny with these dinners, so just thinking of an outdoor kitchen is a dream just to have, so.

Jenn: Well, you're doing something good for the community, so we're going to pay it back.

But we just need to borrow a few friends for the -- for the installation piece.

Adam: We got a few thousand of them.

You let me know how much you need.

Jenn: Alright.

You got it.

Adam: Thanks, Jenn.

Alright, Jenn, welcome to Monday night dinners.

This is our A-Team that we put together to help with this project.

This is Savage.

He's gonna be helping us with the outdoor kitchen.

Savage: Yeah, we're putting together a kitchen because they had a grill and a really small, if you want to call it a kitchen.

Jenn: Yeah, I saw that.

Savage: For the quantity of people that come to this event and so got together -- We're going to do a really nice kitchen for them.

Make it really nice with a sink, grill, griddle.

So it's a -- it's pretty fun.

It's gonna be nice.

Jenn: Sounds good to me.

Adam: Yes.

And this is Marina.

She's gonna be helping out landscaping and the pathway.

Jenn: So you're going to do the pathway and help people circulate around?

Marina: Yeah.

I want to bring in some fresh sod, some fresh bark, and then maybe you can help me design a pathway for flow.

Jenn: Well, I like the flow.

We need to tell people where to go without even thinking.

Marina: Yeah.

Jenn: So what I'm going to do is going to be jumping between the kitchen, the pathway, and all the projects and people around, and we'll get this thing done.

Marina: Awesome.

Savage: Sounds good.

Jenn: So yeah, let's do it.

It's gonna be great.

Adam: Let's have some fun.

Jenn: Alright.

Adam: Let's go.

Marina: Jenn.

Jenn: Hey.

Marina: Hi.

Jenn: Pathway checkup.

What do you guys have here?

Marina: Yeah.

So we're kind of planning just creating a pathway coming in, leading the crowd, doing a little circle around our fire pit.

This is what we're using.

It's an Idaho quartzite.

It's got a nice shine to it.

Jenn: Beautiful.

You mentioned it's a native stone, too?

Marina: Yeah.

Jenn: Okay.

Fantastic.

Marina: Yeah, absolutely.

And I decided to bring in some backup.

We're doing so much with the sod and the bark.

I wanted some extra hands.

Jenn: Great.

I love the stone.

Marina: Wonderful.

Jenn: You only have how many square feet to do?

Marina: Yeah.

We're gonna get it done.

Alright.

Thanks so much.

Jenn: I'm gonna check on the kitchen.

Marina: Great.

Thank you.

Jenn: Hey, Savage.

Savage: Hey.

What's happening, Jenn?

Jenn: Outdoor kitchen layout.

Savage: Yes.

Jenn: Looks like you got the plumbing, electrical, water all in place.

Savage: Yeah.

We're almost ready for the kitchen, but I have to do a little more welding to it.

I got an idea.

Yeah.

You want to try it?

Jenn: Can I -- Yes.

Savage: Do you know how to weld?

Jenn: No.

Savage: And this is, you know, soldering for adults.

Jenn: Yeah.

Savage: But I got a machine over here, and I can give you a little lesson.

Jenn: Sign me up.

Savage: Let's go.

Jenn: Let's go.

Savage: Alrighty.

To start it, you pull the trigger.

Jenn: Okay.

Savage: You have the tip of this wire roughly an eighth of an inch off.

And then when you start, you're either going to go a small zigzag, and you're going to keep moving forward slowly, or you're going to do a circle and you're just going to stop on the corner.

Jenn: Okay.

Savage: You have to have your helmet down.

Make sure it's turned on.

This is an automatic helmet.

So when you turn it on, you hear the click.

Jenn: Okay.

Savage: So now when the arc happens and there's that bright light, it'll turn on and it'll protect your eyes.

Jenn: Okay.

Ready?

Savage: Yep.

Marina: Okay, guys, so we're going to be putting sod over here.

It's going to run all the way across back behind you.

We're going to bring it in here.

Hey, nice to see you.

Ready to start doing some digging?

Jenn: I like you giving instructions.

Marina: Yeah.

We have a little more prep work to do.

We just hauled in a lot of sod.

Are you ready to shovel with us?

Jenn: Yeah.

Keep it moving.

Marina: Okay.

Awesome.

Let's go ahead and come just right up about to right here, you guys.

Savage: One thing I love about doing it out of steel is that it's really light.

Jenn: Yes, it's a lot lighter than cinder blocks.

Savage: Yeah.

Jenn: Nice work, buddy.

Alright, team walkway.

Marina: Hey, how's it going?

Jenn: You got another set of hands here.

Marina: Yeah.

Wonderful.

Jenn: Everything's looking good.

Marina: We're bringing in some sand to level this out.

As soon as they get done with that one, you can work on this one for us.

Jenn: Okay.

Marina: Yeah.

Jenn: So these -- this stone, this is the native stone, right?

Man: Idaho quartzite.

Incredibly durable stone.

It'll be here for at least 20 generations.

Jenn: Awesome.

Savage: 1, 2, 3.

Jenn: Perfect.

Hey, Adrienne.

How's it going?

What's up, bud?

Austin: Hi.

Jenn: How you doing?

Austin: Good.

How are you?

Jenn: You guys are doing a good job here.

You want to walk me through?

So it's everything is attached to this?

Adrienne: Yes, it is.

It's all attached to the OSB.

We're actually just about to put another course up, so your perfect timing is here.

Austin's going to lay the adhesive down on the back side of the boards.

Jenn: Perfect.

And this is all cedar?

Adrienne: This is all cedar.

Yep.

And it's going to look great with the countertop.

Jenn: It's going to go so -- Two natural elements together.

Adrienne: Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

So it looks beautiful when it's new.

And it'll age to this gorgeous gray when it's all -- when it's all good to go.

So then if you want to grab that side.

Jenn: Okay.

Adrienne: And then we're going to tip it up like this.

We're going to start at one end down here.

And we're just going to -- I'm going to grab the mallet and then I'll hand it your way.

Jenn: Okay.

Adrienne: Tap it down.

Now we're going to set the level on top.

Okay.

So we're a little down on this side.

And we're just going to kind of bring it up just a touch.

Here.

Jenn: I like the electronic level that tells you precision, right?

Adrienne: Yeah.

I'm just going to bring it up and that'll get us -- That's where we want it to be.

Okay.

Set that down.

And then I will start over here.

I'll get this one in and I'll pass it your way.

Jenn: Okay.

Adrienne: And we'll go about every 12 inches or so just to make sure it's on nice and tight.

Jenn: You like the nail gun?

Austin: I love it.

Jenn: What do you like about this whole project?

Austin: Like what -- what it looks like at the finish.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Austin: And how when you turn the lights on, finish everything up, how it looks at the end.

Jenn: Cool.

Love it.

Adrienne: We like the rough side out on these boards.

Jenn: I like the texture too.

Adrienne: Okay, you got your side lined up and then... Jenn: Yep.

Adrienne: Come down.

Jenn: Nice design, by the way.

Adrienne: Oh, thank you.

Jenn: It's very simple structure.

I like how lightweight it is, especially on top of this deck.

Right?

You know, when you cinder block up here.

Adrienne: Uh-huh.

Okay, let's check our level before we go shooting nails in.

Jenn: [ Chuckles ] Adrienne: Okay.

We're good.

Jenn: Pretty awesome.

Once you get the first one level, then the rest is -- The first one's always the hardest, right?

Adam: Jenn, Marina, Savage, I cannot thank you guys enough for what you guys have done for the home, for the dinners, and what you've allowed us to do to bring this community and the world closer together in our backyard here.

Jenn: Dude, what you do for this community and the Monday night dinners do just to put all of you together.

And it's completely apparent what it means to everybody.

I mean, all of you guys put your skills and your love and brought all your friends and built this incredible place out back.

So I was super psyched to be part of it, so I can't wait to see it in action.

You know what day it is, though, right?

Jenn: Uh... Adam: It's Monday, baby.

Jenn: Oh, yeah.

Adam: We got a Monday dinner in one hour.

Marina: Whoo!

Savage: It's time to party now.

Adam: Monday night.

Are you staying?

Jenn: I have to.

Adam: Let's go.

Come on, let's go.

Savage: Whoo-hoo!

Adam: Uh, who's here for the first time tonight?

[ Cheers and applause ] Unreal.

Unreal.

You know, we do about 16 dinners a year now from May to October.

And this is our 95th Monday night dinner here tonight.

So... [ Cheers and applause ] Everything's been you guys because when we give to our community, we also give to the place that we live in.

We give to the people that we love.

We get to live in a better place because of the heart that we give back to the place that we live in.

And this is our backyard.

This is our community.

These dinners are ours.

[ Cheers and applause ] Yeah, everyone come up here, please.

This is what it took this week to make this possible.

This is the army of people that was here, selflessly doing everything they could to make these dinners possible.

[ Cheers and applause ] [ Man howling ] Yes, everyone on me!

1, 2, 3!

Yes!

I love you guys.

Thank you.

Let's go eat!

Mark: Allie.

Allie: Mark, so nice to see you.

Mark: My pleasure.

How you doing?

Allie: Doing well.

Thanks.

Mark: Alright.

Allie: Thanks for coming out.

Mark: So, I love the house.

I think that's a perfect spot for your flowers.

Allie: Thank you so much.

Mark: But you wrote me about the window wells.

Allie: We did, yes.

Mark: Yep.

Allie: As you can see, they're in pretty rough shape.

Mark: Yes.

Allie: Unsure what to do.

Mark: Yep.

Allie: Hoping for some advice.

Mark: Okay.

Excellent.

The few things that I do see, obviously rust.

They're off balance.

So this edge is a little closer to the window than this edge.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Encased in asphalt, which isn't going to be a problem, but it's just going to be a little more work.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: There was also a second window well?

Allie: There is, yes, just on the other side of the house.

Mark: Alright.

Let's check that out too.

Allie: Sounds good.

Mark: Okay.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: So I see similar problems from the one over there, but this one will be easier to deal with only because it's in mulch and not asphalt.

Allie: Okay.

Question for you, though.

What are window wells actually for?

What's their purpose?

Mark: So one of the things they do is they're going to help mitigate the water.

They're going to keep pests out.

But they also let in light.

It protects the window.

I think that's most important to me.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Let's get some tools and get on it.

Allie: Let's do it.

Mark: Alright.

Alright, Allie, so before we get going with the demo, a couple of things we should talk about.

Allie: Yes.

Mark: So as you know, we're going to have to take out this asphalt just to get to the window well.

We could patch it back in with asphalt.

We could do a temporary walkway of some type.

I don't know what your thoughts are.

Allie: You know, honestly, I think we could do temporary.

We're going to redo this walkway and our driveway over time.

So I think temporary is the perfect fix.

Mark: Okay, great.

Allie: How are we going to take out the asphalt?

What tools do we use?

Mark: Great question.

So what we have -- This is a typical saw that you'll see on any construction site.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: The big differential is going to be this blade.

So this blade is specifically made to cut asphalt.

Allie: Love that.

Mark: Alright.

Allie: What about our vacuum?

Mark: So the vacuum is actually kind of a special unit as well.

It's what they call a HEPA vac, and what that does is separate the dust that we're going to kick up from some of the contaminants that may or may not be in this asphalt.

So that's why we're going to use that.

Allie: Sounds great.

Mark: Alright?

So the last thing I did want to talk to you about is symmetry.

We have a fixed piece right here.

This is the step.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: So I measured 28 inches from that step all the way to this first jamb.

Allie: Yep.

Mark: So I'm just going to do 28 inches from that jamb over there.

And that's going to be our cut line.

Allie: Sounds great.

Mark: Alright?

Well, let's get going.

All I'm going to ask you to do is take the end of that hose and just follow my saw, suck up the dust, and we'll do our job.

No power tools here.

I'm going to use the rake first.

I'm going to pull this mulch away.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: You can follow me up with the shovel, and any dirt goes right onto the top.

Allie: And how far down are we digging at this point?

Mark: We're going to end up going probably a total of 10 inches down because we're going to replace that soil with gravel.

Okay.

Allie: One last one for good measure?

Mark: Yes.

And if you want to stay right there and switch shovels.

Allie: Yep.

Mark: With the tamper.

Allie: Tamper.

Mark: Now we're going to use that just to compact everything.

Allie: Alright.

Mark: And that way we won't get any settlement.

Allie: Is this okay pressure?

Mark: That is perfect.

And then we're ready for the crushed stone.

Drainage is very important.

So that's what we're going to use the gravel for.

Allie: Even layers.

Mark: So, this is looking good right now.

Why don't we go to the other side?

We'll prep it the same way.

Allie: Let's do it.

Mark: Alright, Allie.

So ready for crushed stone?

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Throw another one in there, Allie.

Allie: Alright.

How's best to open it?

Mark: Just you know what I do is I just go like that.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: And then she's ready.

Allie: I'm gonna -- I'm gonna give it a shot on this one.

Okay.

Mark: I like that little twist you just did there.

Allie: Thank you.

Thank you.

Did you see that?

Trying new things.

Mark: [ Chuckles ] Allie: Alright.

Mark: Alright, Allie, now we're ready for install.

And to do that, we're going to use this, which is a hammer drill.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Okay?

So it's a little bit bigger than a regular drill.

But on the end of this hammer drill we have what we call a masonry bit.

That's what we're going to need to get into the concrete foundation.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Alright?

And once we drill those holes, this is what we're going to use to fix this to the foundation.

And this is what I call an expanding wedge bolt.

What I mean by that is you can see this nut right here.

Allie: Yep.

Mark: Once I tighten that nut up and I use this ratchet to do so.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: This sleeve is going to expand.

So it's going to grab that hole and we're not going to be able to get it out.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: So we're going to do that six times because we have six holes.

Allie: Awesome.

Mark: Yep.

Allie: A question about the well itself -- What kind of material?

Is this a standard height?

How do we think about something like that?

Mark: Okay.

So I don't think there's any other standard material to use other than galvanized steel.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Why?

Because it puts up with the weather.

We get a lot of snow.

We get a lot of rain.

This galvanized material is not going to rust.

So to me, that's what you have to use.

Allie: Awesome.

Mark: As far as the height of these window wells go, it's almost what do you need?

In our case, we needed something that was 18 inches deep because that is where we're going to be left with some exposure on our light for the window.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: So that's why we're using 18.

But if you had a deeper well, you would use a 24-inch or the other standard is going to be something a lot shorter, which is a 12-inch.

Allie: Oh, awesome.

Thanks for that.

Mark: Okay.

So, the first thing I want to do is establish a center line in the window.

The next thing I want to do is go from flange to flange.

And that's 41 1/2.

So I want to go 20 3/4 from my center line.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: And again using a pencil.

Allie: Yep.

Mark: And I'm going to do the same thing.

20 3/4.

From the sill, I want to come down about a foot.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Which will give me that mark right there.

And why am I doing this, Allie?

This is what's going to give me my reveal for the light.

And... Allie: We look good?

Mark: Yep.

So we have a hole right there to drill.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Okay.

Allie: Just mark each of them?

Mark: I'm just going to mark each of them.

Allie: Alright.

Mark: That is there, so.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Let's take that out.

I want to make sure I go straight into that hole or the bolt is going to be off.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: Okay?

So very important.

Yeah.

The purpose of that washer is to make sure that nut doesn't go through the hole.

Allie: Okay.

Great.

Wow.

That was really easy.

Thank you.

So build up, but still tamp down.

Mark: You still have to pack it, right.

Allie: Yep.

Mark: The only thing we have to do now is this walkway.

Allie: Okay.

Mark: I brought some crushed blue stone, which is very decorative.

Alright, Allie, what do you think?

Allie: I think they look awesome, Mark.

Mark: Alright.

Well, great.

They do make a standard cover for that well, so if you have any interest, all you have to do is go down to the store and they'll have them.

Allie: Awesome.

Mark: Alright.

Allie: Thank you so much, Mark.

This has been so much fun.

Mark: You got it.

And if you have questions about your house, we'd love to hear from you, so keep them coming.

Until then, I'm Mark McCullough for "Ask This Old House."

Kevin: Next time on "Ask This Old House," Richard will show us how to make an old toilet fit properly on a new tile floor.

Then Lee offers some useful maintenance tips that will keep your gas-powered mower up and running.

There's something that an average homeowner can do?

Lee: I think so.

I really do.

Kevin: And have you ever wanted to add a secret door to your space?

Nathan will show you how.

Man: It's exactly what we wanted.

Kevin: All that on "Ask This Old House."