This Old House

Kevin

Today on "This Old House"...

Richard

We're ready to start demo, but there's a few things we have to do first.

Roger

Our homeowners want to save these roses, and I'll show you how to do it.

Ron

And we found this. The sleepers are just coated with this mold.

Kevin

Oh, man! What happened to all this plumbing here?

Richard

I've never seen anything like this before.

Roger

There's already rot going on in that trunk.

Kevin

So what have you found up here?

Tom

Well, a bit of a surprise.

Richard

It's really the classic plumber's lament.

Kevin

Nice!

Tom

This one right here is right on.

Kevin

A family that paints together, stays together. Nice job.

Richard

Where will a slab like this be used?

The money's in the detail. -Kevin

Oh, look at that fit. That is beautiful.

Kevin

Hi, there. I'm Kevin O'Connor, and welcome back to "This Old House." Today, we start work on our project here in Newton, Massachusetts. And as you can see, it is a modest house. It was built in the late 1800s, and we're working for a young couple with two small children.

And his parents are also gonna be spending some time here, so we're gonna have three generations in the house. Now, last week, we started work on a new addition. We had a big piece of equipment come in, excavate for a new foundation. And, today, we start pouring that foundation.

Good morning,

Tommy. -Tom

Good morning, Kevin. How are you?

Kevin

All right. How are you?

Tom

I'm good. Say hi to Michael. He's our intern. He's gonna be working with us now.

Kevin

Oh, terrific. Welcome aboard.

Thank you. -Kevin

Hey, you and I should talk so that I can tell you what it's like working for these Silvas.

Tom

Here we go. Don't pay any attention to him.

Kevin

No, we're happy to have you, Michael. So, foundation day, Tommy?

Tom

Foundation guys here. That's Matt. He helped us out on our last project. And he's putting up a different type of form this time.

It's a wood form that gets removed. It's actually a speed form or rapid form.

It goes in real quick. -Kevin

Mm-hmm.

Tom

And after the concrete sets up, we'll remove it.

Kevin

All right, so today we're building it.

Tom

Today we're building it. You want to give us a hand?

Kevin

Sure.

Tom

Let's get down into the hole. Get your hat on. And get these things rolling. All right, so if you look at these forms, these are actually one-inch-thick plywood forms.

And there's a coating on them to protect them. These panels are 10 inches apart, and that's established by the length of these bars right here. But if we wanted that concrete to be thinner, like maybe six inch or even 24 inches, you just get a different tie. Also attached to the panel is this piece of flat stock right here.

And that gives it even more rigidity. Along with that is a little clip that you swing around and lock into these rods to hold it in position.

Okay. -Tom

Now, down at the bottom, we have some rebar that's tied into this tie right here so it will stay into position when we pour the concrete. All right, Michael, so take these right here. Matt's setting the panel. I want you to slide them in that hole right here, and he's gonna lock them in.

Start up with this one right here, and then work your way down. Slide it right in, that's right, yeah. All right. Okay.

Okay, now I'm gonna pick up the rebar, so put that underneath the rebar and into that hole. Push it in a little bit. There you go. All right, now put the next one up in.

Make sure you push it in enough so it's -- that's it, there you go. Push it in. Good. All right, now you can put the upper ones.

Now what Matt's doing right now, he's actually drilled some holes in the stone foundation. It's called a rubble-stone foundation. And what we'll do is we'll lock this foundation, the new foundation to the old, and so we won't have to worry about any movement at all. All right, so now what we need to do here is we actually want to scribe a board along the foundation to keep the concrete from flying through here.

I'm gonna take my tape measure, hold it against the foundation, and follow any irregularity of the foundation. Now just take a sabre saw and cut it right here. Okay, so now all we gotta do is push it in. All right, so this is why we don't have to be that fussy when we scribe it, 'cause we're gonna fill that gap with foam.

All right, so now what we're gonna do, we're actually gonna get a pump truck right there, and that's gonna bring the concrete from the cement truck down. And we're gonna blow it into our form. Want to make sure it gets its way, works all around the rebar. We're gonna lay it in there in about three-foot increments, work our way around.

So, Michael, this is why you always want to wear safety glasses when you're doing this, 'cause she spits back at ya. All right, now the next thing we want to do is we want to vibrate it. This is a vibrator, and we're gonna vibrate the concrete, take all the air out of it, make sure there's no voids. All right, turn it on.

Vibrator whirring

Okay. -Tom

Just move it up and down. Get it right down.

Whirring continues

Okay. -Tom

All right, you do it.

Whirring continues

Okay. -Tom

All right, up and down, slow. There you go. Now pick it up and move it over. Over that way a little more.

Yep. All right. Move up and down, then move it over. Nice and slow, there you go.

Perfect. Move over.

Whirring continues

Okay. -Tom

All right, that's good. All right, so now what we'll do is we'll let this whole foundation set up till tomorrow. Strip the forms, and start forming for the garage.

Richard

Inside the house, demolition is set to begin. Our crew is putting on their safety equipment to make sure they're protected from hazardous materials. But before they start swinging hammers, there's one more safety precaution we're gonna take, and that's down in the basement. Inside the walls of any house, there are lines -- gas, water, and electric.

For gas, it starts here at the front of the building. You can see the gas meter right here. Above it is the main gas shutoff. I'm gonna turn that so that the knob is actually perpendicular to the direction of the pipe.

Okay. Now you would think that shutting the gas of here would be enough, but we're not done. So down here, all this mechanical equipment's coming out. This wall's leaving, which means these gas lines have to be cut.

So what happens if somebody comes along and turns on that main gas shutoff valve with open pipes? So by code, we have to find a place to put a cap or a plug onto the line. The most logical place for me is right here. Okay.

Okay, that should do it. So now if anybody turns that main shutoff valve on, we're safe. For the water, it's a similar story. There's a water meter at the front of the building with a shutoff valve.

I could just shut it right off. But I'd like to keep some water for a bathroom for the crew and for construction. So supply comes to right here. You can see it tees two ways.

This goes to the existing bathroom, this is to the new work. So I could just shut it off right here. But, again, if somebody came along and opened this valve after this was cut, it would flood. So I'm just gonna cap it.

All right, and this is a solderless cap. Couldn't be easier. For electricity, it's pretty much the same drill. We want to be safe, turn off the electricity to the building.

But we still need electricity for the workers. So I'm gonna leave the main disconnect on and turn off the individual breakers inside the house. Now we'll run a special heavy-duty cable up to our electrical distribution box for all the workers. So gas, water, electricity.

We're all safe. Start swinging those hammers.

Kevin

A few days ago out here in the back yard, Charlie Silva took down our old single-car garage. He used a piece of equipment to knock it down, and that gave us enough room to bring in some even bigger equipment so that we could put our foundation in for the kitchen bump-out and a new two-car garage right here. Now we've got Roger. You and your boys are protecting the beautiful birch tree, 'cause we love this specimen.

Roger

And we know there's gonna be a lot of construction going on, so we want to make sure that they don't get near the trunk or the root system of this tree.

Kevin

So this keeps everyone away. I love it. All right.

Roger

But I've got a little surprise for ya. I have an apprentice on this project.

I want you to meet Corey. -Corey

Nice to meet you,

I'm Corey. -Kevin

Nice meeting you, Corey. Pleasure, welcome aboard. And I know we're gonna hear your story a little later, so I'm looking forward to that.

Definitely. -Kevin

All right, and so the tree is not the only thing we're protecting, Roger?

Roger

Not protecting. We're taking away some of the roses over here, Kevin, all along the perimeter.

Kevin

Liz, I've heard that you've got some sentimental attachment to these roses.

Liz

Yes, I do. Roses were my mom's favorite flower, and these particular roses often bloomed right on my birthday. So she called them my birthday roses. But they've been here for a long, long time, and they feel like they should stay with the house, so...

Kevin

That's a great way to remember your mom.

Liz

Yeah.

Kevin

So what goes into saving the roses, Roger?

Roger

Kevin, I'm gonna get down and clear the leaves out and try to find out where the actual rose is. These are spreaders, and they've traveled quite a bit. All right. So I can see the center of the rose is right there, and all this stuff is just rambling out.

We're gonna pop it out of the ground using a transplant shovel. Corey, bring me the shovels. What I want you to do is we're gonna take and -- see the center of the rose right there?

Corey

Mm-hmm.

Roger

I'm gonna try to slide... and go all the way around it and see if we can just pop it out of the ground.

Corey

Kind of like cutting it out?

Roger

Yep, same thing on your side, right around.

Corey

All right.

Roger

So once you drive it down in, just try to lift up a little bit.

Corey

All right.

Roger

We gotta get the whole thing loose. Gotta work your way all the way around the back and drive it down as deep as you can, cutting the roots that are there. Okay. Okay.

Pretty big root system. -Roger

It is. There's one big root under here.

Think we got it. -Corey

Almost out.

Roger

Feels like there's one more in front. What do you think?

Corey

Almost out.

Roger

Maybe.

Okay. -Corey

And it's out.

Roger

Now let's leave it right there for a second. I want to take a pair of hand pruners, and I'm gonna cut off all these limbs -- to about a foot in length. Make a pile there. Watch out, they do have thorns on them.

Okay. -Roger

All right, I'm gonna take and set this right in the pot. Now, Liz, you can help, too. You get that small shovel. Take and fill all around this.

Fill it completely to the top. I'm gonna shake it as you go. We'll get it all down inside. I don't want to water it right now because it's gonna turn everything to mud.

But when I get it my house, I'm gonna give it a good soaking. And put a little more on this side. All right. That's looking pretty good.

We're gonna take this outside, Corey,

and put it right on the truck. -Corey

Sounds good.

Roger

Got a hold?

Corey

Yep.

Liz

Thank you, guys.

Kevin

Oh, that's a nice big one. That bodes well, right?

Liz

Oh, yeah!

Kevin

So I hear you want to save some lilacs on the property, as well.

Liz

Yes, those are some of my favorite flowers, and they've been here for a long time. And we're hoping to save those, too.

Roger

Corey, transplanting the lilac is one of the hardest shrubs to move. It's got a really scraggly root system in it. Because we're gonna lose so much of the root system, I want to cut it back with some of the bigger branches.

Corey

Okay. There we go.

Roger

That's a big one, but gotta go. Hold it so it doesn't rip, all right?

Okay. -Roger

Beautiful.

Corey

There we go.

Roger

I'm gonna try to sneak in here. And I'm gonna cut the roots in here, and I want you to see how you can do out there, okay?

Corey

All right.

Roger

Same thing, drive it down in the ground.

Kevin

Roger's assistant, Corey, has been a landscape apprentice for the past year. He's part of what we call Generation Next, the people who will take over in the building trades. How did Corey get here? Well, let's just say that Roger was looking for a few good landscapers.

Roger

Corey is actually a military guy. He's in the Marine Reserves.

Kevin

Corey has known since he was a kid that he wanted to join the Marines.

Corey

It's always been a thought -- probably since, like, sixth grade. My mom's twin brother actually was a Marine, and, unfortunately, he passed away before I got to meet him. And all I remember is she would just talk so highly of him, of how awesome he was. And his picture's hanging up in the house.

So, like, I kind of almost picture myself, every time I'd walk by it, in the uniform.

Kevin

Like many suburban kids, Corey's high school prepped him for the college track. They were surprised when he announced instead of the Ivy League, he was headed to boot camp.

Corey

So they were all expecting, like, Harvard, all these big-name schools. When I said I was going off to the Marine Corps, it seemed so foreign to them. But then in the end, they said, "That's awesome." Like, they couldn't be more proud.

Kevin

A few weeks after graduation, Corey found himself at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Corey

You hate it when you're there in boot camp. And then you look back, and you're like, "That was the best thing I ever did in my life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Kevin

13 weeks later, he's in the Marine Reserves, but still thinks he needs college.

Corey

I went to at actually UMass Lowell for a semester. And I realized this wasn't for me, I didn't really like school. Kind of finished that up when I was in high school. So I started to look for a job, and that's where I kind of stumbled upon Roger after that.

Roger

He's a tough kid. So we figured that between his training and being a nice person, that he'd fit right in with us.

Corey

It's a little bit of a shock how much hard work went into it. It seemed a lot easier at first, like, in my mind. And then when I started doing my first day when I came home, after that first day, I was sore in a way I didn't think I could be sore. I like working when we do, actually, like the masonry stuff, like patios and the stone walls.

So I like to see the progression of how my knowledge is kind of growing. So that's what I like about landscaping, compared to some of the other trades is that it's a lot easier to see the progression of your work.

Kevin

Yeah.

Corey

I'm kind of like a blunt tool right now. I just -- I'm over there, I'm the guy digging a hole.

Kevin

Do you have people come up to you now and ask you, like, "Hey, what do you do?"

Corey

I tell them, "I'm in the Marine Corps Reserves," which I love, and I say, "I'm landscaping now." And they'll say, "How do you like that?" And I'm like, "It's good. Hard work, but it pays off."

Roger

I'm gonna take and roll this out. And wrap it around, and then you zip-tie it to the post. Once we have it in place, we'll take a knife and cut it right off.

Corey

Sounds good.

Roger

Corey definitely is a classic example of Generation Next, what we're looking for to come in, learn with their hands, learn how to do things, and then go on from there.

Kevin

What does it mean for a young person to team up with someone like you?

Roger

School of hard knocks. We all go through it when we're doing, no matter how much you know, you join another organization. But if you're with the right person, it's not hard knocks, it's learning time.

Corey

I loved working for Roger for the past year. It's been a good experience. And I have no regrets for it.

Roger

You want to try, give it a pull?

Great. Kevin

All right. Look at that.

Roger

It came out way better than I thought, Liz.

Corey

Finally out.

Roger

Walk me through the gate.

Kevin

All right. We removed the old HVAC system from the basement. And while we were at it, we decided to do some selective demo. But as soon as Tommy started work down there, we realized we had a problem.

So we called in our demolition expert, Ron Peik. And, well, it's obvious he's been here for a little bit 'cause we've got plastic up everywhere. And he's helped us out in the past. Hey, Ron.

Good to see you.

Ron

Kevin, good to see you, too.

Kevin

Actually, it's not good to see you -- 'cause every time you're here, we got a problem.

It's always good news. -Kevin

What did you find?

Ron

Well, we were doing the demolition, taking up the floor. And we found this.

Kevin

Oh, man! What am I looking at?

Ron

A little bit of mold there.

Kevin

More than a little, right?

Ron

Yeah, the sleepers are just coated with this mold.

Kevin

Oh, this is a fine-quality mold. Boy, it is everywhere, huh? And this is just nasty stuff.

Ron

Yeah, it sure is. It's very nasty. And it's also eating the wood. The mold is using the wood as a food source.

It has moisture, it has wood, it has oxygen. This will eventually digest this all the way down to a pile of dirt when it's all done.

Kevin

And not to mention the health issues.

Ron

Right, serious health issues for a lot of people. You have everything from allergic reactions, headaches, watery eyes, respiratory problems.

Kevin

So we definitely want to get it out of here. But why is this stuff here to begin with? I'm looking at the way that they built this floor.

Ron

When they finished this basement in the 1980s, they just rested these sleepers, these are just regular spruce 2x4s, right on the concrete floor. This is an old concrete floor, there's no vapor barrier. That means that the groundwater vapor is coming right up through the concrete, wicking right into this wood. So this wood is always damp.

If you put a moisture meter on here, it would be reading probably off the charts.

Kevin

If you've got water and you've got wood, you've got the potential for mold. And in this case, we've got tons of it. And so the whole floor has to get out of here?

Ron

Yeah, we were hoping to save some of these walls here. They weren't needed for the renovation. But now they all gotta go. They were all built the same way.

Kevin

Everything's going, all right. And you're prepped for the demo?

Ron

Basically, poly and duct tape, isolate that work area, keep the dust all in here. Those mold spores are gonna be getting kicked up as we're pulling this stuff up.

Mm-hmm. Ron

HEPA filter negative air, that keeps the whole work area under negative pressure. Once again, if we don't have it and we're missing something in this containment, gotta make sure that the air is getting sucked into and not blown out of our work area. Guys are gonna be wearing disposable plastic suits, protects their clothing. HEPA filtered respirators so that they're not breathing in all those mold spores.

Kevin

Well, let's get it out of here.

Drill whirring

Kevin

Drill whirring

Kevin

Ron

Well, Kevin, so now you see the wall's gone. We've gotten rid of all the mold. We had a fair amount under there. We've HEPA vacuumed the area, so it's all pretty well bilk cleaned down.

And then, basically, we're gonna wash these walls down. And all the remaining walls and floors and even the poly --

Kevin

And what are you washing it with?

Ron

It's hydrogen peroxide-based cleaner. It's got hydrogen peroxide and it's got some surfactants in there. It's gonna kill the remaining mold, and it's also gonna help us just wash this whole work area down so that we're clean and ready to turn it over.

Kevin

Clean. But we are not ready to actually start rebuilding in here, 'cause we've gotta address that moisture issue first.

Ron

Right. Before anything else happens in here, you have a vapor barrier issue. There's obviously a high water table, water's coming up. They could either put a penetrating sealant down there, or they could actually -- with all this headroom, they could actually put another slab down.

Kevin

So I know the homeowners are considering one of those if they decide to rebuild, and we'll get an answer for that. But first, next time, we're gonna be opening up our kitchen. So that means that some walls come down, and some beams have to go up. Until then, I'm Kevin O'Connor.

Ron

And I'm Ron Peik.

Kevin

For "This Old House." Next time on "This Old House"... As part of our Generation Next campaign, we initiated a nationwide search for people who are interested in the building trades and interested in working with us. Nathan, Bailey, Austin, nice to meet you guys. Welcome to the site.

Our homeowners are at the stage of the project where they've gotta make a lot of decisions about the inside finishes. Boy, that is gonna draw your eye to it.

Liz

It really will.

Kevin

I've never even heard of this. That's next time on "This Old House."