This Old House

Kevin

Today on "This Old House," some 100-year-old subfloor becomes a pantry door.

Roger

I'm gonna help the next generation of landscapers restore a historic garden.

Richard

And radiant heating is gonna make this garage toasty-warm. What happened to all this plumbing here? 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. -Richard

Oh, look at that fit. That is beautiful.

Roger

You ready to get to work?

Yeah. Roger

Let's go.

Kevin

Hi, there. I'm Kevin O'Connor. And welcome back to "This Old House," where we are working on this modest home in Newton, Massachusetts for a young couple who's trying to make more room for three generations of their family. Now, the budget is tight, so they're trying to save money wherever they can, and one of those places that they could was here in the dining room.

When Tommy and Charlie pulled up the strip-oak flooring, they found a subfloor down below that was original to the house and old-growth timber. And that gave them an idea. Right here is the new pantry, and you can see it is framed out for what was going to be a pocket door -- a door that would be hidden half of the time. But when they found that old-growth timber, they had an idea.

What if they built a barn door that would be exposed all of the time and the family could enjoy it? Well, that's exactly what Charlie's working on right now in his workshop. Hey, Charlie. How are you?

Charlie

Good, Kevin. How you doing?

Kevin

All right, so this is the stuff you guys found, huh? Well, I love it. What do you think it is?

Charlie

I think it's old-growth pine, and the homeowners want a rough side

facing the kitchen... Kevin

Yeah?

Charlie

...and I think these boards are gonna be perfect.

Kevin

All right, so, what are we doing today?

Charlie

I'm gonna finish taking the cut nails out. You want to give me a hand?

Kevin

Yeah, sure. Got some old remnants in there. Let me get some tools. Oh, yeah, it's all throughout, right?

Charlie

If you can, just give 'em a good little whack, and then we'll flip 'em over and pull 'em out.

Kevin

Probably original cut nails, right?

Charlie

Oh, yeah. Well, these old cut nails held this floor down for a long time.

Kevin

Look at that. That's an old one.

Charlie

Well, these boards have a finish on one side, rough on the other. We want to save the rough side and want to clean up the finished side by taking about 1/16 off with a thickness planer.

Machine whirring

Whirring continues

Whirring stops

Charlie

We're gonna clean these edges up with the joiner.

Whirring continues

Charlie

Let's lay these down, rough side up.

Kevin

No particular order? How's that look to you?

Charlie

I think it looks great. What do you think?

Kevin

It looks good to me.

Charlie

All right, we're gonna put these together with a series of floating tenons. We want to space them about every foot and then we'll glue 'em in place and then we'll cut the door to length.

Kevin

All right. Want to mark 'em?

Machine whirring

Whirring continues

Charlie

I'm gonna put the glue in the mortise, 'cause I don't want any glue on the edges, and you want to follow me with the tenons? All right, let's start tapping them together. Nice and even. That's it.

Let's square up one end of the door, and then we'll measure it to cut it.

Saw blade whirring

Whirring continues

Charlie

All right, let's cut this door to length. You want to mark it 6'7 1/2".

Saw blade whirring

Charlie

The last thing we have to do is put these top and bottom rails on. We're gonna glue 'em in place and then fasten 'em with cut nails again.

Kevin

Is that the side you want up there?

Yep. Kevin

Okay.

Charlie

You want to hold this in place while I tack it?

Kevin

Just make sure we're good over there. Hang on one second. Yes, that looks pretty good there. That is looking pretty good, Charlie, huh?

Not too bad. Charlie

Looks good. Alls we need is some exposed hardware for this door to slide on and we're all done.

Kevin

Love it.

Roger

As part of our Generation NEXT program, we are working with technical students from all over the country. Today, we're working with horticultural students from Minuteman Tech in Lexington, Mass. The National Park Service has asked for their help in restoring a historic flower bed, and I'm gonna give 'em a hand.

Sarah

So, today we're going to be taking these daylily clumps and dividing them, and then we're going to be expanding them down the walkway so that we can fill in more spaces. And to help us out is Roger Cook.

Hi. Sarah

Hey, Roger.

Roger

How are you?

Sarah

Good.

Roger

Anyone know why we're dividing these?

Nicholas

'Cause they're getting too big, and they're gonna be dead in the middle.

Roger

There you go. You got the right answer. All right, I usually start by making a cut in the middle, and then I'll take and divide it this way. And once more here.

And that usually leaves me with four pieces. And you don't have to baby these. They're one of the toughest plants around. So, how would you do it?

Sarah

Usually what I do is I dig up the entire daylily patch and then I divide it outside of the hole and then place it where I want it. And, like I tell the students, if you go to the garden center and buy one daylily, over time, you can eventually place them in other parts of your yard.

Roger

A great thing about it is when you divide 'em, you have friends with gardens, you give 'em some of your daylilies, and it goes over big-time.

Great idea. Roger

You ready to get to work?

Yeah. Roger

Let's go.

Sarah

The horticulture profession is actually, um, looking for a lot of work right now. I think it has to do a lot with students that don't really want to get dirty. There's a lot of that. A lot of students want to be on the computer, and there's nothing wrong with that.

We have jobs in horticulture, landscape architecture, design, things like that, um, where you do get to spend a lot of time inside, but there's still, um, you know, a rare student that wants to go outside, get dirty, and experience nature and be with science.

Roger

It looks pretty good. Might be a little deep, so you want to push a little back in.

Lola

I'm the person who can't just sit in a seat all day to learn. I really love hands-on work and learning about the plants and working in the greenhouse, working on job sites. It's really helpful to actually be able to experience it.

Nicholas

Honestly, I really do just like being outside, and I like getting dirty and working with plants, you know, solving problems, whether it be with food or someone wants their yard to look nice. It's just -- It's such a big industry, and it's just something that's drawn my attention since I was little.

Jeffrey

I love working with my hands, to be able to see something that's untouched for such a long time, and be able to change it into something beautiful.

Sarah

The students love it. I think they get such a fun experience with us. We get to go off-campus a lot. This is a great project.

We do a lot of projects like this around the school and around the state and we get to network and they just love it. By the time they leave us and graduate and go on to college or a job, they have more certifications than a lot of people that have graduated with a degree in horticulture.

Jeffrey

10 years from now, I hope that I will be the owner of a very successful landscape business, and I want to incorporate landscape design and a little bit of arbor.

Nicholas

I'd like to be owning and operating my own tree company and then fire-fighting on the side, hopefully for the big city of Boston.

Sarah

Makes me feel really proud when we see them come back and what they've done with their lives and it's just -- It's really rewarding. Best job around.

Kevin

Hey, Ed. Our homeowners here in Newton have always complained that this corner of the living room is cold. Apparently there's always a draft. So Tommy and Charlie are trying to solve the mystery down in the basement.

Hey, Tommy. Hey, Charlie.

Tom

Hey,

Kevin. Charlie

Hey.

Kevin

What are you guys finding down here?

Tom

Well, if you look over here to the right, hidden behind that wall is the fireplace.

Kevin

Behind this wall?

Tom

Right.

Kevin

'Cause that looks like an original foundation to me.

Tom

Well, it is. So, here's the side of the house, and here's the front of the house. And for some reason, when they built the foundation, they built this jog right here all the way down to the side of the house, and the chimney's behind it.

Kevin

So, does that mean that that little nook in there is an addition or do you think this was done on purpose?

Tom

I don't think it's an addition because this front wall goes all the way across and then returns.

Kevin

Oh, that's weird. All right. So, what do you think causing the cold?

Tom

Well, first of all, we think there's two things that may be going on. Number one, the chimney in the wintertime, if the damper is open, cold air will come down that flue

and saturate the floor. Kevin

Right.

Tom

Well, we solved that problem 'cause

we moved the chimney. Kevin

Yep.

Tom

The other issue is what's behind this wall? Is it a crawl space, is it an open space, is there a lot of air coming in?

Kevin

Yeah.

Tom

What we need to do is open it up and find out what's going on.

Kevin

So, when you say "open it up," I mean, that's a full rubble-stone foundation. What's your plan for getting in there?

Charlie

Just use a jackhammer and make an access hole for us.

Kevin

You guys are, like, busting in to a vault, huh?

Tom

Yeah, we're just gonna make a little hole so we can get -- someone can get in there.

Kevin

Oh, all right. Let's see what you find.

Tom

All right.

Jackhammer whirring

Jackhammer whirring

Tom

All right, so, you can really see what's going on right here. This is the old main sill of the house, so that's why it's sitting on this foundation all the way down to the basement. Goes this way, and then it returns. Now, the fireplace is over there, and you can see how they added the front wall right there and returned for the fireplace.

So that part of the house upstairs was probably an open porch or something like that, so the front door came in and across that way. So you came up and entered the house.

Charlie

Yeah,

that makes sense. Tom

Yeah. These joists are old, but I don't think they are original.

Charlie

Well, they probably added it shortly after they moved the house over here, and they built the foundation original to match the house.

Tom

And then down here, see holes in the foundation -- those are all letting air in. All those have to get sealed up. And we should get the floor insulated.

Charlie

Yeah, this would be perfect access to get that done.

Kevin

So, what are you guys thinking for a solution now that you've seen in there?

Tom

Well, now that we've made an opening, we can see that we have to make a little more room, make it a little flatter, we can get somebody in there to seal up all those cracks in the foundation.

Kevin

Seal it with -- with spray foam?

Charlie

Yeah, we're gonna spray the foundation with foam, seal up all the drafts, also spray the underside of the floorboards, and that'll make it nice and tight.

Tom

Yeah. Now, we still have to leave this open right here, because if we close it up, it can still get cold. We need some of the residual heat from the basement to get in that space and keep it warm.

Kevin

Homeowners are gonna be happy with this fix.

No more cold feet. Charlie

Oh, yeah.

Tom

Oh, absolutely. Let's open up this hole and make a little more room so we can get somebody in there.

Kevin

Up these stairs is a suite for guests -- Joe's parents in particular. And even those it's got a full HVAC system, it is above an unfinished garage, and we want to make sure that the floor to that space is warm and comfortable. So, Richard, you'd like to add some heat to the garage,

and you've got a couple options. Richard

Yeah. I thought about all kinds of ways to do it. It could've been a blower unit up in the corner. Now, we have a heating boiler.

I could've run hot water through it.

Right. Richard

Could've been gas, 'cause we have gas, or electrical -- a lot of people use electric blowers in a garage like this.

Kevin

Mm-hmm.

Richard

We could've done baseboard around the corner, but we are pouring a concrete floor here. It's a perfect candidate for radiant, you know?

Yeah. Richard

It just loves it. Concrete, we can put just mild temperature water in there and heat this place perfectly. But we want to keep the heat inside the building. So we've got insulation here to eliminate the heat from going this way.

We also have to think about under our feet.

Kevin

Right, 'cause we don't want it going

right into the ground. Richard

Right. So, historically, we always did it this way. You'd put a vapor barrier down to make sure no moisture came up, then insulation -- either 1-inch or 2-inch insulation thick. But then, it was always this mesh -- the wire mesh -- and you have to get down on your hands and knees and do these zipties.

And that was labor-intensive. It would be probably about 500 or 600 of these things in this size space.

Kevin

Right.

Richard

So, this is a unit -- we've shown a version of it before. This is insulation, vapor barrier, and a holding system for the tubing all in one.

Kevin

So all those steps right here in this panel.

Richard

And it's just there. It's a 2-foot by 4-foot panel. It just snaps together, and we snap the tubing in.

Kevin

All right, where do want to start?

Richard

So, let's get started. You take that one. Let's start in the corner over by the manifold. To start the new course, we cut one in half so that we don't have the seams all lining up.

Let's go, next one. Thank you, sir.

Kevin

Nice to have extra sets of hands on the job site, right?

Richard

You know, it really is. You know, we all love being part of this Generation NEXT thing, you know? You just saw Roger talking at the vo-tech school. Alex and Zach have been with Bilo for, like, six months, but they actually came from a local vo-tech school, too.

It's great to have 'em. Boy, it goes in fast. Sweet. So, the tubing we're using is a super-plastic called Pex.

We've used it before. You know, we've used it from underneath the floor last year. We use it everywhere we can.

Anywhere we can. Kevin

Bathrooms, kitchens...

Richard

Absolutely, so -- And this is just a perfect application in concrete. It's a plastic that won't get brittle over time. It doesn't kink readily, too.

Kevin

It's the same stuff that we put down in the bathroom and the kitchen?

Richard

That's right. That's right. You want something you can trust in the floor. So, the grid system comes in each -- 3 inches between each one of these rows is where the tubing's gonna snap in, so we can make the tubing be, what, three inches apart?

You wouldn't do that. 6 inches, 9 inches -- we're going to use 12 inches on center. So up and back on 12 inches.

Kevin

There you go, boys.

Roger

So, we're gonna have about a four-inch slab right to about here, and I really love seeing the sheathing of these bends to protect the tubing when it enters the slab. We come up into the manifold, and we're good to go.

Kevin

So that means pouring concrete?

Richard

Right. It's actually the best part of the job. I hate to cover it, but it's the best part of the job. The next step is always satisfying to watch.

Mark McCullough and his crew come in and lay down a wire mesh over the radiant system. That'll give the concrete some additional strength. Then the truck pours about four inches of concrete. Mark's crew works quickly to make sure the pour is consistent.

The crew smoothes it out, and now we have a heated floor in the garage. So, Joe and Liz will have a perfectly warm in-law suite.

Kevin

So warm the in-laws are never gonna leave.

Richard

They never do.

Kevin

The new front porch has been framed, the deck is down, and now we've got to re-support the roof, so new columns are going in. And Tom, the old columns were pretty far-gone. Couldn't save 'em.

Tom

Yeah, they're wooden columns. They're all rotted. You see?

Kevin

Oh, yeah.

Look at that. Tom

Falling apart.

They're saturated. Kevin

Soaking wet. So those go away, and what have you chosen for a new one?

Tom

We actually have a polyester resin that's spun, and in it is fiberglass and marble chips.

Kevin

That thing is

heavy. Tom

It's heavy. It's also very structural, so you can use it as a load-bearing column or you can use it just as a decorative column.

Kevin

All right. So, you've got the column, and apparently, you've got the crew.

Tom

Yep. We've got one in right over here that's finishing up on the caulking across the bottom. Now, what we have to do over here is we want to make sure that the distance from the top of the deck to the underside of the beam is equal all the way across.

Kevin

Three equal columns.

Tom

Right, so now they're jacking it up just probably a little bit longer than the height of the column. We've already taken a measurement because we have one in, so the rest of the columns will be the same measurement. But as far as positioning it -- Did you guys already hang the plumb bob down?

Austin

Yep. We got it marked right here.

Tom

Okay, so, they've taken a center point up top and they've dropped a plumb line down and marked a center point here.

Kevin

So that's gonna be locating your base, which will then locate your column.

Tom

It's gonna locate the base. So what you do is you figure out what the base is, you divide it in half in both directions, then you put a mark out. So this would be, uh, 5 1/8. So from the center line, you knock 5 1/8 over here, 5 1/8 over here.

Now you know where the base is gonna set. And you do the same thing up top if it's a different size. In this case, it will be, because it's a tapered column. All right, we'll cut this column and slide it into place.

All right, so, now they're getting ready to measure for this column. Now, as I said earlier, they're gonna make all the columns the same length, and it's important that you measure from the center of the column and you want to make sure that your tape measure is parallel with the column. You don't want it on an angle, because you'll get an untrue measurement. So, he puts his marks close enough so when he makes his cut, he can then eyeball the saw to the next mark while making the cut straight.

Because of the polyester resin and the marble chip, we're using an Acotaronda masonry blade.

Saw blade whirring

Tom

There you go. You see that? You get a nice, clean cut, and it's straight. All right, we're ready to install it.

Okay, now, we'll never be able to paint or seal underneath the bottom of the column, so what I like to do is just place a piece of self-sealing membrane on the deck first. Just lay that down like that. All right, slide that top cap on. Okay, good.

Take it right up there. Okay, now we slide the bottom on, and we just bring it over close to where it's gonna go, get it in position.

Nathan

Now, we just shimmy it in.

Okay. Tom

There you go. Slide it over. All right, slide it over. Put it on the mark.

Right there. Okay, now... are you good on the other side there, good?

Austin

Good.

Tom

Okay, so, now we can put a couple screws in that. Can you drive that in? Good. And one more.

A little more. Bring it down a little more. There you go. Perfect.

Okay, so, now, see this gap right here? We want to center the column in that gap so the bottom will be where it is. Okay, so, now you got to get the top on your pencil lines -- the reference lines. I'm gonna let it down.

Put some pressure on it. Ready? Coming down. You got weight on it.

Austin

I feel it.

Tom

Make sure it's tight. Okay, that's good. Now, the last thing we have to do over here is caulk this joint right here. I know want to caulk around the bottom, because if any water should get down through the column, it can drain out.

All right, let's check this. Good.

Kevin

Coming in. Those columns are a big improvement, Tommy.

Tom

Yeah. It's really looking good now. What we need to do is we still need to get all the lattice and the trim work on, get the stairs in place, and then set the railing.

Kevin

And what do we got for next week?

Tom

Next week, we're gonna start the roofing.

Kevin

All right, well, until then, I'm Kevin O'Connor.

Tom

And I'm Tom Silva.

Kevin

For "This Old House." So, fiberglass, huh?

Tom

Things will last forever.

Kevin

And marble?

Tom

Marble chips.

Kevin

Next time on "This Old House"...

Tom

...is Roofing 101. All right, so, this is a self-sealing membrane right here. There's a couple of different types out there. This one has a granule on it.

That allows you to walk on it, but it also allows it to stay out in the sun.

Kevin

We bury a mole problem under four inches of concrete.

Richard

Tin-knocking time here at the project, which means ductwork's going in. That's next time on "This Old House."