Ask This Old House

Kevin

Today on "Ask This Old House"...

Tom

Hand saws are versatile tools and inexpensive, but you gotta know how to pick the right one and know how to use it.

Richard

Every radiator in this house works perfectly except for this one. I'll dive into this hot water heating system to find a solution.

Scott

And sometimes a recessed light just won't fit. But I'll show you a paper-thin solution.

Kevin

And this is a pitch pipe that we've used for many years while we've been doing our show. Ready?

Blows

All humming

Kevin

That's next on "Ask This Old House." Hi there. I'm Kevin O'Connor. And welcome back to "Ask This Old House," where if you've got a question about your house, we'd love to hear from you. The gang is always out fixing up houses, so keep your letters and your e-mails coming. And, apparently, the gang is not even here -- Oh,

Jen. Jen

Oh, hey.

Kevin

How are ya?

Jen

How's it going?

Kevin

So where is everybody?

Jen

Well, Tommy's over there working, Richard is out fixing a radiator that's not heating up.

Go figure. Jen

Yep. And Scott is at someone's house fixing a garage light.

Kevin

And Roger?

Jen

Roger's outside, getting ready for the snow storm.

Kevin

Oh,

good. Jen

Yeah.

Kevin

And it looks like you -- Oh.

Jen

I'm helping him get ready for the snow storm.

Kevin

There are no cats in the clubhouse.

Jen

No, there are no cats.

I'm a dog person. Kevin

What's with this then?

Not a cat person. Kevin

So what's that for?

Jen

This is for traction and grit. Sometimes you have perennials on the side of walkways that you don't want to burn. Rock salt, people usually throw down, and it really burns the plants -- not to mention really hurts the paws of animals walking by.

Kevin

Clever. So you're gonna use kitty litter instead?

Jen

Yeah. It adds grit and traction, so you throw it on top of the ice, and it just puts that extra grit. And then when the snow storm leaves, you just brush it away.

Kevin

I love it. Right, but not cats.

Jen

No cats, I promise.

Kevin

All right. I'm gonna go find Tommy. Tommy, you have more power tools than anybody I know, which surprises me that you have such an affinity for your hand tools as well.

Tom

Well, you know what? I grew up using hand tools, and I actually like using them 'cause it's a lot of fun. But I have to have power tools because I have to speed the job along.

Kevin

All right, so today we're looking at all different kinds of saws for cutting wood, for cutting drywall. You've got some metal cutting blades right there.

Tom

Metal cutting blades for hacksaws. A hacksaw is a handy tool for cutting all kinds of metal, copper, aluminum, steel. And there's different types of blades and different lengths of blades.

Kevin

All right, so we're looking at a different bunch of blades here. They've got a different number of teeth per inch, right?

Tom

So there's a 12-inch. That means that the saw blade is 12 inches long, and it's 18 teeth per inch, a finer is 32, or even a 24.

Kevin

Okay.

Tom

All right, now changing a blade on a hacksaw is pretty easy. You loosen the tension off of the bow. To change the length, you change the bow size.

Kevin

Hmm.

Tom

And you put the blade so that the teeth are facing away from you or away from the handle. You put it in the two slots, and then you tighten up the wing nut at the end.

Kevin

Right.

Tom

And you want to make sure that it's nice and tight, because you don't want it to pop out on you.

Kevin

That pulls the tension on it right here.

Tom

Okay, and then again, it will cut on the down motion, and you just cut... You start back and forth, and then just slowly push. You don't want to push hard on the blade, you want to let the saw do the work -- like all hand saws.

Kevin

That goes through it pretty quickly.

Yeah. Kevin

So a plumber, you know, he's gonna end up reaming off the burs on that, so maybe he can use a rougher blade. But when would you use something that's a very fine-tooth blade?

Tom

Fine-tooth blade, let's say I wanted to cut a threaded rod or cut off a carriage bolt or a bolt, and I don't want to damage that thread. So you can use a finer tooth. It will take you a little longer, and you have very little filings so you can get that nut on it.

Great. All right. Tom

All right. And they also have a smaller version right here that goes into a single handle. Just loosen the nut, you can slide it in and out and adjust it to get into tight spots. And you can adjust that into the handle for harder-to-get spots.

Kevin

All right. So, drywall.

Tom

Drywall. Well, everybody needs to cut drywall for an electrical outlet, for example. And so you want to have an outlet marked on the wall. And so let's say I'll mark the width.

Kevin

Yeah.

Tom

Now the best way to cut that out is... with this saw right here. It's actually called a jab saw.

It's got a very sharp point. Kevin

Mm-hmm.

Tom

It's got a blunted handle on the end so that when you put it against the wall, you line it up in the corner, and you just hit it with your hand like that, and it jabs through the wall. Then you just push, pull. Now, I could work it around the corner if I wanted to, back and forth, but I find it easier to take the saw out and jab it in again. You want to make sure that you go on a downward motion. That way, it's easier to get the box into the opening.

Kevin

Something you see electricians do all the time.

Yes. Kevin

You are a carpenter, however, so you're gonna be grabbing different saws.

Tom

All kinds of different saws. Flush-cutting saw right here. If I'm doing trim work and I want to hide screws for dowels or bungs, then a flush-cutting saw like that is -- just hold it flat against the surface. And it will remove the dowel flush with the surface.

Kevin

And what's good about this saw right here is that, I've seen you reverse these at times, right?

Tom

Yep, there's a spring -loaded button on the end. Just push it down, swing the blade around for a harder-to-get place.

Kevin

If I wanted to work from the other side.

Tom

Right. Now, this is a saw that I kind of like. This is actually very soft, pliable. It's actually called a backsaw or pull saw. And it's got two different blades. There's a coarser blade and a finer blade. So when you're cutting, you can actually bend that blade, get the handle up and out of the way. And you can just pull on the wood with the coarser, or if you need the finer one, just go like that. It cuts very nice.

Kevin

Now, you've actually used these. I mean, obviously, this is good to take a dowel out. But if we've got a sink flooring underneath a baseboard

when you're doing a patch... Tom

Yeah, absolutely. A lot of people are installing new floors over old floors, and they have casing that has to be undercut. So when you just take a piece of the finished wood that you're installing, you lay it on top. You take the saw like that. And you just... follow it, making sure you keep it flat on the surface. And you just pull it. That will remove the material so that the floor or the flooring will go underneath. And then you remove that piece, and that piece of flooring will slide right under.

Kevin

That's a perfect fit.

Tom

All right, now here's a saw I use a lot. This is a coping saw, and it's for cutting small pieces of wood, but not in a straight line. Following around. It's important that you know that this saw works on the pull, not the push.

Kevin

Right. Okay.

Tom

And, of course, there's the back saw or miter saw that works in a miter box. And this is just a plastic miter box, so you can do your 45s, lefts, rights, and 90s, and also on an angle. So you'll end up with a nice miter around your door or window casing.

Mm-hmm. Tom

Pretty handy. Time-consuming,

but great. Kevin

Sure.

Tom

Hand saw like this. Again, all different teeth for ripping, cross cutting. This is eight teeth per inch, and this is 12 teeth per inch. So this is a finer-tooth blade.

Mm-hmm. Tom

All right. Now, when you're cross cutting, you want a finer-toothed blade. When you're ripping, you want a coarser blade. But it's important that you hold your body correctly in relationship to the saw. You want your shoulder and your hand to line up. So if I stand over here, the saw's gonna tilt this way. If I stand over here, the saw is gonna point that way.

Yep. Tom

So you just start the saw with a pull, let the weight of the saw cut. And then you line yourself up. And you follow along the board, and you'll end up with a nice straight cut.

Kevin

All right. Mr. Silva unplugged. I love it. Thank you, Tommy.

Tom

Thank you.

Richard

Hey there.

Jackie

Hi,

Richard. Richard

Nice to see you.

Jackie

How are you?

I'm Jackie. Richard

I love your house.

It's beautiful. Jackie

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Richard

How long you been here?

About six months now. Richard

Okay, great. Looks like the floors have been refinished.

Jackie

Yes, sir, a couple of weeks ago.

Richard

I'll take my shoes off.

Thank you. Richard

How old is this house?

Jackie

It was built in the 1950s.

Richard

Right. Someday, you'll be able to afford furniture.

Laughs

Jackie

Yes. So all of the radiators on this side of the house are working great.

Richard

Okay, so here's one here. This is the original radiator covers?

Jackie

No, sir. My husband built those.

Wow. Isn't he handy. Jackie

Very.

Richard

And that one's on, so that one's working fine.

Jackie

Yeah, so we just have one that's not working, and that's right over here.

Richard

Okay, another radiator cover, well done.

Jackie

Thank you.

Richard

All right. So let's see. And this radiator, your typical '50s radiator that is officially ice cold.

Let's start in the basement. Jackie

Great. Okay, Richard, so what did you find?

Richard

Well, you have a forced hot water system. When I see radiators like that, I know it's either forced hot water or steam. And steam hasn't been around since the '30s,

so it's force hot water. Jackie

Okay.

Richard

Decades ago, all hot water radiator systems operated on gravity. The water was heated at the boiler and gently rose up through the supply line and into the radiators on each floor of the house. Once the heat released into the room, the water, now colder and heavier, fell into a return line and back to the boiler to start the process all over again. Now, when electricity came around in the '20s and the '30s, then all of a sudden, for convenience, people put in a circulator pump

to push that water around. Jackie

Okay.

Richard

Now, this house is from the '50s, the heating system, but the boiler is a little bit newer. But there's some consistent things that are gonna be on any heating boiler, I want to just take you through. First, it has to have a burner to make the water hot. In this case, it's oil, it could be gas. Here's the boiler -- could be any size and shape.

Jackie

Okay.

Richard

But it's a vessel to hold the water. And then we need to have the right water pressure inside. We need enough pressure in the system to be sure there's enough water to fill all the radiators. But we don't want so much that it becomes dangerous.

Jackie

Okay.

Richard

So we have city water pressure coming in right here, and that's gonna be 40, 50, maybe 60 pounds. But we only want 12 pounds going into the heating system. So this is a reducing valve, pressure-reducing valve, stepping the pressure down to the right one here. Now, if I lift -- let's be sure that's working. Yeah, that seems to be working fine,

and the gauge supports that. Jackie

Okay.

Richard

So now as we heat the water up, as we heat the water up, it needs a place to expand. So any hydronic system has an expansion tank. Inside this tank, the top half is filled with water, the bottom half is filled with air under pressure. And there's a neoprene diaphragm that separates the water and the air. As the pressure increases, it will push down on that diaphragm, acting like a shock absorber to absorb the pressure.

Okay. Richard

If this didn't work, the net result would be an increase in pressure, and this safety device is critically important. This is a pressure relief valve that will relieve at 30 pounds pressure onto the floor. Okay? But I can tell you right now that the fill valve is right here, that seems to be working. Okay. And I think the circulator pump is circulating, 'cause all the other zones work. So think about when this house was built. It was the '50s -- second World War had just ended. You've got super highways being built all over the country, and neighborhoods are popping up everywhere off those highways,

much like this neighborhood. Jackie

Right.

Richard

And the pressure was really on to keep up with this demand. How do you keep building these houses faster and cheaper? And it was no different in the heating business. Before the '50s, you would have had to run individual supplies and returns to every radiator, and what they came up with was a thing called a monoflow system. If you look carefully, you see this? You've got one pipe -- monoflow. It goes right around the building, right?

Jackie

Right.

Richard

This is really the equivalent of Eisenhower's

super highway in your basement. Jackie

Okay.

Richard

They needed a way to use less materials, and this did it. So you have a set of T's going to each single radiator. And here's one that goes up to the radiator that's not working right. But you can really see the system right here. Here's this highway. The water's moving through this trunk.

And there's two T's here. Jackie

Okay.

Richard

Well, why would the water ever want to go up through those T's? Why would it go through the off-ramp and up through the radiator? Well, some engineer back in the '50s invented this simple solution. This T is a little bit different than this T, you see it?

Jackie

Yeah.

Richard

It's got a square on it. It's called a diverter T, or a monoflow T. This is cast iron. Here's a copper version of it, it's a cutaway that lets you see what's going on inside. Look at this. You see the restriction right here?

Jackie

Yep.

Richard

The water comes through the main trunk right here. Now that means the water has to go through a smaller opening. That makes the velocity increase -- sort of like closing down a garden hose. When that happens, it creates some pull right here. It's called the Venturi effect, pulling water down here and mixing in. Well, what does that do? Well, if I have a little pull right here, it's gonna pull water through the radiator. Well, that's gonna make water leave from the main highway, out here, through the local access roads, really, go through the radiator, and then come back right here and be on the traffic jam. You with me?

Jackie

Yes.

Richard

And it makes sure every radiator got the same temperature,

the right temperature. Jackie

Interesting.

Richard

We know now, so far, you've got the right water

pressure at the boiler. Jackie

Right.

Richard

We know the circulator pump is working, 'cause all the other radiators work.

Jackie

Okay.

Richard

So we've reduced it right now, it has to be at some point right here at the radiator. Let's go check. All right, so here is our radiator. And right below us is that main trunk. The diverter T is on this side, pulling this way, which means water is supposed to come up right there through

that shut-off valve. Jackie

Okay.

Richard

Now, any time I see a radiator, it's supposed to be completely filled with water. If any air was in the system, it could collect in the top of the radiator. So there's always gonna be some sort of vent on a hot water radiator that will allow you to burp it. And if there was air, I'd hear that "sss," which I don't. Okay. So that tells me I have water here. So, actually, there's not much left. This is just a pipe. This is just a section of the cast-iron radiator. And now there's a shut-off valve right here. Well, is there a chance there's a restriction here? I mean, you can just check this. I mean, see there's an open and a closed.

Chuckles

Richard

I don't want to tell you, -- I think the valve is closed.

Laughing

Jackie

Oh, no!

Richard

The valve is closed.

I really -- Jackie

Well, now I feel silly.

Richard

Let me go to the basement and turn on that service switch.

Jackie

Okay.

Richard

All right, I turned the boiler back on. We should be able to feel heat in a little bit.

Jackie

Great.

Richard

But now I want you to see it, too. Look at this. Here's a smartphone, but there's an attachment, it's this thermographic camera.

Jackie

Wow.

Richard

So it should be starting to feel a little heat. So look at this. You can see the colors. Now, see from the right-hand side,

look at how it's changing. Jackie

Yeah, wow.

Richard

See, it's getting warmer and warmer.

Jackie

Cool.

Richard

So, actually, no, warm.

Laughs

Richard

You guys are gonna be warm all winter.

Jackie

Oh, nice.

Richard

I will leave you the radiator,

but I'm taking this. Jackie

Thanks, Richard.

Richard

Thanks so much.

Kevin

That's unbelievable. So why do you think somebody turned that radiator off?

Richard

Well, I think the radiator was right at the base of the stairs. I assume that all the heat went up to the top floor hallway, and the previous owner just came along and temporarily closed it off.

Kevin

'Cause that is effectively zone control for this radiator.

Richard

Pretty primitive zone control.

Kevin

So did you seriously make that house call, go all the way out there, and that was the fix?

Richard

Yeah, on this one. But, I mean, it's a reminder. You gotta not overlook the simple things. I'm always called out when things don't work, and you think it's gonna be some elaborate

mechanical problem. Kevin

Right.

Richard

It was just a simple pilot error.

Kevin

Hey, if that's plumbing, I got the next one.

Laughs

Richard

Your problem.

Tom

All right, gentlemen, here we go. It's triangular in shape. It's plastic. And on the top, it has a little hole. What is it?

Scott

I know exactly what that is. So, on job sites when I'm working outside, I use safety cones that are about this tall -- overhead wires, keep everybody away.

But when I'm -- Richard

Keeping you safe.

Scott

When I'm inside, we gotta cone off the area so that when I'm working on an outlet or a switch,

I can turn around. Richard

Wow.

Scott

nobody can sneak up behind me.

Or his tool belt. Richard

Boy, do I feel silly. I haven't been using it for that.

Kevin

A personal space protection.

Scott

Yeah, that's it, pretty much what it is, yeah.

Kevin

Better safe than sorry.

Richard

Look, everybody comes to me and they say, "Richard, I got a leak inside the wall. You know, can you come find it?"

Kevin

I've never told you that.

Richard

And, you know, I've gone to a few concerts,

I've lost some hearing. Tom

Eh?

Richard

So this has actually been a savior for me.

Tom

Oh!

Richard

People think they look stupid.

Kevin

No,

no. Tom

No, no, they look good.

Richard

You know, and just listen. Just quiet.

Kevin

You're like Shrek, the plumber.

Richard

Shrek was a plumber.

Kevin

Was he?

Tom

Shrek was a plumber! Oh,

my God. Kevin

Nope, nope. Not at all. Now, Scott, you may not know this, but the three of us, we've got a barbershop quartet.

Scott

You do?

Richard

And we're looking for a fourth.

Scott

That's one thing I didn't know.

Richard

A tryout.

Kevin

Yeah, there's a tryout. And this is a pitch pipe that we've used for many years while we've been doing our show. Ready?

Blows

All humming

Richard

Goodnight.

Kevin

It's not working.

Clearly not working. Scott

How did I do?

Tom

All right, I'm tired of making...

Kevin

Fill out the application, we'll get back to you.

Tom

You know, you guys are always wrong -- as usual.

Richard

Wow. I think I know what it is now.

Scott

That makes sense.

Tom

How many times have you tried to insulate, with foam, a wide space? All right,

very difficult. Richard

Yeah, a lot.

A lot. Richard

All the time!

Tom

Yeah, I can see, 'cause you guys do a lot of work.

Richard

All the time, Tommy.

Tom

Yeah, so like, for example, in the basement, you want to do the back side of that rim joist to keep the cold air from coming in. Well, this allows you to spray the foam in a wide, flat surface. You shake it up. And then you just push the button. Stand back, now.

Richard

Okay, thanks for the warning.

Kevin

Go,

Tom. Wow. Scott

Oh, nice.

Look at that. Tom

Yeah.

Kevin

What do you think, boys? Let's send him out.

All humming

Kevin

Scott

Hey,

Eric. Eric

Scott, how you doing?

Scott

Good. Thanks for having me.

Eric

Thank you so much for coming out.

Appreciate it. Scott

Great house.

I really like it a lot. Eric

Thank you so much.

We've done quite a bit of work

new paint, new garage doors. We actually replaced the sconces up front.

Good. Eric

Like it, yeah.

Scott

I like it a lot. How long you been here?

About two years. Scott

Oh, great.

Eric

Here's what actually I wrote you about.

Scott

I recognized it from the e-mail.

Eric

It's hard to miss it.

Scott

Yeah, so, a little broken up here.

Eric

Yeah, one of the girls broke it playing soccer. Haven't found out who.

Hasn't worked since. Scott

Yeah. So, flood lights are really good in driveways. They light the driveway up when you're out here. However, driving up, was it right in your eyes when it came on?

Eric

Right in my eyes, absolutely.

Scott

That's a negative about it. But -- and this surface mount. So, if a ball hits it, you can see what happens. I've brought something with me. I think it will solve both of those problems. It's in my truck. Let me grab it.

Thank you. Scott

All right. All right, Eric, I want to install some recessed lights for you, but first, we gotta take down that floodlight.

Eric

You bet.

Scott

Put one there, over here, and over this door. It will look real nice from the road.

Eric

I like that.

Scott

Yeah, so this is a recessed light. Normally, we just see this. This is the trim and the light bulb is inside of that. But above it, there's a lot going on. There's seven inches of light fixture. It's attached to this hard bar here, and it's holding this junction box, which is where all your power comes in.

Sure. Scott

It's got its problems. If there's structure in the soffit, it's really hard to get these exactly where you want. And if there's structure in the roof, we don't know where we can go.

So old work is a challenge. Eric

Okay.

Scott

What I've brought is this new fixture. This is the latest. It's ultra-thin, it's LED so you'll never have to touch it, and it's low-voltage. Now, the power comes in here as normal -- 120 volts -- sends it out on 24 volts on this little flexible cable to this LED. Now, the LED has these clips. This holds it down to the material that you're going in. In your case, it's 3/4-inch soffit material. You can put this anywhere. Let's get started by taking down the light fixture.

Let's do it. Scott

All right. There you go.

Eric

Thank you.

Scott

All right, that's good. All right, Eric, let me show you where we're at so far.

Eric

Okay.

Scott

So this one wire here comes from the light switch, that's our power source. Now, we have to get the power down to that light and over to this light. However, we can only have two wires in each box. There's simply not enough room. So what we've done is we've run this wire down

to this location. Eric

Okay.

Scott

And then we've run the other wire all the way down to here, where there's one wire, and that's it. We'll start right here, put this light in.

Eric

Nice.

Scott

Any time I install outdoor lighting, I like to use a digital wall switch. It's astronomical, so it adjusts daily to the change in the sunrise and the sunset. All right, Eric, the power's back on. What do you think?

Eric

Unbelievable, Scott. Nobody could have done it better.

Scott

Wait till you see it tonight. It's gonna really make these doors pop.

Eric

I can't wait, Scott. Thank you so much.

Scott

You're welcome. Enjoy.

Kevin

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

Scott

It's a dream project for many homeowners -- adding electricity to a shed. I'll make it happen and add all the bells and whistles.

Jen

And I'll take you to a farm like you've never seen before.

Woman

We grow about 7,000 pounds of produce annually, all of which is available for purchase about 25 feet from where we grew it.

Jen

That's fantastic. You really can't get more local than that.

Woman

No, you can't, actually.