Ask This Old House

Kevin

On "Ask This Old House," our experts travel across the country to answer questions about your house. Today, with the help of a window restoration specialist, Tom repairs an antique double-hung kitchen window.

Alison

Nice.

Kevin

Then, Mauro breaks down different exterior and interior paint finishes, and Jenn and Mark head to Georgia to help a homeowner install a backyard fire pit.

Jenn

Look at that, level! It's beautiful.

Kevin

All that on "Ask This Old House."

Randy

Hey,

Tom. Tom

Hey, Randy.

Randy

Thanks for coming by.

Tom

How are you? Nice to see you.

Randy

Good, how are you doing?

Tom

I love your old house. This is beautiful. And the interior is nice. I like the high ceilings. A lot of glass. Beautiful.

Randy

Yeah, we love it. We love the high ceilings and the large windows.

Tom

What's the idea of the stick in the window there?

Randy

So with this one, we're having issues with the top sash falling down, so the stick is keeping it up.

Tom

Aha. But does the window still work?

Randy

So the bottom sash has the weight and the cord, so it's working.

Tom

Yeah. Well, interesting. These are double-hung windows, alright? And two lights, there's two in the bottom, two in the top. Do you know why you have what is called a double hung window?

Randy

I don't, no.

Tom

A double hung window is technically meant to vent your house in warm weather, and the way you do that is you actually draw the top sash down about 6 inches, you raise the bottom sash up about 6 inches, and natural convection would bring the cooler air in. It would come around and it would take the warmer air that's up at the ceiling and pull it out the window, venting the house.

Randy

That's great. We could really use that.

Tom

You could?

Laughs

Tom

I bet you could.

Randy

We don't have air conditioning, so...

Tom

But you know what, I have a specialist, and she really knows and works on these old windows. She knows all the tricks, and maybe we can both learn something.

That sounds great. Tom

Alright, she's coming.

Let me see if she's here yet. Randy

Awesome.

Randy

Well, Alison, thanks so much for joining us, and I know that you specialize in restoration of old windows, so I know that we can both use a few tips.

Alison

Well, thanks for having me here. It's nice to see the original windows in the original openings. Obviously, they have some problems with operability, so we need to fix all of that today. To get started, we have to remove

what's called the front stop. Tom

Right.

Alison

These are typically 1/2 inch thick. This one has a round over bead, so we're going to need to break that paint line there and remove that, remove the screws. And because we're gonna be doing the whole kit and caboodle, we're going to take out both front stops, the left and the right. And then the fun part is always getting the upper sash out, which is held in by these two small pieces of wood called the parting bead or parting stop.

Tom

Parting bead actually holds the top sash into position, and that parting bead is actually held into a dado or a groove that runs down each side and pushed in, and the friction in that holds the top sash in where it belongs.

Alison

And for a small piece of wood, they have caused me a great deal of time, so getting those out is a bit -- it's an interesting process to do. But then we're going to have the upper sash out and then we can really get to work.

Tom

Alright. I guess the first thing we want to do is prep the area.

And get some tools. Tom

Okay.

Alison

Alright, Randy, I'm going to have you start by taking the screws out.

Randy

Okay.

Alison

So these are slotted screws. If you can get the paint out of the slot, we should be able to get them to go.

Randy

Okay.

Alison

Next, we're going to take off the front stops and work up. We're gonna pull out from the middle, release the bottom, then release the top. So now we can move on to removing the lower sash. Alright, first, we need to unlock the window.

Randy

Yeah.

Alison

And then it's always a good idea to keep a hand on the upper in case it falls. Pull the knots out of that side. Let's just tie a slip knot so that we don't lose it. Alright, so now we're ready to remove the parting beads. So to do that, we have to take this board out. So if you can push up on the sash, I will see if I can get the board out. Yay.

Tom

Sash doesn't have any weights on it, so there's no balancing of that window. You have to hold the window.

Alison

Great, so now that we have it all the way down, this is much easier to pull out.

Randy

I see.

Alison

We still have to deal with this parting bead a bit. So I usually just pry this forward a little bit, and then we can work it out. And now we can take the upper sash out without taking out the second one, and it's just a little bit easier. So we'll do the same thing where we lift it up, or try to. And pull it out.

Tom

Works right out.

Alison

Alright, so now that we have the window out, we're going to go clean it. Tom, if you can clean up this bead of paint that's been formed on the blindstop, that would make the windows operate much easier.

Tom

Okay, so I'll get that all cleaned up, and I'll also tighten up that pulley there that the screw's missing, too, and we'll be in good shape and ready for you guys.

Alison

Perfect. Okay, so now that we have our sash out, it's much easier to clean them here flat on a table than hanging up in the air.

Randy

Sure, yeah.

Tom

So I'm using a vacuum-attached scraper to remove all of the paint that's protruding. I want to make a flat surface, so all the debris is going right into the HEPA vac.

Alison

Wow.

Chuckles

Randy

Looks a lot better.

Alison

Looks a lot better. Okay, so we're ready to get started on the weather stripping. We need the weather strip the upper sash first, because that has to go in first. So we cut our weather strip the length of the sash, and now I'm just going to nail it up. Now we can finally do the sash cords. Where are the weights?

Randy

Yeah.

Alison

The weights are in these weight pockets. So here's our weight.

It weighs 7 pounds. Randy

Wow.

Tom

Yeah, and that's the exact same weight as the sash, so they'll go up and down easy and stay wherever you want them to stay.

So now... Randy

Yeah?

Alison

It's time to rope.

Randy

Nice.

Alison

And then I'm going to attach a piece of sash chain to the end of my cord to act as a mouse or a weight.

Randy

Yeah.

Alison

Because the sash cord, if I just feed it through, will just jam up in the pocket.

Randy

You won't be able to get it out from the pocket?

Alison

Right, so this gives it some weight.

Randy

Okay.

Alison

So you're gonna start with the front pulley -- so the pulley for the lower sash, and you'll drop it down through here and I'll grab it.

Randy

Okay.

Clicks

Alison

Ah, there we go.

Randy

Got it?

Alison

Yep. Okay. And you are now going to do the front pulley on the other side.

Randy

Front pulley on the other side, okay.

Clicking

Alison

Okay. So now that's the other front pulley. Now we're going to go behind this cord and up to the back.

Rattling

Alison

Oh, there it is. And now, again going behind, you want to get the last pulley over there.

Randy

Okay.

Tom

So you notice, Alison's not having you cut individual lines for each pulley. She's having one piece cross the opening, up and down, and then once it's done, you'll cut individual pieces and fine tune it later, which will save a little bit of time.

Alison

So now we get to do our favorite thing, which is to tie off the weights. I'm going to do what's called a sash weight knot. So I'm going to pull it around, around, around, and then go up and through. And the reason why I care about the kind of knot is 'cause we want a knot that's tight to the weight so that it doesn't bounce around, and we want one that doesn't have much of a tail to get in the way, 'cause again, we have a pocket with two weights and there's not much -- there's not much room in there.

Randy

Right.

Alison

So this makes a nice, neat knot that holds it up. We're going to put the weight back in the pocket, and then I'm going to take and cut this rope. I want the weight to stay under tension when the sash is in there, so I'm going to leave it on the bottom now, mark where that is, and then cut my rope and tie a knot in it.

Scissors thump

Alison

So I knot it, and then, because I want my weight up and out of the way, I'm just gonna put a slip knot in it.

Pulley squeaks

Alison

Okay,

one down. Randy

Great.

Alison

And now we're going to do weight number two.

Randy

Okay.

Alison

Around... We're ready to hang the upper sash.

Randy

Awesome.

Alison

And if you could grab the cord for the upper. Correct. So pull the rope all the way until you can feel the weight hitting the pulley. And then we want the knot to be right where that hole is.

Randy

Okay.

Alison

Then just for security, I like to put a screw through the knot. Nice. No stick needed. Okay, so we have the upper sash in. Now we can put the parting beads in, repeat the process for the lower sash.

Tom

So I want to fit it up into a slot up there at the top stop, push it right in there. So the bottom of the nail is right at the bottom of the parting bead. Now I angle it so it goes into the sill. Don't want to drive it in too deep. Now I'll just bend that over. That will hold the parting bead from coming out of the slot.

Alison

Alright.

Tom

Alright, Randy, it was a great project. I think everything got fixed up the way you like it. What do you think?

Randy

It looks great. Let's try it out.

Tom

Gonna bring the bottom up and bring the top down, and now you have a vented window.

Randy

There you go. That's awesome.

Tom

Great.

Randy

Tom, Alison, thanks so much. I learned a lot and I'm looking forward to applying it to the rest of the house.

Tom

Yeah,

it's a good project. Randy

Yeah.

Alison

If it gets snug again, you can always wax the tracks a little bit. If you need to move the stops in or out, you can adjust those as needed as the weather changes, but otherwise you now have a working window.

Randy

Awesome. Thank you.

Tom

And Alison, thank you for all your great expertise on teaching Randy and me on how to install and repair an old window.

Alison

You are most welcome.

Tom

Alright, see you later, Randy. Take care.

Alison. Alison

Thank you.

Randy

Yep.

Kevin

Hey,

Mauro. Mauro

Kevin.

Kevin

So paint finishes and levels of sheen we're talking about, huh?

Mauro

Absolutely. Choosing the right color is important, also the sheen.

Kevin

And look at all the choices right here. So if we have sheen, I get it. If we have no sheen at all, what do we call that?

That's flat. Kevin

That's flat.

Mauro

Flat. Completely flat.

Kevin

And then the first level of sheen?

Mauro

This one, we call matte finish.

Kevin

Matte, so flat and then matte is where we start.

Gotcha. Mauro

Very little sheen. And from here down, they all has more sheen than the one on the top.

Kevin

Okay.

Mauro

This one over here, we call the eggshell, and it's good for walls, it's cleanable and it's durable.

Kevin

So does that suggest that this one's really not cleanable, the matte here?

Mauro

That's not very cleanable, no.

Kevin

Gotcha. And from here down?

Mauro

From here down, they're all good, cleanable and durable.

Kevin

And as we get more sheen, as we go down...

Mauro

As you go down.

Kevin

Do they get more durable and easier to clean?

Mauro

Easier to clean, absolutely. Eggshell, then the next one down is the satin, which you can use all the way around your house, trim in general. And then the next one down is a semi-gloss.

Kevin

Yeah, semi-gloss.

Mauro

Semi-gloss is the one that everybody loves for all the woodwork, your doors, and even your walls.

Kevin

And what about the last guy?

Mauro

This is the gloss finish. The gloss finish is really resistant, it's durable, and the more glossy that you get, the more resistant the paint will be.

Kevin

So that's what I'm hearing, right? So the higher the sheen, we're getting more protection, and that's because whatever they use to get the sheen, that's the hard, durable coating?

Mauro

Exactly. That's what they have. The more sheen you see, it is durability talking.

Kevin

So I was gonna ask you which one you like the best, but you love them all, because you just told me, you love this, you love this.

Mauro

I love just about every single one of it, but on the right surface. Like, the matte finish, I like for my walls. So the eggshell, also the walls. Very durable, cleanable, nice.

Okay. Mauro

And then the satin, I like for trim -- trim doors, baseboard, name it. Anything woodwork inside of your house, goes really well.

But it's about preference. Kevin

Yeah.

Mauro

Some people like the semi-gloss better, because it reflects a little more light and looks good.

Kevin

And your ceilings, if you were painting a room? Because you gave me walls and trim.

Mauro

Flat for ceilings.

Kevin

I also feel like it has sort of come and gone with the trends, because glossy seemed to be more in decades ago, and now we've sort of, you know, tempered it down a little.

Mauro

We tempered down a little bit, but I still see some of that. Let's say you want to highlight something inside of your house, I seen a lot of gloss ceiling, darker colors.

Kevin

Oh, you know what? We've done it a couple of times.

We've done a couple. Kevin

You've done the super high gloss for a real accent piece, like a front door or something like that.

Mauro

Exactly. You know, if you want to accent something like your front door inside and out, always nice.

Kevin

So mix and match?

Mauro

Mix and match. You balance the sheens out -- flat, eggshell, satin or semi-gloss and a gloss for an accent, something like that.

Kevin

Gotcha. Alright. Well, good information. Thank you, Mauro.

Mauro

Thank you.

Jenn

Hi,

Teresa. Teresa

Hi, Jenn.

Welcome to Georgia. Jenn

Thank you. It's so nice to be back down South. Tell me a little bit more about the project. I read the email and I just want to get the scope.

Teresa

Well, we have a small backyard, and it's been largely neglected for 21 years or so, and we just don't know what to do with this space. And one day it occurred to me that I don't like being outside in the cold. I'm Puerto Rican. My husband's from Connecticut. He really loves being outside in the cold winter months. And so we thought, well, maybe a fire pit would be a great way to have us both enjoy the outside weather

when it gets a little cooler. Jenn

That's a great compromise.

Teresa

But we don't know where to put it or what to do with this small backyard, so we called "Ask This Old House."

Jenn

Well, that's great because, I mean, the pictures you sent me, I definitely think it's doable. And I also brought Mark McCullough. He's our mason, and he's going to help us, too. So let's look at the space and we'll figure out a plan.

Teresa

Let's go. Perfect.

Jenn

Alright. Okay, so every project I go to, I first look at the site and take some quick measurements. So it's very important to have a plan, no matter the scale of the project, no matter how small, big, because there's always multiple things going on. You have to pay attention to the structure of the house, you know, where overhanging wires are, where trees may be, so having a base map to work off of is going to be very helpful and you're going to save money in the end. So for your plan, what we need to do is site the fire pit, right? So I'm thinking it's gonna go right here, right off of this patio, maybe 5, 6 feet. But I know you want to do future things in your garden.

Teresa

We do.

Jenn

So having this plan to work off of, you want to do it in the right sequence. Like, I could see this timber wall coming up to make a more level space. And over time, I think you mentioned in your email that you want to get rid of the grass and then we can add different plantings. But you could do all of these in separate stages if you have the game plan in knowing what to do. Does that make sense?

Teresa

It does. It sounds like, with a plan, our backyard actually has some potential.

Jenn

Yeah, I mean, small spaces are difficult, so every inch counts, and it's gonna be great to get it started. Let's go grab Mark and we'll start with the fire pit.

Teresa

Sounds good.

Jenn

Hey,

Mark. Mark

Jenn!

Jenn

I want you to meet my friend Teresa.

Hi. Mark

Teresa, how are you?

Teresa

Great. Welcome.

Mark

Alright, well, thank you.

Jenn

Alright, so, guys, this is where I'm thinking the fire pit is going to go. For placement, I'm basing it off the center line of that door. I want it to come out to -- I don't know if it should be five 5 feet or 6 feet.

Mark

Okay.

Jenn

So I think if you throw that tape down and do you have a chair so we can figure...?

Teresa

I do, yeah.

Jenn

Maybe grab it?

Teresa

Sure.

Mark

Alright, so, Jenn, knowing that the circumference of our pit is 4 feet...

Jenn

Right there. Yep?

Mark

...so we know we need that distance.

Jenn

Okay. Yep. So the chair here, right? This is the 5-foot mark right here.

Mark

Yup.

Jenn

I like to put my feet on a fire pit, you know?

Mark

Why wouldn't you?

Jenn

And so I think if we go 6 feet, it's going to be too much, and then with that slope over there, I think it's a good idea if we just start it at 5.

Okay. Jenn

What do you think?

Mark

So that's where I'm at with it. I mean, I can see where your feet land. I can see where the chair wants to land. You do have a little bit of elbow room between the chair and the patio, which is always good. So if we brought it -- my tape is sitting at 9 feet right now, so if I subtract the circumference of the pit, we're going to end up at 5 feet, and I think that's going to be perfect. Again, gives you availability of the space that's around us.

Jenn

Alright, so how do you want to get started?

Mark

So as you know, prep work is always the most important.

Jenn

Yes,

it is. Mark

Right.

Mark

So why don't we get some tools, we'll start digging, and then we'll just go from there.

Okay. Mark

Alright, great. Let's go.

Teresa

Sounds good.

Mark

Alright, so based on our previous measurements, I found the center. I'm gonna nail in this piece of rebar. We're going to use it as a stake. Jenn, can you give me that?

Jenn

Yup, and I already have a loop in it for you.

Mark

Okay, so I'm looped out.

Jenn

I have it at the 2-foot mark.

Mark

Alright, so the 2-foot mark, as we run it around this stake is gonna give us our 4-foot circumference.

Teresa

Okay.

Mark

Which is the size of our pit. So let me get out of Jenn's way.

Jenn

Yeah, Mark, I'm a righty. You gotta get out of my way.

Mark

Alright, alright.

Jenn

So you just take it around, then you get a nice edge to dig.

Mark

Yeah, that looks good.

Teresa

That's a good idea.

Mark

And all we're going to do is take that edge, put our shovels in, that's where we're going to start digging.

Dirt thumps

Teresa

So what's the color of your dirt in Boston?

Jenn

Uh...dark brown.

Teresa

Dark brown, really?

Jenn

Yeah.

Teresa

Not this red stuff?

Jenn

No.

Teresa

Oh, nice.

Mark

We're going to use a hand tamper to compact the base. Now we're going to add some gravel for drainage. Now we're going to hand-tamp the gravel as well. Remember, we always want to do the full job when we're doing the prep. That's really the whole end of the business. Alright. Now we're going to add a little more gravel to that.

Teresa

That's awesome.

Mark

Alright, so let's check, make sure the gravel is nice and level. It is. I'm going to get my 7-foot mark back, because that represents the center of our fire pit.

Yup. Teresa

Mm-hmm.

Mark

So there's that. Again, my mark is 7.

Loop that. Jenn

Got that. So we're gonna re-mark it so we can put the inner ring in.

Teresa

Okay.

Mark

Hit the red marks. We're going to use this board, level across. How's that look, Jenn?

Jenn

I think you need a little bit more over there.

Mark

Tap, tap?

Jenn

Yup, tap, tap.

Mark

Now what I'm gonna do is I'll start bringing the pieces over. You're gonna put the first piece in and then level that. Get that mallet, Jenn.

Jenn

What do you think?

Teresa

It's perfectly level. Look!

Jenn

It's all your tamping. You did very well.

Teresa

I did well, huh?

Mark

And then we'll just kind of what we call "walk the dog," all the way around.

Pretty smooth. Jenn

Very nice. This is not gonna be level, this one. I can tell already. Oh,

I'm wrong. Teresa

Oh, my goodness.

Jenn

Woo! Alright, Mark, we're ready for the second course now.

Mark

Okay, great. Alright. So the second course, couple of things to remember -- what we were finding out when we put the first course in is these stones are a little warped. They're a manufactured product, so you're gonna get a little bit of that, but we can solve that with the glue. So once we glue down on top of this, we'll be able to level out and negate that bubble that's in the top.

Jenn

Yes.

Teresa

Look at that. Level!

Mark

The other thing we want to remember is we want to stagger the joints. Alright, finishing touches is going to be the bag of sand. Alright, spread that.

Jenn

Hey, Teresa, why don't you get the final piece for the top?

Teresa

Sure.

Jenn

Oh,

look at that. Mark

Look at that!

It's beautiful. Jenn

That is a perfect fit. You know, this is going to be great for safety as well. All the embers, you don't want things flying, you know, because you're close to the house, close to the woods.

Right. Jenn

Good safety mechanism.

Teresa

Jenn, Mark, thank you so much for this beautiful fire pit. I'll be outside all winter long now.

Jenn

That's awesome. I can't wait to see you pick away at the plan, do it in the sequence you're supposed to do it in. And mark your fire pit -- top notch.

Mark

Thank you, Jenn.

Jenn

If you've got questions about your house, keep them coming. but until next time, I'm Jenn Nawada.

Mark

I'm Mark McCullough.

Jenn

For "Ask this Old House."

Teresa

This looks great.

Kevin

Next time on "Ask This Old House"... Jenn introduces us to her favorite coworker, then Heath helps a homeowner troubleshoot her flickering lights. Plus, Ross will show you different ways to improve your indoor air quality. And this clothing rack is a great solution for small spaces, and Tommy will show you how to build it on "Ask This Old House."