Ask This Old House

Kevin

Today on "Ask This Old House"...

Jenn

This irrigation system in Orlando needs a little love. Oh, wow. We're watering the sidewalk over here. That one looks like it probably got ran over?

Josh

Mm-hmm.

Jenn

And your foundation plantings.

It's soaking the house. Josh

Right. Right.

Heath

Do you have flickering lights? I'll tell you what may be causing it and how to troubleshoot it.

Kevin

Kids come walking down the stairs, and all of a sudden you see that.

Heath

And you're wondering what's going on.

Kevin

So in this case, you said loose socket or corrosion?

Heath

Or the loose bulb itself.

Mark

And this set of stairs was repointed recently. I don't really like it, but I'll show you how to do it the right way. Okay, Mikaela, what do you think?

Mikaela

They look amazing. They came out so great, Mark.

Mark

Great.

Jenn

Hi,

Josh. Josh

Hi, Jenn. Welcome to Florida.

Thanks. Nice to meet you. Josh

Good to meet you.

Jenn

Lovely house you've got here.

Josh

Thank you. My wife and I actually bought it about two years ago, and it was a foreclosure originally.

Okay. Josh

Some people flipped it. And we're finding out now some things were done really well, some things not so good, including our sprinkler systems.

Jenn

Yeah, I noticed the grass is a little bit patchy.

Josh

A little bit. Grass died, weeds came in.

Jenn

That happens. So, let's go investigate your system to see what it's got.

Josh

Sounds good. So, as you can see, the control box is back here. It's a little high and hard to read.

Jenn

Oh, that's no problem. We could just take it off and mount it down. But what I want to do right now is turn it into test mode, and we could just check all the zones.

Awesome. Jenn

Yeah. Let's go check it out. Not so bad. It definitely is blowing into the air, which, you know, it's gonna evaporate, so we could lower the angle of that rotor.

Josh

That'd be great.

Jenn

You're watering your driveway.

Josh

Yeah, this zone is not as bad, but it's the next zone that actually has some pretty major issues.

Jenn

Okay, so now we're gonna head into zone two. Oh, wow. We're watering the sidewalk over here. That one looks like it probably got ran over?

Josh

Mm-hmm.

Jenn

And your foundation plantings -- the high sprays.

It's soaking the house. Josh

Right. Right.

Jenn

And you have a bubbler that's watering the gravel. So we could definitely make some tweaks to the whole system. Let me show you what I brought.

Josh

Great.

Jenn

Okay, so I've already called the utility locating services to mark all underground utilities.

Josh

So that's what these red and orange flags are for?

Jenn

That's what these flags are for. You want to do it any time prior to any project

before digging. Josh

Okay.

Jenn

These flags are indicators for where all your spray heads are. So, you're lucky. In this case, you already have a whole system installed. All we have to do is make amendments to your existing spray heads. It's totally homeowner-friendly. I've already gone to the Home Center. This is the spray head that I was thinking that we're gonna use here. It's more water-efficient. Remember, before we were spraying the sidewalk and the driveway. Now, this is adjustable. It'll have a uniform spread of water, the angle's lower, and it's gonna give uniform coverage

and go straight to the roots... Josh

Oh, great.

Jenn

...and not water your driveway.

Josh

Excellent.

Jenn

To get started, we're gonna dig down with an irrigation shovel to expose the existing head. All right, here it is. Each of these heads is a 1/2-inch thread at the bottom. You just unscrew the old one and put on the new head. Trade you. And then we adjust the spray pattern once the water's back on. All right, now I'm gonna backfill.

Josh

Great.

Jenn

Okay, Josh, over on the other side of the driveway, we use sprays 'cause sprays are used for a smaller square footage area. This is a larger space, so we're gonna use a rotor, and this is what a rotor looks like.

Okay. Jenn

Goes like this.

It's spring-loaded. Josh

Mm-hmm.

Jenn

Pop that down. It's angled nozzle. That blue piece? It's gonna -- it's gonna point the direction of the water lower. Remember it was spraying everywhere, even on your driveway? So, the angle of the water is gonna go down, and it's gonna create, like, a curtain of water and just more efficiently drop the water and cause less evaporation. So it's a more efficient way to use it.

Okay. Jenn

So, and at the bottom, it's gonna screw into the existing pipe underground.

Just like the other one. Jenn

Just like the other one. We take this one off, and we put this one on.

Josh

Okay. Excellent.

Jenn

Thank you. Now take this ring and put it around the rotor to help keep it in place and also protect it from lawnmowers going over. So now we could address the area in the foundation of your house. First, I want to cap off the bubbler that's irrigating your bed of rocks. All right. Got it sealed off.

Josh

Great.

Jenn

And then go down and take all the spray heads away from the foundation bed and put all drip irrigation in. You really want to get the water off the house. It's spraying everywhere, creating moisture. Okay. Thanks, Josh. All right, so we've got our loop around the shrubs. I'm just gonna cut it in between the two emitters and then pop it back into place. All right, that's in, and there's just one more thing to show you.

Josh

All right.

Jenn

So, in addition to the savings that we're gonna have from the heads that we installed, we have a smart controller.

Okay. Jenn

So what this is going to do for you -- it's connected to the Internet, so it collects historical weather data. So, that's going to adjust the system seasonally.

Okay. Jenn

And then in addition to that, we have a wireless sensor outside. So that's gonna detect locally what's really happening right here.

Josh

Oh,

good. Jenn

So, that's huge water savings everywhere, just to not waste.

Right. Jenn

And we've also lowered the controller so you can cruise right up to it. But more importantly, we have an app, and you can use it right from your smartphone, and you can control the whole system.

Josh

Wow. Very good.

Jenn

You could be in your living room and say, "Eh, it's raining." You control it, shut it off. So let's go check it out.

Josh

All right. Great. Very good.

Jenn

Look how much lower it is. There's so much less spray. Can you tell the difference?

Josh

Very much so. That's excellent.

Jenn

It's just -- it's going right down instead of just going into the air. All right, so let's check zone two now.

Josh

Okay, I'll turn off one, turn on two.

Jenn

All right.

Josh

There it goes.

Jenn

you see the difference in the head?

Josh

Oh, big difference.

Jenn

And that's just perfect coverage for this small area.

Josh

Very nice, very nice.

Jenn

All right, now let's check out the foundation plantings. The water's not blasting against your house anymore.

That's good. Jenn

So it's all going through those drip hoses around those plants. And we're not irrigating your rocks anymore.

Josh

Yeah,

we don't need that. Jenn

So, very efficient.

Josh

Thank you for coming to Orlando.

Jenn

Yeah. Thanks for having me.

Kevin

Heath, I like a good prop, especially when it has to do with electrical. What are we talking about today?

Heath

So we're talking about problems with lights that,

when you see them flicker. Kevin

Ugh! Oh.

Heath

What are the common issues, and how do you solve them?

Kevin

Yeah, okay, so I guess it depends what's causing the flicker, right?

Heath

It does, yeah.

Kevin

What are the typical causes of flickering?

Heath

So, the first one we're gonna take a look at is a simple one, actually. It's a loose bulb or the socket is starting to fail,

and it's getting corroded. Kevin

Is that this one here?

Heath

That would be that one right there, yeah.

Kevin

Power it up. All right, looks pretty good.

Heath

Looks fine, but -- oh, yeah. You can see it a little.

Kevin

Kids come walking down the stairs, and all of a sudden you see that.

Heath

And you're wondering what's going on.

Kevin

So in this case, you said loose socket or corrosion?

Heath

Or the loose bulb itself. So this time, it's a little bit loose. You can just kind of thread it in. But a lot of times, the metal contacts inside, especially on an outside fixture, can corrode over time.

Kevin

So we've got the screw stem here of the bulb.

Right. Kevin

And then we've got the contacts being made in there.

Both laugh

Right. Kevin

Thank you. And then on the inside, this is where the contact is actually made.

Heath

Right, two points -- the outside

and the center point. Kevin

Right.

And if that gets corroded... Heath

Exactly.

Kevin

...we're not getting good contact --

Heath

You don't make good contact and then it won't light up, or it'll light up inconsistently. It'll kind of flicker on and off.

Kevin

So is that a replacement or clean out?

Heath

At that point, you typically replace the socket.

Kevin

So this is coming off.

Put a new one on. Kevin

Put a new one on.

Yep. Kevin

Rewire. Make sure that we've got a good contact right there.

Heath

And then turn the power on.

Kevin

And if we're lucky... we're gonna have no flicker,

Heath

Hopefully.

Kevin

Okay, that's one cause. So number two stands for?

Heath

Number two -- switch is starting to fail.

Kevin

Switch failing, so this guy --

Heath

So just turn that on. You can kind of feel it's a little spongy.

Kevin

Yeah, and so by spongy, I mean, this one got a real nice,

solid -- Heath

Nice positive snap,

holds in place while -- Kevin

Click, whereas this one is a little soft right there.

Heath

Yeah, and you can tell it just doesn't always hold. When you push it on a little bit, you wiggle a little side to side,

you kind of... Kevin

Yeah.

Heath

Contact's starting to go. The spring has gotten weak inside. Sometimes it may turn on, sometimes it may not. And you have to play with it at that point.

Kevin

And they do actually work off of springs, right?

Heath

They do,

yeah. Kevin

There are contacts being made inside that switch.

Heath

So, inside, there is a spring inside

and two little metal tabs... Kevin

Yep.

Heath

...that open and close, so as that spring wears out, or as those tabs make contact so many times and start to wear as well, we start to have this happen.

Kevin

And so the solution is as simple

as just replacing the switch. Heath

Replacing the switch.

Kevin

No problem at all. Okay. And that will be good. Number three stands for?

Heath

Number three. The biggest one we're running into nowadays -- when you install L.E.D. bulbs. So, everyone's putting L.E.D. bulbs in, which is great. Two issues, though. Not all of them are dimmable. Some are non-dimmable. And if you have an older dimmer, it may not be L.E.D.-compatible.

Right. Heath

You get the flickering.

Kevin

And when you say not all of them are dimmable, not all of the L.E.D. bulbs are dimmable.

Exactly. Kevin

And not all of the switches are made for dimmable L.E.D.s.

Heath

Exactly, yeah, they're not always compatible. So you want to make sure you get a dimmable L.E.D. lamp, and you want to actually have an L.E.D.-compatible dimmer to avoid the flickering.

Kevin

And so show us what it looks like if we sort of -- ugh!

Heath

That little strobe, and, you know, as you move it up and down, you can kind of see it flicker a little more, a little less. It just drives you insane.

Kevin

And then, you know, I'll admit, I got one of these, or maybe more than one, in my house. And I notice that I can get around it by finding the sweet spot.

Heath

You have to hit that one spot.

And it works. Heath

Yeah.

Kevin

But that doesn't work for my wife, and she says, "Ah, that bulb's not working."

Heath

No, and eventually someone's gonna move, but it's gonna go to a spot and it's just gonna do that.

Kevin

The solution here?

Heath

Just put the right lamp in, make sure it's the dimmable L.E.D., and change the dimmer to be compatible with it, and you shouldn't have an issue.

Kevin

And we can do that nowadays, right? Because they are making dimmable switches, no problem,

dimmable L.E.D. bulbs. Heath

It's very simple now. Yeah,

yeah. Kevin

Good. All right. Cleaning up the flicker. Thank you, Heath.

Heath

Thanks.

Mark

Mikaela?

Mikaela

Yes. Hi, Mark.

Mark

How are you doing?

Mikaela

Nice to meet you.

Mark

You,

too. Mikaela

Welcome.

Mark

Thank you. These are our steps?

Mikaela

These are our steps.

Mark

All right. What do we got going on?

Mikaela

So, this is actually my childhood home. I've lived here for 32 years, and I bought it from my dad a couple years ago. And these are not the original stairs to the home. They're probably about 15 years old.

Okay. Mikaela

So my dad had them fixed because they were cracking and they were chipping. And probably about five years ago, we started noticing all these cracks in the mortar. So I've been trying to seal it, he's been trying to seal it, trying everything we possibly can. We actually had a gentleman come out and try and fix the mortar. He actually replaced a brick as well. Yeah,

you can get closer. Mark

Yeah.

Mikaela

And it's still cracking. No idea what to do. No idea if the sealing's helping, or...

Mark

So, one of the first things I see right off the bat is a little bit of sloppiness. You can see the mortar's spread from brick to brick, which is kind of a no-no. Another thing that I notice is you can see that this is like a topical joint. So they didn't grind out the existing. They just applied. The other thing that I noticed is I can tell almost by the color that this is a type "S," which is a lot stronger than a type "N." The brick are not able to move, and it causes a lot of cracking, which is what you're seeing now.

Mikaela

Gotcha. Okay.

Mark

So what we're gonna do to solve all this is we're actually gonna cut out all the masonry joints...

Mikaela

Oh,

wow. Mark

...about 3/4 of an inch down. Okay, that's gonna give us a nice new bed to apply the new mortar, which is gonna be type "N."

Gotcha. Mark

All right?

So let's get going. Mikaela

Sounds good.

Mark

All right. All right, Mikaela, so the first thing we're gonna do is grind these joints out just like we talked about. All right? Couple little things about our grinder here -- dustless. Okay, so we want to make sure that this part of the grinder is always down flat. That way the vacuum is gonna work for us, okay? Secondly, we've already set the depth that 3/4 of an inch. So I'm gonna get you started. I'm just gonna grind in.

Okay. Mark

I'll stop. You can take over, go as far as you can, get on the step, and continue on, and we'll get that -- the first three joints right out.

Okay. Mark

All right?

Grinding

Okay. Mark

The reason we go this way first, horizontal, is it gives us a pocket for the vertical, meaning you can almost hear the blade stop cutting, and that's when you know you're done. So...great.

Mikaela

Done,

I think. Mark

Yeah. Okay, so now that we've ground out all those joints,

we're ready to mix our mortar. Mikaela

Nice.

Mark

We already -- I've already put in the type "N." That's what we discussed. That's what we need. I have all my pointers right here.

Mikaela

These are kind of cool. What does something like this do?

Mark

So, this right here is a flat jointer, and we're gonna need this to press the mortar into the joints, so we have different sizes...

Yeah. Mark

...just in case, 'cause we know those joints do vary a little bit.

Right. Mark

But the key today

Laughs

Mark

Yeah, I know it looks a little funky, but all we're gonna do is dump mortar into this bag, and we're just gonna be -- it's just gonna be

like decorating a cake. Mikaela

Nice.

Mark

But you'll be surprised and happy on how fast it goes. And again, it's very thorough because the more we press, the deeper that mortar goes into the joint,

which is what we're looking for. Mikaela

Right. And it seems a little simpler,

user-friendly. Mark

It's very simple. Yep, user-friendly, good point. But other than that, why don't we start and add the water?

Mikaela

All right,

sounds good. Mark

All right.

Mikaela

All right, just tell me when.

Mark

Okay. I like that. Good. Thank you.

Scraping

Mark

And I'm gonna mix a little at of time.

Mikaela

Mm-hmm.

Mark

Now, normally, I like -- when I'm doing some repointing jobs, I like the mortar to be a little stiffer and not as wet, but because we're gonna try this method with the cake-decorating bag, I want it to be wet so it comes out easier.

Mikaela

Gotcha.

Mark

You notice how I dig it out of the corner, so I don't get any build-up?

Mikaela

Yep. How quickly was something like this set?

Mark

This, once I mix it thoroughly, we'll probably have about 20 minutes.

Gotta move quick. Mark

All right. We're probably good with the water.

Okay. Mark

Yep. Remember, you can't take the water out.

Mikaela

Yes,

that is true. Mark

So you don't want to put in too much. All right, Mikaela, hold this bag open for me.

Mikaela

Okay.

Mark

Oop. Just be as neat as possible. And don't worry about if the mortar does sit on the bricks. That's why I'm gonna come behind you with the tool.

Okay. Mark

So if it's there, it's good for me because I can just press it down.

Okay. Mark

Do a twist up there. Yeah,

exactly. Mikaela

Gotcha.

Mark

You can feel the pressure now?

Mikaela

Yep. Oh, yeah, that's way better.

Mark

Yeah, I'd like to point some things out, Mikaela, but you're doing too well.

Laughs

Mikaela

You're lying.

Mark

You got it.

Laughs

Mikaela

Oh, no. I think the coolest part of this entire thing will be in 10, 20 years, just being, like, "I did that. That's my mortar."

Mark

Yes. You're gonna like it. This is a really good one.

Mikaela

I'm old, and I sell this house, and they comment on the stairs. I'm gonna be like, "I made those."

Mark

Yeah. Leave them the video. All right, Mikaela, I'm gonna brush to you.

Mikaela

Okay.

Mark

And we're just gonna brush very, very lightly. You notice that we're breaking the skin of the mortar?

Yep. Mark

No problem, 'cause we're gonna come back and fix that.

Mikaela

Okay. The mortar's coming off so cleanly.

Mark

Yep, well --

Mikaela

It doesn't look anything like this.

Mark

The bad stuff. Well, take your time. Be neat. And this is the result.

So we're gonna take our tool. Mikaela

Okay.

Mark

All right, this is the flat jointer that we've been using the whole time.

Yep. Mark

But we're just gonna run it one more time. You can see what we call the cream in the mortar?

Yep. Mark

So that's come back up. And that's a slicked joint right there. So that's -- a slick joint is weatherproof. So that's what we're doing. Okay, Mikaela, what do you think?

Mikaela

They look amazing. They came out so great, Mark.

Mark

Great.

Mikaela

You guys did a great job.

So I have a question for you. Mark

Okay.

Mikaela

Every fall, I will come out here, and I will waterproof these and seal these before the winter so that they don't crack again. Is that gonna mess up what we've done here? Should I wait a couple weeks?

Mark

Okay, I would never waterproof a platform on steps...

Mikaela

Okay.

Mark

...only because it does make a seal on the brick. The water does not penetrate the brick, so it just beads up, and it forms a sheet of ice during the winter.

Okay. Mark

So, big problem there.

Yeah. Mark

But we've actually

waterproofed this in a sense. Mikaela

Oh, okay.

Mark

Once we slicked those joints the way we did at the end, that seals that mortar with that steel tool. So you should be good forever.

Mikaela

Great. Awesome. One less thing for me to do.

Exactly. Mikaela

Thank you so much.

Mark

All right,

Mikaela. Mikaela

Great to meet you.

My pleasure. Kevin

Mikaela was a good sport.

Mark

Yeah, she was great.

Kevin

Mark, I got to say, I still marvel at your ability to just look at the mortar and know what was used and what the problem is instantly.

Mark

Well, I do know that there are different mixes, and I knew that some mixes are heavy on the Portland, which is darker, so...

Kevin

So the color is what's leading you down the path of what's been used. And, obviously, all the problems result from the mortar.

You can tell that right away. Mark

Most of the time, yeah.

Kevin

So the mortar has got, you know, a basic recipe. We're looking at it right here. And I guess the recipe determines which type of mortar we have, right?

Mark

Right. So we have basically four types of mortar that are used every single day. The three components that are used to make that mortar -- sand, lime, Portland cement.

Kevin

So Portland is sort of, what, the strength?

Mark

Portland is gonna give me my strength. The lime is gonna give me a little flexibility and a little elasticity. The sand is gonna take both products

and bind them together Kevin

Gotcha. So more this, more strength, more that, more elasticity.

Right. Kevin

So they go by this letter grading. Type "O" -- is that what I'm looking at here?

Mark

Yeah, type "O" has about a 350 psi, and that is the weakest of the mortar that we use. I might use a type "O" with a very soft stone or a very soft brick, like we saw in South Carolina.

Kevin

We did see that down there, which was unusual, I guess, to see, but down there it was okay.

Mark

Yeah, very unusual. The temperatures aren't what we have up here, so they do have a little bit more ability to use that type "O."

Kevin

So weakest -- as we go up from "O," where do we go? What's the next one up?

Mark

We go to type "N," which is the most common. And I'm gonna show you what we do for that. We're gonna take away a lime.

Kevin

I'll get rid of the "O" right here.

Mark

We're gonna take away three sands.

Kevin

Okay.

Mark

And these are the ingredients that -- or the proportions, I should say, that are gonna give us the type "N." And again, the type "N" is the most common and usually used with brickwork.

Kevin

This is "N" as in "Nancy"?

Mark

"N" as in "Nancy."

Kevin

Gotcha. Okay, so in this case, you took away some of the elasticity.

Yes. Kevin

And you took away some of the sand, and we kept the Portland the same, so that gave us a little more strength.

Mark

So that gave us about 750 psi, which, again, is a jump from the 350.

Kevin

Gotcha. Okay, so from "O" to "N." The next formula?

Mark

"S."

Kevin

"S."

Mark

So what we're gonna do is add my sand back so I have nine parts. And I'm also gonna add strength for my type "S," and I'm gonna bring a Portland back.

Kevin

Two Portlands. But we're not gonna increase the lime, which is the flexibility.

That's right. Kevin

So more strength here. We're not hurt with more sand. All right. And where are you using "S"?

Mark

So the strength of the type "S" -- think of an elevator shaft.

Kevin

So,

rigid. Mark

So, rigid. So, it can be interior, exterior, but it's gonna be something that's gonna want to stay together.

Kevin

Tall, no movement, elevator going up and down.

Exactly. Kevin

Okay. "O," "N," "S." What's next?

Mark

Our strongest is gonna be "M," and we're gonna continue to add.

Kevin

"M" as in "Mary."

Mark

"M" as in "Mary."

So I'm gonna add back some sand. Kevin

Gotcha.

Mark

I'm not gonna add any lime, but I am gonna add another Portland cement.

Kevin

So now triple the Portland of our "O" and our "N."

Mark

That's right.

Kevin

And so lots of strength here.

Mark

Right, so this maxes out around 2,500 PSI. It's not what we lay brick with because it's too hard to use.

It's rigid. Kevin

Where do you use this?

Mark

So this, again, could be under -- underground, anything that's close to water, so think of a block foundation. We'd use the type "M" and build up the block, and you'll have a nice, strong foundation.

Kevin

Awesome. Know the formula, know the recipe. Good info,

Mark. Thank you. Mark

All right, Kevin.

Kevin

Lots more good info and projects to come next week. So until then, I'm Kevin O'Connor...

Mark

I'm Mark McCullough.

Kevin

...for "Ask This Old House." Look at you. Now, what if I did... Next time on "Ask This Old House"...

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