Ask This Old House

Kevin

On "Ask This Old House," our experts travel across the country to answer questions about your house. Today on "Tool Lab," Nathan will break down track saws. Mark will repair and repoint a brick and stone pizza oven.

Benjamin

It looks like somebody did this before. Why are we fixing it again?

Mark

What they didn't do before was they didn't fix the original problem.

Benjamin

Okay.

Kevin

And as we wrap up season 20, we'll bring back an oldie but goodie. We'll ask our team to answer the age-old question -- "What Is It?" On "Ask This Old House."

Nathan

Today, I want to talk to you about track saws. These accurate and portable saws have become a must-have for carpenters and woodworkers. For years, sheet goods had to be brought to the saw, and sometimes it would become a two-man job to break them down. But now you can bring your saw to your sheet goods. First, let's go over the important features that you'll find on a track saw. They can come in cordless or corded options. Dust collection that not only helps keep the jobsite clean, but also gets all the sawdust from the inside out, keeping the tool running efficiently. The blade guard, which encapsulates the blade, typically a 6 1/2-inch blade inside. You have your depth adjustment that can go up to 2 inches, and this is really great for adjusting for different thicknesses of material you're cutting. You have your bevel adjustment, which can bevel up to 47 degrees. Up top, you have your speed control for working with different materials. On the bottom side, you have the splitter, which prevents the material from binding on the blade, and you have the guides that'll ride on the track. Now let's talk about the tracks. They come in a variety of lengths and can be connected to create longer tracks. And on the edge, you have your splinter guard, which is a replaceable piece of plastic. And when placed on your line, it shows you exactly where your blade is going to travel as you make your cut. On the bottom, you'll notice these two black grip pads. These prevent the track from moving around as you make your cut. Or if needed, there's a slot in the bottom that you can put your clamp in and attach it right to your work piece. Now let's get set up and I'll show you what this tool can do. The best part about track saws is that the splinter guard shows you exactly where that blade is going to travel as you pass along your track. But from the factory, the splinter guard comes wider than you need, so you need to trim that to fit. I place my track on top of some inch-and-a-half rigid foam, which is a great backer whenever you're using a track saw. Now I want to show you how fast and easy it is to rip a 1-foot piece off of a sheet of plywood. Take my tape on one end and measure 1 foot. Go down the other end, measure 1 foot. Alright, now we can bring our track in. All we need to do is connect the dots. I have my depth already set for this 1/2-inch plywood. Perfectly straight cut. Even better than a factory edge. Now let's try a miter. I want to add a 45-degree mitered cut to this 3/4-inch plywood. You can see how quickly and accurate we made that perfect joint. Those are just a few cuts that you can make with a track saw. And as you can see, they're accurate and reliable. And now there are models available for any budget. It's probably the number-one tool that someone owns that they would recommend to a friend.

Benjamin

Morning, Mark. Thanks for coming out.

Mark

Thanks for having me.

Benjamin

Well, thanks for responding to my e-mail.

Sure. Benjamin

As I mentioned, a mason originally built our house.

Mark

Okay. Well, I can kind of tell. You got this beautiful stone wall over here. As I was walking in, I saw that great stone well. But look at this gem right here. This is great.

Benjamin

This is my wife's favorite piece.

She loves roasting marshmallows. Mark

Oh, I bet.

Benjamin

I enjoy making pizzas. Every year, though, the cracks just seem

to get a little bit bigger. Mark

Okay.

Benjamin

We wanted to make sure that this year, before we go to use it, it's going to be safe.

Mark

Okay. Well, just walking up to it, I can see a few things that I would comment about, but why don't we do a full walk?

Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

We'll make an assessment and then some decisions.

Sounds great. Mark

Alright. Let's start over here. Alright. So, right off the bat, Benjamin, look at this joint right here. That's going to need to be carved out. But you can see it comes all the way around this corner. We're going to want to rejoint that, which brings us over here. And you can see that this vertical crack, same situation. We're going to have to carve it out,

replace it with fresh mortar. Benjamin

Okay. Now, there's a whole bunch of different materials. Why would they do that?

Mark

Well, to be honest with you, as a mason, if I have extra material on a job, I'm going to take it back to my house. I'm going to put it to the side, and when I have enough to build something, I'm going to build it. So that's probably what happened, yeah.

Benjamin

He did it in his free time.

Mark

Yep. But he did a great job. Alright, Benjamin, you can see that the damage continues up here, goes all the way through the whole side. All these cracks we're going to have to cut out, just like we do on the other side.

Okay. Mark

And as we go around this side right here, this is the same damage that we saw between the brick and the stone, so this joint has to come out. We're going to have to repack that.

Okay. Mark

Alright. We have a joint that comes this way on the horizontal, and that'll bring us out front, which things are looking pretty good. We have a couple holes back here. I don't know why they're there, but we're going to fill them in.

Okay. Mark

There's a crack. We're going to clean that up, as well. But what I do like about this oven is that burn pattern. That kind of shows me that everything is burning well,

which I like. Benjamin

Okay. Why are those bricks bumped out in there?

Mark

Actually, that's a great question. All they do is support a cooking rack. This is an oven, right?

Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

So you'll slide the cooking rack rack in. They'll be held on both sides. That's when you're cooking the food. If you want to cool the food, you pull the rack out, you slide it in at the higher elevation, the food will cool off a little bit. But outside right here, you can see that there's a lot of work that we need to do here. Very salvageable, but you can notice the joints are cracked. We're going to want to fix those.

Okay. Mark

Another feature that I'm looking at that I really do like is this drip edge right here.

Benjamin

I always wondered what that was.

Mark

Yep. This is a great feature because when you have snow melt on top or if you have rain, it's obviously going to want to drip down this edge. It's going to hit this and want to drip into the brickwork.

Okay. Mark

We don't want that. So that's where that drip edge comes into play, and the water just drips off of that line.

Awesome. Mark

Great feature. Overall, I think everything looks great. The good news is this oven seems to be structurally sound.

Benjamin

That's awesome.

Mark

All we're going to have to do, again, is just cut open these joints, repoint them. But the culprit here seems to be water infiltration, which is a huge problem up in New England, because once water infiltrates masonry, it turns to ice, which pushes the masonry

all over the place... Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

...which is going to lead to these repairs. So, I just want to make sure where the source of the water is coming from, fix that, and then we can do our major repairs.

Okay. Mark

Alright?

Right on. Mark

Let's go. Alright, Benjamin. So, here we are at the top of our oven. And as suspected, you see that crack all the way along the front of this?

Benjamin

Yes, sir.

Mark

That same crack goes down this side, it goes down that side, and it's also evident out back.

That's our culprit. Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

Unfortunately, this lighthouse figure, this cap that you have on here, probably has to come down. As I looked up from the bottom, I can see that the flue underneath this brick and stucco is just sitting there. It's not mortared down,

it's not glued down. Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

So once the water gets in there and travels through that crack, that's when it gets out and disperses itself.

Benjamin

That makes sense.

Mark

So what we're going to have to do is take this off. I'll replace it with a new flue later.

Okay. Mark

Alright?

Let's get to it. Mark

Let's get at it. Alright, Benjamin. Now it's time for the work.

Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

So, we want to start with the brick, because it's the easiest. Sometimes the fieldstone gets a little tough to maneuver this grinder. We might even have to use some hand chisels for it. But the first thing I want to do is I want to cut all these broken joints out with a grinder.

Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

So, this is a 4-inch grinder. That's a diamond blade right there, so it'll make short work going through the mortar.

Okay. Mark

Alright. And the most important thing we want to do with this grinder, of course, we want to have all our protection on, but we also want to make sure that this is connected

to a HEPA vac. Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

And the HEPA vac is actually going to capture most of the dust that we are going to produce. So,

very important these days. Benjamin

Makes sense.

Mark

We will grind about 3/4 inch of the cracked mortar joints. When grinding out brick joints, I will start at the vertical head joints, then move to the horizontal bed joints. Alright, Benjamin. So, this is a little bit of a different situation. Of course, we have the stone, so we're going to have to deal with the irregularity of that.

Okay. Mark

The grinder is always our friend, but because of that stone, I think we're going to use a chisel and a hammer.

Benjamin

It looks like somebody did this before. Why are we fixing it again?

Mark

Okay, well, that's -- That's the reason we're here. You can see the old mortar. So, you can see the new mortar that they put in. What they didn't do before they regrouted everything was they didn't fix the original problem.

Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

So that's what we're going to do. But before that, we're going to take all this old mortar out and start fresh. I'm going to be very careful, but I'm going to give it a light tap, take it away from the stone, which I just did, and now I'm going to smash it.

Okay. Mark

And that'll get the joint busted up and get me on my way.

Benjamin

Right on.

Mark

We will dry-brush the joints to clean off any excess mortar or dust and then go over them with a damp masonry brush. Alright. Now it's time to fill the joints. Dump that mortar right in this tub.

Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

And what we're using today, Benjamin, is a type "N"

mortar. Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

It's a strong mortar, but it's going to allow for a little bit of movement in the brick, the stone,

and the concrete. Benjamin

Okay. So we don't end up with the same cracks.

Mark

Right. So, why don't you get me some water?

Benjamin

Yes, sir.

Mark

Pour it right into that center. Now, just a little at a time. We're going to want to add the water slowly because we can't take it out.

Benjamin

Makes sense.

Mark

I'll know when I'm done when I get an oatmeal-ish consistency.

Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

That's going to give me some workability. It's going to let us push the mortar deeply into the joints.

Okay. Mark

Alright. I'll take a little more from you, Benjamin.

Benjamin

Sure.

Say when. Mark

Yep. That's great right there. People tend to overpour the water because it's easier to mix. They don't really know they're doing it, but they're not feeling so much resistance. You got to fight that. Okay. I think we're ready. I got that oatmeal-ish consistency that I like. Back myself some mortar. First thing I'm going to do, Benjamin, is I'm going to go for the head joints.

Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

I'm going to make those flush. And then as I do my horizontal joints, the heads will already be filled in, so I'm just going to have to tap them just to make sure they look good.

Benjamin

Okay. What you're going to use out back is this hawk.

Okay. Mark

Okay? You're going to line it up with all those stone joints. You're going to take margin trowels of different sizes because we have such variation in those joints.

Okay. Mark

So, some joints are going to be that fat, some joints are going to be this fat. And you may even use something this thin because you're going to want to push the mortar

all the way back into the stone. Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

We have some pretty big gaps back there. So what you want to do is just make sure everything's full. As you bring the mortar out to the face of the stone, you're going to leave it. We'll come back and we're going to mimic the joints that someone else has already done.

Okay. Mark

Alright. Just to keep everything consistent.

Benjamin

Mark, how are we going to handle this joint?

Mark

Alright. So, this is one of the reasons that I gave you all those different joiners

and margin trowels. Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

Wider joint. It varies all the way up. You can see the pockets in there.

We can't leave those empty. Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

So, I want you to start at the bottom. I want you to pack that solid. That way you'll have a base to build off of.

Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

And as you go higher and higher on this joint, just take one of those smaller trowels and just start punching that mortar as deep as it'll go

and flush out with the stone. Benjamin

Okay.

Mark

Benjamin will go over the wet mortar in the fieldstone joints with a damp sponge in order to match the previous finish. To cap off the day, I'm installing a new 12-inch by 12-inch clay flue by countersinking it into its original flue' position, securing it with type "N" mortar. This will prevent water from infiltrating the oven. Alright, Benjamin. All set. Flue's in. We're cleaned up. What do you think?

Benjamin

I think it looks great. The repairs are awesome.

Mark

I'm happy as heck. You know, not everything's a teardown. We fixed the leaks, so you shouldn't have any more problems. I know already that I'm going to be happy with the color of the mortar. Give me some time, and I'm sure that's going to match. But other than that, the only thing I got to tell you -- no marshmallows, no pizza for 28 days. You got to let the mortar cure. But after that, cook away.

Benjamin

Awesome. Thank you so much, sir.

Mark

Alright, Benjamin. Thank you very much. See ya.

Kevin

As we close out our 20th anniversary season here on "Ask This Old House," we thought we'd bring back one of our favorite pastimes. That's right. We have gathered the team and we are going to attempt to answer the age-old question -- "What Is It?" But first, let's have a look back at 20 years of "What Is It?" on "Ask This Old House."

Tom

Alright, guys. Here we go.

It's big. It's plastic. Tom

Three different sizes.

Kevin

With a little bit of a thingy there.

And it's pliable. Roger

It's green.

It's yellow. Tom

It's white.

Richard

Did I mention it was red? What is it?

Roger

What is it?

Tom

What is it?

Kevin

What is it?

Richard

I will take this, boys. I know it.

I know what it is. Kevin

You don't.

Tom

I do know what it is.

Roger

As usual, I know what it is. And as usual, it comes with a story.

Tom

I love to go sledding.

Richard

Yes?

Tom

But, you know, I can't fit a toboggan in the front seat of my truck.

Richard

How many times have you been cooking over the grill -- you know, roasting a pig, a goat, turkey, a duck?

Kevin

You guys may not know this, but I'm an internationally ranked table tennis player.

Tom

Ping-Pong?

Kevin

Table tennis. Ping-Pong is for children.

Roger

You guys know I love to fish, right? Well, opening day, you can't just go out there and start throwing the rod around.

You could pull something. Kevin

Hoo-hoo!

Roger

Speaking of fishing, I put my worms in here, close it up. This is going to revolutionize fishing. In the wintertime, I go ice fishing.

Richard

You know, it reminds me of the time we rounded the horn. You know, we're gonna need a bigger boat. Bigger boat, bigger boat!

Laughter

Richard

Alright, two fish sticks. We'll split 'em.

Tom

You guys are all really stupid.

Laughter

Kevin

For our special trip here to New York, we are going to do a live "What Is It?" right here in Times Square, and to help us out, we've got a special guest -- Jimmy Fallon!

Tom

Alright, Jimmy!

Cheers and applause

Jimmy

Thank you! Come on! Good to see you again, Kev.

Kevin

Say hello to Mr. Nick Offerman.

Nick

Thank you for having me.

Laughter

Tom

NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio.

Rick

Greetings from the International Space Station.

Jimmy

This is one of my favorite segments. I'm usually... I guess from home and I'm usually right all the time.

Tom

This is the hardest part of our show.

Kevin

You would use this to groom your mustache and to keep it well-kempt.

Rick

And right now, I'm orbiting the Earth, traveling 17,500 miles per hour.

Jimmy

Oh, very good. I'm getting something right now. Apparently, you're reading "50 Shades of Gray"?

Just finished it. Jimmy

Congratulations.

Jimmy

It's more for women, but good for you.

Nick

It's actually quite fetching. I might put that out in mahogany and walnut.

Jimmy

Right here. Let's go get a beer.

Richard

Okay. I'm with you.

Kevin

My contractor is so strange, when I ask him to show me his favorite tool, he pulled out his blank.

Richard

Screwdriver,

Gene. Tom

Nailer.

Roger

I said he showed his hoe.

Kevin

Whoa!

Roger

In case you guys haven't noticed, I've been on a diet.

Tom

Oh, yeah? I didn't notice.

Roger

How's that working for ya? A selfie on the flip phone! -Whoo! -Look at you!

Tom

I can get anywhere in a matter of seconds. You get a little spillage, you go back after it.

Richard

Oh, this would probably look good on you.

Tom

How about that?

Richard

Let me just tie that.

Tom

Hyah!

All

Ohh!

Kevin

Whoa!

Laughter

I wake up and... Tom

Well, that explains...No.

Richard

People think they look stupid.

Kevin

No, no. They look good. Oh, no, that doesn't look silly at all.

Richard

It doesn't look silly?

Kevin

No, no. You're good.

Richard

They look a little stupid this way.

Tom

A little?

Richard

Yeah, but down here, they're actually much more understated.

Tom

You're such a hipster.

Kevin

Yeah. No, no, we respect you a lot.

Richard

What?

Laughter

Richard

Geez! Don't Tase me, bro!

Laughter

Kevin

Aah!

Laughing

Richard

Kevin is wearing the newest offering in crook.

Kevin

And then I can work on all my moves and I get myself into shape.

Richard

Yeah.

Kevin

Bzzz! Hey, what's up, guys? Just here to get my honey. Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ten! Whoa! Twenty!

Jenn

Okay, guys. It's a cylinder. It's blue. It has knobbly bits in the middle. What is it?

Tom

Knobbly bits. What the heck are knobbly bits?

Kevin

No, no, no. I got this. Absolutely. Unfortunately, I use this too much. This is my TSA EDC.

Tom

EDC?

Kevin

"Everyday carry." You know how you got to get stuff through airport security?

Tom

Oh,yeah.

Kevin

It's harder these days. The TSA, they're really clamping down. So, this -- you just toss your mat out, and this, you just empty your pockets. You throw in everything you don't need, right on there.

Richard

That's your wedding ring.

Kevin

No, I mean, don't need, like, you know, this. And this makes sure that you get through TSA because...

Tom

A utility knife?

Jenn

You're very clever.

Kevin

You never know what you're going to need when you're on the flight. Perfect. A couple other things. This, you're going to have to check. You check that. But these... Then you get it on here, you roll it up.

Richard

Yeah?

Kevin

And the beauty of this is that the canister is actually lined with lead. And so when it goes through... Watch the knife!

Don't stab yourself. Jenn

Watch the knife!

Kevin

And when it goes through the X-ray, It just looks like a smoothie.

Jenn

That's it. Right to the other side.

Richard

I'll come visit you in jail.

Tom

Yeah, exactly.

Richard

I will come visit you in jail.

Kevin

Can you bring lighters on?

Jenn

I won't come visit you.

Tom

Yeah,

try a lighter. Richard

No.

Kevin

Oh, I get my stuff back.

Watch your ring. Richard

I've had one of these for a long time. This is an important part of my daily skincare regimen.

Kevin

You have a daily one?

Richard

I do.

Kevin

I figured it was monthly.

This is an exfoliator. Kevin

Oh!

Richard

So I can use this to sort of get rid

of some of my arm hair. Kevin

Is that how you get rid of the back hair?

Jenn

Richard!

Richard

Yeah, the back hair. And then here has been good. What do you think?

Tom

What happened to your forehead?

Richard

Well, I stayed a little too long.

Tom

Yeah, you stayed a little too long, alright. Give it to me. That's not what it is at all. We use these on the jobsite all the time. I'm going to put it together because they really are handy. Actually, we use them on the jobsite. They were so good, I actually have one.

I keep it at home. Richard

Yeah.

Kevin

That's typically what happens to the stuff that works well on a jobsite. Ends up in Tommy's basement.

Tom

So I actually just put a little bit of water in there. So, after you finish painting the room, you take your roller out and you just put the roller in there like that, into the water,

up and down a couple of times. Richard

The knobbly bits...

And then shake it. Richard

Wait a minute! Don't shake it!

Jenn

Mauro would definitely

approve. Tom

Then you get a nice

clean roller for the next job. Kevin

Really?

Well... Tom

That's what it's for.

I'm telling you. Jenn

You know what?

You're the closest. Tom

See?

You are the closest. Tom

You owe me an apology. I don't know about you and you, Mr. Exfoliation.

Kevin

No sucking up.

Jenn

So, what this actually is, is a dog paw cleaner. Right?

Kevin

What?

Jenn

May I demonstrate on my assistant? So, you fill it with water. Hey,

Mobes. Kevin

Moby!

Jenn

Hey,

buddy. Kevin

Look at you!

Jenn

Can I wash your paw? See, all you do is stick your paw in there. What do you think? I know.

Richard

We'll do your nails, Moby.

Tom

You spill the -- all the water's on the floor.

Jenn

Well, you know, usually I'd have him stand up. But how can you bother him?

Kevin

Alright.

Jenn

And, Richard, I brought Gordie a gift.

They make them for small dogs. Richard

Oh, my goodness! Thank you! For the little paws. For my little French bulldog.

Kevin

No,

for your pet dog. Richard

Yeah, that's right.

Kevin

Nice. Alright. So, Jenn, first "What Is It?" What'd you think?

Jenn

It was incredible. Thank you for the experience.

Tom

A little afraid, huh?

Jenn

Yeah.

Kevin

Alright. Well, that is a wrap on season 20. So congratulations, everybody. But we will be back for 21. So, until then, I'm Kevin O'Connor...

I'm Richard Trethewey. Tom

I'm Tom Silva.

Jenn

I'm Jenn Nawada.

Kevin

...for "Ask This Old House." Thanks for watching, everybody. Nice job, Moby. Next time on "Ask This Old House"... what's it like to work alongside the "Ask This Old House" crew? We'll gather our experts to see what they really think about each other. Then what's happening inside a hot water heater after a decade of use? Richard will take a look inside a tank-type water heater that's past its prime. Plus Jenn and Nathan will team up with a great group of fourth graders to build a compost bin which will reduce waste at their school. All that on "Ask This Old House."