Ask This Old House

Kevin

Today on "Ask This Old House"...

Betsy

The big thing is, when it rains, a lot of times we'll get water in the basement. And you can see water actually runs right down the stones.

Mark

This type of foundation is one of the oldest in the country. I'll show you how to maintain it.

Tom

Did you know that oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust? Well, I'll show you the proper way to dispose of them.

Dave

In this room, we have this -- kind of this wavy, plaster, textured ceiling, and we don't know what to do -- if we should cover it, try to scrape it.

Mauro

This textured ceiling is old and outdated. I will show you an easy way to update it. The key is to keep the coat stain and add multiple coats for a nice and smooth finish.

Kevin

Hi, there. I'm Kevin O'Connor. And welcome back to "Ask This Old House," where we love getting your questions about anything around the house, 'cause we have got the experts to answer them. Including questions from Shelby in New York. Hey,

Roger. Roger

Hey, Kev.

Kevin

Good to see you. Jenn, good to see you too.

Jenn

Hi,

there. Kevin

So, Shelby in New York is writing us, and she is thinking about bulbs and wants your guys' opinion on those.

Jenn

Oh. Well, she's a little off on timing on this, since it is the spring. So, you have to plan, right? So, the best time to plant bulbs is in the fall. And when you're thinking about that, you have to have a plan. You have to think -- color, height, and bloom times, right? So you don't want to put the 40-inchers and then have a 10-inch one in back of it. So it's all about sequence, when you do your design, and then when you put them in the hole, you might want to put more than one at a time, if you want more of an impact, right?

Roger

That's what I love to do. Take a good group of four or five and plant them, and when they flower, it's like this big clump, and no one knows they'd only been there for one year.

Kevin

Looks a little bit more natural.

Roger

No, you want natural, take a handful of bulbs, throw them in the flower bed. Wherever they land, that's where you plant them. I was taught that by a landscape architect, yeah.

That's a great idea. Roger

Yeah.

The throw method. Jenn

Yeah.

Kevin

Okay. So Shelby needs to be thinking about next season, 'cause she's missed the fall planting.

Yes. Kevin

They go in in the fall. And then you have to just think about all the design.

Jenn

And when she plants, she could look up, like, their heights and their bloom times, and she can -- You can even sketch it on a little piece of paper, you know, here's my layout, and so when you go to do it, you have a plan. 'Cause it's always good to have a plan.

Have a plan. Jenn

Have a plan.

Kevin

Love to hear. Shelby will be happy to hear.

Mark

Betsy?

Betsy

Hi, Mark. How are you?

Mark

I'm doin' great. How ya doin'?

Betsy

Good. Thank you so much for coming.

Mark

All right. Well, thanks for having me. First of all, I love the neighborhood. All these old houses. I mean, aesthetically, you can't do much better. I do know they're hard to maintain, though.

Betsy

Yes. We love old houses. My husband and I both grew up in old houses, and that's what we were looking for in our first house.

And we love the neighborhood. Mark

Great. What year is this house?

Betsy

It was built in 1860.

Mark

Wow. So a nice, old house.

Betsy

Nice, old house. Lots of charm. A lot of work.

Mark

Great. And you e-mailed me about a foundation problem, correct?

Betsy

I did. I did. Let me show you it.

Mark

Great.

So this is our basement. Mark

All right.

Betsy

We've been here about 15 years. And we've done nothing to our basement at this point, but as you can see, previous owners have. We're at a point, though, where the mortar is starting to crumble. We get little piles of mortar along the floor.

Right. Betsy

And the big thing is, when it rains, a lot of times we'll get water in the basement. And if you look around in here, you can see water actually runs right down the stones.

Mark

Right. Yeah, I can kind of see the streaks. So, what you have here is very typical. It's a fieldstone foundation, and these stones that are in the foundation literally come out of the floor here. Once they dug them up, if they had a big one, you can see big ones that are now nice and low. This is actually a great example. But that's how they started the base of the foundation. They used the big stones. They start to get a little bit smaller as you climb up. That's just to ensure that they get a nice level area to use this brick, and then when the brick goes up, the sill will sit flat on top of that and we'll get a level house. But just looking at the stone, everything looks great. Fairly consistent. Is there a spot that's worse off than, say, another in the area?

Betsy

There is. Right down here is pretty bad.

Mark

Yeah, I can see mortar crumbling. A little bit of insulation.

The spray foam. Mark

Yep. This is actually almost ready to go. It's gonna be a great place to repoint. And when these stones were laid, believe it or not,

they were actually dry-laid. Betsy

Really?

Mark

Yeah. They would use a little bit just to balance a stone here and there.

Betsy

Really?

Mark

Yeah, but most of the stuff that you're looking at is kind of defensive. Back in the day, the builders had a great sense of what we call water management. It was basically keeping the water away from the house. If you and I go outside, I can show you a couple tricks.

That'd be great. Mark

All right. Let's go. All right, so -- Plants up against the house. Back when the house was built, I guarantee there was no plantings here. Their roots can act as a wick or a conduit right to the foundation. Now, this one is probably too close to the house, and that may have an effect. This bush right here is actually far enough away that it doesn't concern me. I'm really worried about, say, a tree. So if someone planted a tree close to the house, that's got some powerful roots. It takes up space in the grade, which again, would allow water a least path of resistance to carry it to the foundation.

Okay. Mark

So, other problems. Are there gutters on the house?

Betsy

We do. All the way around.

Mark

Okay. Oh, yeah. Great. So, a couple things about the gutters. You run the gutter all the way down and you hit a downspout with it, you have to make sure that you're dumping the water in a great area, which you guys are. I like that. Another thing you're doing that's great is you're dumping the water into a pipe, so that'll carry the water away from the house. What you have right here is a missing collar, and that's a problem because if leaves get into cavity, they'll eventually clog it up, the water will work its way back out, hit this area. And, again, the first time we went down to the basement, so the bottom of the stairs, that's where we saw the damage, right?

Betsy

It's right on the other side of that.

Mark

Okay. So, correlation is everything. But as I move down and I take a little look here, this concrete apron? That's perfect. It's sloping away from the house. So the water's running away. That's what we love. But, again, the second part of having good gutters is maintenance. So, when I look at this one, right, what do I see?

Betsy

I know. It pops out all the time.

Mark

It pops out all the time. So this is actually a very easy fix. Just take a gutter screw and put these two back together. On this end, you do have the collar, which -- You can see what I mean when I was talking about

how the leaves get down there. Betsy

Yep.

Mark

This is not gonna let that happen. And, again, we're always using correlation, right? We have a water problem right here. Where's the damage, right? I can see the dryer vent right behind me, so I know we're in the same area that we were when we were in the house. Often, people see water in the basement and they think, "Wow. I got to call a mason." It's not always the case. A lot of the times, it's water management.

Betsy

That makes perfect sense.

Mark

I'm gonna leave you withe some homework, which is just gonna be to tighten up these gutters and go from there. What we do want to do, though, is go back inside and fix the damage that's already occurred.

Okay. Sounds great. Mark

All right? Let's go. The first thing we're gonna do is, we're gonna actually wet down all the existing masonry that we see, just to keep the dust down that we're about to create.

Betsy

I don't think we're gonna need any tools here.

Laughs

Mark

Right. All right. Let's start by pulling out the mortar. Don't worry if any of the small stones fall out, because we can put those back in. If the big ones fall out, we're gonna be concerned about that. We're gonna want to get them right back in. When we have everything thoroughly cleaned out, we're gonna take a wet brush again, and we're gonna get into all the nooks and crannies and get all the loose, dusty material off the stones, and, that way, when we do get to repointing, we can feel good about the mortar sticking to the stones. All right. Now that we've done a good job cleaning out the old mortar, we're gonna mix the new stuff. This is what we call a Type N. We're gonna use a Type N, which is a little less strong than a Type S. A lot of people want to use the Type S mortar because it's stronger. We want to use the Type N mortar because it's a little softer and it's gonna allow the fieldstone foundation to move a little bit. Okay. So we've now prepared our mix. The last thing I want to do for the mix is add a bonding agent. And this is gonna help the mortar stick to the stone. Great. Yeah. Now just push it in. That's it. Now that you've got a bed joint down, see if you can fit a small stone in. Oh, very good, Betsy. You're a stonemason. Nice job.

Betsy

It's like working with a puzzle.

Mark

Exactly. So just fill the mortar in around that. Great.

Betsy

So it doesn't necessarily need to be flush with the stones at all?

Mark

Not at this point. What you're trying to do right now is just stuff the back of the stones so we make sure we have a full cavity...

Got it. Mark

...and then later, we'll bring it out flush. And then just continue that entire process all the way across. No rhyme or reason to the stone. Random. Betsy, you might want to push that in with a... Yeah, exactly. That side. There you go. Yep. Great. Now we're gonna do the finishing touch, which is just a wet brush. And all that's gonna do is bring the aggregate out of the mortar for us to see. And always look under the stones, because that's the spot where the mortar is gonna drip, and if you hit it with the brush, you'll knock it right up to the bottom side of the stone. Oh, yeah. Do you see how you're taking the tool mark away with the brush?

Betsy

Yep.

Mark

That's what we're trying to do, as well.

So what wasn't so hard. Betsy

Not at all. And it looks fantastic. To be honest, the reason why we haven't touched it in 15 years is that it just seemed so overwhelming to us, and it really wasn't that bad at all.

Mark

Right. So, now that you have the technique, you can just go down the wall a couple feet at a time, get all the way around, then you'll have it done. But the most important part, as discussed before, is just make sure those gutters are fixed, operating properly, and all the grade around the house has to be sloped away from the house. Other than that, you're gonna be great.

Betsy

That sounds fantastic. Thanks so much.

Mark

All right. You got it, Betsy.

Take care. Mark

Bye-bye.

Kevin

Mark, it's nice to see you put the tools in the homeowner's hands.

She did a nice job. Mark

She was great. She was very enthusiastic and went right at it.

As you saw. Kevin

And as it turns out, it wasn't even so much about the masonry. It was mostly about the water management.

Mark

Right. So, I get a ton of calls all the time about "I have water in my basement." The first thing I think of is, "It's coming in. Let's stop it from coming in."

Kevin

Right.

Mark

But people spend thousands of dollars on their mason, they patch up the foundation, the water makes its way through, and they still have the problem.

Kevin

'Cause they never address where the water's coming from.

Mark

They never address where it's coming from.

Tom

Well, I can't tell you how many people tell me, "Can we take the gutters off my house? I don't want to clean them." But they don't realize how important that gutter is for along the side of the house. But I did notice in that back corner, by the bulkhead, outside, you could see how the soil had really come down low. That all has to get built back up so it can pitch away from the house.

Jenn

And then they call the landscaper. I mean, that's really -- Water management is the first thing you think of when you're designing something. Where is it gonna go? So maybe bringing that grade back up and throwing in a perforated pipe?

Mark

They did have the pipe in place already, but, again, the grade is still too low. So if it's not one problem, it's another.

Right. Kevin

And what about the foundation plantings, Jenn? I mean, what are you thinking about in terms of species? Or, more importantly, location?

Jenn

Location -- they should definitely be at least three feet off the house, right?

Roger

I would. There's a couple things to think about. We're always preaching the right plant in the right place. Here, I want you to have enough room to be able to walk between the house and the hedges, or the greens, whatever is there, so that you can get through and, number one, do maintenance, but, number two, get in there and let that foundation dry out. Mother Nature hates a void. She'll keep it wet in there.

And sooner or later... Jenn

Right. Totally agree.

Kevin

All right, well, let's hope we got the problem fixed.

All right. Tom

Nice job.

Thanks. Jenn

Yeah.

Kevin

Tommy, after all of our "Build It" projects, we're talking about sort of properly disposing the rags we use, right? This is a concern that you've brought up more than once.

Tom

It's very important that you dispose of the rags correctly because, believe it or not, any oil-based finish that you use, whether it's mineral spirits, teak oil, whatever, they can cause spontaneous combustion if you don't dispose of the material correctly.

Kevin

So literally the idea is that a pile of rags can just ignite automatically, which I've heard a million times, but has it ever actually happened?

Tom

I can absolutely say that it came close on one of our jobs years ago,

when I was working for my dad. Kevin

Really?

Tom

Yeah. We were doing a teak library, and so now it was time for the finish, and we went through gallons of teak oil, not a problem, on all the cabinetry. And so we had spent the day soaking the rags in teak oil and then rubbing them on the cabinets and then throwing the rags in a pile.

Kevin

Yep.

Tom

And then,

about 11

00 at night, my dad got a call from the homeowner, and she says, "You know, I smell something funny in the new library. Can you come up and take a look?" And my dad goes, "Be right up." So we got in the truck, rode up there, opened the door, went inside, and in the corner the rags were smoldering.

Wow. Tom

Getting ready to flash.

Kevin

Another couple minutes, you think they would've gone up?

Tom

Oh, yeah. They would've definitely gone up. What'd you do with them? We took the rags out, put them in the driveway, spread them all out, and then sprayed them down with a hose.

Kevin

So you are a believer. Well, what's actually going on? I don't quite get it.

Tom

Well, it's actually a form of oxidation. So, as the oil-based product dries, it generates heat and it disperses into the air. And so if you take that heat and you capture it with more rags on top of one another, you're holding the heat in there, and it's really concentrated, and it gets hot inside,

and then it will flash and burn. Kevin

Okay. So, we've got a couple things that you always have us do when we're done using these oily rags. You know, the first one is you like to lay them out and just let them dry, spread out.

Tom

Take them out and lay them down. I throw them over a ladder rung or I lay them on the floor, spread them out. I take them and put them out in the driveway

when we're doing a big project. Kevin

Yeah.

Tom

Somewhere where it's not near a combustible material.

And I don't pile them up. Kevin

So, it's drying, which means it's still giving off heat, but it's not concentrated 'cause you spread them out.

Tom

Think of your finish that you're doing on your top. Believe it or not, that oil-based top is actually giving heat off, but the air around it is keeping it cool,

so it's not gonna flash. Kevin

Okay. Yep.

Tom

All right? So, also, before we leave the project, after we've taken all our rags and before we throw them away, we'll throw them in a bucket of water, push it down, let it get wet. And the next day, we'll throw them in the trash.

Kevin

Got it. And that's gonna give us a proper disposal. And, of course, in some places, we've got to make sure that we're actually throwing the rags out in the proper areas.

But just check locally. Tom

Right. You know, I remember seeing years ago the painters that my dad had would take a paint can that was empty, with oil-based paint and rags and stuff that would combust. They'd put it in an empty paint can. They'd put some water in the can, put the lid on it, and not worry about the spontaneous combustion.

Kevin

Good. All right, Tommy. Good information. Thank you.

Dave

Well, thanks again for coming out today.

Mauro

No problem, Dave.

Dave

So, we're just trying to update our house here. And some of the few things we've done is, we scraped the popcorn off of this ceiling to kind of make it a little more modern, threw on a coat of paint.

Mauro

That looks really good.

I like the way I see it. Dave

Thank you very much. But in this room, we have this -- kind of this wavy, plaster, textured ceiling, and we don't know what to do -- if we should cover it, try to scrape it.

Mauro

Gotcha. What I think happens here, is someone grabbed, like, a plaster trowel and created this pattern, which was probably 30 to 40 years ago. But right now people want to see, like, a flat-looking ceiling. I don't think we can scrape that, but I have an easier solution that we can flatten this ceiling out, and it's gonna look really good.

Dave

Excellent. That sounds great.

Mauro

All right. Let's get the furniture out of here, and we'll start to protect the walls, the floors.

Dave

All right. Let's get to it.

Mauro

All right. Just put a little piece of tape in there for now to secure it. Just go very close to the ceiling, okay?

Dave

Okay.

Mauro

I want to make sure the ceiling is clean before we do any work on it. Okay, looking at this ceiling, instead of we'll scrape this whole thing down, we're gonna fill out all the lowest parts first, and what we're gonna use is this fast-setting compound. It takes 45 minutes until it dries. Regular joint compound takes forever to dry, so we need to use the 45, which will give us a nice and smooth finish, ready for priming paint.

Sounds good. Mauro

Are you ready?

Dave

Let's do it.

Mauro

Well, this should look good. Let's start the mix,

then. Dave

Okay.

Mauro

So, I've got my drill with the mixer. Let's start the mixing. We go nice and easy. We always can add a little bit more.

Dave

Do you need me to add some?

Mauro

Yep. You can add a little more compound.

Dave

All right. I'll put some in for ya.

Mauro

Yep. Let's keep going. Yep. Keep going. Keep going. All right. Let's see how we've done.

Dave

So, what consistency are we looking for?

Mauro

Well, we do not want too thin, and we do not want too thick. We want the right consistency, because if it's too thin, it's gonna run all over the place. We don't want that. If it was too thick, we're not gonna be able to spread this nice and smooth on the ceiling. All right. I think we did it. Let's get the trowel and get this work started. We've got the...here. And this is what we call a taping knife. We're gonna start with that. And this is gonna go just like that. Get some of your knife. Get it to the edge of the ceiling and spread. Nice and smooth. The key is to keep the coat stain and add multiple coats for a nice and smooth finish. All right. That's good enough. Yeah? Try to get some there. Just put that in a 45 angle. Just don't worry about that. Yep. That's good.

All right. Mauro

Yep. Don't press it too hard. We're gonna do more than one press, all right?

Dave

Okay.

Mauro

All we need to fill up is the lower parts first. It just goes like this.

Dave

Okay.

Mauro

Sometimes, people want to get the job fast. And they put it on too thick. A couple things are gonna happen. It's gonna take forever to dry, and they never can get a smooth ceiling.

Dave

Just load up a little bit more?

Mauro

And you can get that corner nice and clean.

Yeah. Dave

Look at that.

Mauro

Dave, we'll wait about 45 minutes. It looks pretty dry. It's time to apply the second coat, and then we're gonna use a different trowel now. This is, like, gonna give us a nice finish and a smoother finish.

Perfect. Mauro

Ready to go? All right. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to put a little bit at the end of the trowel and go over the edge. Just like that. All right. The goal for the second coat is to hit all the imperfections that we couldn't do on the first coat.

Okay. Mauro

All right. This is where we get these wide strokes. How you doing over there? Ah. It looks pretty good. Well, second coat is up. What do you think?

Dave

This is amazing. It's so different than when we started this morning. I'm really impressed.

Mauro

Well, this is all we can do for today. What I want you to do is wait about 24 hours, get a 220-grade sandpaper, lightly sand. There's a couple spots. I still see some scratches on the ceiling. It doesn't matter how much we work with the knife, we're always gonna see a thing here and there. And then my suggestion is getting a white, flat ceiling paint, couple coats, and you're done.

Dave

Perfect. That sounds great.

Sounds good. Dave

I really appreciate it. This is amazing work. Thank you.

Kevin

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

Tom

These stairs are in need of an update. I'll show you how to dress up the risers and replace the treads. Stair tread's loose, so it's noisy. And there's a crack. And there's gaps over here that I'll need to get filled.

Richard

This gas stove won't push all the way back against the wall. I have the solution.

Jenn

And I'll share with you a few tips about pruning. See how it crushes the stem?

Kevin

Yeah.

Jenn

And you really could harm the tissue and the plant.