This Old House

Jenn

Today on "This Old House," we are replacing the old brick trip hazard stairs.

Mark

And we want to make sure we use the right material because we have to fight this New England weather.

Kevin

Williamson College of the Trades takes young men and it gives them an education, teaches them a trade and sends them out into the workforce with no debt.

Man

Got it? Man #2: Ah, that's it.

Kevin

Hi there. I'm Kevin O'Connor, and welcome back to "This Old House" and to our old Victorian here in West Roxbury, where we've got a lot going on today. We're going to be putting in a new steel cable railing system out back. I'm going to have to meet with the homeowners to make some decisions about the wood floors. But first, Mark and Jenn are out front, transforming that area.

Mark

And as you can see, our front porch steps have already been demoed and we had rises of all different heights. The first one was 6", the second one was 8", the third one 7. And believe it or not, going into the house, we had a 3" step.

Jenn

Yeah, that was brutal. Today, we're going to build a new set of front steps that are naturally easy to get in and out of the house. Let's head into downtown Boston to get a little inspiration.

Mark

That sounds good. Let's go.

Jenn

Okay, Mark, check out these granite steps. We're at the Massachusetts State House and the design element just pulls you in. You have these nice long, wide stairs that goes in and narrows and it really welcomes you to the house. You know, I really love that there's a slight curve, and it makes me feel like I want to go up the steps. Right. For all those reasons, Jenn, I think granite for the State House was a perfect choice.

Mm-hmm. Mark

Over in West Roxbury, we actually have a few choices. We have wood, concrete or a natural stone. The extreme weather that we get around here is going to affect whatever we put in. So the granite for me, I think it's the product we should use.

I totally agree with you. Mark

Alright. One thing I did want to show you, I noticed a set of stairs on my way in.

Jenn

Yeah, let's go check it out.

Mark

Okay, Jenn, these are the steps.

Jenn

Okay.

Mark

I can see you're slowing up a little bit, trying to get some balance there.

Jenn

Well, they feel different, right? So, like, my foot almost is caught on the edge. The riser is different. To me, they're -- they're not as comfortable as a step that I normally would do.

Mark

Right. I get it. So there's actually an equation with that. We got the riser at 6" and then you measure the tread, which is about 14". That gives us 20. Now, the scale of a comfortable step is anywhere between, say, 18 and 19 inches.

Jenn

You're adding the rise and then the run. And that calculation gives you a "comfort zone."

Mark

Right. If we're at 20, we're a little bit out of that comfort zone.

Jenn

Right. I think these steps were intentionally designed to slow you down as you come into the Boston Common, right?

I get that. Jenn

So you get to the bottom of the steps. It was a different cadence that makes you stop your head, you look up, you turn around, you know, you try to figure out where you're going and then vice versa. When you get back up to the top, there's a very busy street. And so as you are mindful as walking up the steps, it takes a pause at the top.

Mark

Alright, Jenn, now that we've decided on the material -- granite -- and we know what makes a comfortable step, let's get over to West Roxbury and get going.

Let's go. Mark

Alright.

Jenn

Okay, so we've excavated this area. It was all one big concrete pad to achieve our new walkway going in at the right level. We had to cut that pad. The remaining pad stayed in place and that will act as our footing. And then on top of that, we put the 3/4" crushed stone to get at the grade we want to be. And we want to achieve the 7" riser. How do we get there?

Mark

Okay, well, I have my gravel set

at about a little less than 28. Jenn

Mm-hmm.

Mark

And that's going to allow me to put a bit of mortar

down around the entire rim. Jenn

Mm-hmm.

Mark

That's going to allow us to level stuff off if we have to.

Jenn

And then the end pieces will be these. These will be the returns on the side and then the cement block will be there to contain the back because we're going to fill the center with crushed stone.

Mark

Right. So if we do it properly and everything works out great, second step goes in easily, third step goes in perfectly, and we're done.

Let's do it. Mark

Let's do it.

Jenn

Mark, these steps look great.

Mark

Thanks. And check this out.

Seven. Jenn

Boom.

11. Jenn

Makes 18.

Mark

Makes 18, so that puts us right in that zone for a very comfortable step.

Jenn

Right, that comfortable walking cadence.

Exactly. Jenn

Alright. So I mean, this is such an improvement to this site. So next up, brick walkway.

Let's get it. Jenn

Alright.

Kevin

As you can see, all of the board and plaster is up and it's on the old walls as well as the new because a lot of them have been moved around. This is a great example right here. Bathroom used to be there. Now it's here. Used to be a little kitchen pantry. Now we've got a coat closet, and as all these walls moved around, well, it left us with a little bit of a flooring dilemma. It looks like this is the original floor. Maybe fir. That's about 3 1/2" wide. Runs front to back, and at some point they went left to right, overlaid it with a -- What is that, 2 1/4" oak? Well, now that the walls are all moved, we've got to figure out what stays, what goes, and that's a flooring decision for our homeowners. Hey,

guys. Deliandro

Hey, Kevin.

Kevin

So, uh, yeah, you guys got to decide I guess. Deliandro needs to know what direction to go in. You got some samples that you brought.

Deliandro

Yeah, we got a few options over here. Got like four different options. Option number one would be keeping the existing red oak that they have in the house. So we set it down, part of the floors, and put like a finished coat on top of it.

Kevin

And so that's up until this point right here?

Exactly. Kevin

Existing?

That's existing. Kevin

And then this?

Deliandro

Same 2 1/4 red oak with a little coat of poly on it. So you can see that it's slightly different. And then right here, we got a clean saw cut. That's a 4"

white oak. Kevin

Okay.

Deliandro

Option number three would be a 5" pre-finished

white oak. Kevin

Gotcha.

So that's pre-finished. Deliandro

Yeah, exactly. And then option number four would be a plain saw 4" white oak as well.

Kevin

Okay, so four different options. And essentially, if we go with option one, you're talking about using what's here in about half of the downstairs and then Deliandro can feather in new stuff, refinish the entire first floor. Try to match it as best as you can. That's sort of the first option?

Deliandro

Yeah, that be the first option.

Kevin

And it's probably the cheapest given the fact that we've got like 60% of the first floor already down?

Deliandro

Exactly. Yeah. That would be the cheapest route to go with this. And then we have -- Like, to replace the floors, it'll be twice as much, the cost of patching in and refinish the existing product that we have.

Kevin

So you guys have changed walls. You're actually changing the orientation of the room. I mean, one thing that we always think about is, you know, if you do a whole new floor, you don't have to live with it going left to right. You can now flip the orientation of your new floor to make it go front to back if that's important to you. Derek, you get that idea of, you know, longer rooms,

bigger spaces. Derek

All about flow.

Kevin

All about flow. But, you know, that means you got to go with a new floor. What do you guys think? I mean, what are you thinking when you look at this?

Robyn

Well, my heart is going with the new. I like the wider board. I like the color. I like the fact that if we choose to, we can change the orientation. But my head is saying 100% more is a lot more money and I think we have to stick with the existing.

Kevin

She's rational, huh? Cerebral. Okay. What about you, Derek?

Derek

That's right.

Kevin

What are you thinking?

Derek

I think we might be able to get away with saving some money by just continuing the existing with the suggested finish.

Kevin

So you're going with your head, too.

Derek

Sometimes I got to do that as well. It's part of my job as an architect, is money is real.

Kevin

Yeah, money is real. Sounds like a decision. Sounds like you're starting to work with what you got.

Deliandro

Yeah, that's right. Yeah.

Kevin

Alright, guys. Well, I appreciate the decisions because it lets Deliandro keep working.

So thank you. Robyn

We appreciate that.

Kevin

We've been talking about the shortage in the building trades with our Generation NEXT initiative for about five years. But here in Media, Pennsylvania, there is a unique school that has been doing their part for over 130. Williamson College of the Trades takes young men from difficult backgrounds and it gives them an education, teaches them a trade and sends them out into the workforce with multiple job offers and no debt.

Mike

The school was founded in 1888 by Mr. Williamson when he saw young men on the streets in Philadelphia, you know, that didn't have any direction, any purpose in life. And so he said, "I want to found this school and I want to make it free to those that go. I want them to be able to learn a trade, get an education, moral and religious development and growth as part of that and athletics and recreation to become a useful, respected member of society."

Kevin

And so why only men?

Mike

I believe that that single-sex environment, that all-male environment really helps our guys be successful. You know, that brotherhood, that camaraderie, just the confidence that they develop.

Kevin

When I see the guys line up for the flag raising in the morning and they got their jackets and their ties on, it fools you a little bit into thinking that they've got everything they need. A lot of them come here and don't have anything they need.

Mike

That's right. You know, we recognize that most of the young guys coming here do not own a coat and tie, and we tell them don't go out and try to buy something like that because when you come here, you know, that is our standard -- coat and tie, you know, at morning lineup, at meals, I mean, you know, in academic classes, but we have great people that donate all that stuff. And so a young man can come in, you know, and take whatever they need out of the clothes closet so that they can meet the standard.

Kevin

What's the academic program like here?

Michelle

We have math, we have English, we have science, we have all of the college courses that any other college would have. But all of those courses are specific to the different trade area. So, for example, our power plant students, will get lots of calculus and then our horticulture or landscape management students, they would actually get more geometry and things of that nature because they need that information in order to actually go out and do design work for landscape and construction management.

Kevin

As part of the school's leader development program, seniors and freshmen are paired together to better learn how to run a job site and work as a team.

David

Each senior runs a small crew on campus. We each take care of our own areas. So I take care of all the trees on campus. I run the tree crew. When I was a freshman, came in, a lot to learn, still a lot to learn as a senior. There's always stuff to learn. But I know a lot more now and have the ability to kind of pass along that knowledge to people that come below us.

Kevin

Hey, Ray. Good to see you.

Ray

Kevin, how you doing?

Kevin

Doing alright.

Doing great. Kevin

So what do we got going on here? What's this project?

Ray

So, we've got four freshmen right now, just working on free-pointing the surface of the brick of the building.

Kevin

You're a senior?

Ray

Yes, sir.

Kevin

So you're the foreman?

Ray

I am. I'm the foreman for the week.

Kevin

How's that feel, running the crew?

Ray

It's challenging, but it's fun, you know, because I hold that responsibility that I never really expected myself to hold. And once it's done, you step back, you're like, "I ran it. I ran that crew." It's great. Recently, I just signed a contract, so I'll be moving down to Virginia once I graduate from Williamson.

Kevin

So you've already got a job?

Ray

Already got a job.

Kevin

And you got no debt?

No debt. Kevin

How's that feel?

Ray

Unbelievable. I told my family, my girlfriend this, and, like, they were really happy. Like, the hardest part was deciding what company to pick. I didn't know I was going to come across that, you know, that decision.

Kevin

Each year, Williamson puts on a career fair for its juniors and seniors.

Mike

We average about 75 graduates a year, and in a normal year prior to COVID, we had 198 companies from 20 states. They pay money to come here, and the only thing they're promised is that they get an opportunity to interview students and compete to hire them.

David

I have three job offers and just, you know, trying to make a decision now.

Mike

We tell every kid that comes here like, "Nobody is asking to pay back almost the $100,000 it costs to put you through three years of this. But the one thing that you do owe us is whatever company you sign on with should be back here next year saying, 'I need 10 more guys like Kevin. He's the best guy I got and I need more guys like that.' And if you do that, you've upheld your responsibility" because those opportunities will be available for the rest of the Williamson guys that come through the pipeline.

Jose

I'm closer to guys here than I am to guys that I knew for years, if that makes sense. Freshmen, juniors, seniors, it doesn't matter. I feel like they all have my back.

Kevin

Okay, back porch looking good. I love the sepia, Deliandro. That's a nice look.

Deliandro

Yeah, came out really nice, right?

Kevin

It did. So now railing, huh?

Deliandro

Yeah. So we have this cable railing system that we're going to be putting up. First thing you got to do is set up whole space, like locations. We are setting them like an inch and three quarters

from the deck. Kevin

Okay. So I like this system, Deliandro. So they got a bracket here, which sits on top of the post, which we'll screw in, but then they leave you the flanges.

Deliandro

Yeah. So that flanges mantle secure the top rail.

Kevin

So we can screw up underneath into your top rail?

Deliandro

Exactly. Yeah.

Kevin

Alright. Here's the second rail. Tell me where.

Deliandro

Yeah, you could clamp it right there.

Kevin

Right there?

Deliandro

Yeah.

Kevin

Okay, so are you just going to just take the angle off of that?

Deliandro

Just going to mark it right over here where these two parts meet together and then at the bottom, just connect the dots.

Kevin

Yeah, I think I would have screwed that one up. Okay.

Deliandro

Want to hold on to that end. I'm going to bring this one up to you.

Kevin

Oh, yeah, that is going to do it. Nice. Okay, that's nice and tight. It's looking pretty good. So no plumb cut here.

Deliandro

Yeah. No, no plumb cut, Kevin, just because, you know, we don't want people to get caught, you know, on the sharp angle that creates because of that. So I think that a square cut look better. It's safer for the stairs.

Kevin

Makes sense, alright. So ready for the cabling system?

Deliandro

Ready for the cabling system. Here's a piece of cable that we have cut.

Kevin

Okay, got a bunch of fasteners here.

Deliandro

A little longer than we needed just so we can make sure that we have enough slack and trim this properly. So now you're going to clamp this end.

Kevin

They give us one to thread the cable in.

Deliandro

Yep.

Kevin

Let's see if I can get that in there.

Nice. Deliandro

Alright. Can you hold that out for me?

Kevin

I can. So the system comes with a crimper?

Deliandro

Yeah. Okay. You good?

Kevin

That go through? And then I give you this piece that's threaded. Is that pulling some of the slack out?

Deliandro

Yeah.

Kevin

Al right. How's that?

Deliandro

Very tight.

Kevin

Tight enough?

Deliandro

Yeah.

Kevin

So how many more do we have to go?

Deliandro

We got nine more to go.

Kevin

Nine more. What do you think?

Deliandro

Yeah, I think it looks good. We're getting some weather. Do you want to help me take care of that door?

Kevin

Want to button up the house?

Deliandro

Yeah, might as well.

Kevin

So what do you want to put in?

Deliandro

So, I have this door over here that is a single light with the sidelight over here. Left-handed door. Wood core over here. Fiberglass skin. The jamming's made of wood.

Kevin

Okay. Like the composite, right? I mean, it's an exterior door, so that should hold up for us.

Deliandro

Yeah, exactly. So we like that because it makes it a little bit easier to keep up with the door, you know, with the outdoors, you know?

Kevin

Okay. So flashing?

Deliandro

Yeah. So originally I wanted to have this stretch tape over here. But we got a little bit of rain. You can try as much -- as hard as you want,

but it won't stick to it. Kevin

Okay.

Deliandro

So we're going to use a different method. We're going to use lead.

Kevin

old school, huh?

Deliandro

Old-school method. Yep. So I'm going to go over this, make, like, a nice pan. Yeah, we want to run some bead of 100% silicone on it.

Kevin

This is going to be our seal to the floor.

Deliandro

Yeah, exactly. So you want to have this passing about an inch and a half over the inside, yeah.

Kevin

I mean, lead lasts hundreds of years. You know, we've done a lot of stories on removing lead paint from homes, but I can see that since the lead is under the doorjamb, it's not going to be accessible. So that's safe.

Deliandro

So now we're going to do the vertical flashing.

Kevin

So the stretch tape is grabbing really well on that dry wood. I really like how it stretches to fit in and how it adheres to different types of surfaces.

Deliandro

A couple of beads of silicone over here, Kevin, and then I'll get the door in. Push it against me. Yeah, there we go. Alright.

Kevin

Just something temporary for us?

Deliandro

Temporary, yeah. So now we can -- This way we can check for level. The door needs to go -- It needs to go that way. That looks good. So now I'm going to add some shims. So, Kevin, just checking for plumb front to back, it looks perfect over here. So right now I'm looking at left or right. And the plumb is dead on. So now I'm going to check if my doorframe is boring in any way because I added some shims in the middle. That could push the jamb on the opposite side. So it looks really good over here. Now I'm going to drive this screw through the shims so we can secure the door properly. Now I'm going to check the door is square. Got 97 1/4. 97 1/4.

Kevin

Nice.

Deliandro

So we're just going in with some low-expansion spray foam, closing these gaps, make sure that everything is tight.

Looking good. Deliandro

Looking good.

Kevin

Nice swing, I like that.

Deliandro

Nice plumb.

Kevin

Not swinging on its own, so nice and plumb. Okay, good to have the house finally weathertight.

Deliandro

Finally weathertight. Now just a little bit of hardware and some casing. And then we're done.

Kevin

Alright. nice job, Deliandro.

Deliandro

Al right.

Mark

We're going to do a running bond pattern here. It's a visual thing. Running bond at my feet tells me to keep going.

Jenn

This pitch is perfect. It's going to be great for drainage, sheet off that way.

Mark

Right. I like to put this in with my hands only because it gives me a little bit of opportunity to work it in. Yep, you should be good there.

Jenn

Alright, you ready?

Mark

Yep. Oh,

that felt great. Jenn

Natural.

That is natural. Kevin

Look at you two guys. Wow! That is awesome. What a change, huh?

Jenn

It's a huge transformation.

Big change. Kevin

Can I try it out?

Jenn

What do you think?

Kevin

Oh, yeah, I like that. What is that, an 18?

Mark

18 all day.

Kevin

Or is that a 19?

Jenn

I think you got a good gauge.

Mark

I have a tape. 18.

Kevin

Alright. Well, good work, guys. And we've got a lot more work to do, and all of that's going to be coming up next time. So until then, I'm Kevin O'Connor.

I'm Mark McCullough. Jenn

I'm Jenn Nawada.

Kevin

"This Old House" here in West Roxbury. Next time on "This Old House," we'll add some luxury to the master bath by putting electric heat in the floors. So at this stage, are you pretty much ready to tile?

Man

It is ready for tile. Yep, beautiful.

Richard

And we'll be installing a brand-new bathtub in the kids' bathroom.

Tom

And I'll be helping the homeowner and his son install drywall in the attic. Let's see if it fits. Perfect. Nice job.