This Old House

Kevin

Today on "This Old House," our multi depth kitchen cabinets look great. We'll show you how to install them and a vent hood as well, and in our master bathroom with the curb-less shower, we're going to figure out how to lay out these large format tiles. And we'll show you how boho chic is going to set this room apart from the rest of the house. Hi there. I'm Kevin O'Connor, and welcome back to "This Old House" into our 1890s Victorian here in West Roxbury, where interior trim work is starting, there's a little bit of this and that -- in this little seating area you can see we've got new baseboards and around this new window, we've actually got the old casings. They were saved and repurposed; in places where we didn't have enough, new casings were brought in. That's a pretty close match. And then the homeowners have made a decision on the floors. They've gone with a stripped red oak, 2 1/4 inches wide, and they did that because they wanted to match what was in the house. And you can see that match right here. Tommy and Deliandro wove the new into the old. So the next step is to sand everything down, three coats of poly, and that's going to happen as soon as we hang the kitchen cabinets. Hey,

Deliandro. -Deliandro

Hey, Kevin.

Kevin

Look at the progress. I love it. Cabinets goin' in, you got the bases set already.

Yeah. -Kevin

Our island and some of the uppers in.

Deliandro

Yeah, that's coming out really nice. Let me show you what we got over here. This is like dark color cabinet. This is our tall cabinet cabinet, this is our starting point. Our goal today would be finishing off this whole band of cabinets and then tying into what we already have installed.

Kevin

Perfect. And then you got different color lowers just beneath that.

Deliandro

Yeah, if you do have enough time, we're going to pop those in today as well.

Kevin

All right, I'll give you a hand. So you start with a cleat.

Deliandro

Yeah, so we have the cleat over there in order to provide us some support, you know, we're hanging these upper cabinets, they're a little bit heavy, and also, we are projecting the level line -- this cleat and that cleat are all in the same height.

Kevin

So that's a consistent height off of the base cabinets.

Deliandro

Exactly, which is 54.5 inches

from our base cabinet. -Kevin

Gotcha.

Deliandro

So I got a 54.5 like right over here.

Yep. -Deliandro

As you can see, when we tie that upper cabinet to this one, we have the same dimension right there.

Kevin

Gotcha, so your level off of your base cabinets and that's going to get us just above the window line.

Exactly. -Kevin

Okay. Is this the first one?

Deliandro

Yeah, that's the first one.

All right. -Deliandro

Thank you, Kevin. So we a couple of spots that we're going to have this puck lights over the window, so here there's a low voltage wire, they got to put there. Got it over there?

Yep. -Deliandro

All right. So now we're going to go up.

Kevin

There we go.

Deliandro

Okay.

I got it. -Deliandro

Just grab my clamp. Hold this in place. There we go.

Kevin

Betcha that's going to be.... Oh yeah, baby.

Deliandro

So now that we have this clamp holding down the cabinet, I'm going to screw down... Another one in back. Let's go.

Kevin

Good, you're on the cleat.

Deliandro

And Kevin, so, you can see that we came to this point and the cabinets are not aligning. That's because our wall is off plumb, and for that, we need to adjust it a little bit by padding on the bottom of our cabinet. A little bit more.

Hammer striking

Deliandro

There we go, there we go, we're good.

Kevin

Looks good. So what's the solution for this corner?

Deliandro

I precut a couple of pieces of the same material as the doors; you want to make sure that they sit flush with the doors, so we have this line going all the way around the kitchen.

Kevin

Flush with the doors not with the cabinets. Okay, I get the look. So that means you've got to blind-fasten those.

Deliandro

Yes, yes. Let me show you how to do this. So this piece here, this is going to sit flush with the box of the cabinet, so it offsets the corner to the door panel. So now the next step would be adding this flange into the filler that we made. Once we have this flange set up, we can screw from the cabinet into the flange. This is going to sit flush with our panels. All right, so here's our corner. You know, nice and flush with our door.

Kevin

Looks good. Get the clamp in there.

Deliandro

All right. So nice and flush over here. So once we tighten everything up, adjust our door, it will align perfectly.

Kevin

And these are shallower than the top ones there.

Deliandro

Yes, they are. We've got to patch behind this cabinet here, just like we did on the upper cabinet.

Kevin

Right there.

Deliandro

Yeah, I got a filler to put in there, two side panels, and the top trim board to put in there.

Kevin

I get the look though, right? So we've got the two tones with the dark wood, light wood, and then also the two planes, right, where these are set back, it's a good, modern look.

Deliandro

Yeah, it looks beautiful.

Kevin

Nice job. Boston designer and color expert Cheryl Rosenberg has come to help make choices for the daughter's room. Hey, Cheryl. Hey, Robin. Aria, nice to meet you. So we're working on your room today.

Yeah. -Kevin

All right. So you're in good hands -- Cheryl, what do you got for us?

Cheryl

Thank you. Well, ultimately, we're here to pick out a paint color, but I wanted to chat with Aria a bit about her style. Tell me more about that.

Aria

My style is a form of the bohemian style. But it's a more modern twist on it called boho chic.

Kevin

You're familiar with boho chic?

Cheryl

Absolutely, boho chic is a modern, like you said, interpretation of bohemian style, and bohemian style originated in Paris in the 1800s, really, with artists who wanted to live this freewheeling lifestyle and just be very open and unconventional. So I wanted to just give you some perspective of what a classic bohemian room might have looked like. We've got lots of different colors. What do you see here?

Aria

I really like how all the textures bring the room to life. But I feel like the colors are little more vibrant than I'm used to.

Kevin

So that sounds like a polite "bo"-no. You got any other tricks in your bag?

Cheryl

I think I can handle it. All right, so this is what I put together for you. You can still see all of the amazing textures that are characteristic of bohemian, but things are toned down and much more sophisticated.

Kevin

How do you feel about this, Aria? Does this work for you?

Aria

Yeah, it's beautiful. I really like all the different tans and pinks and neutrals, how they go so well together with all the greenery and the textures.

Kevin

And so we're not just working off a board because I'm seeing things here, so you can actually lay hands on some of these choices.

Cheryl

Right, because this -- all of these things come from different cultures around the world, and you want to be able to touch them to really understand what goes into making a handcrafted piece like this.

Kevin

So, Aria, mom, seeing it, touching it, does this sort of scratch your boho itch.

Definitely. -Kevin

And does it leave you in a position to start choosing a paint color?

Yeah. -Kevin

Can we do that?

Cheryl

Let's do it. All right.

Kevin

Always nice to have samples up on the wall.

Cheryl

Yeah, I've got five different pinks up here for you to choose from. I've got this warm terra cotta color, this romantic rose color, and a lavender that has a little bit of gray in it. And then we've got these two whites that are very warm, and then this one's got a cooler undertone.

Kevin

Anything jump out at you, Aria?

Aria

Um... I really like the Gorgeous White because I'm such a happy light kind of feel to the room, which I feel like is all about the boho chic style. And I feel like a cool thing to do would be an accent color of the Dressy Red.

Kevin

She's throwing a curve ball, mom, she's already mixing it up, you good with an accent wall?

Cheryl

Absolutely. I love it.

Kevin

All right. Well, that sounds like a boho go then. We're going to hold to that, Aria. Thank you,

Cheryl. -Cheryl

Thank you, Kevin.

Kevin

Back in the 1890s when this house was built, one of the things that people were attracted to was that they could have these beautiful features a balustrade with this flair, things that used to be inaccessible to so many folks. A front door with a lot of panels, a center light; or a stained glass window in the foyer. Hey,

Cathryn. -Cathryn

Hey, Kevin, are you?

Good to see you again. -Cathryn

Good to see you.

Kevin

So what do you think of our window?

Cathryn

It's beautiful. It's a window that I see all over, and I always appreciate seeing them.

Kevin

And mechanically, what do you think?

Cathryn

Mechanically it's -- it's great.

It's top notch except for -- -Kevin

Ooh.

Cathryn

Do it again. That one's different 'cause it has a break -- it's hard to see because it's clear glass, but there's a break.

You can fix that. -Cathryn

I'm gonna take it out. I'm going to fix it. I've scored it. So any shellac or anything has been cut through. So see if you can pry it up now a little bit. Perfect, Kevin. Perfect. There. That's it,

that's it. -Kevin

Oh, there it is.

There it goes. -Kevin

Beautiful. And with it out, I can go fix it.

Kevin

All right, coming in.

Cathryn

First thing I'm going to do is I'm going to cover up these cut pieces because I don't want to get cut when I take it out the whole way... because I will be banging a little bit to get this glazing out. The glazing is the bit that holds it in right here.

Kevin

Sometimes it just comes right out.

Cathryn

Sometimes it does, and that's very nice. But other times it doesn't. So I will use my utility blade. And just go along.

Kevin

Cathryn, you said you see these all the time. We do too in these old houses and you know, they all look the same.

Cathryn

Yeah, they're uniform because they were mass-produced. Have a look at this catalog.

Kevin

Oh, look at that! That's terrific.

Cathryn

It's from the turn of the century.

Kevin

So where is this catalog from?

Cathryn

This one's from Missouri.

Kevin

And so you could just order what you need -- so you can get a double-hung with some diamond patterns. And is this ours right here?

Cathryn

That's our very window right there.

Kevin

Square with the lights all the way around a center light, what would that cost?

Cathryn

Back in the day, that would have cost $3.

Kevin

I got three bucks for you. And in today's dollars, what do you think?

Cathryn

You need 90 today.

Kevin

Oh, not bad. Just order it up.

Cathryn

Just order it up. They would put what you ordered on a train. It would have come to the station and it'd probably come rollin' right up that street by horse and buggy when it arrived.

Kevin

The Industrial Revolution gave people access to things they never had access to before. The only other place you would have seen this kind of color was in a church. And now it's in your home.

There she goes. -Cathryn

There it is. What I want to do now is I'm just going to hit this rabbet with a mixture of linseed oil and mineral spirits. The wood is going to suck up this oil. The mineral spirits are evaporating, so it's getting the oil into the wood and then the part we don't need is quickly leaving. So here's the piece of glass that I took out. So it'll be an exact fit.

Love it. -Cathryn

There it is. And now we're ready for the glazing, and because we hit this with linseed oil, this glazing is really going to bond with the wood. All right. Here's the new piece of glass, and I'm setting it right in.

Hmm. Good fit. -Cathryn

Yeah. These are called glazing points, watch how I push up, and I do that. And now the piece of glass isn't going to come out. Now the piece of glass wouldn't come out once this was dried, but it's going to take a while. Gonna push this in. Just like that. And it looks sloppy now, but I'm going to trim it. Sort of like you're trimming a pie crust. And then it'll look very, very nice. And I'm in the corner. I do like that. Now, have a look,

Kevin

And that's just going to trim away. Hmm!

Cathryn

Isn't that nice?!

Kevin

That is nice.

Cathryn

Now I'll move to this. I'm going to stab into the corner and I'm going to drag.

Kevin

And you really just want to do one pass,

Cathryn

If I can, yes.

Kevin

I mean, that's the finished look, you're going to paint right on top of that. I'll give you a turn.

Cathryn

Thank you so much. All right. Here we go.

Kevin

I've glazed windows before, Cathryn -- they don't look like that.

Cathryn

Oh, it's just practice. Next step is to clean up the glazing on these smaller lights and then the homeowners has asked me to paint it black.

Kevin

Beautiful -- and then we'll reinstall it?

Yes. -Kevin

I'll be back for that.

Cathryn

Okay, have a great day.

Kevin

Last week, our tiler Gabriel showed us how to waterproof the master bathroom with a curb-less shower and a bench, and today it's time to start laying the floor tile. Hey, Gabriel!

Gabriel

Hey, Kevin.

Kevin

Ooh! We made some progress here in the shower. Nice! Got the wall tiles up.

Gabriel

That's right. So here, Kevin, we have the 3D wavy tile in the shower here, and this is, we got the smooth. We lay on the horizontally.

Kevin

And then you've got the smooth on the opposing wall here, too. Beautiful little niche. And, oh, you've got the bench done for us.

That's right. -Kevin

Okay, so we got to start thinking about the floor tile layout.

Gabriel

That's right, Kevin, options one is to start a tile where the pitch is going to be

and also -- Kevin

Pitch change right there.

Gabriel

That's right. And also where the glass door is going to be, so we're having the grout line right center with the glass.

Kevin

Okay. Kind of makes sense to have it at the door and where the pitch changes.

Gabriel

Exactly. But let me show you why I don't like it this way, because I'm starting full tile here, see where it ends, right to the center, the drain.

Kevin

Yeah, doesn't look so good.

Gabriel

No, so let me show you option two.

Kevin

So you want this one right here?

Gabriel

Yes. The homeowner, he wants a full tile centered at the door. Um... And start against the wall.

Kevin

Okay, so against the wall, centered here, which means everything else kind of lays out accordingly.

That's right. -Kevin

Your thoughts?

Gabriel

So if you look, Kevin, we have a full tile, full tile, and the cut.

Kevin

I can tell already you don't like it.

Gabriel

Yes. So because when you look inside the shower, Kevin, the tile is not going to be symmetrical.

Kevin

All right. So is two out?

Gabriel

Yes. So let me show the option three.

Kevin

Okay.

Gabriel

I really like this option.

Kevin

That's good to hear.

Gabriel

All right. So the homeowner gets his tile center at the door? So now we have a cut, a full tile, and the cut.

Kevin

And that center tile, that's centered now on the shower.

Gabriel

Exactly. So if you look at this tile, it is symmetrical with the shower.

Kevin

Okay.

Gabriel

So to do that, we cut the tile about two inches and we were going to put a marble threshold.

Kevin

This comes off; threshold right here.

That's right. -Kevin

And you like, I like. Because as soon as I see, it looks like that's the way

it's supposed to be. -Kevin

That's right. So this is our linear drain, it's designed to have tile in. So when you put it in,

all you see a grout line. -Kevin

Right. So you just have three cut pieces in there.

Gabriel

That's right. So I cut three pieces to line up with the grout line.

Kevin

And now in terms of that corner, I mean, we've actually got multiple pitches here.

Gabriel

That's right, so we've got a pitch this way, this way, and this way.

Kevin

So multiple pieces. So that takes care of your right-to-left pitch.

Gabriel

That's right.

Kevin

And then along the back?

Gabriel

So we have this piece.

Kevin

Oh, check that out, so your vein just lined up.

Exactly. -Kevin

That is nice. Okay, so next steps for you?

Gabriel

So I'm going to finish laying the entire room, make all my cuts, and then I'm going to start removing thinset, and it'll be ready for grouting.

Kevin

A lot of work, a lot of thinking,

but it's going to look great. -Gabriel

Thank you.

All right. Thanks. -Gabriel

All right.

Kevin

Deliandro, I'll give you a hand with that.

Deliandro

All right, Kevin. So we got this vent hood. We got to get it vented to the outside. So we have that straight piece of duct work, it's going to go over here --

Kevin

From the motor up through the top of the cabinet.

Deliandro

From the motor up. And then I got this 90 degrees that's going to go from the top of the cabinets to the back wall, which is a closet that we have in the back. All right. Let me show you the route to the outside. All right, Kevin. So this is the closet behind the kitchen.

Kevin

Closets are nice in this situation, right?

Deliandro

Yeah, exactly. So I drilled the pilot hole while I was up there. I got this elbow that comes off from the kitchen towards the left. The good thing about this, it's a very short run, it's inside a closet. Homeowners will never see that once we box it out. Let me show you the outside. All right, Kevin, this is the kitchen wall right over here. So kitchen would be on that side. That's where the hood is installed, and this is the office space where the closet is. Our duct work should be coming right around

this area over here. -Kevin

Okay.

Deliandro

All right, so we need to drill a pilot hole. Let's do that. All right, Kevin, here's the six inch duct work that we have, so we need to do -- to be two inches off the ceiling. So I got my five inch mark right over here.

Kevin

Center three, plus two -- I got that.

Deliandro

Yeah, and then 3.5 inches from the back wall where is our kitchen. All right, thank you. Now I'm going to use my oscillating saw to cut the siding. Gonna this zinc flashing in. Now I'm going to caulk around three sides and I'm going to leave the bottom open so it can drain out if the water gets behind it. Now secure with four screws. We've got a center mark so I can drill through my blocking in the siding wall. So now I'm going through the sheet rock inside. All right, thank you. So, Kevin, we have here the screen to keep the critters out. This here's the louver for to keep the air out.

Kevin

So closed when it's off, and it'll just pop open when it's running.

Deliandro

Exactly. So and then we have attached this 12 inch piece, this neck that we can go through the wall

and attach it on the inside. -Kevin

Perfect. We're securing the wall cap with screws. So now we've got to connect that neck back to the hood. Last piece is in, wanna give it a shot?

Kevin

Sure. A couple of different settings.

Yeah. -Kevin

That cranks!

Deliandro

It's really powerful, huh -- 600 CFM. So as you know, anything over 400 CFM requires a make-up air event for it.

Kevin

Right, make-up air is important because these things can pull so much air out of the house that you can start pulling flue gases from a chimney or extinguish a pilot light. So if this is on, we want air coming in from somewhere else.

Deliandro

Yeah, exactly, and for that we've got our HVAC guys is going to be doing all the installation the basement for us, so he's going to be adding that make-up air for us.

Kevin

All right. Let me just see what it does

on crank mode. -Deliandro

All right. Let's give it a shot.

Kevin

That'll do it, right?

Deliandro

Yeah, it does.

It's quite powerful. -Kevin

Nice job, Deliandro.

Deliandro

All right. Thank you.

Kevin

Oh, there it is!

Here it is. -Kevin

Might I have a look?

Please do. -Kevin

So what all did you have to do to it?

Cathryn

I ended up reglazing the whole darn thing, painting it black, and then, of course, replace that.

Kevin

Beautiful. All right, ready to go in?

Cathryn

It's ready to go in. Black side out to match the rest of the trim.

Kevin

Okay, you've got the stops in.

Cathryn

Yeah. Here's the first one, and it's going to plop right in there.

That's it. -Kevin

Good for you.

Cathryn

Good to go.

Kevin

Look at that. Let me have a look at it. That's awesome. Cannot thank you enough for that help.

Cathryn

My pleasure,

Kevin. -Kevin

All right. Well, the finishing touches are starting to come into this house and there are plenty more to come. So until next time, I'm Kevin O'Connor for "This Old House" here in West Roxbury. Next time on "This Old House"...

Tom

These doors open and close perfectly, and the gaps are consistent. And we'll show you how we did it.

Man

What are you looking at here is a 2D top view of the countertops and the backsplash. We're going to try and match up the veins on either side so that we get a consistent flow.

Kevin

And we'll make our brand-new windows match our original 1890s window trim.