Newton, MA 12 - Recap

Kevin speaks to Roger at the side of the house, where most people enter and where Roger is supervising the planting of a variety of ornamentals and flowering shrubs. There will be a bluestone walkway leading to the back yard, and various plants in the front – Siberian carpet, a plant that tolerates shade and grows well to provide ground cover. Another side garden plant is heuchera which features foliage that stands out for six months, so it's a good choice for banking. Above it there is anemone, or windflower, which flowers late in the season with tall white flowers. These line the walkway. On the other side of the pathway, near the house, will be hydrangea, whose huge brown flowers are attractive even during the winter.

Kevin drops in on Tom in the garage. Tom's found a serious problem there that he'll need to correct. The original garage plan was only to widen the doors by a foot each, to make getting cars in and out easier. But Tom discovered when he cut into the front wall that it was rotten inside. Tom and his men used pressure treated wood to rebuild the front wall – not a difficult job for him. But that was the easy part. Tom leads Kevin around to the back of the garage. There he shows Kevin how his team has poured new concrete over old concrete to raise the height of the garage wall. Previously, there was an untreated sill, 4x4 posts, sheathing and shingles – all wood. Originally, the floor was level with the top of the concrete foundation, but at some point someone raised the level of the floor with gravel and concrete, which rested against the inside of the wood and eventually destroyed it. Tom shows Kevin several pieces so badly damaged they crumble as Kevin digs his fingers into them. To correct the problem, Tom's team supported the wall from the inside, built of jacks, temporary studs and various braces and plates. With that in place, he cut out the rotted wood, installed rebar, and poured sufficient additional concrete to increase the height of the concrete wall so that it once again came level with the floor. On top of that he laid a pair of pressure treated 2x4 boards as a sill plate, and toenailed the support beams into them. Tom even added a Plexiglas window to show how the concrete adds to the top of the wall! It was unexpected work, but work that had to be done.

Norm, in the kitchen, points out some progress: plastering done and quartersawn white oak floor in place. Today the cabinets arrive, and Norm speaks to Lee Elliott about them. They feature a “macadamia” finish, full extension drawers with soft close, 3/4” plywood construction on the carcass, and prefinished surfaces for easy maintenance. The base units rest on adjustable legs that simplify the installer's job, especially on floors like this one, that rest on hundred year old subflooring which might not be level. Some other cabinets use a different finish: hand brushed olivine with highlights in the corners that give the piece a “hand made” look. These feature concealed hinges and soft closing doors. The centerpiece of the room will be a teak counter top, three inches thick.

With the color scheme finalized, Norm talks to the flooring contractor about color. The homeowners provided a picture, but it doesn't really allow a good idea of the desired color, so Steve has mixed a few choices for their consideration. They range from a darker stain Norm really likes, that makes the grain pop, to a lighter, milkier stain that the homeowners prefer. Steve started with an aniline dye, a powder mixed with water, that provided the background color. On that he has applied a mixture of Jacobean stain (a dark brown) and Pickled Oak stain (a lighter, almost cream color); each sample has a different ratio of these colors. The homeowners' choice was three parts Pickled Oak to one part Jacobean; despite the high proportion of light stain, the liquid mixture is quite dark.

Steve has applied some dye to a section of floor; it has raised the grain slightly, which will actually help the oil based mixture of Jacobean and Pickled Oak stains penetrate. He lays on a heavy coat to ensure even penetration, leaving it to set a minute or two before wiping any excess. After it dries (a minimum of six hours) he'll apply a three coats of oil based polyurethane. His sample square should give the homeowners confidence to approve the color, allowing him to finish staining the floor.

When This Old House got its start, the garbage disposal was a luxury. Now, most folks can't imagine a kitchen without one. Rich travels to Racine, Wisconsin (birthplace of the modern garbage disposal) to see what's new with this technology. There, at a disposer factory, he speaks to expert Larry Kimball. The first stop is a test for noise, and fineness of grind. Next, they visit the factory to see the devices in various stages of manufacture. Various machines cut large steel coils into smaller widths suitable as feedstock for stamping machines that create the parts for motors and other components. Among the parts Richard sees created are the end caps for the motor, the sink stopper, and the motors (the plant consumes two and a half miles of bar stock each day it operates). To attach the rotor to the shaft, they heat the rotor to about 900° to expand it, and then slide the shaft into the mating hole in the center of the rotor. A jig ensures correct position, and the assembly rotates to a water station where a spray of water cools it down, creating a tight interference fit. At a later assembly stage, they see the rotor fitted inside a stator assembly. The copper windings inside the stator create a magnetic field that makes the rotor turn – the basis of any electrical motor. The grinding plate mounts to the top of the rotor, and the grinding ring fits around that. As the plate turns, grinding pawls scrape food against the stationary ring, which shreds them until they fit through the small openings in the ring. Mixed with water, these bits then flush down the drain as a slurry.

More advanced models feature a sound blocking barrier foam wrap and an anti-vibration mount that combine to keep noise low. The tailpipe coupler mechanically isolates the unit so that vibrations don't flow into the piping.

Randomly selected machines come off the line to the reliability lab, where testing with a variety of foods (including frozen spare rib bones) checks quality. Checks include grinding 35 pounds of rib bones and 6 pounds of pine cubes (roughly 3/4” on a side)!

In the master bath window, Kevin shows off some construction details: paneling in each side of the window and decorative corbels designed to look like rafter tails. From here, too, he can see the standing seam copper roof.

Tom Silva is installing this roof as Kevin watches. He had each copper panel bent to his specifications in a tin shop. He started with a copper strip at the edge of the roof to serve as flashing. The bottom of each panel features a fold that locks around this drip edge. The left side is a double fold and the right side has a single fold; the double fold of each panel locks over the single fold of the panel to its left. It fits under the shingles on the side of the house. Installing the roof first would have been easier, but also exposed the soft copper to a dent hazard from those installing the shingles later. Tom and his man hook a panel under the shingles, and drop it over the previously installed panel. A little maneuvering seats the panel, and some work with a wide-jawed crimping tool locks the panel to the previous panel and the drip rail. A bead of caulk seals the crimp against water. Tom finishes with a “button machine” which creates a round dimple that completely locks the panels and prevents either of them from rising relative to the other. Completed, this roof will last fifty years and will look better with each passing year.

Joe and Eric Ferrante have come to tile the bathroom. Normally they'd use a copper pan, but this bathroom is so large, they need a different answer. It's a waterproof membrane they'll paint right onto the plywood floor and up the walls. He also shows Kevin the pale mosaic floor that will cover the shower. The same tiles, with a border, will cover the area outside of the shower. A 12x12 stone border will fill the areas outside of this.

Kevin and Tom close by talking about the projects for the next episode, including more work on the garage and more tiling.

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