- 2 weeks ago
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00:00On Ask This Old House, our experts travel across the country to answer questions about your house.
00:18Today, Jen travels to Idaho to meet a homeowner whose backyard has become a community gathering spot and is in need of some TLC.
00:27You ready to shovel with us?
00:28Yeah, keep it moving.
00:30Okay, awesome.
00:31I like the rough side out on these boards.
00:32I like the texture too.
00:34And are your window wells in rough shape?
00:37Mark will show you how to replace them.
00:40It's not as easy as it looks.
00:42On Ask This Old House.
00:58Hey, Adam.
00:59Hey, Jen.
01:00Welcome to Idaho.
01:01Thanks.
01:02I heard you're quite the man here in Coeur d'Alene.
01:04One of many hosts of these dinners that we started here.
01:07Fantastic.
01:08So Monday night dinners, tell me all about this.
01:09Well, I moved here about eight years ago.
01:11I didn't know a single person.
01:12So I grew up with a mom who's just my role model and my inspiration.
01:16Awesome.
01:17And she raised us with a dinner called Monday night dinners that when we were all moving out of the house, she said,
01:21can we just come together every Monday and just have dinner with each other?
01:24I'll cover the food.
01:25Just let's get together.
01:26Having a meal together.
01:27Isn't that cool?
01:28That's what every family should do.
01:29Yeah.
01:30Yeah.
01:31Or friends.
01:32Yeah, everybody.
01:33Because friends become your family.
01:34100%.
01:35Yeah.
01:36And so I just decided to start walking around town and say hello to strangers and invited them to have dinner at my home.
01:39Okay.
01:40And I honestly didn't think a single person would show up and 11 people came to the first dinner.
01:44Amazing.
01:45And we just had our 94th Monday night dinner.
01:47We have thousands of people that come to them now.
01:49That's incredible.
01:50I mean, sometimes you just need to say hi and it opens up the floor to everything.
01:53100%.
01:54People meet you in the middle every time.
01:55Let's go look at the space.
01:56Let's check it out.
01:57I want to see how you, where you put everyone, how it's organized and what you need help with.
02:01So this is the backyard here.
02:02This is where we do it all.
02:03Very cool.
02:04Tell me about this space up here.
02:05So every Monday night dinner we have a band.
02:08This is a great little stage.
02:10Yes.
02:11Fantastic.
02:12Yeah.
02:13This is our only shade for the yard right here.
02:14It's a very special space.
02:15It makes a big difference.
02:16Huge.
02:17Yeah.
02:18And then we have our communal seating here, which I love.
02:19You know, you just put strangers together and people just start naturally talking to each other and sharing food with each other.
02:22Yeah.
02:23Every other country does this.
02:24Isn't that cool?
02:25Yeah.
02:26It's a great conversation piece.
02:27Simple.
02:28Yeah.
02:29And then sandpit for the kids and then climbing wall.
02:30Every Monday night dinner I climb to the top to be able to take a picture of everybody.
02:34We get the whole group together.
02:35That's incredible.
02:36Yeah.
02:37So this is the main flow of traffic.
02:38Main flow, yeah.
02:39People come from the front through here.
02:40This is our biggest challenge.
02:41And this is why I really wrote in to you guys.
02:43Because right now it feels open because it's just you and me right here.
02:46But imagine hundreds of people in the small backyard.
02:48So this can get really bottlenecked and we're just trying to find a way.
02:50So we need to organize the space.
02:51Yes.
02:52And make it more accessible.
02:53Yes.
02:54Okay.
02:55And over here is the food area.
02:56Yeah.
02:57So this is really like the main epicenter of all the cooking.
02:59So this deck was actually just donated last year.
03:02We actually was just usually on dirt.
03:04But so pretty much everyone comes in and we have one gentleman, Kyle, who's our grill
03:08master that cooks for hundreds of people at every single dinner.
03:11Okay.
03:12On this one little grill right here.
03:13This is actually just donated.
03:14So we have a smaller grill.
03:15Everything is cooked from this.
03:16Hundreds of people every single dinner.
03:17Okay.
03:18So I see just first off like you don't have enough space.
03:21And then the orientation of your cooking, you're facing out here to the road when you
03:26want to be facing and watching all your friends have a great time.
03:30I think you really need an outdoor kitchen.
03:32You need countertop space.
03:33Then you can maybe even incorporate some of these pieces into it and then face out this
03:39way.
03:40I spoke to one of the local designers here.
03:42This woman, Adrian, who's amazing.
03:43And we discussed layout.
03:45So outdoor kitchen being one, your friends need to know a path, a path to follow.
03:51Something they don't even have to think or ask and just it'll help with congestion.
03:55And then really an overall cleanup for the whole yard.
03:57I can't even tell you how much of a dream.
03:59I mean, we've never made a penny with these dinners.
04:01So just thinking of an outdoor kitchen is a dream just to have.
04:04Well, you're doing something good for the community.
04:06So we're going to pay it back.
04:08But we just need to borrow a few friends for the installation piece.
04:11We got a few thousand of them.
04:12You let me know how much you need.
04:13All right.
04:14You got it.
04:15Thanks, Jen.
04:16All right, Jen.
04:17Welcome to Monday Night Dinners.
04:19This is our A-Team that we put together to help with this project.
04:21This is Savage.
04:22He's going to be helping us with the outdoor kitchen.
04:24Yeah, we're putting together a kitchen because they had a grill and a really small, if you
04:29want to call it a kitchen.
04:30Yeah, I saw that.
04:31For the quantity of people that come to this event.
04:33And so we got together.
04:35We're going to do a really nice kitchen for them.
04:37Make it really nice with a sink, grill, griddle.
04:40So it's pretty fun.
04:41It's going to be nice.
04:42Sounds good to me.
04:43Yes.
04:44And this is Marina.
04:45She's going to be helping out landscaping and a pathway.
04:46So you're going to do the pathway and help people circulate around.
04:49Yeah, I want to bring in some fresh sod, some fresh bark, and then maybe you can help me
04:53design a pathway for flow.
04:55I like the flow.
04:56We need to tell people where to go without even thinking.
04:58Yeah.
04:59So what I'm going to do is going to be jumping between the kitchen, the pathway, and all the
05:03projects and people around, and we'll get this thing done.
05:06Awesome.
05:07So yeah, let's do it.
05:09It's going to be great.
05:10Jen.
05:11Hey.
05:12Hi.
05:13Pathway checkup.
05:14What do you guys have here?
05:15Yeah.
05:16So we're kind of planning just creating a pathway, coming in, leading the crowd, doing a little
05:33circle around our fire pit.
05:35This is what we're using.
05:36It's an Idaho court site.
05:38It's got a nice shine to it.
05:41You mentioned it's a native stone, too?
05:42Yeah.
05:43Okay, fantastic.
05:44Yeah, absolutely.
05:45And I decided to bring in some backup.
05:46We're doing so much with the sod and the bark.
05:48I wanted some extra hands.
05:50Great.
05:51I love the stone, so.
05:52Wonderful.
05:53You only have how many square feet to do?
05:54Yeah.
05:55We're going to get it done.
05:56All right.
05:57Thanks so much.
05:58Great.
06:00Hey, Savage.
06:01Hey, what's happening, Jen?
06:02Outdoor kitchen layout.
06:03Yes.
06:04Looks like you got the plumbing, electrical, water all in place.
06:07Yep.
06:08We're almost ready for the kitchen, but I have to do a little more welding to it.
06:11I got an idea.
06:12Yeah, you want to try it?
06:13Can I?
06:14Yes.
06:15Do you know how to weld?
06:16No.
06:17And this is, you know, soldering for adults.
06:18Yeah.
06:19But I got a machine over here and I can give you a little lesson.
06:20Sign me up.
06:21Let's go.
06:22Let's go.
06:23Okay.
06:24You pull the trigger.
06:25Okay.
06:26You have the tip of this wire roughly an eighth of an inch off.
06:29And then when you start, you're either going to go a small zigzag.
06:31Okay.
06:32And you're going to keep moving forward slowly.
06:34Or you're going to do a circle, and then you're just going to stop on the corner.
06:37Okay.
06:38You have to have your helmet down.
06:39Yep.
06:40Make sure it's turned on.
06:41This is an automatic helmet, so where when you turn it on, you hear the click.
06:44Okay.
06:45So when the arc happens and there's that bright light, it'll turn on and it'll protect your
06:49eyes.
06:50Okay.
06:51Ready?
06:52Yep.
07:12Okay guys, so we're going to be putting sod over here.
07:14It's going to run all the way across back behind you.
07:17We're going to bring it in here.
07:18Hey!
07:19Nice to see you.
07:20Ready to start doing some digging?
07:21I like you giving instructions.
07:22Yeah.
07:23We have a little more prep work to do.
07:25We just hauled in a lot of sod.
07:27You ready to shovel with us?
07:28Yeah, keep it moving.
07:29I love it.
07:30Okay, awesome.
07:35Let's go ahead and come just right up about to right here, you guys.
07:44One thing I love about doing it out of steel is that it's really light.
07:52Yes.
07:53It's a lot lighter than cinder blocks.
07:55Yeah.
07:56Nice work, buddy.
07:58All right, team walkway.
07:59Hey, how's it going?
08:01Got another set of hands here.
08:03Yeah, wonderful.
08:04Everything's looking good.
08:05We're bringing in some sand to level this out.
08:08As soon as they get done with that one, you can work on this one for us.
08:11Okay.
08:12Yeah.
08:13So this stone, this is the native stone, right?
08:15Idaho quartzite, incredibly durable stone.
08:18It'll be here for at least 20 generations.
08:20Awesome.
08:35One, two, three.
08:56Okay.
08:57Perfect.
08:58Hey, Adrian.
08:59How's it going?
09:00What's up, bud?
09:01How you doing?
09:02Good, how are you?
09:03You guys are doing a good job here.
09:04You want to walk me through?
09:05So everything is attached to this, right?
09:06Yes, it is.
09:07It's all attached to the OSB.
09:08We're actually just about to put another course up, so your perfect timing is here.
09:25Austin's going to lay the adhesive down on the back side of the boards.
09:28Perfect.
09:29And this is all cedar?
09:30This is all cedar.
09:31Yep.
09:32And it's going to look great with the countertops.
09:33It's going to go and set two natural elements together.
09:35Mm-hmm.
09:36Mm-hmm.
09:37So it looks beautiful when it's new, and it'll age to this gorgeous gray when it's all good
09:41to go.
09:42So then if you want to grab that side, and then we're going to tip it up like this.
09:47We're going to start at one end down here, and I'm going to grab the mallet, and then
09:51I'll hand it your way.
09:52Okay.
09:53Tap it down.
09:58Now we're going to set the level on top.
10:00Okay.
10:01So we're a little down on this side.
10:03We're just going to kind of bring it up just to touch here.
10:07Electronic level that tells you precision, right?
10:11Oh, so handy.
10:12Yep.
10:13We're just going to bring it up, and then I'll get us that's where we want it to be.
10:18Mm-hmm.
10:19Okay.
10:20Set that down.
10:21And then I will start over here.
10:23Get this one in.
10:24I'll pass it your way.
10:25Okay.
10:26And we'll go about every 12 inches or so just to make sure it's on nice and tight.
10:33Yeah.
10:34You like the nail gun?
10:35I love it.
10:36What do you like about this whole project?
10:37Like what it looks like at the finish.
10:39Mm-hmm.
10:40And how when you turn the lights on, finish everything up, how it looks at the end.
10:45Cool.
10:46Love it.
10:47You like the rough side out on these boards.
10:52I like the texture too.
10:54Okay.
10:55You get your side lined up, and then we'll come down.
10:57Yep.
10:58Yeah.
10:59Nice design, by the way.
11:00Oh, well, thank you.
11:02It's pretty simple structure.
11:05I like how lightweight it is, especially on top of this deck, right?
11:09Yeah.
11:10You can only use cinder block up here.
11:11Uh-uh.
11:12Okay.
11:13Let's check our level before we go.
11:15Mm-hmm.
11:16Shooting nails in.
11:17Okay.
11:18We're good.
11:19It's pretty awesome.
11:20Once you get the first one level, then the rest is, the first one's always the hardest,
11:25right?
11:26Jen, Marina, Savage, I cannot thank you guys enough for what you guys have done for the
11:37home, for the dinners, and what you've allowed us to do to bring this community and
11:40the world closer together in our backyard here.
11:42Dude, what you do for this community and the Monday night dinners do, just to put all
11:47of you together, and it's completely apparent what it means to everybody.
11:51I mean, all of you guys put your skills and your love and brought all your friends
11:55and built this incredible place out back.
11:57So I was super psyched to be part of it.
12:00So I can't wait to see it in action.
12:01You know what day it is, all right?
12:02Oh, yeah.
12:03It's Monday, baby.
12:04Oh, yeah.
12:05We got a Monday dinner in one hour.
12:06It's time to party, yeah.
12:07Monday night.
12:08All right.
12:09You staying?
12:10I have to stay.
12:11Let's go.
12:12Let's go.
12:13Woo-hoo.
12:14Who's here for the first time tonight?
12:23Unreal.
12:24Unreal.
12:25Unreal.
12:26You know, we do about 16 dinners a year now from May till October.
12:31And this is our 95th Monday night dinner here tonight.
12:37Everything's been you guys.
12:38Because when we give to our community, we also give to the place that we live in.
12:42We give to the people that we love.
12:44We get to live in a better place because of the heart that we give back to the place that
12:48we live in.
12:49And this is our backyard.
12:50This is our community.
12:51These dinners are ours.
12:53Everyone come up here, please.
12:57This is what it took this week to make this possible.
13:00This is the army of people that was here, selflessly, doing everything they could to make these
13:06dinners possible.
13:07Yes!
13:08Everyone let me eat one, two, three!
13:09Yes!
13:10I love you guys.
13:12Let's go eat!
13:13Let's go eat!
13:14Ally.
13:15Mark.
13:16So nice to see you.
13:29My pleasure.
13:33How're you doing?
13:38Well, thanks.
13:40Here we go.
13:43Well, thanks. Thanks for coming out.
13:45So, I love the house. I think that's a perfect spot for your flowers.
13:49Thank you so much.
13:50But you wrote me about the window wells.
13:52We did, yes. As you can see, they're in pretty rough shape.
13:55Yes.
13:56Unsure what to do.
13:57Yep.
13:57Hoping for some advice.
13:58Okay, excellent. The few things that I do see, obviously rust. They're off balance.
14:05So, this edge is a little closer to the window than this edge.
14:07Okay.
14:08Encased in asphalt, which isn't going to be a problem, but it's just going to be a little more work.
14:13Okay.
14:13There was also a second window well?
14:15There is, yes. Just on the other side of the house.
14:17All right, let's check that out, too.
14:18Sounds good.
14:20Okay.
14:21Okay.
14:22So, I see similar problems from the one over there, but this one will be easier to deal with only because it's in mulch and not asphalt.
14:30Okay.
14:30Question for you, though. What are window wells actually for? What's their purpose?
14:33So, one of the things they do is they're going to help mitigate the water.
14:36They're going to keep pests out, but they also let in light. It protects the window. I think that's most important to me.
14:44Okay.
14:44Let's get some tools and get on it.
14:45Let's do it.
14:46All right.
14:51All right, Allie. So, before we get going with the demo, a couple things we should talk about.
14:56Yes.
14:56So, as you know, we're going to have to take out this asphalt just to get to the window well. We could patch it back in with asphalt. We could do a temporary walkway of some type. I don't know what your thoughts are.
15:06You know, honestly, I think we could do temporary. We're going to redo this walkway and our driveway over time. So, I think temporary is the perfect fix.
15:12Okay, great.
15:13How are we going to take out the asphalt? What tools do we use?
15:16Great question. So, what we have, this is a typical saw that you'll see on any construction site. The big differential is going to be this blade. So, this blade is specifically made to cut asphalt.
15:27Love that.
15:28All right.
15:29What about our vacuum?
15:29So, the vacuum is actually kind of a special unit as well. It's what they call a HEPA vac. And what that does is separate the dust that we're going to kick up from some of the contaminants that may or may not be in this asphalt. So, that's why we're going to use that.
15:43Sounds great.
15:43All right. So, the last thing I did want to talk to you about is symmetry. We have a fixed piece right here. This is the step. So, I measured 28 inches from that step all the way to this first jam.
15:58Yep. So, I'm just going to do 28 inches from that jam over there. And that's going to be our cut line.
16:02Sounds great.
16:03All right. Well, let's get going.
16:06All I'm going to ask you to do is take the end of that hose and just follow my saw, suck up the dust, and we'll do our job.
16:28No power tools here. I'm going to use the rake first. I'm going to pull this mulch away.
16:41Okay.
16:41You can follow me up with the shovel and any dirt.
16:44Okay.
16:44Goes right on to the top.
16:47And how far down are we digging at this point?
16:50We're going to end up going probably a total of 10 inches down because we're going to replace that soil with gravel.
17:00Okay.
17:01One last one for good measure.
17:03Yes.
17:04And if you want to stay right there and switch shovels.
17:07Yep.
17:07With the tamper.
17:08The tamper.
17:09Now, we're going to use that just to compact everything.
17:14All right.
17:15And that way we won't get any settlement.
17:19Is this okay pressure?
17:20That is perfect.
17:22And then we're ready for the crush down.
17:27Drainage is very important, so that's what we're going to use the gravel for.
17:31Even layers.
17:32So, this is looking good right now.
17:46Why don't we go to the other side?
17:47We'll prep it the same way.
17:48Let's do it.
17:49All right, Allie.
17:50So, ready for crushed stone?
17:51Okay.
17:56Throw another one in there, Allie.
17:58All right.
17:59How's best to open it?
18:00Just, you know, what I do is I just go like that.
18:04Okay.
18:05And then she's ready.
18:06I'm going to give it a shot on the next one.
18:09Okay.
18:12I like that little twist you just did there.
18:14Did you see that?
18:15Trying new things.
18:17All right.
18:18All right, Allie.
18:19Now we're ready for install.
18:20And to do that, we're going to use this, which is a hammer drill.
18:23Okay.
18:24Okay.
18:24So, it's a little bit bigger than a regular drill.
18:26But on the end of this hammer drill, we have what we call a masonry bit.
18:30That's what we're going to need to get into the concrete foundation.
18:33Okay.
18:33All right.
18:34And once we drill those holes, this is what we're going to use to fix this to the foundation.
18:39And this is what I call an expanding wedge bolt.
18:42What I mean by that is you can see this nut right here.
18:45Yep.
18:45Once I tighten that nut up, and I use this ratchet to do so, this sleeve is going to expand.
18:52So, it's going to grab that hole, and we're not going to be able to get it out.
18:55Okay.
18:55So, we're going to do that six times because we have six holes.
18:59Awesome.
19:00Yep.
19:00A question about the well itself.
19:02What kind of material?
19:03Is this a standard height?
19:04How do we think about something like this?
19:05Okay.
19:06So, I don't think there's any other standard material to use other than galvanized steel.
19:11Okay.
19:11Why?
19:11Because it puts up with the weather.
19:13We get a lot of snow.
19:13We get a lot of rain.
19:14This galvanized material is not going to rust.
19:17So, to me, that's what you have to use.
19:19Awesome.
19:19As far as the height of these window wells go, it's almost what do you need.
19:24In our case, we needed something that was 18 inches deep because that is where we're going to be left with some exposure on our light for the window.
19:33Okay.
19:33So, that's why we're using 18.
19:35But if you had a deeper well, you would use a 24-inch, or the other standard is going to be something a lot shorter, which is a 12-inch.
19:42Oh, awesome.
19:43Thanks for that.
19:43Okay.
19:45So, the first thing I want to do is establish a center line in the window.
19:50The next thing I want to do is go from flange to flange, and that's 41-and-a-half.
19:56So, I want to go 20-and-three-quarters from my center line.
20:00Okay.
20:01And again, using a pencil.
20:02Yep.
20:02And I'm going to do the same thing, 20-and-three-quarters from the sill, I want to come down about a foot.
20:14Okay.
20:15Which will give me that mark right there.
20:21And why am I doing this, Allie?
20:23This is what's going to give me my reveal for the light.
20:26And...
20:27We look good.
20:27Yeah.
20:28So, we have a hole right there to drill.
20:31Okay.
20:31Okay.
20:32Just mark each of them.
20:33I'm just going to mark each of them.
20:35All right.
20:35That guy is there.
20:37So...
20:38Okay.
20:38Let's take that out.
20:42I want to make sure I go straight into that hole or the bolt is going to be off.
20:46Okay.
20:47Okay?
20:47So, very important.
20:49Okay.
20:49So, very important.
21:05The purpose of that washer is to make sure that nut doesn't go through the hole.
21:26Okay.
21:27Great.
21:28Wow.
21:29That was really easy.
21:31So, build up, but still tamp down.
21:32Okay.
21:33You still have to pack it, right?
21:34Yep.
21:35The only thing we have to do now is this walkway.
21:36Okay.
21:37I brought some crushed bluestone, which is really cool.
21:39Okay.
21:40Okay.
21:41Okay.
21:42Okay.
21:43Okay.
21:44Okay.
21:45Okay.
21:46Okay.
21:47Okay.
21:48Okay.
21:49Okay.
21:50Okay.
21:51Okay.
21:52Okay.
21:53Okay.
21:54Okay.
21:55Okay.
21:56Okay.
21:57Okay.
21:58Okay.
21:59Okay.
22:00Okay.
22:01Okay.
22:02Okay.
22:03Okay.
22:04Okay.
22:05Okay.
22:06Okay.
22:07Okay.
22:08Okay.
22:09Okay.
22:10Okay.
22:11Okay.
22:12All right, Allie.
22:13What do you think?
22:14I think they look awesome, Mark.
22:15All right.
22:16Well, great.
22:17They do make a standard cover for that well, so if you have any interest, all you have to
22:19do is go down to the store and they'll have them.
22:21Awesome.
22:22All right.
22:23Thank you so much, Mark.
22:24This has been so much fun.
22:25And if you have questions about your house, we'd love to hear from you.
22:28Keep them coming.
22:29Until then, I'm Mark McCullough for Ask This Old House.
22:41Next time on Ask This Old House, Richard will show us how to make an old toilet fit properly
22:46on a new tile floor.
22:48Then, Lee offers some useful maintenance tips that will keep your gas-powered mower up and
22:53running.
22:54Is this something that an average homeowner can do?
22:55I think so.
22:56I really do.
22:57And have you ever wanted to add a secret door to your space?
23:01Nathan will show you how.
23:03That's exactly what we wanted.
23:06All that on Ask This Old House.
23:25Megan will be whether it was augal facility.
23:27fist on a prerene.
23:28차�えい。
23:29Howoo is that young actor!
23:30Rahon remembers us New York City.
23:31Can weaha?
23:32We mettrewhatchers, rimanga, right?
23:33We're not gonnaeers,輪anga, right?
23:35We're lucky enough, we're not gonnaeers down.
23:36But in front of us, we're following our lives!
23:37And what you've tested today!
23:38Is this amazing job to make a true background a
23:46He isn't77, yeah?
23:47It's Absolutely購買ed, I know!
23:48We are Triple Mas posts!
23:49mature andnew morning fans.
23:50What are you doing?
23:51I can play onAngelo and Selassieve.
23:52when you're on Anyways!
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