- 4 hours ago
New Orleans homeowners are restoring historic shutters with the help of Ask This Old House! Discover the process of replicating authentic hardware and selecting the right wood for these beautiful architectural features.
Plus, get the essential information you need about smoke detectors. Learn how many you should have and where to place them for maximum safety in your home. And finally, delve into the world of fertilizers – is organic or synthetic the right choice for your garden, and how much should you use?
#AskThisOldHouse #HomeRenovation #SmokeDetectors #GardeningTips
Plus, get the essential information you need about smoke detectors. Learn how many you should have and where to place them for maximum safety in your home. And finally, delve into the world of fertilizers – is organic or synthetic the right choice for your garden, and how much should you use?
#AskThisOldHouse #HomeRenovation #SmokeDetectors #GardeningTips
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FunTranscript
00:05On Ask This Old House, our experts travel across the country to answer questions about your house.
00:18Today, Nathan heads to a historic neighborhood in New Orleans to help some homeowners install shutters.
00:26Then, Jen and Lee talk fertilizers, organic versus synthetic, when to use, and how much.
00:34And, do you know how many smoke detectors you should have and where to put them?
00:38Heath answers these questions for a homeowner on Ask This Old House.
00:57Hi, Emily.
00:58Hey.
00:58Hi, Lena.
00:59Hey, Nathan.
01:00Nice to meet you.
01:01Yeah.
01:01This is a beautiful neighborhood.
01:02Tell me a little bit about it.
01:03We're in the Bywater here in New Orleans.
01:06Super historic neighborhood.
01:07Really great walkability.
01:09It's beautiful.
01:10These homes are all old, historic styles.
01:13I love it.
01:13We personally have a side-haul cottage, which we truly fell in love with.
01:17Have you guys been here long?
01:19A little over a decade we've been in this neighborhood.
01:21And we've owned the home for four years.
01:23Oh, nice.
01:23Congratulations.
01:24You made some improvements over the years?
01:26We have.
01:27Yes, absolutely.
01:28You know, an old house.
01:29It needs some work.
01:29It needs some love.
01:30So, you wrote me about these shutters.
01:32Yeah, we have these beautiful shutters, but they've been there a while.
01:35They've started to deteriorate.
01:36And, you know, we like to close them during hurricanes and storms, and we can't quite do that right now.
01:40Yeah, these are getting soft.
01:41I can see a little bit of rot.
01:42But you do live in a historic area.
01:44I'm sure you know that.
01:44There's the rules that the city dictates when you're working on historic homes.
01:48So, they're going to talk to us about things like wood material that we use, hinge style, hinge location, even
01:54paint colors.
01:55It's good to know someone in the area that has all those details.
01:58Luckily, I have a friend that's in the area, Scott, a great carpenter.
02:00He's going to come by and give us a hand while we're waiting for him.
02:03Let's take these shutters off.
02:04Let's do it.
02:05Yeah.
02:08These old cast iron hinges are really unique.
02:10This set of shutters has three on each side.
02:13I had to loosen up the screws on the middle one so I could swing the shutter out and take
02:18it off as it's intended.
02:19Pops right off those pins.
02:21When we put these back, we're not going to put this third hinge on.
02:24Only go top and bottom so we can take them off easily.
02:34Hey, Scott.
02:35Hey, guys.
02:35How you doing?
02:36Good morning.
02:36Good.
02:37These are the homeowners, Lena and Emily.
02:39Hey, Lena, Emily.
02:40Nice to meet you.
02:40Hey, Scott.
02:41How you doing?
02:41Good, good.
02:42Look at this beautiful shutter.
02:44Wow.
02:44This is incredible.
02:45This is perfect.
02:46So, we spoke that we are in a very historic area here.
02:48What do we need to do to follow mine?
02:50Basically, what you're doing right now is we've applied for permits with HDLC.
02:54They have guidelines.
02:55They want to keep the neighborhoods as close to the original content as they were originally
02:59constructed back in the days.
03:01So, you want to kind of keep in line with that.
03:03They apply and they give the committee permits of what they want to do and ideas of what they
03:08want to do.
03:08They approve it, yes or no.
03:09Okay.
03:10They're staying pretty much what they had before originally, going back.
03:12We just put a newer, fresher look.
03:14Yep.
03:15The shutters they had before were a little rotten.
03:17These are Spanish cedar, which is very conducive to the element and climate here in New Orleans.
03:21Perfect.
03:21But this is a little bit better shaped than the rotten, softer ones we had before.
03:25And then how about the hardware?
03:26The hardware is absolutely a replica of cast iron, antique historical shutters.
03:29We have the hinges, a slot bolt, and a catch-lack.
03:33So, you said we're going to go from three hinges down to two hinges?
03:36Exactly.
03:36Also, two hinges is more conducive to what's the look on the rest of the neighborhood.
03:40So, the city is okay with that.
03:41They approve that.
03:42Perfect.
03:43Three to two.
03:44No problem.
03:44City's happy.
03:45Everybody's happy.
03:45All right.
03:46Awesome.
03:46Let's get to work.
03:47All right.
03:48All right.
03:50To get started, we will Dutchman in the old mortises for the middle hinge we aren't going
03:55to replace.
04:09Then, we can work on the fit of the shutters by measuring and cutting the bottoms to height.
04:1334 916ths at the bottom.
04:15Okay.
04:22Then, Scott can plane the edges at a slight angle to ensure a tight fit when the shutters
04:27are closed.
04:34It's important to keep track of the orientation of the shutters during these steps.
04:38Since we are cutting them to fit when they are closed, not when they are open, reference
04:42marks can be helpful with this step.
04:46Now, we can mortise the shutters to receive the new hinges.
04:57Since we have exposed raw wood, we will hit all the raw edges of the shutters and the window
05:02with primer to protect it from the weather.
05:12Finally, we can mark, pre-drill, and screw in the hinges.
05:33With the hinges in place, we can secure the locking hardware.
05:39All right, Scott.
05:56All right, open them up.
05:59Working good now.
06:00Wow.
06:01Wow.
06:01Oh my gosh.
06:03So nice.
06:03They're beautiful.
06:04Look at that.
06:05So, you got your slide bolt at the top there.
06:07So, that's going to connect.
06:09Once you have it shut, you also have these catches.
06:11So, those will help hold the bottom.
06:13A little bit of homework for you guys though.
06:14All right, so we did some cutting.
06:15We did some priming.
06:16If you could touch that up with a little bit of paint.
06:18And then any other little scratches or nicks that might have happened during install.
06:22If you just touch those up, you'll be good to go.
06:23Thanks y'all so much for everything.
06:25Thanks for coming all the way to New Orleans.
06:27You're welcome.
06:27And we couldn't have done it without Scott today.
06:29So, Scott, thanks for everything.
06:30You're welcome.
06:31Hope you enjoy your new shutters.
06:33Y'all are the best.
06:33See you guys.
06:45What do you like?
06:46Do you like organic?
06:47What do you like synthetic?
06:48What do you think?
06:49I think you're a...
06:50You guys talking fertilizer behind my back.
06:52Good to see you.
06:53Good to see you.
06:54What's up?
06:55Yes, we are.
06:56We're discussing synthetic versus organic and really how much has changed in our industry over the past 10 years.
07:02Which I want to talk about.
07:03But for my benefit, can you just pull it back a little bit?
07:06Okay.
07:06Let's go a little higher.
07:07Just fertilizer in general.
07:08I mean, like, what is it?
07:10What's it doing?
07:11And what are the differences?
07:12When do I use it?
07:13What do you got?
07:14I mean, basically, they are different ingredients, whether it's synthetic or organic.
07:18And that they are fine-tuned to a specific need of your plant.
07:23So, like, going back when Roger would say, right plant, right place.
07:27Right fertilizer, right place.
07:28You'd have to know your plants, your soil conditions, and your existing lawn.
07:33Mm-hmm.
07:33So, every bag is a different concoction.
07:37And you got to know what you're actually grabbing.
07:39And I guess what's on the bag.
07:40Yep.
07:40These numbers here.
07:41NPK numbers here.
07:43NPK?
07:44Yes.
07:44So, you have nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium.
07:48Okay.
07:48Okay.
07:49And the nitrogen is good for in the lawn area.
07:52If this number was higher, it'd be good for grasses.
07:54So, it gives you that extra punch of color.
07:57Exactly.
07:57And that's what we like, right?
07:58Right.
07:59100%.
07:59A lot of colors.
08:00We got to do that.
08:00Right.
08:01And then the middle number, the phosphorus.
08:02Phosphorus for the root system, and also for a little punch color, things like that.
08:06Potassium or K for?
08:07The overall strength of the plant.
08:09So, the overall strength and structure.
08:10I presume these are organics over here?
08:12Yeah.
08:12Do they have the number system as well?
08:14They do.
08:15So, the organics come from natural materials.
08:19You're going to get it from compost, manure, bone meal, right?
08:22So, this one is manufactured.
08:24When you say manufactured, from organic.
08:26From organic materials.
08:28And there's a whole laundry list.
08:31This is your regular compost, and then this one is milorganite.
08:34Yes.
08:34Milorganite, love this.
08:35This is really good for the lawn, as well as your flower beds and everything else.
08:39Human waste.
08:40Oh.
08:40So, like, literally the same effect of manure.
08:43Correct.
08:44Human manure, I guess.
08:45Okay.
08:45But each of these pellets and sizes have been just, they're specific to the NPK ratio on the bag.
08:52So, but the deal with organics, it takes it a little bit longer to break down because, like, the earthworms
08:57and the microbes.
08:58It's good for the soil overall.
09:00Yeah.
09:00The microbes in the soil, they break it down, and then once that is digested, the plant can uptake those
09:07nutrients.
09:07Where this is like a quick punch, boom, green it up, grow fast.
09:10So, generally speaking, more potent on the synthetic side, a little less potent on the organic side.
09:16Well, if you got to look at it, it's okay.
09:17Think of your, if your plant is sick.
09:18That's going to be your antibiotic.
09:19Okay.
09:19That's going to be your treatment.
09:21So, if you want fast acting, go synthetic.
09:23Mm-hmm.
09:23Ideally, I try to go organic, but sometimes you need a supplement with synthetic.
09:29So, that was my next question.
09:30Like, are you strictly an organic fertilizer person or strictly a synthetic?
09:34Or can you mix and match?
09:35Like, how would you mix and match?
09:36I would mix and match this, these two here, the synthetic and the malagonite with doing the lawn.
09:42Okay.
09:43And then also, if I want to put this in, like, maybe some flower beds and things like that.
09:46This works really well.
09:47Give it a nice punch.
09:48And I would do the same with, you know, everything's established, but, oh, my plants aren't blooming.
09:52I might give it a kick of the middle number or use something called super phosphate, phosphorus.
09:58Yep.
09:59And that gives for the blooms and the fruits, right?
10:03Or if you know your roots are weak, you know, they need some more attention, you hit it with the
10:06last number, the potassium.
10:08So, I'm hearing sort of long-term, consistent, good soil health, a little faster acting, higher concentration.
10:15I don't get the sense that I can use too much of that.
10:18I mean, obviously, I don't want to kill my lawn with too much compost.
10:20That's a very good question, right?
10:22Correct.
10:22So, like, so if there's too little, you know, it's not, your plant's going to suffer.
10:27It's going to struggle.
10:27Right.
10:28Like, you want to give it that little dose of vitamin to, like, get it back to health.
10:32But if it's too, if you put too much in excess, you could also burn your plant.
10:36Yes.
10:37And in this situation, more is definitely not better.
10:41It's because environmental impacts, you know, heavy rains, it'll leach into the ground, go into watersheds, create algae blooms and
10:48lakes.
10:49You know about regulations, right?
10:50Correct.
10:50You have to be aware of where you live in and, you know, where you are and read the directions
10:54on these things.
10:55You know what I mean?
10:56But this is the best way to go for, like, a lawn situation.
10:59But you have to be careful about, like Jen says, the water situations and things like that.
11:03So if you do go on the synthetic route, use it appropriately, use it in the right amounts and understand
11:09it.
11:09Yeah.
11:10More is not better.
11:11Yeah.
11:11People have a tendency, it's just human nature to put more, you think it's going to be better.
11:15Just follow the ratio on the bag.
11:17There's a formula.
11:18Okay, cool.
11:18Yeah.
11:19Good information.
11:19And then I guess finally, is this all you guys talk about when you're alone?
11:22Pretty much.
11:24Right?
11:25Hey, it's important, man.
11:31House fires are one of the leading causes of damage to a home.
11:35They can escalate very quickly from a very small flame to a full-blown fire in less than two and
11:39a half minutes, causing over $10 billion in damage annually.
11:43So when a homeowner reached out about installing hardwired smoke detectors in her home, I thought this was a perfect
11:48opportunity to reach out to the local fire chief and have him help explain what detectors to choose and how
11:53to locate them properly.
11:55Thanks for having the fire department.
11:56Yeah, this is great.
11:57Hey chief, thanks for coming out.
11:58Hey Heath, good to see you again.
11:59Must be Tracy.
12:00Nice to meet you.
12:00Hey Heath, nice to meet you.
12:01Come on in.
12:01Let's take a look inside.
12:03After you.
12:05Alright, Tracy, so I saw that you wrote in about installing new smoke detectors.
12:09Can you tell me a little bit about the system you currently have?
12:11Sure.
12:11I had a security system for a while and then I went to battery operated.
12:16Okay.
12:17I don't have too many around right now, but I really need something that's safer.
12:21Does that sound a little familiar?
12:22Yeah, so it sounds like she had what we call a household fire warning system, probably monitored by a central
12:28alarm company that would call you directly in case the alarm went off.
12:33At some point in time, you decided to go with battery operated detectors only that did not send the signal
12:39anywhere else.
12:41And now you want to bring your house up to present day code with hardwired interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide
12:46alarms.
12:47Yes.
12:47And that's the great point is the interconnected portion.
12:49So right now with the batteries, if something were to happen in the basement, it's only going to make noise
12:53in the basement.
12:53If you're on a second floor or a bedroom further away, especially if you have the summertime with an air
12:58conditioner or a fan going, you may not hear that detector going off.
13:01So that's a great point of the interconnect.
13:03That is absolutely the best system to have early detection in a fire seconds count to escape from your bedroom
13:10or your basement.
13:11So that's what we would recommend in all instances that people use interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
13:17Sounds great.
13:18So when it comes to choosing the detectors, we have two different kinds I'm aware of, ionization and photoelectric.
13:23Does that sound right?
13:24That is correct.
13:24Okay.
13:25So now if you are to build or remodel your house, you can only use photoelectric smoke detectors.
13:30Got it.
13:31Prior to that, depending on when your house was built or remodeled, you could also use ionization smoke detectors, right?
13:38But they could not be placed within 20 feet of a kitchen or a bathroom that had a shower.
13:43However, they go into false alarm frequently.
13:45So that's why we have the photoelectric requirement.
13:48Yeah, that kind of sounds familiar.
13:49Back in the day when we used to have some of the smoke detectors a little too close to a
13:52bathroom, they were the ionizations.
13:53We had to change them to the photos so they weren't always going off because of the steam off the
13:57shower.
13:58So that's good.
13:59The other thing that we're going to use are the photoelectric smoke combination with the carbon monoxide.
14:03That way, if you have an issue with the carbon monoxide, it'll tell you throughout the entire house.
14:07Yeah, that is correct.
14:08So the way we want to do that is we want you to install a combo detector that has a
14:13voice and a tone, right?
14:15So if there is a carbon monoxide event in the basement and it's during the night that the detector that's
14:21required outside your bedroom is going to tell you what it is.
14:25Is it a smoke event or is it a carbon monoxide event?
14:28And that is done through a tone and a voice.
14:30That's great. So I'll know which one it is.
14:32It will say fire or carbon monoxide.
14:33Yeah, it's perfect. It tells you either one.
14:35So I think we have a pretty good idea for the system we want to install.
14:38Now it's just a matter of locating where they're going to go.
14:40So let's start down this hallway and take a look at the bedrooms.
14:43Let's go right down here.
14:45All right. So it looks like we have three bedrooms.
14:48Yep.
14:48So we want one in each bedroom.
14:50That is correct.
14:51And where we want to put it is just inside the bedroom, preferably within three to five feet of the
14:55door.
14:55We want to keep it away from any ceiling fan because that can certainly interrupt the detector from activating.
15:01Got it.
15:01We also have a bathroom with a shower and you have a kitchen around the corner.
15:04So ideally I would like to see the detector three to five feet further down the hallway and meet all
15:10the requirements.
15:11What about a second floor?
15:12Where do we put it?
15:13The requirement is at the base of all stairs, not within the stairwell.
15:17So we want to place it once you get off the landing on the ceiling.
15:21Okay.
15:22We want to protect the means of egress.
15:24So what if we had an attached garage?
15:25So the minimum requirement is one heat detector located in the center of the garage on the ceiling.
15:30So now that we kind of have a good idea of what we're going to do in the bedrooms, we
15:33come out to the hallway.
15:34And I know we have to have one within 10 feet of the bedroom doors here.
15:37We can see you have the battery one that's right here.
15:39But the thing I notice is that vent and that's a fairly common issue.
15:43So what's the guideline for putting one near a vent like that?
15:45Yeah, we want to keep it away from the vent for two reasons.
15:48The dust collection on the detector and also from any air movement delaying the action.
15:54Okay.
15:54Great.
15:55I think we're in pretty good shape.
15:57That's great information.
15:58Chief, I can't thank you enough.
15:59Thank you very much.
16:00And as always, thanks for coming out and helping.
16:03But it's very important to drive home the fact that if you have questions when you're doing this,
16:06please contact your local fire department.
16:08You guys are very happy to help.
16:10Absolutely.
16:10Always contact your local fire department for advice.
16:13Here at Noob Report, we welcome the phone calls.
16:15We want to make sure you purchase the right detectors and put them in the right spots.
16:19Tracy, we got some work to do.
16:20All right, let's do it.
16:21Thanks again.
16:22All right, go.
16:23All right, Tracy, before we go ahead and install these, I just wanted to go over the couple
16:26of different detectors we have and kind of show you what you already have and what we're
16:29going to install.
16:30Okay.
16:30So what you currently have are the battery-operated ones, which is great if you have nothing.
16:34So very simple.
16:35They just clip up like you saw.
16:36You have a couple of batteries.
16:37When they die, they die.
16:38You replace them.
16:38Right.
16:39This is what we've been installing lately.
16:41I actually have these in my own house.
16:43This is a hardwired detector, battery backup, and it does both, the smoke and carbon monoxide.
16:49Fairly simple.
16:49When we do the hardwire, it's going to be color-to-color for the wires, black-to-black,
16:54white-to-white, red-to-red, and the ground's buried together.
16:57Right.
16:57And then fairly typically, we'll either have a couple of AA's or a 9-volt battery that
17:01goes here.
17:01So if you've ever heard that chirp, that single chirp at 2 in the morning, because that's
17:04the only time it ever happens.
17:06Oh, yes.
17:06And it's about a minute apart and you're trying to chase it down.
17:08Trying to find it.
17:09That's what it is.
17:09It usually means it's due for a battery replacement.
17:12But since we don't want to deal with that anymore either, we now have detectors that
17:15have a 10-year sealed battery.
17:17So the unit is good for its 10-year cycle, sealed battery.
17:20You don't have to touch anything.
17:21So it's hardwired, the battery is built in, and you're good to go.
17:25Now, what if it doesn't chirp?
17:26And how am I ever going to know when it's up in 10 years?
17:28I wouldn't remember the 10 years are up either.
17:30So it should chirp and give you an end-of-life cycle signal of some kind to tell you that
17:34it's time to be replaced.
17:35But if it doesn't, on the backside of them, they all have a date.
17:39It tells you what the manufacture date was.
17:40So if you have one and you're not sure, and you take this down and it's past that 10-year
17:44mark, it's a good time to replace it.
17:46And finally, we're just going to go around to install these, use a hole saw to cut in
17:50these round old work boxes, run our 14.3NM around, go ahead and mount these, and we'll
17:55be good to go.
17:56Great.
17:57You ready?
17:58Let's do this.
18:00So what I've done is I've drilled a hole from down here to up in the attic.
18:05So what I want to try and do now is I'm going to take these fiberglass fish tapes.
18:08I'm going to try and push these up.
18:10It's a straighter shot, a little easier to kind of push straight through the hole.
18:15And I'm just going to try and line it up.
18:17Now, I should need two of them.
18:19The wall is about eight feet tall, and these are five-foot sections and just thread together.
18:27So we're going up.
18:31Ah, right there.
18:33So that is the top plate of the wall.
18:35So now what I want to do is try and wiggle this around a little bit and find that hole.
18:39And they do line up pretty well, so it shouldn't be too bad, hopefully.
18:43Right there.
18:45So that is popping up into our attic.
18:49So what I can do is tie the wire onto this now, go to the attic and pull this right
18:52up.
18:54We have the wire taped on, so I'm going to go ahead and start pulling that up.
19:07And there's our wire.
19:09So the first thing I want to do is measure where we want to put the hole.
19:14And I already have an idea of where the trusses are upstairs.
19:18So I want to be about three feet over.
19:28Poke this up just to make sure I'm clear, which I should be.
19:36And next, I'll use a little tie wire that I've pre-bent at two inches.
19:41I'm using a three and three-quarter hole saw for this, so at two inches it should be excessive,
19:44that I can slide up and spin around and make sure that I clear everything.
19:56And I can spin around high and low.
19:59And I know there are no obstructions for that junction box.
20:04Now that we have that, I have my three and three-quarter inch hole saw
20:10and my dust collection bowl all set up to collect everything.
20:20And just like that, we have our opening.
20:25All right.
20:27So I've got this hole cut out, and we have two ways we can do this.
20:29We can either fish the wires around to the location, pull them down, and then make them up and push
20:33them up.
20:34Or in this case, where I have nice attic access, I'm going to go ahead and cut all the holes
20:38and install the boxes ahead of time, and then go upstairs and I can staple right through them
20:42and stuff the wires through.
20:44That's a nice snug fit.
20:46And now we'll just spin the ears out.
20:58All right.
20:59So I'll repeat this process for the other two bedrooms.
21:01And then I can go upstairs and pull the wires over and push them through,
21:03and then we can make them up.
21:12All right.
21:13Now since this is an interconnected system, I want everything to talk to each other.
21:16This box happens to have two wires.
21:18So at the start, I'll have a single wire, just one of these.
21:21Then I jump from room to room to room to hall or basement or wherever else it is.
21:25So single on the first one.
21:26Then as I come to the next box, I come back out.
21:28That's why I have two.
21:30This goes to the next room.
21:31So it lets me provide the power with the black and white on both.
21:34And the red is my interconnect.
21:36So this red is continuous between the entire loop.
21:39So if something happens, they all talk to each other.
21:56All right, Tracy, so all the hard work's done.
21:58All the detectors are up.
21:59Everything's powered.
21:59It's ready to give them a test.
22:00You ready?
22:01I'm ready.
22:01All right.
22:02You got your hearing protection.
22:02That's going to get loud.
22:03Yep.
22:03All right.
22:04I'm ready.
22:06And test.
22:07Testing.
22:09Oh, yeah.
22:11That'll wake you up, huh?
22:12That's definitely going to wake me up.
22:14And then I'll run through a couple of cycles and you can hear, you kind of hear,
22:17it's telling you that it's either smoke or it's carbon monoxide.
22:20Yep.
22:20So it definitely lets you know what's going on.
22:22All right.
22:23It's a long cycle.
22:24Yes.
22:25That will wake me up for sure.
22:27There we go.
22:27Good.
22:27We can take those out now.
22:29Well, I think you're all set.
22:31Great.
22:31Thank you so much.
22:32I feel so much safer.
22:33This is great.
22:34That was a great project.
22:35Happy to help.
22:35Thanks.
22:35Thank you, Heath.
22:41Next time on Ask This Old House, Morrow helps a homeowner design and paint an accent wall.
22:47I love it.
22:49It looks amazing.
22:50Then, do plants clean the air?
22:52Can they repel mosquitoes?
22:54Jen discusses some of these common plant myths.
22:56And, when homeowners ask for an affordable patio option, Mark suggests installing a Peastone patio.
23:06All that on Ask This Old House.
23:09location on Ask This Old House.
23:12After FEMA.
23:22On Ask This Old House.
23:25Can Crop earlier.
23:25to have the same. All that on
23:25It looks amazing.
23:25are. They
23:27are. They
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