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Ask This Old House - Season 24 - Episode 15: Toys and Color, Air Switch
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00:05On Ask This Old House, our experts travel across the country to answer questions about your house.
00:17Today, do you have questions about the various types of caulking materials and when to use them?
00:23Tommy has all the answers for you.
00:25Then, Richard helps a homeowner install a garbage disposal that uses an air switch.
00:32And I host some special guests from the popular online channel Toys and Colors in the workshop to build a
00:39dress-up closet.
00:41All that on Ask This Old House.
00:49Hey, Tommy.
00:50Hey, Kevin, how are you?
00:51All right, you're well-armed with your caulk guns here.
00:54Yeah, well, you never know when you need some caulking, and it's usually a lot around a project site.
00:59And there's a lot of different kinds.
01:00I mean, when you walk down the aisle, there is just an endless selection.
01:03Mind-blowing.
01:04Yeah.
01:04Stuff that's out there.
01:05I mean, the painter will use a latex caulking on the interior walls.
01:09You know, he'll use it around your casing, your trim, your baseboard, wherever it wall meets a transition to something,
01:15a molding or whatever.
01:16And you want to fill that little joint.
01:18And a latex is perfect for that because it fills the gap and it's paintable.
01:22Right.
01:22I like to see primer put on the wall before they use the caulking because it gives a little more
01:27adhesion to the caulking.
01:29Okay.
01:30And if we were to jump outside and we knew we had a painter who wanted to fill some holes
01:33or gaps and was going to paint it, would you stick with this or would you?
01:37I'd probably go to an acrylic like this.
01:40It's an acrylic caulking with silicone added to it.
01:43So when you move out of sort of straight latex and you start putting in some of the other ingredients,
01:49what are you adding and why?
01:50Well, you're adding the adhesion capabilities.
01:52That's with you getting out of some of the acrylics, but also with some of the silicone that's in it,
01:59you're getting some water protection that you wouldn't normally get.
02:02And the key is with these exterior caulking, there's a lot more expansion and contraction.
02:08So you want that caulking to flow and be able to go with the expansion and contraction.
02:13Okay.
02:14You mentioned silicone.
02:15You can actually have just straight silicone, right?
02:17Right.
02:17And I only like 100% silicone.
02:20It's pricey.
02:21It comes in all different kinds of colors because it really can't paint it.
02:24But this is great for like bathrooms where the shower is running on the wall, where it meets the tub.
02:31That joint needs to get filled with something that will stick well and be waterproof.
02:36You don't want the water to get in behind the wall.
02:38How about like metal?
02:39I'm thinking again outside, you're on your gutters and you want to make a connection between two pieces.
02:43Silicone or?
02:45This is what you want to use is basically a butyl.
02:48And it's used a lot in the commercial industry.
02:50It should be used more.
02:51We used it a lot when I was younger and it's like a rubber ceiling that stays soft for a
02:56long, long time.
02:57It can be messy.
02:58Yeah.
02:59All right.
02:59But it's fantastic.
03:00Let's say, for example, you have a tile floor and you might have a long joint, an expansion joint.
03:06Well, you don't want to grout it.
03:07You basically caulk it with a color to match the grout.
03:11The butyl will adhere to the tile nicely, but it will also bend and stretch as the floor expands and
03:21contracts.
03:21So the elasticity here is actually great.
03:23Right.
03:24And the thing with all caulkings, I don't care what you do, especially silicone, if you have a joint that's
03:30failed, you cannot caulk over that material.
03:34No silicone on silicone.
03:35It won't stick.
03:37It'll look good for about an hour, but it will not stick.
03:40You have to clean it off completely and, you know, scrape it or pull it off, whatever you're going to
03:46do.
03:46I'd like to take a razor blade, if you're doing it around the tub, and scrape it really clean and
03:51then rub it, maybe with some cleaner like that.
03:54Sometimes I'll use lacquer thinner or even denatured alcohol to make sure it's clean, that it has to be dry,
04:00and then you can apply a new coat.
04:02Okay.
04:03Well, in terms of applying, let's see what some of this stuff just sort of looks like laid out.
04:06But before you do, I know you're particular about opening these things because sometimes you like a square edge, an
04:12angled edge.
04:13Yeah.
04:13Give us a little one.
04:14Again, it depends on the application.
04:16But let's say caulking guns come with this little hole right here.
04:19All right.
04:20Now, if you look, when I pull the trigger, there's a little cutter in there that just cuts it off
04:25so that you put the tip of the caulking gun right in there and cut it, and that cuts the
04:30tip right off.
04:31Oh, yeah.
04:32So it just actually took the rest of that off.
04:34Right.
04:34All right.
04:35So now that's ready to go.
04:36All right.
04:37Well, let's lay some of this stuff down.
04:39I'll give you back the elastomeric sealant here, which is a latex.
04:44So some guys like to pull it, and some guys will push it.
04:49I'm going to start it flow, and I'm going to continue.
04:54And I can control the flow by lessening the pull on the trigger.
04:58Mm-hmm.
04:59And when you push it, it will push it into a crack.
05:04Let's have a look at a bead of silicone.
05:09So that's clear.
05:12And again, if I push it.
05:14I've known you for a long time, Pops, and you've always been a pull kind of guy.
05:18I always pull it, yeah.
05:21This is butyl, and it can be messy.
05:24So let's see.
05:25Well, you can see why that almost looks like an exterior product.
05:29Yeah.
05:29I mean, it obviously is.
05:31Okay.
05:32So a lot of choices.
05:34Know what your project is, and pick the right tube for the right project.
05:38And make sure you prep it right, just like anything you're doing, like painting.
05:42You want to prep it right.
05:43A little bit of primer on the interior before you use your latex will make the caulking stick
05:48to the wall and the trim better.
05:50Beautiful.
05:58Hello there.
05:59Hi, how are you?
06:00I'm Emily.
06:01Nice to meet you.
06:01Nice to meet you too.
06:02I love your place.
06:03Thank you so much.
06:04Great.
06:04So this is a newly renovated place.
06:06We bought it a couple years ago.
06:08Great.
06:08And I love the place, but they did.
06:09I sure did.
06:10Yeah, they did miss something when they renovated it.
06:13What did they miss?
06:13A garbage disposal.
06:15Really?
06:15Yes.
06:16I mean, you've got stone counters, a beautiful island, all kinds of great appliances, and
06:20they didn't put the disposer in.
06:21Yes.
06:22Well, I'm glad I came by.
06:24All right.
06:24Well, let's see what you got under here.
06:25Well, they certainly left room for it.
06:27It's wide open.
06:28Nice and clean too.
06:30Definitely.
06:31So we can modify the plumbing for the disposer.
06:33That's going to be fine.
06:34And I see they've got electrical roughed in.
06:36There's a box right there.
06:37A lot of times, the biggest part of this job is actually the electrical, where you call
06:41an electrician in to either add a switch up here or a switch right here that you can
06:45reach for.
06:46I actually have a thing called an air switch that I want to get and show you that we can
06:50put it in together.
06:50Sure.
06:51All right.
06:54All right.
06:55So this is your new disposer.
06:56Say hello.
06:57Hello.
06:58So this one's up with three-quarter horsepower.
06:59They come in every different size horsepower, one-third, half, three-quarter, all kinds
07:04of insulation levels.
07:05And most of them nowadays are called continuous feed, where you're going to just turn it on
07:10and run the disposer and grind the food up.
07:13Now, one thing that is standard in the plumbing industry, there's not many, and that is the
07:17mounting flange assembly.
07:18This is the sink flange assembly.
07:21And what we're going to do is take out the existing basket strand that's over there.
07:24And then this is the part that will go onto the sink.
07:27We'll put putty right in here, push that down through the sink.
07:31And from the other side, I'm going to push this up to the underside and then make this
07:38spring clip to the bottom.
07:40And so now it'll hang on the sink.
07:41I'll tighten up these screws.
07:43And once that happens, we can close this lock ring, and now we can hang the disposer from
07:49the sink assembly, okay?
07:50All right.
07:51Once that happens, we now can determine how to make these plumbing connections, because
07:56you can turn this elbow any way we want to.
07:59We can modify the plumbing.
08:01And once we get it right, we'll glue it all together, okay?
08:04That's the plumbing part.
08:05And we also have a dishwasher.
08:06Yes.
08:07So the dishwasher needs to have a drain.
08:09So any disposer has a port, and they make this adapter, which modifies to any different
08:16size tapping on any disposer or drain hose.
08:20And you'll just tighten those up.
08:21And you really want this to be tight, because that dishwasher has a fair amount of water coming
08:24in, and you want that to be tight.
08:25So you'll make sure I do that right?
08:27Yes, absolutely.
08:28Perfect.
08:29So as I mentioned, these are all continuous feed nowadays, so it's an appliance plug.
08:34Now in the old days, and you still can get them now, but it's a lot less popular, there's
08:39a thing called a batch feed, which means inside this mechanism is a way that you can turn on
08:46the disposer by putting a magnet control or a little bayonet switch inside here.
08:50And when you turn it on, it'll come on then and only then.
08:53So they're less popular, and now more and more people are using the continuous feed.
08:58But that means you have to either have a wall switch or a switch underneath, or what you're
09:03going to get, which is this air switch right here.
09:05Right.
09:06So the air switch, we bring in the 110 volt, and we plug it into the wall down underneath
09:11the sink.
09:12We plug in the disposer into this air switch, and then right here is a little air switch
09:21that works by air.
09:23So this thing that looks like a wire is not.
09:26It's actually a tube.
09:28This is how you're going to bring this on.
09:29This is an air switch.
09:31It pushes the shot of air down, and it makes that little switch in there to bring on the
09:36110.
09:36You've now got a way to bring this disposer on without the electricity ever getting
09:41close to you.
09:42Now, I don't recommend this, but I want to just show how this switch works.
09:45So you hit that button, and watch what happens.
09:49Now, turn it off.
09:50Okay?
09:51Okay.
09:51So now, it's a simple operation.
09:53It's easy to keep clean.
09:55It's also much more convenient.
09:56It'll be up right where you use it at the sink, okay?
09:58Yeah.
09:58So what we'll need to do is to drill into the stone countertops, so that turns out it might
10:02be one of the hardest parts of this job.
10:04Right.
10:05You ready to get to work?
10:05Yes, absolutely.
10:06All right.
10:06You're going to be my helper.
10:07Let's go.
10:10All right.
10:10We need to excavate the plumbing connections, the drain connections.
10:19So now, we can loosen the basket strainer nut right here, and that'll remove the last piece
10:25that's connected to the sink.
10:27All right.
10:27Now, it's time to install the new disposer.
10:29Okay.
10:30We want a really good connection right here where it connects to the sink, so you're going
10:34to do it.
10:34Okay.
10:35All right.
10:36So just push that piece down.
10:40Okay.
10:41And hold against me now.
10:43Now, I've got to get that spring clipped.
10:47There's the click.
10:49Okay.
10:50I'm going to snug these up, and you should start seeing some of that putty oozing out.
10:56Yes.
11:03All right.
11:03So this is a stone surface, so what I've done is I've taped off the surface.
11:07I've marked where I want it to be.
11:12This has carbide grit.
11:24Oh, Emily.
11:25See this?
11:26Yes.
11:26Can you make that connection to the bottom of the air switch button?
11:30Yep.
11:31Push it on good, and then push it down through to me, and hold against me so I can tighten
11:36up the nut down here.
11:40That should do it.
11:41I just need to cut the air tube and plug it into the switch.
11:51All right.
11:52Now we just need to make our drain connection from the disposer.
12:06Last thing to do is our dishwasher discharge.
12:11All right.
12:12We are all cleaned up and ready for the ultimate test from you, so give it some water run first,
12:16always.
12:18It works.
12:19Isn't that convenient?
12:20Yes, very simple.
12:21And it finishes off your perfect kitchen.
12:23And I love it even more now.
12:24Well, just turn it on for just another second, all right?
12:28All right, I just got a text from my doctor.
12:32We'll see ya.
12:33Better there.
12:34All right.
12:34See ya.
12:39So, we got an interesting message from the kids at Toys and Colors.
12:44It's an ensemble of kids who love to make things.
12:47Projects with their hands, community.
12:49They love using colors and embracing play.
12:52And they had a great idea for something that we could build together.
12:55So, we invited them to the barn so we can do that, and they are here now.
12:59Hey, guys.
13:00How are you?
13:01Good.
13:01How about you?
13:02I'm doing all right.
13:03I'm Kevin.
13:03I'm Kaden.
13:04Kaden, pleasure.
13:05I'm Wendy.
13:06Wendy, welcome to our workshop here.
13:08We're glad to have you.
13:09So, we got your message that you guys wanted a little help building something.
13:13Yeah, we like to play.
13:14A lot.
13:15Play what?
13:16Dress up.
13:17Oh, costumes and stuff?
13:18Mm-hmm.
13:19All right.
13:19And we were wondering if you can build a dress up closet.
13:22A dress up closet for you guys' costumes.
13:25Sure.
13:25We like the idea, in fact.
13:27And our carpenter extraordinaire, Tommy Silva, actually went ahead and gave us some drawing to work off of.
13:33So, as you can see, this is going to be for hanging clothes.
13:37And then on the left side, we're thinking three shelves to hold baskets, maybe for shoes or masks or whatever.
13:46And then top sides, this is like a nice little way to dress it up.
13:49That's what we call an apron.
13:51What do you guys think of that?
13:52Yeah.
13:52That's really good.
13:53All right.
13:54We're on the same page.
13:55So, let's talk about the materials we're going to use.
13:57And most of it is going to be a pine board.
14:00That's what this is.
14:01And we call this a 1 by 12.
14:03You know why?
14:04Because it's 1 by 12?
14:06Oh, my gosh.
14:08Yes.
14:09Almost.
14:10So, this is the weird thing.
14:11As I measure its width, what does that say?
14:1511 and a quarter.
14:1711 and a quarter.
14:18And if you look on the side, what does that say?
14:223 quarters.
14:233 quarters.
14:23So, it's a little less thick than a full inch.
14:26It's just weird.
14:27But we're going to call them 1 by 12s.
14:29Okay.
14:30Okay.
14:30So, we're going to use the 1 by 12s for the top right here, the sides going down, the bottom.
14:38And then we're going to cut one into a couple shelves right there.
14:41Okay.
14:42Then, behind the shelves, we're going to have a back.
14:46And we're going to use plywood.
14:49So, this one happens to be quarter inch.
14:52Because we don't need much for the back.
14:53It's just going to kind of cover it up.
14:55Then, you see this right here?
14:57Yes.
14:58The closet rod.
14:59What do you think we're going to use for that?
15:00This one.
15:01Yes.
15:02This one right here.
15:03A dowel.
15:04And so, this has got two dimensions that we care about.
15:08The length, which is just a hair under 19 and a half.
15:11And then, the diameter.
15:14And you guys probably know that that's the line that goes right through the center here versus the measurement that
15:20goes around.
15:21Because that's something different.
15:22And on this one, our diameter is an inch and a quarter.
15:28So, that's going to go right there.
15:30You with me?
15:31Mm-hmm.
15:32Cool.
15:32So, we're going to cut some boards and then we're going to screw them together.
15:35You guys up for that?
15:36Yeah.
15:37Let's get started.
15:38Love it.
15:38Let's do it.
15:45Okay.
15:45You guys ready to cut?
15:46Yeah.
16:15All right.
16:16You're going to hold it up tight against that with your hand left of the blade and far away.
16:23And then, you're able to move it back and forth when you're getting ready.
16:25And you're going to try to position the blade.
16:27So, in this case, it lands just on the line.
16:33You see that?
16:34Yeah.
16:34And when you think you've got it in the right place, push it up tight, way away from the blade.
16:40And then, you've got a two-trigger start.
16:43So, there's a trigger underneath here.
16:45You're going to slide with your thumb.
16:47And then, on the grip, you're going to squeeze this trigger as well.
16:50Now, I'm going to fire this up.
16:51It's going to get loud.
16:51Ready?
16:52Okay.
16:54And that'll start the blade in a vacuum.
16:58So, you're going to get your position.
17:02Come up.
17:03Start it.
17:04And then, while you're holding it and the blade's spinning, you're going to come down and cut.
17:09How do you feel?
17:10Good.
17:11All right.
17:11If you've got any questions, you ask me.
17:13But I know you can handle it.
17:14So, go for it.
17:22You like that position?
17:24Yeah.
17:24All right.
17:24Nice and tight against the fence.
17:26Start it up.
17:34Lift it up.
17:37What do you think?
17:40Kaden, did she nail it?
17:41Yeah.
17:41Nice job.
17:42Feel good?
17:43Yeah.
17:44All right.
17:44That's the first april.
17:45You want to do another one?
17:46Yeah.
17:47Remember, kids.
17:48It's always important that you ask first.
17:50And you've got to use the tools with a grown-up.
17:53Perfect.
17:54Well done.
18:05Keep them coming, Kaden.
18:07Keep them coming, Kaden.
18:23Okay, so this is our last piece.
18:25And you notice that we've got it labeled shelf.
18:28Instead of measuring, we're just going to trace the one that we have here.
18:32Nice and tight against this one and drag it right across.
18:50All right, with the boards cut, we are going to start bringing them together.
18:55And that's called joinery.
18:56So joinery is when you bring two pieces of wood together and fasten them.
19:00And there's a whole bunch of different ways to do it.
19:03We're going to do it with something called pocket screws.
19:06Okay?
19:07So this is a pocket screw right here.
19:11And you can see that it's got a head, a shank, and some threads right there.
19:16You know why they call them pocket screws?
19:18Do they go in your pocket?
19:21Only if you're sneaking them out of the shop do they go in your pocket.
19:24No.
19:24They call them pocket screws because we're actually going to put them in a pocket that we make in the
19:29wood.
19:30Pocket screws always work with a jig to drill the pocket at an angle.
19:35Take it out.
19:38Nice.
19:42Look at that.
19:44All right, let's see how we did.
19:50You can see inside the pocket that there's a little hole from the drill bit.
19:54Well, that will help us drive in the screw.
19:57So take this, just stick it in.
20:01Good.
20:01Now before, check your line.
20:04Still where you want to be?
20:05Yeah.
20:06And you'll feel it sort of bottom out and be done.
20:09So you don't have to kind of crush that trigger.
20:11You just have to get it so it's fast.
20:13Look at you.
20:15You got it.
20:16You're good.
20:20Perfect.
20:23Did you hear that?
20:24That little clack clack?
20:25That means you got it nice and tight.
20:35For the top, we're actually going to use a nail gun.
20:37Oh, yeah.
20:38One more.
20:42One more.
20:48Remember our plywood?
20:49This is our back, but it's only behind the shelves because the clothes hanging inside.
20:55What do you think?
20:56Wow.
20:56Kaden, we built this.
20:58Yeah.
20:58Yeah, you did.
20:59You guys are toys and colors.
21:02So what do you say we get some color on?
21:03Yeah, let's do it.
21:04All right.
21:06So I know you guys are all about the colors, but to make sure that the color paint sticks
21:10to the wood really well, we always prime first.
21:13This is primer.
21:15Primer is dry, which means we can get the colors on.
21:36Okay, paint is dry.
21:37We can load it up.
21:39You guys want to hang those on the bar?
21:40Step back.
21:41Take a look at it.
21:42What do you think?
21:43Looks great.
21:43Yeah.
21:44I totally think you guys can build this on your own now.
21:47Share it with your friends, everyone who watches your stuff.
21:50That is terrific.
21:51Can we ask you one more question?
21:53Yeah, sure.
21:53Can you play dress up with us?
21:55Dress up?
21:56Mm-hmm.
21:57Me?
21:57Yes.
22:08There you go.
22:10Wait, I have one more.
22:13Hey, nice project, sonny boy.
22:16Oh, my goodness.
22:18That's my favorite costume of the day.
22:21You look awesome.
22:23Well, this was a ton of fun, guys.
22:24Thank you for coming.
22:25Thank you for letting me join.
22:26You're welcome.
22:27Thank you for helping us build a closet for our clothes.
22:30Yeah.
22:30I knight you pops.
22:33You look exactly like them.
22:41Next time on Ask This Old House, Lee heads to the Pacific Northwest to learn about grass seed manufacturing.
22:49It was almost like paying for gold back in the day.
22:51Then, Mark gives a primer on pavers, the various materials available and how to arrange them.
22:59And Nathan gets some help from an apprentice installing a porch swing.
23:07All that on Ask This Old House.
23:12Ask This Old House.
23:29Thanks.
23:34You're welcome.
23:39Thanks.
23:40Listen.
23:40You
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