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00:05On Ask This Old House, our experts travel across the country to answer questions about your house.
00:17Today, Lee gives some tips on how to properly mow your lawn.
00:23Then, do you have questions on how to vet a contractor?
00:26Well, our team offers some insight.
00:29It's a two-way street, so that contractor is vetting you just the way you're vetting them.
00:35And, Mark heads to Washington State to help some homeowners replace their front walk.
00:41All that on Ask This Old House.
00:51Lee, good to see you.
00:52Hey, Kevin, good to see you. How are you doing?
00:53I'm doing all right. Better now that I'm with you and we got ourselves a beautiful lawn.
00:57Not bad.
00:57Let's go.
00:58So, I want to talk about push mowers.
01:00Okay.
01:00We got three of them out here.
01:01I got a gas one, I have a battery-operated one, and a manually one.
01:05All right, let's talk gas first.
01:06Okay.
01:06What do you like? What don't you like?
01:07Nice machine, power, a lot of moving parts, though.
01:11Yeah. We have the oil spot plug.
01:14Over here is your air filter.
01:15So, more moving parts, more things that I've got to take care of, that I've got to maintain.
01:20Yes.
01:20Yes.
01:21And louder, which is, you know, we're used to it, but the neighbors don't always like it.
01:25True.
01:25A lot of noise ordinances out there.
01:27All right.
01:27But standard, standby, tried and true.
01:31What about this one?
01:31Then we have over here the battery-operated ones.
01:34Really nice.
01:35Yeah.
01:35Heavy-duty.
01:36The battery's in there.
01:37These have come a long way.
01:39They have come a long way.
01:39They have come a long way.
01:40So, what am I getting in terms of coverage?
01:42This one here, you can probably do like a quarter of an acre, maybe a little bit more on a
01:46full-charge battery.
01:47Not so bad.
01:47But I suggest always have a couple of extra batteries.
01:49And again, we like them because for the environment, we're not burning gas.
01:52Correct.
01:52Quiet.
01:53This one here actually has lights, so you can cut your grass at night.
01:56Or you could cut my grass at night with the lights.
01:59All right.
02:00But these work really well.
02:01Yeah, yeah.
02:01Look at this.
02:02Old school.
02:03Old school.
02:03Oh, my gosh.
02:04All my grandparents had one of these.
02:05Yeah.
02:06You know, look at that.
02:07But you like the way the cut it gives, right?
02:09I love the way it cuts the grass.
02:10Look at all those blades.
02:12That's awesome.
02:13That's them all nice and sharp.
02:14All right.
02:15And use it if you need a workout.
02:17Exactly.
02:17Small courtyard all the ways.
02:19All right.
02:20So, let's talk about when we're mowing, but when we're not mowing.
02:24Okay.
02:24In the morning, after it's raining or watering like that, don't cut it.
02:29You don't like cutting wet lawn?
02:30Yeah, because it will clog up your machine and it will maybe stress out the grass.
02:33Okay.
02:34So, I don't want to do that.
02:35Dry lawn.
02:35Dry lawn's perfect.
02:36Okay.
02:37Always.
02:37What about height?
02:38Height, I like to take a third off.
02:41I like to cut certain times of year, shorter than others.
02:44Springtime, a little bit short, fall short.
02:46But in the summertime, I want to cut it high and take a little third off.
02:49So, you're thinking about every cut is taking just a third off.
02:52So, how high?
02:54Is it too high sometimes to cut?
02:56Yes, and then I'd probably bring in the trimmer.
02:58You know what I mean?
02:59If the grass is really high.
03:00Oh, you're going to hit it with this first?
03:02I would do this.
03:03If the grass is really high.
03:04Like how high?
03:05I'd say knee high.
03:07Yeah?
03:08That's high.
03:09Someone forgot the middle off.
03:10Exactly.
03:10So, for that, I would use the trimmer in here.
03:13Okay?
03:14And this will less stress in the grass.
03:15So, I'd hit that.
03:16And then after that, then I would come back in and, you know, cut it with the lawnmower.
03:19Beautiful.
03:20All right.
03:20Things to think about before we start, once we've decided that it is okay to cut.
03:25So, I would check your blades are really important.
03:27See this one here?
03:28So, I'm going to just reach underneath here.
03:31Oh, you got some right there.
03:32So, I look underneath.
03:33Yep.
03:33You got blades in there, right?
03:35That's there.
03:35It looks pretty good, but it might not if I've been going after it hard.
03:39Exactly.
03:39That's probably about a season.
03:41And so, this is the cutting edge here.
03:44Yes.
03:44Another cutting edge right there.
03:46Yep.
03:46Not only rusted, but also dull.
03:48Yes.
03:48And then, look at what we have.
03:50This is a new one that I sharpened up.
03:52Look at that.
03:53Razor sharp.
03:54And it gives you a nice cut.
03:56So, your idea is pop them off, give them a nice sharpen.
03:59Correct.
03:59Or have someone do it?
04:00Yes.
04:02Hardware stores will do them, as well as small lawn engine places.
04:06They'll do them too, as well.
04:07Beautiful.
04:08You probably do them all the time.
04:09Yes, we do.
04:10For a regular homeowner, how often do you think you do them?
04:12Just a season.
04:13If you're cutting the grass once a week, you can get away with it for a season.
04:16Yeah.
04:16Okay.
04:16Okay.
04:17But it's good to always have two, just in case.
04:18Yeah.
04:19All right.
04:19So, it's dry enough, and it's not too high.
04:22We're ready to mow.
04:23We want to give it a look, make sure there's no, you know, things in the lawn, beer cans
04:27or something the night before.
04:28I was just saying, you know.
04:29So, we want to make sure we have no toys out there.
04:32Also, nice pair of shoes, sneakers, no sandals, closed toe.
04:37My dad used to make me wear boots.
04:38Really?
04:38Every time.
04:39Yeah.
04:39I seem a little bit like an overkill, but I still do it.
04:41All right.
04:42We got our safety glasses.
04:43So, obviously glasses.
04:45Correct.
04:45Things come flying out of these things.
04:46Yeah.
04:46All right.
04:47And some air protection.
04:48Okay.
04:48So, you ready to show me some technique?
04:52All right.
04:52Let's get going.
04:53Cut some grass.
04:54Let's get started.
04:55All right.
04:58So, I like to cut the grass about three inches.
05:01Yeah.
05:02Okay.
05:02Especially this time of year in this region.
05:04So, this time of year meaning what?
05:05Different heights, different times?
05:07Correct.
05:07So, springtime, I want to cut a little bit shorter, two inches.
05:10Fall, I want to cut about two inches.
05:12In the summertime, due to the hot weather that we have and, you know, we have a cool weather grass.
05:17So, that's why I want to do that.
05:19So, cool weather.
05:19It's growing faster.
05:21It's okay to get after it.
05:22It slows down in the summer.
05:23You don't want to.
05:24Exactly.
05:25So, where are you going to put the adjustment in?
05:26Okay.
05:26So, this one here, easy.
05:29Oh, yeah.
05:30Three inches, I'm going to do.
05:31Beautiful.
05:31Back in the day, they used to have...
05:33You have to adjust each wheel.
05:34Exactly.
05:35Now, there's one lever.
05:36It's nice.
05:36Really convenient.
05:37If you do the mowing and it passes, I'll follow along with the trimmer.
05:40Awesome.
05:41All right.
05:41Ready?
05:42Ready.
05:44So, what I like to do is I like to cut the perimeter first.
05:46And I want to do at least two passes.
05:48So, that gives me room so I can go and turn in those two perimeters and cut my grass.
05:53All right.
05:53Okay.
05:53And then once you do the perimeter, is that when you're hitting it with the string trimmer?
05:57Absolutely.
05:57Yes.
05:57Correct.
05:58But you don't want to get too close to the bed.
06:00With the mower.
06:01Correct.
06:02Because you can fall into it, you know, things like that.
06:04Damage the bed, damage the machine, things like that.
06:06All right.
06:07I just want to do that.
06:24Looks good, right?
06:26What do you think?
06:26Yeah, it cleans right up.
06:27That's nice.
06:28Not bad.
06:28All right.
06:29So, what we got?
06:30I have some clippings in here.
06:31So, you're definitely of the ilk to pick them up.
06:34Don't leave them on the lawn, right?
06:36That's good.
06:37That's a lot of stuff in there.
06:38I'm going to dump this out.
06:41These things here can go to your local towns.
06:44We'll pick them up, you know, put them on curbside or just even have a nice compost in
06:48the backyard.
06:49Very good.
06:49Well, hopefully people got everything they need to know about the mowers and how to properly
06:53mow the lawn.
06:54I think we did a good job.
06:55Nice job.
06:55You got it.
07:01Oh, look at this brain trust, huh?
07:03You guys all got the memo, huh?
07:06So, with these years of wisdom in the room, you know, we get this question all of the time.
07:10You get it personally, we get it on the show.
07:12Everyone's always asking, how do I find a really good contractor tradesperson who I can
07:18trust?
07:19So, this is what you guys do and you've done it forever.
07:21Who wants to jump in first?
07:23I'll start.
07:25Go for it, Heath.
07:25So, I'm going to take one of the ones that seems the most obvious.
07:28When you're dealing with a trade that requires a license, something like a plumber or electrician
07:32or general contractor, make sure they actually have a license that's valid and that they
07:36have insurance.
07:37I mean, it seems simple enough, but people don't always check.
07:39One of the easiest ways to check is you can check the license online usually with the
07:43state that issues it.
07:44You can see if it's current and if there are any issues with that license.
07:46And do you think that there's a lot of folks out there who don't have a license?
07:49And what should we work?
07:51Well, that's where one of these red flags comes up.
07:52So, a lot of times you'll see some of these guys come along that should have a license and
07:56ask the homeowner to pull the permit.
07:58When you see that, that's an immediate red flag.
08:00That means that they probably can't pull the permit for some reason.
08:02Whether it's an issue with a license, insurance, or something else.
08:05So, definitely avoid that.
08:06All right.
08:07First on the list.
08:08After licensing and insurance, the next one for me is third-party certifications.
08:12Especially in the HVC industry, right?
08:14Different skilled trades have different standards.
08:17But there are third-party organizations around the country that offer training for HVC technicians
08:22so they can really get good at their craft.
08:24It also tells me something about the company.
08:26If the company's willing to invest in their staff to get them better trained at what they
08:30want to do and become pros, that's a huge differentiating factor.
08:34And then with heat pumps, mini splits especially, those are computer-controlled machines.
08:38And so, you really need to know what you're doing.
08:40And so, the manufacturers offer their own trainings on installation, service, and commissioning.
08:45So, you really need to make sure that that contractor's trained on that specific brand before they do the installation.
08:51So, similar to licensing, but in your part of the world, a lot of it is, are they certified?
08:56Yes.
08:57And properly trained?
08:57Yeah.
08:57That piece of paper actually does matter.
08:59Yeah, yeah.
08:59What do you think, Dad?
09:00I agree with that.
09:01And I've got to warn you.
09:02The other thing is, watch out for low bid, believe it or not.
09:04Low bid.
09:05You can't get a lot for a little.
09:06And if you take the middle bid, or even the higher bid, there's a good chance that they're going
09:10to have licenses, they're going to go to training, they're going to have insurance, they'll do all
09:15file all the right permits, and they'll actually have employees that work directly for them,
09:19not just subcontractors.
09:20Right.
09:20The other thing is, look around your town, sort of see at the Little League games, you
09:24know, whose trucks are parked there, and sort of that suggests that those guys are invested,
09:28guys or gals are invested in the local town.
09:30And that means you might be able to find them later on, too.
09:32There's probably going to be a callback.
09:33That's right.
09:34There could be.
09:35There could be.
09:35Not with our stuff, but, you know.
09:36No, but I'm just saying, like, help me with this, but whatever.
09:38Yeah.
09:38It makes total sense.
09:39All right.
09:40Pops, you know, what do you think?
09:42Certifications?
09:43I think all of that is very important, absolutely.
09:46A lot of people get, you know, they ask for a reference on a contractor, but they don't
09:50follow up on it.
09:51They don't call them.
09:52They don't follow up with, you know, how was the job done.
09:55If you find a contractor that you're going to work with, you think you're going to work
09:59with, go to the job site and visit the job site.
10:02How neat is the job site?
10:03Is it clean?
10:04Is it put together?
10:05Is it organized?
10:06If it's not, it says a lot about a lot.
10:08And do the subs all work together?
10:11I mean, are they, like, it has to be like a team.
10:14Let's face it.
10:15Your house is probably the biggest investment that you've made in your life, yet you want
10:18the cheapest guy to work for you.
10:20And you wonder why it doesn't come out right.
10:22Yeah.
10:22You're going to have to pay for the quality work and you're going to be happy with it.
10:26And you'll forget about the extra money that you spent over time because you have
10:29a quality job.
10:30But if you've got something that fails over time because you cut bids, I never shouldn't
10:34have used that one.
10:35I never should have used that.
10:36I wish I'd gone and get it done correctly.
10:39You've got to be able to get along with that contractor because you're going to be around
10:42for a long time.
10:43So referrals is way up on your list that people can really work with.
10:46Yeah.
10:47Okay.
10:48Next, GC.
10:48How about you, Zach?
10:49What do you got?
10:50You know, I think about these people we hire, whether it's for a large construction project
10:54that lasts 12 months or whether it's someone who's mowing my grass, which could be working
10:59with them for years.
11:00These are long-term relationships.
11:02And what do we want out of our long-term relationships?
11:04Right?
11:04We want honesty.
11:05We want trustworthiness.
11:07And we want to feel heard.
11:09So I think people should really see things through the lens of dating.
11:13Right?
11:14Did you feel seen and heard?
11:17Right?
11:17Did they lie about their height?
11:19That's right.
11:19You know?
11:20Well, if I have a social media page with all these big projects, did I actually build
11:25those or is that some AI generation?
11:27Right?
11:28So really sort of treat the person.
11:30You know, dig through their social media like you would someone you were dating.
11:33You know?
11:33Really do your homework on them.
11:35And that's sort of the way I treat it.
11:37And also understand what it is you're trying to do.
11:40Right?
11:40It's a two-way street.
11:41So that contractor is vetting you just the way you're vetting them.
11:44And if you're showing up with bad energy or being demanding, they may back away and you
11:50might scare them off.
11:51So understand that there's a lot of other projects out there that they could be taking.
11:54And if you want top tier talent, you have to make yourself attractive to them.
11:58High emotional intelligence over here.
12:00I mean, we all have friends who tell us like, oh, they won't call me back.
12:03They never call me back.
12:04And you're kind of like, hmm, maybe it's you.
12:06Wonder why.
12:06Yeah.
12:07Welcome back to Love Live.
12:10So true.
12:11Jen, what do you think?
12:11Well, I often call it the breakup at the end of a good product because I fall in love
12:15with my clients because I want them to know that I will always come back to fix something.
12:20But when you're looking for a landscape designer contractor versus landscape maintenance, a lot
12:25of people say, oh, I just want landscaping.
12:27There's a big difference, right?
12:28There's maintenance, which is lawn mowing, irrigation, all these things that are like the
12:34to-dos after a garden is installed.
12:36So my job is to design the master plan.
12:39You get the contractor to install it.
12:41You have multiple subs.
12:42And like you said, all the subs should really get along, see how they interact.
12:47So that's doing installation, doing the construction part.
12:50And then maintenance is caretaking and after.
12:53All right.
12:53There's a little romantic corner over here.
12:55That's good.
12:57So Nathan, I guess that leaves you with the last word.
12:59I'm going to go all the way back to the beginning because I think it's really important
13:02for the homeowners to figure out what's the scale, the scope, the size of their project
13:05they're taking on.
13:06Are we hiring a general contractor?
13:07Are we hiring just a good carpenter to tackle that job?
13:10Or maybe it's a handyman.
13:11And those terms can all be really vague.
13:13Are you swapping a light bulb or are you putting an addition on your house?
13:16What's the goal there?
13:18So go online, visit websites, visit job sites, check their social media as long as it's not
13:23AI generated.
13:24You know what I mean?
13:24Ask questions.
13:25See if the project you want to do is something they're interested in taking on.
13:29Cool.
13:29All right.
13:29Well, the breadth of experience, the years of experience in this little table right here
13:33is amazing.
13:34So thank you for your guys' wisdom and thank you for sharing it.
13:38So where are my flowers?
13:53All right.
13:54All right.
13:57All right.
13:57All right.
13:57I love the chickens.
13:58Now I have chickens in Boston.
14:00I wish I brought a couple.
14:01They could have met Washington chickens.
14:03Oh, we love our chickens.
14:04All right.
14:04They eat a ton of bugs and help out in the garden and love the eggs.
14:07I know the chickens don't need a walkway, but I think that's what you wrote in about?
14:11Yes, absolutely.
14:12Okay.
14:13Over this way.
14:13Yes.
14:14All right.
14:14Let's go.
14:17All right.
14:18So this is the walk.
14:19This is.
14:19And this is my husband, Sean.
14:20Hey, Sean.
14:21Hi, Mark.
14:21Nice to meet you.
14:22My pleasure.
14:22So yeah, we're looking for a new walkway.
14:25As you can see, it's pretty uneven.
14:27There's sharp edges.
14:29It's hard to shovel in the wintertime just due to the uneven nature of the stones themselves.
14:34So we were just looking to see what you could do with this.
14:38All right.
14:39So I do see a couple things that I would change.
14:42Are you guys thinking repair or you want to go brand new?
14:46We would like to go brand new.
14:48Okay.
14:48And I can either take these stones out of here and maybe put them somewhere else or if you guys
14:52have another idea.
14:53I've got a friend that's actually willing to take them.
14:55All right.
14:56Repurpose any material.
14:57I always love that.
14:58So why don't we go over here, get some tools and get this stuff up.
15:02Perfect.
15:03All right.
15:08So because these stones are laid in gravel, they're going to come up pretty easily.
15:12So Kylie, why don't you just grab some of the smaller stuff?
15:15Sean, I'm going to get my shovel under some of the bigger ones and you can just pick them up
15:18and stack them behind me.
15:20These are nice stone though.
15:21I'll have to say that.
15:22They are.
15:23Yeah.
15:25All right.
15:26So next step, we have to remove the gravel.
15:28So we're going to pile it up, get it in the wheelbarrow, get it out of here.
15:33Well, this is actually coming up a little better than I expected.
15:37But why don't we get the shovels in on that?
15:39Okay.
15:44So Mark, how much wider are we going to go?
15:46Cool.
15:46So when we're doing walkways, things like this, I like to over dig.
15:50Okay.
15:51So I'm going to go six inches past the step and then tamp it down.
15:54Am I trying to get this level or just compacting right now?
15:57So leveling is always important, but this exercise is more for compaction.
16:02Leveling comes with the base, which is very important.
16:06All right.
16:07So up in the Northeast, we use what we call a crusher run or sometimes we call it crush gravel.
16:12This is a basalt based material.
16:15What is that?
16:16So most of Spokane is built on a basalt shelf.
16:19And so it's the material that's most readily available in this region.
16:23Okay.
16:24And it looks like to me, it does the same thing it does where we are.
16:27Yeah.
16:27It compacts real well.
16:29All right.
16:29So we're going to hit this a couple more times and then we'll be ready for you to dump that,
16:34Sean.
16:34Okay.
16:36I'm going to spread it with my rake and I'm going to do the entire pad and I want to
16:40only do it two inches.
16:42So will we do it in multiple rounds, two inches?
16:44Yep.
16:45We call it multiple lifts.
16:46So every two inches is a lift.
16:48So once we do the first lift, rinse and repeat a couple of times.
16:51All right.
16:52All right.
16:54And we'll work from this edge backwards.
16:56Okay.
17:02So what's the water for?
17:04So the water is going to help us lock the material together.
17:07So once I get done soaking this down, we're going to want to tamp it one more time.
17:12So are we done with the base material then?
17:15Not quite.
17:15As we discussed before, we've got a slope in this walkway.
17:19So we're a little bit low up by the steps.
17:21We're going to add to that.
17:25Tamp it down, soak it down, tamp it down again, and then we should be ready to go.
17:34And if you guys look behind you, that'll give you some indication on what our slope is actually going to
17:40be like when we finish.
17:41Great.
17:42Really gradual.
17:43Yep.
17:49All right.
17:49We're looking like we're in pretty good shape.
17:51I think all we're going to have to do right now is the coarse sand.
17:57Wow, Mark, you've been busy.
17:59Sure.
18:00What layer are you working on?
18:01Okay.
18:02So this is that sand that we were talking about.
18:04We know we needed one inch.
18:05This white pipe that I have actually represents that one inch.
18:10So I put it up top.
18:12I followed our pitch all the way down to this point.
18:14But you can see the pavers that I put in.
18:16That's just going to tell me that the top of this pipe and the bottom of that paver are exactly
18:21where they're supposed to be.
18:22Okay.
18:23So all we have to do, if you guys don't mind giving me a hand, is just giving me more
18:27of the sand.
18:28Yep.
18:29And we'll work ourselves all the way down to the end.
18:41All right.
18:44So are we leaving the rails in?
18:46So actually the rails come out and once they do, all we do is take this little trowel, this margin
18:51trowel.
18:52And then all I'm going to do is start to sprinkle the sand where the pipe was.
19:02Is our sand pad the size that our pavers are going to be?
19:06So that's what we're going to do layout for.
19:10We'll space them appropriately.
19:13And then that's where we'll backfill so we don't see the sand?
19:16Exactly.
19:17Okay.
19:19Okay, now we're ready for pavers.
19:21So Mark, what's the orange string for?
19:24So the orange string is going to represent our height.
19:26So I'm going to go right under this step and I'm going to go all the way down to the
19:30driveway.
19:30My pitch is built in so I don't have to worry about the pitch.
19:33Okay.
19:33So the stones will fit smoothly under it.
19:35Exactly.
20:01So Mark, I got to say I thought this walkway was going to be a little bigger.
20:04All right.
20:04Well, we're not done yet.
20:05We have one more piece to put in.
20:07It's a decorative piece that we're going to run all the way around each edge.
20:11So it's going to get a little bigger before we're done.
20:13Great.
20:14That'll look nice.
20:14All right.
20:15Let's get at it.
20:16We take one of these bricks and we overhang it.
20:19Half a brick.
20:20So we line it up like that.
20:22We'll put this whole decorative edge in this way.
20:26And then we're going to run it up this edge and we'll be done.
20:37Cool.
20:39Looks great.
20:41All right.
20:41Now it's time for our aluminum edging.
20:43I've already laid some nails out for everybody.
20:45Those are six inch spikes and I want to hit every single available hole on this edging.
20:51Why?
20:51Sometimes frost will push it up if you don't nail every single one.
20:54So that's why we won't skip any holes.
21:00All right.
21:00Now it's ready for the sand.
21:03So I'm just going to spill some sand for you guys.
21:07You can push it around with the brooms once I get you going.
21:12And what does the sand do?
21:13So the sand, you can see it already starting to fill in the gaps.
21:17That's going to help lock all these pavers together.
21:21So just keep sweeping.
21:24Is there any other maintenance to it?
21:26Do we have to do anything else to the sand?
21:27So after a rainstorm, you might notice that some of the sand has settled.
21:31So that's when we'll repeat the process.
21:43So Mark, is the goal to backfill this enough so we don't see that aluminum edge?
21:47Exactly.
21:47That's why we held it down just a little bit.
21:49Okay.
21:50So you're good.
21:55Okay, so you can see we watered it down a little bit.
21:58That's just to help the sand work into the joints.
22:01I've actually left you guys a bag of sand.
22:03So anytime you see the joints wanting to be fed, feed them up.
22:07Other than that, I do have a little homework for you.
22:10It's going to be grass seed over here, over here.
22:13Other than that, you guys should be all set.
22:15Okay.
22:16Well, it turned out so great.
22:17I think we've been inspired to come up with a permanent marker so it doesn't get plowed
22:21up again this winter.
22:22Okay.
22:22I love that idea.
22:24And if you have questions about your house, we'd love to hear from you.
22:27So keep them coming.
22:28Until next time, I'm Mark McCullough for Ask This Old House.
22:41Next time on Ask This Old House, when a homeowner wants to add storage to their bathroom, Nathan
22:47steps in to give it a facelift.
22:49This changed the gate.
22:51It looks so good.
22:52Then the crew gets together for a round of What Is It?
22:56Oh, now they're coming.
22:59And Morrow helps a homeowner patch a textured ceiling.
23:03Stretch it down a little more.
23:06All that on Ask This Old House.
23:26Tell me.
23:40둘 minutes for life.
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