Kevin: Today on "This Old House," you might think that siding
is the only thing that keeps your house dry,
but there's actually a layer behind it
that does that job even better.
Tom: Before we started installing the roofing,
we had to make sure that this drip edge
didn't hide the detail of this molding.
Kevin: I'll take a trip to a local stained-glass studio
where they're building a window our homeowner designed.
♪♪
Man: Ahh. That's it.
♪♪
Kevin: Hey there, I'm Kevin O'Connor,
and welcome back to "This Old House"
and to our project here in Glen Ridge,
where you can see a lot of developments
on the outside and progress.
So we've got the WRB up all over the entire facade,
which is why our house is blue.
We've got windows going in and trim as well.
But first, Kalen. Kalen: What's going on, Kevin?
How are you? Kevin: Social media is
blowing up, man. Kalen: Yeah. I'm everywhere.
It's crazy, right? Kevin: What'd you do?
You made some kind of storage?
Kalen: Yeah, I built a underseat storage box for my truck.
Kevin: How many views?
Kalen: I think we're over 75 million.
Kevin: That's crazy. Kalen: Incredible, right?
Kevin: So let me see it. How does it work?
Kalen: Open the door. It's right up under the seat.
Just pulls right out. Kevin: Alright.
Kalen: It's got all my essentials that I use.
Keeps it hidden, discreet. Kevin: Oh, my gosh,
look at that, huh?
You got a curved drawer right there.
You got all the foam marked out, and that thing just tucks away?
Kalen: Yep. Right away.
Kevin: So, uh, you're gonna make us some?
Kalen: Yeah, that's the plan.
So hopefully I can get this to everybody that wants it.
Kevin: Good deal. Keep it up, man.
Alright. Good seeing you. Kalen: Good to see you as well.
Kevin: Anyway, like I said, lots of progress on the outside.
So as you wrap around here,
you'll notice all of the windows are in.
You may recall that these are wooden windows
across the entire house.
And then if you look up top,
you can see some of the trim detail going in.
There is a beadboard cove right there that Zack
and his guys are replicating that.
On the inside,
so, you come in through the back door,
you got a little mudroom right in this area
right here, which you will then step through.
And the first thing you're going to see is a little wet bar
right here we are framed out for a sink.
And then as you come in through here...
Hey, Matt. How you doing? Matt: Well. How are you, Kevin?
Kevin: Alright. So I know Zack is very keen on
making sure the house is as airtight as possible.
You're taking an extra step here with the switches and the boxes?
Matt: Correct. So, this is a vapor barrier box.
And it has a flange on the outside here
with a gasket on the face.
Kevin: Oh, so when you put the board up
to that, you get compression around that gasket?
Matt: Correct. Kevin: Very nice.
Matt: Where the wire enters, we have V-clamps on the inside
and then an additional gasket right on top.
Kevin: So if the wire pokes through there,
it's going to grab around and seal that too?
Matt: Correct. Kevin: So if we do get any air
in the cavities, we're not going to get it
coming through the switches, which is typically
a weak point for air sealing. Matt: Yes.
Kevin: Very nice. And what's -- Can you help me out
with this here, a question mark? What's the extra width?
Matt: So, we've moved enough boxes to know that
if we leave some wire on the rough,
we have flexibility to move it over,
you know, about a bay or two.
Kevin: Give yourself a little extra room?
Matt: Yes. Kevin: That's smart, I like it.
Alright. Good deal. Matt: Sure.
Kevin: Nobody's missing a trick here at all.
So in this corner right here,
there's going to be a little banquette,
a little breakfast nook which is attached to the kitchen.
And the very first thing you'll see in the kitchen
is a peninsula coming off this wall right here.
And then this space, which opens up
to the outside, is going to be kitchen
and roughly the layout. Obviously a big window here.
So you've got sink in the middle.
You've got a dishwasher right there.
You've got a range set up right here.
I believe it is induction.
And on the other side we've got freezer and refrigeration
and a little wine fridge,
which I think goes right there because they love their wine.
It's part of the dining room, which is this big room
right here that looks out front. And, Asha, how are you?
Asha: Good. How are you? Kevin: I'm well.
Nice to see you.
You are on the sidelight committee, right?
Asha: Yes. Kevin: So there was something
here originally. Asha: Yeah.
So, there was a sidelight always here,
but it was covered up.
So I actually designed what's going to go here.
Went through lots of sketches and iterations.
And this is where we landed.
We did want to kind of have
a fusion of Eastern and Western elements.
So that was really what was behind this.
We do have some Indian culture in our family,
so we wanted to incorporate the lotus flower.
We did have to simplify it a little bit
for this vertical space
because we did want to make it symmetrical.
Kevin: And the symmetry is a little bit of Victorian.
Asha: Yeah. Symmetry.
There are a lot of floral elements
in Victorian design too.
Kevin: May I? Asha: Sure.
Kevin: A beautiful drawing. You can almost sort of picture
it right there in the opening. I love it.
If you design, who makes? Are you going to build it or...?
Asha: No, I won't, but there is a local place
that is going to make it for us.
Kevin: Gotcha. So no way for us to save the original
because that's gone. So it's replicate.
But in case of the door, guys, it is saved, the original.
Right? Because we're going to use that door?
But now you got to get the opening proper.
Tom: Save the door.
We got to make a new jamb and a new threshold.
And that's what we're working on right now.
Kevin: Gotcha. Alright.
Well, that's a little bit of work.
You got your hands full there.
Zack, all I can tell you, my advice --
Listen and don't talk back because he gets ornery quick.
Tom: Maybe you should start listening.
Kevin: Like I said. Asha, a lot of progress upstairs?
Asha: Yeah. Lots. Kevin: Can you show me that?
Asha: Sure.
Tom: Alright, here's the prototype of
the threshold that we have to build.
Zack: Looks pretty cool. So that goes
in the opening this way. And if we turn it this way,
it's a good way to see the anatomy of it.
Our hardwood floor that we're putting on the first floor
is going to be let into this little rabbit here.
Tom: Right. Zack: This is the inside.
And it's got a chamfer, which is this angled.
So you don't stub your toe going out the door.
The door sits on this flat spot.
Then there's another little rabbit there
which is going to keep water from working its way uphill
with surface tension and running under the door.
There's a nice five-degree pitch.
Tom: Mm-hmm. Zack: And then at the front,
it's rounded over and this horn sticks out
so that that casing can come
and land right on top next to the opening.
Tom: Right. And we want to make sure
that this horn is much longer than the width
of the size of the casing that we're going to use
because you always want to make sure
that the horn protrudes past the edge
of whatever size casing we're going to use.
We have to make sure we make those longer,
but now we're ready to make it. Zack: Alright, let's do it.
Tom: Okay. So, the first thing we want to do
is we want to drop the height of the blade,
pitch it so we can make chamfers right here.
Now that we've cut that, we're ready to cut the rabbit
for the finished floor to go into.
Zack: Alright.
Tom: Alright. Now we're going to cut the pitch.
Now we have to finish off the taper with a hand plane.
Zack: Probably go one more pass with this, right?
Tom: Yeah.
Alright. That looks pretty good.
Now let's just do the curve cuts underneath.
Now what we need to do is cut for the width of the door
and also allow for the horns.
Alright, from the center line we want 17 7/8
in one direction and 17 7/8 the other direction.
And so that's the width of our threshold for the door.
♪♪
Zack: Alright. So what we're going to do here
is put this tape on the bottom,
and it's going to keep moisture from wicking up into the bottom
of this threshold over the years.
Tom: That's a good idea. Alright. Ready? Stand it up.
Zack: Alright. Here it comes.
Tom: Slide it in the opening. See how it fits.
Okay, so it looks pretty good. Now we got to fine-tune it,
make sure the door will fit and hang it.
Zack: Alright, let's do it.
How's it look? Tom: Look like a door.
♪♪
Kevin: Zack, you got Matt sealing up
all of your outlet boxes and covers.
I noticed that the entire house is wrapped in blue.
Zack: It is. Kevin: Definitely trying to seal
this place up, huh? Zack: Yeah.
So, like, look at this wall. Right?
We have this sheathing, and it used to be tight,
but it's since shrunk, and we have gaps.
And then there's these holes where they blew in insulation
and then thousands of nails.
So this house is basically a sieve.
Right? And although we're putting siding on the outside
to keep water out,
there's a lot of holes in the siding
and there's a lot of nails going through the siding.
So what we want is this water-resistive barrier
that's continuous on the exterior of the house,
and you can actually feel it sticky,
and it's adhered and rolled on to the outside of this
to make this a watertight home.
Kevin: Yeah, I mean, I threw around WRB, but I mean,
that's what it is, right? That's the water-resistive
barrier that you're talking about.
Because even after you put the siding on,
you're still making penetrations, right?
You still have to protect against the wind
and the water. Zack: Exactly.
And this has the benefit of being water-resistive
even when a nail is puncturing through it.
And it's also going to have a gasketing effect.
So it's going to have the value add of keeping it airtight,
meaning this house will be more comfortable
because cold air won't be coming through all those nail holes.
Kevin: So you're pretty convinced that this is a big step up
from what we've used in the past?
Zack: It definitely is.
And I've actually got a demonstration to show you that.
Kevin: Oh, look at you, Mr. Wizard. Very fancy.
Zack: Pretty cool, huh? We have a little experiment here.
So basically we've got four different barriers
that you might use on the outside of a house.
Right? And basically we've got a column of water
pushing down on that barrier.
And that represents rain that is wind-driven or rain
that's trapped behind the siding and wants to get through.
So the first type is felt paper,
and that's basically just asphalt-impregnated
builders paper.
Kevin: That was on the house originally.
Zack: That was, exactly. Kevin: That goes way back.
Zack: That's version one. And then, you know,
in the early '80s, late '70s, they came up with house wrap,
which is just a woven plastic, which is easier to install,
more durable than the felt paper.
And then we have an impregnated panel.
This we used on the addition at this project.
And basically the barrier is painted
or applied onto the sheathing we're already using.
So it saves us a trip around the house.
And then finally we have what we used on the old work,
which is that self-applied membrane.
And that's stuck on to the outside.
Kevin: The point being that all of these membranes
are going to be penetrated by design.
And the question is, is when they're penetrated,
how are they going to handle the water and air management?
Zack: Exactly. We're going to put probably
thousands of nails and screws through this house
as we apply the exterior trim. And how is it going to handle
that when we put some water in it?
Kevin: I'm excited. Zack: Alright. Let's find out.
I'm going to start with the felt paper.
Yeah. You can see it's seeping out
from under the paper through the nail hole, leaking out.
Kevin: That took about two seconds.
We're gonna have a mess on our hands soon.
Let's keep going. Let's do house wrap.
Zack: Alright.
Kevin: Oh, yep, there it is too.
Not quite as fast, but five seconds instead of two.
Zack: Still coming out.
Kevin: It's still coming out. Zack: Alright.
Let's fill up this one.
This is our impregnated panel.
Kevin: Nothing yet.
So far, we're longer than the previous two.
Zack: Let's put water in the final one,
the self-adhered membrane.
Kevin: Good so far.
Zack: So far, so good. And we want to...
You look under the membrane under here is where we want
to -- where we'll expect to see water.
And I don't see anything coming out there right now.
Kevin: So we end up with basically failure on the first two.
But we have a victory here.
This is what you're using on the addition.
So this is a good choice. And we have victory here.
And this is what you're using on the existing house.
So that's also a good choice.
Zack: Yeah, it's much easier to install these
correctly than it is to install these correctly.
There's a lot less detailing and they're more durable
once installed, they're harder to tear, et cetera.
So not only are they going to be better at water now,
but 20 years from now
they're still going to be more effective.
Kevin: And how effective is it against air?
Zack: It's substantially more effective.
These are getting lapped over each other
and detailed with tape.
The boards get detailed with tape and liquid flashing.
So these are very effective
in keeping the house nice and airtight.
Kevin: Yeah. Well, seeing is believing.
So nice experiment. Zack: Thank you.
Kevin: Thank you. That's awesome.
Tom: Alright, we're almost ready to start installing
the roof shingles on the roof. Now, to prep for that,
we had to install this molding up the rake.
It's a ram's head detail right there.
The problem with this molding
is once we install the drip edge on top of it
and you look at the molding, the molding detail disappears.
So we modified it. Rip the strip down.
We'll glue that on the top and put it on there.
And now we'll still be able to see that ram's head from below.
So now we have that piece on the gable that goes up,
and we had to return it on itself here at the lower edge
where it meets the fascia board. Now, across the front,
we ripped this filler down to match the pitch of the roof.
That's there for two reasons. Number one,
so that we keep the drip edge out beyond the edge of the roof,
about an inch and a half to an inch and three quarters.
And also we have it narrow enough
so that it doesn't come down and hit the drip edge like that
and touch the drip edge. We want that to have a gap
so that when the water falls off, it runs down.
And because there's nothing here for the water droplets
to grab to,
it will fall down straight into the gutter.
But the other reason we did it is the sun will actually
break down this self-sealing membrane right here.
So we want to make sure that we cover it.
[ Drill whirring ]
Alright. Alright, Kalen, we got to cut the angle
on the bottom here to match the pitch of the roof.
Kalen: Okay.
Tom: Put that up against the house.
Perfect. Now I'll hold it.
Do you want to get another piece and then mark our corner?
♪♪
So now we're ready to start the roof shingles.
So this manufacturer makes a starter shingle.
Now we can start with the first shingle at full length.
Good.
♪♪
Kevin: Hi. Judy: Hi.
Kevin: You must be Judy. Judy: Hi. It's nice to meet you.
Kevin: Kevin. Judy: Welcome to Studio J.
Kevin: Oh, thank you. So I hear that you are the one
making the design that Asha drew.
Judy: Correct. Yep. We met with Asha and her mom,
and she gave me her design. Kevin: Very good.
But before we get into that, tell me about Studio J.
Judy: Sure. Kevin: Fascinating place.
Judy: We're a stained-glass studio.
We've been in business for 45 years.
My husband and I started it. Kevin: Wow.
Judy: Our children work here.
But really, the people who do our stained glass
are not our children.
But they've been here for almost 30 years and for 22.
Yeah. Kevin: Practically family.
Judy: Yes. Kevin: Okay.
So what do you think of the design?
Is this typically how it works
where someone actually draws it out for you or...?
Judy: No, never that lucky.
Kevin: Is this your guys' rendition of it?
Judy: Correct. Yeah.
I had to show her how it could really be rendered in glass,
because large pieces like she shows
can't really be done without concern for breakage.
Kevin: Right. A little bit of support along
some side right there. Judy: Correct. Yes.
Kevin: Gotcha. Okay. Judy: After that then they came
and we discussed the type of glass she might like.
Kevin: Right. Did they decide on the type of glass
that we're going to be working? Judy: Absolutely.
They decided to stay with different textures of clear.
Luckily we have about 80 textures of clear
that you can choose from.
Kevin: So instead of the colors
separating sections or pieces, the texture will do that?
Judy: Correct. Yeah. Kevin: Very nice. Yeah.
Well, I mean, if you've got samples of these but they're
closer to the layout downstairs, I'd love to see that.
Judy: Absolutely. Take you down and show you.
Kevin: Lead the way. Judy: Alrighty.
We're going to go this way to the dungeon.
So, this is the dungeon.
This is where we construct all the stained-glass windows.
We have almost all the glass cut for you over here on the side.
Kevin: Wow, that is spectacular! Judy: Yeah.
These are all of the different textures
that they chose. Kevin: So what is this texture
for example? What do you call this?
Judy: This is ripple. Kevin: Ripple.
Judy: Made by the Wissmach Glass Company in West Virginia.
Kevin: And so obviously there's just a basic clear next to it.
Judy: Actually, no, this is actually called water glass.
If you can look, you'll see a slight texture to it.
Yeah. And all of the glass will have a different texture.
Kevin: I was wondering what it was going to look like
with no color,
but the different textures is definitely distinctive.
It creates such an amazing pattern.
Judy: Mm-hmm. Kevin: What meticulous work!
How does this all get sort of done?
Judy: This is all done by Greg, our craftsman.
Kevin: Greg, nice to meet you. Greg: Likewise.
Kevin: You do know that they call it the dungeon, right?
Greg: I named it that. Kevin: Oh, you did?
Greg: Yep. Kevin: Okay. Well, that's good.
Judy says you've been with the outfit for a while.
Greg: '94. Kevin: Wow. Over 20 years.
Greg: Right out of high school. Kevin: That's terrific.
Okay, well, can you show us the process? We've been promised
that you're the cutter designer. Greg: We're going to take
this piece right here first.
Kevin: A petal of the lotus flower.
Awesome. Let's see what you do.
Greg: So what we do is
we're going to line up our grain which way we want it.
We're going to take this larger piece, trim it down.
Kevin: You have aligned the grain
of the glass to match what you want for the petal.
Greg: Yeah, it has a slightly elongated pattern,
so we want that to go along with the longer way of the shape.
Kevin: Yeah.
So this is just freehand, huh?
Greg: Yep.
[ Glass crackling softly ]
So now that we've made our scores on here,
we have to break the glass away to refine the shape.
Kevin: Okay.
Greg: We're going to use our grossing pliers and just go with
a little down-outwards force, here a little snap.
Kevin: Look at that. That simple little score.
Greg: That's our piece.
Now we've got little tiny burrs around the edge sometimes.
We're going to clean up on our grinder.
[ Machinery humming ]
Come over here.
[ Glass grinding ]
[ Machinery stops ]
Check for the fit.
Kevin: I'm not going to be surprised if this is a perfect fit.
Greg: And it is. Kevin: Like that?
Greg: Yep. Kevin: Awesome.
So one more petal to cut
and then everything is laid out and cut.
Greg: Yes, sir.
Kevin: Where do you go from here?
Judy: After Greg constructs it with the lead
and solders all the joints,
we'll then use a cement to go between the lead
and the glass to keep it tight and weatherproof.
Kevin: Well, I won't get in the way of your guys' work anymore.
I'll excuse myself, but how long until sort of the whole process
is done and we're able to come back and pick it up?
Greg: Between the construction, the soldering,
the cementing and final drying, about two weeks.
Kevin: Awesome. Well, Judy, thank you.
I appreciate the tour. Judy: Nice meeting you.
Kevin: Greg, terrific.
I'll get out of here because it is a dungeon after all.
[ Laughter ] Thank you all.
♪♪
Hey, fellas. So kitchen windows, exterior trim time?
Zack: Yeah, we're actually going to use this cellular PVC
to match some of the original historic details of it.
Kevin: Is that nice and thick? Oh, that is.
Is that a five quarter?
Tom: It's a five quarter, one inch thick.
Yeah. The nice thing about this stuff is
nothing bothers it.
I mean, it's not going to rot.
It's not going to -- It's going to hold paint pretty well.
It's just going to last forever. Kevin: So it looks
like all the flashing is done.
Tom: Yeah, we're actually ready for that sill right there
that's on the saw.
So if you want to pass it to us, we can mark our positioning.
Kevin: Zack, I'll hand that to you.
Zack: Thank you.
Kevin: Pops, you got that side. Tom: Yeah. I got it.
Zack: Alright. You good there?
I could probably do like that.
Tom: Good. Zack: Yep.
Tom: So I'm going to mark the length here.
Inside our window.
Zack: I got this one here.
Alright.
I'm going to measure the interior of the window jamb,
which is 54 3/4.
I'm going to add a quarter reveal on the bottom
and an eighth reveal on the top, which will give me 55 1/8
overall for our casing legs. Tom: Yeah.
Alright. We have the sill, cut the length.
Now we can use that as a template to mark the head beam.
I'll mark for the positioning of the mull casing right here.
Zack: Now, if, Kevin, you can cut these two to our leg length.
And, Tommy, can you rip these down to
the mullion width in the center? I'll start on the pocket holes.
Tom: Sounds good.
[ Saw whirring ]
Kevin: Okay. Two at 55 1/8.
Just screws and glue.
♪♪
So each one of those screw holes will be filled with a plug.
And eventually everything is peeled back
and we'll have a nice finished look
like that before paint. Tom: Beautiful.
Kevin: Alright. What we got coming up next week?
Tom: Jenn will be working on that brick walk out front.
Kevin: Alright, well, until then, I'm Kevin O'Connor.
Zack: I'm Zack Dettmore. Tom: And I'm Tom Silva.
Kevin: For "This Old House" here in Glen Ridge.
Tommy, I got a plug for you. Tom: Oh, thanks.
Kevin: Next time on "This Old House"...
We are going to show you a blown-in insulation
that we have never used or seen before.
Zack: Wood fiber insulation.
And it's exactly what it sounds like.
Kevin: Okay. Tom: You pre-build
the stairway, take them on site,
and you have a crew that installs them?
Man: Correct. Tom: Wow, that's a lot of work.
Jenn: Today, the brick walkway is going down
and it's all in the family.
Woman: It sounds like a TV show.
Man: It is a TV show, Mom.
Kevin: That's next time.