ASK This Old House | WiFi Extension, Tub Drain (S20 E12) FULL EPISODE

In Tool Lab, Nathan Gilbert explains how table saw blades work and what different blade types are for; Ross Trethewey helps a homeowner get WiFi coverage throughout his house by extending the service; Richard Trethewey helps a homeowner with a 1950s bathtub replace the tub drain assembly when the current one stops plugging the tub; the team gathers together to share their New Years' Resolutions.
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Where to find it?
How to Fix and Upgrade a Weak WiFi Signal
Ross installed a mesh network to extend the homeowner's WIFI coverage. The mesh network doesn't create a new network. Instead, it works to strengthen the network you have. The technology uses multiple devices to enhance WiFi connectivity and increase coverage. The tri-band mesh network used was eero Pro 6, eero [eero.com/] is an Amazon company.
Before installing the eero system, Ross explains the benefits of using a UPS (uninterruptible power supply). This battery backup strip provides up to 6 hours of power and surge protection. Ross chose to use a APC Back-UPS BE600M1 [amzn.to/3H1ywD1], which APC manufactures by Schneider Electric-APC USA [www.apc.com/us/en/]
How to Replace a Tub Drain
Richard replaced the old bath waste and overflow with an Everbilt Trip Lever Brass Pipe Bath Waste and Overflow [thd.co/3pcQyfu] in Chrome, though most bath waste and overflow kits would also work.
Richard needed other tools and materials to replace the drain, including plumber's putty, screwdrivers, and the tub drain wrench.
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About Ask This Old House TV: From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. ASK This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment-your home.
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ASK This Old House | WiFi Extension, Tub Drain (S20 E12) FULL EPISODE
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[@user-sg2pj2hx4h]

I ended up hard wiring all my computers, game consoles, and tvs.

[@dschafer22]

This was a better than I expected discussion on improving home Wi-Fi. A couple of things I would add would be to put your modem/router into bridge mode, if possible, so the third party mesh solution will handle the routing. Short of that, disabling the wireless radios on the modem/router that was originally used should be an included step to avoid interference with the mesh nodes. I see comments here talking about how mesh solutions are terrible and I tend to agree with that assessment - though most of these products offer an option to hard wire ethernet between mesh nodes rather than relying on wireless back-haul. This would be the preferred implementation, in my opinion. The mesh product used in this video did have an additional 5ghz radio for dedicated backhaul - if you need to use wireless mesh, this is important. There are products on the market that only use a single radio for each band. These should be avoided as the backhaul traffic causes a lot of wireless congestion.

[@kennethboard-vd9vq]

Thanks so much for your enlightening education, expertise and passion to share your knowledge and experience with others! I salute you for your dedication and hard work!

[@brianfong5711]

7:32 He didn't do the upload test, and he mentions the wife teaches. Teaching requires good upload speeds cause you are uploading your face to the students downloading your face.

[@pprb123]

Agreed, that’s just too complicated for this short episode

[@AB-nu5we]

'Thin kerf blades don't pass wood through the riving knife'. Really good advice from Nathan: the higher priced blades are the best. Yes.

[@durangodave]

what is a good combo blade?

[@larryf2440]

Some manufacture’s offer thin kerf riving knife. One is Harvey. Not a sponsor.

[@AB-nu5we]

@@larryf2440 Fair point. I don't have a saw that can use them, but for those that can, it might be a good investment.

[@bugtusslealien3931]

The only original cast from the beginning with Bob Villa is the plumber. A few times pops got airtime with Villa.

[@vincentwilkes9611]

What about putting that gateway in bypass? Double NAT is not good.

[@Ray-fd7ut]

The guy with modem was expressionless.

[@ovidiuciuparu6421]

2:12 😂 that is why they are more expensive. The cost of those is the difference!

[@GoodwillCriminalsOfDallas]

Always put a towel down over the drain so you don't lose screws. I always set a towel on the tub side so I don't scratch anything. You will find those tub drain flanges extremely hard to remove due to rust and being tightened too much. Those old tubs are there forever unless you scratch the porcelain paint. You will get rust if that happens. Luck guy to have such easy access from below. That tub under-structure is not adequate enough. They hacked the beams out to get the tub in. Structure is compromised.

[@rogerr1296]

You always have what I call rocks in your life that help anchor you and you know will be there to help you make it through life. Just wanted to say that you guys have been a rock in my life for many, many years. Through the different crew members and ups and downs, it's something that for some reason just really makes me feel anchored and that there's still a good in this world. Ok, now back to your regularly scheduled comments.... lol. Thanks guys.

[@poeticthoughts06]

Or just move the modem to a central location with a longer coaxial cable. Free.

[@johnwilliams1091]

Yes, RF from the basic device is a little tepid for my needs, but raised to waist high in the middle of the house probably would have solved a lot. DMZ, and a really good WiFi router would be better, and a faster internet connection would be much better. Most people don’t realize the load we are putting on the end point devices with modern management etc. for this average family of four, 400 mb synchronous would be a better choice. But, it doesn’t seem likely that the extra expense will be incurred if the won’t buy a small table to get the modem off the floor to begin with.

[@clownhands]

Bruh 93 ms ping time over wifi in the living room

[@donc-m4900]

But yet 9ms in the troubled basement.

[@pprb123]

That can happen if the ads on the speed test website haven’t loaded yet. If he had waited to hit go it probably would’ve measured 10ms like he got upstairs

[@maxshiraz3447]

The first thing NOT to do with wifi is to use the crappy ISP provided gateway. Get your own decent modem and router. And if you are going to be streaming video in the basement, run some ethernet there which will be more reliable and take stress of wifi for the rest of the house.

[@leonardhandzlik6008]

I have to wonder how you would have removed the old frozen right drain, had there conveniently not been easy access below?

[@d2181s]

Cut it out from the top with a multi tool

[@jred4421]

Commenting on the home network system...At least there is one UPS. Thinking the other WIFI extenders are of zero use during a power outage with no UPS...just saying...good stuff though that others can pass along the obvious.

[@ronbennett7885]

Mesh is overkill and UPS pointless, since often internet service will go out when the power does. Moving the modem would have been the easiest solution. Also, upgrading service to 400 mbs could be worthwhile for faster upload speeds. Or even better, if fiber internet is available, switching to that, since that's usually the same speed in both directions unlike most cable internet services.

[@jaycahow4667]

Should have just put a good splitter right after entry into the house (Internet gets half and all TV amplifier gets half). There is normally no need t amplify the internet signal (just run Internet half to modem/router). The TV signal should be amplified as he is splitting the TV half 5 different ways (making sure the unused amplifier connections are capped)..

[@pepeshopping]

Ah somebody with common sense and probably done real knowledge!

[@jonchalk3855]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Note to self: review the comments before implementing Mesh system. Good to know the difference between the saw blades and how they function. 😀

[@donc-m4900]

Still don't know what blade to use for fiber cement siding.

[@kaseyc5078]

Did you try googling “fiber cement siding blade”?

[@Grimlak1990]

How is the WiFi speed at the end faster than the hardwired speed from earlier?

[@lifewithjesse_la]

Yeah made no sense.

[@Kevin-mp5of]

Because it’s all fake and staged

[@alybrynjohnson2495]

Testing at different times of day will produce variability, but he did say he was only paying for up to 200, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@durangodave]

yeah he upsold him on the UPS . He also probably did not tell him that the UPS batteries are expensive and need to be replaced every couple of years, they also beep when power out very annoying, and finally UPS are only designed to last long enough to allow you time to shut down equip gracefully rather than a hard no power shutdown.

[@valeshino]

"UPS batteries are expensive and need to be replaced every couple of years" If all it is running is the modem / router, it will probably last 5 years before lifespan is degraded too far to be useful. In addition replacement batteries (or entire unit replacement) is like $60 based on APC prices. Even if it lasts 3 years $20/year is not going to break the bank... "they also beep when power out very annoying" Can be silenced with any decent UPS. Much less annoying than having no internet during an outage if you work from home. "UPS are only designed to last long enough to allow you time to shut down equip gracefully rather than a hard no power shutdown" That's not true at all? They're designed to last as long as the battery has capacity and you stay below the load rating. A modem and router (or combo unit) typically consumes

[@durangodave]

@@valeshino thanks good info, i was speaking more in general terms as most people use them for more than just a modem. Many use them for computers, alarm systems, and other more heavy duty needs. That is more my experience, not just a modem 😁

[@scotttovey]

I would have solved that internet buffering issue by running a cat 7 LAN cable from the router modem to the TV and plugged it in. Cost, maybe $50. As loose as that cable cord was, the LAN cable may have fit through that hole without too much trouble.

[@jaycahow4667]

That assuming his TV is new enough to have a built in LAN jack and not everyone likes cables. Cat 7 wire and jacks has never been officially approved as a standard and would be total overkill. Any Cat 5 wire (not even Cat 5e) would be more than enough for his needs and much cheaper. I wired my house over 30 years ago with original Cat 5 wire and jacks and run a 2.5 Gb network at full speed with no issues..........

[@scotttovey]

Another lower cost solution, if they are wanting to have computer connection in the basement is to run the LAN cable to the WAN port of a second wireless router. That router would then host the TV and any computers in the basement. About $200 depending on the cost of the second router.

[@scotttovey]

@@jaycahow4667 "That assuming his TV is new enough to have a built in LAN jack and not everyone likes cables." Unless the manufacturer decide it didn't need LAN because it has wireless; the TV has wireless, it has LAN. "Cat 7 wire and jacks has never been officially approved as a standard and would be total overkill. Any Cat 5 wire (not even Cat 5e) would be more than enough for his needs and much cheaper. I wired my house over 30 years ago with original Cat 5 wire and jacks and run a 2.5 Gb network at full speed with no issues.........." Overkill is a subjective term. Cat 7 is faster than 5 and meets the standard. Why use Cat 5 when you can future proof the connection with a few extra dollars, and save money in the long run by running Cat 7?

[@tombarber8929]

Lots of smart TVs I've seen only have a 100mb network port on them rather than a gigabit port, so if you have a good wifi signal it's better to connect over wifi rather than hard wired. Also, if you plug into the WAN port of a second wifi router, you'd be dealing with double NAT which may not be a big deal, but could cause some issues if he's playing video games online. The Eeros that they use do have the capability to use ethernet as a backhaul though, so if running a wire is an option could do that.(Cat7 is a bit overkill though, I'd go for cat6 and save some money, and that's still rated for 10gbps)

[@pprb123]

TVs only have a 100mbps Ethernet port so the 160mbps on wifi would be faster. Both are good enough for streaming

[@Alexander-lv2mi]

That upload speed does not help to have distance schooll classes 😅

[@e7934]

Wrong tools to remove tub drain those tools are for packing lead and oakum. The first tool is used to remove toilet brass spud, and last, please use a tub protection no gasket on the overflow cover plate

[@Dave17101]

$600 plus a oversized UPS? Sounds like overselling to me

[@durangodave]

a pro should never take the chance of chipping a tub with tools, he should have put his tools on a towel in the tub.

[@trekgod3]

96mbps? That's pitiful. Here in south Florida, Comcast provides 400mbps, and that's one of their slower priced packages

[@donc-m4900]

Thankfully, I got 50mbps fiber. Works great.

[@kainbrah]

What's worse is he never shows the possibly less than 10Mbps upload lol.

[@tacojohnhg8181]

@@kainbrah That's not really a problem for 99% of internet users. Most people aren't regularly uploading videos or streaming to twitch often enough to need anything more

[@kainbrah]

@@tacojohnhg8181 That is true for the most part but in this day and age more people use cloud services whether it's from using an Iphone or Google Cloud or Dropbox or just general backup and honestly there should be no reason in 2024 to have a company give you such a shite upload speed especially for the prices they charge.

[@valeshino]

@@tacojohnhg8181 Post-COVID working from home and taking video calls is super common. Combine that with having to access and upload work documents, a decent uplink speed is useful for more people than you would think.

[@donc-m4900]

Wifi segment should have been twice as long. Unanswer questions. Can your provider upgrade your existing box? Most of you are paying them for it anyway. I've had 2.4 and 5 for years, might have helped I've heard if you have too many acces points, your devices can hunt between them. A UPS for your $150 modem? Hope you already have one for your $1,500 computer and your many hundreds dollar TV if you are using it in a lighting storm. But if what is installed just works, then use it.

[@jaycahow4667]

Better yet ask them if you can supply your own cable modem device as at the rates they charge you for renting one you will be coming out ahead in less than a year.

[@donc-m4900]

@@jaycahow4667 bought mine when 3.0 came out for less than $100. I hear they change close to $14 a month now. Comcast.

[@nominalvelocity]

All of you are worried about the internet customer with RBF, but 3:36 I'm kind of worried about my man installing his blade backwards...

[@adamdejesus4017]

I'd be worried too. I think the blade direction at 3:36 is correct but the blade direction at 3:30 is wrong. I'm basing this on the idea that the fence latch should always be on the infeed side, he is installing from the outfeed side which I do regularly so I can manage the riving knife. Maybe his fence works different but that's what I see.

[@nominalvelocity]

​​@@adamdejesus4017 edit: now I see what you see, maybe you're right and the camera guy had him work from the back side of the saw for some reason, it's kind of confusing visually but one of the blades was oriented incorrectly I think. Hard to tell with the low angle of the camera. A couple of the rips he demonstrated (especially the first one where the blade was not buried in the cut) were also done in a way prone to causing kickback, which is the more significant problem: when your push stick is further from the blade, which is what less experienced operators tend to subconsciously do (stay away from the dangerous sharp spinny things), it will lever the work into the blade, causing the teeth rising out of the table at the far side of the blade to grab the unsupported chunk of wood and fling it at the operator. It can also cause the operator to push his hand into the blade.

[@bootlogic]

Internet speed increased, eithernet vs wifi. Wtf.

[@donabele1243]

Yup - thanks AToH for such timely content - this was "released" on December 30, 2021!!! Do you really have to wait nearly two and half years before making it public?

[@jptrainor]

1.5 gbps fiber for me. 900 mbps from my mac over wired Ethernet. 300 mbps from most wifi devices. I guess I'm spoiled.

[@jptrainor]

And it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. The fiber modem was provided by my ISP. And I'm using an old 1200 mbps wifi router setup as an access point. I'm in a 2400 sqft home. Wifi clients all get 200 to 400 Mbps depending the device. I paid $20 for the used wifi router. I rejected mesh because it was overkill for my size house and because it cost a small fortune for no particular benefit that I could discern. Consumer wifi routers typically have maxed out wifi signal strength so they're fine if they're centrally located. My wired Mac gets 900 Mbps up and down, and that doesn't disturb a movie streaming over a Chromecast.

[@tacojohnhg8181]

@@jptrainor Not all neighborhoods have fiber connectivity. 2 streets over from me they have it, but on my street it's 20mbps uverse, or 300 comcast, no other options. And a $200 mesh setup is a lot cheaper than an extra $50/month on your bill if you're not doing a ton of stuff that really needs it like the guy in the video most likely

[@RandomVids519]

Guys mad about wifi cuz he likes them adult shows 😅

[@Kevin-mp5of]

RIP English grammar…

[@allentoyokawa9068]

You probably won't have internet if you lose power, batter or not.

[@safepethaven]

Oh, lousy service? -- You must have Verizon Wireless, the worst on the planet!

[@HVACguy813]

Anyone notice the trap adapter spin when Richard tightened it with pliers? Obviously not glued… Also WIFI mesh is garbage and an ups is pointless, if the power goes out, so do the amplifiers that boost the signal for your cable internet, perhaps try cellular during a power outage.

[@I.AM.Issachar.]

I hope Rick glued that pvc male adapter because when he was tightening the overflow the whole adapter turned if not they're gonna be calling him back 😂 and he didn't check for leaks or anything that's confidence I would have changed the whole thing because the trap is tied into a sanitary tee instead of a wye pvc male adapter into galvanized is a no no

[@adamtwosleeves]

You don't know more than Richard.

[@demonknight7965]

A year in the house and the modem is still sitting on the floor? Can't afford a cheap 5$ table to set that on? And are we not gonna talk about the fore hazard of those cords draping on the baseboard heater?

[@jeffreyrichardson]

verners table saw freedoms vernon streets macaw no lo practiced law

[@Kevin-mp5of]

A real pro throws all his tools in the customers tub with no drop cloth…🤦‍♂️

[@pepeshopping]

A REAL PRO would never need to look at the device to know the capabilities!

[@johnlebzelter4208]

@pepeshopping A person with such a dumb username on KZbin as “pepeshopping” shouldn’t even be allowed to comment on a construction video.

[@pepeshopping]

Lie! That UPS, regarLESS of the load, would NEVER last "up to six hours!". This guy seems good, but his claims make him look ignorant!

[@jaycahow4667]

This is a 600 VA/400 Watt UPS. If all he plugs into it is his modem/router and mesh he is probably normally using 5-10 watts of power. Based on that low load it might easily run for a couple of hours on a fresh battery. I have larger 1200/1500 VA UPS devices on my aquariums with 15/20 Watt filters and they last 3-4 hours before dying. It is probably a moot point to have a UPS on the modem/router/mesh and amplifier locations anyways unless he has a UPS on something else (PC or TV) in the house. If the power goes out everything except his cell phones/laptops/tablets are going out as well so why the need for functioning Wifi?

[@pepeshopping]

@@jaycahow4667 real life matters only! Go show US, how such thing can last 6 hours, even with no load! Fact: Even with minimal load (10 watts), they can NOT last more than 2, maybe 3 hours! Prove me wrong!!!!

[@pepeshopping]

@@jaycahow4667 it’s NEVER a mute point to put a UPS on ANY electronics! But once you did prove your electronics ignorance, it’s time to learn: Most electronics go bad due to AC voltage spikes. Yes, the brownouts can do damage too, but spikes kill capacitors in power supplies all the time! The smartER techs would always put UPSes on ALL critical electronics!!!

[@jaycahow4667]

@@pepeshopping The whole point of an UPS is run time after a power outage which is mute in this case. Your argument is about power conditioning is valid but it is not the primary purpose of an UPS. Your are describing the need for a good Power Conditioner or Surge Protector which will level out spikes and drops or just spikes which never hurts on any electronics. I stand by my point that a UPS is not needed here or in most cases where the device does not need to run after an outage. You just something to condition the power which will cheaper as well. Your are showing your electronic ignorance.............

[@tacojohnhg8181]

@@jaycahow4667 moot point btw. not mute :)

[@Kevin-mp5of]

Nathan, Richaad and Ross… all the hacks in one episode… just need Mauro in the mix and it’ll be a complete shitshow…

[@jeffreyrichardson]

massuse screams wifi william gates shaving cream pie scott richardsons lie

[@pepeshopping]

Wrong! How much bandwidth does high definition video use!????? More that 15 MB, or LESS than 10 MB/sec? Then: How many channels or streaming services broadcast anything above HD!? ANSWER!

[@VideosbySteve]

When i had 18mbps (2MB) speed i could watch 4k netflix just fine.

[@kainbrah]

Netflix uses at a minimum 15Mbps for UHD 4k streaming so it's fine.

[@pepeshopping]

@@kainbrah ah one did bite. Can you tell the difference, or you just go with what they tell you?

[@pepeshopping]

@@VideosbySteve can you tell any difference at all? Are you that much of an addict? (I do admit tte claim about max bandwidth, but I knew that before I made my claims!). If you are that much of a passive TV addict, you get a freaking wire, never faulty WiFi!!!

[@kainbrah]

@@pepeshopping ? I can monitor my own bandwidth and it uses around that much /slightly more depending on the show I'm watching. I don't get what you are implying.