Posted on: Friday, October 15, 2004
TV's home fix-it pros can botch a job, too
By David Lyman
Knight Ridder Newspapers
DETROIT — Real life can be a pain.
Fortunately for the fix-it guys on "This Old House," there's videotape.
On public television, the skilled tradesmen who make up the cast of the famed home improvement show in its 25th anniversary season are near perfect. They've got the solution to every problem. They have the right tools, the right techniques and, unlike many of us, the right temperaments to complete any home improvement job quickly and cleanly.
In real life, guess what? They're human.
That's right. They may know a lot more than the rest of us, but they screw things up anyway. They misplace tools. They grab the wrong part. They have to go back to the store.
At least Richard Trethewey does. He's the plumber — the gregarious, chirpy guy with the slightly rounded belly and the ability to find comedy in any situation, no matter how harrowing.
Trethewey recently visited the home of Donna and Tim Mackey to tape one of the popular House Calls segments from the show's sister production, "Ask This Old House." The idea is to visit a viewer and fix some niggling problem they've been battling.
The Mackeys' concern? A 26-year-old kitchen sink that was too small, too chipped and too hard to clean.
"I really hate it," Donna Mackey told Trethewey before the taping began. After a two-minute conversation, they decided on the dream sink. Like the old one, it had to be a double sink. It also had to be enameled and easier to clean. But the most important quality?
"Bigger," says Mackey.
The Mackeys' sink simply doesn't cut it. It's a throwback to another era of home life.
But the Mackeys, whose segment on the show will run in early 2005, were wary of doing the job themselves.
"It's not as simple as pulling out an old sink and dropping the new one in," says David Vos, the show's director and senior producer.
"It never is in plumbing," says Trethewey. "It starts out as a little job on Saturday morning. And by Monday night . . ."
He's drowned out by laughter. Trethewey, a fourth-generation plumber from suburban Boston, is as good with the quips as he is with the wrench. And as the day progresses, that sense of humor will prove important for keeping frustration to a minimum.
Trethewey and Tim Mackey lift out the sink and place it on the counter.
Then the problems begin in earnest. As Trethewey removes the garbage disposer from the old sink, the flange that holds the two together cracks.
"This is reality television," says Trethewey. "That's real life."
"Don't worry," says Vos. "We can make something out of this."
A quick decision. Rather than scramble to find a replacement flange, associate producer Jason White will return to Home Depot and buy a new disposer. That will add another $100 to the project.
Moments after White takes off, an even bigger problem arises.
When Trethewey drops the new sink into the hole to double-check the size, he realizes the drains in the new double sink are in different positions from the old one. And because there's not enough slack in the existing pipes, he's going to have to get some new ones.
"Phone call to Jason, please," says a very serious Trethewey.
He rattles off a shopping list: "PVC cap, fit 45 (coupling), a stick of 1.5-inch PVC. We need about 3 feet, but they'll probably only sell you 10 feet. Just get it. We have to re-jigger all the traps."
The simple job has gotten much more complex.
Time to break for lunch. For everyone but Trethewey, that is. While they eat, he scrambles under the sink to do as much prep work as he can before White returns.
"You know what I love about this job? " says Trethewey, stopping to wipe away some of the sweat that is soaking through his shirt. "It never goes the way you think it will. And no matter what you find, there's a way to fix it.
Finally, White returns. Lunch is over. And now it's as if someone pushed fast-forward.
In goes the sink. On go the water lines. And the newly routed drains. Then, as Trethewey starts to install the garbage disposer, the sink pops out. The caulk isn't dry enough to hold it in place.
As they try to put the sink back in place, the disposer drops off with an enormous thud.
Everyone stops. You can feel the tension.
"Hey," says Trethewey, immediately defusing the situation. "It looks easy on television, doesn't it?"
The sink is in. Again. The disposer is attached. Again.
It's time for the real test. They head to the basement to turn on the main water supply.
The water's on. The faucet holds. But there's a little dripping from the joints of the new PVC. A quick application of plumber's cement and that's taken care of.
Trethewey and the Mackeys gather around the sink for the final shot — turning on the water.
"This is my favorite part," says Vos.
The lines are right. The water is right. But Vos is beside himself. Sure he's in a rush, but there's no way he'll settle for the first take.
"Hey, hey, hey," he says. "The water came on and you acted like you were waiting for a bus. Let's try it again. I've got one more shot in me."
This time it's perfect. The Mackeys seem genuinely thrilled with their new sink.
Total cost: $650-$750, including $200-$300 for Trethewey's time. The bill to the Mackeys? $0.
Vos is pleased, too. This job was a little more chaotic than most, he admits. "But, hey, Ted Williams only batted 4 out of 10. We're doing better than that."
