Ask This Old House S24E23: Paver Walkway in Spokane, Lawn Mowing 101, and Zack's Contractor Dating Analogy

Season 24, Episode 23 of Ask This Old House splits its time between a Spokane front walk, a lawn-care primer, and a roundtable on hiring contractors. The through-line is preparation: the part that happens before the mower starts, before the first paver drops, and before you sign anything. That’s not a coincidence. It’s the show being honest about where the work actually lives.

Mark McCullough Rebuilds a Spokane Walkway

Kylie and Shaun’s front walk in Washington state is a flagstone path that has given up. The stones are uneven, the edges are sharp, and shoveling it in winter is a chore. Shaun says they want new, and Mark McCullough agrees the old stone is worth saving—a friend will take it, which beats a dumpster.

What looks simple on camera is a compacted-base job from the start. Mark overdigs six inches past the step, removes the existing gravel, and tamps the subgrade before any new material shows up. That first compaction pass isn’t about leveling. It’s about giving the base something solid to sit on.

Then comes the base itself: local basalt crusher run. Shaun explains that Spokane sits on a basalt shelf, so that’s the readily available material. Mark spreads it in two-inch lifts, waters each lift, and tamps it down. Rinse and repeat. That watering step is easy to skip at home, and it’s also the one that helps the angular gravel lock together. If you’ve ever wondered why a paver walk feels spongy after a few seasons, a rushed base is usually the answer.

Mark uses a white pipe and a set paver to check the one-inch sand setting bed. The pipe represents the sand thickness, and the paver shows him where the top of the finished walk should land. It’s a simple trick that keeps the pitch consistent from the step to the driveway.

The concrete pavers go down, followed by a decorative edge that overhangs half a brick around the perimeter. Then aluminum edging gets six-inch spikes in every available hole. Mark says skipping holes invites frost to push the edging up. That’s the kind of detail that separates a walkway that survives a Spokane winter from one that doesn’t.

Sand is swept and watered into the joints, and Mark leaves a spare bag for future top-offs. The homework is grass seed along the edges. Realistically, this is a 6 out of 10 for a confident DIYer. The lifting, compaction, slope layout, and edging spikes are slow work, and the penalty for a bad base is a walk you’ll be redoing. If you’re only hiring and supervising, it’s closer to a 3.

An earlier Mark McCullough segment this season was a pea stone patio in S24E19, and the through-line holds: the finish material is the photogenic part, but the gravel, fabric, compaction, and drainage are what make it last.

Lee Gilliam’s Mower Tour and the One-Third Rule

Lee Gilliam and Kevin O’Connor walk through three push mowers: gas, battery, and manual reel. The gas machine brings power and a longer list of maintenance items—oil, spark plug, air filter. It’s also louder, and Lee points out that noise ordinances are real. The battery mower is quiet, clean, and good for roughly a quarter acre on a full charge, so Lee suggests keeping spare batteries. The manual reel is the old-school option. It gives a clean cut, works for small courtyards, and doubles as a workout.

Before any mower starts, Lee checks the lawn. Don’t cut wet grass. It clogs the machine and stresses the turf. Dry lawn is the goal. Then there’s the height rule: take off only a third at a time. Lee cuts shorter in spring and fall, around two inches, and higher in summer, around three inches, especially for cool-weather grass that slows down in the heat. If the grass is knee-high, he reaches for the string trimmer first. That reduces stress on the grass and keeps the mower from bogging down.

Blade condition matters. Lee shows Kevin a dull, rusty blade next to a freshly sharpened one, and the difference is obvious. Dull blades tear grass; sharp blades cut it cleanly. A homeowner mowing weekly can usually get through a season on one sharpening, but having a spare set is smart. Hardware stores and small-engine shops can sharpen blades if you’d rather not do it yourself.

Safety gear is non-negotiable: closed-toe shoes and safety glasses. Kevin mentions his dad made him wear boots, which sounds like overkill until you remember what a mower can throw. Lee starts with the perimeter, making at least two passes so there’s room to turn. Then he trims. He stays back from beds to avoid damaging them or the machine.

Clippings get bagged and composted or set out for curbside pickup. Lee is firmly in the collect-them camp. That’s a 2 out of 10 on the DIY scale—easy to do, easy to do wrong if you mow wet or scalp the lawn.

The Contractor Vetting Roundtable, Starring Zack’s Dating Analogy

Kevin gathers the full bench for a question they get all the time: how do you find a contractor you can trust? Heath Eastman starts with the obvious but overlooked: license and insurance. Check the state license online to see if it’s current and whether there are complaints. If a contractor asks the homeowner to pull the permit, Heath calls that an immediate red flag. It usually means they can’t pull it themselves.

Ross Trethewey adds third-party certifications and manufacturer training. For HVAC, especially heat pumps and mini splits, those are computer-controlled machines. A contractor who hasn’t trained on the specific brand is a risk. Ross also says a company that invests in training its staff is signaling something about how it operates.

Richard Trethewey warns against chasing the low bid. You can’t get a lot for a little. He suggests looking around town—whose trucks are parked at Little League games, who has employees rather than a rotating cast of subcontractors. Tom Silva says call references and actually visit a jobsite. Is it clean? Organized? Do the subs work together like a team? Tom’s point is that your house is probably your biggest investment, and hiring the cheapest guy is how you end up paying twice.

Zack Dettmore frames the whole thing as dating. You want honesty, trustworthiness, and to feel heard. Do your homework on social media, but be skeptical of AI-generated project photos. And remember it’s a two-way street: the contractor is vetting you, too. Show up with reasonable expectations and good communication, or the best trades might move on to the next project.

Jenn Nawada separates landscape design and installation from ongoing maintenance. They’re different jobs with different skill sets. Nathan Gilbert says define the scope first. Are you hiring a general contractor, a carpenter, or a handyman? Those terms are vague, and the answer changes who you call.

Heath’s previous appearance this season was running power to a shed in S24E21, and his focus there was the work nobody sees after backfill. Here it’s the paperwork and permits nobody wants to think about. Same instinct.

Contractor vetting is a 1 out of 10 for effort, but skip it and the risk goes way up. That’s the whole point.

What the Edit Compresses

The walkway segment looks calm, but multiple lifts, repeated tamping, watering, slope layout, and edging spikes are slow work. Mark and the homeowners make it look like a weekend, but the base alone is a full day if you’re doing it right. The mowing lesson is staged on a manageable lawn. An overgrown yard would need trimmer work and several passes. The contractor panel is a conversation, not a checklist. The useful takeaway is to verify paperwork and behavior before you sign anything.

DIY Confidence Scale

• Lawn mowing: 2/10. The rules are simple: dry grass, one-third rule, sharp blades, closed-toe shoes, safety glasses. The risk is complacency.
• Paver walkway: 6/10 for prep and layout. Lifting, compaction, slope, and edging are the hard parts. If you’re only hiring and supervising, it’s a 3.
• Contractor vetting: 1/10 effort, but skip it and the risk goes way up. Check licenses, insurance, references, and jobsites.

Additional Resources

• Watch on PBS
• Official This Old House episode page

The visible work is the easy part. The base, the blade, the permit, the reference call—those are what decide whether the job holds up. If you’ve ever hired a contractor or laid a walkway, what prep step do you wish someone had told you about sooner?