Hardscaping Episodes

Lee Gilliam and Kevin O'Connor compare gas, battery, and manual push mowers, then cover dry-grass mowing, the one-third rule, blade sharpening, and seasonal cutting heights. The full Ask This Old House bench talks contractor vetting, from license and insurance checks to jobsite visits and Zack Dettmore's dating analogy. Mark McCullough is in Spokane, Washington, replacing an uneven flagstone front walk with a concrete paver walkway on a compacted basalt crusher-run base, sand setting bed, and aluminum edging.

Mauro Henrique repaints a too-pink nursery and builds a two-arch accent wall with string, low-tack tape, and a fast wet rag; Jenn Nawada separates air-purifying pothos claims from citronella candles and root pruning; Mark McCullough sets a 16-by-14 pea stone patio with a retaining wall, drain pipe, binding agent, and a 72-hour cure.

Richard Trethewey separates grease and hair clogs from chemical drain cleaners, Mauro Henrique compares at-home lead swabs with an XRF analyzer, and Mark McCullough sets granite treads into a New Hampshire slope so Pete can reach his fire pit without another tumble.

Lee Gilliam follows Kentucky bluegrass from Washington fields through a seed-cleaning plant's screens and gravity table, Mark McCullough compares brick, concrete, bluestone, and granite pavers by pattern and price, and Nathan Gilbert cuts open a porch ceiling to hang a 2,000-pound-rated swing with Freddy as the apprentice.