A homeowner’s trash pull-out has seen better days. And although they’ve tried to fix it, it’s past its prime and time for a change. Carpenter Nathan Gilbert takes us on a house call to solve the problem, removing the dated trash-pullout hardware and installing a new and improved pullout with soft-close features and an attached door front.

Next, we meet host Kevin O’Connor back at the shop to talk about light bulbs with master electrician Heath Eastman. The two discuss the scarcity of fluorescent bulbs, how incandescents came to be and have since been phased out, and how LEDs are the way of the foreseeable future.

Finally, landscape contractor Lee Gilliam takes us to a homeowner’s front yard for some landscaping work. The homeowner’s arborvitaes around their entrance have overgrown, and Lee knows it’s time to get rid of them. After removing some plants worth keeping, Lee and the homeowner set to work with shovels, sheers, and a chainsaw to remove the old arborvitaes and amend the garden beds.

How to Install a Trash Pull Out

In most homes, trash pull out drawers see a lot of action, which means a lot of wear and tear. When a homeowner’s trash pull out drawer had seen better days, she called the team at Ask This Old House for help. Carpenter Nathan Gilbert answered the call, removing the homeowner’s old system and installing a new one. Here’s how he did it.

Where to find it?

Trash insert kit installed was a Rev-A-Shelf double 35-quart pullout containers with a soft-close.

The kit came with hardware, bins, and a template to help mount the frame. To assemble the kit Nathan used a rubber mallet and a screwdriver. To install he used the template that came with the kit, using a tape measure and pencil to find a good placement for the frame. Nathan pre-drilled the screw locations using a drill with a 3/32” bit, then installed the frame with the screws provided. To mount the door, Nathan added double-sided tape to hold it in place while he found the correct placement of the door and screwed in the brackets. Nathan polished the wood cabinet with a scratch remover.

History of Household Light Bulbs

What’s old? How’d it start? What’s new and where’s it going? If you’ve ever wondered about the history of household light bulbs, join host Kevin O’Connor as master electrician Heath Eastman explains.

Where to find it?

Heath shows the evolution of household light bulbs by breaking them down into incandescent, fluorescent, and LED’s.

Incandescent bulbs are officially banned from being manufactured and sold in the USA. Fluorescents and CFL bulbs are the next to go so Heath doesn’t recommend buying those.

For LED’s he showed classic LED bulbs, LED Edison bulb with a spiral filament, and an LED tube light bulb.

The longest running lightbulb is the Centennial light bulb. More information can be found here.

How to Remove Arborvitaes

Arborvitaes certainly serve their purpose, but when they’re installed with no consideration for how big they can get, they sometimes have to go. When a homeowner was facing this situation in front of his home, landscape contractor Lee Gilliam arrived on scene to solve his problem.

Where to find it?

811 was called before the project was started.

To cut down the arborvitae trees, Lee preferred using a chainsaw. Proper PPE of head protection with a visor, eye protection, hearing protection, gloves, and chaps must be worn when operating a chainsaw. Lee used loppers to cut the branches that were in the way of the chainsaw cuts.

To remove the stumps and root systems, they used a mix of tools: shovels, pickaxe, grub axe, rakes, and a pry bar. For any tough roots, Lee used a reciprocating saw. Lee says do not use the chainsaw when cutting close to the ground because you don’t want the dirt to dull the chain.

To prep the soil for new plants, Lee added organic compost to the existing garden bed. To break up the old, compact soil, Lee went in with a rototiller.

Original Air Date: Jan 9, 2024, Season 23; Ep. 10 23:42

Products and services from this episode

• Trash pull-out kit manufacturer: Rev-A-Shelf
• Longest running light bulb: Centennial light bulb