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Share ideas and learn about the latest in home improvement and décor from Tom and Leslie.

Money Pit Blogs

How to Fix a Squeaking Floor

Sun, 12/30/2007 - 13:02 - Money Pit Team

What can I do about squeaky floors?  My house is about 20 years old, built over a crawl space.  The floor covering is vinyl in the kitchen and baths, and carpeting over the sub-flooring in the rest of the house.  The  squeaking occurs in both the vinyl & carpeted areas; e. g., when I installed...

How to Clean Algae from Roof

Sat, 12/15/2007 - 16:35 - Money Pit Team

My 18 year old wood roof shingles have algae here in Northern NJ. I got several quotes and they were all very costly (about $5,000) to clean the roof using diluted bleach.  Should I wait until need a new roof and replace with long life shingles?dsaks 12-9-07 8:31pm Algae and fungus on your roof...

How to Get a Glossy Garage Floor

Tue, 12/04/2007 - 20:37 - Money Pit Team

I recently applied BEHR Premium 2-Part Epoxy Garage Floor Coating in my garage which looks terrific, but I would prefer a glossier finish.  Can I apply Behr Wet Look Sealer as a top coat or will this damage the integrity of the epoxy coating?  Do you have any suggestions?crwines 11-28-07 ...

Cool Video: Instant Home Makeover

Tue, 11/27/2007 - 20:57 - Money Pit Team

With help from AARP, my co-host Leslie Segrete and I completed a home makeover project that delivered both safety and style for house that is home to three generations of a family in Miller Place, NY.  Check out cool before/after video of improvements to the kitchen, bath, foyer and get some...

Home Warranty Woes

Fri, 11/23/2007 - 11:41 - Money Pit Team

I bought my first house a little over 2 months ago. During the home inspection the heat pump was old but operational. We had the seller purchase a Home Warranty. Our heat pump ran for a half a month as an air conditioner and worked for about a month and a half as a heater but just recently...

Bathtub Caulk Tips

Wed, 11/21/2007 - 13:10 - Money Pit Team

What is the best way to remove & replace the caulking around sliding shower doors, as well as a tub? Can you explain this step-by-step? plobbezoo 11-17-07 9:28am

Caulking is an easy home improvement project that can deliver very attractive results.  But that is the easy part!  Removing the old...

Kitchen Floor Solutions

Tue, 11/13/2007 - 13:52 - Money Pit Team

Hi Tom!  We are about to begin remodeling our kitchen and need some advice on flooring. We now have 8 x 8 ceramic tile but it is 19 years old and looks old and out of date.  What would you suggest for a floor?  We have white washed color oak cabinets, which we recently had refinished and they...

Removing Paint from Brick

Wed, 11/07/2007 - 11:47 - Money Pit Team

I'm a new listener going through all the podcasts.  I just bought a house built in 1921 and there are few things I want to change.  The previous owners painted the front entryway brick white. The only other brick on the house is the chimney. The chimney is red brick so I assume underneath the...

Will a Refrigerator Work in a Garage?

Thu, 11/01/2007 - 16:55 - Money Pit Team

I adore your radio show and listen as often as I can.  Please help me with this question. I am planning on purchasing an additional refrigerator to put in my garage (I do a great deal of entertaining).  I have been told that I cannot do so as the garage is not insulated and my appliance will not...

Tips to Avoid Shower Shocks!

Sat, 10/20/2007 - 12:10 - Money Pit Team

Please help me with this.  When showering, if my husband flushes the toilet or runs water elsewhere, the temperature of the water changes.  What to do?ghall 10-19-07 10:28am There's nothing like receiving an unexpected blast of cold or hot water while showering to carve a knick into your...