On the Wire - All Decked Out
A wood deck is a great feature for almost any home. A deck adds value and square footage to your home and can be a lot less expensive than an actual addition.
To keep your wood deck looking great and lasting long, you should clean it regularly. Powdered laundry detergent and hot water is usually enough to spruce up your winter worn deck. It acts as an abrasive and a cleanser. To eliminate mildew, use a 10 percent bleach solution. Use a power washer for extra impact, and finish with a thorough rinse for a bright deck.
As time and weather cause your wood deck to expand and contract, nail heads can pop up above the surface. Not only is this bad for your deck, but it can be a trip hazard for you. And if you plan to sand the deck, it will quickly rip into your sanding belt. To put a nail back into place, use a nail set and a hammer. If you don't have a nail set, you can also use a 12-D or a 16-D common nail with its head laid over the nail you want to set. With the nails back where they belong, you can safely sand your deck and bring it back to life. Use 80-grit sandpaper and a belt sander, which you can rent from your local Home Depot.
To replace cracked boards, remove boards by prying them up slowly with a pry bar. You may need to cut the board in sections by using a keyhole or jigsaw, cutting on either side of the joists below. Then measure and cut a new board to the length you need. Nail to joists and stain to match your deck's finish.
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Ask Tom & Leslie - Backyard Drainage Solution
This week’s question comes to us from Steve. He says, “In the back corner of our yard we have a lot of standing water. I would like to drain that so the kids can utilize this space. How do I go about draining out this space?”
Steve, the best way to move standing water out of a low lying area in your yard is a “curtain drain”. A curtain drain is a shallow trench dug to collect water from low lying areas and run it away via a perforated drain pipe surrounded by stone and covered by filter cloth. To construct one, you’d dig a trench (maybe 12” x 12”) just above the saturated area on the uphill side. The base of the trench should slope to a lower-lying area away from the area you are trying to dry out. Then, add about 2 inches of washed round stone or gravel (each stone should be 1 to 1 ½ in diameter). On top of the stone, install a perforated PVC draining pipe. I prefer the 6” diameter PVC pipe and don’t recommend the black plastic corrugated pipe that landscapers often use (it tends to crush easily). After the pipe is installed, make sure the end of it drains to “daylight” if possible to discharge the water away. Finally, add more stone to cover the top of the pipe, then cover that with filter cloth and top it off with two or three inches of soil. When you are done, you’ll have an invisible curtain drain that intercepts water, and runs it away and leaves you with a dry yard to enjoy!
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Got A Question About Your Money Pit?
You can do-it-yourself but you don't have to do-it-alone. Getting in touch with us is as easy as 1 - 2 or 3!
- The toll-free studio hot line is 1-888-MONEY PIT. Find out when we broadcast in your area by checking out our website at www.moneypit.com. Each week we take dozens of calls, give great advice and offer callers a chance to win a terrific prize awarded to one random caller to every show.
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On the Air - Start Your Engines
If you left your unused car in the garage all winter, would you go ahead a rev it up without a good once over? Probably not. But that’s what you most likely do every spring with your lawnmower. This week on The Money Pit radio show, tips on how to give your lawnmower a spring tune-up before you rev it up! To find out where we broadcast in you area, visit www.moneypit.com - where you can also download our popular Podcast!
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Dot Common Sense - Protective Paint
According to an estimate by the American Society of Home Inspectors, nearly 60% of American basements have moisture problems. With tremendous amounts of rainfall year after year, basement waterproofing is among the highest of all home improvement project needs. BEHR® Process Corporation has responded to this home improvement dilemma with the debut of BEHR Basement & Masonry Waterproofing Paint. Developed using NanoGuard® technology, BEHR Basement & Masonry Waterproofing Paint uses tiny nano particles to fill the voids created by larger ones – which helps to prevent water penetration and moisture build-up. It is formulated to provide maximum water resistance, when combined with simple grading and roof draining improvements, both above and below grade basement walls, masonry walls, retaining walls, cinder and concrete blocks, stucco and brick. The smooth, flat finish of BEHR Basement & Masonry Waterproofing Paint is available in 32 custom colors, and limited computer color matching. The unique, water-based formula is available in both gallon and five-gallon containers and is easily applied with a roller. It's available exclusively at The Home Depot. For more information visit www.Behr.com
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Fun Fact - Don't Strike Out
Lightning strikes the earth about 20 million times a year. Is your house protected from lightning damage? Properly installed lightning protection systems can save your house from costly damage. Have lightning arrestors professionally installed on your roof. If lightning does strikes, these arrestors use protected cabling systems to re-direct the energy away from your home and into the ground.
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Short Cuts - Clean Less, Feel Better
Ever wonder what the biggest GERM carrier is in your house? It’s probably not your dog, cat or even the mice that you might have scurrying around. It’s your REMOTE! Think about it, whenever you or your kids get sick, you lie on the couch and watch TV. We all know how important it is to clean your hands, but how often do you clean your TV’s remote control? And where ELSE in your house do you never think to clean? The folks at Prevention magazine say you don’t have to clean MORE, just clean better. Do the least amount of cleaning to keep your house just clean enough. Here’s how:
- Clean your kitchen best – including your kitchen sponge. Run it through the microwave or dishwasher every day.
- Next stop – the bathroom. Wipe down the sink, faucet, shower drain, and toilet seat once a week with an antimicrobial cleaner.
- Cut yourself some slack in the bedroom – piles of dirty clothes might not look tidy – but they won’t affect your health. Dust and vacuum weekly if you have allergies, and let the rest go for a while.
- In the living room – put off dusting and vacuuming until you can’t stand it any longer, concentrate on the remote, computer keyboard, telephone. Disinfect once a week or more often if someone in the house is sick.
Visit www.Prevention.com for more healthy cleaning info!
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Copyright 2006 Squeaky Door Productions, Inc.
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