Transcripts
Transcript For January 5, 2008, Hour 1
Hosts: Tom Kraeutler & Leslie Segrete(NOTE: Timestamps below correspond to the running time of the downloadable audio file of this show. Text represents a professional transcriptionist's understanding of what was said. No guarantee of accuracy is expressed or implied. 'Ph' in parentheses indicates the phonetic or best guess of the actual spoken word.)
BEGIN HOUR 1 TEXT:
(promo/theme song)
[audio timestamp: 1:00]
TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Call us now with your home improvement question. Call us with your do-it-yourself dilemma. Any project worth starting is worth starting over with us because we’re here to help. If you’ve gotten yourself in a jam, give us a call right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Hey, it’s a new year. It’s a new to-do list. Let us help you get the job done.
LESLIE: Or maybe it’s carrying over from the year before. (chuckling)
TOM: Yeah, well that’s OK. I say that the whole slate is wiped clean and you start from scratch with the new year.
Hey, speaking of the new year, have you already fallen off the wagon on those New Year’s resolutions you promised yourself you’d stick to this year? You know, you can make resolutions for your house, too. Doesn’t just have to be about losing weight and things like that. (Leslie chuckles) And in fact, the resolutions that you make to get done around your house, they can actually be easier to keep. We’re going to tell you exactly how to do that this hour.
LESLIE: Yeah, and those resolutions around your house can help you burn some calories, too. So it all comes full circle.
And also ahead this hour, do you have a cramped bathroom in your home or maybe a teeny-tiny powder room that could use some extra storage? Well you might think, “I can’t get another thing into this little space,” but you would be surprised. We are going to tell you how to stretch your storage options in just a little bit.
TOM: Plus, are you thinking of buying some new appliances this year? Perhaps a dishwasher, a new washing machine, a dryer or a new refrigerator? What about those appliance warranties that come with them. And worse yet, what about the extended warranties. (Leslie chuckles) Are those a good deal? We’re going to dig into that topic in just a bit.
LESLIE: And we’ve got a great prize to give away this hour. No warranty required here. We’re giving it to you. It’s a whopper prize package. It’s the eco-model Reiker room conditioner. It’s worth 359 bucks. We’re starting off the new year right with a super-giant prize. It’s a ceiling fan that also works like a space heater when you need it, but it’s way better. It’s super cool and it could be yours for free.
TOM: If you want to win it you have to call us right now at 888-MONEY-PIT. You must be willing to come on the air and ask your home improvement question. We’ll choose one name from the callers that call this hour and award you that great prize from Reiker. So let’s get right to the phones.
Leslie, who’s first?
LESLIE: Talking to Susan in North Carolina who’s dealing with a stinky situation in the wash room at home. Tell us about it.
SUSAN: We have a beautiful home that we moved from one area to the other and it looks great. We’ve done everything to it just like we wanted. We have this horrible, horrible smell we cannot get rid of. It was rewired and, you know, a new sheetrock put all over it and most of the plumbing was put in new. OK? But there are some like traps maybe that they used but – and we think that’s where it’s coming from, but we’ve had the plumber out to look at it again and, you know, we’re still getting this horrible gaseous odor at times. Sometimes it’s not there, sometimes it’s just a little bit and sometimes it will knock you out.
TOM: Wow.
LESLIE: Is this a bathroom that you use often or is it sort of in a …
SUSAN: No, it is actually where you come into the carport. We have a washroom area and a little entryway …
TOM: OK.
SUSAN: … and it has a washer and dryer there and it has a sink there – like a mudroom sink –
TOM: OK.
SUSAN: – and then there is a bathroom right next to that area …
TOM: Mm-hmm.
SUSAN: … that’s a really nice bathroom that has a shower and a sink and a toilet. So, you know, we’ve tried …
TOM: Is that sink, in the mudroom area – is that sink used enough where the trap is going to maintain some water inside of it?
SUSAN: Maybe not.
TOM: Well …
LESLIE: That could be the problem.
TOM: Yeah. You see, a trap is called a trap because it holds water.
SUSAN: Right.
TOM: And if the trap is allowed to dry out then that becomes basically a sewer gas vent into your space.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And the water is the filter that stops that sewer odor from coming up into your living space.
TOM: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that’s one possibility. The other possibility is that sometimes the plumber’s putty that they use to assemble the drains with, if there’s a little bit too much of it and it tends to sort of get caught on the outside, that adds – that sort of acts like a stink trap and I’ve actually seen new bathrooms develop some odors because of an excessive amount of plumber’s putty that sort of stuck to the inside of the drain and things stuck to that and then it grew a mildew or a mold on it that had a really strong odor. And that actually happened to my sister once as well as many callers over the years. And so those were the two possibilities. The first one, though, is to make sure that trap is filled with water and if it’s still smelling, then you may want to have those drains taken apart and reassembled.
SUSAN: Yeah, we might have to wind up doing that. We’ve tried to keep water, you know – or if we go through there, you know, flush the commode …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
SUSAN: … run some water down the sink. But you know, it seems like it could be coming from the washing machine. We stuffed – you know, stuffed rags in that area right there …
TOM: Well now, wait a minute. If it’s coming from – if you think it’s coming from the washing machine, the washing machine has to have a trap, too. That drain has got to have a trap.
SUSAN: Yeah.
TOM: Somewhere it sounds to me like you have an open sewer vent. Somewhere it sounds like there’s no trap. It’s either dry or it doesn’t exist. You need to look carefully at that. You shouldn’t be having to stuff pipes filled with rags or anything like that. The water does the job if the trap exists. Take a look, Susan. I think you’re going to find your answer right there. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Robert in Kansas has a question about a patio door not closing correctly. Tell us about the problem.
ROBERT: What I have is a new house under construction. The house, we started to frame it in late July. We’re just now getting ready to move into it. But because of the temperature changes and – it’s gotten much colder here in Kansas and of course the house is warm on the inside – the trimmer stud – the trimmer – [I call it a jack stud, the king stud] (ph) and I actually have three boards there – they have bowed. They’re bowing out now to where the patio door, you cannot shut it from the outside because you have nothing that you can grab a hold of to kind of pull in on the door. What it is is a vinyl – has a vinyl frame. It’s a CertainTeed sliding patio door.
TOM: So why is the opening bowing, Robert?
ROBERT: Well, the studs have bowed.
TOM: Hmm.
ROBERT: If you put a six-foot level on the outside, it’s bowing out. You can just (INAUDIBLE) a six-foot stud. The trim board from the outside …
TOM: Well, unfortunately they don’t make doors that are going to make on curved walls. (chuckling) At least not that door, so it’s …
ROBERT: See, since it’s a vinyl frame, the vinyl frame has just kind of moved with the studs as they …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: Yeah, it’s probably bent and you don’t have a weatherstrip – you don’t have a weather-tight seal there anymore.
ROBERT: No, you can’t even shut – you have to push in on it to shut it when you’re on the inside.
TOM: My only suggestion to you, Robert, is this. If you were to disconnect that jamb from the wall and basically let the jamb come back straight and then reattach it so that it’s, even though the wall was curved, the jamb was still now straighter, that will give you a better seal and perhaps you could deal with any gaps around the outside of the jamb that are caused as a result of that. But if it’s moving with the wall, the only solution here is to straighten it back out again.
ROBERT: Yeah. See, I thought about maybe taking the trim off the outside and then cutting the nailing flange off of that frame so it will allow me to – right now, with the nailing flange on the outside, it’s not going to let me push it; move it. So I’m going to have to take the trimmer off on the …
TOM: Just to get to it. Yeah. Well, what you might want to do is if you take the trim off you can take a saws awl and insert the blade between the jamb and the wall …
ROBERT: Yeah.
TOM: … and run it all the way down. And that will cut the fastener so that you don’t have to physically unscrew things or find a way to get the nails out.
ROBERT: Yeah.
TOM: Sometimes it’s easier to cut the fasteners when you’re trying to separate a jamb from a wall like that.
LESLIE: And it’s far quicker.
TOM: Yeah, very quick. And then perhaps you do that, you know, it’ll straighten itself out and then you can reattach it right away and put the trim back on. You’ve got to get creative with a situation like this, Robert. Of course, you know the right thing to do here would be to open up that wall and fix those studs, but I understand that that’s a whole lot of work that you may not be prepared to get into right now. So at least if we can get this jamb straightened out you can make that door tight and keep the wind and the rain and the snow out …
ROBERT: Yeah.
TOM: … from your house and that would kind of get you through it. OK?
ROBERT: Yeah. Alrighty. Thank you.
TOM: You’re welcome, Robert. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned in to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Hey, give us a call right now with your home repair or your home improvement question any darn time you feel like it 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Up next, does your little bathroom have you feeling a bit cramped? Are you running out of space to put all of your towels and toiletries? Well, you can find more storage space if you know where to look. We’ll help you find it, next.
[audio timestamp: 9:23]
(promo/theme song)
[audio timestamp: 12:05]
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by Therma-Tru, the nation’s leading manufacturer of fiberglass entry and patio door systems. Choose the brand more building professionals prefer. And add up to $24,000 to the perceived value of your home. For more information, visit ThermaTru.com.
TOM: If your home has green shag carpet and pink walls you’re in exactly the right place because this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show where we make good homes better, including perhaps giving you some decorating advice. (Leslie chuckles) I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete and hey, pink and green are so 80s and you know, they are back again in a big way.
TOM: I knew you were going to say that. (laughing)
LESLIE: (chuckling) It’s true. If you wait long enough, something that once was hideous becomes fabulous again. So, we can help you learn to enjoy it or we can help you fix it. And you know what you can do is you can give us a call right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. One caller that we talk to this hour is going to win a Reiker room conditioner. And this is a super cool ceiling fan but it’s also an energy-efficient room heater. It’s all in one model and it works for you year round. In fact, it’s a perfect solution for a room that’s always too cold or even if you’ve got one of those three-season rooms that you would love to use all year long. It’s worth 359 bucks. If you don’t win it you can learn more at BuyReiker.com but give us a call right now for your chance to win at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Alright. Well, you survived the holidays. All those folks in your house. You ever feel like perhaps there’s just not enough room for everybody? Or you’ve got lots and lots of new towels and cool stuff for the bathroom and there’s nowhere to put it? Well, small baths don’t provide many places for storage, but hidden storage areas are sure to be found in you know where to look. Here’s a couple of places to start.
The space above that toilet. It’s a large enough space fore a full 12-inch by 30-inch storage cabinet and you can use a kitchen-styled cabinet with some, say, plain doors; ones that you could decorate to look like they fit inside the bathroom. Or you could use an inverted sink-base cabinet. That’s another option. Where a large drawer is designed into the bottom of the basin. That’ll give you some storage under the sink. Now, a rack hung to the back of the door can give you some extra storage space for the towels and don’t forget to look up. You can add shelving or cabinets all the way up to the ceiling for, again, some extra storage. Just looking at your small bathroom in a new way will give you plenty of spaces to open it right up.
Hey, you have a storage question for us? You need an organizational tip? Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Ricky in Georgia has a question about a handrail. What can help you with?
RICKY: Yes, I was trying to get hold of somebody about putting a handrail on brick steps.
TOM and LESLIE: OK.
RICKY: My back porch is brick and I know that brick, you know, the mortar and all can really be loosened and all when you go to drilling in it and I was just trying to figure out the best way to do that. Should I hire somebody to do it or …
TOM: Do you want to – Ricky, do you want to put on a metal handrail? Like a wrought iron one?
RICKY: That or else hard plastic.
TOM: Like a composite. Like Trex or something of that nature?
RICKY: Yeah. You know, something to match our siding.
TOM: OK. Well, listen. You have a couple of options. Typically, if you have brick steps, the way that you generally install handrails is use a wrought iron handrail that has like a one-inch square steel tube that ends up being the post and that’s drilled into the brick and into the step and then set in with a special type of cement …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … that expands and seals and locks that in place. It’s called post cement.
LESLIE: And you don’t drill it into the mortar because of exactly your point. The mortar will crumble and fall apart over time.
TOM: Yeah, typically you drill right in the middle of the brick and it is a pretty big job and it requires some specialized tools.
Now, if you wanted to go with sort of more of a do-it-yourself project, I have constructed wood handrails over brick steps by simply making a post and taking that post and say you use a 4x4 post and you notch it so it fits on top of the step. And then you drill it into the step and attach it to the front of the step using lead shields or Tapcon fasteners and secure that post to the step and then you can build up a wood handrail from there. It all starts with a post and the complication of this job is getting that post set straight and square and solid and once that’s done that’s the hard work. The rest of it is easy.
RICKY: Well then we’ll give it a shot, then.
TOM: Alright, Ricky. Those are your options. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Taking a call from Helen in New Hampshire who’s got a question about the doors in her house. What’s going on?
HELEN: Yes, I want to sell my house in the near future and my cat – one of my cats scratched – what you do call? The door jamb?
TOM and LESLIE: OK.
HELEN: And I don’t know whether to have them replaced. I’m trying to cut down on cost, to be honest with you.
TOM: What’s the door made out of?
HELEN: It’s wood. I guess …
TOM: Is it like a stained wood or varnished wood or is it painted?
HELEN: Oh, no. It’s stained.
TOM: OK. Alright. And how bad is the scratching?
HELEN: Pretty bad.
TOM: Hmm. Alright, well why don’t you refinish the door?
HELEN: It’s not the – it’s the door jambs. You know, the frame – you call it the frame around the door?
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: OK. Yeah, why don’t you refinish the door jamb? It’s probably the easiest way to address this. Is it already stained a dark color? Is it a medium? What’s it look like?
HELEN: I’d say a medium.
TOM: Alright.
HELEN: More like a maple.
TOM: Well, here’s what you’re going to want to do. First of all I would pull that door off so that you can get access to it. You’re going to want to sand it lightly and then you could put some stain on top of that. And the stains today – like Minwax makes a good quality stain – you want to find one that’s about the same color and there’s lot to choose from. And that’s going to fill in the scratch marks and sort of bring the color [off to be similar] (ph) all the way along. I would sand as much as you possibly could to try to minimize those scratches, but then I would simply rub some wood stain on it …
HELEN: Uh-huh.
TOM: … and then I would hit it with probably two coats of water-based polyurethane. I say water-based because it dries really fast and it’ll blend in nicely with whatever you had there before.
HELEN: Mm-hmm.
TOM: Not too terribly difficult to do, Helen. OK?
HELEN: Yeah, OK. Thank you very much.
LESLIE: Jim in Alabama is dealing with some brick that’s cracking up. Tell us about the problem.
JIM: I have a front porch that has bricks up the front and it’s back underneath cover. But part of the problem is that a lot of places on the brick there’s cracks and I guess it’s from settling of the house. And we’ve tried to fill it in with grout before but then, eventually, the cracks come back again. I was wondering is there a way to put something flexible in there or some way I can solve this?
TOM: Yeah. Certainly a silicone caulk is the best thing to use to seal up cracks in the brick. Are any of the bricks loosening up?
JIM: Well, the bricks are not loosening up but then it looks real bad. There’s a crack and like if I put caulking in there you’ve got grout and caulking. It’s just – it’s like in the middle of the wall.
TOM: So it’s in the wall? It’s the brick wall?
JIM: It’s the brick wall.
TOM: OK. So here’s a little trick of the trade for you. You’re concerned that if you put the caulk in you’re going to see that instead of the brick color itself?
JIM: Actually you will because it’s a big crack.
TOM: Alright. So here’s a little trick of the trade. What you can do is you want to find a place in the brick wall where it’s not going to matter if you damage your brick a little bit. Because I’m going to tell you to get a masonry drill bit and collect some filings, so to speak, of the brick dust. I want you to drill a few holes in the brick and collect the dust that comes out of those holes. And then what you can do is after you caulk the brick across that surface, you take some of that dust and you press it into the silicone and it ends up being the exact same color as the brick and it hides it amazingly well.
JIM: Ah. OK.
TOM: Got it?
JIM: OK.
TOM: Alright.
JIM: I’ll try that. I appreciate it.
TOM: You’re welcome, Jim. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
LESLIE: Charles in North Carolina is looking for a way to weatherproof his home. How can we help you with this?
CHARLES: Yes, I was just looking at the best way to weatherproof your house during the wintertime.
TOM: OK.
CHARLES: For the winter season.
TOM: Well, gosh. That’s a big question, Charles.
CHARLES: Any new, you know, ideas or …?
TOM: You know, Charles, what’s old is new here and weatherproofing your house doesn’t have to be something that’s complicated or high-tech.
CHARLES: OK.
TOM: The first thing you need to do is get some information. One website we would recommend is EnergyStar.gov. That’s the EPA’s energy efficiency program. There’s a tool there called Energy Star at Home and it’s an interactive tool that walks you through each room of the house; gives you specific step-by-step advice.
Another thing that you might want to do is contact your local utility provider and ask them about doing an energy audit.
CHARLES: OK.
LESLIE: And most of the time they’ll come in and do it for free, which is kind of crazy because, in the long run, you’re going to save money so you’re not going to be paying them as much as you would have been in the past. And they’ll run tests to let you know exactly where you have energy leaks.
Other than that, you want to look to your attic and make sure you have proper insulation and if it’s sort of become compressed over the years you want to refresh it and add some more to the top of it to really help it meet the r value that you need for your part of the country. You want to look at weatherstripping around your windows and your doors. You want to look at outlets on exterior walls and remove that outlet faceplate cover and maybe put a foam gasket behind there that helps seal that because you do lose a ton of energy there.
CHARLES: Oh. Yeah, yeah. OK.
TOM: There’s a lot of little things that can give you a big impact, Charles. So, do the research. Start with the Energy Star site. Contact your utility provider. I think it’s pretty cool that utility companies have to provide ways to make your home more energy efficient so you use less of their product. (Leslie giggles)
CHARLES: Yeah.
TOM: I mean imagine that in any other industry. Imagine if McDonald’s had to teach you ways to buy fewer hamburgers. You know?
CHARLES: (chuckling) Yeah.
TOM: It just doesn’t work that way. So it’s kind of cool that the utility companies will do that for you and it’s part of their chore for getting the monopoly that they have in providing us with getting gas and electricity across the country.
CHARLES: Really.
TOM: So check them out, get some advice and get to it. You will definitely be more comfortable and save some money all winter long.
Charles, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are listening to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. And are you finding that your New Year’s resolutions are to make more money or to lose more weight; you know, the typical things that you always put down first, which are always the first things that you tend to cross off the list not from completion but because you just tend to forget about them. Well, why not let your house do those things for you? We’re going to tell you how you can accomplish that, after this.
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(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Aprilaire, makers of professionally-installed, high-efficiency air cleaners. For more information, go to Aprilaire.com. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Making good homes better, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
You know, Tom, I bet you there are so many first-time homeowners out there who sort of, you know, buy the house with this naïveté where they think it’s going to operate itself and everything’s going to be fantastic and you don’t ever have to do a darn thing. But I really want people to understand that your home does need regular maintenance. And I think what’s really overwhelming for a lot of people is they just don’t know where to start; what do you do first; what do you need to do regularly and what can you do once a year or even once every couple of years.
TOM: And that’s where we come in. Visit MoneyPit.com and right there on the bottom left side of our homepage is your home improvement calendar. Now, what have we done? Well, we took every weekend of the month and we gave you a home improvement job to get done. Now, you may choose to mix up your weekends. You may choose to skip a weekend. You don’t have to do it every weekend but we figured why not give you some of the tasks that really should be done on a month-to-month basis. It’s all there. It’s laid out. It’s easy to do weekend by weekend and it’s all free at MoneyPit.com.
LESLIE: Yeah, and one of those things that we can help you with right off the bat for this brand new year with a resolution for your home, you know maybe it’s that you want to make more money this year. Maybe it’s that you want to lose some weight. And it might be tough for you but you can let your house keep those resolutions for you because your home can make you more money right away with a simple evaluation and regular maintenance of your heating and cooling systems. Even minor problems can raise your utility bills. So it does make sense to have all of that maintenance by a pro regularly.
You know, lose weight with an effort to declutter rooms and closets all around your house. If you haven’t used it in a few months, if it’s expired, if you don’t like the way it looks anymore, get rid of it. Donate it when you can. If you have a little bit of resolve, you and your home will start this new year off right.
TOM: 888-666-3974. Let us help you start your new year off right. Give us a call right now with your home improvement question.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Rafael in Delaware is dealing with a hot water situation. Tell us about the problem at your house.
RAFAEL: I have a hot water tank. I’m a new homeowner.
TOM: OK.
RAFAEL: And my water in my home was – it actually went from hot to lukewarm and I’m not sure why it’s doing it. It’s a gas water heater.
TOM: OK.
RAFAEL: And I was wondering maybe what could be the problem with that. And the house is only – what? – five years old.
TOM: Does it seem that you run out of hot water very quickly, Rafael?
RAFAEL: Yes, it seems like it’s actually like – we don’t run it often …
TOM: Mm-hmm.
RAFAEL: … but say like the other day it was hot. It was real hot and then the next day it just actually went cold. I know the cold weather is around.
TOM: Yeah. No, that shouldn’t happen. If you have a standard gas water heater it should stay at a very stable temperature. I mean assuming that you’re letting the cold water run out of the line. And so, if it’s – if it seems to be inconsistent, then it suggests to me that the thermostat, which is part of the gas valve right in the front of the water heater may not be behaving properly and you might need to replace it. Now, if it’s a fairly new gas valve then it might be covered by a warranty.
RAFAEL: OK. Now, is that something that you can actually turn up or turn down; controlling that temperature?
TOM: (overlapping voices) Yes, yes. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you can. Usually there’s a knob – like a big round knob – on the front of it. There’s one on the top that controls the gas flow and there’s one usually on the front that controls the temperature.
RAFAEL: OK.
TOM: And there’s indications on that knob and there’s usually one of the indicators that’s sort of thicker than all the others …
RAFAEL: Yes.
TOM: … and that’s usually the average temperature where you want to keep it. And so, of course, make sure that it’s turned up so that it’s running correctly. It’s usually a red knob on the front of it. If you go online and search gas valves you’ll see pictures of these. But certainly, if you’re not familiar with it – do you have a service contract with your gas company?
RAFAEL: Yes, I do.
TOM: Well, have them come over and take a look. That could just be a simple adjustment and, if not, maybe it’ll be covered by the service contract. OK?
RAFAEL: OK, thank you.
TOM: That’s what those things are used for. Rafael, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
You know, generally we don’t like extended service contracts but …
LESLIE: No, but …
TOM: But with the gas company, that’s the hot ticket. (chuckling)
LESLIE: No, they really are and I cannot tell you. When we bought the house …
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: … we were so thankful that we did pick up that service contract with our heating provider because we had so many situations with our boiler. And they came and fixed it every single time and we were told that it would have been about a $4,000 job …
TOM: Yep.
LESLIE: … over the five visits and it cost us the $200 service fee for the year.
TOM: Rafael, thanks so much for calling 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Judith in Utah is dealing with a situation with her grout. Tell us about it.
JUDITH: My grout is coming – pulling away from the windows and around the cabinet area. And when I go to recaulk it we have to pull up some of the other caulking. What is the best way to do it and then if I can’t find the color that matches I’m going to have to, you know, pull most of the grout out. So I want to know the best way to pull the grout out.
TOM: Couple of things. First of all, it’s not grout; it’s caulk is what you …
JUDITH: Caulk. OK, yeah.
TOM: OK? And secondly, I think what you need is a product called a caulk softener, which is something you put on top of the caulk. It softens it up and makes it easy to pull the old stuff out.
JUDITH: Uh-huh.
TOM: And then if you have a coloring issue with the caulk Red Devil has a caulk coloring product that you mix yourself. And the name escapes me. Leslie, do you remember that?
LESLIE: I don’t, but I know it’s like a caulk tint and it’s pretty much available in every color under the sun. So you’ll be able to match it no problem. And caulk really is the thing that you want because so many times tile installers, on a backsplash situation, will use grout as a caulking situation to the countertop or near a window.
JUDITH: Uh-huh.
LESLIE: And it’s just not flexible. So over time it’s going to break away and then water is going to get behind there. So the easiest solution is caulk. It’s flexible. It will move with the movement of your home and it will last.
TOM: Judy, that product is called Create-a-Color caulk. Create-a-color caulk.
JUDITH: OK.
TOM: And it’s made by the Red Devil company. You can get information on their website at RedDevil.com and you can mix it up to any color that you need. So if you have an unusual color you can just mix it and you’ll be good to go.
JUDITH: So, do you add it to a different caulk?
TOM: No, it’s like a system. It’s like a kit. You have the caulk and then you have the …
JUDITH: Oh, OK.
TOM: … you have the caulk mixer. And they have a standard caulk mixer that’s designed for a do-it-yourselfer just like yourself and then you buy the color for it and you mix it all up. You know, if you have an interesting color tile or an interesting color paint, it’s really nice to be able to mix up whatever caulk color you need.
JUDITH: OK, thank you. I appreciate it.
TOM: You’re welcome, Judy. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
JUDITH: Thank you.
LESLIE: More great home improvement advice coming up in just a bit, including the only thing that you will ever deal with that’s worse than a broken appliance is discovering that the repair that you have to do to that appliance is not covered under that warranty that you spent all that money on. We’re going to tell you how to fix that problem, in just a bit.
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(promo/theme song)
[audio timestamp: 33:33]
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Ryobi, manufacturer of professional feature power tools and accessories with an affordable price for the do-it-yourselfer. Ryobi power tools. Pro features, affordable price. Available exclusively at The Home Depot. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show where we make good homes better. Who are we? I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. If we talk to you on the air this hour you are automatically entered into our random prize drawing. Up for grabs is the new ECO Model Reiker room conditioner. It works like a space heater and a ceiling fan all in one. There are no cords to trip over, no fire hazards and no burn risk for kids or pets. The Reiker room conditioner installs and works just like a ceiling fan and it’s worth 359 bucks. Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT for your chance to win and you must have a home improvement question to qualify for this prize. Perhaps you might want to ask us, “Should I buy that darn extended warranty?”
LESLIE: Yeah. You know, you are bombarded with that question every time you enter any store to buy just about anything electronic, appliance. Whatever it is that sales person is standing by, “Would you like the extended warranty? Well, three years is a gajillion dollars. Come on. You know you want it.” And you almost feel like a sucker and you do it.
So, really, when you do buy an appliance you want to make sure – ask a ton of questions. Ask about the factory warranty details, including the length of that warranty and exactly what’s covered because you will be surprised what is covered and what is not. Find out if only the parts to be replaced would be covered, what about the labor and where these authorized service agents are located. Do you have to bring the appliance to them? Do they come to you? If the dealer starts to get vague about this coverage, shop somewhere else. They should be willing to share this information with you. And then when they start asking you about all those extended warranties, well they are generally not a good idea. Extended warranties, they’re costly for the coverage that they provide and if you’re that sensitive to an unexpected repair bill, then start your own home repair fund and stash a little bit of money away once a month or every once in a while so that it’s there when you need it. In the long run it’s going to work out to be much, much more cost effective for you and your family.
TOM: Great advice. Call us right now with your home improvement question at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Matthew in Rhode Island has a question about some glass. What happened? Tell us about it?
MATTHEW: Well, I have these large, tempered pieces of glass that I used to put in a small building that we built. And at one point – I think they came from a school and at one point – so they’re industrial size and industrial strength. And at one point they were put right next to each other, probably behind a house somewhere or something like that. And they, over time, obtained a pretty tough, smoky haze to them. They’re perfectly usable but I’m just wondering if there’s anything that I can use; some sort of an acid or some sort of a cleanser that I can use to get that haze off. I think it’s probably some sort of a mineral deposit or something. I’m not sure.
LESLIE: Yeah, you’re looking for something much harder than you’re actually going to want.
TOM: Yeah.
MATTHEW: Yeah.
TOM: And the thing is, if it’s a mineral deposit it should come off fairly easily. If it’s not coming off …
MATTHEW: No, it doesn’t. (chuckling)
TOM: Alright, well then probably what’s happened, I think it’s etched, Leslie.
LESLIE: But wait. Have you tried white vinegar.
MATTHEW: I haven’t tried that, no.
LESLIE: Because white vinegar is like the key to wiping out any sort of mineral deposit, which won’t come up with plain water.
MATTHEW: Hmm.
LESLIE: So if you try white vinegar then it’s definitely a mineral haze and that’s easy to come off. If it’s etched, that’s a whole other, you know, problem.
TOM: Yeah, then it’s not – then what you’re seeing is not anything that’s on top of the glass. It’s something that’s actually in the glass and sometimes old glass gets etched like that on the outside and it becomes sort of dull and smoky looking and you can clean that til the cows come home and it’s not going to change anything. So the key here is to figure out whether the glass has been damaged or just has a deposit on it. So I would try to use a vinegar solution and see if you can pull off that mineral deposit and then take it from there.
MATTHEW: Yeah. Well, if it doesn’t work they’re still perfectly usable. (chuckling)
TOM: Well, there you go. You’ll just have a little more privacy than you counted on, Matt.
MATTHEW: (chuckling) It’s a partial greenhouse and then a workshop that we built.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Well, it’ll still work.
MATTHEW: Yeah. (chuckling)
TOM: Alright, Matt. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Edna in New Jersey wants to talk about porches. What can we do to help you with?
EDNA: Well, I need to have it repaired. I think it’s called pointing or something like that.
TOM: Uh-huh.
EDNA: And then I also saw someone that had a metal one that they just bring in and put it in. But I just don’t know like underneath if once they take the old one I’d have to have that all cemented. And …
TOM: Alright. So first of all, Edna, you have a porch that’s made of brick?
EDNA: Yes.
TOM: And it needs to be restored because some of the mortar is falling out of the brick joints?
EDNA: Correct.
TOM: Well, I would do that. And you know, brick is about as durable a product as you can get. I certainly wouldn’t tear it out just because it needs to be repointed. Repointing is normal maintenance for bricks …
EDNA: Oh.
TOM: … and repointing refers to the process of taking the loose mortar out that’s between the bricks – just, you know, the outside edge of it – and then pushing some new mortar in there. And masons do this all the time and it only has to be done once and it lasts a good 10 or 20 years.
EDNA: Oh, because it’s actually lasted over 40 years. So, you know, now it …
TOM: Well, you see? So that porch doesn’t owe you any money, does it, Edna?
EDNA: No, it doesn’t.
TOM: Edna, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show where work and fun meet. Now here’s something that is work and it’s not fun: mold and mildew in your bathroom. (Tom and Leslie chuckle) You know, constant cleaning is always a hassle but there are ways to recaulk, reclean that bathroom so the mold doesn’t come back. We’re going to give you those tips, next.
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ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is being brought to you by – well, by us. Save hundreds a month on groceries, not to mention significant savings on home improvement products and services with your new Money Pit American Homeowners Association membership. And get $50 in Zircon tools if you join in the next 30 minutes. Call now. 866-REAL-HOME. That’s 866-REAL-HOME. Now here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Making good homes better, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete and we are proud to say – proud and I do not mind tooting our own horns on this – that The Money Pit has been rated the most downloaded home improvement podcasts on iTunes.
TOM: Wow.
LESLIE: And it’s the Money Pit podcast.
TOM: That’s very cool.
LESLIE: It’s available now at MoneyPit.com. It’s super cool. You can get this show. You can get the shows for the past year. And they are all available for free.
TOM: And in fact, all the transcripts from the show are also online, too, so if you missed a tip just look it up at MoneyPit.com in the Listen section.
LESLIE: So you never have to write anything down. This is awesome. I love it. That’s what we love to do: service, help, all with a smile but you can’t see us doing it.
And while you’re on MoneyPit.com downloading your most recent transcript or something that you need, click on Ask Tom and Leslie if you’re just too shy to call us up with your home improvement question and we will answer them like we do in this e-mail portion of the show every hour. And we’ve got one here from Tammy in Grand Rapids, Michigan who writes: “I have mold in my bathroom tub and shower area, particularly on the caulk. What is the best way to remove the mold and to prevent it from coming back and what products are available to do this ourselves?”
TOM: Excellent question and one that many, many people have to deal with; the whole idea of getting rid of that moldy caulk. There is a solution and it involves sort of the step-by-step approach to recaulking your tub and your shower area.
The first thing that you need to do, Tammy, is this: you need to go out and pick up some caulk softener, which is sort of like a paint remover for caulk. It basically determines – makes it sort of softer …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … so it’s easier to sort of scrape it out. And use the caulk softener to get rid of all of the old caulk that’s there and after you have it out we want you to wipe that surface down with a bleach solution. Pretty strong solution. Maybe one-third bleach, two-thirds water. And then let it dry real well. This is going to kill any mold spores that are left behind.
Now, the next step is one that will provide have you shaking your head wondering why are we telling you to do this. We want you to fill the tub up with water. Why would you want to do that? Well, because that’s going to …
LESLIE: Ah, it’s very clever.
TOM: … weight down that tub. While the tub is filled with water then caulk it.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: And after the caulk is dried let the water out of the tub so if the tub comes back up it compresses the caulk. If you stand in the tub and stretch it down with your girth (Leslie chuckles), it doesn’t pull the caulk away and if you use the right kind of caulk it will not grow back. Probably a good caulk to use is one that has a mildicide in it. There are a number of them out there. I know DAP makes one with Microban is the (INAUDIBLE).
LESLIE: Mm-hmm, Microban is the most common term for it.
TOM: Right, there are other types. It’s sort of the Intel inside. There are other types of mildicide but make sure you choose a caulk that has a mildicide and this way you’ll caulk it once, you’ll caulk it right and you probably won’t have to do it for a long, long time again.
LESLIE: Alright, we’ve got another here from Patricia in Boynton Beach, Florida who writes: “When carpet becomes loose or wrinkled, do I need to purchase new padding? And how much can I expect to pay per square foot for stretching of my existing carpeting?”
TOM: Good question. It’s kind of a service call thing. You shouldn’t necessarily be paying a whole lot of money for that. I would expect, you know, $100 to $200 to have a carpet pro come out and restretch your carpet. And this does have to be done from time to time. Even with some of the good carpets it does tend to sag and get a bit loose and can become an unsafe area.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: But it’s not a difficult thing to do, Patricia. It’s just clearly not a do-it-yourself project because, believe me, you don’t have the knees for it. Those guys go in there with those …
LESLIE: Yeah, and you don’t want to have the knees for it.
TOM: … argh, with those kicker things and they know just how to stretch it; just how to trim it so it looks absolutely perfect when they are done.
LESLIE: Yeah, and what would take those pros maybe an hour would take you a day. So leave it to the pros and pay that little bit of money.
TOM: You’ve been listening to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show and we are just about out of time. So before we go, think about this. Do you have an e-mail question for us? Do you have a burning home improvement question and you just couldn’t get in this hour? Well, call us anytime of the day or night at 888-MONEY-PIT and we promise you, our pledge, we will call you back the next time we are in the studio and tackle that project next on The Money Pit.
I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself …
LESLIE: But you don't have to do it alone.
[audio timestamp: 44:30]
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END HOUR 1 TEXT
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