Transcripts
Transcript For September 1, 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: 0:025]
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 right now with your home improvement project. Call us right now with your do-it-yourself dilemma. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. Call us now because we are heading into the Goldilocks season for home improvement and you’re probably saying, “Why do you call it the Goldilocks season, Tom?” Well, because …
LESLIE: I’m like what does home improvement have to do with story time?
TOM: … it’s not too hot and it’s not too cold. It’s the perfect weather, right now in the fall, to tackle all sorts of home improvement projects around your house. Think about it: you can work outside; you can work inside; there are very few weather limitations and it’s time to get those jobs done.
LESLIE: Yeah, and it’s a great time of year to just throw open the windows, do some painting; so you can really air things out and get things done right and quick. And one of those projects you might want to tackle is insulating your home, because the right insulation can actually make a huge difference in your energy bills. That’s why, in a few minutes, we’re going to be telling you about a new type of expandable insulation which is a healthier, quieter and a way more energy-efficient option.
TOM: Also ahead, a little quiz for you. True or false: should you pre-rinse your dishes before loading them into your dishwasher? Do you think that’s correct? Do you think that’s incorrect? Well, we’re going to ask you in a just a bit. You’ll be able to go online and actually give us your answer and participate in the My Home, My Money Pit Home Improvement Adventure Game and Sweepstakes that we’re launching today. You can have a chance to win 5,000 bucks cash and a whole bunch of other home improvement products.
Leslie, I think the prize pool is now up to about 20K in stuff.
LESLIE: Man, that’s amazing and I have to tell you, I think the answer to the rinsing the dishes question is going to vary on if you ask me or if you ask my mom.
TOM: (chuckling) Well, I think it’s definitely a generational angle to that. (Leslie chuckles) But we’ll have the answer to that and much more in just a bit.
LESLIE: And we’re giving away a great prize this hour. We’ve got a set of three Pizzazz mirror squares from MirrorMate and these are going to add the perfect amount of décor and design to any room in your money pit.
TOM: And they’re worth over 100 bucks, so call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. You must have a home improvement question and be willing to come on the air and ask us.
Leslie, who’s first?
LESLIE: Heading over to Texas to chat with Gene about a shed project. What can we do for you?
GENE: Yeah, I’ve got a storage shed, a 10x13, and I’ve had it, oh, 15, 17 years; something like that. And the material that it’s built out of on the outside, it’s kind of like compressed paper with wood grain on top of it.
TOM: Ah, the dreaded composite siding.
GENE: Yeah, and it’s decompositing. (chuckles)
TOM: Yeah, well that stuff …
LESLIE: It’s become a sponge.
TOM: That stuff is fine as long as you paint it everyday before you go to work.
GENE: (chuckling) Oh, yeah. So, what would be the best to replace that with …
TOM: Well, it’s makes a good …
GENE: … so that it doesn’t happen again?
TOM: You know, it makes a good sheathing product and so you could probably put new siding right over that. Now, you’ve got a number of choices. What’s your house sided with right now?
GENE: I’ve got vinyl siding on the house.
TOM: You’ve got vinyl? Well, you know if you – it depends on how you want this thing to look. I mean you could vinyl side the shed or, if you wanted to sort of do it yourself, you could put T1-11 on top of the composite siding. T1-11 can look like sort of board and batten siding. You could use a shingle product like a hardy plank shingle, a cement asbestos shingle. You could pretty much put any siding product right on top of that and just consider the existing composite to be the sheathing for it.
GENE: Alright, why thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome, Gene. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Going over to Maryland now where Karen’s got a driveway that’s cracking up. Tell us about it.
KAREN: Well, thank you very much for taking my call.
LESLIE: Our pleasure.
KAREN: I have some cracks in the driveway. We’ve just moved into the house not long ago and there are some cracks in the sidewalk. And I had listened to one of your shows a while back and written down what you suggested; went to two hardware stores, Lowe’s and Home Depot, and they said they didn’t know what I was talking about.
TOM: (chuckling) OK.
KAREN: Since then, I’ve lost the …
LESLIE: The piece of paper.
KAREN: … paper with the name of the product.
TOM: Alright, how big are these cracks?
KAREN: Oh, I would say no more than maybe a quarter-inch.
TOM: OK, and it’s concrete we’re talking about?
KAREN: We’re talking about concrete. Yes, sir.
TOM: Alright. So you can use either a flowable urethane or, if you can’t find that, you can use silicone caulk. I’m sure both home centers will sell you silicone caulk.
KAREN: OK …
TOM: And that will sit in there; it’ll wear well; last about five years; and it will expand and contract. And what it will do, Karen, is it will reduce the amount of water that gets into those cracks …
KAREN: Yes.
TOM: … and that’s really what you want to do because, as the water gets in, it freezes and it makes them worse.
KAREN: Oh, OK.
TOM: So that’s why you’re filling them up.
KAREN: OK, and what suggestion do you have where I could find – what’d you say it was? Flowable urethane?
TOM: Flowable urethane? Well, that’s another sort of hardware store, home improvement store …
LESLIE: Staple, really.
TOM: … sort of staple. I mean it’s pretty common. But if you can’t find it, use silicone caulk. That’ll work just as well.
KAREN: OK. I thank you so very much and I think your show is absolutely fantastic.
TOM: Thank you very much. We appreciate that, Karen. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show and now that we are full into the approach of fall – can you believe it is September already? – give us a call, pick up the phone, let us know what you’re working on and all of those fall fix-ups you want to tackle and we can help you do just that. Give us a call 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Speaking of your fall fix-up season, we’re going to have your DIY checklist for just that, next.
[audio timestamp: 0:06:21.6]
(theme song)
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: Making good homes better, welcome back to the Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. If you have a home improvement question and come on the air and ask us, you will qualify to win the Pizzazz mirror squares from MirrorMate. I love the name of that – Pizzazz. “What can the mirror squares do for me, Tom?”
TOM and LESLIE: They give you pizzazz.
LESLIE: And I just love “pizzazz” because there are so many Zs in it.
TOM: That’s right. Well, they’re 12 inches square, decoratively framed mirrors that will really perk up the room of your home. Group them vertically, diagonally or horizontally for big impact. They’re worth 100 bucks. So call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT and remember, you’ve got to have a question. You can’t just ask for the prize.
LESLIE: (chuckling) Well, that is technically a question. You could say, “How do I get the prize?” But you do need a home improvement question and you know, now that we’re into September, this really is the perfect time of year to throw open your windows, tackle an indoor project, do some painting, do some projects outside. Because the weather is just right, low humidity, things are going to dry quickly and we want to help you tackle all of your fall home improvements. So we want to give you a checklist so you know that you’re not going to miss anything.
First of all, you want to make sure that your exterior wood finishes, any finishes that you’re going to be applying, it’s really great and just the best way for them to dry and cure; if you apply them when the temperature out of doors is between 50 and 80 degrees. And it’s important to remember that the UV rays of winter, they’re just as damaging as the summer rays. So you want to make sure that your unprotected wood you’ve got around your property is really protected so you don’t see any cracking or blistering, flaking, even peeling of that finish.
TOM: And if you have vinyl outdoor furniture, now is the perfect time to give it a good washing and also make sure you have a place to store it indoors during the winter. With wood furniture you’re going to want to inspect it for damage and do any necessary repairs before you store it. This way it’ll be good to go next spring.
Now is also a good time to patch any cracks in the foundation and touch up any peeling or cracking outdoor paint. You also want to clean your gutters one last time so that melting snow and ice, it won’t get trapped and cause them to fall off your house.
LESLIE: Now we know that’s an abbreviated list that we just shared with you. If you want a complete – and I mean a complete and thorough list of fall projects, we are sending it to you in our very next issue of our Money Pit e-newsletter. If you are not already signed up to receive it, go to MoneyPit.com right now. It is a free weekly gold mine of information and we’re not going to give away your address, so no unwanted spam coming from us.
TOM: But we will give away our phone number. 888-666-3974.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Diane in Maryland is just not getting the proper pressure in her shower. What can we do for you today?
DIANE: Hi, I’m having trouble with the water pressure in my whole house, actually.
LESLIE: The whole house?
DIANE: I have low water pressure upstairs and really high water pressure downstairs. Is there anything I can do about it?
TOM: Low water pressure upstairs and high water pressure downstairs usually means that your main water line into the house is not delivering enough water and the fixtures that are the farthest away from the main water line have the least flow.
DIANE: Gotcha.
TOM: So that’s not unusual. How old is your house?
DIANE: It’s about 40 years old.
TOM: And what kind of pipes do you have coming into the house, do you know?
DIANE: They’re copper.
TOM: Copper. So the copper is not going to restrict like a steel pipe would but it might be a problem with the valve.
DIANE: OK.
TOM: So the pattern that you’re describing is probably plumbing related in terms of a valve that’s restricting water to the second floor. And what I would do is I would sort of dissect or have a plumber dissect the supply lines up to the second floor and figure out where the drop in pressure is.
DIANE: OK.
TOM: Now the pressure on the second floor that’s low, is that low through all the fixtures in this bathroom? Is it one bathroom, first of all?
DIANE: It’s the bathroom in the kitchen upstairs.
TOM: OK, it’s just one bathroom.
DIANE: So yes, all the fixtures.
TOM: And you say all the fixtures; so we’re talking about both – what? – a tub and shower and a sink?
DIANE: Yes.
TOM: Any problems with the toilet?
DIANE: Yes.
TOM: Hmm. Alright, well I would say to check the cold water supply line up to that space because I suspect that it’s restricted somewhere and that’s why you’re having this pressure problem. I doubt very seriously there’s any problem with the clogging of a pipe because as long as everything is copper there’s really nothing for you to clog.
DIANE: OK. Well thank you for your information. I want to check into that.
TOM: Alright, Diane. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: Gil in North Carolina needs some help cleaning up some black mystery spots. Tell us where you see them.
GIL: The carpet has, over a period of about 10 years, started showing various sized spots or dots. They almost look like they’re tar, except they aren’t and they’re dry and they’re solid.
TOM: Have you tried to steam clean the carpet, Gil?
GIL: Yes, we’ve tried that.
LESLIE: What is the carpet on top of?
GIL: There’s a padding material.
TOM: And do you see any of the spotting underneath the carpet?
GIL: Yes, it shows underneath but not as dense in its feel or color.
TOM: Hmm.
LESLIE: Is the subfloor concrete?
GIL: No, the subfloor is – underneath that is an unfinished basement.
TOM: OK, so is it like a crawlspace or basement?
GIL: No, it’s a walk …
TOM: It’s a walk-in basement? And you don’t see anything in the basement, do you?
GIL: No.
TOM: Hmm.
GIL: Yeah, the living room, which is right next door to the family room, where all the spots are, is completely clean.
TOM: Well, you know what? It sounds to me – I was going to suggest that this could be a defect in the carpets that’s taken many years to show. I wonder if there’s a problem with the dye kind of coming off in chunks like that.
GIL: Hmm.
LESLIE: You don’t think maybe there’s a leak somewhere underneath and that’s mold?
TOM: Well, it sounds like it’s very consistent all the way across …
GIL: Yeah.
TOM: … and it’s over an unfinished basement. If he had a mold problem it certainly would be more prevalent in the basement than up in this carpet. So I’m tending to think that you just may have some worn out carpet on your hands there, Gil.
GIL: Well, that’s where the pressure is coming from as far as fixing the house up.
TOM: Well, and is it – and where’s that pressure coming from, exactly? Would it be Mrs. Gil?
GIL: Yeah.
TOM: (chuckles) Well, it might be time to grant her wish, Gil, and get her some new carpet. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Well, the postman always rings twice – once? How many times does he ring, Tom? (chuckles) Well, George in Texas wouldn’t know because he’s having a problem with his mailbox. What’s going on?
GEORGE: Hello. I’ve got a brick mailbox where it’s got the standard metal box inside of it.
TOM: Right.
GEORGE: And somehow it got rusted off of the top. And what I need to know is, is that easy enough to pull out myself and replace or is it better to get a masonry person to come in there and do that?
TOM: You know, it’s not that hard to do and mailboxes, fortunately, are fairly standard in size. What you’re going to want to do is open up the front door of the mailbox and probably if you look inside you’re going to see that the mailbox has probably been screwed into the brick or perhaps into some cleats. They may have put some wood cleats inside of that structure – it’s a rather hollow structure – just to secure the mailbox in place.
Now, when you go to replace it, what you might want to think about doing is replacing it with a vinyl mailbox. They come in plastic as well as metal and that’s going to be less likely to corrode because what happens is you get this corrosion between the aluminum mailboxes and the acid that’s in the mortar joints of the brick and that tends to cause it to either deteriorate or, if it’s a steel mailbox, it’ll cause it to rust.
GEORGE: OK. How do I secure it? Just shove it in or do – how do you secure it?
TOM: Well, usually there’s – you have to look at how the old one is secured, but usually you’re going to screw through the inside of the mailbox out into the brick. There’s probably a fastening system that was installed. It could have been a lead shield, it could have been a piece of wood that was inserted in there. There’s some sort of an attachment surface inside that brick.
GEORGE: OK, I’ll give it a try.
TOM: Alright, George. Good luck with that project.
GEORGE: Thank you.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Judy in Florida is looking to insulate her home. What can we help you with?
JUDY: Hi, I’d like to ask a question about using foam inside a new home …
TOM: OK.
JUDY: … that we’re constructing and wanted to know the pros and cons. And we were looking at the Close-Sell (ph). Close-Sell (ph).
TOM: Are you referring to polyisonene?
JUDY: Uh-huh. Something similar to that.
TOM: Yeah, good choice. You know, very, very energy efficient. Has to be installed at the time the home is constructed. But does a great job of not only insulating the home but also sealing against drafts because it does fill up all of the cavities and all of the bays. it’s an expandable foam. So when it’s sprayed it expands; it takes up all the space and it’s trimmed. And that really does a good job.
You know, when you just put fiberglass bats in there there’s still a lot of air that can get in around that.
JUDY: Right.
TOM: But the expandable foam insulations eliminate that problem.
JUDY: Uh-huh. Any problems with it being too tight? Making the house too tight?
TOM: No, absolutely not. And in fact, if your home was too tight that would be a good thing because you would then put in an air-to-air heat exchanger which will let in fresh air but it will treat the heated or the cooled air on the way out so you don’t have to reheat or recool. So you don’t have to worry about whether or not the insulation will make the home too tight. If it is too tight there is another appliance that could be installed that will fix that and it’s called an air-to-air heat exchanger.
JUDY: So that’s a good idea, then?
TOM: Excellent idea.
JUDY: OK. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate your help.
TOM: You’re very welcome, Judy. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT and enjoy your new home.
JUDY: Thank you.
LESLIE: You are tuned to the Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show and I know it seems like summer is just ending, but here is a startling fact that you need to consider as the fall and the cold weather approaches. Random air leaks around your house, they can account for 40 percent of your home’s energy losses. We are going to tell you what you can do to cut down on those leaks and save some money, next.
[audio timestamp: 0:17:27.8]
(theme song)
ANNNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by FRAM. Installing a new FRAM air filter can help improve your gas mileage. Remember, before you slam it, FRAM it. Now here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Welcome back to the Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show, your guide to every home improvement adventure. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete and you know, one of the words that I really hear buzzing around – I’m sure, Tom, you hear this, too; especially any time you go somewhere and folks want to talk about home improvement, which always happens in our line of work. People are really talking about green. Green, green, green. It just seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue and it really is a wonderful opportunity to install some of these green features in your home and it gives you a great way to be environmentally friendly and save some money. But did you know that your homes and buildings account for more than half of all the greenhouse gas emissions that are released into the environment in this country? And there’s a great product on the market that goes way beyond the typical bats of rolled out insulation and it’s called isonene and it offers a healthier, quieter and way more energy-efficient option for your home.
TOM: Yeah, I really like this stuff because it really does two things, Leslie. You know, it seals out the air leakage, which, of course, is responsible for so much of the additional cost that we spend on heating our homes. So if you can seal out the drafts you’re kind of halfway there. And secondly, it insulates. It basically is sprayed in and expands in seconds to create a soft foam barrier that really totally seals out the drafts and insulates it at the same time. It’s also healthier because it minimizes the outdoor allergens and the pollutants and it’s a hundred percent water-blown, which means there’s no off-gassing to worry about getting into your house.
So I really like this stuff. I encourage you to check it out. It’s called isonene and you can visit InsulationSmart.com for more info.
Call us right now with your home improvement question. Call us right now with your do-it-yourself dilemma. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Bernard, welcome to The Money Pit. What are you working on?
BERNARD: I’m thinking of redoing my bathroom. Now, the things that I don’t understand – in other words, the bath makeover. In other words, instead of taking out the bathtub, they have this system of covering the bathtub. It’s called a bathover. I want to know what you think about that.
TOM: Well, it’s an insert and basically it’s made to fit inside and cover the tub that way and sometimes it goes up and around the walls.
BERNARD: Right, got you.
TOM: You know, I think it’s an option. It’s usually pretty expensive. I found, when I priced out these bath inserts, that they cost almost but not quite as much as the cost of replacing the walls and the tub yourself.
LESLIE: Yeah, but you know what? There’s the tradeoff, because if you do a traditional bathroom remodel you’re looking at weeks, you know, to do the entire project. With these bath refitting, sort of covering products, it’s done in a day.
BERNARD: Right, I understand that. (inaudible at 0:20:48.2)
TOM: The other thing is, Bernie, that what you’re going to find is that it does take up some room in the bathtub. So the bathtub will end up being a little bit narrower and a little bit shorter by virtue of the fact that the insert is there.
BERNARD: Oh, that’s very interesting. I didn’t know that. (inaudible at 0:21:02.7)
TOM: Yeah, because it’s pretty thick.
BERNARD: The only thing that I had – was thinking about, if I had any problems in the wall; in other words, I have to break into the whole system.
TOM: Yeah, that’s a good point. Well, that’s a good question. I don’t know if that system is designed for that. Let’s say you had to get behind the wall to replace the plumbing valves or something.
BERNARD: Right, right. That’s what I was thinking about.
TOM: If you can’t access it from the backside, then you know, that’s right; there could be an issue there.
BERNARD: Right. So I’ll go through the old, traditional way of just retiling with tiles itself.
TOM: Yeah, I think that that’s a better option.
BERNARD: Replacing the bathtub.
TOM: Yep.
LESLIE: And you know what? It looks way better. Even though those products do look nice when you see them on TV and magazines and stuff, it’s always so much nicer to do the work the real way and plus, on a resale front, it’s going to be way more profitable for you.
TOM: Bernie, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
BERNARD: Oh, thank you, thank you.
LESLIE: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show.
When we come back from the break, we are going to have tons more fun and informative home improvement answers and advice for you and we’re going to be giving it to you in a very fun way. We’re going to have a true or false question for you. I’m going to give you a little teaser right now.
Do you need to pre-rinse your dishes before loading them into the dishwasher? Like I said, if you ask me, you ask my mom, you’re going to get a different answer. We’ll have the right one for you, after the break.
[audio timestamp: 0:22:18.8]
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is being brought to you by Guardian Home Standby Generators, America’s choice in power outage protection. Learn more at GuardianGenerators.com. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete and we here at The Money Pit love to give away prizes and we’ve got something this hour for one lucky caller who gets on the air with their home improvement question. We’re giving away a set of three Pizzazz mirror squares from MirrorMate and they’re worth more than 100 bucks and all you have to do to get in on this is pick up the phone, call us, ask your question, then go ahead and put on your fall to-do list “Paint room, redecorate, hang my Pizzazz mirrors.” (Tom chuckles) Before you know it, you will have a jazzy new setting for the autumn season.
TOM: 888-666-3974. You must have a home improvement question and be willing to come on the air and ask us.
Speaking of which, Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Darryl in Maryland needs some help with a flooring project. What are you working on?
DARRYL: I’m working on a flooring project to put down new tile in three bathrooms.
TOM and LESLIE: OK.
DARRYL: And the problem that I have is that I bought the regular thinset mortar – the one that cures, you know, 24 hours a later – but I’m having some problems now because it seems like the grout is cracking. So …
TOM: Well, what’s the base of the tile and how big are these tiles?
DARRYL: They’re ceramic tiles; probably roughly about ¼-inch.
TOM: No, but what’s the width?
LESLIE: Are they 12x12 …?
DARRYL: Oh, 12x12.
LESLIE: OK. Now …
TOM: The bigger the tile, the more solid the base you need.
LESLIE: Well, and also – you have a ¼-inch grout line between each tile?
DARRYL: Yes.
LESLIE: Did you buy sanded grout or nonsanded grout?
DARRYL: Sanded grout.
LESLIE: Sanded is the correct one because you want it for the wider spaces, so that shouldn’t be the problem.
TOM: Now, the cracking that you’re getting, is it more shrinking or is it physically sort of movement of the tile?
DARRYL: It sounded like, when I was first walking on the tile, that you can hear – it sounded like broken glass.
TOM: That doesn’t sound good. You know Darryl …
LESLIE: It sounds like the floor is uneven and then when you put the hardy backer on it didn’t even it out and now, as you’re sort of stepping on things, it’s causing a lot of movement and because you have such a large tile, it’s very sensitive to all the movement that’s going on underneath and, as you know, tile doesn’t bend. So it’s finding the path of least resistance and you’re getting some cracking in the grout.
DARRYL: Right.
TOM: Well, at this point, Darryl, if you’ve got the tile down, what I would probably recommend you do is finish the job with the grout and seal the grout and just kind of monitor it because any correction here is going to require totally removing that tile …
DARRYL: OK.
TOM: … and that’s not something we’re prepared to recommend. It might be that you’re just getting a little bit of movement, a little bit of cracking in the seams and it may not add up to much.
DARRYL: OK.
TOM: Now are you still glad you did the job yourself?
DARRYL: You know, I am.
TOM: Alright, good.
DARRYL: I am very much. Yeah, because I think it’s something that I know I can do and if I would have had the right instructions …
TOM: I’ll tell you what we’ll do, Darryl. We’ll send you the right instructions. We’re going to send you a copy of our new book, My Home, My Money Pit: Your Guide to Every Home Improvement Adventure. Promise to read it … (Leslie chuckles)
DARRYL: I will.
TOM: … before you pick up the tools, OK?
DARRYL: (laughing) Always.
TOM: Alright, Darryl. Stand by. We’ll take your address and get that out to you.
888-666-3974. Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Edna in New Jersey wants to talk about porches. What can we do to help you?
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: Hey, going on right now is the My Home, My Money Pit Home Improvement Adventure Game and Sweepstakes. We’ve taken our advice and put it into a fun, entertaining and may we say, very informative book called My Home, My Money Pit: Your Guide to Every Home Improvement Adventure and to celebrate, well, we’re doing what we always do; we’re giving away lots of stuff including – how about this? – $5,000 cash.
LESLIE: Whoo!
TOM: Casharooni. Cold, hard cash.
LESLIE: Can I enter?
TOM: You cannot enter. (Leslie growls) But everyone else can.
LESLIE: Alright, good luck.
TOM: Plus, lots of fun home improvement products with our first ever home improvement game. Yes, The Money Pit is now a game. It’s called the My Home, My Money Pit Home Improvement Adventure Game and Sweepstakes. It is live right now at MoneyPit.com.
LESLIE: Alright, if you want to get in on all these awesome prizes, all you need to do to enter is head on over to MoneyPit.com and then you tour our interactive online Money Pit – you know, a home that needs some love and care, like your home – room by room, where you’ll have the chance to test your home improvement knowledge by answering some pretty easy true or false home improvement questions. If you get them right, you will be qualified to enter the sweepstakes and win our $5,000 cash grand prize.
TOM: And there are dozens of other prizes, including five EasyWater water softening systems worth almost 1,300 bucks each; two Lifetime sheds worth nearly 1,200 bucks – think about all the stuff you could stick in one of those puppies this winter – and a Lifetime trailer worth more than 1,500 bucks and a hundred packages of monkey hooks to hang up all the stuff …
LESLIE: Think of all the things you can hang up with that.
TOM: Yeah, around your house. Plus we’ve got 50 “I love my money pit” t-shirts and tote bags. Test your home improvement knowledge. You could walk away a winner.
LESLIE: That’s right and we’re even going to help you become a lucky winner by giving you some answers right now, like the question we asked you before the break.
OK, true or false: your dishes – will they come out cleaner from the dishwasher if you pre-rinse them before you load them into the dishwasher …
TOM: Hmm.
LESLIE: … and the answer is (drum roll) false. (Tom chuckles) Sorry, mamasita.
TOM: Now …
LESLIE: You absolutely do not need to pre-rinse your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher. Why? First of all, you are wasting water. Secondly, it’s actually going to leave your dishes dirtier.
TOM: Now this is the point that most people don’t get. They say, “How could they possibly come out dirtier if I pre-rinse them first?”
LESLIE: Well, it’s funny. My husband and I have the same discussion. He’s always like “You better rinse those clean.” I’m like, “You don’t really have to.” Because with modern dishwashers, they actually, when you pre-rinse them, you’re tricking the dishwasher into thinking that the dishes aren’t as dirty as they really are so it’s not going to work as hard or put out as much soap or do the things that it needs to do to make them clean.
TOM: So, there’s one answer. Go online right now to MoneyPit.com. Test yourself just a little bit more with the My Home, My Money Pit Home Improvement Adventure Game and Sweepstakes and you could win up to 5,000 bucks cash.
LESLIE: Alright, so good luck everybody. Head over to The Money Pit website today and get your chance to win.
Coming up, will your insurance company reimburse you for repairs to your home that you do yourself? We’re going to try to answer that when we reach into our Money Pit e-mail bag, coming up next.
[audio timestamp: 0:29:57.1]
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ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by FRAM. Worried about high gas prices? Do something about it. Replacing your clogged air filter with a new FRAM air filter can help improve your gas mileage. So remember, before you slam it, FRAM it. Now here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to the Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: And in just a couple of months, Americans are going to choose a new president. Lots of promises being made right now, but what can the candidates offer you, as a homeowner, that is going to make it a little less expensive for you to operate your home? I’m going to analyze that question in the next column that I have on AOL. Simply go to MoneyPit.AOL.com to read all about it; what the candidates offer and how it impacts your home.
LESLIE: I love it, Tom. Talking politics always makes for a fun day. And while you are surfing the web, go over to MoneyPit.com and you can e-mail us your home improvement question by simply clicking on the Ask Tom and Leslie icon. And we always jump into The Money Pit e-mail bag and we’re doing so right now. We’ve got one here from Mark in Algonquin, Illinois who writes: “My home has recently experienced hail damage to the roof and siding.” Summer storms at their worst. “I know most homeowners will hire a contractor and have their insurance company approve the work for the contractor to do. I’ve done siding projects before and I’m very capable of doing the work myself. Would my insurance agency approve me to do the work on my own and, if so, am I allowed to pocket the money that would be saved by doing the work myself and only pay for the supplies?” (Tom chuckles) “I feel like it seems deceitful, but I don’t see why a contractor can make a profit off the hail damage and I, the homeowner, couldn’t when I’m going to be doing the work myself.”
TOM: You know, that’s a good question, Mark, and I don’t see why you can’t do the work yourself. But I wouldn’t lead with that statement to the insurance company. (Leslie chuckles) I’ll tell you what I would do. I would hire an independent insurance adjuster, because they know how to use the industry standard numbers to assess how much damage this has caused to your home and then they can also negotiate with the insurance company to get you a nice, fat check to pay for it. Once you get the check, how you get the work done, I don’t think the insurance company cares so much about that as long as you don’t do anything that causes some additional damage to your home. And speaking of which, remember, you’re just as responsible as any pro you hire; so if you make any mistakes, you may not have insurance coverage the next time around. But if you feel competent and comfortable to do it yourself, I say go for it.
LESLIE: Alright, we’ve got one here from Diane in Jackson, Tennessee. She wants to know what is the best way to repair a hole in the wall of a fiberglass shower and is there any way to make that repair less visible?
TOM: Well, it’s hard to do this repair, Diane, and have it be somewhat invisible but you can get a fiberglass repair kit at not a home improvement store but an auto supply store.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: And you can pick up some fiberglass material and some patching but it will look rather rough, I will say.
LESLIE: Really, there’s no way to sand the edges, just to try to smooth it out?
TOM: Well, like you can sand it, but the truth is you’re going to have a different color because the final color coat that’s on that shower wall now …
LESLIE: Brand new.
TOM: … not going to show through.
LESLIE: Alright. Well Diane, do your best, take your time and follow those directions. Good luck.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Head on over to MoneyPit.com right now and check out the My Home, My Money Pit Home Improvement Adventure Game and Sweepstakes. Test your home improvement knowledge and you may just win 5,000 bucks or one of the other many prizes that we’re giving away to folks that can surf around an online house and answer a few questions about their home improvement projects. All available …
LESLIE: The game looks great; the questions, they’re pretty easy; and if you read The Money Pit book, you will know the answers, absolutely.
TOM: Yes, easy and enjoyable questions like this one. Sags Surges and Spikes is the name of a now famous rock band (Leslie chuckles) that started in a garage. What do you think? True or false? If you know the answer to that question, go to MoneyPit.com; sign up for The Money Pit online home improvement adventure game and sweepstakes. You may win a great prize. That’s all the time we have this hour.
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.
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END HOUR 1 TEXT
(Copyright 2008 Squeaky Door Productions, Inc. No portion of this transcript or audio file may be reproduced in any format without the express written permission of Squeaky Door Productions, Inc.)
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