Transcripts
Transcript For September 29, 2007, 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 right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT, 888-666-3974 with your home improvement project, question, your do-it-yourself dilemma. We’re here to help you out. There are no dumb questions. Just great stories that happen to other people. (Leslie chuckles) Yes. But no dumb questions. Call us right now. We’ll help you get the job done.
Have a great show planned for you this hour. You know, for years and years roofers have used this material called tar paper under the roofing shingles.
LESLIE: I’ve heard of that.
TOM: Yeah, you’ve heard of that, right?
LESLIE: Yeah.
TOM: Well, apparently it has the same absorption qualities as a sponge.
LESLIE: (chuckling) That is not good.
TOM: And turns out not the best stuff to use. So we’re going to talk about some new high-tech roof underlayments coming up.
LESLIE: And if you’re like most folks, it’s taken you some time to get your house just the way you want it and now that you’ve got it that way, you don’t want to live anywhere else. Well we’re going to have some simple tips for you to help you stay in your home through all the stages of your life; changes that you can make today that are going to help you now and later.
TOM: And is your home a bit dusty? Those dust bunnies, are they building up under the furniture? We’ve got a great tip on how to cut down on dust buildup coming up.
LESLIE: And one caller we talk to this hour is going to win – get this – a year-long membership to the American Homeowners Association. It’s a special Money Pit offer that only our listeners get. And our membership does have its privileges, folks. Among dozens of other benefits, you’re going to get access to prescreened, licensed and insured contractors all over the country – and we know how hard it is to find good contractors so this is a big help – and a $1,000 guarantee that their work is done right. Hey, that’s pretty good.
TOM: Very good. Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. We’ll be giving that membership away to one caller to today’s program.
Leslie, who’s first?
LESLIE: We have John in New Jersey who’s got some wallboard damage. What happened, John?
JOHN: Well, I had a leak in the ceiling and what I am now facing is that there are two – the two pieces of wallboard where they are seamed and there’s a piece of tape over it, the tape has come loose. But in addition to the tape coming loose I believe that the paper has separated on the wallboard itself from the composition material that’s between the – that’s on the wallboard. And I’m not sure – I mean I’ve thought of three options: one is cut that piece out and put another piece in, which is something I can’t do; the other one is to just put up another piece of tape and spackle it over; the other is to cut back the paper from the wallboard that’s separated from the composition and spackle and then put tape over it in the seam and then spackle the whole thing. But I’m …
TOM: Alright, John, let us see if we can straighten you out on this. Just tell me one thing. The area where the paper is separated from the drywall, is it just in the area where the tape was; like a fairly concentrated area there; couple of inches?
JOHN: Yeah, maybe in an inch or two.
LESLIE: And does it run the entire seam or is it just in a short section?
JOHN: (overlapping voices) No, no, no, no. This is maybe only about a – somewhere about 10 inches or 12 inches.
TOM: Alright, this is easy to fix. What …
LESLIE: And you can do it yourself.
TOM: Yeah. What I’m thinking …
JOHN: Yes.
TOM: What I’m thinking here, Leslie, is to do a little surgery here. Get a utility knife.
JOHN: Right.
TOM: Cut out the loose tape. Cut off the paper that’s separated from the drywall. Get that area cleaned up. Then get some fiberglass tape. Put it over …
LESLIE: It’s the meshy one.
TOM: Yeah, the meshy, sticky one. Put it over the seam. And then probably with about three coats of spackle you should be able to rebuild that area. Don’t have to cut the drywall out.
JOHN: OK, so just clean it up. Get the loose tape off. Cut the paper off of the wallboard that is loose.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
JOHN: And then put a piece of that fiberglass mesh tape – which I know what you’re talking about – put that up there and then spackle over the whole thing.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: That’s exactly right.
JOHN: OK. Thank you very, very much.
TOM: You’re welcome, John. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Tiffany in Louisiana, welcome to The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
TIFFANY: Yes, I have had a little problem with water running into my carpet area. We had some – the air conditioner leaked …
TOM: OK.
TIFFANY: … anyway and the carpet got soaking wet. And I can never get all of the water. I believe some of it is underneath the …
LESLIE: In the pad.
TIFFANY: … sheetrock. I don’t know what to do.
TOM: Is it a large area that’s still saturated?
TIFFANY: No, we did one of the little carpet rental where it – shampooer?
TOM: OK.
TIFFANY: And it suctioned up quite a bit of it but it’s still damp.
TOM: Hmm.
TIFFANY: And I can’t get it all out.
TOM: Well, what you’re – the best thing to do is to (clears throat), generally when you get floods in carpets, is to get a fan on it as quickly as possible. Now, if it physically flooded, typically they’re going to lift the carpet up and loosen it up so that it can get – the water can get – the air can get underneath and dry it out.
TIFFANY: OK.
TOM: But if you don’t want to take the carpet up you at least have to get a fan on there. If it’s a bad flood, very often people will go out and rest whole – rent large fans that really move a lot of air through the house. But if it’s a small area you could probably just put a regular window fan sort of pointing in that area and just blow as much air over it as you can and it’ll evaporate eventually.
TIFFANY: OK. Do you know about how many days and how do I make sure it’s not going to mold?
TOM: Well, you should be able to dry it out in a day or so. I wouldn’t think it’s going to take much more time than that. And once it does get dried out then you don’t have to worry about any type of mold setting in.
TIFFANY: OK. Well, I appreciate your time.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Alright, well winter weather’s almost upon us and now is the perfect time to stop those energy dollars leaking out and keep your house nice and warm. So call in your home repair or your home improvement question 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Up next, if I told you that you should put a layer of material under your roof shingles that tears easily, absorbs water like a sponge and could be leak-prone you’d probably think it wasn’t such a hot idea.
LESLIE: No.
TOM: But that may already be the case with your home. Find out what might be wrong with your roof, next.
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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, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Call us right now and get in on our great prize giveaway. One caller we talk to this hour is going to win membership to The Money Pit’s new American Homeowners Association. This is a very special offer only for Money Pit listeners. Membership entitles you to a network of prescreened, licensed and insured contractors all over the country and a host of other services including discounts on – you ready for this? – groceries. We can even help you with your grocery shopping. Learn more at MoneyPit.com.
And by the way, you can also sign up for your very own membership for less than 35 cents a day and if you are among the first 1,000 listeners to do that we’re going to give you a Zircon LaserBall 360 and Zircon’s i60 OneStep stud sensor.
LESLIE: Wow.
TOM: It’s a $50 value.
LESLIE: That’s pretty amazing.
TOM: Visit MoneyPit.com for the details.
LESLIE: Hey, that’s a really great incentive there. Alright, folks. Call in right now and get your membership.
You know, for decades the traditional roofing underlayment has been 15 or 30-pound felt. You know, but this really isn’t the best material to use because not only does felt tear easily, it also absorbs water. This means that if water gets underneath your roof’s coverings it might stay pressed against its wooden decking for weeks or worse, find a way into your home and cause structural damage.
TOM: Yeah, there are many better underlayments out there; for example, the synthetic underlayments. They work very, very well. Grace has one called Tri-Flex 30 that I’ve used. It’s not like a regular roofing felt that actually absorbs water. Not good. This one sheds water when it’s installed on a sloped roof. So instead of this – the rain soaking into the tar paper it actually runs off of it.
LESLIE: Yeah, and that’s really important, especially considering that through your tar paper, this underlayment that they’re using, there’s going to be nails; there’s going to be staples. So you want something that’s not going to cause a leak because you are going to puncture it.
TOM: Good point.
More information on that product is available at GraceAtHome.com. Or call us right now with your roofing question. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Art in Iowa, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you?
ART: Hi. Yeah, y’all had mentioned a few tips (child speaking) for, you know, home improvements and keeping your house up to date. I was wondering, when you said about draining water heaters, does that apply if you still have a whole-house filter? Is that still necessary to drain a couple of gallons out of your water heater every six months?
TOM: If you have a filtration system? Is that what you’re asking?
ART: Well, I have a whole-house filter that just, you know, it filters out like sediment and stuff like that.
TOM: Well, certainly you would be less likely to build up any time of a mineral deposit in the bottom of the water heater.
LESLIE: But don’t you still end up with rust in the bottom?
TOM: Well ...
LESLIE: Not so much?
TOM: Well, now you – the rust would not be in the water part of it. The rust would be, if it’s a gas-fired water heater, you can get rust in the burner compartment.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) In the coil. In the burner itself.
TOM: Right. And it has to be clean. You know, in the years I was a professional home inspector I would very often open up those burner compartments and see like a cone-shaped pile of rust – looked like a little volcano –
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: – you know, on top of that burner. So certainly you’ve got to keep the burner clean and functioning properly and that’s something that you would do periodically. But in terms of draining it, it’s not a bad idea to drain it once every six months or so, but certainly if you have a filtration system on your house then you’re a lot less likely to get a scale buildup.
(child cries)
Ah! (Leslie chuckles) The baby, crying in the background.
ART: (chuckling) Yeah, my little boy there. Well, thank you all very much. (child crying) I really enjoy y’all’s show.
TOM: You’re welcome, Art. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. Bye, little boy.
LESLIE: (chuckling) Future home improvement doer.
Karen in Tennessee wants to talk fencing. What can we help you with?
KAREN: Hi. I had termites on my wood fence. I had a local pest control company eliminate the problem. But my question is how do I eliminate the evidence of the termites on my fence?
LESLIE: Where do you see the damage? Is it on a picket? Is it on the post? Is it on a rail?
KAREN: It’s on the rail.
TOM: And is the – is the rail actually damaged or is it – was it just covered with mud tunnels?
KAREN: Covered with mud tunnels.
TOM: OK. So, you can just brush those off. What happens is the termites use like, I guess we could call it, saliva and they mix sand with it.
LESLIE: Gross.
TOM: And it has a bleaching effect on the wood. And so it will make it somewhat discolored. But you can scrape those off and then if you don’t like the look you could simply stain the fence.
KAREN: Mm-hmm. There might have been a little damage on one part of it.
TOM: If there’s just a little – so little damage that you’re not sure, Karen, don’t worry about it. Now, termites are Mother Nature’s way of getting dead wood. It’s very common to have them on fencing. And if you treated the area around the house – was the fence near your house?
KAREN: Yes, uh-huh.
TOM: Well, then it’s a good thing that you had the house treated. But I wouldn’t worry about it. I would simply brush off the mud tunnels and move on and if it’s not substantially damaged then just ignore it.
KAREN: Mm-hmm. And then you said otherwise I can stain it.
TOM: Yeah, you could stain it.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: Yep, mm-hmm. Absolutely.
KAREN: Uh-huh. But one other thing. What about – what is it? The power …?
TOM: Power washing?
KAREN: Yeah …
TOM: Well, I mean you can certainly do that when you’re prepping for staining. But really, all you have to do is brush off the mud tubes that were on there. See, termites live in the soil. They come up into the wood to feed. And because they can’t be exposed to sunlight they build these tubes – these sort of ¼-inch tubes that are called shelter tunnels – and then they crawl inside of that. So when you see all that dirt on the outside of the fencepost, those are the shelter tunnels.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: And sometimes they’ll bury through the wood too but if it’s not substantially damaged I would just ignore it. Treat it like as if you had some rotted wood. If it’s a little bit of area there just fill it with a wood filler and then either stain it or paint it and move on.
KAREN: Oh, great. Well, thank you so much.
TOM: You’re welcome, Karen. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Ralph in Arizona, welcome to The Money Pit. What are you working on?
RALPH: Actually, I’m working on remodeling my kitchen and I could really use some help in trying to figure out exactly what to do as far as tiling.
LESLIE: OK. Tiling the counter? The backsplash? What are you thinking about?
RALPH: Actually, tiling the backsplash. We’re going with granite countertops.
LESLIE: OK.
RALPH: But you know, everyone’s asking – folks are letting me know that tumbled marble or ceramic tile and – just not sure exactly what to really use.
LESLIE: Well, it really depends on what your design style is; you know, what is the décor of your kitchen, what is the color of your granite. There’s a lot of different choices when it comes to tile and, of course, budget ranges as well.
RALPH: Well, it’s, again, granite top. I have a very – a light-colored floor. And it’s a very contemporary kitchen, for the most part.
LESLIE: Alright. Well, there’s actually a lot of interesting choice when it comes to tile as well. You can even find stainless steel tile that are sort of built in the same way that a subway tile is; almost on a mesh backing. There’s a lot of good choices and those would all make a lot of sense for the backsplash. And if you’re looking to save a couple of dollars you can go with a ceramic tile that might not be as fancy or have a lot of design detail on it, but you can choose something and use that as the field and even turn it on the diagonal just to give it a little bit more visual interest. Or maybe replace every third one with a more fancy tile. This way it sort of works within your budget if you’re trying to maintain a budget.
RALPH: OK, well that’s actually very informative. Can I ask you one other question?
LESLIE: Sure.
RALPH: The floor – for the granite – for the ceramic tile on the floor, there’s options to go into a diagonal pattern, a brick pattern or pretty much a straight pattern.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
RALPH: I was just wondering if there is a pattern that is – one is better than the other and, you know, can make the kitchen look larger, smaller, whatever?
TOM: Well, if you use a diagonal pattern it’s going to draw the eye to the floor. And in my experience that, unless you have a very large kitchen, can make it look smaller.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: So, I think that you want to keep the lines on the floor to be very parallel with the main line of the kitchen cabinets.
RALPH: Hmm.
TOM: If you try to break it up with the diagonal – sometimes I go into houses and people want to do everything, you know, with a chevron or a diagonal kind of pattern. And it really …
LESLIE: Oh, it can get so busy.
TOM: It gets way too busy, yeah. Just keep the flooring (ph) subtle and nice and solid as a base to this visual image but don’t make it too crazy with patterns.
RALPH: Great, thank you so much. Much appreciate it.
TOM: You know a good example of this? Have you ever gone into a casino?
RALPH: Yes.
TOM: The casino carpets are absolutely the most distracting, busiest designs you’ve ever seen. You know why? Because they want you to look at the slot machines.
LESLIE: To draw your eye down.
TOM: So they make it hard to look at the floor.
RALPH: (INAUDIBLE) Makes perfect sense.
TOM: (overlapping voices) So keep it simple.
RALPH: So keep the patterns simple and it doesn’t deter – doesn’t bring the eye down to the floor; kind of pushes it out to the cabinetry and the countertop.
TOM: Unless …
LESLIE: Exactly.
TOM: Unless you want to put a slot machine in your kitchen. (Leslie chuckles) Then go for it.
Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Pauline in Massachusetts, welcome to The Money Pit. What’s going on at your house?
PAULINE: Well, what’s going on in my house is that on my bathroom window and also my den window, which are both on the same side of the house, there’s a watermark as though there was a spill on the windowsills all on the right side. And it looked a little blown up. I was away and I came home and it was a little blown up and now it’s dried up, but we’re left with watermarks as though there’s still a spill on it but they’re dry. What can I do or is there a possibility that it’s not dry somewhere else underneath?
LESLIE: This is on the sill, not on the glass, correct?
PAULINE: Yeah, on the sill and a little in the bathroom where there’s a Jacuzzi underneath. You know, it’s flush against that wall which wasn’t used at all.
TOM: I think you’re going to have to keep an eye on it because we need to know if it’s still active or not.
PAULINE: No, it’s not active now. It’s totally dry.
TOM: OK.
PAULINE: But it looks as though there had been a spill there, you know, and now it’s stained. It’s sort of – it’s the same color but it looks – there’s a watermark like you get sometimes in carpeting? That line?
TOM: I understand. But it’s on the windowsill. Is the windowsill …
PAULINE: It’s on both sills.
TOM: The sills are painted or stained?
PAULINE: Painted.
TOM: OK, well then this is easy to fix. Do you happen to have any of that paint around?
PAULINE: Yeah.
TOM: Good. Don’t put it on before you put a primer step on first.
PAULINE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: OK? You’ve got to use a primer coat because what’ll happen is if you try to repaint that with a water stain …
PAULINE: Yes?
TOM: … that stain will put right through the paint and it’ll show up again and you’ll …
PAULINE: Oh, OK.
TOM: … you’ll just be – you’ll be hating yourself. So …
PAULINE: Is there any particular kind of primer? Is there a kind that I have to use?
TOM: If it’s just a little water stain like that you can use a water-based primer. You can go out and pick up a Behr water-based primer or a KILZ water-based primer. Get a little small can of it. They come in the pint-sized can. Get one of those foam brushes …
PAULINE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … as you have a really small paint job here and do a coat of primer first. Prime the entire sill, not just the spot …
PAULINE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … because otherwise when you put the paint on it won’t sort of lay right.
LESLIE: Not going to match.
TOM: Yeah. Well, it’s like rougher in one area than the other. And then just repaint the sill …
PAULINE: How long do I wait in between the processes?
TOM: Just enough for the primer to dry; you know, an hour or so if it’s a warm day. Shouldn’t be a problem.
PAULINE: OK. Thank you so much. I appreciate your help.
TOM: You’re welcome, Pauline. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
You know, making some very simple changes to your house right now can make life easier for you today and actually help you stay in your house a lot longer.
LESLIE: That’s right. We’re going to tell you how to make minor changes that offer major conveniences and superb style, 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: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show where we love plywood just as much as you do. (Leslie chuckles) Call us right now with your home improvement question. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Maybe you’re tackling a home repair that includes some plywood or maybe some 2x4s or maybe you’re building a nice shelf inside your house and you don’t want it to fall down. We can help you. Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Hey, maybe we can help you get rid of something that you don’t like in your house, like mold.
LESLIE: Ooh.
TOM: It’s an ugly, black, living organism that feeds on your walls, your carpets and anything that is organic in your house and it can be very hard to know if you have mold in your house and it could be making you or your family sicker and sicker in the meantime. If you want to learn about mold and how to diagnose it, we have created a great resource for just that. It’s on MoneyPit.com and it’s called the Mold Resource Guide and it’s absolutely free on our website right now at MoneyPit.com.
LESLIE: Alright, when you guys are thinking about home renovations or home remodeling, you know, any type of projects you’re going to be doing in your house, do you think about putting products or additions or features in that just make it more useful or do you not even think about that stuff? Because some design features are just going to make great sense. And once you have them in your home you are going to wonder how you’ve ever lived without them to begin with. Plus, you’re going to have no problem hosting friends and family of all ages.
TOM: They don’t have to be expensive either. For example, the AARP suggests that floors and bathtubs should have nonslip surfaces to help everybody stay on their feet.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: And good lighting is another one. You know, very often when you put lighting fixtures up you’ll notice that there’s a label on them that talks about the max wattage. There’s no reason not to put the max wattage in those fixtures. You know, yes, will it cost a little bit more on energy? But the light is so healthy to have when you’re trying to move around your house safely. So check the fixtures out. Put the max watt bulbs in there and everyone can see better as a result.
LESLIE: And also, think about your doorknobs. You know, level door handles and even those rocker light switches, they are great for people with poor hand strength. But other people are going to like them too because try using them with your arms full of groceries or laundry. Once you realize the convenience of them you will never go back to standard switches or knobs again.
If you want some more info and some great ideas you can go to AARP.org/HomeDesign. It’s a great website. There’s a lot of useful information. Small changes, big changes you can make to your house to make it a lot more user friendly. The website, again, is AARP.org/HomeDesign.
TOM: Yeah, especially I really like the rocker light switches. My favorite is the Bruce Springsteen light switch.
LESLIE: What is that?!
TOM: It’s the rocker light switch.
LESLIE: You’re such a doofus. (Tom and Leslie laugh) Is that what you nickname them at home?
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Rudy in Florida, welcome to The Money Pit. What’s going on at your house?
RUDY: I have a pool with a screened enclosure.
LESLIE: OK.
RUDY: And the screened enclosure has mold on it and so do the metal supports and I’m wondering what I can do to get rid of the mold without messing up the pool?
TOM: Well, you’re going to use a deck wash on that. There are different types of mildicides that can be used for siding or deck when they get mildew on them. There are a number of commercial products out there. Flood has one called Deck Bright which I think would work.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. DEKSWOOD, yeah.
TOM: DEKSWOOD, sorry. And Jomax is another one. J-o-m-a-x. Made by the Zinsser company. And you mix these up with water and bleach; you apply them strategically; let them sit for a few minutes on the mildew and then go ahead and hose them off or if you have a pressure washer, on a very light setting – not too hard but a light setting, Rudy – you can hose it off that way. And that’ll brighten it up and you’ll be good to go all over again.
RUDY: Great. Thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Roberta in Wisconsin has the perfect question for this time of year; regulating heat because you don’t want to be overheating and spending energy dollars. How can we help you?
ROBERTA: Hi, I own a home that’s at least 100 years old and it has the old radiator heating in it, which is fine with me except that upstairs it gets so hot by the end of the day …
LESLIE: Oh, yeah.
ROBERTA: … that, you know, it’s almost like you’re sleeping in the summertime. But downstairs, you know, it’s much cooler. So I just wondered do most radiators have a way to regulate it so that you don’t have to have it quite so hot upstairs and is it able to do it safely?
TOM: Roberta, do you know if this is a hot water or a steam radiator system?
ROBERTA: No, it’s a hot water.
TOM: Hot water system?
ROBERTA: Yes.
TOM: Yes. Probably the – I mean in the best possible scenario – and this would involve a home improvement project –
ROBERTA: Right.
TOM: – you would zone your house so that you had two separate loops. Now, it would be worth having conversation with your heating contractor about whether or not you could zone the second floor radiators because what that would do is that would put them on a second thermostat and you could regulate the heat perfectly then on both floors.
Now, if you can’t zone them there are flow valves on the radiators and you could start partially turning them off.
ROBERTA: I see. And that …
TOM: So there’s two ways to control that.
ROBERTA: That can be done safely?
TOM: Oh, absolutely.
LESLIE: Oh, yeah.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: And you can also, if you have ceiling fans in the room, you know, there’s a switch on the fan that controls which direction the blades run.
ROBERTA: Yes.
LESLIE: So in the winter months you would want them to run so that they’re pushing the heat down. Is that correct, Tom?
TOM: Yes. Yeah, because the heat rises so you reverse the fan blade direction so it pushes heat down.
LESLIE: This way you can keep the temperature a little bit cooler, you know, so it’s not so hot upstairs but still warm enough downstairs and it’ll just help keep circulating the heat around for you.
ROBERTA: I see. Well, thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: More great home improvement information coming up after the break. But first, do you want a surefire dust buster for your furniture? Who doesn’t? Things build up dust so quickly. Well, we are going to filter out the answer for you after this.
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ANNOUNCER: AARP is proud to sponsor The Money Pit. Visit www.AARP.org/HomeDesign to learn more about making your home more functional and comfortable for years to come.
TOM: Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show where we make good homes better. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
And you should give us a call right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT because one caller who gets on the air this hour is going to win a one-year membership to the Money Pit American Homeowners Association. This is the gift that keeps on giving. It is a very special Money Pit membership and with it you are going to be in the network of AHA-referred contractors who are prescreened, licensed and insured. And when you hire one you’re going to get a $1,000 guarantee that the job is done right. You’re also going to get discounts on groceries, contact lenses, eyeglasses, legal services. It really is very helpful and can help you save a ton of money in your home and around your house as well.
TOM: Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
If you’re interested in learning more about that membership, by the way, you might also want to jump onto MoneyPit.com because there’s a special offer going on right now. We’re giving away $50,000 of Zircon laser level, the LaserBall 360 and stud finders; the OneStep stud sensor from Zircon. Going to give those away to the first 1,000 members that sign up. Details available at MoneyPit.com.
LESLIE: Ooh, well we love to give things away and here is a gift that’s going to give you back some time because we are going to reduce your cleaning and your dusting around your house. You know, you can easily reduce dust by cleaning the filter of your forced air heating or cooling system because a clean filter is going to prevent airborne dirt from circulating around your house. And if your filter is reusable, remove it and wash it. If it’s not, dispose it and replace it. Doing this is really going to cut down on all of that dust you see around that house. See there, we gave you five minutes back.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Pauline in Massachusetts, welcome to The Money Pit? What’s going on at your house?
PAULINE: Well, what’s going on in my house is that on my bathroom window and also my den window, which are both on the same side of the house, there’s a watermark as though there was a spill on the windowsills all on the right side. And it looked a little blown up. I was away and I came home and it was a little blown up and now it’s dried up, but we’re left with watermarks as though there’s still a spill on it but they’re dry. What can I do or is there a possibility that it’s not dry somewhere else underneath?
LESLIE: This is on the sill, not on the glass, correct?
PAULINE: Yeah, on the sill and a little in the bathroom where there’s a Jacuzzi underneath. You know, it’s flush against that wall which wasn’t used at all.
TOM: I think you’re going to have to keep an eye on it because we need to know if it’s still active or not.
PAULINE: No, it’s not active now. It’s totally dry.
TOM: OK.
PAULINE: But it looks as though there had been a spill there, you know, and now it’s stained. It’s sort of – it’s the same color but it looks – there’s a watermark like you get sometimes in carpeting? That line?
TOM: I understand. But it’s on the windowsill. Is the windowsill …
PAULINE: It’s on both sills.
TOM: The sills are painted or stained?
PAULINE: Painted.
TOM: OK, well then this is easy to fix. Do you happen to have any of that paint around?
PAULINE: Yeah.
TOM: Good. Don’t put it on before you put a primer step on first.
PAULINE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: OK? You’ve got to use a primer coat because what’ll happen is if you try to repaint that with a water stain …
PAULINE: Yes?
TOM: … that stain will put right through the paint and it’ll show up again and you’ll …
PAULINE: Oh, OK.
TOM: … you’ll just be – you’ll be hating yourself. So …
PAULINE: Is there any particular kind of primer? Is there a kind that I have to use?
TOM: If it’s just a little water stain like that you can use a water-based primer. You can go out and pick up a Behr water-based primer or a KILZ water-based primer. Get a little small can of it. They come in the pint-sized can. Get one of those foam brushes …
PAULINE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … as you have a really small paint job here and do a coat of primer first. Prime the entire sill, not just the spot …
PAULINE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … because otherwise when you put the paint on it won’t sort of lay right.
LESLIE: Not going to match.
TOM: Yeah. Well, it’s like rougher in one area than the other. And then just repaint the sill …
PAULINE: How long do I wait in between the processes?
TOM: Just enough for the primer to dry; you know, an hour or so if it’s a warm day. Shouldn’t be a problem.
PAULINE: OK. Thank you so much. I appreciate your help.
TOM: You’re welcome, Pauline. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Adam in Colorado’s looking to create an outdoor kitchen, which is a super fantastic idea. How can we help?
ADAM: I was wondering how deep should the footings be for a concrete pad. It’s about three feet wide by 10 feet. And I’m also wondering what can I put on for the countertop?
TOM: So you’re making, Adam, a masonry barbecue?
ADAM: Yes, like with the stone (INAUDIBLE).
TOM: (overlapping voices) OK, right. So, what you’re going to want to do is you’re going to want to have those footings be at least two feet deep, especially in Colorado because you’re going to get – it’s going to get mighty cold out there and you’re going to have frost heave and it’s going to lift it. You know, it doesn’t have to be as deep as if you were putting a house there but I would not hesitate to go down a couple of feet. You know, the added work is very minimal and it’s going to be very, very stable if you give it a good footing.
LESLIE: Now, as far as tops go, I mean granite is a great option but there are ton of different things you can choose as well. You want to make sure that it’ll do nicely in the outdoors. A great hardwood would be a good choice, like a teak or an Ipe. It’s going to be gorgeous. It’s going to stand up well to the elements regardless of where you live in the country.
How do those composite quartz products do outside, Tom?
TOM: Oh, you mean like a Zodiac or a Silestone?
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Or like a Silestone?
TOM: You know, I’m not really sure because we generally don’t see it outside. I would tend to stay very natural with that. Even a flagstone would be attractive. If you do use one of those natural materials though, be sure you seal it. It’ll just be a lot easier to keep it clean, especially when you start to drip the grease on there from all those tasty steaks you’re going to be cooking up, Adam.
ADAM: OK, how about Bluestone, I heard? Is that work?
TOM: Bluestone?
ADAM: Yes.
TOM: Yeah, it’s …
LESLIE: Well, Bluestone’s like a flagstone.
TOM: Yeah, it’s like a flagstone or a slate. Very similar.
LESLIE: And it’s beautiful.
ADAM: Is there any way to seal it?
TOM: Yeah. Certainly. There are masonry sealer products that are available in home centers. Paint manufacturers make them all the time. (rooster crowing)
ADAM: OK, thanks a lot.
TOM: Alright.
LESLIE: (chuckling) And your little one’s excited to get barbecuing.
TOM: Getting pretty excited. Yeah, want to get going. (chuckling)
ADAM: OK.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
ADAM: Bye.
LESLIE: Norma in Indiana, welcome to The Money Pit. What can we do for you?
NORMA: Wanting to know if I could put my washer and dryer in the garage. Well, I know I could do it but how do I keep it from freezing? My garage is insulated but it’s not heated.
TOM: Well, you know, that’s not so uncommon. You could put it in the garage and in the very, very cold months you’d have to be concerned about those pipes. Now, if the pipes are in the wall between the house and the garage and not in an exterior wall so it’s heated on one side, then it will be less likely. If I was going to put it in the garage, Norma, I tell you what I absolutely would do and that is I would have a shutoff valve on there; a single-lever shutoff valve on the washer supply so that you could, with one throw of the lever very easily turn the water off to the washer. And this way if it did get so cold out there that it froze, then you would not have to worry about water leaking out other than what was in the hose itself going from the wall to the washing machine.
NORMA: All I would need is a shutoff valve for extremely cold weather then?
LESLIE: Well, I would turn it anytime after I use it.
NORMA: OK, yes.
TOM: Yeah, exactly. I would turn it off all the time.
LESLIE: You know, just in case.
TOM: Yeah, because if those hoses ever burst – and they do burst – you’ll flood that whole garage out.
Norma, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned in to The Money Pit and coming up after the break an inexpensive way to cut corners on stone countertops. So stick around.
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ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is being brought to you by – well, by us. Get a $1,000 guarantee that the contractor you hire gets the job done right 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: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show making good homes better. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Call us now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT with your home improvement question or jump onto our website at MoneyPit.com, hit Ask Tom and Leslie. But don’t hit us too hard. (Leslie chuckles) And then submit …
LESLIE: Yeah, Tom bruises easily.
TOM: That’s right. Submit an e-mail question. Get lots and lots of those every week. We’re happy to tackle a few right here right now.
LESLIE: Alright, first up we’ve got Dick from Peyton, Colorado who writes: “I would like the look of granite but not the cost. What can you tell me about a ¼-inch composite granite that can be installed over top of an existing countertop?”
TOM: I’m not so familiar with a granite composite …
LESLIE: Hmm.
TOM: … because – or a thin layer of granite. Because as you know from working with it, that stuff is darn fragile.
LESLIE: Yeah, it would be really hard to handle. I’ve heard of like a Silestone or – what’s that other company that does that same sort of quartz product?
TOM: Zodiac.
LESLIE: Yeah, I’ve heard of that stuff being called composite granite, but that’s still something that’s fairly thick and a pro needs to do and it is on the higher end of the price scale as well; not nearly as much as granite but, you know, higher up there.
TOM: One of the things that Dick could do himself would be to use granite tiles …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … and build a top up out of that.
LESLIE: Yeah, and that’s also interesting because it’s easy to do on your own; they’re lightweight; they’re easy to handle; they’re in manageable sizes and it’s much, much more affordable. The only thing is you do have seams where you do butt the tiles up to one another.
TOM: Yeah, exactly. So I think that that’s probably the best thing for a DIY-er is to use their granite tile. And while you’re at it, you can go right up under the – on the wall and up under the wall cabinets …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … and create a backsplash at the same time.
LESLIE: Yeah, and that would look really nice.
TOM: Another thing about granite – and correct me if I’m wrong – but you don’t really need much of a grout line with that, do you?
LESLIE: No, not at all. As long as you’re butting them up and they do butt together firmly, you don’t have to worry about anything as far as a grout line because I think it would be distracting.
TOM: Well there you go.
Next up, a question here from Joyce.
LESLIE: Alright. Joyce writes: “A friend is trying to interest my husband in a new process of building homes out of a foam board coated with thin layers of concrete. Do you have any information and comments on this type of construction?”
TOM: Joyce, I think you’re talking about the exterior insulated finish system known as EIFS. And we’re not real happy with it. We don’t recommend it. It was used in the 1980s when it was very popular to put additional insulation on the outside of homes but it’s been leaking a whole lot and I don’t think the manufacturers quite have it straightened out just yet. So I’d stay away from that for right now.
Well, OK. Leslie, have a question for you?
LESLIE: Alrighty.
TOM: Does your house have a jiggler?
LESLIE: What is that?
TOM: You know, it’s that handle on the toilet you have to jiggle to get the toilet to stop running.
LESLIE: Ah, we used to.
TOM: Because that’s the topic of today’s edition of Leslie's Last Word.
LESLIE: Alright, folks. Well, toilet repairs, they are the most common DIY plumbing problem and while toilets themselves don’t wear out, the working parts inside do and do need to be replaced. You know, you can’t just ignore it. And leaks are another reason why toilets could need attention. You know, did you know that one leaky toilet can waste 78,000 gallons of water in just one year.
TOM: Wow.
LESLIE: That is enough water to fill a backyard swimming pool. Holy cow, that’s a ton of water. And it’s simple enough to check for a leak. What you want to do is open the toilet tank and pour a little food coloring inside. If the dye shows up in the bowl in the morning you probably need a new flush valve. And flush valves can be found in most hardware stores. They cost only a couple of dollars and are super easy to install yourself. If you need a little help a great resource for homeowners looking to boost their toilet knowledge is a website. It’s www.Fluidmaster.com. It offers easy-to-understand diagrams and information about toilet parts as well as troubleshooting tips to make sure you won’t be flushing extra water and money down the toilet needlessly.
TOM: Good advice.
If you’ve missed some part of this show and you want to look it up you can go to our website at MoneyPit.com. You’ll find the transcripts there for the entire hour, all available free. You can also take the opportunity to sign up for our podcast and we can come to you at your convenience that way.
Thanks so much for being with us. 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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(Copyright 2007 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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