#2360 – Insurance IQ: Is Your Home Truly Protected? | Pittsburgh Potty Puzzle

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Embrace the cozy vibes as autumn transitions to winter! In this episode, we’ve got your back with essential tips on navigating stormy insurance queries. Join us for a fascinating exploration of house histories, discover tricks to enhance the air quality in your home, and guess what? We’re answering YOUR burning questions, too! Join us for a dose of warmth and wisdom.

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Homeowner’s Insurance: Does your homeowner’s insurance policy offer enough coverage? Here’s what to ask.
Pittsburgh Potty Puzzle: Find out the story behind strange old toilets found in some pre-World War II homes.
Furnace Filters: Using the right furnace filter is the easiest way to make your HVAC system more efficient.

Podcast Transcript

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0:00:29	TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
0:00:34	LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
0:00:57	TOM: And we are here to help you take on the projects you want to get done around your house. So if you’re working inside or out, reach out to us with your questions. You can do that by dialing 1-888-Money-Pit. That’s 888-666-3974. Or for the quickest possible response, just go to Moneypit.com/ask and tell us how we can help. Coming up on today’s show, if you love old homes, have you ever noticed that many old houses have a sort of old relic, kind of an old antique in their basement? We’re talking about a single solitary stand alone with nothing else around it. Toilet. We’re going to get to the bottom of the story behind these low level commodes.
0:01:16	LESLIE: Very interesting. Not a lot of privacy, but, you know.
0:01:20	TOM: There’s a purpose. There’s a method to the madness.
0:01:23	LESLIE: I’m sure there is. And also ahead, are you looking for an easy way to make your HVAC system more efficient? Well, it might be as simple as changing your furnace filter, but not all of those filters are created equal. So we’re going to share how you can pick out the one. That’s right.
0:01:38	TOM: And if you own a home, you probably also own a homeowner’s insurance policy, or at least we hope you do. But do you know if that policy provides enough coverage to cover a fire, a flood or any other major claim? Well, with the winter storm season just ahead, it’s predicted to be a pretty bad one. It’s a good time to check. So we’re going to tell you what questions to ask.
0:01:57	LESLIE: But first, we’re here to offer expert advice for the care and feeding of your home. That’s right. We’re like the nannies of the house or the bro’s. What would you call a male nanny? A nano, whatever. We’re here to help you out with whatever you guys need so you can tackle all those projects and get them done right and truly have the home of your dreams, which we would still call a money pit because we just love them so much.
0:02:20	TOM: Maybe we call them nannies.
0:02:22	LESLIE: Nanny. I like that. A bro pair.
0:02:26	TOM: Bro pair. 1-888-Money-Pit or moneypit.com/ask. Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s first.
0:02:31	LESLIE: Head now to Illinois. We’ve got Laura on the line who’s looking to do a project with oil based paint, but finding out it’s not available in the state. What’s going on?
0:02:39	CALLER: My ceilings are painted with oil based paint. And we now live in the state of Illinois, and they say they do not sell oil based paint. And I’m wondering how I can paint my ceilings.
0:02:55	TOM: Laura, we’re hearing more and more questions like this from those that live in states where oil based or solid solvent based paints are becoming more restrictive. You know, I understand that it’s still available. It’s expensive, sometimes only in smaller quantities. But in your case, we’re talking about a ceiling. I think as long as you clean that ceiling, well, then you can use a latex based or an alcohol based primer like kills has a good quality primer. That’s water cleanup. And that would give you the same quality finish. And, you know, we got to remember that the primer is the sort of the glue that makes that paint stick. And so as long as you have a clean surface and use a good quality Alford primer, I think you should be okay. And you could put ceiling paint on top of that, which, by the way, also has different qualities to it. So make sure you look for ceiling paint and my recommendation, Leslie, with this is to always use flat, because if you use anything of the sheen, you’re going to see those defects, right? Those like nail pops and stuff.
0:03:48	LESLIE: Well, I mean, anything with the sheen is going to make any imperfections super obvious. So once something starts to kind of go awry, you’re going to notice before you would with the flat paint. So I would definitely recommend a lesser sheen when possible. David from Mississippi is on the line and has a question about a decking project. What’s going on?
0:04:05	CALLER: I tore down my old deck wooden deck. For the most part, it was built with untreated lumber. Okay, so I’ve been price and lumber at Lowe’s and a local place called Marvin. And Marvin says that yellow wood and Lowe’s does that. Is there a difference in the lumber as exterior lumber?
0:04:24	TOM: Well, the yellow wood is actually not the color yellow. It’s white yellow A it’s a brand name. But they’re both treated lumber. And basically, I think you can fairly compare one to the other by making sure that you’re what the rating is for it. Now, on the end of the lumber, there’s really two ratings above ground or ground contact. So above ground is going to have less preservative in it and ground contact that’s kind of like for like six by six timbers, where you’re, say, building a retaining wall and that sort of thing. But I think if you compare the above ground contract for in either retail or you’re going to be able to make apples to apples comparison. I think they’re pretty similar.
0:05:02	CALLER: Okay. So that’s all I really was bought the no surprise.
0:05:06	TOM: All right. Did the deck come down easy because of all the rot from the untreated, untreated lumber?
0:05:11	CALLER: Oh, yeah. Came down real easy, but that was easier than taking it down.
0:05:16	TOM: Yeah, that’s right. All right, well, good luck with that project. Thanks for calling us.
0:05:22	LESLIE: Hey, you want to make our day? Well, go ahead and leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and we’ll be jumping for joy. Plus, you guys, your feedback helps us make the show even better for you. Just go to MoneyPit.com/ review.
0:05:34	TOM: If you’d like to resurface your kitchen counters, there used to be the limited options, but that has changed thanks to the products that are out from Daich Coatings. You may have heard me talk about the LuxROCK, which is like the faux granite finish that I put on a countertop. It’s actually has real granite mixed in with it. But man, I tell you, it’s absolutely beautiful. In fact, I had a friend of mine over the other day who’s a very talented architect, and I told him about it. And when he saw it for himself with his own two eyes, he really couldn’t believe it. Well, guess what? The folks at Daich are out with a new product. It’s called the Marble Dream Resurfacing Kit. It’s a roll on marble resurfacing kit for countertops, vanities and tabletops. Very easy to do. No special skills are needed. Everything you need is in the kit and ready to go. It will give you a tough, resilient marble surface. You can get the defined vines or the soft swirling vines. It really truly replicates the look of real marble. It is available for 169 bucks. But we are giving away yes, we are giving away the marble drain resurfacing kit from Daich Coatings to one lucky listener to today’s program. So make that you reach out to us with our questions. You must call. You must ask a question. And if you do those two things, we will talk to your name in the Money Pit hardhat and you might just be winning the marble dream resurfacing kit from Daich Coatings. The number again, 1-888-Money-Pit. Or you can go to MoneyPit.com/ ask and click the blue microphone button.
0:07:01	LESLIE: All right, now we’ve got Sarah on the line with foggy windows. What’s going on?
0:07:11	CALLER: We have Anderson Window on a sliding door in our patio. The rest of the windows in the house. We can’t seem to find a brand, but they fog over. We have dealt with this for two or three years. I have to clean them every day to keep the moisture off them. Do we need to get new windows or how do we solve this?
0:07:28	TOM: So unfortunately, Sarah, this is pretty common with windows. When you have thermal pane windows and you have a failed thermal paint seal, it’s a seal between the glass. That moisture gets in between the glass and then it condenses on the inside the surface and it leaves some of its mineral salts behind. That’s why you get this kind of ugly, gray, dirty looking fog. There’s nothing you can do to remove that. It’s inside between the panes of glass. And the reason you’re getting condensation is because that window is now not insulating. See, when these windows are built, normally they have a seal inside and the seal basically keeps that interior of the window between the glass in a vacuum. And to supplement that vacuum manufacturer adds insulating gas like argon in there. So you’ve pretty much eliminated all that these windows at this point and the windows have eliminated. And I should say, and as a result, the warm, moist air inside your house hits that cold glass, It cools and releases its moisture. And that’s why you’re always kind of mopping up after these damp windows. Unfortunately, I think the best thing to do here is to replace the windows. I don’t think while it’s possible to find a manufacturer that can make new sealed thermal paint sealed windows for you, it’s probably not going to be strong any more expensive than actually replacing the windows. A lot of options in replacement windows today. Generally, you know, they’re a lot easier to install than they ever were before. And you don’t have to do the whole house at once to do the north side first. If you concerned about cold and trying to keep warmer edges north side first and if you want to cut down the air conditioning to the south side first, that’s kind of the way you should approach this systematically. And one more thing to look for in any of those windows. Just make sure you’re getting a window that’s Energy Star rated. That’s going to mean it’s real efficient and will definitely do the job going forward. And hopefully those windows will last a lot longer without any seal spending again. Well, have you ever noticed that some older houses have a single solitary standalone toilet in their basement? Well, these old relics really do look out of place and kind of weird. But according to the family handyman, they once serve a very important purpose.
0:09:28	LESLIE: Yeah. Now, these are typically found in pre-World War two era homes. And this long toilet, I mean, definitely looks totally out of place. Not just because it’s in the basement, but because there’s really nothing around it to make it feel like a proper private bathroom. It’s just kind of hanging out and it’s even funny because now you’ve got this like standalone toilet and a lot of them don’t even have a sink nearby. And some of them kind of have like a weird shower or some have like a really big sink. It’s definitely strange. I mean, it could be the world’s largest bathrooms. Who knows?
0:09:57	TOM: That’s a good point. Well, there is actually a story behind this, and it is often called the Pittsburgh Potty. And the reason for it is, was due to the abundance of them in that particular city. Legend has it that historically industrial towns, steel workers and miners use them after a long day of work, they’d enter their basements to clean up before entering the main part of the house and avoid tracking in all of that grime. So there you go. Perhaps it is the world’s largest party, but it makes total sense.
0:10:26	LESLIE: It makes total sense. And we could have totally rename them the covered bathroom, the covered commode, you know, three years ago when people were sneaking in the side doors from working in the city all day or working out of hospital and getting totally stripped down before coming in to the rest of the house. So, you know, are you going to repurpose for the modern day as well? All right. We’ve got Lauren on the line who’s got a question about some siding issues from some overgrowth. Tell us what’s going on.
0:10:49	CALLER: Last year, my husband and I moved into a split-level ranch that was built in 1957. And at the time that we moved in, it had been vacant for a while and it was somewhat neglected. And there was a lot of ivy and other plants that had grown up against the house. So when we moved in and had those removed, we noticed that there was a lot of damage to the siding. Underneath the siding is cedar siding. And as far as we can tell, it’s not been well-maintained. So we aren’t sure when it was sealed last or painted last, missing a lot of caulk, a lot of gaps in addition to the damage that the plants have done to it. So we’re wondering if cedar siding is always worth salvaging or if we should maybe consider a different citing material. And then the other question is, if the cedar siding is worth saving and fixing up, who would we contact to do that? What type of contractor would we contact? A painter. Are painters usually equipped to also do cedar siding repair?
0:11:59	TOM: You know, ivy always seemed like a good idea when it’s first planted. If you do it right, it’s pretty when it’s on a brick building. And I think but when you. Put it in, then it’s not so great. But it’s beautiful to look at. That’s true. But when you put it on a house, it’s got wood siding. Oh man, it thinks the siding is like the dirt and it just will go in between the boards. And if it gets bad, it can pop them off the wall and cause leaks. And so I’m so glad that you got rid of that lawn. But as to your questions, look, cedar is absolutely beautiful. Yeah, sure. It’s more maintenance than, you know, vinyl siding and some other sidings, but it’s gorgeous. I don’t think the fact that you’ve had some damage to it means that you should completely go in a different direction. What I would suggest is you get a good painter to work on prepping that material. It’s going to have to probably be wire brushed, sanded, scraped, whatever it takes to get it ready to accept new paint. When you do that, then at that point you’ll know how many boards have to be replaced. The painter may be able to do that, but you probably will need to hire just a carpenter to come and take care of that piece of it. Then in terms of staining it, I would recommend that you prime it and then use a solid color stain because that’s going to last the longest and after it’s stained, then you can go ahead and caulk the seams. And that’s our caulk at around the windows and doors. And that’s something that the that the painter will definitely do. But if you do decide to take it all off, I would probably recommend that you go with a Hardie plank siding because Hardie is a composite material. I have it on my old house on the garage, and it actually matches the original cedar shingles that are on the house pretty darn well. I like the fact that it was fact repainted and I’ve had it for like, I don’t know, probably 20 years now. I haven’t had touch with a paint brush. I’ll tell you that. It still looks as good as the day it was installed, but it’s expensive. So, you know, those are your options. I don’t think you have to tear it all out just because the ivy got a little too close to it. I do think you can restore it.
0:13:53	LESLIE: So interesting when you see, like, all the little suckers from the Ivy. Yeah. The remnants of what it leaves on the siding, whether it’s brick or any other material. It’s just amazing how strong it is.
0:14:03	TOM: Yeah, and it can grab into anything. But when you have cedar, it’s a, it’s like a perfect medium for it.
0:14:09	LESLIE: Yeah. I even have the, you know, the hardy shingles on the side of the house and it got underneath it on the side as I was cleaning stuff up I was amazed it for sure. I was amazed at how quickly it got in and around and under. Things heading over to Alabama with Sonny on the line. We’ve got a question about peeling paint. What’s going on?
0:14:26	CALLER: Yeah, well, on the ceiling, Yeah. And on the walls of my bathroom, the pain is just peeling off in large pieces there. And I didn’t know what would be the best thing to do is peel it all off or treat it some other way or whatever you do to it to get that fixed in there.
0:14:46	TOM: Hey, Sonny, when’s the last time you painted the bathroom?
0:14:49	CALLER: Oh, it’s been. It’s been probably five years at least.
0:14:53	TOM: Okay, this is a new problem, then, lasted last five years?
0:14:57	CALLER: Yes. Well, actually, actually, the patch peeled a little bit, but small pieces, you know. Nice. But this is big time.
0:15:07	TOM: And when you painted it last time, do you remember if you used a primer on the walls first or you just put another coat of paint on top? What was there?
0:15:16	CALLER: Actually, actually, I just had it painted the head of a profession or painter to paint it, but I don’t know what. He did that in the garage.
0:15:24	TOM: Yeah, well, okay, so here’s the thing. Normally, you know, if you’re go on top of an old paint job and you have any area where you’re concerned about adhesion, especially where it’s just an old surfaces. So it’s smart to do the do a primer coat because that’s like the glue that makes the paint stick. Now, when the when is that the peel that you’re seeing coming off? Do you think there’s this peeling back to the to the layer you had before you had a painted last or is it pulling deeper layers of paint off?
0:15:52	CALLER: I think it’s just one layer.
0:15:54	TOM: So this all tells me that I don’t think the walls are separate and probably didn’t have a primer applied when they did that job five years ago for you. So unfortunately, you are going to have to pull off all of this old paint because you can’t put good paint over bad paint. So you need to get as much of this loose pate off as possible, scrape it and sand it and scrub it and do whatever you have to to get it off. And then I want you to use an oil based or solvent based primer like kills or, you know, Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore’s good quality product like that and let it dry really, really. Well, you know, that’s going to give you a good surface that’s going to do two things. First of all, it’s going to make sure that the next layer you put on there adheres properly for five years and well beyond. And secondly, it’s going to make sure that that new layer of paint flows nicely and smoothly and looks fantastic when you’re done it. Unfortunately, there’s no shortcuts here. You just can’t put new paint over that peeling paint because it’s just not going to stick here.
0:16:53	CALLER: You’re in a different part of the country than I am, but what should that cost to get that paint done and work done?
0:16:59	TOM: Well, certainly the cost is going to depend on the area of the country, so I can’t estimate exactly what it should cost in your area and also have not seen the space. But what I would recommend is you go to home advisor dot com and on that website you can fill out a form and they will find a contractor for you. And in fact a number of contractors simply give you two or three and then you can read reviews about folks that have used those contractors and find somebody good there and then have them come out and give you estimates. Then you’ll have some estimates that you can compare. But in this case, you got to get rid of that old paint and start over again.
0:17:35	LESLIE: Mary from Arkansas is on the line. Who’s having some issues locating a waterline for a filter? What’s going on with this mystery?
0:17:44	CALLER: I need a whole house water filter, but I live in a subdivision and all of the lines are buried underground. And I don’t know how to locate where it comes into my house. And I don’t know what to do about it.
0:17:59	TOM: Even though they’re underground. That’s very typical. You’re going to you’re going to have to locate the main water valve and that is going to be inside your house somewhere. I don’t know what kind of house you have. Is it on a slab? Is doing a crawl space? Is it on a basement?
0:18:15	CALLER: It’s on a slab and it is brick, house.
0:18:18	TOM: Brick. Okay. So generally where that line comes into the house, there is going to be a valve. It’s pretty much required that there’s a valve. And that’s the area where the whole house water filter would get attached. It basically is inserted after the valve from the main water valve and then they put another valve next to it. So it kind of isolates that section of pipe, but you need to identify where that’s coming in. Now, all I could tell you is that typically water lines will feed from the street. So it’s going to be on that side of the house. And I have found them in many, many different places in my career as a home inspector. I have found them behind wall panels. I have found them inside sink cabinets where it doesn’t really even look like a main water valve yet it’s there. I found them in closets. I found them in attics. It’s got to be there somewhere. And that’s going to be the trick. Try and identify where that is. But I imagine this is not something you’re going to install yourself. And certainly it will be part of what a plumber would do for you.
0:19:17	CALLER: All right, then I just need to get a good plumber and start looking.
0:19:21	TOM: That’s right. Yeah, that’s right. Kind of a scavenger hunt. Mary, good luck with that project. Thanks for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
0:19:29	LESLIE: Well, are you looking for an easy way to make your HVAC system more efficient? Well, one simple way that you can do this is by replacing your furnace filter. Now, these filters capture any contaminants in the air as it passes through that HVAC system, and then all of those contaminants kind of clog up the system. So changing your filter is not only going to improve the air quality in your home, but it will also allow the system to perform better. And that’s going to mean energy savings, which in turn means money savings.
0:19:58	TOM: Now, it’s a really simple thing to do. Start by turning off your furnace and checking your AC equipment and the existing filter to find out its dimensions, its type and its MERV efficiency rating. That’s MERV. But remember with that, MERV, not all filters are created equal. That’s why it’s a really helpful indicator, because the higher the MERV rating number, the better the filter works. And most home filters are rated from 7 to 12, and you can find replacement filters at your local home improvement store.
0:20:26	LESLIE: Now, when you are ready to replace it, you carefully remove the existing filter and be sure to check the direction of the arrow because that’s going to indicate the correct airflow. Then go ahead and slide that new filter in place with the arrow facing in that same direction and make sure that your furnace is turned back on and you’re done.
0:20:42	TOM: Yeah, just remember that filter can get pretty dirty throughout the year, particularly if you have pets in the house or lots of other dust floating around. So check and change that filter regularly throughout the year to keep your air clean, your costs down and your system working longer and better.
0:20:59	LESLIE: Ted in Texas is on the line with a flooring question. How can we help you?
0:21:03	CALLER: I’ve got a concrete floor that’s been stained. It has in the car, in the living area. We know we put down a couple a few times. We put down, you know, wax. We were actually and it’s pretty much worn off now, but it’s a dark it’s a real dark red stain. It’s pretty dark. And we’re really tired of that. So. Okay. They’re going to put down, you know, some flooring. And I just wondered like, do we need to strip the floor, produce a strip of furniture? Can we just, like, lay down on top of it? You know, what’s a good thing?
0:21:38	TOM: You don’t have to strip anything off that old concrete floor with all the flooring products that are available today. You can lay it right on top of the concrete and you’ve got a lot of choices. Ted, you can use a laminate floor. You can use an engineered vinyl plank. The EVP floor is absolutely gorgeous. You can you can use an engineered hardwood floor, if you like to have real wood. You can use an engineered hardwood, not solid hardwood, but engineered hardwood, because that is dimensionally stable. It’s not going to swell if exposed anymore. And that comes off the concrete. Now, those floors would lock together and they would go right up sort of the baseboard molding area, and then you would trim them with some quarter round or some shoe molding and you’d be good to go. So that’s a pretty straightforward project right there. Just pay attention, you know, to the saddles and whether it goes around doorways, if you’re in a kitchen area, make sure you don’t lock in like a dishwasher, which has to be slid out of. It has to be replaced. Things like that. Just be aware of that. But you can go right on top of that. And it sounds like that old floor is really served you well, though. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of somebody that has sealed and waxed a concrete, concrete floor like that for all those years. It must have been pretty interesting.
0:22:46	CALLER: Yeah. And one other question, too. I’ve noticed in Chicago over the last couple of years, there’s been several cracks. You know, they’re not wide cracks. I can stick my fingernail in it in some places.
0:22:56	TOM: Yeah, I think that’s pretty typical. The expansion and contraction of a floor like that, you don’t have to worry about that. You can just again, put the new flooring right on top of the old.
0:23:03	CALLER: Okay, good, good, good deal. Okay, so any of those is good. They all have.
0:23:09	TOM: You know, good choices.
0:23:10	CALLER: Have blue down and some of them are not. You don’t need to go down None.
0:23:13	TOM: The ones that I mentioned or glue down products, those are all floating floors.
0:23:17	CALLER: Yes.
0:23:18	TOM: I don’t really think there’s a need to use a glue down product. Typically, if you’re using engineered hardwood on the slab, the only place you might glue down would be like maybe that intersection. My sister just had some engineered hardwood put on a floor and the installers glued some trim pieces like around where her fireplace kind of came into the room just because there was no other way to really attach it. But for the most part, you don’t really need any adhesive. It’s designed to float on top and it’s not going to move. It’s rock solid when it’s done.
0:23:46	CALLER: It’s not going to click click when you walk on it.
0:23:48	TOM: No, no, no, not at all.
0:23:50	CALLER: Gotcha. Okay, Well, good. Well, thanks for the call back. I really appreciate it. I enjoy your show.
0:23:55	TOM: Well, you’re welcome, Ted. Thanks so much for calling us at the Money Pit.
0:23:58	CALLER: Yes, sir. You bet.
0:24:00	LESLIE: We’ve got a great reason for you guys to reach out to, Tim. Money pit up for grabs this hour. We’ve got a marble dream resurfacing kit from Dish Coatings. Now, what I love about these resurfacing kits, and especially this one from Dyche, is that you’re going to get a beautiful marble like surface. And I mean, it is easy to apply. It looks super realistic. It actually has some real stone in it. You can have defined veins, you can have soft swirling veins. And I know it sounds like a complicated art project, but let me tell you guys, it is very easy to apply and you will be thrilled with the results that you get. And you might even be fooling yourself with the results. Check it out. Online. You can find it at dish coating scheme that’s DIY c h coatings dot com. It’s a prize pack worth $169, but it could be yours for free if you call us up with the question this hour.
0:24:58	TOM: That number again is 1-888-Money-Pit or just go to MoneyPit.com/ask.
0:25:04	LESLIE: Christine in Alaska is on the line with a question about insulation. What’s going on at your Money Pit, Christina?
0:25:09	CALLER: Actually, my question is, how do I keep my floors above the unheated crawl space warm? And I was wondering if we could insulate the floor underneath without, but would that cause the pipes that are down there to freeze?
0:25:27	TOM: No, it wouldn’t cause them to freeze. The crawl space is designed to be in unheated space. But since you’re going to be down there anyway, what I would tell you to do, Christine, would be to insulate those pipes so you can do that with pipe insulation that basically is designed to be wrapped around the pipe. And when it comes to the corners, that’s where sometimes people get a little lazy. Make sure you insulate the corners real well by cutting the joints perfectly, either, you know, made of foam rubber so you can easily snip them. But I would insulate all the pipes and then I would definitely insulate the floor. In fact, I’m surprised it’s not insulated. Now, you want to choose an insulation that is as thick as the floor is deep. So if it’s two by tens that are your four beams, make sure you use ten deep on face fiberglass insulation. Get it up there in between those corduroys and then that can be supported with wire hangers. They’re kind of like thin wires that are a little bit wider than the four joists are apart and they sort of stick to the wall on both sides and support that insulation in place. And I think you will see an amazing difference in the warmth of those floors once you do that.
0:26:37	CALLER: That sounds great.
0:26:39	TOM: All right. Well, it’s going to be much warmer winter for you as a result. And good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
0:26:49	LESLIE: Well, having a homeowner’s insurance is important, but knowing whether you have enough insurance coverage for your home and its contents truly is key when it comes to filing a claim. But how do you know if you’re under insured or not?
0:27:03	TOM: So here’s a couple of things to check for. First of all, replacement costs coverage for your dwelling. That’s the most common type of insurance. And it’s not based on the current value of your home, but on the current price of rebuilding it from scratch with the same kind and quality of materials based on construction costs where you live. So make sure you have replacement cost coverage.
0:27:25	LESLIE: Now, one way to find out how much you need is to simply Google the average cost of construction per square foot in your city. Then go ahead and multiply that per square foot rate by the square footage of your home to find out how much insurance you should be having. And if you’re remodeling and spending at least 5% of your home’s value on a project, you should also increase your coverage accordingly. So it’s kind of like a sliding scale as you start to do work on the house.
0:27:52	TOM: Now, that covers the dwelling. Let’s talk about your stuff. You don’t want to neglect having enough coverage for the contents of your home, which can also mean purchasing separate endorsements for items that are not ordinarily included, like jewelry, some sorts of antiques and other valuables. So make sure you take time to itemize those belongings and confirm their value.
0:28:13	LESLIE: Yeah. And also, don’t overlook the importance of liability coverage included with your homeowner’s insurance policy. This is going to protect you in case of personal injury or property damage and even the smallest accidents, guys can be expensive. So increasing your liability coverage by several hundred thousand dollars may only add a few dollars to your annual premium, and then it protects you if you’re held responsible for a guest who, say trips and falls while visiting your house.
0:28:41	LESLIE: I mean, all of these are in the realm of possibility. So you want to make sure that you have actual coverage.
0:28:47	TOM: It’s super important. I mean, it might be tempting to try to save some money by keeping down those insurance policy limits, but being underinsured on the need arises can be a very, very costly lesson. So make sure you make smart decisions when it comes to setting up those policies.
0:29:02	LESLIE: Grant reached out to Money Pit and says my kitchen countertop is tile and my old cast iron sink has begun to rust. Can the sink be replaced without removing the tile or is there some product that I should be using to just re coat the sink? I mean, this definitely could be a messy project, especially if you love that tile and you want to make sure you don’t mess it up.
0:29:21	TOM: Or if you’ll love that cast iron sink. I mean, so many folks love that style today and you really want to preserve it, right? So you can get that sink out, first of all, without taking the countertop apart if you need a replacement. You’re going to need to use a tile saw to grind or sort out the grout that’s between the sink and the tile, loosen up the plumbing fixtures, and then just try to work it loose a little bit at a time. You know, be careful because that tile is probably not as secure to the countertop as the sink is. And you could loosen it up, you could break it, you could pop off a few tiles. If you do, try to save all the pieces, because once that sink is out, you have a good chance of being able to replace those, reset them especially if they’re not broken. If they are broken you can try to find a matching tile or find complementary colors and sort of make a feature out of it. Now, in terms of refinishing that sink, you know, Grant, for years I would have said no. But about a year ago I found a product that I used to refinish what would have been a 1950s or sixties cast iron tub that was in terrible condition. But it was a really unique shape to it. And I found this product called EKOPEL. And it’s a two part epoxy, and I was very impressed with how well it works. And I don’t see why you could not use it. Also on a cast iron sink, you need to follow the instructions of this product to the letter. They’re very, very specific about how long you mix the two parts and how long they have to sit, what the temperature has to be in the room and so on and so forth. But as long as you follow the instructions, I tell you what, it’s absolutely beautiful. The way it comes out looks just like a new porcelain surface. So two options for you right there. You can remove it or you could leave it in place and then just resurface it.
0:31:05	LESLIE: All right, great. Good luck with that project. Now, we’ve got one here from Jesse, who writes, I’ve got vinyl flooring in the kitchen and he says the floor has yellow stains around the perimeter. I suspect the stains are from glue used to do the install. I’ll be installing new rigid vinyl flooring soon. How can I make sure that this doesn’t happen again? Quick cleanup?
0:31:26	TOM: Well, actually, no, I think he’s right.
0:31:28	LESLIE: Do you think it’s a chemical reaction?
0:31:29	TOM: I do. Yeah, I do, because we’ve seen this so many times in particular. We see it when folks use those kitchen mats, like in front of the sink. You know, that could be like a rubber backed carpet or something like that. The material that makes it anti-slip tends to react chemically with the vinyl. And when it does, it turns the vinyl yellow and people try to scrub it, scrub it and scrub it, and it just can’t scrub away because it’s not something on top of it. It actually is the vinyl turning color and the same thing we see happen along seams where there’s glue and sometimes at the perimeter. So look, if you’re replacing this with rigid vinyl plank, way to go highly endorse that product because it is super, super durable and it’s not at all like sheet vinyl. So you’re going to put that right over the sheet vinyl. You don’t even have to take the old sheet vinyl out. It can float right on top of that. It’ll give you good durability, good wear and tear, and there’s not even a glue involved. So you don’t have to ever worry about any kind of chemical reaction yellowing that stuff.
0:32:23	LESLIE: All right, Jesse, you’re making a great choice with that RV. There’s so many different patterns and colors and different looks that you can get with the RV piece flooring that I know you’re going to find some that’s going to work for your space and you’re going to love how it looks when it’s done and you’re going to even love more how durable it is. So good job.
0:32:40	TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Hey, guys, thank you so much for spending part of your day with us. We hope that we’ve shared a tip or two that helps make your home produce a little bit easier to get done. If you run across a situation, you don’t know which way to turn. Remember, you can always turn to us 24 seven Admonished Sitcom Slash ask.
0:33:00	TOM: But for now, the show does continue online. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
0:33:03	LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
0:33:04	TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself.
0:33:06	LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone.

	(Note: The above referenced transcript is AI-Generated, Unedited and Unproofed and as such may not accurately reflect the recorded audio. Copyright 2023 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.)