Show Notes
Before Jack Frost arrives for the season, learn the cold hard facts about winterizing your sprinkler system, the cost of buying older homes, and common painting mistakes. From chills to bills to drippy spills, we’ve got the answers you need to avoid these and other home improvement headaches in this episode!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Winterizing Sprinkler System: Avoid a frozen fiasco by winterizing your sprinkler system before cold sets in.
- Buying Older Homes: A survey shows homeowners are divided on the thought of buying and maintaining another older home.
- Painting Tips: Remember these 3 tips to avoid common painting mistakes.
Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about:
- Treating a Wood Porch: What is the best way to treat a pine wood porch? Stephen won’t need to seal it if he cleans it well and applies a good solid stain.
- Crawlspace Ventilation: After putting down a plastic vapor barrier, Floyd should keep his crawlspace vents open for most of the year, except for the coldest winter months.
- Hiring an Architect: Linda is seeking the best advice for remodeling her old farmhouse. An architect would have the right info for structural and design integrity.
- Porch Moisture: Recent drainage issues are forcing moisture up through Jim’s porch floor. He gets tips on gutters, downspouts, and curtain drains to redirect the water.
- Installing Gutters: Esther needn’t worry about cracking her asphalt shingles when her gutters are replaced if they’re screwed directly to the fascia board.
- Bathroom Carpet: Carpeting in a bathroom is a bad idea, but Barry gets tips on installing a door sill, plus suggestions for better flooring that’s moisture-resistant.
- Cleaning Moss: Mark’s got lots of shade trees in the front yard and moss covering his pavers. He can use a mildewcide and a power washer to clean and prevent the moss.
- Foundation Drainage: A builder is suggesting two drainage systems for Jill’s new home. It sounds like a good idea and we have additional tips she should opt for.
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 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. |
| 0:00:35 | TOM: And we are here for you, especially if you are a home improver. If you’re a do it yourself or if you want to take on projects around your house to make it more safe, more comfortable, more beautiful, more ready for the holidays that are coming up. Oh, so quickly, reach out to us with your questions. We’ve been at this for a long time, and if you’ve got a question, I bet you we’ve got an answer that will help you save some money, save some time, and really improve your space. The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit. That’s 888-666-3974. Or for the fastest possible response just go to moneypit.com/ask and click the blue microphone button. Coming up on today’s episode, if you own an older home, would you buy another old home the next time around? Well, a new survey says that 50% of Americans would not really look at the cost to maintain a home in the top five states with the oldest homes, just ahead. |
| 0:01:29 | LESLIE: And if you’ve got a sprinkler system for your lawn, now is the time when that system needs to be winterized. You do not want to see what happens when it’s not. Trust me. Happened to time once and it can be a real mess. We’re going to explain what happened to avoid that frozen mess just ahead. |
| 0:01:47 | TOM: And also, head, when it comes to maintaining your home, painting is the most basic of DIY projects, but it’s also a project that can go terribly wrong if you don’t do just three things before it starts. We’ll share those steps just ahead. |
| 0:02:00 | LESLIE: But first, we’re here to offer some expert help for the care and feeding of your home and help you create your best home ever, help you tackle all of those two do’s with confidence and get all of those projects off the to do list to the to done list. We are standing by to give a hand. |
| 0:02:16 | TOM: The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit 888-666-3974. Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s first? |
| 0:02:24 | LESLIE: Steven in Arkansas, you’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today? |
| 0:02:27 | CALLER: I I’ve got this far to go through. Really. Elwood, I guess is about 15, 20 years old. Anyway, I could make a long, short a porch, and I was protected about two years ago with Thompson Water Sale. But you did a job. They just turn pretty little wood into ugly wood and I water treated it. Now I got my wood back and I want it again, but I don’t want to do the work beyond me. |
| 0:02:55 | TOM: You don’t want to go ugly on you, huh? |
| 0:02:56 | CALLER: Right. |
| 0:02:57 | TOM: Well, what’s what kind of wood is the floor, Steven? |
| 0:03:00 | CALLER: I’m pretty sure it’s pine. |
| 0:03:02 | TOM: Okay, so what I would recommend you do is apply a solid stain to that floor, because a solid color stain is going to have enough pigment in it where you’ll see the green come through it. But it’s not going to. It’s not going to wear off and go ugly on it. Say solid color stating is what we use on decks. It’s also all these on porch floors. It’s not like paint it stain, but it is going to show that green. |
| 0:03:26 | CALLER: Okay do a lot don’t it or want to that after that. |
| 0:03:29 | TOM: You do not it’s all it’s all built in all right so look for solid color wood stain and that’ll do it. |
| 0:03:35 | CALLER: Oh, man, I appreciate that because I was dreading, you know, just shine it just pretty good. Look at that. Nice, good, textured would, you know. And I just never want that. I mean, I just don’t want to do that again, you know? |
| 0:03:47 | TOM: Yeah, it’s a lot. It’s a lot of work just to use the sealer and stop right there, because what happens is a UV radiation from the sun gets to it, it breaks down the wood fibers and it starts to grow out on you. So if you use a solid color stain and you can go right on top, what’s there now? |
| 0:04:04 | TOM: Just make sure it’s clean. You’ll be good to go. |
| 0:04:06 | CALLER: Yeah, we just got to Pressure wash and that’s what got all the tougher, more stiffer. |
| 0:04:11 | TOM: Yeah. Just make sure it dries thoroughly before you stain it. Okay? |
| 0:04:15 | CALLER: Hey, Matt, appreciate your analysis. You know, all the time. You are great. |
| 0:04:19 | TOM: All right. Thank you so much. Good luck with that project. |
| 0:04:21 | LESLIE: Now we’ve got Floyd in Iowa on the line. Who needs some help with the crawl space? Tell us. |
| 0:04:25 | CALLER: About it. Okay. I just recently purchased a home in in part of the basement. I have a crawl space. And when the instructor came in to do the inspection on the house, he recommended that I put plastic down and to close the thing. When I was listening to your show the other day, I noticed that you guys said something about keeping the vents open so nothing ventilate into the house. So I was just kind of trying to find out, you know, you know what direction should I go, what kind of plastic should I use, you know, And does that sound like a good idea? |
| 0:04:53 | TOM: Okay, So let me clarify for you. First of all, putting a plastic vapor barrier down across the floor of a crawl space is always a good idea. Use the plastic this clean. The big wide sheets, overlap them about three feet. You know, try to get as much of the surface covered. What you’re doing is preventing some of the evaporation of soil of moisture up through the soil. So that’s a good thing. In terms of the vents. The vents should be open throughout most of the year, except perhaps just the coldest months of the winter. So if you closed it, say, November and December and maybe January, that would be okay. But for the rest of the year, those vents should be open because it helps take the moisture out. |
| 0:05:30 | CALLER: Now, I also have insulation up in the rafters of the floor joists. Is it a good idea to put or to seal that with any kind of plastic at all, or should I leave those exposed? |
| 0:05:40 | TOM: Nope. No, you can leave it exposed just like that. It needs to ventilate. |
| 0:05:44 | CALLER: Okay, Good deal. |
| 0:05:45 | TOM: All right. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 0:05:50 | LESLIE: Hey, guys, if you’ve heard a helpful tip or two while listening to our show, please help us help even more home improvers by dropping us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:05:59 | TOM: That would be awesome. And you might even win a copy of our book My Home, My Money Pit, Your Guide to Every Home Improvement Adventure. Just go to Money Pit Tor.com Slash Review. Hey guys. If you reach out to us with your home improvement questions at either the Money Pit or Money Pit dot com such ask, we will toss your name into the Money Pit hard hat for a great giveaway because we’ve got from our friends at Dash Coatings the marble drain resurfacing kit. It’s a roll on marble resurfacing kit. It’s great for countertops, for vanities and for table tops. It’s very easy to apply. You don’t need any special skills. Basically, everything you need is in the kit. You get a very tough, resilient marble surface. As a result, it’s worth $169. But going out for free to one lucky listener. Reach out to us with your questions at Money Pit dotcom slash ask or call us at 1-888-Money-Pit. |
| 0:06:50 | LESLIE: All right. Now we’re going over to Michigan, where Linda is on the line and wants to add on to a farmhouse. How can we help you with that? |
| 0:06:55 | CALLER: Well, I have about a 100 year old farmhouse in I the only bathroom is upstairs. It’s a true story. Farmhouse. And I want to age in place. So I want to add another bathroom downstairs. And also I inherited a doll collection from my mother, and it’s stored in all the storage and all the rooms. So I kind of want to bring it into one room and add another room for that. And hobbies. People have been suggesting that I just I’ll just add a break up one of the rooms in the house and just put a bathroom any, any place. But the rooms are really well-proportioned and there’s good cross ventilation. I, I don’t want to have a mess. I want to have some style too. The addition is so people have suggested that I go to either an architect or trafficker or interior designer. I don’t know. I’m not sure what that process involves and how many I should go to or. |
| 0:08:00 | TOM: I think that you hit the nail on the head, and that is to hire an architect because essentially you want to make sure that whatever you do, this house flows and maintains its structural integrity as well as its design integrity. So an architect can help you do just that. Selecting where to put that bathroom will be, you know, a balance of compromises, trying to decide where it fits best, best in design, where the plumbing is now, what it would take to get to the plumbing, where it needs to be for this particular bathroom, and then how best to design those rooms for your collections and that sort of thing. The architect and Hannah, with the structure and the mechanical systems, once that’s done, then you could consider bringing in an interior designer to help lay it out, choose colors, choose furniture, and make it work for you visually. |
| 0:08:44 | LESLIE: Well, and I think the other good thing about bringing in the architect is they may have an interior designer that they work with. You can bring in your own. They’ll be able to sort of work together to help you specify the right materials for the right area. So it really is a strong partnership. |
| 0:08:57 | CALLER: I see. Now, do I bring do I talk I consult with two architects and get their ideas, or do I just go with one and get the designs? |
| 0:09:08 | TOM: What I would do is I would I would bring in one or two or maybe three architects to see the property. Tell them what you want to accomplish, Find out how they work. You get a feel for them. Yeah, they get a feel for you and then you make a decision based on that. |
| 0:09:22 | LESLIE: I think you meet with somebody, you meet with two or three architects, as Tom suggested. Just get a feel for them because you’re going to know if you want to work with them, you’re going to know how well you communicate back and forth. You’ll sort of spitball ideas. You know, they’re during that meeting and get a really good sense of how much they’re understanding you and whoever you feel the most comfortable with, I think is what’s going to lead you to the right decision. |
| 0:09:44 | LESLIE: And then you’ll start drawings. |
| 0:09:46 | CALLER: Okay. I did get a card from someone who used them, but is this person but he was his card says he said drafting and drafting and consulting. |
| 0:09:59 | TOM: And you don’t want to drafter. Okay. You want an architect. You just want an architect, a good quality architect. So focus on that. First you could take and usually they’ll have books that show some of their past projects. You can see what kind of work they do, You know it’s going to be you’ll figure out through a process of elimination which one you’re most comfortable with, and that’s the person that’s going to get the job. But they’re well worth the investment because they’re going to make this process easy and they’re going to be you’re going to be assured that it that it comes out exactly as you as you plan. You know, if you bring it, if you go right to the contractor step, they’re just going to squeeze this bathroom in wherever they think it fits and you’re not going to be happy with it. So get the architect. They’re well worth their investment. |
| 0:10:36 | CALLER: Okay, great. |
| 0:10:37 | TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 0:10:42 | LESLIE: Well, if you own an older home, would you buy another old home the next time around? A new survey by Allstar Homes says maybe not. |
| 0:10:50 | TOM: That’s right across the country, 55% of us actually live in homes that are more than 30 years old. And on average, owners of older homes spend $10,700 in repairs and maintenance every year. I’m pretty sure I spend more than that, but that’s just the average number. |
| 0:11:07 | LESLIE: In fact, that survey found that Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Pennsylvania are the top five states with the oldest homes in America. And most interesting here is that the survey asked, would you purchase another old home? And the split was about 5050, with 52% saying that they would opt for an old home again and 48% saying that they’d pass. |
| 0:11:31 | TOM: And if you’re wondering which states have the newest homes, maybe you just want to totally get away from old homes, period. Well, those states would be Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Florida, and the great state of Texas. |
| 0:11:43 | LESLIE: Jim in Pennsylvania is on the line with moisture. What’s going on over your Money Pit? |
| 0:11:47 | CALLER: Okay. I live in an old home, has a wraparound porch. The only wall that’s exposed is that goes out to the end of the porch is our back yard. My back yard slopes very gently downhill. It’s been landscape was several swells, and I never have standing water in my yard. I have no drainage that goes out the back or anything. Matter of fact, I’ve lived here for 30, 40 years and I’ve never had water in my basement until five years ago when we had a tropical storm come up the coast, come inland and dumped almost 20 inches of rain right on us. But two years ago I had the same thing happen. This one dumped about ten inches rain. Okay. I water both times that I had to get out of there, out of my basement, which is finished. But anyhow, my walls, even during those storms, my exposed walls and other walls are completely dry and the water is coming up through. It looks like the backside starting towards the middle of the back wall through the floor. It must. I’m thinking it’s ground water. |
| 0:13:02 | TOM: It’s not. It’s clearly not. And I know that with absolute certainty, because it’s tied in with precipitation. Whenever you have heavy rain and you get any type of leakage, it’s always drainage. It starts on the top, works its way down. It just happens to be showing up under the floor. That can very easily happen because water can accumulate outside the foundation walls. Sometimes it goes into the walls and leaks through the walls. Sometimes it goes around the walls and pushes up through the floor. I’ve seen geysers show up in the middle of basement floors because somebody had a blocked gutter on the other side of the house. Water does strange things, but this is a drainage problem. That’s all it is. So you need to look at your drainage very, very carefully. Now, you mentioned that you had a swell, and I hope that. Well, still working for you. If that swell is not working just by the swell itself, you may have to install what’s called a curtain drain at the bottom. That’s swell to collect the excess water and running around your house and then dump it out to a place that’s lower on the lot. The other basic things that you can look at and the very easiest things to look at is your gutters. You need to have at least one downspouts for every 400 to 600 square feet of roof surface. And those downspouts need to be extended 4 to 6 feet from the house, minimum minimum, not just out of foot into a splash block, but 4 to 6 feet away. I say that because whenever you have a water problem, we’ve got to move that water away from that first four foot or so of soil at around that’s around the foundation perimeter. So gutters are really important. Downspouts discharge is really important. And then finally, the slope of the soil at the foundation perimeter is important. But if you manage and maintain and improve the drainage conditions around the foundation perimeter, you won’t have enough water to push up around those walls and into the floor. |
| 0:14:56 | CALLER: Okay. Okay. So some sump pump wouldn’t work? |
| 0:14:59 | TOM: No, I mean, it’s not up. Will take the water out once it gets there, but it doesn’t deal with the initial with stopping it from getting there in the first place. Right. And by the way, putting the sump pump in doesn’t do anything to improve the structural integrity of the foundation, because, again, that water has to go around that foundation to get to where the pump is. So deal with the drainage, keep the soil as dry as possible, and you make the whole thing go away. |
| 0:15:21 | CALLER: Okay. Thank you. |
| 0:15:23 | LESLIE: All right. We’ve got Esther on the line from South Dakota with the gutter question. How can we help you today? |
| 0:15:28 | CALLER: Well, we need to replace our rain gutters, but our shingles are nearly beloved. Old house are Portland cement shingles. And the first three people that are the three, the companies that I have talked to about replacing rain gutters, they tell me how simple it is to just lift up the asphalt shingles and put this dropping in underneath investment. And I think, okay, asphalt is flexible, but I think the cement shingles might crack. So how do I find someone who knows? How about preserving the shingles and putting it leaving gutters? |
| 0:16:02 | TOM: Well, I think there are where a number of ways to install gutters. You can put straps that go up under the asphalt shingles, but you can they can also be attached directly. So what you’re going to want to do is attach those gutters directly to the fascia. And instead of using nails, you’re going to want to use gutter screws. They’re very long lag bolts. Lightweight, thin lag bolts usually have a hex head on them. And the nice thing about these gutter bolts, so to speak, is that once you put them in, they don’t pull out. Sometimes the nails, the gutter spikes that they use will pull out, but these gutter screws will not pull out. So you just need to use a different fastening system. And, you know, if you have you had physically had somebody at the house that saw this configuration or they just going to telling you this on the. |
| 0:16:47 | CALLER: Phone, you know, we had just moved through the area and I was just going down the yellow page. You know, trying to get in. |
| 0:16:54 | TOM: Well, once they get to your house, they’re going to figure out the best ways to attach the gutter. But rest assured, there’s a number of ways to do this. And no, you don’t have to take your shingles apart. And by the way, as long as those shingles, those roof shingles look good and then there’s no reason to replace them. You know, the cementitious rushing oils are very durable. The reason that most people replace them as they tend to grow a lot of algae and moss and they can look nasty after a while. But if they’re still looking decent and they’re it’s not leaking, then you’re good to go. |
| 0:17:21 | CALLER: Yeah, they’re good. And there’s a whole pile of, ah, a little pallet, probably two or 300 of them down in the basement. So. Oh, boy. You are going to go house fishing. |
| 0:17:33 | TOM: All right, Esther, thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 0:17:38 | LESLIE: All right. Now we’ve got Barry in Iowa on the line who’s got a question about a bathroom with carpeting. And I know your question is really about a pet, The bathroom with carpeting. What’s going on, Barry? |
| 0:17:47 | CALLER: Well, the dogs are locked up in the bathroom when we went shopping. But when they come back, they tore a hole in one, not a big hole, but there’s probably two and a half inches by three inches long. And I can’t cover it no way. And so I was wanting to tear the carpet up and put in new carpet because I can’t match the old carpet. And then but I don’t know how to put a threshold down in there. |
| 0:18:10 | TOM: Well, first of all, putting carpet in the bathroom is definitely a bad idea because obviously it doesn’t mix with the moisture, even if it’s an indoor outdoor style carpet. I don’t know what you have, but I, I would recommend against carpet in a bathroom. So the dogs may have done your favor because it’s forced you to take that carpet up. Your question is, how do you put a threshold like in the door so that you would have a good clean edge? Yeah, well, I mean, you certainly what you basically do is you put in a door so there and it sits even with the door when it’s closed. So it’s about as thick as the door plus another interest. So it’s usually a couple of inches thick and it may be higher on one side where the carpet is and lower on the other side where the floor is. But it’s a pretty standard piece of carpentry work or a pretty standard piece of a of a carpet installation project. And I would recommend that you remove that carpet from the bathroom and put in a different type of flooring. What’s underneath that carpet? Is there tile under there now? No. |
| 0:19:07 | CALLER: Cement slab, and it’s a slab now. |
| 0:19:08 | TOM: Okay, So then what you might want to think about doing is putting in something like a laminate floor. The laminate can look like tile or it could look like stone, but it’s very moisture resistant. So it’s a terrific choice for the bathroom. And if you want something to kind of warm it up, then put a throw rug on top of it. But I wouldn’t put carpet back. |
| 0:19:27 | CALLER: Well, that’s what we were thinking, too. |
| 0:19:29 | TOM: Yep. Very simple step putting in a door. So there’s all you need to do. And if you don’t know how to do it yourself, I’m sure your installer could help. |
| 0:19:36 | CALLER: I don’t have to nail the threshold to the door. I mean to the floor. |
| 0:19:38 | TOM: Oh, no, it’ll be secured to the floor. But there’s lots of ways to do that. And there’s a, there’s a way that you can screw through the threshold with a special screw called a tap on fastener and all secure to the floor. You know, there are, there are ways. |
| 0:19:51 | LESLIE: And then there’s a piece that snaps over it. There is if you go into your home center, Home Depot, Lowe’s or whatever you’ve got near you in the flooring aisle, there’s going to be at the end, you’ll see wood metal. They’ll be called transitions. It’ll be like from carpet to wood, it’ll have all the varieties of one surface to the other surface and all the different ways to install them. They’re pretty easy. |
| 0:20:12 | CALLER: Oh, well, thank you guys for the information and I hope you have a good day. |
| 0:20:15 | TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 0:20:20 | LESLIE: Well, sprinkler systems are a luxury that affords you a beautiful green lawn and garden all during the spring and summer time. But if you live in a climate where they need to be winterized, it’s a job that has to be done correctly. Or you could be facing a big repair bill come springtime. |
| 0:20:35 | TOM: That’s right. So there are really three ways to winterize a sprinkler system manual automatic. And what’s simply called blowout. The first step in all cases, though, is turn off the water supply. Now, for the manual approach, you want to open the drain valves and allow the water to drain out. But keep in mind that sometimes water is still under a lot of pressure and will come out very quickly at first. So don’t stand in the way of it for automatic. The drain valves are located at the end of the run in the low points of the irrigation plumbing. These are going to automatically open and drain water. So you don’t do much for this. If the pressure of the piping is less than ten PSA to activate them to shut off the water supply, in the rest, it should happen automatically. And lastly, and my preferred method is what’s called blowout. This is usually done by a pro and it uses forced air to make sure all the water has been removed. Because let’s face it, if those pipes are not perfectly pitched, unit water remains in them. I like the blowout option because it pretty much does just that. It blows out all the water. They’re completely dry. When you’re done, you don’t have to worry about any water sitting in there because if it does, you know what’s going to happen. It’s going to freeze, expand and break the pipe. And you don’t want to deal with that in the spring. |
| 0:21:44 | LESLIE: All right. So get it done right. So you don’t end up with your own version of the Frozen movie, except there’s a lot of water. All right. Next up, we’ve got Mark on the Money Pit. What’s going on in your house? |
| 0:21:57 | CALLER: Okay, I’ve got this house that I bought, like, just awesome. Five acres by the golf course and Bandon, Oregon. Okay. And it doesn’t pavers that somebody is laid over something. It’s about 2000 square feet of them in my front yard. |
| 0:22:15 | TOM: Wow. |
| 0:22:16 | CALLER: And that’s not a small house. So I’m trying to figure out what’s new this moss that is impending. So I’ve got a lot of huge trees here, too. It’s got that. Everything goes. This is Oregon. Yeah, this have got to the salt fog, which is a phenomenon I’ve never even heard of before. |
| 0:22:36 | TOM: Here’s what I think you should do. First of all, since you have so much of this, we’re not just trying to strategically get rid of a little bit. I would use a mildicide on this. I would use something like JOMAX, which is a Zinzer product, you mix it up with bleach, you put it across these pavers and you leave it sit and it’ll basically kill all of the moss and the algae and so on a fairly short period of time you can power wash it and clean it up after that. Now, on an ongoing basis, though, there are different types of products. There is spray and forget, for example, that you can apply to it. And if you do this every couple, every month or two, that will stop the moss from growing as quickly. But whenever you have a lot of shade like that, of course the conditions are perfect for that type of moss and algae and lichen likened to grow. So the first step is going to be to kind of nuke it, so to speak, with a really strong process. And then you’re going to apply a more gentle product like spray and forget to try to stop it from coming back. |
| 0:23:35 | CALLER: There is hope. |
| 0:23:36 | LESLIE: There sure is. |
| 0:23:37 | TOM: Always There is. There is. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for reaching out to us at 1-888-Money-Pit. |
| 0:23:43 | CALLER: All right, Thanks a lot. Have a good one. |
| 0:23:46 | LESLIE: This hour, we’ve got a great reason to reach out to Team Money Pit. Up for grabs is a marbled rim resurfacing kit from Daich Coatings. Now, this is a great kit because if you’ve got an old countertop or maybe a piece of furniture that you want to turn into a vanity or anything that you want to make look like it has a marble surface. This is the kit for you with the marble dream resurfacing kit. You really are going to get some beautiful, realistic, professional results. You do not have to be an artist to have wonderful, accomplished skills at the end of this. It really is gorgeous. And whether you like one that’s super veiny or just is soft and swirly, you can create that. There are some great color choices out there. Check it out. You can see what the befores and afters look like at daichcoatings.com. That’s daichcoatings.com and it’s a kit worth $169, but it could be yours for free just by asking us the question this hour. Jill in Washington is on the line with a question about a foundation. What’s going on in your Money Pit? |
| 0:24:46 | CALLER: We’re having a small house built up here in the great, beautiful state of Washington, and the builder is recommending a double set of how do I set for drainage? He wants to really be sure that the drainage all is tight lined one system will be tight lined that joins with the downspouts from the roof. And then the other is kind of like a perforated long 200 foot piece of hose with a sleeve over it. Do you recommend both of those? Is that overkill or how would you do it? |
| 0:25:24 | TOM: So we’re talking about surface drainage here. We’re talking about gutter drainage or both of these sounds like from a description that these are all running away from the house. Is that right? |
| 0:25:33 | CALLER: Yes. He wants it around the they’ve simply just finished the foundation and are about to do the backfill. Before they do the backfill they want to drainage systems put in place. One is a hard I’m not sure of the correct terminology it’s a four inch. |
| 0:25:53 | TOM: Ones for the downspouts and ones for the foundation. Is that correct? |
| 0:25:56 | CALLER: Correct. Exactly. |
| 0:25:58 | TOM: Now, I mean, I think he’s doing it right. And those steps will help. The one really important thing is that when he’s done with this is not only those downspouts have to be extended away from the house, but you want to make sure that that finished grade also has a pitch that drops at least about six inches over the first four feet because with new construction you get a lot of settlement and you’ve got to have good pitch. But if you have downspouts that are extended out away from the house and you have good pitch, you’ll never have to worry about a water infiltration problem. And I also don’t suspect that those additional foundation drains will really come into use much, if at all. But since it’s all fully open right now, there’s no really there’s no harm in doing that. |
| 0:26:37 | CALLER: Okay. So it’s just bite the bullet and just put both systems in. Yeah. |
| 0:26:41 | TOM: Now, have they put the gutters in yet? |
| 0:26:44 | CALLER: Oh no, no. The house isn’t even built yet. No. |
| 0:26:47 | TOM: So here’s a here’s a good tip. Most builders are going to put in what’s called a four inch case style gutter. That’s a standard gutter up for the next size up. It’s a six inch gutter for two reasons. Number one, it holds more runoff from your roof. Doesn’t get overwhelmed. And number two, it doesn’t clog as easily because the downspouts are much bigger. |
| 0:27:07 | CALLER: I see. What a great tip. |
| 0:27:10 | TOM: Okay. And they’re not that much more expensive either. |
| 0:27:11 | CALLER: Great. Well, you know what? When we get to that point, I’m going to call the show back because it always rains up here. And I will let you know that we took your brand advice and how it all came out. |
| 0:27:23 | TOM: All right, Jacqui, thanks so much for calling us. At 888-Money-Pit. Good luck with a brand new home. |
| 0:27:27 | CALLER: Thank you so much. |
| 0:27:28 | TOM: Building a new money pit. |
| 0:27:29 | LESLIE: Building something new that will become a money pit at some points. |
| 0:27:33 | TOM: As beautiful and luxurious as these homes are, we know that everybody’s house becomes a money pit sooner or later. And so that’s why we’re in the money pit prevention business. |
| 0:27:41 | LESLIE: Well, when it comes to maintaining your home painting or even staining those wood surfaces, it’s important to keep your siding and trim in good shape. But while painting is a task that’s among the most basic of DIY projects, it’s also one where simple mistakes can lead to big heartache. |
| 0:27:58 | TOM: Yeah, and the key comes down to preparation. You know, if you have weathered surfaces, they need to be cleaned. Any loose paint removed before you even think about opening a can of paint. If not, the new paint simply won’t stick. You can’t put good paint over bad paint. So if it’s weathered, you’ve got to get it off. And if you try to paint over it all the new paint is going to chip off and you will have wasted all of your efforts. |
| 0:28:20 | LESLIE: Now, next, it’s always smart to apply a coat of primer first. Now primer is formulated differently than paint, which is meant to be The finished coat. Primer is going to have better adhesion, so it will stick to those old surfaces better and then prevent that new paint from peeling off. |
| 0:28:35 | TOM: And finally, for the best finish, look, be sure to choose the right kind of paint brush. There are major differences now. Natural bristle brushes are best for applying oil based paints, but for latex, synthetic bristle brushes deliver the best results and help maintain the value of your home. The other day, Leslie got a question from a listener to our blog. We had mentioned using a cut in brush, and she didn’t understand what a cut in brush was. And I thought it’d be a good time to mention that a cut in brush is typically a synthetic bristle brush that has an angled top to it. So it allows you to get in tight to corners and other places that you want to sort of cut into with the paint. So get the right type of brush and the drop would go a lot better. |
| 0:29:21 | LESLIE: Mardy reached out to Team Money Pit and says, This past summer I had an air conditioning issue that caused a large amount of water to overflow the drain pan in my attic. The water that overflowed caused the popcorn ceiling covering to come down and the drywall on the ceiling to bow. How do I replace the drywall? And is there a way to restore that popcorn finish? |
| 0:29:42 | TOM: Ah, yes, very good question. So, Marty. Here’s the thing. Of course, it sounds like you’ve dealt with the leak. That goes without saying. An overflowing drain pan in an attic, air conditioner is a very common leak, so no worries there if you fixed it. But in terms of that drywall, once it’s swollen like that, once it’s mowed down, then it has to be cut out completely. And by the way, if, however you were there when this was happening and had the opportunity to take action, when the water starts to come through the drywall, the first thing you should do is grab a screwdriver and poke a couple of holes right where that’s happening. That happened to me when we had a huge storm that actually had a tree branch that fell on the roof, caused a break, and we had a lot of water that got into the ceiling. I saw it happening a quick got a bucket and poked a hole in the ceiling. I let out two and a half gallons of water and the drywall never moved, never moved an inch because I got the water out of there. So get the water out when that happens. Now, once the drywall is replaced, you need to restore that textured ceiling gap has a product design, especially for this. It’s called the two in one wall and ceiling spray texture. And they do have a version of it that’s simply called popcorn. Very easy for you to apply, especially in a small area like that. And once that’s done, you can paint the entire ceiling and that will make it all blend together and you will be good to go. |
| 0:31:05 | LESLIE: Yeah. And surprisingly, you know, those popcorn ceilings, they’re difficult ish to remove, they’re difficult to issue to match. You don’t want to take it down. You want to repair it. Does it look good? I mean, this new damp product definitely helps you achieve the best possible repair. So really, a good way to approach maintaining that popcorn ceiling and keeping that look without having to do a ton more work. Plus, it’s just going to look awesome. So good luck with that And you know, next time, like Tom says, poke some holes in the ceiling. |
| 0:31:36 | TOM: This would give you permission to temporarily destroy your ceiling. |
| 0:31:41 | LESLIE: It’s for the good. |
| 0:31:42 | TOM: Well, when you started the dishwasher, are the dishes coming out dirtier than when they went in? The culprit could be a clogged drain valve. And that’s something that’s easy to fix. Leslie has advice on how to do just that in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie, an important tip, considering that the holidays are just in front of us. |
| 0:32:01 | LESLIE: And you know what? Dishwashers do have this drain valve, and they should only open during that draining cycle. But the problem is that sometimes these valves get clogged, and then they start to let water out during the wash cycle as well. So you kind of have to listen to make sure that this isn’t happening. So during that wash cycle, if you hear water flowing into the sink, that drain valve is definitely clogged and definitely stuck open. Also, you want to check the bottom of your dishwasher for any buildup of food particles. A lot of dishwashers have bowl style check valves that can get gummed up and prevent dirty water from draining out of the unit. A wet dry vac is truly all you’re going to need to clean out those hard to reach areas and get that drain working again. Bottom line, this type of maintenance, this type of repair, this type of attention to your dishwasher, it’s not hard. And with just a couple of steps, those clogs can be fixed and then those dishes are going to come clean again. So great idea to sort of just get the work done yourself on the dishwasher. |
| 0:33:04 | TOM: And no need to call in a plumber or an appliance repair person, especially around the holidays when they charge a lot of money to come to your house. You’re listening to the Money Pit Home Improvement Show coming up next time on the program. You know, your roof weathers every storm and it protects your home structure and keep you warm and dry, but it doesn’t last forever. We’re going to tell you what to do when your roof’s got to go on the very next edition of The Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:33:32 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:33:33 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 0:33:35 | 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.) |
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