Show Notes
We’re sharing springtime secrets in this show, with tips for planting bulbs for a beautiful garden, breaking free of stuck windows to let the fresh air in, and protecting trees and shrubs with proper mulching. Spring forward and get home improvement info to last all year as we answer your timely questions!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Spring Bulbs: Think flower power and plan ahead for spring by planting bulbs now.
- Stuck Windows: Break free of stuck windows with these easy tips.
- Mulch: Learn the right way to use mulch for insulating trees and shrubs.
Top Questions & Answers
- New Deck: Does Theresa really need to wait before staining her new wood deck? We explain why it’s necessary to allow fresh lumber to dry out and season before staining.
- Flooring: What kind of flooring can David use over his concrete slab? Engineered hardwood, engineered vinyl plans, and laminate are all good floating floor options.
- Cleaning Corian: Sharon’s porous Corian countertop is getting stained from water from the sink. We recommend some soft cleansers that she can try for this common problem.
- Water Heater: An old electric water heater is starting to leak and David is thinking about a tankless model. He should consider getting more efficient natural gas installed or using an electric heat pump water heater.
- Concrete Repair: Annie’s concrete front porch is crumbling, but there are Quikrete products that can adhere to the old concrete and provide a smooth and durable surface.
- Sewer Pipe: Linda is worried about replacing a cast iron sewer pipe that’s corroded and cracked. We assure her that any cracks can be easily sealed with silicone caulk.
- Grout Cleaning: How can Joe clean the ceramic tile kitchen grout? He gets tips on using grout cleaners and grout strippers.
- Floor Nails: Tammy has one floor nail that keeps popping up! It’s a common problem but easy to solve by removing the nail and replacing it with a trim screw.
- Water Heater: Are stains coming from Kim’s old water heater or from the water line? It does need to be replaced, and we give her some efficient options to choose from.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:23 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:00:35 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:00:36 | TOM: And we are here to help you with projects you want to get done around your house. So if you need some tips, some ideas, if you are stuck on a project, if you don’t know what the next step is, well, we can tell you what the next step is, and that’s to reach out to us with your home improvement, your remodeling, your decor questions at 1-888-Money-Pit. That’s 888-666-3977. Or post your questions to moneypit.com slash ask for the quickest possible response. Coming up on today’s program, you know, nothing signals the start of spring better than those fresh blooms like daffodils and tulips in full color. But if you want to enjoy those beautiful spring blooms, you need to start planting bulbs now. So we’ll share tips in just a bit. |
| 00:01:18 | LESLIE: And speaking of spring, there is nothing like being able to throw open those windows and get in some fresh air, unless those windows are stuck and then you just can’t open them. Well, we’re going to help you free them up the easy way. |
| 00:01:31 | TOM: And if you’re planning for some early spring plants, mulch is a great insulator. But if you put too much on, you will suffocate the growth. So we’re going to walk you through the best practices in just a bit. |
| 00:01:42 | LESLIE: But first, our focus is you. We want to know what you want to know. So if there’s a DIY project on your to-do list, let us help you make it a DIY done project. So what are you working on? How can we help? Truly, there is no project too big, too small that we can’t help you sort of tackle. Or at least get the steps started so you can check that project off your to-do list. Let us know how we can lend a hand. |
| 00:02:05 | TOM: Connect with us at 1-888-Money-Pit. That’s 888-666-3974. Or post your questions to moneypit.com slash ask. Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s first? |
| 00:02:16 | LESLIE: Teresa in Tennessee is on the line with a decking question. How can we help you? |
| 00:02:19 | CALLER: We just finished redecking our deck outside with treated lumber. And we were going to stain it. So I was going to do that. I was very happy, you know, going and trying to pick out my color. And I was told that we’re supposed to wait about a year to stain it. Is that true? |
| 00:02:36 | LESLIE: It’s brand new pressure treated lumber? Yes, it is. Yes. So there’s a formulation that they use to create the lumber to be more weather resistant, which is basically saturating that wood with whatever that mixture is that makes that wood durable. So in doing so, you’re dealing with, you know, some very green, very wet wood. So if you were to apply a stain at this point, it would kind of do the same thing. It would really just float on the top and not really saturate into the wood. And you’d end up with like a strange finished product. And it also would not last at all. So what they recommend from pressure treated is a season, six months. It’s got to be dry. It’s got to dry out. And once it does dry, then you’re able to apply the finish and it will saturate whatever the stain is, saturate into the grain of the lumber itself and therefore stay for a much longer period of time. |
| 00:03:25 | CALLER: Oh, OK. |
| 00:03:26 | LESLIE: And the type of woods will. Depend on what that aging time is. |
| 00:03:30 | CALLER: Oh, OK. So six months, not a year. Right. |
| 00:03:33 | LESLIE: It’s generally a season time, right? Yeah. |
| 00:03:35 | TOM: I mean, it is going to end up being a year, but I would just I would if it’s brand new now, I would go through a full summer with it. And then, you know, when next spring comes around, you can think about applying some solid color stain then. |
| 00:03:46 | CALLER: OK, well, thank you all very much for answering my question. |
| 00:03:50 | TOM: All right. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:03:53 | LESLIE: David in Arizona is on the line looking to lay some flooring. How can we help with your project? |
| 00:03:58 | CALLER: Well, hi, I recently moved from New York to Arizona and we purchased a home. And there’s such a difference between New York and Arizona. |
| 00:04:04 | TOM: Yeah, you can say that. |
| 00:04:07 | CALLER: We’re looking to do some floors in the bedrooms with a wood look, hardwood or bamboo or whatever. But there’s very few people out here. They have the same answer to the question. So we were wondering what would be the best application for the floors here. They’re all cement underneath. |
| 00:04:23 | TOM: You know, if it’s a first floor, you can put solid prefinished hardwood on top of that. That’s OK. The other thing you could do is you could use engineered hardwood. So if you want a hardwood look, you know, those are two ways that you could achieve it, even if you have a slab on grade floor right now. |
| 00:04:37 | CALLER: And that would be a glue down or a nail down? No, actually, it depends. |
| 00:04:41 | TOM: They have locking boards so there could be a floating floor, especially the engineered. I know it comes as a floating floor. OK. And I believe a solid does as well. So it all kind of snaps together and you lay it on top of the floor, just sort of sits there and hangs there. And then you leave a, you know, maybe quarter, inch or so where it runs up against the baseboard. And then you trim that with some shoe molding. And that’s pretty much it. You’re good to go. You can use conventional saddles, you know, and transition pieces at the doorways. |
| 00:05:07 | CALLER: Now, look, the quarter inches for expansion or movement a little bit. Yeah, exactly. |
| 00:05:11 | TOM: Yeah, you don’t want to put it too tight against the exterior wall. So you leave a little space there. And you can do the same thing with a laminate floor or one of these new EVP floors, too. The engineered vinyl plank, which is pretty brilliant stuff. Just gorgeous. Yeah, it looks great, too. Yeah. |
| 00:05:26 | CALLER: Now, is there any problems with water on these kind of floors? I mean, we have to worry about moisture, either from below or above. |
| 00:05:31 | TOM: Not when it’s a first floor like that, and especially in Arizona. |
| 00:05:35 | CALLER: Yeah. |
| 00:05:35 | TOM: You know, if you were back in New York, you couldn’t put that, you couldn’t put solid materials in a basement. But if you’re out west like that, I don’t see any issue with that, no. |
| 00:05:43 | CALLER: Okay. It’s been a change. It really has. It’s beautiful out here, but what a change. I bet. All the things I learned in New York no longer apply for some of this. |
| 00:05:51 | LESLIE: Well, and you got to look everywhere for scorpions. That’s one of the things. Every time. I’ve been there for business. It freaks me out. |
| 00:05:58 | CALLER: I found a little watering hole. It’s got a cougar or a mountain lion that visits often. I’m looking for one. Well, there you go. |
| 00:06:03 | LESLIE: Well, you’re certainly not finding that in New York. Okay. |
| 00:06:06 | TOM: Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:06:09 | LESLIE: Sharon in Georgia, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today? |
| 00:06:12 | CALLER: I have two Corian sinks in my bathroom, and the water is turning them, they were white, and the water is turning them, like, yellow. And my husband heard that you could use the fine sandpaper and sandpaper around the drain where it’s really the worst, and that doesn’t seem to work. His is now gray around his drain, and mine he didn’t touch. Okay. So have you got any solutions? |
| 00:06:44 | LESLIE: I mean, I would try first, like, a couple of different, like, softer cleansers just to see if that does anything. I know Bonami seems to be a good one for a surface like that. And then after that… |
| 00:06:55 | CALLER: I’ve tried all of them. |
| 00:06:56 | LESLIE: You’ve tried all of them? |
| 00:06:58 | CALLER: Yeah, and I even tried the little green, you know, scrubby thing that they told me to use. |
| 00:07:04 | TOM: You know, have you ever, like, with Bonami or Barkeeper’s Friend, I think is the other one, when I have a Corian sink, and I find that what we do is we put a lot of it on there and just sort of almost make, like, a paste and let it sit on the surface for a while. Okay. And then we come back, you know, 15, 20 minutes later and then start rinsing it off. But it has sort of a blue… It has a bleaching effect when you let it sit there. It’s not just to rub it and rinse it away, but let it sit on the stains for a while. What you’re describing is not that unusual. Unfortunately, Corian does absorb stains. It’s not as stain-resistant as we’d like. It can be abraded, but that’s not really going to change anything because it’s not… The stain is not on the top. It’s kind of soaked in. So you really need to kind of clean it, and that’s why those products work well for that. |
| 00:07:49 | CALLER: Okay. I’ll try that. You know, making the paste and… Putting it on there and leaving it on there for a little bit. |
| 00:07:56 | TOM: Just sprinkle it out and just then, you know, get it a little bit wet until it gets kind of, like, pasty, and then just let it sit for a while. I make it kind of pasty, and I’ll do a first sort of scrub while it’s real thick like that. Then I just walk away for a while, and then later on, I go back and finish it off. And that works well for me. |
| 00:08:15 | CALLER: All right. Well, I’ll try that. |
| 00:08:17 | LESLIE: You know, we love hearing from our listeners. And if you want to make our day, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. |
| 00:08:23 | TOM: You know, it really helps us know. We’re doing right and how we can improve our show for you. So just go to moneypit.com slash review, moneypit.com slash review, and you might even win a copy of our book. |
| 00:08:35 | LESLIE: Next up, we’ve got David on the line who’s got a question about a water heater. How can we help? |
| 00:08:40 | CALLER: Yes, Leslie. I’ve got a hot water heater that’s apparently reached its age limit. It’s starting to leak out the bottom, probably rusted out. And so I was thinking about putting in a tankless water heater, but I live in Tennessee. And for me, you know, the ground temperature is really cool. And I’ve heard that it’s, you know, if you’re in Florida, maybe it’s a little better situation. But in the winter months, I was thinking maybe it would be too expensive to operate. |
| 00:09:10 | TOM: First of all, what kind of fuel do you have? Are you on natural gas? |
| 00:09:13 | CALLER: I have access to natural gas, but actually the hot water heater I have now is electric. |
| 00:09:19 | TOM: Well, first of all, an electric water heater is… An electric tankless water heater is not going to be cost effective. How is your house heated, David? |
| 00:09:29 | CALLER: It’s central heat and air. Is it a heat pump? Yes, sir. Okay. |
| 00:09:34 | TOM: So you’re talking about using a ground source heat pump. That’s like a whole new deal. And that’s, I mean, certainly it’s good technology if you don’t have access to gas. But I would say that my very first choice would be if I was going to upgrade my HVAC system and had access to gas, I would get that gas at my house because it’s going to be less expensive. It’s going to be less expensive for you to put that type of system in because as you started to say, if you were to use a heat pump, you’re going to have to bear the cost of drilling a ground coil deep into the earth, which is not inexpensive. So it’s very costly to do it that way. Now, in terms of just the water heater itself, if your project is of a limited nature and you just want to replace that water heater because it is old, I would say either use a standard electric water heater, but put it on a 240 volt timer. So that it doesn’t run 24 seven, you know, water heaters are kind of dumb in the sense that they, you set whatever temperature you want your water and it’s going to be that way, whether it’s, you know, 7am in the morning and you just take in your morning shower or like, you know, 1am in the overnight when you don’t really need it heated up to 120 degrees or whatever it’s set for. So if you put a timer on it, you’ll cut back on the number of hours it actually has to run. That will save you some money. And if you want to make something that’s just more, more efficient, you could use a heat pump water heater. There’s a, like you have a heat pump for your heating system right now where there’s a heat pump technology that applies only to water heaters. And again, those heat pumps are, water heaters are pretty expensive, but they’re also often rebates on them and tax credits would also apply as well. So those are your two options for electric. You can either use a heat pump water heater or you can use a standard electric water heater, but put it on that 240 volt timer to save some money. Okay. Gotcha. |
| 00:11:18 | CALLER: Gotcha. Well, I appreciate your time. |
| 00:11:21 | TOM: You’re welcome, sir. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:11:26 | LESLIE: And in Iowa, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today? |
| 00:11:29 | CALLER: Yes, I have a front porch stoop. It’s uncovered for the most part, four foot by about 15 and half of it was built over a hundred years ago. And the concrete is kind of crumbly. What’s the best way to cover it? You know, restore it, make it smooth. |
| 00:11:49 | TOM: So you can restore deteriorated concrete. There are products that are designed especially for that purpose. The mistake that most people make is they use sort of a standard cement in trying to like stucco over that, but you have to use products that are designed to adhere to the old concrete. Quikrete has a line of products that do that. A lot of them are epoxy based, so they stick really, really well. And I’ve seen some resurfacing materials that actually are so strong. When you try to pull them apart, they actually pull apart the old concrete, but they stick so well that they can do that. There is one called Recap, R-E-C-A-P, that I’ve used that worked really well that Quikrete makes. And you can put that on over that whole surface and it’ll just smooth it out, look like a brand new concrete porch. |
| 00:12:38 | CALLER: Some of the divots and gouges are like half an inch, three quarters of an inch deep. |
| 00:12:45 | TOM: That should be okay. Yeah, I forget how thick it can go. But that’s pretty minor. That should be fine. And if it exceeds it, I would read the instructions on it. If it exceeds what they recommend, then you would simply use a patching compound underneath it and then perhaps put the Recap over top of the whole thing. |
| 00:13:01 | CALLER: And how about standing up to cold temperatures? We get a lot of ice and snow here. |
| 00:13:05 | TOM: Yeah, see, that’s the point. That’s why you use a product like that, because it adheres. It’s designed to stick to the old concrete. Anything else you do will split off in the cold weather. But these products are designed to adhere to stick. They won’t separate. Okay, wonderful. All right, Annie. Well, good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:13:24 | LESLIE: Well, nothing signals the start of spring better than fresh blooms. I’m talking about gladiola and lily and dahlia. Oh my gosh, do I love dahlia and freesia too. All of those wonderful colors. But if you want to enjoy those beautiful spring blooms, you kind of have to plant them right now. |
| 00:13:42 | TOM: Yeah, that’s right. Because the secret to successful blooms start with the timing and summer bulbs just are not timing. They’re tolerant of cold temperatures, and they need to be planted right after the ground warms up, and there’s no longer a threat of any frost. |
| 00:13:55 | LESLIE: That’s right. So if you’re ready to start planting bulbs, there are a few basic rules that you do have to keep in mind. First of all, those bulbs don’t like wet soil. You want to make sure to plant them in a well-draining, sandy soil mixture. You also want to add a good bulb fertilizer to the bottom of the hole and scratch it into the soil really well before you plant those bulbs. And then you want to really be careful not to plant. If they’re too shallow, I mean, you got to think about it. Squirrels, deer, whatever, these are like tasty, delicious nuts for them. And if they can grab them and get to them because it’s too shallow, they are going to. So follow the instructions on the package. But the general rule here is to plant two to two and a half times deep as that bulb is tall, and that should do the trick. |
| 00:14:39 | TOM: Plant properly, and you will enjoy those beautiful flowers come summer. |
| 00:14:44 | LESLIE: Heading over to New Jersey, we’ve got Linda on the line who’s dealing with some plumbing issues. What’s going on? |
| 00:14:49 | CALLER: Well, because we had installed a new HVAC at my parents’ house, and I don’t go down in their basement that often, but when I took a look at this sewer pipe, I asked the fellow, I said, what is this? She said it was a sewer pipe. And I said, my God, it looks like it’s corroded or something. And he said, yeah, it looks like it’s starting to get a slight crack in it. So I just was curious to know what kind of a plumber. I don’t know if they profess in their write-ups and their advertising that we do sewer, if I should be looking at that, if it’s something more important. Because there’s another problem that, besides it going up, that we had remodeled the house like 50 years ago. The house is here 73 years. And 50 years ago, when my parents, we did it in 72, the plumbing then had to go under a cement porch in the back. So it looks like I see that same pipe going out to the porch. So probably we’re going to have to lift that up. And I’m waiting for someone to come. I just wanted to be sure I might be choosing the right person to be repairing it or replacing it. |
| 00:15:59 | TOM: Well, based on what you said, I’m not convinced you need any repairs. |
| 00:16:03 | CALLER: So cracks, I presume we’re talking about a cast iron waste pipe here. |
| 00:16:07 | TOM: Yeah. And cracks in those pipes are pretty common. I wouldn’t panic over that. Those can be sealed with something like a seal. Silicone caulk. It’s not going to get, it’s not going to be a leak issue. It rarely is. I’ve seen these many, many times in the years. And sometimes the joints between the cast iron pipes, they have something in them called oakum, and that gets dried out. They can be repacked. But there’s no reason to replace that. The reason it looks so like rough and old is because it is. But cast iron is incredibly durable, and it doesn’t really break, and it rarely leaks. So I wouldn’t focus on that at all. You’re opening yourself up. You’re opening yourself up to a real song and dance from a contractor, especially when you get into tearing out a porch and stuff to replace that pipe. It just, it may not be an issue at all. |
| 00:16:54 | CALLER: What type of a plumber then would be good to be able to identify that it just needs a patch? Like what? |
| 00:17:00 | TOM: Well, is it leaking? Is it leaking now? |
| 00:17:02 | CALLER: No, it’s not. It’s not doing any of that. But like my concern was here, you spend $15,000 to put a whole new. |
| 00:17:07 | TOM: If it starts to do something, then you can call somebody to fix it. If I had a crack that was open in a pipe like that, I would just take some silicone caulk. I’d buy a 5mm. $5 tube of silicone, and I’d caulk it myself and call it a day. I’d clean it. I’d use a brush, like a stiff brush or a wire brush to get any loose dust or rust away from it, and then I’d just seal it with silicone. That’s it. That’s all I do. |
| 00:17:29 | CALLER: All right. It sounds good to me. |
| 00:17:30 | TOM: Sometimes it’s just not that complicated. |
| 00:17:32 | LESLIE: Yes, that’s right. |
| 00:17:34 | TOM: All right. Good luck, Linda. Thanks for calling the Money Pit. |
| 00:17:37 | LESLIE: Joe, you’ve got the Money Pit. Tell us what you need help with. |
| 00:17:40 | CALLER: Well, I need help with an idea of how to clean the grouting in my kitchen. It’s a ceramic tile, and the grout has gotten discolored and dark over the years, and I was wondering if there was a product or some kind of solution you could give me that would help us clean it. |
| 00:18:01 | TOM: So you have two types of products out there. You have grout cleaners and grout strippers. The grout stripper is usually one that is a lot stronger in terms of being able to lighten up that grout. The key is that you have to put it on. You’ve got to put it on and let it sit for a little bit. So if it’s in your kitchen, is this your kitchen floors or kitchen counters or backsplash? What is it? Okay. So, yeah, you’ve got to put it on there and let it sit for a bit, and then go ahead and rinse it off. And it does a pretty good job of brightening these things out. There’s a lot of different manufacturers of it. I don’t have one that I’m particularly fond of over another, but I do encourage you to look for a grout stripper as opposed to a grout cleaner. And once you do get it clean… Then what you should also do is apply a grout sealer, which is a silicon product that goes over the grout, and that will stop a lot of the dirt from getting back in there and will keep it brighter for a lot longer. |
| 00:18:57 | CALLER: Okay. That sounds really good. What type of store might I find at? Like a Home Depot, a Lowe’s type store? Yep. |
| 00:19:03 | TOM: A home center, a Home Depot, a Lowe’s, a hardware store. |
| 00:19:07 | CALLER: Okay. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate your input, and I’m going to definitely get right on that. |
| 00:19:12 | LESLIE: Well, spring is here, and it’s a time when there is nothing like spring. Like being able to throw open those windows and letting in that fresh spring air. Unless, of course, your windows are stuck shut. Yep. |
| 00:19:23 | TOM: And that happens a lot, especially with wood windows. And it does so because when you paint a window, that paint can act like glue and seal the window in place. I mean, the adhesive quality of paint is really something to behold. It really does stick them shut. Yeah. |
| 00:19:39 | LESLIE: And you have to be careful how you free up those stuck windows so that you don’t damage the window or break the glass. Because I’m sure you can do all of that. So how do we free up those windows so that we can start enjoying that fresh air? Yeah. |
| 00:19:52 | TOM: So the first step is to break that seal loose. But there’s a strategic way to do that. What you’re going to need is a metal putty knife. Not a plastic one, but a metal one. Or you could use a spackle knife, like one that’s maybe three inches wide or so. Or you can use a painter tool. It’s called a five-in-one painter tool. It’s sort of like a stiff version of a putty knife. And you’re essentially going to slip that between the window sash and the frame and kind of work it all the way around with sort of a sawing motion until you’ve broken the seal between the window sash and the frame all the way around. So do the horizontal, do the vertical, then move outside and repeat the process. So you’re sort of cutting that seal around the entire sash. And then once that’s done, all you need to do is slip a flat pry bar under the sash and you want to do this directly in line with the vertical styles. That’s like the sides of the window that move up and down. And then gently pry up both the left and the right sides kind of going back and forth until that sash breaks free. |
| 00:20:56 | LESLIE: Now, I remember, Tom, you telling me a trick that seemed sort of counterintuitive, like you were hammering the window shut. How does that work? |
| 00:21:03 | TOM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I didn’t mention it at first, but I will tell you how it works. You just got to do it carefully. So sometimes a shortcut to all that sawing and prying is if you put a wood block on the top of that vertical style, that’s the side of the window, and then you give that wood block a quick wrap with a hammer. I don’t mean not a smash, but kind of like a sharp with the wrist whack. What it does is it pushes the window down like as if it’s going to close more. And because there’s some flex in that, it breaks the paint seal. That’s sort of my first step with all of this before I started digging out the spackle blades and all that sort of thing. And it works for me quite frequently. But, you know, it takes a little practice. And if you don’t do it in the right spot, you could break a window. So it’s a lot safer just to use a putty knife or a spackle blade to work that window loose. You might have to do a little touch up with the paint. Just remember to not let it stick there for long. Make sure you move that window quickly after the paint dries. |
| 00:22:00 | LESLIE: Don’t repaint that window shut. Exactly. |
| 00:22:02 | TOM: Exactly. |
| 00:22:05 | LESLIE: Tammy in North Dakota is on the line and has a question about flooring. What’s going on? |
| 00:22:09 | CALLER: We have hardwood floors on the upper level of our home. And we have a new floor. Nail that just keeps popping up no matter how many times I hammer it down. It keeps popping up. And what I’m wondering is why and what do I do? |
| 00:22:24 | TOM: So the reason it’s happening is because of expansion and contraction of that floor. If the nail is loose, it doesn’t have enough binding on it. It’s just going to work its way back out again. So the solution is to stop fighting the tide here, pull out that nail, and replace it with a screw. Now, there are many different types of screws. And one in particular that may be helpful, if you even need it. I mean, most floors have hundreds of nails in them. And maybe you don’t even need this nail in there. You can just pull it out. But if you want to replace it, you could replace it with something called a trim screw. You’ll find those at a home center. And they look like other types of sort of case-hardened screws, except they have a really small head. It’s just a little bit bigger than a finish nail. And you drive them in. They usually have the bit in the package when you buy it. You drive them in with like a power drill with this bit in the chuck. And it will sit right below the surface. And then you could just use a little bit of a filler on top of that. And you’ll never see it again. But that’s actually not all that uncommon. It’s happening in your floor. A lot of times, it’ll happen with walls where you see drywall nails work back out of the hole. And sometimes, it’ll also be the source of floor squeaks. Because when you put a subfloor down, there’s a type of nail that you use that’s called a cooler. Because it’s rosin-coated. And as the nail gets driven in, the friction. It melts the glue. And then as it cools, it sort of sticks in place. Except it doesn’t stick that well. And sometimes, it works its way out. Or sometimes, it doesn’t. But it’s kind of like, you know, I think of rosin on the bow of a violin. Except it sounds a lot worse. And it makes a really loud squeaking sound. So, not unusual. Nothing to panic. Easy fix. |
| 00:24:03 | CALLER: Sounds good. Now, I would not go into the same hole, right? I would move over one. No. |
| 00:24:09 | TOM: If you use the screw, you could put it back in the same hole. It’s not going to come out again. Because it’s not, you know, you’re not relying on. The size of the hole to hold the nail tight. The screw will just, once you drive it, that’s it. It stays put. It does not back out. Perfect. |
| 00:24:21 | CALLER: What did you say the name of that screw was? I’m sorry. |
| 00:24:23 | TOM: It’s called a trim screw. |
| 00:24:24 | LESLIE: All right. Thank you so much. You’re welcome. Well, if you’re getting ready to plant a new tree or a bush this spring, adding mulch can both protect the roots and prevent weeds. Yeah. |
| 00:24:34 | TOM: But there can be too much of a good thing when it comes to mulch. At least when it’s applied the wrong way. So, here are a few things to think about. First, you want to avoid creating what we call a mulch vulva. It’s layers of mulch that build up into sort of a volcano-looking dome that covers the tree’s root flare. That’s where the trunk of the tree sort of swells outward and transitions into the root system. What happens is when that mulch is piled high above that root flare, the primary root system can be suffocated, and that will cause the bark to fall off, and it could kill the tree. |
| 00:25:06 | LESLIE: All right. So, let’s talk about how you should properly apply that mulch. First of all, you want to make sure that the soil is already weeded before you put the mulch down. And don’t just dump that wheelbarrow full of mulch on top of it. Go ahead and use your hands so that you can kind of gauge how deep that layer of mulch is that you’re putting down. And you want to lay down a thick enough layer to discourage new weeds from coming up through it. About a four-inch or so layer of mulch is going to discourage those weeds, although a two-inch layer is kind of usually enough if you’re in a shadier spot. So, you kind of have to gauge where in the yard you’re placing this mulch to how much you’re using. Yeah. |
| 00:25:42 | TOM: And in terms of the type of mulch, I much prefer wood chips, a wood chip mulch over the shredded mulch. And the reason is because sometimes the shredded mulch contains a type of fungus called artillery fungus. Remember, Leslie, we haven’t talked about that in a long time, but that’s that fungus that becomes airborne. |
| 00:26:01 | LESLIE: It didn’t go away. |
| 00:26:02 | TOM: It did not go away. And it sticks to your house. It can stick to your car. And I mean really, really stick and be very hard to get rid of. So, for those reasons, and I just think that the wood chip mulch looks better over a longer period of time, I would stick with the wood chips over the shredded mulch every time. |
| 00:26:20 | LESLIE: Kim in New York is on the line. How can we help you? |
| 00:26:22 | CALLER: I have a water heater. It’s oil fired, I guess, is what you would say. And two years ago, we just got city water lines at my home. The rest of the years, the house is 56 years old. It’s been well water. And I’m getting a staining. I’m or discolored water from the hot water only. |
| 00:26:49 | TOM: From just the hot water side? |
| 00:26:52 | CALLER: Yeah. I put a paper towel in the sink and I drip the water and it’s all discolored. |
| 00:26:58 | TOM: So, well, you got some rust in there somehow. I’m not quite sure if that’s coming from the water heater or that’s coming from your plumbing line, but that’s probably what’s happening. Now, if you let it run for a long time, as opposed to just dripping, is it still discolored? |
| 00:27:11 | CALLER: Yeah. I let the water in the bathroom sinks just run as a thin, thin drain line. And yeah, for quite a while. And I noticed that when you fill the tub, I’ll clean my tub, fill it so it will bridge and drain it. |
| 00:27:24 | TOM: And there’s a film, you know, colored film. How old is your water heater? |
| 00:27:30 | CALLER: Well, I don’t know where to look for the age of it. |
| 00:27:33 | TOM: But what would you guess? |
| 00:27:34 | CALLER: You know, here’s a thing on there. It’s probably 06 when I hit it first service. Do you know how they have a sticker? |
| 00:27:40 | TOM: Yeah. Okay. Well, it’s older than that. So it’s pretty old then. Correct. Yeah. So you’re at the end of a normal life cycle for that water heater. So you may be replacing it sooner rather than later. You said it was oil fired. You don’t have gas in the house? |
| 00:27:57 | CALLER: No. There’s no gas lines out here. Okay. |
| 00:27:59 | TOM: And so your option was either electric or oil. Is that right? Correct. Okay. There is another type of water heater today that’s electric that’s more efficient than the old-fashioned electric water heaters. I just want to make sure you’re aware of it. It’s called a heat pump water heater. It uses a different type of technology. The prices on these things have come way down since they first came out. And there are a number of really interesting benefits to these heat pump water heaters today that might make them more attractive to pick up than another oil water heater, which is going to be expensive and not nearly as efficient. So think about a heat pump water heater. |
| 00:28:37 | CALLER: The oil-fired ones are expensive and not as… |
| 00:28:39 | TOM: Not as efficient. Yes, correct. Yep. |
| 00:28:41 | CALLER: And that is this electric heat pump one. Okay. Thank you. I will look into this. |
| 00:28:46 | TOM: All right. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. Okay. |
| 00:28:49 | CALLER: Thank you. |
| 00:28:51 | LESLIE: Well, Paula wrote into Team MoneyPit and has a question about a water heater. She says it’s about 20 years old and the anode needs to be replaced because the hot water is starting to smell. My problem is that the anode seems to be stuck in there and I need to know if there’s any way that we can get it out without destroying the water heater. I mean, 20 years is an old water heater. So at this point, is that anode kind of just stuck in there? |
| 00:29:14 | TOM: Well, it certainly is stuck in there. And to your first point, Leslie, I guess at 20 years, I wouldn’t be trying too hard to replace it because you may go through a lot of trouble doing just that and find out that the… To just end up needing to replace it. Yeah. And the water heater starts to leak. But for those who are unaware what the heck we’re talking about, let’s talk about why replacing the anode can help eliminate that unpleasant sort of rotten egg smell from Paula’s water heater. That anode rod is made of aluminum or magnesium and it’s basically designed to attract the corrosive elements in water and it sort of sacrifices itself to protect the tank from rust and corrosion. And in the process, it can react with sulfur compounds in the water, which is why you get that sort of rotten egg or more specifically hydrogen sulfide gas smell that is the culprit behind the rotten egg odor. So to free up the anode, you got to make sure you have the right tools. You’re going to need a properly sized socket wrench. You’re going to need an extension. You’re going to need an extension to that to leverage it. I would tell you this, and maybe you’ve not done it yet. I would drop some penetrating oil on that anode for at least an hour or maybe even overnight to loosen up any corrosion and then position the wrench very securely on the hex head of the anode and apply steady, firm pressure. Remember, counterclockwise, lefty loosey, righty tighty. You want to loosen that anode. If it’s still stuck, again, I think I would just replace the entire water heater and not mess with it any further. |
| 00:30:37 | LESLIE: All right. Good luck with that. |
| 00:30:40 | TOM: Well. Small kitchens can be tough places to work in, but a few modest updates can make it feel bigger and work better. Leslie’s got some ideas to do just that in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie? |
| 00:30:54 | LESLIE: Yeah. You know, a smaller kitchen definitely has a cozy feeling, but opening them up might not involve a whole lot of expense. And one way that you can do that is to simply add a skylight because opening the ceiling, adding more light, creating something sort of visually interesting. Staying in a ceiling space can definitely change the whole look of the space. And surprisingly, that addition of light can make the room feel so much bigger. But if that seems like too big of a project, you can also add a sun tunnel, which is interesting because it’s kind of like this little rounded skylight, but it’s done with like a tube. So you end up with something that almost looks round like a hi-hat in your kitchen ceiling, except instead of being electrified light, this tube kind of finds its way to the roof and is mirrored on the inside. And it brings a ton of natural light into that small opening. It really is a great way to sort of have that skylight without such a huge project. Now, another idea to help your kitchen feel bigger is to remove soffits above the cabinet, which creates the illusion of space because it allows the eye to follow a wider ceiling. Now, you can also consider removing doors, you know, to create some open shelving or changing out some doors for a glass fronted door to kind of give depth to the space. You can also… If you already have a glass fronted door, you could add an interesting wall covering or a pop of color and paint behind whatever is in that cabinet. All of these things kind of give you the trick or the sense that that space is bigger because it’s making it feel more interesting. Add different lighting, task lighting, pendant lighting. There’s so many ways that you can bring new lighting into a space that will make the space feel bigger, more interesting. So fear not if a huge renovation project is not in line for you. Anytime soon, you can make a kitchen feel bigger and brighter with just a few couple of tricks here and there. |
| 00:32:45 | TOM: Great advice. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Coming up next time on the program, does your home make a good first impression? We’re going to share some low-cost landscaping ideas to help your home be the standout of the neighborhood on the next edition of the Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:33:03 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:33:05 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 00:33:06 | 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 2024 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.) |
Leave a Reply