#2405 – A Cut Above the Rest: Lawn Mowing Tips | Long-Lasting Metal Roofs

Show Notes

In this podcast episode, we debunk a popular but misguided lawn care strategy for mowing your grass. We’ll also discuss why metal roofs are winning over homeowners by promising protection for decades, then delve into advancements in hardwood flooring. Tune in for insights on tackling your home improvement projects with expert guidance!

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Show Notes
Top Questions & Answers
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript

Lawn Care: Follow these mowing tips to ensure a healthy lawn that’s a cut above the rest.
Metal Roofs: Steel the show by installing a metal roof for durability, style, and energy efficiency.
Hardwood Floors: Easy-to-install hardwood flooring brings beauty and value to a home.

Ask Your Home Improvement Question

Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here.

Podcast Transcript

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00:00:23	TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
00:00:25	LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
00:00:27	TOM: And welcome to your DIY help desk. If you’ve got a project that you need to get done, you don’t know where to start, or maybe you’re not going to do it yourself, you’re going to hire a pro and need to know what to ask, what to look for, how to find the best price for the best work, reach out to us right now at 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974, or post your questions to moneypit.com slash ask. Whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer or a do-it for me kind of home improver, we are here for you. Coming up on today’s show, if you think the best way to save time and energy cutting the grass is set that mower as low as possible, figuring, huh, if I set it down low, I’m not going to have to mow that often, right? Well, you may be surprised to find out that that can end up being a lot more work in the long run.
00:01:18	LESLIE: We’ll share why just ahead. And if a new roof is in your future, there’s one type that looks great and can stand up to virtually anything that mother nature can dish out. It can do so for up to 50 years or more. We’ll explain why metal roofs are the best choice for durability, style, and energy efficiency just ahead.
00:01:38	TOM: And few home improvements bring more beauty and value to a home than adding a hardwood floor. We’ll share some tips on advances in hardwood flooring that makes this product much easier
00:01:47	LESLIE: to install. But first, we’re here to offer expert help for the care and feeding of your home and help you create your best home ever and to tackle your to-dos with confidence. So let us know what
00:01:58	TOM: on so we can lend a hand. That’s right. Help yourself by calling 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?
00:02:13	LESLIE: Debbie in Arkansas is on the line and has a question to help her daughter’s house. What can
00:02:16	CALLER: we do for you guys? Hi, my daughter recently bought a house. It’s an elder house that’s been remodeled and she was going to renovate around her fireplace. And she discovered that the large wall behind the fireplace is going to be a little bit of a problem. So she’s going to have to put a little bit of a fire on it. And she’s going to have to put a little bit of a fire on it. And which is about a 20-foot wide wall has got it had brick behind the plaster. And so she took all the plaster down, but it had been put up with liquid nails. So there’s liquid nails all over this brick all over, and it’s made a terrible mess. And she’s called in a couple of people to give bids, and it was thousands of dollars to either rebrick over it or chisel it down. And they said it would probably ruin the brick if they did. And so I was just curious if you had any ideas at all. We looked up on the Internet, and there was one about a heat gun possibly, but I thought maybe you might have a cheaper or easier way of doing it.
00:03:11	TOM: Wow, it’s quite a mess. Yeah, I mean, certainly you can use a heat gun, but a heat gun is very hot, and it’s going to cause all kinds of fumes. And the problem with the fact that you had this type of adhesive, it’s going to soak into the pores of the brick. So at best, even after doing all that, you’re going to end up painting the brick, which we hate to tell anybody to do because otherwise it’s just going to look terrible. You’re never going to have that natural brick. That decision was made for you by whoever decided it was a good idea to glue the plaster right to the brick without putting any kind of a furrin strip or something of that nature. There are various types of adhesive softeners out there, but I fear that even if you went through all that trouble, you’re still going to have a very undesirable-looking surface. So I’m sorry that it’s all torn up now, but I think if it was me, I would probably. I would probably fur over that, attach wood strips to that brick surface, and I would probably put new drywall or some other surface over it at this point and give up on the idea of having an exposed brick wall, unless, of course, you want to re-brick the whole thing, which is, you know, a big mess and a big job.
00:04:13	CALLER: And a big expense, too. And a big expense, yeah, of course, yeah, absolutely. Okay, all right. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate it.
00:04:20	TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
00:04:24	LESLIE: Paul in Nevada, you’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today? Hi.
00:04:28	CALLER: I listen to you guys all the time, and you talk about the importance of attic ventilation and insulation. And I was wondering, here in Las Vegas, we have the tile roofs, so we really don’t redo them ever. I think they’re lifetime roofs.
00:04:45	TOM: Right.
00:04:45	CALLER: And I hear you guys talking about the ribs being the best thing.
00:04:50	TOM: Yes.
00:04:51	CALLER: But without major unneeded construction, I can’t put one of those in. Yep. I currently have cable end. And I have two portions of my roof where my AC is located on the roof that is tar shingles that I can put in, like, I don’t know what they’re called, like the whirligig vents.
00:05:15	TOM: Yeah, like a power ventilator. Yeah, I understand.
00:05:19	CALLER: Now, would those improve my ventilation, or should I just stick with the cable end and soffit vents?
00:05:26	TOM: Yeah. Describe this roof section where you think you could get in additional vents. How wide is it?
00:05:31	CALLER: Pretty wide. My AC unit on the roof is about four foot long, and there’s about two feet on either side of it with the asphalt shingles. And the rest of it is the tile, the red clay tile.
00:05:46	TOM: The kind of vent that you’re describing that spins, I don’t think that’s going to be very effective. But what I would do is I would put just a plain, square, flat roof vent in there. You can layer it into the shingles so it doesn’t leak. That will help. Given your specific set of circumstances and that you have a tile roof, it would be very, very difficult to put a ridge vent. I’d say just keep the rest the way it is. Keep those gable vents open. Make sure if you go up in the attic and look down that there’s no insulation blocking the soffit vents so that everything is nice and open. And I think that’s the best thing you can do. But if you wanted to put an additional vent in that asphalt section, I would just put a flat roof vent in there.
00:06:23	CALLER: Okay. All right. All right. Thank you so much.
00:06:27	TOM: You’re welcome. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
00:06:31	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.
00:06:37	TOM: You know, it really helps us know what 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.
00:06:50	LESLIE: Joyce in Missouri is on the line with a floor finishing question. How can we help you? I do have a question about my hardwoods.
00:06:57	CALLER: It’s the old solid hardwoods that was put down back in the 50s. I love it, and I refinished it probably about 15 to 17 years ago. And with the time and traffic, the top is wearing now, and I need to sand it down and resurface it. When I did it then, I used gem steel, but I want to know what would be the best product that would be long-term lasting and something that would be user-friendly for an individual.
00:07:26	TOM: Okay, so first of all, in terms of the sanding it down part, does the floor have any really severe wear, or is it just the finish that’s worn? Just the So you don’t have to sand it down all the way. What you can do is you can basically just lightly sand the surface. There is a machine called a U-Sand machine, which is like an abrasive disc sander that you can rent at a home center or a hardware store. It has like four abrasive discs in it. It does have like a vacuum system built in, so it doesn’t leave dust all over. But it won’t wear down the wood too much. It’ll just sort of take that top layer of finish off and get it ready to be refinished. Because with hardwood floors, you don’t want to sand them completely down if you don’t have to, because that takes many years off their life when you take all that finish off down the raw wood. It’s really not necessary. And then after you sand it, then you can apply an oil-based polyurethane. So not water-based, but oil-based. Not acrylic-based, but oil-based. And you’re going to apply that with what’s called a… Lamb’s wool applicator. It’s kind of like a mop. And you dip it into a paint tray. You apply it in very smooth, even coats. Start on one end, work your way out the door, and then leave for a good four or five, six hours, depending on the weather.
00:08:41	CALLER: OK, with the windows open.
00:08:43	TOM: Yeah, yeah. If it’s a nice dry day and the windows are open, that’s the best thing. But just remember, whatever it says for drying time on the can, at least double it, because it tends to be a bit sticky for a while.
00:08:53	CALLER: OK, so an oil-based polyurethane. And a lamb’s wool applicator. Yep.
00:08:58	TOM: And then with a light sanding before you start the whole thing, OK?
00:09:00	CALLER: Sounds wonderful. Thank you so very much. And y’all have a wonderful day.
00:09:04	TOM: Thanks, Joyce. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit. You know, we get more questions on floors than any other topic on this program.
00:09:15	LESLIE: Well, and they, you know, occupy a large portion of your home. They do. And there’s always something to do with them.
00:09:20	TOM: And they take a lot of abuse. So that’s probably why people need to fix them all the time.
00:09:25	LESLIE: Dennis in California. Morton is on the line with the Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
00:09:29	CALLER: Yeah, so I have a house that was built in 1979. And it has T111 siding on it. And I’m wanting to change the siding on it. I want, like, a cement board lap siding. But my question is, is it practical or feasible to just tie that wrap over my T111 and then go ahead and put my new siding on top of that? Or will I be sandwiching against some problems?
00:09:54	TOM: Well, T111, for those that are unfamiliar, is essentially plywood siding. And it serves two purposes. It’s a siding and it’s the sheathing. So you do not have to remove that. Now, the downside is that you’re going to have to pack out, so to speak, around the windows. The windows will be a bit deeper than perhaps you’ve seen in the past. But that siding can stay just like that. You can put Tyvek over the siding and then over the existing T111 siding and then add your hardy plank over that. Just follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions. But there’s no reason. There’s no reason for you to pull that plywood off. Because frankly, if you did, I’m afraid that you’d have to replace it with just regular plywood. And there’s really no point to that. The T111 serves a structural purpose as well as keeping the water out of your house.
00:10:39	CALLER: Oh, you know, that makes sense. I didn’t think that. It actually takes care of the shear, doesn’t it?
00:10:44	TOM: It does. That’s right. It protects it against the shear and the racking forces.
00:10:47	CALLER: It makes sense. OK, great. Now I have a direction to go. My concern was that if I put a solid, if I sandwich something in, was I, you know, sandwiching in some moisture or anything like that, and I didn’t want to create problems down the road.
00:11:01	TOM: Yeah, well, let’s hope not. If you use good siding on top of Tyvek, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.
00:11:05	CALLER: OK, great. Well, thank you very much.
00:11:07	TOM: Well, most people don’t really give their grass cutting much thought, but you probably should because done right, they’ll definitely enjoy a beautiful, healthy lawn. But if you do it wrong, you’re going to end up with a weed-filled dust bowl. So here’s what you need to know.
00:11:21	LESLIE: Yeah, first of all, you want to avoid scalping the lawn. Now, a scalped lawn is going to be, vulnerable to diseases and weed infestation. Taller grass develops deeper roots, and that’s going to create a lawn that can better withstand drought. Now, the general rule is to never remove more than one-third of total grass blade length in a single cutting.
00:11:40	TOM: Now, you also want to avoid mowing in the same direction every time you mow to avoid compacting the soil and creating sort of ruts in the lawn. And finally, keep your mowing blade sharp. If you do, you’ll get the best mowing results. Sharpening the blades at least a couple of times during the mowing season is not a difficult DIY project. Just follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for removing the mower blade and reattaching it after it’s sharpened.
00:12:06	LESLIE: Donna in Washington, you’ve got the money, babe. What can we do for you today?
00:12:09	CALLER: I live in an old two-story cedar shingle house. And anyway, years ago, I used to be able to put Olympic stain on it, and I kept it stained. But then they changed the law where I couldn’t use stain anymore. So it was painted in the late, probably 99, well, now the paint started peeling. So I had one of my sons came and pressure washed it. This is about two years ago now. But he couldn’t get all the paint off. And it’s flaky, and it’s because of the shingles and these little grooves. You can’t get it all out. And I live in a two-tone house, a brown stain where the paint’s peeling and the green where the paint’s not peeling. And it looks terrible. And I’ve called, I’ve phoned two different contractors and gave them the address. And they must have just come by and looked at it. And they never even called back, let alone stopped by.
00:12:58	TOM: Chased them off, huh?
00:12:59	CALLER: Yes. Plus, they have to have a special license because the house is so old. It has to be in this state anyway.
00:13:07	CALLER: cost them thousands and thousands of dollars because in case there’s lead outside in the paint, well, it was stained, not painted.
00:13:14	TOM: So, you know, aside from all the drama associating with this, it’s really quite a basic problem. When you have all of these layers of paint that are, on the material over all of these years, at some point you’re going to lose adhesion to the original substrate, which is the cedar. The only solution in that case is to remove the paint to get down to the originally natural wood. So pressure washing it is fine for the loose stuff. But beyond that, you’ve got to scrape and sand because you’ve got to get some of that natural wood to kind of show itself through the remaining stained areas that are painted. Because once it’s… Once it’s ready, truly ready, where you’ve got all the loose stuff off and your surface has been abraded properly, then you can apply an oil-based primer. And the purpose of the primer is kind of a layer. It has different qualities than paint. Primer is the glue that makes the paint stick. And so if you use an oil-based primer on there, you’ll get very good adhesion to the cedar. Once that thoroughly dries, then you can paint on top of that. And the top coat of paint does not have to be oil-based. But the primer does. That’s what’s going to give the adhesion. But you can’t just keep putting good paint over bad paint. Otherwise, the problem of peeling will just continue to repeat itself. Does that make sense, Donna? Okay. Thank you. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
00:14:40	LESLIE: Matt in Texas on the line with a sink flange issue. Sounds like a personal problem.
00:14:47	LESLIE: What’s going on at your money pit, Matthew?
00:14:49	CALLER: All right. So I got a regular sink about 10 feet away. We have an island and it has a single bowl sink on it. The sink flange, after about six months, it starts to kind of rust and pit and oxidize. Just the flange itself. Not the stainless steel sink. There’s no caustic chemicals going through it. Nothing out of the ordinary that doesn’t go through the other sink. The basket is switched from sink to sink. Nothing happens there. That static doesn’t change at all. I’ve replaced the flange about three times in the last two years.
00:15:25	TOM: When you replaced the flange, did you put in plumber’s putty underneath it?
00:15:30	CALLER: I’ve used three different brands of plumber’s putty. I have no corrosion on my copper supply lines. I went from stainless steel to plastic P-traps. I have no other corrosion issues underneath the sink. They’re the exact same faucets for both sinks. We have filtered water.
00:15:52	TOM: And the sink flange has a gas… …basket underneath it as well?
00:15:57	CALLER: Yes, it does. On the inside, that mats to the sink. Right.
00:16:00	TOM: So there’s no connection. There’s no chance here that this is sort of a corrosive condition that’s happening because of two dissimilar metals, which can occur. The only thing that’s really left here is the quality of the finish on these flanges. Have all the flanges come from the same source of supply?
00:16:20	CALLER: Come from three different areas.
00:16:22	TOM: But is it the same manufacturer or are they different brands?
00:16:25	CALLER: No, no, different brands, different brands. I finally went from stainless steel and put an oil-robed bronze one in just to see if that makes any difference. Now, I will notice that after I’ll change it after about a month and a half or so, I’ll get a rotten egg smell out of the drain.
00:16:45	TOM: So that’s a sulfur smell and it’s usually caused by a problem with the water heater. There’s a sacrificial anode in your water heater. And if that sort of… wears away, you’ll get a sulfur smell. And you mentioned you had filtered water. So you’re probably filtering out that to some extent. But look, some water is more acidic than others, but this is an odd, odd problem. I think it probably has a lot to do with the quality of the stainless and perhaps the acidity of the water. So I don’t think I have a good solution for you, except that I’ve learned over the years that stainless steel quality varies dramatically. And it may be that everybody you’re buying these flanges for, is making the same quality stainless. And it’s just having a hard time mixing with your particular water supply here. Because it sounds to me like you’re doing everything else right, Matt. I’m sorry I don’t have better advice for you, but I think this is a corrosive condition that’s caused by the quality of the stainless and the acidity of the water. Okay. All right, well, thank you for your help. You’re welcome, Matt. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
00:17:50	LESLIE: Diane in New Jersey, you’ve got the Money Pit.
00:17:52	CALLER: How can we help you today? We live in New Jersey. And my dad had the Pennsylvania Dutch come all the way to New Jersey. And they put up a beautiful gambriel pole barn. Okay. You know, with that nice shape to it. But I noticed, you know, there are like little rafters along the edge. And even though they have little holes in them, every year the flies come in through there. And I have hundreds all dead at the end of summer. And I don’t know what I could do to stop that problem.
00:18:22	TOM: So you have… Matt, this is a barn that you have. And it’s a fairly open barn. I mean, you’re not going to keep the flies out of the barn. You can’t make it that tight. Because by the nature of the building, it’s pretty drafty, correct?
00:18:34	CALLER: Well, actually, my dad, we never had any animals. They’re stalled. But it’s completely closed all the time. It’s got two electric doors at either end, you know, and a door. So it is contained. The only way they’re getting in is through, like, under the edges of the roof. It looks like a, I don’t know, you know, the gutters, sort of. It looks like gutters, gutter situation. And there’s an opening there. And the sunlight and air goes through, which I guess you need for animals. But we’re not using it for animals.
00:19:08	TOM: So at the roof edge, the rafters, does it have a complete soffit? Is it constructed so that you have, like, a flat, vented area underneath it? Or is it just wide open?
00:19:18	CALLER: No, there is a vented area. And I looked at it closely. And it appears to have, it’s got little holes in it and big enough for flies.
00:19:26	TOM: So they’re not getting in this soffit area where you’re suspecting?
00:19:29	CALLER: I don’t know. I thought they were coming through those holes.
00:19:32	TOM: Yeah, but if they’re that small, they’re not coming in. Look, typically, soffit ventilation is too small for insects to get into. So they’re probably coming in a different way. Do you have a ridge vent at the peak?
00:19:42	CALLER: Actually, it’s just for looks. Because when I, there is a staircase that goes up to the top of the barn. And there’s no openings in the roof.
00:19:50	TOM: Diane, you know, if you’re trying to keep these barn flies out of the barn, there’s really two ways to approach this. Mechanical, which is what we’re talking about in terms of making sure that you have screening wherever it’s necessary. And this would include any vents, gable vents, cupola vents, soffit vents, and the like. Then, of course, you mentioned that it has large doors that generally stay closed. I guess there’s not much you can do right there. But the second technique is chemical. And there are professional, professional pesticides that are designed specifically to deal with these flies. There’s usually some formulation of pyrethrin that essentially is sprayed inside the barn to control these insect populations. And in fact, in some cases where you actually have livestock, there are formulations that can also be applied to the livestock without harming them. So I would do two things. I would make sure that I examine the barn very carefully for any additional openings where these flies can get in. And then I would consult a pest management professional for an appropriate application of pesticide because you have such a severe problem. I don’t think this is anything you’re going to be able to handle with, say, a more natural, smaller scale approach like I might give you for your house. In this case, I think you need to choose the right product and have it applied properly. And when done in accordance with all the label directions, I think it is a relatively safe thing to do.
00:21:20	LESLIE: Well, if a new roof is in your future, there’s one type in particular that looks great, can stand up to virtually anything that Mother Nature can dish out, and can do so for up to 50 or more years. We are talking about quality metal roofs. Now, a metal roof is definitely the best choice if you’re looking for durability, style, and energy efficiency. And there’s lots of reasons for considering one now for your home.
00:21:44	TOM: Yeah, one of my favorite is this longevity. I mean, quality metal roofs are going to last up to 50%. Or more, which is like three times longer than traditional asphalt shingle roofs. Plus, they’re 100% recyclable, which makes them a very eco-friendly choice. Now, next, they’re also very weatherproof. If you’re talking about standing up to blazing sun or pounding hail, metal roofs really stand up. They’re actually engineered to withstand extreme winds and hailstorms and even the threat of wildfires, which is why they’re so popular out west. And in snow-prone areas, they hold their own against very heavy loads of snow and ice.
00:22:19	LESLIE: Now, we’re also going to talk about energy efficiency, because energy efficiency is not usually a consideration when it comes to roofing, but there is a big efficiency benefit when you choose today’s quality metal roofs, because they have coatings on them that are going to reflect that solar heat away, and that’s going to cut down on your cooling costs, and then that’s going to keep your home more comfortable year-round. Plus, these metal roofs, they just look great. They come in a wide variety of colors, textures. There’s a design out there to match every architectural style. So, you really can’t go wrong when you’re trying to find one that fits the look of your home.
00:22:54	TOM: If you’d like to learn more about metal roofing, visit metalroofing.com for resources, education, and access to quality manufacturers and installers. While you’re there, be sure to download the Metal Roofing Alliance Buyer’s Guide. It’s a free resource to help you choose, install, and maintain your metal roof hassle-free. Again, that website is metalroofing.com.
00:23:18	LESLIE: Tim in Illinois is on the line. I’m looking to tile a bathroom. How can we help you with your project?
00:23:23	CALLER: We’re doing a bathroom in a 100-year-old house, and we’re looking at putting floor tile down, possibly with heat under the tile. And I was wondering what the best way to do it by putting a tile on. Do you need to go right to the subfloor, or do you have to have some kind of concrete board underneath the tile with doing heat under the floor?
00:23:47	TOM: Well, I mean, sometimes the heat is actually put underneath the subfloor. So that’s another way to do it from the back side, and it depends on your access issues. But there’s a special type of subfloor that’s designed for radiant heat or sub-slab heat, where, especially if it’s PEX-based, the piping runs through a channel in the subfloor itself. So there’s no chance it could get crushed or anything like that. It’s sort of a channeled-out piece of underlayment. And then once that’s done, you can put your tile adhesive right on top of that and glue the tile to the subfloor. So that underlayment. Okay.
00:24:22	CALLER: This is in an upstairs bathroom, so we won’t have access to the bottom side.
00:24:27	TOM: What kind of a heating system are you thinking about putting in? Is it going to be electric?
00:24:31	CALLER: It’ll be electric. We have geothermal in the house itself. So we’ve got forced air heat. So it would have to be, I think they have some kind of like electric under mat or something like that. And also, I was wondering, is it best to just do the areas where the main traffic area is? You don’t need to do the whole floor. Is that correct?
00:24:50	TOM: You don’t have to. I mean, it certainly is nice. You don’t have to go around the toilet, for example. So yeah, if you went in front of the sink and in front of the toilet and wherever you step out in the shower, then that should be fine. And yeah, some of those electric heating systems are really nice. They don’t use as much electricity as they used to. You can set them up on timers so they heat up right before you go into the bathroom and then time out after that. Okay.
00:25:10	CALLER: So if I get this correct, you can just put like a thin-set concrete and then put tile right down onto the subfloor. Is that right? Right, with the heating mat underneath? Right.
00:25:21	TOM: If it’s nice and smooth, you can do that. If it’s uneven, then there’s a number of ways to smooth that out, either through an additional subfloor material or by setting mud underneath it.
00:25:32	CALLER: I appreciate your show. Thank you.
00:25:33	TOM: Good luck with that project, Tim. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. Well, it used to be that unless hardwood was installed when a home was built, it was darn near impossible to add it after the fact. But today, the availability of durable, pre-finished hardwood flooring is now available. Floors has definitely made that project very doable and something that offers real value to a home, which is why you almost always see real estate agents calling out the hardwood floor in their listings and advertisements.
00:26:03	LESLIE: Now, another benefit of hardwood flooring is that it doesn’t trap dust and dirt like carpeting can, so they’re really a better option for people with allergies, and they’re also easier to maintain, and they can last longer than carpet. And if you think about it, they really are one of the longest-lasting floors in the world, because, you know, you’ve got the energy for it. You can sand and refinish a hardwood floor many times, and it all really depends on the thickness of those planks. But if they’re super thick, you can probably redo those a bunch of times.
00:26:33	TOM: You know, but the finish on the pre-finished floors is so incredibly durable. It’s actually more durable than what you could apply yourself if you used unfinished floors. So you’re not going to be sanding those very frequently at all. And when it comes to installation, that solid hardwood floor may be installed either, above grade, so say first floor, second floor, but they’re not recommended for installation below grade, like basements. For those areas, however, there’s a special type of hardwood called engineered hardwood. It’s made to stand up to moisture levels that are common in those damp areas. It’s sort of like, I hate to tell you that it’s like plywood, but it is, except it’s real oak that is on the top surface, so you don’t see the structural part of it below. But you know when you have plywood in it, and it reverses the grains every 90 degrees, with every layer, well, that’s what engineered hardwood is. And it becomes more dimensionally stable because of that. So when it’s down, I don’t think you can tell the difference, an untrained eye wouldn’t tell the difference between engineered and solid hardwood, but it’s a good option if you want to put it below grade. Now lastly, keep in mind that solid hardwood definitely needs to acclimate prior to installation. What does that mean? It means you need to put it in the room you plan to install it in a few days before you actually install it, so that it can expand or contract and get used to the technology. Temperature and the moisture levels in that room. If not, you may get some excessive shrinkage or cracking that may impact the quality of your finished job.
00:28:00	CALLER: Debra in Pennsylvania, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today? Okay, I’m purchasing a home that has a couple of stains on the ceiling, and it turns out the stains are located directly under the vents. I don’t know any other way to explain it, but they’re like there’s tubes on the seat on the outside where the roof is. So I was told by the inspection that there’s rubber. Stopper things that go around them need to be replaced.
00:28:24	TOM: Okay, yeah. So the plumbing vent flashing is what is leaking here, and the plumbing vent flashing consists of an aluminum piece of flashing material that goes underneath the roof shingles and a rubber boot that is designed to fit over the plumbing pipe. And they very often, that rubber boot will very often crack and deteriorate and does have to be replaced. Not a terribly complicated job. You know, a roofer or a carpenter can do it. In about 10 or 15 minutes, they just basically have to peel up a roof shingle or two right around there. You can do that with a flat bar. You can actually put the flat bar under the roof shingle, get it right up to where the nail is, and kind of wiggle it back and forth. That nail will come right out. You can kind of disassemble the roof one shingle at a time, replace the flashing vent, and put it back together. So pretty easy, straightforward repair project, and not the least bit unusual, Debra. Okay? Okay.
00:29:18	CALLER: Well, I appreciate you taking my call. Thank you.
00:29:21	TOM: Yeah, you’re welcome. Good luck, Debra. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
00:29:26	LESLIE: Tommy reached out to Team Money Pit saying, The ceilings in our home are nine feet. Our smoke alarms are in the ceiling, and I have to climb a tall ladder to change the batteries every few months. Is there such a thing as a smoke alarm for the wall that mounts lower so it can avoid the risky climb to the ceiling? Doesn’t it need to be at the ceiling for safety purposes, or can it go lower?
00:29:45	TOM: Yeah. The smoke alarm has to be at the ceiling. Heat rises, and that’s how it’s designed to work. So you can’t mount that lower. But I have good news for you, Tommy, and that is that smoke alarms today, the new ones, have 10-year batteries. You no longer have to change a battery in a smoke detector. You buy a 10-year smoke detector, you use it for 10 years, and then you simply throw it away and get another one. So I would, the next time it’s time to check batteries, I would just take those detectors down and put a 10-year unit in, and you’ll be good to go for a decade.
00:30:18	LESLIE: All right. That makes sense, and it’s important to be safe.
00:30:21	TOM: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Are you ready for some spring cleaning in the days ahead? Well, if that includes doing some laundry, Leslie has a few tips to help you save some money in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie, you must be an expert at laundry right now with two boys that are growing and playing sports and getting dirty on a regular basis.
00:30:40	LESLIE: I’m telling you, there is a never-ending pile of laundry, and I swear I will fold five baskets of laundry and then go by my older son’s room and the hamper is full again. And I’m like, dude, you can wear a sweatshirt. Twice. I don’t have to wash everything. Also, why don’t you do your laundry, guy? So, you know, there’s lots of things going on. Right.
00:30:59	TOM: Teach the kids to do the laundry, and they will start wearing those sweatshirts twice. I mean, not 14 times, but two’s okay.
00:31:06	LESLIE: Two is fine. Even three. Whatever. And I’m honestly okay if it’s one if it’s actually dirty. But if you’re like, I’ll put it on, and I maybe don’t like the way it looks, so it’s going in the hamper, I’m on to you guys. I know what goes on in this house. But truly. I mean, there are. There are some ways that you can more efficiently and more effectively do laundry. So when you are doing laundry, because maybe you’re transitioning from your cooler weather clothes to those warmer weather clothes, and you kind of have to wash things before you put them away or wash things before you get them out of storage, you know, for the new season, whatever it is, remember, always run those loads full because you’re using the same amount of energy to run that washer, whether it’s half full, quarter full, or totally overloaded. Now, you also want to switch loads while the dryer is warm because that’s going to allow you to use the remaining heat inside the dryer from the previous load to the next load. So that kind of helps with the efficiency as well. And I can’t believe how many people just don’t clean a laundry lint filter. Clean those out every single load. The dryer is going to run more efficiently, but it’s also going to run more safely because that lint is totally what catches on fire. And I’ve seen people who are campers and Tom Boy Scout Tom over here can speak to this. You sometimes use the lint as a fire starter.
00:32:18	TOM: Yeah, that’s right. I am not going to. Just explain that trick because I don’t want anybody to try it. That’s not properly trained. But yes, you can use lint as a fire starter because it’s very, very flammable. Yeah.
00:32:31	LESLIE: So you’ve got to get it out of the dryer. Don’t let it build up in that lint grabber or whatever you call it, the filter, because it is super dangerous. And if you do need some new appliances, you want to use an Energy Star certified washer and dryer. They’re going to use 20 to 25% less energy than a conventional model. And lastly, cold water is just… Just as effective as hot. And that can cut a load’s energy use in half since you’re not using your water heater to raise that water temperature. And there are special detergents formulated for cold water. And I promise you, it cleans just as well as the hot.
00:33:04	TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Coming up next time on the program, have you ever had a paint project that didn’t dry right or wouldn’t cover a stain or peel off faster than it should? We’ll share solutions to these paint predicaments on the very next edition of the Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
00:33:23	LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
00:33:04	TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself.
00:33:23	LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone.

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