#2412 – Deck Check: Tips to Avoid a Deck Collapse | Water Quality and Taste

Show Notes

Today’s show shines a spotlight on home safety! First, learn what to check to prevent deck collapses, and then discover how to protect your home’s water quality. Finally, find out why metal roofs are your best bet against severe weather. Get answers to these and other home improvement questions on this Money Pit episode!

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Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript

Deck Collapse: Safeguard your outdoor fun with a five-step DIY checkup to avoid a deck collapse.
Water Quality: Learn how to maintain high-quality water that’s clean, safe, and tastes great.
Metal Roofs: Ride out the storm with a metal roof that stands up to severe weather.

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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00:00:22	TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. And I’m Leslie Segrete. And we are here to help you take on projects you want to get done around your house. As you look around, what’s on the to-do list? You can move it over to our list by calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit. That’s 888-666-3974. Or better yet, just go to moneypit.com slash ask. Click the blue microphone button for the fastest possible response. Coming up on today’s episode, we’ve all heard the horror stories of deck collapses. I know in my area, you know, it’s always the same. There’s a big party, you know. You know, maybe it’s the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, whatever. Everybody piles on the deck and then boom, down it comes. So we’re going to walk you through a five-step DIY checkup to make sure your deck is safe for your first summer blowout.
00:01:14	LESLIE: And also ahead, the warmer it gets, the more water we drink. And if you’re concerned about water quality and taste, we’re going to highlight a couple of easy steps that you can take to protect the water in your own home.
00:01:24	TOM: And the expert forecasters at Colorado State University are predicting 23 names. That is a huge uptick over past reports. If you want to add a roof to your home that can stand up to that kind of severe weather, it doesn’t get any better than metal roof. We’ll explain why in just a bit.
00:01:42	LESLIE: But first, do you feel like you’re in a constant game of tug-of-war with your house and that maybe your house is winning? Well, we’re here to help you take back the lead, you guys. From advice to answers to hot new products, we are your one-stop shopping for all things DIY. Give us a call with your questions right now to 888-Money-Pit.
00:02:00	TOM: 888-666-3974 or go to MoneyPit.com slash ask. Let’s get to it.
00:02:07	LESLIE: Tracy in Florida is on the line and has taken the chance with some crown molding. Are you doing this yourself? What’s going on?
00:02:13	CALLER: So I wanted to install crown molding. I am not handy at all. And I was looking into how to install it. And I saw that you could install the hot… High-density styrofoam, like the poly… I forget what it’s called. Poly…
00:02:34	TOM: The foam trim, yes. Yes.
00:02:36	CALLER: And it got good reviews and it looks kind of like real and it’s easier to install. I just don’t know if it’s a good thing to do.
00:02:44	TOM: Yeah, I think so. You know, crown molding, from a carpentry perspective, to put crown molding in is one of the most difficult carpentry jobs because you have to cut a compound miter to do that. And you also have to cope it, which means you kind of make one piece of the molding… The first piece of the molding is sort of plain. The second one has this compound miter. Then you have to hand saw part of the wood out of the way. It’s very complicated for a do-it-yourselfer. And that’s why these foam moldings have been such a boom to DIYers because, as you say, they’re very easy to install. They make the system easy to cut. And all you need is caulk. You know, you pretty much use an adhesive caulk to hold it in place. You might put a couple of nails in just to attack it while it dries. And as long as you wanted to do a painted crown molding, it really makes a lot of sense because it’s indistinguishable from, you know, wood molding that you would paint, right? It’s just foam molding, and you could paint right over that. So if you wanted wood molding where you saw the grain, then you’d have to do it with traditional wood crown molding. But if you just want a painted crown molding, yeah, the foam is definitely the way to go.
00:03:45	CALLER: Oh, great. So that’s something you feel a newbie like me could probably handle.
00:03:51	TOM: Yeah, just make sure you review. You’re probably going to need a few basic tools, like a very simple miter box with a back saw attached to it so you can make nice… square, clean cuts. But that is not very expensive when you buy a very simple one, okay? Okay. You know, the other thing, too, if you have any mistakes, and there’s a little gap here and there, just caulk the gap and then paint over the caulk. It’ll hide all your sins.
00:04:14	CALLER: Oh, great. That’s what I need.
00:04:16	TOM: All right. Just use latex caulk and make sure you have a proper caulk trowel. You know what that is? Your fingers. You got five of them on each hand.
00:04:25	CALLER: Okay.
00:04:26	TOM: I got that. Smooth it in there. It’ll look great. Okay. All right. Take care. Good luck with that project, Tracy.
00:04:32	CALLER: Thank you so much.
00:04:34	LESLIE: Glenn, in Arkansas, you’ve got The Money Pit. What’s going on? You’re having some issues with the contractor?
00:04:39	CALLER: Well, they’re saying I’ve got some water in the call space there. And, you know, I didn’t know who you’d check to see first as far as to make sure the grade’s okay and things like that. You know, rather than just calling somebody in who likes to sell things to do something, I just wanted to see maybe what approach you take to it. Step one, step two. You know, things like that are who you use.
00:05:01	TOM: I’m glad you reached out, Glenn, because there is a lot of folks that will try to sell you expensive solutions when you have water in a call space. How was the moisture discovered?
00:05:08	CALLER: I had some guys under the house doing the termite inspection.
00:05:12	Okay. And is it like ponding water or is it just like damp?
00:05:15	CALLER: Well, they say it’s kind of standing water, but they really don’t see it there at the end. And there is, of course, a place, a cutout there in the cinder blocks.
00:05:23	CALLER: Right.
00:05:23	CALLER: If you run any water out there, it would accumulate too much. So it might not be much of a problem, but I want the right people to inspect it rather than somebody.
00:05:31	TOM: Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. So here’s what I would do. First of all, generally, when you get water in a crawl space or in a basement, it’s being caused by problems in the drainage. And you mentioned grading, and it’s certainly one thing to check. But the more common reason that crawl spaces and basements flood is a problem with the gutters. If the gutters are clogged, if they don’t have enough downspouts, so they get overwhelmed, or if the downspouts are not extending, and this is really common, if the downspouts, most of the time, they’ll come out. You know, to like a splash block that’s maybe a foot or two long. But if you have a water issue below grade, you want to put extensions on those. So it goes out four or five, six feet, really moves the water away from the house. I find that if you just address the gutters first, that usually cures 90% of the problems. Grading, yeah, grading is going to settle. And in a perfect world, you’re going to want to add soil, slope it away from those walls. You want to drop it about six inches over four feet. But if it was me, I would extend it. I would extend my gutters first and make sure that they’re operating perfectly. If you go to moneypit.com, there’s an article right on the homepage about how to fix a basement that leaks. In that article, all the advice there applies to a crawlspace leak as well. Okay? Appreciate your help. You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling.
00:06:48	LESLIE: Hey, Money Pit Podcast fans. You want to help us out? Well, go ahead and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and we’re going to give you a virtual high five. Plus, you’ll be helping us spread the word about our show. Just go to moneypit.com slash review. Now, we’ve got Loretta from Delaware on the line, who’s got a question about hot water. What’s going on? I hope you have some.
00:07:08	CALLER: It’s not that bad. It’s just I’m not used to waiting so long for the water to get hot.
00:07:16	TOM: Is this a new situation, or have you always had to wait a long time for the water to get hot, Loretta?
00:07:20 – 00:0	TOM: CALLER: It’s a brand new house, and we have a new hot water system. I don’t want to mention any names. Yeah.
00:07:27	TOM: Well, you know, the thing is, it’s not really the fault. It’s the fault of the hot water system, because what this is is a function of the distance between the water heater itself and your bathroom. The farther apart they are, the longer the water, which has cooled in the pipes, has to run to basically dump itself out and become hot. So the solution here is really twofold. One’s really expensive, and the other one is not expensive. So I’m going to guess we’re going to go with the not expensive solution. The expensive solution is you could put in another water heater closer to the bathroom, a tankless unit. But I don’t think that’s necessary. There is basically a plumbing part called a hot water recirculating system. And what a hot water recirculation system does is it recirculates some of that cold water back to the water heater through the existing piping system to be reheated at key periods during the day. So think of it in terms of like a timer. So you might set this to go on. Well, let’s presume we’re in a normal economy where you’re maybe waking up at 5 or 6 in the morning to get ready to go to work. Have it come on then and then go off when you left for work and so on. So you could set this for the morning hours or the evening hours whenever you want to make sure you don’t have to wait for hot water. And it will automatically circulate some of that cold water back to be heated. In that case, you’ll have rather instant hot water. Now, it’s not something that you want on 24-7 because there’s no point in keeping the water in that pipe hot all the time when you’re not using it, like when you’re sleeping or you’re doing something else during the day. But in key periods where you don’t want to have to wait for the water to make that long, long trip from the water heater to your bathroom, you can use this recirculating system with timers to basically do it for you. A brand name that we have a lot of respect for is Watts, W-A-T-T-S. I actually worked with Watts a long time ago when these products were first being developed and helped tell their story. But I think it’s a good product. It’s solidly built. You can find it online at homedepot.com. Not expensive, about $200. And relatively simple. Plumbing project to install if you’re a DIYer or if not, a fairly short trip for a plumber to do. So I would take a look at the Watts hot water recirculating system with built-in timer. And as I said, you can look that up on homedepot.com or probably on Amazon as well.
00:09:47	CALLER: Well, that sounds a lot better than my husband’s idea, which is don’t use the hot water.
00:09:52	LESLIE: That’s a terrible idea.
00:09:54	TOM: Nice guy. He must be a lot of fun to hang out with. appreciate all your help. Yeah, good luck, Loretta. Well, every summer we hear about decks that collapse, causing serious injury or worse to partygoers, oblivious to the danger under their feet. Now, the cause is often the same. It’s a deck that was not properly attached to the home. So before you guys host your next gathering, it’s really important to inspect that deck for the most common hazards. So here’s a list that’s recommended by the North American Decking and Railing Association. These guys, to their credit, have been putting this out for years. It’s really important stuff.
00:10:31	LESLIE: Yeah, so first of all, you want to check for split or decaying wood. So now you’ve got to examine those various areas of your deck, including the ledger board, which really is a common source of deck failure. And that’s the point where the deck attaches to your house, those support posts, the joists, the deck boards, the railings, and the stairs. Now, you need to pay close attention to areas that get damp, spots that are regularly exposed to water, or any areas that are in contact with fasteners. Now, you can use an ice pick or a screwdriver to kind of test that wood’s integrity. If it easily punctures the wood like a quarter of an inch, or it breaks off without splinters, or maybe just feels soft and spongy, then you could have decay present. So you want to look out for small holes as well that could indicate insect activity. So you really got to be a detective here.
00:11:21	TOM: Yeah, and speaking of water intrusion, you got to inspect the flashing. The flashing directs water away from the critical areas where that deck meets the house. And that prevents moisture buildup and serious rot. So make sure the flashing’s intact and it’s properly installed. And replace any damaged sections so you don’t get water between the deck and the house. It’s going to rot out the deck boards, the ledger, and even the hardware holding it up.
00:11:44	LESLIE: Now, you also want to replace any fasteners that are rusted or show sign of corrosion because that’s going to encourage wood deterioration. So replace those to prevent it. And a stable deck shouldn’t swag, it shouldn’t sway, it shouldn’t move during any of the testing. So if you have any movement there, that’s a bigger problem.
00:12:02	TOM: Yeah, now next let’s take a look at those stairs. You got to make sure that the railings are stable, they’re secure handrails, the risers and the stringers are all in good shape, they’re not cracked, they’re not checked. Make sure they’re firmly attached and free of any rot. Clear the stairways also of any potential tripping hazards like planters or decor. And if you have small kids, add a back to the stairs. You don’t want to have the step that actually can go right through. So most deck steps are like that, right? They’re hollow. They don’t have a riser. Add a riser to the back of the step so that you don’t have a place where kids can slip through. Smart.
00:12:33	LESLIE: You also want to make sure that any railing or banisters are secure, especially if you’ve got an elevated deck. Now those spindles, they should have less than four inches of space between those openings and the railing should be able to support at least 300 pounds in any direction. Now you want to repeat this inspection at least once a year and have any needed repairs completed promptly. If you want some more deck safety recommendations, visit the website for the North American Decking and Railing Association at www.nadra.org.
00:13:07	TOM: We’re going to head out over to Illinois right now and talk to Richard. He’s got a problem with a chimney. And Richard, you say that you’ve had a damp spot for 50 years in this chimney? I guess we better get on this, huh?
00:13:18	CALLER: Well, it doesn’t make the wallpaper come off. Nothing, the plaster doesn’t loosen up or anything like that. It’s just damp. All right. So how can I help? This is the upstairs bedroom where this chimney is right next to our bed. Okay. And we’ve put two or three different kinds of chimney liners in it and we’ve done the whole chimney and still doesn’t solve the problem. Okay.
00:13:44	TOM: Let me ask you about your chimney. First of all, you have an old house. I see it’s 108 years old. I presume this is a brick chimney. Is it coming up through the middle of the house or on the end wall of the house?
00:13:52	CALLER: Pretty much the middle.
00:13:53	TOM: The middle. Okay. Have you checked the flashing around the chimney, where the chimney goes through the roof? Has anyone looked at that for you?
00:14:00	CALLER: Yeah, we’ve replaced it and we’ve redone the whole thing up there, where it comes through the attic and then goes out of the roof.
00:14:08	TOM: When it comes through the attic, does it get damp up there? Not noticeable. Do you have a cap on this chimney? Is the liner opened basically to the atmosphere? Yes, it’s got a cap. It’s got a cap on it. Okay. And lastly, have you ever sealed the brick? Have you ever used a masonry sealer on the brick like a silicone sealer?
00:14:26	CALLER: I know what you’re talking. I know what you’re talking about, and we’ve never seen any reason to do that. The brick is all in good shape.
00:14:32	TOM: The reason that you seal brick is to slow down the absorption. Brick and concrete and mortar are very hydroscopic in that they will absorb a lot of water and just keep going. It’s like sticking a dry sponge in a pail of water. It just soaks up the water until there’s no room left. And that’s what brick does, especially in periods of heavy rain. It sounds to me like that brick is probably very damp because it’s getting saturated and it’s pulling itself downward. It also sounds like it’s not been a terrible problem for you since it’s been going on for a long time. But the next thing I would do is I would definitely apply a masonry sealer to that. Now, when you look for sealers, you want to look for one that says these words on it, vapor permeable. So what that means is the moisture can vent out if it gets in. It can basically dry out. The sealer won’t hold moisture inside the chimney. It will allow it to vent and evaporate out. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Thank you.
00:15:58	LESLIE: South Carolina is on the line joining us and needs some help renovating an older home. Tell us about it.
00:16:03	CALLER: We have a property that in the neighborhood, it’s going through a re-gentrification. The home hasn’t been lived in in over seven years. And I’m trying to troubleshoot what will it take to get that house back up and running. Okay. What steps do I need to take to start to evaluate where my costs are going to be?
00:16:26	So you say nobody’s in it now? Have the utilities been on or is it been completely vacant with no utilities?
00:16:32	CALLER: Completely vacant. No utilities.
00:16:34	TOM: There’s a number of things that you want to do with a house at this stage. The first thing I might consider doing to kind of give you just a good overall sense as to what it’s going to take is to hire a professional home inspector to do an inspection of that home and explain that you’re trying to identify what kinds of work it’s going to need so that you can either remodel it yourself or sell it or whatever your intentions.
00:16:57	LESLIE: Can you do that at this point, Tom, with none of the utilities on?
00:17:02	TOM: Yeah, that’s a good point. It’s going to be challenging because part of the issue is going to be, you know, utilities are off. Do we know if all the pipes were properly drained before that happened or we’re going to have big surprises when the water’s turned back on or the gas is turned back on? So, yes, the inspector is not going to be able to tell you everything. But considering that this house has been vacant for so long, I think you might be able to get a good sense as to where you’re going in terms of next steps and identify what the biggest projects are. Okay. And then, you know, once you kind of know what’s going on, you’re going to be able to know where you’re going with that, you could consider hiring an architect to help you plan the renovation if it needs a lot of work. I would recommend that because an architect can look at the big picture and make sure that, you know, whatever you’re going to do to that is going to be consistent with whatever budget you want to put out for it. And then also, of course, you need to have a sense as to what the value is so you can make that cost analysis in terms of whether it’s worthy of putting in however number of dollars, you know, you have to put in there to kind of fix this place up. But just to kind of get you started since you don’t really have a baseline. Here, I think it’ll be well worth the three or four hundred dollars to hire a professional home inspector. I would recommend that you go to the website for the American Society of Home Inspectors. That is homeinspector.org is their website. And those guys, if they’re certified members of ASHI is the acronym, the American Society of Home Inspectors, that’s going to be sort of the cream of the crop, the better inspectors in your area. You can enter a zip code and get presented with a list of inspectors and you can call and speak with them and find one that you feel like you connect with that can address this issue. But then you’ll have a much better idea of what you’re getting involved with here. You won’t know it all, but I think you’ll be much farther along.
00:18:32	LESLIE: OK, well, thank you so much. We’ve got John in Maryland on the line who’s dealing with a smoke smell at home. What’s going on?
00:18:40	CALLER: My tenant has been in the house for a number of years now. I did ask her, please, please smoke outside.
00:18:48	TOM: And she didn’t listen.
00:18:51	CALLER: Yes, OK, thank you. I didn’t say that, but I should have. When you light a cigarette. Smoke a cigarette, the smoke, it’s like having a small campfire.
00:19:04	TOM: Yeah, it is. And it’s funny you mentioned that because actually getting rid of this smell is as much the same as what you would do if the house was in a fire. Right, Leslie?
00:19:14	LESLIE: You know, John, that smoke smell and even the discoloration just saturates everything, basically anything and everything that’s a soft good or a wall. So a couple of things that you have to do for the walls. You kind of have to wash them first before you can go ahead and paint. And you can get something called TSP, which is trisodium phosphate. And what you would do is you mix it according to the manufacturer’s directions and then you wash the walls with it. And that’s going to give you a good prep. You still have to then prime with an oil-based primer because that’s going to lock in the odor and any discoloration. And then you can go ahead and put a latex top coat on it. But you also have to think about flooring. If you’ve got carpeting, wall-to-wall carpeting, you want to pull that up. If there’s padding under there. That’s got to come up too. Steam cleaning alone isn’t going to do it. And then if you can replace that carpet or refinish the wood floors, you know, you got to see what’s going on under there. Draperies, those need to be steam cleaned, clean, dry cleaned. However you clean them, you got to clean those. Any upholstery, you should have that cleaned as well because anything that’s soft like that just absorbs those odors. And truly, you could leave it outside for the rest of its life. It’s not going to air out. You’ve got to clean things.
00:20:21	TOM: Yeah. And I would extend this to say that not only the walls, but the ceilings. And if you do take up, I don’t know if you have carpet, but if you take up carpet and you’re looking down at subfloor, not as opposed to like a hardwood floor that you’re going to refinish, you also need to put primer on that floor because that floor will soak up the smoke odor as well. So it’s the same thing that you would do if the house was ever, God forbid, in a fire. Smoke Restorer guys would clean it thoroughly and then they would put primer on everything to seal in what they can’t get to. And that’s really the best you can do. All right, John, I hope that helps you out.
00:20:54	LESLIE: Well, of course. Across the nation, reports of water quality issues are becoming more and more common. So we’ve got some tips to help you maintain the quality of the water in your home.
00:21:03	TOM: That’s right. According to the Water Quality Association, a lot of this comes down to cleanliness, maintenance, and basically common sense. First up, if you’ve got a filtered remove contaminants, maintain it according to the manufacturer’s specifications. I can’t tell you how many times in the years I spent as a home inspector that I found those filters were probably never changed or certainly never changed beyond the… The first maybe year it was in there. And that’s only going to make the water gross. Those filters are overdue for cleaning. Replacing them may no longer remove contaminants and might even become contaminated themselves. Now, the same goes for your water softener. Salt-based systems need to be maintained according to the manufacturer’s specs. And salt levels need to be checked at least once a month.
00:21:44	LESLIE: Now, next, you can have the best water treatment in the world, but if you put clean water into a dirty container, it might no longer be safe to drink. So it’s super important that you clean. Clean water containers regularly. Just mix a few drops of dish detergent into clean water and pour it into the storage container. Agitate that liquid and scrub the inside with a non-abrasive scrub brush or a clean dish rag and then rinse that container thoroughly.
00:22:09	TOM: And this way, everybody in the house is going to enjoy some great tasting water with every glass. So just make sure you maintain those systems and that is exactly what you’ll get. Great water.
00:22:20	LESLIE: Heading over to Rhode Island with Linda who wants to build a patio. Tell us about your project. Why?
00:22:25	CALLER: What I would like to do actually is make it a combination of a patio so I could use it during the summer and also use it as a carport during the winter. And I was wondering as far as a base, what would be the best? I have a form and he used that and he made all the patio blocks.
00:22:50	TOM: Oh, so he basically made his own paver stones, it sounds like, by pouring them inside this form.
00:22:56	CALLER: Right, but I was afraid if I poured cement into the form, how do I get it out?
00:23:03	TOM: Okay, let me back up for a second. So when you say carport, you intend then for this patio to have a roof on it, is that correct?
00:23:10	CALLER: Yes, I would like it to, where I could still have the sides all open, but be able, because I have a collectible car that I wanted to put in.
00:23:20	TOM: Okay, now what kind of car is it?
00:23:22	CALLER: It’s a 1966 Ford. OCD.
00:23:25	TOM: Oh, wow. Well, that’s kind of cool. All right, well, let’s see what we can do to help you out. So first of all, aside from these forms and this and that, we really need to talk about how you’re going to do this base. Now, if you do concrete, that’s the most permanent and durable surface. I would recommend that you’re planning on parking the car there, of doing a slab there that is at least six inches thick or maybe four to six inches thick, nothing any thinner than that. Okay. And make it a reinforced slab. And it’s not a DIY project, and we’ve not poured concrete before. It’s not a hard project, but you have to properly prepare the surface. And then what will happen is a mason will sort of dig out the top layer of dirt. They’ll put stone in. They’ll tamp it down, pack it really well. They’ll form the outside perimeter and then pour the concrete and finish it. That’s going to be a solid, permanent surface. If you were to do something that was like paper bricks, or even if you did these sections, and by the way, there’s forms available. There’s forms available to do just that now. If your grandfather’s old form doesn’t work. But the problem with that is you’ve got to, again, prepare the base in the same way. It’s got to be solidly tamped. It’s more work than the concrete to do. And the problem is you might get some weeds and stuff that grow through it over time. And if you don’t do a good job preparing it, it’s going to get all uneven and look wobbly and look terrible in just a few short years. So getting that slab right or getting that base right is really the most… important part of this. Now, once you do that, then in terms of the carport roof, you could attach the roof to the side of the house. You’re going to need columns. They’ll have to be properly secured to the base of the concrete. You’re going to need sway bracing so it doesn’t sway back and forth from side to side. This is a fair amount of work. It sounds simple, but this is a big project. And if you don’t get it right, I’ll tell you, I have a neighbor here near where we live. And then her husband, who is a great guy. I built a real solid carport next to their garage and it came down in the last storm. You know, you got to get it right. It was open on the sides and it just, it was just time for it to go according to mother nature. So I encourage you to get a really good solid base. Concrete is best. And you can finish the concrete, by the way. You don’t have to look at just concrete. You know, there’s a company called Daich Coatings that have some beautiful finishes, including Terrazzo, that you can cover that concrete surface with. So it could look great as a patio, but you got to get it right. If it’s not solid, you’re not going to be happy.
00:25:52	CALLER: I think I need someone that’s in. That type of business. I think it’s beyond my DIY.
00:25:58	TOM: Yeah, I think you do.
00:25:59	CALLER: I really appreciate it because I probably would have started and had a major disaster with it.
00:26:07	TOM: Well, you can download the Angie app and find a contractor using Angie. It works really well. And you can sort through contractors that are in your area, read reviews from other folks that have had projects done with them and maybe use that as a start to identify the best contractor for this project. That you’re tackling in Rhode Island. Okay.
00:26:26	CALLER: Oh, thank you ever so much for all your help. You certainly have solved my problem.
00:26:31	TOM: Good luck with that project.
00:26:33	LESLIE: Heading down south to Florida where Michael needs some help with a pool deck that’s cracking up. What’s going on?
00:26:39	CALLER: We just bought this house last fall and around the pool, it has four or five cracks. I mean, it’s not terrible, but they do show through the existing topical cracks. They have a little coat that they have on that concrete. Now, I want to grind this off, but what can I put in those cracks that will not show when I resurface it?
00:27:06	TOM: So, Quikrete makes a product just for that, and it’s simply called CrackSeal. And it’s a blended sort of latex emulsion. It’s designed to flow in and then solidify into those cracks, and you’re allowed then after that to solidify. It’s just to finish on top of it with whatever your choice is. So, that’s a pretty common problem around pool decks, but I would just encourage you to fill those cracks with the right material. A lot of times, people will try to fill those cracks with mortar, but then it just cracks again and falls out. So, you want to use a product that’s specifically designed for this, and I would look into the Quikrete concrete CrackSeal because that’s exactly what it does. That’s perfect. I do appreciate it. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at The Money Pit.
00:27:54	LESLIE: Well, the… Well, expert forecasters at Colorado State University are predicting 23 named storms this year. That’s a big uptick over past reports. Now, if you want to add a roof to your home that can stand up to severe weather, it doesn’t get any better than a metal roof.
00:28:10	TOM: That’s right. And a properly installed, quality metal roof is practically impervious to a wide range of extreme climate conditions. Modern residential metal roofs are not going to warp. They’re not going to crack, rot. They’re not going to rust. And they can last up to 50 years. With very little maintenance required.
00:28:26	LESLIE: Now, roof damage is one of the most expensive costs homeowners face after an extreme windstorm hits their area. Those high winds typically bring heavy rains, which then expose homes with compromised roofs to water damage. And that’s why a metal roof really is such a smart choice. Now, metal roofing can withstand gusts of winds up to 140 miles an hour.
00:28:47	TOM: In fact, recent post-hurricane inspections found that metal roofs fared far better than those roofs covered by asphalt. But a good metal roof is really as much about the material as it is the installation. So you want to choose quality, water-resistant underlayment, and make sure your installer follows local building codes. Hurricane clips and interlocking systems also offer extra insurance against those extreme winds and those monster storms.
00:29:12	LESLIE: Now, if you want a great source for information, the Metal Roofing Alliance is the leading homeowner source. They’ve got tools and resources about today’s metal roofs, and you can learn a lot from there. So take that first look. Step and download MRA’s Buyer Guide at www.MetalRoofing.com. Judy in Louisiana, you’ve got The Money Pit. What are you working on?
00:29:34	CALLER: Hi, I was asking about mildew and mold on brick. How do I get it off the easiest way? I mean, it’s outside. How do I get it off the easiest way without damaging the mortar? Sure.
00:29:54	TOM: There’s a variety of products out there that can do that. And these cleaners essentially saturate the mold or the moss or the mildew, and then they break down the fibers, and then rain essentially washes it away. They’re slow working. It’s not like you’re going to do it once and it’ll be done, but it will get clean. So there’s products like Spray and Forget or Wet and Forget. There’s Concrobium. There’s Zinsser has one. And all of those products are basically a mildew side that are designed to kill that material. I used them on a roof of a shed last year that was literally totally covered with moss. And I just happened to notice this past weekend as we were out doing some work on the yard that I could see all the shingles again as if it never existed. So it just basically melted it all the way. So that’s the way to do that. You can pressure wash some of that off, but if you do it, you just have to use a gentle pressure washer so that you don’t get it all over the place. You don’t destroy the surfaces underneath. Good luck with that project. Thanks for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
00:31:00	LESLIE: Deborah wrote in to Team Money Pit and says, I have a dog whom I cannot keep from jumping and scratching the inside of my front and back door. They’ve been refinished twice and she continues to damage them. I would like to either refinish them again or replace them, but cannot think of a clever, practical, or decorative way to protect the door. What do you suggest?
00:31:21	TOM: So here’s a question, Les. Do you think spraying the door down? Do you think spraying the door down? Do you think spraying the door down with WD-40 is one of the 1,001 uses it’s famous for?
00:31:29	LESLIE: I don’t know. I worry because the paws, and then they lick the paws.
00:31:34	CALLER: I’m only kidding.
00:31:35	LESLIE: I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind is, you know, the plastic thing that you would put on like a, like you see them at the vet’s office. It’s like a plastic protector. It screws onto the door. Right.
00:31:48	TOM: Plexiglass. I’m thinking the same thing. Either Plexiglass or Lexan, which is a tougher version of Plexiglass.
00:31:53	LESLIE: Same, yeah.
00:31:53	TOM: Plexiglass is probably the only thing I can think of, unless we can find a smart dog trainer here to break that habit. But I think you’ve got to put something over the door to protect it. There’s nothing else that’s going to keep those nails from scratching that finish. You know, there’s no finish that’s going to be so tough that the dog won’t eventually damage it. So, Debra, what I would do is I would measure the door, and I would have some Plexiglass cut, and pre-drilled, by the way, because you don’t want to have to do this yourself, to fit over the bottom of the door. You know, up to as high as the dog likes to jump, and then you can attach it to the door. At some point, the dog ceases to have this habit. You could always fill those holes and paint the door in by using Bondo or a putty like that. But for now, definitely, I’ve just got to cover and protect that door.
00:32:40	LESLIE: Yeah, definitely. And then hopefully we can, you know, break up with this habit. All right, next up, Clayton wrote in saying, We recently moved into a new house built on a slab in 2018, and the exhaust piping for the dryer leads outside. Right beside the heat pump. One of my first projects in the house was cleaning the condenser coil, which was completely covered in lint. How can I avoid this? Oh, this seems just like poor planning.
00:33:04	TOM: Yeah, it does. It’s very frustrating, too, because he’s on a slab, so they don’t have a lot of places they can run these ducts. So your challenge in here is to either reroute the duct on the inside or reroute it on the outside, which is what he’s done. But, you know, it doesn’t look very good because he basically has the duct. It’s going along the brick wall, you know, about, I’d say, six feet from the compressor just to get that dust moving the other way around. You know, the other thing that you could do here is you could put a lint trap on the inside behind the dryer into that duct line there, and that’ll help capture some of the lint, so it won’t be as bad. But I worry about that because, first of all, it slows down the drying process, so your dryer runs longer to get close dryer. And secondly, you absolutely positively have to be, like, religious about cleaning. I mean, it’s got to happen pretty much every day because if you let that lint build up, then you can get serious. You know, lint fires are a pretty serious thing, and it can happen. So you want to make sure if you’re using a lint trap that it’s clean regularly.
00:34:08	LESLIE: Yeah, and Clayton, you were really smart to go out there and see what was going on with the condenser coil. Sadly, it’s the lint. So now think about it. If all the lint’s there, think about what’s in that dryer vent. So it’s super important to clean those dryer vents annually because it’s super flammable and it’s a big hazard.
00:34:24	TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Hey, guys, hope you’re having an amazing spring day. You’re enjoying the sunshine and the warmth and the projects you can get done. What’s on your to-do list? If you’ve got something that comes up, you don’t know where to start, or you’ve already started and you got stuck, or you just need some tips on how to change directions on the work you’re doing, remember, you can reach us 24-7 at 1-888-Money-Pit or by going to moneypit.com slash ask. Until next time, I’m Tom Kraeutler.
00:34:52	LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
00:34:53	TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself.
00:34:54	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.)