Show Notes
This week, we weigh the pros and cons of rooftop solar panels and share a simple recipe for homemade spray dish soap. Then, transform your backyard with a DIY fire pit that’s made easy with Pavestone building blocks. Plus, get expert answers to more home improvement questions for your next project!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Solar Panels: Sunny savings or sunken costs? Learn the truth about the ROI of rooftop solar panels.
- Natural Cleaner: Clean up the savings with a natural dish soap recipe for bubbles on a budget.
- DIY Fire Pit: Rock your yard with a DIY fire pit using simple stone building blocks.
Top Questions & Answers
- Concrete Slab: Should Lee reinforce a poured concrete slab with rebar? It can’t hurt, but may not be needed if the soil base is prepped right with a mechanical tamper.
- Cement Floor: Linda wants to refinish a cement floor in an industrial area. She’ll need to scrape off any existing paint and then apply epoxy paint to seal the surface.
- HVAC: The second floor is always either too hot or too cold. Most heat loss is caused by leaky ducts, so David should have a sealant applied to make the HVAC system more efficient.
- Tree Roots: Big tree roots are in the way of a new deck. Nancy will need a stump grinder to remove the roots and can use fewer points of contact for the deck foundation.
- Fireplace or Stove: Matt wants to replace an ugly hearth fireplace with a wood stove. We recommend getting some structural advice to avoid affecting the chimney integrity.
- Linoleum Flooring: Mindy’s old linoleum floor is peeling. She should pull up the linoleum and any other layers under it before installing a new floor.
- Foundation Leak: Water is pooling between the foundation and a retaining wall, then seeping into the basement. Richard should intercept the runoff with a curtain drain.
- Insulation: Steve is curious about radiant barrier insulation, which is designed to reflect UV rays. We explain concerns about overheating and shortening the life of his roof.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:31 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:00:37 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:00:38 | TOM: Well, summer is wrapping up, fall is approaching, and that means it’s almost Goldilocks time once again, Leslie. It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold. |
| 00:00:47 | LESLIE: Oh, it’s just right. |
| 00:00:48 | TOM: You get projects done around your house. So whether you’re working inside or out, we are here to help you take on those jobs, answer your questions, help you do it right the first time. Help yourself first, though, by reaching out to us with your questions. The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit. That’s 888-666-3974. Or better yet, just go to MoneyPit.com slash ask and click the blue microphone button. You can record your question to us, it will come to us immediately, and we can get back to you with an answer. We’ve got a lot planned for today’s program, starting with rooftop solar panels. Do you ever wonder if that’s going to happen? If these are worth the cost? We’re starting to see them all over the place, especially as we have tax credits that incentivize people to install them. But are they always worth it? Do they always provide a good ROI? We’re going to share some advice on that in just a bit. |
| 00:01:38 | LESLIE: And do you buy spray dish soap to use in your kitchen? Well, you can stop buying it and start making it from scratch. We’re going to share the recipe just ahead. |
| 00:01:46 | TOM: And it’s almost fire pit season, so we’re going to give you the step-by-step tips on how you can build your own fire pit using the Ladera bricks from Patreon.com. And as you can see, it’s a really cool process to the way you stack these bricks with no mortar and you drop an insert into it and your fire pit is done. I saw a video where they were building a fire pit from scratch, and it took them literally about five minutes to finish the whole darn thing. |
| 00:02:08 | LESLIE: All right. I love that. And give us a call, guys, because we want to help you out with all of the projects that you are working on to make your money pit into your dream home. Whatever it is, you got a big project, a small project, we are here to lend a hand. |
| 00:02:20 | TOM: The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit. So give us a call. 1-888-Money-Pit.com. 1-888-Money-Pit.com. Call with your questions, 888-666-3974. |
| 00:02:28 | LESLIE: Lee in Maryland is on the line with a concrete question. What can we do for you today? |
| 00:02:32 | CALLER: A house was built 30 years ago, and I’ve been told by several contractors that my slab is 16 by 18 that I’m going to pour. I’ve been told by several contractors that I should put rebar into the house and connect it to the house, and then I’ve been told by other contractors that I should just put expansion joints in, and I don’t know what to do. Okay. |
| 00:02:54 | CALLER: This slab is for the garage? |
| 00:02:55 | CALLER: No, it’s off the side of my deck. |
| 00:02:57 | TOM: Oh, okay, so a patio. Is that what you’re saying? |
| 00:02:59 | CALLER: Yeah, it’ll be right up against the house, though. |
| 00:03:01 | TOM: Okay. Yeah, I mean, listen, putting the rebar in and tying into the house is a good, solid way to do that, but if you prep the soil right underneath it, I tend to think you probably don’t have to do that. Most people, where they go wrong is they don’t prep the soil, they don’t prep the base. And if that soil is compressible, if it’s topsoil, if it’s mulch, if it’s not flattened out and really tamped down mechanically, I mean with a machine tamper, then you’re going to have all kinds of movement in that slab, and that’s where you get in trouble. So if it’s just a matter of being concerned about it dropping, you know, I guess with all the work you’re doing, it wouldn’t hurt to run the rebar into the house. You’d have to drill holes, set it inside the block wall, and then run the rebar into the slab itself. But you want to make sure that slab is properly reinforced. If it’s 16 by 8, you know, you’re probably going to want to put a seam in it to give it some room to move without cracking. But I think it’s not terribly necessary, but I don’t think you can go wrong by doing it. But again, the most important thing is to tamp that base under where you’re going to pour the slab really, really well, because invariably that’s what causes the problems with slabs. And make sure you have a good pitch away from the house so that you don’t trap any water against the house. You don’t force water to run back into the house even when it settles, okay? |
| 00:04:17 | CALLER: Okay. It had a base of concrete backwash tamped down really good, and it was starting to set up pretty good. But I was going to bring in some more 57 limestone and then pack it down. Do you think that would be ample or a good one with some rock to use? |
| 00:04:30 | TOM: Yeah, I would go through the trouble of renting a mechanical tamper and using a mechanical tamper. Because I tell you what, when you put that base in and you tamp it mechanically, it itself becomes hard as concrete. Okay. Thanks, Lee. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:04:46 | LESLIE: All right. Now we’ve got Linda on the line calling in from Florida. How can we help you today? |
| 00:04:49 | CALLER: I have a cement floor that was originally stained. I have a cement floor that was originally stained. And then it was painted over with supposedly a really good stuff, and now not doing well. And we want to take care of it, but we don’t want to have to remove all that’s there. We just want to know if you have something we could put over it that will – it has heavy machinery in it and, you know, there’s gas and oil and all that sort of stuff. |
| 00:05:13 | CALLER: So this is where, in the garage? |
| 00:05:15 | CALLER: Actually, it’s in a hanger. |
| 00:05:16 | TOM: Oh, it’s in a hanger. Oh, okay. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So usually the best kind of floor for an industrial location like that is epoxy paint. And the way epoxy paint works is it’s a two-part paint. So when you purchase it, you know, it probably comes in larger quantities depending on how many square feet you want to apply. But typically, like for a house, it would come in a gallon-sized container, except that when you open the gallon up, it’s only filled up about three-quarters of the way because you also get a quart of hardener. And the idea is you mix the two together. Mm And then the chemical reaction. Mm-hmm. It’s what gives you the durability and the drying of that epoxy surface. Now, because it was stained and not as concerned, because it was painted, you will need to at least get off any loose paint material that’s there now. Because if you put good paint over bad paint, you’re still going to have flaking because the bad paint acts kind of as, you know, like the Teflon there and it won’t let the new paint get into the floor itself. So you are going to have to pressure wash that floor or you’re going to have to abrade that floor. You’ve got to get as much of that old paint off as you can so that you have a good surface. But I think the solution is epoxy paint. And they also have sort of a coloring fleck that can be added to that paint that gives it kind of a texture and helps sort of hide the dirt. So if you’re looking for, you know, a reasonably easy, inexpensive way to give that floor a whole new look and new life, I would recommend the epoxy paint. |
| 00:06:38 | CALLER: Well, thank you so much. I enjoyed listening to you. |
| 00:06:41 | TOM: Well, thank you, Linda. We appreciate the call, 888-666-3974. |
| 00:06:46 | LESLIE: David in Delaware is on the line. With an HVAC conundrum, what is going on at your money pit? |
| 00:06:51 | CALLER: I’ve been in this house for 29 years. I was the original owner and I live in a two-story house. And on the second story, I’ve always had two rooms that were too hot in the summertime and too cold in the wintertime. So the first thing I did to the whole house was replace all the windows. It didn’t help it. Three years ago, I replaced my heat pump and got a bigger unit. Helped it out a little bit, but not a whole lot. And then after I got my solar panels, the guys came in and did like a leak test on my house. And they said the house was good and tight. But the guy said that most of your cold air returned up in the basement. So I’ve got some big time leaks down there. So after looking around down there, the guy also clued me into that my cold air return ducts, they used or they did. Back in the day, your studs going up through the walls and the rafters in the basement. |
| 00:07:56 | CALLER: Right. They used that as the duct itself. They basically used the stud bay as the duct. |
| 00:08:00 | CALLER: So where I found my problem to be is the main trunk of the cold air return. They just kind of cut a great big hole in it. And then they raised the trunk up floor joist. Well, I’ve got gaping holes up where the… The trunk does not hit the joist. And that’s like on four different joists that I need to try to seal that up. And it’s in a bad spot to get to. And I was wondering, do you have any ideas? |
| 00:08:34 | TOM: So, yeah, first of all, duct sealing itself and leaky ducts are responsible for probably more energy loss than almost anything else in a forced air system. Now, there’s a number of ways that you can attack this. You can do it sort of structurally and mechanically. Where you try to get to every one of these ducts and try to repair it so it doesn’t have the leaks. Or you can do it with a product called AeroSeal. AeroSeal is a product that’s sprayed into the duct system and basically sticks to the inside of the ducts, completely sealing them. And it’s designed to basically look for the gaps and then build up where the air is escaping in those gaps and makes the entire system much more efficient. There’s a great video on this. It’s on ThisOldHouse.com. If you Google This Old House and AeroSeal, A-E-R-O-S-E-A-L, you’ll find that video. And you can kind of understand the whole story. But basically, once it’s applied, it completely seals both the return and the supplied ducts. And it might be just the ticket that you need to get this house working again. Because you’re right. If you don’t have proper air returns, you know, heating and cooling systems work not by just dumping cold air or warm air into the room. They work by recirculating air because it takes many passes of that air through the room to get it to the temperature that you want it to be. And if they’re full of holes, it’s just not going to work right. So take a look at AeroSeal. I think that might be the solution to your problem. |
| 00:10:03 | CALLER: And on your online thing, it’ll show how to apply it, how to do it. |
| 00:10:07 | TOM: It’s professionally applied. It’s not a do-it-yourself project. It requires special tools. Oh, professionally. Yeah. And you’re better off doing it that way. This way, you know that it’s done right and all of those gaps are sealed. But I think it’ll make a big difference. I appreciate your help. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:10:24 | LESLIE: Hey, you’re tired of living in a money pit? Well, we’re here to help. And if you want us to help out, it would be awesome if you could leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Just go to moneypit.com slash review. It’s only going to take a minute and it means the world to us. |
| 00:10:38 | TOM: Do you have a home improvement question that comes to you at any hour of the day or night? Well, you can always reach us at 1-888-Money-Pit and leave that question. You can also crack open Home Maintenance for Dummies, my new book. It’s just out on the market right now. You can see it at moneypit.com slash dummies. And I’ll tell you what, we’re going to give away a copy to one lucky caller that reaches out to us with their questions. So let’s make that happen now. The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit. I mean, in this book, I pretty much take the intimidation out of the common home repair jobs that you might want to tackle. There’s easy to follow guides. There’s diagrams. There’s tips. You’ll learn how to stop drafty windows, lower your energy bills. You name it, it’s in the book. So why not call us right now? With your question, and you might just win a copy for yourself. Or you can check it out at moneypit.com slash dummies. |
| 00:11:24 | LESLIE: Well, we’ve got Nancy in Arkansas on the line, who’s working on a deck project, but keeps running into some pesky tree roots. What is going on in your yard? |
| 00:11:32 | CALLER: We want to build a deck at the back of our house, but we have massive tree roots, and we’ve cut down the tree that caused the problem. But we’re having trouble getting rid of it. They’re so thick that we can’t figure out a way to get… A deck over them. |
| 00:11:49 | TOM: Well, Nancy, you absolutely need to make room for the foundation for this deck. A couple of things come to mind. Number one, you may be able to design it in such a way as you requiring fewer… I don’t know how you’re going to support this, but let’s say, for example, you’re going to drop piers or sonotubes in the ground and fill it with concrete. If you have a sturdier beam, you would need fewer points of contact, hence fewer places where you have to battle those roots. The other thing that you might think about doing is having a tree company come in with a stump grinder. They can usually get about three feet into the soil and see if it’s possible to chop up some of those roots that are right below the soil there so that you can get to the opportunity to dig it out and fit a concrete form in there. As long as you get that down about three feet, that’s probably all you’re going to need. But there’s no easy way to do this. You’re just going to have to battle it out. I think a stump grinder is a good place to start that will loosen up as much as possible. Then from that point forward, it’s just going to be hard work for you to try. You’re going to have to chop down and get those out. So I wish I had an easier solution for you, but it really comes down to that. You’ve just got to get rid of it. It’s wood. You can break it up. You can cut it. It just takes work. Well, have you ever wondered if adding rooftop solar panels to save energy is worth the cost? There are a lot of factors to consider, but if your home is a good candidate, energy.gov says there are potential cost benefits. |
| 00:13:13 | LESLIE: Yeah, you know, rooftop solar can reduce your energy bills by generating your own electricity. You then can reduce or even eliminate that monthly electricity bill, and that’s going to help you recoup the initial investment within 10 years. And that’s sort of typically within 10 years. Now, homes with solar energy systems also have a higher property value, and they do tend to sell faster. And you might be eligible for federal tax credits as well as other incentives, rebates and tax credits at the local level. |
| 00:13:41 | TOM: But there are other things to consider that can impact this decision. First of all, you need to consider the rapid development of whole home battery systems. I mean, these are amazing. They basically store power for days on end, and they come on whenever the power goes out in your house. So you can run off of these batteries, and you can also charge them using solar panels. So consider that you could use the solar panels to charge the batteries and then run the house off the batteries. And that means your overall electrical use from the utility company is going to be way, way lower. And you don’t need as many solar panels as you would if you were basically having them do all the work. So lots of options to consider. And then lastly, be wary of companies that want to lease you solar panels. Because if you want to sell that house and that lease is still on it, you’re going to have to pay it off, right? So the numbers that they show you, and these guys always show you that back of the envelope math. It’s like when you’re buying a car, try to make it look like it’s a good deal. But if you consider the fact that that lease has to be paid if you sell the house, then in my view, it doesn’t increase the value of your house. It actually takes away from it, or certainly takes away from your profit because you’ve got to dig deep and pay off whatever’s left on that. |
| 00:14:47 | LESLIE: Matt in California is on the line and needs some help with a fireplace. What can we do for you? |
| 00:14:51 | CALLER: Our hearth is ugly and we want to replace it. We want to take it out and replace it as a fireplace insert, but we want to replace it with a wood stove. And our question is, by taking the hearth out, will that affect the flume, the integrity of it when we put in a wood stove? |
| 00:15:10 | TOM: Well, I mean, it depends structurally how it’s constructed. You know, generally speaking with a fireplace, the chimney rests on the fireplace. Yeah. So structurally speaking, you need to make sure that that is still the case. If you’re going to leave the fireplace in place and essentially just convert it to a wood stove, then what you’ll probably do is break into the chimney and the flue above the fireplace, kind of with a 90-degree bend and straight in, and you’d seal the bottom of the chimney or certainly put a clean-out door there, maybe just leave the damper in place. It won’t affect the structural integrity as long as you leave it structurally intact. You can’t start just taking them out of the fireplace and expect the chimney not to fall though. Does that make sense? Does that make sense, Matt? Yeah. |
| 00:15:47 | CALLER: All right. Okay. That’s what I ask. I don’t want to take that out and have it all fall apart on me. |
| 00:15:52 | TOM: I mean, if it’s just the hearth down the bottom that sticks out, you’d probably take that out, but you’re really going to have to have somebody with structural common sense take a look at that and answer this question for you because I can’t see it from here, obviously. Right. |
| 00:16:04 | CALLER: Exactly. That’s what I thought. Okay. No, that helps. I appreciate that. |
| 00:16:07 | LESLIE: But I mean, are you open to just changing the hearth and changing the look of the fireplace itself? Because that’s not terribly difficult. Yeah. |
| 00:16:14 | CALLER: The fireplace itself is not very economical, even with the insert that’s in there. It’s not economical at all. But we want to go with a wood stove. So if we put a wood stove there, that would look not very pleasing with the hearth sticking out like it is and then having a wood stove. So we thought we could replace that all the way up to the wall and then kind of design it so it would look, you know, attractive with a wood stove that’s in there. |
| 00:16:46 | TOM: Well, you might be able to remove that hearth, but you’re going to have to have a mason or a contractor look at it. The hearth is there to essentially help make use of the fireplace safer. So if the hearth is not lending any structural contribution to the overall fireplace, you may be able to break that part out and leave the rest in place. Okay. |
| 00:17:05 | CALLER: Yeah. I’ll have someone look at it because I think that’s what we want to do. But you’re right. I’ll have somebody look at it first. Thank you a lot. Appreciate it. |
| 00:17:12 | TOM: Got any projects planned? Any plans for the fall season? Leslie, what about you? What are you tackling this fall around your house? |
| 00:17:18 | LESLIE: Oh my goodness. I just did some roof repairs to get us ready for the winter season. I just did a couple of repairs to the stone around the driveway. You know, things get loose even though we’ve only had that driveway like two years. So it’s like little bitty things here and there. And I just did a major clean out at the condo on the ski mountain up in Vermont. We were having some issues with the fireplace, so I took care of all of that. So I’m just trying to get everything ready so I can maybe relax this winter season. How about you? Awesome. |
| 00:17:44 | TOM: Awesome. Well, I wasn’t sure what project I was going to do first until my shower started leaking. So now I know. I found some little gaps in the grout. And sometimes if you use the drain, if you want to know where your shower or your bathtub is leaking, run water down the drain. If it doesn’t leak, that’s good. It’s not the drains. I found that I had little gaps between the tile where the grout had fallen out. So those need to be repaired. That’s my next project. |
| 00:18:06 | LESLIE: Always something, Tom. Yep. Mindy in Kentucky is on the line and has a flooring question. How can we help you with your project? Yes. |
| 00:18:14 | CALLER: We have a really hideous linoleum on our kitchen floor. It’s actually been in the house since we bought it. And of course, it’s starting to peel up. And there’s actually other linoleum under it. And actually, I’m really afraid to dig any deeper to see how many levels might be on it. I was just wondering, is it worth the time and effort and possible extra cost to just take everything up? |
| 00:18:40 | CALLER: Do you have a dishwasher in that kitchen? |
| 00:18:43 | CALLER: No, we do not. I’d love to have one, but I do not have one. No. |
| 00:18:47 | TOM: Well, the reason I ask you is because if you don’t take up the old floor, you’d end up sort of sealing in the dishwasher and it’s hard to remove it after that. I mean, generally speaking, I’m an advocate of taking up the old flooring because I think it’s kind of sloppy to put new layers over the old. But I can see if it’s difficult to get it over for budget reasons that you don’t want to go in that direction. But I would recommend you take it up if you can. |
| 00:19:07 | CALLER: Okay. Okay. All right. Well, I really appreciate that. Thank you very much. |
| 00:19:11 | TOM: You’re welcome, Mindy. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:19:15 | LESLIE: Well, do you find that you rely on spray dish soap to keep your kitchen sparkling clean? If so, you know it’s a powerful tool that’s hard to live without. But what do you do when you run out? Of course, you run out and buy some more. Well, you can easily whip up your own spray dish soap right at home with ingredients that you may already have on hand. Not only is it convenient, but it’s also better for your wallet and the environment. Yeah. |
| 00:19:39 | TOM: Now, you’re going to need a few very simple ingredients. You need, of course, a spray bottle. You’ll need about 13 ounces of water, then just four tablespoons of dish soap and two tablespoons of rubbing alcohol. And optionally, if you want to smell nice, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil for fragrance. |
| 00:19:56 | LESLIE: Now, here’s how you make it. You want to start by pouring some water into a spray bottle. You measure about 13 ounces of water. Pour that into the empty spray bottle. Distilled water is going to be ideal if you want to avoid streaks or residue. Now, then you add your dish soap. You’re going to want to add a few drops of dish soap and some rubbing alcohol. So think about adding four tablespoons of your favorite dish soap and two tablespoons of rubbing alcohol right into that water. If you want a more natural option, you can use unscented soap and go without anything that sort of has added colors. |
| 00:20:24 | TOM: And last, and this is an option, you can add essential oil. So rubbing alcohol can have a strong odor. So if you prefer, you can add a few drops of an essential oil like lemon or peppermint to give your spray a very fresh scent. And then just swirl the mix. Screw the top back on. Swirl it gently to mix up the ingredients. Just like that, your DIY spray dish soap is ready to use to tackle those dirty dishes. And you did it yourself. It saves a lot of money in the process. |
| 00:20:52 | LESLIE: All right. Now, I’ve got Richard in Illinois on the line who’s getting some water through the foundation. Tell us what’s going on. |
| 00:20:57 | CALLER: What it is is over time, I’ve got a ranch house with a walkout basement. And on the walkout, when you come out, there is a retaining wall that is about eight foot tall where it meets the house. It hasn’t really separated from the house. But there is water that gets in between the retaining wall and the foundation. And then it gathers right at the bottom on a heavy rain and then seeps back into the basement. So I’m trying to figure out the previous owner that had this house has put something in there like a caulking of some type that has gotten hard over time. And it’s not slowing it down. Too much. |
| 00:21:38 | TOM: So this is a gravity situation. So let’s give you a gravity solution. Let’s have the drainage work with you and not against you. And by the way, you can seal this so the cows come home and it’s still going to find its way in. What you have to do is stop the water from accumulating. So on the opposite side of this retaining wall, I’m guessing that there’s some runoff that goes towards the wall. Yes, there is. So what you’re going to want to do is intercept that runoff so we don’t get as much water that collects in that area. What we want to try to do is limit the amount of water that gets in that area to just direct rainfall with no runoff. That means no gutter discharge, no runoff from higher elevations. So the way we do that is, first of all, examine the gutter situation and make sure there’s no water dropping at the high side of this where it could work its way down. If there is, you’ve got to run a pipe underground to get it to a place where it’s not going to interfere with leakage into the basement. Secondly, in terms of intercepting the runoff, what you could do is install something called a curtain drain, Richard. It’s a rather simple drain. It’s a drain that you might construct yourself. You dig a trench that’s about 12 inches deep and 12 inches wide. You put some stone in that trench. Then you put a perforated pipe on top of the stone, surround it with more stone, lay a piece of filter cloth across the top, and cover it with soil. So when it’s all done, it’s invisible. And the end of that drain that you just installed should exit to daylight somewhere. So you need to figure out the best way to do that based on the configuration of your yard. What that will do is it’ll intercept the water that’s coming down from higher elevations. It’ll fall into that trench. It’ll come up into the pipe and then run around the house as opposed to collecting in that particular corner. If we can keep the water from collecting in that area, you will probably be just fine because it’s rare that just direct rainfall accumulates enough water to actually leak in the house. It’s almost always the runoff from gutters and from drainage. Right. |
| 00:23:23 | CALLER: Well, and needless to say, I’ll probably have to do some, get rid of some landscaping because it’s got some little green bushes there along that wall as well. Yeah. |
| 00:23:33 | TOM: And that’s a good point. Because sometimes you can make the problem worse by having landscaping that traps water. So just think in terms of water control here, not in terms of trying to seal that water out. And I think you’ll be in good shape. Richard, thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. Well, would you guys like to know how to fix drafty windows, seal up air leaks, and optimize your heating and cooling systems for maximum efficiency? Well, that advice and much more is in my new book, Home Maintenance for Dummies. And we’re giving a copy away to one lucky listener to the Money Pit today. So reach out to us with your questions. And we’ll see you next time. Bye. |
| 00:24:19 | LESLIE: Bye. |
| 00:24:35 | LESLIE: A great DIY project that you can tackle in a weekend. Maybe this weekend! |
| 00:24:39 | TOM: That’s right. It’s a good weekend project. So to get started, you’re going to need a few materials. First, pick up the Ladera Fire Pit Kit by PaveStone. It’s available in granite or your choice of color. You’re going to need some leveling sand, a shovel, a rubber mallet, a level, and a measuring tape. And that’s it. Just a few tools. |
| 00:24:55 | LESLIE: Yeah. The first step though is choosing the location. You know, you got to do that first. You want to make sure it’s safe. It’s a level spot in your yard for that fire pit. You want to make sure it’s a good distance from any structure or tree or even overhanging branches. Safety is key, so make sure that you comply with any local regulations regarding fire pits. |
| 00:25:13 | TOM: Next, you need to prepare the base. So once you’ve found that perfect spot, mark out a square area where your fire pit’s going to go. You’re going to want that base to be flat and level, so be sure to remove any grass or debris and dig down about two to three inches. Then just fill that space with leveling sand, and that’s going to help create a very stable foundation for your fire pit. Then you want to lay the first layer of block. You want to lay the first layer of block. Then you want to lay the first layer of block. So with the base prepared, you start laying your first layer of Ladera blocks. Place each block down firmly. You can use your rubber mallet to make sure they’re all snugly fit together. And as you go, be sure to use the level to check that the blocks are even. |
| 00:25:46 | LESLIE: Yeah. And the next step here is to continue building up those walls, because once you have that first layer down and it’s level, you just continue stacking the blocks to the form of the walls, and that creates your fire pit. Typically, you want to build your fire pit about three or four layers high, and that’s going to be the perfect height for containing your fire while still providing warmth to the people who are gathering around. Now for step five, you’re finishing off that top layer. You want to make sure that the blocks are especially level and aligned. And this is not only going to add to the aesthetic appeal, but it also |
| 00:26:17 | TOM: ensures safety when that fire pit is in use. Now you’ve got all the brick work done. You want to add the fire pit insert. So you should consider adding a metal fire pit insert to the inside of your square fire pit. This helps contain the fire, also protects the blocks from direct heat and that extends the life of the fire pit. And then all you have left to do is to enjoy it. Your square fire pit is ready to use. Just grab some firewood, pull up some chairs and enjoy a night |
| 00:26:41 | LESLIE: under the stars. The Ladera Fire Pit Kit by PaveStone makes it easy for anybody to build and create a beautiful functional fire pit right in their backyard. You can find that kit at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s, or if you want some more inspiration, head on over to pavestone.com. Now we’re heading to California. We’ve got Steve on the line, who’s got a question about insulation. Tell us what’s going on. |
| 00:27:04 | CALLER: Steve McLaughlin Yes. Recently, I’d heard of a new type of insulation. Supposedly, it’s what they use out on the space shuttles to protect people. It’s a reflective metal. I think you’re |
| 00:27:14 | TOM: talking about radiant barrier. Is that right? |
| 00:27:16 | CALLER: Steve McLaughlin Is that what it is? I guess so. |
| 00:27:18 | TOM: Yeah. You know, it’s only a type of insulation. It’s designed to reflect some of the UV rays of the sun back out, reflect the heat off of the insulation, try to keep it off the insulation and keep it up towards the top of the roof. Steve McLaughlin Right. My concern with radiant barrier is it overheats the shingles and shortens the roof life. There’s a lot better ways to save energy than radiant barrier, starting with making sure that you have the right levels of insulation in your attic space. And secondly, making sure that you have the right amount of ventilation venting that attic space. So today, you want to have 15 to 20 inches of insulation if you use fiberglass in the attic. And you need to have a fully vented ridge vent that goes down the peak of the roof and fully open soffit vents. Steve McLaughlin Oh, okay. And the two things working together are going to make sure you have energy savings all year round. But there’s no miracle fix here. There’s no new space discovery with this stuff. It’s been around as long as I’ve been on the radio, and that’s a long time. Steve McLaughlin Oh, okay. Yeah. So if you have fiberglass, you can add additional batts on top of what you have. You can add additional unfaced insulation laying on top of what you have to make sure you don’t put storage on top of it because you don’t want to squish it. You want it to be fluffy. And then make sure you have a fully open ridge vent and soffit vents at the overhang. Okay? |
| 00:28:31 | CALLER: Steve McLaughlin So I knew I needed a big gable vent or something like that. |
| 00:28:37 | TOM: A ridge vent’s much better than a gable vent. It’s more efficient because the ridge is always an area of depressurization. In other words, as wind blows over your ridge, the peak of the roof, it wants to draw air out of the attic. And as wind blows against the side of the house, it pushes air in the soffits. So the air goes in the soffit, underneath the roof sheathing, taking away heat in the summer and moisture in the winter, and then exits at the ridge. And that cycle just repeats itself 24-7, 365 hours a day. Steve McLaughlin |
| 00:29:01 | CALLER: Well, thank you. Yeah, I put in ridge vents. So I just have to go up there on the ridge, take off the top shingle, cut back the plywood. Tom Krake |
| 00:29:10 | TOM: That’s right. Just cut the slot in and drop a new vent right on top of it. |
| 00:29:13 | CALLER: Steve McLaughlin Well, thank you very much for clearing that up with me. I probably saved myself a lot of money. |
| 00:29:17 | TOM: Tom Happy to help, Steve. Thanks for calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:29:22 | LESLIE: Lisa reached out to Team Money Pit and wants to know how to fix a door lock that sticks. She says it’s usually working well, but recently that bolt is getting stuck. When I close it, the lock is stuck. There’s a couple of steps here when you’re fixing a door lock. So first of all, you need to identify the problem. If the lock is sticking, it could simply be gunked up. It could be filled up with dirt or debris. And it’s often the case if the lock isn’t operating smoothly. So you’ve got to clean it. To do that, you want to use a spray lubricant like a WD-40, apply it to the door latch and to the door bolt and between the handle and the door. Then open and close that door handle and lock to work the lubricant in. Kind of open it, close it, lock the lock, unlock the lock. And that kind of gets everything into all the parts. And then you can wipe away the excess. You also have to check for any loose screws because even if it’s sort of backed out just a little bit from that lock set on the side of the door, it could be just sticking just enough or it’s not going to close smoothly. So just tighten up any screws that hold that lock in place just for good measure. |
| 00:30:21 | TOM: You’re also going to want to lubricate it with graphite. You know, with for key locks, we always talk about WD-40, but for key locks, you can also use graphite powder for lubrication, which tends to work a little bit better than the WD-40. Now, if you don’t have graphite powder, what you can do is rub a pencil on your key and then stick that into the lock. Because guess what? That pencil lead is also graphite and it’s going to lubricate it very effectively. And then make sure you adjust the door. If the door is out of alignment, that could by itself be causing the lock to stick. So you may need to just adjust the door. We’ve got a great video on moneypit.com that walks you through step-by-step how to adjust the door for a lock. And if the steps don’t resolve in the issue, you’re going to need to adjust the door. You may have to do a few more adjustments or repairs, but at least you’ve narrowed down what the cause was. |
| 00:31:03 | LESLIE: Yeah. And you know what’s funny about doors? I mean, because of the structure of the door, and especially if you have a wood door, the problem could change seasonally or as the temperature changes. You know, on a humid day, it could stick in one place. When it’s cool, it can kind of be too loose in some areas or stick in others. So it’s kind of a problem that may potentially evolve and you kind of have to revisit |
| 00:31:24 | TOM: to see what’s going on and what you can fix. Tom Well, there’s one thing that you can do right now to save a bundle when it comes time to heat your home. It’s a fairly inexpensive thing to do, and it’s a great DIY project. Leslie’s got info on how you can install your own smart thermostat in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last |
| 00:31:42 | LESLIE: Word. Leslie? Yeah, you know, a smart programmable thermostat is going to ensure that you don’t play with the temperature all day, although now you can play with it from your phone. So you do have to make sure that you won’t be tempted to do it when you’re not there. If you can resist the temptation to adjust those temperatures, you’re going to save some money. So at night, you want to keep it at a steady temperature when you’re home. You can set it to about 55 degrees at night or when you’re away. Then you have the heat come up automatically about an hour before you wake up. This way you won’t freeze after your morning shower. Plus, smart thermostats can also sense when someone is home versus people not being at home and automatically move the temperature to a vacation setting when nobody is around. It’s super convenient and it’s going to save you so much money and energy that you’re going to wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. |
| 00:32:31 | TOM: Yeah, you know, I just installed a Ecobee thermostat. I have Nest thermostats in my house, but in another house I installed an Ecobee because it has a remote sensor capability, which was kind of cool. It can actually measure the heat in different areas of the house, different rooms, and then balance it out. So nobody’s too hot and |
| 00:32:46 | LESLIE: nobody’s too cold. It really helps keep the peace for my rental. |
| 00:32:49 | TOM: Are they just right? Just right. Yeah. Leslie Well, squeaking floors are one of life’s little annoyances, but do they ever signal a structural problem below? We’re going to have the answer plus step-by-squeaky-step tips to help make them go away for good on the next edition of The Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:33:07 | LESLIE: I’m Leslie Segrete |
| 00:33:09 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 00:33:11 | 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