Show Notes
This week, we’ll explain how to clean and restore a worn and stained driveway, help you winter-proof your home with a comprehensive checklist, and give advice on burglar-proofing your garage just in time for the holiday travel season. Tune in for these and other smart tips to protect and improve your home with answers to callers’ questions!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Prepping for Winter: Chill out and avoid winter woes with a winterization checklist for homeowners.
- Driveway Restoration: Polish your approach by restoring a cracked or stained driveway.
- Garage Security: Secure the weakest link by burglar-proofing your garage doors.
Top Questions & Answers
- Smoke Problems: Lingering smoke is making the paint bubble and the house smell. JJ gets tips on how to clean, seal, prime, and paint smoky surfaces.
- Remodeling: Wendy is buying a property that used to be a golf clubhouse. We discuss what to know about a commercial versus a residential property.
- Siding Stains: Patricia’s mobile home siding is stained from gutter runoff. She can try using a stronger cleaner, but the stain may actually be corrosion.
- Insulation: Should Robert remove and replace old insulation that’s gotten compressed? He can either replace it or just add more insulation on top of it, which is easier to do.
- Windows: Deane’s steel-framed commercial windows are screwed into the exterior brick. They’re hard to replace, so we suggest hiring a professional to measure and install new windows.
- Second Bathroom: Should Greg add a second bathroom or turn an outside storage unit into living space? We explain why a bathroom addition would provide better ROI.
- Toilet Water: Darren gets advice on converting his toilet to rain barrel water, including the water pressure he needs and getting an efficient toilet that uses less water.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:02 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:00:30 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:00:31 | TOM: Reach out to us with your questions at 1-888-Money-Pit. You know, Leslie, somebody said to me the other day, you know, I bet you guys are the longest running home Improvement Show on radio and podcast. And I thought about it and I think that’s true. So I guess we’ve reached that elder status by answering questions for all these years. |
| 00:00:51 | LESLIE: Stop saying we’re old, Tom. |
| 00:00:53 | TOM: I’m not saying we’re old. I’m saying we’re old because the information apparently never gets out of date. We’re still building houses the same way for all the years we’ve been doing this and they still fall apart the same way. So heck, we are happy to do it and we’re not going anywhere. So if you guys have a question, now’s your chance to reach out to us with your questions at 1-888-Money-Pit or you can post them to moneypit.com slash ask and you can even click a very handy blue microphone button and record your question to us and we’ll answer it as soon as possible. It’s usually the fastest way to get a question to us as well. Leslie Segrete Hey, so coming up on today’s show, we’re going to talk about driveways. Is your driveway cracked or worn? Does it have some of those nasty oil stains because you let the car’s oil leak go for maybe a little bit longer than you should have? Well, we’ve got a great solution to clean up the stains for good and restore that surface. We’ll detail that project just ahead. |
| 00:01:39 | LESLIE: And now that winter weather has arrived for much of the country, it’s smart to make sure that your home and systems are ready. We’ve got a key winterization checklist just ahead. |
| 00:01:49 | TOM: And holiday vacation season is here, but it’s also the time of year when burglars go to work. Leslie Segrete So we’ve got tips on how to secure one of the weakest entry points to your house, also the biggest entry point, and that’s your garage door. It’s surprisingly easy to break into and we’re going to tell you how to tighten it up. |
| 00:02:10 | LESLIE: But before we get to all of the fun home improvement news we want to share with you guys this hour, we want to hear what you are working on. And maybe you’re just kind of formulating that Thanksgiving menu. Maybe you’re working on a big project that you’ve just got to get done in time before that doorbell rings. Well, whatever it is, let us know how we can lend a hand because we want you to have the best holiday season in your home of your dreams. |
| 00:02:32 | TOM: Plus, if you reach out today with your questions, you might just want a copy of my new book, Home Maintenance for Dummies. It’s a book that I wrote to basically make maintenance accessible for every house and every home and every homeowner or apartment dweller. You can look up the answer to just about anything that you need to maintain or fix, and the answer is right there. Explain simply and effectively so you can get the job done and move on. So I’m going to give away a copy to one lucky listener that reaches out with their questions. Two ways to reach us, 888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974, or simply go to moneypit.com slash ask. Click on the blue microphone button. Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s first? |
| 00:03:13 | LESLIE: JJ in Michigan is on the line with a pink question. What can we do for you? |
| 00:03:17 | CALLER: My father passed away in January and now I have his house. He and my mother were married. We were smokers for 20 years inside the house, and well, my father had, you know, washed the paint, I guess, inside, and I know he had attempted to paint the bathroom more than once, but it seemed to always keep bubbling and peeling. And I didn’t know if, you know, between the smoke, the nicotine, I was wondering how I’m going to… I am trying to renovate the house now. And so, I was wondering what is the best approach. It’s… Some of the walls are plaster, drywall, and maybe even right on concrete. I don’t know if the plaster is over the concrete or not. |
| 00:04:03 | TOM: So you really have two issues going on here. You have the issue of the cigarette odor in the house, but then you also manage you have some problem paint surfaces where it’s bubbling. I can tell you that if it’s bubbling, you’ve got to take that paint off down to the substrate because you can’t put good paint over bad paint. But if it’s the odor that you’re dealing with, there are a bunch of things that you can do. |
| 00:04:23 | LESLIE: Yeah. You know, first of all, JJ, let me say I’m very sorry about your father’s passing away. Let’s talk about what’s going on in the house, though. So you want to do some repairs. You want to try to get rid of the smoky smell. I think first of all, you want to think about the places where the odor is. And if there’s any carpeting, you want to try to pull up that carpeting and the padding because it really does saturate through that. And then the subfloor, you can go ahead and prime and I’d use like a good kills or a bin or one of those Zinsser primers that will really seal in the odor. And then you can go ahead and refloor on top of that or new carpeting, whatever you like. But that’ll lock away the odors in there. And same for the walls. You want to clean them, wipe them down with a trisodium phosphate, some sort of like a wall cleaner, and then go ahead and prime them the same way and then put a top coat over them. And Tom’s right about the bubbling paint. You got to get as much of that off as you can, smooth all the surfaces and then go ahead and prime as well. And that’ll do a good job. |
| 00:05:13 | CALLER: Okay. So you’re saying a trisodium phosphate wall cleaner would be… |
| 00:05:19 | LESLIE: Wendy Peltz You’ll find that in the paint dial at the home center. It’s a powder. You mix it up with water and then you can use that to wipe down your wall surfaces. It’s just like a good prepping agent, especially if there’s a lot of stuff going on, you want to clean things. Tom Kraeutler Okay. |
| 00:05:31 | CALLER: That sounds like the missing link that I was not aware of. |
| 00:05:36 | TOM: All right. Well, we’re glad we could help you, JJ. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:05:41 | LESLIE: Peltz Wendy’s online from West Virginia. You’re with an interesting project. How can we help you? Wendy Peltz Hi. |
| 00:05:46 | CALLER: I am interested in purchasing a property that was formerly a golf clubhouse. And I’m curious what would be the pros and cons between a commercial and a residential. |
| 00:06:03 | LESLIE: As far as purchasing or the use of the space once you get it? |
| 00:06:06 | CALLER: Wendy Peltz What is the difference in like a commercial versus a residential building? I’m trying to… I’m trying to find out, you know, are there big differences in the way that they’re built? Like is that a plus? Are they built extra sturdy kind of thing? |
| 00:06:22 | TOM: Assuming that they were both built to code, commercial codes are usually more stringent than residential codes. So I mean, I would expect a commercial building to be built as well, if not better than a residential property. But it also has a lot to do with the zoning. You know, what you’re allowed to do with that space. Can you have a residence in a commercial space? Maybe. You know, that’s a question for your local zoning officials for you to thoroughly understand. And if it is zoned commercial, it may have a higher value than it would if it was zoned residential. And if you turn it back into a house, you might devalue the property. So I think there’s some economic questions there. But in terms of how it’s built, I mean, generally speaking, it’s going to be as built as well or better, assuming that the construction followed all the relevant building codes. Wendy Peltz. So the trickier part of this is to take a commercial space, which is kind of sterile, and making it, you know, feel warm, like a home would and that’s kind of a decor challenge, right? Leslie? |
| 00:07:22 | LESLIE: Yeah, but I think with the golf clubhouse, and correct me if I’m wrong, Wendy, they kind of have like a residential homey feel to begin with. So I think you might have, you know, some good bones to work off of there. Wendy Peltz. Yeah, it’s kind of that lodge feel. Wendy Peltz. Well, I think that’s a good place to start. You know, I think part of your challenges is going to be modifying your kitchen because you’re probably dealing with a larger commercial space. So that’ll be something that will probably be a full gut renovation and sort of a redo to make that more residential and perhaps a kitchen slash dining area or a kitchen slash eat-in area. I think the benefit is you’ve got this tremendous space that was built very well as far as code goes, as Tom mentioned, so that you can really work within that and it sounds like it’s probably sitting on a great piece of land, too. It is. Beautiful. Thank you for the advice. |
| 00:08:07 | TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:08:11 | LESLIE: Hey, Money Pit listeners. If we’ve saved you some time, money, or hassles with your projects, you would totally make our day by leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Just go to MoneyPit.com. |
| 00:08:24 | TOM: Hey, if you’ve got a project that you’d like to tackle and you don’t know where to begin, one place you could begin is with my brand new book, Home Maintenance for Dummies. You’ll learn how to complete almost any kind of home maintenance, from routine inspections to major appliance repairs. So if you’ve got a squeak, you’ve got a leak, the answer is in between the pages of Home Maintenance for Dummies. It’s also a great holiday gift that’s available for $24.99 at Amazon, and you can also find it by going to MoneyPit.com slash dummies. That’s MoneyPit.com. Don’t miss your chance to win a free copy, though, and take control of your home maintenance like a pro. Reach out to us right now with your questions at 1-88-Money-Pit. |
| 00:09:03 | LESLIE: Patricia in Louisiana is on the line with a siding question. How can I help you today? |
| 00:09:07 | CALLER: I had listened to a program that you guys had done just a little while back, and somebody was asking about putting gutters on the side of a manufactured home. Well, it was funny, because I had actually done that, and it does not work very well, because most of the gutters that I’ve done, they’re not going to fit. The siding on a mobile home is corrugated, so it really doesn’t work really well, and they put these really skinny gutters on. Well, in the areas that it didn’t exactly go flush to the metal siding, there has been runoff, you know, that’s gone down, and just in a few places, so it’s not horrible. But I’ve tried to clean it, and I’m afraid to push on it too hard, because obviously, the corrugated aluminum bends. And I’ve used a product that you guys also suggested, which is a spray that actually gets rid of mold and mildew and stuff like that on the side of buildings. That worked fabulously, but it did not clean off the staining from the rain. And I was wondering what I could use to either cover the staining or, you know, I’m afraid of painting anything for fear it looks like I painted the side of a mobile home. Right. |
| 00:10:21 | TOM: So a couple of things. I’m glad that the Spray and Forget that we recommended works so well. |
| 00:10:25 | CALLER: It was wonderful. |
| 00:10:26 | TOM: So there are house cleaners that are out there that are a little more corrosive. I mean, the reason that works so well is that the Spray and Forget works so well is because basically it’s kind of like a mildew site. It kills the mold and the mildew, and then it just sort of falls off. The house cleaners are more like old-fashioned sort of soap and water and that sort of thing. One that I used to recommend a lot that works pretty well is called Jomax, J-O-M-A-X. You’ll find it at a home center or a hardware store. And that’s a house cleaner that you might be able just to mix up a really small batch of it and see if that will take out that stain. It also occurs to me that the stain could be like an erosion of the finish. So it may not be a stain that’s like on top of the siding. It might actually be sort of some of the siding, some of the finish on the siding deteriorating. In that case, obviously, there’s nothing that you can do about it short of painting. Why are you reluctant, though, just to paint the whole side of the house? |
| 00:11:17 | CALLER: Because I don’t have that kind of money at hand to do. I’m actually selling my lakefront property, and this is the really cool little mobile home that I put on it. And I’ve spent so much money on these two acres recently that it became a money pit, but a good one. It’s a nice one. But it’s just everything I have has gone into this place. And to be quite honest with you, I have tried to use those sponges that have a little bit of rough on the other side, one side sponge, the other side abrasive. And I’ve tried to use that. And the color of the stain does not change at all, whether I use a little bit of baking |
| 00:11:56 | LESLIE: soda, you know, not super abrasive, but abrasive. I mean, it sounds like it’s either a chemical reaction or some of the finish has changed due to sun fading. I mean, that’s what it seems like rather than something you can clean. |
| 00:12:08 | TOM: Yeah, that’s a really good point. |
| 00:12:10 | CALLER: It’s not in the sun. I actually have a carport, and so some of it you can just see where it’s been run off from. It’s a tidy gutter that they put up alongside of these mobile homes, which I’m not kidding you. It’s not even a half inch wide. |
| 00:12:27 | TOM: So here’s what I would suggest you do. Take a picture and post it to the Money Pit’s Facebook page. It’s facebook.com/themoneypit. Give us a little bit of history, and we’ll take a look and get you an answer. Sound good? |
| 00:12:40 | LESLIE: Thank you very much. |
| 00:12:41 | TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:12:45 | LESLIE: Well, if your driveway is stained from oil leaks or if it’s cracked or worn, now is a great time to clean and seal it. Now, beyond stain removal, the type of driveway maintenance that you need to do will depend on whether you have concrete, asphalt, or a paver brick driveway. |
| 00:13:01 | TOM: Yeah, but first let’s talk about those oil stains. To get rid of them, you want to mix up a solution of trisodium phosphate and do it into a paste. It’s called TSP for short, by the way, and you’ll find it in the paint aisle of any hardware store or home center. Now, apply that TSP paste wet to the stain, then let it sit for an hour or more, and then, rinse it off. Now, the sooner you can get to the stain, the better, but even old stains can be successfully lifted with this technique. That is, of course, as long as you fix the car first, otherwise you’re going to be doing it a lot. |
| 00:13:33 | LESLIE: Yeah, I mean, unless you enjoy cleaning the driveway over and over and over again. Now, if you have an asphalt driveway, that’s going to need to be resealed, and you can use asphalt-compatible products to fill those cracks and gaps and holes, and then you want to use a disposable squeegee to apply an airport-grade latex sealer over that entire surface. You want to make sure that the forecast is clear, though, for the application and drying time, because if it does rain, it’s going to cause that sealer to run onto the sidewalks and the streets, and those marks that are left there are unremovable, so make sure the weather forecast looks good for at least a day or two. You want to follow with a generous drying period, a couple of days, possibly, and then, you’re going to really have an attractive automobile. That’s it. |
| 00:14:17 | TOM: Now, if you have a concrete driveway with a worn surface, it’s best to apply a concrete resurfacing product to the entire driveway. Concrete resurfacers, by the way, are specially formulated to stick to old concrete, and they’ll leave your driveway looking almost brand new. There’s a good one that’s out from Quikrete called Recap, so take a look at that, R-E-C-A-P. For more tips, check out our post on driveway sealing and maintenance on MoneyPit.com. |
| 00:14:46 | LESLIE: Robert in Arkansas is on the line with Quikrete. He’s got a question about insulation. How can we help you? |
| 00:14:50 | CALLER: Yes, I have a Pyrenee in my home, and the insulation, I happen to be up in there sealing my ducts for my air conditioning in the house, and I happen to be up there looking at the insulation, and it was real thin, and it had a white backing on it, and it was only about an inch high, and I thought, wow, I need to put some insulation in So I went to my local Louis store, and I went to the machine from them, and I bought the blown insulation. And I bought the blown insulation. I bought like 20 bags, and I just started blowing it in. And that was approximately 10, 12 years ago. I happen to be up there again this year looking around, and I noticed that it has kind of compressed and turned into little tiny BBs. And I’ve heard you all talk about insulating the attics of people’s homes, but I didn’t know how to go about trying to put something else up there, if I need to vacuum all that stuff out of there and try to lay some actual good insulation and what the number would be. |
| 00:15:48 | TOM: Well, if the insulation has settled, I mean, generally speaking, you want 15 to 20 inches of insulation. If it’s settled, so now it’s a lot less than that, you can either remove it and put new insulation in, or you could add an additional layer on top of it, depending on how difficult, I guess, it is to work up in that space. Right. |
| 00:16:08 | CALLER: It’s pretty tight in some of the spots. Yeah. That was the reason I went with the blown. Yeah. |
| 00:16:12 | TOM: No, I hear you. So I think what you probably want to do is just supplement what’s there. It’s not just the insulation. It’s not unusual for it to settle over the years a little bit, but perhaps you need to add a little bit more to that space. That’d probably be the least complicated way of improving that insulation right now, given the fact that you’ve already got blown in there, Robert. |
| 00:16:33 | CALLER: Now, I’ve heard some other insulation questions asked on your show, because I listen to it every Sunday, religiously, and I’ve heard them talk about laying them in between, but I’ve also heard them going over the top of the beam. |
| 00:16:44 | TOM: So if you have fiberglass insulation that’s… Yeah. …that’s flush with the ceiling joists, let’s say you had like two by eight ceiling joists and you had maybe eight inch bats laid in between those ceiling joists, to put the next layer of insulation on top of it, we always advise that you do that perpendicular. So you go the other way, the opposite way, and across the beams at like a 90 degree angle. In your case, it sounds like it’s all covered already with blown in insulation. Is that insulation above the ceiling joists right now, or is it settled down below it? No, it’s settled down way below it. Okay. So if it’s settled down below it, then maybe you could add another, you could add some unfaced fiberglass bats if you think you can get those up in there and lay those perpendicular to the beams. |
| 00:17:27 | CALLER: Okay. That was going to be my next question. Does it need to be unbatted if it, you know, or if I did buy the batting in certain areas, would I want the batting up or would I want that paper down? |
| 00:17:35 | TOM: No, you want unfaced, because the moisture barrier goes towards the living space, and that’s already inaccessible now, because it’s going to be the ceiling that’s under all of that blown in. So if it… And if it’s… If you would think it’s… If you think it’s about flush with the top of the ceiling joists right now, then I would just add a second layer perpendicular to that, and you can do that with bats. Okay. |
| 00:17:53 | CALLER: That’ll work. I appreciate it. Thank you all so much. |
| 00:17:56 | TOM: All right. Well, good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. Leslie, I know you love this time of the year. Do you have big Thanksgiving plans? Are you going to be hosting, or are you going to be visiting? |
| 00:18:06 | LESLIE: No. Actually, I have to work for Good Morning America on Thanksgiving, so since I’m already in the city, I’m going to shuttle my kids in with me, and we’re going to go watch the parade. |
| 00:18:15 | TOM: Awesome idea. That’s excellent. |
| 00:18:17 | LESLIE: I mean, we did it once before when the kids were little, and it was super cold, and we wore snow pants, and it was exciting and fun, and I figured, why not do it one more time? And then we’re either going to come home and cook a turkey or grab a bite in the city. We haven’t really decided. |
| 00:18:30 | TOM: Now, any expert tips on how to get the best view spot for that parade? |
| 00:18:34 | LESLIE: I mean, we’re going to be kind of stuck with what we get, since I’ve got to work until 9 AM. And the parade will be on its way. I can’t get there early enough, as I’d like to be. But you definitely want to scout out a corner. You have to remember that the parade goes from Central Park all the way to 34th Street on 6th Avenue, so there is a ton of viewing opportunities. The other thing that was interesting from a previous time watching the parade many years ago, below, I want to say, 38th Street, the parade goes silent, which is so interesting because of the live broadcast to, you know, the television networks on 34th in front of Macy’s. Because everything gets quiet so that you can hear those Broadway performances and all of the other things that are going on without sort of a bleed-through of sound. And I found it so weird to watch the parade in silence. So definitely go more uptown if you want the full experience. |
| 00:19:23 | TOM: I have the perfect spot for the full experience. My favorite place is on my couch. Yes. |
| 00:19:28 | LESLIE: I feel like you’ve got to do it. |
| 00:19:30 | TOM: Oh, yeah. I appreciate all those bands being quiet so that I can hear the whole broadcast. |
| 00:19:37 | LESLIE: Now we’ve got Deanne on the line, who needs some help. She needs some help with the windows at her money pit. What’s going on? |
| 00:19:41 | CALLER: I have old steel-framed metal commercial windows in my house, and the outside walls are double-brick. There’s no wood in the outside walls, so these are screwed right into the brick. And we took out one and replaced it, and we had a very hard time doing that. And I don’t know if we should replace them or just try to repair them. |
| 00:20:03 | TOM: Well, I mean, if you repair them, they’re probably – I can’t imagine they’re very energy-efficient. So repairing them and making them operational could restore some of the function, but I don’t think they’ll be energy-efficient. Replacing them is a better option, but of course, as you cited, because they’re built into the wall, it’s a difficult installation because you’ve got to get the old ones out. So is this a project you want to do yourself, or you think maybe you want to have a pro help you? |
| 00:20:30 | CALLER: I used to have a builder’s license, but physically I can’t do that anymore, so I’d probably hire someone. Yeah. |
| 00:20:37 | TOM: I think you might want to think about doing that because taking out those old metal windows that are screwed into the bricks is an awful lot of work. And also, if you’re going to put replacement windows in, they’ve got to be measured just right and they’ve got to be installed just right so that they don’t leak, and I don’t think you want that responsibility. You ought to have a pro measure them and install them. I think that’s where you’ll be assured they’ll come out just right. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:21:00 | LESLIE: Well, now that winter weather is upon us, it’s smart to make sure that your home and all the systems that operate your home are ready. So here’s your key winterization checklist. |
| 00:21:10 | TOM: Now, first up, if you’ve not done it yet, make sure your heating system is serviced so you won’t be left out in the cold. You know, heating systems that burn natural gas, propane, or oil get dirty every time they run. And if they’re not cleaned and serviced, they can become inefficient at best or even dangerous. |
| 00:21:27 | LESLIE: Now, next, it’s the time to seal the door and window with weather stripping or caulk to help eliminate those drafts. Now, the less your furnace has to run while you’re away, the lower that janitor’s January utility is going to be. |
| 00:21:38 | TOM: And a cozy fire burning in the fireplace is the best way to cozy up to your home. But the creosote buildup found in an unmaintained chimney is a leading cause of dangerous house fires. So if you’re a heavy user of the fireplace, schedule a chimney sweeper service every fall to make sure you’re getting that chimney super clean. |
| 00:21:56 | LESLIE: And finally, one of the more dreaded tasks about owning your own home is cleaning those gutters and those downspouts. Now, most people only do this when they have to, or kind of in other words, when there’s a problem. Or they notice that that gutter’s not working properly. However, those gutters really should be cleaned at least twice a year, once in the early spring and once again in the fall. |
| 00:22:15 | TOM: Yeah, this is a good job to hire out to a pro. Not only is it safer than you going up on a ladder yourself, a pro will make sure that your gutters are pitched properly, they’re level in order to drain properly, and they’re secure. Any loose attachment points are repaired to make sure that those gutters are securely fastened to your home and working properly. It’s really important that the water collect there and get moved around. And if you don’t, you’re going to have to get moved away from your foundation because that avoids a whole host of problems like slippery sidewalks, wet basements, you name it. So gutter maintenance is super important and certainly now is the important time to do just that. Because there’s a reason it’s called fall. We’ll leave it at that. |
| 00:22:53 | LESLIE: Greg in Texas is looking to do some construction. How can we help you? |
| 00:22:56 | CALLER: I moved in with my parents who are elderly and kind of needing some help. |
| 00:23:01 | TOM: Okay. |
| 00:23:01 | CALLER: And so I had a three bedroom, one bath house. And so it’s just a little bit of a hassle. It’s a little bit kind of crowded. And what I was trying to figure out is would it be better to add a room on to the back of the house and go ahead and that would involve more construction and like adding a bathroom, which would mean having to redo the septic system, the septic system there. Or it’d be a lot more cost effective, I think, to put in like a 12 by 5, you know, like a 16 storage unit in the back, but then like insulate it and put an air conditioner where if I wanted to spend some time out there, I could, but not necessarily put a bathroom in. |
| 00:23:50 | TOM: So are you talking about building this storage unit? You mean like building like a shed, kind of like a man cave? Right. |
| 00:23:56 | CALLER: Yeah. When it comes time to sell though, you know, what would be the better deal to do, you think? Yeah. |
| 00:24:03 | TOM: I would tell you straight off, you’re better off expanding the house now because that’s where your value is. You’re not going to get as much value from a standalone building like that. Plus, you may run up against some zoning issues. You know, you’re talking about, you know, like it’s like building a second house on the property even if it’s really small. It doesn’t matter if it’s, you know, a small space for storage. It’s still like having a second building on the property. So I think you’re probably better off improving the house itself. What you might want to do is speak to a realtor or to a local real estate agent and determine what, you know, the value of your home will be compared against in your community, you know, if most of the homes are two bath and you have one bath, you could add a significant value to the house by putting that second bath in. And if you’re adding a bedroom and a bathroom, you know, that’s how homes are valued. They’re compared against other houses that have the same number of beds or bathrooms. So I suspect that expanding the existing house is going to be – give you a far better return on investment than building, you know, an undetermined at this point sort of man cave out there. Even though I’m sure you’d love to go out there and get away from your parents once in a while. No, I don’t blame you. I think the best way to improve the value and maintain the value of the home you have is to work at that level. Okay? Yeah. Okay. Well, I appreciate it. All right, Greg. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:25:17 | LESLIE: Here’s a great reason to reach out to Team Money Pit with your home improvement question. Well, we’ve got a great prize up for grabs. We’re giving away the Home Maintenance for Dummies book by our friend Tom Kraeutler. Tom, this is amazing. We’re so proud of you. |
| 00:25:31 | TOM: Yeah, it really came out good. And I’m very excited about it. It’s just really, you know, when you’re working on this thing and you’re so close to the project, you’re like, we’ll never get done, but to see it done now is really, really rewarding. So I hope everybody likes it. |
| 00:25:41 | LESLIE: It’s great, Tom. It really is, for you guys to know, it’s sort of like a user’s guide to your home, whether you’re a DIYer, you’re to somebody who likes to hire out, whatever it is, it tells you exactly what needs to be done in your house, how you can do it, how to have that pro do it. I mean, it’s everything from seasonal maintenance, you know, troubleshooting home issues, big projects, small projects, it’s just kind of your year round upkeep. Definitely a great book to have. It’s also a great holiday gift. So if you don’t win, you can buy one for yourself. It’s $24.99 and you can find it at Amazon and at MoneyPit.com slash dummies. |
| 00:26:15 | TOM: Don’t miss your chance to win a free copy and take control of your home maintenance like a pro. Reach out to us right now with those questions at 1-88-Money-Pit. |
| 00:26:24 | LESLIE: Well, we’re coming up on vacation season and that means we’re also coming up on peak break-in season. Now, the FBI says approximately 2.5 million burglaries occur each year in the United States with November and December being the most active months for these crimes. So now truly is a great time to improve your home security and one place to pay attention to is your garage door. |
| 00:26:48 | TOM: Yeah, and garages can be surprisingly easy to break into, but there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. So first, if you’re leaving for an extended period of time, unplug the opener and remove any battery back. You don’t need it when you’re not there. |
| 00:27:03 | LESLIE: Yeah, you also want to install a manual sliding bolt-style lock on the inside of your garage door that can only be opened from the inside. You just have to remember to enter through your front door when you return. And also, if your garage door has windows, just cover them up to keep away any prying eyes. |
| 00:27:19 | TOM: Yeah, and lastly, if you have a door that leads from the garage door to the house, make sure that door is as secure as any other entry door with both a keyed and a deadbolt lock. I think people think it’s a good idea. It’s a safer door, so sometimes they don’t put the deadbolt in. But the deadbolt is really what does the work in terms of keeping that door secure. So if you don’t have it on the door between your house and the garage, add it. We’ve got more holiday home security tips online right now at MoneyPit.com. |
| 00:27:47 | LESLIE: Darren in Virginia, you’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today? |
| 00:27:50 | CALLER: Yeah, so I’m trying to convert my toilet from regular water in the house to a 265 gallon rain barrel outside. So piping it in. Underneath my house, I have the CPVC, the smaller stuff. So what I was wondering is, do I have to filter that water? And if I pump it in there, what is the max PSI that I should use? |
| 00:28:15 | TOM: Are you putting a pump on it? I’m going to have a solar pump on it. All right, so first of all, no, you don’t have to filter toilet water because it’s wastewater. It’s gray water, so it can go straight in. |
| 00:28:26 | TOM: Secondly, how much pressure do you need? Well, I guess that’s really going to depend on the toilet. But I would think that it’s going to depend on the toilet. I think most water pressure in a house is going to be anywhere between 50 and 70 pounds. So that’s probably what your toilet’s used to working with. And thirdly, you want to make sure, I know it’s a great thing that you’re doing trying to use rainwater for all this, but let’s not forget the obvious. Make sure your toilet itself is efficient. The toilets today can use as little as about 1.3 gallons of water per flush. So if you have an older toilet, you might want to upgrade it so you need even less water for the flushing mechanism. |
| 00:28:59 | CALLER: All right. Well, that’s something to think about also. |
| 00:29:03 | TOM: What other green upgrades are you making to the house? |
| 00:29:06 | CALLER: This actually all started with I put in a drinking system for my pigs. Okay. |
| 00:29:11 | TOM: You got a farm there? |
| 00:29:12 | CALLER: I have a farm. I have a small farm in Damascus, Virginia, and we piped in the stalls drinking nipples for the pigs because they kept spilling all their water. So now they are totally self-sufficient. They have a solar-powered pump at 40 PSI going to these nipples, and it’s coming off of their roof into a rain barrel that feeds it. Wow. |
| 00:29:36 | TOM: So this is a natural extension of that. And if it’s good enough for the pigs, I guess it’s going to be good enough for your home plumbing system as well. Yeah. |
| 00:29:44 | CALLER: Yeah. I definitely want to try to do as much as I can with Mother Nature before I have to depend on somebody else. |
| 00:29:50 | TOM: All right. Well, it makes a lot of sense, Darren. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:29:56 | LESLIE: Julie wrote in to Team Money Pit saying, I have a clay tile roof that I want to replace with metal, not the sheets, but those that look like clay tiles. I’m getting conflicting advice. Some say it’s a very good idea. Others say that with lesser weight on the trusses, it will cause the sheetrock inside the house to crack. What are the pros and cons of switching from a clay tile roof to a metal roof? I have never heard that, that the weight load causes issues inside. I mean, I would imagine if it went more. Yeah. Right. |
| 00:30:23 | TOM: Then it’d be more of a concern. Maybe. I mean, I can’t really think of any reason you get cracks by removing that weight, but you may get some settlement and some shifting. That would be normal. But if it does happen, repairs to cracked drywall are really easy to do. But meanwhile, there’s a lot of benefits to a metal roof, so it’s a great option for you. It’s a long-term investment. It lasts a long time. Lots and lots of styles available, including one that emulates clay tile. We did a TV segment on this, in fact, not too long ago. And we had some of that clay tile-styled metal roof in the studio, and it was some really neat stuff. Beautiful, incredibly durable. It can protect against extreme temperatures, high winds, heavy snow and ice, you name it. It stands up, and it’s 100% recyclable, and it’s energy efficient. That’s also something very few people know because it reflects the sun so your house doesn’t overheat. Look, if you want to learn more about the benefits of metal roofs, I would suggest you download the buyer’s guide at MetalRoofing.com. That’s a site run by the Metal Roofing Alliance. It’s really, really informative, and they’ve done a great job detailing out all the information available about metal roofs. |
| 00:31:31 | LESLIE: All right, Julie, I hope that helps you out and you get a beautiful new roof to enjoy. |
| 00:31:35 | TOM: Well, a wall-mounted flat-screen TV offers a great view of your favorite shows and movies and sporting events, but what’s not so great? All of those unsightly dangling cords and wires it takes to hook it up. Leslie shares tips on how to make them all disappear in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. |
| 00:31:52 | LESLIE: Yeah, you know, guys, fortunately, cord management systems make it easy to keep all of those wires under control, and these systems are designed to hide cables, and then they can be painted to match your wall color, so it kind of blends in totally seamlessly. They’re really easy to install, and they keep things looking neat and tidy. Now another option, if you have cables that need to run across a room or a doorway, now these are called cord covers or simply a door threshold, but these are specialized because they kind of have a channel in them that you can run the cables through. And they’re truly designed to protect those cables, they keep them out of sight, but they stand up to the heavily trafficked areas. And if you’re up for a more permanent solution, I mean, you can run those cords through the wall itself. This does involve a power outlet, perhaps. You can install a wall cable kit behind the TV, and that’s going to completely eliminate those visible wires. It’s really not as a difficult project as it sounds, it just does take some finagling and your comfort level with kind of digging into it. |
| 00:32:56 | LESLIE: And if you’re up for that challenge, definitely take it because putting it through the wall is awesome. Whatever you do, I mean, a sleek-looking flat-screen TV mounted to the wall without any clutter of cords is awesome. So tackle this project in any way you feel comfortable, and enjoy all those lovely holiday Hallmark movies. Come on, guys. You know there’s a handsome tree guy waiting for you somewhere. Well, ladies, you know what I mean. |
| 00:33:27 | TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Hey, coming up next time on the program, as temperatures drop, are your home heating bills starting to run out of control? There’s always that shock when you open up the first one, right? Well, we’re going to share three ways you can cut heating costs and get comfortable on the next edition of the Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:33:46 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. Remember, you can do it yourself. 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.) |
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