Show Notes
On today’s episode, we’ll reveal the top 5 remodeling mistakes to avoid, share tips for choosing a safe and efficient space heater, and teach you how to spot a fresh Christmas tree. Plus, listen in for expert answers to more DIY home improvement questions from callers like you!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Remodeling: Avoid renovation regrets caused by these top 5 home remodeling mistakes.
- Space Heaters: Warm up wisely by choosing a safe and efficient space heater.
- Christmas Trees: Get tree-mendous tips for finding the freshest live Christmas tree.
Top Questions & Answers
- Wood Stove Safety: Will a wood stove harm the electrical wiring behind it? Melina must install a heat shield and/or put the stove 3 feet from the wall to avoid a fire hazard.
- Shower Remodel: Jim wants to replace his shower. We’ll discuss different budget options, from affordable and easy liners to a complete renovation with a shower kit.
- Flooring: What kind of backer board should Steve use under the new floor tile? His subfloor is pretty solid, so a ¼- inch backer board should be fine.
- Windows: Some of Donna’s old double-pane windows don’t open or close. It’s possible to repair them if she can find the parts, but it would be better to replace the windows.
- HVAC: Lou’s hot water HVAC system is not heating the second floor. An HVAC professional can do diagnostics to look for an obstruction or faulty valve.
- Ventilation and Insulation: Christine gets answers to several questions about insulating and ventilating her garage and the use of ridge vents and soffit vents.
- Bathtub: Can you remove an old bathtub and replace it with a walk-in shower? It can be done, but Jeff should consider his home’s resale value if there are no other tubs.
- Wood Countertop: Is a wood countertop a good, easy option for Ann’s under-mount kitchen sink? Unfortunately, wood is a lot of work to finish and maintain.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:24 | ANNOUNCER: The MoneyPit is presented by Daich Coatings. Now, here are Tom and Leslie. |
| 00:00:29 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:00:35 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:00:37 | TOM: What are you guys planning on this weekend? Are you getting ready for the holidays? Are you ramping up? Are you going to start to entertain and invite some friends and family to come over? Or are you going to try to finish up a project that you’d like to get done last minute, like before everybody starts to show up? Well, whether you are in the midst of a project or planning one, we would love to help. Reach out to us with your questions at 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-39, or just go to moneypit.com slash ask. This is episode 2475. You can listen when you want by following the show at moneypit.com slash podcast. Coming up on today’s show, are you planning a project for the new year? Well, we’re going to share the top five most common remodeling mistakes that we hear time and time again on the show to teach you what to avoid when |
| 00:01:25 | LESLIE: you’re tackling those jobs. All right. I wonder what those kinds of things are. Like, well, I wanted this, but they said no. So maybe we’ll see where we go with this kind of project mistake. Also, Ed, now that those cold temps are setting in across the country, are you constantly looking for that heavier sweater and maybe you’re sleeping in your flannel PJs? Well, if your house or apartment feel drafty and cold, space heaters could be a solution. We’re going to share how to select one that won’t cost you a bundle to run or burn your house down |
| 00:01:52 | TOM: in the process. And is this the weekend you’ll be heading out to buy a Christmas tree? Well, we’re going to tell you how to know if that perfect tree is actually fresh or not. Plus, |
| 00:02:01 | LESLIE: if there’s a DIY on your holiday gift list, we’ve got a very cool product to give away to one lucky |
| 00:02:06 | TOM: listener. It’s the Kreg Pocket Hole Jig with accessories, and it’s worth $250. Reach out now with your question. You’ll get the answer plus a chance at winning that Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit-888-666-3974. Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s first? |
| 00:02:26 | LESLIE: Heading to Texas, we’ve got Malena on the line who’s working on a wood stove. Tell us about it. |
| 00:02:30 | CALLER: We just had electrical installed, all new electrical in the home that we’re flipping, and we’re going to install a wood stove. Would that wood stove harm |
| 00:02:43 | TOM: the electrical behind the wall? Well, not if it’s installed properly. You have to have a heat shield behind the wood stove, depending on how close it is to the wall. That determines how much of a heat shield you need. Now, if you have no heat shield at all, the wood stove has to be three feet away from the wall in most areas. There is, however, a heat shield assembly that’s available, which is kind of like a piece of metal that is mounted on the wall but has spacers behind it so that air moves behind this piece of metal that provides the shielding of the wall. Because, aside from harming electrical wires, you’ve got to remember, you’re not going to be able to do that. Remember that you’ve got wood framing there, and it’s fire hazard. So safety is really, really important when you install a wood stove. So you either have to have the minimum required distance between the stove and the wall, or you have to have heat shields or both. So just make sure that whoever’s doing the installation is familiar with this principle, Marlena, |
| 00:03:36 | CALLER: and it’ll be safe and your wires will be fine. Okay. And I was thinking about making like a wood frame and then laying like a metal, a sheet metal on the back. Would that be safe? |
| 00:03:48 | TOM: Well, here’s the thing. It sounds to me like you’re trying to invent a heat shield, and I don’t think you should do that. It’s not sort of a thing that you hack together. I mean, I’ve seen it done this way, but it’s not recommended. Here’s where you start. The manufacturer of your wood stove is going to have a specification for heat shields, and I would start with that. So if you don’t happen to have the manual anymore, all of those manuals are online somewhere on the internet. Just Google it and look at their recommendations for installation, in particular, when it comes to the heat shield. As long as you follow that manufacturer’s spec, then I’m comfortable that the job will be done right. |
| 00:04:22 | LESLIE: Okay? Okay. Sounds good. Thank you so much. Heading out to Delaware, where Jim’s got a question about renovating a bathroom. What’s going on, Jim? |
| 00:04:30 | CALLER: Trying to find the best way to replace my shower. The floor is really dirty. I got the wipes. I need to replace it. I need to know, what do you recommend as far as material? Good debates about fiberglass, et cetera. But you mentioned a thing, trying to figure out the best way, |
| 00:04:49 | LESLIE: the cheapest way for me to do it. Yes. You know, Jim, I think it really depends on the level of involvement you’d like in this project and the amount of money you’d like to spend. Because if you’re looking, I mean, truly, right, Tom? When you get to a project like this in a bathroom, it can be inexpensive, or it can be very expensive. I think if you’re looking for something simple and affordable and doable in a short amount of time, you’re looking at a liner or something like a bath fitter type thing, and it doesn’t have to be done by that company. There’s all different kinds of liners or inserts. There are fiberglass ones. There’s waterproof materials. There’s fiberglass ones. There’s even Corian ones that kind of just surround your existing situation and cover it up, and it’s like new. Or if you’re going for a complete gut reno, you know, you’re going to be looking at systems to help keep things watertight. It’s Schluter, right, Tom? They have a good product. |
| 00:05:34 | TOM: Yep, Schluter. It’s S-C-H-L-U-T-E-R. Schluter makes a shower kit that is called KERDI, K-E-R-D-I. The nice thing about these kits is what this is, is this is an underlayment system, so that when you would have to remove all of the old tile, and, oh, you know, all the old tile, and, oh, the floor, and all of that, but now you’re rebuilding from scratch, the KERDI kit is basically a system that’s designed to make this whole thing 100% waterproof. It takes a lot of the frustration out of doing a shower and having to maintain it, have it, our systems. It’s sort of like a membrane that goes behind the whole thing. Take a look at the Schluter Systems website for the KERDI shower kits. You’ll see how all the pieces work together, whether it’s a straight, plain, square shower, whether it’s got curves, whether it has a seat. They’ve got parts for everything. You assemble the parts, you buy the parts that you want, and the whole thing lies underneath the tile, or whatever your top finish is, and it makes it 100% waterproof. So those are kind of your options. You know, you can do a liner. You can do a panelized system. That’s pretty easy. It’s not going to help you with the shower pan, by the way, because it doesn’t cover that, but it’ll cover the walls and make it look a lot nicer. |
| 00:06:40 | LESLIE: Oh, like fresh and new. |
| 00:06:41 | TOM: Yeah. If you want to tear the whole thing out and start from scratch, I’d take a look at the Schluter KERDI shower systems. |
| 00:06:47 | 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 slash review. |
| 00:06:59 | TOM: So Leslie, have you ever heard of pocket holes? |
| 00:07:02 | LESLIE: I mean, it’s the one where you kind of bury the screw into a recessed hole, correct? |
| 00:07:07 | TOM: Right. And they make really strong joints. And the one tool you need to get these done quickly every single time is the Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. We’re giving one away today, on the show. We’ve got the 720 Pro package. It’s valued at $250. It helps you build those pocket hole projects faster than ever. It features AutoMax, which is a one-motion clamping system. It’s got the GripMax technology, which is an anti-slip clamping surface. And the pocket hole jig package includes the pocket hole screw project kit, the 3-inch wood project clamp, and a right angle clamp for added convenience. It’s valued in total at $250. You’ll find it at Home Depot, Lowe’s, or your local specialty woodworking retailer. Or you can learn all about it at KregTool.com, K-R-E-G-Tool.com. But we’ve got one 720 Pro package going out to one lucky listener drawing at random. Want to make that you? Now’s your chance. Call us with your question at 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974, or post your question to MoneyPit.com slash ask. |
| 00:08:08 | LESLIE: Time to talk flooring with Steve, who’s looking to remove some carpet to add some tile. What’s going on? How can we help? |
| 00:08:14 | CALLER: I am just getting ready to tile a floor. I’ve removed carpet. My subfloor is half-inch plywood and three-quarter-inch plywood. Should I use quarter-inch backer board |
| 00:08:31 | TOM: or half-inch backer board for my tile project? Well, you know, when you’re doing a tile project, the key is to make sure you have a very sturdy subfloor. And because you have what amounts to an inch and a quarter, basically, of subfloor, I think that that’s pretty solid at that point. The backer board can be the quarter-inch that you put on top of that. But having that solid subfloor underneath is really the key here because, as we all know, tile doesn’t bend. And frankly, the bigger the tile, the sturdier that floor has to be. You know, if you have mosaics, it can flex a little bit. If you’ve got 12 by 12 or 16 by 16 or bigger tiles, you can have no flex. But because you have that inch and a quarter of underlayment, I think you’re good to go and you can just use the backer board for the purpose of basically getting the tile to adhere properly to the substrate. So good luck with that project, Steve, and let us know how it comes out. |
| 00:09:23 | LESLIE: Well, home improvement can be one of the most rewarding times of home ownership. But with the excitement of planning a new project, it’s really easy to make errors that can end up driving those costs way beyond what you’ve budgeted. So here’s our list of the big errors that we hear about that have come up over and over again. First step is over-improving. Now you’re like, no, I just want to do a project, but you could kind of overdo it. I mean, a lot of projects contribute real estate value to your home and others have about same resale value as losing lottery ticket. Now, if the value of your current home plus the cost of the improvement that you’re planning far exceeds the average home value in your area, you are very unlikely to get a return on that home improvement investment. Bathrooms, kitchens, decks, they usually provide the best return on your investment. And projects that are geared more toward personal taste, like decorating, for example, usually is not going to significantly improve the value of your home. So only do those if you expect to stay in that home a long time so that you really can enjoy them. |
| 00:10:22 | TOM: Now next, plan your work and work your plan. Before you hire a remodeling pro, do your homework. You want to research products and read reviews with a mind towards developing a spec or specification for your project that identifies the products you’d like included in your remodel. So for small projects, you can actually do this yourself, but for larger jobs, |
| 00:10:42 | LESLIE: or a designer, it is totally worth it. Yeah, here’s another mistake, and that’s not minding the zone. Now, building a new fence or a shed might seem like an easy enough home improvement project, but it can quickly turn into a legal nightmare if you don’t first check the local land zoning codes for your property. Even if your project gets completed without a visit from a local zoning official, a violation could haunt you years later when it |
| 00:11:06 | TOM: comes time to sell your home. Now, it’s also important to do a contract review. Make sure all of your agreements with the contractors are in writing. Because a good contract is going to include a clear statement of the scope of work, a list of the materials, and a total contract price, as well as a schedule of payments. Job start dates and completion dates are also important to include. Now, for small projects, here’s a workaround. Get in the habit of writing a quick email back to the contractor who gave you the price for the project to confirm the details, including the price and the schedule. These steps can help avoid confusion for both the contractor and the pro, and they can form the basis for a better experience for everyone. |
| 00:11:43 | LESLIE: Yeah, the other issue is not having a permit at all. In many areas of the country, getting a building permit is a requirement before you start that home improvement project. Some contractors might attempt to make getting the permit a responsibility for the homeowner, and this is a costly mistake. You want to make sure that that contractor is responsible for getting the permit and complying with those building codes every single step of the way. Because they know them. They know the process. They know how to get these permits. You don’t. So definitely let that contractor handle it. That local building inspector is going to be your best resource for making sure that you are getting this job done properly. |
| 00:12:19 | TOM: Yep. Good advice. Hey, do you have a question about a project you’re thinking about doing next year? Reach out to us right now at 1-888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:12:28 | LESLIE: Donna in Tyler, Texas is on the line, has some questions about windows. Tell us what’s going on. |
| 00:12:32 | CALLER: We have double pane windows that we’ve replaced our old windows with about 20, 25 years ago. And now I have some that don’t close. And I have one that has opened at the mechanism in the side of the window. And I didn’t know if there was any hope for repairing them or fixing them, |
| 00:12:55 | TOM: or if I just need to get new windows. Well, I mean, really, Donna, 20 to 25 years? Leslie, I feel like she got a lot out of those windows. I mean, that’s a pretty good life, right, for windows. I mean, for sure. And certainly you may be able to repair some of the mechanism if you can locate the parts, but it, it frankly might just be better to replace those windows, especially because windows today have become less expensive and they’ve become more efficient. And if you go with replacement windows, where you’re only really replacing the operable part of the sash, the part that slides up and slides down and you leave the old sash in place. They’re really pretty affordable and easy to install because you basically order them to fit inside that space and they can be installed in a really quick. I mean, I could do a window like that inside of an hour easily. So they’re not that difficult to replace these days. And especially if you have bad seals, because the seal, it would definitely not be worth at all taking out the window that has the bad seal and having the seals replaced. That would be much more expensive than getting a new window. So I think you ought to be happy with the 25 years you got out of that window and think about replacing them. And you know what, if, if you want to approach this in a way that kind of keeps the costs in check, I would think about whether or not it was more than just replacing the old sash. I would think about whether or not it was more than just replacing the old sash. I would think about whether or not it was more than just replacing the old sash. I’m more concerned about my heating bills or my air conditioning bills. If it was the air conditioning bills, then I would do the south side of the house first, followed by the west. And if it was the heating bills, I would do the north side of the house first, followed by the east. You don’t have to do the whole house at once. You can do the one or two sides at a time. |
| 00:14:28 | LESLIE: Heading to Massachusetts, where Lou is on the line. What’s going on at your money pit? |
| 00:14:32 | CALLER: Yeah, I’m having trouble with the heating in the house. It’s not coming up to the second floor. |
| 00:14:40 | TOM: Okay. Well, what kind of heat system do you have, Lou? Is it hot air or hot water? |
| 00:14:43 | CALLER: It’s hot water, oil burner. It’s about 70 years old. |
| 00:14:49 | TOM: Have you tried to bleed the radiators on the second floor? |
| 00:14:53 | CALLER: Yes, I have, but two of them are still dead. They’re just cold, ice cold. Nothing comes out, no air, no drips, nothing. |
| 00:15:05 | TOM: And this is a hot water or a steam system? |
| 00:15:09 | CALLER: I believe it’s hot water. It’s hot water. |
| 00:15:11 | TOM: But I mean, they both use the same piece of equipment. They both use a boiler. When you look at your boiler, do you see a clear glass tube that has water in it that’s halfway filled? No, I don’t. Okay. So then, yeah, it sounds like it’s a hot water system. Now, is it one zone or two? I don’t know the zones. How many thermostats do you have for heat? Just one. So you have a single zone system, hot water system, and then you have a hot water system. And you’ve got some cold radiators, which means that for some reason, the water is not pushing in through that part of it. There could be air that’s blocking it. And I think at this point, you’re going to probably have to have a heating contractor come over and do some further diagnostics because if the circulator is performing properly, that’s the little motor that moves the water through the system. It’s really pretty simple. You have a supply and a return, and that water just follows one loop. If it’s not getting to a radiator, then there’s an obstruction there, which means it’s a problem with the valve, or there’s air blockage that you just can’t get to, and that’s probably what’s stopping it. Is this a new problem? |
| 00:16:28 | CALLER: No, it’s been ongoing except for those two radiators that used to work, and the circulator was replaced. |
| 00:16:36 | TOM: All right. Listen, I think it’s time to call for some expert assistance. I think this is beyond the scope of a do-it-yourselfer, and try to figure out why those two radiators are blocked. Don’t let them out of the house until they get fixed because it should not be that complicated of a problem, okay? Okay. How much money do you think that might be? It depends. If it’s just a matter of trying to identify one, say, failed valve or something of that nature, it could be a basic $200 or $300 sort of call for a guy to come out and do some work. If it’s a bigger problem than that, if it’s just a matter of trying to identify one, say, failed valve or something of that nature, it could be a basic $200 or $300 sort of call for a guy to come out and do some work. If you need a new circulator, it could be more, but certainly you could ask for an estimate, you know? I mean, maybe you’re calling for an estimate. You’re not maybe even hiring them for the repair to find out what it’s going to take to get the system working again. Now’s the time to do it. |
| 00:17:26 | CALLER: Okay. Any tips on who I could call? |
| 00:17:30 | TOM: One thing that you could do is you could go to HomeAdvisor.com. |
| 00:17:34 | CALLER: Okay. I’ll go to them. Yeah. |
| 00:17:36 | TOM: Right. That’s a site that is a directory for all sorts of companies. Okay. I’ll go to them. Yeah. Right. That’s a site that is a directory for all sorts of companies. There’s a lot of contractors and other professionals. And the nice thing about HomeAdvisor is that they all have references that were done by other HomeAdvisor clients, and they’re verified references. So you can read the reviews and find somebody that’s in your area and that people have been happy with. |
| 00:17:57 | CALLER: Wow. Okay. Great. Sounds good, Tom. |
| 00:18:00 | TOM: All right, Lou. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:18:05 | LESLIE: Now we’ve got Christine on the line. What’s going on in your money pit? How can we help? |
| 00:18:09 | CALLER: Okay. So we have a garage that is uninsulated, and we insulated it. We’ve got the walls almost done and the ceilings almost done. But we have a vent on the roof, one of those swirling ones. And I wasn’t sure if the ceiling of the garage also needed a vent that either leads up to that or just to the attic space. |
| 00:18:34 | TOM: Yep. That’s a great question. So the purpose of the vent on the roof is to Yeah. provide attic ventilation. And the ventilation is really necessary to keep the insulation dry, because in the wintertime, it can get damp, and it makes it less effective in the summer time. It lets the heat buildup in the attic. So that’s the purpose of that vent. That being said, I will tell you that those sort of whirlybird-style vents that spin like a basket that spins are the least effective kind of vent you could have. What I always recommend are continuous ridge vents, which go down the peak of the roof, match to with soffit vents, which is at that overhang, because that creates an airflow where the air goes in at the soffit under the roof sheathing and out at that ridge and keeps that attic as close to ambient temperature as possible and as dry as possible. But in terms of your project, you can set that aside because I would continue to insulate that garage so you have a warmer place for you to work in during the cold weather. And then in the spring or summer or whenever you get around to doing the roof again, you could evaluate the vent situation. But you do not have to put a hole in that ceiling |
| 00:19:45 | CALLER: because that’s not the purpose of that vent. Okay. We do have soffit vents. |
| 00:19:49 | TOM: Well, that’s good. That’s the hard part. The ridge vent’s the easy part. |
| 00:19:52 | CALLER: Yeah. The other question I had was about my soffits on the house. Not sure there’s anything we can do at this point, but I would just like your opinion. The builder was supposed to wrap the metal around plywood and then… …use that for the soffit, but he just used that thin piece of metal. |
| 00:20:12 | TOM: Yeah. That’s actually the right way to do it. Is the metal ventilated? Is there |
| 00:20:16 | CALLER: several tiny holes in it? No. We had him add soffit vents along the back of the house in three different places. Okay. And on the side. |
| 00:20:28 | TOM: Yeah. No, you don’t want to have a covered soffit. Soffits should be as open as possible because, as I said earlier, that’s where air gets in and starts doing its work in the attic in terms of venting that space. So I don’t know what the conversation was around having metal wrapped over plywood. I’ll tell you, sometimes we see this. Sometimes we see houses that were older houses that might’ve been built in the 60s or 70s, and they have plywood soffits. And then I’ve seen those homeowners do vinyl siding and aluminum trim, and then they totally cover that soffit with the aluminum soffit material. And that’s usually a mistake because they’ve covered the ventilation, insulation in doing so. So I always tell people to take that plywood down. So I think you are okay |
| 00:21:12 | CALLER: with that. Oh, good. Well, that’s great. Thank you so much because I was sure it was wrong and it was going to be bad for the house, but you’re saying it’s just perfect. |
| 00:21:22 | TOM: It is just perfect, Christine. Good luck with that project. |
| 00:21:25 | CALLER: Okay. Thanks a lot. |
| 00:21:27 | TOM: Well, if you feel a draft in your house or your apartment, do you turn to space heaters to take the edge off? If so, we’ve got some tips on how to choose one that’s both efficient and safe. Now, first thing to know is that there are basically two different types of space heaters, radiant and convection, and they work very differently from each other. Now, radiant heaters warm objects, and that includes you by radiating heat as the name implies. But convection heaters, on the other hand, warm the air in a room, and that’s eventually going to warm the entire room provided you buy one that’s appropriate for the size of the room. I personally find the convection heaters much more comfortable. |
| 00:22:03 | LESLIE: Now, in short there, guys, if you are looking to warm up just a certain area, say your favorite chair where you’re curling up to watch TV or read a book, then a radiant heater is going to work just fine. But if you want to heat the whole room, then a convection heater is definitely the best choice for you. And there’s also different sizes and styles for both types of space heaters, ranging from tabletop radiant heaters to larger freestanding convection units for warming the entire room. Some look like mini radiators and are filled with oil or water, while others, such as ceramic convection heaters, pull that cold air in, warm it, and then release that warmed air back into the room. |
| 00:22:40 | TOM: Now, the pricing on space heaters can be as low as, say, $40 or $50, and go up well to over $200. But bear in mind, if you’re paying your own electric bill, they’re going to add to that, although most are pretty efficient. However, in very general terms, supposing you use the heater maybe every day for an average of six to eight hours, you can expect it’ll add probably $20 to $30 a month, the electrical bill. So it is going to add up if you keep doing that as your primary source of heat. If you’re a place where you’re not doing that, if the place is that drafty, that cold, we might suggest other ways to warm it up, |
| 00:23:09 | LESLIE: other than just putting a space heater in. Audio This is The Money Pit, and it is the ho-ho home improvement season. Whatever you are working on, let us help you get those projects done, so you can get ready for the house to be all set for the big guy to make his big appearance shortly. And you know, maybe you’ve got some fun home improvement gifts on your wish list. We will see what you get. Give us a call with your home repair or your home improvement question 24-7, because maybe we’re like the big guy, and we can help you get those projects done without too much stress. |
| 00:23:40 | TOM: Audio Hey, guys, if you call us right now with your questions at 888-Money-Pit, you’ll get the answer, plus a chance at winning today’s prize. We’ve got a great product we’re giving away from the Craig Company. It’s the Craig Pocket Hole Jig 720 Pro. It’s a package of the Pocket Hole Jig and a couple of other products, all valued together at $250. Now, the Pocket Hole Jig 720 Pro helps you build pocket hole projects quicker than ever. It features AutoMax, which is a one clamping motions, so you set the pocket hole position, you clamp the piece in place with a single motion, so no extra tools required. Now, this product is going to come with additional tools like the Pocket Hole Screw Project Kit, the 3-inch Wood Project Clamp, and a Right Angle Clamp. I got to tell you, if you’re a DIYer, if you’re a woodworker especially, this is a product you’re going to love having. The total package is valued at $250. You can find Craig Tools at Home Depot, Lowe’s, or your local specialty woodworking retailer, or learn more at craigtool.com. But if you want to win it today, you’re going to have to go to craigtools.com.com. If you want to win it today, you got to reach out to us with your questions at 1-888-Money-Pit. That Craig Pocket Hole Jig 720 Pro package is going out to one very lucky listener to run at random. Make that you. |
| 00:24:46 | LESLIE: Call us now with your questions. All right, Jeff’s on the line. He’s got a question about bathtub removal. I mean, you got to bathe somehow. What’s going on? |
| 00:24:53 | CALLER: I was wondering if a person could take out a bathtub and surround and replace with a walk-in shower. It’s a first-time home for my son. He’s remodeling and was wondering if that was a good idea. We’re hearing, yes, it is. And no, you want a bathtub in case you sell to give kids a bath. Not sure if that’s the way to go or not. |
| 00:25:16 | TOM: Yeah, Jeff, it’s definitely a concern when you talk about resale value, because it is important to have at least one bathroom in the house with a full bathtub, as you say, because that’s how parents like to wash kids. And I think it definitely could be negative on the value of the home if you were to take that out and put a walk-in shower. Now, if you have two baths, then sure, you can have one be a walk-in shower and one be one that has a bathtub. But I definitely would not recommend removing that bathtub if it is the only |
| 00:25:44 | LESLIE: bathtub in the house. Well, shopping for a fresh Christmas tree is definitely a fun holiday activity that the whole family can enjoy. So to make sure that tree is right for you, here are a few things to keep in mind to make sure that that tree fits and is fresh enough to last all the way past the new year. |
| 00:26:01 | TOM: Yep. So first up, the needles should look shiny, green, and fresh, not dry and brown, and they should not fall off when you pull on a branch. Next, you want to remember to measure the space for your tree both horizontally and vertically, and bring that tape measure with you to the place you buy the trees. The last thing you want is to |
| 00:26:18 | LESLIE: get your tree home and figure out it doesn’t fit. Yes, I’ve done that before. I just really love having a super gigantic fat Christmas tree, and sometimes they’re just too big, but we still make it work. You want to also make sure that you’re looking for a tree with those stronger branches, like a Fraser or a Noble fir, because those are going to help hold those heavier ornaments. If it’s possible, guys, you want to lay the tree inside the car or the trunk for that drive home. If you do drive with the tree on the roof of the car, please, please, please secure it down tightly. |
| 00:26:50 | TOM: And if buying a fresh tree is not for you, check out the amazing options at Artificial Trees. They look more real every year, and many come pre-lit. We’ve got a complete guide to buying Artificial Trees online at MoneyPit.com. |
| 00:27:03 | LESLIE: Anne’s doing so well. We’ve got some work in the kitchen and looking to add an undermount sink, but the counter is wood. Tell us about this project. |
| 00:27:10 | CALLER: Well, I was more looking for your opinion of whether I should use a wood countertop for an undermount sink. I know they’ve got some pretty good |
| 00:27:27 | CALLER: hardwood countertops that may or may not be, but I’m looking for the long haul. Mm-hmm. We’re at an age where we’re going to be retiring within the next few years, and I don’t want to have to replace something. |
| 00:27:41 | TOM: Well, first of all, you’re talking about a wood kitchen countertop here or a bathroom? Yeah. |
| 00:27:45 | CALLER: Yeah. Well, we’re both, actually, but- |
| 00:27:47 | TOM: Yeah. Well, I mean, if you’re looking for a low-maintenance countertop, you should not be looking at wood. It’s going to be a huge amount of work to take care of. Undermounted sink or not, it’s a lot of work. You’re going to seal it, and you’re going to varnish it, and I don’t know if you want to have an area for chopping, but that’s a whole lot of work. It’s a whole other set of circumstances in terms of how you treat that, because the finish has to be non-toxic, but it is a lot of work. So if you’re looking for maintenance-free, I would definitely not suggest that. Leslie, what do you think are probably the easiest to care for countertops these days? |
| 00:28:20 | LESLIE: I mean, I love a natural stone countertop, but are they the easiest to take care of? Not so much. I mean, the composite stones out there, there’s a couple of different brands that you can see. There’s quartz. There’s quartzite. They’re beautiful. They’re durable. They’re easy to maintain, and they come in a variety of price points as well. I think when you go with a solid surface like that, it’s much better for an undermount sink as far as maintenance and durability. And then if you go with a quartzite product, there’s so many different colors, tones, sort of textures to choose from that you’ll be able to find something |
| 00:28:54 | CALLER: in your price point in a look that you like. I’m just looking to push the crumbs into the sink. |
| 00:28:59 | TOM: I hear you. Well, you can have an under-countertop, and that’s fine. It’s just that I think you called us because you want to know if that was a good installation, but then when you mentioned you’re trying to look for something that’s maintenance-free, I’m telling you, wood is not. Wood is a ton of work to take care of. |
| 00:29:13 | CALLER: It’s so pretty, though. |
| 00:29:13 | TOM: It is pretty. |
| 00:29:14 | CALLER: Especially with creamy white cabinets. |
| 00:29:16 | TOM: Yeah. Well, listen, you could have some beautiful wood cabinets, but the countertop, I would definitely not go with wood. Okay. Good luck, Ann. Thanks for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:29:24 | LESLIE: Thank you very much. David in North Carolina wrote in to Team Money Pit and is asking, I had a leak in my kitchen skylight that has since been fixed. However, the track lighting under the skylight stopped working a few days after the leak. I bought a new power source supply and installed it, but the lighting still isn’t working. What should I do, and can I do it myself with basic DIY skills? |
| 00:29:45 | TOM: It depends on your electrical skills. If that fixture was wet, you’ve got to replace it. It’s not repairable, so you want to totally remove and replace that track lighting. Once water gets to that circuit, it can’t be fixed. |
| 00:29:56 | LESLIE: All right. That is an important thing to know. Now, Michael from Illinois, Illinois wrote in, my wife and I are finishing our basement to include a family room and bedrooms for our two young children. What’s the best way to minimize noise from people walking around upstairs? |
| 00:30:08 | TOM: Well, the best way to do that is to insulate that floor, and I would not use fiberglass for that. I would use a wool fiber. Now, Owens Corning has a product called Thermafiber. I’ve actually used this myself. It’s a very dense, very efficient insulating product. And if you install it into those floor joists, you’re going to find that it has tremendous sound dampening, and you’re going to be able to get a lot of noise out of those floor joists. So, if you have a lot of noise, you’re going to be able to get a lot of noise out of the floor joists. So, if you have a lot of noise, you’re going to be able to get a lot of noise out of those floor joists. So, it’s definitely the best of both worlds. |
| 00:30:37 | LESLIE: Yeah. And the other benefit of Thermafiber is that it’s fire resistant. So, that’s really good to know and good for peace of mind, especially if you’re putting the kids’ bedrooms downstairs. The other thing I would keep in mind is some sort of communication system between you |
| 00:30:50 | TOM: and the kiddos. Well, if you know the age of your house, it’s going to be easier to figure out what kind of repairs or improvements that house might need. Leslie has some tips on how to do just that in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie? |
| 00:31:03 | LESLIE: Well, as long as there have been homes, there have been home repairs. And if you know the age of your home, whatever those problems that pop up, they’re definitely common to homes that are built in that same era, and maybe they can be avoided. So, here’s a couple of tricks of the trade that can help. First of all, plumbing fixtures like toilets, even sinks, they’re kind of rarely replaced. So, if you know the age of your home, whatever those problems that pop up, they’re rarely replaced. And they can help you clue in on your home’s age. If your home happens to have the original toilet, you want to remove the lid and look at the underside. Those toilets are almost always date stamped by the manufacturer as they roll off the assembly line. And that date is typically expressed as a four-digit number, like say 1954, but it also might be preceded by a letter and have just the last two digits like M54. So, it kind of lets you know that that was made in 1954. Other plumbing fixtures like sinks, also have those dates stamped somewhere within that casting, but the toilet stamp is often easier to find. You can spot a date on your toilet and then you can bet your home was constructed within a few months or a year of that date. So, Tom, what are some other places that we might be finding clues to help us guess that age of our home? |
| 00:32:10 | TOM: Well, you can look at the building materials. So, for example, if you have an older home and you have knob and tube wiring, where you have the wires and those ceramic insulators, that means that that house was built probably in the 20s or the 30s. If you’ve got some old steel plumbing pipes, if you have old steel plumbing pipes, if you have old steel plumbing pipes, even if they’re not being used, but if you see that they were used, like I’ve got an old house where the steel main was cut off and a copper one was installed, but the fact that it had that steel means it was probably built in the 1900s to the 1940s. You can also look at serial numbers for newer houses. Sometimes I used to figure out their age by looking at the serial numbers on heating and cooling systems because the dates are often stamped right there or they’re coded in with the serial number, and it’s usually pretty obvious to figure that out. |
| 00:32:50 | LESLIE: Well, you know what? They really don’t build them like they used to, but if you know when your house was built, this is going to give you a good idea of what repairs |
| 00:32:57 | TOM: you might be needing to do. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Coming up next time, are you a last-minute holiday decorator? Well, first impressions matter, so we’ve got tips to help you decorate the first thing your guests will see, even if you don’t take it any farther. We’re talking about your front door. Whether your style is classic or contemporary, we’ll show you how to make it stand out. Until then, I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:33:22 | 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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