Show Notes
In today’s show, learn how to set up a functional DIY garage workspace, organize your freezer for easy access, and troubleshoot noisy or cold steam and hot water radiators. Plus, we’re taking your calls to answer more home improvement questions, so listen in for DIY advice!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Freezer Organization: Keep food storage frosty and functional by maximizing your freezer space.
- Garage Workshop: Transform your garage into the ultimate DIY workshop.
- Radiators: Easy radiator repair tips to stop leaks, noises, and heat loss.
Top Questions & Answers
- Drain: Patricia needs to clear a garage drain that’s filled with bugs and debris. The drain is blocked by a grid, but she can snake through the pipe from the side yard.
- Cement Patio: The paint is flaking off the patio and the concrete is pitted. Charlie gets tips for scraping, refinishing, and painting the concrete surface.
- Ceiling: Water damage on the ceiling revealed unusual cement underneath. Maria learns about rock lath construction and how to plaster over the ceiling.
- Door Drafts: Should Anthony replace his drafty sliding glass door with a French door? We suggest installing a better sliding door instead and adding drapes or shades to block the chill on the glass.
- Countertops: Diane wants information about resurfacing her old Formica countertops. We share details on the benefits of using Daich Coatings for a quality, customized look.
- Structural: The main beam in Jason’s house is sagging. This is a major concern and he needs a structural engineer to determine how to stabilize the building.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:24 | LESLIE: Toast to toast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit. I’m Leslie Segrete. I wanted to catch everybody up in case you missed the show last week. Very, very sadly, we lost Tom Kraeutler suddenly and unexpectedly during a surgery. And I want to promise everyone that we will continue to deliver excellent home improvement advice and build upon this wonderful foundation that is The Money Pit that Tom built for us. So let’s enjoy these last few episodes that we’ve prerecorded with Tom. And I promise you, The Money Pit is here for you always. |
| 00:00:56 | TOM: Toast to toast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:01:01 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:01:03 | TOM: And we are here to help you take on projects you’d like to get done around your house. You have a challenge, you have something that maybe is not going well with a home improvement project or a remodeling project, why not reach out to us and let’s take on that project together. The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974. Whether you are a do-it-yourselfer or a do-it-for-me kind of home improver, we can help. So you can take those projects and move them right on over to our to-do list by reaching out at 1-888-Money-Pit or going to moneypit.com slash ask. Hey, coming up on today’s episode, which by the way, is episode 2494. I always love when we’re approaching big numbers, 2500 is just about two weeks away. |
| 00:01:51 | LESLIE: That’s a lot. |
| 00:01:52 | TOM: It is a lot. But hey, are you a do-it-yourselfer, but you need a better do-it-yourself workspace? We’re going to share some tips on how you can create a productive and efficient garage workspace to handle projects both big and small. |
| 00:02:03 | LESLIE: And do you hate digging through your freezer to find the food that you want? Well, we’ve got some cool tips for finding the food that you want. Finding those frozen items more easily and reducing your food waste. They say if you can see it, you’ll actually eat it. Imagine that. |
| 00:02:16 | TOM: Why not? And if you are lucky enough to have either steam or hot water heat, you may know that radiators can be very nice and comfy in the chilly months. But if air gets stuck in that system, the radiators can end up being cold as ice and the steam radiators, if you have a steam system, can bang and cause quite a racket. So we’re going to talk about the fixes for both. They’re actually pretty simple. We’ll share those tips. We’re fine-tuning your hydronic heat just ahead. |
| 00:02:42 | LESLIE: All right, but let us know what you guys are working on. We are here to answer your calls, answer your emails, text, tweets, everything. We are standing by. So let us know what you are working on so we can help you get those projects done. |
| 00:02:54 | TOM: The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974. Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s first? |
| 00:03:01 | LESLIE: Heading over to West Virginia, we’ve got Patricia on the line who’s dealing with a floor drain clog. What is going on? |
| 00:03:07 | CALLER: The drain is filled with dead, what I think are bugs and worms because I’ve caught them on glue traps coming in the corner of the garage. It has a little grid on top and it’s cemented in so I can’t put anything big down there. I’ve probably only got a little over a fourth of an inch in each little space. |
| 00:03:30 | TOM: So you’re talking about a drain, a floor drain from the garage? Yes. And where does it drain to? Where does it do with the water that it collects? Do you know where it ends up? |
| 00:03:39 | CALLER: Yes, it just runs out into the side yard. |
| 00:03:42 | TOM: So as long as you have access to that from the side yard, you should be able to run a drain snake up that. Now, I say you, but given the distance, you’re probably going to need a drain cleaning company like your Roto-Rooter or a Mr. Rooter type of a service to do that because it’s a long way. It’s possible you could also rent a snake, a hand snake from a rental company and do it yourself. Not the most. It’s a motorized kind, but there’s a manual type of snake. And it seems unusual that you can’t get that grate off. That would be very helpful. But if you can’t get it off, you might be able to use a shop vac right on top of it and sort of suck up whatever leaves or debris are right under that grate. And you might be able to sort of get some of it loose that way. You may have to stick like a probe down there and loosen it up if it’s kind of caked. But you could use a vacuum to kind of suck up on that and hopefully pull some of it out. But if it’s really clogged in the pipe, the only way to fix that is with a drain cleaning snake. Does that make sense? |
| 00:04:40 | CALLER: Yes, it does. And I didn’t think about doing it from the outside. So that’s great. Thank you very much. |
| 00:04:46 | TOM: You’re welcome. Good luck with that project. |
| 00:04:48 | LESLIE: All right. We’ve got Charlie in Tennessee joining us here at the Money Pit with a painting project. What’s happening? |
| 00:04:55 | CALLER: Well, I’ve got a patio. |
| 00:04:58 | CALLER: It’s old. My house was made back in the 1950s. Okay. And the concrete. The concrete, the original. And it’s been painted several times. Well, the painting’s flaking off and then there’s concrete coming up too. So now my patio is pitted. I’m trying to figure out what would be the best way to cover up that pitting and smooth it back out and repaint it. |
| 00:05:25 | TOM: Okay. Let me walk you through the project. So first of all, you’re going to need to do a really good job of pressure washing that patio and getting up all of that loose paint because you can’t put anything over that loose paint. It’s just not going to allow whatever we put next to stick. So you’ve got to do a good job of that. You may have to get some wire brushes and get it there and scrape some of the stuff that’s a little bit, maybe flaking a little bit but not ready to come off. Do a good job with that. Then the second thing I want you to do is there’s a product called Recap, R-E-C-A-P. It’s made by Quikrete. It’s specifically designed to be able to layer over a deteriorated concrete surface like that. And you apply this stuff. It goes on pretty thin, you know, half, not half. It’s going to be a quarter inch, three-eighths of an inch. You trowel it on. You can put a broom finish on it if you want to have a little texture to it. And once it dries, it will not come up. You can’t use regular concrete because it just won’t last. And then the last thing you can do is paint that. Now, in terms of painting, if you do want to paint it, by the way, if you resurface it with the Recap, you don’t have to. But if you do want to paint it, the only way I would paint it is I would use an epoxy painting system. So epoxy paints are two-part paints. You mix them together. They have really good binding capabilities to really stick to that old concrete. You can take a look at the product that I used was made by Daich Coatings, D-A-I-C-H Coatings.com. I used it on my basement floor. And, man, I’ll tell you what, it really did a good job and stuck to the concrete there very, very well. So that’s what you have to do. You have to clean it. You have to resurface it. And then if you want to, you could paint it. DaichCoatings.com. They have a product. There’s a floor coating there. It’s designed specifically for garages. And I think that would be a product that you could use. Or they actually have some other decorative products that people use like around pool decks and stuff. There’s a whole bunch of floor products there. But the unique thing about those products is they’re all made with real stone. |
| 00:07:16 | CALLER: Okay. You guys are great. Thank you so much. |
| 00:07:19 | TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:07:23 | LESLIE: Hey, Money Pit Podcast fans. You want to help us out? Well, go ahead and leave us a five-star review. And we’re going to give you a virtual high-five. Plus, you’ll be helping us spread the word about our show. Just go to MoneyPit.com slash review. Well, are you guys ready to tackle some of those overdue repairs or maybe freshen up your decor? Or perhaps you are planning a project for the months ahead? Whatever it is, the Money Pit Podcast is here to help. You can subscribe for free at MoneyPit.com slash podcast. All right. Now we’re welcoming Maria from Rhode Island. What is going on at your money pit? I have an unusual ceiling. |
| 00:08:02 | CALLER: It was damaged by water. And the pieces that fell, the plaster that fell, reveal cement, cement-like panels of like four by four, I’ve been told, from someone who went in my attic. And I was just wondering how to repair that. And I don’t want to lower this ceiling. And I was wondering if I could just plaster the holes and smooth it out, because it also has a very bruised ceiling. I don’t like it. I don’t like in-room-like, swirly design. And I don’t like that. |
| 00:08:32 | TOM: Okay. So first of all, it sounds like you have what we call rock lathe. If you look at the evolution of wall construction, interior wall construction, you know, when walls were first framed, and they would put, I think what we all commonly known as tomato sticks. It’s a wood lathe strip that was on the wood studs. And then on top of the wood lathe strips, they would spread plaster and the plaster would sort of press in-between the lathe and sort of hook onto the structure. and that was the finished wall. Okay. So then after that, we decided that there was this other material that’s called rock lath. And it’s like the precursor to drywall today, but it was two foot by four foot boards generally and those were nailed on the wood studs. And then the plaster was applied on top of that lath, that rock lath. And so I think that’s what you’re saying you have. |
| 00:09:37 | TOM: Audio, Audio, Audio, Audio, Audio, Audio, Audio, Audio, Audio, |
| 00:10:15 | LESLIE: Before anything else fix the leak. Oh great. Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate it We’ve got Joel from Petoskey, Michigan on the line. Who’s got a question about a stud finder. What are you working on? |
| 00:10:28 | CALLER: Well, just working on hanging some pictures and putting some shelves up and some of the stud finders I’ve got when they go you go back and forth they gotta go in and they make the sound and but they’re not just not Very accurate and you have to kind of play around with them a lot. I just wonder which one was the best one |
| 00:10:42 | TOM: Yeah, so I’ve seen a bunch of them over the years I will tell you that the ones that are Designed for deeper walls and the ones that will say that they will they will work with metal studs or they will work through Plaster as opposed to just drywall are gonna be a little more accurate, but the goal here is really to find one stud Market and then measure off from that on 16 inch centers. That’s going to be the size for most walls 16 centers So and also keep in mind that When you find the stud it’s also sometimes hard to find whether you’re in the middle of the stud Or the edge or at the edges what I’ll do a lot is I’ll take a really really thin finish nail if I want to be Absolutely sure and I will you know start to nail it in into a place where I don’t think it’s gonna be terribly noticeable Or we’re just a one little quick wipe a spackle will just make it invisible and find that center of the stud and then measure off From there, but you’re right They’re not they’re not gonna give you the dead-on center all the time the ones by Stanley Black & Decker are pretty good I’ve used those over the years, but frankly Joel I gotta tell you the best stud Finder I have is my knuckles I just knock on the wall and you can hear the difference in sound when you get on top of the stud |
| 00:11:52 | CALLER: You know what I mean? Yeah, I tried that too. Good. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate your help. You’re welcome. Good luck with that project |
| 00:11:59 | LESLIE: Well, if you enjoy doing DIY projects having a dedicated space is essential for getting those done efficiently Now a garage can easily be transformed into a functional workshop without breaking the bank So we’re going to share some tips on how you can create a garage workshop In just a weekend including at the proper lighting all for under 500 bucks |
| 00:12:19 | TOM: Now the first step is to pick up a sturdy workbench with a solid top typically about 24 inches deep and 38 inches high Now some are going to come with drawers and shelves and vices But the height and the depth should suit your comfort level for instance I personally prefer a taller workbench to avoid backaches from leaning over You can also buy a ready-made bench for a couple hundred bucks or build a simple one yourself in a day for less than about a hundred And you can add a cushioned floor mat in front of that bench to keep your feet very comfortably planted Especially if you’re going to be working on a project that’s going to just go on and on for hours |
| 00:12:53 | LESLIE: Now when it comes to these work surfaces bright lighting is crucial here and LED lights are going to be your best friend I mean they are fantastic for both task lighting on the out lighting purposes You can really find something fixture wise that’s going to help you in the area that you need you want to aim for about 130 to 150 lumens per square foot of workspace when you’re planning your lighting And remember these fixtures that you put in with these LED lights, you know, they’re gonna last a very long time those LED bulbs themselves I mean something like 50,000 hours imagine that compared to an incandescent bulb So you’re really gonna get excellent usage out of it. Plus when you’re in the shop looking at the bulbs themselves There’s a lot of options from daylight temperatures, you know warmer temps. So kind of find the thing That’s the brightest that you’ll enjoy for your workspace |
| 00:13:39 | TOM: I’ll tell you when I tore out all my old fluorescent light fixtures and put in these LED Fixtures where they didn’t need bulbs. They were built in basically the lighting strips were built in Oh my gosh, what a huge difference in how well I could see it was bright It was airy and it was very easy to see the projects to see The tape measures to see the squares to see everything I had to see once I upgraded that lighting So if you’re working in a garage and you’ve got old ceiling mounted fluorescents get rid of them and pick up some LED Ceiling fixtures you will be so happy you did and speaking of lighting you also want to make sure your workshop has enough electrical Service with enough outlets and capacity for power tools or anything else that you’re working on place outlets near your workspace to avoid Extension cords and tripping hazards, you know, most of our tools now are going battery operated But if you’re still using plug-in you got it |
| 00:14:28 | LESLIE: Make sure that you have the circus to handle that now when it comes to storage You have to come up with some great effective storage solutions You need to plan what items you’re going to need nearby What you can kind of display out in the open and what should be kept behind closed cabinet doors for safety purposes Now, if you’re working in a garage and you’ve got old ceiling mounted fluorescents get rid of them and pick up some LED fixtures and pick up some LED fixtures and pick up some LED fixtures for safety purposes Now modular storage systems They’re going to offer you the flexibility and how you arrange those shelves the bins and the hooks all to kind of suit your needs best and many Garage storage systems are also available for convenience for larger tools and supplies You can use those sturdy stackable plastic bins with lids make sure they are the clear bins So you can see what is in them if they are not labels |
| 00:15:05 | TOM: And finally if you’re gonna be using the workshop during the winter think about heating options There is a wide array of heating options for garages It’s out there everything from small space heaters to ceiling mounted furnaces that can keep your workspace cozy during those chilly project seasons |
| 00:15:24 | LESLIE: We’ve got Anthony in New Jersey on the line. Who’s got a question about a door project. What’s happening? How can we help? |
| 00:15:29 | CALLER: I live in a house. It’s a really good shape It’s only 30 years old, but you know, we’re in doing some renovations and all that But I have this old sliding glass door that’s got the tempered panes in it And I just don’t feel a draft and all that stuff coming through it even on a non-windy day I could feel a cold radiating from that window So I was all trying to talk to my wife into buying either a double or a single French style door to go here because I think it would be a lot more efficient, but we’d still be able to enjoy the back patio without having all the draft from a |
| 00:16:00 | TOM: Split window. I guess you can say a sliding glass door. Well, I will tell you that a French door is A difficult door to maintain a seal on okay because it has the center mullion and then you push at the top and the bottom of the sides I’ve seen a lot of French doors that have fallen out of whack Over the years so that’s not good I mean a sliding glass door is pretty straightforward if you have an old door and maybe you don’t have good quality insulated glass I’d much rather see you just replace the sliding glass door then replace it with a French door and be disappointed That’s why I called in and asked you know, is that the original sliding glass door on the house Anthony? Yeah, it is Yeah, I would have changed a lot over 30 35 years, you know, I put in a what did I put in? I put in a Pella sliding glass door that I got from Lowe’s and it was a stock door or two. It wasn’t terribly expensive I remember it being Into a 1906 house about a year ago And I’m happy with it now mind you when you’re standing near the door The glass is always going to be colder than the wall But I’ll give you a little trick of the trade for that and that is that if you have a curtain on that you’ll find that you don’t feel that that that Chilling is coming off the glass because what happens is it actually kind of Separates the warm air from hitting the glass because what the glass is just raw the warm air rises it hits it condenses and it Falls it cools and it falls and that can feel like a Draft so even something as simple as putting a drape in front of a sliding glass door makes a difference in terms of comfort |
| 00:17:18 | LESLIE: It’s hugely helpful. I mean we have so much glass I mean, I live in a very tiny house, but an old house and there’s a lot of windows So I have full walls that are sometimes, you know Three or four windows there and I know that when it’s gonna be a cold day coming up like the day before I close those shades |
| 00:17:35 | CALLER: Like just in preparation for the cold we have vertical blinds on them. That’s we don’t have a curtain just a vertical blinds |
| 00:17:42 | LESLIE: yeah, and that’s not really gonna help you, but you could also do like a honeycomb shade and You know even a honeycomb shade that pulls down on a sliding glass door gives you the same functionality But it gives you that insulative factor that will definitely stop that wind and you can find some, you know Not terribly expensive and even if it’s just something you use seasonally and then swap back out or just mount them You know sort of under the vertical blinds like there’s got to be a way you can have both in play Hey guys Did you know that? A burglar enters a home every 30 seconds That’s why we’re excited to partner with Vivint home security now money pit listeners can get their award-winning Smarter simpler home security system right now starting at just a dollar a day |
| 00:18:26 | TOM: Yep, and that’s not all because all of our listeners are also going to get free professional installation with a signed agreement So restrictions apply, but don’t wait you must call right now 800-586-9606 800-586-9606 Pick up a Vivint home security system for just a dollar a day with free professional installation 800-586-9606 |
| 00:18:53 | LESLIE: right, it’s countertop talking time. We’ve got Diane from Illinois on the line. What is going on at your money pit? |
| 00:19:00 | CALLER: We’ve lived in this house for My parents have for like 65 years And they have their original countertops that they put in, you know five years after they lived here And I’ve been trying to redo the top and like cleaning it off Sending it down and putting spray on it, but nothing seems to |
| 00:19:23 | TOM: Fix it. What kind of countertop is it for Micah? Okay laminate top. Okay Yeah, you’d mentioned in your question that you wanted to get information on Daish coatings That is one of our sponsors and they have some countertop products that I personally know pretty well Because I’ve actually used them a number of times You have options. They just released a new one called marble dream And basically these are high quality finishes that have real stone in them And so I follow the directions you can do it in about a weekend to prepare the top and then you apply What is essentially a base coat or a primer and then you put a finish coat and then there’s different techniques for getting the pattern You want for example, I did one called Luxe rock Which was made to replicate granite and after putting the base coat on and the top coat? I sanded it lightly and it brought all these sort of glittery Glittery flakes out of the stone like real granite And then I sealed it with a clear coat and it’s funny because I had a friend of mine over Were actually doing a photo shoot for a Trex deck that I had built and I had them She was the marketing director and she says what are you doing? So I’m building countertop. I said, what do you think this is? She’s like, I don’t know. It’s like granite. It’s beautiful. It’s not it’s paint. No way. I had to turn it over |
| 00:20:36 | LESLIE: You were just fishing for compliments with your fancy art |
| 00:20:40 | TOM: And that’s how good it looks and all those products are kind of work that way and I just got This week shipment of a marble dream countertop for another kitchen I’m working on and the marble dream is pretty cool because they perfected the way to get streaks or veins |
| 00:20:55 | LESLIE: I guess it’s called right Leslie. Yeah the veining and you can totally Customize the way the veining looks so truly based on how you like the look of marble whether it’s heavily veined or more sort of loose And sweeping there’s different ways that you can achieve that and it truly is such a |
| 00:21:10 | TOM: User-friendly kit. I was reading some instructions that you can use a hairdryer To move the material around and get like a sort of like a circular Waving kind of vein pattern or the streaky kind of vein pattern so they give you all the tricks of the trade of it |
| 00:21:24 | CALLER: Well, how does it hold up? |
| 00:21:26 | TOM: Well the top that I put on the second floor in this house has been in there for a couple of years now It seems to be standing up really really well, and you know what if you need and you refinish it |
| 00:21:35 | CALLER: You just put another coat of urethane over it. Oh, okay Is that what you do on the top is put urethane? |
| 00:21:40 | TOM: Yeah, you do and it’s all in the kit, and I will say this the materials are very high quality I can always tell When I’m using a good quality paint product because of the way like the brush sort of like hugs it and drags across the surface You can tell it really bonds very very well, and that’s what makes these products work so well |
| 00:21:57 | CALLER: So okay, and it has like a water splash. You know it comes up It’s so it comes up the wall a little bit and down and it’s like on one side Of the kitchen they have a small kitchen and then on the other side. How far does the kit cover? |
| 00:22:12 | TOM: I think it covers 40 square feet the website is Daich Coatings daichcoatings.com |
| 00:22:18 | CALLER: Check it out. Take a look at the pictures lots of photos the videos. It’s really quite attractive. Okay. Thank you very much |
| 00:22:24 | TOM: Good luck on that project |
| 00:22:27 | LESLIE: Well, don’t you hate digging through your freezer to find the food that you want? You know stocking up your freezer is truly a great way to take advantage of grocery sales preserve seasonal foods and keep leftovers handy , but it can be a headache to search for what you need when you need it and that freezer space I swear to you is the most valuable real estate out there in the home now You want to avoid freezer burn and that’s a lot easier with these tips when you keep everything nice and organized You want to start off by taking inventory and figuring out what’s in that freezer? What do you use most often and you want to make those items most accessible now each time you add or remove food items? You want to update that list you don’t run out of whatever you need? |
| 00:23:07 | TOM: Or buy the things you already have now also you want to think about using a freezer safe containers dividers Baskets and bins to hold things and take full advantage of that space It’s good idea to sort and store your food items vertically like say books on a shelf rather than stacking them And that helps to prevent Avalanches when you need to pull something out from the bottom of the pile that happens to me a lot no matter how hard I Try it does I tend to drop things But anyway, be sure to label each item with a marker so you can identify what it is? And also when it’s packaged we always put dates on For example the meat so we know how long it’s been in there and you can check those freshness dates and serving sizes later Keep items that expire sooner in a more visible spot to help reduce waste and avoid the dreaded freezer burn now |
| 00:23:53 | LESLIE: Different types of freezers are also going to determine how you store things in those side-by-side Refrigerator freezers for instance that door is going to be the warmest area so you want to use that space for things like breads nuts Flours herbs ice packs all of those things in those sort of narrow slots now in the bottom refrigerator freezer You’re going to want to stack similar items that no mystery items get buried at the bottom for instance You want to make vertical stacks of vegetables poultry meat etc so that you can work your way down by category and chest Freezers have a lot of depth so you should keep the items you use the most towards the top and store less needed items further down Storage containers or milk crates really work well in those chest freezers To give you extra layers you know kind of helps you find more space within this sort of large chest now in a top freezer Refrigerator or an upright freezer you can create drawers out of bins |
| 00:24:47 | TOM: Dividers out of plastic magazine holders and plastic shelves to create those organized zones great ideas So organizing your icebox might require a bit of thinking outside that box But now you’ll be able to find all those frozen foods so the next step is just figuring out what to make for dinner |
| 00:25:04 | LESLIE: Well if your home Is heated by hot water you know this is one of the most pleasant and efficient heating systems out there? Especially because the heat is moist now there are two problems though common with hot water systems |
| 00:25:17 | TOM: They can be pretty annoying fortunately. They’re both pretty easy to fix. Yeah, so first up. Let’s talk about a cold radiator Now if you have a hot water system and your radiator is cold it probably needs to be bled now when we say bled we’re talking about an air valve that’s at the top of the radiator and To open it you use something called a radiator key It’s kind of like a wrench that is designed to wrap around a square headed screw That basically is what seals off that radiator you put the radiator key in there you twist it you’ll hear air come out of it and once the air stops coming out and starts to spit some water then that radiator has been bled and you can go ahead and turn that Radiator key to shut the valve off and you should be good to go from that point forward this will also be detectable if You happen to notice that your radiator only heats like halfway up It’s not getting hot water all the way up to the top or not getting hot all the way to the top That means because there’s air that’s lying in there Now let’s talk about steam systems one of the most common complaints with steam systems is banging pipes Steam is a pretty noisy system for most part and there are some ways to avoid those banging pipes It’s actually those are actually little steam explosions that happen now I have a steam system in a house that I own and in order to silence it What I had to do was I had to Relevel the radiator so that it actually pitches a little bit towards the pipe that feeds it from below So that any water that collects in there will run back down that pipe because if water can get trapped in there Then what’s going to happen is that air is going to cause little steam explosions That can be really annoying and really loud and sometimes it keeps you awake at night So think about that if you have a steam system you want to basically Relevel unit So it pitches down towards the pipe down towards the valve and if you do that it should be good to go now These are both somewhat simple jobs But if you’re not comfortable certainly a good idea to turn to a plumber who could also Perhaps replace the steam vents as well because sometimes that happens There’s a on the opposite side of the valve is a little vent and sometimes those have to be replaced So one way or the other not a terrible job, but one that has to be done that will solve those very common problems with hot water heat |
| 00:27:34 | LESLIE: Alright, we’ve got Jason on the line who’s dealing with potentially a major structural issue going on at their newly purchased home. What’s going on? |
| 00:27:41 | CALLER: I bought my house four years ago, and we kind of overlooked some problems because we had been looking for so long But basically I have the beam that holds up the main part of my house is like Rounded the whole length of my house like there’s a hump in my floor from end to end The floor sags on both sides of the main beam I think part of the problem is the actual upper parts the walls and stuff Don’t actually go over the beam they go on either side Is it even worth trying to fix or should I get out of the house? |
| 00:28:20 | LESLIE: I mean, this is definitely something because you kind of rushed the whole process I mean had you had a home inspection this definitely would have been seen right Tom? |
| 00:28:28 | TOM: I think so for sure based on the amount of sag that you’re reporting I don’t think the fact that the interior bearing walls Which is what it sounds like you’re talking about are offset from the from the beam is the cause of this I mean, that’s actually not an uncommon thing to do within reason They could be offset a little bit and still provide plenty of support But the fact that this being moved is definitely a major concern and we need to figure out why that is I my one question would be do you think it’s active or has it always been this way because if it’s active Then it’s even more serious of a problem I think in this case what? I would do is I would hire a structural engineer to evaluate this problem and determine What has to be done to stabilize it and the engineer should specify what repair is needed and then with that specification You could find a contractor to make the repair. I am confident. You don’t have to run away from this house These things are fixable It’s just that this is a significant issue that requires that level of attention and you want to work through the engineer Not just a contractor who thinks now directors are always famous or no. I know how to fix that Well, maybe not more likely not And this way if you use an engineer you have sort of a pedigree so to speak in terms of a file It’ll be building that if you go to sell this house and this repair is evident or the sag is evident You can say hey, I had an engineer check it out It’s it is a problem or it’s not a problem And if it was a problem, I fixed it according to his specs Then the engineer should come back and certify that the repair was done correctly That’s the way to make sure that you sort of reset the clock here and reset the value of the house by proving That it was done correctly make sure you get building permits and follow it through And that’s the best way to solve at this at this point in time But Leslie like you said even though it’s tough market and even though you’re pressed to find the perfect house and you think you may have It never makes sense to skip the home inspection and to rush into these things Because these problems can get really expensive if they’re overlooked |
| 00:30:17 | LESLIE: Oh, yeah and I feel like now that you’ve already bought the house like you’re on your own with these costs like beforehand you could have at least |
| 00:30:24 | TOM: Negotiated something or made the choice to not purchase. Yeah, and not only that you’re basically at you basically need to disclose now that the house has a problem So it’s got to be solved and this is the best way to do it |
| 00:30:35 | LESLIE: Diane wrote in to team money pit asking when I’m painting a room Do I paint the walls first and then the trim around the windows or the trim first and then the walls? |
| 00:30:45 | TOM: Hmm. Hmm. Is there a right answer? I say gravity counts, right? So for me, I always do the ceiling first. I always do the ceiling first Yeah You know a lot of folks don’t realize that that ceiling paint also is different than wall paint right because it’s designed to Stick better and not drip like wall paint is so I definitely am with you on that ceilings first with the right paint |
| 00:31:08 | LESLIE: All right, so ceiling first then do you go crown molding wall? Do you do wall then all the trim I kind of do the wall and the trim last but I don’t know if that’s right now |
| 00:31:19 | TOM: I’m like second-guessing every time I’ve ever painted, you know, I think if you had crown molding I think that’s okay as a standalone project because that’s what’s gonna layer on top of everything and your chances are you’re gonna be doing that By brush anyway, you know, so you have the opportunity to be much more careful But when you’re doing the large surfaces I say you do ceiling first then you do walls and then do all the trim last the walls may be complicated You know, they may be textured or maybe you want to do stripes You maybe have to do a lot of masking so I would do all of that after the ceiling |
| 00:31:51 | LESLIE: True true true now when it comes to masking Well, I kind of never mask when I’m doing the trim But I think a lot of people find it super helpful And I think the trick here is when you put down the masking tape Which should always be a painters tape because it does remove itself very nicely without damaging the beautifully painted surface that you’ve just done First of all, make sure that the surface you’re attaching to is dry Then if there’s say you’re doing a pattern and you lay down that tape I then paint over the tape with the same color as the wall or you know that first section So that anything that’s kind of bled underneath is the color that’s there, right? And then I go and you know paint my next thing next to it now when it comes to trim and stuff I do the wall and then put it as close as I possibly can to that molding But I still kind of tried to avoid that tape at all Possible chances there. It’s all about having a good brush. I think when it comes to the trim |
| 00:32:48 | TOM: So let me ask you a question So if you’re painting the wall, and then you’re putting the tape on the fresh paint after it’s dried, obviously Do you ever worry about that paint separating when you pull the tape off? |
| 00:32:58 | LESLIE: Of course! But I know it’s not gonna |
| 00:33:00 | TOM: Well, I mean I’ve seen it separate and to me that means I missed an opportunity to use primer, right? Maybe for some reason if I didn’t have good adhesion and that happened I would use primer But it doesn’t happen very often. You’re right. |
| 00:33:12 | LESLIE: No, or I would think it didn’t dry all the way |
| 00:33:15 | TOM: Yeah, well because we’re all impatient, right? |
| 00:33:18 | LESLIE: Everybody’s so impatient. That’s probably why I don’t mask |
| 00:33:21 | TOM: And after the last coat of paint Then I pull the tape off right away. I don’t let it sit there till it all dries |
| 00:33:27 | LESLIE: No, I definitely do not let it sit there until it all dries. And you kind of have to peel it back against itself Like don’t be all like whoa and like rip it off. You kind of want to like roll it back |
| 00:33:37 | TOM: Yep. Yep, exactly. Yeah. Well, if you get the technique right with the tape, it makes a big difference But if you have a steady hand you do this enough then of course, I know the pros don’t use masking tape One more tip tarps don’t use plastic tarps use canvas tarps That’s what the pros use because if you spill something on plastic, it’s very slippery and very messy If you spill on tarp on canvas, all it does is absorb it |
| 00:33:58 | LESLIE: It just makes a fun pattern There you go. All right now to the hard part Diane pick that color |
| 00:34:04 | TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Hey guys. Thank you so much for spending a part of your day listening to us We hope that we’ve shared a tip or two that you find useful and valuable as you maintain and enjoy your homes Remember if you’ve got a question or about a project you want to do or maybe a trouble spot that’s developing in your house You can reach us 24 7 by calling 1-888-Money-Pit-HOME Or go to Moneypit.com/ask if we’re not in the studio We will call you back the next time we take a show until then, I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:34:36 | 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 2025 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