Show Notes
In this show, learn how to plan a well-designed laundry room remodel, get tips for turning your bedroom into a luxury suite, and check for hidden winter storm damage that could cost you big later. Whether you’re fixing up now or gathering ideas for the future, we’ve got you covered with answers to all your home improvement questions!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Laundry Room: Get spin-cycle savvy with tips for designing an organized laundry room.
- Bedroom Design: We’ve got suite ideas for remodeling your bedroom to add value and luxury.
- Storm Damage: The impact of winter storms isn’t always obvious, but here’s where to look for visible and hidden damage.
Top Questions & Answers
- Ventilation: When should Lisa run her bathroom vent fan? We recommend installing a humidistat timer, but she should consult an HVAC technician to check her home’s air exchange.
- Moisture: The cement base of Tom’s screened-in porch gets a layer of water, but no leak. He must manage the exterior moisture that’s being drawn up through the concrete.
- Heated Tile Floor: June loves heated flooring, but the ceramic tile has cracks. We recommend a very effective system with a membrane that goes under the floor.
- Insulation: What is the difference between closed cell and open cell spray foam insulation? John learns the pros and cons of each and how to use them.
- Fireplace Noise: Whistling and howling noises are coming from the gas fireplace. Sharon should check if the roof venting was properly installed.
- Electrical Switch: A three-way light circuit has stopped working. It could be a failure at any point, not in the fixture itself, and Russ should hire an electrician.
- Countertops: Iris is considering upgrading her kitchen countertops. We agree that quartz is a good choice for its looks, durability, stain resistance, and easier care.
- Wall Insulation: Brad learns why he can’t go wrong by installing insulation on the back of a knee wall in the upstairs bedroom.
- Deck Stain: Paula wants to stain and seal a pine wood deck to match her house trim. An all-in-one solid color stain will give her lots of choices.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:16 | TOM: Cost 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: And we are here to help you take on the projects you want to get done around your house. So if there’s something on your to-do list, you can move it right on over to our to-do list by calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974, or go to moneypit.com slash ask and click the blue microphone button. And then it will be our to-do list, and we’ll work with you to help you take the important steps you need to get it done right the first time. Hey, we’ve got a great show planned for you. Coming up first, you know, adding a new and well-designed and organized laundry room is a super popular project. I think it doesn’t matter what the economy, that’s a project that always has value, that can really make doing the work of the laundry a lot easier. But there is one complication, and that is because laundry room remodels involve, let’s think about this, plumbing, right? Electrical work, carpentry work, and all of that, it really needs careful planning. So we’re going to talk about how to plan out and tackle that project just ahead. |
| 00:01:29 | LESLIE: And turning your primary bedroom into a luxurious suite is generally a great way to add value and style, but a common remodeling mistake can make the effort worthless. We’re going to walk you through what to do to spike up that luxury and the value just ahead. |
| 00:01:43 | TOM: And winter storms can leave a lot of obvious structural damage in their wake, but there can also be hidden damage. That turns into big expenses later on. We’re going to share tips on how to check your house for damage, both visible and invisible, in just a bit. |
| 00:01:57 | LESLIE: But first, whether you are doing or dreaming, we can help you make your home everything you want it to be. So let us know what you are working on and how we can lend a hand. Here we are at Team Money Pit, standing by. |
| 00:02:09 | TOM: 888-666-3974 is the phone number. Let’s get started. Leslie, who’s first? |
| 00:02:15 | LESLIE: Lisa in Michigan is on the line dealing with a humid bath. What’s going on? |
| 00:02:19 | CALLER: I have an energy-efficient house that was built very tight, and they put in an exhaust fan in the bathroom to allow ventilation for the whole house, but I don’t know if it’s doing a correct job, and I’ve read some places where they say to leave it running all the time. |
| 00:02:38 | TOM: So the timer that’s in the bathroom exhaust fan, first of all, that would be a very weird place to put whole house ventilation, by the way. That exhaust fan is probably just for your bathroom, to take the moisture out of the bathroom. That would be more normal. Why do you think it’s for the whole house? |
| 00:02:53 | CALLER: It’s not a whole house. They use it for ventilation because the house is so tight. |
| 00:02:59 | TOM: Well, it’s taking air out? Well, if the house is really tight, the ventilation would be where we add air back in, not where we take air out. We take air out, that’s usually because we have damp moisture we want to get rid of. I’m pretty sure that what you’re seeing in your bathroom is not for the entire house. I think it is just for a typical bathroom. It’s just a bathroom exhaust fan. And the timer on it is one that would, if it’s set normally, it would be set for humidity. It might have a humidistat on it. So I don’t think what you’re seeing is for whole house ventilation. There would be a different type of fan that would be used for that. Is this in the bath ceiling? Yeah. |
| 00:03:36 | CALLER: Yeah. |
| 00:03:37 | TOM: It’s not for the whole house. |
| 00:03:38 | CALLER: Well, but that’s what I’ve read that that’s what they’re doing on some of these houses. |
| 00:03:41 | TOM: Well, it might be just bad information that’s getting passed around. That wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever. Okay. All right. |
| 00:03:48 | CALLER: Do I need to have some type of air exchange for a house that is- |
| 00:03:54 | TOM: Well, that’s an architectural question, and it depends on how tight the house is and what the air changes per hour were designed to be. If it’s any less than about three-quarters of an air change per hour, then you probably do need to have some replacement air ventilation in it. But I would ask your builder or your HVAC contractor that question, and then they can discuss the options for that. The trick is that if you’re going to bring in fresh air, you want to do it through something called an air-to-air heat exchanger, so that if you’re exhausting stale air, but you’re recovering the BTUs that were used to heat that air, so you’re not getting rid of the heat. It’s kind of like a radiator where it’s passing it from the bad air to the good air on the way in. So you’re sort of preheating that air that’s coming in from the outside using the heat that was in the stale air. That’s why it’s called an air-to-air heat exchanger, because it exchanges the air, but it traps the heat or the cool. Okay? So good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:04:52 | LESLIE: Tom in Tennessee is on the line and needs some help with a porch. Tell us what you’re working on. |
| 00:04:56 | CALLER: Well, I just bought the house maybe two months ago. It has a screened-in back porch with different verisizes of … I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it has seam between them. And it’s a smooth porch. We have a layer of water on the … I know the roof is not leaking because we have a table and chairs and they’re not wet. I don’t understand where that water could be coming from. |
| 00:05:35 | TOM: Well, if it’s not because of gravity, so if it’s not falling, that means it’s being drawn up into the slab from somewhere underneath that. So that usually means that there’s water collecting somewhere around that perimeter of that porch area and it’s saturating that concrete and that stone and it’s sucking it right up and condensing on the surface. |
| 00:05:55 | CALLER: Yeah, that sounds possible. |
| 00:05:57 | TOM: So then what you do for that is you try to identify the source of the moisture. It could be grating and gutters. It could be soil that’s sloping into the wall, not sloping away enough, and you try to dry that up as much as possible. I suspect it’s going to change. Right now, it’s not that hot. It’s fairly damp, a lot of rain. We get into the warmer summer months. It’s not something you’re going to see every day, but I could understand that in certain periods of the year with a certain amount of precipitation that this would be common, if that rainwater is not properly managed. Okay. |
| 00:06:26 | CALLER: Okay. I don’t think it’s the downspouts because I’ve checked those and the only possibility could be the drainage on the outside of the porch. |
| 00:06:36 | TOM: How far away from the wall are the downspouts extended? |
| 00:06:41 | CALLER: Well, there’s actually one at the corner of the screened-in porch, but there’s no water at that corner. The water is mainly in the middle of the porch itself. |
| 00:06:53 | TOM: Well, see, here’s the thing. The thing about water, it’s not always logical. You can have a malfunctioning downspout or water that’s piling towards one corner and then have it show up 10 feet away, 20 feet away. I’ve seen that happen on a frighteningly regular basis because that’s the way the water behaves. I would tell you this. Make sure the downspouts are at least six feet from the house. Don’t let them come out one or two feet like most of them do. Get that water well away, even if you have to just throw some extensions and leader extensions on those spouts for a few weeks to see if it has an effect. Just get that water away from those corners and regrade it so it slopes away and then let’s see what happens. Okay. |
| 00:07:33 | CALLER: Okay. That makes sense. Thank you. |
| 00:07:35 | TOM: You’re welcome, Tom. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:07:40 | 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. June in Alaska is on the line. We’re on the line with a question about tiles cracking on the floor. How can we help you today? |
| 00:07:59 | CALLER: I was listening to your wonderful program and when you got to the part about the in-floor heat, we have a lot of that here in our area, the in-floor heating, and I love it. However, our home is only 10 years old, it’s fairly new, but I’ve noticed my bathroom floors, they have ceramic tile, and we have some hairline cracks in them, but I thought when, okay, I’m going to replace them. But when I do that, I want to know how to have the people do it properly so that doesn’t happen again. Right. |
| 00:08:42 | TOM: Yeah, so I think you may have heard us talking to the representative from Schluter Systems. You’re referring to the remote show that I did up in Newton, Massachusetts with all of the guys at this old house. And we were talking about one of the products they put in, which is a product called DITRA. And DITRA is a membrane that goes under tile and it does just that, it prevents cracking. But now they have DITRA where they’ve combined it with a heating system. So you can have an electric floor underneath your tile and you know that the tile is going to be both warm and it will not crack. So it’s a really cool product, very effective, and I really hate to get the calls from folks that are asking me how to stop their floors from cracking. Because there’s no easy answer. It’s happening because the floor wasn’t put down correctly to begin with. But now you can put down this DITRA product with the heating system built in, there’s a Wi-Fi thermostat that’s available for it, and you’ve got all the parts in one place. So I would definitely encourage you to look into that when you’re ready to do the floor. Just look for those Schluter Systems, their website, and it’s pretty obvious. It’s called DITRA Heat. Cool. Yeah. It’s one of those that install tile for a long, long time, and that’s why the guys at this old house use them for so many of those critical bathroom projects there. All right, June, good luck with that project. Love your program. Well, thank you very much. |
| 00:10:07 | LESLIE: All right, heading over to North Carolina where John’s got a question about insulation. How can we help you? |
| 00:10:12 | CALLER: Hey, so this is just a follow-up question to what I had for y’all before. I called in about spray and foam. And Bill said that, you know, for your house, you know, you’re going to have to do a lot of things. You’re going to have to spray your house, I think, 1896 home or something, an older home. Yeah, 1896. Yeah, good memory. Yeah. So for that house, you said you had the spray. What I was just wondering was, I talked a little bit more to the person that wants to do the work on my house, and they said there was two different types of closed cell and open cell. And I just didn’t know, I was wondering if you knew what was in your house, if it was open or closed cell, and if there was one that was better than the other. I guess that was pretty much my main question. |
| 00:10:51 | TOM: Well, closed cell spray foam. Yeah. So closed cell spray foam can be applied at a lower temperature, as low as I think about five degrees. It’s also a stronger foam. So sometimes if you’re concerned about shift in a wall, what’s called a racking strength, you use a closed cell. It’s also got a higher R value per inch, so it’s a little more energy efficient, and it’s resistant to vapor transfer. So it has a lower vapor permanence, it’s called. It also can reject any water, like in leaks. It’s not really damaged by that. Open cell spray foam is at a significantly lower cost than closed cell, and you can get a greater R value if you’re not restricted by space. In other words, if you’ve got room for the stuff to expand. Okay. But it’s a little more of a hydrophobic material, and it’s going to also be a good air barrier and an insulating material as well. So those are kind of the differences. It really depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Okay. I think in my home, I have both. I think I have two. I have a closed cell down in the crawl space where there’s more potential moisture and open cell up in the attic space. Okay. |
| 00:11:59 | CALLER: Yeah, that’s awesome. I really appreciate you all letting me call in again to ask a follow-up question. I love your program. So thank you so much for calling me, guys. |
| 00:12:07 | TOM: All right. Take care. Good luck with that project. |
| 00:12:10 | LESLIE: Well, adding a new, well-designed and organized laundry room to your home is a very popular project that can make laundry a lot easier and less stressful to do. Yes. |
| 00:12:19 | TOM: But while a laundry room makeover may be a small space remodeling project, it requires smart planning to get it done and the help of some skilled pros to handle the plumbing, electrical work, and carpentry you’re not tackling yourself. |
| 00:12:32 | LESLIE: Yeah. The first thing, though, you have to think about is location. You can build a laundry room into something as small as a closet or as large as a utility room, a spare bedroom, or the basement, but you have to think through the location possibilities. So consider things like the distance between the laundry area and the bedrooms. I mean, this is really important. This is really where the laundry piles up, so the greater the distance, the farther you have to travel back and forth to get that laundry done, the more of a pain in the butt it is. Get it? Now, the distance to the utilities. Does the laundry area already have access to plumbing and electrical connections? If not, how far do they need to be run? Is there a way to run an exhaust for that dryer vent? And for gas dryers, what about a gas line? Utility connections can be costly to run, so picking that spot that’s got easy access can definitely impact those costs. |
| 00:13:19 | TOM: You know, there’s a generational thing here that talks about laundry room access because a lot of homes, say homes that were built like maybe the 50s and 60s, they always had those laundry rooms in the basement, right? Or the first floor somewhere, like sort of an outside room almost. And that was typical, but that meant you had to carry all the laundry up and down the stairs every single time. I mean, my house, our washer and dryer were on an area that used to be a porch that was sort of converted to living space, but it was like off the kitchen and it was about the farthest from the bedrooms as you could possibly get. And so one of the first remodeling projects I did was move it all upstairs. And now we have to walk about three feet to get to the laundry room, you know, and throw in a shirt into the hamper or something that needs to be done. So it’s a lot easier when you can keep those distances between where you generate the laundry and where you clean the laundry as short as possible. You also want to think about having enough space for folding, storing, and even ironing laundry. And also storage space for supplies. Detergent, bleach, dryer sheets. Stain removers and other types of laundry supplies. So bottom line, you really need to think through the options and make some smart choices when you’re planning a laundry room project. And that’s going to help to bring the project in on time and on budget and set you up with a space that can serve your family very well for many years to come. |
| 00:14:36 | LESLIE: All right, calling in from Michigan, we’ve got Sharon on the line. How can we help you today? |
| 00:14:40 | CALLER: We had a new fireplace, gas fireplace, put in last July. And almost a year ago, we had a new fireplace. And almost constantly, since we’ve had it put in, we hear a whistling, howling noise behind the glass, behind the fireplace. We’ve called the installers, and they had a wind guard made and came out just a few months ago and put it up by the new cap. And the noise is still there. And I hear it almost every single day. |
| 00:15:26 | TOM: Is this gas fireplace, this is completely brand new, or this was like a masonry fireplace that was converted to gas? |
| 00:15:33 | CALLER: No, the fireplace and all the venting is brand new. When we had the house built 12 years ago, that fireplace went out about a year or so ago, and we couldn’t find replacement parts. Everything was discontinued and obsolete, so that’s why we had to put in a brand new fireplace. |
| 00:15:56 | TOM: What brand fireplace did you put in? |
| 00:15:58 | CALLER: It’s a Travis 864 TRV. |
| 00:16:03 | TOM: The venting on this, is it up through the roof, or is it out the back of the fireplace? |
| 00:16:07 | CALLER: No, it goes up through the roof. The fireplace is almost in the middle of the house. We kind of almost have a square house. Okay. I did call and ask the guys that put in the venting, the new venting, the angles and the length, and they told me that they went up, and the two angles are going to be at 45 degrees. Initially from the fireplace, it goes up 12, then turns and goes 10 feet, and then up 10 feet to the roof, and the two angles are 45 degrees. |
| 00:16:44 | TOM: Where it goes through the roof, there’s a rule called the 210 rule. The 210 rule of chimney construction, which means that it has to be at least two feet above any part of the roof that’s within a 10-foot radius, so if you were to have a 10-foot string swing around that chimney, it has to be two feet above the roof at the closest part. Do you have the sense that the vent is tall enough where it comes through the roof? I honestly don’t know. Here’s what I would do. I think that you’ve already talked enough to the installers and the folks that you bought this from. I would talk to the manufacturer. I would talk directly. I would talk directly to the folks at Travis Industries. Their website is simply travisindustries.com, but they have a separate website for this particular fireplace brand. It’s simply called fireplacex.com. I see the information on the 864. It looks like a beautiful unit, but I suspect this is in the venting. The problem is in the venting. It may have to do with the type of vent they use or the installation of the vent or the height of the vent above the roof. Perhaps being not tall enough, because it sounds to me like what’s happening is as the wind blows over that vent, you’re getting this whistling noise, and it should be something that they could figure out and design around. |
| 00:17:57 | CALLER: The two foot above the roof line, what was that again? |
| 00:18:02 | TOM: Think of the chimney coming through the roof. If you were to go to the top of the chimney and go 10 feet in any direction, like a circle, that top of the chimney has to be at least two feet above any piece of the roof. Okay. All right. But I think you should probably work with the manufacturer on this, at least to try to figure out what the possible issues are, because you certainly shouldn’t be putting up with this. Okay? All right. All right. Thanks so much. You’re welcome. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:18:31 | LESLIE: Heading up to New Hampshire, where we’ve got Russ on the line, who’s dealing with some tricky electrical issues going on over there. What’s happening? |
| 00:18:38 | CALLER: Bought a new home two years ago when my wife and I moved here to retire, and for the same two years, a three-switch light circuit. That’s right. In my hall leading from the kitchen to the bedroom worked just fine. Any one of the three switches would turn the lights, the can ceilings, on or off, and about a month ago, that stopped working, such that the second and third light switch would only operate if the first light switch was in the down position. I’ve done some troubleshooting, I’ve replaced light switches, and when that didn’t solve the problem, took them back out and put the old ones in, can’t get it to work properly, and would like some guidance if you can think of some things that I should do before I spend a couple of hundred bucks to get an electrician in the house. |
| 00:19:24 | TOM: Hey, Russ. Yeah, well, wiring a three-way switch is tricky enough. You’ve got a four-way switch, so the fact of the matter is that you could have a failure at any point in that wiring. It may not just be the switch itself. It might actually be at the fixture end or at a splice somewhere else, and if it’s feeding multiple lights, like hi-hat lights in the ceiling, it could be at one of the lights, but not more of the lights, so I think in this case, you’re wise to actually hire an electrician and trace out each part of the circuit until you figure out what’s going on. The one thing I would do before that is just to double-check to make sure you put the wiring back in the right place, because it’s kind of tricky sometimes, and what I usually recommend is people take photographs before they do that, but if you rewired it correctly when you switched out the switch that you thought was bad, then that’s about all you can do, and I would go to a pro and get it straightened out. |
| 00:20:09 | LESLIE: Well, turning your primary bedroom into a luxurious suite is generally a great way to add value and maybe even a little romance into your life. But one common remodeling mistake can ruin both, because if you make this mistake, your partner’s going to be so mad at you, there’s going to be no special visits to that bedroom for a while. |
| 00:20:29 | TOM: Well, yes, and that mistake is this, knocking down the wall of an adjacent bedroom to combine it into the new primary bedroom suite. This can actually impact the value of your home negatively, since home value is largely based on the number of rooms. So, whether you’re adding space or not, using that space is going to be a lot easier than anything you can do. But the most common mistake is the key to a lush primary bedroom. But think about how you use your bedroom or would you like to use your bedroom and plan it from there. |
| 00:20:53 | LESLIE: Yeah, you know, a reading nook, a personal gym, a cozy fireplace. Those are all very popular upgrades, and some couples swear that adding his and her closets is just the boost that any marriage needs. Now, drapes and window dressings can also add ambiance like never before, as can updated lighting and dimmers. I love to add a beautiful sort of wall covering. Audio, Audio, Audio, Audio IRIS in Florida is on the line and has a question about a new countertop. Tell us about it. |
| 00:21:52 | CALLER: Oh, hi. First and foremost, Leslie, let me tell you, I’ve loved listening to you and Tom for so many years. You’re just, both of you are just so wonderful. |
| 00:22:03 | TOM: Thank you, Iris. I appreciate that. |
| 00:22:05 | CALLER: You’re most welcome. Well, my husband and I built our current home about four years ago. We did not upgrade the granite counters in the kitchen. We are now putting in a wonderful click-in waterproof vinyl planking throughout the entire house. And, of course, the counters are looking like they need to be upgraded as well. |
| 00:22:33 | TOM: What kind of counters do you have right now? |
| 00:22:35 | CALLER: We currently have granite. Okay. But we’re very strong on granite. Yes. We’re very strongly favoring a quartz. Okay. So what do you think? |
| 00:22:44 | TOM: I mean, the cost is about the same. It’s kind of a toss-up between those two products. The granite is probably a bit harder to take care of because it’s more absorbent. It’s the difference between, you know, solid stone and really engineered stone. I mean, the solid stone is what you have now and engineered stone is what you would be getting. |
| 00:23:00 | CALLER: We want to stay in this house fairly permanently, so, and we’re pretty contemporary and there’s so many beautiful quartz. |
| 00:23:09 | CALLER: Okay. |
| 00:23:09 | TOM: Oh, yeah. |
| 00:23:10 | CALLER: Patterns. Yep. What are your thoughts about silestone? |
| 00:23:15 | TOM: Silestone, yes. Beautiful stuff. |
| 00:23:17 | LESLIE: So, I think, Iris, the reason why I really do like quartz as a product, we put it in my mom has a vacation home out on the east end of Long Island. My whole family shares it. And we had a big flood due to a pipe bursting a few years back and we renovated everything in the house. And, I mean, we had Formica countertops, laminate countertops that, you know, from a gajillion years ago. And we, all of us loved the look of marble, but none of us wanted the maintenance of marble. So, we ended up going with a quartz that looks just like a beautiful white marble. And it’s gorgeous. It’s durable. It’s stain resistant. It, you know, you can put a hot pan on it and not worry about it. I mean, we try not to, but it, you can. So, we all love it. And we ended up also doing one that has a concrete look for a surround to a fireplace. And we’ve all been happy. And I mean, this was trying to please three things. So, you know, we all struggled on picking the right thing, but I really do enjoy the quartz product. I mean, truly, I love marble, I love granite, but there is such a level of maintenance that goes along with it. And if you’re not willing to take on that maintenance, it’s just not going to stand up. |
| 00:24:25 | CALLER: Well, it sounds like you made an excellent decision based on so many people to please. And since we were leaning so favorably toward it, I think I’m convinced. So, thank you both so very much. |
| 00:24:37 | TOM: Yep. Good luck with it. I’m sure it’s going to be beautiful when it’s done. |
| 00:24:39 | LESLIE: Thanks so much, Tom. Take care. All right. We’ve got Brad on the line. Brad, what can we do with you today at the Money Pit? |
| 00:24:45 | CALLER: I have a knee wall in our bedroom upstairs. And I’m planning to box out the eaves. Now, the knee wall is currently insulated. And I was wondering if I box out the eaves, do I need to remove the insulation from that wall? Because obviously, I’m going to above the box. Okay. And the back of the box. But do I need to remove the insulation from the wall? |
| 00:25:10 | TOM: So, this is the knee wall in the attic between the floor and the exterior? |
| 00:25:14 | CALLER: Yes. And the knee wall, yeah, it splits the eaves from the bedroom. |
| 00:25:20 | TOM: Right. So, the back of that wall is technically an exterior wall. So, yes, that should be insulated. |
| 00:25:26 | CALLER: If I box it out with sheetrock and insulate on the outside of that sheetrock area, should I remove the insulation from the wall? Because that wall is no longer insulated. Is it no longer now an exterior wall or is it still an exterior wall? |
| 00:25:40 | TOM: So, when you say you remove it from the wall, so this short wall is on the other side of that, you would basically be an unfinished attic space, correct? |
| 00:25:49 | CALLER: Yes. And if I finish it, yeah. |
| 00:25:51 | TOM: Right. You can’t go wrong having insulation in that wall because basically, once you get to the other side of that, you’d have the rafter bays, right, the roof rafters. And so, the roof rafters don’t have insulation in them. But then you have the ceiling joists below that and they would have insulation in them. So, that adds to the exterior skin of the home. So, yes, you do need to insulate the back of that. |
| 00:26:15 | CALLER: Great. Okay. That’s all I need to know. |
| 00:26:17 | TOM: All right. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:26:21 | LESLIE: Well, major weather events like snowstorms leave a lot of obvious structural damage in their wake, but there can also be hidden damage that turns into big expenses later on. |
| 00:26:32 | TOM: That’s right. So, first, let’s talk about foundations. Heavy accumulations of water, like after the snow melts, that can cause a homeless foundation to weaken and fail. So, check yours carefully along both the outdoor and the indoor sides, looking for areas that are cracked or bulging. And by the way, that can happen months after the storm as well. So, just be aware of that. Cracks or bulges are a bad thing. |
| 00:26:55 | LESLIE: Now, next, you want to identify flooded electrical fixtures. Anything that has been underwater should definitely be replaced. Now, this includes outlets, appliances, major system machinery like your furnace. Contaminants in that water can damage those sensitive components, leading to malfunctions and potentially electrical fires. |
| 00:27:14 | TOM: Now, let’s talk about high winds. They can also take quite a toll on the outer skin of your home, and they can leave damage in several areas. So, for example, check every side of your house from the ground up and check for loose siding, check for loose metal trim and loose soffits, and give special attention to your roof because driving rain tends to push up under roof shingles, and that can also cause leaks. If you find loose flashing around chimneys and plumbing vents, that’s another place that could lead to problems. So, spot them. You can use the binoculars if you don’t want to get up close with the ladder, and then get them fixed quickly before any type of bigger problem can form from that. |
| 00:27:49 | LESLIE: Now, there are some post-storm repairs that you can definitely handle on your own, but for bigger and more pervasive problems, it’s best to call in the pros. Now, we’ve got Paula from Arkansas on the line. How can we help you? |
| 00:28:01 | CALLER: Well, I was looking for a sealer for my deck, but I also wanted it stained. I don’t want it looking like the wood, the original wood. I think it’s pine. And I’d like to have it something to match the trim of our home. |
| 00:28:21 | TOM: Okay. |
| 00:28:22 | CALLER: I’d like a stain and a sealer all in one, if that’s possible. |
| 00:28:26 | TOM: Yeah. Well, first of all, you don’t have to buy these things separate because, except for the exterior stains, they are just that. They are sealers and stains in one. What you need to know about it, Paula, is that you’re going to have different choices on the transparency or the translucence of the stain itself. Because you can buy clear stain, which is just that. It doesn’t have any color. Or you can buy semi-transparent, which is sort of a medium amount. Or you can buy solid color, which is completely opaque, although the grain will show through. You won’t have any differentiation. Semi-transparent will give you some differentiation. So you want to buy a good quality exterior stain. I would recommend solid color because it lasts a lot longer. And in terms of which color you choose, there’s lots of options. You can get a cedar. You can get a redwood. You can get sort of a nice sort of charcoal gray. All the major manufacturers have a good selection of colors with that product. Most importantly, you need to do a good job on the prep. You’ll follow the manufacturer’s instructions. But generally, you’re going to want to pressure wash the deck and wait a few days of sunny weather so it dries out really nicely. And then you can apply the solid color stain after that. Okay? |
| 00:29:41 | CALLER: Okay. So this is a stain and a sealer. |
| 00:29:43 | TOM: It’s a stain. It’s an exterior stain. Don’t get confused by looking for two products. Okay? It’s one product, exterior deck stain. It seals the stains together. Okay? |
| 00:29:56 | CALLER: Okay. I was trying to confuse you, but I guess I can’t. |
| 00:29:59 | TOM: Nope. Nope. Try harder. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:30:06 | LESLIE: Janine wrote in saying, I’ve got a question about water filters. I’ve always used filtered water pitchers, but I’ve been thinking about getting a whole house water filter. What type of water would require one and how long do these filters last? |
| 00:30:20 | TOM: Well, I mean, first off, a whole house water filter is basically just like that. It’s a one point filter right near the main or in line with the main that basically treats all of the water that comes into the house. Now, typically, some folks will use this if they have a municipal system, but they really want to get rid of the chlorine taste. That can happen at that water filter location. It can also be part of your private water system if you happen to have that kind of setup. But basically, it’s a one point system that’s going to treat everything that kind of goes through it. Now, I have a whole house water filter on my home. So yeah, I think they’re a good idea, but it’s something that you really want to have installed by a licensed manufacturer. Okay. So you’re going to have to go to a licensed master plumber and have your water tested at the same time to make sure you’re getting the best filter that fits your needs, and it helps identify anything that you want to filter out at the same time as well. |
| 00:31:08 | LESLIE: You know, Ginny, I live in a town where there’s a lot of question as to the integrity of the water that everybody’s getting. Older lead pipes, what’s in the water, sometimes numbers come back elevated. So a lot of people are tending to get these whole home water filtration systems. I’ve seen them installed at a variety of price points, and here it’s just a let’s be safe and make sure that the water coming into the home has been cleaned and is removing any sort of, any kind of problem that could cause a health risk. So there’s a lot of reasons why people do it, and it’s not just taste. |
| 00:31:41 | TOM: Well, stoves can be a real danger zone for kids. To help, Leslie’s going to share tips on how to make your stove safe, including an important note about preventing stoves from tipping over in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie, we’ve all seen how kids love to climb up things. And that apparently includes the oven door, right? |
| 00:32:00 | LESLIE: Oh, my gosh. My boys, you’d turn around and they would love to open the door and sit on it or sit in the warming drawer. It was like ridiculous. But yes, I mean, kids are fascinated with everything. And now add in something in the kitchen where you are and a door that flaps open and suddenly it’s super awesome. But you have some tips here to help you keep those kids safe. So first of all, let’s talk about accidental burns and fires. You want to make sure that your pot and pan handles are always turned away from the front of the stove where little kids can just kind of hold it. So they don’t want to just wander by. Maybe they can’t quite reach them and they grab them and it falls over whenever possible, just use the back burners for cooking. It’s an easy way to add an extra layer of safety. Now another simple safety tip is to remove the stove knobs when you’re not using them. Most of those knobs pop off super easy so you can clean everything and just storm in a nearby drawer because kids are curious. They’re going to walk by. They’re going to turn them. They’re going to turn on a burner. They’re going to start an oven or maybe they’re just going to turn on the gas. So just be careful here. Don’t forget to teach your kids to stay clear of the stove when both anybody, mom, dad, neighbor, whoever’s overcooking, don’t let them near it. Set those boundaries early because it really can go a long way toward keeping those kids safe. Now, if you’re installing a new range, you want to make sure to attach those anti-tip brackets that come with it. These brackets anchor the stove to the wall or the floor and prevents it from tipping over if your kids are an oven door sitter. Because some kids are, and believe me, I’ve seen a lot of pictures on social media and it seems like a lot of kids like to do that. It is a very simple step that can prevent a serious accident. If you take these precautions, you can enjoy peace of mind while keeping your kitchen safe for the whole family. |
| 00:33:41 | TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Coming up next time on the program, you know, the most humid place in your home is probably your bathroom, which is why it often ends up as the moldiest place as well. And while there’s certainly some mold, there’s nothing like a good steamy shower. You need to know how to control that moisture in the bath because too much bathroom moisture can cause paint to peel and mold to grow. But there are ways to prevent it. We’ll explain the details on the next edition of the Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:34:11 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:34:12 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 00:34:14 | LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone. |
| (Note: The above referenced transcript is AI-Generated, Unedited and Unproofed and as such may not accurately reflect the recorded audio. Copyright 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.) |
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