#2514 – Shady Business: Cleaning Window Shades | Centurion Fiberglass Digging Shovel | Landscape Tips

[Jim]

The Money Pit is presented by Centurion Tools and Daich Coatings.

 

[Jim]

Now here’s Leslie Segrete.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, welcome to The Money Pit. I’m Leslie Segrete. What are you guys working on?

 

You know, I’ve been doing a lot of yard work lately. And I mean, this is really the time of year when if we put the work in now, we should technically just be enjoying a gorgeous yard all summer without a ton of work, right? So we’ve got some great outdoor content for you all this hour.

 

So let’s get to it. Coming up, if you were blessed with a green thumb, consider yourself lucky. It really is such a gift to kind of be able to curate this thriving yard.

 

So whether you have that talent or you’re just excellent at finding the right pro for your yard, which is also a talent, we’re going to have some tips on how you can create a simple landscape plan for a beautiful exterior for your home. And when it comes to crafting that beautiful yard and garden, having the right tools for the job really does help. From prepping for those flower beds and trees to creating the foundation for decking or patio projects, we have the perfect tool for those jobs and more.

 

And this is the best time of year to get organized and tidied up around your money pit with some spring cleaning. But one thing that often gets ignored is the shades. I mean, today’s cellular and even those pleated shades, they’re kind of delicate, but they’re definitely getting exposed to daily wear and tear.

 

So we’re going to have some tips on how you can clean those shades without damaging them just ahead. But before we get to what we want to talk about, we want to hear what you want to talk about. What do you have in your summer home improvement to-do list?

 

Leave us a voicemail at 888MONEYPIT or send us an email with what you plan to work on so we can help you with all of those projects. Whether you’re fixing leaks or sprucing up your space, we are here to help you every step of the way. So give us a call now at 888MONEYPIT.

 

Jim, who’s first?

 

[Jim]

Out in Delaware, we’ve got Rochelle, who’s dealing with a crack in the floor. Tell us a little bit more about this crack, please, Rochelle.

 

[Rochelle in Delaware]

I purchased my home about 14 years ago, and when I purchased it, the inspector said that there was a slight crack in the concrete slab. So over the years, the crack has probably gotten wider. So there is a dip in my kitchen floor.

 

I had a contractor come out, and he said that they would be able to put foam into the floor and level the floor out. So I’m trying to find out if there are any other options that I have to correct this problem because it’s very annoying, and I’m concerned as the years go by that it’s getting wider. So that’s where I’m at.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, so a couple of things are coming to mind here. First of all, this contractor that you’re talking with, was he talking about trying to level the floor or just adding a floor leveling compound to kind of smooth out what’s already there?

 

[Rochelle in Delaware]

He’s talking about adding a foam solution where they would pump it into, they would inject it into the floor filled where the slab is cracked at. And he said that what that would do is it would level the floor out eventually. And it’s really pricey.

 

I mean, he wants $1,000 to do it.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, I don’t think you want to do that. So listen, what’s really bugging me here is that these guys are talking about serious structural issues with perhaps zero education for what that structural issue is. I mean, they’re talking about using an injection system where basically you inject underneath the slab and kind of try to lift the slab to level things up.

 

And that’s super bad because you could be causing more problems by adjusting how that slab is sitting, causing more cracks, causing more issues, causing water to get in. But what you really need to do here is just use a floor leveling compound. You seal the cracks to make sure no water gets in and then use this floor leveling compound to flatten out the kitchen floor before you put the new flooring down.

 

You’re not going to see it. It’s going to be underneath that flooring. But if you really want to know what’s going on and you really want to know how to fix this the right way, call a structural engineer, have it inspected by the engineer, and the engineer will determine whether or not this is sort of active movement and really tell you what’s going on here.

 

They could say this is just a cosmetic issue, no worries. Or they could say, like, whoa, we’ve got something really bad going on structurally. And if so, that engineer is going to specify exactly what you’ve got to do to fix that issue.

 

And at this point, once you’ve got the set of instructions or what needs to be done from that engineer, then you would call a contractor and say, hey, I’ve got this from a structural engineer. This is what they tell me is going on. This is how they recommend you fix it.

 

And then that contractor sort of has, I’m not going to say like an instruction manual, but definitely more information about what is going on there and how to properly fix that. And the good thing is if you go that route and you do have a structural issue and it’s repaired, the engineer then comes back after and inspects the work again and says, yep, you fixed it correctly. I’m going to amend my report and say you fixed it in this way.

 

It was fixed right, good on you. And then you sort of have this pedigree of what went on with your house. So should you sell it down the road?

 

You can be like, you know, we had an issue. Here’s what happened. Here’s how we fixed it.

 

And it’s all good now. So these are kind of the things that help you to determine how the best way to handle these projects are. And I don’t think just going with what this contractor is recommending is the right way at first.

 

You know what I’m saying?

 

[Jim]

Leslie, do you think that if your home got that kind of pedigree, you could apply for the American Kennel Club possibly?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

It’s the new breed for 2026. You have to wait until next year. Sorry, Jim.

 

And sorry, French Bulldog, who is going to be replaced by the floor leveling engineer.

 

[Jim]

Yeah. Oh, and by the way, if you can level a floor versus mudjacking, go the floor leveling route.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Oh, for real? That would be terrible. Could you imagine doing all that work?

 

It could be a big mistake.

 

[Jim]

And mudjacking has its place. It does some really cool stuff. And your structural engineer might even recommend it.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

That’s very true.

 

[Jim]

But just to jump right to that.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, that’s a big undertaking, especially if it’s not needed.

 

[Rochelle in Delaware]

Thank you so much. I love your show. I listen to you guys every Saturday.

 

And thank you so, so much. I really appreciate your feedback. And have a great day.

 

All right, Rochelle. Good luck with that.

 

[Jim]

All right, Leslie, we’ve got in Tennessee another Jim, and he’s dealing with some bees. What kind of bees are they? Are you getting stung by them?

 

What’s going on there, really?

 

[Jim in Tennessee]

We have a log cabin in East Tennessee. And shortly after we built it, we started having a problem with boring bees. So these are giant bumblebees that so far have not stung anybody.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, so the bees that you’re seeing, do they kind of have like a big shiny hiney? They’re like really large bees, but they have a big black butt on them. That’s just what they do.

 

And the favorite thing that they love to do is drill holes into wood siding, wood fascia, wood boards. And they’re like the most perfect little holes you’ve ever seen.

 

[Jim in Tennessee]

About this time of the year, we’re inundated with thousands of bees. We’ve had exterminators come through, and nothing seems to eradicate them.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, well, I don’t know what material your exterminators have been applying, but usually the right pesticide will prevent them from coming back. I mean, what they’re basically doing is drilling holes in the wood surfaces, and then they go into those holes and lay their eggs, and then they just kind of let it sit there and hatch. Now, with the right type of pesticide, usually it’s sort of like a powdered pesticide that they put into the holes, and that will stop them from going in there.

 

Is it happening in the logs themselves, or is it just on the fascia and the trim?

 

[Jim in Tennessee]

It’s in the log, and it’s in the fascia and trim as well.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, you know, what’s interesting with the fascia and the trim, you can replace that natural wood fascia and trim around the house with sort of like a composite material. And that’s great because the bees, these carpenter bees, look at it and think, mmm, yum, and then they go to eat it, and they’re like, wait, that’s not wood, I want nothing to do with this. So that’s a great way that you don’t have to keep treating.

 

You also don’t have to paint ever again with the composite trim and fascia materials out there. But it’s interesting because the bees will kind of still look around thinking that they’re going to eat the wood, but then they can’t. Now it sounds to me like you’re just not dealing with the right type of pest control professional because I don’t understand if what they’re applying isn’t working, like why aren’t they coming up with something better to help you get rid of them?

 

Because carpenter bees, the pesticide for them is not over the counter, and these bees will keep coming back until they find out that they can’t have that food source.

 

[Jim in Tennessee]

We have a home contract for a pest control company, and we’ve had them since we built the house, and they’ve applied treatment several times, but it doesn’t seem to really eradicate the bees.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, I can’t recommend to you an exact pesticide because I’m not a pesticide professional, but these folks will have the right one. It’s usually a powder because they are placing it directly into those holes. I mean, you could also, after the season, you can seal up the holes once everything’s been treated because you don’t want them to come back, and you want to make sure that all of the bees have been treated and killed because if they haven’t, they’re just going to keep drilling new spaces to find out, you know, oh, they sealed that one, I’m going to go somewhere else.

 

So there’s a lot of things that you should be doing, but replacing those surfaces with a composite is a great option. Treating it, filling the holes, and then repainting and staining, you know, they’re not going to like the taste of those things, so just anything that you can do to deter them from coming back and from making your house like the tastiest one on the block. All right, well, good luck with your project, and thank you again for calling us at 888-MONEYPIT.

 

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. Well, we are thrilled to announce that we’ve partnered with Daich Coatings to bring you the ultimate porch and patio makeover sweepstakes. Now through June 9th, you can enter to win amazing, easy-to-use DIY products from Daich Coatings that will transform your porch or your patio or pretty much any concrete surface into an attractive surface that’s going to last for years. Just visit moneypit.com slash sweepstakes right now through June 9th. Two grand prize winners will each receive about $1,000 in Daich Coatings products. You can choose a decorative surface of spread rock granite stone coating, the TrackSafe Anti-Slip Color Coat, or roller rock rollable stone coating, and you’re also going to get a final coating of TrackSafe Anti-Slip Sealer to create that gorgeous new space in your home. There’s also going to be 20 runner-up winners.

 

Each are going to receive the TrackSafe Anti-Slip Color Kit, and that’s valued at $150. You can enter today at moneypit.com slash sweepstakes. Give us a call at 888-MONEYPIT so we can help you with all your home improvement questions.

 

Well, landscaping is one of the most cost-effective improvements a homeowner can make, but whether you are starting from scratch or you need a total yard makeover, planning that space on paper before you actually put the shovel in the ground can help make sure it comes out perfectly. And there’s really four things you need to be considering here. First, what is this space going to be used for and who’s using the space?

 

You know, is it a kid’s play zone? Is it just the garden? Is it a yard that you want to live in?

 

Maybe it’s a place to showcase your prize roses? I mean, those are all things. So you’ve got to kind of think about what this space is going to be for.

 

Next, you want to prioritize your wish list. You know, this is your needs versus your wants. You know, it’s like, I really need this, but I really want that.

 

But if you make this list, you kind of know what you really want and what you can’t live without. Now it’s time to think about how much time you are willing to set aside for maintenance. Because this is a big one.

 

The best laid plans are not going to pan out if you are not willing to put in the time and the effort to maintain them. I am not, so my garden always looks terrible. And I know that’s awful and I apologize, but I have a lot of green things that grow very well on their own and that’s fine.

 

I do envy the people who have those beautiful, colorful gardens all summer long. I’m just not that person. I do not have a green thumb.

 

So I know that my landscaper is going to do a great job and I’m going to do a great job trying not to kill everything. So you’ve got to kind of figure out where you fall into that. You know what I’m saying?

 

I’m being very honest, Jim. Oh yeah, transparent. I mean, I want my yard to look awesome.

 

I’m just not good at it. And maybe my landscapers aren’t either. But I’m doing my best here, people.

 

But truly, you’ve got to think about it because you’re going to have to put in the work. You have to figure out what to feed them, how often to water it, how to prune things, what’s the right time to prune stuff. It’s so much to remember.

 

And some people are just awesome at it. And if you are that person, great for you. I’m so happy.

 

I’m also jealous. But the other thing you need to consider is your budget. Outside of your time, how much money do you want to spend on this project?

 

I mean, everybody loves to be in these beautiful outdoor spaces once the weather is warm. So landscaping really is one of the best ways to quickly increase your home’s value with, you know, perhaps a minimum amount of cost. Even just planting colorful flowers in those landscaping beds or grooming the lawn or adding potted plants.

 

Potted plants I am excellent at. Excellent. So that’s where I get my color in the yard, you guys.

 

It can all create a huge transformation and then make people think your house is worth more. So there’s lots of stuff that you can be doing, but you kind of have to prioritize how much you want to spend, how much time you want to spend to create that space. All right, now that I’ve been super honest, Jim, let’s get other people to tell us stuff.

 

[Jim]

Here we go. Hello, Lynn in New Hampshire. You’ve got Leslie Segrete on the line, and she’s ready to talk to you about cedar siding.

 

What’s happening?

 

[Lynn in New Hampshire]

I have a house that the town says was built in 1750. I don’t know how old the siding is. I purchased it in 2009, and the siding was old then.

 

I did have it washed in bleach to get all the little stuff that was growing on it off. I was thinking this year that I would protect it with something. Someone else said I didn’t need anything.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yes, so what I think you’re talking about is cuprenol, which is a fine product, and it’s a wood preservative. But I don’t know how much UV protection it actually has in it, and that’s really what you’re trying to do here, because natural cedar, sure, it’s resistant to insects, but it’s not resistant to the sun, and if you expose it, that cedar shingle is going to crack. It’s going to dry out.

 

It’s going to split. So you do want to protect it. So we’re going to give you two options here.

 

If you want to put on something that’s totally natural, it’s not going to change the color at all, you would do boiled linseed oil, and it has to be boiled. You want to make sure that that linseed oil says boiled because if it just says linseed oil, it will never, ever dry. And linseed oil really does a great job at protecting the cedar shingles.

 

It doesn’t change the color. It works really, really well. Now the other option is if you do want to change the color, you could apply a solid color stain, but you would use a primer first, and generally with cedar, we would recommend an oil-based primer because the tannins in the cedar can break down the bond between the paint and the shingle.

 

So if you prime it, it kind of seals in those tannins, and then you can use a solid color stain. And stain does come in a couple of levels of transparency, semi-transparent, solid color, but I wouldn’t recommend the semi-transparent here because it does have less pigment in it. And a solid color, you’re still going to see that grain of the wood, but there’s more pigment in it, so it’s going to last longer.

 

And if you follow the directions and prep everything the right way, you could get that stain on your siding to last a good 10 years. And, you know, it’s all about the process of it. It will last as long as that manufacturer says if you do the steps correct in the beginning.

 

If you kind of fudge the steps, you know, maybe you’ll get 5 years out of it. And painting a house is a big project, so you kind of want to space out how often you do it. You really shouldn’t be skipping that first step because everybody kind of just wants to skip the primer and get right to the paint.

 

I mean, it’s interesting. It’s something that you put on, but you don’t see it, and so you’re like, eh, I’m not going to spend the money on it. I don’t see it.

 

But what you don’t see is the adhesion that it’s giving you. And so if you don’t prime, the paint isn’t going to last, it’s going to peel off, you’re going to be painting more often, it’s going to get even more expensive. If you want to go with the boiled linseed, you can do that too.

 

I mean, you can also pick up a super small container and just kind of try it and see what you think.

 

[Lynn in New Hampshire]

So it will protect it from water and the UV light? Yep. Well, thank you so much.

 

I appreciate that.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right. You’re welcome, Lynn. Good luck with the project.

 

All right. Bye. Here is a great tip, everybody, for getting into your gardening habit.

 

You need to be able to master the over-under technique when it comes to coiling your garden hose. Does this sound familiar to anybody? Have you heard about this?

 

Are you envious when you see somebody grab a garden hose and it kind of all uncoils beautifully if it’s not on one of those roly wheelers? I know I see people go to pull out the garden hose and it just kind of unrolls into a big knotty mess. So this is a great trick, and it also works great for electrical cables, extension cords, and this is something that I actually learned from the techs in the studio.

 

The guys that stand behind the cameras that manage all of the cables taught us this trick, and it’s been in the home improvement business and in the entertainment business forever. So this over-under technique, you want to start with a regular coil, and you begin coiling the hose in a normal circular loop. Now for the next loop, instead of kind of going over the same way you did before, you want to kind of flip your wrist and go under the previous coil.

 

And then the next one, you go over the top. You’ll feel that the garden hose or the extension cord kind of has a memory to it. It wants to go in this way.

 

So you want to do the over-under, over-under. And this method kind of prevents those kinks, makes it easier to uncoil the hose when you need it. And I know I’m probably doing a horrible job of explaining this, so I am at work at Good Morning America.

 

I am going to ask some of our grips and say, hey, how do we do this? Show me, because I need to explain it. I’m going to do a video of the pros who really know how to do this.

 

And then you can adapt it to all of your extension cords, because I know you’re not dragging a camera around your house. But you can adapt it to your extension cords. You can adapt it to the garden hose.

 

It is a good trick of the trade to master. So keep an eye out for this, and I’ll let you know when we post it. All right, Jim, let’s get to the phones.

 

[Jim]

All right, heading out my way in Ohio is Pete, and he wants to talk about some lighting. What’s going on there?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, well, let me ask you this, Pete. Do you like to fish? Do you enjoy casting a rod, hooking a fish?

 

I’m only asking you this because when you install those canned lights in a finished ceiling, I mean, it’s not like something that’s open, and you can put the wires all where they need to go, and it’s very easy. When you are going into something that is already finished, you quite literally have to fish that wire through everything to get it from wherever you’re pulling that power from to the point where you want those fixtures. And it can be a challenge, but it can also be fun.

 

[Jim]

I see what you did there.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, so three or four fixtures are there already, but you would want the canned lights on a completely separate switch?

 

[Pete in Ohio]

No, no, they can all be. We can use the existing switch, existing light.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Okay, so here’s what you need to do. Obviously, you have to use power. You’ve got to light things up, so you have to lay out those lights.

 

And you want to be careful not to put one where there’s going to be a ceiling joist above it because that makes it really hard to install. So make sure you know where they are. Next, you’re going to have to get power to that light, and those lights would all be connected together in a series.

 

Then you have to get power into that line, and you also have to get a switch onto that. So it’s not an easy project for somebody that doesn’t do it all the time. Electricians know the tricks of the trade.

 

They can assess it pretty quickly, and they know what to expect. So I wouldn’t consider this a very basic electrical project. It’s more of an advanced state.

 

You do need some advanced tools in the way of fiberglass rods that are used to fishing those. You do need some advanced tools like a fiberglass rod that you use to fish those wires through and get them to the right place. You’ve got to get power.

 

You’ve got to get the switch. You’ve got to get a circuit that goes to all those lights. And because you’re working in a finished room, all of this is much more challenging.

 

For example, going from one fixture to the next when you’re in the same bay, space between those ceiling joists, easy. But going perpendicular to that means you now have to drill through those joists to get the wires through. That’s not so easy.

 

There’s a lot to be done. And you want to do this with a minimum amount of destruction to your home. So this really might be something that you want to hire a pro for, all right?

 

[Jim]

Yeah, let a pro come in and destroy your home. That’s great.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, hopefully they don’t. Hopefully they’re coming in and doing the work in a way that you as first timer for this electrical project might totally destroy an area where the pro will be like, oh, no, no, zippity-doo-dah, do it like this.

 

[Pete in Ohio]

All right. Thank you very much.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, Mother’s Day is next weekend. And the original mama, Mother Nature, is telling us that the frost season has ended and now is the time to make that garden beautiful. And when it does come time to crafting a beautiful yard and garden, having the right tools for the job helps.

 

If you’re prepping flower beds or maybe you’re even creating the foundation for a deck or a patio project, we have the perfect tool for those jobs. A great shovel is going to make all of these physical tasks of gardening much easier on your body, and it might make a gardener out of you yet. If you are adding a deck or putting up a fence or even adding a lamppost to your outdoor space, you’re going to be doing a lot of digging and probably clearing out those crowded flower beds or your overgrown yard space.

 

So when you dig a hole for any post or support, the rule of thumb here is to dig that hole three times the width of that post. So say you’ve got a 4-inch square wood post, you need a hole that’s going to be 12 inches wide, and it should be a third of the height that it will stick out above the ground. So if the height above ground is going to be 6 feet tall, then you kind of have to dig a hole that’s 2 feet deep into the ground.

 

This requires a shovel that can handle slicing through roots with ease and can excavate and dig holes for every project. And a shovel like Centurion Brand’s fiberglass digging shovel with tempered steel blades that’s going to cut its way through those thick roots is perfect for a job like this. There’s also a great spot for you to get a secure foothold to help you in those tougher areas.

 

And you’re going to appreciate those details when you’re digging out your second shrub of the day, because I promise you, the second one is going to be followed by the third and potentially the fourth, depending on this project. Now, the comfort grip also makes it easier on your hands, which is a great feature, especially for when I inevitably forget my garden gloves. Again, it does happen.

 

So check out the fiberglass digging shovel for yourself at CenturionBrands.com. At less than $20, it’s a great deal for the most hard-working yard tool in your garage. Well, when it comes to spring cleaning, one thing that often gets ignored are the shades around your house.

 

That’s because the cellular and pleated shades we’re using today are delicate, and you kind of think, oh, I’m just going to ignore them rather than break them. But there is a way to clean them without causing any damage. So first of all, a good dusting with a vacuum cleaner is usually all the depleted or cellular shade is going to need.

 

It’s easier to remove the shades and kind of lay them out fully extended, you know, put a bed sheet down on the floor or even on a table. If you do prefer to leave them up, you can use your vacuum’s extension wand. Either way, you want to lower the vacuum suction if possible, and a trick way that you can do this is on the vacuum itself.

 

You may notice on the extension rod that there’s sort of this, like, little slider that you can open up, and then your hand gets sort of, you know, you can mess around with the air coming out of it, and you’re like, yay, look at this. That’s actually to make the suction less on the vacuum. It’s not just for funsies.

 

So that works. Now, if you’ve got a pleated shade, the soft dusting brush on the vacuum and go side to side along each of those honeycomb channels if you’ve got a fabric roman shade, you know, with the soft folds, you can use the upholstery tool on the vacuum and clean from top to bottom and then flip that shade over if you’ve taken it down and kind of do the same on the backside. You want to keep everything working smoothly.

 

So for blinds, you want to vacuum away dust inside the open top headrail. You can spot clean stains by dabbing the smudges with a cloth that’s dipped in mild soapy water and then rinse and blot dry. There’s a lot of stuff that you can do, but this is one thing that you can check off of your project to-do list very easily this weekend.

 

So why don’t you tackle that one? You’ll feel so thankful that you did. Jim, let’s see who’s got a project that needs some help.

 

[Jim]

We’re heading to the great state of Georgia, Leslie, and we’ve got Nancy with some flooring squeaks. What’s going on at your money pit?

 

[Nancy in Georgia]

I’m hoping you can tell me. The house is 48 years old. I have pulled up the carpet that was in there, and I’d like to put hardwood.

 

There’s a squeak right in the doorway. It’s in the top floor, and I can’t get to the flooring unless I tear out the ceiling of my dining room.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, I’m not sure why you’re thinking you have to deal with this situation from the bottom, because that’s not really the case, Nancy. When you pulled up the carpet, what are you looking at there? Are you looking at plywood?

 

Like, is it a full subfloor? Subfloor. All right, so is it, like, slats where you can see through, or is it, like, big solid pieces of plywood?

 

No, it’s, like, 8x4s, maybe. All right, well, that’s fine. So what you want to do here, and this is pretty typical, you just kind of need to figure out where the floor joists are underneath that floor.

 

And it’s not hard to do, because if you’re looking at the floor itself, you’re going to see a nailing pattern where the floor joists are running, and they’re probably going to be every 16 inches, and they’re going to be going from the back wall of your house towards the front wall of your house. And what you want to do here is screw where those nail heads are. If you drive a drywall screw through that floor just to tighten it up, it’s going to kind of be temporary, because over time it’s going to loosen back up as you’re walking across the floor, and that’s what causes those squeaks.

 

And the squeaks really are happening for two reasons. It can either be that the floorboards themselves are moving against each other and sort of squeaking, or it could be that the plywood is pulling the nail in and out of the floor joists below, causing that squeaking sound. But when you screw that floor down, as opposed to nailing it down, you’re tightening everything up.

 

And it’s a really good idea to do that before you put the carpeting down, because even though you’ve found one now, chances are the minute you put that floor down, you’re going to find three more. So if you screw that floor down all across the subfloor, nice and tight, using long drywall screws, which you can drive in with a drill, you’re going to find that the floor is going to be a lot quieter, and it’s going to stay that way.

 

[Nancy in Georgia]

Okay, I want to put hardwood over it. Can I put those under hardwood?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, you can do this under hardwood. I mean, either way, you have to tighten up that subfloor to get rid of the squeaking sounds, regardless of what you’re going to put on top. So if you’re thinking of hardwood, or you’re going with, you know, real hardwood, solid, engineered, what are you picking?

 

[Nancy in Georgia]

I want to use solid hardwood. I have hardwood in the hallway that it meets, and then I have tile in the bathroom. The space is there for me to use the hardwood.

 

And I’m in the South, so it’s not as expensive here.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, I mean, you could do a pre-finished hardwood, or you can use a raw hardwood, and then finish it yourself. There’s a lot of options, though, in the pre-finished hardwood flooring today that is beautiful, and it really comes together very nicely, and it’s going to be a tougher finish, these sort of prefab finishes on these floorboards than anything you can really apply on your own.

 

[Nancy in Georgia]

That’s what I’m thinking, and I’m thinking I’ll have to pull the baseboards.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, absolutely.

 

[Nancy in Georgia]

And leave some space, a little space between the wall and the flooring.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, that is correct. You’ve got the right idea. You just want to make sure that you’re screwing that subfloor down first, so that you’re not going to be dealing with this ever again.

 

I’m familiar with this. That’s fantastic. I appreciate your help so much.

 

All right, good luck with that project, Nancy. We’ve got Jim standing by right here. Jim Kenzie, you’re going to help me answer some email questions.

 

So, Jimmy, who’s up?

 

[Jim]

No trumpet blast or anything? That’s a good fanfare. Thank you very much.

 

Jimmy! All right. On a more serious note, Leslie, Darren wrote in, and she’s wondering whether window tinting makes sense for her home.

 

She says, My home has multiple large windows, as well as a large sliding glass door in the living room and dining room, and they let in a ton of natural light, and we really love that. However, with that light comes added heat. So what she’s asking, I guess, is would a film be a good option to make the seating areas more comfortable for her, but also keep that natural light coming as much as possible, at least?

 

Leslie, you’ve been a decorator and designer for eons. What’s your take on this?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Thanks.

 

[Jim]

Rub it in, you jerk. But Leslie, what’s your take on window films in general, as well as in this particular situation?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

I mean, I think, Darren, that there’s right films for the right purposes, especially when you have a large amount of glass, but you don’t want to cover it up with a window treatment because you love the view, or you love the feel of that openness. And especially in a more modern property, I think this tends to happen because of just the amount of glass. And you want to see the light, but you don’t want that sunlight coming in to damage the furnishings, the floor, the fabrics, but you still want the benefit of the view.

 

Well, there are low E coatings that will allow the light to come in without having that heat gain, which is what will then get the damage from the sunlight and cause the room to just feel much more hotter. But you do have to find the right one for that application, and it does, I think, need to be professionally done so that it looks good because when you’re putting a window film on, if it has any bit of air bubble underneath it, you’re going to notice it. So let the pros who do it do it well and do it all the time, do it at your house, especially if it is a large window, because I don’t know, I just don’t want to get on a ladder and try to do it myself and then end up with that one little bubble that’s going to drive me crazy.

 

[Jim]

Yeah, it’s a heck of a lot easier than bringing the windows to them.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Very true, I don’t think you can do that. But maybe you’re going to teach me something else. Now, I think the way the window films are made is kind of amazing.

 

It’s like a dozen layers inside of one thin, tiny piece of film, and each layer has a job it does in sort of reflecting that light. You know, it can be on a car, it’s a similar technology, but for a home, it really is a fantastic technology that’s going to keep the house from overheating, it’s going to keep things inside from getting damaged from the sunlight. So they do work very well, and the options out there are not too dark.

 

I mean, some of them are actually really super clear, so you’re not even going to notice them once they’re up. The National Fenestration Rating Council, their website is a great resource for data and tools comparing the energy efficiency of those low-E films. You can also look at the Department of Energy’s website and Energy Star’s website for more info on the window films themselves.

 

Some great resources there.

 

[Jim]

Yeah, and I wonder what career day is like at school. My dad’s a fenestrator.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

A what?

 

[Jim]

Exactly.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, this has been a very busy, outdoorsy hour. Hopefully you took us along for your home improvement adventures. You know, we fit in those tiny earbuds or even speakers and can be right there with you as you tackle your to-dos.

 

It’s kind of what we like. We want to be outside, we want to be in your workshop, we want to be right next to you when you’re painting. I want to be able to help you with all your projects, so whether you’re, like, right in the middle of it or you’re thinking of one, you’re just like, Hey, Leslie, Jim, help!

 

Got a question? Well, that’s what we are here to do. Thank you so much for joining us this hour here at the Money Pit.

 

Remember, guys, you can do it yourself, but you don’t have to do it alone.