#2515 – Green Standard: Choosing Green Products | Rooms for Growing Kids | Angie Hicks Interview

[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, where we make good homes better. I’m Leslie Segrete. Can’t believe it, you guys, it’s May.

Holy moly, this year is flying by, and there’s so many projects to do, but obviously, time is short. So, what is on your to-do list that we can help you with and get all of those projects done? You know, coming up this hour, many people have been adopting greener ways of living at home, you know, to kind of help save money and reduce our impact on the environment.

But did you ever wonder what makes a product truly green? There are actually a lot of factors and just as many false claims of greenness. So we’re going to help you sort those out just ahead.

And joining us this hour is a great friend of The Money Pit, Angie Hicks, founder of Angie.com, a great resource when you’re searching for the right person for your projects. She’s got some great tips for spring tune-ups around your money pit. And also ahead, I just finished a super fun room makeover for my almost 17-year-old son, Henry.

And if your child’s room is space-challenged like mine, we’ve got some tips to help you design a room that can work for them as they grow. But first, we want to help you create your best home ever. So whether you are doing the job yourself or hiring a pro, we are ready to help you get that job done right.

Call us now at 888-MONEY-PIT so we can help with those projects. Jim, who’s first?

[Jim]
Dan is in Georgia. Leslie? Dan, welcome to The Money Pit.

How can we lighten your load today?

[Dan in Georgia]
I want to tell you, I love y’all show.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right. Thanks so much for listening. We love having somebody who loves the show call us in.

[Jim]
Absolutely.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right. So why do you hate this final sighting? Is it the color’s bad?

It’s faded. You’re just over it. What’s the situation?

[Dan in Georgia]
My wife saw where you could change the color of vinyl siding. So I’ve looked at a few things. There’s not really a whole lot on the internet that tells about it.

And there’s not a whole lot of products to choose from. So I was just wanting y’all’s advice. Would you do it?

If you would, what would you use? And all that stuff.

[Leslie Segrete]
Now, painting vinyl siding, I mean, it can be done, but you’re kind of opening yourself up to like a lifetime of repairs on that siding. You’re going to have to paint, paint again, paint again. You know, there are actually paints out there that are designed for vinyl, but just like any other paint, same thing goes, got to do the good prep work.

And then eventually over time, you’re going to have to redo it. And when it comes to the exterior of a home, that’s a lot of work. Now, if you work with a major manufacturer like Sherwin-Williams or Benjamin Moore, Bayer, whatever one you like, there’s going to be a lot of options and colors, but it’s just not going to last as long as the vinyl itself because the vinyl is the color all the way through.

It’s not a layer of color. It’s made into that piece of vinyl when it’s extruded into the siding. Now, if you go and put a layer on top of that vinyl, at some point it’s going to start to peel, it’s going to look nasty, and then you have to do that whole process again.

If she really doesn’t like that vinyl, I would say, why not change the color of the shutters or the trim or something to kind of diffuse the look and feel of the existing vinyl siding color? I mean, it’s like something in the house that you don’t like, like, oh, I don’t like the tile, but I don’t want to change the tile, so you paint the wall and you change the drapes or whatever. So that kind of gives you a big difference.

You know, if you can kind of change everything around that siding, that might be enough to make her feel better about it. So we’re talking about things like the shutters, maybe replacing the front door, different landscaping, but I would not paint that vinyl siding unless there really was a good reason, and just changing the color to me is not a strong enough, you know, approach to it.

[Dan in Georgia]
Well, I’m glad to hear that because I don’t really want to do it.

[Leslie Segrete]
Yeah, I mean, I’m happy to be the bad guy. I’m a single mom. I’m constantly the bad guy in my house.

I never get to be the good cop. I’m always the bad cop. So just blame me.

Yeah, and I would think with siding, if you do end up painting the siding, it’s probably going to only last about five to six years, so you definitely don’t want to get into this project.

[Dan in Georgia]
Hey, I appreciate it.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right. Well, you are welcome. Good luck with your wife.

Tell her, you know, I’m the bad guy. She can totally call me. I get yelled at by my kids.

It’s fine. Just add somebody else to give me a hard time about something. But truly, I think there’s ways you can sort of just update some things to make the house feel fresher and maybe make her fall in love with it again.

Okay, cool. Thanks. All right.

I appreciate it. You’re welcome.

[Jim]
Barbara from Rhode Island is on the line, Leslie, and she has some funny noises going on with her toilet. What’s going on there?

[Barbara in Rhode Island]
I have a half bathroom in my upstairs. It consists of the toilet and a small sink. And for the last few months, when we flush the toilet, we get like a bubble sound, and it will flush, but it doesn’t take like the paper.

We looked in the tank, and it is right up to the level of the water. The chain is right where the flap opens up, and then it will close, and it will fill. So it’s kind of like we have to flush it twice in order to actually get the paper to go down.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right. Well, the fact that you’re getting this gurgling sound sounds like a venting issue, like something is obstructed with the venting, and that’s where the air goes back into the system. Now there’s a vertical pipe that goes from the back of the plumbing connection up through the roof, and when that’s starving for air, you kind of get this gulping sound that happens.

So it could be that there’s a partial obstruction somewhere in that drain line itself. Have you tried to clear that toilet just to make sure that nothing was in there? Yes.

[Barbara in Rhode Island]
Yes, my husband did take a plunger, and he used it, and it didn’t seem to help.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right, Barbara. Well, it’s good that he tried the plunger, but that might not actually work if there’s the obstruction. It can happen, you know, it can work like if it’s sort of a larger mass, but if something’s gotten in there, like maybe a kid’s toy or something that’s just stuck in the drain in a way that it’s not going to sort of plunge in or out, you know, a toilet auger is really the only thing that’s going to work, and it’s like a two-foot-long toilet snake, and what it does is it actually goes into that trap part of the toilet, which is where most of those obstructions sort of sit. Now it’s a very inexpensive tool.

You could buy one at a home center for like 10 or 20 bucks, and if you do use that toilet auger, you’re definitely going to clean out that entire bowl and the trap that’s attached to it because the trap is just that. It’s a narrow portion where the waste has to flow up and over in order to drain out, and if you get waste that builds up in there, it’s just not going to happen.

[Barbara in Rhode Island]
Okay. All right. So we’ll try that, and if that doesn’t work, you mentioned about the pipe coming out the roof?

[Leslie Segrete]
Yeah, and if that doesn’t work, I would contact somebody like a plumber at this point or a drain cleaning service because you’ve basically done as much as you possibly can to sort of remedy the situation, but they have other steps that they can be doing as pros.

[Barbara in Rhode Island]
Well, thank you so much. Hopefully the auger will solve the problem.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right. Well, good luck with that project, and thank you so much for calling us at 888-MONEYPIT. Hey, you’re tired of living in a money pit?

Well, we’re here to help, and if you want us to help out, it would be awesome if you could leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Just go to moneypit.com slash review. It’s only going to take a minute, and it means the world to us.

If you’re probably very far into a home improvement project right now and you’re stopping to sort of enjoy maybe a glass of lemonade and just listen to some good home improvement advice, you know, with spring in full swing, sunglasses become a go-to accessory for those outdoor projects. And if you’re like me, your inside glasses magically become sunglasses, and boy, do they get dirty. I feel like I’m always cleaning my glasses or at least always looking through smudged lenses.

But there’s no reason for you to be shelling out dough for a glasses cleaner. All you need to do is pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol into a one-ounce bottle, fill it with water, add four drops of liquid detergent, and simply shake it, and you are good to go. Now, I will use my T-shirt with this fluid to sort of clean my glasses.

I know it’s bad.

[Jim]
Optometrists everywhere going, no, no. Or they might be going, yeah, you’ll be buying more lenses.

[Leslie Segrete]
Ah, more glasses. But I mean, definitely, this is a great way. You should, of course, be using those microfiber fabrics and things that aren’t going to scratch your lenses.

But we’re outside. We’re working on projects. It’s just, I just need to clean my glasses, Jim.

Don’t give me a hard time.

[Jim]
Well, I feel you.

[Leslie Segrete]
But definitely, this is a great little product that you can build out of stuff you’ve already got in your home to clean your glasses so you can get right back to those projects. And don’t forget, guys, enter our porch and patio makeover sweepstakes now through June 9th. We are giving away $5,000 in Daich Coatings product.

You can learn more, and you can enter daily at moneypit.com slash sweepstakes. That’s moneypit.com forward slash sweepstakes. We’ve got two grand prize winners, but we’ve also got 20 runner-ups who are each going to receive about $150 worth of product.

It’s the TrackSafe Anti-Slip Color Kit. That’s for the runner-ups. So definitely a great place to get some awesome prizes.

Enter every day. Enter as much as you want at moneypit.com slash sweepstakes. Jim, who’s on the line?

[Jim]
Leslie, let’s have a chat with Carl right now, who’s calling in from Michigan with a question about air conditioning. What’s going on, Carl?

[Carl in Michigan]
I noticed my HVAC guy, he just told me they’re changing the refrigerant to another gas, and he said it’s slightly flammable. He is not real happy about this, and I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but he said he just don’t think it’s a real good idea, and he said he might have to get new tools. I read a little bit about it on the internet, but they pretty much said the same thing, and I don’t know why.

I think it’s all government stuff. So do you know? You’re aware?

Do you know anything about this stuff?

[Leslie Segrete]
Yeah, well, actually, that standard kind of changed in January of 2023, so it’s been out for a little bit, and it’s called the R454B, and that’s basically the new refrigerant that’s replaced Freon. It’s much more environmentally friendly, and I haven’t really heard any reports of dangers, although I’m sure there’s a lot of HVAC guys out there that you know have to change tools. They don’t like it.

They don’t want to change their practices, and so it’s kind of like a sorry, not sorry. They’re coming up with stories to maybe make it so that it’s not the best thing leading towards change, but they have studied this product a lot, and I’ll tell you, it’s very hard because it’s very difficult to find Freon today if you have an older system and it needs a repair. So if you’re still on that old coolant, it’s going to be hard to get those repairs done.

So more people are going to be opting to not repair but replace those HVAC systems and have that new Freon to go away with it and go with something with the new R454 version. So I mean, it’s still a very effective coolant. It’s just more environmentally friendly.

[Carl in Michigan]
They’re just trying to get them educated on all this stuff, and that’s what he told me. I just wonder too, Mike, I got a carrier air conditioner, it’s going to be 13 years old in June. I just wonder if I should replace it or somebody told me I should get 20 years out of it.

You think?

[Leslie Segrete]
I don’t know. 20 years on a window unit? I don’t know that I’ve ever known anybody to go more than like eight to ten years with a window unit without replacing it or giving it to somebody or just abandoning it on the side of the road.

[Jim]
Which we ought not to do. Our legal team has instructed to tell you that you do not do that.

[Leslie Segrete]
Correct. Thank you, legal side Jim. But truly, I mean, I feel like people just abandon window unit air conditioners.

So there’s always something newer and better. But I mean, I think if you’re going for a new window unit, you’re going to look for something that’s more environmentally friendly, one that has a compliant refrigerant, lots of different things out there. So you’ve got a lot of choices.

I mean, you can continue with the system that you have until they’re not able to replace the coolant. But let’s hope that doesn’t happen on the hottest day of the year. And then you’re undergoing a major repair.

Thanks so much for calling. Well, green home improvement options seem to be multiplying lately, and it isn’t always clear how much you’re helping the planet or yourself with the choices that you’re making. Now, you see the signs all over the stores kind of presenting you with the options that are meant to make you feel good about the choices you are making.

Organic, healthy. These are words that you see and they’re finding their way into every corner of the supermarket. And building products and fixtures are having the same sort of movement here.

And they can be easily greenwashed with their true value hidden behind big prices and even bigger claims. Now, if you’re planning to purchase a home improvement related product, and you want to ensure that it’s environmentally friendly, there are a few things that you should be looking at beyond advertising claims to determine if that product is truly green. You want to start by considering the basics.

And these are the raw materials that go into that product and where they come from. You’ve got to remember that anything that has to be transported a very long way brings other precious resources into that discussion. So anything that’s being imported from overseas, you’re looking at fuel surcharges and other things that affect the environment.

Then you want to look at the adhesives, the coatings, the finishes that are used to make that product, and whether or not those finishes or any part of that manufacturing process leads to the release of harmful substances. Next, think about the product packaging and the likelihood that it will release VOCs, those are the volatile organic compounds, into your home environment during and after the installation. I swear that bed that I just put in my son’s room, I took it out of the packaging a week before I put it together.

I let it sit. I had the windows open, and I swear it still smells odd. So who knows what the heck is being used in the process of ordering these pieces of furniture.

You also want to think about what happens to that product when there’s no longer use for it, and that’s a factor in determining the greenness as well, because just as there are benefits to selecting a product made from sustainable ingredients, you need to know that those ingredients can be recycled or reclaimed or repurposed when that product’s time is over with you. All right, well, hopefully that helps you on your way to a green environmental project in your home.

[Jim]
Okay, Leslie, let’s go to Pennsylvania. We’ve got Macy on the line who would like some advice for starting a bathroom remodel. How can we help you out today, Macy?

[Macy in Pennsylvania]
Trying to do a bathroom remodel, and we’d like to see who you recommend in the Grayson County area. Should I use a construction company or a remodeling business?

[Leslie Segrete]
All right, well, Macy, if you’re going to be remodeling a bathroom, there’s one thing that you want to look for in a contractor, and that’s experience. I mean, you take that room out of commission, and especially if it goes on longer than you’re expecting that bathroom to be out of use, things are going to go south super quickly. And you either have to become like very good friends with your neighbors or like happen to have like a gas station or a sandwich place nearby that’s not going to mind you going in there.

[Jim]
A big bucket. Gross.

[Leslie Segrete]
So it’s really going to get inconvenient. So you want to look for a construction company or a modeling company that pro that really is experienced in remodeling bathrooms. They’re hard spaces to work in because generally they can be small, and they’ve got to be done efficiently.

So what I would do first is figure out what is in my project. You know, am I using tile? Am I replacing all the fixtures?

You know, all of the things that you want, and kind of pick out everything so you have this library of stuff that you want to use. The tile, the shower heads, the faucets, the sinks, the toilet, everything else. And then kind of figure out what you want and kind of commit to it.

And then when you call in the remodeling company or those contractors, you can say, these are the things I want. This tub, this shower head, this shower surround, whatever the things are that’s going into your project. This way they know, okay, I’m going to bid on X, Y, and Z.

So you get that bid from contractor one. Contractor two says, okay, you want X, Y, and Z. They’re all bidding on the same thing.

They’re all giving you comparable bids because one person’s not like, well, I like this toilet. Whereas the other person’s like, well, I’m going to use this one. You want to make sure everybody’s bidding on the exact same thing so you truly can compare what those are.

And then don’t forget, ask for references, call the people up, shoot them an email, whatever it is that you want to communicate, whatever method. Find out how did the project go? Was it messy?

Was it finished on time? Do you like how it looked? Does everything work okay?

All of that stuff. And then you can make an educated choice. Do that homework.

And remember, the most expensive person might not always be the best. The cheapest guy might not be the worst. It’s just, you got to take a look at all of the things, but those references are going to be key to helping you get it over and really decide what’s up.

All right. Good luck with that. I’m so envious having one bathroom.

All I dream about is having a new bathroom and I just don’t see how I can make it work with four boys in the house all the time. Yeah. And they’re pretty gross.

So good luck with your bathroom. Well, joining us this hour, we have a great friend of The Money Pit, Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie. And Angie is filled with tons of great ideas about smart spring maintenance tips for all of us homeowners out there that will help you avoid those midsummer HVAC meltdowns and help you catch the small issues before they become big problems.

So Angie, welcome to The Money Pit.

[Angie Hicks]
Well, thanks for having me. It’s great to be back, Leslie.

 

[Leslie Segrete]
Oh, we’re so happy for you to join us. I know this is sort of like the big rush to clean up and freshen up and get your house sort of in tip-top shape for the summer season ahead. And it’s really just so we can enjoy our money pits more.

But what is like the number one thing that we should be doing so that we find ourselves in great shape for the summertime?

[Angie Hicks]
Well, the first thing I would tackle is having your air conditioner tuned up. Our heating and cooling systems are the largest user of energy in our house. So getting that in good condition so it’s running efficiently is going to save you money every month and also should hopefully keep your air conditioner from going kaput in the middle of the heat wave this summer.

[Leslie Segrete]
Yeah. And then that’s, of course, the hardest time to get a contractor in to actually make any repairs. And then, you know, when you’re super hot and miserable, so is everyone else.

Right. Now, how about our yards? I feel like spring is always the time that we start making sure things are getting cleaned up and clearing out the debris.

What can we kind of do to make sure that we’re going to be in a good position come like landscaping time?

[Angie Hicks]
I start with the roof. Check the roof. Look for loose shingles, anything that looks askew because you want to be ready, you know, as the spring storms and the summer storms come through, you want to be ready for that.

Get those fixed if you need to. If you haven’t cleaned your gutters recently, that’s another good item to stick on the spring to do list because we really want that water rolling away from our house. We don’t want it pooling around the foundation because it can lead to baseball flooding, things like that.

That way you can get your gutters and your downspouts in place before you start doing mulch. Get those in good condition. And then I look to the grass from there.

[Leslie Segrete]
What is the rule of thumb with mulch? I always feel like you don’t want to put it on too early. I use Mother’s Day kind of as like the marcation of when I can plant and mulch and things like that.

[Angie Hicks]
I always want to mulch in April, but then I’m like, I forget how much debris is created with spring trees. Yeah. And then by Mother’s Day you’re like, my flower beds aren’t as pretty as they were a couple weeks ago.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right. Good. What else can we be doing around the yard?

[Angie Hicks]
Now’s the time to be fertilizing the grass, aerate the lawn, and then get the mower tuned up so that you’re ready to make it through the summer mowing on a regular basis.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right. I love that. Now I always do a big clean out inside as well.

I find this is the time I kind of go through the closets and go through any clothing that we’re not wearing anymore as a family, make donations. But what are some of the more heavy lift cleaning things we should be doing inside? And please say I only have to do them once a year.

[Angie Hicks]
Well, the things that I stick on the list for spring that maybe you’re not thinking about are cleaning appliances. So your washing machine, your dryer, your refrigerator. That’s good to run a cycle of your washing machine with a little vinegar instead of detergent.

That’s going to help to get rid of that mildewy smell you sometimes get in your washing machine over time. And then on your dryer, you want to have that dryer vent cleaned because that’s going to make it run more efficiently so you’re not running two cycles to dry that load of towels. And it’ll also reduce your fire hazard.

And then on the refrigerator, it just can be a dust collector. So pull the refrigerator out, sweep behind it, make sure the vents are clear on the refrigerator, especially if you have pets. That could be a great trap for pet hair.

[Leslie Segrete]
Oh, I never thought about the pet hair going back there.

[Angie Hicks]
The pet hair. The pet hair.

[Leslie Segrete]
That’s where it hides. Oh, well, that’s amazing. So, I mean, you’re always full of such great advice.

Explain to folks what Angie is. I mean, we’ve known you to just be such a tremendous helper of homeowners everywhere. But for folks who aren’t familiar, how can they best take advantage of what Angie has to offer?

[Angie Hicks]
Sure. Angie, we’ve been around for 30 years. You might also remember us as Angie’s List.

And so we can help you find top-rated contractors in your area if you’re hiring for some of these projects. If you go to Angie.com, you can also find our full spring checklist, as well as our cost guides, which can help you with budgeting, which I think is really important, because I think sometimes people can feel overwhelmed, right? You’re like, I’ve got so much to do.

Even your spring checklist, don’t try to do your whole spring checklist in one weekend. You know, do a couple of hours here, a couple of hours there. But planning and budgeting so that you’re not surprised, I think it’s super important and those cost guides can come in handy for that.

[Leslie Segrete]
And what about these pros that you’re referring? We trust them? We’re vetting people?

Because that’s always, you know, so tricky, you want to make sure you’re finding the right person.

[Angie Hicks]
That’s right. So we collect reviews on the pros from homeowners who have actually used them, so you can see what their rating is, you know, we ask them to affirm their licensure, and, you know, just making sure that they are experienced in what you need to have done. You know, 500 different tasks, so it’s really anything you can dream up around the house, we probably have a pro on Angie that can help you.

[Leslie Segrete]
And you can read all their reviews, so you know exactly what you’re getting into. Exactly. I love it.

Angie, you’re always so helpful to us, and Angie.com is so helpful to everyone. So thank you so much for stopping by the Money Pit. You can check out Angie at Angie.com and find a pro to help you get all of your projects done. Thank you. It was good to catch up. Jim, let’s get to the phones.

[Jim]
We’ve got Greg with a flooring quandary. Let’s see if we can help him out. Greg, what’s happening?

[Greg]
I’m trying to cover 6,000 square feet of concrete flooring with an epoxy coating. I’m not sure which way to go with that.

[Leslie Segrete]
Yeah, Greg, I mean, that is a fairly straightforward process. When you want to put an epoxy coating on a concrete floor, that’s a perfect application for it. It does a great job of sealing it, and protecting it, and giving you a good-looking attractive surface.

Now, first, Greg, I would say if you have any areas that need repair or aren’t level, you want to make sure that you level out those areas. There are sort of floor leveling compounds that you can find at your home center that many of them are even self-leveling. So as you fill in these areas of unevenness, they will level out.

If there are cracks, you want to fill them. So you want to kind of get that concrete in great shape before you put these epoxy coatings on top. And there’s a lot of different brands out there.

Rust-Oleum has a great one. Bayer has a great one. Kind of, you know, where are you?

What are you near? What do you feel comfortable purchasing? Most of them are a few steps.

You know, we partner with Daich Coatings often. They have a great product called DaiHard 100, and that’s a great concrete sort of epoxy product that goes on in a few steps. Some of them do have those color flakes that you kind of put in that finishes out the surface and then a top coat goes on that to give you an anti-slip finish.

So I would definitely recommend heading over to DaichCoatings.com, that’s D-A-I-C-H Coatings.com, heading to your local home center, seeing what you feel comfortable with with the process. That’s really going to be the most important thing. And then I think the other important thing is not painting yourself into a corner.

I say that laughingly, but it happens. It happens to all of us. But there are just a few steps.

You have to make sure everything cures properly, and that will give you a great surface that will last for years to come. So I hope that helps you out, Greg. Well, is your child’s room smaller than you’d like?

If you’re tired of tripping over toys and sporting gear and dirty laundry, or is that clean laundry? Who knows? You’ve lost count.

But we’ve got some easy decor tips here that can help you design a room that can change as fast as your kids do. First of all, you always want to plan spaces that can grow with your child. And that includes everything from choosing a color palette that can serve as a long-term backdrop for their ever-changing tastes and interests, and buying better furniture pieces that can stand up to these changes.

Next, you want to think about smart storage. Storage has perhaps the biggest impact on the design of a kid’s space, as it not only gives you the room you need to hide all their stuff, but it also frees up floor space for activity zones in the room design. That storage, though, needs to be flexible for their changing needs.

Now, a closet is always a great spot to find some storage if that closet is organized. You can refit or expand that closet with some smart organizers, bi-level clothing rods, some drawers. Even a tiny closet can be adapted to get some more storage.

You just kind of have to figure out the right solution for the space. And finally, you want to be on the lookout for opportunities to create two-for-one solutions, like think a window seat. It’s a great place to sit, but you could build it into storage, you know, a top that opens and you can put some stuff inside.

So you have to kind of think of these projects or these areas that can work double duty. If you want some more tips, you can check out our post, Create a Kid’s Room That Will Grow With Your Child, on moneypit.com. Jim, let’s get to the next caller.

[Jim]
Heading out to Kansas now, we’ve got Brenda on the line with the Money Pit. What’s going on at your house, Brenda?

[Brenda in Kansas]
Hi. It’s going to fall in.

[Leslie Segrete]
Oh no, what’s happening?

 

[Brenda in Kansas]
Well, we have a, the house was built in about 1908, and the basement walls were poured concrete and they’re starting to crumble. I mean, significantly, like, you know, two to four inches in some spots. The problem is, we can’t lift the house because it’s made of, like, haydight blocks that were, like, with decorative front on them.

So the whole thing’s block and we can’t, I mean, it’s just way too heavy to lift. So I’m trying to figure out how to repair the walls or replace them or add structural something to them. I don’t know.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right. So this really isn’t something that you can figure out. You don’t have the experience, and quite frankly, nor do 90% of the contractors that you’d be calling to ask this question.

If you’ve got walls that are in bad shape, you really need to go to a structural engineer, and that’s really critical for a bunch of reasons. First of all, that structural engineer is going to know exactly what kind of repair to prescribe for what’s going on at your house, okay? Or they’re going to make a report and they’re going to have details, you know, words, drawings, what this repair has got to look like.

Once you have that specification, that true fix to what’s going on at your own home, then you can go and talk to the contractors who will execute that plan that that structural engineer has sort of created for you. But most importantly, when you are dealing with a structural issue like this, you also need that structural engineer to come back after the repair is done and say, yep, that was done correctly. We have no more cause for concern, because at some point, you’re going to want to sell your house, and that engineering report and the inspections that follow that repair are going to sort of give you a pedigree of everything that’s going on with the home.

You know, we’ve seen these repairs done badly before, and we’ve seen them done really well, and it’s usually because people try to skip that step of working with that structural engineer. It really is important that you have that design professional when you have walls that are sagging a couple of inches like the way you describe it, because it truly is beyond the scope of what any contractor should be trusted to design themselves, okay? All right.

 

[Brenda in Kansas]
Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

[Leslie Segrete]
All right.

Well, you are so welcome. Good luck with that project. It’s going to be a big one.

Thanks so much again for calling us at 888-MONEYPIT. We are into May, and there are a lot of projects to do before we can have that official kickoff to summer, Memorial Day weekend. So shoot us a question by email and let us know what you’ve got planned.

Jim, who’s in our email lineup this hour?

[Jim]
Up first, we’ve got Greg, who wrote in to The Money Pit. His question is regarding wood decking boards, Leslie. Greg asks, barkside up or barkside down?

[Leslie Segrete]
Well, it’s interesting, because you’re like, but these decking boards don’t have any bark on them. But they kind of did at one point. So even though that outer layer of the tree, if you imagine that you’re slicing the tree trunk into these boards, there is a barkside on the right and a barkside on the left, if you’re looking at it.

But you also have to think that the boards sort of cut from that end towards the center, that would still be bark on the outside on the right side, and those would still be bark on the outside on the left side, even though you’re kind of coming in. So you have to imagine, if you’re looking at a deck board, say like a two by six, and you’re looking at the end of it where you can kind of see the rings of the tree, you know, if you look at the end of the board, you want those rings to kind of be arced up like a rainbow. That’s kind of a good way to think about it.

You don’t want it to be upside down. You want that arc up. That means that’s the outside of the tree, like the rainbow.

So you put that side up. And the reason is because all of these boards are eventually going to cup as they dry out, and you want them to cup inward, not outward. Because if you put it upside down, that board is going to lift up, and then you can catch your foot, and you can trip, and it’s going to get ugly and messy.

So if you put the barkside up as that board dries out and ages, it will all do so nicely. And it really does save on the maintenance of this project, because you don’t want to have to restain or repaint or change the boards. This will just keep it all really nice from the beginning, and that’s what you want.

[Jim]
Spring and summer are peak seasons for real estate sales. And if you’re the owner of a home that’s new, or at least new to you, it’s tempting to move in now and paint later. But painting before you move in is hands down the best bet.

Leslie’s got the reasons why in this week’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie?

[Leslie Segrete]
Yeah, listen, I get it. After months of dreaming, and perhaps years of dreaming about this new home, it’s finally yours, and you want to just get in it and make it your own. But before you schedule those movers, you want to consider these reasons to start with a few coats of paint instead.

Now, the simplest reason is that interior painting is a lot more simple when you can move freely in an empty space. But more importantly, you’re painting the place kind of sets the tone for it being your home and starting to reflect who you are as the new owners. Now, painting first also saves time.

Your painting project is going to take a lot longer if you’ve got to cover and uncover furniture and move artwork and rehang artwork. It’s also going to save a lot of money. If you are working with a professional contractor, they’re going to finish much faster in an empty space, which can keep those dollars in your pocket.

Now, painting first also simplifies interior decorating. If you’re designing a space from scratch, having that fresh paint color scheme will help drive those other decisions so you kind of have this picture-perfect design result. And finally, guys, it just feels good.

A fresh coat of paint makes a home seem cleaner, more welcoming, more yours. You want to use a top quality 100% acrylic latex paint, and you will get a stain-resistant finish that will look new for years to come. All right, next week, guys, we’ve all heard the horror stories of deck collapses.

You know, you see the videos at the beginning of every summer, the party goers pile onto a deck, and then boom. Well, doing a checkup on your deck before that first big summer party is going to tell you if you have anything to worry about. We’re going to walk you through a five-step DIY deck checkup on the next Money Pit.

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