#2521 – Benefits of Factory-Built Homes | A/C Service Tests and Tips | Exterior Painting Pointers

[Theme Music]

If your roots start to leak, or your floor’s really squeak, you’re living a money pit, money pit. If your basement needs a pump, or your place looks like a dump, you’re living a money pit, money pit. Pick up the telephone, fix up your home sweet home, by calling 888-MONEY-PIT.

 

[Producer Jim]

The Money Pit is presented by Daich Coatings. Now here’s Leslie Segrete.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is the Money Pit. I’m Leslie Segrete. Happy Memorial Day weekend everybody.

 

We hope that your corner of the state is enjoying some beautiful weather, and that you’re celebrating with your family and friends. Coming up this hour, we’ve got a great show for you. Can a home built in a factory be better than one that’s constructed on site?

 

Well, we not only say that this is a big yes, but they can actually be better. They can be more energy efficient as well. You know, my sister is actually in the process of building a manufactured home as we speak, and I’m hoping to share some drone footage when that truck, or I should say trucks, arrive carrying this house in random parts.

 

We’re going to chat about this style of home in a bit. And summer’s on the way, and that means it’s important to get your air conditioning serviced now to be sure that it is good to go. We’ll explain what should be included, and give you an easy way for you to test your system to know if it’s working properly before that technician even shows up.

 

And while we are currently in the spring season, it’s perfect for a lot of projects, and that includes painting. We’re going to share tips to help you get your home’s exterior freshly painted and looking amazing for years to come. What kind of projects are you guys planning for your summer home improvements?

 

Let us know so we can help you out. So give us a call now at 888-MONEYPIT. Jim, who’s up first?

 

[Producer Jim]

We’ve got Peggy in Texas on the line who’s got a tiling question. How can we help out, Peggy?

 

[Peggy in Texas]

Our house was built in the 50s, and it has Saltillo tile in it. And over the years, we bought the house about 20 years ago, and they had put a heavy layer of polyurethane down, oil-based polyurethane. Wait, they put that over the tile?

 

Over the Saltillo tile. All right. So over the years, raising our kids, we, you know, lots of skating.

 

Yeah, I bet. And what has happened is, you know, it started kind of bubbling and popping up in places.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Okay.

 

[Peggy in Texas]

Decided I was going to scrape all the polyurethane off of our tile. All right.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

So you scraped it off.

 

[Peggy in Texas]

How did the tile hold up? It looks okay in most of it, but where I have to say where it popped off previously, that is discolored differently.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Okay.

 

[Peggy in Texas]

Like if a section popped off, I guess it got dirty. Yeah.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

I mean, that makes sense, but how did you do with the polyurethane? Did it all come off?

 

[Peggy in Texas]

I’m not finished.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah. It’s a lot of work.

 

[Peggy in Texas]

Yes. And then the grout, I can’t hardly get the polyurethane off the grout, so I kind of stopped.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right. So if you can’t get it off the grout, can you try a grout saw over the grout lines to sort of cut it out? I mean, the Saltillo tiles are kind of, we have it in our kitchen, and they’re pretty far spaced.

 

You have a wide grout line, right? What I was thinking I could do is go with a water-based polyurethane. No, you don’t want to use a water-based polyurethane, and here’s why.

 

It’s okay maybe for furniture or something like, you know, a desk, but you don’t want to use it for the floor because it doesn’t have the abrasion resistance that one that’s made for the floor will, and you’ll be really upset with yourself after all of the work you do to just have that happen.

 

[Peggy in Texas]

Okay. Do you recommend that, okay, so my husband suggested let’s make it darker and, like, add some color.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Can we add color to polyurethane? Yeah, I mean, not really. It is designed to be clear.

 

What color is the floor now?

 

[Peggy in Texas]

Well, when it has the polyurethane on, it’s kind of a dark orange.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, and because it’s the clear poly, it’s that natural Saltillo, right? And it kind of, you know, it’s so weird. We have this in our kitchen, and it kind of just chips away.

 

It’s very aged. There’s areas where the poly wears off, and you kind of have dark streaks. I feel like the only solution because of the restoration of it requires so much is, you know, it’s a lot of work, but if you put that polyurethane over it again and maybe use a flat or a satin, maybe not so glossy, maybe you could take away some of those areas of harsh darkness and unevenness that are sort of contrasty.

 

It’s interesting because it’s such a beautiful tile, but when they put the urethane over it, it kind of chips away at those surfaces, and it makes it look not great, but at the same time, it makes it look agey and neat. It’s a trick there with this floor, and I think if you do go with a satin because you don’t want it to be glossy, and you don’t want it to look dry, so if you go with a satin, which is kind of in between, you’re going to have to do a really good job of giving it something to grab onto because of the poly that’s still on there, so you want to make sure that that surface has a little bit of abrasion so that you’re giving it an area to stick to. Make sure you get all the dirt and dust up before you go and put the new product on.

 

You can kind of experiment with how many coats that’ll go on top of the old and the grout just to kind of see how it looks, but it’s smart that you’ve gotten all the loose stuff off because you can’t put bad paint over good paint, and that also applies to the urethane. It’s the adhesion that’s the problem, so maybe try it in an area that’s not as obvious and kind of see if you like the way it looks, and remember, if you end up giving up on this, you can leave that flooring in place. You can put another tile over it.

 

You don’t have to take it up as long as the tile itself is structurally sound. You can put another flooring right on top of it.

 

[Peggy in Texas]

I may call back and let you know how it works out. Maybe I’ll send you pictures.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, do send pictures. I love to look at other people’s houses. I want to see projects.

 

I want to help with projects, and photos are awesome for me. All right. Thanks, Peggy.

 

Good luck.

 

[Producer Jim]

Charlie in Texas, how can we help you out with your porch today?

 

[Charlie in Texas]

I added a portion to a porch. I had it done. I had a pergola put on it, and the concrete has risen up about an inch from the other portion that was already poured.

 

Do you have any ideas what I can do about that?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, Charlie. It seems like this new section of your porch kind of rose up. Do you know?

 

Do you happen to have expansive soils in your part of the country?

 

[Charlie in Texas]

No. It’s pretty clayey soils, and it did have a sprinkler system underneath it, but I had completely tapped it off and everything, and then I had a company come in there and pour the slab so I could put a pergola on it, and it has risen about an inch above where the original porch was poured.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

So it didn’t crack? It just kind of rose up above the old level?

 

[Charlie in Texas]

That’s correct.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

The reason I ask you this is because there’s a type of soil called expansive clay soil, and there’s a good amount of it in Texas, and what happens is when that expansive clay soil gets wet, it expands, and that could cause the heaving. I mean, I don’t think it’s from a frost heave. You don’t really have those kind of swings in temperature, although I did see it snow in Texas this year, which is totally bonkers.

 

But it could be just the fact that there’s the soil, and you’re not going to be able to get that to settle back down again. I could tell you that. So if you do redo this thing and you want to do it right, you’ve got to dig it out, redo it, and one of the things that you might talk to the contractor about is that are they able to insert or drill some rebar into that old concrete and basically have it as a physical connection between the two to keep them basically in line?

 

It’s not going to be easy, and I think it’s really going to depend on how thick all of that original surface is and whether they can do it without cracking it. And the other thing I would say is that you have to pay careful attention to how you prep that base underneath the slab. Now that you’re going to replace to make sure that you’re digging out enough, it’s got stone in it, it’s got to be well tamped, like mechanically tamped is probably the best way, and if you have six inches of stone before you put that concrete on it, then you put the rebar on top of that.

 

It’s going to keep it all in one piece when it’s poured, and that’s going to be a lot harder for it to be moved even with expansion. And then you just have to be very cautious of water collection in that area. So if you have downspouts that may be drained towards that area or if there’s anything else that could cause water to just gather in that spot, try to minimize it.

 

And that would help, in fact, if you have this type of expansive soil. Now there is a product called ReCap, which will stick to old concrete, because new concrete and old concrete are not going to stick. But ReCap does, and you can kind of mix it in a way and you can taper it down to the old port so it’s not like a tripping hazard, but it’s going to be a big project and it might not work.

 

So if you don’t mind trying this in the interim, go for it. Pick it up. It could be great.

 

And what you want to do to get the ReCap to work is clean the concrete, you wet it down, and then you trowel on the ReCap. If it was me, I would probably snap a chalk line about 12 inches from the new edge so that you have something to aim towards as you’re troweling out, and then build it up even with the new edge. And I would sort of hit that chalk line at the low edge.

 

And this way you basically can use the ReCap and it’ll kind of stick together.

 

[Charlie in Texas]

I appreciate it very much.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, good luck with it, Charlie. Hey, are you a fan of our podcast? Well, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and we’ll be doing a happy dance.

 

Plus, it helps us keep the show going and growing. Just go to moneypit.com slash review. We’ve got some fun news to share that’s going to help you tackle a great project this summer.

 

We are thrilled to announce that we’ve partnered with Daich Coatings to bring you the ultimate porch and patio makeover sweepstakes. Right now, through June 9th, you can enter to win amazing, easy-to-use DIY products from Daich Coatings that will transform your porch, your patio, or any concrete surface that you’ve got into an attractive surface that will last for years. You visit moneypit.com slash sweepstakes right now through June 9th. You can enter every day. Two grand prize winners will be chosen, and they’ll each receive about $1,000 in Daich Coatings products. You can choose a decorative surface of spreadrock granite stone coating, track-safe anti-slip color coat, or roller rock rollable stone coating.

 

You’re also going to get a final coating of track-safe anti-slip sealer to create that gorgeous new space in your home. There’s also going to be 20 runner-up winners, and they’re each going to receive track-safe anti-slip color kit, and that’s valued at $150. You can enter today at moneypit.com slash sweepstakes. All right. Good luck, everybody. Jim, let’s get back to Talking Home Improvement.

 

Who’s up next?

 

[Producer Jim]

Heading out to Missouri, Leslie, we’ve got Joan. She’s on the line and has some questions about building a habitat for some of her furry friends. That sounds right up your alley, Leslie.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Just because I want to keep squirrels and raccoons and all the little critters, I just, Joan, I hear you.

 

[Producer Jim]

What’s going on, Joan?

 

[Joan in Missouri]

I’d like to put an enclosed space on the back of my house for my cat. Not with a solid roof, but with, like, a wire roof. But the issue is that it’s going to be 24 by 22.

 

I’ve built small things, but I’m not sure how to span something that wide. I don’t want the uprights in the middle.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

I mean, you must really have a very important cat if you’re making a space that’s over 400 square feet for them.

 

[Joan in Missouri]

The idea is it’s going to just enclose the patio.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Oh, all right.

 

I see. Well, look, anything that big kind of qualifies as an addition. It’s not just a pen or a patio, because that’s a pretty significant size.

 

So first thought here is whether or not you’re impacting any zoning laws in your town that could limit what you’re doing. We have very low limits here. You have very low limits?

 

Okay. But at the same time, you want to make sure that whatever work you’re doing in terms of that patio can support the structure. So you say you want to enclose it, and I presume since it’s an open roof, you don’t have heat or anything like that currently, right?

 

But you want it. Right. All right, but you said it would be open, but you’re not going to have any rain protection over it.

 

No. All right, but are you thinking about a roof structure at all?

 

[Joan in Missouri]

I’m thinking like hardware cloth. I just want something that will keep, like, birds, obviously, out, and, you know, wildlife, stray cats, that sort of thing. I don’t know.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

It seems like if you’re going to build something that’s 22 by 24, it’s a big construction project. I personally would put a roof on it at the same time because who knows? Maybe somebody down the road is buying the home and sees this sort of enclosed area and thinks this would make a great patio, and having the roof on it would be a huge selling point.

 

Because anything that you’re putting on in terms of cloth, that’s temporary. It’s just not going to last very long, and I just don’t know if it’s going to be tough enough to keep out the birds or the insects, and then your cats are going to be sad. Oh, no.

 

Hardware cloth is like large square screen wire. No, I know what you’re talking about, but I’m just thinking that something like that 22, it’s huge. That’s a lot.

 

[Producer Jim]

Five hundred and thirty square feet almost.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, that’s a big spot. I mean, you’re going to have to have some structure, like a roof rafter, to support that wire. I don’t know how to do it.

 

Yeah, it’s a one-story home, so your beams there would have to have a slope to them, so they would have to start high up on your roof, and then they would have to intersect with your existing roof. And this is a big project, and it’s not something that you should just be taking on lightly. It’s an awful lot of work for something that size.

 

[Joan in Missouri]

I wasn’t going to do it myself. I was going to have my sons do it, but I would have to be the one to design it and tell them how to do it.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, but you don’t actually know how to do the project, so you’re telling your sons how to do it, and maybe we’re all just not approaching this the correct way.

 

[Joan in Missouri]

This is pretty much a professional project.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

At this point, I think it would be wise to kind of get a little bit of professional help, at least for the layout and the specs for this, because there’s a lot of decisions that you have to make, and most of the time, if you tackle something like this, if you don’t do it right, it’s going to devalue your home.

 

It could be an eyesore. It might not get any proper permitting or certificate of occupancy. It could be difficult to sell when it becomes time to sell your house.

 

I wouldn’t mess around with something of this size. I would do it right.

 

[Joan in Missouri]

Well, thanks a lot.

 

I appreciate it.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Oh, you’re so welcome. Good luck with that.

 

I mean, you’re going to have a great addition to your home, whether it’s for you and the cats or just the cats, but let’s do it right. Well, according to the Department of Energy, more than 20 million Americans live in a manufactured home, and many newer models are well-built and very energy efficient, and guess what? Much more affordable than on-site built homes.

 

Now, factory-built homes have come really a long way, and they offer a lot of benefits from energy efficiency, quicker build times due to weather not being a factor, and about 60% the cost of traditional stick-built homes. Now, manufactured homes can be built according to your architect’s designs. They’re built in a remote factory.

 

They’re built on-site, and they’re sort of built, I guess you would say, in a dry run, so to speak. My sister and her husband are in the process of having a home manufactured off-site in a huge facility in Pennsylvania. They worked with an architect to create a very modern and gorgeous-style home that really suits them well, and they just went out to this factory and saw the walls, the cabinetry, the plumbing, the countertops, etc., all of it in place, and they actually got to walk through completed sections of this home, but it’s in Pennsylvania right now. It’s not on Long Island in New York, which is so strange. Now, once it’s fully built, it’s disassembled in fairly substantial sections. It’s placed on trucks that will then arrive to your site and be installed on a slab that’s ready for it, that’s been built to those specifications.

 

The architect and the builders work together. They work together with the factory. They’re all familiar with this manufacturing process, and it really is beneficial because as you’re doing this, you can choose among many energy-efficient equipment options and features.

 

There’s high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, and even ENERGY STAR appliances, just like you would in a stick-built home. In fact, some manufactured home companies have an ENERGY STAR certified home package that you can pick that will provide lower utility bills, greater comfort, and thanks to the DOE, they’re adopting these new energy standards for manufactured homes that will help you, the consumer, save almost $500 in their annual utility bills. So if you’re looking for a newly built, modern, and energy-efficient home at an affordable price, purchasing one of today’s manufactured homes can be a very smart choice.

 

There’s a range of financing and ownership options out there to consider. I mean, it’s just like purchasing a regular home. Mortgages, programs by federal agencies, all kinds of things, so don’t shy away from this.

 

There’s even programs offered by your state or local housing agencies that will help you with down payment assistance and low-interest loans for income-eligible borrowers. You can learn more from the resources on the Department of Energy’s ENERGY SAVER website at energy.gov slash ENERGY SAVERS. Now, once these trucks arrive to my sister’s home, I really hope…

 

So my brother-in-law is obsessed with drones, and he, like, films all the land and the water and the seals when he sees them, and blah, he loves it. So I’m sure David is going to take a ton of drone footage, and I want to share this process with all of you because it sounds so cool, and they’re so excited, and the drawings I’ve seen, and the footage I saw from the factory, I can’t wait. So I can’t wait to share it with you guys.

 

Hey, guys, don’t forget to enter our porch and patio makeover sweepstakes right now through June 9th. You can enter once a day. We’re giving away $5,000 in Daich Coatings products.

 

You can learn more, and you can enter daily at moneypit.com slash sweepstakes. That’s moneypit.com slash sweepstakes. Well, summer will be here very shortly, and if you have a central air conditioning system, now is the time to have it serviced.

 

Central air conditioning systems must be in tip-top shape for cooling a house efficiently. When they’re working properly, the system should produce a temperature differential of 15 to 20 degrees between the return and the supply air ducts. So this means that if the air being drawn into the system is 75 degrees, the air coming out of the system should be around 60 degrees.

 

And if it’s not, your air conditioner is probably low on refrigerant, and you are wasting electricity, not properly cooling anything. Now, if you’re wondering if your air conditioning is doing the job or wasting cold hard cash, here’s an easy way to know. You want to measure that air temperature at your thermostat, then measure the temperature coming out of one of your AC registers.

 

If it is not 15 to 20 degrees cooler, that system is running poorly. And if you have a service contract with your AC company, get on their schedule now, because it does fill up, and you want to make sure that you’re being serviced in time to have everything running in peak shape for the heat of the summer. All right, stay cool, guys.

 

Jim, let’s get back to the phones.

 

[Producer Jim]

Brian in Louisiana, you’ve got the money pit. How can we help you today?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Oh my gosh, please tell me there’s video footage of these animals fighting each other. What happened?

 

[Brian in Louisiana]

I’ve got about a 72-year-old home and its own piers. The other night I had heard some banging going around underneath there.

 

Well, long story short, it was a raccoon, and it was chasing a cat on there or something.

 

[Producer Jim]

Busted a pipe?

 

[Brian in Louisiana]

Oh. The problem was I wasn’t here when it happened, and so it ran for Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. I come back, and it’s ended up to where part of my house has sunk down a little bit.

 

Now, I’ve tried to get underneath there myself, and on the north side of my home it’s up about 2 feet, but as I got closer to that water line, the house is only about 6 or 7 inches under, you know. So I can’t get to it. I’m going to have to dig to get to it.

 

But my question was, I don’t know if that… I’m kind of reluctant about calling my insurance company. I don’t know if they would cover that.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, I think actually they would help you, your insurance company. If it’s what’s called a sudden dispersal of water, and that’s generally the term the insurance company uses, sudden dispersal, that’s definitely something that they cover. If it’s a slow leak over time, they might cover something like that, but I would definitely call in an insurance agent, talk to them about what happened, and they’ll come out to the site and do a site visit, and then determine if it’s something they can cover.

 

[Brian in Louisiana]

I know, but what I’m concerned about is, I’ve had 2 or 3 people tell me that, well, you know, if you call your insurance company, what they’re going to do is if they don’t cover it, or if they try and get out of it, that they’re going to end up dropping you.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

I mean, that’s what insurance is for. You have claims. You have to file a claim.

 

It happens. That’s why it’s there. It’s a pipe break, whether it was caused by an animal or not.

 

It’s a sudden dispersal of water, so I think it’s covered. My sister rescues cats, and they keep all these little kittens one time in their bathroom off of their home office, and overnight, the cats turn the water on on the sink. The sink overflowed.

 

The bathroom flooded. It went through the wall. When they woke up in the morning, the ceiling was down in the bedroom below, and then it had leaked through the wall and damaged the drywall, and it was all covered by the insurance, and that was a cat turning on a faucet.

 

[Brian in Louisiana]

When I came back, I saw water on the driveway, and I went, what the heck? I went inside, and when I tried to turn the faucet on, hot water, just nothing.

 

[Producer Jim]

Yeah, and I believe the reason they do that, Leslie, is because if you have a leaking pipe that’s been leaking for four years, and you didn’t take care of it, they’re not going to cover that kind of damage.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, that’s like on you.

 

[Producer Jim]

Right.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

But if it’s something that just happens, like that’s not anybody’s fault. It just happens, and they should cover it. But I mean, if the raccoon was like, listen, this guy is real trouble.

 

Let’s turn on his water. Maybe that’s a different story. And again, I would like to see that footage.

 

You can send it to Leslie at moneypit.com. I’d like to see that.

 

[Producer Jim]

Okay, and we’ve got PETA on line four, Leslie.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

I’m not saying anything bad. I just, I love raccoons, and their little hands, and they look like little criminals with their masks. They’re so cute.

 

[Producer Jim]

I got attacked by one. I’ll tell you the story off air sometime.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Oh, no.

 

[Producer Jim]

Scary.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

That’s not good. So snuggling a raccoon is a bad idea?

 

[Producer Jim]

Well, it depends. Are you a gambler? Ugh, fine.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, Brian, definitely get a public adjuster. If you can’t get the insurance to come out, or you’re worried about how it’s going to work out for you, public adjusters are great. They can file that claim on your behalf with the insurance company.

 

They don’t miss a thing. They’re going to know everything. They’re going to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company.

 

They do work on a percentage of that claim, so if they get that project worked out for you, they will end up covering their cost, and that should do the trick. It’s not a bad risk for them, because you’re going to have new plumbing when this is all done. It should be covered.

 

Don’t mess with the raccoon like Jim did, and I won’t snuggle it like I want.

 

[Producer Jim]

Dumb Jim.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

But I think it’s definitely something you should do. Talk to your insurance agent. If you have an independent insurance agent, you could talk to an attorney, but this is definitely the way to go.

 

[Producer Jim]

And the cool thing about the public adjuster is that they’re fighting on your side, and they get paid proportionally, so they’ll dig up stuff that you would have never got on your own.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, they want this to work out for you.

 

[Producer Jim]

Yeah, and they do cover the cost. It’s a good move.

 

[Brian in Louisiana]

That’s great. That’s what I needed to know. Man, I’m so glad that you all are here.

 

I listen to y’all all the time.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right. I hope that works out for you. Again, I’d love to see this raccoon turning on the water, and I like when Jim puts on his announcer voice.

 

[Producer Jim]

You’re so right, Leslie. This is the money pit, right?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

This is the money pit. Call in your home repair or your home improvement question 24-7 to 888-MONEY-PIT. Well, this is the perfect time of year to tackle a big project, and we’re talking about painting the exterior of your home.

 

Of course, you’ve got to wait until it’s not so rainy and everything’s dried up, but once the spring season sort of kicks into the best part of it and summer’s just around the corner, this is the ideal time. So to do so, there is a lot of prep that goes into it. You want to inspect and repair everything around your house on the exterior first.

 

So walk around the home, check for peeling or blistering paint, cracked, damaged siding, mildew or mold spots, any gaps in the trim or around the windows, repair those surfaces, caulk the gaps, replace any rotted wood. That’s your first step here. Then once you’ve done that, you can wash the surface.

 

Use a garden hose or a pressure washer. You want to get rid of the dirt and dust, the pollen, the mold and mildew, because anything that’s on there is going to hinder the paint from sticking properly. And once you’ve done that, you have to let the surface completely dry before you move on.

 

Now, if you have any peeling paint, this is the time where you sort of scrape away all that paint, sand those rough areas smooth so that new paint will stick well. It’s going to give you a nice, clean, professional look. Now is the fun part.

 

When we get to the painting, you want to protect the surrounding areas. So cover the plants, the walkways, the windows with drop cloths, sheathing, painter’s tape, mask off the edges, however you feel comfortable painting. And you want to prime the areas that are bare, problem areas.

 

I would totally just say prime the entire exterior of the home because that will ensure that the top coat is going to last. And that’s also going to ensure that you get the longest lifespan for this project. So once you’re primed, you can choose the right color paint.

 

You can use 100% latex exterior paint. It’s going to offer durability and weather resistance. Choose a finish like flat or satin for the siding or semi-gloss for the trim.

 

It really does make a big difference. Same thing for the doors, same thing for any shutters you may have. That’s where you can add that extra sheen.

 

You want to make sure you paint in good weather, temperatures between 50 and 85, low humidity, overcast, and shade. You don’t want direct sun because that will cause the paint to dry too quickly. Apply two coats.

 

You can use a sprayer, roller, brushes, all the things. The two coat is going to give you better color coverage and durability. I know that painting your home is a lot of work, but when you do it right, it can last for years to come.

 

So if this is a project you are taking on, let us know how that project comes out. I really do love looking at pictures of homes. It’s kind of my favorite thing.

 

I look at houses that are for sale with no intention of buying them. I just like seeing what everybody does with their houses. So send me yours.

 

I want to see it. All right, Jim, let’s get back to the phones. And Jim, send me a picture of your house.

 

[Producer Jim]

All righty. Krista is in Vermont, Leslie, and she’s on the line holding. She’s dealing with some very low water pressure.

 

Why don’t you fill us in a little bit more detail there, Krista?

 

[Krista in Vermont]

I bought my house about a year ago, and I’m on a shared well with my two other neighbors. And they both have great water pressure, but we have really awful water pressure. Like it takes three hours for the washing machine to run.

 

We can’t use our garden hose. And we’ve had some plumbers come take a look, and they said that there must be some kind of restriction in the water pipe since the other neighbors both have really great water pressure.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Are you on well water or street water?

 

[Krista in Vermont]

We’re on well water.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

And that one well serves all the neighbors?

 

 

 

[Krista in Vermont]

Yeah, it serves the two neighbors that live north of us.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, maybe there’s some sort of a restriction between that well coming to you. It could be a valve that’s partially closed.

 

I mean, it may look open, but it could be just closed enough. Do you have old pipes there? How old is the house?

 

 

 

[Krista in Vermont]

Yeah, it’s from 54.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, well, old for plumbing is like 20s, 30s, 40s, like with steel pipes. So 54 is going to be probably a decent quality copper.

 

Here’s what you could do. You could start testing that water pressure at different points. And if you can test it close to where it first comes into the house, that’s where you should start.

 

You may have to put a tap in the pipe to do that, like a little extra valve. But I would start checking it at different points and see if we can narrow down where that restriction is because it’s a little bit of detective work to find out this point. And it could be that main water valve if you’ve got one.

 

I mean, sometimes well systems don’t have those.

 

[Krista in Vermont]

Right. The valve in our house was just replaced, but I don’t know about the valve at our neighbor’s house where the well head is. And we were also told by one plumber that we could put a water pressure tank in the house to fix it, and then another plumber told us that wouldn’t work at all.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, I don’t know if that water pressure tank is going to work. I mean, there’s a booster that you could put in, but I would start trying to sort of figure out where this water is coming in because that could change the whole direction of this project. It might not be your plumbing.

 

It could be the well system. And I imagine that you have some rights, since you’re sharing a common well here, to get the same pressure as everybody else. This is going to have to be a discussion with the people that are also involved, the neighbors.

 

But first, you really have to figure out what you’ve got, and if you don’t know that yet, that’s really going to be the place to start so then you know the best approach. Does that make sense?

 

[Krista in Vermont]

All right.

 

Yeah, sounds good. Thank you.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Oh, you’re welcome, Krista.

 

Good luck with that project.

 

[Producer Jim]

And Krista, if you do end up digging, please call 811 prior to doing so. You can avoid a lot of headaches and a lot of money if you hit a pipe or you hit an electric line or something. Or not only just money, you could kill somebody or hurt yourself.

 

That’s just not worth it.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah. I mean, it’s called Call Before You Dig, Krista. They come out, and they put little flags in.

 

I think it’s blue for water.

 

[Producer Jim]

Is that what they call it in New York, Call Before You Dig?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

That’s what we call it in New York, Call Before You Dig. What do you call it?

 

[Producer Jim]

We call it Miss Dig. It’s a nationwide number. If you call 811, you’re in good shape.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, 811 works for everybody, but I didn’t realize that different states called it different things. Now I want to Google this up and find out what every state calls it.

 

[Producer Jim]

Okay, let’s go to commercial. We’ll be back in 45 minutes after Leslie updates.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right. Good luck, Krista. We are here to help you with all of your home improvement projects, and we’re going to answer some emails for the folks that send them in.

 

Jim, who do we have first?

 

[Producer Jim]

We have somebody right in line with our common topic of the day. Ryan is having trouble getting paint to cover. He says, my house was built in 1963, and I’m finding that I need to apply one coat of primer or three coats of paint to get that paint to cover.

 

That seems excessive. Yeah. Should I put on multiple coats of primer?

 

Should I have sanded the trim and doors down first? If so, what grit do I use? He’s got a lot of questions there.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, I mean, definitely so many questions there, and that’s definitely a problem. So here’s what I think. First of all, the last question, what grit?

 

If you’re going to prep your surfaces before you paint them, you want to make sure that you’re following the instructions on that. Usually we use about 150 grit when I’m trying to rough up some wood for paint. If you’re trying to smooth something down, I go for a finer grit.

 

I also love to use a sanding sponge. It just makes life so much easier. Now, when it comes to paint, I suspect that whatever paint you’re using might not be very good paint.

 

You shouldn’t need three coats of paint to cover anything. It’s just not the kind of thing that you want to try to sort of bargain shop for. Definitely go with the name brand paint, Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr, whatever you like.

 

You’re going to find that you’ll get much better coverage with one coat of primer and probably one coat of paint, maybe two at max, but three, that is totally crazy. I can remember, you know, during COVID, I let the kids do some work on their rooms and we picked new paint colors and we rearranged furniture. And my son is obsessed with the eagles and he picked eagles green as a wall color for his room.

 

And I convinced him to just go with one wall because that’s a lot of green.

 

[Producer Jim]

Should have him paint it like the Hotel California album. Oh, different eagles, nevermind.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

The different, not eagles. I’m talking about the eagles, the football team. It took a lot of coats.

 

And I don’t know if it was just because the nature of the green, because it was COVID and we were bored, so it took more time. But, you know, definitely the right primer, the right quality top coat. And a good tip is to have the primer tinted in a similar color to the paint because it’ll help you sort of set the stage for that top coat.

 

But good quality is going to give you good coverage.

 

[Producer Jim]

It’s picnic time. Don’t let the inevitable stains that are going to happen accompanying outdoor eating ruin your fun. Leslie has quick fixes in this week’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word.

 

Leslie?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

That’s right. You know, picnics, they are perfect for this Memorial Day holiday and they are a great outdoor tradition. But when you eat outdoors, you know it’s going to be messy.

 

So here are some stain removal tips for the most common picnic stains. Now, for barbecue sauce, you want to flush that stain with cold water. But from the underside of the fabric, blot with a liquid laundry detergent, then sponge with vinegar.

 

You want to apply a stain treatment and wash. This is the same thing that you will do for all of your basic barbecue condiments. Ketchup, mustard, you get it.

 

Berries. Everybody loves a pie or a plate of berries with some whipped cream. That makes a huge stain on your clothes.

 

So mix a tablespoon of white vinegar with a half teaspoon of liquid laundry detergent into a quart of water. You let that fabric soak for 15 minutes and you wash. For tougher stains, you can blot with alcohol.

 

That tends to do a great job. You can even put it in a little spray bottle because it kind of feathers the stain away at the edges. If you want some more tips on stain removal, we’ve got a whole list on the website.

 

Just search picnic stains on moneypit.com. Thanks again so much, guys, for spending your holiday weekend with us. Coming up next week on The Money Pit, are you ready to spruce up your backyard space for the summer ahead?

 

Well, we’re going to share some tips to take the indoor living space to the outdoors. Enjoy your holiday, everyone. Remember, you can do it yourself, but you don’t have to do it alone.

 

[Theme Music]

On The Money Pit Radio Show On The Money Pit Radio Show Pick up your telephone Fix up your home sweet home By calling 888-MONEY-PIT