#2524 – Discover the Joys of Natural Swimming Pools | Kitchen & Bath Design Trends | Wood Fence Care

[Theme Music]

If your roof starts 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 and the Metal Roofing Alliance. Now, here’s Leslie Segrete.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is the Money Pit. I’m Leslie Segrete. Thank you so much for joining us.

 

You know, we know June is like a crazy busy month out there for so many people. Graduation celebrations are underway, and I want to say congrats to all of those from the Class of 2025, but especially my nephew and godson, Andrew Mondago. Congrats, buddy, we love you so much.

 

He’s going to major in business at Fordham. Woo-hoo! So that’s very exciting.

 

Now, if you guys have a big event coming up at your money pit, let us help you get that yard and house ready. Reach out with all of your design and project questions. Whatever you are working on, we can help.

 

We’ve got a great show this hour coming up. If you’d like to have a backyard swimming pool, and this is the year that you’re going to do something about it, we’re going to share a cool option over traditional chlorine pools. We’re going to let you in on a gorgeous secret of natural swimming pools.

 

And I mean, they look great, and if you love a swimming hole, but like really an up-class one, you’re going to love this idea. And the first quarter for the American Institute of Architects’ Survey of 2025 Design Trends is out. Now, this quarter of their survey sort of focuses on kitchens and baths, and it definitely reflects the evolving preferences and tastes in the housing market.

 

So we’re going to share some of their key finds in the kitchen and bath design area in just a bit. And early summer is a great time to give your wood fence a looky-loo and make sure that it’s not only looking great, but that it will last for many years to come with some simple maintenance. So we’re going to share those tips ahead.

 

But first, we are here to help you plan out your project so you can find success with every step. Confidence builds amazing homeowners. So give us a call right now at 888-MONEYPIT.

 

Jim, who’s up first?

 

[Producer Jim]

All right, Leslie. In Kansas, we have Holly. And it seems like there’s a very noisy washing machine involved.

 

What the heck’s going on, Holly?

 

[Holly in Kansas]

I replaced my old washing machine with a fancy new Whirlpool. And now whenever I do a load of wash, there’s a banging noise that I did not have before, and I don’t know what’s going on. We thought maybe some pipes were banging, so we put up some padding, and it was still banging.

 

So it kind of sounds like a big thud, bang type, like something’s shutting off with great force when I’m doing laundry. So I have no idea what to do about that and why it’s doing it. It never did that before until I got my fancy, nice washing machine.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, I’m going to be willing to guess here that this is a high-speed washing machine and a high-efficiency washing machine, which basically means that this washing machine is just spinning way faster than your previous one because that’s what they do. They spin more quickly, faster to get more water out, so it’s reducing the amount of time you’re going to use the dryer. And that’s kind of how their energy efficiency works.

 

It goes hand-in-hand with the dryer. It’s removing more water. So that could be a bit of what’s going on here.

 

But first of all, we need to make sure that the machine is perfectly level. If it’s not, it’s going to be noisy. And it’s not uncommon for folks to complain about vibration sounds associated with this super-fast spin cycle, but I’m not sure if this is what’s going on anyway.

 

So just in case, there’s a simple solution here, and that’s, number one, level the washing machine. And number two, you can pick up these anti-vibration blocks. They are specifically designed for washing machines.

 

They’re usually about an inch thick, and they’re made out of, like, a stiff rubber. You can kind of think of them as shock absorbers for your washing machine. And they go under the four corners, and they do a really good job at sort of stabilizing the machine.

 

Now, I think most likely by your description, this is what we’re talking about. It could be something called water hammer. And that’s because the machine is different than what you had before.

 

Those valves are opening and closing very quickly. And the water is filling towards the machine, heading into the machine. That valve closes, and it forces the inertia of the water in the pipe to keep pushing that pipe forward.

 

And then, of course, it has nowhere to go. So that can result in a very loud banging sound. And if you have copper pipes as well, it could echo.

 

So it makes that sound even worse. It doesn’t damage anything, but it’s just annoying. And there is a plumbing device called a water hammer arrestor, which is basically like a shock absorber for your plumbing system.

 

And that will dampen that and stop it from happening. So based on your description, it’s probably one of these two things. It’s either the machine is not level, or maybe it needs these vibration damper blocks underneath its feet, or simply you have a water hammer issue.

 

None of these are difficult to fix, but we would hire a plumber to take care of that water hammer. It’s not something you can definitely do on your own, especially with very limited plumbing skills. But this should do the trick.

 

And most importantly, enjoy the heck out of that new washer. I mean, I’m sure it’s doing a great job, minus the annoying sounds.

 

[Producer Jim]

Redirecting to Louisiana, Leslie, we’ve got Albert. He’s looking to take on a green project by adding solar panels. How can we help you with that project?

 

[Albert in Louisiana]

Well, I’d like to put up some solar panels. My wife and I were discussing it, and she seemed to think they’d do better on the roof. Now, we have a pretty good bit of property here.

 

I’m wanting to put it out in back of the house and add away from the house. And she seemed to think that being away from the house, they would lose some of their effectiveness. Is that true?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, if you put them on the roof, they are closer to the sun, Albert. So she’s right about that.

 

[Producer Jim]

Slightly, yeah.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

I mean, I really don’t think it’s going to make a big difference. Listen, if things are wired correctly, you can certainly collect all of that energy, whether those panels are at grade level or if they’re on the roof. Now, the added complication of putting them on the roof is that you have to put them on over your roofing shingles or whatever that roofing material is that you have.

 

And ultimately, because eventually that roof will fail, you’re going to have to remove the panels to re-roof. So it does add a complicated level. So you have to think about, how old is your roof?

 

Am I going to be replacing it in the next few years? How old is your roof?

 

[Albert in Louisiana]

It’s probably 10 years old.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right. So 10 years, you might be about halfway through that roof’s lifetime. And I mean, think about it.

 

At some point, you’re going to be dealing with this new roof. And if you do put it at grade, those solar panels, the only thing that would be in the way is like an overhanging tree that could potentially interrupt the accessibility of the sun, for example.

 

[Albert in Louisiana]

Well, I have open property and trees.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

But if you’ve got an open property and you think about the flow of the sun, the angle of the sun, as long as this area is open, that spot on grade could be an excellent option for you because it’ll collect the sunlight all through the day at the variety of angles. And you don’t have to move it in the next 10 years and redo it because of a roofing issue.

 

[Albert in Louisiana]

Okay. Well, I wanted to put it probably about 125 feet from a house.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Okay.

 

[Albert in Louisiana]

And I didn’t know whether that would – I would lose any power being that far from the house.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, it depends on how you’re collecting it. And that comes into the system that you’ll be working with. There’s a company that’s called Wholesale Solar who does a lot of really good work for homeowners to help them make sure that they’re choosing the right system and the right components for their individual project.

 

You might want to have a chat with those guys. There’s no harm or expense in doing that. Their website’s Wholesalesolar.com.

 

If there’s a vendor that you feel comfortable with in your area, again, if you know people who have solar, ask them who did their projects. How do they feel? You could also call whoever provides your power currently to the house because they may have a solar initiative and have some people that they work with.

 

And potentially, you could be providing power back to them and making some money. So there’s a lot of different ways to go about it. But I would start with a very reputable vendor and then have the conversation of what is the best way to put this on your property at a good distance from the home but still effectively collect that power.

 

[Albert in Louisiana]

Sounds great. I appreciate that information.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEYPIT.

 

Hey, you want to make our day? Well, go ahead and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and we’ll be jumping for joy. Plus, you guys, your feedback helps us make the show even better for you.

 

Just go to MoneyPit.com slash review. Happy weekend, everybody. Now on to the real work days of the week.

 

Am I right? You know, these are the days when we get the most reward from working on our home projects. And if we got a reward for you, 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.

 

So you’re running out of time. You can enter to win amazing, easy-to-use DIY products from Daich Coatings that will transform your porch and patio and concrete surface pretty much into an attractive surface that’s going to last for years to come. Just visit MoneyPit.com slash sweepstakes right now through June 9th. There’s going to be two grand prize winners who 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 totally create a gorgeous new space right at your home.

 

There’s also going to be 20 runner-up winners who will each receive their TrackSafe anti-slip color kit valued at $150. You can enter today at MoneyPit.com forward slash sweepstakes. Alright, so this is the last weekend to enter, you guys, so make sure you get those entries in ASAP.

 

Jim, let’s get back to our callers.

 

[Producer Jim]

And now we’ve got Nancy in somebody’s home state of Michigan on the line who’s looking for help cleaning a deck. What’s going on there, Nancy?

 

[Nancy in Michigan]

I was listening to you for the recipe to use detergent for your deck, but I couldn’t write fast enough, so I need to know how much powdered soap I used.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Alright, you’re right, you know, now’s a good time of year, so it’s a good point to do some deck cleaning. And here’s the recipe you missed, and I do apologize. Jim and I are always talking about how quickly we both talk, and we’re really doing our best to slow it on down.

 

[Producer Jim]

We are.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

So, Nancy, here is… No, I’m kidding. But we are really working hard.

 

I’ve got a, you know, a very New York pace, and I apologize. Well, and we’re excited. I am excited.

 

I’m excited to share stuff with everybody, so apologies. I will slow it down. Alright, Nancy, here’s what you do.

 

You use a five-gallon bucket, and you mix about three quarts of water with one quart of bleach, and then add in a half a cup of detergent. And you want to make sure that that detergent does not, does not contain ammonia, because if it does and it mixes with the bleach, it can be very, very dangerous, like bad. Alright, so no ammonia.

 

Now, mix that solution in the bucket, and you can apply it to the deck using a stiff floor brush, and this is key. You want to let the solution sit for a few minutes so it does its work, and then it rinses off thoroughly. And you also want to be sure, Nancy, that because of the bleach and the detergent that you cover any nearby vegetation, because it can definitely damage your plants.

 

And if you want a little extra cleaning, it’s okay to use a power washer, but be careful, because if you use too much pressure, you can definitely damage that softwood surface, so be cautious. I know a pressure washer is fun, and you want to be aggressive with it, but just chill back a minute. If you work at this project sort of earlier in the day, because it does get warmer as the day goes on, it does get a lot harder to clean a deck surface when it’s hot.

 

So this is a great project for early in the day, and then it’ll be nice and dry for you to have dinner outside. Well, Nancy, good luck with that project. Well, there’s a natural new trend in swimming pools, and it’s not the saltwater pool either.

 

It’s actually called a natural swimming pool, and it’s kind of a high-end pond in your backyard, and I love the look of a swimmin’ hole. So this kind of is a way to create a really gorgeous one right in your backyard. Now, rather than chlorine, these pools use living ecosystems to actually clean the water and then keep it healthy for you to swim in.

 

It’s sustainable, it’s eco-friendly, and it’s been a very popular situation in Europe for about the past 30 years, and here’s how they work. Now, a natural swimming pool is actually made up of two separate but kind of adjoining sections, and the water circulates between them. The first is the swimming area, and the second part is the regeneration zone, and that’s essentially a shallow water garden.

 

And the aquatic plants that you pick to put in there act as a biological filter. They’ll remove all the bacteria and the contaminants from the water, taking in all of the nutrients and depriving the algae of what it would need to flourish and grow in the pool itself. Now, the shape can be pretty much whatever you like it to be.

 

It can be organically curved, sort of like a real pond, or just very rectangular, like a regular swimming pool. Just the point here is that that regeneration zone, it needs to be equal in area to the swimming zone to give you that proper filtration. Now, the initial construction costs are pretty much comparable to a regular swimming pool, but those maintenance costs can be hundreds of dollars lower with no chemicals to buy and minimal electricity used.

 

Now, you can also plan to spend some money on some landscaping and landscape lighting, because this could really be just the most magical swimming you’ve ever found. And I just want you to have this gorgeous outdoor space, so definitely check them out. Do some research online.

 

See if this is something that you might be interested in putting in your backyard. So let’s get back to our callers. Jimmy, who’s up?

 

[Producer Jim]

In Kansas, we’ve got Steve. How can we help you out here on the Money Pit, Steve?

 

[Steve in Kansas]

My daughter, about two years ago, bought her dream home, so to speak. She died it for years, and she had it house inspected by a noted reputable house inspector. And here about two weeks ago, I was in to change out the range or cook stove in the kitchen that was on a separate island.

 

And putting in the new stove, I had to move the outlet, so I decided, well, I’m going to shut the power off because of where the screws and everything were.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, well, that was wise.

 

[Steve in Kansas]

Yeah, I went up to the breaker box, figured it was the 15-amp breaker. Most of the stuff was not labeled or allegedly labeled. And I shut the 15-amp breaker off and came back to the kitchen, and the lights went out.

 

And I started thinking about it. Well, they shouldn’t be on the 15-amp breaker, but I thought, well, maybe it’s coming from the back of the stove. There was maybe a plug-in or something that they – anyhow, further checking, I found that virtually nothing in the kitchen had any ground wires, even though there were GFIC breakers, or plug-in, I call them breakers, but they do trip if there is a current demand.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, Steve, so when you say ground wire, are you telling me that it’s a two-wire system instead of a three-wire system?

 

[Steve in Kansas]

I opened the plate up, and there is no ground wires at all running anywhere, so most everything in the house has got a three-prong outlet.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, because there was a time when you had just two wires. You didn’t have a third ground wire, and so it was grounded through a neutral. Is that what you’re saying?

 

[Steve in Kansas]

Well, none of the outlets with the little cheapy tester show that it is grounded.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, so that’s the second issue, Steve, because you can use a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet even if you don’t have a grounded wire, because basically it’s sort of a trick of the trade, but you can. You’re essentially creating the ground protection even though it’s not actually grounded. So if there’s a diversion or a current to a ground source, it turns that outlet off.

 

So it’s possible to even use a GFCI even when you don’t have that third wire. When was your house built?

 

[Steve in Kansas]

Roughly 1961.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

So it might just be a two-wire house. So look, if you have concerns about this, most everything was two-wire, right? And then that means that the whole house is not grounded.

 

It’s just it’s grounded through a neutral, and then you have a combination of three-prong outlets that don’t really have a ground wire attached to them. So I get it, and that probably shouldn’t have been done, and I’m sure there’s going to be work to be done to straighten that out. Now, a home inspector should have at least tested a representative sample of the outlets to see whether or not they were grounded, and that would have been a super simple thing to do.

 

I’m sorry that that didn’t happen. You may be wise to have a good electrician do an evaluation of the kind of electricity that you’ve got going on in the house, what that wiring is, and that will give you a sense as to exactly where you are so that you don’t falsely rely on an outlet being grounded only to find out that it’s not. Because if it’s not grounded, guess who becomes the ground?

 

You, right? You become the ground, and that’s not good. So the ground fault outlets are a possible solution, but I think you need at this point to get a sense as to what you have and what you don’t have in the home.

 

And I think you’ve identified some really important issues here, Steve. So I think the next step here is for you to bring in a pro. Head on over to Angi.com.

 

It’s a great resource for you to find local professionals in your area that have been vetted. You can check them out. You can even book them online.

 

You can see their prices up front. It really is an excellent resource to get somebody that’s trusted in your area. So I would head over to Angi.com, find yourself a great electrician, and see what’s going on from there so you can make that house safe. All right. Good luck, Steve. You’re a good dad.

 

Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEYPIT. Well, if you are hosting a graduation party this month, here’s a great idea to create a special moment for your graduate. You can create a photo wall or a memory board using a trimmed piece of lattice, or maybe a painless French door, or even a simply oversized piece of foam core.

 

You can add some string lights and use clothespins to display snapshots from school years. It really adds a personal, nostalgic touch, and it makes a great backdrop for party photos. I’m going to save this idea for next year because I cannot believe I will have a senior in the house next year.

 

Where does the time go, Jim?

 

[Producer Jim]

No doubt.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Geez, Louise, yours are all big, too.

 

[Producer Jim]

We don’t want to discuss that now, do we? It’s weird. And the further they get away from home, the closer I want them.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

I know, right? Well, all right. Let’s distract ourselves with some home improvement chat.

 

Who’s up next?

 

[Producer Jim]

Good call. Good call. Heading my way to Ohio, Leslie, we have Lori on the line.

 

She needs some help with her yard. What’s going on at your money pit, Lori?

 

[Lori in Ohio]

Hi, this is Lori, and I actually have my grandson, Garrett, with me. All right. Well, hi, Garrett.

 

Welcome to the money pit. Say hi to him. Hi.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Oh, hi.

 

[Lori in Ohio]

I actually have two grandsons. He’s almost seven and one. He’s almost two.

 

And we’re excited for summer and want to do a lot of things outside. We want to do a sandbox sort of thing to play in, but we’re kind of leery about using sand because we’ve heard about a lot of spiders, bugs, cats getting into it. And I just wonder if there’s any kind of alternative out there that you know of that we could use instead of sand.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, I mean, what’s a sandbox without sand? And the kids do love it so much. I mean, what a mess it makes, but the kids love it.

 

I mean, listen, when we were growing up, we had sandboxes. When the kids were little, they had sandboxes. We never really had concerns about it.

 

But now that I did have one for my own kids, I had a cover that went over it. So I was definitely aware of the cats and the raccoons that maybe went in there, and I wanted to kind of keep them out of it. But I can’t recall having any issues with insects.

 

I mean, if the sand was damp from some rain, maybe there were some mosquitoes around, and it got a little flooded. But once it dried out, I don’t remember seeing anything that was annoying or bugs kind of pooling around. Maybe things are a little different in Ohio.

 

But, I mean, I truly, I can remember when Charlie was in pre-K, he had a sandbox that he loved, and they were always in it. And I can remember the other parents being like, I can’t believe you’re letting your kid play in it. That’s so disgusting.

 

But they loved it. So it’s like, don’t eat it and wash your hands. I don’t know about it, but I would trust your decades of experience as a grandma, your decades of life experience that you went through to get there, rather than any of this newfound advice from these new experts.

 

And you know what? The judgy looks only last so long. Plus, you can turn around, okay?

 

[Lori in Ohio]

Leslie. Yeah, that’s true. Okay, well, I just come up on your program one evening as I was driving to my grandson’s karate class, and I thought, you know, this is the perfect, it went through my mind, and I thought I’m just going to call in.

 

So I appreciate your opinion, and thanks for listening to me and giving me advice to stick to the old saying.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right. Well, we think that Garrett has an awesome grandma, making sandboxes, taking the kids to karate.

 

[Producer Jim]

Heck yeah.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Very cool. He’s one lucky boy. And we thank you so much for calling us.

 

Thank you so much. Bye-bye. Well, the American Institute of Architects, the AIA, has released their findings from its Q1 2025 Home Design Trends Survey.

 

And this survey focuses on kitchens and baths. Now, the data reveals a noticeable uptick in demand for upscale, innovative home design features. And this is reflecting, you know, everything that’s evolving and sort of consumer preferences out there in the housing market.

 

Now, in the bath area, they’re looking at doorless showers. Homeowners are increasingly drawn to sleek, modern bathroom designs. And those generally feature walk-in doorless showers.

 

And these spaces aren’t just about aesthetics. They’re sort of blending style with functionality. And we’ve seen a four-point rise in popularity there with the American Institute of Architecture.

 

Now, daylighting, that’s the desire for having more natural light in your home. That’s also been growing with many turning to architectural features like expansive windows, skylights to sort of bring in this brighter, more eco-friendly spots in their home. And popularity for relevant solutions for this daylight have increased by eight points.

 

Now, radiant heated floors, that’s a growing trend because the radiant heating systems for a kitchen and a bath definitely reflect a shared pursuit of enhanced comfort and luxury. With that popularity growing in their survey by five points. And upscale shower designs.

 

Homeowners are desiring bathrooms that provide spa-like sanctuaries that showcase the beauty of custom tiles, natural materials, premium fixtures. This saw an 18-point rise in popularity. And this shift really reflects a shared desire to turn those shower spaces into retreats that can kind of inspire relaxation and renewal.

 

Now, to the kitchen side of their survey, butler pantries. Homeowners are increasingly drawn to these smarter storage solutions. And with a butler pantry, you can really sort of get your practicality and sort of a knack for decluttering a kitchen space because those spaces do tend to kind of fill up with stuff.

 

So, if you’ve got a butler pantry, it’s sort of a separate spot to store everything away very tidily. And popularity for a space like that has grown by four points. And wine storage.

 

Elegant wine storage has become a coveted feature, celebrated not just for its practicality, but for its beauty. And that saw a 12-point rise in popularity. So, we’re really seeing a trend in the pursuit of luxurious elements in the design for your kitchen and bathroom space.

 

And remember, guys, that the word luxury doesn’t always have to come with a high price tag. There are always ways to achieve these design points on a budget as well. So, do not hesitate to dive in and start that project research.

 

Don’t forget, next weekend is Father’s Day. How are you planning to celebrate the dads in your life? Well, we can help you with gift and project ideas to help your dad have the best day ever.

 

And also, don’t forget, now is the time to enter our porch and patio makeover sweepstakes. It’s going through June 9th, so you’re running out of time. We’re giving away $5,000 in Daich Coatings product.

 

You can learn more and enter daily at moneypit.com slash sweepstakes. That’s moneypit.com forward slash sweepstakes. You’ve only got a few days left to enter, so get to it.

 

All right, Jimmy, who’s up next?

 

[Producer Jim]

Leslie, let’s go to North Carolina with Alicia. She’s on the line. She has a question about her patio and deck.

 

What’s going on, Alicia?

 

[Alicia in North Carolina]

We have like a patio cement slab in the back of our house. It runs the length of our house. On half of that slab sits our deck.

 

We live in a split level, so the deck goes up rather high. It has posts that sit on this cement slab patio. And there’s a crack going down the middle of it.

 

When we bought the house about three years ago, we didn’t notice the crack. It was there, but we really didn’t notice it. And then I’d say about last year, we were sitting down and noticed that the crack is now splitting open.

 

You know, our backyard slopes down. It’s North Carolina. There’s lots of that red clay.

 

It’s most of what our ground is made up of. And it’s like the ground is pulling away from that cement slab because of rain and flooding in our backyard, which unfortunately floods as well. So it’s making it worse.

 

I don’t know whether the footings are what they really should be. We’ve had a couple people come out and estimate the situation. I just don’t know what to do.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, first of all, Alicia, are you convinced that this crack is active, that it’s opening up, or is it just that you’re paying attention to it now every time you walk out there and maybe you’re imagining that it’s getting bigger?

 

[Alicia in North Carolina]

No, it’s different looking than it was when we first bought it. All right.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Well, how big is this crack?

 

[Alicia in North Carolina]

Not like it’s three inches big now.

 

It’s small still. It’s opening up. The caulking isn’t covering the crack anymore.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right. So it’s not that bad yet. There’s a couple of things that you can do here.

 

First of all, you need to clean out all of that old caulking and then reseal it. And there’s one way that you can do it. Quikrete has a product that’s made specifically for concrete slabs that you can use that will give you a textured finish and it dries in about an hour.

 

So you do want to reseal it. Now, in terms of not having to look at it, maybe doing something that would be a little bit more attractive, maybe slowing it down, I think, is the right direction. I think the reason it’s moving is because that flood water is causing issues.

 

Cement slabs don’t have footings. So there’s nothing holding it back from doing this. And I wonder if that deck was just properly built because it’s kind of sitting up on top of half of it.

 

It really shouldn’t just be sitting on top of that concrete slab. It should be sitting on the footing below it. And now that’s something that could be an issue for you.

 

Now, another idea that you may want to consider is paved stone, which is a brick paver that’s about half the thickness of a full paver brick. And it’s designed for taking a cement slab that maybe doesn’t look so great and turning it into a beautiful paver patio. The way it works is you lay it down, you put the perimeter on first, and then you sort of fill in the pattern.

 

And then you can take up that perimeter, and you basically glue in the outside perimeter row. And that sort of holds all of those bricks and those stones in, and it really looks fantastic. Again, that one’s from paved stone.

 

[Alicia in North Carolina]

You know, my big concern is, you know, five years down the line, if we want to put the house on the market kind of thing. And I didn’t want to—I was already seeing an increase in the crack now.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

I mean, that cement slab is not a structural part of your backyard or your patio, okay? It’s basically there as a surface that you can work with. And if you put the pavers over, and it goes from a quarter of an inch to three-eighths of an inch, nobody’s ever going to see that, and the pavers are just going to kind of shift.

 

Now, again, with paved stone, there’s actually one called paved stone Milano. It’s a particular product that’s the thinner version of that full paved stone paver. So they both work in the same way.

 

Paved stone’s thicker. Paved stone Milano is the thinner version. Just was my mistake earlier.

 

Again, if it goes down right on top of that slab, it will go down really quick, and it’s going to look fantastic. And then that crack, if it moves or changes, you may just have to adjust that paver on top of it to accommodate it. But there’s nothing structurally wrong because it’s not part of the structure of your home, okay?

 

Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate it. I love your show.

 

Well, now that spring’s rains have kind of let up, this is a great time to check the wood fences around your yard to make sure they look great and to make sure that they’re really going to stand up to everything that can be dished at it. So you’ll have them for years to come. So let’s start by inspecting the fence and the posts.

 

You want to check for signs of rot, warping, loose boards, insect damage. You want to do this once per season or if you’ve had a really bad storm just to kind of make sure everything’s still in good shape. And now’s the perfect time as well to clean each section.

 

And you can do so with a pressure washer if you’ve got one, or you can scrub it with a mix of water, mild detergent, and a good stiff brush to remove all that dirt and mold and mildew. And then you let it dry completely before you even think about sealing it or staining it. Now, you should be refinishing this fence with stain or whatever you’re using every two to three years.

 

And again, it depends on what product you’re using. You want to apply, though, a weatherproof sealant or stain to kind of protect all of that wood from moisture and UV rays and the fading that can definitely happen from the sun. You want to choose a product with both water and sun resistance.

 

Now, as you’re checking everything out, make any needed repairs as you find them. Replace damaged boards, tighten loose screws or nails, reinforce those wobbly posts to prevent small issues from becoming bigger repairs. And remember, you want to keep all of the plants and the soil away.

 

This is a must. If there are vines, trim them back. If there’s a bush that’s kind of sitting against it, trim that back.

 

It can trap moisture right against those wood surfaces, and then that’s going to accelerate rot and attract pests. You also want to make sure that the bottom of your fence isn’t buried in soil or mulch, because, again, the moisture exposure is just going to speed up the decay, and that’s going to take a lot of work to get back once you sort of have this decay set in. So really take the time to look around.

 

It’s a super important project every year. So let’s check this one off of your to-do list, ASAP. We are so thankful for you all here at the Money Pit.

 

You know, Jim and I have really been enjoying building upon Tom’s legacy here, and we hope that you are too. And, Jim, I think we’re having a pretty good time doing it as well.

 

[Producer Jim]

Yeah, I’m having a blast, and we’re getting good results. So thanks to those folks that have written in. We do appreciate that.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

Yeah, and speaking of writing in, send us an email with your projects and what you need a hand with, and Jim and I can help you out. Jim, who’s up on the email parade?

 

[Producer Jim]

Our first writer-inner is Claudia. It is great. Great word.

 

It’s Claudia, and she says, I have a couple of boxes of hardwood flooring left over from when I redid my sunroom. Are there any cool projects I could do with them, other than give it away or keeping some for repairs? Any ideas?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

[Leslie Segrete]

You know, Claudia, giving it away or keeping some for repairs are definitely both not cool projects. I mean, there are for sure some awesome projects that you can do with this, and it really depends on how much you have left over and how much you like the look of that flooring. Because if you love it and you’ve got a good amount, you could do a focus point wall in, like, your bedroom, or if you have a lot, maybe the living room or the den, and you could create a really cool pattern with it.

 

You could do a herringbone. You could do a diagonal. Something cool and unique.

 

I mean, there are so many patterns that you can look up online that you can replicate with the flooring. It will depend on your skill set in miter cuts and how confident you are. But you can attach this wood flooring directly to the wall.

 

You can put a little bit of adhesive and then, you know, a nail, and it really goes up beautifully. And it can be just a major design focus for that space. I’ve done it before.

 

I’ve done it really with, like, you know, like a vinyl plank, so not actual hardwood, but it can be done with hardwood. It can be done with reclaimed lumber. It can be done with anything, and it’s so beautiful and so unique, and I think it’s a great way that you can put all of that extra building material to use.

 

All right, Jimmy, do we got another one?

 

[Producer Jim]

We do. We have Devin, and Devin says, In the summer, it takes hours to cool the back bedrooms at night. I’m thinking the attic heat is causing the problem, even though we have ridge with ridge vents at each end of the attic.

 

Can you suggest a cure for this problem?

 

[Leslie Segrete]

All right, so, Devin, I’m kind of guessing here that maybe you don’t have air conditioning, and that’s the reason maybe we’re having this conversation, and the fact that you have attic ventilation is excellent, but it’s not going to completely solve the lack of having that AC system. Now, one thing that might is called a whole house fan, and a whole house fan is not an attic fan. It’s not designed to cool the attic.

 

It’s designed to cool your house, those living spaces, and the way it works is that it fits into the ceiling of the living space, and it exhausts the air into the attic, so it uses those existing vents that you have there, and it should be enough. It runs on a timer, and the way you use it is that when it’s, say, warm in the evening, you just turn on that fan, let it run for 30 to 40 minutes. It sucks all of that sort of air through the open windows where you want to feel the breeze and then draws it up and out through the attic, so it kind of is cooling everything off by bringing that air in from outside and moving it up through the vents, so it’s really moving it around the house.

 

It’s sort of stirring that air and kind of creating a great alternative to a central air conditioning system, and it will cool strategically whatever rooms that are between the open windows and the whole house fan. So, Devin, I hope this helps you get a good night’s sleep and definitely solves that warm problem. Thanks so much for joining us this hour here at the Money Pit.

 

Don’t forget to enter our Porch and Patio Makeover Sweepstakes right now through June 9th, so you’re running out of time, so get on there today. We’re giving away $5,000 in Daich Coatings product. You can enter daily at moneypit.com slash sweepstakes. And remember, the Money Pit is always available for you online at moneypit.com. You can search by subject, project, area of the home, so many projects and tips and maintenance ideas right there at your fingertips. So head on over to moneypit.com today, because, guys, remember, you can do it yourself, but you don’t have to do it alone.

 

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