Easy Indoor Improvements #1205162

TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: So happy to be here with you on this beautiful holiday weekend. What are you working on on your money pit? Are you trying to make it more comfortable? Trying to cut those energy costs? Do you have an improvement that you’d like to tackle?

Now that we are well past Daylight Savings Time, a house always looks dark and dreary. At least mine does. A lot more than it does when we have a bit more daylight to go around. So, it’s also a good time of year to think about maybe some indoor décor projects that could spruce this thing up. Maybe you’d like to tackle some lighting projects. There’s a lot of lighting options that

have developed over the last couple of years we could talk about.

We will talk about basically anything going on in your house that you want to improve, whether it’s a fix-up or a décor project. But you must help yourself, first, by reaching out to us at 888-MONEY-PIT, 888-666-3974.

Coming up this hour, when you hop into the shower in the morning, do you find yourself waiting and waiting for the hot water to arrive? We call that “shower shock” because it takes a while to get there. But you know what? It’s not a problem that can actually be solved by getting a bigger water heater. We’ll tell you what will solve it, in just a bit.

LESLIE: And now that the really wet weather is here, it’s a good time to learn about advances in flooring that can take the moisture and I mean take a lot of it. We’ll learn about a new floor that’s affordable, easy to install and truly waterproof – not just resistant – just ahead.

TOM: I love the fact that so many products are labeled as resistant and not proof but that they came right out and are calling this one …

LESLIE: Yeah. Well, you know the difference is when you get a raincoat and it says “water-resistant” and then you’re out in the pouring rain and you still get soaked.

TOM: That’d be a really bad raincoat, don’t you think?

LESLIE: It’s the worst raincoat.

TOM: Well, also ahead, does clutter miraculously seem to build up in your home this time of year? I know it does in ours. So we’re going to have some tips to help you streamline that holiday mania and boost your productivity, with some easy weekend home improvement projects just ahead. So give us a call right now. The number, again, is 1-888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Mona in Wyoming, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

MONA: I’ve got a garage that has a low spot in it up by the front tire. And the snow comes off of it and then sits there; it doesn’t drain out. And then it freezes and then I have a skating rink.

TOM: Oh, boy.

MONA: Yeah. And I’m just wondering if there’s anything that I can use to either kind of fill in that hole and spread it out, you know, make it more level or if – what would happen if I drilled holes down through it?

TOM: Well, that was my first thought, Mona. If you were to fill this in, if I was to tell you how to fill this in, do you think that that would allow the water to drain out?

MONA: Probably not.

TOM: OK. That’s what I was afraid of.

MONA: Unless I filled it quite a bit and then sloped it back.

TOM: There is a way to do that. There are materials called “patching compounds.” They’re epoxy in nature or they’re made of other materials that are designed specifically to adhere to the old floor. And so, one thing you could do would be to basically relevel the floor using an epoxy patching compound to smooth out those areas.

Another idea that comes to mind is that there are a number of garage floors out there that are modular in nature, that can be assembled on top of the concrete and basically give you about an extra ½-inch of height. And the water, if it collects at all, would be kind of below that level. They’re made to drain, they’re perforated, they’re durable and they look pretty cool, too. I’m thinking of one that snaps together and looks like tiles that can actually be quite a décor element, as well, and has more traction than the concrete would itself.

MONA: And it would go over the low spot and still be level?

TOM: You would put it over the entire floor. You basically would redo the whole floor of the garage with this material.

MONA: And so what about drilling holes in it? You think then I may have more water come up through? That was my concern.

TOM: Probably not. Because I think what’ll happen is it’ll just clog up. I don’t think it’s going to be effective. I mean I guess it’s possible you could put a drain in there if you really drilled a big hole but we don’t know what we’re going to run up against when you get through that concrete.

MONA: No. No, it’s gravel underneath but …

TOM: Yeah. But it’s a pretty big job and if you were to drill it, I think you’re probably just going to clog up. I don’t think it would be an effective drain unless you actually put a properly sized drain in there and that’s just a bigger project. If you think smoothing this out – that low spot’s going to solve it, then I would just use a patching compound on it and try it. You’ve got nothing to lose and see what happens. If you decide you don’t like that, you could always go with a floor-tile option after that.

MONA: You have a tile option – a manufacturer that you would recommend for that?

TOM: Yeah. Home Depot has dozens of these garage-floor tiles. Now, they’re not going to have them in the store but if you go to HomeDepot.com and just search “garage-floor tiles,” you’ll see what the options are. Lots and lots of options and some of them are quite attractive.

MONA: OK. Well, I appreciate your help. Thank you very much.

TOM: Well, you’re very welcome. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Yu (sp) in Alaska is looking to put a new floor in the bath. How can we help you?

YU (sp): Did a walk-in shower for my wife. It’s 6×5. And trying to decide on doing ceramic tile for the flooring or doing the river stone for the flooring. And I don’t know which one’s better or lasts longer or aesthetically pleasing.

TOM: Well, I think they’ll both last equally long. The river stone is very trendy right now.

LESLIE: It’s gorgeous. I think it feels good. I think it has a very interesting spa-experience type of feel and look to it.

And the river stone you can get in a variety of heights and sizes. And it comes on a 12×12 sort of mesh backing with the stone already adhered to it, so it’s very easy to install. I would only do that as the flooring in the standing shower itself, not in the rest of the space. Gives you an opportunity to mix textures and colors and elements and it really could create a beautiful look.

YU (sp): Well, the other question, if I did the river stone for the threshold going around the shower base, should I do a ceramic stone? Because that’s 4-inch by – 4×4.

LESLIE: I wouldn’t do the river stone on the threshold. I’d do like a piece of marble or something else that’s smooth.

YU (sp): Alright. That makes sense. Well, thank you for your input.

LESLIE: Oh, enjoy it. It’s going to be a nice bathroom.

LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Give us a call with your home repair or your home improvement question 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We’re always here for you at 888-MONEY-PIT.

TOM: 888-666-3974.

Up next, have you every stepped into a shower only to get a blast of cold water instead of hot? We’re going to have solutions to stop that shower shock, after this.

TOM: Up until now, you purchased insulation to insulate, to help keep warm spaces warm and cool spaces cool.

LESLIE: But now, Owens Corning has changed all of that with Pure Safety High Performance Insulation. Pure Safety not only insulates but also actually contributes to a healthier, safer and more comfortable environment for your family.

TOM: That’s right. First, it’s a high-density, all-purpose insulation that efficiently fills cavities in your home with a layer of thermal protection. Next, Pure Safety contributes to healthier indoor air. It stays put in walls and floors and produces 50 percent less dust than some other insulation products. That means healthier air for your family to breathe.

LESLIE: Pure Safety is also fire-resistant. In case of a fire, you’re going to have extra minutes to escape to safety. And those are minutes that can make all the difference.

TOM: And finally, Pure Safety reduces noise up to 50 percent. It helps to keep outside noise out and reduces inside noise from traveling from room to room inside.

Pure Safety High Performance insulation from Owens Corning, a single product that will enhance your family’s health, safety and comfort. Learn more at PureSafetyInsulation.com. Pure Safety, the greatest home improvement you’ll never see.

TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: Give us a call, right now, at 888-MONEY-PIT for the answer to your home improvement question.

So, Leslie, I know that both you and I like heading to the gym but you recently worked on a project, in connection with the TV show that you work with. And basically, you had an unusual challenge: you had to create an American Ninja Warrior-type gym in the studio. Could that kind of thing apply to a house?

LESLIE: Well, you know, it’s interesting. I think that all of these shows, especially American Ninja Warrior, are really inspiring people who are super fitness fanatics but not just regular fitness: ones that are into that sort of parkour, spacial relation, interesting sort of challenges. And I’m seeing so many people. There’s viral videos left and right of people building these courses in their homes and in their backyards.

TOM: And there’s also just as many videos of fails, right, when they come crashing down?

LESLIE: Exactly. They’re usually followed by a fail but not the structural component. By operator error, if you will.

TOM: Exactly.

LESLIE: So, recently, on the Harry show, we had a kid ninja come on who’s a five-year-old girl and her dad build this amazing course in her backyard. So we duplicated a ninja-warrior course in studio. And I think the interesting thing that I learned is that, as a homeowner and somebody who’s really into this type of fitness, you’re able to build these challenges inside, outside. And depending on what level of skill you want to achieve or what challenges you want, there are pieces that you can readily purchase through local gyms. We happened to find a place in Connecticut that was able to get us a warped wall.

Now, I know that’s something that’s on a much larger scale for the regular improver or somebody in their home but there are plans you can look at online to build them properly. But there’s also different components, so you can just add those to different types of setups in your home. You can buy a staggered step and add that to your fitness routine. You can add different door climbers, things that you’d see on the show but you can just install them at your home.

Now, of course, all of this requires proper rigging, making sure that you’re putting things into studs, correct supports. You don’t want to just willy-nilly hang something from the ceiling that you are going to then be swinging off of or hanging off of or moving across. So it was really an interesting lesson in how much is available and how many plans are online for somebody who’s really into it.

TOM: Yeah. And I guess as it becomes more popular, there’s more and more products that are available. But I think you made a really good point that the place you can go wrong here and the place you’ll get the fail is if you don’t do a good job structurally, making sure it’s properly attached.

LESLIE: Yeah, for sure.

TOM: So, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And where there’s a home improvement will, that is particularly an accurate statement. So, that sounds really cool. What a great project.

If you’d like to tackle a home improvement project like that or perhaps one that’s more traditional, we’d love to help you at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Paul in Illinois, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

PAUL: I have eight pillars that I’m wanting to attach a beam – I guess a railing to. Pillars are 20 foot apart and I am looking to attach some type of railing that goes between them or on the side of them is what I’m envisioning. And it needs to be able to withstand direct impact from possibly 300-something pounds being bumped up against it continuously – well, not continuously but on a regular basis, I should say. And it’s a concrete floor. I have a few ideas but I wanted to talk to some experts to hear your thoughts.

TOM: This railing, is it going to – is it protecting the edge of a porch or a loading dock or something like that where people could fall off? Is that why we have it?

PAUL: It’s going to be more of a corral. I’m kind of building a corral. Yes.

TOM: A corral. OK. So it’s basically for livestock; it’s not to keep somebody from falling over. I need to know because if this is for people, then we need to make sure we follow the building codes on this. Or if you’re just saying that you want to just have this railing to stop, what, 300-pound animals from bumping into it or what? Give me more information.

PAUL: No, it’s for people. Yes. I’m building, I guess, a play area, an arena, per se. And they play bubble soccer inside this area and they will bounce into it repeatedly. So I need to build something between the pillars to make the area that they can play in.

TOM: So you need this also to be so that the balls won’t go out. You need to have some mast to it. It’s not just a railing. It’s really a railing and spindles?

PAUL: I was thinking railing and some 4x4s. I just don’t know what span or how far apart I needed to put them or …

TOM: Alright. Well, look, let me just give you the advice as if you’re building a standard railing, because it sounds like you’ve got a really unusual situation here. If you’ve got these pilings as you’re describing them, these vertical beams that are 20 feet apart, you’re not going to be able to have a complete 20-foot span without having too much wobble and flex. You’re going to have to have something mid-span.

If you want to put, say, 4x4s in and have them bolted to the concrete, you have to use an anchor plate, which is basically a piece of steel that’s maybe 6 or 7 inches square, where the screws would fit into the wood. And then the overhang, you’d have more screws that would go into the concrete itself. And then what you could do is have a solid railing that connects both the piling and the intermediate posts all the way across with as few seams as possible.

Now, if I was building a railing like this, I’d have one up high, one down low. So let’s say it was a 3-foot railing. I’d have maybe a 6×6 – sorry, a 2×6 railing at the top, maybe another piece of 2×6 towards the bottom. And then I’d have balusters in between that might be 2x2s sort of screwed to the outside of the 6×6 so you had a complete, almost fence-like structure when you were done. This will give you the rigidity that you need to keep people from being able to kind of lean over the railing or push against it. And in your case, it’ll also kind of retain whatever’s going on with the activity inside that space. Does that make sense?

PAUL: It does. Yes.

TOM: So, I mean that’s the kind of thing you need to do. And typically, railings are designed – residential railings, if I remember my building code, are designed for 200 pounds in any direction. So, you’re going to beef it up a little bit further than that. But the thing is since those pilings are so far apart, you are going to need some sort of intermediate support.

PAUL: But what if I did steel pipe the whole length and just attached it on the 20-inch pillars and then set another one on the pillar and ran it to the next one and …

TOM: You could build the whole thing out of steel pipe but again, it really depends on whether or not you need any masts below the railing itself. If you can have air under the railing, then you probably could build it with steel pipe.

PAUL: Yeah. The railing’s just to keep the balls in. And the balls are 5 feet around. So they’re big orbs, basically.

TOM: Oh, OK. Oh, OK. I’m thinking soccer ball; you were talking about something completely different.

PAUL: Yeah, yeah. And you fit inside it and you run around and you knock people over and that’s the whole fun of it, of …

TOM: Steel pipe is somewhat modular and I guess you could do it with steel pipe. You would just have uprights that would be screwed to the concrete floor and then also into the sides of these pilings. So I think that’s probably an option given your revised description of the need.

PAUL: What do you mean upright?

TOM: So you would have maybe one piece of steel pipe that would go like a post in the middle of that run.

PAUL: OK.

TOM: And you could use pipe fittings to connect to it. Because again, even if it’s steel pipe, I don’t think you can go 20 feet without it having too much flex.

PAUL: Alright. Awesome. No, I appreciate it. Thank you, guys.

TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. What an unusual project that …

LESLIE: It’s a very specific project he’s working on over there.

TOM: It really is. Yeah. It needs a railing to contain balls that are 5 feet in diameter. I wonder what game that is.

LESLIE: I don’t know. I know they play something at my son’s school called ga-ga ball and they’re in a ga-ga pit. No one can ever explain it but it’s like any time there’s a block party, people are like, “Uh, how do we build a ga-ga pit?” And I’m like, “I think everybody’s making this up.” I’m fairly convinced.

TOM: Maybe as they go. Well, it sounds like fun. Good luck.

LESLIE: So has this ever happened to you? You get out of bed and you’re still half asleep in the morning, you crawl your way over to the shower and you immediately get blasted in the face, full force, with cold water. Now you’ve got to wait in there and find the hot water. It’s going to take forever to find your bathtub. Well, there’s really one simple cause for that and it’s not because your water heater is too small. It’s actually because it’s too far away.

TOM: Yeah. It’s a matter of distance. It’s the distance that the pipes have to run from the water heater up to that shower. And if it’s pretty far, you’re going to wait a pretty long time.

Now, there are really two ways to fix this. First, you could install another water heater closer to your bathroom. Now, a tankless option is good because they’re really small and they can fit in tinier spaces and the venting is a lot easier. But I will admit it’s an expensive solution and one that, perhaps, you might want to consider in conjunction with a bigger remodeling project.

There’s another way to do this and that’s to install what’s called a “hot-water recirculator.” Much more affordable, it’s basically a pump with a built-in timer that gets installed on the hot-water line from the water heater. The way it works is there’s a sensor valve that opens when the water on the hot-water side cools and it pushes that cool water back to the water tank to be reheated. They’re made by a number of manufacturers. I know that Watts makes one that’s available at The Home Depot. And they’re pretty affordable: a couple hundred bucks.

So, remember, it’s not a bad water heater that’s causing this. It’s just a matter of the distance. And you can either shorten that distance physically with a new water heater or put on a recirculator and you can avoid shower shock for good.

LESLIE: Cheryl in Wisconsin has a question about heating. How can we help you stay toasty?

CHERYL: I have a large area downstairs. It’s about one-third – it’s 11×36 feet and about one-third of that we use for a dining and kitchen area, mainly when we have company.

TOM: OK. Mm-hmm.

CHERYL: And I’m not looking to heat that whole area, just the area where we eat. And I was wondering if one of those oscillating space heaters would be a good idea. One of the taller ones?

TOM: Well, look, here’s the thing. I think your question is about efficiency and most space heaters are not very efficient. They’re only efficient if you’re going to do what you’re doing, which is – that is to isolate the heat to just one very narrow space of the house. But this is a big area. If it’s 30-something feet long, it might be hard to do that. It’s different if it’s like one individual bedroom or something of that nature.

But I will say that, generally speaking, they’re more expensive to run than your heating system on a BTU basis: in other words, comparing the cost to create a BTU in your main heating system versus the space heater.

What kind of heat do you have? What kind of fuel do you use?

CHERYL: Natural gas.

TOM: Yeah. Natural gas is always going to be less expensive than electric space heaters. But if you’ve got an area that’s a little bit chilly and you want to just supplement it on a limited basis, like just when you’re using that room for company or dining, I think it’s OK. But there’s just not very much that – there’s not very much that’s efficient about the use of a space heater.

CHERYL: Yeah. I was just thinking, you know, right close to the table in the area where we eat.

TOM: Yeah. But only in those limited circumstances, when you’re using that area, do you want to use the space heater. Then you’ll keep the heat down the rest of the time?

CHERYL: Actually, our basement is so cold. When we have company, we really crank up the heat and the basement is still really cold. We live in Wisconsin.

TOM: Yeah. So even when the heat’s up, it’s chilly.

CHERYL: Yeah.

TOM: So, if you’re just using it on a temporary basis to supplement it only when you’re down there eating, then I think it’s probably OK. But I think your original question: is it efficient? No, it’s just not.

CHERYL: OK. That’s what I wanted to know.

TOM: Good luck with that project, Cheryl. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Just ahead, if you’ve got kids, you know one thing for sure: spills happen. And they happen quite a bit and of all kinds of different things. Well, we’re going to have tips on a new type of wood-look flooring that’s 100-percent waterproof, after this.

TOM: Up until now, you purchased insulation to insulate, to help keep warm spaces warm and cool spaces cool.

LESLIE: Pure Safety is also fire-resistant. In case of a fire, you’re going to have extra minutes to escape to safety. And those are minutes that can make all the difference.

TOM: And finally, Pure Safety reduces noise up to 50 percent. It helps to keep outside noise out and reduces inside noise from traveling from room to room inside.

TOM: Where home solutions live, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

Well, flooring is one of the most frequent topics we are asked every week on the show. And this time of year, we get asked more than ever because fall is really the flooring season.

TOM: Yep. And temperatures and humidity are also low, which makes it easier to get your project done before the next big holiday gathering. Joining us now with tips on the top fall flooring trends is Jay Quickel. Jay is the vice president of merchandising for Lumber Liquidators.

So, Jay, as a merchandiser, your job is really to stay on top of the trends. What kinds of flooring are super popular right now?

JAY: Well, I tell you, Tom, we’ve got a couple things that are really popular right now. And one of the color trend – gray floors are extremely popular and it’s not just your traditional gray. It’s a really broad spectrum, almost clear over to whitewashed. And we’re even noticing some success with steel-blue hues in the gray color spectrum. So, it’s exciting to see. It kind of started out around the coast but it’s taken hold and it’s spread across throughout the country. And we’ve got a lot of great products out there that are very successful right now.

TOM: That’s really interesting because generally, whenever you think of hardwood flooring or even laminate flooring, you think of the traditional wood hues. You start with sort of the blonde oak – sort of the red-oak look. And then you’ve got the ash, which is the whitish. And then you’ve got all these brown hues but you don’t really think of gray as a color pallet. And I think it’s so cool because gray is really a neutral pallet and pretty much can go with any type of décor that you might have in your house.

JAY: You’re absolutely right, Tom. And some of the things that have been most successful for us are some of the new processes that we utilized with the gray color spectrum. For example, we’ve got a new product called Silver Stone Bamboo that’s a wonderful two-pass product, meaning we put it through the finishing line one time and then we take it back through for a second spin and reapply the paint color. It gives you this great, two-tone gray look, a light and dark all in one color spectrum. And we’ve got that one on the front of our catalog right now. It’s just a really wonderful look. It almost looks like a piece of art.

And the second thing we’ve had a lot of luck with is that blending a little bit of blue in with the gray look – a very light and a blue. And we’ve got a product called Boardwalk Oak in our laminate line that’s just a wonderful representation of this.

And it’s – you’re exactly right. When you put this in your home, it’s such a neutral type of color pallet that you’re able to really put anything with it.

LESLIE: Now, aside from bamboo, another flooring that you guys carry is laminate. And I think what’s so interesting with laminate is we’ve seen the patterns and the colors come so far. But what’s really interesting is now we’re seeing a lot of textures that are inlaid, almost, into the laminate. We’re seeing hand-scraped. We’re seeing sort of swirl patterns with metal look. How is that done and when is that done, really, in the process?

JAY: It’s a wonderful phenomenon and the laminate people have done a terrific job of bringing these wood looks and wood textures. And where that happens in the process is on down the line, after the core layers have been applied to the laminate, they have a metal press that they utilize either in a continuous fashion with a drum, what they call a “short cycle” where it’s a stamping process.

And when you think of these press plates, they’re just a great, big metal sheet that they do etching. And they carve out the designs into those press plates and then apply them to the floors such that when you apply the floor in your home anywhere that that might be, whether it’s on the floor or on the wall or on the back bar or on an island, you really can’t tell the difference between a laminate and a real, authentic wood product. They all look like real wood products.

TOM: They really do. You know, I spent many years a home inspector, Jay, before I got on the air. And I remember, very distinctly, being in a home that was built in the early 1800s and it had a new addition. And it was sort of side by side with the original construction. And I had a group with me and I said, “Take a look at this floor. What do you think it’s made out of?” And they came up with all the traditional guesses of oak and mahogany and walnut and I said, “Nope. It’s laminate. It’s made of plastic but it looks darn good, doesn’t it?”

JAY: You’re absolutely right, Tom. That’s one of the favorite things I like to do when we have new associates – is I like to take one of our new, wood-look laminates with these advanced embossed and registered press plates. And I like to hold it out and say, “And look at this beautiful wood floor. It’s great, isn’t it?” And they’re like, “Yeah, yeah, you bet. It sure is.” “Well, it’s not really wood floor. It’s a laminate floor.”

LESLIE: Alright. We’re talking with Jay Quickel, the vice president of merchandising for Lumber Liquidators.

Jay, you know what’s really cool is you guys have a new product on the floor right now, which is so interesting. I think when it comes down to laminates, people always thought, “Let’s put them in areas that have – are prone to water, bathrooms, basements, entryways.” And they haven’t, really, always been waterproof. And realistically, people are coming in with wet shoes, you spill things, water’s going to get on the floor. But now you guys truly have a waterproof product. Can you tell us about it?

JAY: It sure is. And I think that probably the most exciting trend in flooring is when you can say “waterproof.” And we have a tagline that we say, “Waterproof and worry-free.” And our new product line is called Engineered Vinyl Plank. And what that is a luxury vinyl tile on top of a PVC core so that when you put that product together, you’ve got the benefits of durability and dimensional stability and the waterproof features. So that you can have confidence that you can put that in any room of your house, whether it be a washroom, a laundry room, a kitchen or a bathroom. And you’re going to have great durability and performance with that added benefit of the comfort of a waterproof product.

TOM: Terrific advances in flooring from Lumber Liquidators. Jay Quickel, Vice President of Merchandising, thank you so much for stopping by The Money Pit.

JAY: Thank you, Tom and Leslie.

TOM: And if you’d like to learn more, head on over to LumberLiquidators.com. Check out their website. Visit one of their over 400 stores and take a look at some of those beautiful floors that Jay just mentioned.

LESLIE: Alright. Well, have you ever tried to paint over a spot or a stain, only to have it reappear over and over again? We’re going to have a solution for it, just ahead.

TOM: Up until now, you purchased insulation to insulate, to help keep warm spaces warm and cool spaces cool.

LESLIE: Pure Safety is also fire-resistant. In case of a fire, you’re going to have extra minutes to escape to safety. And those are minutes that can make all the difference.

TOM: And finally, Pure Safety reduces noise up to 50 percent. It helps to keep outside noise out and reduces inside noise from traveling from room to room inside.

TOM: Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: On air and online at MoneyPit.com. We’d love to chat with you about what’s going on in your home. If you’ve got a project that you’d like to get to done, call us, right now, at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Jack in Nebraska is on the line with a flooring question. How can we help you?

JACK: I want to put a new floor in my basement. And I – somebody has told me that some of these new engineered-wood products, like the snap-together floors – they said that some of those are OK for a basement application. Now, is there any truth to that?

TOM: It’s absolutely true. Now, just keep in mind that when it comes to wood flooring, there is prefinished wood flooring, which is solid and that’s not rated for a basement. And then there is prefinished wood flooring which is engineered.

Now, engineered flooring is essentially made up of many layers of wood. It’s a bit like plywood in that you have different layers glued together at opposing angles. Except with the engineered-wood flooring, the top layer is hardwood and it looks just like solid hardwood. In fact, once it’s down, you really can’t tell the difference. And because it’s made up of different layers that are glued together at opposing angles, it’s dimensionally stable and it can be exposed to moisture or humidity, like you have in the basement, without swelling and cracking and splitting.

And so, yes, engineered-wood flooring is a perfect choice for a basement. And if you want another option, you could look at laminate floor, also modular in the sense that it locks together. And laminate flooring comes in many, many, many different types of sizes and shapes and colors. In fact, I saw some reclaimed lumber-looking laminate floor recently at a big trade show that was just spectacular. I mean it really looked like the original wood floor.

So, lots of options there for basement flooring. Just don’t go with solid.

JACK: OK. Well, you answered my question. Thank you very much.

TOM: You’re welcome, Jack. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Ann in Missouri, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you tonight?

ANN: I bought a modular home that sits on a foundation. And the people that lived in it before we did had it kind of fixed up like a living area. Well, when we bought it, we degutted the whole thing and noticed that while we were degutting it, when the rain came, it would flood. So we dug out around the basement but we left an awning on the top part of my mother-in-law house and got it all finished. And the last couple of years, when it rains, water comes in and my whole flooring – my beautiful flooring – is just welted up and ruined.

TOM: So is this flooring – you mentioned that you dug around the foundation. Not quite sure why you did that because it probably wasn’t necessary. But is the water coming into a lower level, like a basement level, or is the water coming in around this roof – this awning roof?

ANN: I’m not sure. I thought it was coming around the basement so I pulled it out, tarred the whole thing except for that area. And it doesn’t leak anywhere else but that area where the awning is at now. And I noticed that there is a crack between the house and the actual concrete of the awning.

TOM: You say “crack.” You mean between the roof, where the awning attaches or do you mean at the foundation level?

ANN: At the foundation level.

TOM: OK, yeah. That’s called “rotation.” What happens is those concrete stoops pull away from the walls and they rotate.

Look, if this is caused by water – if this water infiltration is caused by a basement leakage or foundation leakage, you’re not going to seal your house well enough to stop that from happening no matter how much tar you put on the foundation. So what I want you to do is to go to our website at MoneyPit.com. And on the home page, there’s an article about how to stop a basement from leaking that walks you through this step by step.

But conceptually, what you’re going to do is regrade the foundation perimeter to make sure all that soil that you took out is tamped, now, well and packed in nice and tight around the foundation. We want it to slope down about 6 inches over 4 feet.

And secondly, we want to know that you have gutters on the house, they’re clean, they’re free-flowing and the downspouts are discharging out 4 to 6 feet – not inches, feet – away from the foundation. If you keep the water from the roof and the natural rainfall away from that foundation, you won’t get any leakage into that area. It’s just not going to happen.

So do that first and see if the leaks continue. If they continue, then we’ve got to look for another source. But I want you to get the most obvious one out of the way first.

Ann, thanks for calling 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Charles in Arkansas is on the line and needs some help putting in a door. What can we do for you?

CHARLES: Got an old door I’m replacing on the front of my house. It’s an exterior door. I bought an oak door – solid door – to replace it. I did not measure for the hinges when I bought the door. I just measured for the doorknob and I don’t know how to cut those grooves for the hinges: those 4-inch hinges that go on the door.

TOM: So we know the door fits into the jambs, it fits into the opening? We just need to figure out to get it hinged? Is that correct?

CHARLES: I just need to know how to cut the door for the hinges.

TOM: But the door does fit the opening right now, so you have an existing opening it can fit into.

CHARLES: Well, yes. A matter of fact, you know, if you ask for 84-inch door, you’re going to get about 83- or 82½-inch door, so it’s just adequate on size. It’s just a matter of the cutting of the hinges.

TOM: OK. So it’s really just a case here of being very accurate in how you lay this out. So you have to remember that when you set the door in the opening, you need about a ¼-inch of space above the door just to allow for expansion and contraction and adjusting the door. So what you want to do is measure down from the top of the door and measure up from the bottom of the door until your first hinge position. I would put those maybe 8 or 10 inches down from the top and equally – equidistant – up from the bottom and then the third one right in between.

And remember that what you want to do is – you can take that door, set it on its side. You can lay the hinge right over it where it’s going to be attached and you can draw an outline of that hinge onto the door. And then with a really sharp chisel, you’re essentially going to notch out the thickness of the hinge material itself, which is really something in the order of a 1/16-inch or so of material that will come off of that, so that when the hinge is on the door it lays completely flat. The idea here is that the hinges don’t really take up any space.

And now, once you have those set on a door, you’re going to put the exact same – in the exact same locations, you’re going to notch them out into the jamb in much the same way. You’ve just got to be really accurate with your measurements to make sure they line up properly. Another way to do this is to put them in the jamb first, set the door in place, kind of shim it up and get it exactly where you want, then transfer the marks over. Either way, the alignment is key.

And once you do that, when you’re ready to put it all together, the trick of the trade is when you

start to drive the screws in and hold the hinge plates on, don’t drive them all the way home. Leave them a little bit loose so you have some slop in that hinge. It’ll make it a lot easier for you to get it all back together. And then you can tighten it up once the hinge pins are in place.

CHARLES: That’s what I wanted to find out.

TOM: Alright. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Sometimes home improvement can feel overwhelming, which is why we’ve come up with a list of easy projects you can tackle one weekend at a time. DIY tips for December projects, next.

TOM: Up until now, you purchased insulation to insulate, to help keep warm spaces warm and cool spaces cool.

LESLIE: Pure Safety is also fire-resistant. In case of a fire, you’re going to have extra minutes to escape to safety. And those are minutes that can make all the difference.

TOM: And finally, Pure Safety reduces noise up to 50 percent. It helps to keep outside noise out and reduces inside noise from traveling from room to room inside.

TOM: Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show, where home solutions live. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: Love to hear from you at 888-MONEY-PIT or you can post your question online at MoneyPit.com or even on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/TheMoneyPit. Which is exactly what Michael did from Missouri.

LESLIE: Yeah. Michael writes: “We recently repaired the drywall in our bath and I’m just wondering how to paint it. Should I prime the entire room before painting or just the new drywall and joint compound? Also, what type of paint is best for the bathroom? Does it have to be oil-based?”

TOM: Those are great questions, Michael, and a couple of things come to mind. First of all, let’s talk about the importance of primer.

Now, primer is the paint that people love to skip, right? Because it’s like an extra coat of paint and you’re thinking, “Why am I putting this on?” The reason you’re putting this on and especially with new work is that it’s going to seal in that raw drywall, it’s going to make sure that the topcoat of paint flows nicely – you’ll have fewer brush strokes or roller marks – and it’s really going to do a good job of making sure that paint lasts as long as possible.

Now, there’s another time you need to use primer and that is whenever you have a spot or a stain, either on trim or on the wall. You have to put the primer over that because if you don’t, what’ll happen is that spot will pull through. That’s a technique called “spot priming.”

Now, in terms of what paint you use in the bathroom, aside from the primer you want to use a kitchen or bath paint. And the key difference between kitchen and bath paint and everything else is that it has a mildicide in it. So it’s a little more mildew-resistant but you know what? Even the best mildew-resistant paint is not going to do the job if that bathroom does not have good ventilation. So take this time to make sure you have a good, working vent fan. And put it on a timer so it runs for a bit after somebody comes out of that shower.

LESLIE: Yeah. Even a occupancy sensor. My goodness. You want to make sure that it’s getting all the moisture out and that’s one of the best ways to get it done.

TOM: Well, saying the holidays get busy is like saying winter gets cold and it’s all too easy to let that busyness kind of blend together into a big haze. And that’s why, on today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word, you’ve got some simple ideas for streamlining that stress so that you can really enjoy this time of year.

LESLIE: Yeah. You know what? You’ve got four weekends in December and those really make great mile markers for the things that you need to get done in and around your home. So let’s talk about the first weekend.

Why don’t you use that first weekend of December to deep-clean your house? It’s going to free you up from doing it closer to the holidays. And that means you’re not going to be cleaning up around decorations and wrapping paper and bags and gifts, because you know they’re going to pile up in the weeks to come. You also want to keep an eye out for mold, moisture, drafts, anything related to the cold weather that should be treated or fixed before the thermometer drops even lower.

Now, with your cleaning complete, use the next weekend to drag out all of those decorations. If your celebrations include a tree, set that up this weekend, too. You can do inventory on which decorations stay and which go and really give everything the once-over for safety. All of your lights should be marked with a UL – Underwriter Laboratory – seal of safety approval. And strand lights with damage or frayed wires, don’t use them. Chuck them, get rid of them. It’s really just a safety thing here, guys.

Now, you want to switch gears for the third weekend in December. Think about getting your appliances ready for all of that cooking and baking. You want to clean your oven, as well as your vent-hood filters. The filters are going to get covered in grease and then they lose their efficiency. In addition, they really become a safety hazard.

Now, if your vent uses carbon filters, now is the time to replace them. And go ahead and change the filter in your furnace, as well, as long as you’re in the filter mode.

Finally, you want to use December’s fourth and final weekend to do inventory for next year. Maybe you need new baking sheets, new ornaments. Keep a running list and then head out and buy what you need during the best sales of the year.

TOM: Good advice for de-stressing the holidays.

This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Coming up next time on the program, some of the simplest home improvement projects seem to be the most difficult for people to get done. And one that comes to mind is caulking the bathtub. Whether it’s the caulk between the tub and the tile or even around the shower stall, it doesn’t have to be that hard. We’re going to teach you the easy way to get that project done and done right so it sticks around for a long time, on the next edition of The Money Pit.

I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself …

LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone.

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