Episode #2024: Pet Proof Décor | How to Add Pendant Lights | Stop Bathtub Caulk from Getting Gross!

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

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: We are here to help you make your home the best it can possibly be. If you’ve got questions about projects you’d like to take on, if you’d like to improve your home or maybe cut down on your cooling costs or find some ways to decorate the space – because you know that even though it’s still the dog days of summer, there is a long, cold winter ahead. So we want to make sure those four walls, those floors, those ceilings look as good as they can possibly be. Hey, what I’m saying is whatever is on your to-do list, slide it over to ours and give us a call. We’d love to talk about your project. The number here is 1-888-MONEY-PIT, 888-666-3974.

1. So, thinking of – or speaking, I should say – of décor, if you decide to bring home a family pet, there can be many, many changes but your home décor doesn’t have to be one of them. So, if you’re pondering any decorating or improvement projects, we’re going to have some tips on how you can make them pet-friendly, coming up.

LESLIE: And whether it’s around your sink or between your tub, shower and tile walls, nasty, worn-out, just gross-looking caulk has got to go. So we’ve got some DIY tips on how you can get this job done the easy way.

TOM: Plus, one way to give your home a new look is to change out the lighting plan. We’re going to have tips on one particular type of lighting that’s really popular: pendant lights. We’re going to talk to you about how you can save some energy with those and how you can get them installed in your kitchen or any other space you’d like.

LESLIE: But first, we want to know what you are working on. Perhaps you’re getting things ready for a small, socially-distanced backyard gathering for Labor Day or you’re looking to finish up an outdoor project before the summer season’s over. Whatever it is, we are here to lend a hand, so give us a call, 888-MONEY-PIT. We’re standing by.

TOM: 888-666-3974.

And Leslie, look at that. You invited folks to call and they did just that. Let’s get to some of those people.

LESLIE: Woo-hoo!

TOM: The number here, again: 888-MONEY-PIT.

Who’s first?

LESLIE: Well, if you’re looking to gain some extra space at home, perhaps look no further than your basement. Kelly is thinking about doing some projects in the basement. How can we help?

KELLY: Hi. So, we are moving downstairs because we’ve got another little kiddo on the way and we’ve got two bedrooms. And so our – we’re turning our basement into, you know, two bedrooms and a bedroom for us. But the problem is is when we walk on the floor upstairs or do anything upstairs, it sounds like drums downstairs.

TOM: OK.

KELLY: And we here every, every little noise.

TOM: Every everything, yeah.

KELLY: And I know you can’t – yes. I know you can’t soundproof but is there a way to buffer?

TOM: There are actually a number of different manufacturers that make a special type of sound-resistant drywall. It’s designed with a barrier in it that helps to absorb some of the sound waves. One is called QuietRock and that is probably the oldest one that we’re familiar with. But there’s also one out from CertainTeed that’s called SilentFX. And then National Gypsum has one called SoundBreak. They all work pretty much the same way.

The one thing I would caution you about though, Kelly, is it’s not just the drywall surface, right? If you’re going to try to soundproof, you have to remember that anything that pierces that drywall has to be made sound-resistant, as well.

So, for example, if you have electric wires that come through or you have ducts that come through, you have to get soundproofing material behind those spaces. And there are special types of soundproofing. It’s sort of like a – I’m going to say it’s like a putty. It comes in a sheet and I’ve seen it installed. And it kind of wraps behind the electrical box, for example, and tries to really create a continuous surface that’s sound-resistant. So that plus insulating that floor before you put the drywall up will also help to buffer it a little bit. It’s never going to be as quiet as a studio that we work in but it will make a difference.

And then upstairs, if you’ve got hardwood floors or a solid-surface floor like that …

KELLY: Yeah, we do. We have hardwood floors.

TOM: Yeah. And area rugs is all we can tell you.

KELLY: Yeah, exactly.

TOM: Alright, Kelly?

KELLY: OK. Thank you so much. That really helps.

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

Kelly wants to keep the noise from upstairs going down. Usually, it’s the – you put the kids in the basement, they make a racket and you want to try to keep that noise from coming up. But either way, same rules apply.

LESLIE: Now we’ve got Bill in Pennsylvania on the line. What’s going on at your money pit?

BILL: Yeah. I have got a second-story deck that just had refinished. And I had some problems before with sap and it doesn’t seem like the refinishing solved that issue. And I was wondering, is there anything that I can do or do I have to replace boards?

TOM: So what type of finish was applied to the deck?

BILL: Well, it was pressure-treated – or I’m sorry. It was power-steamed off and then it was sealed.

TOM: Power-washed.

BILL: And then it was – after it was sealed, then it was a finish applied to it.

TOM: So what kind of finish was it? Was it an acrylic finish, like a …?

BILL: Yeah, yeah.

TOM: OK.

BILL: Mm-hmm. Exactly, yeah.

TOM: So, what we have found is that water-based finishes really don’t have the strength to seal in sap that’s coming out of knots and other places in the wood. It’s kind of an exercise in futility, because you’re always going to be seeing that happen. What would have been more effective – although I’m not going to tell you it’s 100 percent – would have been if those surfaces were primed first. Probably would have want to tinted it to match the color of the finished stain. And then you could have used a solid-color stain on top of that. The stain itself doesn’t have to be oil-based but the primer does. And that would have done as good a job as possible of sealing in those sappy areas.

I mean if it’s any relief to you, that will get less over the years but I know that it’s annoying until it settles down.

BILL: Yeah. Yeah, it does.

Now, would I be able to, after a period of time, sand it and then refinish it with the same finish? Would that lessen it for a while or …?

TOM: Yeah, you could do that. Just remember that when you sand it down, to spot-prime it in that case. Just reprime that area and then put the solid-color stain over it. And don’t use semi-transparent. It’s not going to look as good. And the solid color is not paint. It still shows the grain but it’s not going to have any variation and that’s what you want in this case.

BILL: Right. OK. Oh, great. Well, thank you. I’ll try that. Thanks.

TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Alright. Now we’ve got Lorena in Maryland on the line who’s got a question about carpenter bees. I know they seem scary because they’re gigantic but what’s going on?

LORENA: They do try to scare you but I don’t think they sting, because they buzz around your head and all and try to scare you away from their nest.

TOM: Yep.

LORENA: I would really like to understand their life cycle. Now, I have some carpenter bees and some mason bees and they were fighting with each other at the front of my house. They’re eating up the front of my house.

TOM: Yeah.

LORENA: I had six shutters there and they were attracted to the shutters.

TOM: Yeah. Yep.

LORENA: They went behind the shutters and they drilled – behind each shutter, there’s about two dozen holes where the carpenter bees dug the holes.

TOM: Yeah. Yep. Yeah.

LORENA: But on the back of the shutters, there were the mason – you know, the masonite (ph) tubes, too.

TOM: Right. The mud wasps. You mean the mud wasps. Yeah, so two completely competitive species there.

And yes, what the carpenter bees are doing is they’re drilling holes and then in the bottom of those holes is where they plant their eggs. So that’s their reproductive cycle. Basically, they drill those holes and they plant their eggs in the bottom of them. And that’s basically a nest that they’re building right there.

LORENA: What do they eat? Do they put dead insects in the holes for their larva to eat or what?

TOM: Nah, I’m not – I don’t think so. But they – you can always tell when they’re working because you’ll actually see a stream of sawdust coming out of those holes. You do if it’s vertical, like on a piece of fascia or wood trim or something like that.

But the way that we always recommend that you avoid that, it depends on what they’re eating. If they’re eating wood trim, you can replace that with an AZEK product, which looks like wood but it’s made out of PVC. I got rid of them on my garage by doing that: just changing the fascia out in the front and the back. Or you could have them sprayed by a pesticide applicator by an exterminator. And that will stop them from coming back, as well.

But I think it was funny, in my case. When we replaced the wood trim with the PVC trim, the carpenter bees, for a while, came back and sort of swirled around and swarmed around and were trying to find something to eat. They were very confused, because I imagine they’re thinking, “Looks like wood. Doesn’t taste like wood.” So, that’s what you’re dealing with there.

The carpenter bees, you’re right: they don’t sting. They will sort of fly at you and try to freak you out a bit but they can’t bite you.

LORENA: But you don’t recommend against filling the holes in? Because on one …

TOM: My suggestion is that you wait until the fall and not fill the holes in right now. Because if you do, they’re still going to try to come back and get in there. And they may get more aggressive and start flying into your face. But I would wait until the fall to sort of after the season. Then I would fill everything in, paint it and then you can wait until next season and see what happens.

Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Well, if you’re a pet lover and you’re considering a new decorating or even a remodeling project, you probably already know that not all of these home improvements work very well with pets.

Now, what am I talking about? I mean say you’re getting a new rug. You might not want to spend a tremendous amount of money on a really high-end rug if you’ve got dogs and cats and they’re more prone to scratch it or have an accident and mess it up. You’ve got to think about that. Where you want to figure in durability, durability and pets, you’ve got to look at that.

TOM: Absolutely. Now, if you’ve got pets, easy cleanup floors are really key. So we’re talking about floors like laminate, engineered hardwood, engineered vinyl plank, luxury vinyl plank. And then the tile versions of these same sort of wood-style floors are cool. So you can get porcelain tile or ceramic flooring that looks like wood planking. These are all really hard surfaces. They’re easier to keep clean and keep them stain-free than a rug or a carpet. So, out with the carpets or rugs and in with the hard-surface flooring.

Now, if you do want to have some softness to the floor, just use area rugs. They’re much easier to clean.

LESLIE: That’s very true. Or even those carpet tiles where you can replace, you know, a piece of it should something get damaged.

Now, when it comes to getting the right sofa or any other furniture for your pet-friendly home, there are all sorts of options to choose from. Now, depending on the type of dog you have, you might be dealing with one that sheds a lot of hair. And that can be hard for you to clean up, especially if that pet loves to hang out on the sofa or sit in all your seating. So that’s going to be trouble. So when you’re going to redecorate and change things up in the furniture front, be careful with what types of fabrics you do bring into your space.

Now, fabric options that are easier to clean up than other types include denim, canvas, durable synthetics. Also, make sure you’re looking at the weave pattern on the fabrics. You want to make sure – I kind of usually rub my nail across the fabric, just to see if I can catch it on anything or pull a thread. Because if I can do it with my nails, then a dog or a cat for sure can do it and they can do it tenfold. So don’t get something that’s going to easily pull or get marked up from your pet’s claws, even though they don’t mean it.

Now, you can also find options that are resistant to odors, stains, moisture. All of that is going to make that piece of fabric and furniture ideal with a dog or a cat in your life.

TOM: Hey, if you’d like some more tips on how you can have a pet-friendly household when it comes to décor and design, check out “Pet-Friendly Design and Decorating Tips for Your Home” on MoneyPit.com.

LESLIE: Alright. Kay is on the line now and she needs some help painting a door.

Kay, tell us about your project.

KAY: Yeah. And I listen to you every week you’re on.

TOM: Well, thank you so much.

LESLIE: Oh, thanks, Kay.

KAY: I wanted to paint my wood door. It’s a very old wood door. And we lived here since ‘69 and I’m trying to keep it original. It’s red now.

TOM: OK.

KAY: My husband painted it only one coat and I think it was blue.

TOM: OK.

KAY: It needs another coat to make it real red but I want to paint it white.

TOM: Well, I mean the color is a personal preference. So, to paint this door, the best thing to do is to take it off of the hinges and lay it flat on a couple of sawhorses. And then you want to sand the old surface. You want to make sure you get rid of any flaking paint, any cracked paint, because you can’t put good paint over bad paint. You’ve got to get all that stuff off.

KAY: It’s not cracking or anything. It’s smooth as can be.

TOM: Alright. So then he must have done a great job when he painted it last time.

KAY: He did. He sanded it down to the wood. It was all original wood, so it’s really smooth. That’s why I wasn’t sure and I don’t know if I can get the paint off like if you – and I didn’t want to scrape it.

TOM: Well, I don’t think you have to take all the old paint off. If it’s adhering well, then you’re good to go on it. So sand it down and then I would recommend that you put a coat of primer on. Because this will make sure that the new paint adheres as well as the old paint did.

Primer is kind of the glue that makes the paint stick. So, put the primer on.

KAY: Will KILZ work? Because I’ve got a gallon of KILZ.

TOM: It’ll work fine, yep. You put the KILZ on, let it dry and then you could put your topcoat on that.

KAY: To sand it, what do I have to do? Knock the sheen off?

TOM: Yeah, knock the sheen off. Exactly right. You don’t have to sand it down to the raw wood but you have to get that sheen off. So a medium grit, like 100-grit sandpaper, would work really well, OK?

KAY: OK.

LESLIE: Michelle in Minnesota is on the line with a bathroom-floor “thing” is all I can call it. What is going on? You’re getting moisture coming up through the floor?

MICHELLE: Yes. It’s a laminate floor. This is my third summer in this house and it’s the first time that I’ve had this issue. And it was – it started around the warm and humid days. At first, I thought maybe that it was my toilet leaking, because I had a new toilet put in last summer. But the plumber did come out and pull the toilet and it didn’t look like it was leaking or that the seal was broken on it. So we’re thinking that it’s condensation from the concrete slab coming up between the slats of the laminate flooring.

TOM: So the laminate flooring is on top of a concrete slab?

MICHELLE: Correct, yep.

TOM: What’s this looking – what’s this doing to the floor? Is it causing it to deform in any way? Or is it just showing up as a stain?

MICHELLE: It is not buckling or anything along the edges. He thinks that maybe it’s a rubber flooring – more of a rubber-based flooring – rather than a wood. And so it has not curled the edges or anything like that. It just seeps up as moisture and it comes – like beads up right along the edges of the laminate.

TOM: Do you have air conditioning in this bathroom?

MICHELLE: I do not. Uh-uh. Nope.

TOM: Yeah, I was thinking cooler, moist air against a warmer floor could cause additional condensation.

So look, if you want to reduce the moisture that’s coming up through the bathroom, there’s a couple of things I can suggest. First of all, you want to take a look at the grading and the drainage conditions outside that bathroom. Because the slab, if it’s getting very wet, is extremely hydroscopic. So all the moisture in the earth will be drawn into the slab and that’s going to wick up and show up in your bathroom, apparently.

So, take a look at your gutters and downspouts. Make sure they’re clean and free-flowing and the spouts are extending 4 to 6 feet from the house. Get all that roof water away and then take a look at the angle of the soil and make sure that that’s sloping away.

Now, do you have a fan in this bathroom?

MICHELLE: Yes.

TOM: That is helpful. You might want to think about replacing the fan with one that has a built-in humidistat, because that’s convenient in a couple of fronts. First of all, when you take a shower and you leave the bathroom and turn the switch off, it’ll actually stay on until all the moisture’s properly vented out of there. And if it does get humid on its own, then the humidistat will kick the fan on and also dry it out. They’re not terribly expensive; I know Broan makes a good one. There are a number of manufacturers you can find this from.

And keep an eye on the floor. Some laminate floors stand up very well to moisture. I’ve seen laminate floors that can be submerged and they don’t seem to be affected by it. But others will buckle just like hardwood would. So just keep an eye on it. And if it ends up that it does have to be replaced, I would paint that cement slab underneath with a couple of coats of epoxy paint to kind of seal in and stop the moisture from evaporating through and into the room.

MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. OK.

TOM: But only if you get that far. I wouldn’t tell you to tear up the floor now. But if you have to replace it, just make sure you seal the slab at the same time.

MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. Yeah, OK. Thank you. That’s good, thanks.

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

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

BRIAN: Last summer, I repainted the exterior of my house and I used quite a few nails to kind of shore up some different things. I also fixed a window. And after I repainted, I used galvanized nails. But this year, I already have a lot of bleeding of rust from the nails coming through. So I also did some caulking between the pieces of wood and that seems to be peeling out already. So I was just wondering if there was something that I could go over the heads of the nails with: something quick, something that I didn’t have to redo the whole side of the house.

TOM: When you did the side of the house last summer, did you prime it or did you just put the paint over the old paint?

BRIAN: I put lots of primer.

TOM: Lots of primer?

BRIAN: Yeah.

TOM: What kind of primer? Like a – was it a latex primer? Oil primer? What was it?

BRIAN: Gosh, I don’t know that. I didn’t buy the paint but we put a …

TOM: But you did prime. You primed over those nail heads?

BRIAN: Yes, we did. Yes.

TOM: And it’s coming through. Because, generally – well, you say you used galvanized, so that’s good. Was this cedar siding?

BRIAN: No. It’s just conventional horizontals, yeah.

TOM: So standard? Well, unfortunately, it seems like the nails – the galvanized coating on the nails – didn’t really stand up very well. But generally, the advice is this: when you finish nailing off that, you need to spot-prime those nail heads. But if you’re telling me you’ve already spot-primed them and the stain’s coming right through, then I’m not really sure that we have any other suggestions for you.

There are differences in the quality of primers. I would always recommend an oil-based primer over a latex primer when I have a stain issue to deal with, because it tends to seal it in better. So, that’s the only additional thing you might want to try is to sand those down to the heads and then touch them up with an oil-based primer and paint them again.

BRIAN: Alright. Well, I guess that answered my question.

TOM: Well, you’ve seen signs of aging, old, nasty caulk we’re sure, like that brown tinge and the cracks in the openings that make way for all of the stubborn colonies of mildew to take hold or for water to seep in and make the walls kind of mushy. Well, whether that caulk is around your sink or between the tub and its tile surround or covering the joints of your shower stall, that worn caulk has got to go.

So the first question is: what kind of caulk is best to replace it with?

LESLIE: Well, for this project, there really are two types of caulk. Now, the best caulk for tubs, sinks, even shower stalls comes in a tube and it’s labeled “tub and tile” or “kitchen and bath.” Now, these are either acrylic latex or silicone compounds that have been chemically tweaked to resist mildew and then also to stick to smooth, non-porous surfaces. But they have distinctly different personalities.

Now, if you’re going to work with a silicone caulk, you’re going to find that it holds well, it’s waterproof, it’s very flexible. And this type of caulk is also finicky about surface conditions. It’s difficult to get that smooth appearance for finishing and it requires mineral spirits to clean up any messes you make, like on your hands or on anywhere else in the bathroom.

Now, an acrylic-latex caulk is much more forgiving about the type and cleanliness of a surface that you’re applying it to. It’s super easy to smooth and it cleans up with water. And it doesn’t really have much of a smell. While it does shrink a little bit more and dry harder than the silicone option and you might need to actually replace it a little bit sooner than a silicone option, the replacement job should go much faster. Thus, when you have to do it again, you’ll already be a pro.

TOM: I totally agree. Even though silicone is technically more durable than acrylic latex, I go with acrylic latex every time. It’s just so much easier to control. And if that means I’ve got to replace that caulk in maybe three years instead of five years, I’m OK with that.

Now, once you’ve selected your caulk, it’s time to get to work. And the first step, of course, is to completely remove all of the old caulk. If you’ve got some caulk that’s really hard to get out, there’s a type of product called a “caulk softener,” kind of like a paint remover. It will soften the old caulk and allow you to get all of it out there, because you’ve got to start fresh with a clean, smooth and dry surface.

Now, if you have not used a caulking gun before and maybe you’re a little shaky with it, it does make sense to use masking tape to kind of mask off the area below and above the seam you’re going to caulk, because it helps you have nice, clean, straight lines. And before you apply that caulk, we always recommend filling the tub with water, because it makes the tub settle down. And leave that water in the tub while you apply the caulk.

Now, if you’ve used the acrylic-latex caulk, you’ll be able to smooth that out with a sponge, with a caulk trowel. Which is a cool, little tool to have, by the way, that is perfectly shaped. Or you could use my favorite caulking tool, which is my index finger. Well, not my finger but you get the idea. It’s perfectly shaped for that caulk bead.

Now, once the caulk is dry, then you let the water out of the tub and the tub will come back up and help compress that caulk. It won’t pull out nearly as quickly. And you want to wait about 24 hours before you use that shower or bath, if you can help it, because we want that caulk to dry good and solid, especially if it’s a very thick application. Sometimes, if you have a gap between the tile and tub, you’re really putting quite a bit in there.

And after you’re done and before you pull that masking tape off, take a good look. Get down sort of at an eye level with the caulk, because sometimes it settles downwards and it’ll form a little gap right above it. If that’s the case, you can easily patch it at that point and avoid water finding its way behind it, which is one of the reasons that it gets moldy.

LESLIE: Now we’ve got Eleanor in Virginia on the line with a decking question. How can we help you today?

ELEANOR: The question I have is we have Trex Decking on our – for our deck, which is – and also the porch – screened-in porch. But on the deck – which is not covered by any roof or anything like that; it’s all open to the environment – we have spots on that, which are – it’s a gray-colored decking. And we have these dark spots all over it. Almost kind of looks like a mold. And we do not know what it’s caused by.

My husband has tried to use a power washer with the soap that is recommended for that power washer. Also bleach with a scrub brush. He has – he can get it lightened but not totally gone. And we’re wondering if there’s – if you’ve ever heard of that with Trex Decking and have any suggestions.

TOM: Yeah. I mean some of the composite materials out there do have some wood-fiber component and they will grow algae, which is most likely what you’re seeing.

Now, one of the treatments that we would recommend is a product called JOMAX – J-O-M-A-X. And JOMAX actually has a deck wash. And JOMAX is a detergent that also gets mixed with bleach, gets applied to the deck. You let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes and then you scrub it off. I would be very careful with the power washer except for just rinsing purposes. Because too much pressure can actually ruin that deck.

Now, another possibility is that those black spots are what’s called “artillery fungus.” They kind of look like a shotgun kind of a pellet size. Artillery fungus is particularly difficult to get off. And one of the sources of it is mulch. Do you have mulch around your house or around your yard?

ELEANOR: Yes.

TOM: Well, sometimes the mulch that’s sort of the ground much – the shredded-bark mulch – will contain artillery fungus. And once that gets out and attaches to surfaces, like decks or sometimes even cars, it’s really, really difficult to get rid of it. So, if that is what’s going on, we would recommend that you don’t do that again. Don’t put the shredded mulch back on. Only use the bark mulch that’s in pieces. That seems to not have the issue. It’s the shredded mulch that attracts and contains artillery fungus.

I would try the JOMAX Deck Wash and Cleaner. I think you’ll have better success with that than you did with straight bleach, OK?

ELEANOR: Yes.

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

You know when the worst time is for your air conditioning to kick out if you’re The Money Pit? When you’re ready to record your mid-August show and have no air conditioning in the studio. It’s really, really a bad thing to happen.

LESLIE: That’s terrible.

TOM: That’s what happened to us. You know, we have a studio that we work with and have for many, many years. And the A/C went out when we were about to record this program. And so, we did what we preach: we called HomeAdvisor.com. We got out an expert from an HVAC company and he spent a couple of hours at the property. And he found out that some mice had gotten into some electrical wiring and ate their way through some cables.

Got it fixed. Got the A/C back on. Took all of about 2 hours. The charge was under 150 bucks. So you can’t beat that kind of expert service. And that’s why we recommend the pros at HomeAdvisor and just want to give them a shout-out for one more job well done.

LESLIE: Craig in Pennsylvania is on the line with a flooring question. How can we help you today?

CRAIG: I had an exterior concrete porch and I enclosed it. And I’m trying to make it part of the house now. But the floor itself, I said, is concrete. It’s all cracked and it’s breaking up. Is there some easy way or some way I can smooth it out or do something with it to make it look like an interior room now to this part of the house?

TOM: Absolutely. First of all, if the surface is deteriorated, you’re going to have to use a patching compound on it. And I would recommend the premixed QUIKRETE Concrete Patch Compound. It comes in a tub and you simply apply it to the surface. You can fill in all of those areas that are deteriorated; you can fill over the cracks.

And the reason you’re using a patching compound is because it’s designed specifically to stick to the concrete. If you use regular concrete, you’re going to have a problem with that because it won’t stick; it’ll just split off again. Alright? But if you use a concrete patching compound, it will adhere.

CRAIG: Thank you very much. I appreciate your help.

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

LESLIE: Well, if you’d like an easy weekend update, adding new pendant lighting can definitely be the project that does just that.

Now, pendant lights, they’re sleek and they can add style and drama to your lighting specs in a room. And if you’re swapping out an old fixture, this can be an electrical project that you can do by yourself. But if your existing wires are brittle or maybe you need to run electricity to a new spot, it really is best to call an electrician for a job like that.

TOM: Now, the cool thing about pendant lighting and what makes it so unique is that it’s suspended from the ceiling and it brings the light down to where you need it. There’s a wide variety of shapes and sizes and styles ranging from a 4-inch diameter, little mini-cylinder to massive 30-inch drones. But they’re really a beautiful design.

LESLIE: Yeah. And I think it’s important to understand that a pendant is really just a light fixture hanging from a single point. And so it can be something that looks cute, like a mini-chandelier. It’s a wide variety of types of fixtures, so there’s definitely something out there. And they can be very affordable to buy and to run. You’ll see there are dozens of individual and lighting kits available on Amazon, starting around 25 bucks. And these all use LED bulbs, so they’re not going to drive up your electrical cost.

Now, you can use them to light up a workspace, maybe your kitchen-island prep area or a desk in a home office. And then they also cast a really nice, warm glow. So if you want to use them in a dining room or an entryway or in a bathroom, you get that more relaxed lighting, as well.

TOM: Now, when it comes to the switch itself, dimmers are really popular for pendants. They allow you to adjust the light in the evening and they can also create some very attractive patterns. So, just some reasons why we love pendant lights. And you might want to consider them for your home.

LESLIE: We’ve got a post here from Jacqueline in Chicago who’s asking, “I’d like to buy a pressure washer for my deck but I’m nervous that I might damage the wood. I found washers with different types of nozzles but should I be looking for an adjustable PSI? And what do I need to know about adjusting the pressure for different surfaces?”

Is that a thing? I don’t feel like I can adjust the PSI on my pressure washer.

TOM: No, no. That’s one thing you don’t have to adjust. And the reason you don’t have to adjust it …

LESLIE: It comes as the PSI. That’s the size you pick, correct?

TOM: Yes. And the nozzle does the adjustment for you. So you change out the nozzle.

So, for example, I’ve got a Greenworks pressure washer that I love. I’ve got about four different nozzles for it. One is designed for washing the car, so that’s the gentlest. And there’s another one that’s a little bit more aggressive for outside woodwork, like a fence. And then it goes up to the most aggressive, which you might use to – I don’t know – strip paint off of concrete or something or strip – I’ve used it to strip paint off of old radiators, it’s been so strong for me. So you have the control of the nozzle and that’s really what you want to look for.

So, I would recommend a pressure washer for this time of year, because there’s going to be a lot of cleaning projects you’re going to do coming up in the fall. They’re fast, they’re effective cleaning tools. They can easily remove dirt and grime from a home’s exterior. They’re great for cleaning cars and boats and patio furniture and decks and docks and even sidewalks.

I did my mom’s sidewalk for her a few months ago, because it had gotten quite sort of dark. And man, what a difference.

LESLIE: It’s the most satisfying job.

TOM: You can see it’s like – it was sort of a charcoal-gray next to a bright white when I was done.

LESLIE: It’s amazing. I mean I did the concrete in the backyard, in the driveway – I don’t know – at some point over the summer. But it’s just the most satisfying project. It takes a while but it’s satisfying.

TOM: It is. I had a little fun with Mom, too. I wrote with the pressure washer in the black muck that Tom was here and told her I ran out of time and to come back in a couple of months.

Alright. So, yeah, I think that’s a great tool but you don’t have to worry so much about pressures. Just look at the nozzles. Take a look at the line from Greenworks. They really make a great product.

LESLIE: Alright. Next up, we’ve got a post here from Erin in New York City who writes: “The wallpaper in my kitchen bathroom is 26 years old. I would like to get rid of it but I’m dreading taking it all down. Can I paint over the old wallpaper? It’s in relatively good shape and it’s only curling in one small spot near a baseboard.”

TOM: I don’t know. I feel like you’re putting off the inevitable and it really looks tacky to paint over wallpaper.

LESLIE: I just feel like you can always see it.

TOM: Yeah.

LESLIE: Even if there’s not a drop of texture to that paper, you’ll notice a seam, you’ll notice a something. And then I just – I don’t like the look of it. I just think it’s such a bad shortcut. And then when you want to go take the paper down, you’re dealing with this layer of latex over the paper that now you have to permeate to get behind the paper to steam the glue to get it all. It just makes it worse.

TOM: It is so much harder when there’s paint on the paper to get that wallpaper down. If you are concerned about the difficulty of the project – you just mentioned it, Leslie – rent a steamer. Gosh, they’re not that expensive and the wallpaper steamers make quick work of that.

You know, look, it’s more labor-intensive than other home improvement projects but it’s not impossible. And once you get all of that wallpaper off the wall, make sure there’s no – none of the old sizing left. Get all that stuff scraped off.

Then I want you to prime that wall and I would use a solvent-based primer. I wouldn’t use an acrylic primer. I’d use a good solvent-based primer. Why? Because it has the best adhesion. And then once it’s primed, you can use latex paint on top of that and I think you’ll get a much better job.

And I would always make sure that I’m using flat paint, because you are going to have some texture on that wall. Even if you did a really good job pulling off the old paper, you just never get it all off. But if you use flat paint, you won’t see it as much because it won’t reflect in the light.

LESLIE: Alright. Good luck with that project, Erin.

TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Thanks so much for spending a little time with us. Hey, if you’ve got questions, if you didn’t get through today, you can reach us, 24/7, at 888-MONEY-PIT or post your question to The Money Pit’s website at MoneyPit.com. Whatever is on your to-do list, you can always slide it over to ours by doing just that.

Until then, 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.

(Copyright 2020 Squeaky Door Productions, Inc. No portion of this transcript or audio file may be reproduced in any format without the express written permission of Squeaky Door Productions, Inc.)