LESLIE: Now we’re going to Pennsylvania and talking to Mike. What can we do for you?
MIKE: Well, I’d like to install a laundry chute. I have a single-story brick ranch house. And I want to put a laundry chute in the closet. I’d like to build the top of it about waist high and I (audio gap) to know what’s the best way to do that and what I could line that with so that the clothes don’t snag as they’re going through.
LESLIE: Have you thought about maybe moving the washer and dryer up to the main floor?
MIKE: I have but that’s not going to be possible with the arrangement of the bedrooms and all the (inaudible).
TOM: So you want to construct a laundry chute and you want to line it. Usually, the best laundry chutes are lined with metal. And what you could do, Mike, is you could contact an HVAC contractor after you have the chute constructed and you could have them make a metal duct that basically lines it. Starts from the entrance right down to the bottom of the chute. That would be a nice, easy way to do it. Or if you can actually fit in there, as you’re doing this, you could also line it with wood. But then, as you say, the risk is that you’ll have some splinters or some nails or some fasteners.
LESLIE: Don’t want to get stuck.
TOM: If you used a very good, glossy paint surface on it, that would minimize that. But those would probably be your options. How long is the chute going to be altogether?
MIKE: Oh, three, four feet.
TOM: Tell you what. You might just want to have a duct made for that.
MIKE: I hadn’t even thought of that. That’s kind of – light bulb went on in my head (chuckling) (inaudible).
TOM: That’s what we do. That was us. We were pulling the switch.
MIKE: Thank you very much for your help.
TOM: (chuckling) Alright, Mike. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
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