Show Notes
- Building a Fire Pit: Relaxing around a backyard campfire is made easy with a DIY fire pit.
- Social Front Yards: Curb appeal meets social appeal when you create an inviting social front yard that’s functional and attractive.
- Paint Sprayers: Reduce waste and cut painting time by a third with high-efficiency paint sprayers that make paint projects easier.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about:
- Window Leaks: Installers should have used concrete block to stop water from getting trapped under Martha’s new picture window. We have tips on improving the drainage to prevent leaks.
- Plumbing Odors: Phew! Gary has a bad odor coming from his bathroom drains and learns what to do to eliminate the bio-gases that are causing it.
- Driveway Replacement: Susan is considering options for her 38-year-old driveway. It’s time to tear it up and pour a new asphalt driveway.
- Deck Upgrades: Should you replace just the boards or the whole frame on an old deck? Mike needs to replace the entire structure but can use composite decking materials for the surface.
- Wet Basement: Paul wants to finish the basement but it leaks at times after a heavy rain. We’ll tell him how to improve the drainage outside the house.
- Squirrels: Squirrels making you nuts? We give Alison advice on how to humanely trap and relocate the squirrel that’s living in her basement ceiling.
- Wood Fencing: John’s pressure-treated wood fence is already getting soft and rotted. We suspect the pressure treatment was not done well or he got poor-quality wood.
- Condensation on Walls: Judy noticed moisture halfway down the basement walls she’s repainting. She should check the outside drainage and install a dehumidifier.
- Moles: Moles are damaging the yard at Kim’s house. If she gets rid of the grubs that are their food source, she’ll get rid of the moles.
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 0:00:33 | TOM: Coast to coast, the floorboards, the shingles. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:00:39 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:00:40 | TOM: And we want to wish a very happy Father’s Day for the dads that are out there and the dad figures in your lives. Maybe you’ve got a project you’d like to take on to help dad out or one you want to get done for yourself or your family or your friends. If you’ve got such a project and you need some home improvement help, well, that’s why we’re here. We’re here to help you get them done. So if you need a tip, you need a trick. You need to find a pro. You want to know if you’re paying the right price, You want to know what comes first, second and third. Or if you’re stuck in the middle of a project and need some help. Well, all great reasons to reach out to us, because that’s what we do. That’s what we’ve been doing for many, many years. In fact, we’ve been doing it on this podcast for 2319 episodes, which is the number for today’s episode. So if you’ve got a project you’re planning or reach out to us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT or better yet, go to Money Pit Uncommon ask and click the blue Microphone button, record your question and get the fastest possible response. Coming up on today’s show. It’s a great time of year for outdoor living, and if you want to step up your space, we’ve got some tips on how you can build your very own fire pit. |
| 0:01:47 | LESLIE: And also ahead, why limit your outdoor living to the backyard when there’s a great space available in your front yard? We’re going to discuss ideas for an inviting social front yard outside your home. |
| 0:01:57 | TOM: And summer is prime time for painting projects and the new high efficiency, airless paint sprayers are making these projects oh so easy. So we’re going to explain how they work to help you cut painting time by about a third. |
| 0:02:09 | LESLIE: But first, we want to know what you want to know. What are you working on this weekend? Are you maybe tackling a project for the father in your life? Maybe need some help getting that job done quick before he comes back for the surprise or whatever it is, Give us a call and will lend a hand. |
| 0:02:23 | TOM: The number here is 1-888-MONEY-PIT or for the fastest possible response, just go to moneypit.com/ask. Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s first? |
| 0:02:33 | LESLIE: Martha in Ohio is on the line with a leaky door and a leaky window. What is going on? |
| 0:02:38 | CALLER: We had some sliding glass doors in our family room that’s paneled. And we had them taken out, and we wanted just a picture window in there. So when they came to do the picture window, they took the door out, the sliding doors out. And, you know, the foundation was like, oh, maybe a block or two up. And the door had been left empty, down, lower. So what they did was they took two by fours, I think it was wood and built up to the block level and then proceeded to put in the supports for the window. So now when it’s I made a flower bed out there and now when the ground gets real so saturated and water tends to puddle their collect, right. It runs under the wood through the wood. |
| 0:03:30 | TOM: Not surprised. And well, so it sounds like instead of building the foundation up with concrete block, which is what they should have done, they sort of filled it in with wood framing. Is that correct? Yes. |
| 0:03:39 | CALLER: Yes. Yeah. |
| 0:03:40 | TOM: Probably wasn’t the best choice. |
| 0:03:41 | CALLER: Or do we need to start over? |
| 0:03:43 | TOM: Well, you know, it’s kind of hard to advise that you sell something that was never done right to begin with. I mean, it really should have been a concrete block. But having said that, if you are going to trap that much water against the foundation, whether it’s a wood patch or a concrete block, it’s still going to leak. You just can’t hold that kind of water against the foundation. We advise against this all the time, Martha, because those sorts of planters and anything else that holds water against a house is just not a good idea, especially in an area like Ohio where you’ve got a pretty significant freeze thaw cycle because of that water that saturates the soil that soil freezes. It’s going to push inward on that wall and weaken the basement wall. So I would recommend if you are going to have a plant, that you’ve got to have some drainage in there so that the water does not puddle up because if you do trap it against the wall, regardless of how that wall is built, even though it wasn’t repaired correctly, it’s going to leak and it’s going to cause damage. So I think the issue really is what you did after the fact, more so than what they did to install the picture window. Okay. |
| 0:04:44 | CALLER: Oh, okay. Okay. Well, thank you so much. Have a nice welcome. |
| 0:04:50 | TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. |
| 0:04:53 | LESLIE: Gary in Virginia is on the line and is dealing with some order coming from the sink. Tell us what’s going on. |
| 0:04:59 | CALLER: We do have a problem in the bathroom. I’m not sure where it’s coming from. I don’t know whether it could be trap gases or whether it can be. I don’t think it’s anything in the water because it’s just in the bathroom. But a lot of times when we take a shower, you know, get out. And now if we get dried off and everything and leave the bathroom, we’ll come back in. It’s a terrible odor in our smells like you call like a sewer, I guess maybe. But I mean we’ve had our septic pump day last year and it you know, it’s not bad but and it, it not only happens in the shower in our mind like the if we use the tub or sometimes if we’re at the sink, you know, like we show you or something like that in and finish up, it’s like he comes up to the through the pipe, but it doesn’t happen every time. It could happen twice a week. It could happen no time. |
| 0:05:56 | TOM: It sounds like something we call bio gas. You get bacteria that will form in the drains and in the traps and in the fittings around there. And the bacteria itself has an awful odor to it. Yeah. What I would do is I would take the trap apart for the bathroom sink because you can get to that. I would use a bottle brush and scrub the heck out of all of that. I would put it back together and fill the entire trap with oxygenated bleach and let it sit. I would do the same thing for the bathtub. I would take the drain cover off. I would use a bottle brush to get down there and scrub the insides of those pipes. And I would fill those with oxygenated bleach and let them sit because the bleach is going to kill those microbes, kill that bacteria, and that could make a difference. If it is bio gas, it smells terrible. |
| 0:06:40 | CALLER: And why would they why would they do that? And, you know, every time. |
| 0:06:44 | TOM: Sometimes it’s more active than others is all I could say. But, you know, it depends on a lot of things, including the air pressure in the room. You know, if the room happens to have a lower pressure because of other things going on in the house, you know, it may draw out or not. So that it’s probably there all the time. It’s just that you don’t smell it because of the airflow. |
| 0:07:01 | CALLER: You know? Well, we had, you know, a plumber look at it. And, you know, he’s just he can’t find the answer either. So, yeah, you know. |
| 0:07:09 | TOM: I think if you Google bio gas, you’ll see that there are a lot of folks that have the same issue. And this is how you saw. Right. |
| 0:07:15 | CALLER: Okay. Okay. All right. I appreciate your help. |
| 0:07:17 | TOM: All right, Gary, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. |
| 0:07:22 | LESLIE: Hey, Money Pit listeners, if we’ve saved you some time, money or hassles with your projects, you would totally make our day by leaving us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. It’s just got a Money Pit scam slash review, which adds to Money Pit. Let us know what you are working on and we might just pick you to win our prize this hour. It’s a supply of Dapps advanced hybrid sealants worth 60 bucks. Now the New Zealand’s outperformed silicone in key areas like paint ability, which is great because, you know, sometimes that paint job does not go on well. But with Dapps advanced hybrid sealants, you are going to get a beautiful painted surface. Now there’s four types to cover all caulking projects in your home, including the self-leveling concrete sealant that requires no tools. It stays flexible and it’s not going to crack, shrink or bubble. And they’re backed by a lifetime guarantee. 998 two But we’ve got a set of six worth 60 bucks. |
| 0:08:15 | TOM: That’s going out to one listener drawn at random. Make that you reach out to us right now with your questions at 1-888-MONEY-PIT or go to moneypit.com/ask and click the blue microphone button. |
| 0:08:27 | LESLIE: Susan in California is on the line and needs some help with the driveway makeover. What’s going on at your Money Pit? |
| 0:08:33 | CALLER: I’m so glad you said the Money Pit, because that’s exactly what it is. And now it’s the driveway. About 1200 square feet and it’s been it’s about 38 years old and it needs something else done. And I really don’t want to resurface it with what I’ve got. What am I options? |
| 0:08:52 | TOM: So it’s an asphalt driveway now. That’s what you’re starting with? |
| 0:08:54 | CALLER: Yes. |
| 0:08:55 | TOM: Yeah. Listen, I got news for you, Susan. The 38 year old roadway needs to be replaced, and that’s exactly what you have, Whether it’s a road that goes down the street or a road that’s a highway. Nothing lasts 38 years. And if you’ve gotten 38 years out of that driveway, it’s time for a new one. And sure, you can keep slapping sealer on it and patching the cracks and all that. But at that age, it’s got to go. |
| 0:09:18 | CALLER: What’s the best way? Do they just remove the whole thing and then start from scratch? Or what’s the best way to go? |
| 0:09:24 | TOM: I think that’s the best way. In most cases, that’s the best way you can resurface it. But if you want to make sure that the base is really solid, you know, you would take off the old, they would put a new base down, they would compact it with machines. So it’s really, really solid. And then they would apply new asphalt on top of that. I would make sure I got a specification as to exactly how many inches of this material they’re going to put down so that you compare apples to apples when you’re looking at a different contractors. But I think that’s going to be your best solution. |
| 0:09:52 | CALLER: Okay. Well, thank you so much. |
| 0:09:54 | TOM: You’re welcome, Susan. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at eight. At eight Money Pit. |
| 0:10:00 | LESLIE: Michael in Virginia is on the line and is working on a decking project. Tell us about. |
| 0:10:03 | CALLER: It. Hey, so I’ve got a 12 by 12 deck that came with the house and it’s about 20 years old. So boards are starting to pile up and I’m no longer able to get a screw to stick in the supplement. Am I able to? Sister, the underlying boards with two by fours or something to build up the base? Or am I better off replacing all of the substructure along with the deck? |
| 0:10:24 | TOM: So if it’s 20 years old and it sounds like it’s not pressure treated and if the existing floor Joe set the case to the point where they won’t even hold a screw or a nail, I think it’s time to replace that deck structure and all because you’re you know, the clock is ticking now and it’s going to be potentially very unsafe in a very short period of time. So what I would tell you to do is to remove it, replace it, and consider using composite for the decking surface. You can use pressure treated for the frame, but use composite for the decking surface between the composite and the pressure treated. You know, you’ll get more than another 20 years out of it. |
| 0:10:56 | CALLER: Okay. Now, I’ve looked at composites and price wise, they’re pretty pricey. Am I going to be able to save a few bucks by going to a heavier duty, like a two by six kiln dried board and sealing all that when it goes in? |
| 0:11:10 | TOM: Well, the thing is, you don’t. Well, I wouldn’t use to buy six. What I would use is five quarter by six. If you want to go with the wood decking. But you’re going to have to seal and stain that, you know, every couple of years. The thing with composites is all you’re going to do is clean it. I mean, if you look at like a big box store, like a Home Depot, those composites are not terribly expensive. They look really good. |
| 0:11:29 | CALLER: All right. I’ll have to check them. |
| 0:11:30 | TOM: Out because remember, you’re not replacing the floor, Joyce, with it. You know, you’re only doing the deck surface. So if it’s 12 by 12, you know, that’s 144 square feet. It’s 280 lineal feet. It’s probably worth. |
| 0:11:41 | CALLER: It. I see. Now we are talking about expanding it out a few feet, so. |
| 0:11:45 | TOM: Yeah, well, that would be the time to do it, you know. |
| 0:11:46 | CALLER: Okay, so. |
| 0:11:47 | LESLIE: You’re doing the substructure is still all of the pressure treated lumber because you need that for the support and then all of the decking itself and the fascia boards and you can even do the railings. All of that can be the composite. And it’s really gorgeous. You know, I have one that’s sort of mid-range, but it has an interesting green to it and almost looks like an eBay. |
| 0:12:06 | LESLIE: You know, it’s you can get ones that are super simple and you can get ones that really look exotic. And I think that’s where your price point is going to swing a lot. |
| 0:12:12 | CALLER: Now, how do you deal with the railings and the fencing at in So. |
| 0:12:16 | LESLIE: The post would come up and that would be, you know, the basis for your supports and that would be your pressure treated lumber and that would be built up through from the substructure. And then there are sleeves that go over it in the composite. Now you can get ones that match your decking or you can go. |
| 0:12:29 | CALLER: With white and then for the substructure. Now I am talking about doing this out there are these concrete, I don’t know, but I put my foot blocks that you can bind, that you can layer four by six across four. They say it’s four decking like in the yard. Am I better off doing that or poured concrete? |
| 0:12:48 | TOM: There are prefabricated footings, four decks. They look like sort of like pyramids, but they’re not like one by one. They’re like one by one by about three feet tall. Then they have a place for a bracket on top. I’ve used those. They work really well. They’re a little harder to install because you got to be more accurate with where the hole is. But frankly, I think the easiest thing to do is just to dig it yourself a one foot by one foot square that’s a couple of feet deep and, you know, mix up three or four bags a quick treat and make that the footing and then you can drop the pressure treated right into that. And then if you use the right level of pressure treated, it can actually be in-ground. |
| 0:13:21 | CALLER: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks a lot. |
| 0:13:23 | TOM: You got it. Thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. Well, I really enjoy hiking. And after a long day on the trail, there’s nothing quite like relaxing around a campfire. Well, you can actually have that campfire feeling all year long in your very own backyard when you build your own fire pit. |
| 0:13:39 | LESLIE: Yeah, And you know what? It’s not a difficult project. And the easiest way that you can get it done is by using pre-cast outdoor building blocks. Now, Page Stone has a brand called Rumble Stone that you stack and fit together, kind of like Legos. I mean, Rumble Stones, they’re easy, fast. It’s affordable. It’s a great way to upgrade your backyard with amenities like outdoor kitchens, benches, a fire pit. So here’s how. Now, the first step is you’ve got to pick an area far enough away from any other buildings. Now, once you’ve got that spot selected, you want to excavate down a few inches in the shape of the fire pit that you want to build and then tamp and level that base. |
| 0:14:17 | TOM: Now, next. This is the fun part. It’s as easy as stacking blocks. Now, if you’ve got around fire pit, that’s maybe about ten inches high and about 45 inches across. You only need two sizes of rumble stone, the mini blocks and the trapezoidal shaped blocks. And you start by creating a stable level project area. The only thing to do is to lay out those trapezoidal and mini blocks in a circle. You alternate each one and they can even be secured with construction adhesive. There is no mortar required, so if something’s a little wobbly, just squirt a dab of construction pieces underneath it and you’re good to go. |
| 0:14:49 | LESLIE: Yeah. And three layers of the rumble stone really is all you need for the second and third level. You want to offset the blocks from the layer beneath it and then just line the bottom with sand and you’re going to be ready to fire up the s’mores in no time. Now, Pipestone offers Rumble Stone fire pit kits with everything that you need, starting at 250 bucks, and they’re available at the Home Depot. For a complete material list and instructions and even more info, visit page Stone AECOM and look for the Rumble Stone videos under the How to Guide. Paul in New York is on the line. What can we do for you at your Money Pit? |
| 0:15:20 | CALLER: I’d like to finish my basement, make it a more usable area, but I have a problem with some water leakage at times. I believe the construction is called a floating slab where there’s a weed channel around the edge of the basement that goes into a pit. |
| 0:15:36 | TOM: Tell me, when do you seem to have the biggest problem with signs of water coming in or actual water coming in? |
| 0:15:42 | CALLER: Heavy rains. |
| 0:15:42 | TOM: All right. So I’ve got great news for you. You don’t need anything more than some minor adjustment in the grading and drainage outside. Whenever you have water that leaks in after a heavy rain that’s always caused by exterior drainage conditions that are just not right. And usually it’s as simple as not having the right gutters set up around the house. You need to have gutters. They need to be clean and free flowing and the downspouts and this is where most people get it wrong. Have to be extended a minimum of 4 to 6 feet away from the house because those first few feet at the foundation perimeter are where water collects and saturates and then goes down into those basement walls and shows up as a leak inside. So I want you to look at that very, very carefully. The second thing is the angle of the soil at the foundation perimeter has to pitch away from the house and it has to do so with soil that can drain. Sometimes we see people that pile of a lot of mulch around the house or they have a lot of topsoil around the house, or they have sort of like a brick edging around some landscaping that kind of acts as a retention pond and holds the water against the house. You basically want to move that water that first few feet around the house, move it away, get it, get it going so that it drains away. It can drop about six inches over the first four feet, but after that, it can move slower with a gentler slope away from the rest of the house. Those two things will solve the vast majority of flooded crawl spaces and flooded basements in this country. The only time you need to install a very expensive sub slab drainage system is when you have a high water table and that behaves differently when you have a high water table. Water comes up very slowly. Generally in the winter, it’s typically higher and then goes down very slowly and you can actually physically see that water sometimes ponding in the some pit or something like that. But when you have rain or snow melt and you get water in your basement, that’s because the drainage and that’s really easy to fix. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. Leslie caught a survey this week that has highlighted the five biggest decor regrets. You want to hazard a guess as to what’s among that top five? |
| 0:17:51 | LESLIE: I can guess. And you know, I love it. And I’m going to say wallpaper. |
| 0:17:54 | TOM: No, it was not a five. Top five decor. Regret? No number. Well, number one, two and three, for some odd reason have the same number of responses. Shag carpeting. We can. I agree with that. Here’s one I haven’t even thought about for a while. Conversation pits and recessed seating. Very sort of, what, 60-ish? |
| 0:18:15 | LESLIE: That’s like a very genre era specific and goes along with the shag carpeting, by the way. |
| 0:18:23 | TOM: Of course. Yes. Well, here’s another one that happens right today. It’s happening all across the country. And it has to do with TV TV’s, how they’re mounted. TV’s mounted above eye level or TV’s mounted above a fireplace. People regret them. And probably because you get a crooked your neck by having to look up all the time, It’s not really a good angle for that, and it’s not a good thing for the sound because the sound kind of goes over your head, right? |
| 0:18:44 | LESLIE: I mean, we have it for lack of any other place to put it. And I did like a beautiful Oprah mantel. I mean, the whole thing looks lovely, but I could see that. Plus, there’s like two ideal spots in the room and everybody fights over them. So, yeah, I got it. |
| 0:18:58 | TOM: And the last one is one we hear about time and time again wood paneled walls. I can’t blame you for that. |
| 0:19:04 | LESLIE: That’s so funny. People were reaching back. |
| 0:19:06 | TOM: But you can keep reaching back to us with questions on how to get rid of those wood paneled walls. And we will walk you through that project and many more. The number here, 888-MONEY-PIT or go to moneypit.com. |
| 0:19:15 | LESLIE: Ask now. We’ve got Alison in New York on the line who has an unwanted visitor at their Money Pit. What’s going on? |
| 0:19:21 | CALLER: My husband. I wish he was on with me, but our mission is to humanely trap, we believe, to be a squirrel that’s running between the drab ceiling in our basement. And my husband said to buy a joint raptors. There’s, like, a two inch space only. |
| 0:19:36 | TOM: And what I want you to do is to go out and pick up a trap called a have a heart trap. Now, these have a heart traps are or live traps in that they’re going to catch this squirrel and then you’re going to pull this trap out and you can take them out to the woods somewhere and release them. What you do with the have a hard trap is once you get it set up in the back of the trap where you want the squirrel to kind of end up put an apple back there and don’t just put it back there, but wire it to the back wall of the trap. Take a piece of like picture wire, thread it through the apple and kind of tie it off. Because I tell you what, even though these traps are good, those squirrels and other small rascals can sometimes grab that without tripping the door. But if you wire to the back of the trap, they don’t have a chance and set it near the opening wherever you can get access to it. And I’ll tell you sooner or later that squirrels going to wander in that trap and bam, you’ll hear the door slap and they will not be happy. They’ll kind of be running in circles trying to figure out a way to get out. But you can cover them with a blanket, throw them in the back of your car in the trunk, take it out somewhere. And then as you open that up, believe me, they’re not going to stand around to kind of talk about it with you. They’ll just bolt as soon as you live that door. They will bolt into the woods. |
| 0:20:54 | CALLER: Oh, okay. |
| 0:20:55 | TOM: I hope that helps you out. Alison. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. Well, if you enjoy outdoor living, you’ll want to make use of all the space you can, including your front yard. Social front yards are growing trend that designs are not only for curb appeal, but as a functional space for relaxing and socializing with neighbors. |
| 0:21:17 | LESLIE: Yeah, you know the best designs for a friendly front yard make social and functional areas feel connected rather than fragmented. Now you can do this by limiting obstacles that impede sightlines at the edges of the yard. So to create that feeling of sort of outdoor rooms, you can do that by clustering potted plants to then kind of frame that specific seating area while still keeping the entire yard connected. |
| 0:21:38 | TOM: Now, to make those areas a bit home here, you can add seating areas with Firepits Bistro tables, porch swings or lounge chairs and movable furnishings, keep things more affordable and adapt to different functions. And for a convenient, family friendly setting place, adult seating near children’s play areas. |
| 0:21:55 | LESLIE: Yeah. And speaking of the kids, you know, it’s great if they can play in the front yard, but you might need some fencing to keep them safe from the street. If you do, you want to consider semitransparent options like waist high fences with moderate gaps instead of those imposing barriers like tall hedges and solid fencing. This way your guest can stay safe while the yard doesn’t feel kind of closed off to passer bys. Like I do love that feeling of the open front yard, but I also love hanging out in the front. |
| 0:22:20 | TOM: Now plants can also help make a social front yard inviting while still creating a bit of privacy. You want to use plantings near the edges for long unimpeded sight lines, or to create the illusion of a larger yard and smaller canopy trees or tall ornamental shrubs. They can punctuate the edges of those social spaces. Light and airy plants or tall grasses are really ideal for designing those semi-private zones that are still very welcoming. And low water species are an excellent choice that need minimal maintenance. |
| 0:22:47 | LESLIE: Yeah, you know, creating a front yard oasis not only expands your living space and makes your home more enjoyable, but it also makes your neighborhood more friendly and walkable. I love it. Johnny, Missouri, you’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today? |
| 0:22:58 | CALLER: I have a pressure treated wood. I use there and I’ve put it on. I’ve filled it with a solid stain paint and it seems to have within after two years, my wood starts to rot again. Soft. Want to know why is this happening? You need to pressure treated wood when. |
| 0:23:14 | TOM: You stained it. First of all, did you do all sides of the board, including the bottom edge of the slat? Because very often that’s where moisture gets pulled in. |
| 0:23:22 | CALLER: I did the whole board and I could then assemble it and it just seems like it holds the lack of moisture within it. And it was then I can say two years, it’s enormous push on it and soft start dropping. Yeah. |
| 0:23:33 | TOM: I suspect that it’s it there’s different layers of pressure treatment but I suspect whatever was done to this was not done very well. You know, I had some landscape ties that were allegedly pressure treated and within a couple of years there rotted away. I stepped on them one day and went right through it. So I suspect that the quality of the wood in this fencing wasn’t really what you expected to do. I’ve taken just plain fir fence and I’ve treated it with wood life and made sure that the bottom of the fence was up at least two or three inches over the grass, because otherwise it gets a lot of moisture that pulls off and do it. And I’ve had fences like that treated and then I use the solid color stain on last 15 years just because it’s pressure treated or not well pressure tree doesn’t mean it can’t last. But I think it’s a combination of the installation and then the treatment of the stain and that that was used initially. |
| 0:24:24 | CALLER: Okay. I can see like I have a boat dock and it’s over the water and I just put clear sealer over it. And you know what? It lasts. It’s last longer than me sealing it with a paint that. |
| 0:24:34 | TOM: Comes down to the quality of the wood itself and whatever this fence is made out of just is not comparable to what your dock’s made out of. John Sorry to tell you that, but I think that’s what’s going on. Well, if you’ve ever had a project that requires caulk, you might know that trying to find the right caulk when you’re going through an aisle with hundreds of options is a bit of a challenge. Well, DAP is out now with a new product called Advanced Hybrid Sealants, and it’s multifunctional products. They totally outperform silicone in key areas like paint ability and even go on wet surfaces. And we’ve got six tubes of this to give away to one very fortunate caller. They’re worth 998 each. So the total package is worth about 60 bucks. And there’s four different types. It covers all the different caulking projects in your home like gutter and flashing caulk. This is a kind of a specialized caulk, helps you with roof leaks, helps with gutter leaks, easy to apply. It stays flexible and totally cracked proof. So if you’d like to win that complete group of corks from DAP, give us a call right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT That’s 888-666-3974 Judy. |
| 0:25:40 | LESLIE: And Minnesota’s on the line with a moisture issue. What’s going. |
| 0:25:43 | CALLER: On? Our house is about 40 years old and it has in the room that we’re talking about painting it. We painted it once before with a primer and it turned out really nice. I thought it looked really nice. But now we repainted it a different color and on the inside then is that rough paneling and is separated by it’s got insulation in there with the plastic on it and we noticed now and we’re going to paint it that there’s moisture like halfway down on the paneling we think that’s caused by condensation. |
| 0:26:20 | TOM: It may very well be if it’s a damp space. Now there are some things that you can do to reduce condensation and blow great spaces. It’s kind of the same steps that you would take if you were having an actual flood. You want to make sure that your exterior drainage is set up so that no moisture is being trapped against the outside foundation wall. And that means making sure the gutters are clean, the downspouts are extended and the soil slips away from the walls. If you’ve done all those things, then the next thing I would do is I would install a dehumidifier in that space and try to find one that has a built in condensate pump so that it collects water and pumps it out. Otherwise you’ll be emptying buckets upon buckets of water. And then finally, it’s also possible to install a whole home dehumidifier, which is an appliance that is attached to your HVAC system. These are highly effective at pulling moisture out. In fact, most of them will take 99 or 100 pints of water out a day. So those are three different ways that you can reduce moisture in that space. Judy, thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. |
| 0:27:20 | LESLIE: So do you have a big project in mind this summer season like painting your deck, the fence, or perhaps even the exterior of your home? Well, as challenging as that sized job sounds, it’s actually much easier to accomplish thanks to the new high efficiency paint sprayers from Wagner. Now these paint sprayers feature high efficiency, airless technology that produces up to 55% less overspray. So there’s no wasted paint. Now they output a high quality finish with better control. Plus, that job goes very quickly because the paint actually goes down three times faster than a roller. |
| 0:27:56 | TOM: Yeah, this is why the sprayers are really easy to use the good for DIYers. You’re just learning about airless spraying. You can save money by taking on some big project yourself instead of hiring a contractor and using the sprayer actually does a better job than a brush on uneven surfaces like a fence. For example, I used the Wagner Control Pro 170 on my fence because it actually pulls paint or stain directly from either a one or five gallon bucket, which is really useful because you don’t have to keep going back and reloading it with more paint, plus with a border and border fence and you’ve got all kinds of nooks and crannies to get that paint into. And spring was really the only way to go. So it worked really well. You guys are like these products. Check them out at Wagner Spray Telecom. |
| 0:28:41 | LESLIE: Heading to Tennessee. And apparently so were the molds to Kim’s yard. Let’s go to. |
| 0:28:46 | CALLER: Yes, I’m trying to get rid of these mold in my yard. Please help me. |
| 0:28:49 | TOM: Well, one of the ways to get rid of mold in the yard is not make your yard quite so attractive by getting rid of the grubs that are in your lawn. Moles are usually there because there’s plenty of food. And so if you used a product like Grub X to get rid of the grub, that’s the grubs. There’s a little white, juicy insects that moles just love. And if you get rid of the grubs, then the moles will find a new place to eat. But if there’s plenty of grubs, there’s plenty of food. They’re going to stay in your yard. So that makes sense. |
| 0:29:16 | CALLER: All right. Well, good. Thank you so much. I’ll try the grab it. |
| 0:29:19 | LESLIE: In New York reached out to Tim Money Pit and he said, I’m redoing parts of my kitchen. I want to add a glass tile backsplash. Do I need to put anything on the wall under that tile or can I just put adhesive straight on the wall? |
| 0:29:30 | TOM: I think he could probably glue it right to the wall. What do you think? I mean, I guess it depends on whether you ever think in the future is going to get tired of it, because that’s when you get the trouble, Right? We tried to take it off. He destroy the wall in the process. So your options are either go right on it or you could think about putting a thin piece of plywood over that area first, like quarter inch plywood and then glue right to that. |
| 0:29:48 | TOM: This way, you know, it would be easier to take down at some point in the future. What do you think? |
| 0:29:51 | LESLIE: I mean, I kind of like the idea of using the plywood because then it’s its own thing rather than adding it to the wall like you’re saying. The other thing you could do is add a backsplash, doesn’t take that much water, but you can use a waterproof membrane. Something there that sort of acts as like it’s like a green board or something that you could use more in the shower. But still, since you’re going to get some water in some areas, that could be helpful as well. |
| 0:30:12 | TOM: Yeah, but you know, that’s the same with any kind of decor projects like that, right? I mean, it looks great now. It’s trendy now, but at some point it’s not going to be so trendy either you or your future owner. This might sell the house, too. It’s going have to deal with potentially removing it. So all good things to think about when you take on that project initially. Well, if you’re heading outside for home, repairs of high, a sturdy ladder is help. As long as gravity doesn’t get the best of you. You know, Ladder Falls said hundreds of people in emergency rooms every year and some falls can even be fatal. Leslie has got safety tips for using a ladder the right way. And today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. |
| 0:30:49 | LESLIE: Yeah, you know, the biggest mistake with ladders is when you’re like, oh, you know what? I’m going to do it this way. And that’s taking shortcuts. And that is so dangerous. Now, in order to be safe, a ladder needs to remain stationary for extension ladders, you need to level the feet If you’ve got to dig out the ground to do so, do so or use ladder levelers. Those things exist for a reason. You have to make sure that that ladder is stable. Now, if you’ve got hard, dry ground, you would arrest those feet flat, free of slippery plastic tarps and debris. You want to make sure that the textured rubber pads are intact. If you’re using a ladder on grass or soft ground, you’re on a flip those feet up and then drive the spiked end into the ground or lay the feet flat and then tie them down on the side or brace them in the front with one by two sticks. I know it seems like a lot of extra steps, but you have to be careful. I mean, I watched my boyfriend slip off the ladder. Luckily, he wasn’t hurt. Our guy Warren, he fell off a ladder, broke his ankle. There’s so many things that happen. Even Billy, who I work with over at ABC, he fell off the ladder, hurt his knee. So you have to be careful. You cannot take these shortcuts now, when it comes to positioning the ladder, you want to make sure that the distance from its base to the wall is one quarter of the height of the ladder At its resting point. That’s going to create a 75 degree angle for a quick check on the angle of your ladder. You want to stand facing it with your feet touching the ladders, feet, and then your arms kind of extended. Now your palms should rest on a rung at shoulder height. That’s going to tell you that that’s secure and it’s at the right angle. You always want to look overhead before you climb up that ladder, or if you’re carrying a ladder to make sure there’s no wires and then don’t rest an extension ladder against a tree or a pole, because then that ladder can rotate and then you’re going to fall. I mean, it seems simple. You think I got this ladder and to do this project, just take the extra time and be safe because we want to keep you all around, guys. We don’t want anybody to get hurt. |
| 0:32:39 | TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Coming up next time on the program, we’re going to talk garden sheds. Yep, she sheds, man. K’s any kind of shed. It can always be a great addition to your backyard. But is it best to build one or to buy one? I recently dug into this topic and came up with options for building one, buying one, building one from scratch and building one from prefab. And I came up with some interesting observations. We’re going to share those tips and more on the very next edition of The Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:33:07 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:33:09 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 0:33:10 | LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone. |
| (Note: The above referenced transcript is AI-Generated, Unedited and Unproofed and as such may not accurately reflect the recorded audio. Copyright 2023 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.) |
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