Hosts: Tom Kraeutler & Leslie Segrete
(NOTE: Timestamps below correspond to the running time of the downloadable audio file of this show. Text represents a professional transcriptionist’s understanding of what was said. No guarantee of accuracy is expressed or implied. ‘Ph’ in parentheses indicates the phonetic or best guess of the actual spoken word.)
BEGIN HOUR 2 TEXT:
(promo/theme song)
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: The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. Call us with your home improvement question. We’re like your handy neighbor who knows everything about home repair (chuckling), except we know more than to loan you our power tools because we won’t get them back. (chuckling) But we will loan you our advice because that’s free. All you got to do is pick up the phone and call us right now at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Yeah but Tom, we’ve got power tools to spare. Plus we’ve got the knowledge on how to use them and we’ve got the knowledge on how to do a lot of things. You know, for example, carpeting. Dirty carpets. We know how to fix that.
TOM: That’s right. If your carpets are looking dingy and dirty, you want to stay tuned this hour because you could be cutting the life of your carpeting short. We’re going to give you tips to extend their life and make sure it lasts as long as possible. Because carpeting’s expensive.
LESLIE: Speaking of flooring, if you’re thinking about a new floor for one of your rooms in your home, if you want the look of hardwood, stone or ceramic, remember that vinyl is actually a great choice. It’s very durable; it’s comfortable on your tootsies; it helps your back. We’re going to tell you more about the benefits of vinyl flooring later this hour.
TOM: And believe it or not, one of our founding fathers was also a pioneer in energy efficiency and he probably didn’t even realize it. We’re going to teach you how to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer with some tips from Abraham Lincoln.
LESLIE: Are they going to say, ‘Four score and seven year ago.’ We’re going to use them in Lincoln terminology as well, so get your encyclopedias out folks.
Plus, we’re going to be giving away a prize package from Master Lock. It’s a very modern prize and everything you need to stay safe and secure in your home. It’s really a great prize. It’s worth 115 bucks. Totally free for one caller we’re going to choose at random today. So get to the phones, folks.
TOM: 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Leslie, who’s first?
LESLIE: Listening in Ohio is Michael, who finds the show on WTOD. What can we do about your garage?
MICHAEL: Love the show, guys. We’ve got an unattached garage without any insulation. And we’re looking for a way to heat it this winter, just to get garage work, car work and stuff done. What’s the best way to do that?
TOM: Well, the best thing to do would be to put in a space heater that’s permanently vented. If you go to shops – for example, you often see these, for example, in auto shops – where they hang from the ceiling, yet they have a vent that goes up through the roof space and is vented to the outside. Those types of heaters are permanently installed, yet designed for a chilly space like a garage. They have a big fan that blows heat down but they’re permanently vented. You’ll need to run a gas line to it and you’ll need to have the vent run up through the roof. But that’s going to give you the most heat …
LESLIE: What about just basic electric convection sort of space heaters that look like baseboards that you just plug in? Can you not use those?
TOM: Ah, you know what? You can do it but it’s so darn cold in the garage. I just think that you’ll be spending a lot more money on electricity. Electric heat’s the most expensive type. So I would put in a permanently one that hangs from the ceiling and this way, it’ll be nice and toasty whenever you want to work in it and you can just shut it off when you go back in the house.
MICHAEL: Yeah, I should look into one of those. It’s a great idea. Love the show, guys. Thanks.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Don in Virginia listens on WFHG and you’ve got something going on with the shingles at your house. Are you talking roof or are you talking siding?
DON: I’m talking shingles; the roof.
LESLIE: OK. How old is the roof currently on your house?
DON: Probably about 15 years.
LESLIE: And what are they made out of?
DON: Asphalt.
LESLIE: OK. Do you know is there one existing layer of shingles on your roof? Or is it several layers built on top of one another?
DON: Well, it’s one layer with tar paper underneath. And they’re beginning to show discoloration different places. And also, there are some little particles in the gutter.
TOM: Well, a little bit of discoloration’s not a bad thing. And 15 years old …
LESLIE: That could just be mold or mildew growth.
TOM: Yeah, or moss growth. Sure. And in some of the – having the granules in the gutter; also not unusual. Do you have any other indication that the shingles are bad, Don? Are they curling or are they cracking or anything like that?
DON: No, sir. They’re not cracking or curling either. It’s just the discoloration. And I notice it’s on the side of the house with the least sun.
TOM: Well, ah, there you go.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Well then that’s definitely moss or mildew or …
TOM: Yep.
LESLIE: … something along those lines. Generally, that grows in areas where you get a lot of moisture and then you don’t get a lot of sunshine to dry it out. So, it could be that it’s the north side of the house or it’s under a big tree. Generally, what you want to do with that is if you feel comfortable getting up on your roof, you want to clean it with either a homemade remedy of bleach and water – put it on there; usually it’s like 20 percent bleach, 80 percent water, 30 percent bleach. You know, depending on how, you know, much you want to do. And really get it on there. Let it sit. Try to do it on a sunny day if you can. Trim back any tree that’s, you know, hindering sunlight on the roof. Let it sit there. Give it a good scrub with, you know, a stiff brush. But don’t be too aggressive because you don’t want to damage the shingle. And then that should do the trick.
Otherwise, Tom likes a product called Jomax, which is also a cleanser. And if you can get sunlight to that area, you should be able to clean it.
DON: Well, I thank you very much. And I do have a tree nearby and I suppose that could be part of the problem.
TOM: You know, Don, if you cut back a little bit of that tree and just try to get a little more sunlight on that roof, you’ll find that it won’t build up nearly as much. And after you get it clean, there’s one more trick of the trade. And that is you could add a copper or a nickel ridge vent to that roof and as the rain water washes against that, it’ll release some of its metal and that will have a cleaning effect as well.
DON: Well, I certainly do appreciate the information.
TOM: Don, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Kathy in Rhode Island listens to The Money Pit on WPRO. And what’s going on at your house?
KATHY: I have a patio in the front of my home; about 10×15 across. I just had it resurfaced with cement. I would say it’s definitely less than an inch thick.
TOM: You had an additional layer of cement put on top of this patio, Kathy?
KATHY: Yes. They took off the other layer that was cracked and they replaced it with this new layer.
TOM: That’s kind of unusual because, typically, you can’t patch concrete. If you put new cement or a new mortar coat on top of that, it’s going to separate; especially in the climate of Rhode Island.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Rhode Island.
TOM: Typically, the way you’re going to want to preserve it is with an epoxy patching compound that’s designed to bond right to the concrete and create a very nice surface.
LESLIE: And is that something that you would pour as a full surface? No, that’s usually just for small areas, right?
TOM: They have a patching compound that you can trowel on and give a nice surface. But it has sort of a – more of a rubbery kind of material that sticks to the concrete. The problem with putting new concrete or new mortar on top of old is that it never bonds the two layers and so as moisture gets in there, it freezes and chips and cracks. So I’m afraid just putting a second layer on there – especially if it’s only an inch thick – that’s going to pop right off again, Kathy.
Now, who did this? Was this a masonry contractor that did this for you?
KATHY: No. No. Someone that supposedly worked with cement.
TOM: Well Kathy, I think there’s really not a lot you can do to preserve it. But if you put a second layer of concrete on top of this and it’s only an inch thick, I can almost guarantee you it’s not going to stick. So, you might want to find out if that’s actually what they put on. Maybe they didn’t use concrete or a mortar on top of this. Maybe they used a different material. I certainly hope that that’s the case.
Kathy, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Charles in Ohio, what’s going on at your money pit?
CHARLES: Hey, hi. I was trying to find out if there was a way that I could strengthen my subfloors; meaning I have wooden floors that have – just cracking and popping. My house is three years old.
TOM: OK.
CHARLES: And I was wondering if I can strengthen the floor with foam insulation. What do you guys think about that?
TOM: Well, I don’t think foam insulation is going to strengthen the floor. What floor are we talking about making stronger?
CHARLES: Well, I am – you know, unless I’m down in my basement …
TOM: Right.
CHARLES: … and I’m looking upward – I have the – my subfloor.
TOM: Right.
CHARLES: And what I was wanting to do is insulate it for sound and strengthen it at the same time. Because when we walk in the family room above from the basement, it – there’s, you know, cracks and squeaks and so forth. You know how a floor gives and …
TOM: It’s a three-year-old house. Do you – what kind of floor joists do you have? Do you have solid floor joists or do you have floor joists that look like plywood beams?
CHARLES: No, it’s a solid floor joist …
TOM: OK.
CHARLES: … with the – what is that? – that compressed wood or panels on top of it.
TOM: Yeah, like a wafer board or something like that. Mm-hmm.
CHARLES: Yes, sir. Mm-hmm.
TOM: Yep. Well, in terms of making the floor stronger, insulation foam or fiberglass is not going to make it stronger. It will quiet it down. And as far as the insulation is concerned, do you want to keep heating the basement area? Because that’s what that’s going to do.
CHARLES: Keep heating?
TOM: It’s going to heat – yeah, if you’re – is this is a finished basement?
CHARLES: Well, half of it is and the other is the unfinished side.
TOM: Alright, well then you can insulate the floor structure between the floor joists.
CHARLES: I got this idea from a show on PBS where this fella did this to his attic. And he was looking to strengthen it a little bit and I thought, ‘Oh, what a great idea.’ But I really didn’t want to go over my head and tackle this project on my own. I wanted to get with an expert.
TOM: Charles … Charles, never believe what you see on home improvement TV shows. (laughter) It’s all make believe. (laughing)
LESLIE: Hey, that’s not true.
CHARLES: (laughing) OK. Well, this is why I’m asking.
LESLIE: The insulation will definitely help baffle the noise …
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: … and keep the basement warmer, but it’s not going to add any structural integrity to the floor or the joist.
TOM: Alright, Charles. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: Alright, need some ideas on how to sort through what’s going to be on your New Year’s resolution list? Maybe it’s a home improvement item. Maybe you’re thinking about flooring. Whatever it is, you can call us anytime of day or night, 24/7. You can call us with your home repair or your home improvement question. You know that number. 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: So how’d you like to get another two years out of your carpet’s life? Up next, we’re going to teach you the first step to smart carpet care.
(promo/theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Dens Armor Plus, the revolutionary paperless drywall from Georgia-Pacific.
TOM: Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Making good homes better. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
So Tom, we’re talking about carpet care.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: What can we do?
TOM: Let’s talk about carpet care. Now, this may seem like a simple, simple suggestion but believe me, not enough people do it.
LESLIE: (chuckling) No.
TOM: The reason carpet wears is because it gets dirty. But the reason that it actually wears when it gets dirty might surprise you. It’s the sand, it’s the dirt, it’s the grime that gets into the carpet. The more …
LESLIE: And then it gets – every time you step, it kind of …
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: … grinds into the fiber.
TOM: That’s right. It’s like sandpaper. So, if you want to extend your carpet’s life, you’ve got to vacuum it a lot; even if you don’t think it needs to be vacuumed; even if you don’t see, you know, pet hair or dust or dirt on the surface, you want – what you want, if you want to extend the life, is to get those dirt particles – those sand particles – up from the carpet which is down below, sort of at the base of the nap. That’s what rubs back and forth as you walk on it and actually erodes those fibers and causes them to separate right from the carpet. So if you want to extend the carpet life, you’ve got to vacuum it even if you don’t think it needs it.
LESLIE: Alright. And there’s at least one more thing that we know of that’s going to shorten the life of your carpet but we’re not going to tell you what it is. To find out what it is and how to fix it, you got to get our e-newsletter. It’s free, everybody. It shows up in your inbox every Friday. We’re going to have advice on prolonging the life of your carpets plus tips to clean the most common stains from wine to pet accidents. If you’re not already a subscriber, I don’t know what you’re waiting for. It’s chock full of good advice. Sign up now at MoneyPit.com. And while you’re there, e-mail us what’s going on at your home and we’ll help you.
TOM: 888-666-3974. Call us right now. One caller we choose at this hour is going to win a Master Lock gift pack worth 115 bucks. It’ll keep you safe. It’ll keep you secure. It’s got a cargo kit, a contractor-grade padlock and one of these very cool Night Watch deadbolts. Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: We’re on our way to Delaware now. Kevin, how can we help you?
KEVIN: Hi. I had a water leak in my mobile home and I’m wondering, as I’m taking the insulation and replacing it from underneath the home, can I fill that with just heavy duty plastic? Or does it need to be something breathable?
TOM: So tell me where the leak is again.
KEVIN: It was in the bathroom and I’ve since remodeled the bathroom. And I’m getting ready to put the insulation back underneath the trailer.
TOM: OK. And so, the leak has already been corrected?
KEVIN: Correct.
TOM: Alright. As long as the leak’s been corrected, then you certainly can just put the insulation back in there.
KEVIN: OK, but I – can I, you know, put the plastic up against – underneath?
TOM: Was it there originally?
KEVIN: It was – it’s like a breathable kind of thing that was on there; plastic.
TOM: Yeah, I think you can reassemble it in much the same way it was before you took it apart.
KEVIN: OK.
TOM: As long as your leak has been eliminated. The problem with moisture and insulation is that once it gets damp, it doesn’t insulate properly. So as long as that area is dry, then I think you can go ahead and put it back together the same way.
KEVIN: Terrific. Thank you very much.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: All the way out to Oregon now, where Chris listens on KWRO. How can we help?
CHRIS: Hi. I like your show. (laughing)
TOM: Thank you.
LESLIE: Thank you so much. What’s so funny, Chris?
CHRIS: Got off work and I’m in my driveway. (laughter)
TOM: Do you have a driveway question or how can we help you?
CHRIS: It’s a tough question.
TOM: Alright.
CHRIS: I have moss on my roof and I think I’d heard on your show, quite a while back, that you could use copper flashing and run it along the top or something like that …
TOM: Yep. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
CHRIS: … and the minerals in it would help reduce or eliminate the moss on the roof. Is that right?
LESLIE: Well, absolutely. Except you wouldn’t want to use flashing. You would want to use a ridge vent. It could actually be copper or nickel. And putting that along the ridge line will – anytime it rains, you’ll see strips of like little strokes of cleanliness, almost, on your roof of where the minerals in that copper or in that nickel are reacting to that moss or mildew growth. And it will actually do a really good job of combating it once you clean it. You know, give it a good clean and then use that in addition.
TOM: Yeah, kind of to maintain it.
CHRIS: That’ll be great. It’ll keep me off my roof a little bit more often. (chuckling)
TOM: OK. (chuckling)
CHRIS: Well thank you. I appreciate it.
TOM: Alright, Chris. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show.
LESLIE: Larry in New Jersey, what’s on your mind? How can we help?
LARRY: Yes, it’s about a dryer.
TOM: OK.
LESLIE: OK.
LARRY: It runs. It dries the clothes. But it makes a horrible screeching sound.
TOM: Do you have an owl in the dryer, Larry?
LARRY: What’s that?
TOM: Do you have an owl in the dryer, Larry? (chuckling)
LARRY: Owl? No. No, I caught him. (chuckling) I don’t know – I think it’s not worth calling a repairman.
TOM: How old is the dryer?
LARRY: Eight years.
TOM: Yeah, it’s probably not. Probably – there’s a – the belt around the dryer is slipping and that’s what’s making that awful sound.
LARRY: Yeah, everybody tells me that. But to call the repairman is going to cost me …
TOM: I’m going to give you one additional solution, Larry, and that is a website called RepairClinic.com. On RepairClinic.com you can actually diagnose and buy the replacement part for – to solve the problem and perhaps even install it yourself. So if you want an option on do-it-yourself appliance repair, it’s a real good site because it’s done a great job of educating the people that go there on how to actually fix the appliances themselves.
Larry, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Our next caller’s from Minnesota, where you can find The Money Pit on KARL. Elaine, what’s happening at your money pit?
ELAINE: Well, I bought a house three years ago. And the bathroom has a problem. Evidently, they had used some kind of a product that you put on the walls and use a trowel and spread it around and it’s very, very hard.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Ah, textured walls.
LESLIE: Like a Venetian plaster?
ELAINE: Yes, yes. That shiny …
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Is it shiny?
TOM: Mm-hmm.
LESLIE: Yeah, that’s Venetian plaster.
ELAINE: OK. Now how do I get it off.
TOM: Ah. Well, that’s the tricky part. (laughing) It’s difficult to take off. If we could make it not shiny for you; if we could suggest some ways that you could make that, say, have more of a patina look or a flatter look, would you be interested in that? Or do you just want to get rid of the texture altogether?
ELAINE: Well, I would prefer to get rid of the texture. But what I’m looking to do is either paint it so it looks like it’s a drywall type paint or something that would look smooth where I could paint it and it looks good or wallpaper it.
TOM: Because, Leslie – well, you can’t wallpaper because it’s too rough. But Leslie, I’m thinking a faux finish on that might look decent. Because the problem is trying to get rid of it. It’s very, very difficult. You’d have to literally sand it off the walls or you’d have to remove and replace the walls or you’d have to put a second layer of drywall on top of that.
LESLIE: Well, Venetian plaster isn’t a heavy texture. I mean it’s a lot of material that goes into it and then it’s all – I mean you should see – if you saw the process, you would be so much appreciative of the look. Unless you just don’t like the color or you just don’t like the way it is, you know, you really sort of …
ELAINE: It’s so rustic looking. It’s just not me.
LESLIE: It is very rustic looking. But it goes on with little like six-inch trowels and you’re hand is back and forth, back and forth. And you’re just really rubbing this on. And then once it’s all on there, you burnish it. You sort of wax it and make it really shiny so it has this wonderful smooth texture to it but it has a degree of aged areas and, you know, differences in colors and differences of sheen. [Differences of sheen as where you along to it] (ph).
I would say prime it; especially if you’re not into the sort of faux finish look. Prime it with an oil based primer since it is for the bath. This way, you’ll get good quality adhesion and you know it’s going to stick. And then, that should do the trick. If you’re dealing with some rough areas, I say sand it first. Get like a medium grit or a medium fine grit sandpaper and give it a nice rubdown in the areas where you see the roughness; where you sort of see the trowel marks. I know it’s probably going to be a lot of places all over that bath. But once you get everything down, then prime it and then you can paint it any color you want.
ELAINE: Well, it’s – some of those where they troweled are pretty deep, so I’m wondering what type of sander should I use.
LESLIE: It might be better to fill it out.
TOM: (chuckling) Yeah, exactly. You know, the bottom – the bottom line here is, Elaine, the texturing is easier – is a lot easier to put on than it is to take off. And so to try to get rid of that now is a lot of labor or sometimes it’s so much labor that you’re better off just recoating those walls with a thin layer of drywall and starting from scratch again.
So those are pretty much your options. If you do want to recoat it, you could do that. But if you want to just take some of the rough, some of the trowel marks out, you could sand it out. That’s why I was trying to opt for a more cosmetic option for you. But if you absolutely can’t stand the look of it, you’re probably better off putting a second layer of drywall on top of it. You could use 1/4-inch thick drywall so it doesn’t have to make up a lot of wall thickness but at least give you a clean wall look to start with from there.
ELAINE: Alright. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate that.
TOM: You’re welcome, Elaine. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
If you’re thinking about installing a new floor and you want to mimic the look and the texture of natural materials like hardwood, stone or ceramic, vinyl flooring – believe it or not – offers you a wide array of designs and colors. The technology has changed big time, folks. Up next, we’ll give you some tips to help you make the best choice.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Aprilaire, makers of professionally-installed, high-efficiency air cleaners. For more information, go to Aprilaire.com. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. What are you doing? What are you working on? Are you the kind of person that goes to the home center just because you like to collect paint chips? (chuckling) Call us. Because there’s probably an easier way to make those decorator selections.
LESLIE: Yeah, you can buy a paint fan, which has every single one of them in there so you don’t have to keep going back.
TOM: (overlapping voices) But it’s not as much fun. (laughing)
LESLIE: (laughing) Plus, every time you step foot into the home improvement center, you end up buying something and then doing another project. So keep going there and keep calling us. We’ll help you.
Well, if you’re list includes a new floor – say, maybe you’re in the market for some new flooring – well our experts and our friends at the Armstrong Floors say vinyl sheet is one of the best buys in flooring compared to any other floor covering. Because vinyl is very comfortable. You know, when you’re comparing with other hard surface flooring, it’s easier to stand on vinyl for longer periods of time; it’s more forgiving on dropped glasses than anything else that might accidentally find it’s way to the floor; plus the vinyl is cushy. It’s got a good, cushy construction to it so it’s toddler friendly. And it’s easier on elderly joints, too. So if you’re standing for a long time, washing a lot of dishes – it’s the holiday time. You know you are – it will really help a lot for your back. So it’s a good idea.
TOM: You know, and what I like about vinyl the most. It requires very little maintenance. It’s much less than pretty much any other flooring category. It’s water resistant. Vinyl sheet doesn’t absorb liquid so it’s suitable for any room of the house; especially great for bathrooms and kitchens; doesn’t have very many seams that can accumulate dirt. It’s just pretty good material. Very, very durable; very versatile; and very inexpensive. Most vinyl products also come in 6 or 12-foot-wide sheets so it creates a very uniform looking installation as well.
If you want more tips on how to choose the right floor for your house, there is a great guide online. It’s at the website for Armstrong at Armstrong.com. It’s called The Guide to Flooring; at Armstrong.com.
LESLIE: Great advice, Tom. You know, vinyl flooring really does look quite astonishing and it’s beautiful. I’ve seen some really nice things; especially from the folks at Armstrong. So if you’ve got some questions about flooring, give us a call.
TOM: 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Mike in Maryland, listening on WJFK, is thinking about knocking down a wall. Let’s just hope it’s not a load bearing. What can we do for you?
MIKE: Yep, I have a 1950s (inaudible). Pretty much, once I take the drywall off, what are the simple indications of it being a load bearing wall?
TOM: Well, where’s the wall that you want to take out, Mike?
MIKE: It’s between the kitchen and the living room.
TOM: OK.
MIKE: (inaudible) layout.
TOM: And so, is it parallel with the front and back walls of the house?
MIKE: Yes.
TOM: In 1950s ranch?
MIKE: Yes.
TOM: Most likely it is a load bearing wall.
LESLIE: Yeah. Is there a support pole in the basement right below where that wall would be?
MIKE: No basement.
TOM: There’s no basement? Is there a crawl space?
MIKE: No crawl space. There’s a …
TOM: It’s on a slab? OK. Well, chances are it is a load bearing wall. If you go up in the attic above it, you may see that the ceiling joists criss-cross over that wall; another indication that it could be load bearing. There may be connections from the roof structure down there. Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take it out. It just means you have to do it very carefully.
What’s your – what’s your vision here, Mike? Do you want like no wall at all between the kitchen and the living room?
MIKE: Right. Maybe a beam going across would be fine.
TOM: Then there’s two ways to do this. You can do it with a girder that would be visible or you could do it with something called a flush girder. In either case, the way it’s basically done is you build a temporary wall on either side of the wall you’re going to dissemble that will be temporarily holding up the house while you take that wall apart. And then you’re disassembling that load bearing wall. And if you’re going to do a girder, that would actually be easier because, basically, you would be putting a girder up there and then supporting it on the ends and you would see the girder so you would actually have that break. Or you could do a flush girder. And if there’s a flush girder, it’s a lot more work. But it looks nicer. It’s actually cut up in flush with the ceiling joists and then supported that way so that you have a continuously flat ceiling. But I would say …
LESLIE: But if you go with an exposed girder, you can then cover it with some salvaged wood or make it look like it’s an exposed wood beam and then sort of mimic those across the rest of your ceiling.
TOM: Yeah, but Mike, by virtue of the fact that you’re asking this – how we can tell that this is a load bearing beam or not – I would suspect that this is probably not a project you should do yourself if you don’t have that level of experience. Because it could be a very costly mistake if you do it in the wrong order or, you know, miss an understanding of how the home is put together. So you might want to consider just getting a little bit of help with that part of the job and do the rest yourself.
MIKE: I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
LESLIE: Alright, well winter has only just officially begun a few weeks ago. But we know most of you listening right now are concerned about saving money on your heating bills this winter. You know they’re going to be pricy even though the cost of fuel is down quite a bit. Well, one of our founding fathers was a pioneer in energy efficiency and he probably didn’t even realize it. So you want to know who it is? Well, we’re going to tell you. Find out how Abraham Lincoln saved energy, after this.
(promo/theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Aprilaire, makers of professionally-installed, high-efficiency air cleaners. For more information, go to Aprilaire.com. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Well, if you’re thinking about building a house, you might want to learn a tip or two from old president Abe Lincoln. Because, guess what? He was a pioneer in energy efficiency even though he didn’t know it. You know why? Because he built log homes and log homes score big in r value; a factor in calculating energy efficiency. Log walls actually contain millions of tiny air pockets which store cool air in the summer and warm air in the winter, which make them very, very energy efficient. And I love the variety of log homes that are available today. I mean they have become a lot different from the log cabin days, huh?
LESLIE: Oh my gosh, they are absolutely so beautiful. A good friend of mine, her parents live in Big Bear in California …
TOM: Mm-hmm.
LESLIE: … and they had a log home built from scratch. And this place is enormous, beautiful, warm and cozy. And it really has a wonderful look both inside and out. And it can suit any sort of design style. So if you’re building from scratch, it’s a good option. Check it out.
And you know, we’ve got other good options this hour. We’ve got free options; free prizes. You know we like to give away gifts. So one caller we’re going to choose at random this hour is going to win a Master Lock gift pack. It’s worth $115. It’s got a lot of different locks in there; luggage locks, cargo locks, plus a really cool Night Watch deadbolt for your home.
TOM: Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT if you’d like to win that. The Master Lock Night Watch deadbolt is the only deadbolt that’s designed to prevent an intruder from entering your home even if they have your own key. Takes only about 15 minutes to put it in. So if you want to qualify, call us right now at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Matt in Illinois is on the line and he listens on WYLL. What’s going on with your sink?
MATT: Well, I have a double sink in my kitchen and on the right hand side I have one of those sprayers on a hose …
LESLIE: OK.
TOM: Right.
MATT: … that you pull out and you can spray in the sink. The flipper portion on – you know, for the thumb, that you use to actually spray has broken off. And I also have a pinhole leak in the hose. And my question was do I try to cut below the pinhole leak and replace it that way or do I just replace the entire assembly under the sink?
TOM: No, you replace the entire assembly.
LESLIE: Yeah, replace that whole sprayer. It’s going to be easier and less expensive, I imagine.
MATT: OK.
TOM: Yeah, you can buy a new sprayer. Now, you can either buy a generic one – you go to a home center or a hardware store, they’re probably going to have one that’s silver or sort of like a brushed nickel kind of look that sort of looks OK with either brass or chrome faucets. Or you could order one from the manufacturer if you know exactly what model faucet you have. But you’re probably going to want to replace the whole thing. And it’s a very, actually, easy thing to do. You just – the hardest part is getting the stuff out of your sink and getting up under there. But it basically is going to unscrew from the bottom of the faucet inside the cabinet and then you just replace it.
LESLIE: Do you need to turn the water off before you attempt this?
TOM: That would be a good idea. (chuckling) Unless you’ll be taking a shower while you do it. (chuckling)
MATT: Yeah, it did flood the first time I noticed it, so yeah, I think I would remember to do that. OK, great.
TOM: Easy to do, Matt. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: I’m the filter. I want to ask the stupid questions so you feel confident. (laughter) What’s wrong with that?
TOM: Everybody has a job on this show. (chuckling) You see the way that works? (laughing)
Alright, who’s next?
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.
LESLIE: Gosh, that would be the funnest thing; just to chuck your clothes down and have them waiting for you in the laundry room. But then you forget how much is waiting there.
TOM: (overlapping voices) No, the funnest thing would be to chuck your clothes down and have them just come back up clean and pressed. That would be the funnest thing.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Already back in your drawer. That would be amazing.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Yeah, already back in your drawer.
LESLIE: Now if I had one of those when I was a kid I’d be like, ‘Hmm. How would I slide down here?’ (laughter)
Morgan in Maryland is listening in on WJFK, Free FM. What’s going on at your house and how can we help?
MORGAN: Well, I’ve got a bit of a leak behind the wall and I’m trying to figure out where it is before I pull out the entire kitchen counter and sink.
TOM: Oh, boy.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Ooh, that’s a mess.
MORGAN: But it’s not generating from the sink or below the sink. It’s in the wall.
TOM: And is it leaking all the time or does it only leak sometimes?
MORGAN: Only sometimes and I don’t know if it’s a waste line. I’m assuming it’s not a feed line but it’s probably a waste line; although it’s hard to tell because it’s not substantial enough.
TOM: So where are you seeing the leak?
MORGAN: I have evidence of a leak at the base of the kitchen counter and above it and discoloration of the wallpaper around the window above the sink. So it’s got to be generating from slightly above the window line.
TOM: Well, it sounds to me like it might be a leak in the window, then. Why do think it’s a plumbing leak?
MORGAN: It’s far enough away from the window. It’s nearly two feet away from the window. So – and it would be – it would have to be a leak directly across, which wouldn’t – you know, I’m fairly certain it’s a waste line or a feed line.
TOM: Let me ask you this, Morgan. Have you taken a look at the vent pipe in the roof? Is the vent pipe in the roof above the kitchen?
MORGAN: Actually, there is one directly above that that goes up, but it’s too high for me to go up. I’d have to have a professional go up on the roof to …
TOM: OK. That’s where I would start. That’s where I would start. Chances are it could simply be the flashing around the vent pipe itself.
MORGAN: OK.
TOM: Because there’s a little boot, like a rubber boot; sort of like a gasket that goes on top of that pipe and under the shingles. And very often, that will crack and dry out. It actually happens fairly frequently. And if that gasket is not working properly, you can get water that’s going – running down, sort of hugging the pipe and then leaking out into the wall where you’re seeing it.
MORGAN: Now, this is an older home. It’s about 60 years old. And so the walls are pretty substantial. Is there any way – is there any sort of device that detects water that can give me sort of a – somewhat of a view before I do the cleanup and repair?
TOM: Yes, it’s called a moisture meter and there’s two types of moisture meter; there’s destructive and non-destructive. And the difference is destructive isn’t really that destructive. It just has sort of like two pins that sort of stick in the wall and measure the moisture in the wall. A non-destructive sort of shoots a wave through the wall and determines it that way.
A home inspector is the kind of professional that would have those tools handy. And that’s another option for you is to call a home inspector in to do a leak investigation. And perhaps with that person’s skills and they’re specialized tools, they could narrow this down.
But it may not be that complicated. If there’s a vent pipe right above this and you have a leak, it’s very, very common for that to be the source. So I would start with that. Perhaps you can get someone to check that roof for you. And then if that doesn’t work out, you could call a home inspector in.
MORGAN: Great. Thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome. To find one in your area, there’s a website for the American Society of Home Inspectors. It’s a not-for-profit professional society. It’s at ASHI – A-S-H-I – .org.
MORGAN: H-I. Yeah, I’ve actually been there.
TOM: Yeah, great. Use that. Put in your zip code. You’ll find a list of folks in your area.
MORGAN: Thank you so much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
So, if you’re standing around in the yard of your home and you look up and don’t like what you see, you might be thinking about the need to replace your roof. And there are lots of options out there; including wood roofs. Is it a good thing? Is a wood roof a bad thing? We’re going to sort out the differences, next.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Dens Armor Plus, the revolutionary paperless drywall from Georgia-Pacific.
TOM: Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show, where you can call in your home improvement question 24/7/365 to 1-888-MONEY-PIT. We are always in the studio. There’s no voice-mail on this program. You will always talk to a live, friendly, responsible representative of this program who will be more than happy to take your call. And guess what? If we’re not in the studio, we will call you back the next time we are.
So, if you don’t want to call, though, you could always e-mail us 24/7 to [email protected]. So Leslie, let’s jump into the e-mail bag.
LESLIE: Alright. We’ve got one here from Sara in Middlebrook, Virginia who writes: ‘What is your opinion of fire retardant wood shakes? We’re planning on replacing our rotted wood shakes with this kind. What do you think?’
TOM: Well, I really don’t really like wood roofs. Wood roofs are very attractive; don’t get me wrong.
LESLIE: Yeah, but aren’t wood shakes also used for siding?
TOM: Well, yeah. But they take a lot less abuse on the side of your house compared to the roof of your house. I mean if you do a wood roof, it’s going to cost you probably two to three times as much as an asphalt shingle roof. And it’s not going to last you nearly as long. And especially today, most of the wood roofs are not put on correctly. In other words, they don’t have enough air space in there so they don’t dry out. They kind of rot quickly.
LESLIE: So they rot out a lot quicker.
TOM: Yeah. So I would say if you absolutely have to have a wood roof – you just can’t do without it – certainly you would want a fire resistant wood roof. (chuckling) You know? But the better options, I think, are the dimensional asphalt shingles today. The dimensional shingles can actually look like a wood shake or they can look like a wood shingle or they can look like terracotta or clay tile. And they actually will last you 25 …
LESLIE: There are some really good looking ones, also.
TOM: Yeah, there are.
LESLIE: Because I know, riding my bike around town, you’ll notice a beautiful roof and think, ‘Wow, that’s slate. That looks fantastic.’ And then …
TOM: Yeah, and it fakes you out, right?
LESLIE: You know, stop and take a better look at it.
TOM: Exactly.
LESLIE: And even if you go with a dimensional shingle that looks like slate, there are so many different colorations that you really get a lot of choices. So it’s a good option.
TOM: Alright, let’s take a question now from Cindy. She writes us and says: ‘My husband and I live in this old brick home that was built in 1950. I love the house but, boy, we have a lot of fixing up to do and very little cash. In my kitchen I have pine cabinets which are fine, but the countertop is not. We can’t afford a new one. Do you have a trick of the trade for me that can give it a whole new look?’
LESLIE: Yeah, you know with an existing countertop, as long as your – the laminate or whatever it is that’s on that countertop is in good shape, you can tile right over it. And there are so many different tile choices. If you go with a smaller tile – like a one-inch square or a
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