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. What are you working on this summer? Let us help you get the job done. It’s a great time to get out and do some fix-up projects around your house. We’ve got the tips, the advice, the tools to help you get the job done. Hey, are you maybe not going to be around this weekend? Perhaps you’re heading out of town for a summer getaway. Well, before you go you want to make sure that your house is not an open invitation to burglars. This hour, we’re going to tell you how.
LESLIE: Plus, a new technique that’s using high-tech methods to test leaks before they happen. Find out how roofers are making sure a small project does not translate into big spending for you.
TOM: It’s so much better than the bucket system …
LESLIE: Yeah, exactly.
TOM: … you know, of determining how bad your roof is leaking.
LESLIE: I have to tell you I was picking up some takeout food the other day and I noticed in the fluorescent light that little cap that hangs down below it. There was a little pool of water and it was that pouring down day. And I was like, ‘Mmm, I think you have a roof leak.’ He would have already known.
TOM: Well, as long as it didn’t make it into your takeout food, I guess, you’re OK. Hey, let’s talk also about selling a home. You know, it is not easy these days. It’s been a very difficult market. Lots of inventory is making it a real buyer’s market. So, if it is a buyer’s market, how do you draw those buyers to stop in at your house? Well, with lots of curb appeal, including a great front entry. There’s a new survey out that shows how much the value of your home is driven up simply by changing one component. And we’re going to talk to you about that in just a bit.
LESLIE: Plus we’re going to be giving away a grilling prize package and it’s from the makers of Reynolds Wrap. It’s worth more than 100 bucks and it’s got everything you need for your fantastic 4th of July barbecue.
TOM: So call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT with your home improvement question.
Leslie, who’s first?
LESLIE: Talking to Maggie in Virginia who finds The Money Pit on WFVA. What’s going on at your house?
MAGGIE: Oh, well, I’m just having a slight problem. We had our tub re-enameled and I don’t know what happened but I think the man put some – he must have accidentally dropped some enamel into the commode and it’s made a ring around the commode and I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get it out of there. I just thought maybe you guys would have an idea or so.
TOM: That’s a very weird condition. So you think in the process of refinishing this the guy actually stained the toilet?
MAGGIE: I believe so because it wasn’t – my husband went away for the weekend. This was before we were married. And he went away for the weekend, which was a good thing because the tub could dry …
TOM: Right.
MAGGIE: … without using it. And when we got back that was in – it was in the commode. The enamel. And …
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Hmm. And obviously – is the enamel a different color from the color of the commode? That’s why you know?
TOM: (overlapping voices) You know, I have an idea. I wonder if he – Leslie, I wonder if he washed out his …
LESLIE: His brush in the toilet?
TOM: Yeah, or something like that.
MAGGIE: It may be possible. I haven’t told him but it’s been so long since it’s been done and I’m sure he’s going to give me an argument about it …
TOM: Yeah.
MAGGIE: … and I don’t want to deal with that right now.
TOM: Well, not knowing what that is, I’m not quite sure there’s a solution here. If it is, in fact, a paint, you could try a paint stripper. And I don’t think that that would have …
LESLIE: How will that affect, though, the finish on the existing enamel in the toilet?
TOM: (overlapping voices) I don’t think it will have much of an – well, this could be famous last words but I don’t think it’s going to have an effect on it. You certainly could try it in a small area and see what happens. But if it’s – if it is, in fact, a paint, then a paint stripper would be able to move it off – take it off.
Now, there’s a good chance here that it’s not paint; that it’s just some other type of stain. Have you tried all the normal cleaning chemicals first? Have you tried, for example, CLR?
MAGGIE: No, I haven’t.
TOM: Well, let’s start with the basics here. CLR is a good toilet bowl cleaner. It stands for calcium, lime, rust and it takes out all the basic contaminants that get on the inside of the bowl. So try that first before you assume that it definitely is paint that may have spilled over from the tub job.
We have gotten very mixed results on the re-enameling process, by the way. Sometimes we get reports that it lasts a long time and other times it seems to be as durable as a thin coat of paint.
MAGGIE: Well, the enamel on the tub’s lasting; except around the drain it’s starting to chip a little bit.
TOM: Yeah, well you know what? If it’s lasting that long, maybe you should have the guy back and just enamel the whole inside of the bowl. (laughter) At least it’ll match.
MAGGIE: Thank you.
TOM: Maggie, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. You’re welcome.
LESLIE: Aloha, Steve in Hawaii. What can we do for you today?
STEVE: Yeah, I had a question about some granite tiles over drywall in my kitchen.
TOM and LESLIE: OK.
STEVE: I guess my concern is that I have the granite countertops and then I have 18-inch tiles I was going to use as a backsplash. And I don’t know if I can just use like a construction adhesive or if I need to put mastic and whether or not I need to prep the drywall.
LESLIE: Well, so you just have basic drywall back there. It’s not like greenboard or anything that’s really meant to withstand moisture.
STEVE: No, it’s basic drywall and it’s already been painted and it actually has the orange peel paint surface texture on it.
LESLIE: Hmm. Tom, would you recommend pulling out that drywall and putting perhaps a cement backer back there or greenboard or even a drywall that’s meant to have moisture; you know, a fiberglass-based one?
TOM: You know, at this point that probably is the best thing to do because it’s not quite – it’s not that difficult to do a bit of remodeling and remove and replace that and get in there with the proper material.
LESLIE: We say pull out that drywall; put either a cement backer board or greenboard or a drywall that’s made with a fiberglass facing rather than paper. All of those things are really meant to withstand and moist situations and you’re always going to get wicking of moisture through the grout lines. And even if you’re not using grout and you’re just butting up those tiles next to one another, you’re going to get some moisture through there. Plus the adhesive is going to be wet. So you want to make sure that you have something back there that can really stand up to the moisture. As far as adhesive, I would use one that’s really meant for granite. Whether that’s mastic or a specific tile adhesive, just check at the hardware store and you’ll find one that works for it.
And if you’re looking to do something a little different, I don’t know if you like the look of the 18 squares going up there – I don’t know what the height is on your backsplash – you could even cut that 18 square into four pieces and then turn them on the diamond; you know, use them as tiles rather than just doing a clean sheathing of granite. Both are nice options. It just depends on what your aesthetic is.
STEVE: Yeah, that’s interesting. I’d never thought about doing that.
TOM: Well, there are good options.
Steve, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Nishi in Washington listens on KITZ. What can we do for you today?
NISHI: Well, hi. My question’s regarding a deck. I had stained it one time. Some of the stain kind of turning to black soot-like material. And it was coming into the house on our shoes or feet or whatever. And when I was at Home Depot I was going to put in a new deck and I wanted to [make sure that to stain it once if not to stain it twice] (ph). And that’s what they are saying could have happened. Can you recommend what’s the best way to take care of the deck?
TOM: Now, wait a minute. They’re trying to tell you that if you stain it more than one time you’re going to cause a problem? I don’t know that that’s necessarily true. This is all really reliant on the preparation of the decking surface.
LESLIE: Well, and also, Nishi, if the first time you built this deck and stained it, was it on raw wood? Had you just built the deck?
NISHI: Yeah, I was – there was no stain on it. It was – I think it was redwood and there was no stain on it at that time.
LESLIE: OK. When you first build a deck out of, say, pressure-treated lumber or cedar or redwood, there is a specified drying time that you need to wait before you apply anything. So if you were to go and build a new deck out of pressure-treated lumber, you need to wait a year before you can put anything on it because it needs to dry out from the chemicals that pressure treat it. Same thing with cedar. Same thing with redwood. I think with cedar it’s two years. I’m not sure what it is with redwood. But you have to give it time to cure the lumber before you can then coat it, which may have been a problem.
STEVE: Oh, I see. But what happens if it wasn’t pressure-treated wood? It didn’t have those grooves. I suppose that’s what you call them with the pressure-treated, right? So, I don’t think it had those grooves in it.
LESLIE: Well, no. Pressure-treated lumber is just a type of lumber that you use for outdoor building, like cedar or like – you know, there are all different kinds. And pressure-treated is just chemically pressurized to make them weather resistant; more so than raw wood. So it’s just a matter of whatever lumber your choice is you have to make sure it cures on its own regardless of what kind it is. You know, you just need to find out the duration. If you’re going to build with cedar, two years; pressure-treated one.
STEVE: Oh, I see. But if I live in northwest –
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
STEVE: – you know, Washington area; it rains a lot four or five months out of the year – do I need to wait longer or is that – one year is still pretty much what …
TOM: Well, one year is probably fine. I certainly don’t think you have to wait any longer than that. We just want the initial pressure treatment chemicals to evaporate out and then you can go ahead and do a good job staining the deck. What many people fail to understand about pressure-treated is that even though it won’t rot, it will still crack and check and split. And that can be uncomfortable under the bare feet, for example. So that’s why it’s important that even if your deck is pressure-treated, that it be stained properly, Nishi.
NISHI: OK, any particular stain that you recommend?
LESLIE: Well, there’s a couple of different kinds. It depends on what you’re looking for. Since you’re going to be building the deck from scratch and you’re using nice lumber, you need to decide, ‘Wow, it’s great, nice wood. I can see the graining.’ There’s one from Flood. It’s a natural stain. It comes in a ton of different colors that in the natural family. There is the UV5 designer series, which has light colors that are sort of neutral but saturated where you still see the grain; like soft grays and soft blues. It’s up to you and the look that you want. But I would go for a transparent or a semitransparent the first time around because there’s plenty of time to do a solid stain once it ages.
STEVE: OK, excellent idea. Thank you so much for your help.
TOM: You’re welcome, Nishi. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Hey, are you having a hard time deciding if that project is a do-it-yourself one? Well, we can help you sort it out. Just call in your home repair or your home improvement question 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Up next, tips to keep your home safe and sound when you get away for a summer vacation. We’ll tell you how, right after this.
(promo/theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Ryobi, manufacturer of professional feature power tools and accessories with an affordable price for the do-it-yourselfer. Ryobi power tools. Pro features, affordable price. Available exclusively at The Home Depot. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Making good homes better, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. And hey, if you give us a call at 1-888-MONEY-PIT we’re giving away a Grillaxation prize package and it’s from my friends over at Reynolds Wrap. And one …
TOM: Now, what’s a Grillaxation? Can you define Grillaxation? (chuckling)
LESLIE: Grillaxation is the whole idea of like chilling out and enjoying your summer and relaxing without too much trouble while doing all that entertaining.
TOM: (overlapping voices) I like that. I may do that next weekend.
LESLIE: And the coolest thing is that one of our lucky callers is going to win this prize package. It’s worth more 100 bucks and it’s got everything for a great summer barbecue. It’s got teak-handled grilling tools; grilling spices; a platter; aprons; everything. And the coolest part, if you don’t win our Money Pit giveaway, if you go to Grillaxation.com you can enter a sweepstakes and one of the grand prizes is a design consultation from me.
TOM: Hey, how about that?
LESLIE: Don’t you just love it? I’m the prize.
TOM: I do love it. That’s great when you’re the prize, you know? (Leslie chuckles) You’re certainly a prize to us, Leslie.
LESLIE: Aw shucks, Tom.
TOM: Well, you can also call us right now with your home improvement question at 1-888-MONEY-PIT and perhaps Leslie could perform a virtual backyard makeover for you over the radio.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Always. And you know all of our callers are winners.
TOM: Absolutely.
Hey, let’s talk about vacations. You know, now is the season. We’re hitting the road. We’re getting out there. We’re taking lots of trips. But vacations …
LESLIE: Yeah, but aren’t the burglars also?
TOM: Well, they don’t take trips. You see, they stay behind when you go away and they get plenty of time to enter your home; to take large and expensive items and to search leisurely for all of those hidden valuables. So, if you’re planning on vacation, you want to make sure you create the illusion of everyday activity. How do you do that? Well, of course you have your mail and newspapers picked up; you could ask your neighbors to use your driveway.
LESLIE: I love that idea. I think that’s great. Really keep them confused. Cars in and out.
TOM: Show some action. Transfer valuables to a safety deposit box. And remember to protect both from burglars and from, you know – God forbid – fires. So get those valuables out of the house.
You also want to use timers on indoor lamps and appliances like a TV or a radio because, again, that noise creates the illusion …
LESLIE: And you know what? If you can, set some lights in different rooms to go on and off at different times because it looks then like you’re moving through the house. I know we do that (inaudible) burglars.
TOM: Yeah, good point. And finally, you want to make sure that all doors, windows, pet entrances and garage doors are securely locked. So a few things to keep in mind to make sure that your house is as great as it was when you left it when you get back from that terrific vacation.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Going out to Utah talking to Holly. What can we do for you?
HOLLY: Hi. I just have a question about installing pavers for a patio and a walkway that’s going to go right up against the foundation of the house around the entire house. And on the foundation (inaudible) is this sand you put down. They recommend either the silica sand or the masonry and I don’t know which is better to go with as far as, you know, making it durable enough to last.
TOM: OK, well first of all, you need to have a gravel mix as a base. You understand that. The base has to be – that’s really what makes it last. If the base is properly installed and it’s properly tamped …
LESLIE: But first you need to – you remove the soil; you remove the grass. You want to go down about, is it – I think six inches I’ve worked with. Then you put down a weed blocker fabric and that’s going to stop anything from growing back in under there. It just kills everything. So you’re not going to have to worry about weeds or grass shooting up through everything. And then you use this contractor aggregate mix and then tamp it down, like Tom was saying.
TOM: And then you put the pavers on top of that and then lastly you put the sand on. The sand is really just going to fill in the gaps and keep the bricks from moving. But it really is not going to contribute to the longevity of the project. The base, when properly built up, is what’s going to contribute to the longevity in the biggest way.
HOLLY: OK, great. And that’s just – it’s just a gravel mix base?
TOM: Yeah. It’s an aggregate gravel mix base. It’s basically crushed gravel and …
LESLIE: They call it contractor number nine.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: So I usually do the number nine, tamp it down. Then I do a layer of sand, tamp it down. Then I put my pavers. Make sure they’re all level and perfect. And then I sweep sand over to go into all the gaps and nooks and crannies and secure everything.
TOM: Right, but the sand on top of the number nine is really just to give you sort of a base to place the bricks …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
HOLLY: Right.
TOM: … and keep it all nice and neat in place. OK, Holly.
HOLLY: That sounds great. Thank you so much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Craig in Texas, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you?
CRAIG: Yeah, I want to know what you can tell me about radiant heat barriers. Do they put them in your attic?
TOM: Well, radiant heat barriers are an effective way of reflecting – keeping some of that heat outside of your house. And the best way to understand a radiant heat barrier is to compare it to the foil that you often use when you pull something out of the oven, like a roast and you cover it with foil to keep it warm. Because the foil reflects the heat back into that space. And that’s what it kind of does for your attic. When installed correctly it will reflect the UV rays of the sun and the heat back outside so it sort of protects the home from overheating. In an area like Texas, it’s an excellent idea to put that in. And – because it is going to give you a clear savings on your cooling cost. The installation on it is the most important; even more important than the product. There’s a lot of good products out there but I will tell the installation, to make sure it’s done continuously, is really important. So spend a lot of time with good attention to detail to make sure the product does the job you intend for it to do.
Craig, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: We’re going to talk flooring with Susan in Michigan. What can we do for you?
SUSAN: Hi, I have a question about our basement or our downstairs. We have carpet down there now. When we built our house it was concrete and they attached a subfloor to that and we carpeted it and now we would like to get rid of the carpeting and we don’t know – we’ve been told different things on whether or not you can have tile or Pergo in a lower level basement. And we wanted to know what would be the best thing; if there is anything better than the other.
LESLIE: Well, how’s your flooring situation now? You got a lot of moisture down there? Is that rug in good shape? Because I had a carpet in my basement and we had a pretty heavy rainstorm and for some reason all that water found its way inside. And for the first time in the years that this house has been standing we had a flood. So, a carpet’s not exactly the best choice; though it does make it feel cozy. I do agree.
SUSAN: Yeah.
TOM: Yeah, but all the other flooring choices that you mentioned are excellent. You mentioned Pergo. That’s a laminate floor. We love laminate floors. It’s a perfect floor for a basement. Second to that, if you want to have hardwood, you can, in fact, put hardwood floor in the basement but you can’t put solid hardwood. What you would be installing …
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) It has to be engineered.
TOM: … is engineered hardwood, which is sort of a laminated hardwood. It’s sort of like plywood where different layers of hardwood are built up. Frankly, once it’s in, you won’t be able to visually tell the difference between that and solid. But because it’s laminated it’s dimensionally stable. So those are also good flooring options and, you know, ceramic tile works as well.
LESLIE: The thing you’re going to have the most problem with is the carpeting you’ve got there now.
TOM: Yeah, you’ve got to get that up.
SUSAN: OK. That’s going to be hard to get up?
TOM: If it was glued down it would be. Sometimes those basement carpets are glued down. If it’s just regular wall-to-wall then it shouldn’t be as much of an issue.
SUSAN: And then if my husband wanted to do the engineered hardwood, is that something that they sell at the big box stores or you have to …
TOM: Yes. Yes, it’s absolutely available. And in fact, there’s a new product out from Armstrong Floors that’s called a locking hardwood that’s pretty cool.
LESLIE: And it snaps together quite easily.
TOM: Yeah, it doesn’t even need any glue or nails or staples or anything.
SUSAN: OK.
TOM: Just like goes together like a puzzle piece.
SUSAN: OK, great. Alright, well thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome, Susan. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Well, if you’re looking for a house, great for you because it is a buyer’s market out there right now. But the biggest challenge is for the sellers and that is how to get those potential buyers in your front door. Well up next, we’re going to tell you how to make your front entry so appealing and attractive that it’s going to be your biggest selling point.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This segment of The Money Pit is sponsored by Angie’s List. Need work done around your house and don’t know who to call? You don’t have to guess who’s good and who’s not. Angie’s List has thousands of unbiased reports on local service companies with details from real member experience. Call 888-944-5478. Or visit AngiesList.com.
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: Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT with your home improvement question; your do-it-yourself dilemma. Whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re working on, start here with a phone call to 888-MONEY-PIT whether it’s inside or outside.
LESLIE: Yeah, and maybe what you’re working on is selling your house or at least trying to get your house ready for the market. And if you’re doing that you’re knowing that selling a home is not actually the easiest thing to do these days. There’s lots of inventory and it’s making this a real buyer’s market. So how do you take advantage of that and draw those buyers in? Well, with lots of curb appeal, including a great front entry door.
TOM: It’s an excellent investment and it can add tons of perceived value to your home, for which you might be saying, ‘What exactly, Tom, is perceived value?’ Well, to explain is Sarah Tyce (sp)from Therma-Tru Doors.
Hi, Sarah.
SARAH: Hi, guys.
TOM: Now, you recently completed a study which had some fascinating results about the value changing just your front entryway has on what’s called perceived value. Talk to us about that.
SARAH: Yes, we commissioned an independent research organization and they looked at just upgrading a simple – you know, your standard six-panel door to a nicer, more dramatic entryway using decorative glass. And we found that just that simple improvement can have an increase of over $24,000 to the perceived value of the home.
LESLIE: So by just looking at the door on the outside of the house you imagine that the inside is finished or refined to a certain level? Is that what you’re implying?
SARAH: Just the exterior.
LESLIE: Just the exterior. But it makes you want to sort of come inside and take a look because you’re thinking, ‘Wow, if this outside looks so fantastic I wonder what the inside looks like, right?’
SARAH: Exactly. And with today’s saturated market, if you don’t get someone in the door they’re never going to see your new kitchen or bathroom. So …
TOM: The theory is you can judge a book by its cover with the cover being the front door.
Now, you guys did this in sort of a blind way, which was kind of interesting. As I understand it – and correct me if I’m wrong – you created artists’ illustrations of homes that were the exact same house but with different entryways – sort of standard to elaborate entryways – and showed these to focus groups that actually estimated what the cost of the home was based on that picture. Is that correct?
SARAH: Exactly. We actually took two separate groups of consumers. So there was no bias. We took that away. And we just asked them, ‘OK, what do you think this particular home is worth?’ and then we compared the values that way.
TOM: That’s pretty cool. So let’s say you want to put a front entryway on to your house, where do you begin? Is it something that is a do-it-yourself project? Is it something that requires a professional contractor or does it really depend on how complicated the project is?
LESLIE: Yeah, and how do you know what the limitations are?
SARAH: (chuckling) So many questions. And it is quite a cumbersome process because you have to think about it and plan ahead. I would say to your first question, Tom, that it depends. If you’re a very skilled do-it-yourselfer you might be able to tackle it. But most times we recommend that you engage a contractor.
And then secondly, you’re going to want to measure the height and width of your opening. So sometimes people want to add decorative glass to the sidelights which are on the side of the door or the transom above the door but they might be limited by ceiling height or lighting fixtures; that type of thing. So you have to know what opening you can work with.
And then, take a look at the architectural style of your home. That’s going to help you narrow the choices because there are so many choices out there. For example, Therma-Tru has an American Style collection that compliments the craftsman or bungalow style homes. We just have a whole series that play well with different style homes.
LESLIE: And it really is so important to match the entry to the style of the home. With so many options, how do you choose what building material is right for you? Do you go with traditional wood or do you go more towards the more modern fiberglass?
SARAH: That’s the beauty of fiberglass. Because we offer all the benefits of wood and steel but with much stronger performance. So you can have the wood grain, detailing and the curb appeal but it’s lower maintenance and it’s durable and it’s also five times the energy efficiency of wood.
TOM: And I would imagine it’s also a lot more secure. You want your door to be very secure. And wood – you know, the more work you do to it by putting in the handles and the locks and things like that, you essentially weaken the door. Does that also happen with fiberglass?
SARAH: Absolutely not. No. In fact, we offer lots of different upgrades including our Multi-Point locking system. That’s going to engage the door frame at three points instead of just the standard strike plate in the middle. We also have an adjustable strike plate that’s going to resist up to 450 pounds of forced entry.
TOM: Now I imagine that this is also good for storm resistance because a fiberglass door is going to be tougher; especially if you live, say, in the hurricane belt.
SARAH: Yes. In fact, we just launched, this year, our Tru-Defense system, which is basically a high-performance series of components. A lot of homeowners aren’t aware that a door is much more than a door. It’s actually a series of components that are designed to work together. So we offer the best performance system on the market; designed just for that; just to stand up to Mother Nature’s worst.
TOM: Now, how do you actually test that, Sarah? Is it independently rated?
SARAH: Yes. That particular system was accredited by the – it’s called NAMI; the National Accreditation Management Institute.
LESLIE: And is this the test where they’re launching 2x4s at the door to see what it’s resistance and how well [its stand up is] (ph)?
SARAH: That’s part of it. Part of the Tru-Defense program is an impact-rated glass which also takes that missile test that you just talked about. But it’s mainly air and water infiltration. So they go through a series. I mean they just beat up on these doors to see if – basically, to ward against leaks.
TOM: We’re talking to Sarah Tyce from Therma-Tru Doors. You mentioned before there are a lot of choices. But you have a tool on your website I want to point out that’s really handy. It’s an interactive door design. It really helps you kind of narrow down what options you’re most interested in. And then, after you choose that, using the door designer tool, can you order the door and have it made and pick it up somewhere locally?
SARAH: We have a nationwide program through Lowe’s. So you can design your door on our website and either print it our or save the style number; take it a Lowe’s or your local wholesale dealer as well.
TOM: Sarah Tyce from Therma-Tru, thanks for stopping by The Money Pit.
Therma-Tru doors are available through distributors, lumber yards and home centers. For more information you can visit them online at ThermaTru.com or call them at 1-800-ThermaTru.
LESLIE: Alright. Well, we know that you love those cool high-tech gadgets. But did you ever think that you’d be using those super high-tech things, like infrared technology, on your roof? Well, we’re going to tell you how it can save you substantial overhead, right after this.
(promo/theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Ryobi, manufacturer of professional feature power tools and accessories with an affordable price for the do-it-yourselfer. Ryobi power tools. Pro features, affordable price. Available exclusively at The Home Depot. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: It’s where work and fun meet. This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. And you know we here at The Money Pit love to give away prizes. That’s why, if you give us a call right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT we are giving you a chance to win a Grillaxation prize package from our friends at Reynolds Wrap. It’s worth more than 100 bucks and it’s got everything you need to have a super-fun barbecue. There’s a platter; an apron; grilling spices; teak tools; recipes; all sorts of stuff to make sure that you have a fun time when you’re grillaxing. Plus, if you feel like it and you visit Grillaxation.com, I’m doing this fun contest, Tom, with Reynolds Wrap this summer where …
TOM: I saw you. You kind of dance across the screen (Leslie chuckles) and tell people how to make over the backyard.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) And it was in front of a green screen so I look really, really skinny (Tom chuckles) which makes me happy. But if you enter in at Grillaxation.com, every weekend over the summer they’re giving away $5,000 towards a backyard makeover plus a chance to win a design consultation with me and a new grill. So it’s pretty fun. So if you don’t win today, enter there.
TOM: So call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT and you could win the Grillaxation package from Reynolds Wrap and Leslie.
LESLIE: Whee! I love being a prize.
TOM: Maybe you’re working on a roof issue this year. You know, roofs and roof leaks; it’s one of the top 10 questions that we are regularly asked about on the program. And there is a new way to detect a roofing problem. Professionals are now using noninvasive, infrared cameras to perform roof inspections.
LESLIE: And how does that work?
TOM: Well, different roofing materials have different thermal masses. And so an infrared exposes these trouble spots by the amount of heat they detect. They can actually tell when there’s a gap or a break or a leak. And they’re extremely accurate. They can pinpoint very small leaks before they become big ones and they can keep the repair bills out of the red. If you want more tips on roof inspections, hiring a roofing contractor or how to roof your house and the new high-tech products that are available to roof your house, you can visit GraceAtHome.com. It’s a website put together by our friends at Grace Construction Products, who do a lot to keep your roof leak free. That’s GraceAtHome.com.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Donna in Georgia, what’s going on in your kitchen?
DONNA: I tried to clean one side of a kitchen cabinet which is golden oak. It had some stains on it and I had tried other cleaners and it didn’t work. So I thought, ‘Well, I’ll try oven cleaner.’ It worked but it didn’t do right.
TOM: (chuckling) OK.
DONNA: It took the stain out but it darkened my cabinet.
TOM: Yeah, that’s pretty rough stuff. I mean that’s – you’re going to have a chemical reaction with the finish on it that can definitely cause a color change. Right now I think that you’ve probably physically stained it and you’re going to have to look at refinishing options.
LESLIE: How big is the darkened area on the cabinet?
DONNA: OK. You know, over my surface unit I had cabinets built double door …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
DONNA: … facing each other. So it’s just one of those cabinet doors. Thank goodness it’s the smallest door.
LESLIE: OK, so the whole surface of the door has a variety of darkened stains on it.
DONNA: Right.
LESLIE: Just that one door. You want to take that door down and make sure you leave either the hinges on the door or on the cabinet itself. And you need to strip off the existing stain. You can use a chemical stripper. There’s some good ones that work. One that I’ve used, in fact, on my own kitchen cabinets is Rock Miracle. It goes on kind of thick and you can actually watch it remove away the surface finish. And once you get down – you might have to do it once or twice – you use a stiff bristle brush to help get some of the problem areas where you might have some recessed panels and what not. But as soon as you get it down to some raw wood, just go over it lightly with a sanding sponge just to make sure it’s really clean. Then wipe it off really well and you should be able to match that stain perfectly. Just make sure you use one with a urethane coating that doesn’t yellow for the kitchen because the high moisture and the high grease in the air tends to cause that finish to yellow. So it should match no problem.
TOM: Donna, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Lynn in Utah, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you?
LYNN: What I’m calling about is that I have – first, it’s a new home and in it, as we picked out the tile, I didn’t want something incredibly shiny and so I picked out kind of a flat base. And now that we get in there, why it just – it looks like it’s dirty, kind of, all the time. And so, I’m wondering if there’s something I can put on that now to give it a little more shine. I’m just really unhappy with …
LESLIE: What are the tiles made out of, Lynn? Are they ceramic? Are they clay? What’s their story?
LYNN: I guess it would be ceramic. It’s just normal tile.
LESLIE: OK, so it’s a ceramic tile. And you went for like a satin or a matte finish?
LYNN: Yeah, something not totally shiny but something that gives it a luster.
TOM: Well, I mean the problem is you could put a floor wax on it or one of the floor waxing type products that they use on hard surface flooring. But it’s something that you’re going to have to, obviously, repeat very frequently.
LYNN: Do again and again, huh?
TOM: Yeah. There’s no real way to change the sheen on a ceramic tile. But it’s something that you’re going to have to repeat.
LYNN: Alright. But it – will it – it won’t hurt the tile or …
TOM: No, I don’t think it’ll hurt the tile. If it’s that new, have you sealed the grout yet, Lynn?
LYNN: I think my wife did seal the grout. I’m not absolutely …
TOM: I would make sure you seal the grout; especially before you start putting different floor cleaners on top of it. Because you can get an unpredictable result. So while it’s new, seal the grout joints; especially if it’s a sand-based grout. And then you could try some different products to see if you can find one that you’re really happy with.
LYNN: If I put that on and then I’m – you know, it doesn’t look right or something or it’ll be that long wearing off or …
TOM: No, and that’s – you know, that’s the blessing and the curse. If you like it, it’s going to wear off quickly. If you don’t like it it’ll probably stay on for longer than you want but it will wear off.
LYNN: (laughing) That’s true.
TOM: Alright, Lynn. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Up next, if you get your home’s water from a well, how do you know if it’s safe to drink? That is one of the e-mail questions we’re going to tackle after this.
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: From driveways to dormers, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Call us right now with your home improvement question at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: You know what? We’re always giving out the phone number …
TOM: Yes.
LESLIE: … and some people just don’t like to talk. Some people are more typers. Some people are kind of shy. (Tom laughs) And Tom and I will answer all of your questions how ever you want to give them to us. So, you know we’ve got a great website; it’s MoneyPit.com. While you’re there signing up for the e-newsletter or getting some information on a new project or something to do, go to ask Tom and Leslie and you can click there and it’ll send e-mails right to us and our team and we will get you the answers you need.
TOM: If you’d like to see what other folks are talking about and asking me about at any one time, you can also click on Tom on AOL. There’s a button right there on the homepage of MoneyPit.com. In fact, we get a lot of e-mails through the AOL blog and we do answer them sometimes here on the air. The AOL blog is located on the AOL real estate site. So why don’t we tackle one of those right now. It’s from Hank in Lafayette, Georgia.
LESLIE: Alright. Hank writes, ‘I know that people with municipal water can trust that their town is testing the quality of the drinking water for lead and other contaminants. Well, I have a well. Who’s responsible for testing this water? If I am, how do I do it?
TOM: Well, you would be, Hank, because you’ve got to drink it so you’ve got to test it. You know …
LESLIE: But that’s also a scary situation …
TOM: Well …
LESLIE: … because what if you just don’t realize you need to test it?
TOM: Well, you do need – so let us be the first to tell you. You’ve got to test your well water. If you don’t know the last time it was tested …
LESLIE: Then do it now.
TOM: … now would be a great time to do that. Now, the EPA has a great website that is the EPA’s private drinking water wells website. And I’m not going to give you the URL because like most things …
LESLIE: If you go to EPA.gov you can search it out.
TOM: Yeah, like most things in government, it’s too complicated to talk about on the air. (Leslie chuckles) So you can just go to EPA.gov and search on private drinking water wells; you’ll get this information. But basically, what you need to test for when you have a private well is coliform bacteria; nitrates; total dissolved solids; and pH levels. Those are the basic contaminants that you test for. There could be other things that you test for. You could test for lead. You could test for radon. You could test for other chemicals. That might be decided on a situational basis.
LESLIE: Yeah, but do you hire a pro or do you send a sample to a company somewhere?
TOM: A fine question. You know, there are water testing kits available but in the 20 years I spent as a home inspector I did learn that there is a finite time that you have from the time you collect a sample to the time it is actually processed by the lab. So I think my first preference would be to find a local water testing company that could collect a sample, because this way you know that it’s collected properly, and process that sample.
And there are situations – if you get a clear bill of health there are situations that would dictate you to repeat that test at least once a year. And that might be if someone in your household is pregnant or nursing; if there are any unexplained illnesses; if your neighbors find a dangerous contaminant in the water; if you note any kind in water taste, in odor, in quality or in clarity; or if you know that there’s been a spill of chemicals or fuels into or near your well. All good reasons to retest your water. But generally, if you test it once you should be good for a few years unless something else like that happens.
LESLIE: And you won’t have an Erin Brockovich situation on your hands.
TOM: (chuckling) Exactly.
This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: And if you are maybe not a do-it-yourselfer and you’re thinking about tackling one of these home improvement projects that we’ve been talking about …
LESLIE: Hey, sometimes even do-it-yourselfers hire people.
TOM: Well, that’s true. But maybe you want to hire a pro to do some portion of the otherwise do-it-yourself project. You might be wondering, ‘How do I find a good contractor?’ Well, next week on program we’re going to be talking about a new social networking site that helps you actually find a good contractor by reading the reviews of others who have had experiences with these contractors. It’s a pretty cool service. It’s called Angie’s List. We’re going to dig into it next week on the program.
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.
(theme song)
END HOUR 2 TEXT
(Copyright 2007 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.)
Leave a Reply