Show Notes
- Front Porches: Learn how porches are making a comeback for year-round living space and outdoor relaxation.
- Window Air Conditioners: Find out the right way to install a window air conditioner to cool your home quicker and more efficiently.
- Extending Roof Life: Instead of replacing them, there’s a way to restore dried-out asphalt roof shingles and extend the life of your roof.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about:
- Firepits: Katherine wants a homemade fire pit. We discuss options for portable metal fire pits and DIY kits to build a fire pit with bricks or pavers.
- Getting Rid of Spiders: Daddy long-leg spiders have taken over Will’s garage. We suggest natural repellents, sticky traps, and vacuuming up the spiders and nests.
- Whole House Fans: Instead of relying on ceiling fans and the AC fan, Marie gets information on installing a whole house fan to keep her house cool.
- Bathroom Venting: Butch needs to redirect a bathroom vent in his attic so that it goes outside the house. We’ve got tips on where to locate it.
- Jacuzzi Bathtub: Robin’s got multiple issues with her jacuzzi bathtub about mold in the pipes and faded fixtures. We have some answers to help.
- Rotten Egg Smell: Dave has a rotten egg smell in his house. It may be coming from a bad anode rod in his water heater or high sulfur content in the water.
- Moldy Odors: A den over the garage smells moldy after it rains. Gail needs to reduce moisture with better drainage and ventilation, plus a whole-house dehumidifier.
- Water Treatment: Recurring rust stains on a concrete pool deck may be coming from iron in the groundwater that pools on the surface. Doug should put an iron filter in his sprinkler system to reduce the deposits and stains.
- Replacement Windows: What type of window is best: vinyl, wood, or composite? Ellie’s first priority should be finding the most energy-efficient windows before choosing the material.
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 0:00:33 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:00:38 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:00:39 | TOM: And we are here to help you take on the projects you want to get done around your house. So as you look around at your four walls, or maybe you got a lot more walls outside the house and you got your houses built, but as you stair those walls outside or in and all the things that are on them and in them and through them, there’s got to be a project that you’d like to get done, something that’s really been bugging you, but you don’t have the knowledge, the skill set, the time to get going on it. Well, let’s talk it over because I’m sure that we can help. We can save your time. We could save you money. We can tell you what to ask for hiring a pro for it. But you got to reach out and help yourself first by calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit. Or better yet, go to moneypit.com/ask and click the blue microphone button for the fastest possible response. Coming up on today’s show, with all the frenzy of modern life, are you longing for the days of past when you just sat outside and chatted with neighbors and enjoyed a nice cold drink and a rocker? Well, Porches is where all of that happens, and they’re actually making a big comeback. We’re going to share some details just ahead. |
| 0:01:37 | LESLIE: And do you have rooms in your house that are just too hot all of the time? Well, if you’re using window air conditioners, we’ve got some simple tips for installing those units that can help cool your house a lot faster. |
| 0:01:48 | TOM: And if your roof is more than ten or 15 years old, you might be thinking that it’s going to be time to replace it soon. We’re going to share a way that you can extend the life of that roof for at least five years at a cost. That’s about 80% less than a roof replacement. |
| 0:01:59 | LESLIE: And if you need some help with a renovation or perhaps a repair or a big decor project or maybe a huge project, well, whatever it is, we here at the Money Pit, we want to help you make those projects go very smoothly. We’re here to help you create your best home ever and tackle all of those two do’s with confidence. |
| 0:02:18 | TOM: So reach out with those questions right now to 1-888-MoneyPit. That’s 888-666-3974. Go to moneypit.com/ask. |
| 0:02:27 | LESLIE: We’ve got Katherine in Delaware on the line who’s got a question about a fire pit. How can we help you today? |
| 0:02:32 | CALLER: Well, I’d love to have a homemade fire pit in my back yard, and I don’t want to buy a metal one. Don’t get rusty, right? |
| 0:02:38 | TOM: Yeah, they do. But they last a heck of a long time. You know, I did not want to put a built in fire pit in my back yard because I didn’t want to have to deal with it in the off seasons. It would be hard to shovel around and that sort of stuff when the snow hits. So I actually personally have been using a metal fire pit for many years. And, you know, I find that they last, gosh, 5 to 8 years before they start to show anywhere in tear. So I’m not afraid to use a metal fire pit. But I can tell you that if you want to do a brick fire pit or a paver brick fire pit, there’s lots of options right out there. One company that makes a kit for it is Rumble Stone. It’s the Pave Stone Company. And these Rumble Stone pavers, they’ll sell you basically all the all the bricks that you need, the rumble stone or sort of like rough, a rough, beautiful colored stone that you assemble into a circle pattern. And then the way they design it, there’s a metal like sort of liner that drops right into the stone, and that’s where you build your fire. So you can do it yourself, but you could also purchase a fire pit. Depends on, you know, what look you are going for and how long you want to last. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. |
| 0:03:46 | CALLER: Thank you. I will. Bye bye. |
| 0:03:48 | LESLIE: All right. Now we’re heading down to Florida, where Will is dealing with some unexpected visitors. Daddy longlegs spiders. How can we help you? |
| 0:03:56 | CALLER: Hot in the garage and there’s a lot of daddy longlegs. I tried spraying a couple of different things inside the garage, and they seem to keep coming back, and I don’t know how to get rid of them. |
| 0:04:07 | TOM: Okay, well, I mean, I can give you a recipe for sort of a natural way to deter them. And that is if you take a cup of white vinegar and a third cup of vanilla extract, if you put that in a spray bottle and you shake it and spray the areas where the daddy longlegs have been spotted indoors and out, that smell, that combination of the vinegar and vanilla is really offensive to them and it will repel the insects without you having any additional toxins to your environment. The other thing to do is sort of basic cleaning in the sense that when you see that the spiders and the nest make sure you’re vacuuming them up, that’s the easiest way to get rid of them and to keep that space as dry as you can. And then finally, you could use sticky traps as well. Sticky traps, If you lay them where you start to see them collect, they will get stuck to them and they won’t go any further. So there are a few ways for you to deal with it. Does that help? |
| 0:05:05 | CALLER: Oh, yeah. That sounds great. |
| 0:05:06 | TOM: All right. Excellent. Well, good luck with the project. |
| 0:05:08 | LESLIE: Now we’ve got Marie from Ontario on the line who’s got a ceiling fan. Question What’s going on at your money Pit? |
| 0:05:14 | CALLER: Well, actually, I’m in a one for one. Just four ranch. Okay, Three ranch, No basement, Just a good concrete crawl space that’s insulated. No problem down there, my friends, is down there. But I would like to know, please, is it financially better off to use ceiling fans and just have the fan on my it my air conditioner fan on or run the air conditioner itself? |
| 0:05:38 | TOM: Okay. I’m going to give you a different answer than that because I wouldn’t I wouldn’t say that the ceiling fans are decorative in my view, and they’re not necessarily an efficient way to move air through your house. But I’ll tell you what is and that’s called a whole house fan. So where you have a fan that’s basically mounted, you said you have a ranch that would be mounted in the ceiling probably of the hall, and it will take air from the house and it will pull it up into the attic. And then you enlarge the vents in your attic to make sure it can exhaust that air. And whenever it gets a little bit thick outside, a little bit uncomfortable, what you do is you open a window, a couple of windows or doors each end of the house, and you run that that whole house fan. If you run it even in a low speed, it will pull a really nice breeze through the house. And what that does is it has the effect of delaying how much your air conditioning you actually have to use. You know, I had one in the house that I owned when we first got married, and it was great because we would turn on just the low speed in the evening and go to bed. And by the time we fell asleep, the fan went off and the evening had gotten much cooler and we were comfortable for the whole night. So I think a whole House fan in terms of comfort is a better option than ceiling fans. And in terms of the air conditioner itself, you know, I think if you were to limit the amount of time you used it because you could trade off between the whole house and the ceiling fan, you’re going to save money on your AC too. |
| 0:06:57 | CALLER: I meant like my friend’s fan itself, not using the AC, my furnace fan. |
| 0:07:01 | TOM: Oh, your furnace fan yet. Furnace fan is definitely. That definitely does not make sense to use. That’s very expensive way to move air through your house. So. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Same answer. A different fan, but same answer. |
| 0:07:14 | CALLER: So the best situation and the best solution would be to put all the fan in the hall. |
| 0:07:19 | TOM: The whole house through that. And don’t confuse this with an attic fan. I’m not talking about the little round silver duck. It is a whole house fan. And it’s a it’s a quite large footprint. It’s usually about two foot in diameter, maybe a little bit more, depending on the size you buy. And it has a set of baffles that that are like or louvers that lay flat and we turn them on. They generally open up and they pull a nice breeze through the house. It’s really marvelous. |
| 0:07:45 | CALLER: Oh, wow. Well, thank you so much. I don’t mean to be ignorant, but, you know. |
| 0:07:51 | TOM: No, no, no, you can’t possibly be. |
| 0:07:53 | CALLER: And I do listen to you. Any chance I can. Any chance I can. |
| 0:07:58 | TOM: And I want to say that when we called you, you said you do call people back. How about that? Yes, we do. |
| 0:08:05 | CALLER: And I greatly appreciate that. Thank you. So it’s called whole house. Whole house. |
| 0:08:09 | TOM: Whole house. A whole house fan. |
| 0:08:13 | CALLER: Like the whole thing. Okay, great. Well, God bless you. Thank you. Good luck. Be safe. Bye bye. |
| 0:08:21 | LESLIE: Do you love learning about home improvement on our podcast? Well, we love bringing you all the latest tips and tricks. |
| 0:08:26 | TOM: And if you want to make us smile, leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, just go to MoneyPit.com/review. |
| 0:08:34 | LESLIE: Which in Texas is on the line right now with the Money Pit and has a question about bathroom venting. |
| 0:08:39 | CALLER: What’s going on? I listened to you guys every week and you solve a lot of my problems that I had with my Money Pit just listening. |
| 0:08:48 | TOM: But well, we’re glad we can help you out. What’s going on with this bathroom? |
| 0:08:52 | CALLER: I’m getting ready to put the home on the market, and I had a home inspector come out and he noted that the bathroom off the kitchen that’s directly into the attic. |
| 0:09:07 | TOM: Okay. So we’re talking about the plumbing vent pipe. Are we talking about the bathroom fan? |
| 0:09:13 | CALLER: The bathroom fan. Okay. And he said that needed to go directly to the outside. Yep. Okay. If I were able to run some flex pipe, like you would put on a dryer and send it out directly to the wind turbine, or do I need to have someone come out and cut a hole in the roof and send it that way? |
| 0:09:41 | TOM: So first of all, that wind turbine that you’re describing is not a very good attic vent. They’re famously ineffective. They look great because they spin, they make noise, but they don’t really do a great job venting the attic. So I certainly wouldn’t just position a draw, an exhaust duct near that. The best way to vent this would be to go to the nearest exterior wall. So if this is like a traditional gable roof, you can use that triangle shape sort of and wall of the roof structure and then have it vented out right through the siding. There is a piece of venting material that’s designed to go in the wall and not be and not leak. There’s also a vent that’s designed for a roof. So you can either have one put in the roof or have one put in the sidewall. And that’s really the best way to do that. The other thing that you could possibly do, and some people do this, although I’m not a big fan of it, if you happen to have large soffit vents, you could take that duct and run it over towards the soffit, just sort of point it down towards the vent. But the problem is that if you don’t have moisture and humidity, especially in the winter, you’re going to get a lot of conversation on the wood right above it and that can cause rot. So the best option is to take it right out through the sidewall or through the roof. But as to the idea of just sort of leaving it dangling near that turbine, then I don’t think that’s going to work very well. |
| 0:10:57 | CALLER: Okay. I looked at my local home improvement store and they had some of the flex venting units, but it said that they were not made to run more than like 30 feet maximum. |
| 0:11:12 | TOM: Well, how many feet do you have to go? I mean, that’s pretty far. |
| 0:11:15 | CALLER: Well, unfortunately, to take it to the ends, gable on the roof where you know, how they traditionally at each end of the roof, there’s a vent. |
| 0:11:30 | TOM: Yeah, there’s a vent. |
| 0:11:30 | CALLER: Right. That’s about 40 feet away both ways. |
| 0:11:34 | TOM: So your house is 80 feet long. |
| 0:11:35 | CALLER: It’s off the kitchen, So it’s about 40 feet from well looked. |
| 0:11:40 | TOM: And I don’t think that’s a good option. I think you should go up through the roof. |
| 0:11:42 | CALLER: All right. |
| 0:11:43 | TOM: Have a roof and put in to exhaust the dryer. They make them it’s a certain configuration event. And then what I would use as metal flex dock. Or you could use solid duct to you know, you don’t have to use flex duct. And I guess if you did want to go out to the gable, you could use solid enough to now you can buy that actually is sold flat in sections that are about six feet long and then it rolls and locks together and becomes around docks and you can connect those several of those together and have a long straight run of metal duct. |
| 0:12:14 | CALLER: Thank you both so much. |
| 0:12:16 | TOM: Well, are you looking for a little extra square feet for storage or relaxation or maybe even for an entertainment center or a guest bed? Well, the surprise solution might already be right under your nose and on your roof. It’s a porch. |
| 0:12:29 | LESLIE: You know, porches are making a huge comeback. They’re showing up in a growing number of new constructions. And if they only make you think of the olden days, well, think again. Now, new porches are being equipped with radiant heat panels in the flooring glare proof mesh instead of traditional screens and other features that not only make them comfortable but fit for a year round use. |
| 0:12:50 | TOM: Now, if you’re not building a new home anytime soon, but you want to get in on the trend, screening in an existing deck is a great way to get that much needed extra space or to just extend your day to day living outdoors options. And once you do, you can consider a variety of weatherproofing features that allow for televisions, for couches, for other unexpected touches on your porch. |
| 0:13:12 | LESLIE: Yeah, and you know what extra seating could be called for? Two porches are great for introducing you to neighbors that you might not have met otherwise. But before you invite anyone up, make sure your porch is structurally sound, weatherproof, and ready for its revival. |
| 0:13:26 | TOM: Yeah, that’s a great point because remember, porches are not really built the way the foundation of your house is built. So very often they’re going to sag and sort of lean away from the house. So if you’re seeing that sort of thing, have it checked out to make sure it’s structural before you start investing more money on sort of the cosmetic ends of it. And you can get more tips on repairing everything from porch doors to floors and railings and money. Pit tor.com just search porch repair. |
| 0:13:51 | LESLIE: Robert in Missouri is looking to relax, but that’s not happening with mold in the Jacuzzi. What’s going on? |
| 0:13:57 | CALLER: We have this large bathtub jacuzzi and it has a marble stairs and trim around it, and it’s a beautiful jacuzzi. But I noticed that the pipe there was like, I don’t know if it’s like mold coming out of the lot. It’s when we got the house and set for a while and. And then we filled it up and put Palmolive dishwashing liquid in it, you know, tried to clean it out and so on. |
| 0:14:30 | TOM: And she got very sudsy when you did that. |
| 0:14:32 | CALLER: That’s what they said to do in any way. We also got it glazed or painted, you know, as they usually say, and it kind of faded off. And we had the fixtures painted too, and we thought the people that were doing it were really reputable. But now the fixtures, you know, where the jets are, the rings are on the Jets. |
| 0:14:54 | CALLER: And so on, the paint’s kind of fading and. |
| 0:14:58 | TOM: All right. So it sounds to me like we’re talking about two issues here. Number one, you have some sort of growth that’s been inside the internal plumbing system of this jetted tub. And secondly, the finish has faded and you had it restored some time ago and the finish is starting to fade and chipping and so on. So let’s tackle the second one first. It’s very, very hard to refinish a plumbing fixture. I could tell you that right now there is a way to do it. It’s extremely caustic. I don’t even know if you could do it to Jetted Tub, which is usually a fiberglass type material. It’s hard, very hard to do when it’s a, you know, cast iron the tubs and sinks that folks love to restore, which is a very, very caustic process. And then the products that they sell that you can sort of paint over them, you know, don’t have nearly the life expectancy that you would hope for in terms of whatever may be going on in the internal plumbing system. You know, what I have often advised over the years is to use a bleach solution. So if you were to fill that tub up and, you know, run, if you had a big tub and you run a half gallon or a gallon of bleach through it, through those jets, you know, that’s going to help the sanitize anything that’s growing in there. So it was my tub. I’d probably fill it up with hot water, throw in some bleach and let the thing run for a while. I would put anything sudsy in there because, you know, there’s a reason that dishwasher detergent, for example, doesn’t suds up. It’s designed to do that. But if you put dishwasher, if you would just soap in there, it’s going to suds up like crazy. But I think all you really need is hot water and some bleach to sanitize it. And that might do a pretty good job of cleaning it. And I know that the jetted tub industry have other special products that they sell for the very same reason. But I think it’s important to do that because you don’t want them growing in the internal plumbing and then, you know, potentially making someone react of having an allergic reaction or making them sick or something. So I would definitely want to clean that out. So I know that’s not the answer. You want to hear about the painted surface, but it is certainly the way to sanitize the internal plumbing system of it. |
| 0:16:54 | CALLER: Okay. Yeah, that’s why I never used that tub. |
| 0:16:57 | TOM: I just didn’t have a good feeling for the right reason. So. So why don’t you give it a shot, though? See if we can clean this thing out. And if we start to see this rolling, it’s consistently, you know, shooting out some clean water. Maybe we feel better about Drop it into it. Nice. Now and again. Okay. |
| 0:17:13 | CALLER: What about the jet fixtures on it and the tub itself? How do I get that glazed type finish off of it. |
| 0:17:22 | TOM: Well, if you’re talking about the plumbing fixtures like the Fosse, the spout and that sort of thing, those you would simply have to replace if you’re talking about the body of the tub and you’ve already refinished it once, there’s not going to be much you can do about that. It’s just going to be the wear and tear of that’s that of that particular appliance from now on out. |
| 0:17:38 | CALLER: Okay. So I probably just replace it. |
| 0:17:41 | TOM: Yeah, well that would solve everything, wouldn’t it. |
| 0:17:44 | CALLER: Yeah. All right. Well, thank you very much. |
| 0:17:46 | TOM: You’re welcome. Good luck with that project. Thanks for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. |
| 0:17:51 | LESLIE: Dave in Iowa has got an issue at his Money Pit where something smells a little stinky like rotten eggs. What’s going on? |
| 0:17:58 | CALLER: Oh, well, I just bought a farmhouse about three or four years ago, and I have this rotten egg smell in my house all the time. And I also my sinks and my toilets and my bathtubs are all rusty. I was wondering if you have any ideas for me. I do have a water softener. |
| 0:18:22 | TOM: So first of all, the rotten egg smell usually happens because of a bad anode in the water heater itself. That’s a rod that’s immersed into the water and over time it deteriorates. And if you have a bad anode, it can be removed and replaced without replacing the entire water here. The other potential cause of this is the water quality itself. But is this well water? |
| 0:18:50 | CALLER: Yeah, this is glass water. |
| 0:18:52 | TOM: So have you had it tested lately to see, you know, among other things, what the sulfur content is? |
| 0:18:57 | CALLER: No, I. |
| 0:18:57 | TOM: Haven’t. So I would be smart to do that. And in this way, you want to make sure that nothing has changed, that you’re not aware of in terms of the quality of the water. But typically it’s because of a problem with the water heater that leads to that odor. Now, in terms of the rusty fixtures, you know, that’s just going to be wear and tear. That’s going to have nothing to do with the water quality. For the most part, it’s not going to do it. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Well, yes, some rooms in your house that are just too hot like all the time. If you’re using a window air conditioner to make your home comfortable, installing that AC in the right way can actually make it more efficient and helpful. Your house a heck of a lot faster. |
| 0:19:39 | LESLIE: Yeah. You know, first of all, you need to pick the right size for the room that you need it for, and you can use a sizing calculator to help you do that. Now, most manufacturers have these on their websites. If you can install the window, AC in a window on the shady side of the house, the cooler, the area that that AC is located in, the less work it actually has to do to cool the warm air in your house. |
| 0:19:59 | TOM: Yeah, that’s right. That’s why installing them on the north side of the east side of the house is always better than the south or the west. Now, you also need to be sure to close storm windows on the remaining windows. These can help keep warm drafts from adding to the heat load the house in the summer in just the same way that they keep rooms warmer by blocking cold air in the winter works both ways. |
| 0:20:20 | LESLIE: And lastly, don’t forget to fill the gap between the lower and the upper window with a foam gasket. This is going to help keep that cool air inside the house and also keep those bugs from making their way in from the outside. Gail in Massachusetts is on the line and suspects that there could be mold afoot at the Money Pit. |
| 0:20:36 | LESLIE: What’s going on? |
| 0:20:37 | CALLER: My then has a moldy kind of smell to it, but mostly after it rains. And I don’t know if there’s a device that can be used to put it up against the device, against the wall, to see if there’s any moisture or mold or anything like that. |
| 0:20:53 | TOM: So your den smells damp after it rains. Okay. How is your den constructed? Is it on a concrete slab or is it on a crawl space or a basement? |
| 0:21:02 | CALLER: It’s right above my garage. |
| 0:21:03 | TOM: Well, you’re probably getting a lot of humidity from that garage. It’s working its way up into that space. So it’s not totally surprising. I think necessarily what you’re smelling is mold. It could be some old in there, but I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion. It might just be the dampness and the humidity as it passed through the building materials. You getting up in that space and just leaving some odors behind. I think ventilation is a solution for here and probably better air conditioning and perhaps even some dehumidification. You have a central air conditioning system. |
| 0:21:35 | CALLER: I do. |
| 0:21:36 | TOM: So there’s a whole home dehumidifier that can be added to that that will speed up the amount of moisture that it will take out because, you know, air conditioners will take out moisture. But what happens is they tend to not take out enough. And sometimes you can still feel kind of clammy, but a whole house dehumidifier does it all and it’ll take out I mean, most whole house dehumidifiers can take out like 100 quarts of water a day and that can be built right into the system. |
| 0:22:00 | LESLIE: And you know what? The other ones rely on the owner to empty them, make sure it’s set to the right. You made a start. You know, it’s much better to have the whole house one. |
| 0:22:08 | CALLER: Yeah, Yeah, because I have one in my basement right now that I keep emptying. |
| 0:22:12 | TOM: Yeah, That’s way too much work. You don’t have to do that. And by the way, the fact that you have moisture in the basement and you have this up above the garage, you may want to look at just generally speaking, all of the drainage sources around the outside of your house. Because if your gutters are clogged, if you downspouts aren’t extended away, if the soil around the house is too flat, you’re basically holding a lot of water against that foundation perimeter. And that could be a problem because that’s going to lead to dampness, humidity and potentially even flooding. |
| 0:22:39 | CALLER: Oh, okay. So we don’t really have a water problem in our basement. But I’m wondering if the so if I just make sure the gutters like. |
| 0:22:47 | TOM: Well, let me just stop you right there. The fact that you have to use a dehumidifier, the collection of water that has to be dumped, that is a water problem. Okay. You’re just not seeing yet. Okay. So you do have a water problem. You just don’t know it. |
| 0:22:59 | CALLER: Yeah. Yeah. And I’m also the washer and dryer in the closet of the dam, and I didn’t know whether it was just recently installed. And so I didn’t know whether that was kind of a problem. And it almost smells like part of the bathroom. |
| 0:23:13 | TOM: Yeah, I think you got to stop chasing these smells down and start dealing with the core issue, which is the high humidity and the moisture. I think that’s going to solve it. All right. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. |
| 0:23:26 | LESLIE: Doug in Florida is on the line with a question about a patio. What’s going on at your Money Pit? |
| 0:23:30 | CALLER: I’ve got a concrete deck around a lot of deck area around my pool. And when it rains, wherever I’ve got patio furniture, it creates rust stains. And also where the ladders and the handrails come out of the pool. There’s always rough seas around that. And I use a product from Home Depot called Goof off that works great temporarily. It goes away immediately, but then it always seems to come back with time and like couple of weeks’ time. I wonder if there’s a permanent solution to get rid of those rust names. |
| 0:23:59 | TOM: So this is from rain. It’s not from the sprinklers. |
| 0:24:02 | CALLER: Well, it’s a combination. I’ve got it. I’ve closed the pool or the sprinkler zone here, and then I’ve got it on the edges from the sprinklers. |
| 0:24:09 | TOM: Also, it’s pretty common when it happens because of the sprinklers. And the only way to deal with that is to put some sort of a water filtration system on it that’s going to keep that iron out of the water. So it’s basically iron in the groundwater that is causing that rust deposit. And so it’s no surprise that it’s coming back in two weeks. It’s just continues to re accumulate in terms of the rust that occurs around the furniture or around the of the like the pool ladder. I’m thinking that that’s probably because water is collecting. They’re just draining down and kind of sitting in that area. That’s why it looks more obvious there, because I don’t think it’s rust. It’s actually forming in the furniture or the pool ladder because those would not be metals that are going to rust. So I think this is mostly what is actually in that groundwater that’s landing on that surface and causing this rust stained deposit to happen. And you’re right, goof off does work really super well for that. |
| 0:24:58 | CALLER: And there’s no real permanent solution then for it. I just keep using. |
| 0:25:02 | TOM: Yeah, exactly. I mean, you can’t stop Mother Nature unless with the sprinkler system, like I said, if you were to put an iron based filter in it, that would stop the iron deposits from getting it through the water and onto the patio surface. So that would have a big of impact on it. But of course, there’s an expense associated with. |
| 0:25:15 | CALLER: Right. Is that a filter that goes on like the pump that comes from the well. |
| 0:25:19 | TOM: Yes, exactly. Between the well and in the head. |
| 0:25:23 | CALLER: Is that something I can do myself or. |
| 0:25:25 | TOM: You know, it’s not terribly difficult if you are pretty handy with plumbing projects. |
| 0:25:31 | CALLER: Not so much, so. (laughter) |
| 0:25:35 | TOM: Want to have your sprinkler pro do that. |
| 0:25:37 | LESLIE: At least he’s honest. Doug’s honest. |
| 0:25:38 | CALLER: Thanks for your question. |
| 0:25:41 | TOM: All right. Well, yeah, good luck with that. You’re on the right track. Thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. |
| 0:25:46 | LESLIE: Well, if your roof is more than ten or 15 years old, you might be thinking that it’s going to be time to replace it soon. And you might be right. You know, as Roof’s age, the shingles dry out and lose their water resistant. See, now, this is especially true today because most shingles have less asphalt in them than ever before, which means they dry out all that much faster. So when that happens, the shingles need to be replaced, which gets pretty expensive. |
| 0:26:11 | TOM: Now is another option though, and that is called roof match. It’s a roof rejuvenation treatment that restores the flexibility and waterproofing protection of aging asphalt shingle roofs. And this can save you actually 80% over the cost of a traditional roof replacement. |
| 0:26:27 | LESLIE: Yeah, you know, roof maxes New technology uses natural plant based bio oil for a full asphalt shingle restoration, and that’s going to give shingles flexibility and instantly add five years of life to a new roof. |
| 0:26:39 | TOM: Yeah, it’s kind of like when you treat an older deck or driveway to give them a few more years roof. Max does something similar for asphalt shingle roofs only. They use a revolutionary new technology that soaks those old brittle shingles with millions of microbeads of natural bio oil to restore the flexibility and prepare them to better protect your home. Now, I witnessed this at my mom’s house down in Florida. She had a 15 year old roof, and I was there when the roof. Mack’s crew came and they applied the treatment. And man, what a huge difference it made and that flexibility. And they even had a building inspector, a local licensed building inspector certify that it had at least five more years of life left in it as a result of the treatment. |
| 0:27:15 | LESLIE: And those roofs take a lot of sun and a lot of beating down there in Florida. So that’s a huge improvement. Now, each roof max treatment comes with a five year flexibility guarantee with three treatments possible once every five years, Roof Max adds up to 15 years of added life to your asphalt roof. |
| 0:27:32 | TOM: To learn more, set up an appointment with your local roof. Max installer at roof Max icon That’s roof X ex-con. These guys can do a free assessment inside of your roof is a good candidate for roof rejuvenation. That’s roof. Max Emma Zacks.com. |
| 0:27:47 | LESLIE: Heading to Nebraska now, where Ellie’s on the line with a window question. What can we do for you today? |
| 0:27:51 | CALLER: I’m replacing a window in the lower level of our home, and I was wondering if you had an opinion as to what would be the best material for the window Vinyl Wood composite. |
| 0:28:04 | TOM: What kind of window do you have there now? Is it a standard sort of double hung window? |
| 0:28:08 | CALLER: No, it’s actually five windows in one. It’s nine foot, basically. But yeah. |
| 0:28:14 | TOM: My first point would be that you need to make sure you’re buying an energy efficient window, because with a space that big, you want to make sure that you’re using well-insulated glass. So I would only buy one that was Energy Star rated. And you want to make sure that the glass is going to have a low. I’m a 70 coating or a low e coating because what that does is that reflects the sunlight back out. So there’s an overheat in your house. Otherwise you’re going to heat that space up like a big old greenhouse with a nine foot window. In terms of the material itself, I think outside the house you want something that’s very, very weatherproof, like vinyl. And inside the house, depending on the window you buy, it can be wood or it could be vinyl. So if you look at a window, like a Henderson window, they have beautiful windows that are wood on the inside and vinyl on the outside kind of gives you the best of both worlds. But again, there are many different types of manufacturers out there. The most important thing is not as much of the material, but the certification to make sure that it’s an efficient window that’s going to perform well for you and last a long, long time. |
| 0:29:07 | CALLER: We will look for those energy ratings then. |
| 0:29:10 | TOM: All right. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. |
| 0:29:14 | LESLIE: Sarah Road and Team Money Pit saying I recently remodeled my kitchen, including adding a new stove. My problem is that now I seem to have more of a greasy film on everything after I cook. Is this a ventilation problem? Wood installing a better fan help? |
| 0:29:29 | TOM: You know, it might. So first of all, I wonder if your new stove is more powerful than your old stove. Because if that’s the case, and maybe you’re still using the old ventilation hood, I don’t know. It may not be big enough to take out the amount of heat and steam and oil and grease coming off that stove or maybe the stove hood that you put in isn’t installed properly or isn’t sized properly. You know, I’ve seen that these hoods, when they come out of the box, there’s usually a baffle that you have to move to get them to work, right? Depending on what they’re designed to do, whether they’re recirculating or whether they are a true exhaust fan. And if you don’t adjust the baffle properly, it may not be actually working to its fullest potential. So installation is definitely a concern. I would if I was your turn it fan on and see what kind of an updraft we have out of it. I mean you could take like a sheet of paper towel and hold it near the fan and see if this draws in really quick to the filter, which is where that exhaust is sort of going through. Give you a sense as to how much suction you have there. You can also look outside to make sure it’s not obstructed. It’s fully open at the vents, not blocked by a bird’s nest. That kind of thing does happen. And if not, if all of that stuff checks out right, and you don’t have a recirculating fan, well, then you might want to beef it up and get a bigger fan, a more powerful fan and have that installed. That’s just basically happening because you don’t have enough air moving from that kitchen to the outside. |
| 0:30:52 | LESLIE: And Sarah to have such a beautiful new kitchen and then have this problem. I’m so sorry. Hopefully you can pinpoint it and make those changes and get cooking in no time. |
| 0:31:00 | TOM: Well, fireplace is a welcome addition in the cold season, but the summer is just kind of this big brick hole, right? Well, it doesn’t have to be less. He’s got tips on how to spruce up that space in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie, we can’t fire up the fire, but we sure can spruce it up to look good, huh? |
| 0:31:17 | LESLIE: Yeah. I mean, you really can. And it’s sad because the fireplace is so lovely and so homey and just makes that living room feel complete in those cooler months. But in the summer, you’re just kind of staring at it. So here’s some ideas. You can do a lot of great things to dress it up and then incorporate it into that seasonal or even just your home’s regular decor. So think about replacing logs with a group of pillar candles. You can even find stylish candle holders. I’ve seen a Crate and Barrel. I’ve seen a Pottery Barn. They’re sort of staggered in height so that you can put those pillar candles on them. And it does this wonderful job of creating this fun dimensional landscape of candles or just go ahead and head to the craft store and buy pillar candles in assorted heights, assorted widths, and just kind of stagger them in there yourself. You don’t even have to light them. You can even better, but it’s just a great way to fill up that space and give it some dimension. Another thing is a collection of plants, nice greenery, something in there to just liven up that space. Ferns do well in shade and they really do add a beautiful punch of life to a room and then finally go the simple out. Think about getting a fireplace screen. You can get so many beautiful ones that are ornate or modern or shiny or more rustic, you know, whatever you like. There is a fireplace green out there for you. Or you could just make one with plywood and paint, personalize the screen with anything from a collage of images, stenciled patterns, family photos, you name it, make it personal. But there’s some great ways to really just dress up this otherwise dull spot for those summer months and have some fun with it, guys. |
| 0:32:48 | TOM: Okay, great ideas. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. Coming up next time on the program. While new home bass nearly doubled in size over the past 30 years, most older home bathrooms average about five by eight feet, but ripping out walls to increase that space isn’t the only way to make more room. We’re going to share ways to use the space to its fullest potential. For the very next edition of the Money Pit, I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:33:12 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:33:12 | TOM: So remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 0:33:15 | 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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