Show Notes
- Roof Inspection: Find out what’s included in a roof inspection to ensure peak performance.
- Pet-Friendly Home Improvements: From “ruff” to remarkable, get ideas for pet-friendly home improvements.
- Hybrid Sealants and Caulks: Choosing the right caulk is easy with hybrid sealants that work for every project.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about:
- Gardening: What kind of plants will grow best in shady areas? We tell Janna a few common shade-friendly plants and a nursery may have more options.
- Painting Cabinets: What preparation is needed to paint wood cabinets? Brian gets step-by-step advice on how to smooth, prime, and paint the surface.
- Carpenter Ants: Anna had a tree removed that was infested with carpenter ants and is worried they’ll now enter her home. We assure her it’s not likely to happen.
- Iron Railings: David needs to pour a cement footing for a new wrought iron rail. We offer an idea for an easy way to do it.
- Electrical Upgrades: Is it worth replacing a 150-amp electrical system with 200 amps? We tell Alice it’s unnecessary unless she’s using a lot more power.
- Building a Sandbox: Laurie wonders if she should be using something other than sand in her grandkids’ sandbox. All she needs is a cover to keep the sand clean and dry.
- Cleaning Garage Floor: Oops! Dennis dropped a container of roofing cement in his garage. It will take some work to scrape it off and he’ll probably need to restain the cement floor.
- Water Heaters: Mary is considering getting a tankless water heater, but we explain why she should switch to a heat pump water heater with a timer instead.
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 0:00:34 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:00:39 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:00:41 | TOM: And welcome to episode 2317. If you’re keeping track that’s a lot of shows 2317 times we have welcome you to this program and invited you to ask us your home improvement questions because that’s what we do. We love doing it. We love doing projects ourselves. We love helping others do projects. So if you’ve got a project in mind, you’re in the right place and all you got to do is participate by reaching out to us with those questions. Two ways to do that. You can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. That’s 80 888-666-3974. Or better yet, for the fastest possible response, go to moneypit.com/ask and click the blue microphone button coming up on today’s show. Summer is a season when roofs can get really dried out and crack, and when that happens, leaks will not be far behind. That’s why now is a really good time to do a roof inspection. We’ll tell you what that needs to include just ahead. |
| 0:01:34 | LESLIE: And also ahead, when you decide to bring home a family pet, there’s definitely a lot of changes to your home decor. However, shouldn’t be one of them. If you’re pondering any decorating or improvement projects, we’re going to have some tips to help make them more pet friendly. |
| 0:01:48 | TOM: And if you’ve ever walked the aisles of a home center looking for just the right type of caulk for a project, you know, the choices can be dizzying. We’re going to share a new hybrid product that simplifies that process. And it goes on easy and it less and less and less. |
| 0:02:02 | LESLIE: But first, do you have some home improvement questions? And maybe you just forgot who to ask. And, you know, you’re listening to us right now and you’re thinking, gosh, I should ask these people. Yes, you should ask us. We can help you save money time. You can avoid all those home improvement hassles that can slow you down on that road to your dream house. I know you’re thinking about all these wonderful projects, so let us give you a hand to get them done. |
| 0:02:24 | TOM: That number again is 188 money, but go to money. BET.com slash ask. Let’s get to it. |
| 0:02:30 | LESLIE: Janet in Arizona, Need some help gardening? What can we do for you? |
| 0:02:33 | CALLER: I live in Sedona, Arizona, which is and I live kind of up in a canyon area headed up towards Flagstaff here. And I have a really hard time getting any plants to grow around the very shady side of my house in kind of border boxes and things like that. And I’ve tried a few different, you know, a few different things. And just with no, not much luck. So I’m just wondering if you guys have any suggestions. |
| 0:03:00 | TOM: What have you tried? |
| 0:03:01 | CALLER: I’ve tried kind of like coleus. There’s pansies right now. I do actually have something called a still bee that’s kind of working there. |
| 0:03:13 | LESLIE: We try to hostas. |
| 0:03:15 | CALLER: Hostas? I don’t think I’ve tried, but. |
| 0:03:17 | TOM: About a copper plant. Have you ever seen a carver plant? They’re very beautiful. They’re like sort of a greenish red orange, kind of a plant with big leaves. |
| 0:03:25 | CALLER: Oh, nice. No, I haven’t heard of that one. I can look for that. Yeah, that would be great. |
| 0:03:30 | TOM: You said you tried. What about begonias? That’s a good shape. |
| 0:03:34 | CALLER: I think I’ve tried those in my hanging baskets, and they don’t do well either. Yeah. |
| 0:03:40 | TOM: Huh. Well, so this is going to be trial and error. You know, I know that Home Depot has a new garden club that they’re doing now. I’m out of the local stores and they’ve got some real experts that are associated with that. So that might be a good place or just, you know, go to a local nursery and see what they recommend. |
| 0:03:57 | CALLER: Yeah, okay. |
| 0:03:58 | TOM: Those are the typical shade plants that we would put in desert locations. |
| 0:04:01 | LESLIE: I mean, I costa all across the country, whatever their shade and they come back, they’re very hardy. It’s a perennial. So it’ll come back season after season if you’re able to. And they really, you know they thrive in the shade and there’s a ton of different varieties of hosta. So you can find them, you know, sort of variegated from like a yellow and green, a green and white, you know, different tones on the greens. So there’s probably one that you like and occasional only the ones that I have in like my super shady areas almost never flower. The ones that get like purple shade will get sort of like a long wispy one stem with like a couple of like purple flowers on it. But check them out because you really can’t kill. |
| 0:04:41 | CALLER: Yeah. Yeah. I think that that’s a great suggestion. Thank you very much. You’re so. |
| 0:04:45 | LESLIE: Welcome. Bryan in Massachusetts You’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today. |
| 0:04:49 | CALLER: Honey? I have some honey oak kitchen cabinets. I’m interested in painting white. I was wondering if there’s any certain sort of preparation that I need to do. Then is there some sort of primer coat that will kind of fill in the green? Because the oak tends to be a little grainy. |
| 0:05:09 | LESLIE: Now I have oak cabinets and I was looking into having them painted, and you definitely do want to fill that green because it will stick out through the paint. And as far as what’s going to go on, that it’s going to stick and stay and give you a smooth surface and not be affected by moisture, humidity, all the things that go on in the kitchen. That’s a tricky situation. But first, let’s talk about what’s currently on your cabinets. Now they’re stained. |
| 0:05:34 | CALLER: No know, it’s just urethane. |
| 0:05:36 | LESLIE: Just urethane. And it feels like it’s pretty solid of the coating on there. |
| 0:05:42 | CALLER: Yeah. |
| 0:05:43 | LESLIE: Yeah. You’re going to want to strip that off. Otherwise anything that you put on there isn’t going to adhere. So what I would start with is either using a chemical stripper or depending on the quantity of the urethane, you can try to sand it a little bit, but I would try to get as much of it off as I can with the stripping agent, strip everything down. Then once you’ve gotten there, you can go ahead and you know, sand it just to keep everything looking nice and smooth. Use attack class to wipe away any of that sort of residue that’s still on there. Make sure you’ve got a nice clean surface. And then I think Tom can better speak to what you could put on top that would fill in that grain and stick. |
| 0:06:16 | TOM: Once you have it sanded down, I would recommend that you prime it. I would use an oil based primer for a couple of reasons. It tends to flow nicely and that’s going to fill in some of those. Some of the green that you don’t want to see. And it’s also really durable and it’s really sticky. So it’s going to really adhere to that old cabinet and give you the perfect surface for the top coat of paint. So I would definitely put an oil based primer on it or solvent based primer, and then you’re going to need a couple of coats of finish paint over that. And again, I tend to stick with the solvents for cabinets because I just think they have more abrasion resistance with those doors slamming, you know, you’re gonna get a lot of rubbing of doors against the styles. And I’m afraid that if you don’t use something that’s tough, it’s going to chip off. |
| 0:06:59 | CALLER: So you recommend the oil based primer. |
| 0:07:00 | TOM: And I would I mean, for something like that, I would definitely. |
| 0:07:05 | CALLER: Okay. And it’s not any particular product or oil based primer that would have like I know I do some work on cars and have a spray primer that actually will fill like small imperfections or anything like that that might be available for. |
| 0:07:23 | TOM: Not specifically for cabinetry. But I just think if you use a good quality primer, you’re going to come as close to it as you possibly can. Remember, you can take those doors off, take the drawers out, try to make this as easy on yourself as possible. And you mentioned spraying. You know, if you have access to that kind of equipment and you can spray the doors and the drawers and look even nicer. |
| 0:07:42 | CALLER: Oh, I was talking about a spray can as small as I said. |
| 0:07:46 | TOM: Oh, no, that would be a lot of spray can. |
| 0:07:49 | CALLER: That is working. Well, thank you so much for your help. I appreciate your input and keep up the good work. All right. |
| 0:07:57 | TOM: Well, thank you. Good luck with that project and let us know how it comes out. |
| 0:08:01 | LESLIE: You know, we love hearing from our listeners. And if you want to make our day, leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:08:07 | TOM: You know, it really helps us know what we’re doing right and how we can improve our show for you. So just go to Money Pit dot com slash review, Money pit dot com slash review, and you might even win a copy of our book. |
| 0:08:19 | LESLIE: Hey everybody. You know, Father’s Day is coming up and if the dad in your life loves steak well there’s a great deal happening right now at Omaha Steak scam. You can score a $30 off your qualifying order if you use the promo code Money Pit. |
| 0:08:32 | TOM: That’s right. So pick that up. A pack of those tasty bacon wrapped filet minions or any of their other gourmet grill bowls and get $30 off your order at Omaha Steaks E-Comm. With the promo code Money Pit, you will totally make Dad’s day. |
| 0:08:47 | LESLIE: Now we’ve got and in South Dakota on the line with a question about ants what is going on. |
| 0:08:52 | CALLER: Took down a huge, huge tree and a contractor that took it down said good thing you took it down because in two years it probably would have fell. |
| 0:09:02 | TOM: Okay. |
| 0:09:03 | CALLER: Because it’s all hollow. And he said it had a huge carpenter ants left in it. Yup. So my house is ten feet away. Do I need to worry about that? |
| 0:09:12 | TOM: No. Carpenter ants are Mother Nature’s way of getting rid of Deadwood. Sure, they could infest your house, but they’re not necessarily going to be motivated to go there over anything else that’s lying about. You’ll find it. And it’s like that, you know, once in a while. And they’ll usually just go down on the ground. They’ll go off to another location, but they’re not like, Hey, let’s go over to Anna’s house, because I think I heard it’s tasty. Now, they’re not just going to go in your house. I mean, that said, you know, you ought to keep your eye out for all sorts of pest carpenter ants and termites in particular, but you’re not at any increased risk of finding ants. I’ll tell you, I had a surprise myself with ants a couple of weeks back. I have a bay window. It’s filled with plants. And I was doing some cleaning and I noticed we were getting some persistent ants in this area, and I figured they were coming in from the outside, you know, being the knowledgeable home improvement expert that I am. Well, imagine my surprise when I lifted up a big clay pot that had had a flowering plant in it and found that the near the ant infestation was in fact in the plant. So we were we were helping this infestation survive by dutifully watering our plant. And once I went outside, those ants had to find a new place to live. And we haven’t seen a single one since. So, you know, they’re not necessarily looking to go to your house. They think that you’re going to be fine. |
| 0:10:29 | CALLER: Okay. That was my only concern. The house, you know, from was built in 1908. And it’s like it’s, you know, yep. |
| 0:10:36 | TOM: Man, it’s going to be fine for another 100 years, you know? Worry about that. Okay? |
| 0:10:40 | CALLER: Okay. Thank you. |
| 0:10:41 | TOM: Good luck. |
| 0:10:42 | LESLIE: We’ve got David on the line. Who needs some help installing a railing? What can we do for you? |
| 0:10:46 | CALLER: I live in the Northeast, in the Boston area, and we have cold, harsh winters. I mean, having a rail put in a Rhode Island road and rail, put it in the front of my house on the walkway coming up in the contract that has a place on one leg of it is on a slab, which is a concrete slab, which is part of the block up, which is about three inches, two inches, 2 to 3 inches thickness. But in the other part where I want them to put the other leg doesn’t have any. So I have to I agree to put it in so that by the time it comes here with the completed road, I will have a place to go. My question is how thick do I need to put that the walkway around? It’s only 2 to 3 inches. I’ve heard that it’s supposed to go below the first line, but this is only a. |
| 0:11:53 | TOM: Yeah but that’s yeah, that’s is for a railing. We’re not talking about support in a lot of ways here. You just don’t want the thing to move. So it’s going to be kind of freestanding, is that what you’re saying? |
| 0:12:01 | CALLER: Yes. |
| 0:12:02 | TOM: I’ll tell you how I would do this. I would not put it in in advance of the railing installation, because otherwise he’s going to have to drill into it. Right, to set the house or is he going to mechanically bolt it to this? |
| 0:12:15 | CALLER: He’s going to have to drill into the finished concrete and secure it away. Yeah. |
| 0:12:21 | TOM: Well, what if you did this? What if he put the railing together and now it’s just sort of hanging there in the dirt, right, so to speak. And you carved out a hole around it. And then what I would do is I would, once it’s, it’s going to be weak because it’s not tied in, but it’s in the right position. So it’s level and all of that. Then you carve out this hole around it and this fill it up with cement, you know, pick up some quick, create cement, the fast setting the cement. It sets in about 20, 30 minutes. So you dig out the hole. You had the cement after you mix it right around it. And then within an hour, the thing will be rock hard and hold in that railing like it’s going to go nowhere. |
| 0:13:01 | CALLER: Fantastic. Now, how deep should I go down? |
| 0:13:06 | TOM: Well, since it’s a railing, and if you could get that railing, say, 12 inches into that cement, and then you made that cement block like in like, say, 12 by 12 or 12 by 1218. Yeah. That’s really all you need. It’s not going anywhere. Okay, great. Just kind of cut it. Let it run long, and then you can you can basically put the footing up. That’s the last thing you do. And this way you won’t have to drill into it, because that’s got to be a really tough job to drill down into solid concrete. |
| 0:13:33 | CALLER: Right. |
| 0:13:33 | TOM: So let me talk to him about it. Ask him if you can pull it up without the footing and in place and let it run long run in the soil to sit there. And then as soon as he’s done, you’ll carefully dig out around it and pour cement to hold it in place. |
| 0:13:47 | CALLER: Okay. That’s great. Okay. All right. Thank you very much. |
| 0:13:50 | TOM: All right. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. Well, summer’s a season when roofs can get really dried out. And if they form cracks, the leaks, well, they’re not going to be far behind. That’s why now is really the perfect time for a roof inspection. We’re going to share how to do just that. And today’s roof review tip presented by Roof Max. |
| 0:14:12 | LESLIE: Yeah, You know, the average roof leak takes up to two years to show up inside the home as a stain. So using a pro to inspect your roof once a year really is the best way that you can spot those problems early. However, there are plenty of things that you can be doing yourself to identify signs of potential leaks. |
| 0:14:29 | TOM: Now you want to start inside by checking the ceilings on the upper floors for any stains or other signs of leaks. Pay very special attention to the ceilings above bathrooms and kitchens. Plumbing vents pass through the roof right above these rooms and they can often break down, causing leaks. Also, you want to check for leaks about fireplaces and other spots where loose splashing can allow rain to seep in. |
| 0:14:51 | LESLIE: Yeah. Now, next, you want to head outside and examine the roof, but from the ground. So use binoculars. If you’ve got a good camera with a zoom lens, these are great ways to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground while looking at the roof. You want to be looking for things like loose or missing shingles, as well as loose flashing around the chimney, the pipes, anything where the walls and the roofs come together. Now, if you spot any problem areas, it’s a lot easier to get minor problems fixed now before they become those major leaks later. |
| 0:15:19 | TOM: And that’s today’s roof review tip presented by Roof Max A roof match treatment restores flexibility and waterproofing protection of aging asphalt shingle roofs, extending life by as much as 15 years. Roof max treatments come with a five year flexibility guarantee, and they’re purchased through a nationwide network of factory trained and certified dealers who also apply the treatment. And right now, Roof Max is offering a free roof inspection for a limited time. |
| 0:15:45 | TOM: It’s $129 value. Learn more at Roof Max Rt.com That’s roof mh x x dotcom. |
| 0:15:53 | LESLIE: Alison Marilyn’s on the line with an electrical question. What’s going on in your Money pit? |
| 0:15:57 | CALLER: We are trying to determine whether it would be worthwhile to replace our service. Our house was built in 1976. We currently have 150 AMP service underground. An electrician recommended that we upgrade to 200 AMP service and it’s pretty big expense, so we’re wondering if that’s worthwhile. |
| 0:16:23 | LESLIE: Doing any sort of renovation that requires more power. Are you adding in central air upgrading appliances? Is there a change happening that requires the power? |
| 0:16:32 | CALLER: We’ve done a lot of upgrading here in the past and this is just something that recently was recommended to us when we had just a ceiling fan installed by the electrician. |
| 0:16:43 | TOM: I have to say, Alice, that I think what your electrician is recommending you do is, is find perhaps his next vacation or college tuition payment, because I don’t think going from 150 to 200 makes much difference. You have just a gas fired house, you have natural gas. |
| 0:17:03 | CALLER: We have no gas in the area. |
| 0:17:05 | TOM: So this is all electric? Yes. How are you heating your house? Is it a heat pump? |
| 0:17:09 | CALLER: We have a heat pump, yes. And you have. |
| 0:17:11 | TOM: One zone or two. How many heat pumps do you have? |
| 0:17:12 | CALLER: One zone. |
| 0:17:13 | TOM: I got to tell you, I mean, I think you probably have enough unless you can. |
| 0:17:17 | LESLIE: Prove. |
| 0:17:18 | TOM: To me that is. Yeah. Unless you can prove to me that that you’re really using more than 150 amps, I seriously doubt you need 200. That’s a lot of power, even for an all-electric house. |
| 0:17:30 | CALLER: Interesting. I mean. |
| 0:17:31 | LESLIE: We had to upgrade to a 200 amperage service because we put in central air conditioning and we were only on 100, and that. |
| 0:17:37 | TOM: Was right. Mm. Yeah. I mean and even a hundred, I mean I have, I was an inspector for 20 years. I used to put a tool called an amp probe on those main cables when everything was running in the house. I mean we’re talking about electric ovens, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and you know, it would be like 150 amp serve as pulling like, you know, 50, 60 years with everything on. So, you know, you’d be surprised how much you can pull through that. |
| 0:18:03 | CALLER: Okay. |
| 0:18:03 | TOM: I think you ought to get a second opinion. |
| 0:18:04 | CALLER: We were skeptical, so I thought it would be all right. Definitely wanted to check into it before making that major expense. |
| 0:18:12 | TOM: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Well, thanks for calling. I’m glad we helped you out. |
| 0:18:15 | CALLER: Thank you. You’re a great resource. I really appreciate it. |
| 0:18:19 | LESLIE: Well, if you’re a pet lover and you’re considering a new decor or even a remodeling project, you probably already know that all home improvements don’t necessarily fit well with pets. I mean, a Persian rug might look nice in your home, but it’s probably not the best choice if you’ve got pets where durability is going to be a factor. |
| 0:18:35 | TOM: Yeah, I mean, if you’ve got pets, easy clean up floors like laminate and engineered hardwood and engineered vinyl plank, one of the new hybrid stone floors, those are all good choices since these hard surface products are a lot easier to keep clean and stain free than a rug or a carpet for sure. |
| 0:18:53 | LESLIE: Now, another great benefit to that is that the hard flooring options are going to be much more comfortable for your cat or dog during the hot summer months, especially if they have a lot of hair or fur and you can definitely get pet friendly flooring that’s going to make your house look amazing, but it’s going to stand up to what the animals can dish out. |
| 0:19:08 | TOM: Yeah. Speaking of comfort, the hard surface floors. Give the dogs more exercise. We’re taking care of our son’s dog now. And he’s such a cutie. But whenever he runs from like, you can go, like from the kitchen into the living room in our house, and they’re all like hardwood floors. He goes about half the speed of his legs, right? So his legs are always slipping and moving him about half the space that they should because they just slip under him is the funniest thing. I hate to laugh at it, but he doesn’t get any traction. |
| 0:19:32 | LESLIE: So funny. It’s like their little legs are going and then their body goes. |
| 0:19:36 | TOM: The legs go and the body follows. Hey, for more tips, check out pet friendly design and decorating tips for your home on Money Pit AECOM. |
| 0:19:44 | LESLIE: Lauren, Ohio is on the line and needs some help in the yard. What’s going on in your Money Pit? |
| 0:19:48 | CALLER: Hi, this is Laurie, and I actually have my grandson, Garrett with me, and. |
| 0:19:53 | LESLIE: Oh, hi, Garrett. |
| 0:19:54 | TOM: Well, Garrett, welcome to the Money Pit. |
| 0:19:57 | CALLER: Say hi to him. Hi. I actually have two grandsons. He’s almost seven and one. He’s almost two. And we’re excited for summer and want to do a lot of things outside. We want to do a sandbox sort of thing to play, but we’re kind of leery about using sand because we’ve heard about, you know, a lot of spiders, bugs, casts getting into it. And I just wondered if there’s any kind of alternative out there that, you know, that we could use instead of sand. |
| 0:20:26 | TOM: I mean, what’s a sandbox without sand? |
| 0:20:29 | LESLIE: And the kids do love it. So very. |
| 0:20:31 | CALLER: Cool. |
| 0:20:33 | TOM: Well, this year, I mean, we had sandboxes when our kids were small and we never had concerns about that. Now, I did have one that had had a cover that went over it. So that kept the, you know, the cats out and that kind of thing. But I can’t recall that we never had any issues with insects or anything like that. I mean, the worst thing was what if you forgot to put the cover on? You got a rainstorm and it flooded and that would take a lot to get it dried out again. But I don’t know that it’s ever been really an issue. Maybe things are different down in Ohio, but I’ve never had an issue with it. Let’s see. What about. |
| 0:21:03 | LESLIE: You? I will say that when the kids were little, especially Charlie, when he was at his pre-K, so he’s three, four, they had a sandbox. And my kid and like one other kid, were always the only kids in the sandbox. And I always felt the judging looks from the other parents like in the sandbox. |
| 0:21:20 | CALLER: That’s disgusting. |
| 0:21:21 | LESLIE: Of course I love it like that. So, I mean, maybe I’m missing something. On why people are so grossed out by them. |
| 0:21:28 | CALLER: That’s what I’m getting. Like, you know, when my two sons were smaller. Yeah, that was okay. And no one thought to think twice about it. But now that I’m a grandma and there’s this new generation. |
| 0:21:38 | LESLIE: Oh, get ready to be judged, Grandma. |
| 0:21:40 | TOM: You’re welcome. The judge generation. |
| 0:21:42 | CALLER: Look online and you know, there’s different stuff, but nothing that I just don’t know about it. You know, I would. |
| 0:21:49 | TOM: Trust your decades of experience as a grandma, your decades of life experience you went through to get there rather than any of this new found advice from these new experts. Also. |
| 0:22:01 | LESLIE: Listen, the judgy looks only lasts so long. Plus you can turn around. |
| 0:22:04 | CALLER: That’s true. Yeah, that’s true. Okay, well, I just. I just come upon your program one evening as I was driving to my grandson’s karate class, and I thought, you know, this is the perfect. It was going through my mind and I thought, I’m just going to call in. So thing I appreciate your opinion and thanks for listening to me and giving me a better advice. Just stick to the old saying. |
| 0:22:29 | TOM: Well, we think Garrett has an awesome grandma making sandbox. |
| 0:22:33 | CALLER: For. |
| 0:22:33 | TOM: Taking the kids to karate. Very cool. Well, thanks so much for calling us. |
| 0:22:39 | CALLER: Thank you so much. |
| 0:22:41 | TOM: All right. |
| 0:22:41 | CALLER: Bye bye. Bye bye. |
| 0:22:43 | LESLIE: Dennis. Michigan’s on the line with a roofing issue or something along those lines. What’s going on? |
| 0:22:49 | CALLER: Well, a while ago, I dropped a container of roofing cement off a shelf in my garage. Oh. Oh, yeah. It was a powder form. And apparently it got a little wet at one point and it then dried under the floor. Now the floor is a concrete cement floor, which I had stained years ago. I’d put a cement stain on it to protect it. So I’m wondering what is going to be the worst way to get that off? My going to have to use some muriatic acid to loosen it up and then scrape it off. |
| 0:23:26 | TOM: So I guess it’s all dried and crusty now. |
| 0:23:29 | CALLER: Yeah, it’s kind of dry and crusty. |
| 0:23:30 | TOM: Powdery like, you know. Yeah. I mean, the first thing I should do is to try to physically scrape off as much as you can. I don’t think you’re going to be able to save that stain finish underneath. You’re going to end up having the stain when you’re all done, but you need to physically get off as much as you can. |
| 0:23:45 | TOM: The fact that it. |
| 0:23:46 | CALLER: Was a party knife. |
| 0:23:48 | TOM: Right? Exactly. Yeah. The fact that it’s so old is going to make it very, very difficult. You may be able to use a solvent after you get as much of it physically off as you can, like mineral spirits, for example. And you could you could also work it in with a wire brush so that you’re really getting into the concrete and see if that starts to break it down. |
| 0:24:14 | CALLER: Mineral spirits or would something like an acetone work. |
| 0:24:18 | TOM: Acetone would work as well. I know that the roofers of the world would tell you to put gasoline on it and it probably would work, but it’s dangerous. So we don’t want you to do that. But I think, you know, mineral spirits and from enough as it is, if you apply it and brush it in carefully with a wire brush, it gets into that material, it’s into the pores of the concrete. Then you may have a shot at it, getting it up. |
| 0:24:45 | CALLER: There and then just dry cement stain over those areas. |
| 0:24:48 | TOM: Well, see, that’s the other thing. Once that’s all in there and it’s filled up all the pores of the concrete surface, even if you cement stain over it, you may find that it’s still a different color. You may actually have to do like an epoxy finish on that floor, on the covers. Yeah. Mean you can try the stains, but if you get a little bit left. But yeah, I’m confident it’s going to look great. |
| 0:25:09 | LESLIE: Well, if you’ve ever walked the aisle of a home center and you’re looking for that right type of caulk for your project, you know that there’s a lot of choices out there and it can get confusing. Well, according to the experts at DAP, the basic function of caulk is to seal cracks, gaps and joints to keep out air, water and moisture and dirt. |
| 0:25:26 | TOM: Well, that’s right. But there are several factors you need to consider when deciding which type of caulk or sealant to use. For example, where are you going to use it? Is it the bathroom is going to be around molding? Is it going to be around your outside windows? And how about this? Does it need to be patentable? Does it need to resist mold and mildew? Do you want a water clean up product or are you okay with the more difficult to handle but sometimes longer lasting, solvent based? |
| 0:25:50 | LESLIE: DAP now has a new line of advanced hybrid sealants under the AMP brand that outperforms silicone in a lot of areas. Now, these sealants stick to wet surfaces. They’re patentable and they have a crystal clear clarity that delivers maximum performance for every project. There’s four amp hybrid sealants to choose from their corks for kitchen and bath window door and siding gutter and flashing, and even a self-leveling concrete sealant that requires no additional tools. It’s going to stay flexible and it won’t crack, shrink or bubble. So that’s huge in this sort of department here. |
| 0:26:22 | TOM: AMP up your projects with the AMP line of advanced hybrid sealants that outperform silicone in key performance attributes such as wet surface protection, paint ability and crystal clear clarity. Learn more at DAP Dotcom. |
| 0:26:36 | LESLIE: Mary in Alaska is on the line and needs some help with a water supply. What’s going on, Mary? |
| 0:26:40 | CALLER: I have a hot water heater downstairs and I’m considering going to a tankless. |
| 0:26:49 | TOM: What kind of fuel do you have in your house, Mary? Is it gas or electric? |
| 0:26:53 | CALLER: Electric. Okay. |
| 0:26:55 | TOM: So you can’t really go with an electric tankless water heater because the tank was water heater. Technology is really designed for gas water heaters. What you can do is switch to something called a heat pump water heater. Now, a heat pump is a high efficiency electric water heater, so it will save you some money. It’s also typically will qualify for various different types of energy rebates. But it’s going to be more expensive than your traditional just tank electric heater, because with the electric water heater, you know, you’re throwing 24 seven and it’s pretty expensive with a heat pump. It basically is kind of uses the refrigeration concept that you use with a heap of air conditioners to try to provide some of the warmth of the hot water so it is less expensive to operate. So I think it really comes down to, you know, how much you want to spend for the unit, how long you’re going to be in your house, because not like you pack the thing up when you leave, you know what I mean? And if you want to keep the electric water heater, you can do. So what I would suggest you do is at a timer to it, there’s a device not too expensive. It’s a heavy duty timer designed for a 240 volt appliance. And you basically would set the water heater to come on, you know, like maybe at around dinnertime, stay on through evening showers and bathing and then come out again in the morning for morning showers and then go off again. The water will still remain warm throughout the day, but serve it running 24 seven, maybe you only have it run eight or 10 hours and that will save you some money, too. That makes sense. |
| 0:28:30 | CALLER: Yeah, it does. I was just trying to get rid of the tanks of water. I always. |
| 0:28:35 | TOM: I hear you had. |
| 0:28:35 | CALLER: One, but only one time. And my basement. And I don’t want that to ever happen again. And I was really hoping I could get rid of all that water sitting down there in one place. |
| 0:28:47 | TOM: Well, I’ll tell you what. Chances are that if you have experienced a busted water tank that’s flooded, it’s never going to happen again because it’s just not that common. And I can’t you would have the most awful luck in the world for it. That happened twice. Okay. If you have Wi-Fi in your house, there’s lots of smart home products that are out there, including some that are leak detectors that basically get mounted on the basement floor. And if you ever get a flood again or at least alert you and maybe you can send some neighbor over or somebody to check the house. |
| 0:29:13 | CALLER: Yeah. Yeah, I know they have shut off valves and all that kind of stuff now, too, but I just wanted to get rid of all of it. Well, but no, no. Electric tankless. |
| 0:29:25 | TOM: Yes. No, no, no. They have them, but they’re really expensive. They don’t give you any energy savings. Do you have propane that you use for anything? |
| 0:29:32 | CALLER: No, no, We heat with our fuel oil. |
| 0:29:36 | TOM: Okay. Yeah. So I think that the best thing for you to do is to either put a timer on your standard water heater or get a heat pump water heater either way. I think that’s probably the best option. Okay. |
| 0:29:46 | CALLER: Okay. Thank you so much. |
| 0:29:48 | TOM: You’re welcome. And good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. |
| 0:29:52 | CALLER: Thank you. Bye bye. |
| 0:29:54 | TOM: Well, hey, guys, Father’s Day is coming up. And if your dad enjoys steak, there’s a great deal happening right now on Omaha Steaks WSJ.com. You can score 30 bucks off your qualifying order by using the promo code Money Pit. |
| 0:30:05 | LESLIE: That’s right. So pick up a pack of those tasty bacon wrapped filet minions or any of their gourmet grill balls and get $30 off your order at Omaha. Dexcom with the promo code Money Pit. |
| 0:30:15 | TOM: So, Leslie, Ed in New Jersey has an interesting question. He says, I’m installing a new exterior door and wondered if I still need to install a storm door, too. That’s a great question because most people put storm doors up because they think they have to put storm doors up. But I don’t think storm doors are necessary for efficiency anymore because the doors are actually built so much different than when we had this basic wood doors that were uninsulated, right? |
| 0:30:38 | LESLIE: Yeah. I mean, I think it’s definitely a preference thing these days. |
| 0:30:41 | TOM: Well, right. But it’s not a preference because we need the extra efficiency. I mean, like we have a storm door and a really good rear door of our house, but we do it because we love having a full pane of glass. We can leave the inside door open and get a lot of lights. And we also enjoy it because in the summer we can use that same door for a screen door, which you really want to have as a screen door. You don’t necessarily need a storm door. And guess what? If you put a storm door in and you get direct sun that can actually melt the trim on your exterior door. So keep that in mind. Storm doors these days only if necessary. And generally they’re not. |
| 0:31:15 | LESLIE: Yeah, they’re not. And it’s always funny, though, I feel like if you don’t have the storm door, delivery people kind of are more aggressive at the door. So it’s like, think about it either way. Well, a little more privacy. You want the lights. |
| 0:31:24 | TOM: Up then there’s. |
| 0:31:25 | CALLER: Good for you. |
| 0:31:27 | TOM: Well, believe it or not, it might be time to dust off that pink flamingo. Things are looking a lot more fun in yards and gardens these days. Leslie’s got the surprise new trend in this week’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie, what do you got? |
| 0:31:39 | LESLIE: Yeah, I love it. People are having fun in their yards again. They’re doing great projects. Ones that are good with the kids. Good for just you. If you’re kind of young at heart and have a great imagination. Well, fairy gardens are big for this summer. They’re whimsical, they’re enchanting. They can be delightful. They can have fun and sparkle wherever you find them. And you can create your very own enchanted garden. It’s an easy DIY project that’s perfect for the whole family. Now every enchanted garden is going to be a little different, and that’s where the fun really begins. So here’s a couple of ideas to kind of just get you started, because once you start thinking about this and looking up some images online, you can go in just a million directions. And it depends on what you have and how adventurous you want to get. So first of all, before you start putting anything in place, you kind of need to choose a theme. The container, the location. It could be in a flower pot, it could be under a tree, or it could be in a little special area in your flower bed. Next, kind of sketch out a design that you think you’re going to like. You can change things as you go, but a good design is really going to help you visualize what you want and then kind of keep your plans on track. At least you kind of know where you’re going with it rather than just going from, Oh, this looks fun. Where can I put it now? Next, consider soil plants, drainage, all of that. If you’re starting with fresh soil, you want to make sure it’s a good garden mix. It’s going to drain well. And before you add that soil, place a few pebbles in the bottom of the container that can help improve the drainage. A lot of plants are going to work well in an enchanted garden, but some that are kind of really well-suited to this whimsy and magical feeling are ferns, succulents, primroses. And I love a good twist in Bonsai Tree to kind of set that magical feel for the space. And last. Think about all those accessories that really will make your fairy garden just feel magic. Think about Glow in the dark figures. Tiny LED lights Just add a little bit of sparkle at night because that’s when the fairies come out and we want to make sure they can see where they’re going and make it look really special for them. You know, you got to attract them. Time fairies have got to know where they’re going. |
| 0:33:35 | TOM: Absolutely. Hey, coming up next time on the program, you know, a stepping stone path can be a beautiful addition to your yard or your garden. But while it might seem like you just plop down a few stones and call it a day, it’s really a project that requires just as much care and work as installing a bigger patio. We’re going to share how to create a stepping stone path that will last a lifetime on the next edition of the Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:33:58 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:33:59 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 0:34:01 | 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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