Top Tile Trends for Spring Episode #0220172

Top Tile Trends for Spring Episode #0220172

TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: Welcome to the program. What are you doing today? Are you thinking about taking care of your house, your apartment? Got a décor dilemma? Got something that needs fixing? Has the floor squeaked? Does the toilet leak? Are you dreaming of some projects for the spring and summer months ahead? Let’s talk about it. Give us a call, right now, at 1-888-MONEY-PIT or post your question to our website at MoneyPit.com.

Coming up on today’s show, are you thinking about taking on a tile project this year? Well, there are some really fun and stylish trends that are emerging in the tile space for spring 2017. We’re going to highlight some of those and give you some ideas that may influence your decorating this year.

LESLIE: Plus, have you ever wondered how your hometown stacks up in the home improvement skills department? Well, the team at Family Handyman did a survey to find out. We’re going to talk to the editor about their surprising results, just ahead.

TOM: And we all know power tools can hurt you in an instant but are yours causing slow, serious harm over time? We’re going to hire a health risk for DIYers that’s gotten medical experts concerned.

But first, we’re going to take your calls at 1-888-MONEY-PIT, 888-666-3974. Let’s get right to those phones.

Leslie, who’s first?

LESLIE: Richard in Rhode Island, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

RICHARD: I had two qualified and established insulating companies come to the house. One was some $400 to $500 less than the other. When I looked further into it, turns out one was not putting in those Styrofoam baffles in each of the rafter bays, claiming that it is not necessary. It’s a two-story Colonial built in 1951. Please, who is right? Do they need to be there for breathing or not?

TOM: So, yes, you need a lot of ventilation in a 1950s house because, typically, the natural ventilation is not nearly enough. In a house that was built in 1950, usually you’ll get two gable vents at the ends of the roof structure, right? Those sort of triangle-shaped ends to your roof?

RICHARD: Exactly.

TOM: You have those couple of gable vents. You may have some ridge – you may have some roof vents. Is that right? Do you have roof vents?

RICHARD: There is only two gable vents and they’re two square – I would guess they’re rectangles instead of the (inaudible at 0:03:14).

TOM: Right. OK. Do you have soffit vents at the underside of the roof, where the overhang is?

RICHARD: No.

TOM: You have no vents there. So what you should have here – I mean adding insulation is great, Richard, and so it’s a smart move. But you also need to add ventilation. And the best type of ventilation would be a ridge vent that went down the peak of the roof and then soffit vents that went at that overhang. Because what happens is the air should be going into the soffits, passing through those vents that you described – the baffles; and that basically keeps the insulation from choking off the soffit ventilation – and then exits at the ridge.

Now, it might be that the insulation company said, “Well, you don’t have any soffit ventilation, so I’m not really putting these baffles in because there’s really nothing to let the air in.” But the project here might be that what you need to do is to have soffit vents put in and a ridge vent. And this way, you’ll have plenty of airflow in that attic. And then you can go ahead and beef up the insulation from that point.

If you put all this insulation in there and you don’t have enough ventilation, it’s just going to get damp and humid. And that insulation, once it’s damp, is not going to be effective. When you have insulation that’s damp like that, it loses a tremendous amount of its R-value.

RICHARD: Alright. Wow. As usual, great information and advice. I appreciate it. Good day. Great show.

TOM: You’re welcome, Richard. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Tara in Pennsylvania is on the line with an insect question. How can we help you?

TARA: Hi. I was just wondering – we have a bunch of earwigs that’s up underneath our siding. And it seems like they’re always there and we were just wondering, what can we do to get rid of them? Is there anything that’s attracting them there?

TOM: Well, look, they’re probably looking for food, so something is landing on that siding and attracting them. Generally, when they’re not up high like that, it’s advisable to trap them. Like a trapping program will reduce their population. But if they’re up on the side and crawling on the building, I’d probably go straight to a pesticide-management program, some sort of chemical control.

The University of California recommends a pesticide called Spinosad – S-p-i-n-o-s-a-d. And there’s a number of commercial products that are available that have that in it. And that should be probably the best way to control them and stop them from coming back and encourage them to go to somebody else’s house to infest.

TARA: That would be helpful. Oh, along those lines, as far as insects go, we get crickets down in our basement every …

LESLIE: Spider crickets.

TARA: I have – I guess they’re spider crickets; I’m not sure. Little black crickets. But every year, they drive me crazy because my bedroom is downstairs.

TOM: Why don’t you call a pest-control operator, like Orkin, and have them just do a general spraying for insects? So you can probably, you know, put just the right pesticide in and around your home in a safe and effective way that will reduce both problems – stop the earwigs and stop the crickets – and just get you a lot more comfortable.

TARA: Oh, that would be great.

LESLIE: And you know what, Tara? With the cave crickets, we get them where I live on Long Island, in the basement. And I always feel bad when my sister and brother-in-law sleep over, because they’ll sleep on an air mattress in my basement and I’m like, “The spider crickets are going to leap on you.” Because they totally gross me out. But if you take some double-stick tape and just put it around the perimeter of the room, in the interim while you’re waiting to treat, they do tend to congregate there. And they’ll get stuck and then you can just pick it up and toss it in the morning.

TARA: Oh, that’s a good idea. I was just using some indoor spray every year when they come around and then I’m sucking up the crickets constantly – dead crickets – everywhere. And along with them and stink bugs, it hasn’t been fun.

TOM: Yeah, I bet. Tara, when it comes to making decisions to whether or not you should go with a professional or use the sort of the do-it-yourself approach, I always feel that if you go with a pro, they’re actually going to use less pesticide than you’re applying yourself. And it’ll be done in exactly the right manner, with just the right amount, to take care of the problem. I think people tend to overspray when it comes to the over-the-counter pesticides and actually put themselves in greater danger. Does that make sense?

TARA: OK. Well, thank you very much.

TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Sparky in Georgia is on the line with a question about cleaning a bathroom. How can we help you today?

SPARKY: I live in a subdivision, about 65 employees out in the country. I actually test the water on a daily basis for the chlorine and report that at the end of the month to the local provider. I’ve got a two-bedroom house. In one bathroom, I’ve got no problem with the water in the tank or the bowl. In the master bedroom, I’ve got the bath where it’s got a black ring – water ring. And I’ve replaced the water line, the inside of the water tank, replaced the entire bowl and it continues to come up. Even after we clean the bowl, we still get that black water ring.

LESLIE: So you’re able to remove it but it comes back.

SPARKY: That’s correct.

TOM: And it only shows up on that bathroom and not others.

SPARKY: That’s correct. And the products that we’ve gotten from the – off the store shelf have not been able to help, either. And we’ve actually gone to the internet and it says the more chlorine you put in it, the more that black ring will come back. But we’ve cleaned the bath – both bathrooms with the same products.

TOM: Are the toilets the same age?

SPARKY: The same age, yes. I’ve called the water company and they said they don’t have a clue. And I said I’d sampled the water and tested it every day for the monthly reports.

TOM: I wonder if there’s something different about the porcelain finish on that toilet. For example, if it – if one toilet’s finish was – maybe it was scrubbed more over the years and as a result, it’s worn off some of its porcelain so it’s a bit more porous and becomes more of a trap for bacteria to kind of grow in. And I’m speculating here. I’m kind of shooting from the hip, Sparky, because I know that you’ve tried all of the – all the sort of normal things. But it’s confusing that it happens just in this one particular bathroom with this one particular toilet.

I guess, given everything that you’ve done, have you considered just replacing the toilet and seeing if that does it?

SPARKY: Well, that we’ve done. In fact, I’ve got to go back and – you may be onto something. Because one bowl is round, which is the one issue that we’ve got. The other bathroom is oblong. So they work – same manufacturer but two different bowls.

TOM: That would be the only thing that seems left, because you’ve done everything else.

SPARKY: I was just wondering if there was some product on the market, other than Coca-Cola.

TOM: Yeah. Look, there’s a lot of products that clean this but it’s not going to stop it from coming back. I mean the go-to product for me is CLR. Have you used that yet?

SPARKY: No, I have not.

TOM: So that’s an old standby. Take a look at CLR Calcium – stands for Calcium, Lime and Rust. It basically is the – one of the best toilet-bowl cleaners out there. Inexpensive. And give that a shot. But if it continues to develop that issue, I might consider replacing the toilet if it’s really bothersome. Either that or get one of those Ty-D-Bol men with the blue dye so you just don’t notice it.

SPARKY: Correct. Yeah, there you go. Thank you very much.

TOM: Alright, Sparky. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Now, you can call in your home repair or your home improvement questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.

TOM: 888-666-3974.

Up next, wood, plaster, resin and steel. These may not sound like styles of tile but they actually are. And they’re among the hottest, new looks for 2017. We’re going to have those details, after this.

(theme song)

TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: Give us a call, right now, with your home improvement question at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. No matter where you are or when you are listening to this show, our call center is always open to take your question at 888-666-3974.

LESLIE: Greg in Washington is on the line and wants to heat his home with a wood stove. Tell us about your money pit.

GREG: Well, sure. I heat my home with a wood stove and it’s about 10 years old, the stove is. And it’s a pretty good-quality stove. And it’s the main source of heat for my house but I’ve been really disappointed in it. The house is drafty and when the fire dies down, the house cools down in a hurry.

And I had the insulation checked out, so it’s well-insulated. And I think the problem is the wood stove. Right now, the air intake for the combustion chamber is at the bottom of the stove. And so it’s taking in room air and I think that’s causing a draft. And I’ve talked to a lot of our neighbors – where we live, there’s lots of wood, so a lot of people heat with wood – and they all say that it would make a big difference if I were to hook up the stove to an outside source. I’ll be taking, you know, cold air from the outside in.

So I went down to our dealer where I bought the stove and basically, he told me he could sell me what I’m looking for but I’m going to be disappointed. And his reason is that, right now, we’re taking air into the combustion chamber that’s about 60 degrees or so. And if I add the outside intake, I’ll be taking air in that’s, say, 20 or 30 degrees in temperature. And I’ll be spending a lot of energy just heating the air from the outside. And he recommended not to do it.

So my question is: is it your opinion this would be worthwhile to do or not?

TOM: Most modern fireplace and wood-stove systems include a combustion-air intake. In fact, in some cases, it’s required. So, I wouldn’t necessarily take the dealer’s advice on this. I know that if you improve energy efficiency, it’s always going to include a combustion-air intake. Because otherwise, you’ve paid to heat all of that air sort of once and now you’re going to pay to heat it again because you’re taking it up the chimney. Does that make sense?

GREG: Yeah, sure does. Yes.

TOM: So, if there’s a way that you can put a combustion-air intake there, I would definitely do that. Because you’re right: that wood stove will depressurize the house and frankly, it’s probably pulling more air in from the outside anyway. You’re probably pulling that cold air in anyway; you’re just pulling it through all the gaps around your doors and windows and other spaces like that.

GREG: Right. It’s really drafty by the doors and windows. You’re right.

TOM: Yeah. Because it’s depressurizing. So, why not just give it the combustion air and see what happens?

GREG: OK. Because it – I’ve estimated it would cost about $600 to do this. And probably means it’d cost $800 by the time I’m done, so I didn’t know if it’d really be much difference.

TOM: I think it will probably make you a lot more comfortable.

GREG: OK. I think I’ll try that then.

TOM: Alright. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Well, tile has always been a very popular building material but now, there some really fantastic, new trends that are emerging for 2017. And they’ve really stepped up the style and the color that’s truly going to make a fantastic addition to your home’s décor.

Now, a few highlights we saw are wood-grain tiles. I mean we’ve always seen it for the floor but now we’re seeing it in a far more interesting pattern, different sizes so that you can almost lay them out in a very creative kind of way. Plus, more exotic woods are being shown. So you really get an opportunity to show a whole different look when it comes to a wood-grain on a wall surface for a tile.

The other thing that’s interesting is this sort of Boho-chic where you mix and match fabrics and you get almost a patchwork of things. Well, now we’re seeing a mix and match in a patchwork sense for flooring and tile where you’ll get a marble and then a small, almost terrazzo look and then a larger-scale marble or a different type of tile to sort of mix in. So your floor now becomes this mosaic or this patchwork, which really has a very clean, modern look to it but also feels kind of interesting and Boho, in a way. That’s something really interesting we’re seeing this year.

Another thing I love is a blue and a black tone for tile, as well. This has been new because I feel like people tend to get nervous when you’re bringing a lot of saturated color in with the tile. And we’re seeing a lot of navy blues, cobalt blues, different tones of grays, blackened tiles, lots of really nice colors that are being added in. And matte finishes. So you’ve got a lot of opportunity to bring in interesting colors. Also, interesting things as glass tiles that are backed with fabric. So you have so much to choose from. It’s really beautiful.

TOM: Tile companies are basically experimenting with plaster and concrete and metal and resin to kind of give a very cool, industrial look to inside spaces. So just tons and tons of options.

So many times when you think of ceramic tile, you envision the 4×4 plain ceramic tile that we’re just oh so familiar with when it comes to bathroom walls. But these are amazing colors, amazing textures and amazing styles. They can really step up your home décor. So open up your imagination. If you’re going to do some tile work, there’s lots and lots out there to choose from.

LESLIE: Carl in Arkansas is on the line with a thermostat question. How can we help you?

CARL: I bought an older house and it’s – the thermostat that’s in it now for the heating and air conditioner is an old mercury switch. And what I bought is a Honeywell 5-2 switch, a programmer for 5 weekdays and then 2 weekend days. And what I’m wanting to know is, can I – is that something I can change out myself or is that something I need to hire an electrician to come do? The package says “easy to install” but I’ve looked it over and it doesn’t look like it’s that easy to me.

TOM: Well, look, if you’re uncomfortable with it, I would not hire an electrician. Kind of heat do you have? Is it gas? Oil? What is it?

CARL: It’s electric.

TOM: Oh, it’s electric heat. What kind of furnace do you have?

CARL: Trane.

TOM: Is this a heat pump?

CARL: No, no, no. It’s not a heat pump. That’s one thing I didn’t want was a heat pump.

TOM: It’s a straight electric furnace?

CARL: Right. Straight electric furnace and it has an outside unit, which is also a Trane.

TOM: Uh-oh. Wait a minute. Listen to me. If you’re telling me you have an outside condensing unit that works with this, you’ve got a heat pump. You’ve got the compressor outside and then the furnace inside.

Now, a heat pump is a combination heat pump/electric furnace. That’s the way they’re designed to work. And the reason that that’s important is because the thermostat that you chose – and I don’t know that this is the case or not but it has to be rated for a heat pump.

Because the way heat pumps work is when you set your heat – let’s say you set your heat at 68 degrees. It starts getting cold outside, right? Then inside the house, it falls to 67, the heat pump comes on. Still cold, falls to 66, heat pump stays on. Still cold, falls to 65, now it’s at more than 2-degrees split between what it was set at and what it is. The heat pump says, “I can’t keep up with this. I’m going to bring on my friend, the electric furnace.” So now the electric-furnace coils kick on and then bring the house up to temperature.

But by you not having the right thermostat, what can happen is you can run more of the electric furnace and less of the heat pump, which will significantly increase your electric bill. So, the thermostat you choose has got to be designed for a heat pump.

So I would say your first thing to do is to confirm – I don’t know if you have an HVAC contractor that you work with but get that system serviced. All these compressors have to be serviced once a year. If you haven’t done it, get it serviced, get the refrigerant checked out. While that guy is in the house, have him install a heat pump-rated thermostat. Because you’re obviously uncomfortable with it and we don’t want you to have all those wires apart and just have a problem where you’ve got no heat or no air.

So I wouldn’t do it myself, because you’re uncomfortable with it. And when in doubt, don’t do it. But make sure you use the right thermostat. Otherwise, you may drive up those costs unexpectedly. OK?

CARL: OK. Well, I appreciate it.

TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

Even if you can do it yourself, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do it yourself. And just like Carl said, if he read the instructions and it still seems confusing to him, then don’t do it. If you’re not comfortable with it – and especially if it’s something like your furnace where if you hook up the wires wrong – you’re probably not going to break it but you’re not going to have heat and that could be very unpleasant.

LESLIE: Hey, are you wondering how your hometown stacks up in the home improvement skills department? Well, the team at Family Handyman did, as well. Gary Wentz, the editor of Family Handyman, is joining us next with the results of a study they did to find out. So stick around.

TOM: Making good homes better, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: Well, when you’re in the middle of a home improvement project, surrounded by sawdust and the shambled state your home might be temporarily in, it can sometimes feel like a pretty lonely world. But of course, it’s not because there are lots of folks doing projects just like you.

LESLIE: That’s right. And if you’re wondering what kind of projects that folks are actually doing, that was a question that intrigued our next guest. Gary Wentz is the editor-in-chief of The Family Handyman who analyzed various search terms by popularity, and then by region, to determine the top DIY regions that are going on in the country and how alike we are and how different when it comes to home improvement projects.

So, Gary, this sounds like a really interesting study.

GARY: Yeah. We were surprised by some of the findings and learned a lot, actually.

TOM: So what did you discover about the most common home improvement projects? What are people doing across the country more than anything else?

GARY: Surprisingly, we found a lot of uniformity across the country, from one region to another. We expected to see a lot more difference than we did. There are some regional differences we find. You know, for example, in the South, they’re still looking at outdoor projects, lawn-and-garden stuff in the winter, which doesn’t happen up north. In the northern states, of course, they’re looking for things like – one of the most common is basement remodeling.

TOM: Interesting. And that squares with a lot of the questions that we get on basement remodeling, because there are so many folks out there that think their basements can’t be remodeled because they’re wet and they’ve had a flood or two in their history. But with a few simple improvements, generally to grading and drainage, they can dry that space out and get right back to work.

And what about the most common cities that are tackling home improvement projects? Are there some cities in the country that seem to be doing more than others?
GARY: Oh, yes. We’ve found that Salt Lake City, Utah stood out as the most DIY-active city in the country.

TOM: Well, they’re an industrious lot out there in the West.

GARY: Yeah. Generally, we found that DIY activity seems to be more common in the North. For example, of the 20 top cities for DIY activity, only 4 of them were in the southern half of the United States, whereas 8 of those 20 cities – those top 20 cities – 8 of them border Canada.

LESLIE: It’s interesting. Some of your cities are showing that there’s a commonality across the country and one of them is issues with toilets. I mean come on, this happens to everybody. At least now you’re confirming that this does go on all over the place.

GARY: Yeah. But what is kind of interesting is that we find that our traffic on clogged toilets spikes every Sunday.

TOM: Is that right? I guess that’s when – well, that’s probably when you’re entertaining, right?

GARY: Yeah. No, no, there are various theories as to why that could be and that – you can throw in your own, of course.

LESLIE: Sporting events.

GARY: My own is simply that people are home on Sundays and therefore causing toilet clogs.

TOM: Interesting.

LESLIE: Large family meals, sporting-event gatherings, all of those things.

GARY: Yep, yep.

TOM: Yeah.

GARY: Yep. Watching the Super Bowl and stuffing yourself all day.

TOM: So if you’re a plumber, you want to make sure you’re working Sundays and taking Wednesdays off, I guess.

GARY: Yes. And charging time-and-a-half for your labor.

TOM: There you go. And this is not surprising but I’m glad to see it’s in here: how to build storage sheds. Also a big, common topic across the country. There has been a big Renaissance in storage sheds. Not only do we have the good, old-fashioned storage shed we throw our lawn mower in but we’ve got the man cave and the she-shed out there.

GARY: Yeah. Well, we’ve been finding, in recent years, that while we still call them “storage sheds,” they’re getting used for all kinds of things. We’ve had pub sheds sent in by our readers, playhouses for kids, even bunk houses where guests sleep.

TOM: We’re talking to Gary Wentz. He’s the editor-in-chief of The Family Handyman Magazine and FamilyHandyman.com.

So, Gary, tell us about Family Handyman. What are you guys working on these days?

GARY: Well, right now with being winter, we’re working on a lot of woodworking projects and interior home repairs. We’re in Minnesota, so we do all of our interior stuff during the winter. And then in the summer, we’re out in people’s yards building yard sheds and other outdoor structures.

TOM: Gary Wentz, the editor-in-chief of Family Handyman, thank you so much for stopping by The Money Pit, Gary.

GARY: Alright. Well, I thank you guys.

LESLIE: Alright. Listen up, homeowners. You know power tools can be dangerous but there’s a new danger you might not have heard of. We’re going to have tips to keep you safe, next.

TOM: Did you know having a well-insulated home is the single most cost-effective way to reduce cooling costs? Spray-foam insulation can also air-seal and reduce drafts, which accounts for as much as 40 percent of energy use. Late winter and early spring is a great time to prepare for the hot months ahead.

Icynene’s Classic Max high-performance, ultra-low-VOC product both insulates and air-seals. Plus, it allows homeowners to reoccupy their home just two hours after installation. Find your local Icynene licensed contractor today at Icynene.com. That’s I-c-y-n-e-n-e.com.

(theme song)

TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: Pick up the phone; give us a call, right now, with your home improvement question or your how-to dilemma. Or maybe it’s a project you’re not going to do yourself but want some advice on how to work with a contractor to get that job done. We’d love to talk about that at 888-666-3974.

LESLIE: Now we’re heading over to Virginia where Margaret has a question about a bathtub. Tell us what’s going on.

MARGARET: We have an old, cast-iron tub and it’s real rusty in spots. And I’m wondering what we could do to restore it.

LESLIE: Now, when you say real rusty in spots, are we talking about big spots or are we talking about small, little ones from a chip here and there?

MARGARET: No. We’re talking about big spots because the water – it was not good water when we first moved here. And so it had a lot of wear and tear on it about 40 years before we moved here. And we’ve been living here, probably, about 45 years, so …

TOM: So your tub is almost 100 years old, huh?

MARGARET: Exactly.

TOM: Yeah. Well, look, it served the house well. It’s not going to last forever. It needs to be reglazed at this point. And I’ve had some experience with folks that have tried to reglaze these tubs inside the house. And it can be done but it’s an awfully messy and intensive job. And unless it’s done professionally, it doesn’t seem to last very long. There are home reglazing kits. Rust-Oleum makes one that’s for tub and tile but I wouldn’t expect it to last all that long.

The best way to do this is to have the tub taken out and reglazed. But if you’re going to do all that, you might as well replace it and not just have that – not just not have that reglazed unless it’s particularly beautiful. I think those are your options. It’s not easy to do a touch-up to something like this when it’s just got so – it’s got almost 100 years of wear and tear on it.

MARGARET: Oh. Yes, yes. OK. That was my question. I appreciate that.

TOM: Unfortunately, Margaret, there’s no easy way to remove 100 years of wear and tear on that tub and so you’re probably better off just replacing it.

Well, if you work with power tools, I’m sure you’re doing everything you can to make sure that you are working safely. But here’s a scary fact: only about half of do-it-yourselfers do anything to protect their ears, which can have some pretty serious consequences.

LESLIE: I mean it’s this repetitive, high-pitched noise that goes along with certain power tools that really can cause problems. Actually, it’s the ongoing exposure to noise that’s about 85 decibels or higher. And that’s where your hearing can be damaged. And 85 decibels really isn’t hard to come by.

Now, circular saws and chainsaws come in at over 100 decibels and even electric drills, power lawn mowers, weed trimmers and band saws are in that unsafe zone. Those are tools that you wouldn’t even think of being as a hazard for your ears.

TOM: And the thing is, the damage can actually creep up on you. Hearing loss from loud noise happens over a long period of time, so you’re probably not even going to realize it’s happening. But if you use the tools on a regular basis, you may be speeding up that hearing loss.

LESLIE: Yeah. So to protect yourself, guys, you want to make sure that you use hearing protection for any loud jobs. Earplugs and noise-reducing earmuffs will do the trick but there’s also electronic ear protection that lets you listen to the radio or iTunes, where you can even listen to us at The Money Pit instead of just muffling those sounds of your power tools.

TOM: So you don’t even need to miss your entertainment when you’re taking on those tools. So, think about it. Just take care of your ears so your ears can take care of you.

888-666-3974. Give us a call, right now, because we’d like to take care of answering your home improvement questions.

LESLIE: Nadeem in Missouri is on the line with a foundation question. How can we help you today?

NADEEM: I do have a slab home and I’m having some problem of – one side of my house is sinking down. I keep seeing the problem. It’s happening – it’s been a year now. And I see cracks and every day, there is something new. And I realized, with the help of a friend of mine, that he told me this is a sinking-foundation problem. So my question is – what option I do have, either going ram-jack this side of the house or putting a foaming in the foundation so it can lift that part of the house. And is that going to affect the rest of the house or it will help?

TOM: So, Nadeem, tell me what you’re seeing when you say these cracks. Are you seeing them in the floor of this house or where are you seeing the cracks?

NADEEM: I see them in the ceiling and I see them in the doorframe – the front-door doorframe. You can see, when you have a really tight door, you would see kind of a – you have to have an equal gaps – the whole rectangle. But this one is – you can see one side of the door is going down and it’s getting – time and time it’s getting harder to open the door because that frame is kind of pushing down.

TOM: OK. So you’re assuming that the foundation is moving because of what you’re seeing in the ceiling and the door. First of all, I would say that there’s hardly a home in America that doesn’t have the kinds of cracks and shifting that you’re talking about. And it doesn’t always mean that the foundation is moving. There could simply be a very poorly installed door.

The cracks in drywall – cracks above the corners of doors and windows is normally the place where cracks show up. Typically, what happens is people will try to spackle them again and again and again. And that just doesn’t work because as the house expands and contracts, the crack reforms. So what you’re telling me does not confirm to me that you actually have foundation movement.

If you do have foundation movement, the way to fix this is to do none of what you’re suggesting. The first thing you should be doing is contacting a structural engineer. This is the kind of work that you want supervised by a structural professional, for a couple of reasons. First of all, you want to make sure that you do what you have to do, and only what you have to do, and not do in excess of that or do something that could cause further damage. You want to do the right job.

Secondly, when you have a structural issue like this, you want to preserve the value of your home. If you were to do this work without the guidance of a structural professional, then let’s say 5 or 10 years from now you decide to sell the house and it’s learned that there was this structural issue. By whatever means it comes up that there was this issue, if you just say, “Well, I kind of figured it out with my buddy and we did this and that and it was fine,” that’s not going to make me really comfortable as a homeowner.

But if you said to me, “I saw these indications of a structural problem. I hired a licensed structural engineer. He inspected the property and he gave me this report of this plan with a set of instructions that said exactly what had to happen. Then, based on that advice, I got the professional to do the work.”

And then you do this next step, which many people forget: have that same structural engineer come back and certify that the work was done correctly. That creates sort of a pedigree, right, sort of an official document that shows, cradle to grave, what happened from diagnosis to the repair. And that is something that any future buyer can feel very comfortable with knowing that the job was done right.

So, I would say that if you continue to have ongoing concerns, what I would suggest that you do first is to have it inspected by a structural engineer to determine whether or not this is just normal movement in the house or you do potentially have an issue. And then take it from there.

I wouldn’t guess about this. I wouldn’t call contractors in. Everyone’s going to have a different opinion and you’re not necessarily going to get the straight scoop. I would spend time researching engineers that do this kind of work and get the opinion from them first. Let them do an on-site inspection. I think that’s the best way to proceed and get it right. Does that make sense, Nadeem?

NADEEM: I guess, yeah. And I’m with you on that. But usually, we – where could I find these? Like just Google them or do you recommend some company I can go with?

TOM: Structural engineers, you should be able to find them like you find any other professional. You can find them through an online search. You can find them through professional referrals of people in your area. You may be able to use a service, like HomeAdvisor, to find an engineer that does that kind of work. You could speak with architects in the area, because they often have relationships with structural engineers. Because very often, when new homes are designed, there’s a structural engineering component to it.

But do a little legwork and you’ll find the best guy that way.

NADEEM: Perfect. OK. Thank you so much for the advice.

TOM: You’re welcome, Nadeem. Good luck with that project. Let us know how you make out.

LESLIE: Coming up, one of the most common floods that happens inside your home occurs in your laundry room. We’re going to give you some tips to stem that tide, after this.

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TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

TOM: You can call us at 888-MONEY-PIT or post your questions to the Community section at MoneyPit.com, just like Blake did.

LESLIE: That’s right. Blake writes: “I found a nest of baby squirrels living just inside my attic. I can hear them when I’m in the house. Do you have any advice on getting rid of them? I really don’t want to hurt them.”

Well, good for you but you’ve got to get them out.

TOM: And yeah, you certainly don’t have to hurt them, either. So, first of all, we want to figure out how they got in there. There’s got to be an opening in your soffits or your fascia. Look around the roof where there’s a hole where the squirrel got in to create the nest. Because insulation, by the way, makes a terrific bed for a nest for animals. And that’s why they love to get into that attic space. So find that so you can clog it up or even stuff the hole with steel wool or something like that or just repair it so you can’t get animals in there.

But to get rid of the ones that are there, I’d recommend you use a Havahart trap, which is a humane trap that basically traps the animals live. Then, once they’re in the trap, you can remove it carefully, bring it out to a rural area – a wilderness area – and let them go.

A little trick of the trade on that. Now, with Havahart traps, usually you can put a piece of food in it like fruit, like a half of an apple or a quarter of an apple in it. What I like to do is I like to take a wire – like a picture-frame hanging wire or some thin wire like that – and actually wire it to the back of the Havahart cage. This makes sure the animal goes all the way in before springing the trap.

LESLIE: Yeah. And doesn’t just grab the piece and run away with it.

TOM: Yeah. They’ll grab and run. They can actually beat that door before it closes.

LESLIE: They can.

TOM: So, if you wire the bait in, they’ll go in, they’ll be clear of the mechanism and the door will close. And you may have to repeat that a couple of times to get them all but that’s the best way to do it and get rid of them and keep them healthy and happy. They’ll be a little scared and freaked out but eventually, that will be the way to go.

LESLIE: I mean you really can’t keep squirrels as pets. I remember growing up, there was a girl in my town who somehow rescued a baby squirrel and nursed it back to health and then kept it as a pet. And all was fine until the squirrel grew up to be a fully mature squirrel. And while the squirrel and Candy Gordon had a great relationship, that squirrel really would destroy things and was not friendly to anybody other than Candy.

TOM: Yeah, I bet.

LESLIE: So do not, do not, Blake. You don’t need some pet squirrels. Get them out.

TOM: Well, happy laundry rooms start with good bones: basic functional systems that work the way they should to help clean your clothes and prevent plumbing disasters. To make sure your systems are good to go, Leslie has got a checklist in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word.

Leslie?

LESLIE: That’s right. You know, you’ve got to start with the basics. And we’re talking about your water-supply hoses.

Now, typically, rubber-based water-supply lines have a tendency to swell and burst. So, we recommend replacing those hoses with the braided steel ones that you see. Also, if you install an automatic shut-off valve, that really will help you because it detects any sort of out-of-the-ordinary water flow and then will stop it before it turns into an all-out flood.

And while you’re at it, guys, you need to get familiar with the location of your water valves. I know we say it over and over and over again but you must know where your water-main shutoff is. You’re going to want to know where it is in the event of a problem. And you want to make sure that those valves are accessible and functional. And if you have separate water valves for hot- and cold-water supply, you want to take the opportunity to upgrade to a single-lever turnoff valve. And that’s going to turn off both hot- and cold-water supplies at the same exact time.

Finally, let’s just talk about laundry-room maintenance, in general. You want to clean out your dryer vent every six months. That lint will collect in your dryer-exhaust duct and it builds up far faster than you can even realize. And that duct itself is responsible for multiple deaths and nearly 15,000 dryer fires annually. So, don’t become a statistic. Let’s stop the floods from happening and the fires from starting. Let’s just be wise. Take care of our laundry room because Lord knows we use it enough, you guys.

TOM: Absolutely. This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Coming up next time on the program, we’re going to talk about electric water heaters. They can be one of the most expensive ways to heat hot water. But there are some new technologies that are helping to curb those costs. We’ll highlight that technology and tell you what works and what doesn’t, on the next edition of The Money Pit.

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.