Show Notes
- Pet Doors: Who let the dogs out? Tips for installing the best and most convenient pet doors.
- Concrete Repairs: This product makes it easy to repair holes, cracks, and pitted areas of concrete surfaces.
- Quick Home Improvement Projects: No time to waste? These 3 home improvement hacks take a half hour or less.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about:
- Cracked Cement Patio: Part of Debbie’s new cement patio cracked right away. She can make some cosmetic repairs or have it torn out and repoured with better surface preparation underneath.
- Tripped Circuits: Richard’s antique soda machine trips the circuit every time it’s plugged in. He needs to install a dedicated circuit for that big draw of electrical current.
- Home Addition: Joan has big plans for an enclosed space for her cats. We recommend hiring a professional to design the proper specs for the addition.
- Pipe Fittings: Is there a way to avoid having to solder the pipes when relocating some faucets? Doug can use a convenient product that’s the perfect solution for challenging spaces.
- Plumbing: We’re not sure why Selena had all her drainpipes replaced and now she’s been told to replace the main supply line. She should get a second opinion.
- Roof Leak: Kent thinks his bathroom ceiling stain is from the vent fan, but we advise him it’s probably caused by a gap in the rubber boot around the plumbing vent through the roof.
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 0:00:32 | 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: On a beautiful spring day, I am so inspired to get outside now that we are sort of stuck between spring and summer. To tackle those projects I want to get done before it gets really hot outside. I got a couple on my to do list and I got to tell you, the weather just inspires me to find more projects. Last week and we were out doing some work on the yard on the garden, and I guess it was going to be about 4:00. And I’m like, I was so like wanting to do more. And I looked over at this chair that I had built many, many years ago that was like an Adirondack kind of chair. And it had been stained, it was looking a little faded. I’m like, I’m going to paint that chair. So I have a beautiful gray chair to match my gray patio set. I know about you, but I just get inspired by days like this so that we can really get a lot of stuff done. And if you got stuff to get done and you’ve got questions, we are here to help. You can first help yourself by going to moneypit.com/ask that’s moneypit.com/ask. Coming up on today’s show, here’s a question do you love your dog? But maybe not so much as having to get up in the middle night to let the dog out. Well, we’re going to have some tips on how to install a pet door that your pet can actually open, close and even lock itself without the need for human intervention or the risk of unwanted wildlife using that very same entry. |
| 0:01:57 | LESLIE: All right. That’s smart. And also ahead, have you noticed cracks, holes or padded concrete surfaces, but you’re hesitant to make those repairs because of the hassle factor? Well, we’re going to share a new product that makes it super simple. |
| 0:02:10 | TOM: And sometimes we think that home improvement projects and especially maintenance projects, can take a long time. Well, we’re going to share 330 minute home improvement hacks that can help you save time, money and energy and get your space looking great. But first, we want to know what you want to know. So reach out to us with your questions at one eight at eight Money Pit. That’s eight, 888-666-3974. Let’s get to it. Leslie, Who’s first? |
| 0:02:36 | LESLIE: Debbie in Ontario is on the line. Has a question about concrete. What’s going on? |
| 0:02:41 | CALLER: My question to do with concrete is that we had a cement porch and patio. Okay. Attached to the back of the house. We had to have a large portion of that, like the pat the porch for sure, and a large portion of the patio removed because we had around our foundation dug new cement was poured the porch first and then the patio was replaced. What happened is within about four days or so, it like they did the cuts the next day after the poor. But a few more days after that, we noticed two cracks came in, the two cement pads that but up against the porch and left and right side the crack. Both diagonally across the pad. It just we’re kind of wondering the contractor saw what happened and he’s sick about it. And were just wondering if there’s anything that can be done without having to remove those two large pads of cement that attach to the house and go through all that jackhammering and all that again. |
| 0:03:46 | TOM: So these pads, is this like a stoop that you say they lead up to the porch of these like parts of sort of the sidewalk. |
| 0:03:52 | CALLER: The patio, and then the porch is the only thing that’s higher than the patio. So the patio is level with the cement driveway and then the porch is up from that. So it’s on the patio itself. |
| 0:04:02 | TOM: And that’s where the crack is. Through the patio. |
| 0:04:03 | CALLER: Yeah, the patio. So the two cement slabs that are on either side of the porch and the cuts that were made in the cement come up to the corner, the outside corner of the porch on either side. But then you know how they can’t cut, right? |
| 0:04:20 | TOM: So you’re talking about a patio and you’re talking about two cement slabs that are opposite ends of the porch. So I’m having a real hard time, as I’m sure others listening are, to trying to figure out what this is all about. But it sounds to me like you’ve got slab on grade sections, right? Calling that the patio or pan, and you have the porch section. The porch seems to be fine. Is that correct? |
| 0:04:39 | CALLER: Correct. |
| 0:04:40 | TOM: And okay. So I would think that the soil underneath the patio areas would need to be especially well compacted before those slabs were poured, because considering the amount of demolition that had to have happened, I suspect that that soil outside the porch area would not have been compacted and that would have been really key to make sure that those slabs don’t crack. The reason that they’re cracking is probably because there is some compaction that happened based on the way the concrete and the drying and such. And that’s why they’re cracking now. Now, can you do anything about it? Well, whatever you do about it’s going to be cosmetic, nonstructural, if also of that concrete was not reinforced. That’s another reason that it would crack. There’s ways to put concrete in it, just plain concrete. And then there’s other ways you could do it where it’s reinforced. So if it wasn’t reinforced correctly, that could be another issue. But there’s nothing that you can do to repair it structurally at this point. You’re always going to have a crack. So you know what you could do is seal that crack. There are special caulk like that caulk with a cork like product that’s designed to seal concrete. But you’re always going to be looking at that crack unless you resurface the whole patio section. And again, there are products that are designed specifically for that that will stick to the old concrete slab is actually pretty new in your case and perhaps cover the crack. But the cracks are always going to be sort of the place where the patio decides to expand the contract, the seasons. So I suspect you always see some part of it. So you live with it and repair cosmetically or just have it torn out and report. the slab itself is not that big of a deal to get out. it seems like a big deal. Big deal. But frankly, they break up pretty quickly. And then again, key is making sure that that base is properly compacted and properly tamped and that the slab is properly reinforced. And that’s done right with the right concrete. Next. This should not have happened. |
| 0:06:40 | CALLER: Okay. It would it be alright even just to replace like cut out maybe two feet along that slab and make like just take out the corner square of it. |
| 0:06:51 | TOM: You’re going to have you’re going to have the separate slabs. Now depends on whether or not you want to see that it’s always going to be a cut. So no, probably not unless you want to make an expansion joint and have it be completely separate pieces of concrete. |
| 0:07:04 | CALLER: Okay, Very good. |
| 0:07:05 | TOM: All right. Good luck with that project. Sorry that happened to you. And thanks so much for calling us at 80 Money Pit. |
| 0:07:09 | CALLER: Thank you. |
| 0:07:10 | LESLIE: Richard in Tennessee is on the line, has an interesting question involving an antique soda machine. Tell us about it. |
| 0:07:17 | CALLER: Well, I bought an antique soda machine that actually worked. And when you put alcohol inside the bottle out, but I took it and put it in the garage, plug it in. And as soon as the pressure kicked on, it stripped the GFC outbreak or the GFCI circuit on the plug. So reset it and it wouldn’t it wouldn’t stay reset. |
| 0:07:35 | TOM: Well, that is totally expected because refrigerators, when they kick on, have a very big draw of current and that’s necessary to get them going. And then it kind of goes down after that. But refrigerators are not supposed to be installed on ground fault circuits. And as a result, you’re just going to keep tripping as it has. So your proper solution would be to run a circuit just for that machine. And if it’s just for that machine, it does not have to be ground fault. Protect it. The reason it’s ground protected, the circuit in the in the garage ground for protection is because it’s a wet location. But for a dedicated service to one machine, it would not have to be you have to have an electrician do that. I would not disconnect the current ground fault that covers the rest of the outlets in the garage. And it could even cover outside outlets or bathroom outlets. Sometimes that circuit can find its way through the house. But I would put in a dedicated outlet just for that machine. And then the problem should go away. |
| 0:08:35 | CALLER: Thank you very much. |
| 0:08:36 | TOM: All right. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. |
| 0:08:40 | LESLIE: that sounds kind of fun to have that in the house. |
| 0:08:43 | TOM: It does, Yeah. Well like everything. You think I got the machine? I’m good to go again. Just plug it in. Not so quick. There’s other expenses, too. Making sure it works right When she was coming you didn’t have to worry about ground faults because we don’t have them yet, so we didn’t. |
| 0:08:57 | CALLER: They were far more dangerous then. |
| 0:08:59 | TOM: Yeah. Now you got to have the circuit. |
| 0:09:02 | LESLIE: Do you love learning about home improvement on our podcast? Well, we love bringing you all the latest tips and tricks. |
| 0:09:08 | TOM: And if you want to make us smile. Leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. Just go to Money Pit dot com slash review. |
| 0:09:16 | LESLIE: Now we’ve got Joan in Missouri on the line who needs some help building a habitat for some furry friends? What’s going on? |
| 0:09:22 | CALLER: I’d like to put an enclosed space on the back of my house for my cat. Not with a solid roof, but with like a wire roof. Okay. But the issue is that it’s going to be 24 by 22. And I don’t know. I’ve built small things, but I’m not sure how to spend something that. Why? Because I don’t want the uprights in the middle. |
| 0:09:45 | TOM: You must have a really important cat. everybody over 400 square feet of space for that cat, is that right? |
| 0:09:51 | CALLER: Well, the idea is it’s going to his enclose the patio. |
| 0:09:55 | TOM: I see. |
| 0:09:56 | CALLER: And then I haven’t bought the patio yet. |
| 0:09:59 | TOM: I see. Well, look, anything that big as qualifies as an addition, it’s not just a pen or a patio. this is a pretty significant addition. So my first question is whether or not you’re impacting any zoning laws in your town that would limit what you can do now. |
| 0:10:15 | CALLER: No, we have very low limits here. |
| 0:10:17 | TOM: All right. You have very low limits. Okay. But at the same time, you want to make sure that whatever you put in terms of the patio can support the structure. So you say you want to enclose it. And I presume since an open roof, you don’t ever want to heat it. Is that right? Right. You said it would be open, but you’re not going to have any rain protection over it. |
| 0:10:35 | CALLER: No. |
| 0:10:36 | TOM: Well, what kind of roof structure are you thinking about? |
| 0:10:38 | CALLER: I’m thinking like, hardware work. I just want something that will keep like, birds obviously out and wildlife stray cats, that sort of thing. |
| 0:10:49 | TOM: I don’t know. it seems to me if you’re going to build something that’s 22 by 24, that’s a pretty big construction project. I’d put a roof on it at the same time because who knows, maybe somebody buys your house in the future would love to have an enclosed patio and would be particularly important that have a roof at the same time. Do you think that you put anything that you put on their terms of cloth or temporaries that’s not going to last very long? And frankly, it won’t be tough enough to keep birds and insects from nesting it. |
| 0:11:15 | CALLER: Oh, no. Hardware cloth is like large, large square screen wire. |
| 0:11:20 | TOM: Yeah. No, I know. I know what you’re talking about, but I’m just. Yeah, thinking that you’re going to have to put Tim have something that set span. Like if it’s going to be, say, 22 foot off your house, you have to have some sort of a structure to support that. You get the hardware cloth or whatever you use is not going to just sit by itself. It’s going to have to have kind of like a roof structure, roof rafters. |
| 0:11:39 | CALLER: Right. That that’s what I’m I don’t know how to do. Yeah. |
| 0:11:42 | TOM: And it’s a good question because it’s actually a lot of work to do that. First of all, what is this, a one story house or is a two story house? Yes. |
| 0:11:50 | CALLER: I’m sorry. |
| 0:11:51 | TOM: One story so that those beams, those rafters have any kind of slope to them would have to start up way high on the roof. And this means you have to intersect them with your existing roof. This is a big project, and it’s not something I think you should take on lightly. But anything of that size is an awful lot of work. And I think you would be. |
| 0:12:10 | CALLER: I wasn’t going to do it myself. I was going to my friends do it, but I would have to be the one to design it and tell them what you know, how to do it. |
| 0:12:19 | TOM: And but you don’t have the skill set to do that. So no, I think you would you would be wise to get some professional help, at least on the layout and the specs for this, because there’s a lot of changes. a lot of decisions have to be made. And most of the time, if you tackle something like this, I can just tell you I’ve seen it time and time again. If you tackle something like this and it’s not done well, it is going to devalue. Your house is going to be an eyesore. It’s going to be a maintenance headache. And people are going to be really turned off by it if you ever want to sell. So I would put the time and the effort into it to design a nice solid roof patio space. You can have it furnished if you want. You can let the cats in there, keep the water out. you could even think about heating at some point in the future or calling it, but I would not do it So this is. |
| 0:13:06 | CALLER: Pretty much a professional project. |
| 0:13:07 | TOM: It really is a professional project of that size. Yeah, that’s a professional. |
| 0:13:11 | CALLER: All right. Well, thanks a lot. I appreciate. |
| 0:13:13 | TOM: It. You’re welcome. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. |
| 0:13:18 | LESLIE: So are you tired of hearing your door being scratched constantly by the dog in the middle of the night? Well, having a pet door for your dog or cat can put that to rest. So how do you go about making this happen? |
| 0:13:31 | TOM: Well, you got to plan this out before you start cutting or your pet might not be the only one getting a new door. So there’s a bunch of options for locations you can use pre-made pet doors that are designed to be installed in any door, back door or back deck or patio slide or garage door or even an exterior wall. You’re going to want to be careful to position it with access to a secure, like fenced in area. Because once Fido gets out the door, of course you don’t want to let them roam the neighborhood. And make sure you purchase the right size door. You want to measure your pet at the shoulder and then add two inches to determine the height of the door. Otherwise, it locks not to be able to fit through it. |
| 0:14:10 | LESLIE: Yeah. And now you also need to think about the type of door and the material that it’s made of. So for dogs that like to chew a bite proof door is definitely the one you want to go with. Another advantage of this advanced construction is its higher energy efficiency as compared to those thinner models that are available. Now, if you have a glass sliding door, there are pet door inserts. Those are going to be the most convenient because they don’t require a storm or screen door to be open for the dog to get access. However, it’s generally not the best for hot or cold weather as it provides virtually zero insulation. Now a door flap is the most common style of dog doors. So some models come with sliding panels. This type of dog door is more energy efficient as it keeps extreme heat or cold from coming in. And another advantage is that the sliding type dog doors can be locked, thereby keeping your pets in and trouble out. So it’s interesting. You’ve got to think about how adaptable is your dog to the scenario. it’s like you want to get them to use it because that would be so amazing to be able to sleep through the night. |
| 0:15:07 | TOM: And a lot of these smart home doors have an electronic fob that goes on the dog collar. So as the dog approaches the door, the dog door unlocks, which is kind of cool, right? Because this way, right this way, when the dog comes back in, it locks sort of behind the dog. And you are not at risk of having a potential opening to your house pretty much all the time. |
| 0:15:32 | LESLIE: That gives me a home alone vibes where you get the person who calls a dog over to the door and the dog door opens and then they walk in. Doug in Rhode Island is on the line with a question about a plumbing product called the Shark Bite. Tell us what you’re working on, Doug. |
| 0:15:47 | CALLER: Yeah, I’m in the process where I’m planning to change my two outside faucets to the type that where the actual shut off is like a foot within the house, inside the house to avoid having to shut down everything in the winter because it’ll drain from a foot inside the house. I’m not sure what they call that mechanism, but I’m thinking rather than have to deal with soldering any pipes in tight quarters, I’m thinking of using the shark by piranha that eliminates any soldering. And so I basically want your opinion on that. Yeah, that’s a. |
| 0:16:27 | TOM: Push to connect fastener and basically you press it on one end of the pipe and you press the pipe into the other, and then it makes a permanent watertight seal. it’s a very popular product for that reason, because you don’t have to solder. And if you think about it, a lot of times when you do install hose Bibb valves, that’s basically what you’re talking about here. You want a hose disconnect inside, say, the floor structure of your basement, for example, or a space that’s a tough spot to have to crawl into or reach up into and solder your right near the wood floor choices potentially unsafe. So I think the shark bite is a perfect tool for that, a perfect product for that. And by the way, if you mess up, you can take them apart. There’s a special tool that you need. It’s called a tongue. And it’s in its shape so that it slips into the shark bite connection and releases the mechanism that holds the pipe. And then you can take it apart. And it’s only a few dollars. And I’m sure that is enough of this. You’d want to pick one up because nobody’s perfect. Every day. |
| 0:17:29 | CALLER: Does it just work forever or does it wear out. |
| 0:17:32 | TOM: Something I’ve heard of? it’s kind of like the Chinese finger puzzle, but. Oh, yeah, yeah. |
| 0:17:38 | CALLER: Yeah. |
| 0:17:38 | TOM: Once you press the pipes together, you can’t really get them apart. |
| 0:17:41 | CALLER: Yeah. Yeah. I just think it’s a I know they will maybe a little more pricey than using solder and fittings, but it seems like a more practical application. And as you mentioned, being in a tight spot. |
| 0:17:56 | TOM: Yeah, and a lot less expensive than a house fire. |
| 0:17:58 | CALLER: Yeah, right. Okay. I appreciate your time. |
| 0:18:02 | TOM: All right. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. |
| 0:18:07 | LESLIE: Well, if you’ve noticed that your concrete walks your driveway, the patio, or even the garage floor is looking bad from some cracks, holes or even just pitted surfaces. But you’re kind of hesitant to make those repairs. There’s a new product out that takes the hassle out of restoring those concrete surfaces. |
| 0:18:23 | TOM: Yep. It’s called Rock Patch, and it was developed by the experts at Dish Coatings. With us to talk about that is Peter Daich. Welcome, Peter. |
| 0:18:30 | PETER: Good day to you both. Thank you. |
| 0:18:32 | TOM: this is the kind of repair that almost everyone needs, but rarely does because of what I call the hassle factor of kind of mixing up a typically dusty patching material, worrying if it’s going to stick. What I like about this product is it’s totally ready to go right out of the kitchen, correct? |
| 0:18:48 | PETER: Exactly. it’s not like you’re trying to whip up your own special soup in a bucket with water. It’s already ready to go. You just pop open the can and slather it on and fill and fix and resurface. Do whatever you need to do. And it’s instantly ready to go. It’s pre-mixed. |
| 0:19:06 | TOM: I love the exactness of the instructions, Leslie. Slather. Slather. We all know what that means. |
| 0:19:12 | PETER: Of course. |
| 0:19:13 | LESLIE: I love the idea of mixing it like a soup. I was like, Oh, I don’t have to add anything. I get it. |
| 0:19:17 | PETER: The thing about concrete, of course, as you know, is, yeah, when you have to mix powder with water the questions in your mind are always, Am I using too much water or my using enough? And of course, as soon as you mix those things together, the clock is ticking and you need to work with it quickly. Whereas with rock packs, you have an almost unlimited amount of time to get it where you want it. And at that point you let it dry and you let it do its thing and then it becomes hard and very rock like. |
| 0:19:46 | TOM: Yeah, I got to say that of all the times that I’ve seen patches done in the 20 years I spent as a professional home inspection to see these patch attempts done to deal with cracks and pitted surfaces. So often people are not even using the right product. They think that they can repair concrete with more concrete or more mortar, and that just doesn’t stick. It doesn’t join it doesn’t bond to the surface. You need a product that’s designed as a patch, and that’s what Rock Patch does. Now, this is actually a polymer stone formula, so it gets really hard when you put it on. And this way it has the same durability or similar durability to a concrete. Can you at that point then, Peter, can you paint it or treat it another any other way? |
| 0:20:27 | PETER: That’s exactly right. So basically you can use this in two ways. You can either use it as something where you can fill cracks or little holes or pitting in a surface in an isolated area, or you can literally resurface the surface. So let’s say you want to do your garage floor and you’ve had salt coming down off the bottom of your car for years and that floors pitted. Well, you can clean the floor, you can resurface with rock patch using a floor squeegee and you get a nice smooth, almost new concrete like surface, which is perfect for an epoxy or any kind of decorative coating, whatever you like. Same goes for surfaces, outdoors, pullbacks, walkways, you name it, and you can leave it as a standalone. So if you like a nice gray dolphin like soft surface, you can apply it and just seal it the next day and rock patch is your finish. If you want to do something over top, be it any kind of paint. You’re good to go because you don’t have a lot of texture and floors transmitting through the top of your finish. Everything is smooth, everything’s ready to go and everything is solid. |
| 0:21:40 | TOM: Well, I’m so glad you guys developed this product, because I tell you what, it is badly needed now. A rock patch comes in one and three gallon containers and you can reseal it and save it for future projects, which is also an advantage of the product. It’s available at dish Coatings dot com and soon to be found at Home Depot and Lowe’s. |
| 0:21:59 | TOM: Peter Daich from Daich Coatings, thank you so much for stopping by the Money Pit. |
| 0:22:04 | PETER: Thank you very much. Always a pleasure. Have a great day. |
| 0:22:07 | LESLIE: Well, Father’s Day is coming up. And if the dads in your life love steak, well, there’s a great deal happening right now at Omaha Steaks dot com. You can score $30 off of your qualifying order by using the promo code Money Pit. |
| 0:22:21 | TOM: That’s right. So go ahead and pick that up. A pack of those tasty bacon wrapped filet minions or really any of their gourmet grillables and get $30 off your order at Omaha Stakes that come with the promo code Money Pit. |
| 0:22:34 | LESLIE: Selena in Tennessee, you’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today? |
| 0:22:37 | CALLER: Last week, I had estimates done on my home to have all my drainpipes replaced. |
| 0:22:42 | TOM: Why did you do that? |
| 0:22:43 | CALLER: My house was built in 1944, and we’ve had some trouble here lately with clouds and everything. So I decided to go ahead and replace all the drain lines. |
| 0:22:52 | TOM: Is that because you’ve getting roots and that sort of thing in the pipes? |
| 0:22:55 | CALLER: I don’t think there’s roots in. No, because we’ve had the pipe from the house back to the drain replaced already. This is just the inside pipe. And they’re old. And I guess we have had a couple of them to rupture, but it was hard to get them all replaced. However, today, my son told me that all of that is useless if I don’t get the main line coming into the house replaced. Also. And I want to see what your take was on that. |
| 0:23:20 | TOM: Well, we’re talking about two different types of pipes. You’re talking about drainage pipes versus supply pipes. And the supply pipe that comes into the house may or may not need to be replaced. The questions I would have for you or is what’s the pipe made out of? And are we having any problems with it now in an older house? You may have the original steel, plumbing, steel, main water pipe coming into the house, which if the house was built, the you say the forties, right? That’s a super old pipe that definitely is at risk of breaking. |
| 0:23:49 | CALLER: Okay, great. So when they come back out to do my plumbing because they’re doing it in two weeks, I need to ask them to look at the pipe and that me because none of the people that gave me estimates even mentioned that, well. |
| 0:24:01 | TOM: I would take a look at that. And typically in a house you don’t replace the drainpipe. So I’m a little surprised that you’re doing that. Typically in an older house with steel pipes, you end up replacing the supply pipes and you do the horizontal pipes first because of the easiest to access. And you do the vertical pipes go up through the walls last because they’re the hardest to access and you can do it in stages. The first step of a steel pipe conversion is to do the main. The second one is to do all the horizontals in the basement crawl space, and the third is to do the verticals. And so typically that what you do in a house that has that kind of plumbing. You mentioned you had some problems with clogging with the drainpipes, but that’s pretty unusual. And I actually have never heard of anyone wanting to replace Drainpipes. Typically, they replace supply pipes. So you might want to get a second opinion on this and not just take the opinion of the plumber that wants the work. |
| 0:24:51 | CALLER: Okay, great. Thank you so much. |
| 0:24:53 | TOM: You’re welcome, Celina. And good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. |
| 0:24:59 | LESLIE: Well, some home improvement projects are fun, but others you just want to get done as quickly and inexpensively as possible, which is where hacks can help. Here are three easy ones that can be done in 30 minutes or less. |
| 0:25:11 | TOM: Now, the first one is something you probably never thought of unless you had a major water leak and didn’t know how to turn that water off. And it’s simply this label, water valves. Imagine that a pipe broke in your ceiling and water is now leaking through every electric light fixture onto your brand new carpet or kitchen or whatever you that mental picture. Well, you can stop it quickly. If you locate and label every important water valve in your house, including and maybe especially the main water valve, the hose valves, the icemaker valve and the water heater valve. If that sort of unthinkable level of leak ever really did happen, you’d now be all of maybe 30 seconds away from stopping a major flow of water. |
| 0:25:53 | LESLIE: All right. Now here’s another hack, you guys stopping toilet leaks. Now, toilet flush and fill valves can break down over time and that can waste a ton of water, a running toilet or one that kind of goes flushes all by itself. That means it needs some new valves. Now, another easy way to tell if your flush valve leaks is to add some food coloring to the toilet tank, then wait about 30 minutes and go and check the bowl. If that food coloring has leaked into the bowl, that means that flush valve is leaking and should be replaced. Now, these are jobs that can be easily done in less than 30 minutes and for only a few bucks. So definitely a do it yourself project. |
| 0:26:27 | TOM: And finally exercise is good for you, but also turns out that exercise is also good for your circuit breakers. So here’s what you want to do. But every six months, turn each breaker off and back on again. And once a month, push the test button on any GFCI Is the ground fault circuit ruptures that you have to make sure they stay flexible and strong just like you after a good workout. If you’d like some more 30 minute home improvement projects, check out 30 under 30 on Money Pit dot.com. |
| 0:26:57 | LESLIE: Kent in Kansas, you’ve got the Money Pit. What is going on at your house? |
| 0:27:01 | CALLER: I have a vent that seems to maybe me have some condensation or whatever, but I’ve got some stains of my bathroom ceiling and I have tried to spray the ceiling stain to fix it, but it continues to be a problem. And I wonder, how do I you know, what do I have to do up in the attic to take care of that? Now, I do have a furnace up in the up in the attic area. So I don’t know if that has anything to do with it, but I think it’s associated with a bathroom vent. Well. |
| 0:27:38 | TOM: Typically when you get a ceiling leak in the bathroom, it’s caused by the plumbing vent where it exits the roof because all bathrooms are going to have a vent pipe that go up. It’s about three inches wide and it goes up from the bathroom through the roof and there’s a rubber boots around the pipe that seals the water out. The problem is the rubber boot isn’t nearly as durable as the shingles around it and the sun beats on it and the UV rays start to break it down and then you’ll get like a gap around the pipe. And then the water, when it rains, kind of hugs. The pipe, works its way down the pipe, it will drip off or find another root and end up somewhere in the city. The bathroom ceiling. So that would be the very the most common type of bathroom leak wouldn’t be the vent to the bathroom fan, although, it’s possible, but it’s probably not it it’s more likely the plumbing vent flashing. So I would take a look at the outside from the roof, identify where that pipe is coming through the roof, and see if the plumbing vent flashing is deteriorated. If it is easy, fix it. A couple of shingles off, but it would be splashing on. Recheck it back in place and you’re good to go. Once you’ve eliminated the leak, then what you can do is spray that stain with a little bit of a bleach a water solution. Let it rinse it off, wipe it dry, and then I want you to prime the entire ceiling with a solvent base primer. So oil base for Al Qaida’s primer, because that’s the only thing that will seal that black in. And then you could put whatever top color you want on top of that, and that could be latex. Okay. |
| 0:29:10 | CALLER: If something is something like a kills product, is that. |
| 0:29:14 | TOM: That’s exactly right. Yep. Kills would be fine. |
| 0:29:16 | CALLER: All right. That’s what I’ve been using to take care of the stain, but it continues, and so I fit the base. All right. |
| 0:29:21 | TOM: Well, if it’s. If it’s continuing the kills product you’re using, is it the water based or is it oil based? |
| 0:29:26 | CALLER: I believe it’s oil based. |
| 0:29:29 | TOM: How are you cleaning your brushes? Are you cleaning the brushes with water or are you cleaning them with mineral ferrous turpentine? |
| 0:29:35 | CALLER: I am using a spray can. |
| 0:29:37 | TOM: Oh, it’s in a spray can. |
| 0:29:39 | CALLER: Yes. |
| 0:29:41 | TOM: It’s probably the alkene I would get a little cork or pint can of the oil based kills. You could put it on heavier that way and just enough to do that sealing. All right. That’ll make a difference. |
| 0:29:53 | CALLER: It actually looks like it’s cracking. Is it? Is it to the point where I’m going to have to repair the drywall? |
| 0:29:58 | TOM: Well, what’s cracking? Is there a seam that’s cracking? |
| 0:30:02 | CALLER: Yeah, The ceiling right in the very center of where the stain is a small crack. And I’m almost afraid to touch it for fear that I’m going to put my finger all the way through it. |
| 0:30:11 | TOM: Well, if that’s the case, you better find out now, Not later. So, yeah, I would poke around a little bit, but a little bit. A small crack in drywall is not a big deal. This Google plumbing vent flashing, you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. Thanks for calling us at 88 Money Pit. |
| 0:30:24 | LESLIE: Jessica wrote into Tim Money Pit and she says we have squeaking sub flooring in our hallway upstairs. We’ve had the carpet pulled back and we’re ready to make the floor squeak repair by putting screw nails through the subfloor into the. JOYCE How long should this screw be? |
| 0:30:38 | TOM: squeaking floors can be obviously very annoying and they happen for a number of reasons, but most commonly it’s because the subfloor gets loose and that flooring when the home is built is often put down with a type of nail that is called a cooler. And the reason it’s called a cooler is because it’s coated with rosin. And the idea is that when the carpenter drives the nail, the friction melts the rosin, which theoretically helps the nail stick and not back out. The problem is that it doesn’t work all the time. And when those nails do back out or when the boards loosen because you have rosin on the nails, it makes a terribly annoying sound. Right? So the way to fix this and you’ve already are partway there because you’ve got the carpet pulled up, is the screw down that subfloor with not nails but screws. And you would use typical drywall screws or case hardened screws. You’re going to want to use about four or five screws across the width of a four foot piece of plywood. And you want to use two and a half inch screws because these are going to go down through the subfloor and well, deep into the floor. JOYCE And that’s going to kind of lock that down. Just remember that subfloor is installed in 16 inch centers, which means you’re going to need about 28 or so screws per sheet of subfloor. The good news is that it can be easily installed with a drill driver. You’re certainly not doing this by hand. Just be sure to screw down every single sheet because as soon as you drive that last group of the carpet back, you’re going to find another squeak. |
| 0:32:09 | LESLIE: That is true. You’re just chasing it. So good luck there, Jess. |
| 0:32:13 | TOM: Well, it’s the classic Groundhog Day moment. You get out your tools, you fix a problem, and a very short time later, it’s got to be done again. Leslie has tips to help you stop the how to deja vu. On today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. |
| 0:32:27 | LESLIE: fixing that same problem over and over again is for sure. A drag. But addressing the root cause and doing the job properly, you can bring an end to those vicious cycle. So the next time you see some peeling paint, don’t just go and slap another coat on top of it. Instead, strip away that old paint with a paint scraper or chemical. And then here’s the key guys. Apply a primer before you apply that top coat. That primer is really going to be what makes it stick for good. Now, if your basement seems to spring a leak every time you fix the last one, there’s a good chance that the real issue is poor drainage. Now you want to grade your soil away from your home’s foundation, and then make sure those gutters release water at least 4 to 6 feet away from those exterior walls, because that’s just going to give you a much sort of drier perimeter to the entire house. And then that’s going to keep your basement drier. And finally put away that cocoon once and for all. If the cork between your shower tiles keeps cracking or breaking fill the bathtub with water before you fill in that cork one final time, it’s the weight of the water. That’s what causes the gap to expand. And so it’s opening up that gap you need to fill. Then you fill it with the cork. You sort of let it set. Then you drain the tub and it kind of shrinks back up. So now when the tub is full of water, or even if you’re just standing at it to take a shower and it sort of stretches out again, the cork is going to stay in place. So these are some tips of the traits that you can definitely go ahead and fix these problems once and for all. |
| 0:33:51 | TOM: Super helpful. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. Coming up next time on the program, If your home happens to sit on a busy road or next to maybe some noisy neighbors, you may find that getting a little peace and quiet is a challenge. We’re going to share ways to reduce noise outside through the installation of some very strategic landscaping on the next edition of the Money Pit. |
| 0:34:14 | TOM: I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:34:15 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:34:16 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 0:34:18 | 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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