Show Notes
- Planning a Kitchen Makeover: Having the right plans for a kitchen makeover is the recipe for success.
- Concrete Crack Repair: Get tips on how to fix cracked concrete and make the repairs last.
- Cleaning Range Vent Hoods: Gross grease can also be a hazard. Find out the best way to clean the vent hood over a stove.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about:
- Insect Pests: Karen has questions about a bug zapper for her problem with flies. We recommend an insect trap that works well to eliminate flying pests.
- Driveway Drainage: Water that flows alongside the driveway is removing the sand and soil. Randy can dig out the dirt and fill the space with gravel that won’t wash away.
- Installing a Fence: Hope wants suggestions on materials to use for building a fence. She gets tips on attractive black fencing and how to build the footings.
- Garage Insulation: Is it a good idea to insulate a garage that will be air-conditioned? Yes, it is, and will help David save on heating and cooling costs.
- Adding a Bathroom: Where is the best place to add a second bathroom in your home? A second-floor bathroom will give Keri better value than a bathroom in the basement.
- Coal Fireplace: Is it safe to burn coal in a wood-burning fireplace? Ed learns that it’s definitely a fire hazard and that coal fireplaces are built differently.
- Musty Odors: Georgia smells musty odors in the room over her crawlspace. We suggest installing a vapor barrier and vent fans, plus checking for drainage issues and dead animals.
- Painting Wood Eaves: Paint is peeling from the wood eaves in Kelly’s old home. We have tips on how to strip, prime, and repaint the wood.
- Brick Repair: Brick and mortar is crumbling on the corner of Katherine’s home. She gets advice on how to dye and patch the brick and repair the mortar.
- Repairing Door Panels: Jeff wonders if he should repair a broken wood door panel or get a whole new door. A carpenter can easily replace the panel.
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 0:00:30 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:00:36 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:01:00 | TOM: It’s like not too hot not to hold. It’s just right to do pretty much any job that you’ve got planned or thinking about doing in your house. And we are here to help you do that. So reach out with your questions. Two ways to do that. You can go to moneypit.com/asked that actually is the fastest way to get a response or call us at 1-888-Money-Pit 888-666-3974. Coming up on today’s show, one home improvement that consistently delivers a great return on investment is a brand new kitchen. But how do you actually get started on planning such a major makeover? We’ll have tips to help just ahead. |
| 0:01:35 | LESLIE: And have you ever tried to fix a crack in a concrete step or porch or sidewalk, only to have it open right back up again? Well, we’re going to share some easy ways to make those repairs and make last. |
| 0:01:47 | TOM: And your stove’s exhaust hood is there for every cooking adventure, but it really gets much attention, maybe except during a smoky kitchen incident. We’re going to tell you what you need to know to keep your vent hood in tip top shape. |
| 0:01:59 | LESLIE: But first, we are here to help you tackle all of your to do’s with confidence. I mean, it’s the fall you guys fall in a few days, it’s the fall. But I love September and October, and there are so many amazing projects that you can do inside and out of your Money Pit. So let us know what you have in mind and let us help you figure out how to get those done. |
| 0:02:17 | TOM: Let’s get to it. The number again is 1-888-Money-Pit or go to moneypit.com/ask. |
| 0:02:23 | LESLIE: Karen’s on the line and she’s got a question about some unwanted visitors to her money pit. What can we help you with? |
| 0:02:30 | CALLER: Well I thought in the past you mentioned something about some kind of bug zapper that worked outside. And the issue hour flies. Not like the kind of one they use light to get mosquitoes. Mm hmm. This is for daytime. |
| 0:02:46 | LESLIE: Well, the light works in the daytime as well. |
| 0:02:48 | TOM: Yeah, I think what you’re talking about is a product that called Dyna Trap de White in a trap. And the way it works is you. You kind of plug it in all season long, and there’s a UV light that reacts with a plate of metal. And I’m not sure what the material was, but basically, when it combines together, it gives off carbon dioxide, so it mimics human breath. And then the insects are drawn to that and there’s a fan that basically pulls them through the through the unit and deposited them into a basket below where they kind of dry out. So that’s the product that you’re referring to. Does it work on flies? I think so, but not as well as it works on mosquitoes. I’ll tell you that. |
| 0:03:26 | LESLIE: And boy, does it work on a mosquito. It really. |
| 0:03:28 | TOM: Works on the skin as. |
| 0:03:29 | CALLER: Well. Yeah, and I know those light ones do, too. But this issue out in California has actually more flies than mosquitoes because we don’t have the moisture. |
| 0:03:39 | TOM: We’ve got some good science behind it. So I certainly would give it a shot. |
| 0:03:42 | CALLER: Okay. And so you said it was called DynaTrap? Yep. |
| 0:03:45 | TOM: D-Y-N-A Trap, DynaTrap. |
| 0:03:48 | CALLER: And you know where it’s sold? |
| 0:03:50 | TOM: Oh, it’s sold everywhere. You can find it on Amazon. You can find it in homes, centers and hardware stores or look at their website, which is I believe DynaTrap.com. |
| 0:03:57 | CALLER: Okay. And how big of an area does that kind of take care of? |
| 0:04:00 | TOM: It depends on the size that you buy. I actually two units have a one acre unit that’s in the back of my house kind of around our dining area patio. And I actually have a smaller one that I think is rated at a half acre on my front porch, which is the other side of the house, because we like to sit out there at night. Yeah, I’ll tell you what, it’s really created a mosquito free zone around the entire home. |
| 0:04:20 | LESLIE: It’s amazing how well they do work. You just have to remember to clean it. Okay. |
| 0:04:24 | CALLER: Thank you so much. |
| 0:04:25 | LESLIE: We’ve got Randy in Arizona on the line who’s got a drainage issue in the driveway? What’s happening? |
| 0:04:30 | CALLER: I got an all dirt. You know, it’s kind of Sandy is a good mixture of dirt in this 60 year old house in Arizona. And when it rains, the water flows down both sides of the cement driveway and expose a PVC pipe. You. I’m just trying to figure out a solution. Maybe. Maybe make something out of cement or make something so the water runs through there without exposing the pipe on both sides. |
| 0:04:53 | TOM: So what’s the pipe through? The pipe is the drainage pipe for, like, rainwater and stuff. |
| 0:04:56 | CALLER: No, it’s. I had a guy put in a sprinkler, you know, a system. Right. And I didn’t even think he was going to go in and use the driveway. He had this pressure deal where he got all the way. |
| 0:05:09 | TOM: Didn’t go down the way. Yeah, that’s the dirt away. Ran the pipe through. Yeah, well, I mean, it’s to avoid having to tear up driveways. So I guess the soil or the sand washes out around this pipe. Is it possible for you around that area to kind of dig out the soft dirt that’s there and fill it with gravel? And I’m thinking big gravel at the gravel that’s like an inch in an inch, inch and a half size gravel, because that’s not going to wash away. And if we can just cover that one area where the pipe gets exposed with gravel, even if the sand washes through it around, that it’s not going to push the gravel away and you won’t be exposing that pipe and you may even be able to find gravel. It’s different colors to do this with. Would something like that work? |
| 0:05:53 | CALLER: I’m trying to avoid any rocks because the weeds are easier, but I’ll try. And maybe a smooth Iraq like a river rock or something. Maybe. Right. |
| 0:06:01 | TOM: Well, if you’re worried about weeds, what you can also do is when you dig that area, output filter fabric down first. |
| 0:06:07 | CALLER: Okay? |
| 0:06:08 | TOM: Because that helps. And then if you do get weeds, you know, just chase it with a weed killer, you spray the weeds and it goes down and it gets to the roots and stops coming back. I mean, I think at this point we’re trying to find a simple solution here for something that’s basically at the level of an annoyance. You’re probably the only guy that notices this, you know, because you’re looking for it every time and you fix it so many different times. But I don’t I don’t think we should be thinking about putting in curtained drains. That’s a big. |
| 0:06:32 | CALLER: Expense. Hey, I’m glad I asked you because I don’t need a big mess. So I agree with you so much. Thank you. |
| 0:06:38 | TOM: All right. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for reaching out. We’re glad to help. |
| 0:06:42 | LESLIE: Hey, Money Pit podcast fans, you want to help us out, We’ll go ahead and leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. And we’re going to give you a virtual high five. Plus, you’ll be helping us spread the word about our show. Just go to Money Pit dot com slash review. All right. Now we’ve got Hope from Illinois on the line who’s in a super great mood about this project. What’s going on? |
| 0:07:02 | CALLER: The project is putting up a fence for our dogs in a pretty large area at the back of the house that borders a creek. It’s a very high creek bank. Water rarely comes into the yard or anything, but just concerned about moisture and what the ground might be like underneath and if that should affect the material that we use for the fence. |
| 0:07:28 | TOM: What are you thinking about? What kind of fence are you are you leaning towards? |
| 0:07:30 | CALLER: Well, we’ve looked at everything from like rolls of welded wire on post or some sort of black wrought iron, low fencing, something like three feet. Okay. |
| 0:07:45 | TOM: So in either case, you’re going to have metal fence posts, not wood fence. Most. Have you thought about wood fencing or are you just afraid of the water? |
| 0:07:51 | CALLER: Definitely thought of wood as well. Yes. |
| 0:07:54 | TOM: Okay. So well. |
| 0:07:55 | CALLER: Something that won’t ruin our view. |
| 0:07:59 | TOM: Right. Okay. Hey, that’s a great point, because if you want something that’s almost invisible, the idea of the black fencing is definitely the way you want to go. If you have a black fence, like I often see these around pools because, you know, people put pool fences around because they absolutely have to ensure they’re not only required, but they’re just essential for safety. But let’s face it, spend money on the pool. You don’t want to kind of just stare at a fence from, you know, from your house or the street. But if you use black fencing, it’s almost invisible. It like melts in with the background. So I think that that’s a really good choice if that is your goal. In terms of the moisture, I really don’t think you have any need, anything to be concerned about. If you were working with a wood fence or wood posts, I would tell you to put those posts in and don’t use any concrete, just use stone aggregate, you know, like a gray driveway, gravel kind of thing, because the drains and the posts is just as solid with the stone as it is I found with concrete, but it drains very well and it’s really locked in place. Well, now, in terms of the metal posts I’ve not put in, well, I put one metal fence post in around a large garden some years ago and I think if I recall right, I use stone for that. But you’re going to have to check the manufacturer’s recommendation You don’t have the same issues with. Right? Most of those posts are aluminum. You just want to make sure that the want to make the post not going to react with the concrete. And if you do decide to go with concrete in the metal post, then I would use the quick crit concrete product in the red bag because you can pour it in dry and then kind of water the hole so you don’t have to mix it up ahead of time. You basically pour it in dry and let it sit there and then just fill the water with fill the hole with water and a couple of hours later, you’re good to go. |
| 0:09:39 | CALLER: Well, thank you so much. And I listen to you every single week. I’ve learned so much from you guys. |
| 0:09:44 | TOM: Oh, thank you so much. Good luck with the new house and call us back anytime. |
| 0:09:48 | CALLER: Thank you. |
| 0:09:49 | LESLIE: Had no word of David who wants to talk about some insulation. Tell us about your project. |
| 0:09:54 | CALLER: I’d like to use my garage just for leaving my cars and a few projects above the garage. Is non living space just an attic? Should I insulate my above the ceiling while our air conditioned the garage for the first time? |
| 0:10:11 | TOM: Sir David, I’m thinking this through are of the opinion you probably should insulated. Here’s why now typically insulation what it’s going to do is if you have heat, for example, which you don’t have in this case, it would rise and it would keep the heat in. However, in this case, you’re going to have a very hot attic. And it would be great if the layer of insulation was there, the ceiling, because it’ll stop some of that really hot attic from radiating down through the ceiling in your garage in Florida and warming the garage. So I don’t think you can go wrong by insulating that ceiling. You don’t go crazy with it. But if you put six inches up there, I think it would make a difference in terms of the split. Douglas, excellent choice. And if you do have an opportunity to insulate the walls, I would do that as well for the very same reason. I think the AC is going to work a lot less if the place is a little bit better insulated. |
| 0:11:01 | LESLIE: Well, Saul is actually the most popular time of year for kitchen renovations because everybody is just in a darned rush to get things going for the holidays. |
| 0:11:10 | TOM: Why do we put such pressure on ourselves? You know, but it happens every season. |
| 0:11:14 | LESLIE: I don’t know. I feel like people love a deadline. It’s motivating it really, but it’s really procrastinating at its best. You guys, you know, people just want to get them done. And I think the hardest part, given that time crunch, is really figuring out where to start. |
| 0:11:29 | TOM: Yeah, you know, it’s easy to stick with the same old current design, but if you think outside the old boxes that can bring inspiration and sort of a brand new and even more efficient kitchen layout, think about change to the location of maybe the sink, the functionality of the countertop, adding or even removing an island, maybe to free up some space, maybe getting strategic with lighting to make sure you have both task and access lighting. These are all things that a pro designer can help you achieve and the kind of things that you might not really think about until someone suggested to you and shows you how it could benefit the new design. |
| 0:12:01 | LESLIE: Yeah, and you know what? You can find an experienced design pro with the National Kitchen and Bath Association. It’s also known as NCBA. They do offer a certification program and to become an NCBA, a certified kitchen and bath designer, these pros have to have at least five years of design experience and must complete at least 60 hours of continuing education so they know what’s up, they know what’s on trend. They know how to make it functional. I mean, it is definitely worth it to find one of these pros. |
| 0:12:28 | TOM: Yeah, they’re going to make that holiday deadline. They’ll also know what suppliers are going to actually work with you on that and make that happen. And the really nice thing about working with a pro designer is that you can pretty much wipe the slate clean and sort of start from scratch. So the sky’s the limit. You know, seeing a beautiful kitchen design in a showroom or in a website can be fun, but it can also feel overwhelming. But if you have the skills of a design pro, it really can make all the difference in the world and help you achieve all this possible for your particular space, all while potentially saving you money, time and hassle of figuring it all out on your own and most importantly, making that holiday dinner, You know? |
| 0:13:05 | LESLIE: Right. |
| 0:13:05 | TOM: It’s going to be a really expensive holiday dinner every time you get out of the kitchen, but it’ll be nice to be done. |
| 0:13:10 | LESLIE: We’ve got Carrie on the line who’s looking to add a bathroom? A second one. But where’s the best spot? Carrie, what’s going on? |
| 0:13:17 | CALLER: We have a house that’s from 1912. We have a vacant here in the basement that has it in storage. And then we have a partially finished attic space. So our bedroom used to be up there, and we have a, like, a huge open space up there. And my husband and I are wanting to add a second bathroom. Okay. We’re not sure if we’re if we should be, you know, which area we should be doing it. Is it better to pump up or like gravity? |
| 0:13:43 | TOM: Yeah. Yeah. How does gravity play into this is your question. Well, I would take a step back from that and I would think if it was me, I would think more about the real estate value of the house. And I would suggest that having a bathroom on the second floor is probably going to be more attractive to potential future buyers than having a bathroom in the basement. The basement is more of a nice to have thing, and if it’s a big rec room and if it’s a big family area and that’s almost like I hate to call it this, but it’s almost like it’s a luxury to have a basement bathroom. In terms of the plumbing, it’s not a problem. You know, we have the technology for down. |
| 0:14:16 | LESLIE: We can make it happen. |
| 0:14:18 | TOM: We can make it happen. We can move that sewage whichever way it has to go. And obviously upstairs you have a traditional plumbing, but in the basement you would use something called the lift pump. And essentially it’s kind of like a sealed sump pump in a way. But much more heavy duty and it grinds up waste and then it pumps it up until it can catch the drain line out of the house, which is generally, you know, not too terribly high. But, you know, we could do either way. But I think if it was me, Leslie, you tell me what you think. But I’m thinking having it upstairs, especially if it was potentially if it was or could potentially be like the master bedroom, that would be like in the central part of the suite. You know. |
| 0:14:53 | LESLIE: I mean, it’s interesting because, you know, we’ve been looking to move and I really want my own bathroom in the bedroom. And, you know, when that’s not an option. And then they’re like, oh, look, here’s this beautiful bathroom in the basement. And you’re like, That’s awesome. But I don’t want to go all the way to the basement. I want my own I want to go right here. So, I mean, truly, if that’s going to be like your main hangout space, not your only option, then do it there, but for value of the home and resale value. That second floor is really going to work because everybody’s living there. You’re going to argue over who gets to shower first. I mean, all the things that happen that you have not yet encountered are going to happen. So avoid them by having that second bath. |
| 0:15:29 | CALLER: They’re perfect. If I didn’t think about any of that stuff, I really appreciate that. That makes absolute perfect that. |
| 0:15:35 | TOM: Larry will help you out. And good luck with the project and call us back if you have more questions anytime. |
| 0:15:39 | CALLER: So we appreciate you guys. |
| 0:15:41 | TOM: All right. Take care, Carrie. |
| 0:15:43 | LESLIE: Now we’re going to take a call from Ed in Arkansas who’s got a question about a fireplace and the fuel choice. What’s going on it? |
| 0:15:49 | CALLER: My question is rather unorthodox. In parts of the country where there’s lignite, coal, which is this is one of them. Is it safe? And I think it’s kind of quietly practiced. People don’t talk about it much. They maybe in their fireplace. So like people who prefer a built in fireplace or sometimes an woodstove. People use lignite coal in a supplement fashion. And my question is, is that safe? |
| 0:16:20 | TOM: So that’s a really interesting question. And I have to say, I’ve never received that question before, but I do know the answer, and the answer is no. You should not be burning coal in a fireplace. I do know that coal fireplaces are actually built quite different than wood burning fireplaces. They’re usually you saw them a lot in sort of Victorian age houses and they’re very tall and they’re very narrow because you don’t need that much coal to generate a lot of heat. The problem is that if you try to burn it in a regular fireplace, the draft is not set up correctly. Coal burns much, much hotter than wood, so it is potentially a dangerous practice and you absolutely, positively cannot use it in the fireplace. That has an insert and certainly not one that’s prefab because it is so. So not recommended for that that you would be creating a major fire hazard. So while I can understand that the material is available, unless you specifically have a coal burning fireplace, you should not use it. And anything else that you use to burn wood in fireplace, wood stove, the like, don’t do it. Stick with the words. Stick with the fuel that it’s designed for. It’s a lot safer. |
| 0:17:27 | LESLIE: All right. Next up, we’ve got Georgia calling from Pennsylvania. What’s going on? Georgia? Can we help you? |
| 0:17:33 | CALLER: Why, Leslie? Well, I have a problem. We have a stone home that actually my dad had built in the fifties stone, Gladstone. And we have a window in a bedroom that. The bedroom was actually over a crawl space and the window had been leaking water around it. And I don’t know for how long, but we just had a wrap like last year thinking that would take care of the musty smell that we have. But it hasn’t and we can’t, you know, we don’t know if we have to rip out the walls or the hardwood floors, if, you know, if there’s mold in there, you know, any suggestions that. So we don’t have to go through all that. |
| 0:18:13 | TOM: Is the home occupied all the time or is it like a vacation home? |
| 0:18:16 | CALLER: No, it’s our home. |
| 0:18:18 | TOM: Is your home okay? |
| 0:18:19 | LESLIE: And is the smell just coming from the basement or is it coming from the room where you had the leak or the crawlspace, rather? |
| 0:18:26 | CALLER: Maybe a combination of both. I don’t know. We actually crawled into the crawl space to see, but it smells like it’s coming from the wall. |
| 0:18:33 | TOM: Is the crawl space accessible? Georgia is a room to get in there. |
| 0:18:36 | CALLER: Yeah. |
| 0:18:37 | TOM: Okay. When you go in the crawl space, is it just like a sand floor? Like a dirt floor? |
| 0:18:42 | CALLER: Yeah, dirt. |
| 0:18:43 | TOM: Do you have any kind of vapor barrier in there, Jerry? Kind of plastic down over the floor. |
| 0:18:47 | CALLER: We do not. That’s something we were going to do, but we haven’t gotten around to it yet. |
| 0:18:51 | TOM: Yeah, well, a couple of things. First of all, this may be obvious, but I want to make sure that there’s no, like, animal that got in there that died and is now that source of the smell in the crawl space. Secondly, I do think you need to get in that crawl space and you need to lay down very heavy this clean or plastic sheeting with as few seems as possible. If you’re going to overlap it overlap like four feet of it, you know, so you really trap the moisture under that floor because right now all the humidity in the soil is just evaporating right up into the house. And if you put a vapor barrier down, you’re going to change that a lot. The third thing that you could do is you could have in the crawl space fence, which I’m hoping it has, you could have a fan installed into those vents that works on the humid estate so that whenever it gets very damp and humid in the crawl space, whatever, when the percent humidity is sort of reach, that fan will kick on and draw some drier air from the outside through that space. Those steps will help reduce the volume of moisture that’s in that crawl space. And coupled with that would be just some basic maintenance to your outside grading and drainage, making sure you have gutters that are clean and free flowing and downspouts that are extended and also make sure that the soil where possible slips away from the wall. You have to take steps to reduce the humidity and just doing those few things will have a major impact on it. |
| 0:20:13 | CALLER: So you don’t think that we have to worry about like mold in the walls or anything like that that we have to deal with? |
| 0:20:19 | TOM: I don’t know. But I want you to do all these basic things first. These are basic, easy, inexpensive things that almost always lead to very significant moisture problems inside the house. So let’s take care of the simple things first before we start tearing walls. |
| 0:20:34 | CALLER: What works for me? |
| 0:20:35 | TOM: All right, Georgia. All right. |
| 0:20:38 | LESLIE: Well, if you’ve ever tried to fix a crack in a concrete step or porch or sidewalk, and then it just opens right up again, you might be thinking, Wow, I think I did that wrong, and maybe there’s a better way. Well, there is, guys. So the first step here is to clean that crack and get rid of any old debris in there. Next, if it’s just hairline, you got to widen it out a bit so that it actually can hold on to the sealant. And you can do that with a masonry chisel. Now, if the crack is already wide, the next step there is to fill it with a backer rod, which is a foam tube that keeps the sealant up toward the top of the crack where it belongs. |
| 0:21:12 | TOM: Now, once you’ve done the prep, it’s time to choose a sealant that matches the project at hand. So if you have cracks, you want to get a concrete crack sealant. Now, this type of a sealant is going to permanently seal and waterproof cracks in concrete was sort of a textured matte finish. Now, for deep cracks, you want to fill those spaces with a self-leveling sealant that’s going to permanently seal horizontal cracks and expansion joints in concrete with a smooth level finish and four vertical cracks. There’s a type of sealant called non-sag sealant, which does just that. It permanently seals vertical cracks sort of without running out. And it’s good for expansion joints and concrete and masonry and stucco and even brick. |
| 0:21:53 | LESLIE: Now, all of these set in about an hour, you guys. And most importantly, once you fix that crack, it’s going to stay fixed. Kelly in Mississippi is on the line and needs some help restoring an old home. What can we do for you? |
| 0:22:06 | CALLER: I have a 100 year old home. The walls of the house is brick. The eaves are wood. And over the years, the is the eaves have been painted and. And it’s just blister paint, peeling paint, and probably three or four layers of paint. Okay. I know the best way to remove that paint and redo it. |
| 0:22:30 | TOM: Yeah, well, you’ve got to strip the paint and it’s a big job. There are different types of chemicals, chemical strippers that are available. There are some natural they called orange peel strippers that are showing promise where you apply the strip or you cover it with like a plastic, and then you leave it for, you know, some period of time, a couple of hours. And it seems to speed up the stripping process. But if you’ve got that much paint on it. You’re going to need to strip off what you can. And then once you’re done with that, Kelly, you do need to prime it because that’s going to give you a good solid surface upon which the next coats will stick very well. I would be concerned that if you just strip off the old paint, try to put another topcoat on there, you wouldn’t have the adhesion because the primer is kind of the glue, you know, that makes that paint stick. Okay. |
| 0:23:17 | CALLER: What’s the product that you would recommend to remove that paint? |
| 0:23:21 | TOM: There’s a product at Home Depot called Citristrip that works very well. It’s a stripping gel and it’s a safer to use than traditional paint strippers. And then there’s another one that’s called clean strip that also works very well. So I would take a look at those two products. And what I would do is maybe buy a gallon of each and give them each a try. You know, sometimes the formulation of the paint, depending on how it was made and how old it is, you know, impacts, which stripper works the best. So I would buy a small quantity. Test it out, see which works best and go from there. |
| 0:23:55 | CALLER: Okay. Sounds great. |
| 0:23:57 | LESLIE: We’ve got Catherine online, who’s got a beautiful old home, but some of the bricks are falling apart. What’s going on? |
| 0:24:03 | CALLER: I have a brick home and the one. |
| 0:24:05 | LESLIE: Corner around the foundations. Some of the brick faces have popped off and some of the mortar. |
| 0:24:13 | CALLER: Is. |
| 0:24:13 | LESLIE: Crumbling. |
| 0:24:14 | CALLER: What brand of mortar should I use? And should I. |
| 0:24:19 | LESLIE: Follow. |
| 0:24:20 | CALLER: It up with a rubber. |
| 0:24:22 | LESLIE: Sealant or silicone sealant? What type of sealant and what brand? And also, is. |
| 0:24:28 | CALLER: There one that I can paint so that I can match it to. |
| 0:24:33 | LESLIE: My house? We’re only talking about an area. |
| 0:24:37 | CALLER: Of. |
| 0:24:38 | LESLIE: A few. |
| 0:24:39 | CALLER: Bricks. |
| 0:24:39 | LESLIE: And a corner of a house, so it’s pretty small area. |
| 0:24:43 | TOM: Okay. Catherine, So you want to repair the deteriorated brick and the mortar. Now, one of the things that you’re going to probably need to think about is the fact that the repair products you use, you want them to somewhat match the color. Fortunately, that is actually not difficult today because there are dyes that you can mix in with different types of repair products. Now, in terms of the brick, there’s a product that quickly makes called Recap, which is designed to adhere to old masonry surfaces. And I think that you can get this and mixing in some of the dye that’s available also from quick or other suppliers to get a reddish color that won’t sort of stick out like a sore thumb when you make this repair. It’s used to build up. You may have to three quarters of an inch of deterioration off of a surface and it sticks really, really well in terms of the mortar. That’s exactly what you want. You want a mortar repair product because that configuration for mortar is different than basic cement. And it’s designed to be a little stickier and stay inside that joint. One tool that will help you is something called a pointing trowel, which is a very narrow trowel that’s designed to fit in between the layers of brick. So you got a little bit of work to do there. But if you use the right products, they’re going to adhere properly and blend in with the old home that you have right now. |
| 0:26:02 | LESLIE: Well, your stove exhaust vent hood is there for every cooking adventure that you go on, but it rarely gets any attention except during a very smoky kitchen incident. So to keep things operating safely, the filter and your still vent hood, it does need regular attention. |
| 0:26:17 | TOM: Yeah. Now, for the most part, you can clean standard filters with a D greasing solution, followed by warm, soapy water or in some cases you can put it on the top rack of your dishwasher. If your fan uses activated charcoal filters, those need to be removed and replaced every three months. And while you’re at it, use that same decreasing solution to clean the inside of that hood. Make sure the power is off. But it does tend to get really gooey with grease and this is going to make it run more efficiently and more safely. So good idea to tackle. That project’s not something you think about all the time, but you’ll find that the fan is going to work. Just ain’t going to work a whole lot better with a clean or a fresh filter in it. |
| 0:27:01 | LESLIE: Jeff in Massachusetts is on the line, who mysteriously has a hole in a bathroom door? |
| 0:27:07 | CALLER: How’d that happen, Jeff? Yes, hello. Well, apparently one of my guests slammed the bathroom door a little bit too hard and it threw the bolt out all by itself. So we got locked out of our own bathroom. Oh, boy. This is a very old building in 1928 building. And these are these thin paneled doors with the center of the door is a very thin panel. So we bashed a hole through the panel to open the door. Now, my question to you is, can this door be repaired or can it be disassembled and you can replace the center panel? Or do I just go out and buy a whole new door. |
| 0:27:43 | TOM: So is it a solid door or is it a hollow door? |
| 0:27:47 | CALLER: It’s well, it’s a solid door, but the thick part of the door is only like four inches around the edge. And this part of the door is a very thin, like quarter inch panel. |
| 0:27:57 | TOM: And is the panel a raised panel? Is that have a design to it? |
| 0:28:00 | CALLER: No, it’s a flat. It’s a flat panel. |
| 0:28:02 | TOM: No. Well, then I think you could replace it. Is the door painted or stained? |
| 0:28:06 | CALLER: I believe it’s been painted numerous times. |
| 0:28:08 | TOM: Yeah. And I think there’s no reason you can’t fix it. It would be really hard to find a door that fit that space. And I think just taking the door apart and a good carpenter can build your panel and set it right in there. And with a little bit of luck, it won’t look too much different than anything else. |
| 0:28:23 | CALLER: Well, that was my question. Whether the door can be disassembled. I’ve heard of situations where they took a saw and sort out the molding on the inside of a door that a holes in the panel and put the new panel in that way. |
| 0:28:37 | TOM: I don’t think you have to take it apart. In fact, I don’t think you can take it apart. I think what you’re probably talking about doing is rooting out a groove on the back side of that so you can set the panel in and then maybe covering it with a small quarter round molding or something and that. |
| 0:28:48 | CALLER: Okay, that’s the way to go. Well, thank you very much for this. |
| 0:28:51 | TOM: All right, Jeff, good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 0:28:56 | LESLIE: Well, Jenna wrote in to Tim Money Pit and she says, my washer and dryer are stacked and in a closet with about 3 to 4 inches of space on the sides of the dryer. So it’s not possible to reach behind them. The duct leaving the dryer is flexible. How can I add a metal vent pipe for the dryer if you can’t access it? |
| 0:29:14 | TOM: Those stackable washer dryers that are inside closets are really difficult to vent. But there is a trick of the tray that I think a lot of folks are not aware of. You know, in the back of a dryer, we’re used to seeing the exhaust coming out at the bottom in the middle of the back. But most dryers will allow you to vent it out the side of the dryer. And if you start to take apart the panels that cover that, you’ll see that there’s usually a way to twist the vent and pointed towards the side of the dryer where you typically find like a knockout, like a pre punched hole in the sides of the dryer by the bottom. So if you can get that vent out by the side of the dryer, then you can use what’s called a periscope vent, which is sort of a square ducted vent that connects to the point where it comes out of the dryer and then it extends up towards the top of the machine, at which point you can connect it with a traditional duct. And then, by the way, I wouldn’t use flex duct with this. I would use a solid metal dryer duct for this because you’ll have less resistance. It’ll clean a lot more efficiency. And then since you told me you’re going up into an attic, you’ve got to go through the attic and through the roof or through the attic and outside. Well, you can’t just dump it in the attic, otherwise you’re going to have a lot of moisture up there that’s going to impact your home’s ability to be energy efficient. |
| 0:30:34 | LESLIE: All right. Now, Tyler reached out and says, I noticed condensation building up on our windows and found the wood windowsill to be rotted both inside and out. I repaired the rot, stripped and replaced the old paint and caulk, and then used a primer and repainted everything. It was a lot of work, but the next day I woke up to a foggy water dripping window once again. Is this the humidity issue? Do I need an air purifier or just new windows? I’m also seeing condensation at other windows and at this point, I don’t know where to start. |
| 0:31:04 | TOM: I feel terrible that you went through all this work on this particular window because unfortunately, I think you missed the primary cause whenever we see foggy windows and condensation, typically it’s because you have a thermal paint that’s failed thermal pane glass is where you have two layers of glass and there’s a seal around the glass. And when the seal fails, you get humidity and moisture inside and it’ll get worse depending on the difference in temperature between outside and in. Moisture is always moving from the inside towards the outside. And when it gets into that space, it’s condenses. And that’s why it looks like it’s all fog. So, yes, unfortunately, you need to replace the windows. I mean, the thing is, because the windows fog, this really a cosmetic issue, it will make it less energy efficient. It’s not a thing where you have to go out right away and replace the windows, but you probably should start to schedule this and you could do the worst windows first. You could do the windows if you’re heating bills are high, you could do the north and the east first. If your air conditioning bills are high, you can do the south, the west sides first. You don’t have to do it all at once. But I think it is time to think about upgrading these windows, replace them with new Energy Star rated windows. And that’s going to solve this. Was it for all. |
| 0:32:15 | LESLIE: And you know what, Tyler? You’ll probably get a credit for upgrading those windows on your taxes. So think about that. |
| 0:32:21 | TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I think we should change it to the home adventure show because Home Improvement is an adventure and we’re happy to be your guides on that adventure. If you’ve got questions. Couldn’t get through today’s show, please remember you can reach us 24 seven by going to Money Pit talks slash ask. We will respond 24 seven. But we’re usually pretty quick with the answers to your questions or you can always call us at 1-888-Money-Pit. But for now, that’s all the time we have. I’m Tom Kraeutler and. |
| 0:32:51 | LESLIE: I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:32:52 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 0:32:54 | 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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