Show Notes
Join us as we reveal five expert paint tips to expand the feel of your smaller rooms. We’ll also chat about the importance of flexible living spaces in the modern home. And if you’re planning a painting project, we’ll share info about paint sprayers for quick, mess-free results. Let’s turn your to-do list into a done list with answers to these and other home improvement questions from today’s callers!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Painting Tips: These 5 strategic painting tips can make small rooms look bigger.
- Flexible Living Spaces: Find out about the latest trends in flexible living spaces that do double or triple duty. Dwell Magazine Editor-in-Chief William Hanley joins us to share why having a space that’s flexible is more important than ever.
- Paint Sprayers: Powerful new DIY paint sprayers let you tackle paint projects faster and more efficiently.
Top Questions & Answers
- Roof Leak: Judy’s roof was repaired and the underlayment is fine, but it’s still leaking. We suggest checking the boot and flashing around the plumbing vent pipe.
- Cleaning Porch: There are white mineral deposits on Tom’s aluminum porch struts. He can use a vinegar and water solution to clean the surface and should look for ways to dehumidify the space.
- Smoke Smell: The previous owner of Eve’s home was a heavy smoker. We suggest cleaning everything and using a good oil-based primer to seal the ceilings, walls, and floors to get rid of the smoke smell.
- Sinkhole: A sinkhole is developing over the edge of the septic system. Brian should have a septic inspector check for a failing septic field.
- Slow Drain: Mary’s bathtub drains slowly but the plumber can’t find the cause. She needs to hire a drain cleaning professional to find and clear the blockage.
- Deck Stain: What kind of stain should be used for a new deck? Randy should wait a while for the lumber to dry out, and then apply a solid color deck stain that lasts longer.
- Sink Odor: There’s a foul odor coming from the bathroom sink. We give Yvonne tips for taking apart and scrubbing the drain and trap to get rid of smelly bacteria and bio-gases.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:30 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit, home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:00:35 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:00:37 | TOM: Welcome to episode 2429. You can listen when you want by following the show at MoneyPit.com slash podcast. But hey, we want to know what you’re planning to take on this weekend. You got a project in mind that you want to get done? Are you going to spruce up the outdoor living space now that we are cresting into what would be, I guess, this would be sort of the prime spot of summer here. Between the beginning of July and end of August. So a good seven, eight weeks here to go, some beautiful weather, lots of time to enjoy those outdoor projects. So if you’ve got one in mind, we’d love to help you get that done. Reach out to us with those questions. If you need help starting a project, if you need help because you’re stuck in the middle of a project, well, we are here sticking around to help you get those jobs done. You can reach us at 1-888-Money-Pit or better yet, go to MoneyPit.com slash ask and click the blue microphone button. Coming up on today’s show, do you have a small room that you’d like to look bigger? You want to expand it? Well, you can do that without any tools, without any banging, without any nails, without any new furniture, just by choosing the right paint. Yes, it’s that easy. We’re going to share five tips on how to use paint to make tiny spaces seem larger than life. |
| 00:01:50 | LESLIE: And also ahead, today, working from home is now the norm for lots of Americans and so are the many other activities that require our living spaces to do the work. We’re going to show you how to do double or sometimes even triple duty. Well, Dwell Magazine has been following this trend and Editor-in-Chief William Hanley is going to join us to share why having a space that’s flexible is more important than ever. |
| 00:02:10 | TOM: And if you guys are ready to add some speed, convenience, and great results to your next painting project, we’re going to share our experience with the Wagner Flexio series sprayers, which offer a very quick, consistent, and mess-free finish on everything from furniture to fences. |
| 00:02:24 | LESLIE: But first, our focus is you. We want to know what you want to know. So if there’s a DIY project on your to-do list, let us help you make it a DIY done project. Whatever it is you are working on, big or small, you know, major project, little project, whatever it is, we know it’s a big deal to you. So let us give you a hand. |
| 00:02:42 | TOM: And if you guys reach out to us at 1-888-Money-Pit with a question, we will toss your name in the Money Pit hard hat because we’ve got a great giveaway going out to one lucky listener who will be drawn at random from those who reach us today. It’s the DieHard Max Industrial Strength Apocalypse. It’s a boxy floor coating kit, a very long name that basically stands for a great finish for a garage floor, a basement floor, or a laundry floor. It’s worth $99. If it’s made of concrete, you’re going to love what this looks like when you’re done. So reach out to us with your questions. That number again is 1-888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:03:16 | LESLIE: Judy in Missouri is online with a roofing question. How can we help you today? Yes. |
| 00:03:20 | CALLER: I was wondering if you had ever heard of, had a roof repair a few years ago and it’s been leaking ever since. They used what they called TAM Shield. It’s a synthetic underlayment and it’s plastic and they used that instead of felt paper. |
| 00:03:38 | CALLER: Yeah, right. |
| 00:03:38 | TOM: It’s synthetic and it’s actually an upgrade to standard 15-pound felt paper and it’s actually better than using standard felt paper under a roof. The reason that your roof is leaking now is probably not because of the TAM Shield. It’s probably because of something that went wrong with the repair, but I don’t think it would have been the underlayment because that’s actually pretty good stuff. How is it leaking, Judy? |
| 00:03:59 | CALLER: Tell me about the leak. |
| 00:04:00 | CALLER: Well, we really don’t know. It comes through in our bathroom and we get up in the attic and we can see drips, but they can’t seem to pinpoint it. They’ve worked on it several times and they just can’t get it to go away. |
| 00:04:12 | TOM: Usually if your roof is leaking above your bathroom, there’s a pipe that goes through the ceiling right there and up through the roof and it’s the plumbing vent pipe. And right around that vent pipe, there’s like a rubber boot that seals that pipe between, you know, the roof and the ceiling. The pipe and the roof itself. And then there’s flashing that goes around that. That’s the most common place for a roof leak when you have it leak right above a bathroom. And a lot of times contractors will try to sort of tar that in place, but that’s a bad idea. What I would recommend is to take out the plumbing vent flashing. And you can do that easily by removing a few shingles in that area. Roof shingles are actually pretty easy to disassemble if you know kind of a trick of the trade. I like to do it with a flat bar that you can slip up under the roof shingle, find the nail and sort of pry it from side to side. And it’ll pop right out. And then you replace that plumbing vent flashing and put it back together again and make sure you put everything in the right order so the roofing lays on top of the flashing. That usually stops that leak. |
| 00:05:10 | CALLER: But leave the vent pipe there? |
| 00:05:12 | TOM: Oh, yeah. The vent pipe is there for an important reason. You’re going to start having problems flushing your toilet and all your sinks are going to start to gurgle if you take that out. But replace the plumbing vent flashing there, okay? Okay. |
| 00:05:23 | CALLER: Well, thank you very much. |
| 00:05:24 | TOM: You’re welcome, Judy. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:05:29 | LESLIE: All right. Now we’re going to talk to Tom, who’s got a porch question. How can we help you today? |
| 00:05:33 | CALLER: I have a three-season porch, aluminum. And on the inside on the struts, not the panels themselves, but the support struts that support them, I have like a oxidation or mineral deposit. And it’s white. And I’m trying to figure out how to take it off. |
| 00:05:47 | CALLER: Do you think it’s the result of a leak, Tom? Yeah. |
| 00:05:51 | CALLER: Moisture building up. It’s not just in one spot. It’s all along the whole pipe. It’s a bottom strut on the whole porch. |
| 00:05:58 | TOM: So if it’s a mineral deposit, the easiest way to get rid of that is with a white vinegar and water solution because the vinegar will melt the salts. Okay. Now, if that takes it off, great. It’s not going to stop it from reappearing. If that’s the condition, what you really need to do is look for ways to dehumidify that space because the moisture is going to continue to condense on that and form those deposits, even if you were to get it clean again. The other product that you could think about using is called CLR, Calcium Lime Rust Remover. That’s another type of mineral salt cleaner that’s a little bit stronger than vinegar and water. But that will also work as well. Okay. |
| 00:06:37 | CALLER: That won’t take the… It’s anodized aluminum. You know, it’s that brown, bronzed aluminum for a three-season porch. That won’t affect it, the CLR? |
| 00:06:44 | CALLER: I don’t believe it will. |
| 00:06:45 | TOM: But you could always try it in a, you know, they always say test a small area. But I think you’re going to find that the reaction of that material on the salts will just melt it away. Okay. I’ll give that a try. All right. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:07:01 | LESLIE: You know, we love hearing from our listeners. And if you want to make our day, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. |
| 00:07:07 | TOM: You know, it really helps us know what we’re doing right and how we can improve our show for you. So just go to moneypit.com slash review, moneypit.com slash review, and you might even win a copy of our book. Hey, if you reach out to us right now with your home improvement questions at 1-88-Money-Pit, you’ll get the answer to that question. Plus, a chance at winning the Die Hard Max Industrial Strains Epoxy Floor Coating Kit worth 99 bucks. This kit gives you a tough, glossy, high-performance finish to your concrete floors. It’s great for garages and workshops and laundry rooms and basements and more. And best of all, everything you need is in the kit. It covers 250 square feet and gives you an easy-to-clean surface that resists water, salt, chemicals, oil stains, tire marks, you name it. But if you want to win it, you’ve got to reach out to us right now. With your questions. Otherwise, if you just want to pick one up, you can go to dicecoatings.com, Lowe’s, or homedepot.com, and pick one up there. It’s on sale throughout the summer for 99 bucks and includes free shipping. |
| 00:08:08 | LESLIE: Heading over to Delaware, where Eve is trying to get rid of a smoke smell. What’s going on? Right. |
| 00:08:13 | CALLER: We recently purchased a row home in Philadelphia, and it has a third-floor studio apartment where the previous occupant was a heavy smoker. And we’re trying to get rid of the smell from the cigarettes. We’ve tried removing the floor tiles. We’re replacing the drop grid ceiling tiles and painting. But the odor is still pretty strong. So I’m wondering if you have any suggestions. |
| 00:08:33 | TOM: So above the drop ceiling, did you paint that surface as well? |
| 00:08:36 | CALLER: No, we didn’t. |
| 00:08:37 | TOM: What did you paint with? Did you use any kind of a primer? |
| 00:08:40 | CALLER: Going over paint. So we didn’t. |
| 00:08:42 | TOM: We just used a regular latex Right. So the best thing to do in a situation like this is to use a very good quality primer, either an alkyd primer or a solvent-based primer, because it tends to seal in all of those wall and ceiling surfaces. Including the odors that are underneath. The other issue, of course, is the floors. Now, you mentioned that there’s a tile floor there. |
| 00:09:02 | CALLER: So it was a hard surface floor? Yeah. |
| 00:09:04 | CALLER: Right now, we pulled up everything. We’re down to the plywood. And we were just going to put in a new flooring. So is there anything we should do before we do that? |
| 00:09:11 | TOM: Yeah. I would also prime the plywood. OK. I’d seal everything. And I would use a good quality oil-based primer, like a Kills, for example. And I would prime the heck out of everything. Because that does a good job of sealing out those. Odors. That and some just normal ventilation ought to do it. But I think if you don’t prime those surfaces, you won’t be able to completely get rid of that odor. And then, of course, it goes without saying that you’ve disposed of furniture and curtains and things like that. Yes. |
| 00:09:39 | CALLER: The only other question is, what about kitchen cabinets? |
| 00:09:41 | TOM: You can’t do much with them. But what you can do is you can clean them with TSP, trisodium phosphate. It’s like a powdery soap mix that you buy in the paint aisle. And you can mix up a solution and clean those. Are these wooden cabinets or like laminate cabinets? Wooden. If it’s wooden, you may not. I don’t use the TSP on it. You could use Murphy’s oil soap instead. But you’re going to have to clean them. Right. |
| 00:10:00 | CALLER: Yeah. OK. Thank you very much. |
| 00:10:02 | TOM: You’re welcome, Eve. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. I mean, thankfully, fewer and fewer people are smoking today. So we’re getting fewer and fewer of those calls. But I tell you what, when you get a house that’s like that, what a mess. What a big mess. Hard to get rid of that sound. |
| 00:10:17 | LESLIE: Brian, you’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today? |
| 00:10:19 | CALLER: I’ve got a problem with our septic system. And our septic system zigzags back and forth. In the backyard. And then where the end of it is, there’s a sinkhole developing. |
| 00:10:30 | CALLER: How old is this septic system? Has it ever been inspected or cleaned? We’ve cleaned it twice. It’s just my wife and I. |
| 00:10:35 | CALLER: This thing, I noticed, started developing kind of right after we moved into the house. Our house is about 20 years old. |
| 00:10:42 | TOM: Because I wonder if you say this is towards the end of the distribution field, I wonder if the field is not absorbing water like it should. Absorbing the effluent as it should. And most of it is sort of running towards the end of the pipe like it’s a long drain. And as a result, it’s causing erosion in that area. I think that probably the first thing I would do is have a septic inspection done with an examination of the field to check the percolation of it. Because if it’s not percolating, if it’s not draining properly, you could be spilling a lot of effluent into the ground unknowingly without it having a chance to really soak properly back into the soil. I think what we’re hearing here is a potential failure of your septic. |
| 00:11:42 | TOM: Well, if you find out early, at least you can plan a replacement if you have to. Brian, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. If you have a smaller room to redo, choosing paint strategically can help you make that room feel far bigger than it actually is. Here are five tips from the experts at HouseLogic.com that can help. |
| 00:12:08 | LESLIE: Yeah, first of all, color is key. Painting your walls white, cream, pastel, or even a cool color, something that’s just kind of tinged with a blue or a green tint, that’s going to create the illusion of having more space because it reflects the light around. White or lighter colors on the walls does lift up the ceiling and it brings your eyes up, and that can make you feel like you’re in a larger room to begin with. |
| 00:12:31 | TOM: Now, for the trim, you want to choose a color that’s similar to the wall color. Too many times we choose a complementary color for the trim, but that basically pretty much documents the smallness of the room by framing it in. If you use the same color, that’s, again, going to visually expand that space. |
| 00:12:46 | LESLIE: Yeah, and you can also go monochromatic to amplify the dimensions of your room. Think about selecting furniture. Furniture is in the same color because that lack of contrast definitely makes a room feel more spacious. |
| 00:12:58 | TOM: Now, here’s another trick. You can extend wall color onto the ceiling an additional 6 to 12 inches. This is going to make the room seem taller. Now, Leslie, I’ve done this the other way around. |
| 00:13:09 | LESLIE: Yeah, you extend that ceiling color down. |
| 00:13:12 | TOM: Yes, yes. So what do you think? Do you think it would work to take the wall color up onto the ceiling? |
| 00:13:17 | LESLIE: So I’ve never done a partial expansion of that wall color. I have taken one. I have taken one wall color if I’ve done, like, an accent wall, and I’ve taken that same color that I’ve done that accent and done the entire ceiling in it because that makes the room feel big as well. I’ve also done the entire room, walls, ceiling, trim, the same exact color. And it’s funny because you can go a darker color in a smaller room and paint the whole space the same and think you’re going to end up in this tiny box, but instead that room feels enormous and cool and different. So, you know, I’d be curious, guys, if you try that out, I’d love to see what that sort of little expansion looks like on the ceiling. |
| 00:13:55 | TOM: Yeah, that’s what we mean about being strategic about this because it’s not just staying away from a color. It’s how you treat the color and the furnishings and the trim and how it all works together. |
| 00:14:05 | LESLIE: Yeah, you know, the trick here with stripes, too, you know, a lot of people want to do something interesting as an application of paint on the wall, and you can paint vertical or horizontal stripes. A vertical stripe, you know, kind of like wearing a dress or a shirt with stripes, you know, makes your eyes go up. So it can definitely make a space feel taller, a horizontal stripe kind of makes your gaze look around the perimeter of the room, which can kind of make those walls feel further away. And you can use similar light colors for low-contrast stripes, and that room is going to look even bigger. |
| 00:14:34 | TOM: Now, you can also get a similar effect if you really want a darker shade by selecting a high-gloss paint sheen because that’s going to reflect light and enhance that space. So lots of cool ways here to take a small room and make it feel a lot bigger just by being very strategic on how you choose your color. |
| 00:14:52 | LESLIE: Marion, Texas, on the line, has an issue with the tub. Tell us what’s going on. |
| 00:14:56 | CALLER: We have a bathtub that we’ve had plumbers out, and they can’t even seem to get it unstopped. They think that it would slowly, you know, if you took a shower in there, it would slowly go out. And it was going so slowly, we called a big company here, a plumbing company, and the guy came out and checked it, and he couldn’t get it unstopped. He thinks it’s in the P-trap. The tub is on the back of the house about two, two feet from that is the clean-out. And he took a picture in the clean-out all the way to the alley and told us to get the city to come and… |
| 00:15:29 | CALLER: So wait a minute. |
| 00:15:30 | TOM: You’re telling me that the plumber was able to clear the drain from the house to the street, but he thinks that the restriction is beyond that? |
| 00:15:38 | CALLER: Yeah, he thinks just about two feet from the tub where he worked, and all the other lines are back farther than… |
| 00:15:45 | TOM: I can tell you right now that he missed something in the tub because all those plumbing lines come together in that same general area, and if you’ve got flow from the toilet and the sinks and everything else, but not the tub, it’s going to be the tub itself. You know, when it comes to clearing drains, my experience has been that plumbers are not the best ones to do that. Generally, you’re better off to go with a specialty plumber that does drain cleaning. They have the tools, the equipment, and the knowledge to get that done. And sometimes the day-to-day plumbers, if it’s a simple clog, they can clear it, but they don’t necessarily have the tools. I mean, for example, drain cleaners have cameras that can go down those pipes and see exactly what the obstruction is. So my recommendation would be to call a different kind of professional, not a plumber, but someone that specializes in drain cleaning and has a good reputation for being able to make that particular type of repair. I think that’s going to be the easiest way for you to get to the bottom of it. I would not recommend any type of additive to that drain to try to clear it in these liquid products that clear drains because they can be very, very corrosive. Mary, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:16:51 | LESLIE: Randy. Randy in Ohio is on the line with a decking question. How can we help you today? |
| 00:16:54 | CALLER: I just built a deck and it’s got that new wood look, you know. |
| 00:16:58 | TOM: What kind of stain can I put on it? So you have a number of options. You said you just built it, so you might want to let it dry out. Sometimes we don’t recommend staining until about the second year because the pressure-treated lumber is going to have a lot of moisture in it. But when you are ready to treat it, what I would recommend that you use is a solid color deck stain. Deck stains come in solid color and semi-transparent, and if you use solid color, it basically has more pigment in it, so it tends to last a lot longer. So go for a good brand, a good quality brand of a solid color deck stain, and I think that’s something that you’ll hope to get maybe two or three seasons out depending on the use of your deck. All right. Yes, it does. Thank you so much. You’re welcome. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:17:44 | LESLIE: Well, today, working from home, well, at least sometimes working from home, is now kind of the norm for a lot of people, and so are the many other activities that require our living spaces to do double or even triple duty. |
| 00:17:57 | TOM: Well, Dwell Magazine has been following this trend for a while now. Editor-in-Chief William Hanley joins us now to share why having a space that’s flexible is more important than ever. Welcome, William. Hi. How’s it going? Hi, Tom. Hi, Leslie. You know, this seems like another shift that started with the pandemic. Is that right? I mean, we’ve always had ADUs, but, boy, they sure got popular when we weren’t able to get you far from home. Definitely. |
| 00:18:19 – | WILLIAM HANLEY: I think a lot of trends that were brewing before the pandemic were only accelerated by it. You know, I think about how we use our homes differently now, whether it’s, you know, as an office, as a workout space, any number of different uses that we didn’t see so much of before are now a regular part of our lives. And our homes have to adapt. They have to become more flexible. And so the ADU has become a really popular way to build in some of that flexibility. |
| 00:18:45 | TOM: Let’s start with that. So ADU, which we just spit. Like, everybody knows what it’s what we’re talking about. What exactly does that stand for? It’s not a very sexy term, is it? |
| 00:18:55 – | WILLIAM: No, no. I always lament that there isn’t a better word for it. But ADU, the acronym is short for Accessory Dwelling Unit. We tend to call them backyard houses here. It seems a little more elegant. But if you have a better solution, you’re hired. But we define them roughly as a secondary, usually detached, self-contained living space on the same lot as a larger house. Picture a tiny house in someone’s. Backyard and you’ve kind of got it. But we’ve seen them in all kinds of shapes and sizes. |
| 00:19:23 | LESLIE: I mean, that’s really great because truly, you can have them for so many, many uses from guest homes to workspaces to yoga studios, truly whatever you’re wanting. But how do you know, first of all, that you’re capable of putting something like this on your property? Do we go permitting? How do we check? |
| 00:19:39 – | WILLIAM: You need to consult an expert. We see them a lot in our weekly budget breakdown column and our annual money issue where we look at kind of the real numbers behind great design. So if you’re looking for something that’s really, really good, so, you know, often you see glossy pictures of remarkable homes and you wonder how did they actually do that. We kind of lift the curtain a little bit. And part of that is talking about, you know, what that permitting process looks like in different places all over the country. And it’s different in different places all over the country. The state of California has made it a lot easier, notably so, as they’ve tried to introduce more rental housing to the market and hopefully respond to some of the increased demand. And lower prices over time. So, you know, you can even count potential rental income in mortgage applications now in some places. And in California, you can now, or soon you will be able to subdivide your property and sell an ADU like a condo. So they’re really taking it seriously out there. And a few other municipalities have also made it much easier. In Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul have both made it much easier to add a secondary residence to a formerly single-family lot. And Chicago, a few other cities around the country are starting to look into this. But you need to talk to an expert who knows the ins and outs of what’s possible in your neck of the woods. |
| 00:20:59 | TOM: I seem to recall not too long ago that there was a program that was announced in New York where they were actually loaning money to folks to create additional living spaces for families or for tenants for rental on their existing property. So it seems like there’s a lot of opportunity for this here. If you’re thinking about this, as a homeowner, what do you think are the appropriate steps? You mentioned consult with an expert, but even before we get that far, it seems like there ought to be like a reality checklist to make sure that this really is what you want to do because you are going to be reducing your remaining lot size, right? Because the building takes up a certain amount of space and you’ve got obviously area around it, outdoor living spaces and so on. You know, you’re going to be driving up utility costs. There’s a lot of other considerations. Definitely. |
| 00:21:47 – | WILLIAM: And not to mention, if you, you need to upgrade the electrical or you need to do some kind of site work in order to make it possible to put one on your property, but really stepping back, you need to think about how you want your house to function down the line. You know, what are your goals? How is your family evolving? How are you hoping to increase the value of your home over time? So, you know, say you’re thinking about putting in a rental unit, you know, you might at some point have an adult child, an aging parent living with you. You might convert that into, you know, an in-law apartment or some other function. You know, what is a home office right now might be a short-term rental in the future, a long-term rental or a space for mom and dad. |
| 00:22:30 | LESLIE: So, William, I mean, because these are kind of a fairly new concept, what have we seen so far or is it too early to tell what it does to resale value? Like, are we seeing that it’s beneficial? Is there anything you need to be looking out for when you’re trying to consider this in creating a dwelling unit? |
| 00:22:47 – | WILLIAM: Well, you’re absolutely correct in that. It’s a little, you know, even the California regulations that changed, you know, back in, say, 2017, that really set a precedent for a lot of ADU building out there. We haven’t really seen what it will do to the value of a home over time. But if I’m going to prognosticate, it’s all about context. You know, where you live, what type of neighborhood you’re in, what kind of property you have, what kind of property the neighbors have. You know, I don’t necessarily think these are appropriate for every context, but I do think they represent, you know, the future of how we use our homes. One of the things that’s super exciting about them is there isn’t really a playbook for designing them yet. You know, architects are responding in all sorts of different ways to the kinds of use cases that people have for putting them on their property. And so time will tell, like, what emerges as a standard, what emerges as a best practice. And, you know, you’ll start to see the effects of value over time. But it’s a little early to tell. Mostly, though, I think that flexibility is going to be, is going to be something that people are looking for more and more in the future. |
| 00:23:51 | TOM: Yeah, and I would think quality as well. I mean, these are not glorified sheds, which I think is the first thing that comes to some people’s minds when you talk about, you know, a tiny house on your lot. These are not, you know, sheds with windows and air conditioning getting stuck into them. These are fully constructed buildings, just smaller. And because of that, I think some folks might also be surprised of the cost. You know, we did a story not too long ago about spool pools. And it turns out those beautiful little combination spa pools are just as expensive. As a pool that’s probably twice its size that doesn’t have the functionality because it takes the same amount of steps to build a small house as it does a big house. Maybe a little less in terms of materials, maybe slightly smaller utilities. But like you said, you got to still run the electric and the plumbing and everything else. So I think if you’re going to do it, you need to do it right. And if you do do it right, you’re most likely to have a good value added to your property as a result. Do you agree? |
| 00:24:43 – | WILLIAM: It really depends on how you want to use your property. A good designer can help you solve for that. And come up with a design that responds specifically to the needs of you and your family. And we see lots and lots of different ways that these things take shape. If you look at dwell.com, there are many, many different styles of ADU. And there are many, many different price points. But Tom, you’re absolutely correct in that, you know, you’re adding a second house to your property. This isn’t some glorified shed. And certainly the homes that we cover, the ADUs that we cover, are far more architecturally, ambitious than that. But they also show, you know, what’s coming up in terms of the future of how we use our homes. And that can range from all sorts of different price points. |
| 00:25:27 | TOM: William Hanley, editor-in-chief for Dwell Magazine. Thanks for stopping by the Money Pit, William, and filling us in on the latest trends in ADUs, accessory dwelling units. If you guys are not familiar with Dwell, you should be. It’s a beautiful publication. You can learn more about Dwell and all the great work that they do at dwell.com, D-W-E-L-L.com. And look for William’s post about ADUs on moneypit.com starting today. William, thanks again, and have a great day. |
| 00:25:57 – | WILLIAM: Thanks, Tom. Thanks, Leslie. |
| 00:25:59 | TOM: Do you have concrete floors in your home that maybe you’d like to spruce up a bit? We’re talking about the garage or maybe the laundry room or maybe the basement. Well, today on the Money Pit, we’ve got the Diehard Max Industrial Strength Epoxy Floor Kit to give away. It’s worth $99, and it’s going to go out to one listener drawn at random. And it’s going to be $99. And it gives you a very tough, glossy, high-performance finish. It’s great for those spaces that maybe you don’t have a finer floor finish on, but you want to just paint it and have it look good and be long-lasting and durable. So we’re talking about the garage and the workshop or the laundry space or the basement. And everything you need is in the kit. It covers 250 square feet, and it gives you an easy-to-clean surface, which is so important with concrete because, frankly, it’s really hard to clean. It’s hard to sweep. It’s hard to wash. And once you have this on, this epoxy on, that’s no longer going to be the problem. We’ve got one kit available to go out right now to a lucky listener that calls us with their home improvement question. But it’s also available online at DiceCoatings.com, Lowe’s.com, and HomeDepot.com. And it includes free shipping. |
| 00:27:03 | LESLIE: Heading to Arizona with Yvonne on the line who’s got a stinky bathroom sink. Gross, Yvonne. What’s going on? |
| 00:27:09 | CALLER: Yeah, so it doesn’t happen all the time, but every once in a while, I’ll be running the water in the bathroom sink, and this foul odor comes out of the drain. So I’m wondering what could be causing that. |
| 00:27:20 | TOM: Usually, it’s bacteria. You get the bacteria that will decay in those drains, and it will cause what’s called a biogas. And the best way to clean this is to really take the drain completely apart. That’s the trap that’s underneath that. And to really do a good job of scrubbing it clean, I would use some oxidized bleach for that as well. If you can get that super clean, that will kill the bacteria. And if you can even plug the… pipe and sort of fill it up with some of that bleach solution, that will also kill the bacteria that’s in there. And I think you’ll find that if you can deal with that biogas, that it’ll start smelling a lot better. |
| 00:27:59 | CALLER: So I have to actually scrub it? I can’t just pour some bleach down there? |
| 00:28:02 | TOM: No, you definitely need to scrub it. And that’s why you probably want to take it apart from underneath the sink cabinet. It’s probably going to have a trap, the U-shaped pipe. If it doesn’t, by the way, that’s the source of your problem, but I’m sure it does. Take that trap apart and then really scrub the inside of that with some oxygenated bleach. And I think that that will kill that bacteria and then the biogas will go away. Okay. |
| 00:28:23 | CALLER: Sounds like a lot of work, but I’ll certainly give it a try. |
| 00:28:27 | TOM: Hey, we never said it was going to be easy. But we will say it’ll work. All right, Yvonne, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. Well, guys, if you’re looking for a way to tackle your painting projects faster and get a professional finish, I’ve been working with the new Wagner Flexio series sprayers. They’re a line of HVLs. HVLP, which stands for high volume, low pressure sprayers. And they’re designed for both exterior and interior painting projects. And they give you a smooth, very consistent finish on pretty much everything from decks and fences to furniture and even cabinets. |
| 00:29:00 | LESLIE: Now, what makes the Flexio series stand out is its power and its efficiency. These are Wagner’s most powerful DIY sprayers, and they’re 10 times faster than using a brush. And they’re going to save you a ton of time on your next painting project. I mean, imagine how much time you’re going to save on that next painting project. Just because you’re going so fast. |
| 00:29:18 | TOM: You can find the Wagner Flexio series at your local home improvement store. It’s a great investment for anyone looking to make their painting projects easier and more efficient. So if you’re ready to add some speed, convenience, and great results to your next painting project, check out the Wagner Flexio series. For more information, visit their website at wagnerspraytech.com. That’s wagnerspraytech.com. |
| 00:29:43 | LESLIE: Kelly in Houston, Texas, reached out to the Money Pit and she says, It’s very hot and full of mosquitoes. I have a screened-in porch that I’d like to open up, but I need a plan to get rid of those buggers and make sure that it’s enjoyable outdoors. I’m looking for some suggestions, and I really appreciate your help. |
| 00:29:59 | TOM: Okay, so first of all, you want to make sure you’re eliminating places that mosquitoes breed because they can breed in like seven days. It’s crazy. So if you’ve got a clogged gutter, if you’ve got puddles, if you’ve got kiddie pools, if you’ve got a bird bath or a bird feeder, I mean, any of that sort of thing, where water can be held, by eliminating that, you don’t give mosquitoes a chance to nest around your house and duplicate and then go ahead and seek you when they’re ready for their first blood meal. So do that. Secondly, I’m a fan of a product called Dynatrap, which is a type of mosquito trap. And the way Dynatrap works is it interrupts the breeding cycle. You turn this thing on. In my case, we turn it on in the spring. It runs 24-7 until Labor Day. And by doing so, it basically reduces the populations of mosquitoes over those days that it’s on. And it’s amazing. It takes about three weeks to get started and get caught up for you to notice anything. But we live in the mosquito capital of the world, New Jersey. I’m telling you, I’ve got a swamp that’s 500 yards from my back door. |
| 00:31:00 | LESLIE: I thought it was the tomato capital. |
| 00:31:02 | TOM: Some things we’re proud of. Some things we’re not. But I’ve got a swamp that’s like 500 feet from my house. And it fills up when it gets rainy. And I know it’s a source of a lot of mosquitoes, but they don’t bother us because we’ve used this Dynatrap 24-7. It works really, really good. |
| 00:31:15 | LESLIE: All right. Anything you can do to keep yourself off that mosquito menu is great. |
| 00:31:20 | TOM: Well, you guys survived the spring allergy season. But now that we are in summer, it’s not all that much better. We’re going to share five things you can do to breathe easy all summer long on this edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie? |
| 00:31:34 | LESLIE: Yeah, it’s been a bad season and it’s just continuing to be a bad season. And if you’re one of the millions of people who do have those seasonal allergies, summer can also mean sneezing, congestion, even runny noses. But according to the Mayo Clinic, there are a few strategies for reducing exposure to allergy triggers that really can work. Now, the key here is to reduce your exposure to the things that trigger your allergy signs and symptoms. You want to stay indoors on days that are dry and windy. The best time to go outside really is after a good rain because it kind of clears all the pollen from the air and washes it off of the surfaces of everything. If there’s lawn mowing to do, don’t be the one that does it. Delegate that job. Pulling those weeds, all those gardening chores, just stir up the allergies. If it’s got to be you, go back to wearing a mask. Now, once you’ve been outside, I mean, I say this to my kids because my little guy really has bad, bad allergies. And when he comes through the door, I’m like, change your clothes, take a shower, wash your face. And he gets super annoyed. But the worst thing you can do is come inside and then sit on the couch or jump on your bed or do whatever because you’re just spreading that pollen everywhere. And then lastly, when you’re doing the wash, I know it’s great to hang things outside and it smells so fresh and lovely. But if you are an allergy sufferer, you are just embedding pollen into that beautifully cleaned laundry. So don’t do it. Bring it inside. Use the dryer. Just suck it up if you got to pay a few more energy bills this summer season. But you got to feel better too. |
| 00:33:03 | TOM: You know when the allergy strikes our cars overnight. I mean, that’s how you can tell, right? You go out in the morning and all night long, they’re just settling on the cars. They’re all green and yellow. Yeah, definitely needs to be managed. And so, we don’t bring all of that stuff back inside the house. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Hey guys, coming up next time on the program, have you made energy saving or other similar improvements to your home that sort of upped its greenness factor? Well, if you have, you may be surprised to learn that you have significantly increased your home’s value. We’re going to share how to maximize these improvements to fetch a higher selling price on the next edition of the Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:33:42 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:33:44 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 00:33:44 | 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 2024 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.) |
Leave a Reply