Show Notes
In this show, discover 10 low-dust home improvement projects, learn how to easily fix textured walls or ceilings, and find out how to eliminate sink odors with a simple hack. Plus, listen in as we offer expert answers to other home improvement questions from DIY callers!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Home Renovation: Get ideas for 10 wreck-less home renovations that don’t require demolition.
- Textured Surfaces: Repair textured walls and ceilings easily and without the mess.
- Sink Odors: Learn how to send stinky sink odors down the drain with this simple solution.
Top Questions & Answers
- Refinishing Furniture: Sherry learns how to give an old wood dresser a new look by stripping off the paint and staining the surface.
- Wood Flooring: What should Andrew use to refinish his oak floor after sanding it? We recommend applying three coats of a clear oil-based polyurethane to restore the shine.
- Building a Deck: Cheryl wants to build a deck over a concrete slab, but that’s not a good foundation. She should break up the concrete and install proper footings.
- Insulation: The wall on the west side of Mike’s house gets very warm. We suggest installing an awning to deflect the sun or adding foam insulation and a layer of drywall.
- Fence Materials: What is the best material for building a fence in a moist area? Metal posts should be fine, but Hope can also use wood posts with stones instead of concrete footings.
- Woodchucks: Woodchucks are digging holes all over Al’s property. We have tips on luring them with fruit in a humane trap and then releasing them far away.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:24 | ANNOUNCER: The MoneyPit is presented by Wagner Sprayers, PaveStone, and Daich Coatings. Now, here are Tom and Leslie. |
| 00:00:32 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:00:37 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:00:39 | TOM: What are you guys working on this fine weekend? Because we’re here to help. We’re here to educate, inspire, and help you build some confidence. If you need help with a project that you don’t know how to do or maybe you’re stuck in the middle of, that’s a great reason to reach out to us with your questions. We can help you plan. We can solve problems. We’ll do everything but hold the nail for you. For that, you’re on your own. The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974. Coming up on today’s show, would you like to take on a project to improve your home that does not include all the dust, dirt, and debris of traditional renos? Well, we’ve got a list of 10 projects that can do just that coming up. |
| 00:01:19 | LESLIE: And are you adding a textured finish to a wall or a ceiling? Well, if you are, you know it’s a messy project. We’re going to share a solution that makes repair or restoration of textured surfaces super easy. |
| 00:01:30 | TOM: And here’s a common plumbing problem that might have a very simple solution. Stinky smells coming from your sinks, right? We’re going to share a hack that can help soften that up. |
| 00:01:40 | LESLIE: But first, do you need help with a renovation, a repair, or a decor project? Well, we are here to help you create your best home ever. So give us a call. Let us know what you are trying to tackle this fall season. Because you know, once we’re in September, before you know it, it’s Thanksgiving, then it’s Christmas, then everybody’s knocking on your door. There’s a lot of stuff going on. So let’s get your house in tip-top shape before all of that mad rush starts to happen. And my guess is it’s going |
| 00:02:04 | TOM: to start around November 1st. I’m just saying. Reach out right now with your questions. A couple of ways to do that. You can call us at 1-888-Money-Pit. That’s 888-666-3974. Or you can go to moneypit.com slash ask and click the blue microphone button. You get to record your question. It comes to us and we will shoot you back. A response as soon as we can. So let’s get to it. The number again, 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974. Leslie, who’s first? |
| 00:02:32 | LESLIE: Sherry and George is on the line and need some help revamping a dresser. Tell us about your project. |
| 00:02:36 | CALLER: Yes, I’ve got this dresser that my father found in the garage. It’s all wood and it’s beautiful, but somebody’s painted it white. And I would like to get the white paint off. |
| 00:02:47 | LESLIE: Like for good or to put stain on or to paint over it again? |
| 00:02:50 | CALLER: Yeah, I’m thinking to stain on. I think it’s all wood. It looks like a really nice piece of furniture. It also has framed drawers. Like, I don’t know, I guess that’s what it’s called. It has the wood around those drawers. And I’m thinking that’s going to make it really hard. |
| 00:03:06 | LESLIE: So it’s like a glass front door with like a wood frame? |
| 00:03:09 | CALLER: Well, it’s not glass. It’s all wood, but like wood has a wood frame around it. |
| 00:03:13 | LESLIE: All right. That’s it shouldn’t be a problem. What you have to do is if there’s any doors or drawer fronts or things, you want to either pull out the drawers or just take off the drawer fronts. You really want to make it easy to work on things. You need a lot of flat surfaces. So with the doors, with the framework, try to take them off if you can. Leave the hinges either on the door back or in the dresser itself and then get everything on a flat surface. And you need to find a good paint remover, a stripper product. I’ve used Rock Miracle before. I like it because it’s got a really thick consistency and you kind of like, you know, slather it on there and you can actually see where it is rather than brushing something on and make, you know, wondering if you’ve covered all spots. And then you really want to follow the directions. So you have to let it sit on there as long as they tell you to. And then you want to use a paint scraper to gently sort of scrape the paint off the surface because you don’t want to gouge anything into it because that will show up when you start working on it in the future. And you could have to do it a couple of times. Now, depending on the type of wood that’s underneath that white paint, you might not be able to get all of the paint off. So you really have to kind of experiment with it. And then you’re going to see how well it is removable. And then once you’ve done that a couple of times, you’re going to wipe it down. Then you might still have to sand it in a couple of places with a very fine sandpaper to make sure that you get all the last bits of the paint off. Then you want to wipe it down with a tack cloth and then prep it for staining. So that’s when you really want to make sure that you’ve got it perfectly beautiful and clean and ready to go before you put the stain on. Because once you start |
| 00:04:45 | CALLER: to put the stain on, everything’s going to show. Okay. Now, what was the name of that product |
| 00:04:48 | LESLIE: again? I like one called Rock Miracle. I think it’s called Rock Miracle. I think it’s called Rock Miracle. It comes in what almost looks like a turpentine can, but there are all different kinds. So you might want to pop into your local home improvement center, ask them which one they like to work with, because you might not be able to find Rock Miracle at your place. But definitely feel it out and ask somebody at your local home center what they recommend. But that’s the one I like. I’ve used it a lot of times. Okay. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. You’re so welcome. |
| 00:05:14 | TOM: Good luck with it. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show, 888-666-3974. |
| 00:05:20 | LESLIE: Heading out to Iowa, where Andrew’s got a question about a wood floor. Tell us what you’re working on. |
| 00:05:24 | CALLER: My fiancé and I just sanded our floors, and we are getting ready to put down some product on our floor. And I just wanted to know what kind of product I should be using. It’s probably an oak |
| 00:05:38 | TOM: floor. That’s a great project, Andrew. There are choices to be made now. Did you have a finish on this floor before? |
| 00:05:44 | CALLER: It did. It was like a reddish tint. Okay. So it’s still showing through a little bit. We didn’t take it all the way down to bare wood. |
| 00:05:50 | TOM: What did you use to sand it with? |
| 00:05:54 | CALLER: It was a machine that had like a giant hand sander, basically. It had a handle on it and a big sheet of sandpaper on it. Just took down the old varnish that was on it. |
| 00:06:02 | TOM: Okay. So was it a belt sander where the big wide belt spins around, or was it more of sort of like a vibrating sander? It was a vibrating sander. All right. So here’s the thing. This floor was stained before, and I’m concerned that if you just put a clear finish on it, if you’re happy with the look of the floor right now with a little bit of the red showing through, then you can just put a clear finish on it. But if you’re not, it gets a little bit tricky because to try to add more of that color in, it’s hard to get the exact same color, and you’d almost probably have to go a couple of steps darker. And then you may have some issues about some areas had more of the old varnish on it than other areas, and they’re going to absorb differently. So it’s a little more difficult to refinish a floor like you’ve done if it had stain on it. Now, if it didn’t have stain on it, you’re just sort of sanding off the varnish, and you’re putting a fresh coat of varnish, you don’t have the issue. The issue that you might have is because it was stained before, you might have some of that blotchy color coming through. If you have stain on the floor, generally you can’t use that type of approach to sand it. You have to use the belt sander approach, which is a big machine with a very wide belt that you should not do yourself because if you sneeze while using this thing, you’ll just ruin the floor. It’s a very hard machine to use as a do-it-yourselfer. It’s really something a pro has to use. So the first question you have to kind of ask yourselves is, are you happy with the look of the floor if you were to seal it and finish it just like it is, if that’s going to work for you guys? And if it is, what I would do is I would put on at least three coats of oil-based polyurethane or solvent-based polyurethane. Do not use the water-based products, the acrylic-based products, because they’re just not durable enough. They’re great on doors and trim and furniture, but on floors, I would always use the oil-based product. Now, you apply it not with a brush but with something called a lamb’s wool applicator, and basically, it’s kind of like a mop on a stick, and you dip it into a tray of this urethane, and you sort of mop it on and work your way out of the room and then find something else to do for at least a half a day, maybe even longer to let it dry really, really well. If it’s the least bit tacky, do not put second coats on it. This may take a couple of days depending on the humidity level. Wait till it’s really super dry. If you try to re-coat it and it’s still tacky, it has even a harder time drying the next time around, so make sure it’s super dry before you put the next coat on. And about three coats of that, try to stay off it as much as you can for the first month or so. And by that, I mean, don’t drag the furniture around, put some pieces of carpet or something underneath the legs, just try to treat it gingerly, because it does take a while for it to really, really harden, and you’ll be good to go. Great. Well, thank you very much. All right. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:08:46 | 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. |
| 00:08:52 | 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 |
| 00:09:03 | CALLER: book. Cheryl’s on the line with a decking question. How can we help you today? I’m willing to have a deck built at the back of my home, and I have a concrete pad outside the door. And when I ask someone to come and look at it and give me an estimate, about a deck, they were wanting to put the supports right on this concrete pad that’s back here. But it’s all broken up and all uneven from a large, very large maple tree that I have in the back. And the roots are, they’re gnarly, and a lot of them are near the surface. And so I was wondering if it would even be, you even recommend that I even think of having a deck built back there with the tree roots in the system. So I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Well, thank you. |
| 00:09:50 | TOM: So first of all, this is a patio, so it’s a thin concrete slab and be four or five inches thick. Is that what you’re telling me you have? So that is not an appropriate foundation for a deck. And so anyone suggesting that it is would scare me because in your part of the country, you need to have the footings for that deck be below the frost line. So that means that those footings have to be about three feet in the ground. And then on top of those footings, you can build the deck. Otherwise, the deck’s going to ride up and down as the land freezes in the wintertime. So what I would do is I would break up that patio and take it out of there if it’s already half broken up. I mean, with a jackhammer, you’d probably get that thing out of there in an hour or two. It actually will come out a lot faster than what you would imagine. In terms of the tree roots, yeah, if you can get some of that out of there, it’s probably not a bad idea. But clearly what you have to concentrate on is however you’re going to support this deck. If it’s pretty much a grade level deck, you know, you have to kind of put that beam in flush with the rest of the floor structure. If it’s going to be up a little bit, then you would basically put the beam underneath the floor joist and support it on however many columns it takes to make it compliant with building code. But to do it right, it’s got to be on a foundation. So don’t just slap a deck structure over that patio. It’s just not going to be built correctly. And I doubt it would pass building code and it would also could devalue your house in the event you tried to sell it in the future. |
| 00:11:16 | CALLER: Okay. Well, the contractor that I had out here, he was leery of, you know, he didn’t want to disturb the tree roots too much for fear of killing this gigantic tree. And that was his… |
| 00:11:29 | TOM: Well, it wasn’t a solution because the roots are going to be there with or without the patio. It’s not a solution. And he’s not going to disturb the tree roots that much. Yes, it’ll be hard to dig those holes. You may have to chop through some of them, but I don’t think just digging, you know, three or four holes for a footing is going to be enough to kill a tree. |
| 00:11:47 | CALLER: Oh, good. Well, I’m glad that I gave you a call then. Thank you so much. |
| 00:11:52 | TOM: All right, Cheryl. Well, good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:11:56 | LESLIE: So are you looking to spruce up your home without the mess of demolition? Well, here are the top 10 renovation projects flushed out by the folks at Zillow and Thumbtack that require no demo and can make your home look fresh and stylish without the hassle. |
| 00:12:10 | TOM: So the first one is cabinet refacing. Now, we’ve talked about this before. I just completed a cabinet repainting project. But refacing is a little bit different. So with refacing, you give your kitchen a new look by replacing only the cabinet doors and the drawer fronts while you keep the existing framework. So it’s a much less expensive way to get a significantly new look in your house. |
| 00:12:34 | LESLIE: Yeah. Another one is peel and stick backsplash. You can install a new backsplash with peel and stick tiles that offer a quick and easy way to update your kitchen or bathroom. And some of them even have realistic grout lines. They fit perfectly in your kitchen. So if you’re looking to do a new house, you don’t have to worry about the grout lines. You don’t have to worry about the grout lines. They’re even like a little thick. So there’s some great ones out there. |
| 00:12:50 | TOM: Yeah. You know, when you say peel and stick, you think like kids peel and stickers, right? Like those sorts of sheets. This is so much more durable than that. It really does a good job. And some of these are removable, right? So if you’re a renter, you don’t have to live with it. You can take it down and not risk your security deposit when it comes time to leave. |
| 00:13:08 | LESLIE: Oh, yeah. I mean, even some of them are called repositionable. If you see that word, that means you can take it down. No problem. |
| 00:13:14 | TOM: Now, let’s talk about smart home upgrades. It’s really easy to integrate some smart technology into your home. We’re talking about smart thermostats, smart lighting, security systems. It definitely gives you an increase of convenience and energy efficiency. And it’s easier than ever today since they’re all on the same Wi-Fi network. It can really add some comfort and some convenience to your day-to-day activities. |
| 00:13:34 | LESLIE: Now, let’s talk about flooring because vinyl plank flooring is great. It easily installs. It’s kind of a floating floor. It doesn’t attach to the floor. That’s a good thing. It’s there. So again, if you’re a renter or something like that and you’re not touching the floor underneath, it’s easy to do if you’re going to be in there for a long while. And then they’re super durable. So if you move furniture around or drag chairs, you have kids with ride-on toys, it’s not going to damage the floor. And some of these planks really mimic the look of hardwood. |
| 00:13:58 | TOM: Yep. Now, up next, fresh paint. Always a cost-effective improvement that really changes the look of a room as a coat of new paint and definitely dramatically changes the appearance and really gives you a fresh, clean place to start. So if you’re looking for an inexpensive way to do it, you can go to our website at home.com. And if you want to do a quick makeover, just paint the room. Start from there. Maybe just paint the ceiling or just paint the walls, one or the other. You’re going to give yourself a fresh start. And from that will come fresh inspiration and more projects to do. |
| 00:14:24 | LESLIE: Speaking of another project, why not update your lighting? You know, you can swap out outdated light fixtures for more modern designs, and that can definitely instantly update the look of the space and totally transform it because there are so many lighting design styles out there. You can go with something completely different than what was there and totally have a different space. |
| 00:14:43 | TOM: And you could also upgrade your vanity. So we’re promising no demo renos. This isn’t really much of a demo, but you do have to remove and replace your plumbing pipes. But it’s a pretty important makeover and can definitely improve the function of your bathroom space. Just change out the vanity. |
| 00:14:58 | LESLIE: Now, let’s talk about decorative molding. You can instantly add character to your room with decorative molding, trim. It’s going to enhance all of the architectural details of the space, and it really sort of makes that space look rich and regal and finished. So if you’re looking for a beautiful, beautiful molding and trim, do a lot. |
| 00:15:15 | TOM: Absolutely. Accent walls are another thing you can do. You can create a focal point with a bold accent wall using paint or wallpaper or wood paneling. And finally, there’s lots of things you can do outside, right? |
| 00:15:25 | LESLIE: Oh, yeah. I mean, when it comes to outside, you can improve your curb appeal with new landscaping, outdoor lighting, a stylish new front door, some new front door accessories like a new door knocker, new numbers, different sort of brass plate at the bottom, beautiful welcome mat. Lots of ways you can change the outside for not only the interior, but also the interior. So if you’re looking for a lot of effort. |
| 00:15:42 | TOM: Yeah. So if you’re thinking that you don’t want to take on a renovation because of all the mess, there are a lot of things that you can do to really spruce up your space with a very minimal amount of disturbance of your house and your lifestyle. |
| 00:15:55 | LESLIE: Now, we’ve got Mike on the line. It was a question about insulation. How can we help you? |
| 00:15:59 | CALLER: Yes. I have a wall on the west side of my house that gets pretty warm. I live here in Arizona, so it does get over 118 sometimes. But it’s a block home. Is there a way that I can insulate that so that it doesn’t quite get in as much heat as it does? |
| 00:16:27 | TOM: Well, insulating the wall will be difficult because you can’t get to the interior of it. If you could, I would tell you to use a spray foam insulation and fill up the interior cores. But that’s difficult to do since the home is completely built. Is it at all possible for you to add an awning to that side or create some sort of shade that would block off some of the sun? |
| 00:16:49 | CALLER: It’s possible, yes. |
| 00:16:50 | TOM: See, something along those lines would be less expensive, even though it might be a bigger thing for you to look at than some insulation. But if you were to deflect some of that sun, and I know they have awnings in your part of the country that have reflective surfaces that are cooler underneath, that would probably make a big difference in the heat that you’re dealing with. Because I guess what you’re saying is that the wall gets super warm and then you’re basically paying more air conditioning to bring it down in terms of the temperature. And the other thing that you could do on the inside of it, you could always insulate the inside of it with a foam insulation. You could use an isocyanurate board, for example, or the blue dow styro types of board that interlocks and use that as a wall covering and then put drywall on top of that. So that’s another thing that you can do. But I think if you were to put some of that sunlight with an awning, for example, or some landscaping, I think that that would probably be the least expensive way to achieve what you’re trying to do here. I will take a look at that then. All right. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:17:57 | LESLIE: Well, if you’ve ever had to add a textured finish to a wall or a ceiling, you may know that it’s a time-consuming and also a messy project. Well, DAP saw this problem as an opportunity and developed a solution that makes repair or restoration of these textured walls |
| 00:18:13 | TOM: and ceilings super easy. It’s called DAP 2-in-1 Wall and Ceiling Spray Texture, and it comes in three different finishes, orange peel, knockdown, and popcorn. And with us to talk about the new line is Raquel Beckett, the product director for DAP. Welcome, Raquel. Hi, how are you? We are excellent. So this sounds like a pretty hassle-free fix for a repair that used |
| 00:18:33 | CALLER: to be pretty difficult. That’s correct, yes. Traditional products, they are, you know, either engineered for a wall or a ceiling, so it’s up to the user to actually select the correct product. Also, the technology is a bit archaic, if you ask me. Inside, there’s a 90-degree angle nozzle, and so anytime that you’re trying to dispense any sort of different particle size from the nozzle, you’re going to get some clogging. So we came up with this great idea of a flexible tubing that allows you to aim to the wall or the ceiling, and also because it’s flexible tubing inside, guess what? It expands and contracts depending on the particle size, or perfect flow every time, even spray out and not clogging. So it is a pretty seamless experience from a user perspective. |
| 00:19:25 | TOM: Yeah, there’s nothing more frustrating than investing in a product only to have it clogged in the very early stages with plenty of material left in the can if you can only get it out of the nozzle, right? So the fact that you’ve figured out how to make that impossible to happen with the new technology, which is called AimTech, and has a 60-degree nozzle, makes it really easy to do these projects. I remember many times trying to do similar projects where you have to sort of contort your body to get it in the right angle because the nozzle wasn’t flexible, but it seems like you’ve |
| 00:19:53 | CALLER: fixed that now. Yes, absolutely. Obviously, you know, there’s still a lot of technique when it comes to these applications, so it’s always very important to make sure that you follow the directions, you shake the can pretty vigorously for at least a minute. So technique is extremely |
| 00:20:15 | LESLIE: important for these type of applications. Now, when it comes to the style of the finish, you’ve got a couple of choices, orange peel, knockdown, and popcorn. So how do those kind of differ so that everybody knows really what they’re looking at? |
| 00:20:28 | CALLER: Orange peel is going to be kind of, you know, little bumps, or some people might refer to it as chicken skin because, you know, it literally looks like the bumps of your skin when you get cold. Knockdown is a knockdown technique, so you’re going to spray the texture on the wad, and then you’re going to flatten it out with a putty knife 30 seconds to a minute after application, and it’s going to give you a more muted effect than orange peel. The last formulation is popcorn, which is pretty good. It’s primarily used on ceilings. And that one is kind of that texture that actually looks like popcorn and it’s kind of prickly to the touch on your ceiling. So, those are kind of the three distinct textures. But, you know, there’s so many techniques around this product that, you know, you can really apply some of these spray textures and, you know, develop a specialized or a unique technique if you’re into that type of thing. |
| 00:21:37 | TOM: Yeah, I mean, there’s millions of homes out there that have popcorn textured ceilings. And what folks don’t think about is, look, just like any house, occasionally you may get a roof leak or a pipe break that’s going to cause a water stain. And now, you’ve got to repair that texture. Otherwise, it looks like you’ve still got a big hole in your ceiling, right? So, this is a great product to have on hand for those types of repairs. It’s handy. It’s easy to apply. You don’t have to be an expert to do this. And it gives you a good, durable surface once you’re finished. |
| 00:22:07 | CALLER: Yes, absolutely. It has a pretty strong adhesion to the wall. The textures, the water-based formulations are going to be dry in 30 minutes. So, within 30 minutes, you can go ahead and paint. So, going back to your point, if you’re repairing, you know, that annoying hole in the wall, you know, guess what? Within 30 minutes, you can actually go ahead and paint. And we also have an orange peel formulation, which is oil-based. And that dries in five minutes, which, again, you know, super-fast and very strong adhesion to the walls. A pretty seamless repair. |
| 00:22:46 | LESLIE: I mean, wow. And it dries within five minutes. So, that gets you painting super quickly. And I mean, the quicker you can get through this prep phase, the better you can get to painting. And then your project is done. This is awesome. Yes. |
| 00:22:58 | CALLER: The formulas also dispense white. So, there’s not going to be any flashing. You don’t really require to prime them or anything like that. Because, again, they dispense white just like regular paint would. So, you know, super seamless for the user. |
| 00:23:17 | TOM: That’s terrific. So, the product is called DAP 2-in-1 Wall and Ceiling Spray Texture. As we talked about, it’s available in three different finishes. Where can you find this product right now? Is it in home centers and hardware stores and such? |
| 00:23:31 | CALLER: Yes, that’s right. Pretty much available in any home center and hardware stores. We’re also in some paint stores as well. You know, hopefully, users won’t have any issues finding this product. |
| 00:23:43 | TOM: All right. If you’ve got a ceiling that needs repair or a wall that needs repair and it’s textured, you want to pick up the DAP 2-in-1 Wall and Ceiling Spray Texture. It is definitely the way to go to restore that surface. Raquel Beckett, Product Director for DAP. Thanks so much for stopping by the Money Pit and filling us in on this interesting new product. |
| 00:23:59 | CALLER: Thank you for having me. It’s always a pleasure. |
| 00:24:03 | LESLIE: All right. Now, we’ve got Hope from Illinois on the line, who’s in a super great mood. Hope, what’s going on? |
| 00:24:07 | 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 I’m 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. |
| 00:24:33 | TOM: What are you thinking about? What kind of fence are you leaning towards? |
| 00:24:37 | CALLER: Well, we’ve looked at everything from like rolls of welded wire on posts or some sort of black wrought iron low fencing, something like three feet. |
| 00:24:51 | TOM: Okay, so in either case you’re going to have metal fence posts, not wood fence posts? Have you thought about wood fencing or are you just afraid of the water? |
| 00:24:58 | CALLER: Yeah, we have definitely thought of wood as well, yes. Okay, so well… Something that won’t… …ruin our view. |
| 00:25:06 | TOM: Right, okay. Hey, now 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 and should. They’re not only required, but they’re just essential for safety. But let’s face it, you spend a lot of 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 anything to be concerned about. If you were working with a wood fence or wood post, 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 it drains and the post 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 used stone for that. But you’re going to have to check the manufacturer’s recommendations. You don’t have the same issues with rot. Most of those posts are aluminum. You just don’t want to make sure that the post is not going to react with the concrete. And if you do decide to go with concrete and the metal post, then I would use the Quikrete 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 hole with water. And a couple of hours later, you’re good to go. |
| 00:26:46 | CALLER: Well, thank you. |
| 00:26:49 | CALLER: I’ve learned so much from you guys. |
| 00:26:51 | TOM: Oh, thank you so much. Good luck with the new house and call us back anytime. Thank you. |
| 00:26:55 | LESLIE: Well, if you’ve ever noticed an odor in your bathroom sink, it could be byproducts. But with biogas, essentially, it’s what happens when bacteria grows in the drain lines of that sink. |
| 00:27:04 | TOM: Yeah. Bacteria is really stinky. But the easiest solution is to fill the sink with hot water until it reaches the overflow and then slow it down to a trickle so it still runs down the overflow but not the sink itself. Then just add a couple of cups of bleach to the water. Now, the bleach is going to run down that overflow channel. It’s going to kill off any bacteria it finds. And then after a few minutes, you’re going to add another cup or two of bleach. Let the drain out slowly to do the same for the waste line. And you should be odor-free. |
| 00:27:33 | LESLIE: All right. Now, we’ve got Al in Arkansas on the line. And perhaps, Al, now we can finally answer this question. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I think you could help us with that. |
| 00:27:47 | CALLER: What’s going on? It’s a good one, Leslie. I’ve got a hill that runs down to a creek. And when it floods, the bottom of the hill gets wet and some woodchucks have moved in a few weeks. And they dug holes. And when the water got up there, it kind of washed out and caved in. And then it came up the hill more. And now here this year, I’ve got a six-foot-deep section of earth missing. And my wife doesn’t want me to shoot these woodchucks. And they can chuck a lot of dirt. And they can climb trees. That sounds crazy. Yeah. |
| 00:28:24 | TOM: So it sounds like they’re taking over. Well, would you like to evict them? How about that? If we’re not going to shoot them, you don’t want to evict them. Yes. Because I think you could use a have-a-heart trap. The have-a-heart traps are great. They work for groundhogs and woodchucks, pretty much the same size animal, same type animal. There’s slight differences, of course. But the have-a-heart trap is a good option. Now, the problem is you’re going to have to take the animal, like, for a ride, like, miles away and let them go. |
| 00:28:50 | LESLIE: You have to put it in your car. |
| 00:28:51 | TOM: But what you do is you get this have-a-heart trap. And you get the one that’s sized for woodchucks. You’ve got to bait it. Now, a little trick for that is if you take it. You take some fruit, like an apple, and you put it in the back of the trap. You take a wire, like a piece of, like, picture frame wire or something like that. And you thread it through the apple or a piece of, like, electrical wire, something that you can thread through the apple. And then you tie it off to the back of the cage. Because this way, he can’t, like, smack it towards himself, right, and just grab it and run. He’s got to go back there to have the treat. And then the door slams. Now, when that happens. Right. The animals are going to panic. And especially if you approach them. But what you want to do is, you know, throw a cloth over it and pick the cage up safely using the handle. And then you can take it out somewhere well away from your property and let them go. And then go reset it again and do it again the next day or the next few days. And eventually, you’ll lower that population. And that will give you a chance, a fighting chance, of getting that hill back in shape. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. Good job. All right. Well, good luck with that project. And thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit. And if you get the answer to Leslie’s question, please do let us know. |
| 00:30:02 | LESLIE: We’re dying to know. |
| 00:30:03 | TOM: How much water would Chuck can chuck? |
| 00:30:07 | LESLIE: Beth wrote in to Team Money Pit wanting to know if she can tile an outdoor porch. She says, I have some tile that would be cool on the porch and sidewalk in front of my house. Can I do that or would it be too slippery? First of all, I don’t know if you’re allowed to tile sidewalk. Porch is yours. But sidewalk’s kind of yours but also your town’s? |
| 00:30:25 | TOM: Kind of the city owns that, right? Or certainly. Yeah, exactly. I’m sure if it was cracked, it would be yours, right? |
| 00:30:29 | LESLIE: You own it and have to fix it and replace it. But otherwise, the village, city, town. |
| 00:30:35 | TOM: Now tile also has a COF rating, which stands for the coefficient of friction. And this is the one that measures slip resistance. So basically, the higher the number, the more slip resistance you have. If the number’s very, very low, that means you have virtually no slip resistance. And hence, if that porch was to get a little bit wet, certainly, especially if it got a little icy in the winter, it’s going to be super slippery. And therefore, super dangerous. So I think for porches, you want to think about using stuff like terracotta tile or quarry tile. These have very high COF ratings and they can be extremely slip resistant. Well, for all the cutting edge design ideas that are out there, most of us still follow some unwritten design rules. Those things that someone at some point decided we should never, ever do. Well, sometimes breaking the status quo is necessary. Leslie’s got ideas for shaking things up. And making big design statements in today’s edition of Leslie’s last word, Leslie, shake it up, babe. |
| 00:31:35 | LESLIE: That’s what I love to do. You know me, Tom. I’m a mover and a shaker and I mix it up and I do all kinds of things. But seriously, guys, whether you inherited them from your parents or you just never thought to break these rules, it’s time you go rogue on old design rules. And you can start with one of my favorite rules to break neutral colors only in small spaces. Now even if a bold color can make a small space seem smaller, the illusion is worth the added eye candy. It’s so great to take a small space and just slather it in color because I actually don’t think they feel that much smaller. They feel like a kind of beautiful shiny jewel box and it is great to bring that much color into a space. Now somewhere along the line, people were like, oh, your master bedroom’s got to be a very serious place. But you can get that rule out the door too. Because fun decor gives you something exciting and inspiring to wake up to and it brings out the kid in all of us. Now artwork, it’s got to be hung at eye level, right? Well think again because you can lean frames and canvases on the floor to give it kind of an art studio vibe. You can play around with different heights. You want to create these memorable looks. And to do so, you kind of just have to mix it up. So don’t think that everything’s got to be exactly at eye level. And lastly, who said a chair has got to match? Well I need six of the same, absolutely not. You can do two matching end chairs and two different side chairs and a bench. You can do six different chairs, all of friends. You can do anything that you like if it kind of ties that space together. It’s a fun way to kind of give a formal space its own vibe that works truly for your family and your friends. So think about how you like to use this space. Think about your quirky sense of design and go with it. Don’t be afraid to mix it. Mix and match. |
| 00:33:25 | TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Coming up next time on the program, are you guys dealing with an old and inefficient heating system and wondering if now is the time to update it for the winter season ahead? We are going to walk you through the options on the very next edition of the Money Pit. Until then, I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:33:43 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:33:44 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 00:33:46 | 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.) |
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