Show Notes
In this episode, get tips for a warmer, healthier home by spotting and stopping mold, using a spray foam product to seal drafts and save on heating, and choosing the right window coverings to keep cozy. Got questions? We’ve got all your home improvement answers!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Window Coverings: Stay toasty with the right window coverings for winter warmth.
- Mold Prevention: Fight the fungus with 10 tips for spotting and stopping mold in your home.
- Sealing Drafts: Seal drafts and cut heating bills with an easy and effective DIY spray foam product.
Top Questions & Answers
- Flower Bed: Michelle wonders if her flower bed will affect her foundation. She should slope the grade away from the house and avoid edging that will impede drainage.
- Plumbing: After turning the water back on, Doug has lots of sediment in the plumbing. He should remove and clean out the faucet aerators, then empty and wipe out the toilet tank.
- Concrete Repair: Susan’s concrete curb is cracking and sloping down. She has options for products to easily fix the concrete unless it’s settling and needs to be replaced.
- HVAC Options: Should James replace the baseboard heat with an electric furnace? We recommend installing a natural gas furnace that will be less expensive to run.
- Painting Brick: Cathy wants to brighten a dark corner by painting the brick fireplace and wall. Some better options would be using mirrors or different kinds of lighting.
- Deck Stain: Can you apply solid stain over semi-transparent stain on a deck? Justin should clean the surface well and let it dry before applying the solid stain right over it.
- Flooring Repair: Lynette’s floor is worn and soft in some areas from wood rot and mold. She needs a home inspector to determine the cause and the best solution.
- Floor Gap: After installing new luxury vinyl plank flooring, Mike has a gap under the door casing. He can add architectural plinth blocks to cover the space.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:05 | ANNOUNCER: The MoneyPit is presented by FindTape.com, Dap Wall and Cavity Foam, and Super Flapper by Fluidmaster. Now, here are Tom and Leslie. |
| 00:00:34 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. And I’m Leslie Segrete. Now is a perfect time to be working outside your house or inside, but if you want to get a few things done before the really chilly winter gets here and you got some questions because you’re stuck on a project, you don’t know how to start the project, you didn’t know you needed a project, whatever’s on your to-do list, whatever’s crossing your mind about improving the space you call home, we would love to help you solve it. So give us a call right now with your questions at 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974, or just go to moneypit.com slash ask. Coming up on today’s episode, mold growth often becomes a problem in cool and damp weather. So we’re going to share 10 tips to spot and stop mold from taking hold in your house. |
| 00:01:23 | LESLIE: And are you looking to seal up those drafts and cut down on your heating costs this winter? Well, we’ve got a new solution that makes sealing your home easier than ever. We’re going to tell you about DAP’s latest product and how it insulates your home in minutes. |
| 00:01:36 | TOM: Plus, have you ever felt a chill coming from your windows? Well, one affordable type of window covering can actually help to warm up those areas. We’ll share that toasty option. |
| 00:01:46 | LESLIE: But first, we want to know what you need to know. You want to know. It’s our job. It’s our mission to educate, inspire, and help you build confidence on all of those projects that you just want to get done. |
| 00:01:56 | TOM: That’s right. But your job is to help yourself first by reaching out to us |
| 00:02:00 | LESLIE: with your projects and your questions. And you’re going to get the answer to your home improvement question, but you’re also going to get a chance to win big because today we are giving away a Cuisinart outdoor walk station to one lucky listener who reaches out with their home improvement question. I mean, this is an awesome, awesome outdoor cooking tool. So good luck, you guys. |
| 00:02:20 | TOM: It absolutely is. And we’re going to draw a name from those that reach us for today’s show. And if that’s you, we’ll send the walk station to you. And then you can invite us over to your house when you cook up a great meal with it. So give us a call right now. The number here is 1-888-MONEYBIT |
| 00:02:35 | LESLIE: or again, moneybit.com slash ask. Let’s get to it. Now I’ve got Michelle on the line. What can we |
| 00:02:41 | CALLER: do for you today? I have this huge flower bed right by my house and it’s about as big as a one car garage. Anyway, I know that it’s to be sloped away from the house, but I was wondering if I have |
| 00:02:56 | TOM: a raised flower bed, how far that raised flower bed should be from the house. That’s a great question. Sometimes people put it right against the house, Michelle, and then it’s great for the flowers, but it also holds all this water against your foundation and it can cause flooding in lower levels across spaces and basements, or it can even damage your foundation. So the flower bed is fine, but you need to make sure you essentially need to build it on a hill in the sense that what you want to do is establish the grade that slopes away from the house first. And then once that grade is established, then you could plant flowers or shrubs or whatever else you want to do. What you don’t want to do is kind of have like an edging around the outside of the bed so that a lot of times you see that people will use like railroad ties or like scalloped bricks or block or something like that. And think of it as a trough that they build around their house, and that’s what happens, it holds water. So just don’t impede drainage, good flow of water away from the exterior wall, and you’ll be fine. |
| 00:03:57 | LESLIE: Okay. Well, thank you so much. |
| 00:03:59 | TOM: You’re welcome, Michelle. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:04:03 | LESLIE: Now we’ve got Doug in Rhode Island on the line who’s dealing with a water issue. Tell us what’s going on. |
| 00:04:07 | CALLER: All right. What happened was the water service was turned off for a day. When it was turned on, we received a lot of dirty water with a lot of grit, and it seemed like it was going to be a lot of dirt. It seemed to be causing a problem. Well, not a problem. I’m concerned if it could be a problem. There’s a lot of grit and sandy sediment in the water tanks behind the toilets, and I don’t know if that’s going to be an issue. |
| 00:04:32 | TOM: I don’t think so. Here’s what you need to do. First of all, the fact that you had like some dirty water, some brown water, some gritty water after pipe work was done is not really that unusual. You do have to flush it out. Here’s something, first of all, before we get to the toilets, you may have forgotten to do, and that is I would recommend you take a little bit of water out of your sink. Take off the aerators from the sinks in the bathroom and the kitchen because those screens will sometimes trap a lot of that debris behind it, and that will reduce your water pressure over time, especially if some more dirt comes down the line. So I would take those aerators out and flush them out. Just keep in mind that sometimes they come apart in like three different pieces, but it’s like a Rubik’s Cube to try to get it back together. So just remember how you disassembled it and put it back together and clean those out. As far as the toilet tank is concerned, the only problem is that sometimes if you have a lot of grit in it, it will wear on the flush valve, which is the flapper on the bottom of the tank. If you want to just be sure, what you could do is turn the water supply off behind the toilet, go ahead and flush it a couple of times, get all that water out of the tank, and if there’s any sand that’s lying in the bottom of the tank, just kind of wipe it out. Clean it up as best you can, and then just turn the water back on. You’ll be good |
| 00:05:39 | CALLER: to go. Okay. I appreciate it, and you’re correct. I did have one aerator that interrupted the flow, |
| 00:05:46 | TOM: the pressure. All right. But you knew enough to take it apart and get it cleaned out. Good man. Yes. All right. Well, there you go. Thank you very much. You’re welcome, Doug. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:05:58 | LESLIE: Susan in Texas has some concrete that’s cracking up. Tell us what’s going on. |
| 00:06:02 | CALLER: Yes. I have a curve out front of a 1955-year-old home, and the curve is cracking in spots and going down like in a slant, and I didn’t know what I need to do to repair that. |
| 00:06:14 | CALLER: And this is your responsibility and not the township’s? |
| 00:06:17 | CALLER: Yes. I’ve called several times, and everyone says it’s my responsibility to fix it. I just, |
| 00:06:23 | TOM: you know, they say when you sell your home, the curb repeal, and I don’t have a curb, Your curb repeal’s got to start at the curb, and you keep calling, getting the same answer, so I guess you’re kind of stuck with it. Right. Well, listen, there’s a couple of things that come to mind. First of all, when you say it’s like slanted and sloped, if it’s settling, you know, then it’s going to have to be torn out. If it’s just cracked, there’s a lot of ways to fix the cracks. Quikrete has a number of good products that are designed exactly for that. There is a crack seal. There’s a crack repair product that’s kind of like caulk. There’s also a resurfacing product, so if it’s spalled or deteriorated, you can resurface it, and it will stick to the old concrete and come out looking quite nice. So there certainly are products to make what you have look better and work better, but if the whole curb is structurally sinking because sometimes water gets under it and that kind of stuff, then that’s the case where you’d have to tear it out and have to fix it. Yeah, that’s a good point. I think that’s a good point. |
| 00:07:15 | CALLER: Have a mason build you a new one. Okay, okay. But that Quikrete is pretty easy to do. |
| 00:07:21 | TOM: Absolutely, yes. Take a look at Quikrete.com. They’ve got lots of great videos there. They’ll walk you through exactly what you need to do. Just search for crack repair. You’ll see there’s many options depending on the thickness of the crack and what you need to achieve, okay? That is wonderful. Thank you so much. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:07:37 | LESLIE: Do you love learning about home improvement on our podcast? |
| 00:07:37 | TOM: Well, we love bringing you all the latest tips and tricks. And if you want to make us smile, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Just go to MoneyPit.com slash review. Hey, if you’ve got a question to ask us about your home, we’ve got a great reason for you to do that aside from getting a terrific answer. And that is because we are giving away an outdoor walk station today from our friends at Cuisinart. This delivers cooking versatility. You can create fast, fresh, and fabulous meals in minutes. It lets you deep fry, saute, boil, sear, griddle, braise, and even more. Now, it includes a premium 14-inch round bottom hand-hammered carbon steel nonstick wok, but it’s also got a great burner system. It retails for $349. We’re going to throw in a cover and a tool set for a total prize package value of $420. Going to go out to one call or join at random. Make that you reach out to us with your home improvement questions. You must have a question to qualify. The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit or go to MoneyPit.com |
| 00:08:46 | LESLIE: to ask. James in Ohio is on the line with a heating question. What can we do for you today? |
| 00:08:51 | CALLER: Yeah, hi, I was calling and I have an older home built in 1968 and I was wondering if it’d be easier to install an electric furnace instead of having the baseboard heat or possibly getting |
| 00:09:05 | TOM: one of the outdoor units that mount high on your wall. Do you have natural gas or propane or oil in your area? Maybe natural gas. Yeah, that would be the way to go. I mean, if you’re going through trouble putting a furnace in, I would definitely not put in an electric furnace because that is the most expensive way to provide heat to your house. I would suggest a high-efficiency natural gas furnace. I mean, the installation expense is going to be similar if you’re putting a new furnace in, but the ongoing cost to run it will |
| 00:09:35 | CALLER: be a lot lower. Will I incur more cost for the ductwork because I have plaster walls instead |
| 00:09:42 | TOM: of drywall? Well, if you’re going to put an electric furnace in, you’re going to have to do the ductwork anyway. So if you’re going to put an electric furnace in, you’re going to have to do the ductwork. The ductwork is there whether or not you use an electric furnace or a gas furnace, and it really depends on how creative your HVAC contractor is, but that’s a fixed cost. If you’re going to go through trouble of ducting out your house, which is going to add to its value, I definitely would recommend gas. And typically, the gas companies don’t charge to bring gas up to your house, so they’ll bring the line up and put a meter in because now you’re going to be their |
| 00:10:10 | CALLER: customer forever, and they’re very happy about that. Well, thank you very much. |
| 00:10:15 | TOM: You’re welcome, James. Thanks so much for calling. You’re welcome. Thanks for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:10:19 | LESLIE: Well, right now, it’s cold and damp throughout most of the country, and that’s not the weather that most of us really love, right? |
| 00:10:26 | TOM: That’s right, but it is the kind of weather that mold really loves. Preventing mold is all about managing moisture in your home as well as not giving mold a place to grow. So we’re going |
| 00:10:37 | LESLIE: to share 10 tips that can help. Yeah. First of all, you want to think about controlling moisture. You need to keep the humidity below 50% in your basement. You want to ensure that you’ve got proper drainage. Make sure those gutters are clean. Make sure the soil is graded away from your home. You want to cover dirt crawl spaces with plastic. So it’s really about just stopping that moisture from coming in and getting too high. |
| 00:10:59 | TOM: That’s right. You also want to be careful with your storage. You want to make sure your storage is above concrete floors and away from foundations. If you use cardboard boxes like so many of us do and you put it on a concrete floor, well, you’re throwing food to the mold. So you need to have this stuff up on shelves and really, metal or plastic shelves and plastic bins are really best. Instead of using those cardboard boxes, which I got to tell you, I’ve been in basements after they had just a little bit of moisture and seen nothing but all of this mold, frilly white stringy stuff growing all over those |
| 00:11:30 | LESLIE: boxes. So yuck. Gross. And those boxes get like spongy and yucky. Now, if you’ve got a finished basement, even if you’re not using it regularly, you want to keep it heated. So don’t let it drop below 60 degrees because what you’re doing then is you’re just getting condensation and mold. So heat that space to keep those conditions nice. |
| 00:11:48 | TOM: Yeah. And if you’re building new, you want to think about mold resistant materials. You know, you can choose, for example, fiberglass faced drywall that won’t grow mold, whereas the standard paper faced drywall will. Just be aware of that. There are lots of options now to reduce |
| 00:12:01 | LESLIE: mold in your house. Also, you want to make sure that you have proper ventilation. So install a vent fan in your kitchen and your bath. Make sure they’re vented properly. You got to get that moisture out. And when you’re done in the shower, keep that fan on, but you can open that door. You want to kind of get that air moving around to help get all of that moisture out. That’s key. |
| 00:12:19 | TOM: Now, here’s a big one. Carpets. Now, we all love carpets, especially maybe like on the bedroom level of the house. It feels so nice under your feet when you wake up in the morning. But when you put carpets in the basement, that’s a big no-no because they’ll drop moisture. They will feed dust mites. Really not a good idea. So if you have hard surfaces like laminate or engineered hardwood, put those down and then you can use area rugs, but not wall-to-wall. So, if you have hard surfaces like laminate or engineered hardwood, put those down and then you can use area rugs, but not |
| 00:12:45 | LESLIE: wall-to-wall carpets, especially below grade. Yeah. You also want to make sure that you’re filtering the air. So use a high quality air filter. You want something that’s a MERV with a six or an eight rating. And you also, if you can have a whole house air cleaner, because that gets rid of those airborne mold spores. You just have to keep all of this under control. |
| 00:13:02 | TOM: Let’s talk about your heating and cooling ducts. You know, I’ve had this happen in my house, Leslie, where the air conditioning ducts in the attic started to condense. They were so cold when the warm, moist air hit them, they would condense and we would get dripping water off of those ducts that would form a leak stain in the ceiling. So the solution there is to increase ventilation in your attic and also to wrap those ducts with fiberglass. Because if they’re insulated, then you’re not going to get that condensation connection because the warm, moist air is not hitting the ducts, it’s hitting the insulation. |
| 00:12:45 | LESLIE: You also want to make sure that you’re cleaning regularly. So you want to use a mold inhibiting cleanser in those moisture prone areas, clean your air conditioning units seasonally and use mold resistant paint if you do have |
| 00:13:40 | TOM: a damp area of the home. And speaking of damp, if you do have a flood, act quickly. You want to get those wet areas dry, clean, and disinfected as soon as possible. Replace any damaged materials and that will prevent an ongoing mold problem. You’ll actually stop the mold really before it |
| 00:13:56 | LESLIE: starts to take hold of your house. Kathy in California, you’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today? |
| 00:13:59 | CALLER: In our rental, we have a big wall of brick where the fireplace is, and it’s a dark corner. And I was wondering if we would be able to paint that brick without a whole lot of dirt on it. |
| 00:14:10 | CALLER: Trouble to brighten it up in that corner. You can paint it, but you better be sure |
| 00:14:14 | LESLIE: it’s what you want to do, right Leslie? Yeah. I mean, painting brick is, it’s kind of irreversible. Once you put the paint on, because the brick is so porous, it’s just going to get sucked into like every little interior nook and cranny of that brick. So should you ever decide that you would like it to be brick again, it’s a lot of stripping and sandblasting. It’s a big to do. So you want to make sure that that’s something you really want to do. I mean, if it’s like just the ugliest brick ever, I get it. |
| 00:14:40 | TOM: Well, it’s the only way to lighten up that area that I can think of. It’s like a corner? It’s like a corner of the living room, but it’s one wall of the living room. It’s the whole wall right up next to the sliding glass door. So all the way over to the sliding glass door is all brick from floor to ceiling. |
| 00:14:56 | LESLIE: Have you thought about putting mirrors, like an assorted group of mirrors, or adding a different light fixture? I mean, there are ways that you can brighten the space with decoration. I hadn’t thought of the mirrors. That might be a good idea. I mean, if you do like a cute cluster, almost like a little gallery grouping of different size and shape mirrors and mixing metals, and you’re doing something really purposeful and fun and creating a moment, like that’s a great way to do it. There’s no electrical in the ceiling. You don’t need electrical in the ceiling. There are plenty of pendant lamps that plug into an outlet that you can use a swag that, is that what it’s called? Swag? |
| 00:15:34 | LESLIE: Yeah, I think so. You can do something like that. And there, I mean, there are really great ways to do that. You plug in a light fixture and then suddenly you have a beautiful like mini chandelier or something. There are so many. If you look online for decorative light fixture with a plug-in, like with a plug, you’ll find so many. And then make sure you can get one of those things that looks like a scrunchie that you wrap over the electrical cord itself, so it hides just the wiring. And I mean, it’s really easy to do. |
| 00:16:02 | CALLER: All right. I think on those lines, that’s easier than painting. |
| 00:16:05 | LESLIE: There’s even sconces that are plug-in. So you can create like, a whole little gallery thing with mirrors and plug-in sconces and really brighten up that space. Okay. Thank you, guys. |
| 00:16:16 | TOM: All right. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:16:20 | LESLIE: Time to tackle a decking question with Justin in Iowa. How can we help you? |
| 00:16:24 | CALLER: Well, one year ago, I moved into a new house and the deck was just put on the previous year. And right before the owner put it on the market, he stained it with, I think, a semi-transparent |
| 00:16:37 | CALLER: stain. Okay. So far, so good. |
| 00:16:39 | CALLER: And I think it’s a semi-transparent stain. Okay. So far, so good. I would like to use a solid color stain, if I could, to redo it. So I’m not sure, can I do that, being that there’s already a stain on there? |
| 00:16:48 | TOM: And in fact, solid color is a good choice. We typically do recommend that because it has more pigment and it tends to last longer. So you want to make sure that you clean the deck very well, because we want to make sure there’s no moss, mildew, or algae attaching to that deck. Let it dry equally well, and then you can apply the solid color stain right |
| 00:17:10 | CALLER: on top of the semi-transparent stain. Sounds easy enough. I really appreciate it. |
| 00:17:13 | TOM: You got it, Justin. Good luck with that project. |
| 00:17:15 | LESLIE: Well, with chilly weather already settling in across most of the nation, sealing up drafts and cutting down on your heating costs is top of mind. You know, spray foam is a great way that you can do just that, and DAP has a new solution that makes this project easier than ever. |
| 00:17:31 | TOM: That’s right. It’s called DAP Wall and Cavity Foam, and it features a wide spray adjustable applicator for both horizontal and vertical spray jobs. With us to talk, about the new line is Dana Chin from DAP. Welcome, Dana. Thank you so much for having me. First of all, spray foam, we said that it’s a great way to cut drafts, and that we should explain why that is. Because with spray foam, you apply it, and then it expands to fill in all those voids where air is leaking in, right? |
| 00:17:56 | DANA: That’s correct. It can save a user up to 30% savings in energy costs. |
| 00:18:00 | TOM: Wow. That’s a lot. And I think the reason for that is because not only are we lowering the temperature inside of our house by virtue of those drafts, but I think that people react to that feel of a draft, right? And they probably run to their thermostat more than they normally would if it was just kind of set at a comfortable level. So they immediately counter that feeling of discomfort by turning up their heat, probably more than they need to. |
| 00:18:22 | DANA: Right. So they’re not getting at the source of the issue, really, which is the draft somewhere. |
| 00:18:26 | LESLIE: So I think what’s so great about the new updates to the DAP Wall and Cavity Foam is the smaller 20-ounce can. So it really makes it very homeowner user-friendly. So when you kind of figure out where these drafts or where these sort of air leaks are going to come from, it’s a great way to figure out where these air leaks are coming from. You can address it yourself. True? |
| 00:18:42 | DANA: Yes. DAP Wall and Cavity 20-ounce aerosol can is really good for advanced DIYers and homeowners, so they can solve the issue themselves. But beyond that, it’s also good for professionals, general contractors, remodelers, installation pros, weatherization tools. So it runs the gamut. |
| 00:18:58 | TOM: I think the thing that makes this really unique is the fact that it can actually handle horizontal and vertical applications. That is a challenge for an aerosol sort of driven product. To be able to put that material where you need it. And with your applicator technology, especially the wide spray capability, it really makes it possible to spray this stuff exactly where you need it to target that draft source exactly. Correct? |
| 00:19:23 | DANA: Yes. The 20-ounce can comes with a patent pending applicator. And just what you said, you can adjust the applicator for horizontal and vertical wide spray patterns, depending on the user’s preference of how they want to spray. The wide spray pattern also extends six inches on the initial spray and has a flow controller to give the user more control over the dispense rate. |
| 00:19:46 | TOM: Yeah. So you can put it exactly where you want it. You don’t have to worry about overspray, which is inefficient. It’s wasteful and it’s also kind of sloppy when it gets all over the place. I just love the control that you guys have built into this because I’ve used spray cans for my entire career and I’ve never seen anything that works as well as this. |
| 00:20:02 | DANA: Yeah. It’s about targeted, smaller and harder to reach areas. Exactly what you’re saying. Those key things are the insulations that include rim joists and really touch up from those larger projects, like wall cavities, attics, crawl spaces, things like that. And it’s really good with overhead spraying as well. |
| 00:20:21 | LESLIE: Now, how about its thermal insulation? Are we getting a lot of benefit out of this? Does it equal an R-value to something else we could apply? |
| 00:20:28 | DANA: The R-value is greater than a one component, but it’s not exactly a two component, but it has a really good R-value of 4.1. |
| 00:20:36 | TOM: Yeah. That’s a lot considering the thickness that you’re applying with this. So 4.1 is a lot. It’s a good addition. I think where most of the value, I think though, is the fact that it seals up, expands and seals that draft and stops that cold air from getting in. So it’s not just the thermal insulation. I think the real important point is that it’s going to plug that hole. If you’ve ever done a blower door test on a house, it’s where you pressurize the house or depressurize the house, you can actually figure out every gap that’s in that house. And it always amazes me because one of the ways they point this out after you do a test like that is they’re able to take all of that air that gets in and calculate what that represents in terms of a hole. And what I found is that you could have an average house when they calculate all the places that the drafts come in, that’s equatable to say a 36 inch by 36 inch hole in your outside wall. That’s how much air is getting in if it only had that one place. So the fact that you’re identifying and targeting each of those drafts in a very convenient and effective way makes this very usable and very helpful for comfort and for energy efficiency. So where can we find the product? Where is it distributed? You can get it at select Home Depot stores as well as Menards. Terrific. So again, the product is called DAP Wall and Cavity Foam and it’s available now in a 20 ounce handheld can. It is ready to go, easy to use and ready to go. Ready to spray. Ready to spray. Dana Chin from DAP, thanks so much for stopping by the Money Pit. |
| 00:21:52 | LESLIE: Thank you. We’ve got a great reason for you guys to reach out to Team Money Pit besides helping you out with your project. Up for grabs this hour is the outdoor wok station from Cuisinart and it’s exactly what it sounds like. I mean, it is truly a wok cooking station with a ton of gas power. It is awesome. You can stir fry, saute, make all of the wonderful delicious favorites, but right outside in your own home. It’s such a great, great thing to have for your outdoor kitchen. It retails for $349.99, but we are throwing in a cover and a tool set for your wok system for a total prize package |
| 00:22:27 | TOM: worth 420 bucks. Going out to one listener drawn at random from those that reach us with their home improvement questions. Make that you. Call us now at 1-888-Money-Pit or just go to moneypit.com. |
| 00:22:40 | LESLIE: Lynette in Louisiana is on the line with a warped floor situation at her house. How can we help you today, Lynette? |
| 00:22:46 | CALLER: My home that I live in was built in 1940 and it is on concrete piers. There’s a differential crawl space underneath the house as little as six inches on the east side to approximately two feet on the west side. And recently I had a pest control professional do a wood inspection and determined, fortunately, that there were no termites. But in walking through my home, he noticed that my floors, which are laminate covered, were warped and very soft in various areas throughout the house, which I’ve experienced continuing to deteriorate in that fashion over the last three to four years. He indicated, through his inspection, that he looked at the underneath the house and noticed that there was wood rot and possible mold occurring. And I’m calling to see what can I do to rectify that and does that mean that I need to literally tear out the floor to remedy the situation? |
| 00:24:06 | TOM: Probably not. But did he prescribe like, did he give you like an estimate for fixing it? Because sometimes these guys will do that. They’ll find a problem and say, I’m just the guy to fix it for you. Did he give you a number? |
| 00:24:16 | CALLER: No, sir. He simply came out to give me a state form for this wood inspection that’s necessary |
| 00:24:23 | TOM: for a VA loan. So he sounds like he might be, he might be a decent guy then. So the next thing you want to do is try to get a sense as to how much decay, if any, is down there. And I think, I mean, for that, what I would tell you to do is to contact a professional home inspector. Okay. So I’m going to go ahead and go ahead and do that. Okay. So the next thing you want to do is to contact a professional home inspector. Home inspectors don’t work for a contractor. They work for you and they only represent the information. So they don’t have any conflict of interest in trying to identify or make a problem sound like it’s bigger than it really is. Sure. It’s not going to be unusual for a house in your part of the country to have some, some decay or some potential mold growing on it. But I want to get a sense as to how bad that is. I mean, are, are the, is the, are the floor joists completely rotten? Is the subfloor rotten? How bad is it? Is the floor joist completely rotten? Is the subfloor rotten? How much mold are we talking about? I mean, if, if you’ve got a couple of feet on one end, then you can probably get pretty far into that. And then with high powered flashlight, you can work your way down as far as the eye can see. If it turned out that you had to do work on it, typically what you would do in that case is you would trench that area where the, where the grade goes up to like, as you say, six inches, so that you can actually kind of go back and forth and work on that space. Once we know exactly what’s going on, then we can talk about treatment options. And so if there is actual decay and if the decay is bad enough to warrant some structural repairs, then that would be done from the crawl space. In terms of the floor itself, if that subfloor was really badly rotted, you’d have to take that apart from the top. But you know, if it’s not really that rotted and maybe you just got a decayed joist or two, you may be able to make that repair from the bottom. Worst case scenario is you tear out all your floors, but I think that’s really extreme. And I wouldn’t even think about that until I had a lot more information. Now, the lumber can also be sprayed and treated to stop any decay or mold growth that’s going on right now. And then you could also, when you’re all done figuring out what caused this and what you’re dealing with, you want to make sure you get better ventilation in that crawl space so that you don’t have this problem reoccur. Now, if you can’t get natural ventilation, you could use fans that are hooked up to humidifier switches or humidistats, I should say. And they’ll come on whenever the humidity gets high and it’ll pull drier air through the house, through that crawl space to keep it from decaying any further. So you got a few steps in front of you, Lynette, but I would start by getting a good independent home inspector to take a look at it. You can go to homeinspector.org, that’s the website for the American Society of Home Inspectors, and start there. If you’re looking for an ASHI certified member, that’s A-S-H-I, American Society of Home Inspectors, an ASHI certified member, and they’ll give you some good advice and help you take the next step. Okay? |
| 00:27:05 | CALLER: Fantastic. Thank you so very much. |
| 00:27:07 | LESLIE: I appreciate the information. Well, with fall comes the start of the season of chilly drafts, right? You know, having good energy efficient windows can obviously help you cut down those drafts. But for those that sneak through, your window coverings can also play a role in making sure that you feel more comfortable. |
| 00:27:26 | TOM: Yeah, that’s right. And here’s why. Not only do you feel cold because outside air is sneaking in, sometimes what you call a draft is really just caused by convection. Because as the warm air inside your home hits the air, it’s going to be a little bit colder. So you’re going to have a lot of air in the window. It’s going to get cold. So you’re going to have a lot of air in the window. So That’s why you get that cold glass of the window. It’s chilled and then falls downward, causing what many folks think are drafts, but it’s not. It’s really just the convection of the airflow. |
| 00:27:49 | LESLIE: Yeah. And you know, one of the best solutions is also one of the simplest, and we’re talking about cellular shades. You know, they kind of look like a honeycomb. And as it gets colder, those pocketed shades help to insulate your home by trapping the frosty air at the window. And you can choose between a single, double, or triple cell to pick the right level of insulation for you. And in the summertime, those very same shades can actually cut back on the heat in your home by |
| 00:28:13 | TOM: almost half. That’s huge. It really is. Now, you can also combine cellular shades with drapes or curtains for an even stronger barrier against the cold. And remember, warm sun shines in from the south and west. So when it comes to adding layers, windows facing north and east should be your top |
| 00:28:30 | LESLIE: priority. Mike in Arkansas is on the line with a floor-to-ceiling window. Mike in Arkansas is on the line with a floor-to-ceiling window. |
| 00:28:34 | TOM: Mike Yes. I decided to replace my carpet and ceramic tile throughout the house with the exception of the bedrooms. I went with luxury vinyl plank. Now, the bottoms of my door casings, I have about anywhere from a quarter inch to almost an inch gap, especially the areas that I had to use backer board for the ceramic tile. So, how can I close that gap and make it look good? |
| 00:28:59 | TOM: So, the trim, there’s a gap between the bottom of the trim and the top of the floor? Yes. Okay. There’s a type of accent piece for trim, it’s called a plith block, P-L-I-T-H, plith block. And it’s kind of like a square block that you can put at the bottom of the casing, and it’s a little bit wider than the casing, and it looks, if you do it right, it looks like it always was supposed to be there. You know what I mean, Leslie? |
| 00:29:23 | LESLIE: Oh, yeah. I mean, they’re really made to look like they were intentional, if you will. |
| 00:29:27 | TOM: And it’s called a plith block. Plith, P-L-I-T-H, yeah, plith block. Okay. I think that’ll solve it for you. |
| 00:29:35 | LESLIE: Yeah, sometimes they’re called rosettes. |
| 00:29:36 | CALLER: All right, I will give that a try. Thank you so much. |
| 00:29:40 | LESLIE: Harry from Wisconsin reached out to Team Money Pit and says, I’m seeing a lot of offers from companies that clean chimneys. How often should I have the chimney inspected and cleaned? |
| 00:29:50 | TOM: Yeah, that’s certainly very common this time of year. I mean, generally speaking, you want to have your chimney inspected and cleaned at least once a year. Preferably before the heating season, because that regular maintenance is going to prevent a whole host of problems, Harry, like creosote buildup, which can cause chimney fires, and helps ensure the chimney’s free of blockages and good repair. Now, a professional chimney sweep can perform the service safely and effectively. If you use your fireplace frequently, you may need to have more frequent cleanings. This kind of inspection can also help identify any structural issues like cracks or damage that could lead to more significant problems. But… Be aware that in the chimney sweep business, there’s a lot of companies that will exaggerate or just plain make up problems. So if that happens and they declare that your chimney is super dangerous and it’s going to have horrible things happen, if it’s not immediately like torn down and rebuilt or has some major repair, get a second opinion from an impartial expert, like a professional home inspector. You’ll be glad you did. |
| 00:30:50 | LESLIE: Yeah, because an inspector definitely just assesses the situation and is not charging you for a repair. |
| 00:30:56 | TOM: Well, wall coverings can have a big impact. They can have a big impact on a room’s decor scheme, both in design and, if you’re not careful, your wallet. Leslie shares tips for affordable products that make it easier than ever to achieve professional results on a DIY budget in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie? |
| 00:31:13 | LESLIE: You know, when you’re looking at wallpaper, you always want to choose the best quality paper that’s within your budget and then go ahead and use it sparingly. For example, if you’re considering papering a powder room or maybe a focal wall, you’re going to want to use the popular paper that’s in the family room or use wallpaper inside the squares that are trimmed out and molding in a dining room or the bottom half or the upper half under or over a chair rail. You get the idea because wallpaper, first of all, it can be pricey if you have a taste of things that are very, very lovely which sometimes I end up looking at a wallpaper that’s so expensive that I still want to use it, so maybe I only use it a little bit. So kind of look at this, look at your budget. How expensive is the paper that you like? Do you want to do a whole room? is the pattern very busy. Consider a bunch of things when you’re doing this. Another fun idea is a wall mural. Now you can have a great picture or a piece of art or something printed on a pasted wall covering or a sticky vinyl that could be like a repositionable wallpaper and you can use that in a room and it doesn’t have to just be a kid’s room. Like in the family room you can do an awesome picture of like somebody on a ski mountain or something really cool somebody’s surfing and that really sets the tone for the space and that doesn’t have to be super expensive either. It’s really great to bring the outdoors in. You could do a beautiful image of a forest, some trees, the water. It’s really a lot of great things. If your kid’s super into sports you can do, I don’t know, their favorite soccer stars or stadium seating. There’s lots of great ways that you can do this. I personally love a wallpaper. Currently I have it in our stairway, in the powder room, in the bathroom upstairs, in the bathroom upstairs, in the bathroom upstairs, in the bathroom upstairs, in my boy’s room. I really do love a wallpaper. Sounds that way. I’m not afraid to use it. I love to use it and when I take it down I put up another one. So be adventurous. Find patterns you love. It definitely sets the tone for the space and don’t be shy about it. Just make sure you look at the price tag first before you pull that trigger and look at the repeats. That’s super important. |
| 00:33:19 | TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Coming up next time on the program, does the thought of hiring a contractor make you a bit nervous? Perhaps wondering if you’ll get a good guy or not? Well, the first step to finding the best pro for your project is to know what to look for. We’ll share tips to help you do just that on the very next edition of The Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:33:37 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. Remember, you can do it yourself. 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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