Hosts: Tom Kraeutler & Leslie Segrete
(NOTE: Timestamps below correspond to the running time of the downloadable audio file of this show. Text represents a professional transcriptionist’s understanding of what was said. No guarantee of accuracy is expressed or implied. ‘Ph’ in parentheses indicates the phonetic or best guess of the actual spoken word.)
BEGIN HOUR 1 TEXT:
(promo/theme song)
TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. If your floor is squeaking, if your toilet is leaking, call us now. Let us help you solve your home improvement project. Now, if your floor leaks and your toilet squeaks, then your house is all backwards. (Leslie chuckles) And we could probably help you with that, too. But call us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
You know, making simple changes now can help you stay in your home longer. This hour we’re going to tell you how to make your lighting more functional and convenient and how to have a safer bathroom.
LESLIE: And are you shopping for replacement windows? Well, if you are you know that it can be overwhelming and not to mention confusing. Low-e, U-value. What the heck do all those letters mean? We’re going to clear up those confusing labels that you see when window shopping in just a little bit.
TOM: And no need to hand wind that muddy garden hose ever again. If you call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT, one caller is going to get a motorized covered hose reel from NO-CRANK. We’re going to give it away to one caller at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. You must have a home improvement question and be willing to come on the air and ask it. See, our rules are very simple.
Leslie, who’s first?
LESLIE: Ron in New Jersey finds The Money Pit on WABC and you want to siding. How can we help?
RON: Hi. Yeah, I have a 100-year-old house which is – has asbestos siding on the outside.
TOM and LESLIE: OK.
RON: And we’re right – we’re right on the ocean pretty much. And it seems very hardy. And I’ve even seen a new house being put up that uses similar; probably cement based but …
TOM: Yes, that’s called hardy plank.
RON: You know, it’s not the most appealing to look at but yet I’m wondering is it something that should be taken off and redone or (inaudible).
LESLIE: Well, is it in good condition or is it falling apart? The siding itself, not the paint job.
RON: The siding itself seems fine.
TOM: You know, cement asbestos shingles are not organic so they don’t rot. They tend to grow a little mildew over time and they need to be cleaned or repainted. But they’re a terrific choice for a home that’s on the ocean that has a lot of salt exposure and things like that. So I see no reason to tell you to take those off. You can simply, you know, prime them; clean them, prime them and paint them and they will last indefinitely. You know, asbestos shingles …
LESLIE: We have them on my house and they’re not so bad to look at. (chuckles)
TOM: No. Cement asbestos actually used to be used, for a long time, in the 40s and 50s as a roofing shingle.
RON: Right.
TOM: For pitched roofs. And they never leaked. They just got kind of gray and yucky looking so people ended up pulling them off from time to time.
LESLIE: Replacing them at that point.
RON: Oh, OK. I see.
TOM: And in terms of the asbestos risk, there really is none because it’s held inside of a cement …
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Unless you’re breaking them up and releasing the insides to the air.
RON: I think people blow it more out of proportion than it really is. They just hear …
TOM: Well, in this particular case the asbestos is held inside of a cement binder. So unless you break them up by removing them …
RON: Yeah.
TOM: … as Leslie said, then you’re not going to have an exposure risk. So I think that you should keep them and just maintain them.
RON: OK, well thank you very much, both of you. I really appreciate the advice. Very helpful.
TOM: You’re welcome, Ron. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Roger in Tennessee, welcome to The Money Pit. How can we help?
ROGER: Hi. Yes, I’ve got a small home. I’ve got an attic full of cellulose insulation. Well, [actually full] (ph). It’s only got eight inches so I know it needs more cellulose put up there. But my heat pump duct work goes through the attic and has the ceiling vents coming out in the rooms.
TOM: OK.
ROGER: My question was: one – if I want to do it myself, which I need to do it myself, where would I get the cellulose or if that’s what I’m going to put up there, what other kind of insulation could I do it – buy for do it yourself; and should I cover the duct work itself?
TOM: Well, you might find that the easiest insulation for you to work with is an unfaced fiberglass bat, you know. Because you can hold these and they’re in six or eight-foot lengths and they’re easy to sort of position. To put in a blown-in product you really blown-in equipment.
In terms of whether you can cover the ducts, absolutely. There’s no reason you can’t cover the ducts and, in fact, it would make it more efficient if anything.
ROGER: Think I should cover the ducts while I’m doing that other …
TOM: Well, you know, if they’re in the way, you can cover them or you can work around them. There’s no reason not to cover them. There’s no downside to this. And if you put the unfaced fiberglass bats in, Roger, make sure you put them perpendicular to the ceiling joists. So you put it across. So if the …
ROGER: OK.
TOM: If the cellulose has settled down flat with the ceiling joist, perfect. Put the bats in 90 degrees opposed to the joist and you’ll get a really good insulation blanket.
LESLIE: If the cellulose is a little bit below the joist, do you want to fill in the rest or not?
TOM: You know, in a perfect world I’d say yeah. But I probably wouldn’t. I’d just put the insulation on top of it.
ROGER: Now, these bats, can I buy that at just the local …
TOM: Anywhere. Any home center. Yep. They come in 16 inches wide and 24 inches wide. And just make sure when you put them in, don’t go too close to the eave so you block your ventilation. Just make sure your vents at the overhang of the roof and, of course, at the ridge are free and open and clear.
ROGER: OK. We had an electrician up there doing some electrical work and he – I’ve got to get hold of him – but he seemed to say that some of the cellulose had settled in the wall. He looked down in the walls because it was open to the wall. He could look down in there and the cellulose had apparently settled in the walls itself, too.
TOM: Yeah well, that’s not unusual with cellulose. There’s almost always some settlement to it. But if you want to do it yourself, it’s a little bit of a hard material to handle. If you want to have an insulation contractor come in …
LESLIE: Well especially because it has to be pressurized so perfectly so it doesn’t push the wall.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Well yeah, if it’s done right. Sure. Exactly. But listen, most of your heat loss in your house is going to be through the ceiling. So even though you lost a bit in the walls, if you’re looking for a practical, inexpensive solution that you can do yourself, get unfaced fiberglass bats. Install them perpendicular to the ceiling joist and you will definitely see an energy savings next winter.
ROGER: Thank you very much.
TOM: Roger, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: Pete in New Jersey’s got a washing machine that’s causing a bunch of trouble. How can we help?
PETE: Yes, my washing machine, every time we run the washing machine for the first load of the week or, you know, a couple of days, it’s got a very stagnant water; almost like a pond smell to it.
TOM: Hmm.
PETE: We have to run the water and let it out and then …
LESLIE: Like run the load empty. This sounds like a trap issue.
TOM: Yeah, it sounds like you may be having sewage gas that’s backing up into the washing machine. The drain on this is the first place I would start looking at this, Peter. You want to make sure that the water’s going through a trap. Do you know what a trap is? It’s like a U-shaped pipe.
PETE: Yes. And actually, you know what? It does not – it does not appear to be going through a trap.
LESLIE: Well when …
TOM: And that is part …
PETE: It’s coming straight out of the back of the – out of the washing machine and then to the hose …
TOM: Right.
PETE: … that goes – and then the hose runs into a septic system.
TOM: Aw, yeah.
LESLIE: Well that’s why you’re getting – right? That’s why you’re getting the scent.
TOM: Well, I mean it’s going to come out in the hose. But where it connects into a pipe, the pipe has to have a trap in it. So you may be pulling septic – you may be pulling sewage gas back up that drain hose into the machine. You need to take a look at the drain plumbing on this, Peter. I think that’s going to solve your problem.
PETE: And just put a U-shaped trap in there in that connector line and then I should be OK?
TOM: Yes. It has to be – it has to be a fairly tall trap.
PETE: Right, right.
LESLIE: Because that water’s going to sit there in the bottom and trap those gases …
TOM: Exactly.
LESLIE: … and keep that scent from coming up. And that should really do the trick.
TOM: Make sure that drain is higher than the washing machine, too. (chuckling) Or you’re going to have a leak issue.
PETE: OK, I appreciate that.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Eileen in Nebraska, welcome to The Money Pit. How can we help you?
EILEEN: I want to – I’m putting on some countertops.
TOM: OK.
EILEEN: And I wanted to cut them. And I was wondering what kind of saw; whether I use the circular or a jig saw.
LESLIE: Is this the prefabricated particleboard with the laminate on top? Did you pick it up at the home center?
EILEEN: Correct.
TOM: OK. So you want to cut it to size. Alright. So here’s what you need to do. First of all, you want to take the area that you’re going to cut and put masking tape over it.
LESLIE: That’s going to prevent the laminate from chipping and splitting as your blade goes through …
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: … because you’re going to cut right through that tape. So you want to put the tape where you’re cutting. So you’re cutting in the middle.
TOM: Right on top of the cut line. Now you also want to turn it upside down and you want to cut it from the bottom. And the reason you’re doing that is because the saw blade – the circular saw blade, as it spins through, the blade spins up and it’s not going to chip off the edge of the laminate. So putting the tape on it and cutting it upside down – so cutting the bottom of the countertop as opposed to the top – is going to stop you from chipping it as you do this. And you’re going to need to cut across the bottom and then across the splash. And sometimes you have to finish it off very, very carefully with a handsaw and just what’s remaining in that little corner. But that will be the way to do it.
The other thing we would tell you is to make sure that you put the countertop up against the wall and check for squareness. Because you may find that that end cut against the wall has to be slightly out of square because very often the wall corner is not perfectly square.
EILEEN: [That’s the case] (ph). (chuckling)
TOM: That is the case, right? (chuckling)
EILEEN: That is the case.
TOM: OK, Eileen. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Hey, Money Pit fans. Don’t know where to begin now that it’s the swing of home improvement season? Well, we can help you organize your projects and get started. So call in your home repair or your home improvement questions 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Whenever that question pops into your mind just dial 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Up next, making some very minor and inexpensive changes in your home can make life a little bit easier for you today and help you stay in your home a lot longer as you age. Find out how to make some minor changes that offer major conveniences, next.
(promo/theme song)
ANNOUNCER: AARP is proud to sponsor The Money Pit. Visit www.AARP.org/HomeDesign to learn more about making your home more functional and comfortable for years to come.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show, making good homes better. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Give us a call right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. You could win a NO-CRANK covered hose reel worth 80 bucks. It’s the only water-powered automatic hose reel out there that makes rewinding and storing your hose effortless. Maybe you’re thinking about getting out in the garden and doing some spring gardening, some spring home improvements right now while the weather is so beautiful. This is a great prize that will help you. It’s going to go to one caller at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: And I love it because it winds everything evenly. It’s not all loaded up on one side like the mechanical crank ones like I have. (chuckling) And you know, it’s like you get out of the yard and all of a sudden it’s all on one side then you’re covered in mud. But it’s so nice to be back outside.
TOM: I have a hose winder at my house.
LESLIE: You do?
TOM: Yeah, he’s 13 but he gets the job done. (laughing)
LESLIE: (chuckling) So you don’t care if he gets all muddy.
Alright, Money Pit listeners. Well, with the real estate market all over the place, we’re finding that people are enjoying their homes for as long as they can. So we better keep those homes safe. And some design features just make good sense, not to mention safety. Once you’ve got them in your home you’re really going to wonder how you ever even lived without them. Plus you’re going to have no problem hosting friends and family of all ages.
Well, our friends at the AARP suggest floors and bathtubs should have non-slip surfaces to help everyone stay on their feet, which is a good place to be. And they also suggest good lighting to help people with poor vision and even to highlight those task areas. And it also helps anybody who’s doing specific projects really just see what they’re doing a lot better.
TOM: And these home improvement projects don’t have to be that complicated. Things like lever door handles as opposed to the knobs. And even rocker light switches instead of the toggles. These are great for people with poor hand strength but you’ll love them, too. Try using those with your arms full of packages.
LESLIE: Yeah, they’re even great after a long day of home improvement projects when you just can’t even make a fist you’ve been working so hard.
TOM: Absolutely. You’ll never go back to the standard knobs or switches again.
If you want some more information on making minor changes that offer major convenience, go to AARP.org/HomeDesign. That’s AARP.org/HomeDesign.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Al in Nebraska finds The Money Pit on KFOR. And how can we help you and your money pit today?
AL: Yes, I have a question here about putting like a one-room addition on a house and some people put a plastic vapor barrier over the insulation and before the sheetrock or the drywall. And I was wondering why they do that and is that needed. I mean should a person do that or not?
TOM: That’s a good way to make a very tight house. It’s another way to seal those walls. And a vapor barrier is fine. It always goes against the living space so it’s in the right spot on top of the existing insulation, on top of studs before the drywall. So that’s the way it’s – that’s the reason it’s put up there. You know, keeping the vapor pressure from getting into the insulation and vice versa and keeping the draft from getting in is all helped by that. Because you have to remember, when we build a house we frame the wall. It’s kind of like we’re starting with Swiss cheese and everything else we put in there is designed to fill a hole one way or the other; whether it’s insulation, siding, a window or a door. So adding a continuous, solid vapor barrier to inside before drywall is a good idea. You know, you can only do it in new construction and that’s why you should take advantage of it when you can.
AL: OK, I thank you very much.
LESLIE: We’re going to talk heat pumps with Guy in New York who listens to The Money Pit on WABC. How can we help?
GUY: Yeah, hi there. I have a house; an old house in Long Island. It’s oil heat and the heat system is – oh, it’s water; circulating water. But I have three floors and it takes, literally, hours for the heat to rise to the third floor. And even though I may have the system set on 70, it cuts down a lot because the water in the tank gets up to about 190 and it cuts down. So I’m just trying to figure out if it’s better to go buy some kind of pump – circulating pump – which I’ve been told would allow the heat and the water to circulate faster and warm up the house.
TOM: You have an old boiler with a gravity system?
GUY: Correct.
TOM: OK. Absolutely you need a circulating pump on that. You’re going to be amazed at how fast your house will heat up with it.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Things are going to heat up after that.
TOM: Yeah. You know, these old homes with very, very large pipes basically worked on the principal that hot water rises. And so as the water heated it would work its way up. But as you say, Guy, it takes forever for that to happen. So no, I think you definitely need a circulator on there.
Now, is this home zoned, Guy, or just all on a single zone?
GUY: It’s all single zone.
TOM: Aagh. It’s going to cost …
GUY: The house is about 99 years old. It has very good insulation …
TOM: Right.
GUY: … but – and when the heat goes off, it stays at whatever temperature it is for hours.
TOM: Yeah, I would suggest you put a circulating pump on that. And also, make sure you have a clock setback thermostat so you really have the opportunity to control it. And thirdly, make sure that the heating pipes are insulated; especially down in the basement. You may have asbestos on those pipes. Do you now?
GUY: I actually – when I bought the house, I had – an engineer came in and checked that the previous person had removed the asbestos.
TOM: OK, now here’s the question. Did you ever put insulation back on those pipes?
GUY: They had insulation. The guy actually took apart the insulation to see that that what was put on was not asbestos.
TOM: So it is insulated now?
GUY: Correct. It’s insulated.
TOM: OK, good. Because very often, you know, owners over the years will take off the asbestos but then leave it off and …
LESLIE: But not replace it with anything.
TOM: … you know, besides the fact that it was bad for you it actually did serve a purpose and that was to, you know, stop you from losing heat before you should lose it. You want to keep the heat in the pipe until it gets up into your house. So as long as it’s insulated then you’re OK.
Yeah, I think you put a circulator on there, Guy, you’re going to be a lot more comfortable.
GUY: Thank you very much. I’m going to go out and talk to somebody now about that.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Joe in New York, what’s going on at your money pit?
JOE: Alright. I’ve got a question on a over-the-stove ventilation unit.
TOM and LESLIE: OK.
JOE: I had one put in a long time ago. I put it in myself; Miami Carry (ph). I think that company is no longer in business.
LESLIE: Is it just a venting hood or are we talking about …
JOE: Yeah, it’s a venting hood over the stove. It vents outside the house as opposed – there was one when we moved in; it was an inside venting. I wanted to do an outside venting so I got brave enough to cut a hole in the wall myself and I installed it.
LESLIE: Yeah, but it makes such a huge difference.
TOM: Yeah, it’s so much better than recirculators.
JOE: But the one I have right now is kind of old and it’s kind of looking pretty shabby and I was thinking of getting another one. Yeah, I’m looking for what you would maybe recommend that would kind of fit in the same type of area. I think it’s about six inches high, 30 inches …
TOM: Well, you know, it’s not – it’s not so specialized as you might think. You’re describing the average vented range hood. And I would be willing to bet you could find those at the average home center.
JOE: Yeah, but you don’t find too many with the outdoor venting.
TOM: No, no, no. You have to understand that most of these today are set up to either recirculate or vent outside. It’s the installation that changes that.
JOE: Oh.
TOM: There’s a knockout in the back of them. And when you open up the knockout and you usually change a damper, then they’re designed to vent outside or to recirculate back inside.
JOE: I’m wondering if the hole that’s on this one would match up with that.
TOM: You know, it may; it may not. And even if you’re able to find the same brand – if they do happen to still be in business – it still may not match up. But changing that is, you know, a little bit of a carpentry job but it’s not terrible. It is most important, though, that when you put this in, Joe, that you have good alignment between the range and the hole itself. I have seen unsafe situations where it didn’t line up quite right and perhaps the grease was getting on wood as opposed to getting into the metal duct on the way to the outside.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: And that could be a fire hazard.
JOE: Mmm.
TOM: So as long as you have good alignment and if you have to do a little adjustment to make that happen, I would concentrate on finding one that matches your style.
LESLIE: Yeah.
TOM: I would also compare the CFM – the cubic feet per minute of the fan – because you want something that’s good and strong. And make your decision based on that.
LESLIE: There’s a company that has some really beautiful vent hoods. It’s called Vent-A-Hood which – spelled just like it sounds; Vent-A-Hood. They’re website is VentaHood.com. Also Rangemaster, Broan. Take a look. You’ve got to find something that matches your design taste.
TOM: Joe, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
So Leslie, as you know, I just completed a painting project at Chateau Money Pit.
LESLIE: You completed more than a painting project. You redid every room in the house.
TOM: It was a pretty big painting project. But I knew exactly how many cans of paint I was going to need because all I had to do …
LESLIE: And how did you do that?
TOM: I logged onto MoneyPit.com and used the paint calculator of course. (Leslie chuckles) Sitting right there for experts and novices alike. If you are tackling a painting project, you can use the paint calculator as well, available at MoneyPit.com.
We’ll be back with more, after this.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Ryobi, manufacturer of professional feature power tools and accessories with an affordable price for the do-it-yourselfer. Ryobi power tools. Pro features, affordable price. Available exclusively at The Home Depot. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Where we advise you can never have too many power tools. (Leslie chuckles) It’s OK. We also think it’s OK to fix stuff that’s not broken. If those describe your home improvement habits, call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You know, sometimes I even suggest just breaking something so you have a project to start.
TOM: There you go.
LESLIE: Oh darn, that bookcase needs repairing now. (Tom laughs) You know what? While I’m at it, let me completely redecorate that entire living room.
Alright, folks. So when you’re wandering around your kitchen, do you ever stop and think, ‘How green is my countertop?’ And I’m not talking the color green; not whether it’s a shade of chartreuse or even hunter green. I’m talking about your countertop and how it fits in on the environmental scale; whether you’ve got natural stone, solid surface or even a laminate. We’ll tell you in our next Money Pit e-newsletter. If you’re not a subscriber, well why the heck not? It’s free. And it comes directly to your inbox every Friday and it is full of good information. So log on now and get it.
TOM: Or call us right now with your home improvement question. 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: We’re heading to the bathroom with Giuseppe. How can we help?
GIUSEPPE: Yes, thank you. I purchased a fiberglass tub about two years ago and it was supposed to be one of the top of the line. But my wife wants me to get rid of it because every time she takes a bath there’s a black film that develops on it and unless she scrapes it down with chlorine or something strong it doesn’t go away. And she’s tired of cleaning it and I was hoping maybe you have a method of getting something to clean because I’ve tried everything; even that Rust-X and it doesn’t seem to bother it.
TOM: Well, this is inside the tub? Is there any sort of a surface treatment, like an anti-slip treatment that the dirt is sticking to?
GIUSEPPE: No. I went to Home Depot. I spoke to the people there. I spoke to others. This has gone on for a while now. And everyone tells me that – well, it’s cheap fiberglass. Cheap fiberglass (inaudible).
TOM: You know, I don’t buy that. You can have cheap …
GIUSEPPE: Neither do I.
TOM: You can have cheap fiberglass and it’s still going to clean properly. Giuseppe, if all the household products that you’re trying are not working so well, what I would suggest you look into is a marine cleaner. You know, fiberglass, of course, is the material that you use for boats and there are a lot of really good quality fiberglass cleaners that work very, very well. One that I’m familiar with is called Dolphinite. And it’s a fiberglass cleaner that can take off all sorts of deposits from the water or anything else that gets on a boat’s hull and I’m sure that it would do a good job of cleaning that bathtub.
LESLIE: Well, and once it cleans it, it also helps to guard against future depositing of stains. So it’s worth a shot.
TOM: Yeah, it’s pretty inexpensive. You can buy a 16-ounce bottle for about 14 bucks. It’s a …
GIUSEPPE: What is the name again?
TOM: Dolphinite. It’s available online or you could find it at a marine store if there’s one near you. There’s a website – ShipStore.com – that sells it, too. So take a look at that. It’s a professional fiberglass cleaner designed for boats but I’m sure it would work very well on this troublesome tub and make your wife a lot happier to boot.
GIUSEPPE: Oh, I’m sure if she’s happy I’ll be much happier. (Leslie laughs)
TOM: That’s right. And if she’s happy, you’re happy. Right, Giuseppe?
GIUSEPPE: You better believe it. Thank you very much for your help.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Well, we’re on our way to Ohio and talking to Charles. How can we help you?
CHARLES: Hey, hi. I was looking at my (clears throat) drywall – excuse me – and I noticed I have a lot of nails starting to make themselves noticeable. And I didn’t know if there’s something out there that I can, upon nailing them back, to keep these little guys from coming back that I can put over.
TOM: Yeah, the dreaded nail pop. (chuckling)
LESLIE: The dreaded nail pop.
CHARLES: Yes, indeed. The dreaded nail – and I’ll tell you, I’m starting to have nightmares about that, guys.
LESLIE: You can see it lifting up the paper and you see that nailhead sort of trying to pop through. Yeah, they’re trying to say hello. (Charles laughs)
Well, there’s a couple of things that you can do. Tom and I always recommend you can either put another nail directly next to that first nail and hammer it in so that that second head is bringing that first head flush. What’s happening is it’s drying out and it’s backing its way out of the wood and then out of the drywall itself. And then there’s a way you can do it with a screw.
TOM: Yeah, simply back the old nail and use a drywall screw to put it in because, you know, that will never back out. In fact, a lot of the contractors today don’t use drywall nails anymore because of this very issue. They’ll use the drywall screws. The important thing for you to know though, Charles, is that this is not a structural problem. This is a very …
LESLIE: It’s more cosmetic.
TOM: More cosmetic. You know, there’s hundreds of nails in those boards and, although it seems like a lot are coming out, it doesn’t mean that your house is doing anything unusual. What’s happened is that the wood expands and contracts and the newer wood dries out; it tends to push the nail out. See, those nails are coated with glue.
CHARLES: OK.
TOM: And the way they’re supposed to work is as you drive them in, the friction of driving them is supposed to …
LESLIE: Heat them up.
TOM: … loosen the glue and then it’s supposed to get set in place. But the truth is it doesn’t work that way and very often it will back out. So those are your options. A second nail on top of that one so you cover the heads or use a drywall screw.
CHARLES: Hey, I’m glad you guys are around so we can – us homeowners – ask you questions like this.
LESLIE: Curtis in Indiana, you’re up. What can we do for you?
CURTIS: Hey, I have a quick question for you. I have this problem that – it’s an older home and the people that owned the house before me or whatever, they put the furnace upstairs in the house and also the cold air return is upstairs. So more or less, my heat is circulating through the second story of my house and it’s extremely to efficiently heat the bottom floor.
TOM: So you have supply ducts on the first floor but you don’t have any return ducts on the first floor, is that correct?
CURTIS: Right. So of course the heating vents are in the ceilings of the first floor (inaudible).
TOM: Ah, that’s …
LESLIE: And you know heat rises.
TOM: Oh, that’s a really bad design. Heat rises. Whenever you put heating ducts on the ceiling – we used to see that occasionally in a development (ph) near me in the years I spent in the home inspection business. They used to take air conditioning systems and convert them to heating systems. But all the supply ducts were in the ceiling.
LESLIE: Are upstairs.
TOM: So, you’re going to need some redesign of this duct system, Curtis, in order to get this to balance right. Even putting a return on the first floor is not going to help you. When you’re supplying heat at the ceiling it’s going to stay at the ceiling. So you’re definitely going to need to consult with an HVAC contractor to redesign that system in the least destructive way possible.
LESLIE: What about in the interim getting those duct fans that would sort of help push that air down?
TOM: You know, you could put a duct booster in there. But again, you’re pushing it down from the ceiling and that’s going to be a real – you’re pushing against gravity, Curtis. That’s the problem.
CURTIS: So, really what you’re saying, pretty much, is about the only way to actually solve this problem is to go ahead and have those ducts [rearranged underneath] (ph) underneath the house and push up through the floor.
TOM: Well, have them – have some additional ducts. You may want to leave the ones that are in place but you certainly are going to want to drop a couple of ducts down a wall somewhere to get some heat coming out lower. And then also put in a return duct.
CURTIS: Being this is already winter time and a big project like this probably will not happen this winter, I’m looking for a good way of just to subdue myself for this winter that wouldn’t be real costly. I know, for example, the little electric space heaters don’t work very well. And that sort of thing. I was kind of looking for a good idea …
TOM: (overlapping voices) Well, if you’re looking for an inexpensive way to provide some backup heat then – and again, this is temporary – I would use an electric baseboard – permanently installed electric baseboard – on its own thermostat where you can control the supplemental heat with a thermostat and only turn it on when you need it. The advantage of it is it’s inexpensive to put in. The disadvantage is it’s costly to run. But if you’re using it just as supplemental heat on those cold days then it’s a good solution.
CURTIS: Hey, that sounds great. I do appreciate your time.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Hey, Money Pit listeners. Are you looking for ways to save energy dollars not just now but all year long? Well, the right replacement windows can make a big difference in your energy savings. Up next, how to choose ones that are going to make the biggest impact for you and your wallet.
(promo/theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Dens Armor Plus, the revolutionary paperless drywall from Georgia-Pacific.
TOM: Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show, making good homes better. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Reminding you to measure twice, cut once and always keep a fire extinguisher handy.
LESLIE: And that there’s no such thing as a board stretcher. (chuckling)
TOM: (chuckling) Or a left handed smoke shifter. (Leslie laughs) That was the joke that my shop teacher back in high school always played on the new kid. He’d say, ‘Go over to Mr. Smith and ask for a left handed smoke shifter. Ha ha ha ha !’ He was a …
LESLIE: Ours was the board stretcher.
TOM: He was a funny guy. Or a board stretcher, right.
LESLIE: ‘Oh, you cut that too short? Well you better get that board stretcher.’ (Tom laughs) ‘We’ll fix that in one second.’ And then people would be like, ‘I can’t find it.’ We’d be like, ‘Na na.’
TOM: We won’t kid you about your home improvement projects. Call us right now. Not only will we not kid you; we’ll give you the answer and a chance at winning a great prize because this hour we’re giving away the NO-CRANK covered hose reel. It’s worth 80 bucks and it automatically winds up your garden hose.
LESLIE: Alright. Well, it is time to clear up all of that confusing information that you see across those window labels when you’re in the market for new windows. It can be overwhelming because there are lots of choices out there. Well, we want to make sure that you pick out the best windows for your home. And this is what the American Council for Energy Efficiency offers. These are their recommendations.
U-value – this is the window’s ability to insulate. And then the amount of solar energy it transmits, that’s called the solar heat gain coefficient – SHGC. You probably see these all over the place. They’re fancy terms but you only have to remember that the lower the U-value and the lower the SHGC, the more efficient the window.
You can purchase different glazing for windows on different sides of your house; thus keeping your budget appropriate. For example, get the lowest U-value windows you can afford on your north facing windows.
You also want to look for windows with double panes, low-e coatings, low conductivity gas fill between those panes and wood, vinyl or fiberglass frames; the best that suit your needs. Really, you’ve got to look at each individual situation and address that.
TOM: And if all this still seems rather overwhelming, there is a standard label on new windows today. It’s the NFRC rating. It stands for National Fenestration Rating Council. And all that means to you is that all of these numbers are going to be in the same place on all of the windows so you can compare apples to apples and make sure you’re getting the window that …
LESLIE: And all those labels are going to look the same.
TOM: That’s right. So that you’ll get the window that suits your needs. And remember that no matter what window you go with, it’s very important that it’s installed properly. You need a good quality premium (ph) self-adhered flat flashing; something like Grace Vycor Plus, which we recommend a lot because it basically wraps around the window and protects against water, air …
LESLIE: And so many people are buying unusual shaped windows to meet their specific design needs. So you really have to be smart about the flashing.
TOM: You’ve got to have good flashing. It’s just not going to work. If you try to make the flashing out of aluminum, like we used to do in the old days, you’re going to get leaks. Use a flexible flashing like Vycor Plus and you’ll be very, very happy that your window will be dry and leak free.
If you want more information on window installation, you can visit GraceAtHome.com or call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Something’s bubbling in Tennessee and it’s at Linda’s house. What can we do for you?
LINDA: Hi. I have a bathtub and a toilet that sit sort of close to each other. And when I drain the bathtub the toilet bubbles up and then the water drains out of the toilet almost all the way.
TOM: (chuckling) That’s funny. The reason that’s happening, Linda, is because there’s a venting issue. The toilet is probably not vented properly or the bathtub is not vented properly, so what you’re seeing is an imbalance of pressure in the drain lines. And it’s kind of sucking or drawing down the toilet as it tries to find air to replace all of the air that’s being pulled out by the action of the drain. So you need to have a plumber evaluate where the drain pipes are – where the vent pipes are running. And you may need to add an additional one somewhere to let more air into that system so that doesn’t happen. That’s a fairly common condition in a house that doesn’t – is not vented correctly.
LINDA: Alright. Well, thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome, Linda. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
It’s the number one topic we’re asked about on this program – hardwood floors. You need some tips to keep yours in great shape? We’ll tell you, after this.
(promo/theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Ryobi, manufacturer of professional feature power tools and accessories with an affordable price for the do-it-yourselfer. Ryobi power tools. Pro features, affordable price. Available exclusively at The Home Depot. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Making good homes better, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: And we can be the voices in your head making sure that you make the right home improvement decisions when you download our very popular podcast. Just go to MoneyPit.com and check out the Listen section. Our podcasts are free and you can even search them by topic.
LESLIE: And while you’re there, why not shoot us an e-mail. And we answer some of them on the air, like this one. Here is one from Darlene in Portland, Illinois who writes: ‘How do we install hardwood floors on a slab foundation? We don’t like laminates. We want real hardwood.’ Alright, Darlene.
TOM: And the nails keep bending when we hit the concrete. (chuckling)
LESLIE: (chuckling) Yeah. And we can’t figure out how to hammer it into the concrete.
TOM: You know, Darlene, it used to be that you could never put hardwood floors on a concrete floor because the concrete is just so damp. It’s so moist that it will warp the floors. Even if it sort of appears dry to you it actually is quite, quite moist.
LESLIE: Well, there’s always a certain level of moisture coming through it anyway.
TOM: Yeah, there is. But what I would recommend is locking hardwood floor that’s engineered.
LESLIE: Yeah, it’s called engineered hardwood. When you look at the catalogs, make sure it says engineered. Sometimes there’s a capital e; sometimes there’s a little e. But you don’t want solid hardwood. You’ll be really sad if you do.
TOM: Basically, what engineered hardwood is is it’s laminate hardwood. It’s built up in different layers. Think plywood but with really good wood. So the top of it looks just like regular hardwood but it’s dimensionally stable. And the newer floors today are also locking, which means they don’t need glue; they don’t need nails; they don’t need staples.
LESLIE: They just sort of snap together.
TOM: They snap together, right. So you don’t have to worry about bending all those nails. It actually goes in quite easy. So a locking engineered hardwood would work very well on a concrete slab even if it’s in your basement. That would be the hot ticket.
LESLIE: And make sure, Darlene, when you’re ordering the floor that you get the proper underlayment that’s meant to go between the engineered hardwood and the concrete. They’ll get one that’s got like perfect moisture maintenance. So you want to get the right stuff for the right job.
TOM: Alright, Mary from Warwick, Rhode Island says: ‘How do I get rid of bats in my attic? I had a service here and they found the opening where the bats are getting in but a couple of years later the bats are still coming in. Any repellents that work to discourage them from staying up there?’
Well, the Urban Wildlife Hotline is a great place for you to call for specific area by area bat ridding information. The website is FundForAnimals.org. But generally speaking, if you put in a bat door – remember Batman?
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: Well, you need a bat door. But yours doesn’t have to be underground. A bat door is basically like a flap where the bats can get out but they can’t get back in.
LESLIE: And Mary, turn off that signal light. (chuckling)
TOM: Yeah, that’s right because that’s probably (chuckling) – that’s probably welcoming them. Yeah, if you have a bat door you don’t need to have a light next to it.
LESLIE: (chuckling) They’re probably like, ‘Hey, that’s that bat symbol. We need to go to Mary’s house.’
TOM: Well, things are only just starting to warm up around the country. But it is never too early to be prepared. The cooling season will soon be in full gear and I can guarantee you that your AC will break down (Leslie chuckles) on the hottest day of the summer when …
LESLIE: That’s positive, Tom.
TOM: … you’re planning a large family get-together. You want to know what to do so that doesn’t happen to you? That’s the topic of today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word.
LESLIE: OK, you’ve got to do a couple of things to make sure things operate correctly.
First off, if you have a central air conditioning system, be sure to schedule a service with the pros. Let them test all the systems and examine all your ductwork and then they’ll make any necessary adjustments and repairs that have to happen to make sure things work properly.
Also, be sure to vacuum all of the registers and change any filters that you are using to keep that indoor air quality at its best for you and your family.
And also, if you’ve got window units, make sure they’re in good working order. You might need to have them serviced as well. Just because they come in and out doesn’t mean they need to be ignored. So take them in for a good tune-up as well and you’ll be cool and happy all summer long.
TOM: Great advice. If you want to stay on top of your monthly maintenance tips, log onto MoneyPit.com and check out the monthly maintenance calendar. We’ll make sure these jobs get done on time and on schedule and they won’t result in unexpected repairs when your house is full of your closest family and friends in the middle of July.
LESLIE: (chuckling) Ice sculptures.
TOM: Ice sculptures. Exactly.
That’s all the time we have. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself …
LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone.
(promo/theme song)
END HOUR 1 TEXT
(Copyright 2007 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