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 2 TEXT:
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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: And we help you make your money pit better. Give us a call right now with your home improvement question; perhaps your decorating dilemma. Maybe you’ve got something that just broke down this week; you don’t know how to fix it. Maybe you’re wondering if you can do it yourself; if you need to get some pro help. We’ll help you sort that out. Call us at 888-666-3974.
Hey, coming up this hour, can you imagine leaving a window open all winter long; the heat loss, the cold drafts, the wasted energy? Well, if your home has a pull-down attic staircase that might be exactly what is happening. We’re going to give you a tip on how to seal it up and keep that heat on the warm side of your house.
LESLIE: And if you’re feeling that chill in the air, then you know it is almost time – if you haven’t already – to deck the halls and trim the tree and if you love the authentic look and fragrance of a live tree, which I think there is no replacement other than a live tree – you get the live ones they smell fantastic, they look wonderful – we are going to tell you how to keep your tree green and fresh for as long as possible; like, say, til February for my birthday – which has always been a dream of mine.
TOM: And if you save money you can get Leslie a nice birthday present (Leslie chuckles), which is probably also her dream.
Hey, speaking of saving money, it’s definitely at the top of our minds right now; so we’re going to give you some ideas on how to get cheaper hot water from our friend, Kevin Ireton, the editor of Fine Homebuilding magazine. He’s got some tips on how to cut those water-heating costs coming up in just a bit.
LESLIE: And we’ve got a great prize we’re giving away this hour. We’re giving you the Work Sharp 2000. It’s a sharpening tool that can tackle anything and everything from putty knives to lawn mower blades. It’s worth 130 bucks and if you’ve got no use for it, talk about the perfect holiday gift.
TOM: I’ve got one and, I tell you, once I got the Work Sharp it was like I went from one tool to the next. Everything was perfectly razor-sharp when I got done with it.
LESLIE: It’s a load of fun. I really have to tell you.
TOM: (overlapping voices) It really is.
888-666-3974. Call us right now if you’d like to win that. You’ve got to have a home improvement question, come on the air and be willing to ask us. Let’s get right to it. Phones are lighting up.
Leslie, who’s first?
LESLIE: John in Alaska is working on a fixer-upper. What can we help you with?
JOHN: OK, what I’ve got going is I’ve got a home built in 1977; split level; built over a two-car garage. I’ve been going through – it’s a fixer-upper, so I’ve been going through the whole house there redoing everything. In the last six to eight years replaced all the windows and finally got around to, about two years ago now, replacing – I basically took the garage doors off and closed it in to make a living area underneath. So I put two windows in where the garage door was and did a real good job on insulating and all that sort of stuff.
So now what I’ve got going here is I’ve got a house that I basically made too airtight and I’ve got moisture problems; condensation on the windows. I’ve got forced-air heat and I’m just – you know, I’ve been using a humidifier and I’m just having trouble trying to fix this problem to the point …
TOM: You mean a dehumidifier or a humidifier?
JOHN: A dehumidifier (inaudible at 0:03:32.5). (chuckles)
TOM: Alright. Just wanted to make sure you didn’t have a moisture machine in there throwing lots of water against those windows. (Leslie chuckles)
Well listen, John, you’ve diagnosed this correctly. When your home was drafty you had plenty of ventilation because you were exchanging inside air with outside air on a regular basis. Now that you’ve tightened it up, you are at a point where you have to take some mechanical steps to reduce the amount of humidity inside the house. What I would recommend is something called a whole-house dehumidifier. This is not a portable dehumidifier; it’s a whole-home dehumidifier. It is installed into the HVAC system. It runs 24/7 and it reduces the moisture throughout the entire house. It has a drain system on it so it’s totally maintenance free. You just kind of set it and forget it; just like Ronco. (Leslie chuckles)
JOHN: Yeah, that’s what I’m looking for; something like that. Who’s a maker of that?
TOM: Aprilaire is the best manufacturer for that equipment in the country. Their website is Aprilaire.com and you’re looking for the whole-home dehumidifier. It takes out …
LESLIE: Ninety pints.
TOM: Yeah, 90 pints of water a day. So that will make that problem go away.
JOHN: Hey, that’s what I’m looking for. Excellent. Hey, thank you so much.
TOM: Alright, John. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Valerie in Utah, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
VALERIE: I have a Craftsman-style house. It has a tongue-and-groove knotty alder ceiling and huge open beams and the ceilings are 23 feet high.
TOM: OK.
VALERIE: But in my bedroom, when the wind blows from the west we get a breeze.
TOM: Do you have any idea where the wind is getting in?
VALERIE: That’s the problem. We thought it was maybe coming in through the tongue-and-groove. My husband got up on our tall ladder and it seems as though that’s where it’s coming and there’s only about 18 inches between the ceiling and, you know, the roof.
TOM: OK.
VALERIE: Most of the house doesn’t have an attic.
TOM: Let me tell you the type of test that can tell you exactly where your house is leaking. It’s called a blower door test and it’s the kind of test that an energy auditor might do; perhaps your utility company might do. Essentially what they do is they bring in a piece of equipment that is a fan that’s mounted sort of in the opening of your front door and they either pressurize or depressurize your house by blowing air in or out and in doing so they can actually determine the location of every, single crack, gap or opening of any sort in the walls or the ceiling. And then once you know where they are then you could figure out which ones you’re going to fix. You’ll be able to tell where the leaks are around the windows and the doors; if there are any leaks in the roof structure. You’ll be able to figure all that out. It’s called a blower door test. So contact an energy auditor or your local utility company and see if you can get one of those done. That’ll answer this question.
VALERIE: OK.
TOM: Valerie, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned to the Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. We can give you a hand to get your projects done quickly before your guests arrive because the holidays are days away, folks. If you cannot believe it, it is true; so get to work on your honey-do list. Give us a call 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Up next, tips to make sure your attic is doing the job to keep energy costs down and your house warm. We’ll tell you all about it, after this.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Aprilaire, makers of professionally-installed, high-efficiency air cleaners. For more information go to Aprilaire.com. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to the Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: And you should give us a call right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Not only will we answer your home improvement question. We’ll toss your name into the Money Pit hardhat for a shot at winning the Work Sharp 2000. It is a fantastic tool sharpener. It is my favorite tool sharpener. I’ve got one; I’ve had one for years. It’s perfect for any DIY-er; any hobbyist who wants sharp tools fast and easy. You can sharpen carving tools, chisels, scrapers, putty knives, axes, lawnmower blades, even the knives in your kitchen drawer. It’s worth 120 bucks but it could be yours for free this hour. All you’ve got to do is pick up the phone and call us right now with your home improvement question at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: And it’s actually ridiculously easy to use. You can not mess up the blade that you’re sharpening. They come out perfectly every, single time. And like Tom said, once you start, you will find anything and everything around your house that needs sharpening and you will tackle it all weekend long and it’s the best time. And all of you home improvers out there are like, ‘I know exactly what they’re talking about.’ (Tom chuckles) ‘I love to do little projects like that.’
Alright. Well, now that we’re all a lot colder this time of year – we’re well into the autumn; winter is days away – now imagine you’re walking around your house; you’re feeling the chill. Well, it’s because you’ve left a window open all winter long. You’ve got the heat loss, cold drafts, wasted energy. But you would never leave a window open all throughout the winter season, right? Well, if your home …
TOM: Probably not.
LESLIE: Yeah, not a great idea. But if you live in a house that has a folding attic staircase – you know, the one that you pull down from the ceiling? –
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: – that’s kind of like what you’re doing. It’s almost like as if you are leaving a window open because it just doesn’t get a good seal and your attic, of course, is the same temperature as it is outside so you’re getting a big draft.
So Owens Corning, they actually have a great product; it’s called PINKCap Attic Stair Insulator and it’s designed to reduce heat loss from your attic ladder. And it’s fully assembled; it’s really easy to install; you don’t need any tools. It’s a nice, lightweight product that fits through the attic opening from below and slides into place to cover that opening and encase the retractable ladder. It really will save you a ton of energy dollars and you will feel a lot warmer as soon as you install it.
Now, Owens Corning, they have got a ton more tips online. You can go to their site, which is InsulateandSave.com, and you can download their ‘Homeowner’s Guide to Insulating.’ It is very user-friendly. It will give you a lot of tips and tricks to keep you nice and toasty and, most importantly, save a ton of energy dollars.
TOM: And that’s at InsulateandSave.com.
888-666-3974. Let’s get back to those phones.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Dennis in New York is dealing with a dusty situation in the bedroom.
Dennis, have you tried cleaning?
DENNIS: Yes. Oh, yeah, well I’ve been cleaning for a long time. Yeah.
LESLIE: (chuckling) OK.
TOM: He wants to get out of cleaning.
DENNIS: (chuckling) That’s right, exactly.
TOM: What kind of heating system do you have, Dennis?
DENNIS: We have an oil hot water system.
TOM: It’s hot water? OK, so you don’t have a duct system throughout the house.
DENNIS: Correct, correct.
TOM: Alright. And any guesses as to where the dust is coming from?
DENNIS: That’s the perplexing part. The only vent that we really have – this is primarily in the bedroom upstairs; I have a split-level home. We have replacement windows in three of the windows between the bathroom and the two windows in the bedroom. There is an air conditioner vented outside that’s closed up now and – but there’s an inordinate – there’s always been an inordinate amount of dust in the bedroom and these windows were put in about 14, 15 years ago and I just can’t help but think, for some reason, that they’re coming from the windows; although …
TOM: Well, I think the dust is mostly forming from the inside of the house. I hate to tell you this. It’s not coming in from the outside.
LESLIE: I mean especially if you’ve got carpeting or a lot of fibrous – you know, lots of fabrics; lots of …
DENNIS: For the most part, there are wood floors in most of the house.
TOM: Mm-hmm.
DENNIS: But we do have area rugs.
TOM: Right. Usually, dust forms inside the house. It consists of debris, dust mites, other substances like that.
LESLIE: Skin. Gross.
TOM: Skin flakes. Yeah, you really – you really don’t want to know; let’s just put it that way. (Leslie chuckles) But it doesn’t come in from the outside. Now the fact that it’s showing up in this bedroom may be related to the fact that you’ve got this through-the-wall air conditioner; you’ve got these windows. Because if you’ve got cold surfaces, remember, as the warm air heats them it chills, it falls, it creates a convection – sort of a convective loop – that can appear to deposit a lot of dust in one place where it’s very visible but in reality it’s really throughout the air of the house and nothing but good cleaning and perhaps some filtration systems is going to help you reduce that.
The reason I asked you if you had a forced-air system – because if you did I was going to recommend a really good-quality electronic air cleaner. Since you don’t have that, your only other option is to go with a portable unit and if it’s particularly bad in the bedroom, that might be an appropriate thing to try. But if you do, I want to make sure you get something that’s got a very high-efficiency filter rating; like MERV 3 or better.
DENNIS: MERV 3.
TOM: Mm-hmm.
DENNIS: OK.
LESLIE: And when you say ‘or better,’ does the number go up, Tom? How does that work with the MERV ratings?
TOM: Yeah, the higher the number, the more efficient the filter. But typically, you’re going to be around three, four, five for a MERV rating on an indoor air filter for a residential home.
LESLIE: Heading over to Minnesota where Marti has a paneling question. What can we do for you?
MARTI: My house was built in 1907 …
TOM: OK.
MARTI: … and the majority of the house the walls are all covered with paneling. And where my stove is sitting in my kitchen it’s kind of freestanding in a little corner. And I’ve got spatters from goodness knows what (chuckles) …
TOM: A lot of cooking.
MARTI: A lot of cooking. And I need to know if there’s anything I can use to clean the paneling and is there something I can put up over the top of the paneling to protect it.
TOM: What’s this paneling made out of, Marti?
MARTI: I have absolutely no idea.
TOM: So is it like a painted paneling?
MARTI: It’s like a – it’s like a pecan finish; a wood paneling.
TOM: Hmm. Well, first of all, it’s probably not a good idea to have that behind your stove anyway. You probably want to have something that’s a little more fire resistant.
In terms of cleaning, the paneling surface itself is going to be very, very thin; so if you abrade it, you know, or really scrub it, you might just ruin whatever finish is left. I think the idea that you had, to go on top of this, is probably the best and there are a number of things that you can do there. You can go over it with a laminate. You could create sort of like a backsplash. You could tile it. You could paint it.
MARTI: OK, that sounds pretty good.
TOM: Alright, well give it a shot. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Howie in Florida is calling with the number one topic we receive here at The Money Pit – flooring. What can we do for you?
HOWIE: Listen, there is a product sold at Home Depot …
TOM: OK.
HOWIE: … and other stores sell similar products. It’s called Allure at Home Depot and what it is is a vinyl flooring material …
TOM: OK.
HOWIE: … that comes in strips. It does not adhere to – it’s a floating floor. It does have a backing that overlaps and they stick to each other. Twenty-five-year guarantee and completely waterproof and it looks and feels like wood.
TOM: You know, we’ve heard of this product and we haven’t actually installed it ourselves but there are a lot of positive comments about it throughout the home improvement websites and blogs that we follow. It seems like it’s a pretty easy install. Some of the cautions are to make sure that you seal the edges, you caulk the edges and that sort of thing.
LESLIE: And also to leave a certain amount of spacing around the entire perimeter to allow for expansion.
TOM: Which you would do with any type floating floor like that.
HOWIE: Sure.
TOM: But it sounds like it’s a good option, an inexpensive option and one that …
LESLIE: And easy to install.
TOM: And it also has a 25-year warranty. So I think it’s definitely worth giving it a shot.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. They’re exclusive to Home Depot. The manufacturer is Halstead International. And if you go to their website, HalsteadIntl.com, they don’t call it Allure by name but you can see installation tips, you can see different products. Because it is exclusive to Home Depot, that’s where you would buy it.
HOWIE: Mm-hmm. When you say ‘sealing the edges’ do you mean just around the periphery?
LESLIE: Correct, the perimeter of the room.
HOWIE: Right. OK, well I thank you for the info.
TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Well, more and more folks are looking for alternative heating and cooling methods and that’s Robert in Iowa who wants to talk about geothermal systems. What can we do for you?
ROBERT: Well, I was kind of curious about the efficiency difference between central air and furnace and a geothermal water furnace. Didn’t know which one would be best to go with and which one would be more likely to pay itself off in the long run.
TOM: So are you talking about the difference between a conventional heating and cooling system and a geothermal system?
ROBERT: Yes.
TOM: Well, a geothermal system is certainly an efficient system. If your choice is electricity I would certainly consider a geothermal system. My first choice, if I had the option and I had the fuel available, would be to use a natural gas system and then a high-efficiency Energy Star-rated air conditioning system. Those two together will give you a very good return on investment. If you don’t have access to natural gas and you’re faced with using propane or oil, I would definitely use a geothermal system. The only downside to a geothermal system is if the coiling that goes out throughout the ground of your house were to break it becomes very expensive to replace, but they’re getting much better with that so that the issue is not as prevalent as it used to be when they first came out.
LESLIE: As far as accessibility or the cost of the repair?
TOM: Well, the cost of the repair. There are different ways to put it. You can put a loop straight down, for example …
ROBERT: I see.
TOM: … and not have to actually go throughout the entire property where’d you have to tear up driveways to fix it.
ROBERT: Yeah, well I’m kind of in a pretty rural area and propane and heating oil is about my only other option and propane keeps staggering higher and higher; seems quicker than what electricity per kilowatt does.
TOM: Then I think geothermal is an excellent option for you.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm, and you know what? There’s a good website you should check out. It’s called GeoExchange.us and there’s a lot of information there about the type of different systems; how you can find local contractors who would do the work; all different kinds of applications so you can sort of sort it out for yourself as well.
TOM: Robert, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: This is The Money Pit.
When we come back, we are going to tell you how to save money and energy by cutting your water heating costs. We’ll tell you what you need to know, after this.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by Therma-Tru, the nation’s leading manufacturer of fiberglass entry and patio door systems. Choose the brand more building professionals prefer and add up to $24,000 to the perceived value of your home. For more information visit ThermaTru.com.
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 and give us a call if you’re looking for ways to save some energy dollars. And we’ve got some great ideas about saving energy through your hot water system and there’s a great way to make it a little bit more green, save some energy dollars. Why not put your water heater on an energy diet?
TOM: To get those expert diet tips for your water-heating situation we turned to Kevin Ireton. Kevin is the editor of Fine Homebuilding magazine. And he’s not just full of hot air (Leslie chuckles); he’s often full of hot water advice.
Hey, Kevin.
KEVIN: Hi, Tom. Hi, Leslie. I’ve never been billed as somebody with diet tips for a hot water heater before. I like that. (Tom and Leslie chuckle)
TOM: Well, we’re talking about your energy diet. Now, you know we’re all looking at the energy dollars more closely; we’re all concerned about being more green, more energy-efficient. There are ways you can do that with your hot water heating-situation and you’ve got a whole bunch of them in this latest article. Let’s talk about, first of all, insulating the water heater.
KEVIN: If your water heater is older than 2004, you can probably do yourself a favor by getting an insulating jacket for that hot water heater.
TOM: And you say that we should actually extend that insulation right to include the home’s water heating pipes as well.
KEVIN: That’s the next most important thing to do. Because – I mean when you think about it, those hot water pipes running through your house are kind of like a radiator; they’re like a baseboard heater and they’re giving off a tremendous amount of heat. So the bigger your house and the more uninsulated pipes you have, you’re just losing all the energy that went into heating that water.
LESLIE: Yeah, but are we going to see a big enough energy savings to sort of cover the – I imagine you’re going to have to break into some walls and get to some places to do the proper insulation. True?
KEVIN: I would not recommend that in most cases. In most cases, if you can just insulate – I mean start with the exposed stuff that’s in the basement and if you can just get most of it. The pipe insulation, the foam pipe insulation and even the fiberglass insulation that goes for pipes, is not that expensive. So if you just insulate the exposed areas you’re still going to be improving those energy bills.
TOM: We’re talking to Kevin Ireton – he’s the editor of Fine Homebuilding magazine – on ways to cut water-heating costs.
Let’s talk about some more mechanical solutions. Kevin, you say that it might be time to toss out your old tank and try some new technology. What do you recommend?
KEVIN: Well, these days, one of the systems we hear most about are the tankless water heaters. So if it’s time for you to upgrade, I mean the first thing I would consider is whether a tankless water heater – which gives you hot water on demand and unlimited supply – might not be the best way to go. Beyond that – if you’ve got a boiler system, for instance – you can actually use your boiler as your domestic hot water …
TOM: You know, Kevin, that’s a situation I have right here in my house. We’ve got an old house, an old boiler – was an oil-fired boiler converted to gas – and it supplies our domestic hot water. Now we do have a storage tank but I often wonder whether or not it’s costing me more money than a traditional water heater would because it has to run all summer long to deliver that hot water.
KEVIN: The author who wrote our article says that the efficiency of that hot water will be whatever the efficiency of your boiler is. So if you’ve got a boiler that’s highly efficient, then that might still be the best way to go. But I’d seek the counsel of an experienced plumber on that one.
LESLIE: And what about solar? Is it a good option; I mean especially if you’re thinking about truly going green? How efficient and effective are these solar heaters?
KEVIN: Solar heaters for water are very effective. The problem is they’re more expensive to install than a typical hot water heater; in the range of $6,000 to $12,000.
TOM: Wow.
LESLIE: Whoo. And are they only better for certain climates or can you really use one wherever you live in the U.S.?
KEVIN: Of course it’s going to be more effective and your payback is going to be sooner if you’re in an area that gets a lot of sun. But solar hot water is a viable option in all parts of the country; but again, it kind of depends on how you feel – I mean how long you’re going to be in the house; how you feel about that payback business.
TOM: It’s got a long payback and, I tell you, I just don’t think the solar technology is there yet when it comes to active solar. When it comes, however, to passive solar – when you design the house to use the sun – that makes total sense.
KEVIN: Absolutely.
TOM: Let’s talk about some of the simpler solutions; like if you just want to replace your water heater and maybe you don’t want to go tankless for whatever reason. There are actually more high-efficient, tank-style water heaters today that have very, very little system loss. Have you looked into those?
KEVIN: Yes, and the biggest – I mean one of the biggest things is that they have – the tanks themselves come with a lot more insulation in them so that your standby losses are going to be considerably less. And so if you just need a new tank, you’re going to end up being much better off if your existing tank is more than five or six years old.
TOM: Kevin Ireton, editor of Fine Homebuilding magazine, thanks so much for stopping by The Money Pit.
The article is called ‘Cheaper Hot Water.’ It’s in the current edition of Fine Homebuilding magazine on newsstands and online at FineHomebuilding.com.
Thanks, Kevin.
KEVIN: You’re welcome, guys.
LESLIE: Alright, Kevin. Thanks for all those great tips to help keep our wallets padded with a lot of green. So if you’re looking to put a little green into your home with a live cut tree this time of year, we are going to tell you how to keep it fresh as long as possible. It has always been a dream – my birthday is at the end of February – to keep my Christmas tree all through February; so I’m going to test this this year.
TOM: You’re dropping a lot of birthday hints (inaudible at 0:24:36.7) …
LESLIE: No, this really is my holiday dream. (Tom laughs) I want my Christmas tree to last from December to February 28th.
TOM: Alright.
LESLIE: I would change the decorations to a birthday tree, so I’m going to test this out this year.
TOM: (chuckling) OK.
LESLIE: So stick around. Put your tree to the test.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by Therma-Tru, the nation’s leading manufacturer of fiberglass entry and patio door systems. Choose the brand more building professionals prefer and add up to $24,000 to the perceived value of your home. For more information visit ThermaTru.com.
TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to the Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete and you should pick up the phone and give us a call at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. We’ve got a great prize this hour for one of our lucky callers who gets on the air with us this hour. We’re giving away the Work Sharp 2000. It’s a tool sharpener that’s the grinding and sharpening solution for all of you DIY-ers out there or even just a home hobbyist who wants to sharpen tools. It’s fast, it’s easy. Anything with a blade you can sharpen; even your lawnmower blades, which is going to be a big chore as we get into the spring season. It’s worth 120 bucks but it could be yours for free. Pick up the phone, ask us your question. We’re going to put your name into the Money Pit for your chance to win. The number here is 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974 and if this is the weekend that you’re going to select and start to decorate your holiday tree, here are a couple of tips to help keep it fresh all season.
First of all, of course you have to start with the right tree stand. It’s got to be able to hold the water and the tree and enough water to keep that tree well fed. To get started, recut that tree’s base before you put it in the stand to make it start to sort of drink the water. Never let the tree suck up all the water in the stand because once it goes without water for a little bit of time, the trunk sort of seals itself off because it’s thirsty and it can’t get any more water and there’s no way, actually, to start it drinking again. So you want to get it cut, you want to get it watered and you want to keep it watered for the entire season.
LESLIE: Well, if you’re thinking that a live tree isn’t for you because maybe it’s not the most eco-friendly choice out there, you should think again. Now remember, fake trees, they’re made mostly from plastic and they’re artificial, all of their parts. But a live tree, they contribute positively to the environment; they’re, in fact, a renewable resource because one to three seedlings are planted in place of every tree that’s cut down for your holiday decorations. They’re recyclable, they’re biodegradable. When you put your tree to the curb, I guarantee you they end up as mulch all around your community; so you’re doing a good thing by getting a live tree. And they smell fantastic.
TOM: And all of that degradation will help the plants grow next spring.
888-666-3974. Let’s get back to those phones.
Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Jess in Washington needs some help with a tile countertop. What happened? What’s going on?
JESS: Well, we have a 25-year-old kitchen counter of five-inch square ceramic tiles. Some of the tiles have become pitted and the off-white color has become dingy. We’ve been unable to locate replacement tiles and solid-surface replacements won’t guarantee us that our adjacent garden window won’t be damaged. Do you have any suggestions?
LESLIE: Are the damaged pieces sort of all in one area or are they interspersed throughout the entire countertop?
JESS: They tend to be in the most conspicuous – near the edge; simply because, out of ignorance, early on we were cleaning off this countertop with vinegar and I suppose it has tended to eat little pits into the tile.
TOM: Well, vinegar is a very, very mild acid but I’ve never heard of it being possible to eat away at the tile. But Leslie, any suggestions for ways that maybe we could replace these worn tiles with ones that are complementary?
LESLIE: Oh, yeah. Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean if they’re sort of spaced out where if you popped, you know, one of the worn ones out and maybe you could put in maybe not even a five-inch tile but five-by-five of little one-inch fun mosaics to make it a little bit more colorful or like a design choice or a decorative tile; something that’s a little different if it’s sort of interspersed and you can make it almost seem like it was a design choice. If you say that they’re all towards the edge you might want to think about doing, you know, a border and then continuing it on the wrap-around on the countertop as well; just so it sort of seems like it’s a design choice. You want to make whatever you do seem like it was intentional.
JESS: Ha-ha. Thank you very much.
LESLIE: My pleasure.
TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Bill needs some help with a concrete repair problem. What happened?
BILL: Hi. I just wanted to let you know I got a 4’x8′ concrete slab. It’s a floating one that’s part of my back door walkway and it’s cracked in half. Trouble is, the ground in that area heaves quite a bit and I was wondering if there is anything I can do other than digging it out to repair it. And by any chance, would this have been covered in your book?
TOM: No, actually – well, actually, I think concrete repair is covered in the book but, in this particular situation, you need something that’s going to move and flex. And so I wouldn’t recommend anything more than a silicone caulk. Even if you use an epoxy patching compound, if you’ve got a lot of movement in this space – which is …
LESLIE: It’s still going to crack.
TOM: It’s still going to crack. That’s normally what we would recommend. I would just use a silicone caulk and let it flex. Kind of go with the flow, Bill.
BILL: (overlapping voices) Very good. (inaudible at 0:30:28.5)
TOM: Alright. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Now it’s time to talk to Alan in New Jersey about a window situation. What’s going on?
ALAN: Yes, hi. I have replacement windows in my home and I’m finding – these are double-pane windows, as you’re probably aware, and as I believe, they’re filled with some kind of a gas.
TOM: Yes, mm-hmm.
LESLIE: Like an argon gas or something.
ALAN: And I’m finding moisture in between not all of the windows but some of the windows. I’m finding moisture. And I’ve been told that there may be a leak in the seal. What can be done in lieu of replacing the entire window, perhaps?
TOM: Well, that is correct. When you have a thermal-pane window you have a gasket that goes between the glass. The technical word for that is swiggle and when the …
LESLIE: Which is my favorite home improvement word.
TOM: When the swiggle leaks you get condensation; you get moisture in between the panes of glass. Now, the good news is that it really doesn’t affect you terribly in terms of energy efficiency at this stage.
LESLIE: It’s just a cosmetic situation that can be terribly annoying.
TOM: It looks pretty nasty but it doesn’t impact you. Can you clean that? No. Can you fix it? Not really. Nothing short of replacing that glass, which is probably more expensive than replacing the window.
ALAN: Right.
TOM: So I would live with it for now, Alan. If it gets really bad, then maybe it’s time to think about some new windows.
ALAN: Got that. OK. I appreciate that information.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: When we come back we’re going to jump into our Money Pit e-mail bag and we’re going to help James deal with a buckling laminate floor, so stick around.
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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: You can call us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT or you can head over to MoneyPit.com, click on Ask Tom and Leslie and shoot us an e-mail question just like James did from Massachusetts.
LESLIE: Alright, he writes: ‘I had laminate floors installed last fall and everything was fine until the summer when the floor has buckled in two places; probably from humidity. What can I do to fix it?’
TOM: Call back those installers because I suspect they didn’t provide enough room for expansion. You know, laminate floors don’t really need much maintenance but if you don’t install them right they will swell. The goal here, James, is to leave at least a quarter to three-eights of an inch all the way around the outside perimeter of that floor and then cover that with moulding. If they didn’t do it, that’s probably why it’s buckling.
LESLIE: Alright, Michael in St. Louis writes: ‘I did some repair work on a finished bathroom. Should I prime the repair spots on the drywall before I paint?’
TOM: Yeah, you know, if you did a spackle patching job there you definitely need to prime it. Now the problem is that if you just prime those spots you’re going to get a slightly different sheen; so it’s probably a good idea to prime the entire wall. Heck, a bathroom is pretty small so it’s just as easy to do the whole thing.
LESLIE: Hope that helps you, Michael.
TOM: Well, if the white stuff has been falling for quite a while in your part of the country or perhaps it’s just getting ready to hit, Leslie’s got some tips on how to handle all of that snow in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word.
LESLIE: Well, just because your calendar doesn’t officially tell you it’s winter yet, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t already snowed or isn’t going to snow tomorrow; so we want you to be prepared. Go outside, go to your tool shed and gather all of your snow removal supplies and then give them a once over to make sure that they are in top operating shape. To make sure that your snow shovel isn’t going to give you a backache, we want you to consider a shovel with a bent or an angular handle. That’s going to help you really deal with the load of pushing all of that snow around.
And you also want to make sure that if you need a snow blower and you’ve got one, have it serviced before the snow starts to fall and make sure that your gas tank is filled with fresh gasoline because gas, it’s only meant to last 30 days unless you add a fuel stabilizer to it. So when you get the fresh gas, put the stabilizer in it; then it’s going to be great for you all season long.
TOM: Yeah, good point. Let’s add a public service announcement for all of those that are trying to start snow blowers and finding out that they just don’t work. You know why? Because you didn’t properly service them last year when you put them away. It’s real important that you don’t leave that fresh gas inside because it does turn into sort of a varnish-like state.
LESLIE: Gunk, if you will?
TOM: Absolutely. Now, if you don’t want to do it yourself, you can have a dealer do it. In fact, you know the folks at John Deere, they have a mobile maintenance service now. They’ll actually come to your house and service that snow blower for you as well as anything else that perhaps you have continued to neglect (Leslie chuckles) like lawnmowers, leaf blowers, you name it; get it all serviced at the same time. They’ll come right to your house and get the job done.
LESLIE: You also want to make sure, before you’ve got your service folks at your house and you’re getting everything together, look and see what you’ve got. You want to make sure you stock up on your supplies of calcium chloride to deal with any icing situations that you’re going to find. You can also mix up some sand in a bucket with the calcium chloride to help you get all those slippery spots taken care of. And this combination is not going to hurt the concrete around your money pit like sodium chloride will. If you’ve used sodium chloride you’ve seen those pocks on the concrete and you know that’s exactly what’s causing it.
Then go ahead and keep a shovel and a supply of your deicer in your mudroom or your back entrance or your porch, wherever it’s handy, just in case you wake up in the morning to a beautiful winter wonderland and can’t get to your garage.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Thank you so much for being a part of this hour.
Hey, coming up next week, we’re going to have some more tips on getting ready for winter by giving you a list of products that you might want to keep around that will help melt some ice and snow or at least make them less slippery. And especially if you have pets you want to pay attention because some of those products are not safe for pets. We’re going to tell you the ones that are safe for the pets and for their very delicate paws. All of that coming up on the next edition of The Money Pit.
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.
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END HOUR 2 TEXT
(Copyright 2008 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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