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:
(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: We call it home improvement because we’re here to improve your homes, your house, your castle. Call us right now. 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Let’s talk about your home improvement project. I spent 20 years learning about homes from the bottom up – literally; because I started in crawl spaces and worked my way up to attics. And now I know a little bit about everything in between. (laughing) Leslie worked from the outside in …
LESLIE: I do.
TOM: … as a big television star.
LESLIE: Oh, too huge of a star to even tell you about it. (laughing) That’s right, Tom. Yes, basically, I get to satisfy any sort of designer’s whim when they say, ‘Make a chair out of this dirty, gross truck tire.’ Okay, you know. So, basically, I get to realize all sorts of those interesting, weird design dreams that you, as a homeowner, might have; that you see on a silly show like mine and you want to put in your house. Let me tell you, you can do them all and we can help you to do those projects. Just call in at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: Bottom line, we are both home improvement problem solvers.
LESLIE: (laughing) Well, you know, Tom, it occurred to me that this is the perfect time of year to have your chimney checked and cleaned. And you’ve probably used your fireplace all winter long and never thought twice about it. But you should include your fireplace and your chimney on your spring cleaning list. Chimney sweeps are less frantic this time of year and you’ll have a head start for next winter.
TOM: But keep in mind that chimney sweep scams are also one of the most common ways that homeowners get taken. So make sure you use a sweep that is certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. You know, a sweep should be able to provide you a photo id with a CSIA credential. Not a CIA credential; that would be a sneaky chimney sweep.
LESLIE: What about dancing on your chimney and singing songs with friends?
TOM: Like songs from Mary Poppins? Doing things like that? (laughing)
LESLIE: Yeah, possibly. Is that … is that like a requirement?
TOM: That would qualify them, probably, to be arrested. (laughing) But, really, these guys … I’ve heard good and bad things about chimney sweeps, so you’ve got to be careful. If you get one that says you have a very expensive problem, make sure you get a second opinion before you lay out some cash to get that seemingly important problem fixed. I would suggest you check with a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors – a good home inspector – to find out if that is actually true or not. But it is important to have that chimney swept on a yearly basis, so …
LESLIE: So, really, every year after the season. Not like every other year. What if you only use it three times.
TOM: No, every year would be a good thing to do. And also, this hour, sometimes you wish you had a third hand to help with your home improvement project. We’re going to give away that Ryobi multiTASKit; so you won’t have to wish anymore. It’s like having an extra hand to hold your tools while you’re working. It’s worth about 35 bucks. If we take your call at 1-888-MONEY-PIT, you will be automatically entered to win that prize. So give us a call right now. 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: Jesse’s got a question about how to get paint off cinder block walls. What’s going on?
JESSE: Previous people that lived in the house that I just purchased here, their kids were a little rambunctious (laughing) and either spray painted or latex painted or oil painted the cinder block walls in the basement. And …
TOM: And you don’t like the color.
LESLIE: Or is it like multiples of colors? (laughing)
JESSE: Yeah, it’s multiple colors. Most definitely.
TOM: Alright. Well, I mean I don’t think the question is how do you get the paint off but it’s how do …
LESLIE: How to cover it up.
TOM: Yeah, how you cover up.
JESSE: Yeah. Especially since I’ve got three younger kids and some of that stuff that my wife even blushes about.
TOM: Yeah, I hear you.
LESLIE: Oh. (laughing)
TOM: Well, here’s what you want to do. First of all, you’ve got to use a good quality primer. Is this paint well-adhered? I mean nothing’s flaking off?
JESSE: Yeah, it’s really well-adhered.
LESLIE: Of course it is. (chuckling)
JESSE: I’ve tried peeling it and …
TOM: Yeah, of course. It’s …
LESLIE: When you want the paint to stick well, you can’t get it. When it’s like obscenities …
TOM: Graffiti usually is well-adhered. (laughing)
LESLIE: … it stays.
JESSE: Got it.
TOM: What I would do is use a good quality primer. Now, you can use a damp-proofing paint – like a water seal basement paint.
JESSE: Okay.
TOM: That’s really good, thick stuff but I will tell you that it smells really, really bad while it’s going on. Or …
LESLIE: So take the kids away for the weekend.
TOM: Yeah.
JESSE: Okay.
TOM: Otherwise, they’ll be floating all over the house (laughing) if they smell those odors.
JESSE: Oh, they do that anyway. (laughing)
TOM: But the other thing that you might want to do is simply use like an oil-based primer; like a KILZ primer or something of that nature. And once you get the primer on – you probably need one or two coats of that – let it dry really, really well …
LESLIE: Yeah, but with KILZ they have those KILZ color paints now. You won’t even need to prime. It’s two in one.
TOM: Well, no. I think you still need to prime. The top coat has to go on top of the prime coat. It is thick that it covers everything in one coat but that’s for the wall paint you’re thinking about.
LESLIE: Ah.
TOM: Yeah, you want to prime first and then put the color coat on top of that.
JESSE: Okay. That makes a lot better sense than what I was thinking about doing.
TOM: Yeah, what were you thinking about doing?
JESSE: Wire brushing the entire basement walls. And that was going to take forever and then some.
TOM: Oh, no.
LESLIE: Oh gosh, no.
TOM: Cover it up, man. If it’s sticking and it’s not … the reason I asked you if it was peeling, because then it would be a bad surface to paint over. But if it’s adhering well, then just prime it so you get a neutral surface that you can do whatever you want with on top of that.
LESLIE: The good news is the paint is sticking well. So you have a good moisture control in that room.
JESSE: Yeah. Where it was done, yeah. But the other end of the basement is where the moisture problem is I’m having anyways.
TOM: Well, what’s the moisture problem? Is it leaking?
JESSE: Our water table’s actually about two foot higher than our basement floor.
TOM: Not likely. When does it leak? Does it leak after heavy rain?
JESSE: Spring time.
TOM: Yeah. After rainfall, though?
JESSE: Yeah, a lot of times right after the rainfall you can see it …
TOM: Yeah, that’s not a water table, Jesse. That’s drainage. No…
JESSE: Okay.
TOM: … you’ve got to look outside that wall space. There’s too much water collecting there. Too …
LESLIE: Wait, are you getting two feet of water in the basement?
JESSE: No, no, no, no. I’ve got a … it’s an older house; it’s got a weep line around the basement wall; where the wall and floor meet. But I get a puddle that shows up across the middle of the basement floor.
TOM: Yeah, same thing …
JESSE: I actually live about a block and a half from a lake.
TOM: No, but same thing, Jesse. If the water’s coming in consistent with heavy rain, that water’s pushing around the outside of the walls and then coming up through the floor. It’s not a rising water table.
JESSE: Okay.
TOM: They don’t build homes below water tables. It’s just not done.
JESSE: Okay.
TOM: So if you’re getting water consistent with rainfall, look at the grading, look at the gutters and get the water managed so that it’s staying away from the house. That will solve the leakage issue and then once you do that, then you can prime and paint that wall, too, and it’ll all match.
JESSE: Okay.
TOM: Alright, Jesse?
JESSE: I appreciate the help very much.
TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Elizabeth in New Jersey has got some mold on the roof. Tell us about it.
ELIZABETH: Yeah, I don’t really know what’s causing it. I mean in between our shingles there’s just mold growing.
TOM: Is it that big, thick green moss?
ELIZABETH: It is green moss, yeah.
TOM: Yeah. Well, you know, there’s two ways you could fix this. You could get rid of it or you could simply mow your roof. (laughing)
ELIZABETH: Exactly.
TOM: That is caused just by a combination of conditions. I’d be willing to bet that this part of the roof is in a shady or damper spot. Is that correct?
ELIZABETH: It is. Yep.
TOM: Yeah. When you have a shady and damp spot, you get a lot of moss that grows because all of that stuff is floating around in the air and it …
LESLIE: It’s perfect conditions for the growth.
TOM: Yeah. Well you have all of the little moss seeds, so to speak, that are floating around in the air and they land on the roof and then they find a place and sort of grab on to that shingle and take root. And then they grow and it gets thick and green and mossy. The good news is, Elizabeth, that it’s not hurting your roof shingles. It causes no damage to the roof. It’s just ugly. Now, you want to get rid of it?
ELIZABETH: Yeah. That’d be great.
TOM: Alright. Couple of things. First of all, we’re going to have you wash the roof down with an oxygenated bleach.
ELIZABETH: Okay.
TOM: Something you can pick up at a home center and mix up. This is a job that you need to do with goggles on and gloves, off a ladder, maybe with a pump sprayer. And spray that area down with the bleach solution and let it sit for a bit. And then, you can gently scrub those areas and have the moss loosen up. You can also use a pressure washer on a light setting.
Once you get that roof cleaned up, to try to keep it from growing moss moving forward, there’s two things that you could do. Number one: if there’s any tree trimming that you could do that will shed some more light on that roof, the sunlight is a great moss killer. And that will stop …
ELIZABETH: Yeah. It seems to only be on the west side of the roof.
TOM: Okay. Well … but if you have a lot of shade in that area, if there’s any way you can get more sun on it, that’s one thing. The second thing is a bit of a trick of the trade. And that is you can get a piece of copper flashing or nickel flashing or you could use a copper or nickel ridge vent. Put it across the peak of the roof. And what’s going to happen is, as rain strikes that piece of copper and then runs down the roof, the copper is going to release and that acts as a wash and it will actually clean the roof on the way down.
And if you want to see examples of this happening in real life, you drive around an old neighborhood that has copper flashing around chimneys; you almost always see the roof streaked right underneath that. The reason for that is because the copper acts as a mildicide or as an algaecide and it cleans the shingles. So that’s a way to always keep the roof looking pretty clean. By having a copper or a nickel ridge vent. Works with nickel as well.
ELIZABETH: Okay. Okay.
TOM: Alright?
ELIZABETH: Yeah. Would the oxynate … oxynated bleach … (laughing)
TOM: Oxygenated bleach, yeah.
ELIZABETH: That’s a special bleach. That’s not like regular Clorox bleach, right?
TOM: No, but regular bleach will work as well. It just doesn’t work as well as an oxygenated bleach.
ELIZABETH: Okay.
TOM: Okay?
ELIZABETH: Thanks for your help.
TOM: You’re welcome, Elizabeth. Thanks for calling us from New Jersey. 1-888-MONEY-PIT is the telephone number. 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: Are you looking to save on your electric bill and keep the lights on? Well, we’ll shed some light on the solution, after this.
(promo/theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is being sponsored by Peerless. If you’re putting in a new bathroom or kitchen faucet, Peerless can help you with every step including the hardest one – getting that old faucet out. For a complete undo-it-yourself guide, visit the Peerless faucet coach at faucetcoach.com.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. 1-888-MONEY-PIT is the telephone number. Available 24/7, 365 days a year. We never … Leslie and I never, ever give our phone staff a moment to rest. (laughing) Literally.
LESLIE: And it’s only one person. And we make him stay there all the time.
TOM: Exactly. I’ve had people call the call center at three a.m. in the morning because they had a pressing home improvement question. And guess what? We called them back the next time we were in the studio. We’ll do the same for you. Call us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Now, here’s a bright idea to save on your electric bill. Linear fluorescent lamps and also the new compact fluorescent bulbs provide both high quality lighting and a high energy efficiency. In fact, fluorescent lamps last six to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Now, they’re a little bit more money; but they last a long, long time. You know what those are perfect for?
LESLIE: (overlapping) Yeah, but for every time you would change one of your incandescent bulbs, you’ve got the same compact fluoro for like five years.
TOM: Exactly. You know why this is a perfect bulb for a place that’s hard to reach? Like a ceiling fixture or top of the stairwell or something like that. Got to get up there to change it, why don’t you put a bulb in that’s going to last you five or ten years and you won’t have to deal with it anymore?
LESLIE: Alright. Well we’ve got a great prize that won’t change a light bulb for you but it will change your life. It’s a helping hand in the form of the Ryobi multiTASKit. You will now be able to take on projects that you’ve always needed an extra person for. You can actually do it on your own. It basically sucks itself to your wall with their AIRgrip vacuum technology. And it doesn’t leave any markings; you’ll never know that it was there. And then, it’s got four attachments that makes this just a great tool. That’s why they call it the multiTASKit. It’s got a rotating laser level head so you can create level and plumb lines to hang pictures or lay out flooring. It’s got a work light. It’s got a magnetic tray to hold all your bits and bobs right next to you while you’re working on a project. And then it’s got this super cool little, yellow, grippy hand attachment that you can rest a chair rail on or hold a board on or whatever you need to use it for. It will be that extra hand. It’s worth 35 bucks but it could be yours for free if we answer your question on air. So call in now. 888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974. Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Evelyn in Georgia has a problem with her door. What happened?
EVELYN: The paint is chipping on the back door. I have kept the heat on but when I went to open the door to check on the house – back door – it’s the white enamel and it’s been several coats of paint. And it’s all over the floor and it’s kind of bustling up on the door itself.
TOM: What kind of door is this, Evelyn? Is it a wood door?
EVELYN: Wood door. Uh-huh.
TOM: Okay. If you have a lot of coats of paint on that door – and especially if the heating and the cooling in the home is running inconsistently because it’s a vacant house – what you might be finding is that that door simply can’t hold anymore paint. And so, it’s stripping. As that wood starts to get moist, especially, a lot of that wood will fall off. So if you’re not running the air conditioning all the time or if you’re not running the heat on a regular cycle, it’s not going to stick very well.
At this point, the best thing to do is to strip the paint off the door and to repaint it. Because if you try to put new paint on top of that, Leslie, I think it’s not going to stick.
LESLIE: (overlapping) It’s not going to stick. And your best bet is to take that door off of its hinges; you know, pull the pins, pull the door off and lay it down on some horses outside and work on it on a flat surface. Because it’ll really help you to strip the paint more efficiently.
EVELYN: I figured that much but I didn’t know what to use. That was my question.
TOM: Well, the best thing for you to do is once you get the old paint off, I want you to prime it next. Don’t put a top coat on it, directly, without putting a primer first. And for a wood door, I would use an oil-based primer like KILZ.
EVELYN: But how am I going to get the paint off to start with?
TOM: Well, you’re going to scrape off all of the loose stuff and then you’re going to sand whatever’s left. You don’t have to go right down to the raw wood, but get as much of it off as you can.
LESLIE: And get it to as smooth as you can.
TOM: Yeah. You know, you don’t want to leave any loose stuff on there is the bottom line. But then you want to put a primer on it. I would use an oil-based primer like KILZ. And then, use a surface paint over that. Just use an exterior grade trim paint, is the best thing to use, because the trim paints on the exterior grade, they have more pigment in it. They have more titanium dioxide, which is the colorant in paint. And that tends to stand up and be a lot harder and tougher; especially in a problem paint area.
So that would be the way to do it, Evelyn. And I think if you do that, that door’s just going to look good all over again, okay?
EVELYN: Will it not look like it’s had holes in it? You know how it’s like … I guess if I get down thin enough, it won’t.
TOM: No, it certainly won’t. And if you do a good job with the sanding … if you have a place where you took off a lot of … a lot of paint and then there’s still some paint on there, just sort of feather the edges so that you sand down that rough edge so it’s all smooth and one again. Okay?
LESLIE: So it doesn’t jump down.
TOM: Yeah. Alright, Evelyn?
EVELYN: Okay, thank you so very much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Jean in Virginia listens to The Money Pit on WJFK. And you’ve got a question about wiring. What can we do for you?
JEAN: Okay. I have a house that I’ve owned since ’89. And it’s a brick duplex. It’s one of these sort of pre-war houses. And it has plaster and the original wiring.
TOM: Okay.
JEAN: And whenever you … whenever I’ve ever looked at the wiring – first of all, it’s too scary (laughing) – and it looks like it’s almost covered in cloth. And so I have replaced the outlets with … from two prong to three prong to accommodate the newer appliances. And I have a new … I don’t have a fuse box anymore; I have a breaker box. But the wiring is original. Would you think that it’s a good idea – and it’s a rental right now – to rewire it? And if I do rewire it, would it be better just to have the wiring run on the outside of the wall or – because that sounds … seems like it’ll be much more expensive to have them run it through the wall.
TOM: Well, my first question is how did you take two prong outlets and put three prong outlets in without a ground …?
JEAN: I had an electrician do it.
TOM: Well, did he run a ground wire?
JEAN: I think he did.
TOM: Okay.
JEAN: Put it this way. I called an electrician. I said what I wanted and that’s what I got. And at the time – put it this way – I was assuming that what he was doing was correct.
TOM: Yeah. Well, my first concern is just to make sure that he actually did ground those outlets. Because, after all, that’s why you wanted to do that.
LESLIE: Well, because if it is such old wiring, can you even run a ground?
TOM: Well, yeah. They’d have to run a separate ground. The fact that you have cloth-covered wiring, not to worry. You said it’s probably like – what? – 1940s, 1950?
JEAN: I would … no, I’d say it was built somewhere between 1930 and 1940.
TOM: Oh. Mmm.
LESLIE: So it’s probably knob and tube.
TOM: Yeah.
JEAN: I understand … someone once referred to it as BX but I’m just not sure that’s the right term.
TOM: Yeah. I don’t think it’s knob and tube wiring. Do you … do you see the ceramic insulators? The white ceramic insulators strung from post to post? I think it’s probably BX cable, which is basically a cloth-covered version of our modern wiring.
JEAN: That’s what it is.
TOM: Yeah. That wiring usually doesn’t break down. That cloth is not a fire hazard. That’s just the outer surface to it.
JEAN: Mm-hmm.
TOM: So that wire is actually okay as long as it’s grounded.
JEAN: Okay. And if I had someone check and go back – because this was done quite a while ago and I don’t live in the house anymore; I rent it out. And I don’t know why I should be even more concerned because I’m not living in it. Except if I burn up it’s not a big problem but …
TOM: Yeah. (laughing)
JEAN: Yeah. But yeah, that’s … if I went ahead and had an electrician come and check those outlets to make sure that a separate ground wire was run, then we’re pretty much okay.
TOM: Then you’re good. Yep. Exactly. The only improvement you might want to make, beyond that, is questions that have to do with service; whether or not you have too much on one circuit and that sort of thing. Sometimes in the older homes, for example, you may have all of the lights and all of the outlets on the same circuit and then you start plugging in hair dryers and vacuum cleaners and you start popping circuits. That’s a matter of breaking the service up. But your wiring is probably okay. As long as when the electrician did convert from two to three prong outlets, that he did ground it properly.
JEAN: Okay. Well, I can have … certainly, I think it will be easy enough to have that checked and you certainly made me feel a lot better.
TOM: Alright. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: So most of the time, you walk in your front door without a second glance at your exterior trim work. But when it starts to crack, rot or peel, it’s going to stick out like a sore thumb.
TOM: That’s right. That’s why, coming up, we’re going to have a great idea to make sure your home’s trim – your soffits, the fascia and all the rest – always looks picture perfect.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is being brought to you by Aprilaire, makers of professionally-installed, high-efficiency air cleaners. Study after study shows that as homes become tighter and more energy efficient, more contaminants become trapped inside. Aprilaire’s technologically-advanced electronic and media air cleaners are the best choice for maintaining healthy indoor air. For more information, go to Aprilaire.com.
TOM: 888-666-3974 is the telephone number. This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: So you know, you don’t think twice about your home’s exterior; except when it starts to look really crappy. (laughing) When that trim starts to crack, starts to peel, starts to rot. You know, you want to make a good first impression. Even if you’re not selling your house, if you don’t take care of it from the outside, it’s not going to take care of you on the inside.
LESLIE: Yeah, and your neighbors aren’t going to like you very much either.
TOM: Exactly. Don’t bring down the neighborhood. Be a good citizen. Take care of your trim work. There’s an easy way to do it now. You know, you can replace some of that fancy, schmancy trim work with new detail pieces that are made from high-density polyurethane. Yes, the plastic trim today actually works and works really, really well. Not only is there a polyurethane; there’s PVC, AIRCELL PVC – which is, I think, sold under the AZEK brand name. All of that stuff looks really good. In fact, you know what? We replaced some insect-damaged trim on our garage, Leslie, that was …
LESLIE: Wait, wait. You had insect damage?
TOM: Yeah, I did. Carpenter bees.
LESLIE: You?
TOM: You believe the audacity of those bees to attack my house?
LESLIE: I’m shocked and amazed.
TOM: But when I replaced the wood trim with the AZEK Trimboard, it was really funny because the bees kept sort of swarming around the trim. And it was like they were having a conversation. Like ‘Hmm.’
LESLIE: They’re like, ‘What’s this? I can’t bite this.’
TOM: ‘Looks like trim. Looks like wood. Hmm.’
LESLIE: ‘I can’t get in there.’
TOM: ‘But it doesn’t taste like wood and I can’t drill into this stuff. What will I do?’ You know?
LESLIE: ‘I’ll have to go get a new drill bit.’
TOM: So there are a lot of alternatives to wood trim today. You really should be looking at the polyurethanes, looking at the PVC products. Because they look great and they need like zero maintenance.
LESLIE: I mean they even make a foam molding which is super flexible – and I don’t recommend it for the exterior of the house but when I was building sets or designing sets and you wanted to jazz up a column, this stuff was great.
TOM: Yeah, because you stretched right around it, right?
LESLIE: Oh, it was perfect.
TOM: They’re like the flexible crown molding. That’s cool stuff.
LESLIE: Oh, my gosh. Isn’t that great when you see those flexible wood moldings that you can like bend completely?
TOM: Yeah. And best of all, it’s ultra durable and it’s super low maintenance. So, basically, once you install it, you’ll never have to think about it again. 888-MONEY-PIT. Let’s go right to the phones.
LESLIE: Albert in Utah has an interesting problem. You’ve got water in your crawl space? Isn’t it pretty dry there?
ALBERT: Yes, it is. I’ve got a older house. Well, older – was built in the mid-70s. Got a crawl space underneath it. I live near some fields and there’s a creek that runs by the (inaudible). Certain times of the year, I’ll get water sitting underneath the house down there.
TOM: Ah. You know, it’s interesting you say, Albert, that this only happens certain times of the year and you’re near a creek. Because you actually just described the symptoms of a high water table which is fairly unusual. Most people that have a water problem in there crawl space or their basement, it’s generally …
LESLIE: Think it’s a water table problem, but it never is.
TOM: Yeah, they always think it is but, right, it never is. Because usually it’s caused by poor drainage at the foundation perimeter. The gutter system being either disconnected or missing or the soil around the house being fairly flat. But if you’re getting sort of a water situation that develops just certain times of the year that doesn’t seem to be consistent with heavy rains, that, in fact, could be a water table problem. And if that is the case, really, the only way to deal with this is a subsurface drain system.
What has to happen is inside the crawl space – inside the foundation perimeter – it has to be trenched all around that inside wall. And then, you add some gravel rock and then you add a perforated pipe and more rock until it sort of covers the pipe. And then, that pipe all tilts down to a sump pit where you have a sump pump that pumps the water out. So what happens is as the water comes up, it fills up this pit and then it’s pumped out.
Generally, you don’t have to do that. But, in your case, it sounds like it might, in fact, be a high water table because you describe this as happening seasonally, certain times of the year. Typically, it’s worse, in my estimation, in the winter than in the summer. But it could change based on where you are in the country.
ALBERT: I could pretty much … you know, the water problem comes when my neighbor begins irrigating. So (chuckling) … and then it goes away when his crops dry out. So that’s ….
TOM: Well, you know what? If that’s the case, it may be that some of this is surface drainage related. Is his irrigation getting anywhere near your house?
ALBERT: No, it’s not … not getting close to the house at all.
TOM: Well, you know, who knows. Maybe it isn’t a rising water table. Maybe it’s like … his neighbor creating this water table. (laughing) The bottom line is that you can’t control it because it’s not around the foundation perimeter; it’s really coming through the ground and up. The only way to deal with that is with a curtain drain system, which is what we just described to you.
ALBERT: Okay. I’m going to give that a shot. That sounds like a good idea. But …
LESLIE: And he could … he could redirect the water to the neighbor’s crops.
TOM: Yeah, good point. (laughing) When it comes back out the sump, send it back to your neighbor.
ALBERT: There you go.
TOM: (chuckling) Alright. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. Proving that even in the desert, it’s possible to have a leaking crawl space.
LESLIE: So, Tom, earlier we were talking about molding. And on While You Were Out – which isn’t always the best scenario to put up molding because sometimes moldings might take a little bit longer than two days – but our …
TOM: Yeah, you’ve got to get it done quick.
LESLIE: Yeah. You’ve got to do them quickly but you also want to do them properly and carefully. So our designers often use the moldings – and they’re right to – to finish the look of a room and add some sophistication as well as an architectural detail. Well, you might think of the molding as purely decorative but …
TOM: Actually, it doesn’t have to be just decorative. It could actually be very structural and there are opportunities where you can have molding serve both a decorative and a structural purpose. We’ll talk more about that, next.
(promo/theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is being 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 prices. Available exclusively at The Home Depot. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Talking about moldings. You know, they do finish the look of a room but they can also have another purpose. Moldings offer an attractive disguise for the joints between walls, ceilings and floors as well as the doors. Because, you know, you think about it. Homes are always expanding and contracting. They’re always moving. You always see those cracks that can form along the ceiling line and around doors. And moldings serve an important structural purpose in that they can conceal that.
Now, besides that, there are moldings that are available today – specifically, columns is what I’m thinking about and maybe it would be an exaggeration to call that molding, but it really does add that architectural detail. But there are columns, today, that actually are … have the molded imprints on the outside – like the flutes and things like that – but they have structural elements on the inside. Do you ever see these large, like southern-looking porches with the beautiful columns that are made today?
LESLIE: Oh, yeah.
TOM: Yeah, well those are structural columns and they’re not the wood ones that are going to take like a zillion coats of paint to maintain. They’re probably made out of foam but inside that foam is a structural steel column. So they can serve a structural purpose as well; both to sort of conceal the movement in the building and they usually support some of the elements.
LESLIE: Yeah, and columns – as you’re speaking of – have actually made a big comeback in my neighborhood. There are a lot of custom new homes that are being built and a lot of people are opting for these really grand fronts of their houses. So, it’s always a nice choice. And now that we’ve got you hooked on molding, maybe you want to know how to install molding so it looks perfect.
Well, we’re going to give you five of the best tips and tricks to installing molding, in our next e-newsletter. Are you not a subscriber? Well, sign up now for our free newsletter at moneypit.com. It comes right to your inbox every Friday and includes great advice, information and even a project of the week. So to sign up, visit moneypit.com right now.
TOM: 1-888-MONEY-PIT is the telephone number. Call us right now. We’ll give you the answer to your home improvement question and a chance at winning this hour’s prize, which is the Ryobi multiTASKit. It’s like having an extra hand to help with your home improvement projects. It features the patented AIRgrip vacuum technology. That means that if you want to attach it to the wall, you just turn on the little vacuum and it sticks right to the wall where it can hold a little tray with your hardware; it can hold a little clamp; you can try to support a piece of lumber or a shelf or something like that; can support a level. It does a whole bunch of things and it doesn’t mar your walls. It’s worth 35 bucks. Going to give it away on this hour of the program. Call us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Dan in Kansas has a question about replacement windows. What can we do for you, Dan?
DAN: I’m going to add on to my house. And the area where I’m adding on to my house is going to encase the back side of my house and there’s four replacement windows that we just had put in a couple of years ago. And what I was trying to find out is if it’s … if it’s smart to move those windows to the new addition; because we were just going to just fill in those holes or we’re going to make one of them a door and then fill in the other holes.
TOM: Did the replacement windows fit inside the existing openings of some old windows?
DAN: Yes.
TOM: Okay, because what you have to do, in that situation, is basically you have to kind of frame out what would affect …
LESLIE: In the same exact way that the old way windows were.
TOM: Yeah, because they were … yeah, they were custom made for those holes. So yeah, you can use them; but I don’t know that it’s really worth it, to be honest with you. I think if it was me, I’d probably toss them and put in new construction windows. Because otherwise, you’ve got to kind of build a wood frame, stick it in and then trim it out in such a way that it doesn’t leak. And that’s going to be …
DAN: So that probably wouldn’t be square or they’d be designed … if the old window wasn’t square, they wouldn’t be square either.
TOM: Well, I think …
LESLIE: Right, then you’d have to build an unsquare frame. You’d have to match it exactly.
DAN: Yeah.
TOM: Yeah, but I don’t think squareness is the issue. I think, more importantly, it’s not going to seal right against the weather. So I would recommend getting new ones. You know, windows are not that expensive, today. I mean you could buy a good window for three to $500. And so, if you’re going to do all this work, I don’t think it’s worth the extra labor it’s going to take just to be able to reuse the old one.
DAN: Alright.
TOM: Alright, Dan?
DAN: That’s what I wanted … that’s what I wanted to find out? If it’s worth it or not, so …
TOM: Nope. Don’t think it is but … it’s a good thought but I don’t think it is, in this case.
DAN: Alright.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. You know, Leslie, sometimes it’s just not worth the extra work.
LESLIE: Yeah, but it’s a good idea.
TOM: It’s a good idea. But you know what? Save them for your garage. Save them for your shed. Save them for something else. Give them to a neighbor that could use them for some other place in the house. But if you’re going through the trouble of building an addition that way, the windows are really going to be a small part of that cause. And I just don’t think you’re going to be able to put in replacement windows twice into new construction openings and have them sealed and weather-strip properly so that they don’t leak. And remember, if they leak, any savings that you realized from …
LESLIE: Are going to spend in more …
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: … with all the damage it’ll do.
TOM: Yeah. You know where the money goes? Right out the window. (laughing)
LESLIE: Well, plus, think about all the advancements in energy efficiency. You know, you’ve got a really good chance here to upgrade to a really high quality window.
TOM: Yeah. Not to mention the fact that with the new federal energy tax credits, by changing to Energy Star rated windows now, you could actually get some money back that you didn’t have available …
LESLIE: Cha-ching.
TOM: … to you when you put those in a few years ago. 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: Kathleen from Texas is looking to save some money. How can we help?
KATHLEEN: I was wondering if you can get a tax credit on putting in new windows and what brand they have to be.
TOM: Yes, you can.
LESLIE: You can get tax credit for putting in anything energy efficient.
TOM: Yeah, they have to be Energy Star rated windows. But they would qualify for the federal energy tax credits. And I think the tax credit is up to 500 bucks.
LESLIE: (overlapping) $500.
KATHLEEN: Good for a whole house? I put a whole house full in.
TOM: Oh, absolutely.
LESLIE: I think as long as you have a receipt that says that these are Energy Star rated windows and have all of the information and fill out the proper tax forms, bring it to your accountant and it’s done.
KATHLEEN: Okay, thank you very much.
TOM: Well, you’re very welcome, Kathleen. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. Yes, the government is actually bribing us to put in energy efficient upgrades to our homes.
LESLIE: So if you hate getting out the old push broom to clean your driveway and sidewalks, we’ve got a clever solution for you.
TOM: That’s right. A pressure washer would be the perfect solution to solve that cleaning task. But which one should you buy? They come in all sizes, shapes, colors and loads of power; electric, gas and so on. Well, up next, we’re going to tackle the ins and outs of the pressure washer business and show you how to pick the perfect pressure washer for your project.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is being brought to you by Aprilaire, makers of professionally-installed, high-efficiency air cleaners. Study after study shows that as homes become tighter and more energy efficient, more contaminants become trapped inside. Aprilaire’s technologically-advanced electronic and media air cleaners are the best choice for maintaining healthy indoor air. For more information, go to Aprilaire.com.
TOM: 888-666-3974 is the telephone number. Moneypit.com is the website and the place to go if you’d like to send an email question to us. Simply click on Ask Tom and Leslie because, well, that’s our names. (chuckling)
LESLIE: Alright. Well, let’s do that. Ryan in Honolulu, Hawaii writes: ‘What should the pressure setting be on a pressure washer to clean a concrete sidewalk and driveway? And when is a gas-pressure washer – gas pressure washer – better than an electric one?’ That’s hard to say.
TOM: No, it’s easy to say when you’re not near an electric outlet. If you can’t reach it with the cord, you’re better off …
LESLIE: Well, I would think that a gas one would be better for larger commercial projects.
TOM: Well, yeah, I mean really. It does have to come down to distance. When … if you’re going to pressure-washing your house and your siding and stuff like that, you definitely don’t want to have to be dragging an electrical cord around because as we all know, electricity …
LESLIE: Water and electric.
TOM: Don’t mix. Exactly.
LESLIE: Not good.
TOM: Now, in terms of the setting. People tend to overpressurize these toys – only because you can – but …
LESLIE: And it’s fun.
TOM: It’s fun but guess what? If you put too much pressure in a pressure washer, you can actually damage especially concrete. You’ll be surprised to learn how soft that upper surface of the sidewalk is if you use too much pressure. So you want to start with a lower pressure – a medium pressure – and work your way up. And don’t use the needle-like setting; you want to use the one that’s more like a fan spray. And use, also, one of those detergents that’s designed for the pressure washers; it really does work well in loosening up some of that dirt and that muck.
LESLIE: Yeah. And remember, don’t spray your toes. It hurts. (laughing) Just a word of advice. Not that I know why.
TOM: So Leslie, let’s talk about decorating. In fact, that’s the topic of today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. And what I’d like to add to that is that whenever we need to redecorate a room in my house, we always have this discussion as to whether or not we should add color. And you know, my wife’s always afraid that the color’s going to make the room look small. But a wise person once told me that the more color that you use, the more neutral that color becomes. Would you agree?
LESLIE: Well, for me, I think my problem is do I add white?
TOM: (overlapping) Yeah, that’s a good point.
LESLIE: Nothing in my house is neutral.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: Like, I refuse to paint things white. It seems too stark and too empty and freaks me out a little bit. And actually, a recent survey is saying that most homeowners are still afraid to use color to brighten up their homes. Why?! What are you afraid of? It makes things homey and warm and inviting and it shows your personality. So what’s going on? And the survey says – well, not Richard Dawson – but survey says red is the number one color people would love to paint on their walls. Yet it’s also the number one color people are most afraid to use. So …
TOM: Now, see, that’s my point. What color are my living room walls?
LESLIE: Yours are red.
TOM: Exactly.
LESLIE: Because, you know, I think why people are so afraid of red is that there are so many shades of red that it’s hard to find the right one that works. There are orange-toned reds; there are blue-toned reds. And it’s really hard to find a nice one. And another thing is when they try to sell you the tinted primer …
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: If you don’t get the tinted primer with red, it will take you like eight coats. Because red is just a hard color to paint. That’s how it is. Get the tinted primer and use the red paint. And take home a bunch of different types of the red paint. Bring a bunch of different colors that you like, paint a 2×2 swatch on your wall, give them some space around it. Let them get the natural light, the daylight, the night light, your internal lights. Let it see what it’s going to look like at all hours of the day and night. And you’ll find one that works for you. So don’t be afraid; it’s just paint, people.
TOM: That’s right. You can always paint over it if you hate it. So white is out. Color is in. Go ahead and shock your friends, shock your family and throw a splash of color on it.
LESLIE: Yeah, why not.
TOM: Well, that’s about all the time we have on this hour of the program. But speaking of shocking things, you know there’s a lot of things in your house that could be damaged by shocks – electrical shocks, of course. And coming up next week on The Money Pit, we’re going to tell you how to protect all the appliances in your house – that includes your washer, your dishwasher and even your computers – from the dangerous things that could happen when electrical surges shoot through your house. That’s coming up next week on the program.
Thank you so much for being a part of this hour 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 2006 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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