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 are here to help you with your home improvement projects. So, why not help yourself first? If there’s a project on your to-do list – something you’ve been thinking about getting done around your house, around your apartment – perhaps you want to help out your mom or your dad around their house or apartment, give us a call. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT, 888-666-3974.
Coming up on today’s program, we’ve got lots of cool stuff to talk to you about, starting with the fact that there are a lot of new deck designs, new deck architecture, new deck accessories out there now. If you’re thinking about sprucing up your outdoor space, Industry Edge, which is the sort of official trend watcher from the National Hardware Show, has got a great report on this. We’re going to feature some of that, in just a bit.
LESLIE: And also ahead this hour, while you might be ready to spend some time outside, you need to make sure that your inside is cool and comfortable with an air-conditioning upgrade. We’re going to share all the details, in just a bit.
TOM: And since it is the spring – well, almost summer – season, we’re going to talk about bugs, specifically the kind that eat your house: termites. They do billions of dollars of damage in a single year. But just because you see damaged wood, it may not be caused by termites at all. We’re going to tell you how you can look at that piece of nasty wood that you found around your house and determine if you’ve got a problem with bugs or maybe just wood rot. There’s an easy way to tell the difference. We’ll share that tip, in a minute.
LESLIE: And one caller that we talk to on the air this hour is going to win a prize pack from Dickies. And that includes a V-Neck T-shirt with UPF-40 sun protection. It keeps you nice and cool.
TOM: It’s a prize worth 55 bucks. Going out to one caller that reaches us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT with their home improvement question. Or you could post your question at Facebook.com/TheMoneyPit. Let’s get to it, 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: Louise in Delaware is on the line with some carpenter bees visiting her home. Tell us what’s going on.
LOUISE: Yes, ma’am. I have a deck in my – at my back door and I have a roof. It doesn’t extend all the way out to the end of the deck. Just about halfway. And I’ve been having, for several years, a major problem with carpenter bees. They actually make perfectly round holes in the roof of the deck.
And I had an exterminator a couple of years ago and he said he would spray it but no guarantees. And he sprayed it and maybe for about five days I didn’t see them but they came right back. But someone told me – it was actually another exterminator, a really older lady. She said to get steel wool and put steel wool in the holes because they can’t get out through the steel wool. Because my cousin put cotton balls soaked in bleach in the holes she had on her deck and they actually ate through the cotton balls and they ate through the caulking.
TOM: There’s the do-it-yourself methods and there’s the professional methods. I’m troubled by the fact that you hired an exterminator – it sounds like it was some time ago – and he wouldn’t guarantee a result. That’s not acceptable. Most professional exterminators have the tools, the knowledge and the pesticides to effectively eliminate carpenter bees with a reasonable guarantee of success.
So, if you have such a serious problem as this, I would definitely suggest that you go find yourself a new exterminator, maybe from a national-brand company like Orkin. You’d have better success with that.
Now, if you want to do this yourself, you know, the reason that the bees form those holes is because they’re nesting. And so the way they’re treated is you spray a pesticide inside those holes. You can also spray something that’s petroleum-based inside the holes, because they don’t like that. You can fill them with steel wool.
There’s lots of ways that you could try this yourself. But given the severity of the problem, I would suggest you find a good exterminator that can treat it with the right type of pesticide and you not have to worry about it. And I don’t think you had a pro last time. You get a pro to address this problem and just get it done, once and for all, alright?
Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Greg in Illinois is doing a project with flooring and heating. How can we help you?
GREG: Yes. I was calling with a question related to trying to make my floor tile in a bathroom remodel – make it warm underneath. And wanted to get your recommendations on the type of system to use and then what type of tile and grout.
TOM: Well, you can use any type of tile and grout that you’d like. But the systems that you would use would be radiant floor heating systems. They’re designed specifically to be laid in underneath the tile and they’re electric. And they will warm the floor based on the command of the thermostat.
Now, they’re not inexpensive to install and/or to run, because it is electric-resistant heat. But it clearly does take the edge off that chilly floor, especially first thing in the morning. I would suggest you hook them up to a setback thermostat so you can have it come on only when you need it.
GREG: So like a digitally-controlled, preprogrammed-type thermostat?
TOM: Yeah, it could be digital or not but as long as it’s programmed to come on those times of the day where you really want the floor to be warm. You don’t want it on 24-7 unless you’re a really rich guy, because you’re going to be paying a lot for the electric bill, Greg.
GREG: Do you recommend an electrician do this part of the work or is it something I can put into the electrical grid of our home or …?
TOM: Well, the installation on it is not terribly complicated but I would recommend that you have it done professionally and here’s why: because once it’s down and once that tile’s down, if it doesn’t work, you’re going to have a very expensive project on your hands. So I would hire somebody to do the whole thing and be guaranteed that it’s going to work.
GREG: Any type of price ranges that I could expect to pay for one of those systems or do I just buy them from a local box store or …?
TOM: No, not necessarily a box store. There’s a number of different manufacturers. You could reach them – you could research them online. There’s companies like EasyHeat or SunTouch that sell those radiant systems.
Costs on it – let’s see, if you were to do, say, a small bathroom, you would probably be spending somewhere between, I would guess, $800 and $1200 to purchase the retrofit material.
GREG: OK, sir. Thank you for your help.
TOM: You’re welcome. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Well, we are fast-forwarding to summer, officially, first weekend of June, you guys. What are you working on? How are you getting your home in tip-top shape? We are here to help. Give us a call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Up next, we’ve got tips to help deck-out your deck or patio with the hottest accessories and architectural elements. That’s all coming up when The Money Pit continues, after this.
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is presented by Pavestone’s easy-to-stack RumbleStone Rustic Building Blocks. Create any outdoor hardscape you can imagine, to instantly add old-world charm. Available at The Home Depot. For more information and product instructions, visit Pavestone.com.
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: Give us a call, right now, at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. If you do, you might be the lucky winner of the Dickies Prize Pack, which includes the DPS V-Neck Tee, which is packed with UPF 40+ and cooling technology. Which basically means it’s a great shirt for any outdoor adventure, a do-it-yourself adventure or just a regular adventure.
LESLIE: Yeah. And the winner is also going to get a DPS Vented Woven Shirt and that’s going to blend moisture protection and style, so you can stay nice and cool whether you’re on the golf course or on a middle of a home improvement nightmare or successful project. Let’s hope for the latter.
TOM: Visit Dickies.com to learn more. But give us a call, right now, for the answer to your home improvement question and your chance to win at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Darryl in New Jersey is calling with a lighting/electrical issue or perhaps a poltergeist. What’s going on at your house?
DARRYL: Hi. I purchased some LED lights for my home to be energy-conscious. And I put them in my kitchen, in the high hats. There’s about 12 of them in the kitchen. And they work great and they’re on a dimmer and great that – it’s great that they conserve energy and you don’t have to replace them for 20-something years.
But I also have a Bose radio in the kitchen. And right after I put them in, I noticed that the majority of the radio stations are complete static. And when I turn the lights off, the radio works fine.
So, I called up the light-bulb company and they said, “Well, it’s probably your dimmer.” And they recommended certain dimmers that work with the lights. I went out and purchased a dimmer and the same problem. So, I called the bulb manufacturer again and while I had him on the phone, I let them hear the radio with the lights off and then turned the lights on and they heard the static. They said they would get back to me and I never heard from them again. I did some research on the internet and found out that I’m not the only one that has this problem. But I haven’t found the solution.
So, I went out and I bought another set of light bulbs – different brand – and put those in other rooms in the house where I don’t have radios. And the new brand that I got, same problem. So, I’m sort of wrestling with what to do here and I thought I’d give you a call to see if you had some ideas.
TOM: Have you considered using CDs?
Gee, I never heard of that and apparently, the bulb manufacturer didn’t, either. Who is the manufacturer?
DARRYL: F-e-i-t.
TOM: Not familiar with them.
DARRYL: Yeah, they’re pretty popular. I bought the bulbs in Costco but – so I could return the bulbs. But I’m pleased with them and they save energy. And like I said, I tried others and same problem.
And when I did the research on the internet, I found out I’m not the only one. But haven’t found anyone that had a solution.
TOM: In fact, I just did this very same project. I replaced all of the light bulbs in my high hats with a product that was called TCP. And they were like these one-piece inserts that basically, you screw them into the socket, into the high hat, and it’s an LED. And it’s a very flat and flush look and very clean and dimmable. So it’s a nice project to do.
I’m afraid that I don’t have a solution for you on this but I would love if you would post this question in our Community section, Darryl, including all the details on the manufacturers that you’ve had this problem with. Because we’ve got some relationships that we can tap into and see if we can identify what’s going on, both with the bulb manufacturers and with the dimmer manufacturers, to find out if this has been an issue before and why it could possibly be happening. I think it’s a really interesting question, an interesting problem, and I’d love to dig deeper into it on your behalf.
DARRYL: Great. Well, that’s good to know.
TOM: Alright. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Well, we’ve basically just unpacked our bags from our big Vegas trip to the 2015 National Hardware Show, where one trend we spotted was a big push towards sprucing up your backyard decks with new architecture and accessories. There’s a lot of cool stuff out there.
LESLIE: Yeah. You know, as far as architecture goes, we’ve been seeing a throwback style, which includes spindles and balusters, lattice work, railings and overhead coverings. Now, these all serve practical and decorative purposes. The railings are going to improve safety for everyone, especially if you’ve got children or older adults in the household. And the lattices can add privacy. And overhead hangings, I mean they’re beautiful and they can also provide shade, so they really are a stylistic and functional choice.
TOM: And you know what’s also important? That’s lighting. It kind of serves the purpose of setting a cozy, lively mood on the deck. But the right lighting also makes using that outdoor space safer. And there are dozens of built-in and stand-alone options you can add now. And I think they’re all being made much simpler because of advances in LED technology. It’s just so much easier to run that wiring and you’re not dealing with 120 volts of power anymore, so it’s a lot safer.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And you know what? The color temperature has come such a long way that you really get such a nice, warm lighting creation. And it really does make a beautiful difference.
Now, another trend in deck additions that we’re seeing are specialized tables that will feature either fire or ice or even plants as a centerpiece. And each table type adds its own functionality and creates a special ambiance.
Now, fire tables will include a fire pit surrounded by a tabletop that’s large enough for you to put glasses or even full-size place settings so that you can enjoy a meal.
TOM: And the polar opposite of the fire tables are ice tables. They’re available and they include a built-in cooler, which kind of gives a fun vibe to the area while keeping beverages ice-cold and within easy reach. Because let’s face it, especially if you’re building an outdoor man cave, you don’t want to have to get up and walk all the way across the deck to the cooler to grab your next cool drink, do you? Of course not.
Very cool stuff. There’s no limit to the possibilities for function and beauty in your outdoor-living spaces today. So, if you’ve not planned an outdoor project, hey, maybe we’ve inspired you to do just that. And you need some help? You know how to get it, 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: Wally in New Jersey, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?
WALLY: I’ve got a little problem with a drainage tile. I have a 3-foot drainage concrete over tile that was running through a property. And it’s right on the property line and it goes into and marries up to a 3-foot steel tile – 3-foot steel drainage tile. The concrete tile has corroded and broke and is collapsing, which is causing water to come up through the ground. I’m not really sure how to get these two tiles back together, what the solution is for this, whether it needs to be an excavator or – I don’t know.
TOM: So, how deep are we talking about here?
WALLY: The top of the tile is only about 10 inches below the ground. It used to be – what it is – it’s a runoff off the road, which goes through, actually, three properties. And then it goes back into an open (inaudible at 0:16:19). All this tile that was …
TOM: But Wally, if it’s only 10 inches off the surface, then the easiest thing to do is to dig it up from the surface and repair it.
There are ways to repair pipes that are in place underground. There are ways to line pipes. There are systems out where, essentially, a fiberglass sleeve can be put inside of an existing pipe that has failed and cracked. But they’re pretty expensive and you usually reserve those for places where you can’t dig. But if you can access this thing within a foot of the surface or 2 feet at the surface, then it’s definitely worth it.
WALLY: Definitely worth it. Yeah, it’s making a big mess. We had such a hard winter up north up here that I think some just gave and broke and got a big mess, actually.
TOM: Yeah. Well, if it’s that high up in the soil line, it’s above the frost line so, obviously, when it gets wet, it freezes and it cracks – it expands and cracks. So, that’s something that’s going to keep repeating itself because of its position.
WALLY: So, that’s the solution is some kind of fiberglass liner or so. So break the – break that tile or the concrete pipe back further, then try to slide a bigger tile into it? And then into the steel?
TOM: No, no. No, no, no. No, no. You misunderstand.
WALLY: OK.
TOM: What I’m saying is that you want to dig down and replace the sections of broken pipe.
Now, if you don’t want to do that, you can line the pipe. It’s not a do-it-yourself project. You need to find a company that can do it. And the way that’s done is they push from – they access the pipe at one point and they push what kind of looks like a fiberglass sock into the line. And then they fill the pipe with hot water that cures it and forms sort of a tube or a pipe within a pipe.
But that’s the kind of thing that you do if you’re going under driveways or around pools and stuff where you really don’t want to cause any …
WALLY: Nope. This is just through a yard.
TOM: Yeah, if it’s just through a yard, just dig it up, replace it and call it a day.
WALLY: OK. Thank you very kindly.
TOM: Wally, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: So, is your air-conditioning unit simply just not cutting it? Well, it might be time for an A/C upgrade to improve comfort and efficiency. I think the efficiency is the most important upgrade that you can make, so we’re going to get some important upgrade tips, next, from This Old House plumbing-and-heating pro Richard Trethewey.
TOM: And This Old House on The Money Pit is brought to you by the new Stanley TLM99s Laser Distance Measurer. Now, this features Bluetooth connectivity via the Stanley Floor Plan app, which is cool because taking measurements in your home has never been easier or more accurate.
For more information, you can visit StanleyTools.com.
MIKE: Hey, this is Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs and I’ve just been told that Tom and Leslie might have a dirtier job than me? I find that hard to believe but then I heard they worked in a pit. It’s a money pit but it’s still filthy.
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is presented by Leviton, the smart solution for all your electrical needs. Learn how to help improve your home’s electrical safety at GetSafeToday.com. And be sure to enter their June Safety Products Giveaway. That’s GetSafeToday.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.
TOM: Hey, are you thinking about a summer home improvement project? Well, now is the time to plan it. Summer is around the corner, so pick up the phone, give us a call and let’s plan it together at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Well, if you live in an older home that wasn’t built originally with central A/C or maybe you’ve got a system that’s past its life expectancy, now might be a really good time to invest in a new A/C.
TOM: With improvements in efficiency, there’s no reason a new A/C system can’t leave you cool and your budget comfortable. Here to talk us through the options is This Old House plumbing-and-heating contractor Richard Trethewey.
Welcome, Richard.
RICHARD: Hello, people. How are you?
TOM: We are well. Looking to keep cool this summer. And first and foremost, central A/C is much more energy-efficient than room air conditioners, right?
RICHARD: Well, it generally is if it’s done right. You know, not only are they more efficient than a room air conditioner but central air-conditioning systems are much more efficient than they were just 10 short years ago.
TOM: So let’s start by talking about the basic types of air-conditioning systems, because there’s some new systems that are out there and combinations of systems that can be confusing.
RICHARD: Well, the standard system that was always available to us was to have a cooling coil installed on the top of a gas or an oil furnace. You’ve all seen them. Down in your basement or in that garage is the furnace and that has a burner and a blower and that pushes air out through the ductwork.
Now, at the very top of it, there’d be a coil that had refrigerant running through it. As the air went across it, it was cooled. It connected by refrigerant lines [that’s to outside] (ph). And that was the standard for many, many years.
And so what they’ve done the last 10 years is they have insisted on higher efficiencies. It used to be that you could get away with a 10 SEER and now you need 13 SEER or now you need 15 SEER in different places. And that is a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.
TOM: So that’s a way to kind of compare units to units and efficiency to efficiency.
RICHARD: Right. Sort of like the energy ratings on appliances or the mileage for cars.
TOM: Alright. So that’s the core system. Now, there’s another system out now called a “mini split-ductless.” How does that …?
RICHARD: Right. And this really comes to us from Asia. And really, the rest of the planet does it this way. The first system I described was called “unitary.” It’s where you have one device and that sends heated or cooled air through the building.
These splits are very easily zoned systems where you could have – in each room or a group of rooms, you could have the thing called a “high-wall cassette.” You’d see it on the wall and it has a way to have heating and cooling come out of these ducts. You’ve seen them all …
LESLIE: It’s about 3 feet wide by 18 inches tall.
RICHARD: That’s right.
LESLIE: They’re white. They mount high on the wall. There’s little vents on it.
RICHARD: That’s right. Right.
LESLIE: I mean they’re attractive and they kind of go away.
RICHARD: And they’re thermostatic and they’re quiet.
And so now you’ve got zonability (ph) where normally, with that unitary system, you had one thermostat, generally. It brought on the whole house for cooling and then you turn it back off again. This gives you the chance, as the sun tracks around the building – now there’s more load on the south side. That unit on the south side can come on and keep up with it, because you have multiple units inside the building.
LESLIE: Now, there’s one unit on the interior, which is that split system.
RICHARD: That’s right.
LESLIE: And then on the outside, you’ve got your condensing unit.
RICHARD: Condenser. Right. Well, it used to be that you’d have to have one indoor unit matched up to one outdoor unit.
LESLIE: To one outdoor.
RICHARD: And in the old days, the outside units used to be so big. And they still are.
LESLIE: Right.
RICHARD: Now, with these splits, the units are much smaller and they can stack. They’re almost a small rectangle against the building. They can even hang on the wall brackets.
LESLIE: And you can have more than one interior unit to one outside condensing unit.
RICHARD: That’s right. But that’s the evolution. It’s just changing now. It used to be that it was always one to one.
LESLIE: One to one.
RICHARD: Now you can have one magic box, so to speak, outside and you can connect to three, four, five or six units inside.
Now, you’d think that was enough but no, the next thing that has just shown up is a variation of this where you can have a single box outside. That box has a thing inside it called an “inverter.” And the inverter will not only allow you to have cooling to four, five, six different units inside the building but it actually is so efficient it can reverse itself. And in the cold, cold weather, down to about 5 degrees outside, it can find enough heat in the outside air to still heat the building.
That’s really what people just can’t believe. “How do you get heat out of cold air in the winter?”
TOM: That’s interesting. So that’s kind of like a heat-pump tech now.
RICHARD: That’s right. It’s a heat pump that works. Heat pumps never did much once you got above the Mason-Dixon Line. But these units have really got some excitement. They actually are so efficient because they’re not just cycling on and off; they’re actually on all the time a little bit, just grabbing a little bit of heat all the time and putting it back in the building.
TOM: That’s really cool.
RICHARD: The other thing that’s great is now you’ve got some other choices. It used to be that you could only have that high-wall cassette inside the building. Now some of these units actually accept ductwork off the units. So you could still have, hidden away inside the building – comfortable. Another one is a picture frame so that a picture frame acts as the cooling and heating unit in the space.
LESLIE: Oh, I’ve seen that one.
RICHARD: It’s a – yeah, they’re really pretty cool. A lot of choices now and it’s an exciting time to be in this game.
TOM: So, if you’re thinking about upgrading your existing system, maybe your outdoor compressor fails and you need to make a decision, what kinds of things are important to know before you actually do that work? Can you always go sort of part for part? Is it going to fit? Can you put a better, more efficient air conditioner, perhaps where you had one that was less efficient, and still have it work?
RICHARD: Well, Tom and Leslie, this is really a minefield now because of regulation. You might have your inside unit and your outside unit. And the outside condenser, which is exposed to the elements, fails. Now you just want to get a new outdoor condensing unit. Well, the rules have changed about how efficient you have to put that unit is. And the rules have also changed about what type of refrigerant that you can use inside those.
So, now, you might say, “I just want to replace the outdoor condensing unit.” Now, by mandate, you’re going to have to not only change the outdoor unit, you’re going to have to change the indoor unit to match it.
LESLIE: So they speak to each other.
RICHARD: And you’re going to have to change the refrigerant that goes through it. And that involves evacuating all the refrigerant out of the lines and it’s not a small deal anymore.
TOM: There’s nothing much that you can save in this process. You’re pretty much going to be replacing everything.
RICHARD: That’s right.
LESLIE: Now, when you close your air conditioning up for the season – if that’s something that you do; you do a turn-on and a turn-off – are they draining the lines at that point? Or it always has refrigerant in it?
RICHARD: It should always have – the refrigerant you put in, if you don’t have a leak, it should be in there 25 years from now.
LESLIE: OK.
RICHARD: The only thing I’ll tell you about winterizing is if you’re in a place where you’ve got some really dirty tree over that condenser, you should cover it so that all those pine needles or leaves don’t get down inside. Because what’s inside that condenser you don’t see are relatively delicate fins – aluminum fins – on a refrigerant coil. And if that is filled with all sorts of foreign objects, it’ll work really hard and it’ll ultimately fail because of it.
TOM: Yeah. Richard, in terms of the cover, you’re not talking about sealing the unit as much as keeping tree debris out, are you?
RICHARD: Well, you cannot confine the air inside of a condenser for it to operate. And so during the season, when it’s got to run, you’ve got to make sure the air can pass through and up and out of the condenser.
TOM: OK.
RICHARD: But in the winter, in a place where you’ve got dirty trees, you might want to seal it up tight to keep those pine needles and leaves out. And be sure to pull it off before you start it in the season.
TOM: Makes sense.
Now, I want to finish up with one question about sizing. People think that bigger is always better when it comes to A/C systems. But it’s really not about getting the biggest system; it’s about getting one that’s designed to work properly with your house, right?
RICHARD: Yeah. That’s the biggest mistake we all make in both the cooling and the heating world. We think bigger is better.
Now, in the example of cooling, if I put in two times too big of a cooling unit, thermostat comes on, it now quickly tries to make the air cold and then it shuts off. It means that you haven’t run that air conditioner long enough to actually take any humidity out of the building. So now you end up with a cold, clammy space.
LESLIE: And it feels colder.
RICHARD: Absolutely. If we’ve done our job as heating-and-cooling professionals, that air-conditioning system, on the worst day of the year, would never shut off; it would just be on all the time. The fact is that’s never the case; it’s on, it’s off, it’s on and off because they are oversized. The same thing is in heating in reverse. If we have too big of a furnace or too big of a boiler, it’s going to cycle.
Think about the example. If I had an automobile where I turned it on and off every two minutes, the engine would be harder pressed to run clean. The same thing with an air conditioner. If you cycle that compressor a million times an hour because it’s too big, it’s going to be short-lived.
TOM: And because of all the power it takes to get it on, initially, you’re probably using more electricity.
RICHARD: Absolutely. That’s right. It’s the take-offs and the landings that use all the fuel.
TOM: That’s the important part.
RICHARD: That’s right.
TOM: Richard Trethewey, the plumbing-and-heating contractor on TV’s This Old House, thank you so much. I’m sure you’re making a lot of us more cool and comfortable this summer.
RICHARD: Stay cool, you guys.
LESLIE: Alright. You can catch the current season of This Old House and Ask This Old House on PBS. For local listings and step-by-step videos of many common home improvement projects, visit ThisOldHouse.com.
TOM: And This Old House is brought to you on PBS by Lumber Liquidators. Hardwood floors for less.
Still to come, can you spot rot? Well, maybe not if termites have taken up residence instead. We’re going to teach you how to tell the difference, with this week’s Pro Tip presented by Grayne Shingle Siding from the Tapco Group. That and more when The Money Pit continues, after this.
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by Grayne Engineered Shake and Shingle Siding from The Tapco Group. Contractors can now offer homeowners the charm of natural cedar with none of the maintenance. Visit Grayne.com or ask your pro today.
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: Hey, here’s a scary statistic. You know, just before the very tragic Nepal earthquake last month, the U.S. Geological Survey was released and said that half of the U.S. population lives in an area prone to earthquakes. The USGS report said that 143 million Americans, in the 48 contiguous states, are at risk of potential damage from ground shaking.
LESLIE: Yeah. But Tom, I think it’s important to consider – do we have the ability to reduce any possible damage in a home that could come from an earthquake or in areas that we don’t usually get them? Are we just sitting ducks?
TOM: Well, no, you’re certainly not a sitting duck. And in fact, there is a way to both modify an existing house or build a new house that makes it earthquake-resistant. And the key difference between that and the way we traditionally build homes is this: in an earthquake, buildings jump.
So if you can think of your house going up and down as opposed to side to side – but they jump off the foundation. And so, earthquake reinforcement basically starts at the foundation, where you tie the floor frame to the foundation and then the wall frame to the floor frame and then the roof to the wall frame and so on. And it’s all strapped together to basically minimize that sort of vertical action if the ground were to shake, to stop the building from sort of jumping and jumping off the foundation.
So, there are people in earthquake-prone areas, like out west. There are contractors that specialize in this. But the information is available. We’ve got some articles on our website at MoneyPit.com. It is entirely possible to make your home more resistant to that type of damage.
Well, it’s finally feeling warm and almost summery here in our part of the country, which means now is the perfect time to check your home’s exterior for damage. But how do you tell the difference between wood that’s rotted and wood that’s just been damaged by insects, like termites or carpenter ants? Well, we’ve got the answer, in this week’s Pro Tip presented by Grayne Shingle Siding from the Tapco Group.
LESLIE: Yeah. The presence of damaged wood can actually make your home’s exterior look old and worn. But beside the aesthetics of how it looks, it can actually lead to deeper structural problems.
Now, the wood’s got to be repaired, whether the damage is caused by insects or rot. But if insects have attacked, you might also need to call in a pest professional to make sure that they’re not going to come back.
TOM: Now, if the wood is rotted, it’s going to look spongy, almost like cork. But if the wood’s been attacked by wood-destroying insects, the damage is going to have a definite pattern to it.
Now, you want to think about the rings of the tree, right? The thin rings are the hard, slow winter growth. And the thick rings are the soft, fast summer growth. Now, carpenter ants and termites are smart. They eat the soft summer growth and they pretty much leave that thin winter growth alone.
LESLIE: Yeah. Plus, another thing to keep in mind is that termites will also leave mud or sand behind, which they use to build tunnels that keep them protected while they go about munching away parts of your home.
And often, people refer to rot damage as “dry rot” but that’s really a misnomer. Now, dry rot is nothing more than rotted wood that has dried out, because rot needs moisture to develop. So, besides the repair, you need to protect the wood with a proper finish to keep that from happening again.
TOM: And that’s today’s Pro Tip presented by Grayne Shingle Siding by the Tapco Group. The uncompromising beauty of Grayne’s 5-inch shingle siding offers the charm of natural cedar with none of the maintenance. Plus, the shingle’s graining patterns create natural depth and shadows for a striking appearance. Its sharp, crisp edges provide the most authentic look possible, up close and from the curb.
Visit Grayne.com to learn more. That’s Grayne – G-r-a-y-n-e – .com.
LESLIE: Well, granite, we all love this material. It’s durable and beautiful but it can become damaged if you don’t treat it carefully. We’re going to learn the best way to repair chips in granite, when The Money Pit continues.
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by QUIKRETE. It’s what America is made of. For project help from start to finish, download the new QUIKRETE mobile app.
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 we here at Team Money Pit, we like to make things easy for you guys, helping you with home improvement projects but also helping you guys get the answers you need to your questions and giving you some awesome prizes to tackle those projects.
Now, we’ve got two ways for you to participate in the show. You can call us or you can post your question online at MoneyPit.com. Either way, it sets you up to win some cool stuff.
TOM: Yep. And this hour, we’re giving away a $55 prize pack from Dickies, which includes the DPS V-Neck Tee packed with UPF 40+ and cooling technology, making it a perfect choice for a new outdoor adventure.
LESLIE: Alright. Let’s start with a post that we got online from Zachary in Atlanta who writes: “I have several small chips on the edge of my granite kitchen counter. Is it OK to buy a do-it-yourself kit to fix this or should I go ahead and hire a pro?”
TOM: You know, it’s tempting, Zach, to buy one of those over-the-counter chip-repair kits that claim to be able to fix granite, as well as porcelain and other things like that. But those kits really can’t compare to the work of a granite-repair pro.
Now, the key difference is this: the do-it-yourself kits use a very thick, sort of paint-like, almost epoxy-like material to fill in the chip, whereas the granite pro will use – check this – real granite. And they actually rebuild the damaged portion of the countertop.
Basically, it’s a long process but what they do is they grind up identical granite to the granite in your counter. Or they get as close as they can to it sort of color-wise. Then they mix it with a clear epoxy and they fill in the chip. And then once that sets, they very carefully sand and buff that area to perfection.
And I’ll tell you this: when they’re done, you will not – not – be able to spot that chip. It’ll be completely invisible. It’ll look like the countertop originally did when it was first installed. So, I really don’t recommend you go with a DIY. I would save it up, save up maybe until you get a few of those chips, have a pro come in and do it all. You’d be really happy with the results.
LESLIE: Yeah. And Tom, you’re right: over time, you’re supposed to maintain a granite countertop.
So if you do have a couple of chips, Zach, this might be a good time. As Tom said, save them all up until you’ve got a couple and then have them just rework the entire countertop. Because you’re only extending the lifetime, at that point, and it really does look beautiful.
Alright. Next up, we’ve got Angela from North Carolina who writes: “How can I remove smoke stains from white brick face of my indoor fireplace?”
TOM: Yep. And the answer is trisodium phosphate. It’s an effective, heavy-duty cleaner that’s good on brick. And you can find it in your home center or hardware store. And there’s also a phosphate-free version that you can find, as well. And it will do just as good a job.
You basically mix a ½-cup of the TSP with a gallon of hot water. You use a scrub brush. You scrub into the brick, rinse it thoroughly, let it dry and you’ll be good to go.
Hope that helps you out, Angela and Zach. And remember, you can post your questions to MoneyPit.com.
LESLIE: Yep. We always answer them.
TOM: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Thank you so much for spending this part of your day with us. We hope we’ve given you some tips and ideas and perhaps some inspiration to tackle the project that you’d like to get done around your house.
Remember that we are available 24/7. If you have a question, please call our call center at 888-MONEY-PIT. If we are not in the studio, we’ll call you back the next time we do produce the program. Plus, you can also post your question to the Community section at MoneyPit.com. Got lots of questions and answers going on there all the time, not only by and from us but from many of the community members, too. Or of course, you could reach out to us on social media: @MoneyPit on Twitter or Facebook.com/TheMoneyPit.
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.
END HOUR 1 TEXT
(Copyright 2015 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