Smart Outdoor Cleaning Solutions #0515172

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: Pick up the phone, give us a call, right now, because we are here for you, to help you with your home improvement projects on this beautiful spring weekend. Summer is just around the corner. And if you’ve got a project you’d like to get done, give us a call because we are here to help you do just that at 888-MONEY-PIT.

And just ahead, if your siding, sidewalks, decks or patios are looking pretty grimy right now, we’ve got a simple solution that could help make that mess disappear and prevent mold, mildew, moss and more from growing back.

LESLIE: Plus, water quality is on everybody’s mind these days. Not only are we drinking more of it as the weather gets warmer, there are more and more stories in the news about problems with water quality. We’ve got an expert stopping by with some practical tips to help.

TOM: And if you’d like a great way to do some serious cleaning, pressure washers are the hot ticket. We’re going to have a review of an electric option that’s really effective.

LESLIE: Plus, speaking of cleaning, we’ve got a $50 Amazon gift card to give away this hour to one very lucky caller and that is courtesy of our friends over at Speed Queen Washers and Dryers.

TOM: Hey, you can use that to stock up on your laundry supplies and more. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Let’s get to it.

Leslie, who’s first?

[radio_anchor listorder=”4″]LESLIE: Alright. Let’s say hi to Katie in Massachusetts who has a whole-house dehumidifier question. What’s going on?

KATIE: I purchased a WAVE ventilation system. It was advertised on one of the radio stations that I listen to. Company is based in Canada. I checked them out, Better Business Bureau, they’re all fine. But my electrician had a question for me that he’s really not sure that I should keep it, because you hook it up in the basement away from the …

TOM: Heating system.

KATIE: The heating system, thank you. And then you open up a vent to the top of the house, which we have. We did that up the basement stairs, into the mudroom. So, there’s a vent there that will feed this system but there’s no return.

And my electrician said, “Gosh, if you don’t have a vent from the outside feeding in air to circulate …” – he just doesn’t see how the whole system will really work efficiently if there is not something feeding this flow.

TOM: I think you’ve got a great electrician there and a guy who really understands building science. Because I’ve got to tell you, I hear the advertisements for these systems all the time and they leave me scratching my head. Because what they claim to do is to dehumidify your basement. And the way they do that is they simply take the basement air and they pump it upstairs.

LESLIE: Yeah. But then what do you do with all that moist air in the rest of the house?

TOM: Well, upstairs, you don’t notice it as much because it doesn’t collect and sit. And the temperatures are warmer so it gets absorbed into the air. And of course, that means that the basement is going to be less humid because that moisture is being pumped upstairs. But if you pump too much airflow upstairs, you’re going to depressurize the basement. And the reason it has to be that far away from the furnace is because if you depressurize the basement, guess what’s going to happen to all of the fumes that are generated by your heating system? It’s going to – the draft is going to reverse and you’ll start filling your house with that combustion gas, including carbon monoxide.

Now, in a typical ventilation system – let’s say you have a really high-efficiency house. Like my cousin is building a house right now that’s an ENERGY STAR-rated house. He’s using foam insulation. You know, it’s going to be a really tight house. And I was explaining to him the other day that because it’s so tight, you might need to bring in fresh air to this house.

And typically, the average house, we don’t worry about bringing in fresh air because our homes are naturally drafty. But when you build a tight house, you have to bring in fresh air to exhaust stale air. And the way they do that is basically by pulling in cold air from the outside and exhausting it with stale air from the inside. But they trap the heat so you’re not exactly just filling your house up with cold air. You’re going to able to sort of transfer; there’s a mechanical way to do that.

These ventilation systems that you’re describing are only one-half of that. They’re basically just sucking the moisture out of the basement and pumping it upstairs. So, to me, it just seems like somewhat of a pointless exercise that potentially could go horribly wrong if the basement was depressurized. Have you noticed that the basement is less humid as a result of running this thing?

KATIE: Actually, we haven’t even put in yet because we’re a month away from moving in. But I purchased it. But this WAVE ventilation system, the system itself is – it’s ducted to the outside. So what it does is it sucks the air in from the bottom – from, obviously, the basement but it draws from the top half of the house and it expels it, so – but I don’t know how it’s replaced. It just doesn’t make any sense and that’s what our electrician said. So, the air that is circulated through this system is not pumped back upstairs; it’s actually expelled through the house. But what replaces it?

TOM: And also, the other issue here is if you’re going to take all the moisture, all the air from inside the house and pump it outside, then you’re going to depressurize. And again, you may have to – you may drive up the heating cost as a result or the cooling cost as a result. Listen, I honestly don’t think they’re necessary.

KATIE: OK.

TOM: I would never put one in my house and if you’ve not – if you can cancel the contract, I’d recommend you do that.

KATIE: Really? OK. So what do we do to keep the basement dry?

TOM: Alright. So let’s talk about that. So, there’s a bunch of things that you can do. Keeping your basement as dry as possible starts at the foundation perimeter outside your house. You want to make sure that the soil slopes away from the wall. You want to have it drop about 6 inches over 4 feet, well tamped down and then covered with stone or mulch or grass. But you always want to have that sort of slight slope away from the foundation perimeter.

In addition to that, you also want to make sure that the gutters are clean and free-flowing and that the downspouts are extended 4 to 6 feet away from the house. That can help move the water away from that critical area of the foundation perimeter and stop it from building up in the soil right against the foundation walls, where it will get into the house. Those two things alone will make a huge difference in how much moisture gets down there.

Now, is the basement finishable?

KATIE: Yes. And it’s beautiful. It’s all rock. The original owner who was previous to us built this home and it’s a fortress.

TOM: OK. So if you were to ultimately finish the basement and heat it, that is also going to dry it out, too, because warm air is going to absorb any moist air – any moisture that’s in the air.

The other thing that you can do is you could paint the interior walls with a damp-proofing paint that stops just the normal soil moisture from evaporating into the house itself. And if it does ever get damp, I would put a dehumidifier down there before I’d put one of these big ventilation systems. I’d just make sure that I drained it outside. And you can do that through something called a “condensate pump.”

KATIE: Sure. OK. Thank you very much.

TOM: I hope that makes sense. 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. Now, you can call in your home repair or your home improvement question right here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-MONEY-PIT is presented by HomeAdvisor, where it’s easy to find top-rated home improvement pros for any project. Go to HomeAdvisor.com.

TOM: Just ahead, if your siding or sidewalks or decks or patios are looking pretty nasty, we’re going to talk about a simple solution that can make that mess disappear. We’ll be back with more of your calls and that tip, after this.

(theme song)

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 888-MONEY-PIT which is presented by HomeAdvisor. Hey, you’ll get the answer to your home improvement question. Plus, this hour, we’ve got a great gift to give away. It’s a gift card, to be specific, that’s sponsored by Speed Queen. Worth 50 bucks.

Speed Queen Washers and Dryers are built to last 25 years. They include the industry’s best warranty. And they put over 100 years of commercial reliability into every product. You can learn more at SpeedQueen.com.

That Amazon gift card is going out to one caller drawn at random. Make that you. Could you use 50 bucks? Maybe you can use it for some new laundry detergent. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT, 888-666-3974.

[radio_anchor listorder=”3″]LESLIE: Fred in Delaware, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

FRED: I am having built an egress walkout up my basement with steps. There’s about five steps.

TOM: OK.

FRED: And it’s a double-wide about 72 inches across. And I’m wondering if it’s required that I have single handrails or double handrails?

TOM: Hmm. That’s a good question. I’m actually not sure. I’d have to look that up. But generally speaking, as long as you have one handrail in the middle, you’re OK. If it’s along the wall on opposite ends of it, then I think you probably ought to have two. Why not? If you’re going to put one, you might as well put in two. And this way, it’s safer for anybody that goes up and down that space.

I would ask the local building inspector, since you’re having this built, what they’re going to require. Because, frankly, I’ve seen a lot of situations where I know one was required and they – one was required by code and they asked for two. So, it’s kind of a minor thing for them. So just – why don’t you just ask and give them what they want?

FRED: OK.

TOM: But if you just want to be safe, I’d put in two. I don’t see any reason not to do that.

FRED: Right, right. And a side question to that is – the bottom of the staircase there, we have the basic drain.

TOM: OK.

FRED: And we had a lot of rain this weekend and it’s backing up.

TOM: Yep. Where is it draining to?

FRED: Well, that was one – that was a point of contention. I thought they were going to do this to the sump pump, which is inside the house. But they put it to the outside foundation – around the foundation.

TOM: OK. But again, where are they draining it to? Because if they’re going to dump that around the foundation, then you’re going to put a lot of water around that house. And you want to get it away.

FRED: Well, the thing is – and I can’t tell because it’s underground. They say it goes into these soft, plastic, big, black pipes and that goes around and comes back and connects with a sump pump inside. They said that but when I tested it and I poured a lot of water on it last week, I didn’t see any flow of that water back to my sump pump. So I don’t know where it was going.

TOM: Yeah. And that’s definitely a concern. You can do a camera inspection of that drain. It’s going to cost you some money and the companies that are drain cleaners, they have these drain cameras.

And they basically are like a long snake that you can run through there. They can always tell where the top of it is and the head of it. And they can tell exactly where that’s going. But I think you definitely have an issue there.

FRED: I see.

TOM: I’d worry about that more than the handrails, because that’s not going to get any better.

FRED: OK.

TOM: If that’s brand new and it’s backing up right now, it does sound very much like something was not put together correctly.

If it’s at all physically possible, I would much prefer to see that connected by a solid PVC pipe – not a flexible pipe but solid pipe – out to the street or out to daylight somewhere. So, as you say, you can always know that it’s working and you can always snake it out if it’s not.

FRED: Oh, wow.

TOM: So, that’s definitely a concern. I think you’ve got to get more into that, OK?

FRED: Alright. Thank you.

TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Well, if your sidings, sidewalks, decks or patios are looking pretty grime, we’ve got a simple solution that can help make that mess disappear and prevent mold, mildew, moss and more from growing back. It’s a product we got to learn more about at the National Hardware Show just a couple of weeks ago called Spray & Forget.

TOM: Yep. This is a house-and-deck outdoor cleaner and it cleans all types of siding and decks and fences, as well as pavers or bricks or even concrete patios or pool surrounds. And you can use it on vinyl and plastic outdoor furniture. Pretty much anything outside that gets that grimy mold or mildew on it, this will take it away.

LESLIE: Yeah. And it’s pretty easy to use. You know, there’s no scrubbing involved. And as the name implies, you just spray it on and Mother Nature takes over the cleaning duties with the rain and the sun and the wind. It’s pretty easy.

TOM: Yeah. And over time, it basically keeps those exterior surfaces clean and it does it without harsh chemicals. You’ll find it at Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Amazon, Do it Best and True Value for 19.99. Check it out at SprayAndForget.com.

LESLIE: Arlene in Rhode Island is on the line and wants to stay cool this summer with some air conditioning. How can we help you with the project?

ARLENE: I live an in 1,850-square-foot ranch that’s 38 years old and we installed the central air before the walls were sealed. The access to the handler, which is in the attic, is 21 inches by 21 inches square. And they always told us if it ever broke, it would be a difficult problem to replace the handler in the attic.

But lo and behold, last week the air conditioning went on for about an hour and then it stopped. I called my service-contract people. They came. They said – they went up into the attic and they said the handler is dripping grease. It’s old. It has a fan belt, which is no longer used and it’s time to get rid of my air-conditioning system and get a new one or replace – or they could fix it for $800 but it might not be good forever.

So, I’ve been interviewing companies; they told me to do that. I’m a little bit educated on it now. And I know that I want a 5-ton handler in the attic and a 13-SEER compressor on the outside. My compressor is almost 10 years old but I think it wouldn’t be compatible.

TOM: How big is your house?

ARLENE: Eighteen-hundred-fifty square feet.

TOM: Five tons is a lot of air conditioning for that size house. Usually, you would use 3 to 4 zone – 3 to 4 tons. If you oversize the air conditioning, what’s going to happen is it’s going to cycle on or off very quickly. You could actually overdo it and it’ll be really inefficient.

But OK. I’m guessing that your question is: how do you get the air handler back up in the attic?

ARLENE: Well, everyone said they can make a new opening and put a new vent in and it’ll give it more circulation and it’s a good thing to do.

TOM: Right.

ARLENE: The last person I interviewed said he can get it up – a 5-ton up into the attic. Because the one he’s going to supply – an Amana – comes in two pieces.

TOM: OK.

ARLENE: He said and that will be better because if it ever needs a repair, you just click open the two pieces. I’ve never heard of a 2-piece 5-ton and I’m wondering what your opinion is, because he gave me the best price. He was $3,000 cheaper than everyone else.

TOM: Yeah, well, it’s hard to tell, because a lot of these guys bid you and not the project. But Amana is a good brand.

ARLENE: Yeah.

TOM: So I have no issues with that. I would just do some research on the contractor.

But by the way, you know, making a bigger opening is not that big of a deal. It might seem like a big of a deal but it’s really a pretty simple carpentry project. It’s just an additional project that you probably didn’t want to face.

Is there any storage space up there if you were to make it bigger? Could you take advantage of that?

ARLENE: A crawlspace attic.

TOM: It’s all a crawlspace? Yeah. Yeah, I mean listen, a carpenter that knows what he’s doing can open – can double the size of that hole in about an hour. It’s really not hard.

Listen, I just – before you make the commitment to the 5-ton, I’m just telling you, for an 1,800-square-foot house that’s over – it’s probably overkill. And I don’t want you to get in a situation where there’s – you know what I mean? When I say “cycling,” do you know what that means? It means the air conditioning comes on and it goes off, comes on again and it goes off, goes on/off, on/off. So what’ll happen is it will never run long enough to dehumidify your house. And as a result, you’ll feel cold and clammy. It’s really not good.

So, you want to put the right-size unit in, OK? You want to put the right-size unit in. And generally, it’s about 600 square feet per ton. So that’s only 3 tons for your house. So, I’m thinking three to four, not – I’m thinking five might be too big. OK?

ARLENE: OK. Thank you so much.

TOM: Alright. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. And well done doing all the research on this.

[radio_anchor listorder=”2″]LESLIE: Mike in California has got a flooring question. What project are you working on?

MIKE: I have a question about radiant-heat floor heating.

TOM: OK.

MIKE: What kind of coverings – floor coverings – can I put over concrete?

TOM: Oh, you can put any kind of floor covering you want over that. It doesn’t get so hot that it affects the floor. You could have carpet, you can have tile, you could have engineered hardwood, you could have real hardwood, you could have laminates.

LESLIE: Well, real hardwood, Tom, doesn’t it have to be a specific cut of the grain?

TOM: Well, obviously, it has to be a prefinished, lock-together kind of a product because you can’t nail into it. That’d be bad. Might pierce those pipes. But I think you could use engineered hardwood if you have any question and that will look just like the real thing. In fact, it is the real thing. It’s just a manufactured product.

MIKE: And will the heat penetrate the manufactured wood or …?

TOM: Oh, absolutely.

LESLIE: Oh, yeah.

TOM: Sure.

MIKE: Put the plumbing inside the concrete – 3 inches of concrete.

TOM: Yeah. Oh, absolutely. If it can get through a couple inches of concrete, it sure can go through another ½-inch of flooring.

MIKE: OK. Alright. Thank you.

TOM: Once it warms up, you’re good to go. It’s very comfortable heat, too. So good choice.

MIKE: OK. Alright. Thank you. Oh, that was the other question. Is it practical? Is it more practical than central air or something like that?

TOM: It’s an investment. It’s a hydronic system, so if you’re going to put hot-water heat in, you’re going to have to put a ducted air-conditioning system in. So it’s kind of like you have to put two systems in. But those of us that have those systems love them. I’ve got old-fashioned radiators in my 1800s house and I’ve got a ducted air-conditioning system. And you get the best of both worlds. So, it’s going to be – it’s really a question as to whether or not it’s practical for you. But it doesn’t get any better than radiant heat. It’s just amazingly comfortable stuff.

MIKE: OK. Alright. I appreciate it. Thank you.

TOM: OK? Yep. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Just ahead, have you ever tested the water coming into your house? Well, you might just want to. We’ll tell you why, after this.

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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.

Well, when you turn on the tap, the water flows out. But did you ever stop to think about the quality of that water? Well, with frequent reports of water-quality issues popping up now around the nation, it’s probably something that you should be thinking about.

TOM: And that’s something our next guest thinks a lot about. Lindsay Chason is the merchant at The Home Depot responsible for making sure you have options if water-quality issues are discovered. And she joins us now with tips.

Welcome, Lindsay.

LINDSAY: Hey, guys. How are you?

TOM: Great. Now, The Home Depot is focusing a lot on this topic right now and really has developed a suite of products that can address the most common water-quality issues. That’s probably a good thing because the stories – like what we’re hearing happened in Flint, Michigan – have a lot of people very concerned right now about what actually is coming out of that tap.

LINDSAY: Absolutely. You know, water quality is a huge point of discussion for a lot of Americans and families right now. Flint, Michigan brought a lot of attention to the idea of water quality. And we do continue to see other communities pop up, from time to time, that are having water-quality issues. And so we try to help our customers equip their homes with the right products to really come up against those problems before they’re a huge issue.

LESLIE: Now, there are steps that people can take to proactively identify any water risks or water-quality issues that might be in their homes. But are the products or systems that you can put in place to eliminate those risks, are these a DIY project or do you have to leave this to the pros?

LINDSAY: Absolutely. There are a lot of really great options out there for DIY customers, things that are very easily installed on your faucet or under your sink or even as simple as a pitcher. So we have some really great options out there for DIY. It doesn’t have to be a complicated pro project. But if you want to engage a pro, we certainly have options there, as well.

LESLIE: Now, Lindsay, I think a lot of people think that it has to be a major water-filtration system that gets sort of installed as an appliance into your house but that’s not so. There are really simple things that you can purchase that can make a huge difference, right?

LINDSAY: That’s absolutely true. There are a number of different ways to filter your water, whether it’s a faucet-filtration system, a water dispenser or even something as basic as a pitcher, right? So, take a look and make sure that whatever you’re buying is certified by either the Water Quality Association or the NSF International. Those are going to be some of our best certifying bodies to understand how to get lead and mercury and pesticides and all those other gross contaminants out of your water. And we’ve got some great options from PUR and Brita and others at The Home Depot.

TOM: We’re talking to Lindsay Chason – she is the water-quality expert with The Home Depot – about how to improve the water quality in your home. And the first thing is, of course, a test. And then based on those test results, they’re going to direct you to the issues and the potential solution, right?

LINDSAY: That’s right. Absolutely. So whatever the water test shows, you can consider a number of different options. You may want to put a point-of-use water-treatment filtration system in, such as a faucet filter, to help remove or reduce some of your contaminants. The EPA actually directs us that household plumbing fixtures have the most issues and are the most common sources of lead and copper in home drinking water. It can be really scary. So filtering drinking water at the tap reduces all kinds of microbial cysts, metals like lead and mercury, any kind of industrial pollutants. You can also filter for taste and odor of chlorine and any other kind of chlorination by-products. So, again, really great options to put on your sink to help you improve the quality of your water.

TOM: Great advice. Lindsay Chason, the water-quality merchant at The Home Depot. Thank you so much for stopping by The Money Pit, Lindsay.

LINDSAY: Thank you, guys.

TOM: If you’d like more information, you can head on over to HomeDepot.com or call 1-800-HOME-DEPOT to schedule an appointment with a water-quality expert.

LESLIE: Thanks so much, Lindsay.

You’re listening to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Give us a call now with your questions at 888-MONEY-PIT, presented by HomeAdvisor.

Just ahead, using a pressure washer is one way to make spring cleaning fun. We’re going to have tips on how to do this safely and effectively with a smart pressure washer. We’ll be back with more of your calls, after this.

(theme song)

TOM: Making good homes better, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

Give us a call at 888-MONEY-PIT. You will get the answer to your home improvement question. Plus, this hour, we’re giving away an Amazon gift card sponsored by Speed Queen.

Speed Queen Washers and Dryers are built to last 25 years. Can you imagine how many loads of laundry you could tackle with the same washer and dryer in 25 years? And they come with the industry’s best warranty. They’ve got over 100 years of commercial reliability. And there’s 2,800 dealers nationwide. You can find one at SpeedQueen.com. And check out their amazing line to help you get your laundry done for a lifetime, practically.

TOM: Absolutely. That’s going out to one caller drawn at random. Make that you. If you’d like to win that Amazon gift card from our friends at Speed Queen, give us a call, right now, with your question at 888-MONEY-PIT.

[radio_anchor listorder=”1″]LESLIE: Richard in Texas, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

RICHARD: I was putting up some cedar lap siding around the house. And I discovered, after the fact, that in my – I had a basket full of tubes of caulking and one of them turned out to be silicone.

TOM: OK.

RICHARD: I didn’t discover that until after the fact. And I was wondering, is there any way to make that paintable?

TOM: There’s no real way to make it paintable. I suppose if you used a good-quality primer on top, you might have half a chance at it. But how much of it is that obvious? Is it – first of all, is it a different color or is it clear?

RICHARD: Well, yeah. Well, it’s a different color than what I’m going to paint the house.

TOM: I see.

RICHARD: It’s in one corner. I had a hired hand out here helping me and he didn’t realize.

TOM: Well, there’s a way to remove that. If it’s just all in that one section, Richard, why don’t you just spend a little time taking it out? There’s a product called “caulk softener” and it’s basically – it’s kind of like a paint remover for caulk. And you apply it to it and it kind of gets sort of gummy again and you can scrape it out with a putty knife, clean it up as much as you can, especially if you’re going to paint it. You could – I’m sure you can get rid of enough of that to be able to paint and never see it again.

RICHARD: Alright, man. Hey, thank you so much, man. I really love you guys’ show here. You’re real helpful.

TOM: Alright, Rich. Happy we could help you out. Good luck with that project.

[radio_anchor listorder=”5″]LESLIE: Heading to Tennessee and apparently, so are the moles to Kim’s yard. What’s going on?

KIM: Yes. I’m trying to get rid of these moles in my yard. Please help me.

TOM: Well, one of the ways to get rid of moles in your yard is to not make your yard quite so attractive, by getting rid of the grubs that are in your lawn. Moles are usually there because there’s plenty of food.

And so, if you used a product like GrubEx to get rid of the grub – that’s the grubs. These are little, white, juicy insects that moles just love. And if you get rid of the grubs, then the moles will find a new place to eat. But if there’s plenty of grubs, there’s plenty of food, they’re going to stay in your yard. Does that make sense?

KIM: Alright. Well, good. Thank you so much. I’ll try the GrubEx.

LESLIE: Well, if you’ve got some spring cleaning to do outside your house, a pressure washer is one very fun tool to have around. A good pressure washer can cut cleaning time, whether the job is cleaning sidewalks, patios or decks or cleaning your car or boat. And now, Greenworks is out with a new electric pressure washer that is truly smart.

TOM: Yep. It’s the Greenworks 2200 and it’s really the most powerful pressure washer in their line. It’s smart because it has a brushless motor with Smart Response Technology. This can actually sense the type of nozzle you’re using and then adjust the motor speed to deliver just the right water flow for your job.

LESLIE: It also has a high-flow soap nozzle, which is going to give you plenty of soap, just like you’d see in a car wash. And the on-board LED panel has digital pressure sensing to help you choose the best settings for the job that you’re working on. And I really like that everything – all the hoses and nozzles and cords are all designed to store right there on board, so it’s really easy to put away when you’re all done.

TOM: The Greenworks 2200 Electric Pressure Washer is available at Lowes and Lowes.com. So check it out.

[radio_anchor listorder=”6″]LESLIE: Alright. Going to North Carolina where Michael wants to work on a bathtub project.

Why not just get in the tub and relax, Mike? What’s going on?

MICHAEL: I wish I could, young lady. Thank you all ever so much for taking my call.

This house was built in 1934 and the bathtub has always been white porcelain. But I think the last time around my mom and dad remodeled the bathroom, they had it sprayed. It’s like a tan color, like a sandstone color. And I would love to remove it and bring it back to its normal gloss.

TOM: Well, if they’ve painted it, the – probably the normal gloss wasn’t so attractive. It might have worn. And to refinish a bathtub is usually a big challenge.

Now, you can strip it and you could refinish it again and you may get some number of years out of it. But I generally find that those refinishing projects are – they’re kind of like paint jobs: they last maybe five, six, seven years and then you’re doing it again and again. Or you can consider relining the tub. There’s a process by which the tub – a tub liner could be built and it sits, actually, inside that original tub and gives it a completely new surface.

So those are really the two options that I’d pursue, Michael.

MICHAEL: So, on the relining operation, what would you consider?

TOM: Well, I mean it’s – there’s different – there are manufacturers out there that do bathtub relining. And exactly, it’s a composite material that’s essentially made to fit your tub. They take some measurements and then – it doesn’t take up too much room and it looks really nice when it’s done. But it’s not inexpensive.

LESLIE: It’s probably on par with having the tub refinished.

TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Pat in Nebraska is on the line with a dishwasher that has decided to take the day off. What’s going on?

PAT: Hi. Yes. Our dishwasher is on the blink, literally. It doesn’t seem to work anymore. And as I look at it, on the menu screen across the top, it’s blinking but doesn’t work when I hit the start button or cancel or open the door or shut it. Can’t get it to work anymore.

TOM: How old is the dishwasher, Pat?

PAT: I’d say about five years old.

TOM: That’s a shame.

LESLIE: It’s not that old.

PAT: Yes. We’ve gone through 4 of them since we’ve owned this house, in about 20 years.

TOM: Yeah. Wow.

PAT: Really amazed.

TOM: Yeah. And I’m sure a little annoyed, too.

PAT: My husband shut the power off and turned it back on and it still doesn’t seem to work. So, we opened and shut the door, everything. So we think it’s – I went online and there’s something about some kind of a board that can – like a motherboard or something.

TOM: Yeah. So that’s what I was thinking. It’s a failure of the control circuit and there’s a lot of electronic products in these newer appliances. And the question, of course, is repair or replace. And at five years old, you’re kind of right at that sort of balance point. You might be able to repair it. The question is: is it going to be worth a couple hundred bucks to either do that or would you rather take the 200 bucks and put it towards a new unit?

PAT: That’s what we weren’t sure. So that’s why we thought we’d give you a call.

TOM: I think if it was me, I’d probably not repair it only because what do you hope to get out of that? Eight years? Nine years? Having somebody come out to your house and fix anything these days is a couple hundred bucks minimum. So it would end up being a third of the cost of a new unit. You could find a decent dishwasher for 500 or 600 bucks. And you could find a basic one for even less.

PAT: So how much do you think the part would cost if …

TOM: We don’t know that that’s the part, you know? You have to have a service person diagnose it. But if you just wanted to satisfy your curiosity, there’s lots of websites online that sell appliance parts. And I’m sure you could find it. But the issue is that it’s a call to the service man to come out and diagnose it and that costs some money. And then a call – and then he has to come back after the part comes in. It’s not the kind of thing where they can keep these parts on the truck anymore, you know what I mean?

PAT: Uh-huh. So, well, we were wanting your expert opinion. We kind of were leaning that way, anyway.

TOM: I tell you what, if it was older, it would be a lot easier decision. I do agree that it’s still middle-aged. But I still don’t think it’s probably worth you putting the money into it.

PAT: Yes. Alright. Well, I guess we’ll go shopping for a new dishwasher.

TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.

LESLIE: Alright. You are listening to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Give us a call now at 888-MONEY-PIT presented by HomeAdvisor, where it’s easy to find top-rated home improvement pros for any project. Just go to HomeAdvisor.com.

TOM: Up next, if you’re a fan of the seaside cottages with beautiful white-cedar siding, there’s a new way to get that same look without the maintenance or expense. We’ll share that tip, after this.

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TOM: Where home solutions live, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.

LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.

Well, summer is on the way and it makes everybody think about vacationing at the beach. Who doesn’t love the look of a beach house? Well, no matter where you are inland or on the shore, you too can have a home that looks just like the coastline, with the newest product from Tando. It’s Beach House Shake.

TOM: With us to talk about that is Ralph Bruno. He’s the president.

Welcome, Ralph.

RALPH: Hey, good to be here, Tom and Leslie.

TOM: You guys keep developing new siding products that look remarkably look the sort of organic counterpart. In this case, your new Beach House Shake looks just like white cedar. Do you fool people with this? I mean do you see customers and contractors, especially, pick the product up and try to figure out if it’s real or not?

RALPH: Absolutely. That’s when we know we have a winner, Tom. As you know, you were there when we displayed the product at the JLC Show in Providence. And one of the things we looked for was how many people actually walked by, come back and then physically want to touch it with their fingers. And we know that once they actually get that tactile experience by touching it, they don’t know what it is. And we want to fool even the most strident wood purists. And I think we have with Beach House Shake.

LESLIE: That’s amazing because we all know that it does take a little bit of maintenance to make that white cedar look beautiful for its natural lifetime. So you guys have really taken that maintenance step right out of having beautiful siding.

RALPH: Absolutely, Leslie. And I think that’s a great point, because most people don’t realize how much maintenance it actually takes until those folks own an actually beach house. And if you go to any of the beach communities this time of year, between now and Memorial Day, the busiest people down there are the people who are staining and replacing natural shakes on the coastline homes.

TOM: Now, Ralph, this product has to stand up to more than the average siding if it’s going to be used in a coastal situation. All homes have to stand up to rain and wind and snow and hail and ice for most of the country. But if you have a beach house, that gets complicated and compounded by the fact that you’ve got salt, which is corrosive, and you’ve got sand that’s blowing around. How is it that you’re able to assure consumers that that finish on the Beach House Shake is not going to fade or chip or dent or peel or do any of the kinds of things that happen to real wood siding?

RALPH: That’s a great question, Tom. And at the base of our technology – we’ve been doing this for quite some time. We’ve been making these products for almost 20 years. So at the base of what we make is it’s an injection-molded polymer product, which is absolutely impervious to moisture and the elements. So even if you submerged it in water, nothing’s going to happen. With Beach House Shake, the real secret has been to get that real realistic texture, showing saw cuts and the like, while also penetrating the surface with actual wood stain to make it look just like real wood.

TOM: Now let’s talk about the installation of cedar compared to the Beach House Shake product. Now, typically, if you are installing cedar, it’s an 18-inch cedar shingle. And you’re going to basically leave about 6 inches of that exposed and then overlap and go up from there. With all that wood going into the house, how does the price compare for Beach House Shake compared to traditional cedar?

RALPH: Once again, another great question, Tom. So, to the consumer, the installed cost of Beach House Shake versus traditional cedar is very comparable. They’re about the same. But to the contractor, because they’re installing much faster, they get a little bit of a benefit. And to the homeowner, the benefit is exponentially better because we offer a 10-year looks-like-new warranty. That product is not going to fade. Nothing is going to happen to the product for a minimum of 10 years. And there’s also a lifetime warranty against rot, cracks, split and the like.

So, where the consumer really makes off is the time they’re going to get and also the annual upkeep is virtually zero with Beach House Shake.

TOM: Well, the Beach House Shake is being described by contractors as looking more like white cedar than the cedar itself. So I think you’ve done well with this. Ralph Bruno from Tando, thank you so much for stopping by The Money Pit. And continued good success with the Beach House Shake product.

If you’d like to learn more, you can go to TandoBP.com. That’s TandoBP.com.

Thanks, Ralph.

RALPH: Thank you, Tom. Thank you, Leslie.

TOM: You’ve been listening to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Thank you so much for stopping by this hour. Hey, if you’ve got questions, you can reach us, 24/7, at 888-MONEY-PIT or please post your question to The Money Pit Community section, online, at MoneyPit.com.

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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