Episode #2009: Selling a Home During COVID-19 | Lawn and Garden How-to’s | Stopping Basement Floods | Kitchen Backsplashes with Tile
In this incident …
This can be a challenging experience for many things and that includes selling your live! If you are planning to do that this summer, Tom and Leslie share the key progress that need to get done first to hammer a quick auction at the highest possible price. Plus…
This summertime, the majority of members of us will be spending more occasion at home and experiencing our outdoor gaps. And for DIY’rs, there’s more interest than ever in updating and maintaining lawns. We get expert gratuities to help from the team at Troy-Built, a company that’s has been around since 1927 — when they invented the first gas powered rototiller( and if you are a gardener you are probably sure joyful they did !) Wet vaults are a problem all across the United Government, in every environment and every type of home. But while many beings is of the view that depositing leaky or mute basement is expensive and involved- it’s NOT! The easy fix is just ahead.
One fun kitchen project that can deliver a big impact AND get done in a single weekend, is a new kitchen backsplash. We share ideas on how to do that with tile.
Plus, we answer your home improvement questions about, replacing shower sides, eliminating basement moisture, determining roof leakages, removing moss from your ceiling.
Do you have a home improvement or decoration question? Call the show 24/7 at 888 -MONEY-PIT ( 888 -6 66 -3 974) or post your question now.
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TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: And expressed appreciation for, expressed appreciation for, thank you for being a part of our appearance. If you’ve got a project you’d like to get done, if you want to work inside your house, outside your home- do you want to do something small, easy and immediate to spruce it up or you want to take on a big project or plan for one in your future? We would love to help you do simply that and manufacture your dwelling its best ever self. Call us, right now, so that we can get started. The amount is 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Well, we all know that it’s been a challenging occasion for so many things and if you find yourself in a position where you are planning on selling your live through all this, “were having” some hypothesis that might be able to help. We’re going to share some key improvements that need to get done first if you do plan to try to nail a immediate marketing at the highest possible price sometime this summer.
LESLIE: And this summer, most of us will be spending more epoch at home and enjoying our own outdoor spaces. And for do-it-yourselfers, there’s more interest than ever in updating and maintaining your lawn. We’re going to get expert gratuities to help from the team at Troy-Bilt, a company that’s been available since 1927 when they devised the first gas-powered rototiller. And if you’re a gardener, you’re probably sure glad they did.
TOM: Oh, my gosh, I am so pleased they did. I exploited a gas-powered rototiller to get rid of all kinds of ivy that was attacking sort of the back of our garden, along it’s sort of perimeter. And I cannot imagine ever having to do that job without that machine. So , thank you very much, Troy-Bilt. We will find out more about their lawn-and-garden tips, in merely a bit.
Another thing that’s happening now, because we’ve had so much rain, is we’re getting more and more calls about wet cellars and soak crawlspaces. They are a problem throughout the United Positions and pretty much every environment. But while most tribes think that setting them is an expensive and a complicated process, it is not. We will give you the easy secure, in only a bit.
LESLIE: But first, we want to know what you want to know. What are you working on? What are your schemes? And how can we help you? Give us a summon with your residence restore, your residence progress question now and you’ll get the answer.
Plus, today, you’re going to get a chance at prevailing the QUIKRETE Walkmaker. It’s an easy and cheap room to add a beautiful, durable, concrete walkway or porch to your home.
TOM: So, give us a call right now. That amount, again, is 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s first?
LESLIE: Craig in Rhode Island is on the line and he needs some is contributing to a shower makeover. What are you working on?
CRAIG: Well, actually, my second lavatory in my captain, it’s kind of old. It has a Symmons sea mixer- a shut-off valve. And actually, I’m looking to replace it. It’s cracked, it has some issues. But I can’t is behind the shower to open the wall up to replace it because it’s actually neighboring to my first lavatory shower. It’s a fiberglass, one-piece pop-in.
My first estimation is make the set out, tile it. But then I have to threw a shower wash in. I’d have to do a lot more extra work and money. And then I heard perhaps cutting the hole bigger and they have bigger back plates. But I symbolize I don’t want it to look awkward, as well, you know?
TOM: So what exactly is wrong with the valve you have there now?
CRAIG: Well, visualize, I don’t reflect the desegregating valve- I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. But the plate on the shut-off valve, it’s cracked. I also have well water. I know it’s been taking a toll on the pipes. The dwelling is 20 years old. I’m pretty sure it’s original to the home, as well. I’ve only owned it for about coming up on two years now and …
TOM: So you mostly are telling me that it’s a cosmetic article?
CRAIG: It is, it is. But I’m redoing the lavatory and I want to update the fixtures. And like I said, it’s kind of your normal accommodation, Symmons, awfully like a chrome- the kind of cheap, chrome finish.
TOM: Well, glance, you have the most absurd situation because you have back-to-back plumbing walls. And typically, you design bathrooms so that one side of the wall’s a wardrobe where you can go and tear out the back wall and then you can get to the valves. But in your event, you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t, because you either have to take apart the fiberglass shower or you’ve got to take apart the shower that’s mostly coming you started here.
And I don’t really have a good answer for you. I was asking you about the already existing valves because I was wondering if perhaps- sometimes, plumbers can rebuild all the working parts of that from the action side, from within, and maybe pick up some added faucets that will look like they’ll work in there. I wouldn’t go to the tear-out without at least exploring that.
I, for example, recently had a new shower valve that had to really be replaced. And it turned out that the valves were plastic- inside, some of the valve ingredients were plastic. The fannies? And we snap them out and we removed and replaced with brass. And we were able to find those at a plumbing-supply store. And so I didn’t have to actually replace the faucet.
CRAIG: My next step is going to- I’m going to go to a plumbing render and see if they just have an updated kind of- informed Symmons where I could impede that valve in and everything is kind of pieced together, as well.
TOM: Right. I think that’s a smart thing. What you want to do is take some pictures of that and go talk to a knowledgeable person behind the bar and figure out what your options are.
CRAIG: Yeah, yeah. That’s my next gradation and it’s not a- I suspect I’ll be tiling a brand-new shower.
TOM: Yeah. If you can figure out a action to make it passable, I think you should do that because you know what?
CRAIG: Yeah?
TOM: Nobody’s going to see that space and I’d hate to see you spend a few thousand bucks redoing it if all you’re trying to get is new valves.
CRAIG: That’s what I’m trying to stay away from. Well, expressed appreciation for, guys, very much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much better for announcing us at 888 -MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Judy in Minnesota is on the line with a humidity matter. What’s going on?
JUDY: Our house is about 40 years old. And it has- in the chamber that we’re talking about, we’re painting it. We decorated it once before without a primer. And it turned out certainly- I thought it appeared really nice. But we are currently repainted it a different colouring. And on the inside, then, is that rough paneling. And it’s separated by- it’s got the insulation in there with a plastic on it. And we noticed now- and we’re going to paint it- that there’s moisture halfway down on the paneling. We think that’s is generated by condensation.
TOM: It may is a good one be if it’s a mute space.
Now, there are some things that you can do to reduce condensation in below-grade openings. It’s kind of the same steps that you would make if you were having an actual submerge. You want to make sure that your exterior sewage is set up so that no sweat is being caught against the outside foundation wall. And that planneds moving sure the ditches are clean, the downspouts are extended and the soil gradients away from the walls.
If you’ve done all those things, then the next thing I would do is I would lay a dehumidifier in that space. And try to find one that has a built-in condensate pump so that it musters water and runs it out. Otherwise, you’ll be evacuating pails upon containers of water.
And then, eventually, it’s likewise possible to install a whole-home dehumidifier, which is an appliance that is attached to your HVAC system. These are highly effective at pulling moisture out. In fact, the majority of them will take 99 or 100 jars of ocean out a era. So, those are three different ways that you can reduce moisture in that space.
Judy, thanks so much better for announcing us at 888 -MONEY-PIT.
Give us a announcement, right now, with your home better questions at 888 -MONEY-PIT and two things will happen. One, we’ll do our best to give you the answer to your residence progress question, your decoration dilemma. And two, we will toss your appoint in The Money Pit hard hat because we are giving away, from QUIKRETE, the Walkmaker.
The Walkmaker forms are very cool. I know that you have used these, Leslie, and they are so easy to create a patio with.
LESLIE: I necessitate it’s really fantastic how easy they are. There are forms in a couple of different molds. You fill them with the concrete, you cause it sort of solidify a bit and slither the form off, cleanse it off, make love again. And depending on how many you use and how they interlock, you can make a great pathway or a porch. They’re really beautiful and it’s clearly a do-it-yourself project.
Be sure to check it out over at QUIKRETE.com. It’s surely a cool project.
TOM: We’ve got the QUIKRETE Walkmaker going out to one listener proceeded at random. Make that you. Call us now with your questions at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Bob in Texas is on the line and has a question about a roof. What’s going on?
BOB: Well, we’ve had a long drought out here in West Texas. And we finally got some rain and lo and behold, I have a leak. And I recollect carolling into your demonstrate some time ago where you guys mentioned a produce that was clear, that could be applied with a paintbrush, that would penetrate through the ceiling and then seal it. And I has not been possible to or I did- I couldn’t recollect the name of the product. And I’ve been trying to find it here in Lubbock, Texas and having no luck at all. And I just recollected, “Well, I simply need to call you guys and see if you can remember that and tell me what it is.”
TOM: Well, Bob, that’s going to be a bit of a puzzle to me because it doesn’t sound like the kind of thing that we would recommend for roof openings. But let me just ask you more about this leak. Do you know where it’s occurring? Do you know if it’s coming through, say, a alligatored shingle or is it coming around a chimney? Is it coming around a tube? What do you are aware of it?
BOB: Where the gradient of my roof affiliates my patio. And the porch roof is flat. So, I’m thinking probably what’s happening is it’s backing into the den past the wall but …
TOM: Right. Yeah. That’s a tough blot to flash. And it’s also a tough blot to do a sort of an easy spot mend to it.
You know, all these types of roof concoctions that you request after the facts of the case, they’re typically asphalt roof plaster. And they’ll work for a while but they tend to dry up pretty quickly. When you have an intersection like that where you have a sloped roof that comes into a low-slope or a flat roof, you’re right: the water can back up there and due to the force of various kinds of against gravitation- and due to that coerce have been able to sort of work its way up into the roof surface.
The right practice to flash that- and you’re not going to want to hear this but the right way to blink that is to have the flat ceiling mostly go right up and for the purposes of the roof shingles. So the flat-roof material would go to that intersection and then up and for the purposes of the roof shingles and probably up maybe 3 paws under them. And then the ceiling shingles would continue over that, creating a big overlap there where it would be virtually impossible for any water to back into it. And I would start that campaign with a commodity announced “ice-and-water shield, ” which is sort of a sleazy, 3-foot-wide, roll-on sheet that literally glues itself to the deck surface and will be suspended all sea from getting through. So that’s the best way to do a permanent fixing to that.
Short of that, it’s OK for you to use an asphalt-cement product to try to patch it. But I’m simply concerned that it’s something you may end up having to do time and time again. If it does develop that mode, then maybe you could choose to do the bigger restore later.
BOB: And you say that that is ice-and-water shield?
TOM: Yes, ice-and-water shield. Yep. That’s the right first step for that and that starts underneath the roof shingles. Nice thing about that, too, is if you ever have roof shingles that blow off, your roof still won’t leak because it remains watertight.
BOB: Well, I certainly appreciate your help with that.
TOM: Alright, Bob. Well, thanks so much for calling.
LESLIE: Well, if you’re planning to sell your home, initiating curb plead is key to a immediate sale. Today, however, curb petition doesn’t precisely mean looking good for a drive-by of the potential buyer, it implies looking good online, as well. And it’s all the more reason to take steps to spruce up your home’s first impression before it goes on the market.
Now, landscaping is one of the easiest ways to make a good impression for very little cost. Even really seeding colorful heydays and landscaping berths, grooming a lush lawn and supplementing greenery and potted floras create a drastic transformation. And it’s enough to give you a higher realized value.
TOM: Now, next, you want to check the exterior surfaces for wear and tear. Now, if you spot some flaky depict, some moss, some mold and mildew, it’s got to go because it genuinely freaks parties out. And while you’re at it, make sure that the service records are up to date on all your mechanical structures. We’re talking about heating, cooling, other structures that it is necessary regular TLC.
I spent 20 years as a home inspector and I can tell you that if a dwelling hasn’t kept up these systems, it establishes. Especially when the one time you do reform your air-conditioning filter is right before the home inspector comes through and we get into the system and we notice that everything is thoroughly caked with dust, except it’s got a brand-spanking-new fiberglass filter. So, it kind of says to us you’re not really taking care of things and you made this last-ditch effort to kind of hide that by throwing in a clean filter.
So, we certainly can figure that out, so it’s really important to get them serviced. So go through around with all of your contractors reaching sure your heating system’s serviced, your HVAC wholly good to go so that you can show those records to the prospective buyers.
LESLIE: Yeah. Now finally, people, according to the National Association of Realtors, 80 percent of potential home buyers start their search online, so good photos are a must. Go ahead, hire a pro to make yours. Or really make sure if you’re doing it, you choose a clear but kind of overcast day because that’s going to give you the best decisions when taking your own.
And I tell you, Tom, I feel like I’m always on the websites looking at homes. It’s my favorite pastime.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: And you can tell when like a delightful authority came in and did the photographs and then you can tell when a homeowner’s sort of jostle into a angle, trying to take a picture of the home office and things glance kind of weird. And you’re like, “Aww.”
TOM: They’ve got to- right, they’ve got to look good. And listen, since they’re digital these days, take a bunch, right? And merely – you may get lucky.
I take a lot of photos when I’m walking about- we do a good deal of treads in the neighborhood and I take a lot of photos sometimes. And my partner gets annoyed with me- and their own families does, more, if I’m outside with them “ve got something”- because I’ll experience a house and it’ll be something wrong with it. Not like I like the members of this house but like, “Oh, gaze! There’s trees thriving out of that sewer! That’s going to be a great photo when I write about how to stop leaking vaults. You can’t have trees originating out of your ditches! ”
LESLIE: Oh,[ that’s funny]( ph ).
TOM: So I try to get as close as I can without being annoying. And if nobody’s home I’ll go up too close to the house. And they just want to run and disguise while I’m doing this, you know?
LESLIE: My boy’s the same. We’ve been travelling our bicycles so much throughout the quarantine that we’ve taken different blocks and different ways around town and all different sections of town.
TOM: Right. Mm-hmm.
LESLIE: And I’ll stop with my phone and be like, “Oh, I like this house. Here’s the address.”
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: And then I is come home and I look up the previous listing of the house from however many years ago.
TOM: Yeah. Right.
LESLIE: I’m preoccupied; I can’t stop.
TOM: Look, it’s really important to take those photos and make them well, because that’s what comes those purchasers coming right to your opening. So deplete some time on it and procreate your home look great.
LESLIE: Now we’ve came D.R. on the line who needs some help with a project. What’s going on?
D.R .: OK. I’d like to know the best way to remove moss from a shingle roof.
TOM: Is the moss on the ceiling concentrated on one side or the other of your residence?
D.R .: Both. Both sides.
TOM: Both features, OK. And you have a very fairly shady lot?
D.R .: Yes. But that’s certainly in a sunny area.
TOM: Hmm. That’s interesting, OK.
So, couple of things. First of all, sun is the best mildicide you can get. So if there’s anything that can you do to thin out trees to get more sunshine on the ceiling, that’s going to give you long-term defiance to this happening again.
So what you need to do is to first empty the ceiling and to scavenge it, you can use a product like JOMAX, which is made by Zinsser. And it’s a concoction that you mix with bleach. You can apply it with a distres washer where it has an applicator attachment that applies information materials. Let it sit for a while- 15, 20 minutes- then you clean it off. That starts to break down that moss.
Then I’ll give you a little trick of the busines and that is at the top of the roof- that’s the top, the apex of the roof- if you were to line that one of the purposes of the roof with a long strip of copper – you can buy copper blink that’s about 8 inches in extent and it comes in a long roll. And if you slip it under that top shingle and let the majority of members of it stick out on both sides, what happens is when it rains it hits that copper and the copper secretes a little bit of the metal into the water as it runs down the roof. And that acts as another mildicide.
And that’s why sometimes when you check ceilings that have stripes on them right under chimneys, it’s because it’s the rainwater reacting with the flashing on the chimney. So if you add that strip of copper, it will release some of the metals and that will also help to clean the roof. So, cut back on the trees, clean the ceiling with a good product and then add the copper deprive and then you’ll have a long-time benefit from that, OK?
D.R .: OK. I thank you very much.
TOM: Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Well, the summer months, most of us will be spending more day at home and experiencing our outdoor openings. And for do-it-yourselfers, there’s more interest than ever in updating and maintaining those seats, starting with the lawn.
TOM: That’s right. And one company that’s been helping DIYers and pros take care of outdoor space for decades is Troy-Bilt. The companionship says they were born from dirt, literally, because they got their start by introducing the firstly residential rototiller back in 1937. And for those of us that have ever had to rototill, we are so glad that they did. With us to talk about lawn care today is Troy-Bilt Brand Manager Barbara Roueche.
Barbara, therefore welcomed The Money Pit.
BARBARA: Well, expressed appreciation for. I’m so happy to be here with you today.
TOM: So, one of the things I like about your fellowship is that you’ve always been pretty good communicators. And right now, you’re answering a lot of homeowners’ questions, I imagine, about their lawns and the tools that are needed to maintain them. Have you encounter a big uptick in that Q& A since the COVID-1 9 crisis began?
BARBARA: Oh, we certainly have. People like being out in their garden, in general, and Troy-Bilt’s ever tried to be there to inspire beings to care and enjoy the outdoors. So, during this COVID-1 9 period, the uptick in interest in gardening and in particular, vegetable garden, in the tillers which, quite frankly, had not really been a growing interest for a number of years. People have moved to container gardening, they patronize local farmers’ business, things of that nature.
The COVID-1 9 has just really activated a tremendous interest in stretching your own food in larger quantities, perhaps, than you were used to in the past. So, that’s been really interesting to see and really fun, because there’s so much you can do with vegetable horticulture. Not just for yourself but for your neighborhood.
LESLIE: Now, that’s really smart. I make this lane, you can contribute to the kinfolks who have a harder time get out. And you can help bring over some of the veggies that you and your family have grown. Of trend, maintaining social distancing and following all the rules. But I think that’s also why folks are really looking to improve their outdoor rooms or at least learn to maintain them themselves.
And there’s probably a ton of questions about proper lawn care. What do you do? Are you examining a lot of that?
BARBARA: Oh, sure. There’s ever a lot of questions about not just how to take care of your lawn but- “What kind of equipment do I need to take care of my lawn? What should I buy first? I’m the brand-new homeowner.”
TOM: So, let’s talk about some of that. You guys make a very wide range of lawn mowers, both push mowers and tractors. How do you know what’s right for your yard? What kinds of questions should you be asking yourself or considering when you’re thinking about buying a new lawn mower?
BARBARA: Well, often, you should think about the size of the ground that you’re going to mow. Bigger gardens ask bigger mowing decks and that they are able to too make it quicker to get your mowing done. So any what we call “walk-behind mowers, ” which you think of as the traditional push mower- walk-behind mowers, those are really nice for the smaller grounds, up to half-acre or so, flat.
The other thing you want to think about, other than the size of your garden, is what type of yard do “youve had”. Is it flat? Does it have mounds? Is it various kinds of uneven and it’s went various kinds of immerses and lieu to been through? Because there is equipment that’ll help you deal with those sortings of challenges if you have those in your yard. So, those would be the two biggest things to think about.
And then plan, of course, is always top of mind for countless tribes. So, how much do you have to invest? How important are the features that there is a requirement? Maybe you have a really big yard and has a lot of difficulties. So you might want to consider a more expensive riding mower or even a zero-turn riding mower. And kind of balance out and realise what suits your need.
TOM: Yeah. And the most important question is: are you really chipping it yourself or do “youve had” teens?
BARBARA: That’s right.
TOM: And you guys too some smart-home apps that you’ve developed for Amazon Alexa and Google Home. And I was reading that these apps can propose the best time to cut the lawn based on weather?
BARBARA: It does. It’s very cool. It’s based on the weather in your locality and also is connected with your Google calendar. So, it gazes to see when you have available time. Many of us now don’t- maybe don’t have as much on their schedule as we used to. But certainly, as we get back to more acts, parties have- children have sports events to got to get and you’ve got meetings and different activities and places to be. So, with the “mow scheduler” as we call it …
TOM: The mow scheduler. That’s funny.
BARBARA: The mow scheduler. You can Alexa or Google, “Hey, when’s the best time for me to mow? ” And it will cross-reference the condition that’s coming and your planned and advocate a age and appointment, put it on your schedule. And it will too monitor the forecast as it results up to that year. So if it accompanies a change in the forecast, you’ll get a notification that says, “Hey, it looks like it’s going to rain on Wednesday. You have an hour free on Tuesday. How about Tuesday at 2:00? ” So, yeah, it’s a enjoyable room to keep track of things. And I know if I don’t …
TOM: So it makes an appointment for you with your lawn mower, Leslie.
BARBARA: Exactly, exactly.
LESLIE: Now, Barbara, if there was a way to made to ensure that the mower was placid, perhaps you have been able do your Zoom announces while mowing. And then you could have a whole new way of cross-referencing your calendars.
TOM: Yeah, let’s talk about that. That’s one of individual complaints that people have about gas-powered paraphernalium, Barbara, is the noise. Is that converting now as mowers are getting more sophisticated?
BARBARA: To an extent, certainly, the battery-powered mowers are much quieter than gas-powered mowers. Price places on battery mowers, though, are typically a little higher. They’re not- they’re consumed a lot more in Europe than they are in America but it’s certainly a growing interest and need in the United District, as well.
We don’t currently offer any artillery produces with Troy-Bilt but our mother corporation is very involved with battery mowers, even including robotic mowers, so no one has to get up to mow the lawn. But those are kind of further up the line for Troy-Bilt. I meditate the power and the performance that you get from a gas-powered lawn mower is still the most consistent and delivers you an over- consistent chipped and a good-quality trimmed with the least extent of investment.
LESLIE: What about mowing mistakes? I know I genuinely experience mowing the lawn but I find that maybe I cut it too short or I’m cutting it at the wrong epoch. Do you find that a lot of people are coming to you with sort of correction process like, “Oh , no. I actually messed up.”
BARBARA: The question we get asked the most- or a great deal of customers’ sentiment is not so much around the result of mowing but it’s more about the equipment and keeping their equipment starting and leading so that they’re reliable, right? There’s nothing worse than going out to mow your grass and your lawn mower doesn’t start.
So we do deplete a good deal of time talking to purchasers about the proper way to care for your lawn mower. Use that gasoline stabilizer, use good oil, mutate the spark plug, you know? Do that little bit of pre-season and post-season maintenance. And it makes all the difference in the world how easily then you can get back into the mowing season when it lastly arrives for you. The results of mowing, putting stripes in your yard or how high should I mow my grass, those are perennial questions, as well.
We commonly- I’d say a good norm meridian, if you don’t know what kind of grass you have in your garden, is 2 to 3 inches. Probably 21/2 inches for most pastures. That’s the optimum altitude. You don’t want to get it too long because that encourages pests to spawn in your ground, right? Grubs and other critters can conceal in there. You likewise don’t want to mow it too short because then it’ll burn out.
TOM: Well, good suggestion. The website is Troy-Bilt and that’s spelled Troy- T-R-O-Y- Bilt- B-I-L-T. TroyBilt.com. Take a look at the website, take a look at the homeowners’ Q& A area and all the different rig that’s made by this fine company. They’ve been doing it since- was it 1937, I ponder?
Thanks for devising the rototiller. I can’t tell you how thankful I am that that section of paraphernalium exists, because I have lots of ivy and vines that I’ve been attacking for years. And the rototiller always mops it out. So, glad that- glad you guys got to start out with that.
Barbara Roueche is the brand manager for Troy-Bilt. Thanks for stopping by and good luck this spring with all of your mowing needs.
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LESLIE: Well, if your home is built on a crawlspace or a cellar, the best way to keep those openings bone dry is going to start outside of your residence. The surprising knowledge, guys, is that damp, seeping or even fully-flooded cellars are easy to fix. Yep, I said easy. Regrettably, there are way too many contractors out there that want you to think otherwise and are going to offer expensive specifies instead of the simple solutions.
TOM: Yeah, so here’s what you need to know. The secret to keeping you basement or your crawlspace bake- and by baked, I’m not just addressing cellars the hell is flooding but even ones that are damp- is to simply keep the water that wheels off your roof away from your home’s foundation.
We get so many announces from listeners worry about so-called high water tables when the cause is almost always that rainwater seeps into the foundation perimeter due to very poor gutter installation and upkeep. So impeding that moisture away from the foundation is easy to do when you have the right preventative measures in play at your house.
LESLIE: Now, first of all, you need to make sure that your dwelling has channels. Then, you’ve got to make sure that those channels and their downspouts are staying clean and free-flowing. Next, you want to look at where that water is being deposited where reference is departures those downspouts. And if it’s pouring out right next to your foundation, you are definitely going to end up with water in the cellar at some point.
Now, ideally, those downspouts should situate rainwater 3 to 6 feet away from your home’s foundation. You’ve got to get it away from the house.
TOM: Yeah. And then if you get the sewers right, the last thing you want to do is made to ensure that the grime around the foundation gradients away from the house. We’re looking for a point of about 6 inches over about 4 hoofs. So not a drastic descend but just enough water to get that irrigate moving away from your house.
If you take these steps, you will end with a dry gap underfoot that you could actually use for storage or that you could remodel and be converted into a beautiful cellar living room or something like that or a bedroom. You know, so many tribes would love to remodel those below-grade rooms but they’re afraid to because they fear the flooding. We can take that fright apart. It’s certainly quite a simple thing to do.
And one more thing to keep in mind is if you’re wondering, “Well, do I know this is going to work? ” here’s the test. If your basement or crawlspace gets mute or inundations after heavy rainfall or snowmelt, it is definitely, emphatically, obviously happening at the surface perimeter. It’s happening because of those troughs and the grading. Fix that and it will be cool once again.
You can call us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT or announce your question, which is what John in Montana did.
LESLIE: That’s right. Now, John in Montana writes: “We recently purchased a dwelling that needs some TLC. We want to replace the aging furnace and ocean heater. We also need to rip out carpeting, change with hardwood floorings. And finally, one of the showers is in bad shape. How do you prioritize these projects? We want to have them accomplished over the next two years.”
TOM: So, structural is always first. So if you have any issues on the exterior, like roofs or foundation issues, that has to be done first. Secondly, the mechanical system should be addressed. And thirdly, the bathroom, if it’s in bad figure but it’s working, that could be done now or it could be done last-minute. And the very last thing is the cosmetics, which is the carpeting and other flooring issues.
LESLIE: Yeah. You’ve got to prioritize the stuff that’s really important before you start getting to the decor stuff. I know that’s recreation and you want to do that first but let’s get everything in order before we do that.
TOM: Well, one merriment kitchen project that can deliver a big impact and get done in a single weekend is a new kitchen backsplash. Leslie has got some intuitions on how to take on that project, in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word.
Leslie?
LESLIE: Yeah, those kitchen backsplashes, they do double duty, guys. They’ve got a bunch of jobs. They protect those walls but they likewise carries your decorative form. And they can make a big statement or just simply coordinate more quietly with your lockers and countertop. But there are five trends the hell is putting a fresh spin on a traditional backsplash.
First of all, take a plain tile but install it in an interesting pattern. Horizontal subway tiles are pretty standard but it’s far from the only tile layout option you’ve get with those. So why not try herringbone or a chevron motif? Same thing; beings call those the same. They’re sort of that arrow-looking patches that go up and down. It’s really gorgeous. And another popular hand-picked, right now, is a backsplash of long, thin tiles but that are arranged vertically.
Now, here’s another idea: you can stick to one tile for the entire backsplash. Backsplashes with frontiers or accent tiles or involved mosaics, they’re not really in style anymore and things are turning towards more minimalistic, one-tile design. Why create an intricate motif that’s merely going to be hidden or become disjointed formerly your countertop, devices, canisters, all your countertop material gets in place? Instead, go for something clean, simple, consistent. It’s going to look stylish and uncluttered.
Now, here’s another idea, guys: forget tile wholly and go for a laminate. It’s beautiful, tile- it really is- but it does pose some cleansing challenges. That grout’s going to get dirty, they’re going to become discolored. If you’re looking for a very easy-to-install, low-maintenance material, laminate cannot be pulsated. You can get it in a ton of different regards, so it can look like anything: natural or space-age or fun or colors or colorful. And it’s also extremely budget-friendly.
Now, another idea is chalkboard paint. You can use that for certain areas of the kitchen maybe if you’ve got a little breakfast bar against one kitchen area that has a small backsplash, somewhere that’s more easily accessible for their own families so that they are capable of write notations to each other. I wouldn’t do this by a settle because chalkboard make-up going soaked isn’t great. I wouldn’t do it by a stove because I don’t want kids labor over there. But the chalkboard decorate in key recognises in a kitchen, where you would have a traditional backsplash, could really be something fun for the entire family.
And another option is if you’ve got a spot, kept that backsplash all the way up to the ceiling. This looks great with a single slab of a natural stone or again, tile all the way up or a laminate. I signify it’s really fantastic and can be totally striking and enhance the height of the office. So get artistic. Look at some sentiments online but think of something out of the box for your backsplash and you’ll be thrilled.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Thank you for spending one of the purposes of your date with us. Coming up next time on the program, before you can add new, you’ve got to get rid of the aged. And that can be a very costly part of any residence restoration process. We’re going to share tips to help lighten the quantity and cut defeat rates, on the very next edition of The Money Pit.
I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself …
LESLIE: But you don’t have to make love alone.
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