Episode #2037: Small Bath Solutions that Add Space | Kitchens that Cut Cleaning Time | Safer Space Heaters | Tips for First Time Renters
In this escapade …
From single sinks to limited square footage, smaller bathrooms often leave much to be desired. But you don’t have to make a bathroom bigger to make it better. Tom& Leslie share tips expand your bathtub without emptying your pouch. Plus…
Do you ever feel like you spend as much time cleaning your kitchen as cooking in it? Well, we’ve went tips-off on how you are eligible to articulated all of that to rest by creating a low-toned upkeep kitchen! With the chilly weather giving in, do you have an area in your residence that simply never seems to get warm? Space heaters may be a solution- IF they’re applied safely. We’ll tell you how to shop for a seat heater that can supplement your entire dwelling heat and without driving up utility expense.If you are getting ready to rent an apartment, there are many things to consider outside of simply the 4 walls. Find out what you need to know before you leased to offset the best choice in where you live.
Plus, answers to your dwelling increase questions about, applying epoxy floor in cellar, turn to a wood stove, repairing ceiling sounds.
Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888 -MONEY-PIT ( 888 -6 66 -3 974) or post your question now.
Read Transcript
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 we are here to help you take on projects around your house. What are you planning for today, tomorrow, this weekend, next weekend? If you’ve got a project you’d like to get done, we’d like to help. Help yourself firstly by calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT or posting your question to The Money Pit’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/ TheMoneyPit.
Coming up on today’s episode, from single subsides to limited square footage, big showers often leave a lot to be wanted. But you don’t have to make a bathroom bigger simply to make it better. We’re going to share some space-saving jokes, exactly ahead.
LESLIE: Plus, do you ever feel like you spend as much time cleaning your kitchen as you do cooking in it? Well, we’ve got some tips-off on how you are eligible to placed all of that to rest by creating a low-maintenance kitchen.
TOM: And with the chilly weather mounting in, do you have an area of your room that exactly never seems to get warm? Now is a really good time to talk about a possible answer with gap heaters. If they’re expended safety, they can be terrific. We’re going to tell you how to shop for a heater that can supplement your entire residence heat and do so without driving up the utility expense.
LESLIE: But first, are you thinking about a project that you’d like to get done while the weather is really just so perfect outside? Well, maybe you want to bring some of those drop colors into your home or you’re doing a redecorating activity or you’re thinking of doing a flooring job or coating. Whatever it is, we are here to help.
TOM: The quantity here is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Think of us as your added determine of sides to get the job done.
And speaking of which, we’re likewise giving away, this hour, the E-Z Hold Bar Clamps. Those are my extra positioned of hands. We’ve got a gave of eight from the Pony Jorgensen Company that are going out to one lucky caller selected at random, so make that you. Pick up the telephone, give us a bawl, right now, at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s firstly?
LESLIE: Judy in Virginia, you’ve got a painting question. How can we help you with that programme?
JUDY: We were working to made an epoxy on our cellar storey, like we did on our garage flooring. And we are having a very serious problem with this basement-floor project, because we went through all the process of place down the pretreatment that they are able to be disposed of any lubricants or solutions on the flooring. That bubbled up the direction it was supposed to. Then we ran in and we put down the epoxy as “were supposed to” and it came right back up. It turning now to a chocolate-brown gunpowder and then just came up.
And so, we got all that off and then we went back in and put down a sealer and then came back with the epoxy again. And it’s doing the same exact thing. We had no problem with our garage floor and it’s a garage floor that was put down several years after the basement was done. And we were told that- from some people who know the history of the members of this house- that the basement- or that the house was built in the winter months, back in the mid-8 0s, and that they likely exploited calcium chloride to help the cement set up and that it could be having an effect on this epoxy.
We’re using a very good-quality- a honour label. It’s not a box-store quality; it’s a quality, excellence concoction that we’re using.
TOM: OK. Have you turned to the manufacturer to ask the question as to what might be going on?
JUDY: Well, we have asked and the calcium chloride did should be drawn up as a prospect. But they don’t certainly know what to do about that.
TOM: So, you did talk directly to the manufacturer , not the retailer, about this.
JUDY: The retailer actually talked with the manufacturer about it.
TOM: I would go right to the manufacturer and speak with them directly about this. I don’t like going through the centre soldier because- not that I don’t trust the retailer to do this. You can never be sure if they’re actually talking to the right guy. And they could be talking to – you discover, they could be talking to a field rep who believed to be knows the answer and maybe he doesn’t.
Obviously, something- the first thing that came to mind was moisture. Did the storey- was the floor exhaustively bone-dry before you started this whole process?
JUDY: Yes, it was. We made certain it was very dry in there and used big-hearted chest followers after we had scoured the storey real thoroughly. The big casket followers were used and the doors were opened to let the breath move through. And it was very dry.
TOM: Both hours, the cover that you put down, was it from the same batch?
JUDY: No, different batches.
TOM: I’ve never heard of an epoxy floor not adhering, so this is an uncommon statu. And it’s one that I would turn to the technical experts at car manufacturers. As you mentioned, it’s a major firebrand. They have kinfolks- chemists- that mostly are standing by to take questions like this; most of them do.
If you have difficulty identifying the right people to talk to, if you e-mail us to show @moneypit. com with the details, perhaps some photographs and the name of the manufacturer, I am certain that we could promptly get through to the right person for you. There’s a chemical reaction going on now that’s causing this issue and we’ve got to get to the bottom of it.
JUDY: Will do. Alright. Thank you.
TOM: Good luck with that job. Thanks so much for announcing us at 888 -MONEY-PIT. That’s an exceptional place and there’s got to be a reaction going on between that floor.
LESLIE: Yeah. You know, I’ve heard of instances where a previous homeowner perhaps put a water-based sealant or a water sealant on a concrete and …
TOM: Or a silicone.
LESLIE: Yeah. And you don’t see it.
TOM: I was just thinking a silicone sealer. Yeah, yeah. I represent if they put a silicone sealer down on the concrete, that could impact it, as well.
LESLIE: Right. And then you are able to not know it’s there.
TOM: But that’s what the pretreatment is supposed to deal with. The theme of the utilization of the acid-etch makes that all the epoxy floorings come with- the epoxy, they come with an acid inscribe and it sounds like that’s what Judy did. So, let’s hope she can get to the bottom of it.
LESLIE: Heading out to Iowa where Andrew has got a question about a wood storey. Tell us what you’re working on.
ANDREW: My fiancee and I simply sanded our floors and we are getting ready to put down some concoction on our floor. And I just wanted to know what kind of product I should be using. It’s probably an oak floor.
TOM: That’s a great project, Andrew. There are hand-pickeds to be made now. Did you have a finish on this floor before?
ANDREW: It did. It was like a reddish tint.
TOM: OK.
ANDREW: So it’s still testifying through a little. We didn’t take it all the highway down to naked wood.
TOM: What did you use to sand it with?
ANDREW: It was a machine that had- “its like” a beings hand-sander, mostly. It had a handle on it and a big sheet of sandpaper on it. It made down the old-fashioned glos that was on it.
TOM: OK. So was it a loop sander where the large-scale, wide loop twistings around or was it more of sort of like a vibrating sander?
ANDREW: It was a shaking sander.
TOM: Alright. So, here’s the thing. This floor was stained before and I’m concerned that if you just placed a clear finish on it- if you’re happy with the ogle of the flooring, right now, with a little of the red-faced presenting through, then you are eligible to time threw a clear finish on it. But if you’re not, it gets a little bit tricky because to try to add more of that color in, it’s hard to get the exact same coloring. And you would almost probably have to go a couple of steps darker. And then you may have some issues about some areas had more of the age-old glos on it than other areas and they’re going to assimilate differently.
So, it’s a little more difficult to refinish a floor, like you’ve done, if it had stain on it. Now, if it didn’t have stain on it and you’re just sort of sanding off the varnish and you’re putting a fresh coat of varnish, you don’t have the issue.
The issue that you might have is, because it was stained before, you might have some of that blotchy shade coming through. If you have stain on a floor, generally, you can’t use that type of approach to sand it. You have to use the belt-sander approach, which is a big machine with a very wide belt that you should not do yourself. Because if you sneeze while exploiting this thing, you’ll merely spoil the storey. It’s a very hard machine to use as a do-it-yourselfer. It’s truly something a pro has to use all the time.
So, the first question you have to kind of ask yourselves is: are you happy with the look of the floor? If you reseal it and finish it just like it is, if that’s going to work for you guys. And if it is, what I would do is I would put on at least three coatings of oil-based polyurethane or solid, solvent-based polyurethane. Do not use the water-based makes- the acrylic-based products- because they’re exactly not durable enough. They’re great on entrances and balance and furniture but on storeys, I would ever use the oil-based product.
Now, you apply it , not with a brush but with something called a “lambswool applicator.” And basically, it’s kind of like a mop on a poke. And you dip- so dip it into a tray of this urethane, then you sort of mop it on and toil your way out of the room and then find something else to do for at least a half a epoch, maybe even longer to let it cool truly, really well. If it’s the least bit tacky, do not placed second hairs on it. This may take a couple of days, depending on the humidity level. Wait until it’s truly, super dry.
If you try to recoat it and it’s still dowdy, it has even a harder era dehydrating the next time around. So make sure it’s super dry before you gave the next coating on. And about three coats of that, try to stay off of it as much as you can for the first month or so. And by that, I signify don’t drag the furniture around. Put some segments of carpet or something underneath the legs. Just try and treat it gingerly because it does take a while for it to really, really harden. And you’ll be good to go.
ANDREW: Great. Well, thank you very much.
TOM: Alright. Good luck with that projection. Thanks so much for calling us at 888 -MONEY-PIT.
We’d like to likewise bring out some commodity this hour. We’ve got a set of Jorgensen E-Z Hold Expandable Bar Clamps to give away.
You know, these fastens are very handy. You clearly will be able to clamp with one paw by using them. Plus, they can be joined together to double-faced the capacity for big-hearted activities. And they deliver 600 pounds of securing power.
They’re made by the Pony Jorgensen Company. You can learn more at PonyJorgensen.com. Got a placed of eight clamps. We’ve went 2 each of the 6-inch, 12 -inch, 18 -inch and 24 -inch, so you’ll be all set for any kind of clamping project around the house. The bundle is worth roughly 170 horses. Running out to one listener chosen at random. Make that you. How do you do that? Call us with your dwelling increase question at 1-888-MONEY-PIT or berth it to The Money Pit’s website at MoneyPit.com.
Well, there are a few things that those that love aged residences, like me, are familiar with. And one is drafty windows, less-than-perfect plumbing is another, squeaky floors and tiny showers. Extremely that last one, which responds you every morning when you feel like you can hardly fit in the place to to get out of here what you’ve got to get done.
LESLIE: It’s true-blue. And you know what? Baths in new residences have nearly doubled in immensity over the past 30 times. And most older-home bathrooms average about 5×8. That’s moderately small-minded. That’s like a membrane of plywood when you think about it.
TOM: Yeah, right? Accurately. A little bit more.
LESLIE: It’s a little, tiny opening. But short of ripping out the walls to increase the space you’ve came, you might think you really don’t have that numerous alternatives. But there are some paths that you can use the space to its fullest possible and here are some tips to help you do time that.
Now, first and foremost, if it works in your opening, consider a region subside. Now, whether it’s a pedestal form or a wall-mounted version, a area submerge is going to provide some functional charisma and free up a lot of flooring room in that bathroom.
Now, setting up space-saving storage elsewhere in that room means you don’t need the traditional board frivolity. And a smaller bowl is still going to give you plenty of capacity to bathe and brush.
TOM: Now, speaking of the recess, another thing you can consider is called a “curved-quadrant shower unit.” You can conserve some treasured floor seat by including a crooked shower enclosing in your soap remodel. That takes two straight areas in a corner and settings it with a curvy record that saves at least 1 square paw of seat, compared with traditional components. And that 1 square paw of room might not seem like a great deal but trust me, it is. And it use really well.
Another thing that you might do is to consider toilets that have flat tank transcends. The flat-top tank gives you another storage recognise where you can place an organizer directly on top of it or you could take advantage of the wall gap above for hanging cabinet ministers or a shelving unit.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. Now, you too want to think about lower-profile faucets and fixtures. Now, that’s going to open up some visual opening when you choose something that has a more low-profile look to it. And while the scope of forms accessible allow you to really choose something that beautifully accessorizes a small bathroom, you’re going to find that just having that little bit of room only to your seeing really opens up that area to you. Plus, tub subsides don’t have to be big to get the job done.
Now, another thing you can consider is a small-scale, cabinet-mounted vessel sink. A craft settle is really great because that wording- kind of prepared on a smaller, scaled-down cabinet or maybe even another piece of furniture that’s being repurposed, to give you a bit of storage in that bathroom. It really is lovely, plus that frees up a lot more space.
Now, another thing that you can consider is altering a piece of furniture. Maybe it’s a yield spot, perhaps it’s something you’ve once came. Perhaps it’s a bar cart or something interesting, kind of a enjoyable, vintage discovery. That’s going to add a ton of personality to your shower gap but also give you some deft storage. Patently, depending on the piece you pick will determine what you can store there. But it could be for linens, toiletries, makeup, whatever. But you can do it in a stylish space. So just think outside of the box.
TOM: Now, we were running out of towel storage in one of the bathrooms in our home. And we needed a towel rack, like the species that you are presented in hotels, that’s about 4 feet long. And I is not possible to, for the life of me, find one that was that wide. They are still more restricted, like around 2 hoofs. So I did one.
Now, I didn’t make it out of chrome pipe. I performed it out of PVC and then I drew it chrome. And it glances awesome. You do not know that this isn’t chrome when you inspect- when you first look at it. And it fits the seat perfectly.
So, bottom line: where there’s a will, there’s a road. Use up all that space- both the openings down low-toned and the infinite that’s up high- for storage in a small bath. It genuinely does make a big difference.
LESLIE: Elizabeth in New Jersey, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?
ELIZABETH: I have an outdoor shower and all of a sudden, the pressure merely proceeded terribly, very low. So I didn’t know what to do with it.
LESLIE: And it’s the only fixture that the pressure has changed on?
ELIZABETH: The rest of the- my hoses are fine outside. Inside is fine.
LESLIE: Well, have you thought about taking the showerhead off and sort of disassembling it? Because you may have just some sort of sediment or something that’s come in through the pipe and just sort of lodged itself at where the irrigate outflow would be reduced?
So if you unscrew the showerhead, then sort of start take that aerator apart- but recollect the order in which you’re go things out, because it’s got to go back in, certainly, in the opposite order. And I would just start taking things out and rinsing things off, because there could be just some debris- I signify peculiarly if it’s an outdoor shower- just something clogging it up in there. And that is generally does the manoeuvre. I would start there. Precisely make sure you situated everything there is back in the chasten dictate and it’ll part fine.
ELIZABETH: I affection the outdoor shower. It’s the greatest.
TOM: Alright. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888 -MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Carol in Texas is on the line with a question about a ceiling crack. How can we help you?
CAROL: I have a crack right in front of my front entrance. It’s a slab. It was the porch and then it was[ took into]( ph) the house. It’s more like a sunroom. We provided the outside of it all the way to the ends of the house, so it’s about 33 foot across. And I think what happens is that it gets baked- the grime goes dry- and so now we have a crack in that ceiling.
And we hope to made our room on world markets next year. Being a realtor, I don’t really want that crack appear, because people get alarmed. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about but I don’t like the glances of it. So would you tell me what the hell is do and do it right?
TOM: So, the ceiling information in the porch is made of what?
CAROL: It is sheetrock up there with the finishing so that you- it’s not popcorn or anything like that. It’s smooth finish on the ceiling.
TOM: And the sound is – you said it’s 33 paws long. So is it a …?
CAROL: No , no , no. The hit goes across the other direction.
TOM: Oh, OK. So it’s- good.
CAROL: It leads from a- yeah, it extends the other way.
TOM: So it’s not 33 feet long. Alright.
CAROL: Yes, sir.
TOM: So here’s what happens. The fissures reform because people generally spackle them. And then they expand and contract and it various kinds of demonstrates through. The title mode to do it is to sand over the area of the crack so you get some rough surface there. And then you made a piece of fiberglass reparation strip across it, which is sort of like a mesh-looking kind of sticky-backed drywall tape. And it’ll nursed there by itself and then you set spackle on top of that so the fiberglass mesh actually bridges the spread across the crack. And once that’s done, it’s a much stronger seam. And as the ceiling expands and contracts, the rift doesn’t reform. It takes three or four good coats of finish to get that done but that really is the hot ticket.
CAROL: And then you go ahead and depict it white, just like your ceiling white paint?
TOM: Paint it. Yep, yep. Absolutely. Uh-huh. That’s correct.
CAROL: And I really don’t require it registering. I’m not really worried about it because it’s a exceedingly, very small hairline crack. I only- I know that it’ll alarm parties and so …
TOM: Yep. Sure. Totally understand. And I think that that’s mostly the right thing to do. OK?
CAROL: I appreciate that. And thank you for your help.
LESLIE: Well, if you asked us to choose the most popular home improvement of all time, it would have to be the kitchen. And there’s really a good reason for this. Now, kitchens, together with lavatories, routinely deliver the very best return on your investment when it comes time to sell.
TOM: And it’s actually mission control for family life. It’s the infinite you probably spend more time in than another room in your dwelling. Today’s kitchens also require less upkeep as they’re easier to keep clean and unionized; two things that spawn cooking a lot easier.
With us with tips-off on how to create your own low-maintenance kitchen space is Dan DiClerico. Dan is the home expert and smart-home strategist for HomeAdvisor.
Welcome, Dan.
DAN: Hey, it’s good to be here, guys. Thanks.
TOM: You know, I realized a series- in fact, I shared it with Leslie- of kitchens throughout the years. And it really is amazing how many changes that room has gone through. Where do you think we are now and what’s going to be the next big-hearted thing in the kitchen opening?
DAN: Yeah, I think it is on a 20 -year cycle, so we’re sort of entering into new area here. And I think there is a real emphasis on low-spirited maintenance. I think it’s largely being conducted in accordance with millennials. They’ve had a harder time getting into that first home. Now that they’re there, they require the experience to be a little more stress-free, a little more frictionless than perhaps 20 years ago.
So it’s genuinely affecting, I would say first and foremost, a lot of information materials options, starting with countertops. If you go back 20 years, it was a beautiful marble countertop that if you threw a glass of grape juice on it, your baby would rend your head off.
TOM: Yeah.
DAN: So, a lot of interesting quartz, for that very reason. It’s a awfully durable cloth. It’s going to resist stains and scratchings. Or porcelain slabs. Something else that’s really coming on strong of late, for the same reason.
TOM: Yeah. Even laminate is making a comeback now. And that’s reasonably inexpensive; a duet bucks a square foot.
DAN: It is and it looks great. Gosh, we were at the substantiate a couple of weeks ago- kitchen and tub indicate- and some of these motifs and patterns are so beautiful and so- if you want to go for the natural examination, it certainly- it’s very convincing, I know. There’s all sorts of bright colors if you want to go a other direction. But yeah, laminate is a great choice.
LESLIE: And you know what I think that’s just so interesting is that when it comes to these face finishes, the flooring- a gigantic surface in your residence- there’s so many options for that, as well, at a variety of price times. And then you sort of have to look at it as what’s your position or miss of upkeep and durability.
DAN: Yeah. I make parties- hardwood storeys are- always going to love them. But hey, “theres a lot”- I’ve went hardwood floors in my home. The rub and the- it’s an issue. The fading. So, that’s where something like a wood-look porcelain tile can be a great solution. Very little upkeep without, actually, any settlement in style. It ogles fantastic.
Similar with vinyl. Some of the comfort vinyl tiles that we’re verifying these days is just beautiful stuff and at a much more reasonable price point than real hardwood floors.
TOM: Let’s talk about colours. The all-white kitchen has been popular for a very long time now, with the white-hot metro tile to join. Where do you think the emblazons are going to go in the next few years when it comes to kitchen remodels?
DAN: We are seeing color come into the kitchen. And I envision upkeep is a big issue there. That beautiful, pristine white-hot kitchen doesn’t stay that style for long. So better to introduce a little bit of dye onto the cabinets and onto the walls. We’re seeing beiges and blues, parks passing the course. So, more colorful kitchens in the decade to come, for sure.
LESLIE: Oh, my goodness. And the cabinetry colorings the hell is out there – you’re right- with the blues and the teals. They’re stunning, they’re rich. They look like they’re so heavily saturated that they make such the following statement in the kitchen. And I adoration when you mix it with an sudden finish on a faucet. We’re seeing all that antique golden again. It’s so beautiful.
DAN: Absolutely. And with the cabinets themselves, shaker lockers, for several years now, have been coming on strong. But I think it’s going to- they’re going to continue again.
And back to maintenance, if you compare that with a complicated French Country cabinet from 20 decades ago that was trapping grease and all those items were kind of hard to keep it clean. Shaker is just a much more sensible option that’s still beautiful, still stylish. So, you’re not having to give up style to get all these benefits of low-maintenance materials.
TOM: Yeah. And as we said in the opening, the number-one reason that kinfolks love to remodel kitchens is because they actually give you a really good return on your investment. They help you sell the house if you want to sell it. And you get to enjoy it all the years leading up to that.
DAN: Oh, perfectly. Listen, the kitchen, it’s the apartment that sells the house but it’s the chamber you’re going to enjoy the most while you’re in there. So, you are well aware, expend some time, spend some coin, do the job right.
TOM: Dan DiClerico, the residence professional and smart-home strategist for HomeAdvisor, thanks for stopping by The Money Pit.
DAN: Thanks, guys.
LESLIE: Bob in Connecticut, you’ve get The Money Pit. How can we help you today?
BOB: I live in a house that’s 18 years old. And I actually have the original hydro-air heating-and-cooling system in the home. It’s got one air handler in the attic, one in the basement, together with the boiler and then two 21/2 -ton air compressors. This may sound strange but the systems cultivated perfectly flawlessly for 18 times. And other than- three or four years ago, I noticed there was some- the sea in the distillation run on the breeze handler was a little rusty and it’s continued that behavior since.
And so, my question is- I feel as though I may be on borrowed season. And I’m not sure if I should look to be proactive and potentially oust everything. I know that wouldn’t be cheap but I hate the was just thinking about it exactly kind of going out on me, so to speak. And so I acknowledge your thoughts.
TOM: Well, appear, 18 -year-old air-conditioning compressors are certainly beyond the normal life cycle. But an 18 -year-old boiler and an 18 -year-old furnace is still kind of middle-aged. So, if something, the compressors will probably go first. A little bit of mildew in the condensate pan and system is not unusual. That could- it’s probably arriving from the ducts.
I would tell you merely make sure you restrain servicing it on a regular basis and doing the same thing you are. I personally wouldn’t replace it until I had to, because you know what? That could go another six months or it vanish another six years.
BOB: OK.
TOM: And you know it could be on borrowed duration and so if it happens, you oust it then. But if not, you precisely keep going the space you are. Just as long as you keep it serviced, it’s going to work as efficiently as it possibly can.
BOB: Awesome. Thank you so much better for your help.
TOM: Good luck, Bob. Thanks so much for calling us at 888 -MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Well, if you haven’t done so once, pretty soon you’re going to be turning up that thermostat to get heated and cozy at home. But did you know that every 2 grades you lower your thermostat in the winter could save you 10 percent off of your vigor legislations? Well, to supplement heat in the chamber that you use most often, why not consider a portable heater?
TOM: Now, I am totally loving this, because I do have one room in my house that is always freezing and are guaranteed a portable heater. And the best kind are the electronic infrared zone heaters. This is a supplemental heater that uses infrared heating to warm any area of your home.
Now, you can turn down the furnace and stand warm and save money, especially if it’s one apartment where, perhaps, you and all the family really is often used to congregate.
LESLIE: Now, if you’re thinking about picking one of these up, you need to understand exactly how infrared heaters work. So, mostly, an infrared heater heats the objective in a characterized infinite and not the aura, which is what central-heating systems do. It’s like the difference between being directly in the sunlight versus sitting in the shade.
Now , no matter where you are, you’re not actually reading certain differences in the air temperature. You feel more heated in the sunbathe because the light of the sunlight touches your attire and your bark and then impedes you warm.
TOM: So, with that in subconsciou, you want to make sure you’re buying the best model size. Now, portable infrared heaters are going to range in sizes that can heat from about 300 square hoofs up to 1,000 square feet. And countless frameworks have a programmable thermostat to start the heater. So, just before you get home and you plop down in your favorite chair, it’ll once be warm and ready for you.
So, buy one that’s simply big enough but don’t overbuy one. Don’t buy one that’s too big or you’ll clearly be wasting some energy.
LESLIE: Laura in Connecticut is on the line and needs some help with a project. What are you working on?
LAURA: I was listening to your program on Saturday, OK, and you were referring to shocked tacks rusting with siding.
TOM: Yes. Mm-hmm.
LAURA: I have a same problem. If I polyurethane the tack and cover over it, would that work or would it chip?
TOM: It will still rust through if you don’t have the right kinds of nails.
LAURA: Uh-oh.
TOM: See, if you’re talking about cedar siding, what you should have worked- or the carpenter should have exploited- was a stainless-steel nail. Those nails, clearly, won’t rust. If they’re standard galvanized fingernails, you do tend to get kind of a bleed through it.
Now, if you refinish the backing and you discolour it or coat it, then- and you prime it first, by the way- then “youre supposed to” will do a pretty good job of stopping most of that from coming through. But the problem generally happens when you want to stain it, as you want to enjoy the speck of the lumber, then it’s really hard to cover it up.
LAURA: Thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Unless, of course, you go with rust-colored stain.
Right, Leslie?
LESLIE: You could do that.
LAURA: Oh, OK. That sounds good.
TOM: If you can’t beat them, join them.
LAURA: Exactly, exactly.
TOM: Good luck, Laura. Thanks for calling us at 888 -MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Matt in California is on the line and needs some help with a fireplace. What can we do for you?
MATT: Our hearth is ugly and we want to replace it. We want to take it out and oust- it has a fireplace position but we want to replace it with a wood stove. And our question is: does that- by taking the hearth out, will that affect the flue, the coherence of it, when we put in a wood stove?
TOM: Well, I make it depends, structurally, how it’s erected. You know, generally speaking, with a fireplace, the chimney residuals on the fireplace. So, structurally speaking, you need to make sure that that is still the case.
If you’re going to leave the fireplace in place and essentially really convert it to a wood stove, then what you’ll probably do is break into the chimney and the duct above the hearth, kind of with a 90 -degree bend and straight in. And you’d seal the bottom of the chimney or certainly applied a clean-out door there or perhaps just leave the damp in place.
It won’t affect the structural unity as long as you leave it structurally intact. You can’t start really taking apart the fireplace and expect the chimney not to fall, though. Does that make sense, Matt?
MATT: Yeah, alright. OK. I’m glad I asked. Didn’t want to make that out and have it all fall apart on me.
TOM: I would- if it’s time the hearth down the bottom that lodges out, then you’d probably take that out. But you’re really going to have to have somebody with structural common sense take a look at that and answer this question for you, because I can’t see it from here, obviously.
MATT: Right, accurately. That’s what I concluded. OK. No, that helps. I appreciate that.
LESLIE: But are you open to really changing the hearth and changing the review of the hearth itself? Because that’s not awfully difficult.
MATT: Yeah. The fireplace itself is not right, economically. Even with the position that’s in there, it’s not efficient at all. So we want to go with a wood stove. So, if we made a wood stove there, that would look not very pleasing with the hearth sticking out like it is and then having a wood stove. So we thought we could oust that, all the way up to the wall, and then kind of design it so it would look attractive when the wood stove was in there.
TOM: Well, you might be able to remove that hearth but you’re going to have to have a mason or a contractor look at it. If the hearth is- the hearth is there to basically cure make use of the hearth safer. So if the hearth is not lending any structural contribution to the overall fireplace, you may be able to break that part out and leave the remain in place.
MATT: OK. Yeah. I’ll have someone look at it, because I think that’s what we want to do. But you’re right, I have( inaudible) first.
Thank you a good deal. Appreciate it.
TOM: You can announce your questions to The Money Pit on MoneyPit.com or on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/ TheMoneyPit. And that’s what Marcia done so in Illinois.
And Leslie, she is tackling an age-old issue.
LESLIE: That’s right. Now, Marcia writes: “We bought an older home and the whole house is paneled. Is there a room to fill in the gaps in the paneling so that you can paint and make it look like regular walls? I’m on a tighten budget.”
You’re going to spend all that budget on filler, by the way.
TOM: I tell you what, I’m always startled about how many times people have asked us about filling in the grooves in paneling. It’s not really something that you can do. Whatever you put in there is not going to stay. It’s just going to look awful. So, your options are either to remove it or to drywall over it or to paint it.
And if it was necessary to a budget-saving sort of stair, maybe between all those possibilities, decorating is not so bad. You know, I considered that if you primary the paneling well and you decorate it a neutral colouring, you can kind of get away with it. It doesn’t gaze as dated as you might think. I’ve seen some beautiful residences that had painted paneling and it buys you a little bit of time.
But the other thing is if it is sticking to the walls because it was glued on, what you might want to do is think about adding drywall on top of that paneling. You can use very thin drywall, which is only 3/8 -inch thick. You’re just going to have to spackle it and then prime it and then repaint everything.
LESLIE: Well, good luck, Marcia. This is a big project but I predict you it’s going to look awesome formerly you get that paneling taken care of.
TOM: Well, if you’re getting ready to rent an accommodation, there are many things to consider outside of exactly those four walls. Leslie tells you what you need to know to realise the best choice in where you live, in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word.
Leslie?
LESLIE: Well, moving is a big step, peculiarly if it’s your first time doing so. Now, choosing the best rental is key but concluding sure you oversee things like the commute and the neighborhood, all of that are equally as important.
First of all, you’ve got to think about the driving interval. It are likely to be the perfect suite but if it’s a half-hour or more commute from your work or institution, that’s going to get old really quick. Now, while distance doesn’t have to be the deciding factor in your chosen accommodation, it does matter. Not exclusively does that travel mean time spent on the road every single day, it signifies money spent in gas and who were able to striving your budget even further.
Also, what do the traffic patterns look like around that neighborhood you’re considering? If you’ve got a car, is there tolerable homes to park? If you don’t want to have a car, do you easy access to public transportation? How long is it going to go you to get to work, whether you use the public transportation or you get there on your own? And don’t forget to check out things, like where’s the local food market? What about the restaurants, the bars, the social acts? You’ve got to really take a look at that vicinity and that will tell you a lot about the flavor and whether or not it’s a situate for you and where you really want to live.
And I always are happy to- if I’m looking at a residence or an apartment or whatever it is, I want to go by there in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, late at night. You want to sort of check it out at different times. And the same with the little outlying areas of the neighborhood, simply to kind of get a sense of what it’s like throughout the course of the day.
If you want some more gratuities, check out “8 Things You Need to Know Before Getting Your First Apartment, ” on MoneyPit.com.
TOM: Yeah, we did a good deal of this when our daughter needed to find an suite in Philadelphia so that she could start her new residency. And she’s got one more residency to go before she graduates. And we were surfing those streets consuming the Google street delineates, driving around the neighborhood, checking out where the parking lots were, how far it was to where she’s going to be working. All of those things you are able to do now practically but I do agree that getting there and only taking a good, solid look before you ratify the dotted text prepares feel, as well. All important things to keep in mind before you ratify that lease.
This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Coming up next time on the programme, if you are a big consumer of bottled water, you might have noticed that the price never seems to go down. And if you’re ready for a health alternative to that cost and all the waste of get rid of the plastic, we’re going to share gratuities on whole-house water filters that both save money and hand great-tasting water, 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 is therefore necessary to get it on alone.
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