The Money Pit Calls & Answers

Get tips on how to remove mold and mildew buildup from exterior bricks. Learn how cutting back shade trees can keep mold and mildew from growing on brick, as the sun will keep the brick dry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on whether you should repair or replace a central air conditioning unit due to the age of the air conditioner and the repairs that are needed. Find out why replacing the unit may be best at its age and what the incentive could be to replace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on how to cut the level of lead in your garden hose as you prepare to use the hose for watering the garden or for domestic tasks. Find out about a garden hose brand that never twists up or kinks and is a boat and camper-safe water-drinking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to finish cedar siding with an oil-based primer and a solid-color exterior stain. Learn why you should only have to power wash your house once a year or once every couple of years to remove dirt and mold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to stop loose seed from your bird feeders from growing in the ground. Learn about your options, including purchasing a seed catcher from a home center or putting down pavers. Get step by step instructions for paver installation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to fix a brick walkway paver that has come loose. Get tips on using Quikrete and Joint-Lock to solve the problem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to keep a house with no attic and a flat roof cool in the summer. Learn about ballasted roofs, which are membrane roofs covered with either fibrous aluminum paint or lightweight white stone which reflects the sun's heat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn about heat pump water heaters, which work in conjunction with electric resistance water heaters to create a far more efficient system than an electric water heater alone. However, if you have natural gas heat, find out why a tankless water Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to stop a leaking toilet by replacing the wax seal. Learn why you might also want to consider replacing the bolts that hold the toilet to the floor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to resolve the drainage issues that cause efflorescence in a brick basement. Learn why keeping your gutters clean, extending your downspouts away and sloping the soil around your house will reduce basement moisture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to install laminate flooring on top of linoleum. Get tips on using a roll out foam underlayment and covering the gap between the laminate and wall with a quarter round or shoe molding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adding a basement to a home is a major project, and the first thing to consider is the water table in your region and whether . After that you have two options: to replace the entire foundation with one that has a basement, or to dig a "Yankee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on building a curtain drain to redirect water away from your house. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to cool down a bedroom that gets too hot in the summer due to a metal roof. Get tips on using Insuladd, a paint additive, on the walls and ceiling of the room and coating the roof with low-e paint. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out why you should let your insurance company replace your parquet floor after a flood in your home. Learn why water-damaged adhesive could make things look fine for now but cause problems later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to remove tar paper and black glue from a hardwood floor. Learn why you should have the floor sanded by a professional to get it down to a fresh, new surface. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out why you can't paint a tile floor and learn why laminate flooring can be used instead to achieve a number of different looks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out what could be causing the stinky smell underneath your sink. If your sink is not plumbed properly and is missing a P-trap, you might have an open vent pipe to the sewer line. If your sink does have a trap, filling it with bleach and letting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to take off the upper surface of the finish on your hardwood floor as an alternative to totally refinishing it. Get tips on renting a floor buffer with a sanding screen and using it to smooth out the scratches so you can refinish it from Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to install vents in an unfinished attic without compromising the historic character of the home. Get tips on adding a copper ridge vent down the peak of the roof and using a drip-edge vent to create a mini-soffit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn how to get dirt out of the finish of hardwood floors in heavy traffic areas of the floor. Find out how using a floor buffer with a sanding screen will remove dirt so that the area can be refinished. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn how energy efficient heat pump water heaters are a great product for people who have an all-electric house and have an electric water heater. Find out how a heat pump water heater combines heat pump technology with an electric water heater, and Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on how to interlock pieces of siding with a zip tool. Learn how the zip tool works to interlock the siding pieces together, and just as easily take the siding apart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn how to fix shingles that are lifting up and flapping up in the breeze. Get tips on how to nail down the shingles so they stay put. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out about insulating an attic that is used for storage. Learn why you shouldn't insulate a roof structure if you aren't using the attic for a living space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn about putting fuse protection between a motion detector and a string of motion lights. Get tips on how to make sure the motion detector is wired correctly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on how to trim back the dead branches of a climbing rosebush. Find out how to stop trimming at new growth and give the rosebush light and air circulation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on how to convert two-prong electrical outlets to three-prong by adding a ground fault circuit interrupter to your electrical outlets. Find out how the interrupter works and how the adapter can save you from electric shocks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on how to strip wallpaper from walls before painting them. Learn which type of paint to use so that any residual wallpaper glue doesn't show through. Also learn how using newspaper and vinegar and water can leave windows streak-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn how to remove years of soap scum buildup from shower doors. Find out how using white vinegar could remove the soap scum, and how a product called Grime-Away may also remove the gunk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn which insualtion is best to use in newly built walls in a gutted home. Get tips on choosing the right thickness of insulation and facing the insulation the correct way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn which product is best to use to seal and stain a pressure-treated wood proch. Get tips on how to let pressure-treated wood cure before applying stain, and which season of the year is best when applying exterior stain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn about adding insulation to an attic. Find out how much isulation to put in an attic and find out how to place the vapor barrier to keep out moisture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on how to lay new laminate flooring over a concrete slab. Find out what to do if the insurance company won't pay for flood damage caused by a broken pipe and learn how to make sure the slab is dry and sealed before putting down a new Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn what to do to reduce the offgassing of formaldehyde in new furniture. Get tips on how to keep the smell out of your home by storing the item for up to a week before bringing the item into your home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on Fiberon composite decking. Learn what the team thinks about this beautiful choice and learn where to find this beautiful decking option. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on replacing an air conditioner overflow pan. Find out how to go about repairing the metal, and looking for someone to make a new drip pan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Kraeutler interview Mike Rowe at Skills USA Leadership Conference in Kansas City. Learn what it takes to build a skilled work force in America and how Mike is helping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on how to fix banging furnace duct noises. Learn why the ducts are making noise, and find out where to look first to eliminate the noises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on what to use to seal cracks in stone basement walls. Learn how to keep the air flowing in the basement so that mold won't grow in your new basement walls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn which insulation is best to put in an attic; faced or unfaced. Get tips on how much attic insulation is needed, and find out the name of a great website that teaches you how to put up unfaced insulation in an attic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out why installing laminate flooring directly over carpet may be a bad idea. Get tips on what to do to install laminate flooring over carpet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn how to diagnose low water pressure in a kitchen faucet and find out whether or not the well may be the issue. Find out the steps to take to learn where the low pressure may be originating from. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on restaining hardwood floors that have begun to fade from UV ray exposure. Learn what your alternatives are if you find that your floor may not be easily refinished if the floor has a joint where the groove is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how installing an attic fan can actually increase your central air conditioning bill. Get tips on how installing ridge and soffit vents can lower your air conditioning bill and lower the temperature in your attic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on replacing an old water heater that takes forever to heat water. Find out how adding an additional tankless water heater can give you hot water on demand in the areas of the home you need it right away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out why minor cracks form in masonry foundations. Learn how to repair minor cracks in foundations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tips on how a home energy audit can help you find out what you need to do to make your home more energy efficient. Find out what a home energy auditor can do to help you save money on home heating and cooling costs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn how to replace broken vinyl siding on a corner of your home. Find out how to extract and replace vinyl siding without damaging the replacement piece. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn how to fix a dip in a concrete patio deck. Find out why the experts do not recommend putting down carpet on concrete. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices