This Old House On The Money Pit

SHOW NOTES: Home Ventilation: Is your energy-efficient so airtight, it’s unhealthy? Proper ventilation will keep the fresh air flowing so you can breathe easier. Concrete Repair: Trying to repair old concrete by covering it with a new layer doesn’t work. We’ll let you know the best way to resurface worn-out concrete. Painting Your Shed: Does your backyard shed need sprucing up? Painting your shed is an easy DIY project you can do before storing summer stuff away.  Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Home Insulation: Carol’s raised house is hot in summer and cold in winter, but adding insulation may be all that’s needed. Tom explains how to keep things comfortable. Pest Control: When a surplus of spiders sets up camp around the yard, things can get creepy. Tom advises Ben on how to eliminate the nests and control the pests. Universal Bath Design: Having a bathroom that’s accessible for everyone is important for homeowners of all ages and abilities. We share info with Tracy on designi

SHOW NOTES: Storage Sheds: Need a new shed to gain some outside storage? Get ideas to suit your style and budget. Concrete Crafts: Who knew you could be creative with concrete? We’ve got info about fun and easy craft projects you can create with concrete. Removing Ivy: Ivy may look lovely, but it can damage your home’s exterior and attract pests. Here’s how to remove ivy and prevent it from taking root again.  Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Underground Roofs: Replacing the large roof on a unique underground home may be a challenge. Stan finds out which professionals he should speak with to design specs for the job. Basement Flooring: Should Mary install new carpeting in her basement or are there other flooring products she should use instead? We offer tips on better options for basement flooring. Garage Door Openers: When Bob’s garage door opener stops working, he wants to know if he should get a surge protector for the circuit board. Tom thinks it’s unusual but trusts the bran

SHOW NOTES: Conserving Water in Your Yard: Can you have a healthy yard while conserving water? Here’s how to keep it growing through dry conditions. Decorative Ceilings: When adding architectural details to a room, don’t forget to look up! We’ve got tips on creating an eye-catching decorative ceiling. Terrazzo Flooring: Love traditional Terrazzo flooring but can’t afford the cost? Find out about an affordable alternative that offers the same beautiful look.  Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Toilet Noises: Why is Kathy’s toilet squealing when she runs her washing machine? Tom has ideas about what’s causing the noisy plumbing. Concrete Walkway Gaps: Are the spacers in your concrete walkway starting to deteriorate? Here’s what Robert found out about filling the gaps. Smoke Smells: Did the former homeowners leave behind the stench of smoke? William learns how to clear the air and get rid of smoke smells. HVAC Odors: When the air conditioning comes on, Jeff’s wife detects strange od

SHOW NOTES: Energy-Efficient Windows: South-facing windows feel toasty in winter but can make you swelter in summer. Here’s how to feel comfy all year. Composite Decking Materials: Your existing deck may be solid but still need resurfacing. We’ve got info about composite decking materials that are easy to install and maintain. Protection from Ticks: Summer is the peak season for disease-carrying ticks. Find out how to protect yourself before they bite. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Caring for a Wood Swing Set: Do you have a wood playground or swing that’s getting dark and dingey? Tom has info for Erin on how to clean and brighten the surface of her pressure-treated wood. Installing a Koi Pond: Lee has questions about creating a custom koi pond. We’ve got answers on how to build it and what kind of forms and liners to use. Covering Ceiling Tiles: What are the options for covering a stained tile ceiling in a three-season porch? Kathleen learns more about how to use the faux tin

SHOW NOTES: Child-Proofing Your Home: Are you overlooking ways to child-proof your home? Remember these important DIY tips for keeping your kids safe in every room. Energy-Efficient Windows: If you’ve got drafty old windows, there are ways to make them more energy-efficient without replacing them. Find out the best options for restoring windows in an older home. Upgrading Your Front Door: Making a good first impression begins with having a great front door. Here’s what to consider when choosing a new front door that will add value and style to your home.  Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Musty Odors in a Vacant Home: Mary wants to know what could cause musty odors in a vacant home she’s purchasing that is built on a slab foundation. We’ve got ideas on how to clear the air once she moves in. Installing Flooring Over a Heated Concrete Slab: What kind of flooring should be used in a home with radiant heat? Tom gives some advice to Russ about radiant heat-compliant flooring products.

SHOW NOTES: Tired of watching water and money go down the drain to keep your lawn lush? Find out about drought-resistant grass to make your side of the fence greener. Love the look but can’t afford the cost of granite countertops? We’ve got info about an amazing product that applies easily and gives outstanding, realistic results on any surface. Thinking of redecorating your home but don’t know where to begin? It may be time to consult with an interior designer.  Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Problems with Contractors: What should you do when a contractor does poor work or leaves a job unfinished? Tom offers advice to Oralee about next steps after she loses money on an incompetent brick mason. Clogged Pipes: After installing a new water heater, Louis still has low water pressure and suspects a broken or blocked pipe. Tom discusses the best replacement for galvanized pipes that tend to clog. Tree Roots and Foundations: Can pear trees do damage if they’re planted near a home? We ea

SHOW NOTES: Stylish Lighting Updates: If you want to create a new look in any room, pendant lights are a bright idea! We’ve got tips on installing energy-efficient pendant lighting as an easy DIY design solution. Best Irrigation for Hot Weather Gardening: Micro Irrigation can help with the big problem of helping plants thrive in hot weather. Here’s what to know about directing water right where you need it most. How to Prep for a Storm: Are you prepared if unexpected severe weather strikes? Get tips on what to have to keep your home, car, and workplace ready for any emergency. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Removing Carpet Glue: Removing exterior carpet that’s been glued down is a sticky situation. Maria gets advice from Tom about pulling up carpeting on an outside step and refinishing the surface. Leaky Storm Shelter: Storm shelters are meant to offer protection from the elements. Jack finds out what to do about a shelter roof that’s leaking. Tile Fireplace: Susan wants to remo

Show Notes: Pets enjoy outdoor living, too, and need a safe space to have fun. Here are four suggestions on ways to protect your pets and give you peace of mind while enjoying your yard with your furry friends. Building a deck is one of the best ways to expand your outdoor living space. This DIY project is made even easier with a great deck kit on the market. Are hungry deer destroying your garden? We’ve got tips on how to prevent deer from turning your yard into a buffet. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about: Kitchen Flooring: It may be better to replace a worn-out kitchen floor that’s past it’s prime instead of trying to restore it. Tom has suggestions about durable new flooring products for Harry in Delaware. Ceiling Stains: Long after a leak stops, you may still have ugly water stains on your ceiling. Pat gets advice on how to cover up the water damage on her drywall ceiling. Rotted Wood Under a New Roof: What happens when a new roof is installed over rotted wood? Dave need

Show Notes: If your outdoor concrete patio is old, worn, or cracked, there’s an easy way to give it a new look with pavers that can be installed right over the existing surface. We’ll give you the info you need for this DIY project. Cleaning bathroom mold and mildew is a chore you can avoid with a few easy preventive steps. Find out how to keep mold away with these smart bathroom ventilation tips. Leftover paint can be great for touchups and new projects, but how can you tell if it’s still good to use? We’ve got tips on how to properly store leftover paint so it will last. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Painting Vinyl Siding: Is there a good way to paint vinyl siding? David learns what kind of exterior paint to use and how to apply it so he can change the color of his home. Foggy Glass Doors: Condensation between the panes of an insulated glass door can ruin the view. We’ve got advice for Pam on how to clear things up. Site-Built vs. Modular Home Construction: Michael wants to kno

Show Notes: Above ground pools can be a fun addition to your backyard space. But the site of a 4-foot tall, 24-foot-wide bathtub in the middle of your entertaining space doesn’t always add to the outdoor décor! We share tips to make above ground pools an attractive and affordable addition to your backyard space. We love sitting around the fire pit on a cool summer evening. But if you don’t have a fire pit, building one is now as easy as stacking blocks. We’ll tell you about a system of modular rustic building blocks that can be assembled to create firepits, plants and more. Vinyl fencing has become more and more popular as an alternative to traditional wood fencing. But is it really worth the extra cost? We’ll walk you thought the pros and the cons of vinyl vs wood fences. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Retaining Walls: Tom, helps Alex figure out the easiest way to build a retaining wall by using interlocking blocks instead of wood. Replacement Windows: Elie wants to know the most e

Show Notes: Summer vacations can be fun and relaxing experience, but they can also be fun for burglars who love hitting vacant houses! We share a few tips to keep intruders away and make sure the home you come back to is exactly like you left it. Do you consider energy efficiency when buying appliances, like refrigerators or televisions? You might be surprised to learn that your homes biggest energy waster may live in the laundry room. It’s your dryer! We explain why and how to get the most out of this mission critical machine. Need to set a post for a fence or flagpole, but don’t want to go through the trouble of mixing and pour concrete to keep it in place?  We share a trick of the trade to do that in minutes! Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about: Smoke Odor: Reno’ing a home occupied by smokers? Yuck! We share how to get rid of smoke smells and help you breathe easy once again. Leaking Shower: Max has a leaking Carrara marble shower. Tom shares two options for repairing a shower le

Show Notes: We’ve got 3 low-cost kitchen renos you can get done for well under a thousand bucks to add style and convenience without draining your bank account! Creating an outdoor living space is a popular home improvement project. But what’s best for your home: a deck or a patio? We’ll walk you through the options. You don’t think too much about your roof until it leaks. Then its ALL you can think about. We’ll share tips to spot small problems before they become big ones. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Cedar may be rot resistant but its not rot proof. We help Beverly select the best stain for her cedar covered patio. Taking on home improvement project can lead to lots of surprises, but Nils discovered a huge snakeskin when taking on his, along with a whole host of insects. Tom offers tips to avoid infestations, and the best pesticides to use. Mercedes needs help dealing with roof leaks caused by nail holes that were mistaken made inside metal flashing. We share the best way to rep

Show Notes: Now is a great time to make sure your home’s cooling plan is set to deliver both comfort and energy efficiency. We share low-cost to no-cost cooling tips that will do just that. Between the splinters and the staining, a wood deck can take a fun out of summer weekends. We highlight a better option available at Lowes called a Trex Deck Kit which makes updating or replacing your deck with beautiful new composite decking a breeze. Do you need a new roof and want to save on air-conditioning costs? You can actually do both. We’ll tell you about some very cool roofing technology that can help keep you comfortable and save you money. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions: Brick foundation walls have lasted over a century but mortar repair and repointing is needed to cover the next 100 years! Tom shares the best recipe to mix your own mortar from cement, sand and lime. Jenny says she needs a floor finish that can stand up to three dogs and a man! We walk her through how to refinish a floor

SHOW NOTES: Taking on a paint project this summer? We’ve got six things to remember before you pick up the paintbrush. Concrete is one of the most durable building products ever invented but even concrete needs repair to fix cracks or worn surfaces. We share easy fixes to make without replacing the original concrete. Is your outdoor furniture looking like it’s at the end of its days? Painting can bring it back to life. We’ll share tips on the easiest way to get that done. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions: Barbara from South Dakota has loose tile flooring in her recently renovated bathroom. Howard in Texas wants to know how to fix a retaining wall that is starting to lean. Judy from Minnesota want help getting rid of moisture in her below grade space. Michael in Tennessee wants to know if he can use a foam spray to support a fiberglass showers stall. Alison from New York needs a humane way to get rid of squirrels in her yard. Craig in Rhode Island wants to replace a shut off valve but

SHOW NOTES: Are you getting ready to take a vacation this summer? From burglars to break downs, we’ve got tips to help take care of your house while your away! If your lawn is full of weeds, don’t just pull them before you pay attention to what’s causing the problem. We’ll share how to “read” your weeds just ahead. As we move into the “dog days” of summer, we’ve got tips to help keep your AC chugging along through the hottest days of summer. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions: Helen in Arizona is having an issue with bubbling paint on her wall. Mike from Arkansas has a leaky upstairs window when it rains and thinks it’s due to the soffit. Debbie in Ontario needs to know how to fill cracks on a cement patio. Randy from Texas has a deck that has wood that is starting to shrink due to moisture. Susan in California wants to know if she has to resurface her driveway or just replace it entirely. Ken from Texas want to know if he should add a ductless air conditioning system to his home. Sha

SHOW NOTES: The summer season with its intense heat can be really rough on your roof. We share a way to protect, restore flexibility and extend your roof life by 5 years. Hurricane season is here and researchers predict 19 big storms! We’ll help you make sure your house is ready. Having trouble with allergies? It’s important you have a filter that can truly catch the dust, dirt and pollen that makes its way onto your lungs! We’ll share a new type of HVAC filter that is so effective, it’ll last for an entire year. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions: Catherine from Arizona needs help laying new sod and making sure is survives the super-hot climate. Steve in Tennessee is running out of hot water! We help nail down why his electric water heater may be failing after only 5 years. Angelo from Florida wants to know how to prep fiberglass window shutters that have faded for a new paint job.  Mary in Alaska has is considering going to tankless water heater and wants to learn more about them. Do

SHOW NOTES: If you’ve ever taken on a tiling project, you may know that it’s messy and can take DAYS to wait for the adhesive to set, before you can grout. We’ll show you a trick of the trade to install tile that’s a lot less messy and far faster. Do you think the best way to save time and energy cutting the grass is to set the mower as low as possible so you won’t have to mow that often? Well, you might be surprised to find out that can actually end up being MORE work in the long run! Find out why and what length to cut the lawn in Spring, Summer and Fall (and yes, it changes for each season!) If you’d love build a firepit, patio or outdoor kitchen, we show you really easy ways to get those projects done by stacking precast, concrete blocks.  Plus, answers to your home improvement questions: Cheryl in Virginia has a concrete porch that is starting to come apart and wants to know the easiest way to repair. We’ve got a great solution for Dan from Tennessee who is having carpenter bees eat his way through

SHOW NOTES: Staining a wood deck is a popular summer project. We share how to get that project done in a weekend, plus we review new high efficiency airless paint sprayers that can cut project time by as much as a third.  Summer marks the riskiest time of year for pool drownings, the leading cause of death to young children! We share a pool safety approach called layers of protection, the best way to backup parental supervision and keep kids safe. Now that the AC season is in full swing, have you thought about changing your air filter? If you have a forced air system, that filter plays an important role in keeping your cooling system operational. We’ll explain why and highlight a new type of filter that can keep your system clean for a full year. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions: Pam from Missouri wants to install an automatic sensor onto her dimmer light. Dan wants to know how to deflect heat from his tin roof. Heather in Texas needs help getting rid of black mold in her bathroom. Max

SHOW NOTES: Are you a do-it-yourselfer but need a better do-it-yourself workspace? We show you how to create a productive and efficient garage workspace to handle projects big and small. If your AC is going to go on the fritz… it’s going to happen on the hottest day of the year. We review the top reasons AC systems decide to quit and what you can do to restore the cool. Replacing your front door is a project that can increase both your home’s value and its curb appeal. Find out how best to get that project done. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions: Anthony in New York wants to know how to repair a chimney that is losing its stucco. Mia from Iowa is looking for the best way to remove glued outdoor carpeting from her deck. Kevin in Georgia needs help getting rid of carpenter bees that are destroying his screened-in porch. Sally wants know if there is a fix for double pane windows that are fogging up between the panes. John from Maryland is looking for a side venting gas water to reduce th

SHOW NOTES: You may be ready for summer, but is your outdoor living space ready, too? We’ve got a pre-summer checklist to make sure your house is good to go for the season ahead! Heavy spring rains can find their way through your roof. That’s why now is the perfect time for a roof inspection. We’ll share how to do just that, without climbing a ladder! And now that we have windows open more often, are you noticing that yours are not easy to GET open and closed? It could be a sign that they weren’t installed right. We explain the fix. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions: Shirley from Nebraska hard water has caused her to replace her water heater four times in twenty eight years and wants to know what the solution is. Jason has noisy plumbing that only happens in his master bathroom tub. Shirley in Oregon has some concerns about fire safety with solar panels on her roof. Mike from Wisconsin wants to know how to restore a field stone foundation. Carol in Arkansas has a commode that isn’t dr