This Old House On The Money Pit

High-efficiency washers are on the rise, and Energy Star-certified dryers can cut energy by an impressive 25% -- BUT are these more efficient (and more expensive) washers and dryers a smart buy? We could all use a little more sunshine this time of year…spotless windows can help! We’ve got tips on how to clean your windows like a pro, and you won’t even need any paper towels. Has Valentine’s Day got you feeling extra romantic? Wondering what the best quality SHEETS are to cuddle up in? We’ve got pros and cons of every material from Egyptian cotton to bamboo, in today’s Smart Spending Tip. Winter is the most common time of year for house fires. We hear from leading experts on the best way to know if your smoke detectors are really working, and will cover all types of fires, from slow burning smolders to fast flash fires. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions, lighting timers, leaking light fixtures, leveling your floor for vinyl installation, installing shelving, adding additional insulation to w

If there’s one room you’d like to be bright and cheery, it’s the kitchen! We’ll have tips on kitchen lighting to keep that space looking bright – even when it’s dark outside. If you enjoy a glass or two of wine during these long chilly winter days - we’ll share a few simple stain cleaning solutions for any “merlot mishaps” that may happen along the way. And if you’ve been chipping away at a lot of ice this winter, we’ll have a trick of the trade to help make it disappear, especially when it freezes a garage door shut. Spring may still be weeks away but don’t let these dreary days of winter drag you down! We share a few dollar-wise winter home improvement projects can spruce up your home and your spirits! Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about, a bald spot on a roof, repairing hard water from a well, eliminating pests, mice & rats from entering your home, cleaning mold from walls, stopping ice dams, repairing a noisy countertop. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the sho

If you’ve ever thought of adding hardwood floors to your home, you might be surprised to know that some hardwoods are, well, not as hard as others! We’ll have tips on how to choose the toughest hardwoods for maximum durability in today’s Smart Spending Tip. Tiles are beautiful and decorative elements for floors and walls but finding replacements when one or two cracks can seem near impossible. We’ll share tips for repairing or replacing hard to find tiles. Did you know that over 350,000 house fires happen each year with a big portion caused by faulty fireplaces and wood burning stoves? We’ll tell you what you need to know to keep safe. Plus, we have a great giveaway today courtesy of our new sponsor Hart Tools!!One listener drawn at random will win a HART 20-Volt Cordless 4-Tool Combo kit to give away worth $178! HART Tools are well made, versatile and available exclusively at Walmart. To qualify, call in your home improvement question to 888-MONEY PIT!   Plus, answers to your home improvement questions ab

Whether you’re dealing with a repair or dreaming about a reno, hosts Tom Kraeutler and Leslie Segrete serve as your coach, helper or home improvement therapist for all things remodeling, decor or fix up! From bathrooms to basements, and gardening to garages, you’ll get expert advice to help you tackle your to-do’s with confidence, and have a little fun along the way! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2020 millions of us took on projects to INVEST in the NEST! Now that well we’re into the new year, there’s no sign that trend is slowing down. We’ll highlight the next big décor trends for 2021 including the best choices for indoor greenery, in today’s Smart Spending Tip. If you think maintaining YOUR money pit is a hassle… just consider what it takes to keep the PEOPLE’S house running! For starters, just painting the exterior takes 570 gallons of paint. We share a few fun facts about what it takes to maintain the White House and the team of trade pros that get it done. Winter birds can brighten up a dreary outdoor view. We walk you through the best kinds of bird feeders and food, to bring some life and color to your backyard by attracting a variety of winter birds. If there’s one thing that can bring an end to warm fuzzies and fireworks, it’s when a couple tries to agree on home design! Designing for him and her doesn’t have to involve so much sacrifice. We share a few design ideas for marriage harmony

In floor heating is one of the best and most comfortable ways to heat a house. We walk you through 3 options to add radiant heating in both new and existing homes. If you rent a house or apartment, there’s an insurance loophole that can cost tenants big if your home was damaged by a flood or fire. We share a simple solution to keep you protected. We get a lot of questions about how to clean tile grout – which always seem to look great the day it’s put in and then quickly turns to dirty and drab! We’ll share a solution that can restore the new-grout brightness. Termites are easy to spot in the spring and summer, but these same house hungry insects get a lot hard to spot when weather turns cold. We’ll share a home inspectors’ trick-of-the-trade for finding termites before they eat you out of house and home, even in winter. If mice have found a home in YOUR home this winter, we share 3 ways to keep mice out year-round Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about, adding insulation to an addition,

Would you like to do a better job of taking care of your home but just don’t have the time? We’ve got 30 home repairs you can do in 30 minutes or less!  Tile is a timeless and durable choice for a floor but aside from the look, choosing the best TYPE of tile is the only way to make sure that beautiful floor lasts. We’ll share tips to help you choose the best tile and save in today’s Smart Spending Tip. Did you know that with every breath you take, you may be inhaling not only clean fresh air, but also VOC’s that can impact your health. We’ve got tips to help you understand and avoid volatile organic compounds. Good lighting is key to a happy home. We share tips on how to brighten your spaces with the best lighting for every type of activity. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about, removing a popcorn ceiling, installing energy efficient windows, idea renovations for a small kitchen, repairing a sagging wood floor. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-M

If you’ve been feeling winter drafts whip through your windows, we walk you through a simple checklist to help you figure out if benefits of replacement windows are worth the cost. There’s nothing worse than hanging a heavy picture only to have it come crashing down! We’ll share a tried-and-true way to secure your wall hangings safely. Do some of your meals come out HALF baked? Don’t blame the cook, blame the oven. We’ll explain why all oven temperatures can vary and how to fix the problem. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about replacing a skylight, soundproofing a room, realigning interior doors, tiling a fireplace surround. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A little bit on paint goes a long way, especially when you apply the new 2021 Color of the Year! If you are looking to refresh your space, this year’s color can open up a ton of possibilities. We’ll share what it is and décor ideas on where to use it. With a little work, a garage can be a great place to find space for storage, organization, crafts and projects – if it’s warm and heated. We’ll share tips to help you seal up and save. Treating slippery sidewalks with sidewalk salt will cause ice to melt, but the wrong kind of salt can also cause sidewalk surfaces to disintegrate. Listen for a recipe for safe sidewalk salt that won’t damage concrete. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions, turning your shower into a steam room, replacing patio doors, best way to unclog a sink drain, garage door repair, laminate floor repair. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastc

Does your laundry room feels dark, cluttered and disorganized and maybe even a bit dangerous? We’ve got tips for safe laundry room renos that will brighten your space and put everything in its place! If you’d like to enjoy fresh water from every faucet in your house, a whole house water filter can do that just as it comes into the house – bringing you crisp, clean water from every tap in your home. We’ll share the best options for a fresh water supply. If you live in a home with a fireplace, you’re probably using it a lot during these cold months. But did you know your fireplace your fireplace can drive up your insurance costs? We explain why and how to lower that expense. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about ,applying epoxy to a garage floor, installing your own central air conditioning, cleaning mold off a roof, best way to lay a tile floor, installing a ceiling fan. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your questio

The right combination of kitchen lighting can beautify your space while improving the functionality of work areas. We highlight the best kitchen lighting options for ambient, task, and accent lighting in today’s Smart Spending Tip. We hear a lot these days about ways to make sure the air inside our homes is clean – but unfortunately a lot of that advice is just plain wrong! We talk with expert Jeff May, author of My House is Killing Me, on what we’re doing right - and what we’re doing wrong to breathe easy inside our homes. We love home improvement hacks that that help us get stuff done and share 4 to save time while fixing up your space. If you’re hit with a big winter storm and don’t have your car tucked away in a garage… it’s always a pain to clear the snow and ice off your car. Get 4 quick tips to remove ice and snow. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about, installing floor registers, fixing cracked drywall and patio gaps, preparing for HVAC installation in a basement. Do you have a h

Tired of chilly floors? Adding radiant heat to your home’s floor can provide a for a very comfortable and energy efficient home, not to mention stopping the shock of setting foot on a cold floor first thing in the morning! We highlight two systems that can work for both new and existing homes.  Are you tired of feeling, well, tired? For many people, these shorter and colder days can bring on a case of the blues that can impact your mood, focus and energy. We’ve got easy DIY pick-me-ups to beat the blues and raise your spirit! Want to get the most out of the hassle and expense of getting firewood? All that hard work that can be undone all too easily if you don’t store the firewood properly before tossing it into your fireplace. We’ll tell you how. Plus, we ask what is on YOUR to do list for the New Year. Whether you’re dealing with a repair or dreaming about a reno, we dig in to serve as your coach, helper or home improvement therapist for all things remodeling, decor or fix up!  Plus, we answer your home

If you are busting at the seams and looking for some getaway space for crafts or projects, a heated garage may do the trick. This was a project Tom took on during the quarantine and he share tips on the easiest ways for you to warm up this workspace at your home. Americans have been taking on home improvement in record numbers. But as we improve our homes, should we also be improving our insurance policies to make sure they’re protected from fires, floods and other disasters? Tom & Leslie talk to an expert attorney who specializes in helping homeowners fight insurance companies that try to avoid paying claims for the very damage you bought insurance for in the first place! Cleaning the counters might be something you do multiple times a day without much thought. We show you how to keep counters clean longer — so you can spend less time wiping them down Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about installing energy star windows, repairing a buckled wood floor, types of insulation to use in your at

If you have an electric water heater, you probably know all too well it's also the most expensive way to get hot water. Smart home technology has now arrived providing options for water heaters that not only cost less to operate but include built-in leak protection to stop floods. If your roof starts to leak when the snow starts to melt, – you might have a common problem known as an ice dam, we’ll have tips to melt this problem away – and an important tip on how to get your insurance company to pay for the fix. Plus, we’ve got 3 handy hacks to help deal with snow and ice this winter, including a recipe for a homemade deicer you can mix-up whenever it’s needed in today’s Smart Spending Tip. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about, installing gutters, using Dricore to help moisture, installing grab bars, installing a tankless hot water heater. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here. Learn more about your a

Thanks to the pandemic, getting fresh clean air inside your home is more important than ever. But you don’t have to throw open windows in frigid weather. We’ll share ways to makes sure the air INSIDE your home is as clean as possible in today’s Smart Spending Tip. With so many folks spending a lot of time at home these days, it’s a great time to think about how smart home products can make our homes more convenient and safer. We’ll share some new ways to do just that.  A leaking water heater can lead to pretty major flood damage. But now there’s a new water heater on the market that detects leaks and automatically shuts off the water supply stopping serious flooding before it even starts. We’ll share the update. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about, venting a garage, radiator repairs, heating unused rooms Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.c

According to a new survey by Travelers, 75% of Americans have been taking on home improvement projects since the quarantine began – and I’d venture a guess that this is more activity than the home improvement industry has seen in decades. We’re going to take a look at the top 5 projects folks are taking on in just a bit. Are outside noises disturbing your sleep or work? You can minimize those sounds. Whether it’s traffic noise, the train, noisy neighbors or loud plumbing, we’ll have tips to help you get back your peace and quiet. The colder it gets the more expensive it is to pick up fresh herbs and veggies. But you can have fresh, healthy foods year-round by growing your own with veggie container gardens! We’ll tell you the plants that grow best in cold weather and more just ahead. Home fires peak in the winter. We’ll highlight a new type of “smart” fire and carbon monoxide detector that’s wireless and interconnected to keep your home safe, even when you are not home. Plus, answers to your home improveme

·        Now is the season for many things and unfortunately one of those is the fire season. There are more smoke and carbon monoxide incidents in these next couple months than any other time of the year. Tom & Leslie highlight new smart home technology that can help keep you safe. Getting ready to refresh your home with some new décor? Not sure if your budget is ready to handle the hit? We’ll share 5 ways to save lots of money decorating your home sweet home in today’s Smart Spending Tip just ahead. Did you know that according to the CDC, many of us are not cleaning and disinfecting our homes the right way? We’ll share a simple tip that can help make sure you’re getting rid of bacteria and viruses and other all the hard surfaces in your house. It’s pretty well-known that poinsettia flowers, while beautiful, can be dangerous if eaten. But it turns out that other holiday flowers are actually far more toxic. We share tips to keep you and your pets safe. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions abou

A warm fire from a wood stove or fireplace adds comfort and to a chilly winter day. But did you know that not all firewood delivers the same level of heat. We’ll share tips on how to select the best firewood for comfort and safety, coming up.  Whether your furnace is shot or you’re ready for a more efficient upgrade, a new furnace should never be an impulse buy. But too often, that’s exactly what does happen – especially if your furnace gives out in the middle of winter! We’ll explain how to shop furnaces the smart way. Tis’the season – the season for selecting a Christmas tree. But if you’re a family who always goes for the real tree, you might be surprised to learn how much a fake tree can also look like the real thing – we’ll share tips from our holiday tree buying guide, including some fun new lighting options. If you own an old house with chilly, drafty walls – adding insulation can seem like a difficult job. We share tricks of the trade to insulate finished walls without damaging walls in the process

Space is at a premium these days and one area not to overlook is UP, the attic! We highlight several ways to take advantage of the attic space overhead, including how to plan for ceiling height, stairs, heating, cooling and décor.   If you think back over the years, have you made energy saving or other improvements to your home that upped its “green” factor? Those green home improvements could just help you sell your home more quickly than the competition. Tom & Leslie tell you why, just ahead in today’s Smart Spending Tip. Icicles look very pretty hanging from the edge of your roof this time of year… but did you know they may signal a potential problem with your roof that can cause pretty major leaks? We’ll have tips on how to prevent ice dams (and the leaks they cause!) After spending so much time at home recently, you’d like to change up your décor but your budget is already strained! There are ways to stretch that budget, along with your creative “muscles”, to create a place you’ll be proud to call hom

If you’ve been thinking about investing in a home but don’t have the funds to go it alone, buying a home with a partner can be an option. Tom and Leslie walk you through the steps you should consider before making that big purchase. If you are tightening your belt, you may be thinking about slashing your home maintenance budget. That could be a BIG mistake, we’ll explain why. Do you ever feel like you’re always having trouble finding the tool you’re looking for? If your workshop or craft space is cluttered, disorganized, maybe even overflowing, a standard toolbox might not be cutting it for you. We’ll have helpful tips for tool organization coming up. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about, options for insulating your attic, installing a marble countertop, how to add speckles to garage epoxy floor, repairing a flat roof, eliminating roaches. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here.   Learn more about you