

Summary:
opposition calls for boycott of presidential electionsTOM:. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Are you working on a décor project? We’d love to hear about that, as well. What projects do you have planned for the next season, the fall season? That’s usually when we kind of are ready to get back into fixing up our houses before the cold weather shows up. Or are you struggling through some really super-warm days right now and you need some tips on how to stay cool, how to improve that A/C in your house? All great questions. Let’s talk about it at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Coming up on today’s show, now that we are officially in the dog days of summer, you might find that you’re having a hard time maintaining a lush, green lawn. Well, the good news is that it’s actually OK to let your lawn go a little brown for this month if you know how to protect it so it’ll jump back once the weather cools off. We’ll tell you, just ahead.
LESLIE: Plus, if you’re planning to buy a home in the months ahead, you don’t want to do that without taking one very important step and that’s getting a professional home inspection. We’re getting to get expert advice from Randy Sipe, the president of the American Society of Home Inspectors.
TOM: Plus, we’ve got tips for low-cost to no-cost ways to keep you cool during these warm days of the summer season.
LESLIE: And if you give us a call today with your home improvement question, you might also win a $50 prize pack that will help make your outdoor living much more comfortable. We’re giving away a supply of the new Terminix AllClear Mosquito Bait & Kill.
Now, this is the only control product that mosquitoes will actually eat. And then in just two to three weeks’ time, your populations are cut by more than 90 percent. So that’s a huge way to get rid of mosquitoes.
TOM: Good stuff. And I love the fact that it’s 100-percent nontoxic and safe for people. You’ll get 2 twin packs, plus we’re going to throw in a $25 gift card to The Home Depot. So pick up the phone, right now, and call us with your question, you know, put the stain on.
JANET: OK. That sounds good.
TOM: Alright? Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: William in Missouri is on the line with a flooring question. How can we help you today?
WILLIAM: Yeah. I have a – I live in a modular house. It’s 3,000 square feet. And I have a bounce in the floor in the middle of the house. What do I need to do to solve that issue?
TOM: When was it built?
WILLIAM: It’s almost 16 years old.
LESLIE: And is it like a really long, wide room?
WILLIAM: Well, it’s the living room. It’s like 20 feet by 13 feet.
TOM: Now, are the floor beams – the floor joists underneath that – are they traditional two-by floor beams or are they – do they look more like a plywood beam?
WILLIAM: Yeah. They’re a two-by – look like a 2×10 to me.
TOM: Like a 2×10. OK. Well, here’s the thing: if it’s always had this bounce in it, it may be technically built correctly. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s bouncing. So what you could do is you could add a girder down the middle of those beams – basically split them in half. And that would basically take the flex or the bounce out of this.
Now, it wouldn’t be the kind of girder that you typically would build first and put the entire floor structure and the rest of the house on top of it. You’re basically just going to build either a girder or a wall underneath the middle of those beams to basically cut the span in half. And that would take out the bounce. So if it’s really bothering you, that’s the way to do it.
The reason I asked you about the plywood beams – because a lot of times in prefabricated houses, you get these types of beams called TJIs that look like kind of like a wooden I-beam with a plywood web. And they tend to bounce a lot. But if that’s not what you’re doing – not the case here, you’ve just got a pretty long span, that’s what’s causing that flex. I think adding an intermediate girder would take it out.
WILLIAM: Well, that sounds like a winner to me. Do I need to get a contractor to look at it or an engineer or anything?
TOM: It’s not a bad idea. Just to make sure that this is not a condition that’s developing because of any construction defect. The process itself is pretty straightforward if you’re handy but if not, you can have a pro do it. But I do think it’s a good idea to have it looked at by an expert that can actually see it.
WILLIAM: OK. Well, I sure do appreciate the help.
TOM: Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Give us a call with your home improvement question. Pretty much whatever you are working on, we are here to lend a hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
Up next, are you having a hard time keeping your cool, literally and figuratively, through these warm summer days? We’re going to give you some low-cost and no-cost ways to stay cool and comfortable, after this.
TOM: Making good homes better, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Give us a call, right now, at 888-MONEY-PIT. You’ll get the answer to your home improvement question. Plus, this hour, we’re giving away a prize that’s going to keep you itch-free. It’s a supply of Terminix AllClear Mosquito Bait & Kill.
And this is a really interesting, new product that works in three simple steps. First, it sort of baits the mosquitoes with a sugar attractant. They love to get near that sugar. And it uses a formula that mimics the mosquitoes’ sort of natural plant sugar, which makes it very irresistible, so they can’t help but feed on it. And then they actually kill them with indigestible toxin, which is – guess what? It’s garlic oil. Apparently, it’s very toxic to mosquitoes, yet it’s safe for people, pets and the environment.
And it’s really effective because it collapses the populations in two to three weeks. In fact, after feeding, mosquitoes begin to die off within 24 to 48 hours. And in just 2, 3 weeks, it decreases the populations by more than 90 percent.
You’re going to get a supply of Terminix AllClear Mosquito Bait & Kill, plus a $25 gift card from The Home Depot for any home improvement projects around the backyard you’d like to tackle.
Learn more at BaitAndKill.com. And give us a call, right now, for the answer to your home improvement question and your chance to win at 1-888-MONEY-PIT..
Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.:11:04).
TOM: Alright.
STUART: But I’m noticing the small cracks and (inaudible at 0:11:10), nothing really serious. And it’s specifically in the paint.
And so we had it painted. About six years ago, they pressure-washed it. Did a really nice prime coat and then two topcoats., you know? So just make sure you seal them up first and then repaint the place.
STUART: Alright. Well, thanks a whole lot. I appreciate your help.
TOM: Well, we call them the “dog days of summer” for a good reason. August always seem to be the hottest. So if you feel like your A/C is running overtime and your house just isn’t getting as cool as it could, well, you’re right. And besides the higher energy bills, there’s also a lot of wasted energy. So much so, in fact, it actually might shock you.
LESLIE: Yeah. Did you know that the average house gives off more greenhouse gases than a car? Two times more, in fact. How about this one? The average homeowner spends about $2,000 a year on utilities. And heating-and-cooling bills account for nearly half of that.
TOM: Now, there are a few things that you can do to not only cool off more quickly but