My daughter Chelsea dropped in to talk about the September webisode of Checking In With Chelsea. In the video, she shows how she brightened up her backyard with Moonrays vintage bulb string lights and swirled glass globe stake lights.
Julie Day Jones joined us for our Around the Yard segment, sponsored by Pavestone. You can check out her September Lawn and Garden To-Do List here.
Here’s what else we tackled on this week’s show:
Hour 1
Sheila in AL
What is the best way to fix a hot water leak under the slab? I have found the hot spot in the floor which is at the wall in the dining room, which is just on the other side of the laundry room. Are we going to have to bust up the floor? We just replaced the old hot water heater with a tankless one. It turns out the noise I thought was the old hot water heater may be a leak. How do you know if you are getting a good and honest plumber?
Angela in MD
We have wood paneling in our living room which makes the room very dark. I would like to paint it. The paneling doesn’t have the little lines in it but are panels that are joined together with a wood strip. The panels seem to be firmly attached to the wall. When I look closely though it appears as if the wood finish has a vinyl veneer. Can this be painted? Also I don’t like the strips of wood because it makes it hard to decorate. Is there anything that can be done to fill in the gaps and make a smooth wall?
Brandon in MI
I’m in the middle of a master bathroom remodel. At the tile supply house where I sourced my tile, I had selected grout colors and the grout that they were recommending was an anti-microbial grout that was supposed to resist mildew. My tile contractor doesn’t want to use that grout. He said it’s harder to work with and he recommends using more traditional grout and sealing it. Just want to know if I should be listening to him or if there really is something to this anti-microbial stuff.
Laurie
I have a heavy mirror that I want to attach to a concave wall. Any suggestions on how to do this?
Bill in Texas
I have vinyl siding on the back of my brick home (brick on 3 sides). We are looking to replace the back side with lap siding. Do we need to remove the vinyl, or can we apply over the existing siding?
Hour 2
John in MN
Our 3-year-old (broom finish) concrete patio has not been sealed. How do I seal it correctly?
Dorothy
We have some old antique painted bricks. Is there anything we can do to get the paint off the brick?
Wanda in KY
Our deck is on a second level. We had it replaced last summer, and it looks just as old as our old deck. What can we do about the sun that is killing it and boards have started to come apart. Will we have to replace this deck every year?
Anne
I have ceiling fans just outside my back doors to help keep flying insects from swarming in every time the door is opened. Should the fan blow up or down. I never thought about this until this year. The mosquitoes are awful here.
Jean in FL
I live in South Florida where the weather is warm and high humidity, and I’m looking at having insulation put in my attic. A few local contractors have given me the option of R21 blown in cellulose or R30 blown in fiberglass for the same price. Which one should I choose?
Jerily
My dryer vent goes through the attic to the top of the roof. I am concerned about not being able to clean out the piping of build-up. Is this causing a fire hazard?
Karen
This is my first tile project: I’m planning to do a backsplash. Where do I start? Straight wall or corner? How do you deal with outlets? How do you tile behind the stove area?
