In this video episode of The Handyguys Podcast Handyguy Paul replaces the water tank on his GE Side By Side refrigerator. His tank was leaking so he found the part and replaced it. This repair will be similar for many different makes and models of refrigerators.

The Handyguys revisit some old issues and discuss some new ones – foamy faucets, cloudy dishes, frog tape giveaway, toilet troubles and bad gas caps on this audio episode.

Topic 1:  The Moen Faucet with foamy smelly water.

Paul discusses his Moen faucet with the pull out braided hose and how it still produces smelly foamy water when not used for several hours.  Moen’s customer service was great but they don’t offer any explanation of what causes the odor or foam. Several listeners contacted the Handyguys with the same issue.  Perhaps they can respond to this post with their experience and offer a work-around to this problem. For now, Paul has not taken Moen up on their offer to replace the faucet with a non pullout head as his wife is hooked on the feature.  They are living with the problem for now.

Topic 2:  The Kenmore Elite Dishwasher revisited (i.e. Whirlpool, Kitchenaid, Kenmore)

Paul’s video of the Kenmore Elite dishwasher where he cleans out the basin has solved a lot of folks problems with frustrating modern dishwashers that don’t do the job.  However, he began having problems with a white film building up on dishes.  The problem is now solved.  Cleaning out the basin fixed the problem of grit and being left on the dishes.  This new solution eliminates the cloudy problems with glasses.

Topic 3:  Frog Tape Giveaway.

We have two frog tape sets to giveaway. Each set has two rolls of frog tape, a t-shirt and a bag. Just make a comment on this post to enter. Listen to the podcast for details.

Topic 4: Incomplete toilet flushes

We followed up on a listener question regarding a toilet that does not flush completely. Like the sewage in question, this is a problem that does not easily go away.  Listen to the Handyguys speculate on possible solutions.

Topic 5:  End of season mower care

Paul discusses his frustration trying to prepare his mower for the winter and confuses airplanes with the spinning things on mowers.

Topic 6:  Gas Caps

Check out the new style gas caps at your local True Value and let us know what you think. They are supposed to be better than some of the older “safe” designs. Brian thinks they are an improvement but still a bit awkward. Some of the newest types may be best.

We were one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. We have been compensated for our time commitment to the program as well as our writing and productions about our experience. We have also been compensated for the materials needed for our DIY project. However, as always, our opinions are entirely our own and we have not been paid to publish positive comments.

In this audio podcast we comment on the most common tips for hurricane preparedness, add a few of our own, and then interview a Handyguys Podcast fan and hurricane veteran.

Hurricane Earl from the ISS, click to enlarge

For complete preparedness tips please check out these resources:
www.nhc.noaa.gov
www.fema.gov
www.ready.gov
wikipedia.org

 

Here are some tips The Handyguys discuss:

• Check gutters and downspouts, make sure they are functional and well attached.
• Put things like lawn chairs, garbage cans, recycling bins, and anything that could blow away in a secure location. Look around at your neighbors property too. Help them get cleaned up. Their stuff could blow into your windows.
• Trim dead limbs from trees
• Ensure your sump-pump is operational, consider a water powered or battery backup sump pump
• Ensure you have a working flashlight and that you know where it is
• Make sure your vehicle(s) are filled with gas
• If you have a generator - make sure its in working condition, test it. Make sure you have a supply of fresh gas and that you know how to use it (and how you shouldn’t use it)
• If you have a chainsaw – make sure your blades are sharp and you have gas/oil, etc.
• Make sure you have a battery or hand crank operated radio so you can get storm updates in the event of a power failure
• Make sure your garage door is latched closed (helps keep water out and secures somewhat better against wind). Don’t close the garage door if you are running a generator in the garage
• Make sure you have supplies of medications, water, food, etc. (If you loose power frequently how long is it usually out?)
• Make sure your cell phones are fully charged.
• Identify the safest room in your house. It would be a room with no windows or exterior doors.
• Turn your refrigerator to its COLDEST setting a few hours before the storm.

These aren’t all the things you need to do. That will depend on the severity of the hit in your area. Make sure you keep safe and follow all emergency instructions and evacuations if necessary.
Make sure you subscribe to the podcasts or videos, our email newsletter, twitter or follow us on facebook.

You can also track hurricanes in real-time with the map below:

Everyone in your household should know where the main water shutoff valve is, The Handyguys discuss why.

Avert Disaster

Disaster averted. One of the Handyguys got a call from someone at home about water leaking out from the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Obviously this isn’t normal. With no handyguy around do the members of your household know where to shut off the water? Some valves are hard to turn, some may be blocked by junk. Would the person at home even know which valve to shut off?

Remember, lefty loosey, righty tighty. That confuses some people but is easy to remember. When looking at a valve its counter clockwise to turn it on and clockwise to turn it off.

Ball Valves

The best kind of valves only require a quarter turn to shut them off and have a handle indicating the direction. Another good tip with ball valves, when the handle is parallel to the pipe its on, when perpendicular to the pipe the valve is off.

Listen to the show to hear how disaster was avoided by knowing where to shut off the water and then what the simple fix was for the leak.

Phased Remodeling, Vinyl Siding and Grading

Phased Remodeling

Painting is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to change the look of a room.

In this episode The Handyguys start off discussing Phased remodeling inspired by an article in a recent “Home Improvement Times”. What is phased, or serial remodeling? Are there advantages to this approach in tough economic times? What are the disadvantages? We then address two listener questions, one on what should be included in a vinyl siding job and one about grading, moisture and stucco. Listen to the podcast for a discussion by The Handyguys Brian & Paul.

Vinyl Siding

We then address a question from a listener about vinyl siding, Lou Ann writes:

I really enjoy your podcast, and I have a question for you. We are getting our 60 + years old house resided with vinyl siding. They will be replacing the existing aluminum siding. My question is…what can I expect? I’ve gone to website that tell you to take down all your framed artwork from the walls. What happens to all the stuff already cut into the siding, dryer vents, water pipes and such?

Hope this isn’t a stupid question. Thanks for your help.

Lou Ann – No, that’s not a stupid question at all. It is standard practice that all the penetrations through the siding are properly flashed and trimmed out when the siding is installed. It couldn’t hurt to ask your contractor though. This may be specified in your agreement but it doesn’t hurt to make a call. Do not let them charge extra after you ask. We discuss this and talk about some of the things the siding contractor will need to deal with in the podcast. Thanks for your question Lou Ann.

Grading

Gary writes us, concerned about an inspection on a new house.

I bought a house 6 weeks ago , one of the comments on the inspection report was the grading by the bedroom needed attention as it was to close to the stucco and would allow moisture to pass , this section is a new addition to the house and is built on a concrete foundation , at the front of the house however ( built in 1947 ) the stucco goes all the way under the soil as such clearly built with a different code . How do you prevent moisture ingress here ? Is the stucco sealed ? How do I know if its still effective?

Thanks for the great show

Gary – Thanks for the pictures. You do not need to be concerned with the stucco or sealing it, your bigger concern is the relationship of the grading to the wall and floor behind the stucco. Your grade dirt and mulch should be below the level of the bottom of the wall. You are lucky, you have a window. Measure from the windowsill to the floor, on the inside, then measure on the outside down. This will give you an idea if the grade is too high. For our listeners and readers – we followed up with Gary and his grade is low enough.

That’s it for this weeks show. Make sure you subscribe and tell your friends.

Costly DIY Mistakes and Listener Questions

First off – The Handyguys welcome listeners from RFC Radio and give them a brief background on The Handyguys.

Costly DIY Mistakes

Having to pump water from a finished basement is a costly mistake

This week we talk about the most costly mistake a DIYer can make when finishing a basement—not taking care of potential water issues before finishing your basement. Water can damage your belongings and your newly finished wall and flooring and can cause mold, rot and decay. The Handyguys provide some tips to ensure your basement will stay dry. Even if you are not finishing your basement, check out the podcast tips and keep your basement dry!

Ideally, water penetration is prevented from the outside of your foundation wall. The most common contributor of a damp or wet basement is improper grading around your house. If the ground around your house slopes toward your house then water will likely find its way into your basement. Fix the grading and you can prevent most water problems. Another common contributor to water in the basement are short downspouts that empty water to close to the foundation. You should extend your downspouts at least four feet to six feet from your house.

Listener Questions

Broken Window

The Handyguys then address a question left as a comment on our show about window repair.

Bonnie Writes:

Randomly exploding windows? What could be going on? Listen to the podcast for some discussion about the problem.

Hi, My husband and I have been searching the net looking for an answer. Our home has vinyl windows they are probably at least 15 yrs. old. So this year in the last 4 months they have started to literally explode. So far 4 of them. We were actually home when one went tonight, it sounded like an explosion, we thought someone threw a brick at our house. After looking around sure enough it had happened again. We can’t figure this out. They are double pane, argon gas filled. No real pattern, sometimes its the inside pane (1) and sometimes the outside pane (3). Can you by any chance tell us whats going on? I am going to call the insurance agent tomorrow but I don’t know if they will cover something like this. any ideas would be most appreciated.

Thank you Bonnie

The Handyguys address this very odd issue and give some suggestions for Bonnie. Listen to the podcast for details.

HE Furnace Vent

Another fan write us ad asked about critters getting into the vents for their new High Efficiency furnace.

Diane Wrote:

Just had a 95% high efficient furnace installed with the vent going out the side of my home (PVC pipe).

My concern is that a small animal could crawl into it?

Should it have some sort on grate on it? It is only @ 2 feet from the ground.

Thanks!

Diane – The way your vents are installed is normal. We do have some suggestions if critters become an issue or you are concerned. Listen to the podcast for details and discussion.

Dryer vent Discussions

The Handyguys wrap up the show with a brief discussion of dryer vent cleaning. This should be an additional item for our Spring Home Inspection Checklist that was discussed during show 57. Do you clean your dryer vents? Any tips you would like to share with other listeners? Leave a comment.

The Handyguys help you determine whether your unfinished basement is suitable for finishing in their home improvement podcast.

Part 2 in the basement finishing series.

Are you tired of that dirty old basement which is filled with all of the junk that you don’t need? Have you been waiting to use that pneumatic nailer you recently purchased? Then it is time to begin finishing your basement. But before you shoot your first nail, you have to determine if your basement is a good candidate to be converted to living space. You don’t want to spend a lot of time and money finishing your basement if water, mold and moisture are going to ruin your hard work.

The Handyguys take a look at some of the hurdles you must face before even thinking of finishing your basement. They provide some tips for the do-it-yourself minded individuals who would love to see a nice play room, entertainment room or billiards room in your basement.

Do you have enough electrical power to handle the new space you want to finish? If not, you may need to upgrade your service. Consider talking to an electrical professional to evaluate your current electrical service and panel.

In addition, you must have adequate heating and a/c for the new space.

The common problem you must correct before beginning finishing work is to mitigate against any kind of water or moisture penetration. You don’t want that new Berber carpet to become moldy or soaked from a freak rainstorm. You should have a good water mitigation plan in place handle the threats that nature brings. If you have severe water problems, you may want to talk to a few local water mitigation contractors to see what products they offer to prevent water penetration. If you decide to have a drainage system installed, be sure to wait a couple of years to confirm that it stand up to all kinds of weather. You don’t want to discover that your new system fails during that huge thunderstorm when the power goes out.

Another common problem is Radon. This natural gas is not something you want trapped in your home. There are reasonably priced systems available to prevent radon gas from seeping into your home but you want to deal with this issue before you begin finishing the basement. It will make your life a lot easier.

In addition to problems from the outside, there are potential problems already in your basement.

Is your stairwell adequate?

Is your ceiling height high enough for finished space? Are utilities and ductwork going to be in the way?

Check out this week’s podcast for more details.

Part one of the Basement Series can be read and listened to here.