June 7, 2026 • 44 mins
Gary discussed various topics, including how to address a long, horizontal crack in the basement, which may be caused by water table issues or shifting footers. He also talked about the importance of testing water pressure in the home and recommended using a pressure test gauge to determine if the issue lies with the pipes or the pressure regulator. Additionally, Gary shared tips on how to prevent water from accumulating in the gutters and recommended using a gutter brush to keep them clear.
Gary also fielded questions from listeners, including one caller who was concerned about a driveway leak and another who wanted to know how to protect a concrete angel on a cemetery stone from the elements. He offered advice on using a curtain drain to catch water before it reaches the main drain and recommended using a product like Wet and Forget to keep the angel clean and mildew-free.
If you're dealing with a similar issue or just want to learn more about how to maintain your home, tune in to this hour "At Home with Gary Sullivan" to hear Gary's expert advice and insights.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Speaker 1 (00:28):
Well the weekend. It is Welcome at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Is hours brought to you by Zalor. The salor does
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(01:12):
the primary part that fails on some pumps. Talk to
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You can check it out. It's Zalor dot com. And
we thank them for sponsoring this hour of the show.
All right, another hour ago and taking your calls about
your home projects. Feel free to join us. Our phone
number is eight hundred eight two three eight two five
(01:36):
five grab a line Tony. Welcome, good morning.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
How are we doing today?
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Doing fine? Thank you?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I have an issue that I just noticed actually yesterday
that I got a crack on my foundation at the
grout about four foot up. I've seen it before, there's
only you know, a foot or so, but now it
is over twenty long.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
How long?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
About twenty foot almost a whole link in my in
front of my house.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Okay, So take me outside again, let's talk about this.
So the founday, what kind of house? Is it a
brick house or.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
It is a brick house? Is this block foundation?
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Okay? And this crack is right where the block and
the brick meet or no.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
No, no, it's just the block in the basement. And uh,
it's like I said, it's about four foot up and
it runs, it just runs almost the whole front of
the the part of the house.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Okay. And you can't you can't see that crack on
the outside because it's underground.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah. Correct.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
So how white is this crack?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
It's probably a good eighth or quarter inch give or take.
You kind of go up and down a little bit.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
And do you have any water issues at all?
Speaker 3 (02:59):
I have been trying to figure one out. I've lived
here for eight years. I've been trying to I can
hear water when it rains a lot and I've got
the gutters clear and everything. I'm not sure where it's
coming from. I'm down to the fact that I think
I got a planter in front of the house. I
think it's coming through a crack between the sidewalk and
(03:21):
one of those it's a decorative thing where the flowers
are in there and stuff. It's the only other place
I can figure out that there's when it rains, it's
coming out through the crack between those two things. Because
like I've kept the gutters clear, I'm friends cameras up them,
you know.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
I I just don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I can sometimes I can just hear the water from
the outside, you know, I just don't know where it's
coming from.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
So is this crack on the inside, Is this absolutely
straight across.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Or it is right on the grout line, right all
the way across, right along the same elevation, all across
on the grout line.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So when you say a grout line, you're talking about
the mortar joint that is correct, Yeah, okay, And this
is about several feet up off the floor, correct. And
usually those blocks on a block foundation are staggered, so
there wouldn't be a straight liner as they crack right
through the block itself.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
You know, I would say it it's very strang it's
not jagged, it's very straight.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Okay okay, And did you say water is coming through
that crack? I kind of lost you.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
No, no, no, no, okay, it's the fact's too high up.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Okay, okay, okay. Well, you know, obviously nobody wants that
crack that's twenty five feet long running horizontally across the basement. Well, however,
the more serious cracks are stair step cracks, where it
follows the grout line or mortar line and stare steps
(05:04):
up from like a corner up to the center or
all the way across the wall. And even worse than
that would be maybe a vertical crack. Now, the only
way you're gonna you don't have water coming through. So
what that's telling me, Tony, is that you've got really
good drainage outside. Okay. So the I always call them
(05:28):
the killer G's gutters. You said, I keep those clean.
That's not a problem. The other is grating that the
house the soil is sloped away from the house, that's
not sloped right into the house. So just check that.
But I'm gonna assume the grating is probably fairly okay,
(05:52):
but it could be a water table issue. The only
way you're gonna know is to really I'm not sure,
I mean, And if you want to call like a
waterproofing company to look at that's fine. They have free
inspections you Also, if you want to have an outside
source take a look at you can have a structural
(06:15):
engineer take a look at it. He's not selling you anything.
Accept his knowledge to tell you what the problem is.
My guess, My guess is what's going on is the
footers that are holding everything in place. Obviously if they shift,
or I always say the footers are kind of like
(06:37):
if you stand on in the beach right next to
where the waves come in and break over your feet,
what happens is your feet starts settling into the sand,
And that same thing can happen with a foundation. If
your water table below the floor is rising and then
(06:59):
settling been doing this for a long time, that footer
will start settling and you know there'll be pressure and
you'll get a separation or a crack, and that may
be what's causing it. And maybe an underground drain system
would would stabilize that. The one thing that I'd be
(07:23):
concerned about. And this is a structural engineer kind of answer.
This question is, you know, is that wall going to
start bowing now because it's not solid, right, That's what.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I will not the videos and stuff, and that's what
it's like. It's like since it might start bowing right
right in word, more likely since it's third on the
other side, right.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
But there's ways to correct that. I talk about a
waterproofing company called ever Dry Waterproofing. They got about thirty
franchises to the United States. They have a really cool product.
I was just telling my buddy about it. It was
it's a carbon fiber I'm gonna say cloth material that
(08:07):
they can put on a block wall. It's carbon fiber.
So they would like fill the crack and then put
this carbon fiber reinforcement and it could be painted. You
wouldn't even know it's there, and that'll stabilize it. The
actual name of the product is called stable Built Stable Wall.
Stable wall is what that product is called. And there's
(08:31):
other ways to fix it, but that's the most efficient
way I've seen. I mean, there's people that do anchors
and cables and pull the wall, but I don't think
you're there yet. You know you got this crack, you're
just trying to stabilize it. You don't have a water issue.
You got good water control. But if you want to
really have it inspected by a you know, a structural engineer,
(08:57):
I think in your case that might be worth it.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
You know, if anybody in town I don't.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
I'm sure if you get on Google structural engineer for
residential homes near me, you'll come up with some It's
it's a little bit more expensive than a home inspector
with a little bit more knowledge on it. But I
think I would get in front of the issue. And
you know, when you say structural engineer right away, everybody's
(09:28):
thinking a couple thousand bucks, and I think you're probably
more in a range of three to five hundred dollars.
That might be money well spent. And then you know,
I think he can pretty much tell you what's going
on by looking at the crack, et cetera, et cetera.
He's going to answer a lot of the same questions
(09:48):
I asked you, though though I can't see it, and
we'll make some assessment of what's causing it and how
it can be fixed. And then if you get to
a point, maybe a couple of years down the road,
maybe ten years down the road, maybe next week, I
don't know, you'll have something to go on where when
(10:11):
you have people come in for repair, you'll be educated
and have the proper questions. Plus you'll have a structural
engineer's report on exactly what's going on.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Okay, all right, appreciate the information.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
You're quite Welcome you to your day, all right, you
do the same, Thanks, take care all right again the
phone numbers eight hundred eight two three, eight two five five.
Of course we're talking about your home and you're at
home with Gary.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
So if you don't have a list of things to
do around the house, Gary will find something for you
at one eight hundred eighty two three talk you're at
home with Gary's elevator.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
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(13:26):
at it we go at home with Gary Sullivan. Well,
we had a couple of really good conversations over the
last couple of days, and I'm saying that because I
want to remind you they're available to you via podcast,
And one was with Ashley of the TVA. We're talking
about energy conservation, very informative, and the other ones on
(13:51):
the drive backs for sphalt driveways, ten year warranty. Both
of those are wherever you get your podcast. I always
talked about the iHeart app because it's real easy to
find downloaded free click podcast at Home with Gary Sullivan,
and I believe you can even him send to your
email if you want, or you can just go there
(14:12):
and pick them up. Take a listen to both of
those lots of good information. All right. Our phone number's
eight hundred eight two three eight two five five, happy
to take your call regarding your home and adam.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Welcome, Good morning Gary, How are you today doing fine?
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Thank you?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Hey, listen. I want to first of all, thank you
for your show, so many tips, and I gotta pass
something out of but one of the products you just advertised,
odor Exit. Yes, that stuff I swear by. I've been
using it for over ten years now. I swear by
that stuff. It's absolutely fantastic.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah, thank you much.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Quick true story. Run it out of car. I carry
you a small bottle with me my dot bag when
I travel. Run it out a car that smelled like marijuana,
like someone that smoked pot in it, and I so
I sprayed it inside. Let said overnight and then open
up the windows. The next day. That smell was gone.
The next afternoon it was gone.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
It was fantastic, good stuff. Glad to hear that thanks.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
Question.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
First of all, before I get to my water pressure question,
browning strap on a house, if it comes off from
the concrete, should I screw it back into the concrete?
Speaker 1 (15:21):
What do you mean? Well, it was screwed in correct,
a strap and screwed. Yeah, yeah, I'd put it back
in right, Yeah, all right.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
I don't remember what the purpose of those are, but
I know that it's always been there and my home
and so forth, my old home, so that's why I
want to.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yeah, right, I have in my home.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It's twenty years old. I have a lot of the
push pull shut off valves on the plumbing fixtures, right, sinks, toilets, everything,
And I had one that kept on popping, so I
replaced it to a twist kind. But now I've got
multiple and I'm talking six seven different fixtures around the
house popping shut for no reason in it all? Is
(16:01):
there a water pressure thing that I that I should
have tested looked at?
Speaker 4 (16:06):
So?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah, yeah you can. How do you feel the volume
and pressure is in the house currently?
Speaker 2 (16:14):
No problem at all. I mean, I it's comfortable, it's
pretty good.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah, So where are these valves that are doing this?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Toilet sinks? Oh, lopstuck. For example, master bath upstairs, Yes,
bath upstairs, downstairs, toilet downstairs, waterfollt okay.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
So are these like little chrome shut off valves beneath
the closet of a toilet? Is that words you're talking about?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
They're actually they're actually plastic.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Gary.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
These are push pulled like you push to turn it on,
pull to shut it off. They're plastic little round knobs.
And it's not the chrome ones. That's when I replaced.
When I replace them, I replace them with the chrome
twist shut off valves. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Is it a lever or is it the the the
handle or is it just a lever.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
It's not even a lever or handle. It's a round
knob like best I can put it put for it
is like a knob for a cupboard right now, for
a cupboard, and you push it to engage the water,
open it up, pull to shut off the valve.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Well, it's either faulty valves or high pressure that are
making them faulty. So i'd probably there's a couple. There's
some really good valves on there, and I think the
one you have, those plastic ones are not ideal. I
would like to get either one it's an oval handle,
(17:41):
or even the one with a lever. The one with
the lever actually has a a chrome ball inside. It's
a ball valve, and when you open it, it rotates.
That ball in very very durable, and water pressure probably
ating to effect that will affect a line long before
it'll affect anything else. But i'd test the water pressure.
(18:07):
You can get it. You can get a little test
will tell you exactly the amount of pounds per square inch.
You screw it on to the hose bib outside the house. Okay,
where the hose goes. It's got hose thread. Turn it on,
turn the valve on. It'll tell you what the pressure is.
(18:30):
And you have copper pipe or you got plastic pipe.
Plastic pipe, yeah, plastic pipe. I would like to say,
you're gonna want that copper pipe. You can do eighty.
I've had different people tell me different things. You may
just look it up to be certain. I haven't had
a need to really look it up at a couple
(18:50):
of people say, ah, you know, you want a plastic
pipe around sixty five psi, no higher than that and
above probably forty five, so forty five to six five
for plastic for copper. You can go forty five to eighty.
Just double check me on those numbers. So if you start,
if you've got plastic pipe and you run eighty ninety,
(19:12):
it might be the pressure regulator for the water that
needs to be replaced. But I'm going to guess it's
probably a combination between pressure and also the valves. Hope
that helps. Adam, thank you much for the call. I
appreciate it. We'll continue. You're at home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
Time to get your hands dirty with Gary Sullivan. Give
them a call at one eight hundred eighty two three talk.
You're at home with Gary Cellibrator.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
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(20:23):
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(22:19):
All right, back at it, We go at home with
Gary Sullivan. As we take your calls, our phone number
is eight hundred eight two three eight two five five.
And you know, one of the things I quick look
up is both plastic and and your PVC and your
pecks can take up to eighty pounds per square inch eightpsi.
(22:46):
But in doing that quick check, you definitely want to
test for water pressure. That's one of the main issues.
Ideally UH forty to sixty is best, range, sixty eighty
is acceptable and over eighty should be corrected. So it
(23:11):
may very well be water pressure. The other thing. Again,
I didn't ask. It sounded like it's pecks that he
has making sure that pipe is inserted properly, making sure
it's the same diameters and all that make sure it's
inserted improperly installed. He did say changed him out, and
(23:31):
I didn't ask any questions on that. But with the
valve popping like that, I'm thinking probably a water pressure
over eighty, I would say, would be the number one cause,
or even if it's close to eighty. Quite honestly, all right,
we'll take your call and you can grab a line again.
It's eight hundred eighty two three eight two five five.
(23:55):
Feel free to join us. We you know, when we're
talking about different things in saving energy, one of the
things that I think is appealing to a lot of homeowners,
especially home owners that don't have a background, say in electricity,
(24:17):
is we all want floodlights outside. We all want safety
if we have a deck in, you know, in steps
at night. One thing, and we were talking about also
energy costs and led bulbs. I think one of the
really coolest things for a home and they're the size
(24:42):
of us a softball, and there's three LED lights that
are about the size of a quarter and if you're
looking for lighting maybe just outside the garage or something
along those lines. You know, you don't need them on
all the time. You don't need a camera maybe there.
You just want to have some lighting when there's movement.
(25:06):
If you get into the big box store and you
start looking at some of the lighting, just two SE
sized batteries, two D sized batteries, depending on the size
of the of the light that you're looking to install.
Those batteries last for a good year and they only
(25:27):
come omenter's movement. Sensitivity can be adjusted. But take a
look at what's available in LED and battery lighting for
outside your home, even solar that has gotten better on
different accent lighting outside the home. Just it's gonna really
(25:51):
depend on where you live and how important you know
in the middle of the night it is, because in
wintertime with you know, depending on a amount of solar energy,
it can retain a lot of ones over the years
might turn on in a wintertime at five six o'clock
(26:11):
and go off at ten or eleven runs out juice.
So it depends where you live and whether you want
it in a wintertime and what I'm coming up with
is they have these lights for deck steps. They're not
that big, you know, I mean maybe two inches by
an inch, and it has a downcast light and a
(26:35):
couple double A batteries or you can you can wire
them too. I'm just trying to make it as easy
and something everybody can handle. They make them for the
inside too, but you get almost a whole year's worth
of life out of that. Don't it run wires and switches,
It's motion detected and adds lighting for safety. All right,
(27:00):
let's get back to the phones. We've got Jason, Jason welcome.
Speaker 6 (27:05):
Thank you, Eric, enjoy your show.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (27:09):
I've got a problem with the basement on our house.
We've lived here about thirty one years. Into the old
house it was built about nineteen twenty ath full farmhouse.
It had a pretty sure it had a cross space
one time, and they retrofitted the basement hund earth and
on the north side of the of the house they
(27:31):
put a driveway to the garage and that's where I
got a couple of leaks coming from the corners by
the stairway going into the basement and then on the
other corner when it rains pretty heavy. It's not a
gush or anything, but it's just a leak that goes
(27:52):
pretty much down to this drain that's close to there.
I was wondering if there was any way of cutting
like a little trench from both corners to that drain.
I mean, I don't see how I can eliminate the
water coming in because it's you know, there's a driveway there.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
So so is this drain is this like is there
walls and you go down a step to the get
the basement and that's where the drain is or where
is the drain exactly?
Speaker 6 (28:26):
Yeah, you do down the steps to the basement and
then the drain is about twenty feet ahead of that,
but it pretty much the water. You know, if I
do get any water, it just trickles down to that drain.
So it's kind of downhill there. But I'm just wondering
if if there's any way cut like a b trench.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
Well, there's always a way. I don't know if that's
you know, how how wide does that you know, how deep?
How wide does that v have to be? How much
water are we trying to control? It is all about
water control, so you're thinking along the right lines you know,
if I can you know, I'm not going to be
able to stop this water, But can I control it?
(29:11):
Can I control it by creating a swale? You know,
It's like it's like everything else, it's all about control. Now,
there is also another thing I'd like you to take
a look at, and maybe this would make more sense
because I don't know how deep, how wide, or anything
else that would have to be. And if we're controlling
it above the grade, we also run the risk, I guess,
(29:35):
of that water becoming ice, and you know that could
be a problem. So one of the things this drain
at the bottom, I'm assuming it's like two and a
half three inches, yeah, somewhere in that area.
Speaker 6 (29:55):
Yeah, the sun pump is about all six six or
eight feet from that drain. So everything that, you know,
everything that drains into that drain goes eventually into the
sun pump.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Cool. Good, good. What about a curtain drain? Are you
familiar with that?
Speaker 4 (30:16):
So? I've heard of them?
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Yeah, So, and a curtain drain is just a larger
reservoir to catch it sooner. Possibly, so rather than having
a two and a half inch drain or three inch drain,
this one might be two inches wide and twelve eight
(30:39):
eighteen inches long. You know where you catch it before
it has to go to the center to the drain. Yeah,
I don't know. I can't see it, so I don't
know if that helps you or not.
Speaker 6 (30:57):
Yeah, I say, it's even the heavier rain that we
had yesterday, it's it's just a trickle on both corners.
You know where that come down at the bottom of
the steps, there's a you can see where it's coming in,
and it kickles over toward that draining in the other corner.
Speaker 7 (31:15):
Also, so if you don't have a a a swale
or a place that you're going to chisel out to
get that water there, what happens to the water?
Speaker 1 (31:28):
What's it doing now? Do is it just lay down there?
Does it make it to the drain? Does it eventually
make it in the drain? And it's a big deal.
Speaker 6 (31:38):
Some of it does, and some of it just eventually evaporates.
But it's it's just a nuisance basically, It's not not
anything drastic.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yeah, well, just whatever you do, I don't think you
want to make it a trip hazard. I don't know
if it's really going to solve the issue. It might,
but you know, all our rains are different. Sometimes you
have a delusae of two inches and you know, a
(32:10):
real quick period of time, and then how deep is
that crevice got to be? I mean, maybe you can
create some slope by grinding concrete and make the whole
slope of that pad down there where the drain is
to slope more to the drain. I mean, it sounds
to me like some of the waters getting to the drain,
(32:31):
but some of it isn't and it's just laying there.
So my answer would be rather than chiseling in and
trying to create a little area where they can go,
that may work, but I don't even know how bigger,
you know, I don't know what's going to make it work.
I would rather see a larger drain put in there
(32:53):
to catch more of it so it doesn't have to
go as far. And even changing the contour of the
concrete eat by grinding and creating some fall to the
existing drain might be a better option.
Speaker 6 (33:08):
Right, I'll check into that, all right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Curtain grain. Just google curtain grain. You'll see it and
you might be able to do it yourself. You might
have to get a plumber, but that's an option.
Speaker 6 (33:23):
All right, Thank you very much for hearing.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
You're quite welcome. Thank you. Take care. And really, what
that's going to do is that's going to create a reservoir, right,
I mean, it's going to create a further reaching reservoir.
And when that water goes into that curtain drain, it's
already built with a slope to take it to that
same center drain. It just might help eliminate a mess.
(33:47):
It's also going to be more safe. You don't have
to worry about it freezing, which I would be concerned about.
You know, it's there, but I don't know. You know,
crazy things happen. Eight hundred eight two three eighty two,
five to five, Rosemary, You'll be up first. You're at
home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 5 (34:05):
Help for your home is just a click away at
Garysullivan online dot com.
Speaker 8 (34:10):
This is at Home with Garysullivan. You tired of.
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(36:44):
shall go. We got Rosemary, Rosemary.
Speaker 4 (36:48):
Welcome, Thank you, thank you for taking my call.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Quite welcome.
Speaker 9 (36:54):
I want to put a cement angel on the cemetery
stone my husband's in a northwestern Kansas environment, and my
research says it would last for generations if I.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
Feel it and wax it. How often would I have
to do that? And what products would you recommend? Well?
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Tell me about is it a concrete angel or what
is it.
Speaker 9 (37:21):
Well, I found a concrete angel. A lot of them
are poly resin which I understand will not.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
Last, right, and so I was going to go. I
did find a cent one that I like to forty
four inch one, so it's quite tall.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Okay, yeah, so you're not going to you're not looking
at painting it. I mean this will be just concrete
in color and not sealed, and you're looking to seal
it to protect it from the weather. Yes, okay, last, Yeah,
(38:02):
the last for ages I think is going to be
a challenge. There certainly are concrete sealants, but let me
give you an example. If you took a concrete sealant
to put on a brick chimney. Okay, so you know
it's kind of the same thing. It's a structure, it's
exposed to the weather. The lifespan on that's going to
(38:25):
be five to seven years, and i'd lean closer to
the five years, and it'd have to be reapplied if
there's other products. It's a tripolymera silicone. It's almost like
a thick syrup rosemary, and it's clear, has a little
(38:50):
bit of a tinge of a bluish cast, and it's
thick and it's rubberized, and the lifespan on that's probably
not going to be more than ten year either. If
you used a waterproofing paint on that, I don't think
(39:11):
it's gonna give you the desired look that you're gonna
try and do. But there are water proofing paints, there
are exterior paints, which is going to give you more
protection than anything that is that is clear because with
paint it's a coating. Now you run risk with that too,
(39:33):
And I'm just being honest with you. A coating on
that's probably gonna last ten to fifteen years, but since
it's a coating, it it could peel, for instance, for
whatever reason, I don't know, But if the paint had
cracked and moisture got underneath it, it's gonna peel. And
(39:54):
then you're gonna find out that you're gonna have to
strip that paint off before you peel again.
Speaker 9 (40:00):
So I better off with a magnesium oxide got you.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
I'm not real familiar with those, to be honest with you,
that's a good that's a really good question. I just
don't know the answer to though.
Speaker 4 (40:20):
Okay, because I'm leading those also need to be sealed.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
Yeah, what about a you know, yeah, see anything that
I'm coming up with that would need to be sealed, Like,
for instance, if you took it just a regular gravestone.
Those are made of marble or they're made of limestone,
and those usually aren't sealed. And what happens is they
(40:47):
get because I get this call all the time, they
get moldy or they get to be mildew on it.
And then there are different sprays that you can just
spray on and it'll kill the molden mildew and it'll
be cleaned again. Are you dealing? Where are you getting
your information on different statues?
Speaker 6 (41:08):
There?
Speaker 8 (41:09):
There's a a internet.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Yeah, in my city, there's a person that does ponds
and you know, bird bass and statues. He's got a
beautiful business, a big business. He'd be a really good
guy to talk to. But I you know about different types,
but I'm not familiar with the magnesium one. It sounds
(41:34):
like that would have to be sealed also.
Speaker 4 (41:36):
So.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
I really don't know. I be honest with you, a
concrete statue to me without it being sealed, the biggest
issue would be just cleaning it periodically. And I mean
you could get a trigger spray of wet and Forget
and spray it, you know, every three or four years
(42:03):
and probably solved the problem. I don't think the heat
or the sun or the rain's going to really destroy it.
Speaker 4 (42:13):
So on outside.
Speaker 2 (42:16):
Product directed product of.
Speaker 4 (42:18):
Wet and forget.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Yeah, it's called wet and Forget outdoors and it's just
a spray bottle. And I'm telling you that there's they
got a ton of history of people using it on limestone,
gravestones and everything else. I mean, it does work. It
works effectively. The concrete just like a driveway. It's really
(42:43):
not affected by sun or rain. It holds up. I mean,
it can get same thing, it can get mildewy. The
reason we seal concrete, quite honestly, is to keep road
salt from corroding the concrete driveway. And you're not gonna
(43:05):
have to worry about road salt. I don't know. You know,
when it rains, it's not gonna collect water like you'd
have to seal a bird bath with a liner or something,
because if there's water in it, it freezes, it could
crack it. But on a statue, again, you're not going
(43:25):
to be holding water. So if you want one of
the things you might do. It's this company that I
was telling you about is called Aquatic and Garden. Let's
see Aquatic Garden. Aquatic Garden, I believe, and give them
(43:46):
a call and see if they can help you. But
I think a straight concrete statue would probably do fairly
well there. I think you could get in trouble by
using sealants and paints on it. Hope that helps, Rosemary,
Aquatic and Garden de cour Sorry, Aquatic and Garden Decor,
Danny Boy. Thanks for a great weekend. I appreciate all
(44:08):
your efforts and good Lord Willing. We'll be back next
weekend for more at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 5 (44:30):
Home Improvement one oh one with Gary Sullivan every weekend.
Speaker 8 (44:33):
Classes began at one
Speaker 5 (44:35):
Eight hundred and eighty two three Top You're at Home
with Gary Sullivan
Well the weekend. It is Welcome at Home with Gary Sullivan.
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All right, another hour ago and taking your calls about
your home projects. Feel free to join us. Our phone
number is eight hundred eight two three eight two five
(01:36):
five grab a line Tony. Welcome, good morning.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
How are we doing today?
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Doing fine? Thank you?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I have an issue that I just noticed actually yesterday
that I got a crack on my foundation at the
grout about four foot up. I've seen it before, there's
only you know, a foot or so, but now it
is over twenty long.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
How long?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
About twenty foot almost a whole link in my in
front of my house.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Okay, So take me outside again, let's talk about this.
So the founday, what kind of house? Is it a
brick house or.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
It is a brick house? Is this block foundation?
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Okay? And this crack is right where the block and
the brick meet or no.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
No, no, it's just the block in the basement. And uh,
it's like I said, it's about four foot up and
it runs, it just runs almost the whole front of
the the part of the house.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Okay. And you can't you can't see that crack on
the outside because it's underground.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah. Correct.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
So how white is this crack?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
It's probably a good eighth or quarter inch give or take.
You kind of go up and down a little bit.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
And do you have any water issues at all?
Speaker 3 (02:59):
I have been trying to figure one out. I've lived
here for eight years. I've been trying to I can
hear water when it rains a lot and I've got
the gutters clear and everything. I'm not sure where it's
coming from. I'm down to the fact that I think
I got a planter in front of the house. I
think it's coming through a crack between the sidewalk and
(03:21):
one of those it's a decorative thing where the flowers
are in there and stuff. It's the only other place
I can figure out that there's when it rains, it's
coming out through the crack between those two things. Because
like I've kept the gutters clear, I'm friends cameras up them,
you know.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
I I just don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I can sometimes I can just hear the water from
the outside, you know, I just don't know where it's
coming from.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
So is this crack on the inside, Is this absolutely
straight across.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Or it is right on the grout line, right all
the way across, right along the same elevation, all across
on the grout line.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So when you say a grout line, you're talking about
the mortar joint that is correct, Yeah, okay, And this
is about several feet up off the floor, correct. And
usually those blocks on a block foundation are staggered, so
there wouldn't be a straight liner as they crack right
through the block itself.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
You know, I would say it it's very strang it's
not jagged, it's very straight.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Okay okay, And did you say water is coming through
that crack? I kind of lost you.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
No, no, no, no, okay, it's the fact's too high up.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Okay, okay, okay. Well, you know, obviously nobody wants that
crack that's twenty five feet long running horizontally across the basement. Well, however,
the more serious cracks are stair step cracks, where it
follows the grout line or mortar line and stare steps
(05:04):
up from like a corner up to the center or
all the way across the wall. And even worse than
that would be maybe a vertical crack. Now, the only
way you're gonna you don't have water coming through. So
what that's telling me, Tony, is that you've got really
good drainage outside. Okay. So the I always call them
(05:28):
the killer G's gutters. You said, I keep those clean.
That's not a problem. The other is grating that the
house the soil is sloped away from the house, that's
not sloped right into the house. So just check that.
But I'm gonna assume the grating is probably fairly okay,
(05:52):
but it could be a water table issue. The only
way you're gonna know is to really I'm not sure,
I mean, And if you want to call like a
waterproofing company to look at that's fine. They have free
inspections you Also, if you want to have an outside
source take a look at you can have a structural
(06:15):
engineer take a look at it. He's not selling you anything.
Accept his knowledge to tell you what the problem is.
My guess, My guess is what's going on is the
footers that are holding everything in place. Obviously if they shift,
or I always say the footers are kind of like
(06:37):
if you stand on in the beach right next to
where the waves come in and break over your feet,
what happens is your feet starts settling into the sand,
And that same thing can happen with a foundation. If
your water table below the floor is rising and then
(06:59):
settling been doing this for a long time, that footer
will start settling and you know there'll be pressure and
you'll get a separation or a crack, and that may
be what's causing it. And maybe an underground drain system
would would stabilize that. The one thing that I'd be
(07:23):
concerned about. And this is a structural engineer kind of answer.
This question is, you know, is that wall going to
start bowing now because it's not solid, right, That's what.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I will not the videos and stuff, and that's what
it's like. It's like since it might start bowing right
right in word, more likely since it's third on the
other side, right.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
But there's ways to correct that. I talk about a
waterproofing company called ever Dry Waterproofing. They got about thirty
franchises to the United States. They have a really cool product.
I was just telling my buddy about it. It was
it's a carbon fiber I'm gonna say cloth material that
(08:07):
they can put on a block wall. It's carbon fiber.
So they would like fill the crack and then put
this carbon fiber reinforcement and it could be painted. You
wouldn't even know it's there, and that'll stabilize it. The
actual name of the product is called stable Built Stable Wall.
Stable wall is what that product is called. And there's
(08:31):
other ways to fix it, but that's the most efficient
way I've seen. I mean, there's people that do anchors
and cables and pull the wall, but I don't think
you're there yet. You know you got this crack, you're
just trying to stabilize it. You don't have a water issue.
You got good water control. But if you want to
really have it inspected by a you know, a structural engineer,
(08:57):
I think in your case that might be worth it.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
You know, if anybody in town I don't.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
I'm sure if you get on Google structural engineer for
residential homes near me, you'll come up with some It's
it's a little bit more expensive than a home inspector
with a little bit more knowledge on it. But I
think I would get in front of the issue. And
you know, when you say structural engineer right away, everybody's
(09:28):
thinking a couple thousand bucks, and I think you're probably
more in a range of three to five hundred dollars.
That might be money well spent. And then you know,
I think he can pretty much tell you what's going
on by looking at the crack, et cetera, et cetera.
He's going to answer a lot of the same questions
(09:48):
I asked you, though though I can't see it, and
we'll make some assessment of what's causing it and how
it can be fixed. And then if you get to
a point, maybe a couple of years down the road,
maybe ten years down the road, maybe next week, I
don't know, you'll have something to go on where when
(10:11):
you have people come in for repair, you'll be educated
and have the proper questions. Plus you'll have a structural
engineer's report on exactly what's going on.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Okay, all right, appreciate the information.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
You're quite Welcome you to your day, all right, you
do the same, Thanks, take care all right again the
phone numbers eight hundred eight two three, eight two five five.
Of course we're talking about your home and you're at
home with Gary.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
So if you don't have a list of things to
do around the house, Gary will find something for you
at one eight hundred eighty two three talk you're at
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(13:26):
at it we go at home with Gary Sullivan. Well,
we had a couple of really good conversations over the
last couple of days, and I'm saying that because I
want to remind you they're available to you via podcast,
And one was with Ashley of the TVA. We're talking
about energy conservation, very informative, and the other ones on
(13:51):
the drive backs for sphalt driveways, ten year warranty. Both
of those are wherever you get your podcast. I always
talked about the iHeart app because it's real easy to
find downloaded free click podcast at Home with Gary Sullivan,
and I believe you can even him send to your
email if you want, or you can just go there
(14:12):
and pick them up. Take a listen to both of
those lots of good information. All right. Our phone number's
eight hundred eight two three eight two five five, happy
to take your call regarding your home and adam.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Welcome, Good morning Gary, How are you today doing fine?
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Thank you?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Hey, listen. I want to first of all, thank you
for your show, so many tips, and I gotta pass
something out of but one of the products you just advertised,
odor Exit. Yes, that stuff I swear by. I've been
using it for over ten years now. I swear by
that stuff. It's absolutely fantastic.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah, thank you much.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Quick true story. Run it out of car. I carry
you a small bottle with me my dot bag when
I travel. Run it out a car that smelled like marijuana,
like someone that smoked pot in it, and I so
I sprayed it inside. Let said overnight and then open
up the windows. The next day. That smell was gone.
The next afternoon it was gone.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
It was fantastic, good stuff. Glad to hear that thanks.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
Question.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
First of all, before I get to my water pressure question,
browning strap on a house, if it comes off from
the concrete, should I screw it back into the concrete?
Speaker 1 (15:21):
What do you mean? Well, it was screwed in correct,
a strap and screwed. Yeah, yeah, I'd put it back
in right, Yeah, all right.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
I don't remember what the purpose of those are, but
I know that it's always been there and my home
and so forth, my old home, so that's why I
want to.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yeah, right, I have in my home.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It's twenty years old. I have a lot of the
push pull shut off valves on the plumbing fixtures, right, sinks, toilets, everything,
And I had one that kept on popping, so I
replaced it to a twist kind. But now I've got
multiple and I'm talking six seven different fixtures around the
house popping shut for no reason in it all? Is
(16:01):
there a water pressure thing that I that I should
have tested looked at?
Speaker 4 (16:06):
So?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah, yeah you can. How do you feel the volume
and pressure is in the house currently?
Speaker 2 (16:14):
No problem at all. I mean, I it's comfortable, it's
pretty good.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah, So where are these valves that are doing this?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Toilet sinks? Oh, lopstuck. For example, master bath upstairs, Yes,
bath upstairs, downstairs, toilet downstairs, waterfollt okay.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
So are these like little chrome shut off valves beneath
the closet of a toilet? Is that words you're talking about?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
They're actually they're actually plastic.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Gary.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
These are push pulled like you push to turn it on,
pull to shut it off. They're plastic little round knobs.
And it's not the chrome ones. That's when I replaced.
When I replace them, I replace them with the chrome
twist shut off valves. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Is it a lever or is it the the the
handle or is it just a lever.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
It's not even a lever or handle. It's a round
knob like best I can put it put for it
is like a knob for a cupboard right now, for
a cupboard, and you push it to engage the water,
open it up, pull to shut off the valve.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Well, it's either faulty valves or high pressure that are
making them faulty. So i'd probably there's a couple. There's
some really good valves on there, and I think the
one you have, those plastic ones are not ideal. I
would like to get either one it's an oval handle,
(17:41):
or even the one with a lever. The one with
the lever actually has a a chrome ball inside. It's
a ball valve, and when you open it, it rotates.
That ball in very very durable, and water pressure probably
ating to effect that will affect a line long before
it'll affect anything else. But i'd test the water pressure.
(18:07):
You can get it. You can get a little test
will tell you exactly the amount of pounds per square inch.
You screw it on to the hose bib outside the house. Okay,
where the hose goes. It's got hose thread. Turn it on,
turn the valve on. It'll tell you what the pressure is.
(18:30):
And you have copper pipe or you got plastic pipe.
Plastic pipe, yeah, plastic pipe. I would like to say,
you're gonna want that copper pipe. You can do eighty.
I've had different people tell me different things. You may
just look it up to be certain. I haven't had
a need to really look it up at a couple
(18:50):
of people say, ah, you know, you want a plastic
pipe around sixty five psi, no higher than that and
above probably forty five, so forty five to six five
for plastic for copper. You can go forty five to eighty.
Just double check me on those numbers. So if you start,
if you've got plastic pipe and you run eighty ninety,
(19:12):
it might be the pressure regulator for the water that
needs to be replaced. But I'm going to guess it's
probably a combination between pressure and also the valves. Hope
that helps. Adam, thank you much for the call. I
appreciate it. We'll continue. You're at home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
Time to get your hands dirty with Gary Sullivan. Give
them a call at one eight hundred eighty two three talk.
You're at home with Gary Cellibrator.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Well spring us here and so is everything that packed
in your gutters all winter. Leaves, pine needles, maple seeds.
They form a dam that sends water straight towards your foundation,
so don't wait for any damage. I recommend gutter brush
is the easiest gutter guard to install and maintain. Just
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Water flows through, and if it ever needs cleaning, pull
(20:23):
without shake it off, slide it back in. You're done.
Visit gutterbrush dot com or call them at eight at
eight three, ninety seven, ninety four thirty three. If you're
dealing with large surfaces and hard to reach outdoor stains,
Wet and Forget Max's designed to handle the tougher stuff.
Gary Salvin here, Wet and Forget maxes built for a
heavier build up, so it's great for roofs, second story siding,
(20:43):
large driveways and other hard to clean surfaces. See it's
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A flooded basement can destroy your home in minutes, flooring,
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But when storms hit, power fails and pumps quit, you
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(21:49):
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(22:19):
All right, back at it, We go at home with
Gary Sullivan. As we take your calls, our phone number
is eight hundred eight two three eight two five five.
And you know, one of the things I quick look
up is both plastic and and your PVC and your
pecks can take up to eighty pounds per square inch eightpsi.
(22:46):
But in doing that quick check, you definitely want to
test for water pressure. That's one of the main issues.
Ideally UH forty to sixty is best, range, sixty eighty
is acceptable and over eighty should be corrected. So it
(23:11):
may very well be water pressure. The other thing. Again,
I didn't ask. It sounded like it's pecks that he
has making sure that pipe is inserted properly, making sure
it's the same diameters and all that make sure it's
inserted improperly installed. He did say changed him out, and
(23:31):
I didn't ask any questions on that. But with the
valve popping like that, I'm thinking probably a water pressure
over eighty, I would say, would be the number one cause,
or even if it's close to eighty. Quite honestly, all right,
we'll take your call and you can grab a line again.
It's eight hundred eighty two three eight two five five.
(23:55):
Feel free to join us. We you know, when we're
talking about different things in saving energy, one of the
things that I think is appealing to a lot of homeowners,
especially home owners that don't have a background, say in electricity,
(24:17):
is we all want floodlights outside. We all want safety
if we have a deck in, you know, in steps
at night. One thing, and we were talking about also
energy costs and led bulbs. I think one of the
really coolest things for a home and they're the size
(24:42):
of us a softball, and there's three LED lights that
are about the size of a quarter and if you're
looking for lighting maybe just outside the garage or something
along those lines. You know, you don't need them on
all the time. You don't need a camera maybe there.
You just want to have some lighting when there's movement.
(25:06):
If you get into the big box store and you
start looking at some of the lighting, just two SE
sized batteries, two D sized batteries, depending on the size
of the of the light that you're looking to install.
Those batteries last for a good year and they only
(25:27):
come omenter's movement. Sensitivity can be adjusted. But take a
look at what's available in LED and battery lighting for
outside your home, even solar that has gotten better on
different accent lighting outside the home. Just it's gonna really
(25:51):
depend on where you live and how important you know
in the middle of the night it is, because in
wintertime with you know, depending on a amount of solar energy,
it can retain a lot of ones over the years
might turn on in a wintertime at five six o'clock
(26:11):
and go off at ten or eleven runs out juice.
So it depends where you live and whether you want
it in a wintertime and what I'm coming up with
is they have these lights for deck steps. They're not
that big, you know, I mean maybe two inches by
an inch, and it has a downcast light and a
(26:35):
couple double A batteries or you can you can wire
them too. I'm just trying to make it as easy
and something everybody can handle. They make them for the
inside too, but you get almost a whole year's worth
of life out of that. Don't it run wires and switches,
It's motion detected and adds lighting for safety. All right,
(27:00):
let's get back to the phones. We've got Jason, Jason welcome.
Speaker 6 (27:05):
Thank you, Eric, enjoy your show.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (27:09):
I've got a problem with the basement on our house.
We've lived here about thirty one years. Into the old
house it was built about nineteen twenty ath full farmhouse.
It had a pretty sure it had a cross space
one time, and they retrofitted the basement hund earth and
on the north side of the of the house they
(27:31):
put a driveway to the garage and that's where I
got a couple of leaks coming from the corners by
the stairway going into the basement and then on the
other corner when it rains pretty heavy. It's not a
gush or anything, but it's just a leak that goes
(27:52):
pretty much down to this drain that's close to there.
I was wondering if there was any way of cutting
like a little trench from both corners to that drain.
I mean, I don't see how I can eliminate the
water coming in because it's you know, there's a driveway there.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
So so is this drain is this like is there
walls and you go down a step to the get
the basement and that's where the drain is or where
is the drain exactly?
Speaker 6 (28:26):
Yeah, you do down the steps to the basement and
then the drain is about twenty feet ahead of that,
but it pretty much the water. You know, if I
do get any water, it just trickles down to that drain.
So it's kind of downhill there. But I'm just wondering
if if there's any way cut like a b trench.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
Well, there's always a way. I don't know if that's
you know, how how wide does that you know, how deep?
How wide does that v have to be? How much
water are we trying to control? It is all about
water control, so you're thinking along the right lines you know,
if I can you know, I'm not going to be
able to stop this water, But can I control it?
(29:11):
Can I control it by creating a swale? You know,
It's like it's like everything else, it's all about control. Now,
there is also another thing I'd like you to take
a look at, and maybe this would make more sense
because I don't know how deep, how wide, or anything
else that would have to be. And if we're controlling
it above the grade, we also run the risk, I guess,
(29:35):
of that water becoming ice, and you know that could
be a problem. So one of the things this drain
at the bottom, I'm assuming it's like two and a
half three inches, yeah, somewhere in that area.
Speaker 6 (29:55):
Yeah, the sun pump is about all six six or
eight feet from that drain. So everything that, you know,
everything that drains into that drain goes eventually into the
sun pump.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Cool. Good, good. What about a curtain drain? Are you
familiar with that?
Speaker 4 (30:16):
So? I've heard of them?
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Yeah, So, and a curtain drain is just a larger
reservoir to catch it sooner. Possibly, so rather than having
a two and a half inch drain or three inch drain,
this one might be two inches wide and twelve eight
(30:39):
eighteen inches long. You know where you catch it before
it has to go to the center to the drain. Yeah,
I don't know. I can't see it, so I don't
know if that helps you or not.
Speaker 6 (30:57):
Yeah, I say, it's even the heavier rain that we
had yesterday, it's it's just a trickle on both corners.
You know where that come down at the bottom of
the steps, there's a you can see where it's coming in,
and it kickles over toward that draining in the other corner.
Speaker 7 (31:15):
Also, so if you don't have a a a swale
or a place that you're going to chisel out to
get that water there, what happens to the water?
Speaker 1 (31:28):
What's it doing now? Do is it just lay down there?
Does it make it to the drain? Does it eventually
make it in the drain? And it's a big deal.
Speaker 6 (31:38):
Some of it does, and some of it just eventually evaporates.
But it's it's just a nuisance basically, It's not not
anything drastic.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yeah, well, just whatever you do, I don't think you
want to make it a trip hazard. I don't know
if it's really going to solve the issue. It might,
but you know, all our rains are different. Sometimes you
have a delusae of two inches and you know, a
(32:10):
real quick period of time, and then how deep is
that crevice got to be? I mean, maybe you can
create some slope by grinding concrete and make the whole
slope of that pad down there where the drain is
to slope more to the drain. I mean, it sounds
to me like some of the waters getting to the drain,
(32:31):
but some of it isn't and it's just laying there.
So my answer would be rather than chiseling in and
trying to create a little area where they can go,
that may work, but I don't even know how bigger,
you know, I don't know what's going to make it work.
I would rather see a larger drain put in there
(32:53):
to catch more of it so it doesn't have to
go as far. And even changing the contour of the
concrete eat by grinding and creating some fall to the
existing drain might be a better option.
Speaker 6 (33:08):
Right, I'll check into that, all right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Curtain grain. Just google curtain grain. You'll see it and
you might be able to do it yourself. You might
have to get a plumber, but that's an option.
Speaker 6 (33:23):
All right, Thank you very much for hearing.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
You're quite welcome. Thank you. Take care. And really, what
that's going to do is that's going to create a reservoir, right,
I mean, it's going to create a further reaching reservoir.
And when that water goes into that curtain drain, it's
already built with a slope to take it to that
same center drain. It just might help eliminate a mess.
(33:47):
It's also going to be more safe. You don't have
to worry about it freezing, which I would be concerned about.
You know, it's there, but I don't know. You know,
crazy things happen. Eight hundred eight two three eighty two,
five to five, Rosemary, You'll be up first. You're at
home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 5 (34:05):
Help for your home is just a click away at
Garysullivan online dot com.
Speaker 8 (34:10):
This is at Home with Garysullivan. You tired of.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Sticky fly ribbons that gets stuck to everything, Well you'll
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(34:50):
USA by the makers of the popular Rescue Flying Yellowjacket traps.
Learn more at Rescue dot com. Now's the time to
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(35:32):
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Daich Coatings dot com. All right, back in it, we
(36:44):
shall go. We got Rosemary, Rosemary.
Speaker 4 (36:48):
Welcome, Thank you, thank you for taking my call.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Quite welcome.
Speaker 9 (36:54):
I want to put a cement angel on the cemetery
stone my husband's in a northwestern Kansas environment, and my
research says it would last for generations if I.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
Feel it and wax it. How often would I have
to do that? And what products would you recommend? Well?
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Tell me about is it a concrete angel or what
is it.
Speaker 9 (37:21):
Well, I found a concrete angel. A lot of them
are poly resin which I understand will not.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
Last, right, and so I was going to go. I
did find a cent one that I like to forty
four inch one, so it's quite tall.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Okay, yeah, so you're not going to you're not looking
at painting it. I mean this will be just concrete
in color and not sealed, and you're looking to seal
it to protect it from the weather. Yes, okay, last, Yeah,
(38:02):
the last for ages I think is going to be
a challenge. There certainly are concrete sealants, but let me
give you an example. If you took a concrete sealant
to put on a brick chimney. Okay, so you know
it's kind of the same thing. It's a structure, it's
exposed to the weather. The lifespan on that's going to
(38:25):
be five to seven years, and i'd lean closer to
the five years, and it'd have to be reapplied if
there's other products. It's a tripolymera silicone. It's almost like
a thick syrup rosemary, and it's clear, has a little
(38:50):
bit of a tinge of a bluish cast, and it's
thick and it's rubberized, and the lifespan on that's probably
not going to be more than ten year either. If
you used a waterproofing paint on that, I don't think
(39:11):
it's gonna give you the desired look that you're gonna
try and do. But there are water proofing paints, there
are exterior paints, which is going to give you more
protection than anything that is that is clear because with
paint it's a coating. Now you run risk with that too,
(39:33):
And I'm just being honest with you. A coating on
that's probably gonna last ten to fifteen years, but since
it's a coating, it it could peel, for instance, for
whatever reason, I don't know, But if the paint had
cracked and moisture got underneath it, it's gonna peel. And
(39:54):
then you're gonna find out that you're gonna have to
strip that paint off before you peel again.
Speaker 9 (40:00):
So I better off with a magnesium oxide got you.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
I'm not real familiar with those, to be honest with you,
that's a good that's a really good question. I just
don't know the answer to though.
Speaker 4 (40:20):
Okay, because I'm leading those also need to be sealed.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
Yeah, what about a you know, yeah, see anything that
I'm coming up with that would need to be sealed, Like,
for instance, if you took it just a regular gravestone.
Those are made of marble or they're made of limestone,
and those usually aren't sealed. And what happens is they
(40:47):
get because I get this call all the time, they
get moldy or they get to be mildew on it.
And then there are different sprays that you can just
spray on and it'll kill the molden mildew and it'll
be cleaned again. Are you dealing? Where are you getting
your information on different statues?
Speaker 6 (41:08):
There?
Speaker 8 (41:09):
There's a a internet.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Yeah, in my city, there's a person that does ponds
and you know, bird bass and statues. He's got a
beautiful business, a big business. He'd be a really good
guy to talk to. But I you know about different types,
but I'm not familiar with the magnesium one. It sounds
(41:34):
like that would have to be sealed also.
Speaker 4 (41:36):
So.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
I really don't know. I be honest with you, a
concrete statue to me without it being sealed, the biggest
issue would be just cleaning it periodically. And I mean
you could get a trigger spray of wet and Forget
and spray it, you know, every three or four years
(42:03):
and probably solved the problem. I don't think the heat
or the sun or the rain's going to really destroy it.
Speaker 4 (42:13):
So on outside.
Speaker 2 (42:16):
Product directed product of.
Speaker 4 (42:18):
Wet and forget.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Yeah, it's called wet and Forget outdoors and it's just
a spray bottle. And I'm telling you that there's they
got a ton of history of people using it on limestone,
gravestones and everything else. I mean, it does work. It
works effectively. The concrete just like a driveway. It's really
(42:43):
not affected by sun or rain. It holds up. I mean,
it can get same thing, it can get mildewy. The
reason we seal concrete, quite honestly, is to keep road
salt from corroding the concrete driveway. And you're not gonna
(43:05):
have to worry about road salt. I don't know. You know,
when it rains, it's not gonna collect water like you'd
have to seal a bird bath with a liner or something,
because if there's water in it, it freezes, it could
crack it. But on a statue, again, you're not going
(43:25):
to be holding water. So if you want one of
the things you might do. It's this company that I
was telling you about is called Aquatic and Garden. Let's
see Aquatic Garden. Aquatic Garden, I believe, and give them
(43:46):
a call and see if they can help you. But
I think a straight concrete statue would probably do fairly
well there. I think you could get in trouble by
using sealants and paints on it. Hope that helps, Rosemary,
Aquatic and Garden de cour Sorry, Aquatic and Garden Decor,
Danny Boy. Thanks for a great weekend. I appreciate all
(44:08):
your efforts and good Lord Willing. We'll be back next
weekend for more at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 5 (44:30):
Home Improvement one oh one with Gary Sullivan every weekend.
Speaker 8 (44:33):
Classes began at one
Speaker 5 (44:35):
Eight hundred and eighty two three Top You're at Home
with Gary Sullivan
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