‘Renovation 911’ Reveals the $1.59 Residence Purchase That Saves 1000’s of Dollars

On HGTV’s “Renovation 911,” Lindsey Uselding and Kirsten Meehan expose all that can go completely wrong with a home, and why, and how to keep it from occurring to you. And the most current episode reveals just how inexpensive and straightforward these preventive steps can be.

In “Ice Dams and Smelly Sewers,” the sister unexpected emergency renovation workforce rescues the waterlogged residence of their business companion and fixes a bathroom which is overflowed with raw sewage. In the process, they pass along some eye-opening details about house upkeep that numerous may not know.

Verify out what we uncovered this week—and the 1 order for less than two bucks that every person with a laundry device need to have.

Beware the ice dam

Just before they even go into their new house, Ron (the aforementioned enterprise husband or wife) and his spouse, Sonia, walk in and discover h2o coming in via the recessed lighting in their kitchen area. There is at minimum an inch of h2o on the floor under. There are also water stains on the ceilings of other rooms and water harm through the household.

The moment Meehan and Uselding examine the area, they concur that ice dams on the roof are the cause of the damage.

“Ice dams are popular in Minnesota,” Meehan clarifies. “The drinking water freezes, then stops any melted snow from draining off, and it has no decision but to go by way of the roof. As the ice dam expands and contracts with the temperature, the water can get underneath the shingles, and that is when you see drinking water exhibiting up inside of your property.”

Rake your roof

Now we know that ice dams can happen when homeowners enable the snow pile up on the roof. In this case, Ron and Sonia just can’t be blamed, due to the fact they hadn’t moved into the residence nevertheless. But now that the house is their own, they master that they can stop potential ice dams from forming by eradicating the snow from their roof periodically.

“If you get a lot of snow on your roof, you can retain the services of a company to steam it off for about $2,000,” suggests Uselding. “Or you can do it yourself with a roof rake. The greatest way to steer clear of an ice dam is to rake your roof.”

Roof rakes. What a notion! It would sure beat obtaining up there and shoveling.

Know where by your water shut-off valve is

There’s also water hurt close to the home windows in the major tub, and considering that Ron and Sonia required to transform the total rest room in any case, the sisters want to rip out every little thing in the room—tub, shower, sinks, flooring, the is effective.

But they just cannot start out the demo process until they transform off the h2o in the pipes main into the place. Think about the more water injury it would bring about if they unintentionally hit a pipe.

Alas, what should be a easy activity turns into a main detective problem. The obtain panel to the shut-off valve is nowhere to be found.

“We just cannot start off demo till we know exactly where the obtain panel is to shut off the h2o,” claims Meehan. Immediately after hunting for it all over the place in the bathroom, they essentially locate it hiding in the dropped ceiling in the eating space, beneath exactly where the tub is placed.

Lint can result in a key sewer backup

Though operate is getting performed on Ron and Sonia’s area, the sisters head about to see Annie, a landlord who’s dealing with in all probability the worst sort of flood of all: a sewer overflowing by way of the bathroom!

Someplace along the sewer line there was a clog or a crack, which created the sewer again up and overflow as a result of the basement toilet, flooding and contaminating the toilet, laundry, and hallway into the dwelling area.

The sisters need to have to uncover out if the line is broken or clogged. If it’s damaged outside the house of the residence, insurance plan will not cover it and Annie could have to pay out several 1000’s of pounds to resolve it out of pocket.

After they use a quite long snake with a digital camera on it, they discover, much to Annie’s relief, that it is a clog. They then determine what the clog is made up of.

“We’re fairly sure the clog was triggered by the lint created up from the washer,” claims Meehan. The drinking water from the washer was draining through a discharge tube into the sewer line. To remedy the issue, the plumber knocks the clog unfastened and cleans the line, to the tune of $800, which is significantly less than what it could expense to dig up the yard and resolve a damaged sewer line.

Then, to make absolutely sure it by no means occurs once again, the sisters put a lint entice on the washing device discharge tube. “For a buck fifty 9, you can conserve thousands,” suggests Uselding.

Prefab showers have arrive a extended way

The basement lavatory demands to be rebuilt—and quickly. Considering that it’s not particularly spacious, a large spa shower with personalized tiling is actually not an alternative.

In its place, the sisters decide for a prefab shower, which would make some persons convert up their noses—until they see it. Prefab showers have arrive a lengthy way considering the fact that the kinds they set up in your grandma’s tract residence. This 1 has lovely sculpted arches and works properly in the place.