Making your backyard YOUR oasis and Happy Birthday to US!

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[00:00:23] Aaron Brundage: Yes. One of the beauties of pavers, for example, in a project like ours is you can add to it, make adjustments to it in some ways over time, like I was able to with lighting, but also. Tell you, Eric, after I did that, the impact, the lighting had on the project was so tremendous for me. And not only when I was out there, but now I'm even inside just looking out and, Oh man, how cool does that look with something like lighting?

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[00:00:55] Intro: When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to [00:01:00] know that we've got you covered. This is around the house.

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[00:01:06] Eric Goranson: next generation of home improvement where we can help you with your design, DIY or construction project and help you get the right information where you can do that project right the first time. I'm Eric G. Thanks for joining us today. To find out more about this show, head over to around the house online.

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[00:01:47] Eric Goranson: We've got Aaron from system pavers. Welcome to around the house, brother. Excellent. Thank you for having

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[00:01:55] Eric Goranson: man. This is great. You guys are nationwide. It seems on doing [00:02:00] these outdoor projects. I know your brand is system pavers, but you tackle a whole front and backyards of a house.

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[00:02:26] Aaron Brundage: Where it's not just the pavers it's. So many other outdoor living elements that we can incorporate. Of course, everything from the pergola to built in barbecues and fireplaces and fire pits, the outdoor lighting and synthetic turf. There's so many things that we can do. And it's really a transformation from just, just a patio to a complete outdoor living oasis.

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[00:03:13] Eric Goranson: This would be half of the store compared to what they had there. So it is big and there's some great innovations coming out there as well.

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[00:03:31] Aaron Brundage: So it became an outdoor situation. Now the trend towards outdoor living was already happening at that time, but I just think that was a huge boost in that outdoor living world. And now people want to be able to have. Uh, a lot of the features and comforts of indoors, but have that on the outside of their home.

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[00:04:04] Eric Goranson: You think about it right now, we went through COVID, got through that.

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[00:04:29] Eric Goranson: So. We better fix up what we got so we can get that extra square footage and outdoor living is the cheapest square footage you can add to the house.

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[00:04:46] Aaron Brundage: So how about a staycation, right? Where you can just keep that vacation feel alive, but right in your backyard.

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[00:05:05] Eric Goranson: I'm going to throw some blocks from my home center on the ground. And then they wonder why a month later, everything's all wonky.

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[00:05:25] Aaron Brundage: I jumped in with the crew and I worked alongside him for a week and gained an entire new appreciation as to what a project like that really entails. And it is. Quite frankly, it's backbreaking work to do it right. And that's such a big, important piece of the puzzle is with a project like this, it's got to be done, right.

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[00:06:13] Aaron Brundage: Because really, without doing that, you're just leaving yourself susceptible to so much shifting and movement that, again, a project like this isn't going to last. So just to add some perspective, in an area like our Colorado location, for example, the soils around the area can be super poor and a lot of clay, a lot of bentonite in the soil.

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[00:06:47] Eric Goranson: Yeah, it's really depending. And that's the problem too, is so many people go, Oh, I jumped on and I watched a YouTube video and that was my answer.

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[00:07:08] Aaron Brundage: Yeah, without a doubt, not only just those, just those native soils, but then you got the other elements, right?

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[00:07:26] Eric Goranson: man. I've even seen some driveways and things that were done that were like, again, this is expert level stuff, but this is why you bring the experts in is where you wanted the water to drain one way, but the slope on the patio driveways going the other way, so you have a drainage plane below it, that's kicking at one direction, and then you've got your base above that, that's.

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[00:07:57] Aaron Brundage: Yeah, there's no doubt about it. And that's a lot of that's [00:08:00] underneath the project, right? Like you said, you don't see it, but it's such an important piece.

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[00:08:20] Aaron Brundage: Water is absolutely one of them as well. So whether it is channel drains, French drains, getting those, getting that drainage out to the swales, getting it away from the projects, getting it away from your house are very important things. Last thing you want to do is build this great paper project and then have all the water going towards your house, affecting your foundation.

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[00:08:41] Eric Goranson: man. I've seen that. I had somebody, oh, this is probably seven or eight years ago. I got called out to take a look at the project. I was helping out a foundation contractor and they had done a DIY patio. Didn't realize that they kicked that thing just slightly back towards the foundation when it all settled in and they were taking a 12 by 14 area and dropping it right up against the foundation [00:09:00] wall and couldn't figure out why they had water in their base.

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[00:09:02] Aaron Brundage: yeah, that's not a recipe for success, is it?

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[00:09:06] Aaron Brundage: not at all.

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[00:09:22] Eric Goranson: You can do something that looks very traditional and something that looks very contemporary these days.

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[00:09:40] Aaron Brundage: And that's one of the beauties.

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[00:10:09] Intro: What's up? This is Stixx Zadinya and Satchel from Steel Panther. And you are listening to Around the House with Eric G. Yeah, we love Eric G and you should too.

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[00:10:41] Eric Goranson: And if you need help with that next project, give us a ring over at 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44. That number again is 8 3 3 2 3 9 4 1 4 4. Now let's get back to our conversation with Aaron Brundlage from system pavers.

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[00:11:03] Aaron Brundage: Ones that fit exactly what you're looking for. Not only what you really love, but maybe what really compliments very importantly, what compliments your home. Maybe it's the color of your home, the color of your roof, the surrounding area. There's so many different options out there, but I think that's a very important piece of the puzzle is.

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[00:11:38] Aaron Brundage: You've probably seen some of these even tumbled products, right? So yeah, if you think about it. Are relatively new in the big scheme of things to, to, to the United States, you go over to Europe and there are pavers everywhere and they've been weathered and they've been tumbled and they've got this look to them, which can absolutely be emulated here.

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[00:12:12] Aaron Brundage: So that really the possibilities are endless when it comes to papers.

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[00:12:25] Aaron Brundage: So true. So true.

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[00:12:40] Eric Goranson: Like, they'll go in and go, I just put in all this new fence and new yard and new everything else. Now, I think I want to put in a paver patio with a fireplace in the middle of it. And it's, you just made this so much harder. I always tell people, make sure and plan the entire project from start to dream [00:13:00] finish, so you can get the prep work done.

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[00:13:09] Aaron Brundage: Such an excellent point. And one that I was just touching on as well. I think that's such an important part of. The process and the process is not just the installation process of a project like this, it's the process from when you first start thinking about what am I doing out here?

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[00:13:44] Aaron Brundage: And now people want to be able to do that on the outside of the home. And it takes a lot of planning. You're talking about things like running gas lines or water lines, whatever it may be. But to have that figured out early on in the process, am I changing the color of my home or the landscape [00:14:00] here? So that.

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[00:14:23] Aaron Brundage: Why not have it be a full blown kitchen outside where everybody's gathering around as well. We've got bar stools on the back where friends are talking while you're grilling or you're on the side burner or the griddle or maybe the smoker and you've got the fridge for the beverages out there, the sink, everything that you had inside that you can really have in an outdoor kitchen as well.

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[00:14:57] Eric Goranson: A lot of the projects I've done outside like that, all of a sudden you're looking at it [00:15:00] going, wait a minute, I need six circuits out here of electrical.

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[00:15:22] Eric Goranson: So that planning is key. And then you bring in the natural gas and the water, and it can be a big project just to get the foundational stuff done before you get the shovel up.

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[00:15:41] Aaron Brundage: And I think it really does for a lot of people that I speak with when I put my project in, I did not consider. Lighting at the time originally way back in the day when I put it in originally, and I just kept seeing all these projects that we were installing that have this amazing outdoor lighting and what it can do for a project.

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[00:16:22] Aaron Brundage: And not only when I was out there, but. Now I'm even inside just looking out and, oh man, how cool does that look with something like lighting? So yes, I learned the hard way in my situation. And I like to tell people, let's think about everything on the front end, including something like lighting.

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[00:16:42] Eric Goranson: It is so easy to pre wire for lighting out there when you're doing the project. The wire is not that expensive. It's all in the fixtures. So if you know where that is, and you've got it marked out, you can pre wire that out there. And then it was phase two, put the lighting in, but at least you've got that route and it's out there and where it's going to be anyway.

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[00:17:09] Aaron Brundage: you're hitting the nail on the head, such a simple thing to do with proper planning on the front end. Something like the wires.

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[00:17:27] Eric Goranson: Yeah, it's a definitely a must have outside because it just changes the entire feel of everything where people just go You could not have changed anything had your house that way for two years You put the lighting and people go in the evening.

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[00:17:43] Aaron Brundage: we'll set up, uh, we'll set up a demo for example, and I set it up around, people come out and they look at their, and they're blown away about how it's transformed their property and then we'll turn it off just to show them the impact. They're like, no, turn it back on, turn it back on.

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[00:18:01] Eric Goranson: Yeah, and there's so much more reliable too. And guys, I'm not talking about going to your home center and grabbing the 99 kit off the shelf. I'm talking about go to your lighting store and get the stuff that you can put out there and get a decade out of with a weathering and looking like it's brand new versus the stuff that you throw out there.

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[00:18:24] Aaron Brundage: not agree with you more. We're talking about quality in a lot of ways here and, and it pays to have a good quality product out there, especially when it comes to lighting, again, exposed to all those elements.

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[00:19:00] Intro: Hey, this is Ron Keel, the Metal Cowboy from Keel, the Ron Keel Band and Steeler. We are rocking Around the House with Eric G. Raise your fists!

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[00:19:20] Eric Goranson: Where you can do it right. The first time to find out more about this show, head over to around the house, online. com. And if you need help with that next project, give us a ring over at 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44. That number again is 8 3 3 2 3 9 4 1 4 4. Now let's get back to our conversation with Aaron Brundlage from system pavers.

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[00:19:58] Eric Goranson: Please don't go buy the solar [00:20:00] lights at the big box store. Cause you're going to throw them away next year. It's not green. Could

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[00:20:18] Eric Goranson: Yeah. If it's not in the budget this year, wait till next year, do it right. Because all you're going to do is throw it away. And I promise you, it's not going to be cheaper next year. Such good

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[00:20:28] Eric Goranson: That's just how it goes. You guys build a lot of stuff outside as well. It's not only pavers and stuff, but you jump into like gazebos and all the different stuff outside.

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[00:20:56] Aaron Brundage: What a cool place to gather. Another one is [00:21:00] pergolas. You talk about gazebos and pergolas and. The pergola situation is, is amazing right now. So there's some very cool products that are out there. It's not just your typical wood pergola, which is great. Don't get me wrong. And that is, can be a perfect focal point for a lot of projects and a great place for people to gather under.

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[00:21:52] Eric Goranson: Yeah, those lured ones are super trick. I saw one for the first time a few years ago, one of the shows and then they're just popping up everywhere now, [00:22:00] but depending it's so regional, right? So like in Florida or California, you're just trying to get that hot beating sun off you. But in more than Northern States, you're trying to keep the rain, the drizzle, the weather off of you.

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[00:22:22] Aaron Brundage: Absolutely. So durable, super sleek, super beautiful. And again, it's about picking what's going to compliment the rest of the project so well also, isn't it?

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[00:22:47] Aaron Brundage: And again, the louvers, a lot of different options there. It's about really tying it all together and making sure it's going to be the perfect, the perfect, perfect match.

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[00:23:03] Eric Goranson: I didn't get to solve anything for you. So you got to plan these things out, right? You want to get the footing down there for the pergola so you can do the pavers around it.

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[00:23:21] Aaron Brundage: There are so many different ways to prepare. For that, for down the road and, and you said it yourself, putting some cassons in marking where there's, where those are so that you can still enjoy the, enjoy everything you wanna do. Now, maybe it's a year or two down the road where it's time to add that you pop those out, are able to have access to do what's necessary and you're off the races with a proper installation where you didn't just piece mail it here at the end.

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[00:24:04] Eric Goranson: You couldn't get it in there just right. You didn't get things lined up just perfectly. It's good just to be able to plan it out or even better plan it out and bring the pros in to handle it for you when it's a little bit bigger, because. You know, sometimes people just don't have the time to tackle the project themselves.

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[00:24:26] Aaron Brundage: Absolutely. And it's one of those things that I was mentioning earlier. Not only can it be absolutely backbreaking work, but it's super time consuming as well.

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[00:25:08] Aaron Brundage: Professionally installed backed by a wonderful warranty and ready to enjoy it and last a lifetime.

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[00:25:24] Eric Goranson: We got to have that space. We got a family reunion coming up in August. There's always these things that push people to that edge or my kids weddings coming up, what's the best way to start the process, right?

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[00:25:39] Aaron Brundage: com for example, one of the ways on our website, just not coming and checking out everything we do, we can set appointments right through our site. Contact us to set up a consultation, but having us out to your home and coming out to the home to be able to really, like I said, get an, get an idea of what you're looking to do, really do that comprehensive [00:26:00] design process is so important and then getting on the schedule, having us come out and get this project installed, fortunately, we are able to, because of us just being such a well oiled machine, for example, we're able to come out and, you know, Get your project completed in a timely fashion, in a very professional manner.

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[00:26:40] Aaron Brundage: Oh yeah, oh yeah, without a doubt on YouTube and you can check out a lot of our transformations befores and afters and just get a lot of different ideas for even before we come out to your home and see projects that we've already completed. And I'll tell you what, if you weren't already excited about an upcoming project, check out some befores complete transformations.

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[00:27:02] Eric Goranson: And that's the easy way to have the best backyard in the neighborhood right there. And you can, uh, wow your friends and quite frankly, just have your outdoor place of solitude that you can go enjoy when you just want to get away.

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[00:27:16] Aaron Brundage: It transfers into that, the whole, the neighborhood gathering place in the evening,

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[00:27:32] Eric Goranson: Cause I know you have a lot of different markets you're in.

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[00:27:53] Aaron Brundage: So we're really all over the place. A lot of different options that we service, a lot of different people that we can service. It's not just [00:28:00] a one location somewhere, which is great. We can accommodate so many people in so many different areas. And I think you also asked what else maybe haven't we talked about today?

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[00:28:22] Eric Goranson: You've been listening to our interview with Aaron Brundlage from system pavers around the house. We'll be right back after these important messages.

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[00:29:12] Eric Goranson: to around the house. Show the next generation of home improvement. We can help you with your design DIY or construction project. Hope you get the right information where you can do it right. The first time to find out more about this show, head over to around the house, online. com. And if you need help with that next project.

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[00:29:41] Aaron Brundage: the whole design process, that installation process, the follow up from it warranties to back it all up. I think all of these things are important. I think all of that is very important.

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[00:30:03] Eric Goranson: man. No question. And no shade thrown on any of the landscapers out there, but I've seen so many people out there hire their landscape company to, Hey, while you're out there, give me a number on the patio real quick.

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[00:30:32] Aaron Brundage: no.

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[00:30:56] Aaron Brundage: Finding that person who's dedicated to their craft, I think is [00:31:00] important as well.

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[00:31:06] Aaron Brundage: Yes, please. Systempavers. com. Check us out. I would love to come out and meet with you and learn about your dreams and vision.

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[00:31:14] Eric Goranson: Thanks for coming on today, brother. I appreciate it.

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[00:31:18] Eric Goranson: was a ton of great information in there as well as if you're a contractor, homeowner, even a DIYer. Or if you're just going to hire to have it done, there's a lot of great tips inside all that last discussion we had right there.

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[00:31:51] Eric Goranson: No, we're creeping up on a decade. But I am the fourth host of around the house show. And we're based in Portland, Oregon. It was [00:32:00] started here in Portland, Oregon, geez, 36 years ago. And I took the show over about eight and a half years ago from handyman, Bob strong, who was for almost a decade, the host there.

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[00:32:32] Eric Goranson: My background is actually as a certified kitchen designer. I was actually in 1999. I got my certification as a certified kitchen designer from the national kitchen, the bath association in the eight years before that, I spent the time designing kitchens and bathrooms and everything interior. Now, I grew up with my father who was, I, he's classified stuff.

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[00:33:15] Eric Goranson: If it wasn't for that first season, which is technically the second season, because it aired nationally during its second season, but I got involved watching this old house as a little kid. And my dad saw that and back before the internet, back before that stuff. He actually got ahold of the station there that the TV station where it was broadcast from and turned around, ordered the plans for the house and they sent them out and had them delivered.

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[00:34:08] Eric Goranson: And then I got into home improvement stuff, working at old hardware stores and designing kitchens. And that's what really got me going in this field. So as through my career, I worked for home Depot for 366 days. Back in the nineties, when they were opening up stores in the Pacific Northwest, I was going around and helping them open up kitchen departments in the stores.

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[00:34:56] Eric Goranson: I did the cabinetry for a big high rise in Bellevue, [00:35:00] Washington called Lincoln square, which was my biggest one. I got to work with some amazing celebrities up there doing very high end luxury stuff as far as design, where this is computers just weren't that great back then. So we would draw things out.

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[00:35:39] Eric Goranson: So I would get hired on seemingly right before they were getting ready to go out of business. And then I would go into my challenge was to go in there like bar rescue and go in there and see if I could get it turned around without the drama. And there was 1 thing I learned doing that for about 6 or 7 years and some of the times that these issues that they had were [00:36:00] definite problems.

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[00:36:26] Eric Goranson: And as soon as I left, many of these people like on bar rescue, they turned around and struggled the same way. And most of those ended up going out of business after I left. So it's unfortunate, but those same old business habits died hard after I left. And there was one that was a really cool company in Tacoma, Washington, that me and a bunch of friends got turned around, got a profitable, got them paid off, got them back in the black.

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[00:37:08] Eric Goranson: And I tell you what, 18 months later, I was watching the auction online, which was pretty sad to see, but that's just what happened. And so really all of that experience has led me up into. Doing this today. I've been a construction experts in court cases where they brought me in as witnesses and experts.

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[00:37:49] Eric Goranson: I am actually doing my television show, which is around the house, Northwest over on gray television that airs in Portland. And of course you can find out those videos. I think we've got about 360 [00:38:00] videos up on YouTube and you can find those over at around the house online. Cause we've basically built those.

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[00:38:26] Eric Goranson: Like we did a week or two ago. Sometimes we'll find something a little bit nicer and take a look at it. And recently I've got some new products we're going to be doing from the national hardware show. Some of them being award winners. So we'll be talking about here in upcoming episodes of great new products to make life so much easier.

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[00:39:02] Eric Goranson: What's some new content and even bigger and better guests. So stay tuned for that. We've got a lot going on. I am running out of time here. It is time to go. We have run through this hour of radio and podcast. So I want to thank everybody for the last 36 years and hopefully another 36 more. Thanks for tuning in to around the house.

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