The best HVAC brands, Troubleshooting wifi issues, my projects, and scammers

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[00:00:29] Eric Goranson: It's min. To be cheaper and you know, make sure that that warranty is solid on it cuz it's just not gonna be as nice as one of the mainline more serious brands of H V A C equipment. So let's break down the brands just a little bit. To me, my favorite number one carrier, that's the easy one, but they have a lot of other brands.

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[00:01:12] Eric Goranson: Our number two, we've got a great show lined up for you. This is gonna be four different subjects and four different segments, so you're gonna get a little bit of everything today. First off, I wanted to talk about something that has been a very hot subject. That it's one of the things that I've had probably some of the most questions about over the last couple, oh, two or three months.

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[00:02:04] Eric Goranson: For instance, I could go out and I put a carrier system of mine. I love my carrier Infinity system that I put in, and it does a super good job, has been just absolutely amazing. I've loved it, but I picked the right. Installation crew, which in my Portland area is Pyramid Heating and cooling. It's who I've worked with for years.

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[00:02:56] Eric Goranson: Now out of the big three, there's a few other companies we'll talk [00:03:00] about in a second here, but there's probably 160 different off-label brands in the US that are versions of probably top six manufacturers, but those are the top three. The one thing that makes it hard in the H V A C industry out there is that.

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[00:03:47] Eric Goranson: It's meant to be cheaper and, you know, make sure that that warranty is solid on it, cuz it's just not gonna be as nice as one of the mainline more serious brands of H V A C equipment. [00:04:00] So let's break down the brands just a little bit. To me, my favorite number one carrier, that's the easy one, but they have a lot of other brands.

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[00:04:32] Eric Goranson: The next one down is a, a close second, which is good. And that's Trane and you know them as Trane slash American Standard. That's kind of their two big brands that they market under. Those are gonna have the latest and greatest technology that's gonna have all the big stuff to it. But they do have their budget builder brands, which are ameristar Run True Ox Box.

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[00:05:24] Eric Goranson: So, Daikin did a lot to help those guys out. So Daikin, Amana Goodman is kind of their thing, so they've really got that dialed in and uh, it's a great budget friendly option. Now Lennox is another brand, and so they've got Lennox Armstrong Air Conquered Duncan Airflow. But I'll be honest, um, I have friends including one neighbor that have had [00:06:00] nightmare Lennox issues and one of my neighbors bought a house next door, uh, right next door to my place, and the one year labor warranty ran out and it was gonna cost him so much more to get that one fixed and working after being installed for a year.

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[00:06:51] Eric Goranson: Another big brand ream. Um, you know, it's, uh, it's not gonna be the carrier train, but it's gonna be better than a Goodman. [00:07:00] So reams a good brand out there. Uh, ream owns, uh, Rudd as well, r u u d, so you know, there's a couple brains there as well. And then York is another one. It's kind of just your middle of the road, kind of like what Ream is.

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[00:07:38] Eric Goranson: So, you know, the, the premieres are still gonna be the carrier Bryant Train, American Standard, Daikin and Lennox. That's kind of your top A-list brands. But when it comes down to it, guys, it's not all, like we were talking about, not all the same with the brands. So here are my issues that I say find the right installer.

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[00:08:21] Eric Goranson: You know, so factory trained and rebates, and right now on heat pumps, it is something that I would take a look at. Uh, heat pumps can go onto most of the United States. Uh, there's some places in the Midwest that might not work well because you're gonna get into those sub-zero temperatures, but really heat pumps, uh, we've had, I know people that are using 'em in Maine and they work well.

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[00:09:03] Eric Goranson: Make sure, of course, they're licensed, bonded, insured. Make sure they're pulling their permits on your project to make sure they're getting inspected. Mine had two inspections. I had a, uh, electrical inspection on mine, and I had an H V A C inspection to make sure everything was done correctly. And making sure they're factory trained.

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[00:09:36] Eric Goranson: Round the house. Be right back after these important messages. Don't go anywhere.

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[00:10:20] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the Around The House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. If you're just joining us on the radio, we were just talking about, uh, buying the RAMP brand of AEC and who to trust and who to be careful of. And then now we're talking about, you know, we got four subjects, four segments today.

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[00:11:05] Eric Goranson: Unplugged it. Restarted it. Make sure that that's been reset. You should be doing that probably once a month to make sure that it's going. And it doesn't matter if you own your own modem or if you're using one from your internet carrier. Restarting. That is key. Making sure that's good. Now I went. You know, there's multiple ways to do it.

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[00:12:03] Eric Goranson: Any kind of metal, metal duct tort can even be a problem. These are things that can create this shadow where you lose signal and lose the ability to receive and transmit. So by doing this now, you have multiple transpo. Part points around the house. And when you're looking at these mesh networks, take a look at it.

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[00:12:54] Eric Goranson: Because if I look at my wall that has [00:13:00] the space between my wifi router and my office, I have an H V A C unit, a stacked washer and dryer. A Bradford White heat pump, water heater, and a refrigerator. And then the insulation between the house and the garage is 1977. Foiled back insulation. I have everything going against a good wifi signal, and so what I did was is I ran cat six cable out to the garage and then went into.

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[00:13:54] Eric Goranson: I had some old wifi arrangements, extenders that I had in my house that [00:14:00] quite frankly, I had forgotten about it. One was plugged into the back of a closet, one was in another bedroom that we weren't using, and it was confusing my system that caused issues. So too many things can cause problems. That create signals.

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[00:14:45] Eric Goranson: So make sure that you're buying something that's not gonna last you six months to a year. Make sure you get something that's gonna last you a few. So let's make sure that you've got that dialed in. So here's my recommendation. When in doubt [00:15:00] have wired connections in your home. If you're building a remodeling, throw in some high quality cable and plug in the things that don't give you any problems.

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[00:15:38] Eric Goranson: TVs. So I don't have coax cable to go into my TVs. They're wifi based. That's great, but you've gotta have the signal to do it. So I've tried to get away from, the only coax that I'm using in my house goes from my router to the outside box, and that's it. And the into the main cable box, everything else is wifi based and that works out pretty well.

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[00:16:18] Eric Goranson: Awesome. Let that be, you know, and put in the best cable you can afford. And when in doubt, give room to pull in new cable if you're creating something there, but really getting that dialed in. And then here's the other tip I have. If you are getting your cable and you go in and do a speed test on it, and you're like, wow, this, I'm right plugged into my modem and I don't have it.

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[00:17:04] Eric Goranson: Call your provider and find out why there's a problem then. And you can fix it. Now, older computers, sometimes they will only go so fast, and if you're on a long run of, of Cat six cable, you can get reduced distance. The longer that goes, the slower it is. So if you're plugged right into the back of it and you've got a nice high speed computer with a decent card in it, you can at least see where you're at with that modem.

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[00:17:56] Eric Goranson: So it's one of those things that, uh, having that dialed in is key. That [00:18:00] way you're gonna be good to go. So, one, make sure you got a mesh network. Two, make sure that you've got a great security system on that. Make sure you're using your, um, using your password and using a hard one so people can't get in there.

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[00:18:51] Eric Goranson: Not from you. Not from,

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[00:19:12] Eric Goranson: for family. Welcome back to The Round The House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Well, this is a show where we've got four topics, four segments today. So our next one here, since we're coming back from break, is I'm talking about some of the projects that I'm working on right now and, uh, some of the cool little, uh, places that I've found.

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[00:19:59] Eric Goranson: And I went, [00:20:00] wow, that is beautiful stuff. It is a metal fencing and. It's a super cool stant metal. That's actually a, a rule form metal, but we won't get too technical here, but it is a affordable maintenance-free privacy fencing and this stuff. Is stunning. And I went, okay, what's the story? So I was just down, actually, literally down with these guys today, talking with them and, uh, two really cool people down there.

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[00:21:00] Eric Goranson: So those two are out there crushing it. And um, I tell you what, this is cool stuff. Color, color bond has this privacy fencing. In Australia, New Zealand, and they brought it to the states. And this stuff is absolutely stunning where you can find it and you'll see a video coming up on it. Uh, dura bond fencing.com, uh, based outta the West coast here.

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[00:21:51] Eric Goranson: The same week, a cedar went across the walkway. That thing was already failing and it had been in there, what, five or six years now that was already looking pretty [00:22:00] rotten. And this thing looks like the day was put up. So, uh, as far as fencing goes, super impressed. And, uh, they've got a lot of different design details with it, which I like.

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[00:22:39] Eric Goranson: And that's, uh, Durabond Modern Steel fencing. Check it out. Now. Airing out today on Around the House Northwest TV show. I've been working with, uh, this specialty manufacturer of, uh, composite decking, and I work with a lot of different decking companies, uh, over the years. But, uh, this stuff is called outlive.

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[00:23:23] Eric Goranson: And they have some really cool. Weathered oak that they have, which is stunning. And this is a composite. And so I did this in the ember color, and you'll see it on the show. I'll post it up here, uh, later on today on the, around the house, uh, page. But here's what's cool about this stuff. This looks like a very old chest.

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[00:24:14] Eric Goranson: It's awesome. And then the cool trick that I love about it is that, that it actually has this self-healing bit to it. So when I put a screw in, It actually sucks around the end of the screw when it goes into the board, when you sink it in and hides the fastener. So really impressed. Uh, we're gonna be doing another project here with the enhanced grain coming up.

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[00:24:55] Eric Goranson: And so, um, I tell you what, they've got it for the pros. They've got it, uh, [00:25:00] dealers across the us. Um, they're a board member of nari, so they're just a really cool, uh, company. I love this mill board product. It is something that looks different. It's hand molded. It's really meant to look like what it's meant to be, and it gives you that added slip resistance as well.

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[00:25:47] Eric Goranson: I'm redoing that front facade, getting the, getting the damage fixed out there. I had a lot of. You know that T one 11 sighting that I painted black, but I realized that, uh, what I was painting at, there was a lot of little soft areas where it painted up nice. But I [00:26:00] could tell that we had some issues from previous, um, carpenter and damage cuz you know, I live in the woods.

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[00:26:30] Eric Goranson: A rain screen and putting on a really cool system out there with, uh, fiber on, they've got their cladding going on the front of the house. It's gonna be super awesome. Uh, and that's all part of that, including a new brand new garage door that I've been working on. So, got a lot of cool new products coming out.

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[00:27:01] Eric Goranson: Uh, all these people have been so great to work with. Uh, zip, um, Rockwell, I gotta throw their names out there. Uh, they're not paying for me to talk about any of this in this episode. This is just talking about some cool products that we're dealing with. Simpson has been great as well as, um, People over at Fiberon, another great company.

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[00:27:38] Eric Goranson: I, it's got a nice little smile to the bottom of it from it, uh, warping, you know, it, it has had a good life, but it is definitely time for it to go with its, uh, you know, 40 plus year life, it has done well, uh, any wood garage door that can have a four inch overhang over the front of it. In my weather, climate has [00:28:00] done well and uh, it has lived a good life and it's time to put in something that is gonna be much.

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[00:29:01] Eric Goranson: It's the end of the show. The drinking down people, it's time to go. It's that time again, it's last call. Welcome back to the Round the House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Oh, while we're having a good time. Right guys? Well, thanks for tuning in today.

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[00:29:36] Eric Goranson: We were also talking about really here some of my projects in the last segment that I've been tackling and then troubleshooting wifi issues. And here I wanted to talk about a trend that's happening right now, and I think it's our economy. And I think it's really coming around into a problem that we're seeing that, um, people trying to find and save money on that remodel and they're really getting burned.

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[00:30:22] Eric Goranson: And you can click on there and find the playlist. We've got 81 videos over for you to take a look at. So far and every week we're putting four to six videos up on there. So we've got a lot of new stuff up there. Uh, just to give you a hint of what we've touched on, just to kind of tease you, I visited Pendleton, Woollen Mills and saw we'll get made.

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[00:31:02] Eric Goranson: The list goes on and on DeWalt. Sweat and pipe, all those different things in the episodes. So you can take that look Fox 12 Oregon YouTube channel and then find the around the house playlist right there. Well, here's one thing that's been really troubling that I've been seeing, and I've been getting a lot of calls from people just in my local area, and I know this is a national thing.

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[00:31:53] Eric Goranson: Literally is gonna have to get gutted back to the studs. And what work has been done is going to have to be [00:32:00] torn out and thrown in the dumpster. And this is something that is really troubling. And they pretended to be a contractor, wrote out a contract like they did, and this quality of work is so poor.

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[00:32:40] Eric Goranson: It looks like. And they went through and installed a fiber cement siding over the top of this and just nailed it wherever, not into the studs. Didn't put any kind of a vapor barrier behind it. There was some tar paper in certain spots, but they did not follow one recommended installation [00:33:00] instruction from the entire thing of installing it where the contractor.

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[00:33:27] Eric Goranson: I walk around to this illegal deck that they've built. There's too much of a cantilever on it. It's probably a 40, 45% cantilever. And it is nailed with framing nails into the house, into that same kind of particle board stuff. No flashing, no bolts. There is a brand new patio door installed, and oh my gosh, that patio door is installed with drywall [00:34:00] screws and no flashing.

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[00:34:26] Eric Goranson: I mean, it, they're, they forgot to drill the shelf holes. Uh, clearly it was, some of it was used cabinet boxes. It appeared that they had, uh, put through and tried to remake the double oven cabinet, was not gonna actually hold the double oven, and they had run a one 10 power outlet to the back of it. And I guarantee you, a double LG oven is not going to be powered off of that.

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[00:35:12] Eric Goranson: Were those tiled? It was half tiled over drywall. Uh, they had some stucco work that was, they had tried to come in and use some stucco, waterproofing, I mean, This, every shower was gonna have to get gutted back to the studs. It was just shocking how poor this job was. And I feel bad for these people. You know, th they, they hired the wrong person.

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[00:36:10] Eric Goranson: A kitchen that needs to go back to the studs and a new. Exterior. I mean, they have got a hundred things wrong, and uh, unfortunately this is one of those life lessons and they don't really have any recourse because, you know, if this person, I don't know this person, I don't know who they are, I've never met them, but this contractor probably doesn't have the resources to give them the refund on that, that needs to come back and does not have the skills to fix it.

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[00:37:07] Eric Goranson: And, uh, to do it right, they're gonna have to put a lot more materials into it, and obviously it's gonna cost 'em a lot more money. I'm, I'm guessing this is gonna be a 200 to $240,000 remodel to do it right with the, the type of finishes that they had in there. And, uh, I don't wanna see anybody get into this situation.

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[00:37:49] Eric Goranson: But there is no way to get around that until they get inflation under control and, uh, prices come down. This is the land we're in and even getting a loan is [00:38:00] expensive. So, uh, you know, great time to learn these DIY projects and to take on some of these projects or save up the money, work hard and be able to afford to buy the right contractor to do the work because this is just brutal and there's so many people getting taken and, um, even trying to find an attorney to help this family take it on, it's gonna be a long battle for them, and it's gonna be painful.

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[00:38:47] Eric Goranson: So it's all said and done because this was gonna be one moldy mess. All right, everybody, thanks for tuning in to Round the House this week. I do appreciate it. Make sure and check it out, the podcast if you're on the radio. And don't forget our midweek [00:39:00] special. As always, thanks for tuning in to around the House