Episode 1902
Top 10 Homeowner Tips for 2025: Save Money and Avoid Costly Repairs!
Are you ready to save money and protect your home in 2025? Eric G shares essential tips and tricks for homeowners, focusing on key areas that could lead to costly repairs if neglected. From maintaining your HVAC system to ensuring your roof is in top shape, these insights are designed to help you get the most out of your home. Eric emphasizes the importance of preventative maintenance and proactive planning, such as checking insurance coverage and preparing for potential weather-related emergencies. Tune in for practical advice that can save you time, money, and stress throughout the year.
Navigating homeownership in 2025 requires vigilance and proactive measures to protect your investment. Eric G delves into vital tips and tricks that homeowners should adopt this year to avoid costly repairs and maintain their properties efficiently. He emphasizes the importance of regular HVAC maintenance, citing rising costs associated with new refrigerants and energy standards that make timely tune-ups essential. Eric stresses that many homeowners could extend the lifespan of their HVAC systems significantly through annual check-ups, which not only saves money on utility bills but also delays the need for expensive replacements.
Additionally, the episode highlights the significance of roof maintenance. With insurance companies increasingly using aerial imagery to assess property conditions, neglecting your roof could lead to costly repairs or even loss of coverage. Eric advises homeowners to engage professionals for annual roof inspections, particularly in regions prone to moss or debris accumulation. This preventative approach can save thousands in future roof replacement costs, allowing homeowners to maximize the lifespan of their roofs while ensuring compliance with insurance policies.
As the discussion progresses, Eric addresses the challenges posed by severe weather events and the necessity of being prepared for power outages. He explores options for backup power solutions, including generators and battery systems, noting that many power companies offer rebates for solar battery installations. This proactive planning can be a lifesaver during prolonged outages, ensuring that homes remain habitable and that food supplies stay fresh. Eric's insights serve as a crucial guide for homeowners looking to navigate the complexities of property maintenance in the current economic climate, emphasizing the importance of preparation, regular maintenance, and proactive coverage assessments.
Takeaways:
- Regular HVAC system maintenance can significantly reduce energy costs and extend the lifespan of your unit.
- Proper roof maintenance is essential to avoid costly repairs and insurance complications.
- Being prepared for natural disasters involves having emergency supplies and a plan in place.
- It's important to keep track of your home insurance coverage and ensure you're adequately protected.
- Monitor your water bill closely to identify any potential leaks early on and save money.
- Investing in exterior lighting not only improves safety but also enhances your home's curb appeal.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Pyramid Heating and Cooling
- Monument Grill
To get your questions answered by Eric G give us a call in the studio at 833-239-4144 24/7 and Eric G will get back to you and answer your question and you might end up in a future episode of Around the House.
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Information given on the Around the House Show should not be considered construction or design advice for your specific project, nor is it intended to replace consulting at your home or jobsite by a building professional. The views and opinions expressed by those interviewed on the podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Around the House Show.
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
Foreign the house with all the power outages and stuff we're having across the country, power storage or a generator.
Eric G.:Now generally speaking, that generator is going to be a much more cost effective option.
Eric G.:But if you've got solar panels and you're thinking about maybe putting one of those Tesla wall batteries up there or some of those, there are some rebates and stuff that there are power companies that are helping reduce the price of those.
Eric G.:Around the House show is brought to you.
Eric G.:Pyramid Heating and Cooling serving in Oregon, the Portland metro area and Bend, Oregon.
Eric G.:They are your one stop shop for heating and cooling and indoor air quality.
Eric G.: pyramidheating.com Oregon CCB: Eric G.:This is AROUND the house.
Eric G.:Welcome to the Round the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Eric G.:I'm Eric G.
Eric G.:Happy New Year everybody.
Eric G.: and rolling here for a great: Eric G.:Thanks for joining me today.
Eric G.:This hour is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grill.
Eric G.:If you're looking for a killer barbecue out there for under 900 bucks, check them out@monument grills.com today.
Eric G.: and tricks for homeowners for: Eric G.:These are things that you can do around the house that can save you some money, lower some bills, just save some money or save future repairs you could be saving on right now.
Eric G.:And so we're going to go down through this list in this hour.
Eric G.:So we're going to have some fun with this one.
Eric G.:The first one is a common one that you've heard me talk about, but it's one of the most important ones for various reasons.
Eric G.:Keep that H Vac system tuned up where you've got somebody coming out at least once a year to take a look at that system to make sure it's running correctly.
Eric G.:And here's why.
Eric G.:These systems are getting crazy expensive out there with the new Freon that's coming out here that just started production and now on the 1st of January, there is a limited inventory out there of H Vac stuff with the old Freon or that old gas that was used as a refrigerant.
Eric G.:So the problem right now is we have all these new systems with higher costs.
Eric G.:So even replacing that H Vac system that was expensive last year is probably 20 or 30% more expensive this year because of the New energy standards and the new greener gas that's going into these units.
Eric G.:So they made them all the way up till December 31, and then they had to federally change over here in the United States to the new material.
Eric G.:So there will be some inventory out there, but it's going to be going away soon because people are going to try to save some money.
Eric G.:But making sure that's tuned up, that is a big maintenance thing, guys.
Eric G.:Many times when you're looking at that H VAC system, and I could have saved it if I would have maintained it, if it's gas, it needs to be tuned, they have a really good way to go in there.
Eric G.:It'll save you on gas heat too.
Eric G.:If you're burning through gas, they get in there and they can fine tune that in.
Eric G.:Could be just burning too much gas on you and you're wasting energy.
Eric G.:So you want to make sure that's running perfectly.
Eric G.:You want to make sure it's clean.
Eric G.:You're not burning stuff up inside that.
Eric G.:You've got the filter working correctly.
Eric G.:And if you're in a cooling mode, that thing is not getting plugged up.
Eric G.:Especially with the new higher efficiency units out there where they give off moisture in the heating and cooling cycle, it's super important to make sure that those drains and everything are cleaned up and ready to go.
Eric G.:And if they're in a crawl space or if they're up in an attic space, make sure that things are insulated so they don't freeze up on a cold spell, things like that.
Eric G.:So really, that maintenance is huge.
Eric G.:That's how you get a system that sometimes, you know, people last 10 years, maybe you can get 20 out of it.
Eric G.:So that's a key right there.
Eric G.:Just making sure that you're going to be in a good space to keep that thing working beautifully for you.
Eric G.:So there's, number one, tune up, make sure you're saving money.
Eric G.:And if you got to replace it, take a look at it right now, because it's never going to be cheaper than it is in January.
Eric G.:And that's the key right there.
Eric G.:Next one here is a big one and this relates to a bunch of different things.
Eric G.:And this is roof maintenance, making sure that you get the most out of that roof.
Eric G.:If you're in an area where you get moss and build up and trash leaves, pine needles, whatever, make sure you keep that off the roof.
Eric G.:And you have either yourself or a professional up there inspecting that roof once a year, making sure that it's clean.
Eric G.:Don't get up there with A pressure washer, that's how you ruin a good roof.
Eric G.:But get up there, there's softwash companies, there's ones up there that can add cleanliness to it up there and make sure that's going to last.
Eric G.:Now here's one of the things that can be an issue now if you don't have a lot of trees around your property and they can see plenty of insurance companies across the US now are going to drones or satellite images to make sure that they can see what your roof condition is.
Eric G.:And it could be an issue where they tell you you have to replace, repair or maintain or they're going to drop you.
Eric G.:And so this is happening more and more people that have clutter cars to junk to things stacked up outside.
Eric G.:If they see that and that's a hazard, you could get a nasty gram from your insurance company and that's just going to cost you money.
Eric G.:So that's a big one right there.
Eric G.:So maintain that roof, get the most out of it.
Eric G.:Unless you want to replace it with the.
Eric G.:You could spend 30,000 bucks on a brand new roof easily.
Eric G.:Many roofs can get up there in the 15, $60,000 if you've got a big one.
Eric G.:So just keep in mind what a roof costs these days and I don't want to see you have to get caught when man, I could have just maintained it.
Eric G.:So get as much out of that roof life as you can.
Eric G.:It's a smart one.
Eric G.:Roof maintenance.
Eric G.:Now the other thing here too is, is make sure you're talking to your side mark here.
Eric G.:Make sure you're talking to your insurance agent about the coverages on your house.
Eric G.:We've had wildfires, we've got hurricanes, we've got all these different there earthquakes.
Eric G.:Talk to your agent and make sure with all the house values going up, can you actually rebuild your house for the price you haven't insured?
Eric G.:If you have a total loss, are you covered?
Eric G.:That was a battle for me because I've been putting in some nice stuff into my house and I was grossly under assured because I was just using the standard calculation that the online insurance agent was giving me.
Eric G.:Guess what?
Eric G.:Once I talked to Tony, my insurance guy, and you've heard me talk about this before, I told him about the problem, showed him some pictures.
Eric G.:He's like, yeah, we gotta fix that.
Eric G.:And so we fixed it.
Eric G.:So you just want to make sure that you've got the right coverage.
Eric G.:If you need to have flood insurance, do you need to have earthquake insurance?
Eric G.:What kind of are you in a floodplain what do you have to deal with to protect your investment?
Eric G.:Because that's a huge one these days.
Eric G.:And you want to make sure that you get in there.
Eric G.:Because here's the problem.
Eric G.:As we've seen in many natural disasters.
Eric G.:We had that ice storm.
Eric G.:It took my neighbor, what, six houses away.
Eric G.:It took them almost a year to get back on their house.
Eric G.:And that was from trees falling on it.
Eric G.:So that was not.
Eric G.:That was just trees.
Eric G.:I think it had four or five of them land on it.
Eric G.:They are still coming up on a year on it.
Eric G.:They're moved back in there, but I can still see there's plastic and things are not 100%.
Eric G.:They're at 90%.
Eric G.:They're at least moved back in.
Eric G.:But that house is still not done.
Eric G.:The protective fencing is up around it.
Eric G.:It's still not a hundred percent.
Eric G.:So really make sure that you've got the coverage.
Eric G.:And if you have a natural disaster, you have a place to stay.
Eric G.:Because guess what, you're still making those house payments.
Eric G.:You don't want to be stuck having to pay rent for a year and a house payment in today's economy with things what they cost out there, it's going to be crazy.
Eric G.:It's going to be crazy.
Eric G.:So just one thing to keep in mind.
Eric G.:Talk to your insurance company, make sure you're good.
Eric G.: ices maybe going down here in: Eric G.:So we'll see what happens here.
Eric G.:There's a lot of speculation, but we could see some roofing material prices going down out there.
Eric G.:But at the same time, I was in Lowe's this last weekend and man, it was almost 18 bucks a sheet for half inch four by eight drywall.
Eric G.:So building material costs are still way up there on the inflation side of things.
Eric G.:And just be very careful out there with your building material choices.
Eric G.:Some things are really high right now.
Eric G.: get things dialed in here in: Eric G.:Hey, if you want to find out more about around the house, head over to aroundthehouse online.com make sure you check it out there.
Eric G.:And then we're on social media.
Eric G.:So Facebook, we have our own Facebook group that is around the House nation that's been growing and we've been posting stuff up there.
Eric G.:I'll post some more stuff up again this week.
Eric G.:Got a lot of new stuff coming out here, some new videos coming out and stuff.
Eric G.:So we've got some great stuff that you'll be able to check out there.
Eric G.:And don't forget with the around The House Northwest TV show, we've got almost 600 videos now that are up on the YouTube.
Eric G.:So you can find that over at aroundthe house online.com then of course, we've got our own channel as well.
Eric G.:And you can find that as well over at aroundthehouse online.com so you can find out all of our social media stuff over there on the website, with a new website coming up soon.
Eric G.:Can't wait to show you that one.
Eric G.:All right, everybody.
Eric G.: some money and some hassle in: Eric G.:Don't change that dial.
Eric G.:We'll be right back.
Eric G.:Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Eric G.:I'm Eric Chi.
Eric G.:Thanks for joining today.
Eric G.:If you want to find out more about us, head over to aroundthe house online.com if you're listening on the radio.
Eric G.:We do appreciate you catching on the Talk Media network.
Eric G.:And of course, for all you podcast listeners out there, if you do want to catch it commercial free, check out our around the House Insider.
Eric G.:Basically that plan right there.
Eric G.:Four bucks a month, you get a commercial free and you get access to some amazing episodes that you don't get to hear on the regular podcast.
Eric G.:So lots of stuff there.
Eric G.: s with that coming up here in: Eric G.:So can't wait to show you some new stuff.
Eric G.:Today.
Eric G.: and tricks for homeowners for: Eric G.:This hour is brought to you by our friends at Monty MC Grills.
Eric G.:Check out that latest barbecue you might need for the big game.
Eric G.:Moneymcrills.com great stuff there for under 900 bucks with all those cool features like the lighted dials and the glass window to look through.
Eric G.:Premium barbecue grilling for a great price so far here in the show, we talked about tuning up your H Vac, making sure that's dialed in to save you electricity or gas.
Eric G.:And of course, money on not having to replace a dang thing.
Eric G.:Next up, roof maintenance.
Eric G.:Really making sure that roof is maintained and get ready to go just in case you have that insurance agent up there with the drone or the satellites.
Eric G.:Or just making sure you can get the most out of the roof without having to replace it.
Eric G.:Keeping that money in your back pocket.
Eric G.:Next one up here is an important one for just about everybody in the United States being prepared for bad weather or whatever those risks are in your area.
Eric G.:Maybe it's not so much bad weather.
Eric G.:Maybe it's a wildfire or an earthquake.
Eric G.:You know, not everybody gets tornadoes, not everybody gets hurricanes, but maybe it's a wildfire risk.
Eric G.:Maybe it's a windstorm, maybe it's a tornado.
Eric G.:Are you ready for that?
Eric G.:Are you ready for that?
Eric G.:We've seen this now, and this happens a lot when we get into hurricane season.
Eric G.:But all of a sudden we started seeing people down in Asheville, North Carolina, that literally spent weeks without getting help there.
Eric G.:So are you ready for that situation in your home?
Eric G.:If we have some bad winter outbreak and power grid goes down, you're gonna make it.
Eric G.:You're going to keep things from freezing up in your house.
Eric G.:Are you going to keep that food from spoiling?
Eric G.:You have enough food for everybody for a couple weeks.
Eric G.:You have water, you have all your medications, pet food, all those things.
Eric G.:So go down, make a list.
Eric G.:There's plenty of emergency preparedness lists that are on the web where you can go absolutely 100% prepared or you can just get the basics.
Eric G.:And it doesn't have to be expensive.
Eric G.:You can start just putting stuff away.
Eric G.:Hey, I'm gonna.
Eric G.:I'm going to spend some money and put a couple of cases of bottled water away, or I'm going to get a couple of jugs of water and put away, or I'm going to get a nice filtration system and get that delivered.
Eric G.:So there's a lot of little things you can do with that.
Eric G.:But really just spend some time, go through your list and make sure you're prepped and ready to go for storm season here and getting into the summertime, just get ready.
Eric G.:And it's just one of those things.
Eric G.:I think it's smart for everybody.
Eric G.:Just be a little prepared.
Eric G.:And that way, if you do this, you won't have to worry about it.
Eric G.:Now, I always say, hey, be careful going out and getting a bunch of canned goods and putting them away.
Eric G.:You always want to make sure and cycle those through.
Eric G.:So that's another smart winner trick to do is go through and take a look at your pantry.
Eric G.:How is your food situation?
Eric G.:Is a bunch of stuff in there outdated?
Eric G.:Do you have a case of something that you got at Costco sitting in the back that you forgot about?
Eric G.:That's all trash?
Eric G.:Take a look.
Eric G.:Clean out that pantry.
Eric G.:Go through the refrigerator.
Eric G.:Are the condiments old Check those used by sell by dates and make sure that you're using everything healthy that's in there.
Eric G.:And one great way to do it if you're going to put food away is make sure you got one a way to heat things too.
Eric G.:You've got water, but Mountain House or some of these other freeze dried food companies do a great job of making stuff that'll last 20 or 30 years so you can buy it.
Eric G.:Once put it away, you have to worry about it going bad.
Eric G.:Just something to consider in being prepared for the next natural disaster and then putting together a kit for your house.
Eric G.:Maybe it's a blue tarp, maybe it's some zip ties, maybe it's some weatherproof duct tape.
Eric G.:Maybe it's some roofing caulk to seal up a hole in the roof real quick, some wet patch, those kind of things.
Eric G.:What do you need in an emergency kit to be able to patch up a damage in your home in case something bad happens?
Eric G.:Sometimes just the sheet of plywood that's leaning up in the shed to the blue tarp can be a huge thing because as soon as that storm hits, those things are the first to go out of your home centers.
Eric G.:Now you're trying to get them to your place quickly, so make sure that you're ready for that.
Eric G.:And having a kit for your house is a smart thing.
Eric G.:So be prepared especially for whatever the risks are in your area.
Eric G.:So the next one here is a good one.
Eric G.:This is a big one.
Eric G.:And this is a safety thing, making sure you've got your exterior lighting game down.
Eric G.:And this is a safety thing, especially this time of year where it's just so dark.
Eric G.:We just went through the shortest day of the year.
Eric G.:It's going to start getting a little lighter as we go.
Eric G.:But making sure that the front of your house and even the back is well lit.
Eric G.:Now many times you might be in an area where they've got rules on lighting of up lighting.
Eric G.:So make sure you're not breaking those rules, those dark sky rules, if you have them, make sure you're following those.
Eric G.:But really having some good lights out front and making sure that you've got a clear view to the front of the house when you pull up, that you're not going to have to worry about somebody hiding in the bushes looking for you when you show up or a place that people can hide to break in, making sure that it's landscaped correctly with good lighting.
Eric G.:One, great lighting looks amazing if you do it right.
Eric G.:Two, it's just a safe thing.
Eric G.:And People driving by are almost like your own patrol.
Eric G.:If they see somebody lurking around, they're probably going to call the police or at least bring it to the attention.
Eric G.:And that's a good thing.
Eric G.:Cameras are also great, but if nobody's monitoring them, you're just going to be monitoring and in recording the crime as it happens to maybe see who did it.
Eric G.:But it's not going to be worth prevention unless it's a manned system.
Eric G.:So something to consider is you're going through next one here though is a big one and this is with all the power outages and stuff we're having across the country, power storage or a generator.
Eric G.:Now generally speaking that generator is going to be a much more cost effective option.
Eric G.:But if you've got solar panels and you're thinking about maybe putting one of those Tesla wall batteries up there or some of those, there are some rebates and stuff that there are power companies that are helping reduce the price of those because they want to be able to use it.
Eric G.:And you're seeing this now where we're forward thinking companies that are providing power out there going hey, if we give a rebate and it's hooked up into their solar system and we can buy that power back under, under load, maybe that's a great way to do this.
Eric G.:So this is something that can be good for you as far as energy backup and it can be great as well for maybe reducing some costs if you've got a good rebate system out there for you that can save you some serious money trying to reduce the cost.
Eric G.:Those add up quick when you're looking to install.
Eric G.:There's no joke about that.
Eric G.:But really putting in that backup generator, whether it's a portable one with a transfer switch or something that is going to be much more permanent, which is like an emergency on or a just a full on battery backup system, any, any one of those systems can be great when you don't have power.
Eric G.:Like for here I'm really looking to change probably up into a upgraded system because my problem is here almost every year we have four or five days in a row where we lose power.
Eric G.:And that can be a significant issue when I'm trying to keep the house from either being too frozen or damaged or just trying to live in it and enjoy it.
Eric G.:So that's one thing that you got to be really careful with is how many days a year are you missing power.
Eric G.:For me it's significant.
Eric G.:So it's one of those things that it's good to have that backup power so you can keep the food fresh, maybe keep the heat on, some lights on, maybe even in your Internet going and you should be good to go and at least have something going.
Eric G.:Need to have things balanced out a little bit for your home to what's going to work best for your system?
Eric G.: that'll be great for you for: Eric G.:Don't change that.
Eric G.:D welcome back to the around the House show.
Eric G.:The next generation of home improvement on the radio, the podcast, streaming anywhere you catch us.
Eric G.:Thanks for tuning in today.
Eric G.:I'm Eric G.
Eric G.: and tricks for homeowners in: Eric G.:And one thing here too, by the way, we're brought to you by our friends at Monty McGrill.
Eric G.:If you're looking for that brand new barbecue, check them out@money mcrills.com we've been talking about this list and it's been a pretty good one today so far of things.
Eric G.:And this next one here is really important, especially you need to know what your weaknesses are with your home improvement skills.
Eric G.:So I always say have your weakest points have those people on speed dial.
Eric G.:So at least who those people are.
Eric G.:Have a relationship with that KDN cooling person that's coming out there to do your maintenance, who you're calling.
Eric G.:If you have an issue, do you have a plumber that's good at drain problems?
Eric G.:If you've got a, a sewer drain that's got issues, who do you call?
Eric G.:What's a good person?
Eric G.:Find those people and put them in that old Rolodex.
Eric G.:Put them in your phone.
Eric G.:Same thing with an electrician.
Eric G.:If you've got an older home or you've got issues, who are you going to call?
Eric G.:Having that figured out beforehand can be really handy, especially if you found a good one.
Eric G.:Keep them on your list so that way you can go.
Eric G.:And that's one thing with that heating and cooling that we talked about in the first that's really important is that if you catch that you're getting your maintenance done.
Eric G.:If you get onto a home maintenance plan with those guys, many times there's added benefits for doing this.
Eric G.:So if you sign up for their service agreement, all of a sudden now you've got the first person to call, you're going, you might get pushed to the front of the list because you're on a maintenance plan with them.
Eric G.:So if you've got a breakdown, maybe all of a sudden you're in the front of the list versus waiting a week or two for somebody to come out there when we get those hot and cold spells.
Eric G.:So take a look, do your shop and make sure you got things dialed in and ready to go.
Eric G.:Now, the next one here is something that I've talked about and this is super important right now.
Eric G.:If you are on your last leg of your heating and cooling system, like, you're like, I got.
Eric G.:My system is 25 years old, it's old, it's barely holding on.
Eric G.:I can tell you what right now is going to be the cheapest you're going to get for replacing that unit over the next few years.
Eric G.:Unless there is some major change out there, there is nothing that's going to be cheaper than right now.
Eric G.:So if you can pull it off right now with these.
Eric G.:We're doing the switch out to the new.
Eric G.:We talked about it in the first segment.
Eric G.:We're doing that switch out over there to the new refrigerant.
Eric G.:They were cranking out units all the way up until the 31st, trying to get stuff done.
Eric G.:So I tell you what, if you want to save some money, go out and take a look at those systems right now because they're not going to be any cheaper.
Eric G.:As they run out of that invent inventory, you're gonna see 20, 30% price increases, most likely.
Eric G.:And this is what I'm hearing out there for the professionals that I know that these new systems, because they're, they're, there's more tech in them, they're smarter, they've got a different refrigerant which isn't.
Eric G.:It's not like this refrigerant that's being used is something that's brand new.
Eric G.:So it's not something, it's been something that's been tested for a few years.
Eric G.:It's not like in the past where, oh, we've been using this in these other systems for a long time.
Eric G.:This is new stuff.
Eric G.:So whenever there's new stuff, there can be hiccups, there can be issues.
Eric G.:So make sure you've got that dialed in.
Eric G.:And if you're going to have to buy a system right now, I recommend probably doing it.
Eric G.:It's going to save you money.
Eric G.:Now if you're going to do it and I can't do it now, I'm going to do a couple of years, no problem.
Eric G.:I get it.
Eric G.:Money's tight out there.
Eric G.:But just think about what it's going to take to do that.
Eric G.:If you have to pay 20, 30, 40% more, and that's really what it's gonna take to get some of these new systems in and we'll see what happens with all of this.
Eric G.:But really, that's the route everyone's going.
Eric G.:And those things are in production as of the first of the year.
Eric G.:So that's the thing, that's the new system.
Eric G.:And just pay attention out there, guys.
Eric G.:If, if you have to buy it, I tell you what, my advice would be to go grab it now before the new systems come out.
Eric G.:They're already out there, but I'm gonna assume that most of the companies have been putting together as much inventory as they can so they can save some money on this stuff before they go to the new product.
Eric G.:So I could be wrong, but I know it's going to save you some serious money.
Eric G.:All right, this next one here is a big one.
Eric G.:And if you're paying for water, which most likely are you either have a well or you've got city water or wherever it's coming from, whatever water municipality, you're getting water from someplace.
Eric G.:So either way you're paying something for it, whether it's electricity to pump it or it's coming out of the water bill that, that you're paying for by how much volume you use.
Eric G.:So here's the thing.
Eric G.:Pay attention to your water bill, Pay attention to that power bill.
Eric G.:If you're on a well, make sure that you understand if you've got a leak or not, because this can be a huge deal.
Eric G.:This happened to my neighbors just a couple years ago here.
Eric G.:They ended up having, they're on a flag lot, so they've got, you know, 120 or so yard long driveway.
Eric G.:And they had a water bill that showed up instead of being 250 bucks, showed up at $9,000 because they had a water leak under the paved driveway going back to their house.
Eric G.:So luckily they worked with the water company to make sure that they could get a reduced rate on that.
Eric G.:But here was the problem because of all the protected trees in the area there, it took another 90 days or so for them to get the permits to get the gear to get everything in there, to literally tunnel underground up this driveway to put in the new water line.
Eric G.:So the problem was that they had months of this.
Eric G.:And so what happened was they thought it was all going to be written off.
Eric G.:It wasn't.
Eric G.:I think they still had to pay about $9,000 in water bills because they ended up not turning the water off to the house.
Eric G.:I would have figured out a way probably to temporarily patch that, fix it so that stopped.
Eric G.:But they didn't.
Eric G.:They went this route.
Eric G.:So that cost them an extra nine grand on top of that.
Eric G.:And then they had about a $50,000 bill to run a new water line all the way back underneath.
Eric G.:So pay attention to that water bill.
Eric G.:Take a look and see how much you're using.
Eric G.:If you've got a.
Eric G.:A well, make sure that well is being monitored by houma energy monitor so you can see if it's running more or less.
Eric G.:So that way you can measure what's going on that way.
Eric G.:Hey, my well pump is running all the time.
Eric G.:Do I have a pressure tank problem?
Eric G.:Do I have a leak?
Eric G.:What do we have going on here?
Eric G.:What's happening?
Eric G.:And so that can be one of those things that can save you a ton of money, Especially if you're going to burn up a well.
Eric G.:Well pump motor.
Eric G.:You want to make sure that's working correctly.
Eric G.:So make it so you can watch that and then just pay attention every month to your water bill if you're a little worried about it.
Eric G.:Easy thing to do is go around and make sure you shut off all the water being used.
Eric G.:Don't run any dishes or laundry.
Eric G.:Just make sure that no one flushes the toilet, takes a shower.
Eric G.:Does anything walk out?
Eric G.:Take a look at your meter.
Eric G.:There's that little tiny spin dial.
Eric G.:Usually they're blue, depending on what color it is.
Eric G.:Sometimes they're red.
Eric G.:But that little spinner will move if there's water moving.
Eric G.:So if you've got everything shut off at the house and that thing's creeping along, you got a leak someplace and you're paying for that.
Eric G.:And sometimes with that, you want might want to bring in a pro because if you've got.
Eric G.:There are people out there that do under slab, you know, leak detection stuff where they've got the tools that they can actually listen to what's going on down underneath there.
Eric G.:Many times they can find that without having to do a bunch of exploratory digging, because that's what they do when you have slab on grade homes.
Eric G.:You know, when there's a leak underneath, there's a way that they have to figure out where that is without cutting up the entire floor of a house.
Eric G.:So slab leak detection people are great at finding out where these issues are.
Eric G.:So that's something you can sure take a look and make sure it's gonna work correctly for you.
Eric G.:And maybe getting the professional out there will get you.
Eric G.:Now, sometimes, and it's rare, but sometimes, if you can prove this was done by damage from a tree or something like that, there is a slight chance that it could get covered by your homeowner's insurance.
Eric G.:Slight.
Eric G.:So check on it.
Eric G.:Ask around, especially if it's a big project.
Eric G.:I know my neighbors, they had, they had, you know, their insurance covered it.
Eric G.:I wasn't sure what policy they had.
Eric G.:Didn't ask.
Eric G.:Wasn't my deal.
Eric G.:But sometimes that can be covered because theirs was.
Eric G.:Now, dude, did they have a home warranty that maybe covered it?
Eric G.:Maybe they weren't that new in the house, so maybe they still had one going.
Eric G.:Or maybe they had, they could call it tree damage from the trees moving around from the windstorm we had right before that.
Eric G.:So could have been a couple things.
Eric G.:But nonetheless, they did get some help paying for that, which is not too bad.
Eric G.:Now when we come back, we're going to wrap this up.
Eric G.:I've got a few other ones here that can cause so much damage to your house, and it just tends to add up more and more.
Eric G.:And this is one of those things that can creep up.
Eric G.:It seems like a little problem, but it can turn into a massive one.
Eric G.:And then that it's an expensive cleanup and it could be something that again, gets into a bigger project that you don't want to have to tackle.
Eric G.:So it's easily preventable if you can check it and make sure you've got it under control.
Eric G.:We'll talk more about that just as soon as around the House returns.
Eric G.:Don't change that dial.
Eric G.:Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Eric G.:I'm Eric G.
Eric G.:Thanks for joining today.
Eric G.:We are brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
Eric G.: ips, tricks for homeowners in: Eric G.:What are some great ways to save around the house, Ways to prevent big mistakes from happening?
Eric G.:And one of the things that I want to put on here as a side note before we get back to the list is understanding what the weak points of your home are.
Eric G.:What are they?
Eric G.:Do you have an old electrical panel that is maybe one of the old split mains from the 50s, 60s, 70s that is due to be replaced that we know is a fire hazard?
Eric G.:Or do you have a bunch of galvanized pipe that is your water line or maybe that yellow cpvc, you know, PVC type pipe that is in your home and a water line that loves to fail.
Eric G.:So do you have one of those, what are those weak points so you can understand what you should be paying attention to and what you should be saving up for, for replacement down the road?
Eric G.:Now, the problem with, you know, galvanized pipe is as it fails, it gets smaller and smaller and smaller.
Eric G.:So right now, most of the homes that had galvanized pipe put in in the, you know, 50s, 60s, and even into 70s, even back in the 40s, these homes, that pipe is failing because it's not.
Eric G.:That's when you turn the shower on and just a little bit of water comes out.
Eric G.:Usually it's not the shower head.
Eric G.:It is that water that is just reduced down so you have reduced flow.
Eric G.:So understanding how you're going to fix that, understanding what needs to be repaired as you go along, because sometimes you're, you're in doing a DIY project and you got a wall open up and you see a bunch of plumbing in there, and maybe that's the time while you're at it, to take care of that.
Eric G.:You know, if you're doing a, a kitchen or a bath remodel, that's a great time to be replacing any of that pipe or electrical or whatever else is that weak point.
Eric G.:Maybe it's ventilation.
Eric G.:Maybe you don't have a bath fan, maybe you don't have a kitchen fan.
Eric G.:The vents all the way outside, those are all things that you should be doing anyway, while you're at it, to fix those things and get them up to speed.
Eric G.:Because generally speaking, you know, like those bath fans and kitchen fans, they need to vent all the way outside of the house.
Eric G.:And that's building code in 90 of the country out there, soon to be a hundred percent.
Eric G.:So these are all little things that, while you're at it, if you understand what those weak points are, wow, I need a new roof in a few years.
Eric G.:Okay, what can I do to get the most out of that?
Eric G.:You know, what do I need to do?
Eric G.:Do I need to paint the house?
Eric G.:Okay, should I go around and get some caulking and ceiling done and, and start getting ready to prep it?
Eric G.:You don't have to paint it all at once, but these are projects you can start when the weather gets better.
Eric G.:You can start to tackle outside.
Eric G.:Maybe not on a cold winter day, but many times you can be tackling some of these things on one of the warmer days outside, depending on where you're at in the country.
Eric G.:Well, the next one here is a big one.
Eric G.:We talked a little bit about it earlier, but this is really, really important.
Eric G.:So this is something that you should be doing because it's a big issue now, watching for things that your insurance company is watching you for.
Eric G.:And I know we talked about it earlier, but this is really where I wanted to focus on it.
Eric G.:So they're using drones or using satellites and you don't have any say in it, they're just going to do it.
Eric G.:And you're seeing it in high risk areas, most likely like California.
Eric G.:Any place that there's a wildfire risk or even a hurricane risk, they're looking to see are you maintaining that property.
Eric G.:If it's a wildfire risk and you got a bunch of stuff sitting out there, piles of wood, you know, clutter outside, do not be surprised to have a major company say, hey, if you don't get this taken care of, we are not going to cover you.
Eric G.:And that can be a big deal.
Eric G.:Now if you get that denial of service, that's where you want to talk to your agent first before you freak out.
Eric G.:Because I have seen people get those things changed around and get them fixed.
Eric G.:So it's not always the end all, be all.
Eric G.:But it can be very expensive.
Eric G.:So many times before you change policies, make sure that you can get things taken care of, make sure that you, when you make changes that it's not going to affect that.
Eric G.:And you're gonna have to make sure that that roof's maintained.
Eric G.:You have to make sure that those potential fire hazard or debris or whatever it is, or the, or you've got a, you know, natural vegetation growing up against the house, stuff like that that they can see.
Eric G.:Gotta be careful, they will nail you on it.
Eric G.:And like it or not, that's just the way this works now is these companies don't want to have to pay out when they can predict it.
Eric G.:So they're watching for it.
Eric G.:So be really careful, guys.
Eric G.:Make sure you got that dialed in and taken care of and it's really gonna make for one, a lower fire risk and two, you'll still have good coverage on that insurance policy and it'll probably save you some money.
Eric G.:So that's another good way to save.
Eric G.: , is ways to, to save here in: Eric G.:And this is another one of those asterisks off on the side of the list.
Eric G.:But if you've got cell phone, cable, satellite radio, whatever you got, any of those things, make sure you've got all the latest updated equipment, especially from a cable or Internet provider.
Eric G.:Many times they will get you the new stuff for free.
Eric G.:So make sure that you've got the latest plan and if it's been over a year, give them a call, say, hey, I'm thinking about changing.
Eric G.:What can you do for me?
Eric G.:Many times they can give you faster speeds, more channels, or less money.
Eric G.:Or just, quite frankly, less money.
Eric G.:So these are things that you should always take a peek at to make sure that they're giving you the best.
Eric G.:And, and a lot of this comes down to just watching your bills, especially on some of this other stuff.
Eric G.:All of a sudden your cable bill will jump up or your Internet bill will jump up.
Eric G.:It's because you got out of that promotional period.
Eric G.:Make sure that that's not happening.
Eric G.:Same goes with all those little tiny stupid things that I know I subscribe to.
Eric G.: es that's my goal for January: Eric G.:How many things am I paying for that I don't even.
Eric G.:That I'm not even using?
Eric G.:And I got a feeling there's a lot of it.
Eric G.:So I am going to go through here and audit my accounts, make sure that I see what these recurring things are and what can I cut back?
Eric G.:I bet you I can cut back 30% of what I'm spending on that by just going through and taking some time going, oh, I don't even use that streaming service anymore.
Eric G.:Oh, I bought a program that I'm paying a hundred and something dollars a year for, and I just billed me for it.
Eric G.:Why do I have that?
Eric G.:You know those trial periods that you get into?
Eric G.:Take a peek at it.
Eric G.:What are you paying money on that's adding up?
Eric G.:Sometimes that can be one subscription, could be hundreds of dollars a year that you're blowing money away.
Eric G.:And nobody likes to do that.
Eric G.:So think about where that money's going.
Eric G.:And yeah, there's a bunch of programs out there that you can subscribe to things out there on an app, and they'll go through your stuff and tell you what you're paying.
Eric G.:And if that's the easy button for you, awesome.
Eric G.:But just make sure you're not signing up for something else that you're paying for just to get them to drop it out of the way and to do what little legwork you can do off of your online banking account.
Eric G.:Because you just got to go down there and go, hey, whoa, why am I paying for this?
Eric G.:It's really that simple.
Eric G.:And it can save you a ton of money, and that's a good thing.
Eric G.:So that's a big one there.
Eric G.:All Right.
Eric G.:And the last one here is an expensive one that you need to make sure and watch this over this next year because this can get crazy.
Eric G.:Make sure that you have your pest and rodent situation dialed in.
Eric G.:You have mice under the house, crawl space, attic.
Eric G.:You have bigger rodent problems.
Eric G.:Termites do you have carpenter ants?
Eric G.:Make sure at least once a year, you're having an inspection done around your house to make sure that you don't have these things going on.
Eric G.:If you're going to do it, awesome.
Eric G.:But you're going to have to get down, take a look, be educated of what you're looking for.
Eric G.:But I would have a professional come out once a year, take a look to see if you have anything that is damaging your house, because termites, carpenter ants, all of these things, depending on where you're at in the country, can do massive damage to your house.
Eric G.:And then it's very expensive to fix.
Eric G.:So it could be a raccoon living in the attic.
Eric G.:Yes, I've seen that.
Eric G.:A raccoon in the crawl space.
Eric G.:I'm gonna help my neighbor.
Eric G.:They've got a bunny underneath their house.
Eric G.:I'm gonna help get that out of there.
Eric G.:So there's a lot of these little things you can do to really dial back and make sure that you don't have to worry about these things, because this stuff can do serious damage.
Eric G.:Rodents, man, they cause all that damage from the.
Eric G.:The droppings that they leave.
Eric G.:You know, you can get super sick from that.
Eric G.:Not counting the damage to electrical or insulation or anything else in your house, getting into your food, causing foodborne illness issues.
Eric G.:You know, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, all those things.
Eric G.:Yeah, all of those things are causing damage to your house.
Eric G.:Maybe they're the.
Eric G.:You go, oh, that's a beautiful little.
Eric G.:Beautiful little bumblebee.
Eric G.:That could be a carpenter bee that's chewing up a bunch of wet wood on you.
Eric G.:Could be that, too.
Eric G.:So think about what these things are doing to your house and spend some time.
Eric G.:Sometimes it's just better to have a company come out and take care of it because they've got the better chemicals and the better experience.
Eric G.:But many times you can tackle it yourself if you're a little bit crafty and you've got some DIY and you really do your studying on what you're going after.
Eric G.:All right, everybody, thanks for tuning in to the first hour of around the House Show.
Eric G.:If you're catching us on the radio in most markets, we've got a second hour coming up.
Eric G.:If not, make sure you catch it on the podcast, and for more information, head over to aroundthe house online.com I'm Eric G.
Eric G.:Thanks for tuning in to this episode of around the House.
