Eric G answers listener questions Part 2

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[00:00:28] Eric Goranson: So it's nice outside. Well vi vital sighting expands and contracts and whether there's a seam and there's an overlap though, when it's hot, it's expanded. When you go paint it in the wintertime, many times when that shrinks up, you are going to see the color pop in around the trim or in the seams, because now it's exposing those areas.

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[00:01:10] Eric Goranson: Thanks for joining us today. If you're just joining us, this is our number two of our. Questions that have come in over the last few weeks that I wanted to make sure we addressed. And the next one is important, and I think a lot of it is that these questions have been coming in on this subject because of California and the desert, Southwest, and places that have been getting so much rain that haven't been, and that is I want to talk about here, in least in this segment.

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[00:02:07] Eric Goranson: Maybe even they were covered up by a previous homeowner, or it just happened once and they thought they fixed it and it never got fixed. So I'll give you my experience with water in a basement or crawlspace. There are multiple things that can happen here. First off, about 60% of the time, in my experience in my climate, that water is coming from water from the roof, which means that your gutters going to your down spats.

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[00:03:03] Eric Goranson: Now I've done a lot of testing and a lot of experience with this. I've worked with foundation contractors in the past where I was actually on their staff going around, so I have done a lot of this. That is one of the first things that I would say to tackle first, if you're trying to get that. Now, second part is, is depending where the water's coming from.

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[00:03:46] Eric Goranson: Is like a dam. So if you plug that up, it could rise up and go to another one. So it's something you really want to take a look at. Uh, how do you patch that? You can actually inject, inject urethane foam, and it is meant as a [00:04:00] crack injection. So you basically patch the crack, inject it in there, that urethane, once it hits water like glue, it will actually foam up and seal that off.

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[00:04:33] Eric Goranson: It's just not gonna work well. So what you need to do then, that is typically if you've got the gutters taken care of. Most times what that is, is you now have an issue where you have a high water table. And the only successful way that I've done that I've dealt with that is to, and it's expensive and or it's a lot of work, is to put a below grade, uh, [00:05:00] dewatering system in that basement.

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[00:05:27] Eric Goranson: Now here's the thing. Why I want you to have a structural engineer is many basements they. You know, you've got a lot of soil load on there, so you've got the basement walls out there that are poured or block or brick or whatever. Then to lock the bottoms so they don't kick in. They pour a cement floor on the inside and that keeps the bottoms from pushing in.

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[00:06:12] Eric Goranson: And on a big foundation wall where it's one big pour on the outside and it's good concrete, it's pretty rare. But if you've got block brick stone, I'd like to have somebody at least take a look at it and tell you, because there is a way for you to go in and do ab sections where you just do one section, you pour it, go to the next section, pour it so you have support on that wall.

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[00:06:49] Eric Goranson: Now that sump pump, if you lose power at all, I'd like to see a battery backup on that. So it has a battery backup system. That way if you lose power, [00:07:00] water is continuing to move. Now, one of the biggest problems I see is people kick it out and drop it three or four feet away from the foundation. I have seen people.

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[00:07:32] Eric Goranson: I wanna see that water going at least 10 feet away. Same kind of thing there. Most areas you cannot put it in a sewer. Check your local building code most places that happens in some areas, um, they've designed it so it goes down into a line that goes down and drains outta the gutter into the street, and the street catches the storm drain water that way.

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[00:08:11] Eric Goranson: And now you've got a, a crack or a bode wall in the foundation because you've put, you know, thousands of pounds right next to the foundation, which it wasn't designed to. And now you're putting extra load and that foundation was not designed for that load and now you've got a point load there that's actually gonna break the foundation.

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[00:08:56] Eric Goranson: And, um, There's a lot of things that can go [00:09:00] bad with that. And, uh, the same thing as, you know, with a, a crawlspace, if you have the same, you might have to put in. Um, a drainage system in the crawlspace, that can be a really big pain cuz you're down on your hands and knees doing it. But it's a similar thing, making sure you got the gutters taken care of and then putting in that below grade system with a sump pump to get that out of there and, uh, controlling it.

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[00:09:58] Eric Goranson: What's up? This is Stick and [00:10:00] Satchel from Stihl 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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[00:10:39] Eric Goranson: And I tell you what, there's been a few of them out there that have been interesting. This latest one here is people, uh, we talked about painting tips on hour number one outside, but I wanted to give a little take here on painting vinyl siding. And this one came up here a week or so ago. And I'll be honest, vinyl siding.

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[00:11:16] Eric Goranson: So it moves around a lot. Now I am fully aware that there are people out there and companies that make. Paint that is made for vinyl siding. But here's what the issue is, and there's a handful of them. By the time that you buy the paint, you're partially into the cost of replacing the vinyl siding. And two, when you paint vinyl siding, it's usually when it's warm, right?

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[00:12:06] Eric Goranson: And many times when it's that cold, it's too cold to paint it. So you're kind of stuck with weird stripes in places. And then the biggest one is that if you've got a white vinyl siding, you're like, I want a dark, rich color. I can't tell you even using the right paint, cuz the paint doesn't affect the color makeup of the base product, which is the vinyl.

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[00:12:55] Eric Goranson: So these are really keys when dealing with vinyl siding like that, [00:13:00] that, I'll be honest, you're better off not painting it. It's gonna look like painted vinyl siding. I would just replace it and if you wanna put up new vinyl siding, knock it out. If you wanna put up Hardy Plank or do something else, do it.

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[00:13:39] Eric Goranson: I've seen more houses have to get painted again. With that simple, simple mistake, you know, if you watched last week's TV segment, you'll see that I was talking with, uh, PJI from. Miller Paint here in the Pacific Northwest and we were talking about, uh, the color of my house that I painted, which is pretty much a black, and the [00:14:00] color from Miller is Opal of Lorraine.

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[00:14:25] Eric Goranson: So I do have to go through and keep it clean a lot more cuz it is black, it does show dirt and that's okay cuz like a black car. We all know what that does, but just one thing to consider when you're painting the outside of your house. That a true black does show dirt more so than maybe some of the grays and everything else.

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[00:15:04] Eric Goranson: It's not really an issue. I knew that that was gonna happen, but it'll make it a little bit easier. And I do some remodeling and stuff and some roofing. I'll probably create a little bit more of an even certain places to, uh, protect the side of the house just a little bit more. All right, well that's enough about that subject.

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[00:15:44] Eric Goranson: The problem is, is if the installer did not counter sync the screws on the. Inside of the door, when you open it up and you're kinda lazy about opening up, you drag that screw face across the drawer front or the door front, depending on where your handle is [00:16:00] next to it. So what happens is that puts a gouge in there and if you've got, you know, white painted cabinetry a color, it really shows that through that space.

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[00:16:29] Eric Goranson: If you bought cabinets that are name brand cabinets out there that are made into manufacturing, you are not gonna go into a Home Depot, Lowe's Pink Store in their paint department and get the right finish. Here's why. Even painted cabinetry coming from those places, coming from one of the major cabinet manufacturers that is a conversion varnish.

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[00:17:16] Eric Goranson: So that door will be less glossy. More glossy. You will not get the sheen right, cuz they're just two different paints and they're not gonna lay out the same way and it's not gonna look the same way. Even if you got the color correct. So if you've got a major brand, you know, maybe Craftmade, American Woodmark, you know, any one of the major brands out there, contact them.

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[00:18:00] Eric Goranson: You will not go down to a paint store. You will have to paint the entire kitchen. To get that to match going down to your local paint store, it's just not gonna work that way. And you're just taking two different products and trying to make a match and it's just not gonna work. So, uh, contact your cabinet manufacturer.

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[00:18:33] Eric Goranson: So many more tips just as soon as around the house returns.[00:19:00]

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[00:19:14] Eric Goranson: for welcome. Back to the Round the House Show. This is where you helped get the most outta your home through information and education. We've been asking, well, I've been answering all your different questions here that I've gotten over the last few weeks, and I wanted to jump in and get those answered to you.

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[00:19:47] Eric Goranson: So we've got plenty of videos over there with a lot of new different projects and things for you to take a look at and some really cool how-to stuff, including some great experts. So, uh, got a jam-packed full of stuff over there. Well, [00:20:00] today I wanted to talk about it is another question that came in about how to deal with those little tiny black sugar ants.

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[00:20:22] Eric Goranson: Depending on where you're at in the country, there's an easy way to take care of this stuff. And this, once a year, I get 'em popping in cuz I live near the forest so it, it happens. What I do is I get a product called Taro, t e r r o. It is their ant killer. Now, there's ways to do this and here's not a bad one, especially if you've got fire ants and things like that.

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[00:21:10] Eric Goranson: So that works pretty good. So that's just got a bunch of different things on it, but that terra, when it comes down to dealing with black sugar ants, put the traps out. You can buy, I always have a box 'em here at the house, so when I get it, I'll set a couple up and guess what? In a matter of days, it will take those things down.

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[00:21:52] Eric Goranson: And so, uh, you know, pretty good as far as that goes. So there's my little tips on dealing with sugar ants, set the traps, keep [00:22:00] 'em away from the kids and the pets. But, um, that usually works pretty well. Well, I wanted to talk about, I had another question come in and uh, it's actually a friend of mine and I'll just leave it at that because they didn't want to have their name on here, but they were trying to figure out they wanna buy a new toilet cuz they're doing a remodel and they didn't know what to go out and buy.

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[00:22:43] Eric Goranson: They're low quality. You'll have a hard time finding parts, or they have special parts inside that you can't get, and they're meant really is throw away toilets. I'm not a fan. And for any serious toilet, to be honest, I don't typically buy 'em at the home improvement store. I will go to my plumbing [00:23:00] specialty retailer now, if you want just a good workhorse toilet that's not gonna clog up, that's gonna keep itself clean.

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[00:23:28] Eric Goranson: They are one of the best toilet brands out there. Now, I will say respectfully, that they were such a leader over the last 15 years. The other toilet brands weren't close. And I, I think that what you've seen over the last number of years, like three or four, five years, These other companies have decided, oh wow, Toyota's been doing such a great job.

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[00:24:07] Eric Goranson: Part of a great working toilet is that you flush it once and it gets the job done. Because if you're using, let's say 1.2 gallons, if you're using 1.2 gallons per flush and you gotta flush it twice cause it's not working, you've now doubled your water bill from that appliance, which is the toilet. So you really want to have something that's gonna handle it one flush and is gonna have a good enough finish on it.

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[00:24:53] Eric Goranson: Unless you want to ruin the finish, because those nano [00:25:00] particles, basically, they use a lot of these companies like Toto put a, a nano finish basically on the inside that covers up all those little tiny fissures and pores. So it's even slicker. Well, if you go pour like bleach down it to. To, uh, deodorize it and clean it.

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[00:25:39] Eric Goranson: Many of these toilets now are designed to be almost self-cleaning, especially the ones from Toto, Toto. So anytime you go on and start using an abrasive surface cleaner on it, you're now making it more likely to be dirty and harder to clean. So do not use bleach. Do not grab the jug of bleach and pour it down [00:26:00] inside the toilet, cuz you're gonna cause some serious damage.

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[00:26:23] Eric Goranson: So one other thing too that I would look at, and it's something if you're doing a bathroom model on the, on a side note of toilets, and I think this is super important, always spend the time and add that outlet right next to it. That way if you want to have a bode toilet seat down the road, you have the option.

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[00:26:59] Eric Goranson: That is one of [00:27:00] those places that I would put and, um, even resale value down the road, that is gonna be a hot item, so I would not be afraid to put that outlet down there. Typically, code says that needs to be a G F C I. Make sure you got that dialed in and you'll be much better off. And that way if you want to add that bidet toilet seat, your killer, you're ready to go.

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[00:27:35] Eric Goranson: Elongated toilets are a little bit nicer than round, but they are a little bit bigger, so they take up a little more space in the bathroom. As well as take a look at comfort height stuff. I like the taller toilet height. It's always great for your knees and uh, even if you got little kids, they're only little kids for just a few years.

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[00:28:07] Eric Goranson: If, uh, You know, if you've got broken pipes and things like that, or rotted out, you know, drain lines, that might be the place to bring the plumber in. But, uh, swapping out a toilet is an easy DIY fix for most people. All right, when we come back, we're gonna wrap this one up. I got a couple more questions just as soon as around the house returns.[00:29:00]

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[00:29:22] Eric Goranson: Now, I had a guy named Curtis email us. In. Thanks for tuning in, Curtis. Really appreciate it. He had a problem with Nutra and beavers eating the skip laurel Hedge and cottonwood trees. How do I get them to go away? Now? Of course we could go with the, uh, environmentally. You know, least sensitive way and, and, and bring in people to trap and move 'em.

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[00:30:06] Eric Goranson: And here's what I'm saying, get a paint match of that. And then what you do is you mix sand with the paint and paint around the base of the tree. Beavers don't like the sand texture and will most likely move on to the next one. So basically what you wanna do is take a quarter paint and mix in eight ounces of fine sand and paint that around the tree.

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[00:30:53] Eric Goranson: Now the other option here is, and it's something to consider, right? It's something to consider when you're [00:31:00] looking at these things. The beavers are na natural there, right? But the Nutra is ENT and it's considered a pest in the United States. It was brought in, I believe, from Australia, and it was brought in for fur.

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[00:31:40] Eric Goranson: And, uh, you might be better off that way, but that's gonna be something that's gonna help take it. You know, take a, at least across the finish line and give you a fighting chance. Um, I would put a couple coats of paint on it. I know some people say, ah, it's not the most healthy for the tree. You're right.

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[00:32:17] Eric Goranson: So if you're not a Facebook person, you're gonna have a hard time getting it. But if you've got a Facebook, you know, um, you know, if you've got a Facebook. Account, then go check it out over there. We've got around the House Nation asked to be part of the closed group, and you'll be good to go. David had asked this question, it's worth bringing it up because people out there buy these vintage kitchen sinks that are beautiful, enamored porcelain, basically.

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[00:33:05] Eric Goranson: And the answer is no. Um, I don't do those at all cuz literally that's just an epoxy paint and it'll buy you a couple years. But, uh, I'll be honest, I'm not a fan now. There is a place that will take that vintage cast iron sink and do a heck of a job. And now these guys do not advertise with me. They have done some restoration work for my little brother and they aren't cheap.

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[00:34:04] Eric Goranson: So this is one of those things that if you want quality workmanship that is reliable. These guys do a amazing job. I have personally seen the work. It is stunning, and it doesn't matter what you're trying to do, if you're trying to restore an appliance like an old fifties one or restore, you know? Grandma sink or barbecue or whatever, and you want that porcelain done, man, these are the way, this is the way to go.

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[00:35:05] Eric Goranson: If you're into old homes and restoration, this is where you're going to find really that, uh, quality craftsmanship that's gonna redo everything for you and get that sink looking. Like it's brand new. So, uh, that to me is super, uh, super exciting when you can take a vintage big piece or a vintage stove. Or, um, heck, even if you've got some of those vintage dusenberg, they, uh, they will do the porcelain on the exhaust for you as well.

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[00:35:57] Eric Goranson: And, uh, they did it for 'em and it [00:36:00] looks like a million bucks. So, something else to consider when we're storing that old vintage piece of, uh, steel or cast iron. If you want that looking good, that is the place to go. And, uh, man, I love little places like that that are just really that little secret hiding place in the country that can do that project for you.

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[00:36:46] Eric Goranson: I tell you what, when you're dealing with things like Sheetrock dust, And all of that stuff. That bag is a world of difference. And what I like about it too is it keeps the air clean as well [00:37:00] because you've just got that other layer of protection of that dust. And so with me, my shop vac gets used in a lot of different ways.

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[00:37:29] Eric Goranson: But that shop vac, I tell you what those bags are the easy button, and when you pop it out and throw it away, the inside is 99% clean. And, uh, that makes a big deal. And that HEPA filter that I have in it, it's not spreading so much dirt around on the inside. And so that's really cool and I really appreciate how that works.

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[00:38:06] Eric Goranson: We'll say that for another one. But here's the thing, if you wanna track us down, I'm gonna give you all the little places to do that. Make sure you join around the House Nation. Head over to, uh, our social media. I have a couple different Facebook pages just so you know. I have around the House show, which has our logo on it.

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[00:38:42] Eric Goranson: And, uh, I might put you on the TV show and you can do that over, uh, at the, uh, send it over to me on Facebook. Just send it over on Facebook Messenger to us. And, uh, we'll get it up on the show that way. Or you can send it over to, uh, my page over at the TV station. But I'd love to be able to help you. On one of your projects.

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