[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house. Coming up in today's, around the house showing hour one, we are gonna be talking about those things that you should not pick up at that home improvement center, that big box store. Is it something that well doesn't meet building code? Is it something that's not healthy? Is it something that could cause a fire or cause a leak?

[00:00:24] Eric Goranson: Yeah, that and so much more. It's stuff that's on the shelf every single day that you probably shouldn't pick up. And in the last segment we're gonna talk about the things that are those special buys or loss leaders that you can get there cheaper than you can get anywhere else. Who doesn't want to save a little butt of money, right?

[00:00:42] Eric Goranson: Putting money in your pocket gets you farther in that project. Now let's get back to the show. When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is. To know the We got you coming. This is around the house. Welcome to The Round the House Show. This is your source for home improvement every single week.

[00:00:59] Eric Goranson: [00:01:00] Thanks for joining us today. Well, we've got a fun show ahead. We're gonna talk about the things that, well, I don't think you should buy at the home centers, and these are things that, uh, well, Maybe they're not a goodbye. Maybe they're low quality, or even worse, they don't mean building code and shouldn't be used in your house anyway.

[00:01:16] Eric Goranson: If you're new to the show, don't worry. We have got a lot of different ways for you to contact us. You can head over to the website around the house online.com, or you can head over to Facebook, which is around the House Show. And then we do have our close group. I'd love for you to join around the House Nation.

[00:01:33] Eric Goranson: Just head over there to Facebook, look up around the House Nation, join us, and then you can share up your projects, jokes, memes, whatever. It's just a fun place for everybody to connect. Well, today I wanted to talk about those things that they sell in the home centers. That are just a really bad deal for the consumer and you know, not dogging on home centers here.

[00:01:53] Eric Goranson: They've got some really good stuff in there, but there are things that you should not purchase there. First one on my list [00:02:00] that vinyl white vinyl dryer duct or vent duct that they sell to hook up your dryer or vent. That stuff is junk. If you have that anywhere in your house, replace it. Don't ever use it on your dryer cuz that could be a fire hazard because that stuff loves to build up static electricity.

[00:02:21] Eric Goranson: All it takes is a spark and you have lint on fire. And guess what? You've got a much bigger problem. So there's the first one right there that'll get you good. And then on ducks it. Like a vent fan. It always loves to catch junk in there, and all those little tiny ribs in the vinyl love to just get gunky and nasty.

[00:02:41] Eric Goranson: And who wants that? Getting all collected up when you're trying to vent things outside. Now here's the thing. So many people. Have had maybe dryers moved, added on re plumbed, and maybe in your basement crawlspace, there's that flexible line. And your job, next time you're taken on a DIY [00:03:00] project is to replace all of that with hard ducting.

[00:03:03] Eric Goranson: Anywhere on that dryer. The more hard ducting you can do, the better the clothes you're gonna dry. Cuz the more efficient path of air going out is, and you can clean it. Cuz when was the last time you cleaned? That dryer duct work that should be done every couple to three years, especially if you do a lot of laundry, that can be a huge fire hazard.

[00:03:24] Eric Goranson: So make sure you're cleaning that and you get the little tools down at the home center, the little brushes you can put in there. I put it on air dry usually so you don't have any heat coming through. And then I'll run that brush up in there, let it blow out all over the place. It's not a bad way to do it, it's a good way to get that cleaned up, but get rid of all that flexible out of there and you'll be better off.

[00:03:42] Eric Goranson: And then on vent. If you've got a Fent fan that you're trying to replace, maybe it's the kitchen one, maybe it's the bathroom. Make sure you're using either a metal or an insulated duct. Check your local building code because they will tell you how they want it, cuz it depends somewhat on your climate.

[00:03:58] Eric Goranson: Now the next thing [00:04:00] that's sitting there in the home center that you should never buy the black rubber washing machine hoses. Those last us a handful of years and they love the force. That laundry room remodel when you flood it. Now, I've caught 'em before at my house where they've got all these blisters where they were so ready to explode, and that was gonna be a very expensive project.

[00:04:26] Eric Goranson: So always make sure you get the nice higher quality ones that have the stainless steel braiding on the outside that will keep that from happening in most cases. And just make sure you change those things every five to 10. I like to make sure that they're ready to go and, um, you know, make sure they're good to go.

[00:04:41] Eric Goranson: I don't wanna see those things failing cuz that's an easy one. I've told many times a story about seeing hundreds of thousands of dollars of, of water damage from that and that is a big one. Now, here is one of my biggest pet peeves, number three on our list today here, vent hoods for your [00:05:00] kitchen that are.

[00:05:03] Eric Goranson: In my area, they don't meet building code at all no matter what. So that's the vent hood that blows the air right back out at you and doesn't actually vent outside. Those don't meet building code in many states and in the states that they do, they shouldn't. So make sure you never put one of those in your house and make it a priority to change that one.

[00:05:25] Eric Goranson: If you have it in your house. If you hit the microwave on and it blows air back out at your face. That should be going outside cuz those little charcoal filters are junk. They don't clean the air. They might help a little bit of grease, but that's it. Even the charcoal filters, there's not enough charcoal there to make a difference.

[00:05:44] Eric Goranson: So you wanna make sure that gets vented all the way outside. And just like your bathroom fans, those need to go exterior. Do not drop into the attic. That's how you get mold and mildew and nasty stuff up there. Make sure it vents all the way outside of the house. So you [00:06:00] don't have to mess with it. That's a key right there, is getting that stuff outside because otherwise you've got a moldy mess in the attic space, crawlspace, or wherever else it's going.

[00:06:08] Eric Goranson: So make sure it's going outside. And again, hard duct is best that way if you do have any kind of a fire, you have a little bit of a chance, contain it. Because all it takes is a really greasy hood, a kitchen fire, and all of a sudden that fent. Vent fan will actually blow the flames up into that. And if you've got that flex, now you've got an attic fire going.

[00:06:29] Eric Goranson: It doesn't take much to get it done. I've seen that happen. So that's a big one right there. And I know it's tough, guys. It's tough with those hoods. Maybe you don't have an easy way to do it. Maybe it's in a condo, an apartment type situation. But guess what? In the condos, they still are required in most places for that to go outside.

[00:06:51] Eric Goranson: And see what you can do to get it and get the right c f m. Don't get that little tiny cheapy, you know, a hundred dollars hood. Get something that's gonna [00:07:00] move the right amount of air, cuz that is your biggest pollution of air quality in your home, is cooking in the kitchen on that cooktop. So make sure you've got that taken care of and especially so make it a priority if you've got a gas appliance.

[00:07:15] Eric Goranson: Propane natural gas, you need to have that vent fan, have a good one, have it so it's going outside and you're gonna be much better off. That's one of those things that, uh, health-wise, that's a serious deal and I wanna make sure that that's working out great for you. And another little thing here too, while you're talking about venting, you know, make sure you've got the right size of that duct going out as well.

[00:07:36] Eric Goranson: Sometimes people will to get 'em into tight spaces. We'll crank those. Well, it's like drinking a shake through a little tiny straw. You need to have the right size duct going outside, and then you wanna make sure you have that flapper outside to go that way when that thing goes through there, it goes out and doesn't start blowing stuff back into the house because you don't wanna have that, you know, when it's windy outside or [00:08:00] cold, you don't wanna see that stuff coming right back into your house cuz that's ugly.

[00:08:03] Eric Goranson: Nobody wants that energy loss right there. And of course, with any hood, make sure that you've got the right makeup, air if you've got a tight house. Like a newer one, make sure that you've got the right amount of air coming back in to make up for it. And makeup air is a big deal we've talked about at that on the show before.

[00:08:19] Eric Goranson: So these are our first kind of three here that I think are really important to not pick up at the home center. And if you've got 'em at home, it's a good time to go around and get these things replaced because nobody wants to see this stuff cause a fire or cause a moldy mess around your. Before we go out to break, I wanted to mention this because the next couple weeks, man, we've got Christmas and New Year's Eve, Christmas, even New Year's Eve, when the show's gonna be released.

[00:08:45] Eric Goranson: So what we're gonna do is on the podcast, maybe in your local area, you're gonna have specials there on the radio. If you're listening on the radio, don't worry, the podcast will be out. But we're gonna do some special, my favorite episodes of 2022. [00:09:00] So I'm gonna take our favorite cuts out of this, post 'em up.

[00:09:03] Eric Goranson: Not really a best of show. We're not just gonna play a show over. We're gonna go through and grab the best little pieces that you might have missed in the show this last year and put 'em into all shows towards the end of the year here. So stay tuned for that. We're gonna have a lot of fun with that. Hey, and make sure that you're catching us.

[00:09:21] Eric Goranson: Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and of course Facebook. Around the house and around the House Nation. All right, everybody. We're gonna go out to break here. We'll be back right after these important messages. Let's talk about those things we shouldn't be buying at the home center. We'll be right back.

[00:09:46] Eric Goranson: Should I be loud? So hot.[00:10:00]

[00:10:07] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to Around The House Show. Now we've been talking about our things that you should. Get at the Home center this year. Now make sure that you, uh, if you're brand new to the show, you can go over and find out more information on us and around the house online.com. Now we have almost 900 episodes.

[00:10:24] Eric Goranson: Online. So if you are new to us on the radio or new to the podcast, take a look back and go over to her over to our website around the house online.com. Head head into the podcast there because that has the most episodes. Apple, you know, podcasts, all those things. They got about 299 of 'em cuz that's all they'll put up.

[00:10:43] Eric Goranson: We got like 900 of 'em. So you can take a look over there and it's a great resource if you're gonna tackle that new project remodeling project. Even if you're gonna hire, hire somebody to. Guess what? We have got the resource for you over there. Thanks for bearing with me. I am, uh, just battling the [00:11:00] last like, week two and a half of that respiratory virus, so, uh, getting stronger every day.

[00:11:05] Eric Goranson: So, uh, bear with the voice and the little bit of stutter as I'm coughing, and I do apologize for that. Feeling better every day, though. Well, in this last segment we talked about vinyl, dryer, duct, or vent duct. Rubber washing machine hoses and vent hoods that are ventless. Yeah. All bad things you don't wanna pick up at the ho at the home center there.

[00:11:26] Eric Goranson: So next op S traps. You know we have a regular P trap that goes under the sink, right? That's that trap that goes down and that's what's normally code. In your under your kitchen or bathroom sink. Now, in old homes, they use something called an S trap, and if you see it on the package it says srap. I want you to take the time and convert that over to a P trap from an S trap.

[00:11:53] Eric Goranson: Here's the problem with the S traps. If you let a lot of water go down there, like you dump out a pot of water or glass [00:12:00] of water, even the vacuum can actually suck out. The water in that trap that protects you. So what happens is, is that water will keep moving, centrifugal force emptied out, and then that can be the source of those nasty sewer gasses, or even worse bugs and stuff that come out of the sewer.

[00:12:20] Eric Goranson: Nobody wants that, so you wanna make sure and keep that water. In that trap. So that's what a P Trap does. That's why S Traps have been banned for a lot of years. But you know something, you could still buy 'em in the home centers. So take the time if you've got the S trap before you grab that S trap package off the shelf, take a minute, convert it over to a P trap, it's gonna make the room smell better too.

[00:12:45] Eric Goranson: So that's an important one. And hey, by the way, another little side note on things not to buy. Don't go buy your normal drain cleaner. That stuff, if you've got a plugged up trap, make sure and just clean it. Those drain cleaners just [00:13:00] destroy your pipes. No reason to do it. Now there are some foaming ones that won't destroy the pipes that are good for like your mainline sewer and stuff like that to help clean the gunk out of there.

[00:13:10] Eric Goranson: That's not a bad idea, but when I treat that stuff, I treat it from the cleanout out to make sure that I've got things cleaned up. Because you know you always wanna have that clean going to the street like mine cuz I have such energy. Pieces in here from low flow toilets to, you know, front load washing machines and good dishwasher.

[00:13:30] Eric Goranson: These things use a little less water. However, that does lead to maybe a little more buildup in that sewer line. So when they were putting in my neighbor's water line, going back there, they had to scope it and the plumber's like, you know, you're getting a little buildup in there. So I, I ran some of the foam, but I dropped it in the cleanout outside the house to make sure that cleaned it out and it kept it from having to worry about it inside my pipes, inside the house, clean the traps out, manually run a snake if you have to.

[00:13:58] Eric Goranson: Definitely stay away from [00:14:00] those drain cleaners. Never good for your house. Uh, I get rid of mine. It's something I did years ago cuz I've seen too many people destroying good pipes and that gets pretty darn expensive. Now here's the next one. This is gonna be the, the probably the first controversial one here.

[00:14:18] Eric Goranson: And this is something that I don't like and I'm sorry for the brand name. This is personal opinion and I don. Like shark bite fittings, those shark bites that are the press to fit. I tell you what, I don't like 'em. I don't like 'em at all, and I can tell you why. Actually. It's one of those things that I've seen too many fail guys.

[00:14:47] Eric Goranson: I just have, I just don't like, Now I had a house here in, uh, in Oregon here that I was working on, and we did a remodel and they did the shark bite. [00:15:00] It was installed correctly and it blew off the hose and it was installed by a plumber cuz they were going from one diff different pipe to another. This was probably five or six years ago that was a hundred thousand dollars water damage in that building, just freshly remodeled.

[00:15:17] Eric Goranson: So I don't like. And those are things that can really fail. So just be, be careful guys. Those are things just to be really careful with. I just have a really big problem with him. So now there are some good pressed connect fittings out there, and I'm gonna refer over to my buddy Roger Wakefield, expert plumber, one of the biggest names and plumbing out there on social media.

[00:15:45] Eric Goranson: This guy is a licensed plumber, master plumber knows his. So here's the thing, quick fitting has got a new type of press to connect fitting like a shark bite in that it [00:16:00] pushes on. Roger sat there and did some testing on it. I tell you what, this actually worked out really well. They did pull test and pressure test, and they well outlasted what the shark bite did.

[00:16:14] Eric Goranson: So quick feeding. I'm gonna give a thumbs up. Shark bite, not so much. Are they good for a a quick fix? Do I have some in my toolbox? Yeah, I've got some here for a quick fix, if I have to do a quick fix to turn the water back on or cap something off that I'm working on, you know, the caps are great for that.

[00:16:33] Eric Goranson: Are they something I'm gonna put on the wall? No, they're a great temporary fitting, but I tell you what, quick fitting, I'm impressed Roger passed. They passed through his tests and, um, you know when you can get these things to hold to 2,127 psi, that's 21 times a city water pressure. That's gonna do pretty good.

[00:16:54] Eric Goranson: Did the shirk bites do that? Not a chance. So something to think about with those [00:17:00] fittings. But more importantly, don't buy those fittings. Don't buy those. Press connect when in doubt, solder it. When in doubt, use the uh, PEX connectors, all that kind of stuff. And if you're going from C P V C, which is one of my most hated pipes out there, if you've got the C P VC pipe and you're gonna convert over to a fitting like a.

[00:17:24] Eric Goranson: I tell you, glue on the threaded, fitting onto the C P V C. Glue it on there into a threaded fitting screw on the next fitting, and go from there. Use a threaded fitting to go between those two and you'll be better off if, and here's my little thing on C P V C, if you have a house full of C P VC pipe, and that stuff's fairly old, guess.

[00:17:50] Eric Goranson: I tell you what, I've had two houses with it, and both those houses need to be repl because when they're built in the nineties, that's. Just started failing. So when you're [00:18:00] in the home improvement center, that's the next one here. Stay away from that C P V C pipe. Get the pex, whether it's Pex A or pex B.

[00:18:08] Eric Goranson: Make sure you're either using the expansion of the crimp, and guess what? You're gonna have a much. Better time at it. Stay away from this PVC and the C P VC for anything water inside your home. That's my advice because guess what? It's gonna last and you're gonna fix it once and not have to worry about it.

[00:18:24] Eric Goranson: All right, more of my list of what not to buy at the home center just as soon as around the house returns.[00:19:00]

[00:19:04] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House Show. Now if you wanna find out more about us or contact me if you have questions, head over to around the house online and you can fill out the. Desk page, or you can send me a message on Twitter or you can send it over on Facebook Messenger for a group which is around the House Show or around the House Nation, where you can invite, just ask on there.

[00:19:25] Eric Goranson: I'll let you in if you're a real person and you could share up your projects you're working on. We've been hitting on the, uh, top things that you shouldn't pick up at the home center. Things that either are not a good idea to put in your house or maybe you're not, not even a good buy. So we've talked about things like sharp bike fittings, S traps, fent hoods that are ventless, flexible drain traps is the next one.

[00:19:46] Eric Goranson: Those, you know, you've seen them, they're kind of that corrugated flex trap that you can buy that maybe things are offset in that P trap area. Stay away from those flexible traps. There are some new ones now that they say they meet [00:20:00] code, but guess what? Meeting code and still want 'em to use 'em. Not a good idea.

[00:20:06] Eric Goranson: Here's what happens. You know those little ribs that are in that kind of accordioned stuff? That loves to grab all the junk coming out of your sink. So whether it's in a bathroom, maybe it's soap, maybe it's hair, maybe it's shavings, whatever, toothpaste, whatever else that's going down the sink. Or even worse in a kitchen sink where you got food coming out of a garbage disposal or things making it through the strainer that loves to gab that stuff.

[00:20:32] Eric Goranson: Once that slime starts building up, that is much more likely to get caught. And gets clogged much easier cuz it's not giving you a smooth run going through there. You know, you think about it when they're buying for gold, what are they doing? They're putting the gold through ripples, so the heavy stuff falls out.

[00:20:55] Eric Goranson: That's how they mine for gold with those machines. So guess what? You don't want those ripples in your, [00:21:00] in your trap either. So any of those flexible drain traps, take the. Get it adjusted correctly. Cut things. If you've gotta move it, it's plastic pipe. It's not that hard. Get things lined up correctly and stay away from those flexible drain traps.

[00:21:15] Eric Goranson: Those things are junk. Any of those things, if you're trying to get it working for a day, that's one thing, but guess what? You're gonna be throwing it away when it's done. Don't use those. All right. Now, here's a big one. We're gonna probably take up the rest of the segment on this one. Stay away from the home center.

[00:21:32] Eric Goranson: Installed services. Maybe it's the heating and cooling, maybe it's floor install, maybe it's roofing, maybe it's siding, maybe whatever it is, windows my advice. Stay away from the installed services. Now. Like everything, there are some good ones out there. This isn't an end all be all, but here's the problem.

[00:21:58] Eric Goranson: People go, oh, it has to be a good deal cause [00:22:00] I'm buying at the home center. No, not really. Here's what happens. The home center has to make their 15, 20%, right? So what they're doing is they're taking many times that new contractor, maybe they're new, maybe they just start a new company. They're, um, maybe less experienced.

[00:22:20] Eric Goranson: Cuz as you know right now many remodeling contractors are jammed up solid. So what happens is, is when they're jammed up, solid, busy, like that, here's what happens. You get the guys that aren't jammed up busy. Maybe they're the ones that have the, you know, maybe they're the ones that are too, have too many complaints, maybe a bad reputation.

[00:22:44] Eric Goranson: Maybe they're just not good at sales. They're the ones that start out every homeowner. Has to be worried about this because any of these new people that go working for the home center, they're making less money than if they were out doing it themselves. [00:23:00] So they're now having to deal with that. And now you've got the middleman who is your home center.

[00:23:07] Eric Goranson: They're the ones that are gonna take that cost from that contractor, mark up, run it through their books, run it through their management system, and sell it to. I'll be honest, unless you're trying to use their financing, I always will tell you to stay away from the middleman on that. The middleman's got their hands on the pot and you're paying that extra.

[00:23:30] Eric Goranson: So really, if you think about it, that product can be installed for the price that they're buying it for. If you got a good deal and then they're marking it up, that 15, 20, 25, whatever their markup is to turn around to sell it to you. Then you get to deal with the store. That's always a lot of fun. And then you're dealing with the store on all the issues, the problems, and the poor communication that goes on there as well.

[00:23:59] Eric Goranson: So usually [00:24:00] there's like a in-store coordinator that's position tends to rotate around pretty good. They don't tend to be there for a while. So you've got somebody that's new at the job. That's a tough one. Guys. I would not do my remodel. Through a home center because you're not gonna get that great a deal and you've got that extra markup.

[00:24:19] Eric Goranson: So be very careful there. Are they licensed upon insured? Yeah. Are you gonna have problems? Maybe. Are they hard to deal with? Most of the time. Most of the time. So be very careful there. So whether or not it's kitchen cabinetry, you know, countertops a little bit less, but still, um, granite countertops just deal directly with your favorite fabric.

[00:24:41] Eric Goranson: Work with those guys. They'll get you taken care of. Just stay away from those installed. Just go out and get bids. Guys. Go out and get bids. You'll be better off. But, uh, make sure that you're not paying for that extra markup that's coming out of those. Now here's the next little secret. If you're gonna be doing a kitchen or bathroom project [00:25:00] where you're ordering cabinetry, here's my little secret on kitchen cabinetry.

[00:25:05] Eric Goranson: Out of the big box stores, those brands. Are usually common brands. Now, they might have their in-house brand that's made by one of the big companies, the Craft maids, the American Wood marks, all those different brands out there that have it, the, the Schuller, the whoever else you see out there building cabinets.

[00:25:26] Eric Goranson: Here's the secret. Most of the time you can get that same price or better from your independent cabinetry dealer. Than you do for the home center. Now, the argument the people do is, wow, look at the buying power that maybe Home Depot or Lowe's has. You're right, they have a huge buying power, but the problem is twofold.

[00:25:53] Eric Goranson: First off, I've worked with cabinet companies that have negotiated to be in Home Depot and low stores, for instance, and other big box stores. [00:26:00] The things that happen inside the negotiation is something that you as a consumer should pay attention to. First off, they say, okay, we've got, I'm gonna make some numbers up here.

[00:26:10] Eric Goranson: We've got a thousand stores that cost the country. We are not paying for displays. So you're gonna put in four displays of your latest products every three years. So they're updated and we're not paying for 'em. Guess what? Most independent cabinet dealers pay for those displays and then they turn around and say, I don't care where our store is located.

[00:26:31] Eric Goranson: You need to have a rep that goes through that store every two and a half weeks. Let's. Could be little, could be less, you know, more, less whatever. But the problem is, is you now have high overhead. So you have free displays, high labor, cuz these people have to go in and cheering the people in the stores.

[00:26:50] Eric Goranson: And number three, which is the big one, you've got a heavy amount of mistakes that come out of that kitchen design department that sometimes these guys as [00:27:00] cabinet companies have to. Because they love to make those companies eat problems. Well, many times those problems are because the cabinet designer should have two or three years experience before they started designing in.

[00:27:13] Eric Goranson: There was last week's paint expert or last week's garden expert. I've seen it a hundred times. They worked in blinds and flooring. They wanted to go, Hey. That's how I started my kitchen design career 30 years ago. I blew my knee out. I was working in the lumber depart. I'd done some kitchen design in the past and they said, Hey, you gotta have, uh, a c l surgery, so you're gonna be in a wheelchair for a while around here.

[00:27:37] Eric Goranson: Cause we don't want you on the crutches and the polish concrete floors. You wanna go to kitchen design? Yep. I was the next kitchen design expert, I will say, uh, in credit. That gave me a, a great career path where I was a kitchen designer for 30 years, but they dumped me in there before that. So I don't want to be the Guinea pig to see how well the kitchen design expert knows there.

[00:27:58] Eric Goranson: And here's the other thing too, and this [00:28:00] comes down to the home centers as well. The home centers could have a much better kitchen design system if they wanted to, but they don't want to pay those people what the going rate is. So for the designers that aren't so great, the designers are just starting out into their careers.

[00:28:16] Eric Goranson: The home center is a great place to start, but when they get good, they can go make two and three times the money at someplace else, and they're gone and they put another person in. All right. More of the things you shouldn't get at the home centers when around the house returns.

[00:28:57] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the Round the House Show. Now we've been talking [00:29:00] about those things that, uh, well maybe at the home center you shouldn't pick up whether or not they meet building code or, uh, well, maybe it's just not the great buy. Some of the things we talked about. That vinyl dryer vent hose, the one that's white plastic, never buy that.

[00:29:16] Eric Goranson: There's no need for it. They're fire hazard rubber washing machine hoses. You know the black rubber ones, the replacement ones always get the ones that are braided. Another one we talked about were the recycling kitchen vent hoods, the one that kick the air back into the space. No, always want those going outside S traps underneath your sink instead of a P trap, an S trap, and the list goes on and on Now.

[00:29:39] Eric Goranson: One we're talking about now is you have to be really careful with in the home centers, because many times home centers, they're buying windows, for instance, and doors regionally. Now the problem is, is they might not meet the energy code in your area. There was a guy that [00:30:00] I saw had went out, walked into his home center, bought new windows off the shelf, didn't pay attention to.

[00:30:07] Eric Goranson: Got 'em installed, all ready to go, installer came through and then up you're off by 0.3 on your U value on the windows. And guess what? All those windows had to be removed again because they didn't meet current building code. So you always wanna make sure that the stuff there that you're buying meets code.

[00:30:26] Eric Goranson: When you're pulling permits on something like that, because all of a sudden you think, ah, I'm buying it from the home center. It's gotta be right. Not always the case. Not always the case. So be very careful with that. Those energy standards might not meet what your local area is. Now, the next one, I always recommend being careful with this, and not always is it the case, but many times be careful with tile, grout and mask from the home centers.

[00:30:56] Eric Goranson: To be honest, many times the Groton Masick is kind of the entry [00:31:00] level stuff, and quite frankly, that can be really hard to work. and might not perform like if you went to a flooring store. So traditionally, I haven't gone in and bought grout and astic and stuff from. Thin set from the home centers in years.

[00:31:17] Eric Goranson: I go down to my flooring professional store and get it there. Now here's the problem with some of the tile. Some of the tile can be seconds. It can be stuff that maybe is a little more warped. It can be stuff that is uh, maybe not perfectly square. It can be stuff that's not perfect and it can end up on the home center shelve.

[00:31:36] Eric Goranson: So be very careful with some of that stuff because it can be very hard to install, especially when you're getting into natural stones like slate and stuff like that where it's unengaged. Unengaged means that it's gonna be random thicknesses, so it's really hard for a beginning tile person to set that cuz it's not all the same thickness.

[00:31:58] Eric Goranson: So be very careful [00:32:00] with what you get in the tile department at the home center. Some of it's. There's a lot that's questionable and harder to work with. Will it all perform? Sure. Will it be easy to work with? Not always. Sometimes it's the harder stuff to work with and you're saving a little bit of money, but that's why the tile installers, many of them you don't see sticking their head into the home centers.

[00:32:21] Eric Goranson: They go down to their, uh, tile store, wherever that is, and get a different product that is gonna perform better, maybe even be cheaper than what you see. Right. Now, here's another little one here too that I noticed, and this is something that I figured out. Panasonic, VIN fans, great fans, but I noticed the ones that they have in the stores are different.

[00:32:48] Eric Goranson: In the big blue and orange stores, those are different fans. And if I go down and buy something from a plumbing wholesaler, so those are different units, so they're [00:33:00] not made the same. They're different. They're the homeowner specials. So I would rather spend a little bit more money and get the real one than go in there and buy that fan off the home center because those are different and, um, I don't know what the deal is with 'em, but they're definitely a different model than what you see at the professional store.

[00:33:19] Eric Goranson: So, uh, another one of those, I'd go ahead and get there. Now, today I wanted to not just talk about the bad stuff, you know, I like to keep it positive here and at the end of the show here, I wanted to talk about some things that make sense to buy at the home centers. Here's one of 'em right here, electrical wire.

[00:33:41] Eric Goranson: Many times when I look at, for instance, home Depot in the past, I can buy a wire there for wiring the house cheaper than I can. From my electrical wholesaler. Why is that? Because they are trying to get electricians to come in there and contractors to buy [00:34:00] materials. So those lost leaders are great to pick up at the home center because they're trying to get you in the door.

[00:34:08] Eric Goranson: Sometimes they'll do that with concrete bags, they'll do that with fence boards. You'll see that kind of stuff in there. That's that special buy or that lost leader. Hey, we're gonna sell this at cost because I know you're gonna buy lights, fixtures, electrical boxes, and that's where we're gonna make that money.

[00:34:27] Eric Goranson: So always take a look at that. Those loss leaders are where the money's at. So once you find those, usually that doesn't change. And so that's one of those things that you can get as a really good buy. And so, uh, don't be ashamed to buy that from one of those places. Now, second of. Appliance special buys.

[00:34:46] Eric Goranson: When we've had appliance shortages, those appliance shortages, when you couldn't find a dishwasher, you would see the home centers, they get their special buys. So this time of year you'll see like a washer and dryer special buy. [00:35:00] Some of those they've ordered just specifically to put so many in so many stores.

[00:35:05] Eric Goranson: So they'll say, okay, we're gonna have six washers and dryers. Six of each go into this location, and when you see those special buys, many times they'll have a slightly different model number, but you can get those at a special price. Why they give 'em a special model number is because many times they have the minimum advertised price, which is map pricing.

[00:35:29] Eric Goranson: Now, map pricing, what that does is that is the minimum advertised price where. Business can't advertise it below that price. So that's why sometimes when you look at products, especially electronics, you know, if you go look up a uh, Google smoke detector, you're like, wow, why does everybody have it the exact same price?

[00:35:48] Eric Goranson: Well, it's because that's the price. That is the minimum price. So they can guarantee everybody has the same margin. And they have that with appliances as well. I've actually seen companies that have sold stuff below price. [00:36:00] And we're not able to, retail locations, not able to sell, sell that brand like Mila for instance, for a month they get suspended and can't order products for a month.

[00:36:12] Eric Goranson: So it's something to watch out for those special buys, cuz they give it a special model number, gets around that. So that's a really good buy sometimes for that. And then the other one here too is really big right now. Are those special buy on tools? Watch out for those. Like I usually go in and buy.

[00:36:30] Eric Goranson: Accessories like for Milwaukee or Rigid or one of those things, I'll go in this time of year around Christmas time and pick up those things and stock up for the rest of the year. Cuz many times you'll see, you know, packs of, um, multi-tool blades and drills and all these different things on Special Buy.

[00:36:51] Eric Goranson: That's usually gonna be your best price of the year right now, cuz they're wanting to be stocking stuffers. So take a look out there, gloves, all that kind of shop stuff. [00:37:00] Pay attention that can save you some serious money. About right now, I have bought stuff. At half the price, just like we talked about in the, in the, uh, in the special I did here with the, uh, top eight things that I did for, uh, Christmas.

[00:37:13] Eric Goranson: Those over on the podcast here didn't make the radio, but if you're listening on the radio, you can catch it on the podcast player. And we had that kind of thing where, wow, that $99 either, uh, rigid or um, craftsman toolbox with all the wrenches and ratchet. Killer price. You can't just go get that every day.

[00:37:32] Eric Goranson: This is the time of year that if someone wants to get up for that, that's another one. So watch out for those special buys. Like Home Depot, they'll have that little special buy thing. Same with Lowe's. They'll have that, and those are things to watch out for. And then right after Christmas, watch out for those things because those special buys.

[00:37:50] Eric Goranson: A lot of times if they didn't sell, They'll blow those things out. So, uh, you know, 26, 27, 20 eighth, 29th, go back in the store again. [00:38:00] Take a look because those don't have a normal place on the shelf. They're out in the aisle, they're out in the special area. Take a look over there because many times they'll drop those things down again cuz they wanna get 'em outta the aisle.

[00:38:10] Eric Goranson: They bought 'em for the holidays and if they didn't sell, cuz maybe they're a little bit too high. That's the place to get it and make sure you look for. So it's another one of those things. Another thing that's good lumber, and I know a lot of people are gonna go, ah, lumber, if you get in there many times their plywood sheeting, their osb, some of that stuff is gonna be end up being cheaper than it is at your lumber yard.

[00:38:34] Eric Goranson: So keep an eye out for that. Lumber yards have great stuff, but sometimes Home Depot gets that stuff in there. And again, that's another one of those lost leaders. You're trying to get people in the two by fours, the one by six seater fencing, those kind of. Here's where you can watch out for, and that's where you can save some serious money.

[00:38:53] Eric Goranson: So there's some positivity guys at the end of this one to make sure that you're getting the right stuff where, and you can save some money. All right, well, [00:39:00] we're gonna go out to break here. We've got another hour ahead of around the house. Make sure you grab it. Now here's the thing, if you want to contact me, head over to around the House online.com, or you can head over to social Media around the House, show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and you can catch me on LinkedIn.

[00:39:17] Eric Goranson: I'm Eric G and you've been listening to Around The House.