[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house. 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. And two, when you paint vinyl siding, it's usually when it's warm, right?

[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.

[00:00:48] 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. When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know, [00:01:00] but we've got you covered. This is around the house. Welcome the House Show. This is what we help you the most outta your home through information and education.

[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.

[00:01:36] Eric Goranson: This is not gonna be a whole show on this. We've got a lot of different topics to touch on today, but water in the basement or crawlspace has been a really big issue. And especially in a lot of areas where people haven't had this kind of rain in the time that they've lived there. And so what happens is is many times, especially in older homes, maybe you've been in a house for five to seven years and you've been through a drought, and all of a sudden that [00:02:00] rain comes back with a vengeance and it's exposing problems that were there before, but you just didn't know they existed.

[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.

[00:02:33] Eric Goranson: Are draining right next to the foundation, or they've got a little extension that goes out three or four feet, whichever way that needs to go out at least 10 feet or more and be downhill from the house. So if you have it high on one side and low on the other, I wanna see it 10 feet away on the low side, not 10 feet away on the high side, because if you're on the high side and you're dropping that water and it's 10 feet away, you will probably still [00:03:00] get that water into that basement.

[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.

[00:03:22] Eric Goranson: If you have a crack in the basement wall and it's coming through there, you probably can fill that. But here's the issue that you might need to remember. That could be the pressure relief valve for other cracks in that basement system. So if that's the easy path, no problem. But this is like a dam that concrete or Brock, or brick.

[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.

[00:04:09] Eric Goranson: It works really well now. It's a bigger issue that if you've got water coming up in that dry joint between the basement floor and the wall, that concrete wall, that dry joint there, some people say, oh, just cock it, put some sealer. No, you will not seal that. That hydrostatic pressure will pull everything off.

[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.

[00:05:02] Eric Goranson: And so this is where I want you to consult a structural engineer. And let me back up. Why on that you're like, I'm just moving water. What you're gonna do is you're gonna be cutting some of that concrete floor out and you are going to be digging down and putting in next to the footing, a French drain system that will drain into a low point, which is your sump pump that will pump that out and again, put that water at least 10 feet away.

[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.

[00:05:51] Eric Goranson: In some homes, I have seen problems where people go around the perimeter, they cut back the 15 inches of concrete. Now you have [00:06:00] taken away that area that is locking that foundation in. And if you've got a weak foundation wall, what happens is, is that's where you have the problem. That bottom of the wall can kick out.

[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.

[00:06:33] Eric Goranson: So that's one way to do it, but really that is the best way to do it. And sometimes you'll want to go across in a big basement, you'll wanna go across the middle and catch the water there. So what that does is you're catching the water before it raises high enough to leak through there. It goes into the sump pump, and then it goes out.

[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.

[00:07:10] Eric Goranson: Run up their power bill cuz they kick it right out. They kick the water right outta the foundation and I've put dye in that water and guess what? That water's back in, in 10 minutes cuz it's created a path and you've got a water fountain. So make sure that you've got that dialed in. So I wanna see that go out, you know, towards the street or low away from the house.

[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.

[00:07:52] Eric Goranson: If that works, great. One of the problems I see though is be careful if you're gonna take it off and store it and use it as [00:08:00] rainwater. I have seen people put in big thousand gallon tanks next to their foundation. They pump it outta there, or they catch the rainwater coming outta the the gutter system and going into that.

[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.

[00:08:27] Eric Goranson: So you gotta be very careful with that. But really controlling that water down there is great. That's one of the things that I always say that concerns me. That always makes me nervous is buying a house that has a brand new basement renovation cuz you just dunno what you're getting into. I have walked away from homes that I wanted to buy because it had a brand new renovated basement and I went, you know, this could be poorly done, this could be badly done, and I have no idea what the damage is down there.

[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.

[00:09:21] Eric Goranson: And, uh, you can't just put a vapor barrier down cause all it'll do is float the vapor barrier up. You need to control the water down underneath that and everything that's in that basement as far as moistures and crawl base ends up in your house. More questions just as soon as around the house returns.

[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.

[00:10:22] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round In The House Show. This is where we get you the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. Well, today I've been tackling a bunch of questions that have come in, uh, either off the radio show, the TV show or podcast, and I wanted to see if we could get a lot of them tackled today.

[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.

[00:10:57] Eric Goranson: Is a great budget project product. It's, [00:11:00] it's great for a project like that. It is not my favorite material out there for number one reason. One after a while. Many times, especially the older stuff, it gets chalky and not looking great. And two, any kind of a fire or heat, uh, tends to warp it cuz it is vinyl.

[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?

[00:11:43] Eric Goranson: So it's nice outside. Well vi vinyl siding expands and contracts, and whether there's a seam and there's an overlap there. So 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 [00:12:00] color pop in around the trim or in the seams, because now it's exposing those areas.

[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.

[00:12:29] Eric Goranson: They use different plastics depending on the color. And a white vinyl siding reflects heat, so it's not gonna get as hot as a dark vinyl siding. So many times if you take a a white final sighting and painted a dark brown or a gray on a hundred degree day, That could be limply falling off the side of your house and it looks like you had a fire and it melted it.

[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.

[00:13:15] Eric Goranson: I would just let vinyl siding be, get some good cleaners, keep it looking fresh, and embrace the color you have. Now, like anything, make sure that, uh, when you're dealing with colors, that if you have an HOA or something like that, that homeowner's association or condo or whatever, make sure that you're having a discussion with them on your color and making sure that they don't tell you you have four colors to paint your house.

[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.

[00:14:02] Eric Goranson: You get the idea. Now, one thing I do want to say about that, a little inside story, I love the color of my house. I would not ever paint it a different color, but I will say that any place that you have soil or landscaping next to it, any of that water splash up from rain. Because it's contemporary. I don't have big eaves that you have a lot of cleaning to do to your house, so it does show dirt like that.

[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.

[00:14:43] Eric Goranson: That dirt is still there, but with a light colored dirt, uh, you will see more of that, so that brown shows up on black really well. Or if it's gray or brown, you might not see it. It's still there, but you're gonna see it. So that's a key for that. Just think about the colors that you do and, [00:15:00] uh, my landscaping stuff I do this year will, you know, address that issue.

[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.

[00:15:18] Eric Goranson: And the next one I had was about painting or touching up kitchen cabinetry. Now here's a common thing with kitchen cabinetry, especially if you bought painted cabinets and you an installer that maybe didn't do you a favor. Maybe you put it in yourself and just didn't know this trick many times with lazy Susan Cabinets, That corner, when you open up a square corner, lazy Susan, it's hinged in the middle of that right angle door.

[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.

[00:16:10] Eric Goranson: So the first thing is, is always counters sync the screws on those corner cabinets. So the hardware screws. We'll go through and sink, flush and so it doesn't scratch up. Second, do not, and I say do not go to the home center and have them try to match up some paint color into the paint color home center.

[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.

[00:16:52] Eric Goranson: Or if they're a low quality one, it's lacquer. So the problem is, is those finishes will have a completely different layout [00:17:00] and sheen that if you go get an enamel from your home improvement store, so you might get the most perfect color match known to net mankind. It is dialed in. Perfect. And the problem is, is that when you go to do that and it's dry, the sheen will be different.

[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.

[00:17:37] Eric Goranson: And get the color that you have and either order a new door or drawer front or whatever it takes, and then replace it. Is it a little bit more money? Yes. Is it a bolt-on option? Absolutely. Will you have the same durability and probably a a hundred percent color match? Absolutely. And so then it's gonna look like you got that taken care of [00:18:00] correctly.

[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.

[00:18:17] Eric Goranson: They will have the paint color. Uh, if it's a local custom shop, take it back to them, have 'em respray it, and you'll have a much better looking kitchen. The touchups are gonna look like bad touchups, or it's gonna look like you did a poor job painting even you tried. Really hard doing it. It's gonna look bad.

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

[00:19:00] Eric Goranson: Hey, this is. Ron Keel, the Metal Cowboy from Keel, the Ron Keel Band and Steeler. We are rocking around the house with Eric G. Ray is your best

[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.

[00:19:28] Eric Goranson: But if you wanna find some of the video stuff I've been creating for my weekly television show, head, head over to, uh, YouTube, and that's simple. Just at Fox 12, Oregon, go to playlists. Look for around the House Northwest and you'll see the 50 videos that have heightened over there, plus whatever goes up today.

[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.

[00:20:07] Eric Goranson: Because it is T season for many places in the US and there are a lot of different kind of ants. I'm just gonna talk about the little sugar ants, the ones that are just pests as far as coming in and getting into things or getting into somebody's spilled soda or pop or whatever you want to call it.

[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.

[00:20:48] Eric Goranson: There's a new tarot that's been out for a few years, I believe it is the tarot ant killer plus multipurpose insect control. And so this is actually a shaker bag that you can walk around the [00:21:00] outside and. That shaker spreads it around the outside and you can make a perimeter around your house, so it'll kill the ants, fire ants, cockroaches, fleas, and other insects on there.

[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.

[00:21:30] Eric Goranson: And if I can take down a sugar ant colony that's attacking inside my house, that is great. And, uh, couple days they're gone. And, uh, the stuff is just like, it's just easy. And I've never had it not work. So something to take a look at. Tarot, it works really good and, uh, pretty non-toxic as well cuz it's basically barx is what that is, that's in there.

[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.

[00:22:21] Eric Goranson: And I said, you know, I'm gonna cover that in this episode here and we'll make sure that we cover it because I wanted to give a short toilet buyer's guide. And here's my take with toilets. It's really simple. You get what you pay for. I will not go down and buy the home Center brand because many times those are just the funky imports.

[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.

[00:23:10] Eric Goranson: I will always go look at the Toto Drake. That is the way to go. And there's Drake too. There's a bunch of different ones out there. There's ones that are taller, ones that are standard. Find the toilet that fits your needs. But that's the cool part. And you can get a toilet like that Toto, if you don't know about 'em.

[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.

[00:23:48] Eric Goranson: Maybe we should see what they're doing and pay attention. And now they've started changing how their toilets work to get a better toilet. But really, you're gonna spend over $300 to get a decent [00:24:00] quality toilet you are. Now. If you can't afford that and you gotta put something in to make it work great, but it will cost you more.

[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.

[00:24:31] Eric Goranson: The things don't, um, stick to it, shall we say. And that's one of the problems with toilets out there, is that if you have a rough surface on that toilet, things tend to stick to it. If it's super slippery, like what Toter does with their specialty finishes, then it stays a lot cleaner, and that is why one of the things that I always tell people, do not use bleach or abrasive cleaners inside a toilet.

[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.

[00:25:16] Eric Goranson: Or if you take a magic eraser or PMUs stick, guess what? You're now sanding that finish off creating micro scratches. They're gonna turn around, and more importantly, that's gonna cause a bunch of damage to the inside of the bowl, mate, you might not see it, it might look a little less glossy, but the problem is, is you've left a place now for dirt to grab a hold of, and that makes a big difference.

[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.

[00:26:02] Eric Goranson: And quite frankly, don't be using bleach on anything unless you're gonna be trying to sanitize something. And then follow the ins instructions where you mix up with water. But do not pour bleach in a bathtub. Do not pour bleach in a in a toilet. It has no business going in there. All you're going to do is etch surfaces and make it worse, and that's gonna be a problem.

[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.

[00:26:42] Eric Goranson: I would add that outlet, you'll be good to go. There's, even if you don't use the bidet function, just the heated seat is something in the wintertime that is very pleasant and uh, if you ever run on a toilet paper, it's giving you options. But, uh, I would sure take a look at adding power down there when you're doing remodel.

[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.

[00:27:19] Eric Goranson: Or even that whole bidet toilet, you're set. So that's another one of those keys right there. The old, while you're at it, spend a few pucks and put an outlet down there. You'll be pleasantly surprised when you want to add one. That option's there for you. So to round up this buyer'ss guide, just think about what you want.

[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.

[00:27:49] Eric Goranson: I would get something a little bit taller. It, uh, seems to be more comfortable when using the toilet. And uh, that's a big one right there. And, uh, follow building code. When you do it, make sure you get, [00:28:00] there's some new wax rings that work really well out there when replace it. It can be a great DIY project if you take the time and do it right.

[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]

[00:29:00] Eric Goranson: Strong gets the end of the show now. Drinking down people, it's time to go. It's that time again, it's last call. Welcome back to Round the House Show. This is where help you get the most outta your home through information at Ed Education. Thanks for joining us. Why I've been answering all your questions, people that have been sending stuff into me and uh, wanted to see if we could help some of you out with some of the questions they had.

[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.

[00:29:44] Eric Goranson: But that doesn't always happen and that can also be tough. So really having those animals move down and look for maybe the neighbor's place down the road or someplace else is gonna be a better option. And so one of the best ways, especially with [00:30:00] beavers, is to get a paint match of the bark of the tree.

[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.

[00:30:28] Eric Goranson: Let it try. Usually they'll start chunking at it and go, Ooh, I hate this. This is not good. I don't like this. And move on. So that's a good one. I'll be honest, other than putting up a fence, which, um, isn't always a good option. But, uh, man, I tell you what, that is gonna be your best option with that, and I think that's pretty tough trying to get, you know, animals like that and, and taken care of.

[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.

[00:31:15] Eric Goranson: So the way to do it though is it's gonna be hard because if you try to have a cont, a pest control company come in and humanely trap that you might get a beaver in there too. And I'm not talking about killing it, but moving it on. So, um, that's gonna be a tough one. When in doubt, always consult your local pest control company that deals with small animals like that.

[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.

[00:31:55] Eric Goranson: But, uh, if the beaver comes in and cuts the tree down, that's gonna be more unhealthy for the tree [00:32:00] and we wanna find that, um, you know, wanna find that, that right answer for you there to be able to control it in a kind of more humane way to do it. Now the next question actually came out on around the House Nation, which is our closed group that I wanted to share this with everybody else.

[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.

[00:32:42] Eric Goranson: So what it is, is they're a cast iron sink where they have heated up glass. Or they heated it up, sprinkled glass over it, and they fire it, and the glass turns into a porcelain finish on top, and it really gives you that, uh, super durable, but after a while, it, it, it gets chipped up and, and cleaned up. And [00:33:00] so he had asked, uh, is there a way to do, uh, uh, off the shelf di IY kit and that stuff?

[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.

[00:33:30] Eric Goranson: They're not paint, but it's done right. So they are basically a porcelain enamel company based out of Independence, Missouri. And so it's i p e-porcelain.com. So it's I p e-porcelain.com. Independence porcelain enamel. They are that old school company that can take that old. Peace [00:34:00] and actually restore it for you.

[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.

[00:34:38] Eric Goranson: So ipe-porcelain.com, they've got the colors up there. They show pictures of some of the stuff they do and uh, they basically go and fire this the old-fashioned way. And do it the right way. So check 'em out. This is a, um, heck of a place and, uh, I don't know of any other place out there. I'm sure there's some other [00:35:00] people out there, but, uh, it is, uh, beautiful work and something you should take a peek at.

[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.

[00:35:36] Eric Goranson: So, uh, they can do a ton of different stuff. And, uh, man, it is cool. It is cool. It is the place to go. So, uh, just think about having some fun with that. And, uh, I know people that have sent in, uh, I've seen the pictures at least off their Facebook page, but people had wanted to do a Webber kettle in the right design.

[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.

[00:36:19] Eric Goranson: All right. The last one I have here is my little secret to dealing with my, uh, I'm just gonna use the word ShopVac or my shop vacuum. I don't know if you've done this yet. I know plenty of you have, but I have one of the rigid ShopVac, you know, wet drive acts. I tell you what, if you want to make your life a little bit easier and save money on those expensive filters, I would put in one of the bag systems on it.

[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.

[00:37:07] Eric Goranson: I am vacuum of stuff in the garage from a a wood project to hooking up to my. To my, uh, you know, chop saw or sander or anything else. And, uh, that bag system in that is really good. I've got a new vacuum coming on. Its wave from Bosch that I can't wait to use. It's gonna be hooking up into my new tools, uh, that one I'm excited about.

[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.

[00:37:49] Eric Goranson: So, uh, another little tip and trick from me is to, uh, take a look at those shop back or those, uh, canister bags that go in your garage. Shop vac. It is a [00:38:00] game changer. And how that goes. All right, everybody. Well, a couple things I wanted to touch before we go out to break here. I was gonna give you one more tip.

[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.

[00:38:23] Eric Goranson: And then take a look at the TV show page, which is around the house. Nw, it's got my face on it, hosted by Eric Gossen. And then of course, checks that on Twitter or around the house online.com. If you have questions and you know it's not one of these here, there's two ways to do it. You can head over, uh, and send me a video.

[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.

[00:38:58] Eric Goranson: Thanks for tuning in everybody. [00:39:00] We'll see you next weekend. Thanks for listening to, Around the House!