[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house. We've been talking about my top 10 renovation mistakes that cost you money. Last segments, we were talking about window flashing. We were talking about shower installation and cheap toilets. Next up here is selecting the wrong water heater. Now a lot of people just go in and, Hey, add a 50 gallon electric and put another 50 gallon electric back in or a 40 gallon gas and I'm putting it back in and we are good to go.

[00:00:27] Eric Goranson: But many times we decide, Hey, we want to change technologies. We want to step up and do something. different and maybe we want to put in a, um, on demand water heater or a heat pump water heater. And before you go do that, I would really ask you to take some time and really make sure that you have got things dialed in.

[00:00:46] Eric Goranson: When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know, but we've got you covered. This is Around the House. Welcome to the Around the House show. This is where we help you get the most Daddy, your home [00:01:00] through information and education. Thanks for joining me today. Hey, if you ever want to be a part of the show, give me a call here in the studio at 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44 that's 8 9 And, uh, you can give us a call 24 seven and I will give you a call back and maybe put you into a future episode of the show.

[00:01:21] Eric Goranson: Well, today I wanted to talk about my top 10 renovation mistakes that can cost you money. This might be something that, uh, you're doing as a project around the house or it's something even that you're hiring somebody. And the concern is, of course, is that they are not aware of doing it the right way, or they're trying to do it quickly and aren't.

[00:01:42] Eric Goranson: And you're stuck with the end result. So we're going to talk about that today. And, uh, Hey, if you do want to find out more about us, head over to around the house, online. com. And, uh, don't worry if you didn't write that phone number down, it's over on the website and that's out around the house, online. com.

[00:01:59] Eric Goranson: So here's [00:02:00] the thing. These are my 10 renovation mistakes that really. Cost you money. Now, the first one here is, um, a big one and that is understanding window and door flashing. Maybe you're replacing a window. Maybe you're having the windows and doors replaced. And one of the biggest issues that I see is so many times is what I see is contractors and homeowners.

[00:02:26] Eric Goranson: Not understanding the right way to do window flashing. And really it depends on what brand you're using. I mean, there are dozens of brands now out on the marketplace for window flashing, but here's the thing. There should be any time that there is a window opening that needs to be sealed up correctly.

[00:02:46] Eric Goranson: And I'm not just talking to beat a silicone around it. And you throw the window and that's how they did it 30 years ago, but it's not how it's done today. So making sure that you have the correct flexible flashing that's going to seal around the [00:03:00] window or door assembly is key. Now, let's talk about this because, you know, people in old houses go, well, it's not.

[00:03:07] Eric Goranson: You know, I don't have a house wrap around the house. I don't have tar paper. I just have an old sighting out there, but if you're pulling it back and doing it, you still want to stop air. And of course, water from going around it. So, what I want to see you do is, is remove that window if you're replacing it.

[00:03:25] Eric Goranson: And then what I want to see is, is that I want to see somebody go in there with flexible flashing and generally the rule is. Is you are going to start your way from the bottom and you work your way up. So that way, every new layer is an overlap of the layer below it. I need to make sure that that goes into the door door or jam seal.

[00:03:47] Eric Goranson: You know, sometimes the windows here's, here's an issue, and this is something you have to deal with, and maybe you'll have to cut it down. But the big thing is, is I want to make sure that that flashing goes around into the interior surface. Now, if you've got trim, that might only be an inch. [00:04:00] And if you don't want to, you know, retrim the inside of the window, maybe it's, it's drywall, maybe it's trimmed out as long as you get around the corner.

[00:04:08] Eric Goranson: If you can get around that corner, a half inch, three quarters of an inch, that's a good start. And it's better than nothing. But I want to see you flash that around and make sure that you've got the top covered as well. So many people install windows and doors like in the eighties, and there's no nail across the top.

[00:04:24] Eric Goranson: There's no caulking, there's no ceiling, and it's just a dry joint up there. And that is how you're going to get wind and rain and things like that in there. So you just want to make sure you get everything sealed up and that you've got all that flashing and it's too, it's too hard to explain every flashing system here on the radio, but this is one of those things that really can cost you money.

[00:04:47] Eric Goranson: And what happens is, and I've seen this dozens of times in my career, somebody go, Hey, I've got a little moisture on the window. I peel the window curtains back and in the corners, I've got moldy drywall cause it's soft, it's [00:05:00] nasty. And that water has been leaking down around the windows and getting the drywall underneath it wet.

[00:05:06] Eric Goranson: And at that point, you could have framing damage. You could have, um, mold damage. You could have damaged floors. This gets to be a much bigger problem if you're not careful. So spending some time, understand the flashing and making sure that if you've hired a window or door company to come in and do the work that they're going to do it correctly and make sure that it's flashed correctly.

[00:05:30] Eric Goranson: And you know something, it went in doubt. You can jump over whether it's, you know, uh, grip, right, or zip systems or any one of the different companies you see out there, you know, Tyvek, DuPont, any one of these companies that you see out there, jump on their website. And look at their videos to see how they recommend doing the flashing.

[00:05:53] Eric Goranson: And then you're going to be in a good spot. Uh, there's a lot of videos out there, people doing it and they're not showing it correctly, [00:06:00] uh, or they're not getting all the nuances of it. So, um, my, my recommendation there is to go to the manufacturer's YouTube page or their website and watch the videos and make sure that you know how that's being done.

[00:06:12] Eric Goranson: So you can make sure that the people you're hiring know how to do it. And more importantly, if you're going to be tackling that project, you understand it one way or the other. And some of these tapes are interesting. Like with the zip system, the biggest failure of a zip system is because someone didn't roll out the tape correctly.

[00:06:27] Eric Goranson: And a lot of these tapes require 20, 30 pounds of pressure on the roller for it to stick. You can't just stick it on there and go, okay, it's good. No, you need to roll it out or squeegee it out or whatever their system is. And then you're going to have something that's not going to leak, and it's going to save you money in the long run.

[00:06:46] Eric Goranson: So don't have the water damage, the flooring damage, this could be like a minor flood if you're not careful. Just do it right, and that flashing is going to be key. And the same thing goes around decks as well. Make sure that that joint is done any time that you've [00:07:00] got a structure coming up to another structure there, and you're fastening through it and breaking through.

[00:07:05] Eric Goranson: With bolts and things like that, you need to make sure that things are flashed correctly and that water is going the right direction and that's not in the house. All right, now the next one here could be an absolute DIY nightmare. This is something that could take your project and take five, 10, 15, 000 and toss it right out the window.

[00:07:28] Eric Goranson: And then you'll have to spend that money again to do it. And that is making sure. That shower was installed correctly. Now this is one that, um, when this goes badly, he goes super badly. Now the shower is an interesting thing because there have been over the last 10 or 15 years, there have been some great technology advances when you're putting in a shower and I'm talking specifically.

[00:07:58] Eric Goranson: Like tile and in [00:08:00] grout and waterproofing systems. One of the biggest mistakes that I see Contractors and homeowners make is they go in they will do their mud pan. They will do that They won't do it correctly. It won't get leak tested it won't get done and then all of a sudden what you see is you see the Drywall go up behind the tile.

[00:08:26] Eric Goranson: Maybe it's green board Maybe it's, um, just a hardy backer tile system, no waterproofing over it, and the tile gets installed, and all of a sudden, two, three years later, at best, they've got a big leak. And now, all of a sudden, you've got to tear it out, the thousands of dollars you spent on the shower door is now not going to fit correctly, so that has to get tossed, and all of a sudden, you've got a major issue of how this all has gone together.

[00:08:57] Eric Goranson: So, when we come back here, I'm going to talk about some of the [00:09:00] best practices to make sure that you do your shower. System correctly, and there's a lot of different ways to do it, but I wanted to talk about my ways to help you get the right project going. Whether this is a DIY project, you're paying a tile setter to come do it.

[00:09:15] Eric Goranson: You want to make sure that you or anyone else isn't taking it. You know, any shortcuts on this process? Because if one thing goes bad, it all goes bad. And that is one of the things it is really tough to go in and actually repair a shower after it started leaking. It's pretty much start overtime. And that's going to be the worst case scenario.

[00:09:35] Eric Goranson: For your project and your budget round the house, we'll be right back. Come go with[00:10:00]

[00:10:13] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where we hope you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. Well, here's what we got going on right now, guys. We have been talking about our top 10 renovation mistakes that cost you money. It doesn't matter if you're hiring a contractor or you're doing it yourself as a DIY project.

[00:10:33] Eric Goranson: Before we get back into this list again, I want to make sure to give out the phone numbers 833 239 4144. And again, that number is 833 239 4144. All right, guys. Well, I wanted to be talking about these renovation mistakes that cost you money today. And we were just talking before we went out to break about shower installation.

[00:10:56] Eric Goranson: And here's where the biggest problems that I see happen. [00:11:00] One, the shortcuts are made or bad installations are made. At the shower pan, because what happens is, is somebody will use old technology. Maybe they just pre slope a concrete pan and they're going to be installing over the top of it with just tile.

[00:11:19] Eric Goranson: But the waterproofing systems is where the biggest issues are. And this is why one of the reasons why a lot of the best tile setters out there have gone to these composite pans like Schluter, Wedi, Ardex, any of these people that have these systems. Um, and then that way they don't have to worry about mistakes being made.

[00:11:41] Eric Goranson: If you go in and install these correctly, then you are golden. You've got a system that's going to last decades. And you're going to be good. What happens is that somebody goes in and tries to do a mud set pan. And what a mud set pan is for the people that don't know is that there are layers of of rubber [00:12:00] membrane and a hard pack where you go in and pre slope things and, uh, build this shower system with a weeping system.

[00:12:08] Eric Goranson: So when water gets through the tile, which it always does. It directs it into a drain system and gets it out the door. Well, that is a, that is an old school way and doing it. And there are some people out there that are really good, but it takes years for a good tile center to be able to do that correctly.

[00:12:27] Eric Goranson: So what I see happening here is, is that we have homeowners and, um, you know, general contractors out there trying to do it. And all it takes is one little nick and a pan liner, or they didn't water test it before. Um, inspection time, so they didn't have any of those things done and here's what happens.

[00:12:45] Eric Goranson: You now have a leaking shower system, which shows up either down under the ground, you know, through a concrete slab, which can come up some other place. Or it ends up being, um, where it's leaking down into a basement, crawl space, [00:13:00] or living space down below. And this can be really messy, where you have thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of dollars of damage, and, and then you've got a mess.

[00:13:10] Eric Goranson: So one, I strongly recommend anybody these days, my position, and this might be controversial to some old school people out there, is to use one of the composite pans. Install it per the manufacturer's instructions. And if you had a certified installer do it, sometimes that will get you a different warranty, um, whether it's a lifetime or 20 year, whatever it is, you got to figure that out for yourself, depending on the brand, but then you're going to have something that's going to be waterproof.

[00:13:38] Eric Goranson: Um, my rule is drywall should never be used in a shower, even if you're going to put Redguard over the top of it. Uh, if someone starts to put green board in a shower and it's going to tile over the top of it. My position is I need you to look and make sure that you've got the right person doing that job, because that is one of my biggest warning signs.

[00:13:57] Eric Goranson: So, uh, make sure that this [00:14:00] waterproofing is done correctly. If someone goes, Oh, I'm just putting red guard over it. If you can see any of the stuff below it, like. And there should be at least two coats, maybe three coats on there, uh, to make sure you shouldn't see any print or pattern that comes through that Redguard.

[00:14:16] Eric Goranson: It should be all one solid color. If you see two tones, then you probably don't have enough material on the wall, but I always follow those manufacturers instructions and make sure you get enough material on it. And that is one of the problems that I see out there with people just putting on one coat of waterproofing.

[00:14:32] Eric Goranson: When it could need 234, depending on what you got going on. So understand how that goes. You'll be better off and that's going to be one that will save you money because you'll get the project done once, right? It'll last 2 years. And a side note on this. If you're doing a steam shower, pay really good attention because there's only 1 or so systems out there.

[00:14:53] Eric Goranson: Uh, that are used for steam showers, and I believe that is the, uh, we Vapor 85. That [00:15:00] is 1 that stops steam because there's 1 thing to stop moisture. But when you put steam into a room, make sure that you've got the walls, ceiling floor, everything that space sealed up. So, uh, steam showers are hot. Just make sure you've got that done correctly.

[00:15:15] Eric Goranson: And then, uh, also make sure that you've got some insulation around that space. I think, uh, it's good to try to keep, um, any kind of, um, you know, condensing of moisture on the backside of that system. So if you're not using a foam system, what I did is I put rock wool around in mind when I did mine, that way I have a nice insulated system.

[00:15:34] Eric Goranson: I don't have to worry about any condensation on the backside. If there was any higher humidity. Next up here is one. That's an easy one. We'll be able to fit this one into this segment. One of the biggest mistakes I see people do is go out and buy that $99 or 130 or $140 toilet from the home center, the offbrand, uh, or the lowest quality brand from one of the other ones.

[00:15:55] Eric Goranson: And I tell you what that is where expensive mistakes happen. [00:16:00] Here's why. The thing that I look at is when you buy a cheap toilet, they're not engineered as well as some of the nicer ones. Maybe it's a higher end American standard, maybe it's a higher end, um, Kohler, you know, or. Even a Toto, you don't have to worry so much about it.

[00:16:17] Eric Goranson: But here's the thing that I'm always concerned about water usage. If you're paying for it, when you go out and buy a cheap toilet, if you have pretty expensive water rates, like you do in my area, you can spend a hundred dollars, 150 a year extra in water because it doesn't flush correctly. And you have to flush it twice.

[00:16:39] Eric Goranson: So that ends up costing you a ton of money. So what can happen is you go out and buy the 150 toilet and let's say it's costing you 150 extra a year in water usage. That gets to be a pretty expensive toilet, six, seven, eight years down the road, where if you would have went and spent, let's say, 400 bucks on a Toto Drake, and you put it in [00:17:00] there, that you didn't have to do that.

[00:17:02] Eric Goranson: By year two, you're starting to look pretty good. Year three, you're ahead. Year four, you're way ahead. So pay attention to that, and you don't have to worry about the plunger who happened to be in there. When somebody comes over destroys the bathroom and has water all over your floor because they flushed it and it plugged up.

[00:17:18] Eric Goranson: So there's a big difference in technology between the cheap toilets and the more expensive ones and how they're finished. And 1 of the things they do is they have a wider trap that goes down through. They do the porcelain all the way through that trap. They use less water, like a one gallon flush versus a 1.

[00:17:34] Eric Goranson: 6 or 1. 2, but they've also got it where it has a larger opening. So it's dumping that water at once and you get the same or better performance than you did with one of the, one of the higher water rate ones. So really with that, there's a lot of good things that can be done. Now, 1 little trick to when you get into the 1 gallon flush, no matter if it's a higher end or a low end toilet.

[00:17:58] Eric Goranson: If you have a basement [00:18:00] bathroom and an old house, it's built before 1970. Let's say I would go with a little more water in the flush just to make sure it's working correctly. Those old toilets, drain systems that you see in basements. And, uh, prior to 1970 can be problematic with lower gallon flush. So, uh, when in doubt in those situations, go with a little bit more water in the flush and you'll be good to go round the house.

[00:18:26] Eric Goranson: We'll be right back with 10 of my mistakes that cost you more money.[00:19:00]

[00:19:05] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we hope to get the most out of your home through information and education. Thank you for joining me today. Hey, if you want to find out more information about us, head to AroundTheHouseOnline. com. That's where everything from our YouTube videos to everything, including our phone number here to the studio, you can find it all right there.

[00:19:24] Eric Goranson: We've been talking about my top 10 renovation mistakes that cost you money. Last segments, we were talking about window flashing. We were talking about shower installation and cheap toilets. Next up here is selecting the wrong water heater. Now, a lot of people just go in and, Hey, add a 50 gallon electric.

[00:19:40] Eric Goranson: I'm putting another 50 gallon electric back in or a 40 gallon gas, and I'm putting it back in and we are good to go. But many times we decide, Hey, we want to change technologies. We want to step up and do something different. And maybe we want to put in a, um, on demand water heater or a heat pump, water heater.

[00:19:57] Eric Goranson: And before you go do that, I would [00:20:00] really ask you to take some time and really make sure. That you have got things dialed in and you understand how that system's going to work and what the maintenance is involved, because here's the thing, a regular gas water heater, you should be sitting there and draining that out once a year, making sure you don't have any buildup in their little bit of maintenance while many of the on demand ones, uh, or the instant ones, those end up having to have a lot more.

[00:20:29] Eric Goranson: You know, maintenance with them with cleaning and scaling and things like that that you need to pay attention to. And you need to make sure you understand what it takes to turn it on and how much water has to flow. There's a little more science to this. You just can't say, Hey, I'm going to put in this one and think it's going to work without understanding how you need to go.

[00:20:48] Eric Goranson: Because some of these systems do work better if they've got a return line or something like that coming back. And that can be kind of hard to do. Retrofit into an older house. Now he pumped water heaters [00:21:00] work great in most climates. Um, I am, uh, I was going to put in, I had a gas water heater. And, uh, 40 gallon and I was going to put in a, um, on demand style.

[00:21:09] Eric Goranson: And then I started talking with my water heater professionals and I went heat pump water heater. And for me, it was a good move because it saved me a ton of money and more so than if I was going to go to a on demand unit. And so now I have cheaper water and I have an 80 gallon. That's saving me a couple hundred bucks a month.

[00:21:28] Eric Goranson: Sorry, a couple hundred bucks a year. And that is one of those things that, uh, month to month savings, you could sure see it pretty quickly. And it's surprising how much water does cost to heat. Uh, my good buddy who has a beach house and he was going to be gone for a few months and nobody was going to be in the beach house, you know, especially over the holidays, he had a busy schedule.

[00:21:49] Eric Goranson: And my advice to him was to turn the electric water heater off. And then when you go back over to the house, get over there, turn it back on again and, uh, power it back up and make sure that, [00:22:00] uh, Uh, you get some water going might take a few hours depending on how big that thing is, but you know, something it'll save you a lot of money.

[00:22:06] Eric Goranson: And he's shocked at how much money it's saving him a month. I think it's saving him 40 or 50 bucks a month on his heating bills, and that ends up being a lot of money. So your decision on buying the right water heater can be expensive, and it can be expensive for 10 or 15 years to come, depending on what you choose.

[00:22:24] Eric Goranson: So Please, when you're putting in a water heater, make sure you understand what you're putting in. Understand what the codes are. Do you need to have an expansion tank? Some places require it, some don't. It's really a good idea. So, uh, take a look at all those things and make sure you understand it and don't make the mistakes of many and go the wrong direction.

[00:22:43] Eric Goranson: Now, the next one that I see here is a big one and this is something that I see happen a lot. And it is really bad for your health and it can cause other mold and other damage. And that is ventilation mistakes in your home. And I'm talking about bath fans. [00:23:00] To kitchen exhaust hoods, both of those. Now here's the thing.

[00:23:04] Eric Goranson: Here's the rules that you should be operating by if you're working on either one of these kitchen fans, always no exceptions should run to the outside of the building and be vented outside. If you are using a hood that is recirculating, that is not working correctly, and it is putting hazardous chemicals, smokes, carcinogens.

[00:23:25] Eric Goranson: Back into your air and is contributing to your low quality indoor air quality. So that hood goes outside. If you have a microwave vent fan that is blowing air back in your face, when you turn it on, or a hood that is blowing air back in your face, that is a high priority project to make sure that you get that.

[00:23:46] Eric Goranson: So it vents correctly to the outside, and you want to make sure that you're using that fan when you're cooking. Now, bathrooms are even more problematic, because if you don't have a bath fan, and the tighter the house you have, the more energy efficient [00:24:00] the house you have, the more that you've got issues.

[00:24:03] Eric Goranson: Now, here's a couple things that I want you to think about with bath fans. And it's something that nobody out there is talking about, but it's a big deal. So, if you take a look at your bath fan, And you go, okay, well, I need to have something that's going to be 50 CFM because I'm trying to go with, um, you know, one foot cubic foot or one square foot per CFM.

[00:24:25] Eric Goranson: There's a lot of different rules that people use out there. Here is the problem we have. And this is where I get really concerned with bath fans. Bath fans are figured CFM at the fan. So if I have 120 CFM fan and it's venting all the way outside through a small duct. Through a small opening that might be 70 80 or less CFM and all of a sudden you've got a fan that is operator under the specs that you're looking for.

[00:24:58] Eric Goranson: So, my rule for a bath [00:25:00] fan is to go large, the bigger, the better. And to make sure that you have enough incoming air into the space, if you do this correctly, and this is the key. If you do this correctly, you can have a nice steamy shower and not have steam on the window without having any kind of a heated mirror or something like that.

[00:25:21] Eric Goranson: So think about that. There's a lot we can do with that when it comes to ventilation. Getting that out and that fan should always run at least 20 minutes after you get out of the bathroom or shower and that way It is ventilating all that. So that's why building code in most areas says you have to have a You have to have a fan on timer to make sure that runs after you leave the space.

[00:25:44] Eric Goranson: So think about that That's an important one and that will help you with your ventilation. So Ventilation can be costly for your health For the mold and all the other stuff, uh, coming out of the kitchen. So make sure you've got that ventilation working correctly. [00:26:00] Now, the next 1 here is kind of related to our 1st 1, which was window flashing, but this is not understanding building science in building.

[00:26:09] Eric Goranson: Science is a key here. This could be. Weatherproofing on the outside of your home. This could be putting in a ERV and an energy recovery ventilator. This could be not having the right ventilation in your ceiling, uh, or your attic space up above coming in and out. There are a lot of issues when it comes to building science, and I want you to make sure you understand it, especially if you're doing siding, windows, roofing, insulation, all of those things.

[00:26:41] Eric Goranson: Building science has changed over the years, and they used to sit here and in many areas, they would recommend, for instance, a U insulate. And then you put plastic over the top side of it, uh, sheet plastic, and that's not always the case anymore, because what can happen is, is, and one of the [00:27:00] rules that you see is having two vapor barriers can be a massive problem, because now you've got a moisture sandwich.

[00:27:07] Eric Goranson: And what might work in one area doesn't work in the other. So you got to think about what climate zone you're in and design your house around that. Because if you are online and you're looking on the Internet, and you're trying to figure out what to do for your house in building science with ventilation.

[00:27:25] Eric Goranson: Or anything up, you know, ventilating your attic space or insulating all those things. Make sure you understand your climate zone and what should go on there and what has to be done. Now, this is going to probably be exceeding building code and making sure that you understand it correctly. But if you can get talking to the right professionals about building science in your zone and what it's like in your climate, because it's going to be a lot different than what you do in Miami versus what you do in Michigan and vice versa.

[00:27:55] Eric Goranson: So make sure you understand what those rules are. And if you understand that building science, it's going to make. [00:28:00] For a much healthier home and that's going to make sure that you're not trapping moisture. You're not causing issues down the road. You're ruining your roof or even worse. You're causing other damage to your home when you think you're trying to do something to help.

[00:28:14] Eric Goranson: So, building science and understanding it and making sure that the people that you're hiring understand it are going to be keys. So, talk to your design professionals and you can talk to some of the mechanical engineers out there that do each. HVAC stuff, heating and cooling and building science to help you through that process.

[00:28:31] Eric Goranson: Round the House will be right back with more for our list of the top renovation mistakes that could cost you money. Music Back[00:29:00]

[00:29:06] Eric Goranson: to the Round the House show now. We've been talking today about my top ten renovation mistakes. Uh, well, that could cost you a lot of money. And we have gone through six of them so far window flashing bad shower installations cheap toilets Selecting the wrong water heater ventilation mistakes and not understanding building science We got four more to do so i'm going to get right after it today The next one is basement remodels and this is one where people go buy a house And they hire a company or they go down and decide to do that basement remodel or finish that unfinished basement Now, the unfinished basement thing can be troublesome, and this is what I recommend that you do before you do that.

[00:29:50] Eric Goranson: I strongly advise that if you're doing a basement remodel, just make sure that you understand with a couple seasons, and make sure that there's no moisture issues down there. [00:30:00] So many times I'll see people that bought flipped houses where somebody came in and went, I'm going to add some square footage to this basement.

[00:30:07] Eric Goranson: They go through and finish it. And six months after these people have moved in, they have a moldy basement situation where moisture was coming through. They sealed it up. They didn't do it correctly. And all of a sudden they're re renovating that basement because of water damage. Because it was done incorrectly.

[00:30:24] Eric Goranson: So you need to make sure one, that you don't have any moisture down there. And if you do that, you're managing it correctly. And there's a lot of different ways of doing it. Not that we're going to talk about all those here today, but the worst thing I want to see happen is that you get mold trapped between the wall and the foundation.

[00:30:40] Eric Goranson: Whether it's plastic or some other system there, or you get mold underneath your, uh, you know, your, your. Plank flooring down there. I want to make sure that you have a healthy place and that you don't have rot going on down there So just make sure that this was done correctly and that you understand what the challenges are in your area and that you get [00:31:00] moisture issues Taken care of before you start that remodel or that renovation down there and you get it taken care of if you've got a 20 year old basement down there and it's been dry and you're just taking out the wood paneling.

[00:31:11] Eric Goranson: That's not as big a deal What I'm looking for is, uh, that unfinished basement and that old house that didn't have the right drainage system or the right waterproofing or gutters or that kind of thing. So just make sure you got that dialed in before you finish it up, understand what the issues are. So you don't have to do it twice.

[00:31:29] Eric Goranson: That could cost you 6 figures. If you have to start over and do it again, next up here is one of the most common ones I see in places that have some, some heat in the summertime. And this is that power attic fan installation. And people go, man, I, my attic is hot. I need to get that out of there. So what they do is they go, you know, I've got a gable end.

[00:31:50] Eric Goranson: I'm going to install a power attic fan up there. And I'm going to create a vacuum in this space. I'm going to pull it out and I'm going to vent all that out. [00:32:00] And in theory, that's a great way to do it. Now, your biggest issue is, is that if you just go in and install that most of the time, you're going to start sucking out that conditioned air inside the space, because what I recommend you do, if you're going to be pulling.

[00:32:18] Eric Goranson: And putting one of those attic fans in, I want you to pull the insulation out of the attic, or at least pull it to one side, go through with caulking and spray foam and seal up all the spaces where there's window, I mean, where there's a can lights, where there's, um, any place that you've drilled down for plumbing, I want to see all of those things get sealed up.

[00:32:43] Eric Goranson: Because if we get all those sealed up, we're not going to be pulling conditioned air from the inside and dragging it through there because now you're just having to heat that again or cool that again. So you want to make sure that you keep the cool air in the space below and that it's pulling it out and doing the right thing.

[00:32:59] Eric Goranson: [00:33:00] So this is important. So I want to see insulation pulled, get everything sealed up a hundred percent, put that insulation over the other side, do that, or just replace and reseal the entire space, then you're good to go. But as part of that, if you you're putting in a fan that has so many CFMs, you need to make sure that you have enough air intake.

[00:33:19] Eric Goranson: So anytime that you're putting more. Like a power attic fan in I want to make sure that you're increasing the soft fence and the stuff down below and this is really where I want you to consult with a venting professional that can do the math and make sure that your math is correct. Do you have enough in there that you're not causing other issues by putting that fan in?

[00:33:40] Eric Goranson: I have seen actual expenses go up when people put these fans in incorrectly, and that can get really expensive because, well, now you're just paying more when you're trying to do it for less. So that's a big one right there. All right. Next up here is a general remodeling one. But it's the most basic when [00:34:00] you're starting a project, lack of project planning.

[00:34:04] Eric Goranson: And where this can be expensive for you is if you plan a remodel project, maybe you're doing a bathroom, you're doing a kitchen, maybe you're doing a bedroom. The issue that I have, and this is a big one, is not planning the steps in the right order for your project. Now, if you're going to be doing new electrical in the house and you go do a remodel and you're having to tie into that, Maybe you want to do a lot of these things first or while you're at it.

[00:34:34] Eric Goranson: So make sure that you're handling things correctly and that you've got a good plan from start to finish that actually works with your plans for the rest of the home. So not only think about that one project, but think about the next four or five or the next seven or eight. Is there anything while those walls are open?

[00:34:53] Eric Goranson: Is there anything that you're doing that you want to be doing at the same time? So project planning, project [00:35:00] budgeting, and making sure that you've got all the materials. Understood purchased and that they're all going to work well together is key. So project planning is a big one, and I just really want to make sure that you've got that planning done correctly.

[00:35:15] Eric Goranson: Uh, and that's going to save you some of the biggest money out there and if you're just buying materials, buy them, bank them up, you know, buy your lumber, put it away, do all the things you need to do to make sure you get this all kind of dialed in and so that way you can save some money on the entire project and not have to go back and I got to tear drywall down again in this area.

[00:35:34] Eric Goranson: I just did it last year. I just had to do that because well, I didn't think that I had to run this For the other projects, so if you're having to run new circuits for other projects, maybe you want to do it while that room is tore up and at least you can get in behind the walls and do some of the stuff and not be fighting it last up here is number 10 is not understanding how plumbing vents and drains in fittings [00:36:00] work.

[00:36:00] Eric Goranson: This can be so ugly and I've seen people, you know, add the bathroom to the basement. They add the wet bar. And they're putting in, um, you know, the Studer vents are not doing venting correctly. Heck, they're not using the right plumbing fittings. And that can be expensive. You know, there are so many different systems that when you're dealing with drains that you need to understand, you know, um, are you doing what size of drain you're using for the shower?

[00:36:31] Eric Goranson: If you're going from a bathtub to a shower, you need to technically put a bigger drain in. You need to go from that inch and a half up to 2. Now, building code is starting to change on that in certain areas. So there's always something like that to take a look at, but you want to make sure that you're using the right.

[00:36:49] Eric Goranson: Okay. Fittings and drain fittings are not all the same. You can't just go, okay, that's got a little bit of a slope to it. That's got a little bit of a sweep to it. Understanding how the drains work, how vents work [00:37:00] and the distance that, uh, maybe you're moving, maybe you want to put in a shower and you want to put in one of those long linear drains, but maybe now that you've moved the drain, you've moved it too far away from the toilet, from the drain it's working from.

[00:37:13] Eric Goranson: And now the shower is not draining curl out correctly. Cause you moved it two more feet. Which is kind of beyond the suitable use of that vent or you put a, you buried a, uh, a vent in the wall, one of those mechanical student events in the wall and 5 or 10 years from now, when it quits working, nobody knows that that's back there and you buried it in the wall.

[00:37:35] Eric Goranson: And now you've got other issues. So really understanding how venting works. Understanding of how to size pipes correctly when it comes to draining and your slope and all this other stuff and how to use the right fittings is going to save you a ton of money in the long run because the last thing you want to be doing is have to tear up a basement floor, tear up flooring or tear down the ceiling below just to get in and fix your mistakes.[00:38:00]

[00:38:01] Eric Goranson: And that's a big one. And that's a really big and expensive one. So make sure you got the right fittings. You've got the right usage. Some fittings work great for walls. Some. You can't use laying down flat and, uh, just make sure that you understand that before you get into it. And that's something that in the future here, we might bring in a plumber to talk about, um, and actually record it so we can talk about it.

[00:38:22] Eric Goranson: And do some videos so you can understand it as well, because there's some complex stuff here that a lot of people actually don't realize of what fittings work and what don't. So, um, that's a misunderstood section here of plumbing and sometimes it's always better just to bring in the professional. If it's something you're going to be burying in concrete, so you make sure it's done correctly and when you're bringing in a professional, make sure you bring in the journeyman plumber that understands how this stuff works.

[00:38:49] Eric Goranson: Versus just a handy person that kind of understands or. Might not even have the same knowledge as you do. All right, everybody. That's the end of our one here. Thanks for tuning into around the house today. If you [00:39:00] want more information about us, head over to around the house online, online. com. And if you miss part of the show today on the radio, don't worry.

[00:39:08] Eric Goranson: You can always catch the podcast. Just look for the podcast out there. Around the house show on your favorite podcast player. I'm Eric G. And if you want to get ahold of me, give us a call at 8 And I'll talk to you in the next episode of around the house. Thanks for tuning in.