[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house! Now, one of the most important rooms we've been talking about here is bathrooms. And, you know, bathrooms are a tough one because they are one of the most dangerous rooms in the house. And if you are aging in place and you're like, Hey, this is giving me my forever home. There's a lot of things we can do without making it look like it's a bad hospital bathroom or one of those ADA, you know, hotel rooms that make it not look amazing.

[00:00:32] Eric Goranson: Right? You want it to be beautiful, stylish, comfy, and none of those rooms like that really make it feel that way. So that's why we're going to talk about some of these things today. So one of the things that I like to do is if you're designing out a shower, when

[00:00:56] Eric Goranson: Hey guys, welcome to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through [00:01:00] information and education. Thanks for joining us. It doesn't matter if you're on the talk media network out there or we're on the radio all across the country or the podcast internationally. I am here to help you through your home improvement journey.

[00:01:14] Eric Goranson: Well, I got some information for this is going to be something fun here. We're going to start out and we're going to do this every single week starting out here pretty quickly, but it's all going to depend on you. I've got a new phone number because you know, we've had people wishing that we had some more.

[00:01:29] Eric Goranson: You know, call in questions to help other people out with stuff. And so we're going to start working on that and adding that into the show. So I'd love to help you with all your home improvement questions. So you can give me a call at 8 That number set it in your phone as your favorites 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44.

[00:01:50] Eric Goranson: And answer those questions and you might end up in the show, which is cool. So that number 4 1 4 4 doesn't matter when you're listening to the show. [00:02:00] You can call 24 seven. If I'm not in the studio, I will call you back and answer those questions personally. And you might end up. On a future episode of around the house.

[00:02:11] Eric Goranson: So, uh, feel free to give us a call and leave your number. If we're not there, if I am our call screener, we'll be taking the call. Well, today we're going to be talking about, you know, designing and remodeling homes. For people that want to live there through the rest of their lives. So if it's going to be, I'm going to die in this home, this episode is for you.

[00:02:31] Eric Goranson: Or if you have parents that don't want to go into assisted living or go into something like that, we are going to talk about that today. And you know, this is an important subject because if you're remodeling, and this is a house that you're going to be into, there are some really cool, neat. Tricks and tips that I can give you and one of those, let's just start out at the front of the house.

[00:02:52] Eric Goranson: Uh, you know, more people in, in, let me give you a quick background on this before we go to the front of the house. This is kind of an important one. [00:03:00] Most of the time you can remodel the house for much less than going into a care facility. I know care facilities out there. They're anywhere from eight to 12, 000 bucks a month.

[00:03:10] Eric Goranson: And I tell you what, you can do a lot around your house. Especially if you're remodeling as you go. If you're like, ah, I'm not going to be there for 20 years. What happens if you get hurt? What happens if you have to have a knee surgery or hip surgery or something, or even a shoulder surgery? These are all things that we can do to your house without making it look like a cheap ADA hotel room that just looks like somebody's hospital.

[00:03:32] Eric Goranson: That's the last thing we want to do. But here are my tricks and tips on this. And this is something that I've done for many people. In the last 30 years of my design career. So this is something that we have done, but I'm going to give you all of my insider tricks and tips today on this. So the first thing is when you're outside of the home, if there's a way to do it, when you're doing your landscaping, your front porch, if there is a way to make it where you can landscape and get a pathway up to the front door of the house by just rolling [00:04:00] and not having a step, that is the ultimate one.

[00:04:03] Eric Goranson: Because if you end up getting. Put into a wheelchair or a walker and you have to put one of those large metal temporary commercial ramps in there that are just a Looks like you're out in front of a courthouse that they put a metal ramp on the side to get people up those big steps Nobody likes that design unless they have to have it So if there's a way to bring that up that can be key, you know over the years garages Have been a tough place to manage that way.

[00:04:32] Eric Goranson: And this is starting to change. If he noticed garages either had to be like four inches or eight inches deeper than the rest of the house. And that was because of a couple reasons. One, the main one is, is gasoline vapors tend to stay down low to the ground, so they did not want those gasoline vapors creeping into the house.

[00:04:52] Eric Goranson: And so, you always had a step or two going down into the garage, and that's why, and that's how it's, unfortunately, the easy way to check out a, [00:05:00] a, um, you know, a, a garage that has been converted, is you walk out of the kitchen, there's two steps down, and guess what? You go like, okay. This rec room is now somebody's former garage.

[00:05:12] Eric Goranson: And to me, that's always not an optimal situation because it just smells and looks like it. But nowadays, you're seeing this a little bit more because, um, building codes and fire codes in areas are changing, especially where you see a lot of slab on grade construction. So I'm seeing in some areas more and more homes on the same level, which caused a few other little issues because what happens is, is when you have a Garage and you have concrete going up to it.

[00:05:39] Eric Goranson: Of course, the garage floor, no matter what's going to have to be sloped towards the door. But here's what happens, and this gets a little bit interesting, that you can cause some rot on the siding and stuff because you almost have to have the garage coming up because you want to have four to six inches there between the edge of the siding or the sill place and the ground.

[00:05:58] Eric Goranson: So now you have to make that [00:06:00] garage slope coming up to that really high. So something to consider. I like to have that where it's not having that space. So you got to be a little careful with that. So, in my situation that I would much rather see people do is I'd much rather see you have the garage be lower, but being able if you are, um, have some ability issues of navigating stairs, you could put a big ramp in the garage that can take up a lot of space.

[00:06:27] Eric Goranson: But if you're building, it's not a big deal. If you're modeling, it usually is. But really, if you've got there where you could roll out of the garage, You know, not use the steps in and go in through the front door. That's a better situation and that's a good one for access. Now, the same thing is, is I'd like to see a, a electronic front door lock that can be run with an app or something that you can be giving a code to, like, let's say that you are elderly or you're, you're doing something for your mom or dad or your [00:07:00] grandparents or whatever, depending on what age group you're in.

[00:07:03] Eric Goranson: I like to have a code where you can give the fire department, the police department. Someone's assisting you, their own code, you're going to remember. So I never say use your birth date for a code, but if you're going to do something like that and make an emergency code, so if you call the police and I can't get up, I've fallen, I can't get up, you can remember and give a code for them to come up to the door without having to break it down.

[00:07:29] Eric Goranson: So these are great things that you can do with electronic door locks and things like that. Or if you've got an app on your phone and that person is hurt, but they need help or assistance, they can come in and unlock it. So there's many things that you can do just on the outside of the house. And that goes to lighting that goes to, you know, slip proof areas.

[00:07:48] Eric Goranson: That's talking about just having a nice gentle slope up to the house without that. And now that's really part of it. The other thing that I would like to see too, is a very nice camera system. [00:08:00] So, someone in can't stand up and go see what's going out in front of the house if they hear a noise or they want to look around the perimeter.

[00:08:06] Eric Goranson: More people get hurt because, especially when they're elderly, trying to go out and navigate in the slip soft lawn. If you've got a walker or something like that, those are things that can be pretty dangerous. So, having that camera system. It's a nice thing. Well, when we come back here, we're going to talk about what to do in the bathroom.

[00:08:27] Eric Goranson: And there are so many cool things. You can build a beautiful bathroom out that doesn't make it look like it came out of a hospital or an emergency room. And there's a lot of cool tricks we can do. And we're going to talk about these. That you never see that just look like a beautiful style element, or it's hidden behind the wall and he gives you options later, because here's the thing.

[00:08:49] Eric Goranson: Maybe right now you're designing it for you and you're in your fifties and you're like, Hey, I'm going to be in this house for 20 years, the chance of getting hurt or needing to do something or change things around as high. [00:09:00] So I'm going to be able to give you here when we come back, the biggest flexibility That you can do things with.

[00:09:06] Eric Goranson: And that makes a big difference when you're designing this stuff out, because you might not need it now, but maybe you want the ability. To deal with it later and having the house built where you can do that is a really nice option. All right, guys, when we come back, we'll be talking more about designing that house to make it more accessible for everyone just as soon as around the house returns.

[00:09:26] Eric Goranson: If you got a home improvement question, give me a call 833 239 4144 and we'll put you in the show in a future episode. E 3 3, 2 3 9 41 44 around the house will be right back

[00:09:48] Eric Goranson: be allowed to be so hot.[00:10:00]

[00:10:09] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the Around the House. Show this where we hope to get the most outta your home through information and education we've been talking about really trying to design that home so you can make it your forever home and things. Don't think about. When you're remodeling your home as you get older, whether or not you're somebody young, you're working on your parent's house or your grandparent's house, there are things we can do along the way that expandability and capability to make it more accessible for everyone.

[00:10:37] Eric Goranson: Now, Hey, if you do have any home improvement questions, we have a brand new phone number for you. That is eight three three. 239 4144, that's 833 239 4144. If you're not writing it down, it's okay. If you're on the podcast, it's in the podcast notes, or you can head over to around the house online. com. Just give us a call into that number and uh, I will give you a call back if we're not here in the [00:11:00] studio.

[00:11:00] Eric Goranson: And that's okay. I'll call you back and we might put you on a future episode of the show. Even if you don't, I'll still answer your questions for you. So that number 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44. Now, one of the most important rooms we've been talking about here. Is bathrooms and, you know, bathrooms are a tough one because they are one of the most dangerous rooms in the house.

[00:11:23] Eric Goranson: And if you are aging in place and you're like, Hey, this is gonna be my forever home. There's a lot of things we can do without making it look like it's a bad hospital bathroom or one of those 80 a. You know, hotel rooms that make it not look amazing, right? You want it to be beautiful, stylish, comfy, and none of those rooms like that really make it feel that way.

[00:11:45] Eric Goranson: So that's why we're going to talk about some of these things today. So one of the things that I like to do is if you're designing out a shower. Go ahead and put in a roll in curbless shower. Curbless showers are hot. You can walk right into that. And, uh, the nice [00:12:00] thing is, is you can do that in almost any, any space nowadays, they've come up with a lot of different ways to do it where you can recess the floor down.

[00:12:07] Eric Goranson: So you could have the right slope and then you've got this really nice luxurious shower. But if you needed to go in there with a wheelchair or if you're rolling in on a, on a Walker, guess what? That will work for you. So that is one right there. And then if you're designing this space, giving yourself some extra room, because you want to be able to get in there, turn around, especially if you've got a wheelchair.

[00:12:29] Eric Goranson: So larger bathrooms are key. So if you can do that in a perfect world, I'd have a five foot space, which is a circle. It's five foot across. You can spin around if you were in a wheelchair and have assistance, but that's not always necessary. And quite frankly, not always practical. So these are things here that you got to be really careful with just to be able to get in there.

[00:12:50] Eric Goranson: If you've got somebody helping you get into a space to do that. Now, one of the things that I like to do is when you're building out the space, let's say you're doing a remodel in it, whether or not, I mean, I don't care if [00:13:00] you're 30 years old, go through and put blocks in the walls with your scrap lumber.

[00:13:06] Eric Goranson: Block it out. So you have places to put towel bars. That way you've got towel bars. You've got grab bars. You've got safety handles, all those things that you do. Sometimes they'll go in the shower. Sometimes they'll go out in the bathroom as you're getting into a tub shower. But if you block that out, and then what I do.

[00:13:24] Eric Goranson: Is, and it's great with pictures these days after you get it blocked out before the drywall goes up or the tile system goes in, take some pictures of it and get some measurements or at least document what those are. If you can take a picture where those are with a tape measure, it's even better. And then later on, if you need to add a grab bar, you know, something to help you get into a shower, something to get you into a tub, something to get you over into the toilet, for instance, into that toilet area, those are smart things to do.

[00:13:52] Eric Goranson: And it really costs you almost nothing. You know, short pieces of scrap lumber. You might have the price of a few Two by sixes or two by [00:14:00] eights, but use big lumber I go in there block it out and it looks really good because you won't be able to see it But when the time comes you're not gonna have to dig into that wall and actually put those blocks in because anytime that you've got people like that where you've got You know the weight of their body You can't just go into drywall.

[00:14:17] Eric Goranson: It's got to go into studs and that can be kind of hard sometimes where you want to put them and that can get in the way. So that's another great trick. The other thing is, is make sure you put that outlet behind the toilet for the smart toilet seats, the bidet toilet seats, because I tell you what, as you get older, that bidet toilet seat is something that really helps you have that freedom.

[00:14:36] Eric Goranson: Without having to somebody have somebody come help you that gives you that ability to take care of yourself. And, uh, there's nothing more embarrassing than having to have somebody come in and help you go to the bathroom. And if you can take that step by just putting an outlet back there, that gives you a chance to put up a day toilet seat on that existing toilet later.

[00:14:55] Eric Goranson: And you'll be good to go. Now, the next one on here isn't super is super important. Well, and [00:15:00] I like this one because what you can do. Is get a toilet a little bit higher comfort height. Toilets are big right now. They're bigger, better on your knees. And that's the cool thing is that, you know, when you're, when you're sitting down low, it's harder to get up out of that position.

[00:15:16] Eric Goranson: If you've got, you know, let's say you've had knee surgery, let's say you've hurt your leg or, or you're not using them very well. Those are great in this situation. So that's another one of those right there. Now, the other thing is, is if you've got a tight space and they're making it where you can actually roll in underneath.

[00:15:34] Eric Goranson: A pedestal sink or a contemporary styled sink where you've got legs that you could get underneath. And if that's the case, and it's always good to go underneath there and, uh, they make this really cool padding that you could put under there. So you're not hurting the pipes. You're not banging into them and you're not burning yourself.

[00:15:51] Eric Goranson: So those are two great ones right there that you can get done. And these are all really easy things you can do in the bathroom. Now, the other thing is too, is make sure [00:16:00] you've got a really nice non stick floor in there. You know, you want something that you're not going to slide, right? You want that, you know, the right surface coefficient there that you're not going to have a wet floor and slip.

[00:16:11] Eric Goranson: So those are also great things. So polished stone, even some of the luxury vinyl planks out there. Be careful with because those can be too slippery as well as gloss tile. Those are things that I really want you to pay attention to because those can be dangerous in this atmosphere. So bathrooms are really big like that.

[00:16:29] Eric Goranson: And anytime that you can do that. And get a place that you can get into after you're going to do a tub. Um, and you're, you know, you're older. Sometimes those walk in bathtubs are not a bad idea, especially if you're getting, you know, towards retirement age, something like that, and you're worried about it.

[00:16:46] Eric Goranson: But here's the trick with those. When you're getting one of those walk in tubs, let's say you're getting it for your parents, you're getting it for your grandparents, whatever, and the key with those is to get the power drain. And what that does is the problem with [00:17:00] these tubs is when you sit down in the bathtub.

[00:17:02] Eric Goranson: You've got to let all this water that's very high because they're narrow drain down so you can get out of it because you have to be able to open the door. The power drain makes it so you're not sitting in there freezing outside of the water all wet. And that really helps speed that up. So make sure you get the power drain option.

[00:17:20] Eric Goranson: It's a much better call when you're doing that. And it's going to be much more comfortable. It's not that expensive. It's got a little pump and it will pump the drain of the water down and not just use gravity. It'll actually pump it out, which works out really well. And that really makes for a more comfortable situation there.

[00:17:37] Eric Goranson: And then the other thing is, is just make sure that you've got, uh, light switches and stuff are accessible. Outlets are accessible. They're in the very far back. That's not great. And then the other one is that, um, make sure that you've got handles that you can operate. Now handles you can operate means that if you can turn it on with a closed fist, you're heading the right direction.

[00:17:55] Eric Goranson: So lever lever handers handles are good where it doesn't get as great as [00:18:00] when you have knobs and stuff that you have to turn. And if you could operate it with a closed fist, you're going to be much better off. And if you've got any kind of arthritis or things like that, these are smart things because you'll be able to handle it.

[00:18:11] Eric Goranson: With a closed fist. So that's a big one right there. We come back. We're going to dive into the kitchen and talk about that. If you've got any home improvement questions, give me a call at 833 239 4144. That number 833 239 4144 around the house. I'll be right back.[00:19:00]

[00:19:11] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education. We've been talking about designing your home while you're remodeling, building, or whatever. We're doing those renovations to be a more accessible for you and your family.

[00:19:27] Eric Goranson: And, uh, these are really cool little tricks that I've learned over the years through my 30 years of design. These are projects that we've taken on and, uh, they have really been able to save people money. Because when you're doing a remodel, if you can do a few of these things, they're going to make it so much easier.

[00:19:42] Eric Goranson: And, you know, if you get into a situation where you get hurt, you have a medical issue or you're just getting older. We all are equally now. Here's the thing. It's a lot cheaper to do that renovation than it is to go get into an assisted living care facility. So these are all great tricks that I've got here for you.

[00:19:59] Eric Goranson: [00:20:00] Hey, if you have any questions for me, hit me up on the phone. 833 239 4144 to call into the show. That's 833 239 4144. Would love to talk to you here in a future episode. Well, here's the thing we're talking kitchens now and kitchens can be really complex and a little bit, um, you know, a little bit more troublesome to design depending on what you want.

[00:20:24] Eric Goranson: Now, if you're in a situation where you're already. In a Walker, or you're already partially in a wheelchair, you can really design that for that space. And there is some great technology out there to do this. I mean, if you look out there now, there are systems that you see. Where you can actually hit a button and the countertop will move up and down and adjust it so you can bring it down to be able to get down to that height so you can get underneath that with a wheelchair.

[00:20:54] Eric Goranson: But let's talk about some of the things that work and some of the things that don't work when you're designing a kitchen. Let's talk [00:21:00] appliances. I'm a fan if you're in a, um. If, you know, if you're in a wheelchair or if you have reduced abilities, like you're in a walker or barely getting around, I'm a fan of side by side refrigerators for this because you could get in, get into both sides.

[00:21:14] Eric Goranson: The problem is, is that when you've got a French door refrigerator, let's say, or even a top mount with the freezer, freezer on top, refrigerator on bottom. The problem is, is that you've got one section that's higher than the other. And I like it that you can be able to stack things in there as you need to with a side by side.

[00:21:30] Eric Goranson: A French door door is okay, but the gallon door storage is usually up higher on the top or top shelf. And that's one of those things that that makes it harder. So you can with a side by side, I think, do better. And then you can get it open where you can get into it and get into that space a little bit easier.

[00:21:47] Eric Goranson: And unless you're doing a lot of freezer stuff, you know, you don't have to get there and struggle getting that freezer door open. And get in there. And that's one of the things too, is just to take a look and see how much pressure it [00:22:00] takes to open. You know, that door, that drawer, that kind of stuff within that and you got to be able to leave enough room there.

[00:22:07] Eric Goranson: So you can sit there and be able to navigate that. So that's 1 of them. I am much more of a fan of an induction cooktop. Uh, so you've got something that's not getting very hot, a microwave down low in under a countertop and a base cabinet. I want to have a range hood like what Zephyr makes for instance, or some other brands where you can.

[00:22:30] Eric Goranson: Yeah. Control it with your smartphone. Those are smart. A smart vent hood is great. Even one like Mila, where you can turn it on and then program it to, to turn the fan on as you start cooking. That is great. And what I want to be able to do is if you're in a wheelchair to be able to roll in underneath that cooktop and cook, so you can get in there.

[00:22:50] Eric Goranson: And have access to it. Now, if you're just planning ahead, that's maybe not the case, but many times you can go in there and take that cabin out underneath it [00:23:00] and go in and do some stuff with it. So these are things that, uh, and we have made cabinets in the past too, that had, I guess the best way to explain it would be flipper door hardware that you would see on an old entertainment center, where you can open the doors up and slide them back in by doing that, that gives you full access underneath there.

[00:23:20] Eric Goranson: And I've done that with an attached toe kick and it works out really well. And, uh, it gives you access into that. But now here's the thing, if you're just looking to do it, so you are, Hey, you know, I'm going to, I'm going to grow old in this place and this is my last home. Then the good thing is, is you can do it is you can do a oven that's down lower, like a single oven.

[00:23:38] Eric Goranson: That's underneath the countertop height where you're down low with that. Um, that's a cool 1. they make a lot of different oven configurations depending on how you want it. You can get them that that swing side by side, like a microwave. You can get them to drop down. Really depending on the brand and the style of what you're looking at.

[00:23:56] Eric Goranson: Cause there are some, some nice pro style ones out there that work [00:24:00] well. So that's another one. Now dishwashers, what I've done with that is it's kind of easy. I've gone through and actually raised up the. Uh, dishwasher. I did this in my mom's house and it turned out really good. I actually went through, raised up that dishwasher and by raising up that dishwasher, it made it where she could, you know, sit down in a chair and do the dishes.

[00:24:22] Eric Goranson: And so I raised that up about another 6 inches. And so by doing that. What it did is it gave us that access where the when the door was down, it was not, you know, 6 inches off the ground, which is really tough to manage. So it brought it up. So it was almost a foot off the ground, which was a game changer for this and even better.

[00:24:40] Eric Goranson: If you do that on an island or something like that, there's a lot of things you can make that work with. So. It's really trick now. The other thing is now we have a raised up area on the island You can put plants or or or stuff up there and make it look really nice Now one of the thing I want to talk about is cabinetry and this is one of those things that can be really cool They do make cabinetry [00:25:00] that you can control that actually swings down or drops down see you have access to those upper cabinets because if you are gonna be You know, in a wheelchair or in a reduced ability situation where maybe you're near a walker and you're bouncing between the two of those, sometimes it's really tough to stand up to get into that or nearly impossible, if not impossible.

[00:25:18] Eric Goranson: So really, if you think about it, that's a really great way to go. Now those are all things that you're going to probably do. These aren't really great retrofit things, but they are great when you're designing a kitchen to think about those things moving forward. Because that's really important there to be able to do that.

[00:25:34] Eric Goranson: And so really and then anything that you're putting in, whether it's, you know, I hate over the range microwaves. Uh, this is definitely not the place to put them. And then the other thing you can do here as well is, is have that microwave down low. If you have a steam oven, have it down low, have everything down.

[00:25:50] Eric Goranson: You know, lower so you have access and, you know, when in doubt, just go grab a, a, um, a dining room chair and sit in the kitchen and say, okay, how am I going to cook with this [00:26:00] kitchen? Because that's really what you're talking about doing. Now, if it's something that you're like, hey, I'm going to make this.

[00:26:05] Eric Goranson: So, you know, I could be. I could have some reduced abilities in 10 or 20 years, then think about doing that cooktop with the oven that's a little bit lower and then just you and shelves above or something like that, that you can keep things stored up there. But someone can help you or you can be able to go up and get it.

[00:26:23] Eric Goranson: So again, there's a lot of details to this, but a great certified kitchen designer can do that with you when you design out the kitchen. And there's a couple of things out there. If you look at the, uh. Yeah. You know, certified kitchen designer, which is old. I think they're the certified kitchen a bath designer.

[00:26:37] Eric Goranson: Now is the new ones. They've kind of combined and combined those together. There's a, uh, certified master kitchen, a bath designer, which is another one, as well as there's people out there that are caps rated. And that is a, uh, another, you know, certification for people that are designing for aging in place.

[00:26:56] Eric Goranson: So these are all things that really. When you're working on a project [00:27:00] like this, um, it would not be a bad idea. I think everybody should sure take a look at that. You know, whether or not it's just your grandma coming to visit for two weeks and you want to be able to have access to make her more comfortable, those are really good, you know?

[00:27:12] Eric Goranson: And the other thing too, is in a kitchen is be careful with your floors. Um. I like to have something that's fairly non skid, so it's not too slippery, you know, that's not where I want to see you put in the part, you know, the marble floors and nor do I want to see you put in, you know, 1970s kitchen carpet too, because it could be softer.

[00:27:30] Eric Goranson: It's really not, but what you want to do is be able to not have rugs in there, have your floor down, have your system there and make it so it's easily maintained and then you'll be much better off. So as you can tell, there's a lot of little details here within this space. Yes. To design it out. But these are all great tips.

[00:27:48] Eric Goranson: If you're really trying to make sure. That, um, you're trying to design this out correctly. Take the time, plan it out. There's a ton of new technology out there. And as well, you can have all the lights running on apps. Uh, so you don't have to [00:28:00] travel across their faucets. There's touch faucets. There's voice controlled faucets.

[00:28:04] Eric Goranson: Now there's a lot of little things like that. When it comes to that, you can mount the, uh, garbage disposal. If you get one of the air buttons, you can mount that forward on the, on the countertop so they could get at it, you know, and, uh, again, making sure that you can control the faucet with a closed fist.

[00:28:19] Eric Goranson: So you don't have to worry about a dexterity issue of your fingers. So when we come back, I've got a few more tips here for you and tricks. That'll make this so much easier including some of the things you should do in other rooms And we'll do that just as soon as around the house returns. Don't go anywhere

[00:28:38] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to[00:29:00]

[00:29:07] Eric Goranson: the around the house show this where we help get the most out of your home through information and education We've been talking today here about making sure that you're planning ahead in your home to make sure that if this is a place that you're going to live forever. That you've got some options out there to make it more accessible for you or other family members, or in case you have a bad accident, you know, things happen in life.

[00:29:28] Eric Goranson: And when you're doing remodeling projects, sometimes you can do some things that'll really pay off later on in life here. You know, Oh, wow. I'm happy. I did that blocking in the bathroom 10 years ago. That's one of those things that really helps out. So those are the things that you can really do to make this worthwhile.

[00:29:46] Eric Goranson: Now, one of the things that I like to do here as well is when you're designing a remodel or designing even a new home, we did this, my parents house is we put three foot doors into every room. So we have the same door size everywhere, you know, and many times you'll [00:30:00] see doors that are, you know, 32 inches, 28 inches.

[00:30:03] Eric Goranson: Going three foot gives you access for everybody. And that's a really, really good thing. Whether you're going into the bathroom, into a hall closet, whatever, having those larger doors makes it easier to get furniture in when you're trying to move appliances around, having good egress in and out of a room.

[00:30:21] Eric Goranson: Is key. So doing doors, that is a really good way to go. Now, one of the things too, that I like to do is, is also, this is where we put in the smart light switches, the smart blinds, those kinds of things. So you have good access to that. And, uh, you can close and open blinds and, uh, do it without having to get tangled up into cords and things like that.

[00:30:41] Eric Goranson: Um, Lutron makes a really nice one that I like as far as smart blinds. They've got, uh, part of their Casita system. It works really well. So I've been really impressed with their blind systems. They've got it dialed in. Now, the other thing is, is to really take into account flooring. I'm not a carpet person.

[00:30:58] Eric Goranson: For most people, [00:31:00] if they're rolling around because you have to put a lot of pressure into roll, um, it's really not that much softer. By the time you put a hard surface down, whether it's tile, whether it's, it's, um, you know, a luxury vinyl plank or, or a vinyl, it's really 1 of those things that when you look at it, it doesn't.

[00:31:17] Eric Goranson: Anytime that you do a transition between carpet and flooring, even with a no transition strip type of thing right there, where it's just a hard joint. Those are things that wheels get cut up on and they're also sharp edges. So I would much rather dial the design off 11 and bring it back. So you have.

[00:31:35] Eric Goranson: Each room has a surface to it. And if there's a transition chip, okay, there's gotta be sometimes, but maybe not if you do it right. And the installer knows what they're doing, really putting in that flooring and making sure. Now, the other thing too is, is that, um, I really like to see more natural woods for finishes because they hide dents and dings so much better.

[00:31:55] Eric Goranson: You know, if you put in a bright white, beautiful kitchen with a wheelchair, [00:32:00] just like with young kids, it's going to get beat up. And it's not going to look great after a few years and there's really not much you can do about that. So medium tone woods, those look really good because you've got the wood grain, which hides the scratches, dings and dents.

[00:32:15] Eric Goranson: And those are smart right there. Those are things that you can do to really get that taken care of. And then the other thing is too, is just making sure that, um, you've got that house planned out as far as where the furniture is going to go, where people can assist you with. Okay. You know, and that stuff around the house.

[00:32:31] Eric Goranson: So these are all super important within that planning. And then I really want to see you put in a good, um, you know, a good heating and cooling system in there that, uh, can make sure that you've got it comfortable. You know, if you've got somebody that has limited abilities and you've got the house completely out of control on temperature where it's in its 90s because it's 100 outside.

[00:32:51] Eric Goranson: That's a really bad, healthy situation that I want to make sure that we don't leave family members in. And so, like I said, there's a lot of little tips and tricks with [00:33:00] this whole process, but these are all things that, um, you could really do to make that easier to, to do that. And I think honestly, a lot of these things, just like, so were you, you know, that you're putting in a, uh, a outlet right behind the toilet.

[00:33:17] Eric Goranson: That is so key right there while you're doing the remodel caution, nothing. And that way, when you go get your total washlet, you can plug it in right there and you're good to go. So take some time on these things. These are really important steps. That, um, and you don't have to do it to make it look commercial or institutional, you know, we're trying to make it so people can stay in their homes so much longer.

[00:33:38] Eric Goranson: And I think if we did this as a community in building and remodeling, and a lot of these things, quite frankly, can be done without having extra cost to the project, like the blocking. It takes a guy an hour to knock that out or a lady, they can go through and knock that blocking out and they're good to go.

[00:33:57] Eric Goranson: And then you have options down the road. [00:34:00] So it's something that I see good builders doing down there. And if you're doing it on your own project, it's, it's, it's smart. It's really, really smart. So that really kind of covers this whole subject here of really trying to take things to consider when you're remodeling your home.

[00:34:18] Eric Goranson: To make it more accessible out there and, uh, you know, less clutter open pathways. That is really good. Now, one thing I wanted to talk about today, I got to, we were shooting my television show and this was a lot of fun. And I had the rep Ben, uh, who's my regional rep for fine. And he came in and we had such a great time today in the TV studio playing around with their new tools.

[00:34:43] Eric Goranson: And, you know, me, I love new tools and it makes. Just take it on a project so much better and I tell you what, um, that is the best multi tool I have ever used. And here's for a couple reasons why. Um, and you know, if you've seen me [00:35:00] on my show, I've got a lot of Milwaukee stuff. I've got a lot of Bosch stuff.

[00:35:03] Eric Goranson: I've got some DeWalt stuff. And, uh, just a tiny bit of porter cable, but that's really kind of the big ones that I've got right there as far as that. But, uh, boy, I tell you what, I have not used anything of course, saw stop and the table saw, but really tools wise, that's my first fine that I've really used and it was a cordless and finds using those Bosch, those Bosch batteries, which is really great.

[00:35:27] Eric Goranson: They partnered up with them, which is great. And, uh, that is trick, but really, I tell you what, the one thing that I noticed is how smooth. I've cut that thing gave now using my Milwaukee and sorry, Milwaukee. It's a great powerful tool, but the way fine builds there is there is so much less vibration and they designed it with this floating head that if I'm using that, doing a bunch of molding cuts or cutting out cabinets for electrical outlets or whatever, man, I felt almost no [00:36:00] vibration through that.

[00:36:01] Eric Goranson: And it was so much easier on my arms, so much easier on my hands. And, uh, it made just an absolutely beautiful smooth cut. And then I got to play with their, um, their dust extractors. And I tell you what, that was really cool. The dust extractors, uh, man, those things are just finally built. And I'm not just saying that no pun intended, but that stuff is great.

[00:36:24] Eric Goranson: And the other thing that I thought was really in, in, in. Amazing. And I haven't played with their stuff that much. It's something I haven't really got to play with. I've played around with probably a more fest tool than anything on the other, you know, kind of European brands. But I tell you what, they have a blade for every situation, which I like.

[00:36:42] Eric Goranson: And that's some of the problems that you see out there with the blades is you see a lot of that stuff. That, uh, the blades just don't do what you want them to do. And they make one, you know, you go to the hardware store and they've got, well, I got a bi metal blade. I have a wood blade and I have maybe a ceramic blade.

[00:36:57] Eric Goranson: Boy, those guys have probably a hundred different [00:37:00] blades or probably closer to 200 different blades that work really well for the saw. And, uh, you can cut through stuff. I went through and, uh, was doing it. You'll see it on an upcoming video, but, uh, I removed grout just like it was a dream. And I tell you what, there is nothing faster than taking grout out than that tool right there.

[00:37:20] Eric Goranson: And then it had a little putty knife that went on there. And what was great was is when I was doing all this stuff, I could hook the vacuum up to it. So it grabbed 99 percent of the dust coming out of it. Which, uh, was pretty amazing. So that was a really clean tool to use. So, and the nice thing with fine, I mean, they invented the power tool.

[00:37:37] Eric Goranson: They were the first cordless drill manufacturer, you know, a century or two ago here, those guys were all over it. And of course they were the inventor of the multi tool and they have just taken that. Again, with their newer battery powered stuff to a new level. So, uh, the other thing too is if you're a steel worker, they have gotten into, uh, not only into wood, but they've gotten into steel and, [00:38:00] uh, I was playing with, uh, this magnet vice that they have today that, uh, wow, that thing was impressive and you could control how much adjustability you have with the magnet.

[00:38:11] Eric Goranson: So you put it on there and you set it up and, uh, you can make it so it has like 30 percent to get things dialed in where you want it. On the magnet and then when you hit full, it's got like 1700 pound pull strength. You were not pulling it off there. I was reefing on the thing and uh, you're not going to do it.

[00:38:28] Eric Goranson: So I'm going to bring them on the show here in a future episode and talk power tools because they have so many great things going on, but I have to give them a great thank you for coming on the TV show and that'll be a great segment coming up. Well guys, uh, we're going to do, uh, another episode here coming up for our number two, but here's the thing.

[00:38:45] Eric Goranson: We just have that brand new number. So, uh, if you have that home improvement question, are you stuck on a project? Is it something that you're stuck on and you don't know what to do? Give me a call. 833 239 4144. That's 833 239 [00:39:00] 4144. I've also got the, the number up on our website, which is around the house online and over, uh, socials as we speak.

[00:39:09] Eric Goranson: So that's really cool. And that's one of those things that I think is really trick. As far as being able to do stuff. So we've got another great interview coming up here next stick around. Thanks for tuning in to round the house. Our one hour. Number two is right around the corner. Don't go anywhere.