[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house. There's so many different off labels that are builder grade brands, and that's kind of your builder basic stuff for that brand new speck home. And if you're gonna save some money, you know, if you're gonna go super cheap and you want something that does that, you're gonna have to really consider that that's a builder grade brand and you better be getting a killer deal on it because it's not gonna be the same as one of the mainline brands.

[00:00:29] Eric Goranson: It's min. To be cheaper and you know, make sure that that warranty is solid on it cuz it's just not gonna be as nice as one of the mainline more serious brands of H V A C equipment. So let's break down the brands just a little bit. To me, my favorite number one carrier, that's the easy one, but they have a lot of other brands.

[00:00:50] Eric Goranson: So they have Carrier Bryant and Payne. That's their kind of big three that they have. When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know. [00:01:00] You covered. This is around the house. Welcome to The Round the House Show. This is where we helped you get the most outta your home through information and education.

[00:01:12] Eric Goranson: Our number two, we've got a great show lined up for you. This is gonna be four different subjects and four different segments, so you're gonna get a little bit of everything today. First off, I wanted to talk about something that has been a very hot subject. That it's one of the things that I've had probably some of the most questions about over the last couple, oh, two or three months.

[00:01:35] Eric Goranson: There are so many people out there that are buying new acs or heat pumps or trying to figure out how to navigate, you know, to get the right system. And there are some really keys to think about here. And the first rule that I have is that the brand of the unit is important. But just as important as the brand [00:02:00] is having the right installation company to do it.

[00:02:04] Eric Goranson: For instance, I could go out and I put a carrier system of mine. I love my carrier Infinity system that I put in, and it does a super good job, has been just absolutely amazing. I've loved it, but I picked the right. Installation crew, which in my Portland area is Pyramid Heating and cooling. It's who I've worked with for years.

[00:02:27] Eric Goranson: They're who I trust in the Portland area. So when it comes down to it, that is the key right there, the right brand, and the right installer. Now, let's talk brands a little bit here. The big three companies out there are Dakin, Amana Train slash American Standard. And Carrier Bryant. Those are the big three companies.

[00:02:56] Eric Goranson: Now out of the big three, there's a few other companies we'll talk [00:03:00] about in a second here, but there's probably 160 different off-label brands in the US that are versions of probably top six manufacturers, but those are the top three. The one thing that makes it hard in the H V A C industry out there is that.

[00:03:19] Eric Goranson: There are a lot of builder grade brands, and I'm not gonna mention any one of them here, but there's so many different off labels that are builder grade brands and that's kind of your builder basic stuff for that brand new speck home. And if you're gonna save some money, You know, if you're gonna go super cheap and you want something that does that, you're gonna have to really consider that that's a builder grade brand and you better be getting a killer deal on it because it's not gonna be the same as one of the mainline brands.

[00:03:47] Eric Goranson: It's meant to be cheaper and, you know, make sure that that warranty is solid on it, cuz it's just not gonna be as nice as one of the mainline more serious brands of H V A C equipment. [00:04:00] So let's break down the brands just a little bit. To me, my favorite number one carrier, that's the easy one, but they have a lot of other brands.

[00:04:08] Eric Goranson: So they have Carrier Bryant and Payne. That's their kind of big three that they have, but they have a lot of other sub-brand. So they have like comfort maker, temp Star Dan, and Night Hail and Keep, right? There's a whole bunch of other ones like that. They're just. Sub-brands and some of 'em are builder brands that are gonna be in there.

[00:04:32] Eric Goranson: The next one down is a, a close second, which is good. And that's Trane and you know them as Trane slash American Standard. That's kind of their two big brands that they market under. Those are gonna have the latest and greatest technology that's gonna have all the big stuff to it. But they do have their budget builder brands, which are ameristar Run True Ox Box.

[00:04:55] Eric Goranson: So, Those are all their other brands. [00:05:00] Next one down is Goodman. Now they've really come back over the last few years as a low-cost solution. Uh, Goodman had a bunch of problems for a lot of years, uh, but they were bought by Deakin, uh, in 2012. And so Daikin kind of bailed him out and got them under control.

[00:05:24] Eric Goranson: So, Daikin did a lot to help those guys out. So Daikin, Amana Goodman is kind of their thing, so they've really got that dialed in and uh, it's a great budget friendly option. Now Lennox is another brand, and so they've got Lennox Armstrong Air Conquered Duncan Airflow. But I'll be honest, um, I have friends including one neighbor that have had [00:06:00] nightmare Lennox issues and one of my neighbors bought a house next door, uh, right next door to my place, and the one year labor warranty ran out and it was gonna cost him so much more to get that one fixed and working after being installed for a year.

[00:06:19] Eric Goranson: It was cheaper, even with the parts warranty to go ahead and put a different H V A C system in, that's how bad a problem they had. So it was cheaper for them to go with another brand after a year. So be careful there. Um, They have had some serious quality control issues. Now they could have got 'em fixed, but over the last couple years, um, I have had nothing but complaints and feedback with that brand.

[00:06:51] Eric Goranson: Another big brand ream. Um, you know, it's, uh, it's not gonna be the carrier train, but it's gonna be better than a Goodman. [00:07:00] So reams a good brand out there. Uh, ream owns, uh, Rudd as well, r u u d, so you know, there's a couple brains there as well. And then York is another one. It's kind of just your middle of the road, kind of like what Ream is.

[00:07:17] Eric Goranson: So they've got, um, their parent companies, Johnson Controls. They also own brands like Coleman and Luxer. But, um, even though York isn't really that big, it's still just a good company. So, you know, these are all great brands right there. So these are things to think about when you're looking at those brands.

[00:07:38] Eric Goranson: So, you know, the, the premieres are still gonna be the carrier Bryant Train, American Standard, Daikin and Lennox. That's kind of your top A-list brands. But when it comes down to it, guys, it's not all, like we were talking about, not all the same with the brands. So here are my issues that I say find the right installer.

[00:07:58] Eric Goranson: I want you to find the brand, the [00:08:00] installer that is certified by the company. I wanna see them be a, a certified installer. I want them to be on their preferred list. I do not want the local truck hub from a truck H V A C guy working on your project. I want you to get a number of quotes, take a look at financing, see what the rebates are gonna do.

[00:08:21] Eric Goranson: You know, so factory trained and rebates, and right now on heat pumps, it is something that I would take a look at. Uh, heat pumps can go onto most of the United States. Uh, there's some places in the Midwest that might not work well because you're gonna get into those sub-zero temperatures, but really heat pumps, uh, we've had, I know people that are using 'em in Maine and they work well.

[00:08:42] Eric Goranson: So those are things to take a look at. But your government rebates coming back from your state. Local, even your power company, do your research because rebates can save you thousands of dollars, and that puts money back in your pocket. So get the right brand, [00:09:00] it's equal to get the right installer. Get your multiple quotes.

[00:09:03] Eric Goranson: Make sure, of course, they're licensed, bonded, insured. Make sure they're pulling their permits on your project to make sure they're getting inspected. Mine had two inspections. I had a, uh, electrical inspection on mine, and I had an H V A C inspection to make sure everything was done correctly. And making sure they're factory trained.

[00:09:19] Eric Goranson: Those are the big keys right here to make sure you get the right stuff and make sure that you've got the right estimates. And then take a look to make sure that they are sizing it correctly and double check that on your estimates. Sometimes somebody will come in with a low quote and they made it too small and you're not gonna have a cool or a warm house.

[00:09:36] Eric Goranson: Round the house. Be right back after these important messages. Don't go anywhere.

[00:09:57] Eric Goranson: What's up stick. Hey, satchel from [00:10:00] Stihl Panther and you are listening to Around The House with Eric G. Yeah. We love Eric G and you should too.

[00:10:20] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the Around The House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. If you're just joining us on the radio, we were just talking about, uh, buying the RAMP brand of AEC and who to trust and who to be careful of. And then now we're talking about, you know, we got four subjects, four segments today.

[00:10:38] Eric Goranson: Next one here is troubleshooting those wifi issues in your home. Now here's the thing, if you've got a 2000 square foot home and you've got your modem jammed into a closet someplace or into an office, there's a good chance it's not gonna be covering your whole house. So [00:11:00] the first thing I do is make sure that one, you've restarted that modem.

[00:11:05] Eric Goranson: Unplugged it. Restarted it. Make sure that that's been reset. You should be doing that probably once a month to make sure that it's going. And it doesn't matter if you own your own modem or if you're using one from your internet carrier. Restarting. That is key. Making sure that's good. Now I went. You know, there's multiple ways to do it.

[00:11:26] Eric Goranson: They have these little extenders you can put out, but really you want to have a wifi mesh system. And these are little pods that basically will take that and be a repeater and give you a transmitted service in multiple places in your house. So here's what happens, and this is why this is important. If you have a fireplace, Maybe a heating and cooling system, a laundry set, like a washer and dryer, a refrigerator, [00:12:00] um, even an exterior wall with, uh, foil flashing or anything like that.

[00:12:03] Eric Goranson: Any kind of metal, metal duct tort can even be a problem. These are things that can create this shadow where you lose signal and lose the ability to receive and transmit. So by doing this now, you have multiple transpo. Part points around the house. And when you're looking at these mesh networks, take a look at it.

[00:12:26] Eric Goranson: You want it to be kinda like a, a sprinkler system. You want that sprinkler to cover all your house, including areas outside where you have maybe, you know, something like a, uh, cameras or things like that. Make sure you're covered there, but make sure that's gonna cover you into the right places. Now rule number one, if you've got things going to other parts of your house, or like in my case here where I'm broadcasting outta the garage, outta my workshop, I have a wired connection going out here.

[00:12:54] Eric Goranson: Because if I look at my wall that has [00:13:00] the space between my wifi router and my office, I have an H V A C unit, a stacked washer and dryer. A Bradford White heat pump, water heater, and a refrigerator. And then the insulation between the house and the garage is 1977. Foiled back insulation. I have everything going against a good wifi signal, and so what I did was is I ran cat six cable out to the garage and then went into.

[00:13:32] Eric Goranson: A hub so I could plug in anything that I could out here, as well as plugged in a mesh wifi router out here. So now my exterior is covered. So now I've got multiple spots to do that. Now I did have some problems. Where I was getting crosstalk and just something wasn't going on right, and I think I figured it out.

[00:13:54] Eric Goranson: I had some old wifi arrangements, extenders that I had in my house that [00:14:00] quite frankly, I had forgotten about it. One was plugged into the back of a closet, one was in another bedroom that we weren't using, and it was confusing my system that caused issues. So too many things can cause problems. That create signals.

[00:14:19] Eric Goranson: So be careful of that. Those things can get in the way. Now when you're looking at, um, at wifi technology, you wanna make sure and get something that at least has that six e compatibility in your wifi mesh network. Make sure you've got something that's gonna be fast. Get the fastest one you can, because over the next few years, wifi is gonna get remarkably faster.

[00:14:45] Eric Goranson: So make sure that you're buying something that's not gonna last you six months to a year. Make sure you get something that's gonna last you a few. So let's make sure that you've got that dialed in. So here's my recommendation. When in doubt [00:15:00] have wired connections in your home. If you're building a remodeling, throw in some high quality cable and plug in the things that don't give you any problems.

[00:15:10] Eric Goranson: It's one less thing to worry about. And cables work really well. Now in my house, I've got Comcast. You've heard me have Comcast on here before I pay for it. It is, it is, uh, something that takes a lot of money that, uh, we end up, you know, paying for, but it's just one of those things. So the key here is to make sure that you've got things dialed in, because I went with the wifi based.

[00:15:38] Eric Goranson: TVs. So I don't have coax cable to go into my TVs. They're wifi based. That's great, but you've gotta have the signal to do it. So I've tried to get away from, the only coax that I'm using in my house goes from my router to the outside box, and that's it. And the into the main cable box, everything else is wifi based and that works out pretty well.

[00:15:57] Eric Goranson: Now I've got a lot of other things that are [00:16:00] wired because then that gives me the extra security that gets me everything else. Um, I don't have wire everywhere, but it's something to consider when you're doing it. Now home office, I would say wired, if you can, if you've got anything else that's due TVs, if you can go to a cat cable into those so you can plug those in.

[00:16:18] Eric Goranson: Awesome. Let that be, you know, and put in the best cable you can afford. And when in doubt, give room to pull in new cable if you're creating something there, but really getting that dialed in. And then here's the other tip I have. If you are getting your cable and you go in and do a speed test on it, and you're like, wow, this, I'm right plugged into my modem and I don't have it.

[00:16:39] Eric Goranson: Call your cable company, call your internet provider. Many times I have been burned, seriously burned about. Wow. What? What's wrong with my system? No. I had a squirrel one time. I had a bad connection where weather had gotten into it. And [00:17:00] call your cable provider. If you are not getting what you're paying for.

[00:17:04] Eric Goranson: Call your provider and find out why there's a problem then. And you can fix it. Now, older computers, sometimes they will only go so fast, and if you're on a long run of, of Cat six cable, you can get reduced distance. The longer that goes, the slower it is. So if you're plugged right into the back of it and you've got a nice high speed computer with a decent card in it, you can at least see where you're at with that modem.

[00:17:34] Eric Goranson: And if you're not getting what you're expecting, guess what? Call them, get 'em out there to service it. I have Comcast coming out to my house probably once a year taking a look at stuff, and they do a great job of maintaining it, but it's something that I need the high speed for what I'm doing here with the video production, everything else that we've got going on here at my, in my office.

[00:17:56] Eric Goranson: So it's one of those things that, uh, having that dialed in is key. That [00:18:00] way you're gonna be good to go. So, one, make sure you got a mesh network. Two, make sure that you've got a great security system on that. Make sure you're using your, um, using your password and using a hard one so people can't get in there.

[00:18:13] Eric Goranson: And three, just consider the things that are in the way and get it set up so you don't have any issues. That's my secret for troubleshooting some of the wifi issues in your home to make sure you've got a better signal. Now, when we come back, we're gonna talk about some of the DIY projects I'm working on and some of the projects coming up and some new products just as soon as around the house returns.

[00:18:51] Eric Goranson: Not from you. Not from,

[00:18:58] Eric Goranson: Hey, this is Ron [00:19:00] Keel, the middle Cowboy from Keel, the Ron Keel Band and Steeler. We are rocking around the house with Eric G. Ray is your first

[00:19:12] Eric Goranson: for family. Welcome back to The Round The House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Well, this is a show where we've got four topics, four segments today. So our next one here, since we're coming back from break, is I'm talking about some of the projects that I'm working on right now and, uh, some of the cool little, uh, places that I've found.

[00:19:37] Eric Goranson: So here's the cool thing. I'm uh, got a fencing project. I'm getting ready to tackle at my place, coming up here for a future episode of Around the House Northwest, my television show. Now, I wanted to come up with some fencing for the front of my house and showed up on social media, this company called Dura Bond Fencing.

[00:19:59] Eric Goranson: And I went, [00:20:00] wow, that is beautiful stuff. It is a metal fencing and. It's a super cool stant metal. That's actually a, a rule form metal, but we won't get too technical here, but it is a affordable maintenance-free privacy fencing and this stuff. Is stunning. And I went, okay, what's the story? So I was just down, actually, literally down with these guys today, talking with them and, uh, two really cool people down there.

[00:20:33] Eric Goranson: And, um, I was really impressed. So, uh, met up with, uh, Catherine and Craig down there. Craig is the founder here in the us. Uh, Came into the states here from New Zealand in oh six. Super cool dude. And, um, owns a company there called Kiwi Fab. And uh, all of a sudden him and Catherine decided to start Durabond Fencing.[00:21:00]

[00:21:00] Eric Goranson: So those two are out there crushing it. And um, I tell you what, this is cool stuff. Color, color bond has this privacy fencing. In Australia, New Zealand, and they brought it to the states. And this stuff is absolutely stunning where you can find it and you'll see a video coming up on it. Uh, dura bond fencing.com, uh, based outta the West coast here.

[00:21:28] Eric Goranson: But I mean, come on. 10 year guarantee. If you just give your, you know, fence a quick bath every once in a while, that's all you gotta do to maintain this. No staining. No broken wooden fences. I went over to, uh, to, uh, one of the projects they had, and I'll just leave it at that. These guys had a fence and the fence put up.

[00:21:51] Eric Goranson: The same week, a cedar went across the walkway. That thing was already failing and it had been in there, what, five or six years now that was already looking pretty [00:22:00] rotten. And this thing looks like the day was put up. So, uh, as far as fencing goes, super impressed. And, uh, they've got a lot of different design details with it, which I like.

[00:22:13] Eric Goranson: Uh, so there's a lot of stuff there and, uh, they've got a great, a great setup here for that. So, uh, really impressed with this. Um, impressive, uh, if you've got a, a, uh, it also does some, uh, sound control as well, you know, if you're in a wildfire area. Or winds. I mean, this is something that I would sure take a look at over a wooden fence any day of the week.

[00:22:39] Eric Goranson: And that's, uh, Durabond Modern Steel fencing. Check it out. Now. Airing out today on Around the House Northwest TV show. I've been working with, uh, this specialty manufacturer of, uh, composite decking, and I work with a lot of different decking companies, uh, over the years. But, uh, this stuff is called outlive.

[00:22:58] Eric Goranson: And they are the [00:23:00] authorized mill board distributor out there in the us. outlive.info is how you find them. And I build a built a planter here for, uh, our tomato, uh, garden at the end of our deck because in my area here with all the trees, I have limited sunlight areas and that was the place they got the most sun, which is where I needed to put the vegetable garden.

[00:23:23] Eric Goranson: And they have some really cool. Weathered oak that they have, which is stunning. And this is a composite. And so I did this in the ember color, and you'll see it on the show. I'll post it up here, uh, later on today on the, around the house, uh, page. But here's what's cool about this stuff. This looks like a very old chest.

[00:23:52] Eric Goranson: It's their weathered oak. It's, they have vintage ember driftwood. And I tell you what, this stuff is stunning. [00:24:00] They actually molded it. So this does not look like any other composite decking that you see out there. This looks like an 1870s rail car floor is I think what they molded it from. Holy smokes.

[00:24:14] Eric Goranson: It's awesome. And then the cool trick that I love about it is that, that it actually has this self-healing bit to it. So when I put a screw in, It actually sucks around the end of the screw when it goes into the board, when you sink it in and hides the fastener. So really impressed. Uh, we're gonna be doing another project here with the enhanced grain coming up.

[00:24:38] Eric Goranson: I'm actually gonna be filming that here this next week where we're doing some stairs with it. And, uh, I tell you what, when you look at this stuff, you'll put money down that, that's actually a real weathered wood. And that's what I like about it. And that's, uh, outlive. It's got info is where we can find that stuff.

[00:24:55] Eric Goranson: And so, um, I tell you what, they've got it for the pros. They've got it, uh, [00:25:00] dealers across the us. Um, they're a board member of nari, so they're just a really cool, uh, company. I love this mill board product. It is something that looks different. It's hand molded. It's really meant to look like what it's meant to be, and it gives you that added slip resistance as well.

[00:25:22] Eric Goranson: So I'm impressed. Um, it's something to take a look at. Make sure you check it out, outlive, and you can check out their website also@millboard.com. But outlive is where you're getting the product from. So that's some cool stuff right there. Now, if you were watching the show on the TV side of things, you probably caught a sneak peek of one of my new projects, and that's where I've got a window that I put in with, uh, mill guard in the front of my house.

[00:25:47] Eric Goranson: I'm redoing that front facade, getting the, getting the damage fixed out there. I had a lot of. You know that T one 11 sighting that I painted black, but I realized that, uh, what I was painting at, there was a lot of little soft areas where it painted up nice. But I [00:26:00] could tell that we had some issues from previous, um, carpenter and damage cuz you know, I live in the woods.

[00:26:05] Eric Goranson: It happens sometimes, especially in a 1979 house that, uh, has not been maintained that well. So over the years, and so we've been playing some ketchup for previous sins, if you know what I mean. So I'll be replacing the front door. I'm gonna be doing, um, I'm actually been taking off that sighting, putting up, um, some brand new zip system to give us a waterproof membrane gonna then put on.

[00:26:30] Eric Goranson: A rain screen and putting on a really cool system out there with, uh, fiber on, they've got their cladding going on the front of the house. It's gonna be super awesome. Uh, and that's all part of that, including a new brand new garage door that I've been working on. So, got a lot of cool new products coming out.

[00:26:45] Eric Goranson: Uh, can't wait for the Simpson garage. The Simpson door for the front of the house, that is going to be a black walnut slab that, uh, with some glass in it that is going through their shop right now. So that'll be coming up on a future project. We've got some great stuff happening [00:27:00] and, uh, a lot of cool projects.

[00:27:01] Eric Goranson: Uh, all these people have been so great to work with. Uh, zip, um, Rockwell, I gotta throw their names out there. Uh, they're not paying for me to talk about any of this in this episode. This is just talking about some cool products that we're dealing with. Simpson has been great as well as, um, People over at Fiberon, another great company.

[00:27:21] Eric Goranson: And then, uh, Clopay coming up on the garage door soon. So these are all things that are happening here on the front facade to really kick up that curb appeal and to get my house dialed in because, uh, you know, that old garage door, uh, you know, uh, it's working well. But I tell you what, the panels are getting rotten.

[00:27:38] Eric Goranson: I, it's got a nice little smile to the bottom of it from it, uh, warping, you know, it, it has had a good life, but it is definitely time for it to go with its, uh, you know, 40 plus year life, it has done well, uh, any wood garage door that can have a four inch overhang over the front of it. In my weather, climate has [00:28:00] done well and uh, it has lived a good life and it's time to put in something that is gonna be much.

[00:28:05] Eric Goranson: More durable, much more insulated, and uh, even quieter, which I'm looking forward to as well. And then I'll be putting in this really cool brand new garage door opener from, um, LiftMaster. That's gonna be really exciting. So that is what's coming up in my world. We are gonna have some conversations here about contractors ripping people off, just assume is around the house returns.[00:29:00]

[00:29:01] Eric Goranson: It's the end of the show. The drinking down people, it's time to go. It's that time again, it's last call. Welcome back to the Round the House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Oh, while we're having a good time. Right guys? Well, thanks for tuning in today.

[00:29:18] Eric Goranson: If you're just joining us on the radio, we've been talking about four different subjects. And four different segments. So this is just all jammed into, uh, all one show here today. Well, the other stuff we were talking about today were H V A C companies and getting the right quote for that new air conditioning or heat pump.

[00:29:36] Eric Goranson: We were also talking about really here some of my projects in the last segment that I've been tackling and then troubleshooting wifi issues. And here I wanted to talk about a trend that's happening right now, and I think it's our economy. And I think it's really coming around into a problem that we're seeing that, um, people trying to find and save money on that remodel and they're really getting burned.

[00:29:59] Eric Goranson: And I just [00:30:00] wanted to talk about that today. Well, we were talking about some of the projects that I've been jamming on here, this last segment, just to say, if you wanna find the videos for those on YouTube, just go to YouTube and go at Fox 12, Oregon. And then go over to the playlists and then look for around the House Northwest.

[00:30:22] Eric Goranson: And you can click on there and find the playlist. We've got 81 videos over for you to take a look at. So far and every week we're putting four to six videos up on there. So we've got a lot of new stuff up there. Uh, just to give you a hint of what we've touched on, just to kind of tease you, I visited Pendleton, Woollen Mills and saw we'll get made.

[00:30:41] Eric Goranson: I, uh, Did a cool story on installing a high-end tile backsplash where we did from start to finish. We talked to Comcast about 10 G Internet, saw the latest stuff from Fest Tool in the roadshow, played with some of their new tools, and then, uh, that window replacement we were talking about earlier. And then, uh, of course we had some cool [00:31:00] stuff from Gerber Tools, energy audits.

[00:31:02] Eric Goranson: The list goes on and on DeWalt. Sweat and pipe, all those different things in the episodes. So you can take that look Fox 12 Oregon YouTube channel and then find the around the house playlist right there. Well, here's one thing that's been really troubling that I've been seeing, and I've been getting a lot of calls from people just in my local area, and I know this is a national thing.

[00:31:25] Eric Goranson: There have been people getting taken by unlicensed unbonded, uninsured people, pretending to be contractors. And I'm gonna keep this a little vague because there is an ongoing battle here that I'm not gonna throw myself in the middle of. So I'm going to, uh, kind of wipe clean some of the details. But this family spent almost 140 grand and this house.

[00:31:53] Eric Goranson: Literally is gonna have to get gutted back to the studs. And what work has been done is going to have to be [00:32:00] torn out and thrown in the dumpster. And this is something that is really troubling. And they pretended to be a contractor, wrote out a contract like they did, and this quality of work is so poor.

[00:32:16] Eric Goranson: And let me, let me walk around the exterior and then just paint you a little. Mental picture here. So I walk up, if you walk around the house, this house was built in maybe the fifties or sixties, and there was a, um, kind of a particle board, exterior ply that was up there before O S B. And it has like a tar cover kind of impregnated into it.

[00:32:40] Eric Goranson: It looks like. And they went through and installed a fiber cement siding over the top of this and just nailed it wherever, not into the studs. Didn't put any kind of a vapor barrier behind it. There was some tar paper in certain spots, but they did not follow one recommended installation [00:33:00] instruction from the entire thing of installing it where the contractor.

[00:33:07] Eric Goranson: Put it in the C. The the material said, Hey, don't caulk the seams. What do they do? They really poorly caulked the seams and they put on probably four times as much caulking as they needed to, and as soon as it gets hot, it's gonna push all that out like toothpaste out of a toothpaste tube. It's absolutely horrible.

[00:33:27] Eric Goranson: I walk around to this illegal deck that they've built. There's too much of a cantilever on it. It's probably a 40, 45% cantilever. And it is nailed with framing nails into the house, into that same kind of particle board stuff. No flashing, no bolts. There is a brand new patio door installed, and oh my gosh, that patio door is installed with drywall [00:34:00] screws and no flashing.

[00:34:03] Eric Goranson: And it just gets worse from, there you go. Inside this contractor decided to build cabinets at a particle board. Had clearly never built a cabinet in their life. There were fillers that were kind of, they didn't know what to do cause they were trying to build cabinets to get the doors ordered from and it was a disaster.

[00:34:26] Eric Goranson: I mean, it, they're, they forgot to drill the shelf holes. Uh, clearly it was, some of it was used cabinet boxes. It appeared that they had, uh, put through and tried to remake the double oven cabinet, was not gonna actually hold the double oven, and they had run a one 10 power outlet to the back of it. And I guarantee you, a double LG oven is not going to be powered off of that.

[00:34:51] Eric Goranson: So they didn't even have the right power for that. The sink was up against the refrigerator. Probably one of the worst cabinet designs [00:35:00] that I've ever seen in a kitchen that had been replaced. And then when you walk into the bathrooms even worse, no waterproofing in the showers. There's just one huge disaster.

[00:35:12] Eric Goranson: Were those tiled? It was half tiled over drywall. Uh, they had some stucco work that was, they had tried to come in and use some stucco, waterproofing, I mean, This, every shower was gonna have to get gutted back to the studs. It was just shocking how poor this job was. And I feel bad for these people. You know, th they, they hired the wrong person.

[00:35:40] Eric Goranson: They paid them way too much money. This, in my opinion, look like maybe, uh, somebody that had been working on a painting team or maybe. Painting, maybe, I don't know, drywaller, maybe, I don't know. But, uh, clearly we're not licensed, bonded, and insured, and this people are gonna have to go [00:36:00] try to get their $135,000 back and turn around and probably spend another couple hundred to get it back because they're gonna have three bathrooms gutted.

[00:36:10] Eric Goranson: A kitchen that needs to go back to the studs and a new. Exterior. I mean, they have got a hundred things wrong, and uh, unfortunately this is one of those life lessons and they don't really have any recourse because, you know, if this person, I don't know this person, I don't know who they are, I've never met them, but this contractor probably doesn't have the resources to give them the refund on that, that needs to come back and does not have the skills to fix it.

[00:36:38] Eric Goranson: So, um, trying to sue somebody that doesn't have any money or insurance or anything else is gonna be a tr a, a, a big problem for 'em. And there's a huge lesson to be learned here. That's why that license bond and insurance include, they didn't pull any permits on it either. So this whole project is completely sideways and it's gonna be [00:37:00] $140,000 lesson for 'em because that money just got flushed down and now they're gonna have to go fill up a landfill with all that brand new product they paid for.

[00:37:07] Eric Goranson: And, uh, to do it right, they're gonna have to put a lot more materials into it, and obviously it's gonna cost 'em a lot more money. I'm, I'm guessing this is gonna be a 200 to $240,000 remodel to do it right with the, the type of finishes that they had in there. And, uh, I don't wanna see anybody get into this situation.

[00:37:26] Eric Goranson: So get your estimates, call the references. We've talked about how to hire a contractor before, but I am seeing right now about one of these a week. With people looking at their finances, trying to save money. I get it guys. It is expensive out there. And remodel projects have doubled in price this last two years, if not tripled on some of 'em.

[00:37:49] Eric Goranson: But there is no way to get around that until they get inflation under control and, uh, prices come down. This is the land we're in and even getting a loan is [00:38:00] expensive. So, uh, you know, great time to learn these DIY projects and to take on some of these projects or save up the money, work hard and be able to afford to buy the right contractor to do the work because this is just brutal and there's so many people getting taken and, um, even trying to find an attorney to help this family take it on, it's gonna be a long battle for them, and it's gonna be painful.

[00:38:24] Eric Goranson: So that's my tip for the day on trying to make sure that you're not getting take advantage of. Cuz there's 95% of contractors out there are wonderful, great people. There are the handful out there ripping people off. That are taking advantage of everybody and uh, I know the industry wants to get rid of those people so, uh, we can have safer communities out there and a safer house.

[00:38:47] Eric Goranson: So it's all said and done because this was gonna be one moldy mess. All right, everybody, thanks for tuning in to Round the House this week. I do appreciate it. Make sure and check it out, the podcast if you're on the radio. And don't forget our midweek [00:39:00] special. As always, thanks for tuning in to around the House