[00:00:00] It's around the house presented by Monument Grills. When you're looking to step up your barbecue game, check out your next grill at Monumentgrills. com. There's one little thing too. I'm going to add on to this home maintenance checklist as we get into fall and you get some heavy rains out there and I want to make sure that when you have a heavy rain like that safely, you know, put on that put on that umbrella.

[00:00:28] It's thunder outside. Don't get anywhere near that. Of course, use some common sense here. But really dress up, go outside and take a look around your house. Walk it and see what's going on. Do you have water pooling up against the foundation? Is there a gutter overflowing? What, is there one loose? Do you have water bouncing off the side of a house, a place that is going to be a problem?

[00:00:50] Make sure you get these things dialed in. We're on the house show is brought to you by Pyramid Heating and Cooling. Serving in Oregon, the Portland metro [00:01:00] area and Bend, Oregon, they are your one stop. Stop shop for heating and cooling and indoor air quality. To find out more, head to pyramidheating. com, Oregon 8 2.

[00:01:10] 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 out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. Doesn't matter if you're on the radio network with Talk Media Network or you're listening to the podcast.

[00:01:32] We are here to help. Well, today we're gonna be talking about our round the house, uh, home maintenance checklist for fall. We're cruising into fall. Kids are getting back into school. And it's time to do this while the weather is better versus worse. So we're going to go over that today. Well, today's home maintenance checklist is something that we do every single year and we kind of update it as we go.

[00:01:54] But this is an important one because you know, there's a lot of things when the seasons change, we need to make sure are dialed [00:02:00] right in. And so it's great to get this stuff done. If you're in the Northern states here, it's great to get it done. Before the freezing weather arise, if you're down south, well, you have a little more time to do it, but you know, we are in hurricane season for people down in the gulf and, uh, On the Eastern seaboard.

[00:02:17] So these are things that we always have to watch out for. So it's good to get these things done sooner than later. So, uh, let's dive into our list today. So outside number one, before freezing weather arrives, now here's how I do it. Now, this is an important one here because. What I'll do is I'll go on my phone and set up appointments on things to do.

[00:02:37] So use my calendar. So, uh, things that I want to get done before the freezing weather arrives. I pick a date. That's a few weeks before when I think it's going to be, and I'll put it on a list that way so I can deal with it later. For instance, our first one before freezing weather arrives. Remove garden hoses from bibs drain in store for winter.

[00:02:54] And of course, wrap things up that need to be insulated. Now this is something depending on where you're located here. I'm [00:03:00] probably not doing this till November because rarely do we get that cold. But if you're other parts of the country, you need to be doing that at different times. So watch out for that.

[00:03:10] Uh, at the same point, you want to be watching for freezes. You're going to be draining those in ground sprinkler systems. Now, uh, some areas, they don't blow them out at all. My area, it's rarely done here. But, uh, grown up in Eastern Washington where I did guess what? We blew that thing out, uh, getting in as soon as the irrigation turned off, which is like September, we hooked it up and blew it out.

[00:03:31] And, uh, that's how that happened. So it was one of those things that we took care of and, you know, we let the winter rains could take care of that lawn. If you're in places like Southern California, you never do that. So, and those sprinklers are running, you know, 365 days a year. So, things to consider, things to, you know, depending on your climate.

[00:03:51] Now, here's where we're getting to the more important stuff here. Clean debris out of window wells. gutters, downspouts, and storm drains. [00:04:00] So window wells gutters. Yeah, those are always a constant thing. Even if you have the gutter guards, there's many of you still need to be cleaning those things out. Now the storm drains is a bigger one here, and this is something, when was the last time somebody came in?

[00:04:13] And scoped and cleaned out the storm drain system. Now, what I'm talking about is our storm drain system is what is going on where those gutters and downspouts, what does that go into? That should go into a system that goes underground out to the curb. If it's legal into a dry well system, we're just, you know, 10 or 15 feet away from the house as a minimum.

[00:04:34] So I recommend about every two to five years. Getting those scoped and cleaned out. Now, what you want to do is you want to catch it before there's roots before roots are a big problem and that kind of thing. So that way that's working. And that is probably 1 of the most neglected plumbing systems at our house is that storm drain system that we put in with newer homes, or if you're trying to You know, keep that from foundation from getting damaged.

[00:04:59] That's one of the things I [00:05:00] want you to take a look at. So make sure you get that all dialed in right there and make sure that's working correctly. And if you do have gutters coming down into downspouts and are draining right next to the foundation, I don't care how much rain you get. It's a good idea to get that in the ground.

[00:05:14] You know, if you're out in the desert where, you know, you get just a little bit of rain, uh, you know, Mojave or something, I get it, but really you should get that away from the house because it is going to cause foundation damage if it's within 10 feet of the house. So something to consider. And we've talked about that in other episodes.

[00:05:32] Now, the next one here is super important. This is inspect weather stripping on the windows and doors for fit and condition replace as necessary. You know, if you've got a door that's got a bad sweep on it. Or something like that, that can be like leaving a window open. So we want to make sure and get that stuff tightened up as best we can.

[00:05:51] And, uh, you know, that weather stripping on the windows and stuff, a lot of that stuff you can get right away. If it's a newer door, you can probably check and see if there's one that's pre made [00:06:00] for it. But really there's a lot of options at your home improvement store. So make sure that all that weather stripping on the windows and doors.

[00:06:06] He's good. Adjust them as necessary and replace as needed. So here's a really important one here. Inspect doors, windows, siding for holes and cracks, caulk as necessary. This is a great time to do it because it's still warm outside and you can get out there and get that caulked up really quickly. And in a matter of hours, that's, you know, taken care of.

[00:06:27] And then you can go around and actually do any painting touch up as needed. So that's, what's really cool is you can actually go through the windows and doors and siding. And get that all cocked up and then just go around and get it touched up that way the house is looking good wintertime and you don't have to worry about water getting in.

[00:06:42] I tell you what, I see so many times when I'm doing remodels and running into issues here that so many exterior damage complaints that we have about having to reframe a window or something like that comes down to being all about to. Where things were either [00:07:00] not flashed correctly, or they weren't caulked correctly.

[00:07:04] And that's a really big issue, so you want to make sure that you get that taken care of. And, uh, get it all done. Uh, you know, these guys don't pay me a dime, but I'll tell you what I love working with, uh, as far as exterior caulking, Sashco, their big stretch. That's one of my favorite ones that I've been using that a lot more now.

[00:07:20] Uh, that stuff really tends to stick around, which I like because in our area here, we can get to be, you know, minus 10, or we can get to be a 114. So, uh, There's a pretty good temperature swing here, and that stuff holds up really well. And, uh, one little thing with caulking, which is kind of funny. And I learned this from Sashko when we were talking about it a couple of years ago, they like to have actually a little bit area, a little bit bigger area to put caulking in because if they're caulking stretches 300%, And you put just a paper thin layer right there that doesn't have much to expand and contract.

[00:07:57] But if you were to put in, you know, a 16th [00:08:00] at speed or an eighth in speed, think about that 300 percent a lot more room to move. So a little bit more caulking is not a bad thing when it comes to that. So make sure you get all that stuff cleaned out, clean up all the old caulking. And, uh, one thing I do like about that is the, uh, Sashkra stuff paints up really well and, uh, looks really nice when it's all said and done.

[00:08:19] So that's a good one there. Now, here's what if you've got a wood fired, you know, chimney, basically. So if you've got a wood fired stove, that's one thing. If you've got a fireplace, make sure and have that inspected. And if you're using it as a wood barred wood fired fireplace or stuff, make sure you get that cleaned.

[00:08:37] Have it taken a look at. I want to see you do that every year and make sure that you got that. If you're heating your house, that should be probably done once or twice a year, depending on what you've got going. But you really want to make sure that that thing is looking good. That things haven't happened.

[00:08:51] It hasn't sank. It's it's not cracked and that all the brickwork and stuff is dialed in Um, if you've got metal, it's always good to have that [00:09:00] inspected too to make sure that you don't have any holes And all of that so make sure you get that dialed in but really that chimney is something that you should be maintaining And maybe it needs uh, you know It's always good to have a chimney sweep go up there if you need to have a tuck pointed or something like that You know Uh, that's another thing and make sure that that's all dialed in because, uh, those chimneys can be a pain that can cause a fire if you don't have them.

[00:09:21] So you want to make sure to, uh, you know, stop that chance of a chimney fire by getting it swept, cleaned, inspected, and worst case, you can reline that. Now, when we come back, I have a lot more here on our list. And if you want to find out more about this list, or you want me to send you a copy. Just, uh, email me and you can just do that at over, at, uh, around the house online.com.

[00:09:41] Contact us and I'll send you one back around the house. We'll be right back after these important messages. Don't go anywhere

[00:09:59] so hot.[00:10:00]

[00:10:19] Welcome back to the show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining me today. We've been talking about our. Around the house home maintenance checklist for fall. So we've been going through that. I know it still could be 80, 90, a hundred degrees outside, but, uh, kids are back in school or creeping up on labor day, which means it's time to start working on this, uh, fall checklist.

[00:10:41] Cause for many people in the country, many people in our audience, they're really looking towards fall here in a winter creeps in quick, uh, and storms do too, as well. So, uh, those are things to always take a look at. So we've been talking about outside. Our home maintenance checklist here and try to get this wrapped up in this segment for the [00:11:00] outside part of it.

[00:11:01] So Next up inspect all soffit vents and other venting systems to make sure they're clear of debris And this is an important one. I know it's just a vent but making sure That things are breathing correctly now that can be the vent fans in your bathrooms. It could be the vent fan For your stove, that should be going outside as well.

[00:11:20] Your range, uh, or cooktop, but really what I'm really talking about is checking a few certain things. So making sure that if you have soft events that those are clear. So many times somebody will come in, especially on something that's older than the 90s. Hey, we added more blow in insulation, but guess what?

[00:11:39] That blown in insulation maybe got a little bit out of hand or it was a DIY project went bad and those soft vents get insulated over. So I want you to take a high power flashlight, look up through there. Now one thing that I do as well, which is kind of, it's a good two person job, but put yourself on a phone call.

[00:11:57] Uh, with somebody and have them go around the [00:12:00] soft advance as you're standing up in the attic and run that light up through those and see if you can see it because you're in the attic. It's dark. It's a good way to see if anything's obstructed and they can put it right up against it. And then you can do that just visually.

[00:12:13] It's so much easier with 2 people. And that means that you've got that going. If you've got those going well, and then you've got a good Ridge vent, Or good attic fence up top, then you're good. Um, you know, you want to keep those attic temperatures, you know, moderate because, uh, well, you know, you've got the, the, uh, insulation, the, the less temperature you have up there in the summertime.

[00:12:37] If you've got that under control, you have less. Of that, uh, heat bleeding down into the living space, which is good for you. Uh, so that's an important one right there, but making sure that that's all working correctly, I'm not a big fan, big fan. I'm not a fan of the, uh, Of the attic power vents, unless you designed it for it when it was built, because many [00:13:00] times, uh, those power fans on the, on the attic, those can actually create a vacuum up there and pull cool conditioned air from outside, you know, inside your house to the outside and actually hurt you.

[00:13:12] As far as energy efficiency versus help you. So something to really take a look at. So, uh, be careful of those. Now here's another one here. Walker on the outside, inspect bricks or blocks for cracked motor, loose joints, repair is necessary. And I'm talking, you know, if you've got a brick walkway, or if you've got a brick, you know, a facade going around the house someplace, uh, we already talked about chimneys, but, uh, if you've got a CMU or a concrete masonry unit, Block foundation making sure that's dialed in and really walk around at the same point and make sure that you don't have any cracks in The foundation.

[00:13:47] I want you to just walk around look between the side in the ground You've got a basement do a quick walk around down there and the unfinished spots Making sure that you've got that check around in your garage You know all of those areas and see and if you do [00:14:00] have cracks keep an eye on them You can actually jump online and buy those crack tapes that you put across there to measure them And then you can kind of see what happens on the offset to see if it's moving Uh, if you've got cracks, it's something definitely you want to have taken a look at.

[00:14:12] Just don't go caulk that or anything, make sure that you've got that dialed in. Sometimes you might have to go in there with, uh, carbon fiber or something else in there to make sure that that's held together. If you can, uh, get that repaired, you'll be better off. So here's the thing, if it's a little tiny crack, that's not that big a deal.

[00:14:29] But if it's something that maybe it's, you know, Big enough, you can put a credit card in or if it's scoring, you know, an up and down versus a side to side crack. If you've got a horizontal crack, that is a structural thing that you should be looking at. Make sure that you're looking, uh, to have that inspected by a, um, you know, I just want to get a structural engineer looking at that.

[00:14:49] So make sure that you get that well inspected. Good time to check it. So, uh, now here's the thing here. This is a really good one and this is something that's protecting your [00:15:00] house. So, uh, Inspect those painted surfaces for paint failure, water damage, mildew, clean repair. You know, here's the thing. Anytime that you have any damage to a wood outside, that is going to let the moisture in.

[00:15:15] You let the moisture in and then you get carpenter ants or termites or things like that. Uh, depending on where you're located in the country, and these are things that you really want to make sure you've got dialed in, because this can be, uh, can be pretty rough if you're not, uh, uh, you know, my house, a great example.

[00:15:31] Uh, if you walk around the outside, it looked great. Home inspection looked great. Once I started getting into it, I found lots of little spot areas over its, you know, 40 plus year life of really having, uh, carpenter at damage year after year after year, and they would have them. You'd have a small nest, it would go away.

[00:15:54] And so, uh, almost every area I find a, a, a slightly damaged 2 by 4. And if I tear [00:16:00] sighting off someplace. There's always a spot. So make sure that, uh, if you can make sure everything's cocked up, cleaned up and painted up, you're going to be good to go. And that's how you really keep that from happening. And you know, if you've got a lot of ants inside, things like that, those little guys can find a ton of places to be able to go around.

[00:16:20] I mean, it's just crazy how those guys can find a hole. You might as well see if you can do what and get them a little bit more dialed in because this is that time of year. Now be careful while you're out doing this stuff. Make sure that you're keeping an eye out for hornets, wasps, yellow jacket nests, because, uh, this is the time of year they get pretty dang aggressive.

[00:16:39] And you want to make sure that you've got that, uh, You know, safe for yourself as you're out doing this inspection. So, uh, here's one little thing too. I'm going to add onto this home maintenance checklist as we get into fall and you get some heavy rains out there, and this is especially for you down in Southern California, where you just got dumped on down there with that tropical storm last week.

[00:16:59] And, [00:17:00] uh, I want to make sure that when you have a heavy rain like that, Safely, you know, put on that, put on that umbrella. If it's thunder outside, don't get anywhere near that. Of course, use some common sense here, but really dress up, go outside and take a look around your house, walk it and see what's going on.

[00:17:17] Do you have water pooling up against the foundation? Is there a gutter overflowing? What is there one loose? Do you have water bouncing off the side of a house in a place that is going to be a problem? Make sure you get these things dialed in because if you get these things dialed in, you're going to be a lot better off.

[00:17:34] So. Uh, and it's going to stop a lot of damage too. So make sure that you've got that stuff dialed in by walking around the house. You can see if that storm drain system's not working. Or whatever those other issues are. So a simple walk around the house during a storm can be a really good eye of what's to happen a little later down the road.

[00:17:52] And what are some of those maintenance things you need to take care of? So that's a key right there. Uh, we were talking about caulking and stuff earlier, [00:18:00] but really making sure if you've got an old house, old houses are a little bit more. And so we're going to talk about that here, this segment and a little bit more into the next segment.

[00:18:09] Some of the things that you should be doing if you have an old house now, one of those is going to be to walk around and make sure that you don't have any glazing compound. If you have single pane windows, making sure that those are good, go around and just kind of lightly tap on them and see if you have any loose glass.

[00:18:24] You can hear it rattle. If you've got that, maybe it's time to reglaze. And, uh, that's not an, that's not a hard thing to do. It just takes a little bit of time, but make sure that you've got all that putty caulking and stuff, but really make sure those windows are dialed in. Now, when we come back, we're going to talk a little bit more of it.

[00:18:42] With old houses, just as soon as around the house.[00:19:00]

[00:19:21] Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we help get the most out of your home through information and education. Hey, if you want to find out more about us. Just look around the house show out there. Or if you want to find my TV show around the house Northwest and, uh, that can be streamed online.

[00:19:38] And if you're looking for a weekly project, we have, uh, geez, a hundred. Creeping up on 200 YouTube videos. And, uh, where do you find those? Just go over to, uh, look to search up on, uh, on the around the house online website, and you can see the videos there. And if you're familiar with YouTube, most people are, you can just click on that and find our [00:20:00] playlist right there.

[00:20:00] So if you look at those videos on around the house online. You'll find our latest stuff hiding right there. We've been talking about our fall maintenance checklist here and uh, some of the stuff that we really want to get done before winter hits. And I was talking a little bit about old houses and these are things that we should really start kind of paying attention a little bit more to.

[00:20:20] Uh, and this is some of the stuff it's, you know, kind of the safety things that I get worried about with old homes. And one of us making sure when you walk around and do a few extra things, we're just talking about. Checking out the, uh, the glass and the storm windows and that kind of thing, which is important, but really I want to start doing a little bit more.

[00:20:39] I want you to be taking a look and inspecting electrical. I want to see you going around. If you've got an old house with maybe some knob and tube wiring, it is not a bad idea every few years to have an electrical inspection and have somebody go through and take a look at stuff. Because, uh, I always get worried about electrical fires and older [00:21:00] homes, especially as we get into winter.

[00:21:02] And you have electric heat, you've got space heaters because things are insulated. Uh, these are where issues are. And, uh, one of the things that I really want to make sure that we spend some time educating people out there. Is, you know, baseboard heat is one of those things that, uh, is expensive to run.

[00:21:21] I'm not the biggest fan of, because you can have fires because of it. So make sure that you don't have things piled up as you get into fall around heaters. And this is something that I've always said, even to my kids. Even in the middle of summertime, if you see something bleeding up against the heater or something, I would always tell them to move it because I don't want to get in the habit of thinking of safety as seasonal safety, so don't have the couch pushed up against it.

[00:21:47] Don't have things piled up on it. That's how fires happen. And we don't want to see that. Now, if you've got an older house, take a look at ting fire T I N G F I R E. It's actually works for any house. This is how you can actually [00:22:00] keep. They, uh, your house from having a fire inside with electrical. And so, uh, check with your, uh, local insurance company.

[00:22:09] They are paying for some of those. So you might get one of those for free, but our monitors, your electrical system, and make sure you've got that. And that's, that's an important one. There is, uh, monitoring your electrical system and you could have a computer doing it for you. So it's automatic and they will let you know.

[00:22:26] When they see an issue now, it's not going to stop you from drawing a whole mountain, the new TV up and hitting a power cable, of course not. But it will tell you that if you have some shorts or potential shorts. Or if you've got other electrical issues. So that's an important one there. And then there's a lot of other little things automatically you can do as well.

[00:22:44] There's a leak detection devices. Now that you can install in there, especially in old house, we have, uh, you know, plumbing that has been messed with a lot. You can install that in and it will turn off water when it senses a leak, which can be a very, very important. [00:23:00] So that's a good one there. All those are important with old homes.

[00:23:03] And then just make sure that you're watching the, the cracks and the, and the, in the paint outside, make sure that you're watching the cracks in the plaster. You want to make sure things aren't moving around and you have any other issues. All right. We've been talking about going around. One of the most important ones and one of the most dangerous ones is next year.

[00:23:22] And that is inspecting roof for moss and treat as necessary. And then take a look at the flashing and pipe jacks to make sure they don't have any leaks. Now, how you take a look at that when you're up there. One, make sure that you're following any social safety stuff around your house. Um, you know, if you're smart, if you've got a higher pitched roof, if you'd like to get up there.

[00:23:42] And just get off. I'm going to do this for my place. I'm going to put up a fall protection system so I can just tie off up there. So when I get up to do the holiday lights, the Christmas lights, and any of my maintenance stuff, I can just tie off in places. It's going to be a safer thing. I'm going to do that here soon.

[00:23:57] Uh, and that's, that's something I think [00:24:00] everybody should be doing, be doing as part of their, you know, maintenance around the house. Now, if you've got people going up and do you for doing it for you, that is awesome. Have that roof company go up and take a look at it. If you've got somebody trusted, that is great.

[00:24:12] Uh, but just keep them up there. I don't want to see anybody up there pressure washing or anything like that. This is a, uh, for a normal, you know, architectural shingle. Uh, there are some soft scrub companies out there. They'll do it without damaging, but really you can use things like zinc to, uh, treat that roof Moss up there and be very careful with it.

[00:24:31] Um, for us, it's not this time of year that we get too much Moss. It's really for us the springtime cause it's winter, but, uh, I'm going to be putting up the zinc strips on my roof here on the rest of it. Get that done. So I don't have to worry about it anymore. That will keep it from being too much of an issue.

[00:24:46] And that will keep that, uh, moss from growing back. So that's my latest on my place. So that's an important one. And the pipe jacks, that's the, where the pipes are coming up through. Make sure that that, uh, rubber gasket around there is [00:25:00] pliable and not ripped or torn. If it's ripped or torn, you're going to get rainwater down in the house, and that's not a good thing.

[00:25:05] So make sure you're scoping that out really well. Next up here, clean all the decks and seal as necessary. I just went through and did a, uh, a deck project at my house. That was really cool. Got that dialed in. I needed to take, I had a very old treated deck. So this is an old outdoor wood deck and, uh, one of the outdoor, what if it's not in your area is basically like a pressure treated deck, but without the indentations in it.

[00:25:32] So it's a dipped slightly pressure, but it's not ejected. And, uh, this deck has had, um, multiple coatings on it. I finally got mine done out there. I, I, it's going to have to get replaced very soon, but I wanted to put a nice coat on it. So we could get it all dialed in and looking good. So, uh, that's an important one there.

[00:25:50] And then make sure that you've got those all just inspected. It's a good time to do that deck inspection and make sure that you've got that all dialed in. I don't want to have any, uh, deck [00:26:00] failures out there. So, uh, when in doubt, jump online. There's some great. Deck inspection forms out there for safety.

[00:26:07] And you could walk around and make sure that that thing is looking good. The biggest part is, I mean, I was off at a new deck being built here recently, and I was shocked at how bad, um, this deck was being built. I'm happy they stopped. And then the contractor got let go before that, because I'll tell you what.

[00:26:23] It was a hot mess in there, and, uh, they had actually built the deck incorrectly, and it was not fastened to the building correctly, and that was going to be a, uh, a big failure, and that was going to be, uh, something that was going to get people fairly hurt when that failed, because it was, uh, eight, eight or so feet off the ground, so, uh, Something that should have been inspected by the building inspector.

[00:26:43] And that did not happen. So next one here is going around and checking out signs of rodents. And there's a lot of things that you can do with rodents these days to make sure that you've got it dialed in, um, taken care of. And here's the thing that I always worry about with this is, [00:27:00] is those little holes, you know, size of a pencil.

[00:27:02] You can get a, a rodent in the house and pests also fit into the same kind of thing. So first off. If you've got little tiny holes and stuff around that you're worried about, uh, it's really easy. They make spray foam now that is rodent proof. So you can get in there and get those areas dialed in a lot of times.

[00:27:19] It's like where the. Hvac system goes through the the wall or where the cable person was they drilled too big of a hole These kind of things are just little things like that where they're getting in there So spray foam with the rodent stuff works really well, and that won't be an issue for you And uh get that taken care of I have stopped them, you know many times by going through and taking a look and uh Doing a very hard surface You know, search around and see, and usually it's like a foundation screen or a little hole by a garage door where they're getting around those seals, those kind of things.

[00:27:55] So spend some time, get it dialed in. It's going to look awesome and you'll be good [00:28:00] to go. So, uh, spend some time on that. Stopping those rodents from getting inside the house is good. If you have a crawl space, I do it in two places. One, I'll go through and make sure that I got the crawl space so they don't go in there.

[00:28:13] And the second thing I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go around and make sure that I've got the, uh, the, uh, Inside the house, I've got that dialed in as well. So I'll go around and make sure that I don't have any places around and Cabinets where drains come in, that kind of stuff, make sure it's all dialed in.

[00:28:27] And you can use the spray foam in there. I just want to make sure that if you have got a place to stop them, you can, and it's going to be a healthier home without all that rodent stuff anyway. And the more you get it sealed up, we're energy efficient is too. So that's a win on both sides. All right. When we come back, we'll wrap up our.

[00:28:43] fall maintenance checklist just as soon as around the house returns. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to the round the house show. [00:29:00] This is where we help get the

[00:29:16] most out of your home through information. And education. Thanks for joining us today. Hey, before we get into the fall checklist here, I wanted to talk about a few things that I've got going on here. And if you need help being inspired for videos, if you have, um, if you're a video consumer, I want you to go over and check out, uh, where all my videos are located.

[00:29:37] So we've got some great stuff we've been doing with some new products and exciting stuff. So what you do is go over to YouTube and then go at Fox 12, Oregon. And then go over to playlists and then you can find our whole playlist over there. So we've got about 140 or so videos over there. And, uh, I tell you what, we have got so many [00:30:00] pieces over there.

[00:30:01] We test out new products. We've been having fun. Like we went on and jumped on and, uh, tested out the flux tape flood prevention. Does that even work? Well, guess what? I test it. I'll tell you what, uh, you know, you got to watch the video, but you'll have to see what I think there. And, uh, does it work or not?

[00:30:18] Well, we put it to the test and then, uh, got a lot of great tips over there. We visited a great last week at just a great company called the re greenery, where we did a bunch of great woodworking tips in there. And then, uh, we even actually, uh, had some fun visiting my local hardware store here, Parkrose hardware.

[00:30:36] And, uh, you know, one thing before we get back to the list, this is something that too, when you're doing maintenance and this is a key right here. And it's called finding your best tool rental place. And I tell you what, in my area here, I found a place that I've been working with right now, Park Rose Hardware, and they are a larger home improvement store.

[00:30:56] They're not like a Lowe's or Home Depot, but they're not like your little tiny [00:31:00] tool rental store either. But it's kind of my little gold mine right there, because here's the thing. I go to the big box store, the big orange one. I rent their tools and lately in my area, they have been of horrible quality.

[00:31:17] Now they were good tools to start out with, but man, I've rented skid steers and stuff from there. And those tracks are so worn down that I can't run them even in the dirt. Cause I'm just spinning all over the place. And if there's any moisture on it, forget it. I can't even take those things across the grass because they just.

[00:31:35] Are way long in the tooth. And out of the last three times I've rented things there, two of the three times I had to take it back with a job not done because the. The equipment failed like I had a post hole digger that I got over there and and sorry Home Depot I'm going to call you out on it And uh the cord kept breaking on it And you could see where they had the cord was already short that they'd been repairing it [00:32:00] instead of going through and fixing it Uh, they just kept it going.

[00:32:04] So it was an issue with that So I found I mean I was up on a lift this last week doing my uh Doing my front siding where i'm doing my fiber on cladding and this is something that if you want to do the inspection You can Getting those lifts can be really cool. So I rented a lift for the week weekend, went through it all.

[00:32:21] And I tell you what, this lift, when I started at 2. 7 hours on it, it was a brand new lift. And that is so nice to have nice new equipment to be working. And I tell you what, when I do my Christmas lights, I'm getting a lift. I'm not doing the 30 foot extension ladder anymore and it makes it kind of fun.

[00:32:40] You can play around up there and you can stand around them and it's just a safer thing. So if you're painting, doing some trimming, take a look at it, um, you know, for the few hundred bucks that it takes to rent a lift, it many times is cheaper than getting hurt. And if you, I, you know, I have no problem, I could be a hundred feet up in a lift and I'm fine.

[00:32:58] Put me up 30 feet on an [00:33:00] extension ladder. And I knew that there's a chance I'm going to fall off, especially when I was building, like I had 12 foot boards. I'm not going up there and doing that on an extension ladder. Not a chance. So, these are things to really take into account. Well, let's get back to our checklist here before we run out of time.

[00:33:16] So, in the next one up here, and these are important ones here, uh, that I really want to make sure that we've got covered. So, the last one outside is inspect gutters and downspouts, make sure they're draining correctly. We talked about that. If they go to the street, get your garden hose out and make sure that they're draining all the way out there.

[00:33:33] It's funny. I have a street over for me here that, uh, in that storm drain system, we talked a little bit about it earlier, but this is just another tip outside. Before we get into the inside, I can walk down that street in the rain when I'm walking the dogs and 10%. Of the homes have the water making it all the way out to the street where their storm drains go.

[00:33:54] So that means that 90 percent of those things are plugged up and not working correctly. So these are things to [00:34:00] really take a look. So get the, get the hose out and worst case, you know, get it hogged out, get out the, uh, hydrojet and, uh, you can either rent one of those or have your local plumbing drain company come do it.

[00:34:10] Pretty simple. You're good to go. So, okay, let's go inside guys inside. Have your furnace serviced. By a licensed professional. So if you've got a boiler system, if you've got a, a heat pump or gas heat, electric heat, whatever your heat is, make sure you have that serviced and taken a look at, I tell you what I have had.

[00:34:31] More efficiencies by people coming in and taking their time and really going through and cleaning that up. Because I have caught one, I've caught, uh, things that were going to break. That was going to be an issue. Number two, a lot of times when they're in there, they get it fine tuned, which what's that mean?

[00:34:51] If I'm on a gas or electrical, then I'm getting more efficiency out of it. So that's the key right there. You know, with the, With the [00:35:00] gas, I can be more efficient and have a cleaner burn, which means I'm saving money, which I love. Anytime I can save money on that as a good thing, but really getting that dialed in and making sure that that furnace is performing and a new filter is good.

[00:35:14] That's a key right there. And something you should be doing every year. Uh, here's a gross one that should be done, but it's something that I like to put on the list just because. You're good to go. Remove hair from drains and sinks, bathtubs, showers. I am not a drain cleaner person. So what I did is I've jumped on Amazon, got some really long tweezers and a couple of those little tiny things where you can go down there and a snake them out and you go through and just remove all of it, get it all cleaned up, get some rubber gloves.

[00:35:42] And then have everything working. So everything is draining correctly. Now here's one, two, that's an important one. If you're in a Northern state as well, make sure, and even in Texas, some places like that. So just, if you get below freezing at any time, or if it's something that can happen, making sure that the insulated pipes in your garage is good.

[00:35:59] [00:36:00] Attics, crawl spaces, wherever, making sure that all the pipes are insulated. And you know, that can be a good fall winter project as well. Even if you've got a crawl space. Even if they're not insulated insulating those pipes and especially the hot one. If you can do that, it saves you a ton of money by going through and doing that.

[00:36:18] So anytime you pop some installation on, you're going to be good. Uh, you know, 1 of the things here when you time change times, you know, for our daylight savings time, test all smoke detectors. But really you should be going through and testing that a lot more often than that, but make sure they're all working correctly.

[00:36:35] And then, uh, one of the big ones here that always is a holiday thing that happens, I noticed this, it's a pretty common one. So checking your GFCI outlets. Test them. So those are the ones that are usually power in the garage bathrooms and outside. And of course, the outlets by the kitchen sink. Usually, that's where those are located.

[00:36:58] You know, those have about a 10 [00:37:00] year lifespan before they start tweaking out or if they're used a lot that will happen, but make sure you've got a good 1. Make sure they're testing. So many times that people hook up those Christmas lights and they'll turn them on, they're like, Hey, what happened to my power?

[00:37:12] Well, you've got an old GFCI and it's clicking off too early, or you might have an electrical issue. So make sure. Uh, that, uh, you don't have some kind of a, of a small leak that the GFCI is picking up where you've got something starting to ground out, that could be an issue. So make sure that that's dialed in there and then, uh, make sure that, uh, get under the sinks, all the food areas, look for mice and rodent damage, look for bugs, look for pests.

[00:37:41] You know, anytime that you can get an infestation your house, I tell you, if you've got something going on where it's a big infestation of something, sometimes it's just easier to get the pros in and have them take care of it because, uh, sometimes they've got some better chemicals and safer stuff to do.

[00:37:57] Then just going down to the hardware store and throwing stuff at it. [00:38:00] And then another one here is to inspect all the lighting around your house to make sure it's working, change any bulbs, upgrade them. You know, there's a lot you can do out there. That's a, you know, if you've got the old compact fluorescent bulbs outside, get them swapped out to led, save some energy, make sure you dispose of them correctly.

[00:38:17] And that's something I really want to see you do here as well around your house. That is a great fall project. If you have incandescent. Where those compact fluorescent bulbs, changing those out to the right color temperature led can one save you money and to give you so much better light. There are so many homes that 15 years ago, people went in and even a decade ago and put all the fluorescent bulbs in.

[00:38:41] I would make it a mission this fall to go through and replace all of those. Make sure you dispose of them. Some have mercury in them. So follow your local rules for disposing or in recycling those, but really making sure you've got that taken care of. And then the last on our list here that we're going to hit before we run out of time, make sure that you've got the [00:39:00] crawl space and basement checked out for water damage.

[00:39:03] I want you to be testing all of your water. I want you to be testing all of your humidity in the house. So we've got a lot of testing here in the last few minutes here. Make sure that you're testing the humidity. I want to make sure that you're always looking at where that crawl space basement is and making sure you're always keeping that under 60%.

[00:39:21] And if you've got any mold issues or you think you might have mold issues, make sure that you go and get that tested. Air testing twice a year is not a bad thing for your house. And that's something that I would recommend as well. Spend some time, get it tested. You'll be good to go. All right, hour one, we're out of time.

[00:39:37] If you want more information about this list, email me at around the house, online. com. We'll be right back after these important messages. Don't go anywhere.