This podcast episode dives deep into the transformative power of the Easy Glaze product from Palram Americas, which is designed to extend outdoor living spaces while allowing maximum light penetration. Hosts Eric G. and Mike Howser discuss the product's impressive features, including its durability, UV protection, and ease of installation, making it a game-changer for homeowners looking to enhance their patios, decks, and outdoor kitchens. The conversation highlights the growing trend of outdoor living and how the Easy Glaze system can be a cost-effective solution for creating three-season rooms. Listeners will learn about the installation process, maintenance tips, and the importance of using the right fasteners for optimal results. Additionally, Eric shares his personal experiences with the product, showcasing how it has changed the way he utilizes his outdoor space, emphasizing the blend of functionality and aesthetic appeal.

Outdoor living can be significantly enhanced with thoughtful design and innovative materials, as discussed by Eric G. and Mike Howser from Palram America. The episode centers around the Easy Glaze panel, which offers a robust and aesthetically pleasing solution for covering patios, decks, and carports. Mike explains how this product is engineered to provide maximum light while still offering protection from the elements, making it ideal for those who want to enjoy their outdoor spaces throughout the year. The conversation highlights the product's ease of installation, making it accessible for DIY enthusiasts. Eric shares his own experience with the Easy Glaze, recounting how it transformed his outdoor area into a functional and inviting space.

The dialogue shifts to the intricacies of designing outdoor spaces, where Eric offers practical advice on what to consider when planning a new outdoor project. This includes the importance of pre-wiring for electrical needs, such as lighting and fans, and ensuring proper drainage and ventilation to enhance comfort and usability. Eric also emphasizes the need for durable materials that can withstand harsh weather conditions, elevating the conversation to include tips on selecting the right products to create a lasting outdoor environment.

Throughout the episode, listeners are encouraged to think outside the box when it comes to their outdoor living areas. Eric’s insights and experiences provide a blueprint for creating beautiful, functional spaces that can be enjoyed year-round. With a blend of personal anecdotes and expert advice, this episode serves as a valuable resource for homeowners looking to maximize their outdoor enjoyment, showcasing the potential of innovative products like the Easy Glaze and the importance of thoughtful design.

Takeaways:

• The Easy Glaze panels provide a clear, glass-like appearance while being incredibly durable and lightweight, making them ideal for outdoor living spaces.
• When installing the Easy Glaze, ensure to use the recommended fasteners and pre-drill holes to allow for expansion and contraction of the material.
• Proper planning for electrical and plumbing needs in outdoor kitchens can greatly enhance functionality and convenience in your outdoor living area.
• Consider airflow and ventilation when designing structures to avoid trapped heat and moisture beneath your patio cover.
• Building permits are essential for outdoor structures to ensure compliance with local regulations and avoid future complications.
• Using outdoor-rated appliances and fixtures, such as refrigerators and TVs, ensures they withstand the elements and operate effectively in outdoor environments.

Links referenced in this episode:

• www.palramamericas.com
• monumentgrills.com
• aroundthehouseonline.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Monument Grills
• Palram Americas
• Steel Panther
• Skylift Hardware

To get your questions answered by Eric G give us a call in the studio at 833-239-4144 24/7 and Eric G will get back to you and answer your question and you might end up in a future episode of Around the House.

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Information given on the Around the House Show should not be considered construction or design advice for your specific project, nor is it intended to replace consulting at your home or jobsite by a building professional. The views and opinions expressed by those interviewed on the podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Around the House Show.

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It's around the house.

Find those in most retail home centers. And this product, the Easy Glaze, is three times thicker than what you would get at with the Suntuff product in those retail locations.

So yes, what you have that ability to do is to span those 24 inch on center rafters and that certainly allows much more light to penetrate the living area below than our other product offerings do. And that was the whole goal behind Easy Glaze is how to really open up your outdoor living segment to truly enjoy the protection from the elements.

Allow as much light in as possible. Because again, if you got purlins, great, we can install over top the purlins, but that kind of defeats the purpose.

You want to allow as much light in as possible.

So when you run these Easy Glaze panels right over 24 inch on center rafters, you're allowing maximum light in and you can really truly enjoy the outdoors.

When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know, but we've got you covered.

This is a around the house welcome.

To the Round the House show, Next generation of home improvement. I'm Eric G. Thanks for joining me today. First off, we are brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.

If you're looking for a brand new barbecue this holiday season, make sure you snag it@monumentgrills.com if you're looking for something inexpensive but high quality for under 500 bucks, they got you covered.

Speaking of outdoor living, we are now going to dive into a subject that I think has been one of the best little additions to my house that I have done over the last few years and talk about extending space and time outdoors.

If you've been watching my TV show, you've caught the project I did with Palram Americas and we've got Mike Hauser here today to talk just about that. Welcome to around the House Brother.

Hi, Eric. How you doing?

Good, man. Thanks for coming on today.

I love what you guys are doing to just expand that outdoor space where you know, many places in the country, you got a few months of Louisville outdoor space and then that outdoor kitchen, the patio becomes much less comfortable and you guys are extending that lifespan outside really well and making it look super cool.

Well, thank you very much.

We've been doing so for the past 25 years in assisting the homeowner to extend the living throughout three seasons as the movement has continued to extend the outdoor kitchens, extend the outdoor living space, even covering pools, patios, spas. Now this product line really has Captured that imagination to enable the homeowner to cost effectively create a three season room option.

And as you would, as you found out, working with the product, it's very simple to install. You're taking a look at just a panel, some sealing tape and fasteners and that's it.

If you want to use a flashing, whether it's a ridge cap or an end wall connector, we have those available too. But the simplicity of the system and the results you get, I think you'd agree, is just a heck of an upgrade for your outdoor living.

I thought it was going to be difficult. I started reading through the instructions and I went, that's it. And it is literally that simple.

Very much so. It's polycarbonate sheet. So the polycarbonate is very impact resistant.

What I like about it also is that it blocks UVA and B rays, so you'll never get a sunburn or you won't even get a suntan underneath our sheets. Also, it won't fade out your upholstery that you may have stored underneath in the living area as well.

Again, it's a limited lifetime warranty on the clarity of the product. We guarantee our light transmission so you can always at night, look up and see the stars, see the moon.

You can really enjoy your outdoor living style. And also it's got a 10 year hail warranty.

Heck, the product's about 8th inch thick and it's polycarbonate is the same product you'll see on a helicopter windshield, a NASCAR windshield. Very impact resistant and lasts a long time. Very sustainable.

I will say one complaint, doing TV with it. It is very hard to capture it in the end result of the finished product because it looks like you're looking at the sky.

I was like, okay, we're gonna have to throw some, like some stuff on it so you could see it because it just, we had a hard time capturing that because it's literally that clear.

It truly is. You're looking at a 90% light transmission through the clear panel and you're exactly right. The product looks like glass, but it's half the weight.

And obviously not as dangerous as trying to install and work with glass. Any type of fenestration like that, and you're right there.

So people are so used to other products that maybe are slightly opaque or don't really enjoy that ability for the to view the nighttime sky.

As you said, we're talking about the easy glaze system. So this isn't your typical corrugated stuff, which there's nothing wrong with that. There's an application for that.

I've got that in a smoked version over my outdoor pizza over my pizza oven area because I wanted to keep the weather off of it and control the sun right there just to keep it from getting wet. But this stuff is literally a flat panel.

And when you put it over on 24 inch on center ceiling joists up there, it just looks like you built a wood frame and put a glass sheet across the entire thing. And it is stunning. Easy to work with and affordable.

I think you nailed it. Excuse the pun, because if you take a look at the sheet you mentioned you put above your patio, your kitchen area, you're right.

That is our standard sun tuft sheets. You can find those in most retail home centers.

And this product, the Easy Glow glaze, is three times thicker than what you would get at with the Suntuff product in those retail locations. So yes, what you have that ability to do is to span those 24 inch on center rafters.

And that certainly allows much more light to penetrate the living area below than our other product offerings do. And that was the whole goal behind Easy Glaze is how to really open up your outdoor living segment to truly enjoy it.

The protection from the elements, allow as much light in as possible. Because again, if you got purlins, great, we can install over top the purlins, but that kind of defeats the purpose.

You want to allow as much light in as possible.

So when you run these, the Easy Glaze panels right over 24 inch on center rafters, you're allowing maximum light in and you can really truly enjoy the outdoors with protection.

And I didn't want to come over and cover that because when you're laying in bed and you're looking towards that, it was so great to have the blinds open and then wake up in the middle of night and go, oh, wow, I've got moonlight in here. It was such a cool look and I didn't want to lose that. And I sure didn't.

And I tell you what, it has really changed how we use that space because we could actually put real furniture out there.

And I'm not out there every day or every other day trying to clean up my entire disaster of those 13 old growth fir Trees that I have that make a mess out of everything.

And you know what, maintaining is simple with polycarbonate. You just want to clean it with typical dish detergent and water. You don't want to use any type of Windexes or any type of ammonia based products.

So it makes it very simple. Have a hose, simple dishwasher, detergent and you're cleaning up your living space. But very simple.

It's so simple. And I tell you what, it is tough.

I was really surprised how thick that material is because when you're putting it up there, you think it's going to be flopping around like the thinner materials. And you guys have done a really good job of making something that's very rigid.

And I was really wondering how that tape and stuff was going to seal up and work. But boy, that just snaps down beautifully. And simple hand tools, you get out there, you can cut it to length with a, with a circular saw.

You pre drill and put the screws in and you're good to go.

Yeah. Nice overview of the installation. And you're right, what I would say is that you want to pre drill.

That's critical because the product will expand and contract. And using our 19 millimeter washer 3 quarter inch washer, which is an EPDM washer, it's designed specifically for polycarbonate.

You want to use our fastener, that's a must.

You got to use our fastener and that tape as you mentioned, easy application and prevents any type of chattering between the overlap and the corrugations. But you're right, it's an 8th inch thick polycarbonate sheet.

This is a product that as I mentioned before, it's got a 10 year hail warranty on hail and it's got a lifetime limited residential warranty on light transmission. What you've enjoyed so far is the clear. It has 90% light transmission, but we also offer a bronze.

Now the bronze gives you more of a shading effect and that's a 20% light transmission. So if you want to hide from the sun, then go with the bronze. That's about a 20% light transmission.

But again, as you mentioned, the product is very durable. My goodness, it's got a, it's an 80 pounds per square foot snow load.

There we go.

So yeah, I'm telling you, this product can really hold up under extreme conditions. Materials used in many industrial applications. Polycarbonate. But in the homeowners experience, this is going to be a sustainable lifetime product.

To find out more about us, head over to around the House online. Com. We'll be back with Mike Hauser from Palram talking about covered patios just as soon as we return. Don't go anywhere.

This is Sticks it in ya and.

Satchel from Steel Panther and you are.

Listening to around the House with Eric G. Yeah, we love Eric G. And you should too.

Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement. Thanks for joining me today. This episode is brought to you by of course, our friends over at Monument Grills.

If you're looking for a killer barbecue and their premium ones are under 900 bucks, check them out at monument grills.com and if you hurry fast before December, December 5th, you can check out their Black Friday sale. Now we've been talking outdoor patio covers, how to make it look like you've got glass covering it but with the durability of a race car windshield.

Now let's get back and wrap up this conversation with Mike Hower. After that, we're going to talk about my patio cover secret. So you can get the most out of that backyard deck all year round.

And you guys make that, I think up into 20 foot sections. Right? So if you've got a good size project, you can rock it out with this.

Certainly eights, twelves and 20 foot lengths, 24 inches wide. Go to our website ww.palramaricas.com P L R A M Americas.com and click on the easy glaze product offering. And there we actually have a where to buy.

Have a where to buy button so you can source the product across United States and Canada. Extremely easy.

Yeah, it is great.

Yeah, it's really cool.

I did something different on mine because I want didn't want to trap air in there because sometimes I get heat and humidity in there and what I did is I did a stagger step on it.

So I came down and did an overhang and left a little vent in there and then continue down with another piece you can't see because it's clear so you can't see that seam. But I left a little place to vent up in there if I needed the vent just so it wasn't trapping that heat inside of there.

But I also like it. That's a great idea.

I also like it too because you're managing any type of condensation that can deform as well too because no one wants to be sitting underneath their, the beautiful easy glaze solution and having raindrops on it from condensation. So that was a smart idea.

Good job. It was fun.

And I just extended out, I just basically put a, I just ripped on the table saw two by two and added it on top of that because I wanted to just give that down there and so you can extend that out. If you plan that out on a large project where you needed more than 20ft, you could sure do that. And you're not going to see it up there.

And unless you've got like hurricane force winds driving it up a panel like that, nothing comes through there.

I've been in there with inch an hour driving rains and with a couple inches of overhang, nothing's coming back around there and you just get a good vent.

Yeah, you mentioned the, the wind, snow load. I, I know, I believe in our technical data. We mentioned with 24 inch purlin spacing, you go up to 160 pounds per square foot wind and snow load.

So again that's with purlin spacing. We can certainly protect you there. Hey, you mentioned consciousness cutting of the product. How simple was it to cut?

It was just as easy as cutting a piece of finished plywood. That simple.

Fantastic.

Good sharp blade. I like having a fine tooth plywood blade on that. If you got something with a good carbide edge.

If you're doing a big project, they make specific blades for it.

But for me having a great powerful saw and a decent saw and a decent blade, it cut right through like butter and no issues left a super clean factory look on the end. Couldn't even tell I made a cut.

Fantastic. Fantastic. Yeah. We recommend circular saw or jigsaw and as you mentioned, like a carbide tip blade. Very simple to cut.

Yeah, it is great stuff. So have we missed anything, Mike, about about the product?

Because I tell you what, I just love it and it's such a great way to extend out, especially for you outdoor cookers out there that maybe have that gas barbecue or their Traeger sitting outside and they're tired of being outside with an umbrella trying to cook.

Exactly. And that's what we try to do is extend your enjoyable moments in your outdoor living segment.

Again, whether it's a pool, patio, spa, outdoor kitchen, the whole purpose of this is to number one, protect you from the elements and as you mentioned, not only from debris from the, from the trees above, but also from the sun. Again, it blocks UV A and B, you will not get sunburn or suntan sitting underneath these products.

And you will also protect your furniture, your outdoor living furniture as well.

I think you've really summed it up well when you say it's a simple cost conscious solution when compared to numerous expensive selections that are out there. Compare us and see the longevity of the product that we bring you. Lifetime limited warranty on light transmission. 10 year warranty on hail.

The material is meant to be a once and done project for you so that you can truly, as you said, looks like glass. Looks like a flat sheet of glass up there when you're sitting underneath of it.

And you truly unlike some other plastic products that kind of block the light or you can see the structure of the panel. No, with this AC right through it. It's a fantastic way to enjoy the nighttime sky.

Yeah. And I like the way that you guys created that trough with the way the pieces snap over the top of each other.

It really locks in and makes that structure rigid as well because that really locks all those, all the whole system together. So it is super strong.

But with that, like you said, when you pre drill that, it gives it room to expand and contract through the seasons and it's just a foolproof way to go. I think my next project now is this has worked out so well is to maybe go tackle the hot tub because like this last week we had pouring rain.

I didn't go use the hot tub because I was going to get wetter outside the hot tub than I was inside the hot tub.

And I'm like, maybe this is a good plan for the hot tub too because I'll get a little more enjoyable use out of it this time of year where here in the Pacific Northwest we got a lot more rain than sun.

No, I appreciate you mentioning that because the corrugations are designed to properly overlap and secure tightly. You will notice that one corrugation is higher than the other.

And that's designed on purpose for, as you just mentioned is to get a nice tight fit over that rafter using that fastener that we supply and also the tape we supply gives you a rigid and as I mentioned, up to 80 pounds per square foot snow load type of performance. Again, once and done, that's our goal of working with this type of a product.

The easy glaze and these fasteners are hefty.

This is not the thing you're going to go down to your home improvement store and grab off the shelf because these are, you know, 10x that size and they're meant to hold this. So you could not be more right on get those fasteners because that's not something that's sitting on the shelf someplace.

Exactly right. And I thank you for mentioning that because too many times, if you're looking for a shortcut, a lot of people will use a different type of fastener.

And not to get too technical here, but the EPDM that we use in our washer is designed for polycarbonate.

If you use, let's say a fastener with a like a neoprene washer that is typically used on a metal panel that will in effect attack the polycarbonate, you can have some issues. Yep. No. Use our panel, use our fastener, use our tape. And we stand behind that.

Yeah, it's really simple. If you do all that stuff right there, you'll be good as gold.

Mike, where do people find out more information about this stuff so they can go shopping for it and plan out that next project?

Great. Again, please Visit our website, WWRAamaricas. That's and you'll see in our product selection you can click on the corrugated items.

Click on Easy Glaze.

It'll take you to a full description with all the downloads, a nice gallery of photos of past projects we've done and also most importantly, the where to buy button is there that follows you as you cruise the website, to be honest with you. So you click on the where to buy and you you find your local provider.

There we go. Mike Hauser, thanks for coming on today, brother. I appreciate it.

And thanks for what you guys are doing on making outdoor living enjoyable all year long.

Eric, thanks for discovering us. Thank you for using us on your personal home. That says a lot. That says a lot.

You stand behind what you discuss on these shows and really thank you for the exposure you've given a wonderful product. The Easy Glaze by PowerIM Americas really is a best solution for your outdoor living style. So thank you.

All right, when we come back, we're going to be talking building patio covers just as soon as we return. Don't go anywhere. Not for many. Hey, this is Ron Kiel, the metal cowboy from Kiel, the Ron Keel Band and Stealer.

We are rocking around the house with Eric G. Raise your welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement. Thanks for joining me today.

If you want to find out more about us, head over to aroundthehouse online.com. make sure you follow us on social media. And if you're listening on the podcast, make sure you check out our premium membership. It's a great gift.

Four bucks a month. And you get the extended versions like an hour one.

Today we sat there and talked with ian from the IBHS and something that interview actually ran about an extra 15 or 20 minutes that didn't make it into the Radio Shore podcast. So if you want to hit that all commercial free, it's really easy to do that. And you get the show a couple days early as well.

So it's a win for everybody. Now, I wanted to talk about building patio covers.

We had Mike Hauser from Palram, who's really the king of those patio covers where you want the sun to come in. Or if you want to have a tinted version, you can do that as well. And it's a really good, durable way to do it.

That way you don't have a cave in there. Now, I wanted to talk about how you can build these out.

And the first thing that I want to figure out with you is the size of how you're going to build it and how you're going to connect it in to your existing structure. The first off, check with your building code guys, because you're building a big sale in the backyard that's permanently mounted.

So many times you're going to need a building permit to do this because it could be structural and you just want to do it right. And if you're doing it right, getting the building permit's not going to cost you much. They can take a look at it and then it's not an issue.

And I know a lot of people go, oh, I'm not pulling a permit. Well, I get that. But here's the problem.

We're starting to see building departments, insurance companies, all these different things, using drones and satellites to take a look and see what's going on at your place. And we're starting to see more and more of this structures being built. They go back on satellites and go, ah, you shoulda, coulda, woulda.

And so that's where you get burned. And I don't want to see people go, oh man, I gotta tear it down and build it back up again or do some significant work to get it up to code.

Especially if you've got an issue.

Let's say you had a fire or damage and somebody's got a pull permit to get the work done out there and they Come out and go, hey, but what about this? This isn't supposed to be there. Now you're in trouble and a simple paperwork could have fixed it for you. So here's the thing.

One of the biggest things is people start talking about footings and it's depending on where you're at in the country, how much concrete do you need to put in the ground? You're going to need to put concrete in for those posts, but it could be 24 inches, it could be 60 inches.

There's all these different areas and there's no one size fits all. So check with your local building department, see what frost line. If you don't have frost line, are you building in sand?

What kind of footing does it take to build something in your area? It's going to be different all across the country. So there is again, no one size fits all for that.

Now there is a great product that you can use if you're building off the back of your house to, to carry loads. You don't have to put those posts up against the back of your house. And that is my friends over here at Skylift Roof Riser.

Not a sponsor, but they are locally made here with me. They are a company that's based in my area here.

And to better explain what these do is instead of having to tie into the soffit and you're trying to try into trusses that maybe aren't even engineered for this, what these do is these go through the roof mount on the exterior wall. They're an engineered solution.

So this roof riser attaches it to your patio cover, can go over the overhang of the roof so you can get the height out of it.

They have a pipe jack that goes around them basically so that is sealed off like any plumbing vent pipe that comes through the roof and it sits on the structural wall so you're good to go. And this is a really good way to do a stylish, good looking, super strong support that you don't have to stick on the outside of your house.

It can go over the top so you're not messing with the gutters. You can work around the shingles up there. And so it's a really good way to do it.

They have different heights, they have different things you can do with this. So depending on what saddle size you're using, how big a beam, if you're doing a big huge heavy duty one.

And it's really designed to work for your patio covers so you don't have to worry about the low slope Issues. It gives you an expanded view, natural light, better air circulation, which is huge. And if you watched my video, I did.

And I'll put it up on around the house online.com for my patio cover I did up there, I put a little gap in there so I could get some more airflow so I wasn't trapping moisture and getting condensation up there. And that's something I learned a lot with doing steam showers and things like that. Of hey, airflow is your friend if you can do it right.

So you can also change your roof pitch now with this so you can get higher roof pitch and things like that off of the roof. And it's design tested and it's made right here in the USA. So take a look at skylift hardware.com and Doug and the guys over there. Really good stuff.

And so these are the best patio shade cover brackets you can build in. And they're really cool.

Now one thing to take a look too is like in Oregon, here in my area, depending on where you're at, you can, if you follow some of their basic plans that they have and you tie it into the house, you can build a patio cover under 200 square feet in our area. So take a look and see what the rules are in your area.

I built mine under 200 square feet because well didn't have to pull a permit if I did it correctly. So these are all things that you can do to make sure you're following the rules and make sure you're doing it correctly.

Now one thing that I've been doing too is make sure that you're doing the brackets and everything correctly and you're using the right screws. Do not just go down to the hardware store and get the regular yellow bright screws because the problem is those don't have any structural load to it.

So anytime you're building things outside, be using like the Simpson or one of the other brand brackets. Use their fasteners with them. Whether they're nails or screws. They want to be from the same manufacturer as the bracket.

And if you are screwing things together, make sure you're using a structurally rated screw, not just a deck screw. I want to see a structural screw and many companies make those depending on what brand you're looking at. And it's a really good way to go.

And one other thing too, that can be easier, especially when you're building a patio cover. If you're staining or paint.

Can be a lot easier to paint those things on the ground, get them painted up before you put them up, then all you're doing is touching them up when you get them up there, that can save you a ton of work and a ton of headaches. So think about what you're going to do with that.

And then also, as you're planning it, think about where the water is going to go and the way your prevailing winds are. If you're going to be building a roof cover, that patio cover that has a slope to it, is it sloping the right way?

If it's out there freestanding and you've got maybe a, you know, an angle roof on it, maybe it's not a regular, you know, shed, like a shed roof, for instance, make sure that you've got the wind going the way you want to, so you don't have this big open end that's blowing water in, and that'll really help you out as far as going through the storm. And I've got to extend out a little cover on mine because I'm getting some windblown rain onto my outdoor kitchen when I get a good storm going.

So I'm going to be building a little tiny addition onto mine just to make sure over my outdoor kitchen there to make sure that I've got that covered. Because again, with wind conditions and things like that, you'll notice and say, hey, I want to make sure and keep this dry.

So I've got a little tiny addition I'm going to do on mine. It's not going to be much. Basically, I'm just going to add another couple feet onto my patio cover there, so I'm good to go.

So if I go out there like Thanksgiving here, cooking outside, Christmas, cooking something outside on the barbecue, I don't want to be out there under the weather.

And these are really cool things you can do, and they can be pretty cost effective, especially if you're using the right materials and getting that knocked out. So the other thing is, take a look. And we talked about it in the first hour of making sure.

When you build these patio covers, build them right, build them strong, do lots of bracing when you can. If it's something that's freestanding, lots of blocking, lots of shear nailing on the roof surface.

If you're doing a roof product, if you are going to be putting it in there and you want it to stay nice and strong, that's one of those things that I always want to make sure people are taking a look at to make sure that something like you build out there doesn't blow over. And if you've got hurricanes.

If you've got tornadoes, if you've got high winds, like many people do, there's a lot of cool brackets out there now that are decorative that Simpson makes and others that look like steel iron brackets that you put on, but they've got some extra strength to them as well and not be lifted off the ground and poured out and sent across the driveway into the neighbor's yard. And trust me, I've had that happen with one of those portable garages. All right.

When we come back, we'll be talking more about building outdoor structures just as soon as we return. Don't go anywhere. All right. Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement. Thanks for joining me today.

I am Eric G. And in this last segment of the show today, we're going to be talking about things to consider when you're designing that outdoor structure.

But first, this segment is brought to you by our friends over at Monument Grills.

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Now the thing that you need to take in mind and keep in mind with this kind of thing is what you're going to be doing out there and plan out what's your ultimate so it gives you the optimum flexibility. Now here's one thing that you should do.

If you're ever thinking about putting in fans underneath it or lights, this is something you probably want to pre wire up while you're building it. It'll be a heck of a lot easier than to tear down an inside finish on it and be able to build it up there and do it correctly. Think ahead.

Do you want lights? Do you want an outlet where you can plug in patio lights? Do you want to put in a couple fans outside? Ceiling fans?

Do you want those on separate circuits? Are you going to put a patio heater in? Is that going to be gas, maybe electric?

What are you going to do outside in that area if you're going to build in an outdoor kitchen before you build the deck out, are you going to run natural gas over there? Are you going to run power for your Traeger? Are you going to run what are you going to do?

What are you going to do for the things you need over there? Are you in an area where you can get away with running some plumbing outside. So you can have a sink or an ice maker. Are you going to have a fridge?

If you're building a big outdoor kitchen, you might need two, three, even four electrical circuits outside.

You sure want to do it now as you're building it than trying to be fishing stuff underneath the deck up into a patio cover, trying to figure out how to get it up there without putting in a bunch of ugly conduit after the fact. You're gonna put a tv. And I'll tell you what funny thing. My TV is covered underneath my patio.

And I went out and looked for what TVs cost for an outdoor rated TV. Thousands of bucks. So what do I do? I had an old tv, I thought I got an older Samsung one. It's been upgraded.

I stuck it out there three and a half, four years ago. And if in the wintertime I'll throw some plastic over it just to make sure that it doesn't get too damp out there.

But that TV has been cranking along and it was old to begin with. It's got three and a half, four years outside. If you've got a space that's going to stay dry 24, 7 out there, don't be ashamed to put a TV out there.

Quite frankly, I know it sounds wasteful, but it's a lot cheaper for me to put that out there. And if it dies, guess what, I go get another one. It's that simple.

Not going to go spend a couple grand, three grand on a outdoor rated TV that I can get something. Since it's shaded, it's under the COVID it's going to be fine down there. And something to think about.

Start out with an old tv, see if it's going to work, it's on. If it's on a GFCI outlet, which should be outside anyway, then you should be good to go.

And just make sure it's not getting wet out there and it should be okay. If you're in a humid area. I'm not that humid of an area, but if you're in a humid area, you could have a different outcome.

Be very careful, it might not work in your area if you've got high humidity that could just char everything up on the inside with corrosion and salt air. Things like that. Probably would have to get a more expensive television.

Well, think about all of these plans that you want to make out there with this stuff and plan ahead if you're going to put on mine. I actually built a Cover.

On my lower deck down there where the outdoor kitchen is, I put a stained cedar panel up on the inside so when you looked up, you have a nice stained cedar panel. I did that underneath the outdoor kitchen area. And of course I did that on the outside. Extended little cover I put out there as well.

That was about 195 square feet. Now, one thing to think about, and I designed mine to do this, but I still might do this down the road just of ease.

But I've got power up there because I gave myself that room to do it.

But outdoor ventilation, if you've got a big patio cover, putting in a range hood for a barbecue is not a bad idea if you don't want to smoke out your guests. This is one of those things that can be really cool and can be really nice if you're designing that outdoor space.

Now I've got a slanted roof right there, so I've got a good cross breeze so it will go up and out without too badly getting the guests. But one of these days that might be another upgrade I do on mine by adding that in there. And yeah, it's one of those things.

You just can't have enough electricity over there for that.

And that's some of the things to consider too is when you're looking at outdoor appliances, make sure you're getting stuff that is rated for outdoor use.

When it comes to refrigerators, you want an outdoor rated refrigerator because you don't want to be freezing stuff up inside the refrigerator outside and that can cause problems with stuff that you've got in there. And outdoor rated refrigerators are designed to be working outside so they will have a better temperature management system.

You can't just take that under counter fridge that you are going to put into the bar area and move it outside. It's not the same as a tv. You can run into problems.

If you've got some high heat situations and freezing temperature situations, it might not go as well as planned. So make sure you get the right unit for that project.

Now I have a crazy project I'm going to try to design out and this is going to be full on MacGyver stuff here. And you guys can tell me crazy, but it's something I want to try to build. I can weld so I can do stuff here.

I'm going to be curious to see how this goes, but I want to build a roof cover over my hot tub for these rainy evenings, nights that we get for four or five months. And I want to build it out of that Power material, which is great, that easy glaze.

But I also, if it's snowing outside, I want to be able to sit in the hot tub with the snow. So my plan right now is I'm going to start designing out a hot tub cover.

It's going to be like your baseball stadium out there that I can actually crank or put a motor on. I want it to move. I want it to be able to go out of the way so we can sit there and then be able to use it when I don't want to.

So if I want to be out there in the COVID I can have it that way. But if we're going to get a snowstorm or something, I can go in and put it over the top and use it that way. I'm going to start designing that out.

This is going to be fun. It's going to be a wild project.

But I've always wanted to do something like that where it's like, all right, if they could do it for a baseball stadium, I can sure do it for this. So I'm going to try to build this thing out. It'll be fun to see how that turns out. But we're going to have some fun with this one.

This could be a fun little engineering project. It'll be small, a little eight by eight areas. All I'm trying to cover. So it'll probably be like a 10 by 10. But if I can do that where that'll.

That'll move out of the way and maybe go back on tracks, something like that could be cool to do. And the hard part, to be able to make it so it doesn't lift out of the way.

But I think I can do that where wind won't get it and do crazy stuff to it. But I think if I can go up there and make it so it moves on some tracks, this could be cool.

So this will be a fun little project to build a little engineering challenge. But have some fun when you're designing these outdoor spaces. Think outside of the box.

I'm gonna go outside of the box on this one and see what I can do with it. And it'll be fun to do because I want to have the best of both worlds.

I won't have to get out there and put any kind of a temporary cover up because it's no fun that way. I'd much have it out there where it's pretty, then I can use it that way.

But if it's snowing where we do get that a few times a year, Here I want to be able to take advantage of it. It's not like at my house, we get snow months on end. We might get.

We might not have snow one year and then that the next year we got two feet on the ground. So it's very hit and miss. But I'm going to try to do something like that. So if you're trying to build something like that, send me some pictures.

I'd love to see what you're working on. I've got an idea in my head how I'm going to build it, but we'll see if we can be able to do something like that.

And the way you can get a hold of me is around the house online.com now I want to take the last couple of minutes here and make sure that you know how to follow us out there on the show before we wrap this up. It's a great time to talk about it. We have our Instagram, I have LinkedIn, Eric Gorenson, you can find me on there.

As well as we've got around the House For Facebook, we have the around the House around the House Nation, which is our closed group and that's a Facebook closed group.

If you're a real person now, if you just started your Facebook account four months ago and you go on there and don't answer any of the questions, probably not going to let you in because we protect our members in there because we want to have a really nice place. There's no spam. There's none of that stuff out there. You're not going to see people posting up Amazon stuff. If they do, they get booted.

There are no second chances. Out you go. Permanently banned. If you're posting up your Amazon jobs online, that kind of stuff. We don't allow any of that other spam in there.

And if someone's being not nice, they're being mean. No mean girls allowed from all the guys out there. We don't allow that as well.

So it's a really cool, fun place and you get some world class, DIY home improvement people even from TV shows on there that are really doing stuff to help people out. So maybe even your favorite TV host on there.

I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about other shows that you might be watching on HDTV or Magnolia or whatever they're commenting on there from time to time, which is a lot of fun to watch when people get shocked to see what project they're working on. And I want to see your victories too. What are you working on? Post them up on there. That's what it's there for.

Then, of course, got a new website coming out here soon. I got busy on some other stuff with travel, being down in California, getting back on the website design here with side hype to get that finished up.

Balls on my court. I just got to get it done and that'll be really cool. It's going to be a lot more informative for you and easier to navigate.

A lot of cool stuff coming your way. All right, if you want to find us more about us, head over to around the house online.com and we'll see you next week.

If you're listening on the radio, make sure you catch us on the podcast during the week. We have our midweek special that airs every Wednesday morning that you can check about 7am Pacific.

About that time is when you see it populate out there and then it'll show up on the podcast players. I'm Eric G. You've been tuning in to around the House. We'll see you next week all over the Radio with.