I have always loved solid tips and tricks that can make a project easier to complete and ends up working better in the long run. Here are some of my favorites that can save you some money and make for a better built project. Check it out!

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Mentioned in this episode:

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Baldwin Hardware

Baldwin Hardware

[00:00:22] Eric Goranson: And that is dealing with touching up texture inside, you know, around your house. Basically, if you've got that orange peel or a knockdown and they're. Some secrets that I have to making sure that this works correctly for you. Now, this is one of those things that, uh, there's kind of multiple tricks to this and let me show you what it is.

[00:01:03] Eric Goranson: Welcome to 2024. And man, I can't believe what happened to 2023 and it's already behind us. Well, I wanted to catch you up here on around the house show. If you're brand new catching us, uh, we've added so many stations on the radio out there. Welcome. This is where we talk about home improvement, whether you've got one hour or two for the show, it doesn't matter.

[00:01:45] Eric Goranson: Well, if you want to be a part of the show, if you've got a home improvement question, this is not your typical call in show, but we do take your questions. And that number is 833 239 4144. Give us a call toll free 833 239 [00:02:00] 4144. And you might end up in an episode of a future show. Well, today I wanted to talk about in this episode, my top 10 homeowner tricks.

[00:02:33] Eric Goranson: But the problem is, is when you're dealing with stuff, uh, where you're trying to seal up maybe tile in a shower. Or a backsplash anywhere, like with tile, for instance, anytime you change direction. So, like, uh, on the inside corners of a shower system or between a shower and a tub or a shower and a, a base, uh, or anything like that, or countertop and a backsplash.

[00:03:11] Eric Goranson: And it's so hard to clean up. Now, here is my secret to it. Now, there are some new products on the market now that are, um, that are meant for getting, you know, using and working with caulking, but it's a little harder to find. And this is my secret. And everybody you see out there, if you've been to the grocery store, if you've been to the home improvement store in the cleaning aisle, you will see the spray metal spray can of the foam aerosol window cleaner, the stuff that just foams up.

[00:04:06] Eric Goranson: And then I'll use the ease of my finger or a finishing tool. And I'll spray the finishing tool, get everything covered with this. And then I'll go wipe it off. You'll realize at this point that that window cleaner, which is a surfactant. Makes it so the silicone temporarily doesn't stick to your hands to your tools or everything else.

[00:04:44] Eric Goranson: And then you've got this beautiful layer of silicone and it is so much easier to keep cleaned up. And it's so much easier. And if you want to see a video of me showing you how to do it, you can head over to, uh, uh, the KPTV Fox 12. And actually if you [00:05:00] head over to, uh, the website around the house online, I'll post it up up there.

[00:05:23] Eric Goranson: So I wanted to make sure and pass that along. We talked about it last year, I think. But it's just one of my favorite tricks in doing caulking and it makes life so much easier and this is for silicone caulk. So that is a good one. Now the next lesson is a hard lesson that I've learned and I don't know about you but I've always hated spending lots of money on saw blades, on You know, reciprocating saw blades or sawzall blades or multi tool blades.

[00:06:20] Eric Goranson: And so I have gone back to buying higher quality blades that saved me tons of time that I get a lot more life out of. And we'll do the job for the project I'm working on. And I had a handful of blades that were ones that I had bought from Amazon that I had bought that were, you know, nine bucks for 20 of them or nine bucks for 50 of them, depending on what sale you get.

[00:07:02] Eric Goranson: It saved me a lot of time than trying to stomach through that old one. So the next one I tried to do is again, I tried using that in the multi tool. I had a multi tool blade that was low quality and guess what? That thing burned me as well. So now I use the fine, uh, blades. They're so much better and things have just gone really well.

[00:07:49] Eric Goranson: That makes a huge difference on the quality of your work and having something that cuts through that you have control of that. You're not having to push it. You're not burning motors up. You're not fighting it. [00:08:00] It just saves time. So that's my my thing for 2024 is I'm done buying cheap blades And we're gonna put good ones to the test and that is something that I've learned now speaking of that if you've been watching my television show and you can catch that on YouTube or you can catch it on the Fox 12 YouTube page and you can find that over there on my page as well around the house online I have been doing a lot of testing of tools and, uh, cheap stuff off Amazon, to be honest, and that is something that we've been buying.

[00:08:48] Eric Goranson: That's not my battle to fight. People are out there buying them anyway, and that's a battle between that manufacturer and Amazon. So I'm not going to get involved in that, but I am going to show you. How many of those are not what they say they [00:09:00] are. They're pretending to be a knockoff and you know something, they're poorly engineered.

[00:09:28] Eric Goranson: Then absolutely those people need to go after Amazon and all those people out there that are knocking 'em off. But if it's for sale out there, I'm gonna show you why it works and more importantly, why it doesn't around the house. We'll be right back after these important messages. Don't go any

[00:10:15] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round The House Show this. We hope you get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. If you want to track us down and get more information, head over to around the house, online. com. And that's also where you'll find our phone number. If you've got home improvement questions where you can give us a call toll free 41 44.

[00:11:16] Eric Goranson: Now, this is one of those things that, uh, there's kind of multiple tricks to this, and let me show you what it is. The first one is, is an hour or two before you get. That thing going make sure that you have that nice and warm that can that you're going to use needs to be like above 80 degrees. Not too hot because I don't want you to blow that thing up, but just nice and warm.

[00:12:03] Eric Goranson: Make sure you've got that thing nice and warmed up. That is going to give you some added workability and it's going to spray out a little bit nicer. Now the second thing is, and that's my trick too, if you're doing roofing cement or even if you're working with other products like that, make sure it's up to operating temperature before you use it.

[00:12:42] Eric Goranson: Now, the 3rd one in that is going to be, uh, to make sure that you've primed it and you put a good adhesion primer down before in that area that you're going to texture. So if you put a bunch of patch on, maybe it was a whole or a doorknob went in anything like that. Make sure you've got that dialed in.[00:13:00]

[00:13:19] Eric Goranson: Cause, uh, that really ends up looking good. When you can get that thing dialed in. So that is one of my great tips. So make sure that you're using a warm can and you've, you got that. So that's just going to be a good tip for you on doing that next patch job on your next project. Now, my fourth tip is an important one.

[00:14:00] Eric Goranson: So here's what I'm saying that you should do on this. Install as much as you can before you have to put the sink in the hole. So if you've got a set of, uh, you know, work benches, or you've got someplace flat to work on, put down a towel just so you don't scratch things up and that's where I would get the drain assembly put in, whether it's a kitchen.

[00:14:43] Eric Goranson: Doing it where you're fighting, why fight it, put it all in together and drop it in is one unit. And the more you can get done from the top side that way, it's going to be a lot easier because you can get those things set and you're not having to fight it while you're upside down. So the more you can do that way, the better off you are, you know, and [00:15:00] the same goes for when you're taking it apart, don't have to disassemble the whole thing right there.

[00:15:20] Eric Goranson: So take your time, get her done, right? And the least work you have to do while you're upside down, the better off you are. And you know, something that's going to be a better project when you're all said and done anyway. All right. Our next one here is one of the most important ones. And this is what I think are your must have power tools in your collection.

[00:15:58] Eric Goranson: Basic set. [00:16:00] So here's the thing. And one thing that I want to talk about here before we go out to break too, because we're going to, this is a little bit more detail here is that I think all of these tools should be under the same brand and it doesn't matter, uh, what brand that is, just make sure that you're getting something that's all, there's no reason to have four different chargers.

[00:16:54] Eric Goranson: But depending on what, what you're using them for, you don't have to get something crazy, you know? I [00:17:00] mean, you can go down and get, uh, heck, you can head down to Harbor Freight. If you're just doing a couple of projects around the house and get some basic tools, you don't have to go down and buy the best of Milwaukee.

[00:17:33] Eric Goranson: The first one is going to be that impact driver. Now you can go. With a drill as well, but I do like the impact driver because it does put a lot more torque when you're trying to put in screws and things like that. I do like that for that. So whether or not you have the drill or the impact driver, both can get the job done, but I prefer the compactness of the impact driver.

[00:18:09] Eric Goranson: Now, my second one here is an obvious one. It is just circular side as one that you can cut plywood. You can cut boards. You can do all this different stuff with. So a circular saw is going to be my number two so that way you can cut simple boards You can use the impact driver drill to put things together and that's good.

[00:19:12] Eric Goranson: Welcome back guys to the round the house show. I'm Eric G where we've been talking here about my top 10 homeowner tips And tricks that'll make that project easier. Now, if you want to get ahold of me, you can just give me a call at 8 tool free. If you've got a comment, if you want to be part of the show with a question, 833 239 4144.

[00:19:54] Eric Goranson: But I will say, and this is something that I have learned. If you can get a better one, it will be easier [00:20:00] on your body. And I have used, I've got probably 100 hours on my Milwaukee, but you know, something that fine is just so much better tool. And nothing against Milwaukee guys. I'm still a fan, but it is just a better tool for doing the job.

[00:20:36] Eric Goranson: Now, if you're just doing it for every once in a while, I wouldn't worry about it. But when you're doing more and more of it, this is one of those things that I think it's really important for you to get as high a quality tool as you can afford. Let's talk about that for a minute because We talked about a little bit of that in the last segment, but it's really important here is to be getting the grade of tool for what you're doing.

[00:21:12] Eric Goranson: So I mess with it. When, you know, you can get the right tool and it's not Harbor Freight's fault. They didn't design that to be an iron worker tool or whatever you were doing it with. So just make sure that you're getting the right quality tool for the right project and they'll be better off. And it's just going to be designed better for what you're trying to do.

[00:21:45] Eric Goranson: Now, if you're not doing a ton of the chop saw work, then don't worry about it. You can always go rent one for the big project, but that is the thing. If you've got a nice chop saw that you've got a good blade on, that you've got it squared up and true, you're going to be good to go. And I actually have two of them.

[00:22:21] Eric Goranson: So that is a lot more of my more framing, just simple, light duty, um, saw in the both of them are cordless, but the 12 inches, the 1 that I use for my bigger projects and when I want more of a finished. You know, finished quality work on it. So that is my tip there. But when in doubt, you can always go rent it if you don't use it.

[00:23:00] Eric Goranson: Maybe not go out and buy the table saw unless you're gonna be using it a lot It takes up a lot of space and they're pretty expensive You're better off going down and renting one in using it and that way you're not having to store it. You're not using a lot It's okay, and then you can go get that tool There's a lot of times that I go down to the tool center and I rent tools that I'm gonna use one time lifts Scaffolding these are things that I don't just use enough and quite frankly that take up a ton of space So for me, it's easier to go down there And you know something, and here's one little tip too.

[00:23:48] Eric Goranson: And for instance, You know, here in the Portland metro area in Oregon, where I live, if I go down and rent a track hoe or something, or if I rent an excavator from Home Depot, and [00:24:00] I'm sorry, Home Depot, this is just what happens when I go down to my local store. And I go down there and the treads are, are worn off of the thing.

[00:24:29] Eric Goranson: Because the, uh, you know, there are multiple problems and so I ended up having to take it back, but I spent a lot of time trying to get that thing running and that's not a good use of time, especially when you're renting something. So I tend to go to the more local rental centers. Um, just because, um, there's some of them out there, like, in my area.

[00:25:09] Eric Goranson: And the next time that I go get it. It doesn't look like it's been stolen and driven like it was a car. So just make sure that you get the right ones and then it's safe. And that's going to be a key to going out and renting tools. Now, the next one here is, is a tip that is a rule generally across the board.

[00:26:00] Eric Goranson: And I'm not talking about your big mansions and crazy stuff, but I'm talking about your basic DIY or your home centers have the lower 40 or 50 percent of the market when it comes to building materials. Now, if you walk down the tile aisle and you see. You know, um, a lot of the stuff that's on the shelf as far as your mastics and your grouts, most of that stuff is kind of your lower end materials.

[00:26:55] Eric Goranson: Really, really well. So these are things that I would much rather see you go [00:27:00] and stay out of the home center and that goes to buying faucets that goes to buying plumbing fixtures because many times there's a different grade in the home centers than what you see at those specialty plumbing stores. So.

[00:27:37] Eric Goranson: And generally you're going to have a better idea of where the trades go. So if you can do your shopping there. One, you're probably going to have higher quality materials to they should be reasonably priced in three. You're going to have a more reliable product and something that's going to be nicer when it's all said and done, because sometimes when you go out and buy low quality tile that's warped, it's really hard for a [00:28:00] D.

[00:28:20] Eric Goranson: And we'll talk about that when we come back because. There is a, a belief that the, the home centers have a lumber problem and it's not, it's how they store it. We'll talk about that just as soon as around the house returns.[00:29:00]

[00:29:27] Eric Goranson: That project go a little bit easier for you the next time around. Let's talk about lumber and whether it's better in the lumber yard or it's better in the home center, because this is a big deal. And I think we got to stop a bunch of these kind of rumors and myths so we can tackle these projects the right way and not worry so much about where we're getting the materials, because a lot of this is just kind of common sense.

[00:30:11] Eric Goranson: They know what they're talking about. And, uh, they've been working with the trades and working with the contractors for years. So they know exactly what's going on, which I'm always a supporter of those guys, but I have no problem with the home centers, but let me explain where most of the problems come from.

[00:30:46] Eric Goranson: So they come off the top of the stack and they go into a pile and they get delivered or a whole unit gets delivered out to a job site. Truck shows up, gets delivered. The differences is when you walk into a home center. [00:31:00] And then the other thing is most of this stuff is actually sitting outside at the lumberyard.

[00:31:26] Eric Goranson: And high grading everything and trying to steal the best wood out of it. And then what happens is it's a lot of work for people to write off the materials there that are warped and ugly and nasty. So what happens is, is when that bunk has been all picked through a two by fours, the, you know, near minimum wage person that's working there at the home center comes in there at the forklift, they drop a new unit in.

[00:32:15] Eric Goranson: And so you have kind of a duplicate. You could have the same bunk of lumber. That you say that looks really good inside a lumber yard, you know, that's sitting out, but if you put it in that situation in the home center, you got a problem because now you just got the same situation. So it's not that their lumber so much is junk.

[00:32:54] Eric Goranson: It's it's the whole environment. That's the problem. Not so much of the lumber that's [00:33:00] coming in. And that's just something to think about when you're thinking about lumber. Now, here's the other thing to that has been a debate on a lot of the old house groups and everything else is that all the old growth lumber is better because it's got the tight rings.

[00:33:37] Eric Goranson: It's by this wood species compared to what cedar would be or what yellow southern yellow pine would be or whatever It's a wood species thing not a old growth new growth thing So don't get hung up on the how many rings are there or which all that tells you is how fast the tree was going Growing or how slow the tree was growing and if it was in a bunch of different [00:34:00] places Like if it was if you have one that's out on the edge where it's getting full sun all day It might grow very differently Then if it was sitting there inside a grove of trees, and so that really is what, you know, or what the soil conditions are, what the weather has been, or how much rain has happened.

[00:34:32] Eric Goranson: You don't need to have all the clearest, beautiful stuff for framing. It has to be good enough to get the job done. So that's one that's really important there. And so just pay attention when you're going to the home center or this, or your specialty store, what's our lumber yard or a plumbing wholesaler, pay attention to what you're doing and you're going to end up better off.

[00:35:18] Eric Goranson: You should always be using primer when you're starting off doing something. It doesn't matter if you're going over brand new drywall, then you're going to use a PVA primer on that to seal it. That's what you want for that. Or, or if you're going over bare wood that you want a, uh, adhesion primer, that is going to be a stain blocker as well.

[00:35:55] Eric Goranson: So that's the key right there. Make sure you get that paint and [00:36:00] primer all in one is, is helpful. If you're going over a dark color and making it lighter or anything like that. But if you're going over a bright red wall with a light color paint, you still want to go through and use a color blocking primer.

[00:36:37] Eric Goranson: No, you still need primer. You still need paint. And the other one here, which is my other tip here, which is number nine has to do with paint. And that is get as best pain as you can afford. Because the most expensive paint is the cheapest paint because if I need to go out and I look at a big room and Go, I need three gallons of paint.

[00:37:31] Eric Goranson: And this is a common thing that many of us, including I do when I'm looking at new projects is I jump on social media. I look at YouTube. I look at reels. I look at everything for tips on new products or how to install it. Be very careful of looking at tips online. We have a new trend. For 2022 and 2023, it's carrying over to 2024 that I'm going to be exposing this year, and you're going to see it on social media.[00:38:00]

[00:38:36] Eric Goranson: And so it's a new business model for home improvement. So be very careful of your sources for tricks and tips out there. I just watched a guy what you're going to see in a video coming up said, Hey, I'm short on my spray on my, on my sheet rock here by about an inch. And so instead of getting the right piece of sheetrock, just fill it in with spray foam and mud over the top of it.

[00:39:13] Eric Goranson: I just want to stop the stuff out there that people seem to be doing just to get the clicks and it's going to put you in a bad spot because you end up doing a process project or a process wrong and that's going to cost your money. All right, everybody, that's the end of our number one today. Thanks for tuning into around the house.