
In Hour 1 of the Owners Radio Podcast At present, we offer warning indicators of dwelling enchancment scams. Plus, we deal with some frequent home initiatives, resolve storage door mysteries and extra!
Hearken to Jam 2 to discover ways to lay tiles with out mortar, take away soot from fireplaces, and extra.
at 1 o’clock
BOLO for This Residence Enchancment Rip-off

In keeping with the Federal Commerce Fee, greater than 6,100 dwelling enchancment scams are reported yearly on common and value owners $14 million.
That quantity is far decrease than the precise variety of frauds that happen annually. Many extra go unreported as a result of some individuals are too embarrassed to report it or they really feel it will be pointless to take action.
Residence enchancment scams are often out in the course of the summer season. Many individuals are out and about already working from their houses, so this is a chance for them to strategy you.
Listed below are some purple flags to look out for:
- Door to door gross sales: Do not belief somebody knocking in your door to give you a service. Test their credentials and ensure they work for a good firm.
- The contractor desires the venture paid for upfront: In the event you pay abruptly up entrance, the contractor can pull the venture out, or worse, take the cash and run.
- “Particular provide” with expiry date approaching: Completely analysis the individuals and corporations providing you these offers and ensure they’re legit. Belief your instincts: if one thing goes fallacious, stroll away. In the event you ask to take the time to consider it, chances are you’ll by no means see that individual once more.
- Street sealing rip-off: A scammer will strategy you about sealing your asphalt highway in place. Typically coat it with a runny sealant or, worse, motor oil! Subsequent time it rains, sealing by washing.
Strategies for Basic Initiatives

Ann Peterson, from Poland, Ohio, sought recommendation on these frequent dwelling enchancment initiatives:
- Restore the bathtub: There are three choices — mount the shell over the present tub, have an professional refinish or refinish your self — this is how.
- Fixing rest room tiles: If the tile comes off, placing a brand new tile on it won’t resolve the issue. Since it is a very small room, go forward and take away the tiles.
- The issue may very well be with the subflooring. Typically water seeps in and damages it, so you will have to exchange it earlier than putting in new tiles.
- Including tiles on prime of outdated tiles, even when they’ve an excellent floor, will trigger top issues.
- Deck repaint: We do not advocate portray decks, however since this deck is already painted, this is what it is advisable to do: Use a chemical stripper or an orange-based stripper to take away any paint. Scrape off with a putty knife, then frivolously sand the deck. As a substitute of including one other coat of paint, cowl it with a coloured stain. To save lots of time, rent knowledgeable painter to do it.
Storage Door Thriller Solved

Craig Walker from Illinois mentioned, “Our two storage doorways face east. On this previous yr or so, they’ve turn into very delicate and won’t descend whether it is sunny or sunny outdoors. We have now to get out of the automotive and launch the door manually after which exit one other door. If we go inside the home, we are able to make it shut by holding down the door unlock button positioned on the wall.”
This can be a phenomenon brought on by infrared mild. The storage door sensor makes use of infrared mild. This security gadget beams mild throughout the opening, and if the lamp is broken, the door will reverse.
Daylight has a specific amount of infrared mild. If the sensor is uncovered to lots of daylight, it will possibly break the beam.
Producers make a tool referred to as a sunshield that covers a part of the sensor however would not block the electrical eye.
You can too use paper towels or bathroom paper rolls to dam daylight from hitting the sensor. Lower them into two to 4 inches in order that the coils do not block the electrical eye.
At 2 o’clock
Within the 2 Hours Owners Radio Podcast At present, discover ways to lay tiles with out mortar, take away soot from fireplaces, and extra.
Putting in Tiles With out Mortar

A curious listener: As a substitute of mortar, can you utilize glue to place tiles across the edges of the countertop?
In the event you’re not utilizing mortar, you will want a robust development adhesive like Titebond.
Something put in on a vertical floor tends to slip down, so to maintain the tiles in place, place items of wooden on the underside and insert wooden spacers between every tile. Use painter’s tape to carry it in place whereas the adhesive dries.
For an additional agency grip, strive a method I name “glue burping.” Here is how one can do it:
- Apply adhesive to the again of the tile
- Place the tiles on the wall.
- After a number of seconds, pull to show extra of the adhesive to the air.
- Lastly, simply push it again into place.
Burping the glue opens the glue extra open to the air, so it dries extra evenly for a stronger bond.
Cleansing Soot From the Fire

Final yr, Drew Lipinski turned his outdated wood-fired fire into gasoline.
He says it retains him heat all winter — and he would not even have to cut a log!
Nonetheless, his weak point was that he seen that the white bricks above the fireside have been stained with black soot. He requested, “How can I clear the soot stain?
If the gasoline fire just isn’t adjusted to the correct air combination, you’ll find yourself with a soot state of affairs.
Listed below are the choices for cleansing:
- Make a paste of TSP and water and scrub the stain with a sponge. Watch this video to see how one can do it.
- Use store-bought cleaners like Sentinel Smoke and Soot Cleaner
- In the event you do not wish to use harsh chemical compounds, combine equal elements water and baking soda to make a paste. Apply it on the bricks, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Spray with water to maintain it moist. Lastly, rub the paste.
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Easy Answer

Completely Straight Lower with Oscillating Multi Device — The oscillating instrument is a conveyable and compact energy instrument that accepts all kinds of interchangeable blades.
Can sand, lower, scrape, grind and polish all kinds of constructing supplies.
It’s referred to as an oscillating instrument as a result of the blades oscillate forwards and backwards.
Whereas this instrument cuts effectively and may be very versatile, the high-speed oscillating vibrations make it a bit troublesome to regulate.
To make a superbly straight lower, get somewhat assist out of your pace sq..
- Maintain the pace field securely in place proper on the lower line.
- Then, merely run the multi-tool blade alongside the sting of the sq., leading to a straight, clean lower.
This system works nice when trimming baseboards or chair rail moldings, reducing home boards, making deck boards, or anyplace you want an correct straight lower.
Watch: How To Simply Lower Baseboard Trim Utilizing the Oscillating Device

Tree Trunk Protector — Bark is a tree’s first line of protection in opposition to boring bacterial and bug illnesses.
To guard the timber in your yard, paint the trunks white to assist forestall one thing referred to as sunscald. This happens in winter when excessive temperature fluctuations trigger tree bark to crack.
Then, when summer season comes, the tree is inclined to infections and dangerous bugs.
- Combine water and white latex paint in equal proportions.
- Brush the diluted paint onto the underside three to 4 ft of the trunk.
Gentle paint colours preserve the wooden from overheating and forestall chipping and cracking in a while. Repeat annually.
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