August 16, 2025 • 38 mins
In this episode of 'Home in Progress', Dan Hansen dives into the importance of deck safety with an annual inspection checklist to prevent collapses, shares insights on dealing with mysterious white powdery substances known as efflorescence on basement walls, and offers expert advice on choosing the perfect paint colors for west-facing rooms which experience dramatic lighting changes throughout the day. Additionally, Dan reflects on the evolving value of trade skills in the face of advancing AI technology. Sponsored by RepcoLite Paints and Benjamin Moore, this episode combines practical home maintenance tips with thoughtful discussions on career choices and the lasting importance of skilled trades.CHAPTERS00:00 Welcome to Home in Progress00:50 The Impact of AI on Trades07:10 Deck Safety Essentials18:41 Understanding Efflorescence in Basements19:43 Identifying Efflorescence: The White Fuzz on Your Walls20:49 Understanding the Cause: Moisture Issues21:21 Cleaning Efflorescence: Tools and Techniques21:57 Preventing Recurrence: Addressing Moisture Problems23:02 Painting Over Efflorescence: Do's and Don'ts24:47 Choosing Colors for West Facing Rooms27:52 The Impact of Light on Paint Colors29:43 Tips for Selecting the Right Color38:07 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hi everybody, and welcome to Home in Progress, brought to
you by Recolite Paints and Benjamin Moore. I'm Dan Hansen,
and on today's episode, we're going to be covering a
lot of ground. We're going to end the show with
some guidance on choosing the right paint colors for west
facing rooms. You know that afternoon sun can really change
the way a color reads, and we've got the tips
to help you get it right. Before that, we're going
(00:23):
to be discussing some mysterious white powdery substances that can
show up on your basement walls. They look like mold,
but they're not. It's called efflorescence, and we're going to
break down what causes it and how to deal with it.
And coming up next, we're going to talk about something
that's often overlooked but super important, deck safety. You know, collapses.
They're rare, but they're not impossible. So we'll walk through
(00:46):
a simple annual inspection process that could make all the difference.
But right now, I want to start with something that's
kind of been on my mind a bit lately. I've
been thinking about how quickly technology and especially AI is
changing the world of work. And I started thinking about this.
I've been thinking about it, but it really hit home
(01:07):
maybe a week ago or so when I ran into
an article published by Microsoft. Now, Microsoft ran a study
with their bing co pilot AI and ranked the top
forty jobs that are most at risk from AI. AI's
coming for these jobs. They listed the top forty jobs
that were at risk, and then they gave the top
(01:28):
forty that are the safest. Now the at risk list,
it was full of jobs like customer service, reps, writers, paralegals,
web developers, even some programming roles. Now the safe list
that was a whole different picture. It was caregivers, cleaners, roofers, pipefitters, plumbers, plasterers,
and right there in the middle of that mix professional painters.
(01:51):
What do all of those safe jobs have in common.
I mean, we can see it instantly. They require hands
on work, They require real skill, you know, human judgment.
They require a presence. You know, you've got to be
on site. A human has to be on site to
do these jobs. No matter how smart the tech gets,
it can't paint your house. And that really hit me.
(02:11):
I love talking about the trades. I love the fact
that the value of the trades is becoming more and
more apparent to everybody out there. You know, that's great,
and I love the fact that that's, you know, coming
around because when I was in high school, and maybe
this was true for you, trades were a little bit discouraged.
You know, it was all about college. It was all
about pursuing some of these big careers. And it's funny
(02:34):
because some of these big careers we were encouraged to
pursue are the same ones that are in a little
bit of jeopardy today thanks to AI. Now, meanwhile, we've
got this, you know, entire world of trade skills that,
sure they can be enhanced by AI. I get that,
but they're not going to be replaced by AI. You know,
(02:55):
a palmer or an electrician whoever might use AI to
help diagnose the complex issue. But at the end of
the day, somebody still has to do the work. You know,
you still need a hands on skill, you still need
people there. And that brings me back to painting because
it's something that I see up close every day more
than all these other trades. I see painting every day,
and it's a skill, you know, it's a trade, it's
(03:16):
a craft. You know, good painters They don't just roll
color on a wall. They don't just roll paint on
the wall. They prep the walls. They patch, they sand,
they prime. They know all the things that are necessary
to do on a project before they get to applying
the paint. And then when they're applying the paint, they
understand how humidity is going to affect it. They know
which products are going to be best in which situations.
(03:39):
They know how to cut razor sharp lines with just
a brush, no tape at all. Good painters make all
of that look effortless. And I've seen all of this firsthand,
not just because I work with it, but because my
kid has been working on a painting crew for the
past two summers. And when he started, he had no experience.
I had not done a lot with him with painting,
(03:59):
you know, I normally just took care of that myself.
So when he started, no experience, but a few weeks
in he's confidently working on extension ladders. You know, at
that point, already I was blown away how fast they
had him on the ladders. By the end of that summer,
he could pretty much handle anything that they threw at him.
And this year, his second year, it's even better. The
other night he was talking about how he could paint
(04:20):
our house. You know, I'll just take care of our
house if you want me to, Dad, And he means it,
and you know what, I might take him up on it.
You never know, I mean, you're not. You're not going
to get that offer very often, so you might as
well grab it when you can. Anyway, what really struck
me in all of that conversation was something else that
he said, And this is really why I wanted to
talk about in the first place. He was talking about
(04:41):
how satisfying it is to finish a job and actually
see you know, the transformation before and the after, the
faded siding that looked bad and now it looks good again.
And that's different. That's really different to me from the
kind of satisfaction that I get at work. And I
love what I do. Don't don't get me wrong. I
make things. I saw problems. Sometimes I make problems and
(05:02):
then I solve them. But some days, a lot of days,
all I feel like technically I've done is move digital
ideas from one folder to another. You know, it's progress,
but not quite the same as standing back and seeing
a house completely transformed, because you made it happen. You know,
he comes home with pictures, he points out tricky spots,
the colors that he liked, and he's proud of himself.
(05:24):
And it made me realize once again that there's something
incredibly rewarding about the trades. It's physical, it's creative, it's demanding,
but it's real work. It's literal stuff you're doing. You know,
I work with painting contractors every day, and I just
want to say this. These folks are professionals. You know,
they're running businesses, they're managing crews, they're coordinating with builders,
(05:44):
with homeowners. They're making a space beautiful, you know, whether
it's a brand new office building or kitchen cabinet repaint
in somebody's home, or what a library a bedroom. I
don't have to list rooms, you know what I'm saying.
The painters, they're showing up, they're communicating, they're delivering quality work,
and that work matters, and no matter how fast technology
(06:06):
moves and improves, that isn't going away. You know, the
trades are always going to require real people. In fact,
I think the human touch is probably only going to
become more and more valuable in a world that becomes
increasingly digital. You know, AI is not going to walk
into somebody's home with a drop cloth. It's not going
to stand there with a homeowner second guessing their color
(06:26):
and help them feel confident in their choice. It's not
going to climb a ladder or roll the ceiling or
touch up a base board. That still takes people. So
if you're a painting contractor out there, keep doing what
you're doing. It matters. And if you're somebody looking for
a career path, something you can learn, something you can
build on, something real, you know, maybe painting or any
(06:47):
of the trades. But let's focus on painting. You know,
in this last little bit, painting might just be worth
a closer look, So check that out. And even if
painting isn't a career path for you, remember at Repcolite
we're here to help you with whatever you're working on
at home home, so that you can experience that same
sense of satisfaction at a job well done that I
was talking about earlier. You know, it doesn't matter your
skill level, stop out at the closest Repcolite and will
(07:09):
help you get moving. All right, let's talk deck safety.
They don't fail often, but when they do it's catastrophic.
So coming up next, I'll walk you through a quick
inspection that you can do today to make sure your
deck is safe for the rest of the season. That's
all coming up right after. This home in progress is
brought to you by Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore Top
to your paint expert advice. Your next project is way
(07:32):
easier than you think it's going to be. All right,
we're here. Let's talk about deck collapses, you know, decks
falling down. Now, Thankfully, this is a rare occurrence, but
it can happen, and when it does happen, the deck
collapse usually results in serious injuries or worse. Now, the
good news, of course, is that a quick safety check
(07:53):
is super easy to do and it can give you
real peace of mind and make sure that your family,
your friends, everybody is safe throughout the rest of deck season.
So let's talk about it, and right off the bat,
I want to talk about the risk, you know, the
risk of your deck collapsing. What is the real risk
of that. To be honest, the injuries from this kind
(08:14):
of thing, they don't show up in the headlines every
day because it's incredibly rare, you know, like I said, already,
they're thankfully rare. It's it's really rare. Most likely you're
not going to encounter this, and that made me hesitant
to even talk about it in the first place. Why
waste time talking about something that most of us probably
won't encounter. The reason I chose to do that is
(08:36):
because when the accidents happen, and they do happen from
time to time, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, if
I'm reading that right, they estimate that there are around
six thousand injuries every year tied to failures with decks,
you know, and then they add in porches, stairs, balconies,
things like that, but a large part of it is
from deck failure and about six thousand injuries every year.
(09:00):
And because decks are elevated usually you know, usually they're
up in the air somewhere, when a collapse does occur,
they're almost guaranteed to cause injuries. It's usually just a
matter of how bad those injuries are going to be.
So maybe you remember this particular case. I did not,
but maybe you do. One of the most well known
deck collapses happened back in two thousand and three in Chicago.
(09:24):
A large group of young adults. They run a third
story wooden deck. When it gave way, the weight of
the collapse carried two lower decks down with it, so
three total decks collapse in that event in Chicago back
in two thousand and three. And in the end, you
know the aftermath of all of that, thirteen people had
died and fifty seven others were injured. So while deck
(09:47):
failures and collapses and all of that are rare, they're
not small events when they happen, all right. So that's
why we're talking about it. And like I said, because
you can check your deck right now today after the
show and make sure you're fine, you know, that's why
we're talking about it. Now, let's get to what usually
causes a deck to collapse, and the most common failure
(10:08):
point by far is the ledger board. And now in
case you're not sure what that is or where that is,
it's the board that connects your deck directly to the house.
Usually it's made from pressure treated lumber, but that doesn't
make it immune to problems. And the biggest culprit with
this ledger board is usually moisture. Now, if the flashing
on your house, you know, the metal or vinyl barrier
(10:29):
that keeps water out. If that flashing wasn't installed correctly
or has failed over time, water can sneak behind the
ledger board and then start to rot the wood that
it's fastened to. You know, that's usually the rim joist
inside the wall of your home. And once that rim
joy starts to soften or decay, it can't hold the
bolts that are anchoring the ledger board in place, and
(10:50):
they'll just pull free, and that takes the ledger board
right with it, even if it looks solid. Even if
the ledger board looked fine. Now, on some older decks,
especially those built before code updates in the early two thousands,
or maybe DIY projects that you know we skipped a
few steps on. In those cases, the ledger board might
not even be pressure treated, so that's possible, or it
(11:12):
might be cut or drilled improperly and never sealed up
so moisture was able to creep in and slowly break
it down. That's less common, but it happens. Another big
issue is how the ledger was attached. Using plain nails
instead of bolts or leg screws creates a much weaker connection.
You know, after that two thousand and three Chicago collapse
(11:33):
that I was talking about. Earlier, building codes were updated
to require stronger ledger attachments like bolts or leg screws
instead of nails. Now, the big problem is that over time,
of course, nails can loosen, and if they aren't corrosion resistant,
they could even rust completely, and that can leave your
deck looking solid, you know, seeming like everything's great, but
(11:53):
hiding serious weaknesses. So those are some of the big
concerns with the ledger board. But that's not the only concern.
Railings they're another frequent failure point. If they're not securely fastened,
or if they're not bolted into proper framing, they can
give way when somebody leans on them. You know, that's
exactly when they tend to fail, when somebody's leaning back,
resting their full weight against the railing thinking it safe.
(12:16):
It's also worth looking underneath the deck, you know, at
the posts and the joists that support everything. Most of
these are going to be pressure treated, but exposure to sun, moisture, insects,
all of that can cause rot, warping, splitting, whatever. And
if your deck posts are sunk directly into the soil
instead of sitting on concrete, footings, they may be rotting
(12:37):
from below without you even knowing it. Finally, last thing,
many decks develop problems with their metal connectors, things like
joist haangers, bolts, screws, things like that. These components they
carry a huge portion of the structural load, and if
they're rusted out or missing, or you know, maybe they
weren't installed right in the first place. If that's the case,
(12:58):
any of those things are the case, the deck safety
is compromised. So when you take all of that ledger
board issues, loose railings, rotted support posts, rusted hardware, take
all of that into account, it's easy to see how
a deck that looks perfectly fine on the surface could
be hiding some big problems underneath. Right, that part makes sense. Now,
(13:19):
let's make it all practical and take the fear out
of it so that you can rest in peace. I
don't mean that I don't want you to rest in peace. Literally,
I want you to rest peacefully because you're not concerned anymore,
because you've taken care of your deck, because you've looked
(13:41):
for things, and you've eliminated any scary possibilities. Oh how
word choice can change a conversation. So dramatically. I want
you to rest peacefully knowing that your deck is safe.
And if you want to dig deeper into the soundness
of your deck, that's what we're after, right We want
our family and friends when we're entertaining in the fall
(14:02):
months in Great Michigan fall weather, we want to make
sure that we're safe. Here's a quick safety check that
you can do today, right after the show. In fact,
after I told you to rest in peace, maybe you
want to just turn the show off and head out
there right now, you know, as soon as I give
you the info either way, go outside, you know, because
that's where most of your decks are going to be located.
(14:23):
And then start by walking the entire surface of the
decks slowly, you know, pay attention to how it feels.
Do the boards bounce underneath your feet or you know,
they springy anything like that. Are any of them warped
or any of them uneven? All of that's worth noting.
Then check the railing. Give it a firm push, you don't,
don't lean on it with all your weight. That's not
(14:45):
how you test it. It is how you test it.
You'll find a weakness that way, But you don't want
to be on the ground. As you're pondering and calculating
just exactly how weak it was, you want to be
standing on the deck. So push on it a little bit,
push some weight on it, lean on it, make sure
it's sturdy. Make sure that somebody at your party or
at your next event, if they lean on it, it's
(15:08):
not going to have a problem. If it wobbles, if
it creaks, if it does anything like that, that's something
to dig into a little bit deeper, and of course
fix it sooner rather than later. All right, If you're
able to get safely underneath your deck, take a look
at the area where the deck connects to the house.
You know, this is probably the biggest area to make
sure that you're examining and to make sure that it's safe.
(15:28):
Go and look where the deck connects to the house.
Find that big board that runs that full length. That's
the ledger board that we talked about. Is the flashing
intact Look for that. Do you see any signs of
rot or water damage along the house or the ledger itself,
anything like that. And while you're down there, look at
how that ledger board is attached. If you see only nails,
(15:49):
you know, no bolts, no leg screws. It's time to
think about reinforcing that connection. Now. If you've got a
screwdriver or a small all awl, a small all use
it to gently put into any suspicious looking wood, you know,
the choice, the posts, the ledger, whatever looks suspect. You know,
if the tip sinks easily in you know, a quarter
inch or more, that could indicate rod or decay, and
(16:11):
you're going to want to investigate further. Also, while you're
down there, check for any rusted or missing screws. Check
for nails or hangars that aren't in great condition. If
anything looks corroded, tighten it up or swap it out
with a corrosion resistant replacement. As for the posts, make
sure they're resting on proper concrete footings and not buried
in the ground. Posts in direct soil, they do tend to,
(16:34):
you know, rod a little bit faster, so look into that.
Look for signs of movement, shifting, cracks at the base,
anything that looks a little bit suspect. You know, these
are the kinds of things that sneak up on people.
They're often what caused the most damage. So all of
that it shouldn't take you more than you know ten
to fifteen minutes to go around make sure everything's good.
(16:55):
Chances are you're going to walk away feeling that everything checked,
every box at all looks good. But it's worth doing
because if you do find anything, you're going to be
so glad that you did now. Normally, this is a
basic safety inspection that you would do once a year,
ideally in the spring before your deck seeds a lot
of heavy use. But for sure, right now, if you
(17:15):
haven't done it yet, get out there and do it today.
It's not going to take long. Could save you a
lot of trouble down the road. Now if your deck
is over fifteen to twenty years old, or if maybe
you notice something when you go around and do the check,
you know, something that seems questionable, it might be a
smart move to bring in a licensed contractor you know.
It doesn't have to be a big ordeal, but having
to pro check things out, especially with older decks or
(17:38):
ones that are built before two thousand and three, that
can give you a lot of peace of mind. We
mentioned it earlier, but building codes changed significantly in the
early two thousands, and a lot of older decks just
weren't built to the standards that we see today. So remember,
deck collapses are really rare. I'm not trying to hype
everybody up get everybody freaked out. They're really rare. But
that little safety check that we walked through that could
(18:00):
save you a lot of trouble down the road. It's
worth doing just to make sure everything's good. And if
you do go through that inspection and you decide that
the only thing wrong with your deck is that the
wood hasn't been protected in a while, then swing out
to your closest repcolite and we'll walk you through the
process so you can clean the wood and get a
wood protector on there that's going to dramatically enhance the
look of the wood, but which also is going to
(18:22):
protect it from sun, rain, weather, all of that. You know,
regularly coding and protecting the wood of your deck is
just one more way that you can make sure that
you keep that surface in good shape for as long
as possible. It's not a bad project, and this time
of year, it's definitely something you can jump into and tackle.
Stop out at any repcolite, we'll walk you through it
all right. Have you ever uncovered or discovered. I guess
(18:44):
I should say a white, powdery substance. Maybe it's just
little streaks, maybe it's just a hint of it. Maybe
it's full on fuzzy stuff seeming to grow out of
the block walls in your basement. If you ever run
into that, If you have, I'm sure it startled you,
because it's definitely not something you want to see down there.
We're going to talk about exactly what it is, what's
going on, how to fix it, and how to make
(19:07):
sure it doesn't come back, and we'll get to all
of that right after this. This is home in progress
where the to do list is long, and that's all right.
We're not crabbing at you. We're not going to yell
at you. That's how it is. It's how ours is too.
It's probably supported by Repco like Paints and Benjamin Moore
because home projects are easier when you've got people you
(19:27):
can trust. All right, For this next segment, just imagine
for a second this scenario. You go down to your
basement and you notice something odd on the walls. You know,
the black wall, the concrete wall that you've got down there,
has developed these strange white, you know, chalky streaks. Maybe
it's literal fuzzy stuff that seems to be growing out
of the wall. White fuzzies growing out of the wall.
(19:49):
It wasn't there before. It wipes off pretty easily with
your hand, but then you notice a few weeks later
they come back pretty readily. You know, what in the
world is going on? Well, it's not mold, it's not
a bad paint job. It's something else entirely. It's called efflorescence,
and it's actually pretty common. What is efflorescence, Let's dig
into that right off the bat. It's basically just salt
(20:12):
deposits that are forming on masonry surfaces like brick, concrete, block,
poured concrete, you know, things like that. It it happens
when water moves through a wall one way or the other.
It's moving through a wall, it's picking up salts from
the masonry material as it travels through, and then when
the water reaches the surface and evaporates, it leaves those
salts behind, leaving you with that white residue. Now, sometimes
(20:34):
it's subtle, you know, just a light dusting of it.
Other times, you know, it looks like full on streaks
or even this fuzzy or crusty build up. You know,
it looks pretty gross. Sometimes that's efflorescence. And if you
think about it, you know what I just described. If
you think about that for a second, you realize that
the trigger for efflorescence is moisture. So if you've got
(20:55):
efflorescence on a wall, it's a sure sign that there's
some kind of moisture issue at play in your space.
You know that moisture could be coming from outside. It
could be poor drainage, clogged gutters, improper grading around your home,
something like that. It could be coming from inside, like
a damp basement, or even you know, vapor movement from
interior spaces. But wherever it's coming from, there's a moisture issue.
(21:19):
So how do you fix this? Well, the first step
to fixing efflorescence is to clean it, and that's really
not that hard. You can remove efflorescence with a stiff
brush and plain water. If you've got really stubborn build up,
you might need to get a diluted solution of white
vinegar or even a masonry cleaner that's designed specifically for efflorescence.
(21:40):
If you do that, just be sure to follow the
manufacturer's instructions. We're protective gear, you know, all the things,
do all the safety things. Do it right, because some
of those cleaners are a little bit acidic. But here's
the thing. Cleaning is really only solving the symptom. The
white powder might go away for now. Unless you address
that issue, that moisture issue that's causing it, it's going
(22:03):
to come back. And that means you're going to need
to inspect the area for leaks. You're going to need
to check your down spouts, you're grading, you might need
to seal cracks in the foundation walls. I don't know.
You'll have to just take a look and try to
figure out where the moisture's coming from. Now. For me,
I ran into this in my basement years back, and
it freaked me out. I thought it was something really
(22:24):
gross growing on the walls. When I figured out what
it was, I felt a little bit better. But then
I had to address the moisture problem. And my situation,
it was really easy to diagnose. The house had no
gutters installed on it, so all the water would pour
off the roof, you know, rain water straight at the foundation,
and that's where it was coming from. So I had
to install gutters around the home, and that completely took
(22:47):
care of the moisture problem and the effluorescence went away.
So you'll have to figure out your situation. The efflorescence
is just a sign that there's too much moisture going
through through those walls. You'll just need to figure out
what's causing that, all right, So what do you do?
Can you paint over it? You know, how do you
get the walls looking good again? Well, you can't paint
over it until the wall is completely dry. You know,
(23:09):
if moisture's moving through it and you've got to deal
with that source of moisture, you know, that's got to
be fixed really before you can paint over this issue
with any kind of lasting success. You know, if you
paint over active efflorescence, you're basically just ceiling in the
problem a little bit. You're covering it over with a
band aid. Let's say that's a smarter way to say it.
(23:29):
The moisture in the salt, they're still going to continue
to work their way to the surface, except now they're
going to bring the paint with them. You know, they're
going to cause blistering, peeling, things like that. More frustration.
I've lived this. The first time I dealt with mine,
I just painted over it, thinking that might do it,
and it did not do it. I had to repaint again,
and now I had peeling paint and all of those
(23:50):
things to deal with. Now, if you figured out your
moisture problem and took care of it and you need
to repaint, you just need to get that powdery residue gone,
and we talked about how to clean that off. Get
that off, and then you can repaint. If you've got
beaar concrete walls or block something that's never ever been painted,
you could consider using a special water blocking product like
water block from in Selects. Stop out at any repcolite
(24:12):
and ask about it. There are specific application instructions and
conditions that need to be followed for the product to work.
But water block will prevent a certain level of moisture
from you know, traveling through the walls, but it has
to be applied to over concrete that's never been painted.
Be aware it's out there. That's why I bring it up.
Water block from Inselects. All right, efflorescence. It's one of
(24:33):
those issues that looks like a cosmetic problem, but really
it is a bit of a red flag. You know,
it's not dangerous or gross or anything like that, but
it is a sign that moisture is moving where it
shouldn't be. If you have any questions, stop out at
your closest Rep. Collite and let us help all right.
Choosing colors for west facing rooms it can be a
bit of an adventure, and I'm going to walk you
through everything you need to know. Right after this, you're
(24:55):
listening to Home in Progress, where the projects are real,
the mistakes they're educatingtional, sometimes painful, mostly educational. And the
only thing more stubborn than that old wallpaper on your
bathroom wall is your determination to get it fixed. Proudly
sponsored by Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore Paint with a Purpose,
people who care, and everything you need to get the
(25:17):
job done right well. Over the last few weeks, we've
been working our way through, you know, one of the
most important and most overlooked aspects of interior painting of
choosing the colors when you're doing interior painting, and that's
the direction that your room faces. You know, my mom
has painted rooms in our home as far back as
(25:38):
I can remember. I mean lots and lots of rooms.
She did it often. It wasn't really that unusual to
arrive home from school and honestly, to walk into the space,
it sounds ridiculous, Nah, it is ridiculous. We'd walk into
the breeze way and there was a part of you
that kind of wondered for a split second if you
were in the right house, because you didn't even know
(26:01):
that the room was going to be a different color
when you left in the morning. I mean, it wasn't
not anybody's radar. We were all surprised, and that would
happen throughout the home all the time, all the time,
all the time, all the time. I've told you about that.
But with all of that painting that mom did, all
the time that she spent choosing colors, I really can't
(26:21):
remember one single time when she was talking about the
room exposure for whatever room she was painting, you know,
on the radio. Here in the store at Repcolite, when
I worked there, I've talked a lot about color, and
I've helped a lot of people find colors for their home,
and I've asked a lot of questions when people come in.
(26:42):
You know, I do my due diligence. What's on the floor,
is it carpet? Is at hardwood? What's the color of
that material? Do you have a sample of it? That'd
be great. I've asked about how much natural lighting is
in the space, about furniture, colors, about artwork. I've asked
all kinds of important, important questions that are necessar when
you're picking colors. But I can't remember ever once asking
(27:04):
what direction the room faced. So I'm making up for
that the best I can by diving into the different
exposures and what each one does to the colors in
your space. Now, we've already talked about north facing rooms
and the challenges of their cooler, flatter light. We've explored
south facing rooms where the light is bright and consistent.
(27:24):
A couple weeks ago we dug into east facing spaces,
and they're shifting tones from morning to afternoon. Today, we're
going to wrap up this little series by turning our
attention to west facing rooms. And let me tell you,
if you've ever felt like your paint color changes throughout
the day, like dramatically changes, or worse, starts to look
(27:44):
really strange and unpredictable by late afternoon. By late afternoon,
this might be the episode that answers some of the
questions you've got. All Right, here's what makes west facing
rooms such a challenge. In the morning, they're cool, they're shady,
they're a little bit flat. I'm not shady like, well,
you know what I'm saying. I don't need to make
a joke about that. Shady sounds like you know the
(28:05):
guy on the street corner in the alley. You know,
he's a little shady. He's leaning against the wall, he's
got his hat pulled down over his eyes. You don't
even remotely think that's what I was referring to. So
I can just leave that ridiculousness and not even talk
about it. So I'm not even gonna mention that. So
in the morning, these rooms are cool, they're shady, they're
a little bit flat. The sun is rising on the
(28:27):
opposite side of the house, So these spaces feel a
little bit sleepy, right, a little bit sleepy. But then
as the afternoon rolls in, things start to change. And
by mid afternoon, especially early evening, western light is pouring
into those spaces and it brings with it a strong,
reddish golden warmth that often has rich amber or peach undertones.
(28:49):
Now it's beautiful, beautiful light, but it is kind of unpredictable.
That subtle beige that you loved at noon, for example.
You know, imagine a beige you love it at noon,
it might look orangish by five o'clock. That soft gray
that can suddenly look a little bit pink as the
afternoon deepens. The calm, muted space that you enjoyed at
(29:11):
breakfast time might actually feel overly warm and energized by dinner. So,
in short, it's a lighting personality shift that makes color
selection a little bit tough, and getting it right comes
down to a couple things. And these things are pretty
much the case in any exposure, but we're still going
to talk about them here. You've got to think about
(29:32):
when you use the space the most, that's important, and
what kind of feeling you want to create in that space.
Those are the two things that will really help you
get to where you need to be color wise, all right,
So let's start with the time of day that you
most often are in this room using it. And because
the light changes so dramatically in a west facing space,
you can't always find one perfect color that works at
(29:55):
every single hour. Right, we talked about the same idea.
With east facing spaces, there is no necessarily there is
no one size fits all color. So instead of trying
to find magic, we really need to just focus on
the time that matters most to you and choose a
color that works well there and just live with it
through the rest of the time. You know, as long
(30:16):
as it's not too off putting in the other parts
of the day, it's still a win if you love
it in the time of day that you're most often
in that space, all right, So if you use the
room mostly in the morning, that's when the west facing
spaces are at their flattest and their coolest. Right, we
talked about being them being a little sleepy, them being
a little shady, like that guy on the street corner,
you know, the alley guy they have pulled low, a
(30:39):
little bit shady. So are these rooms in the morning
now if you want to counteract that, you might want
to bring in some warmth with your color. Now. It
doesn't mean you need to go full tuscan sunset on
your walls. In fact, too much warmth in a space
like this on a western facing space can make that
afternoon light feel completely overwhelming. But a gentle, warm bay
(31:00):
a soft tope, you know, even a richer you know,
warm grayish color that can bring just enough tone, just
enough color to the morning light without turning the space,
you know, into the face of the sun when afternoon
comes around. Now, if you're not into warm tones, you
can still use cooler colors, just make sure they're not
too gray. You know, a cool blue, a green, maybe
(31:22):
a violet color. They can all liven up a space
that otherwise feels dim and sleepy in the morning. Lighting
is going to be really important here in the morning hours,
especially a twenty seven hundred K or a three thousand
K light bulb can help simulate a soft, natural warmth
and make even a shaded space, a shady space feel
(31:42):
inviting before the sun shows up. Remember we talked about
it a couple of weeks ago. The daylight bulbs sound
really good, you know, that sounds like what you want.
But generally the light they give off is too white
or too stark. So the soft white bulbs in that
twenty seven hundred K to three thousand K are going
to add warmth into the space during the morning hours
(32:03):
when it's not naturally present, not as naturally present, all right,
So keep that in mind. Keep the lighting in mind. Now.
If you use the room mostly in the afternoon, this
is when western light is at its boldest. You know,
it's warm, it's direct, it's full of amber and orange tones.
In this case, if this is when you're in the space,
(32:24):
the name of the game for you is balance, you know,
finding balance here. Cooler tones generally are going to be
your friends, especially blues, greens, purples, if you would lean
into that. You know, not everybody loves purple, but that
would work here. Neutrals with those undertones would work. You know,
they're gonna help calm down the intensity of that late
day glow without making the room feel cold. That said,
(32:46):
if you love warmer colors, if that's your gig, if
that's your jam, you don't have to avoid them altogether.
You just need to choose ones with you know, a
bit more of a neutral base or a gray base,
colors that are grounded. You know, you don't want anything
that's too thinks, maybe soft putties, earthy blushes, things with
muted depth. A few weeks ago, I talked about a
(33:07):
yellow that we had used, and I brought that yellow.
It was used in a west facing room. I brought
it into my east facing room and it didn't look
good at all. It looked really green and stuff on
the walls. I hated it in that room and I
was blown away. That was the same color, you know,
between the two rooms in that west facing room. That
yellow is absolutely wonderful. And we the reason it works
(33:31):
so well. What we did that made that so smart.
We completely did it without thinking about the exposure. We
picked the color without thinking about that. But the yellow
that we picked has cooler undertones. So as the warmer
western light is coming through in the afternoons, it just
warms that yellow up to exactly what we would want
it to feel like. It doesn't get overpowering because it's
(33:52):
got those cooler or grounded tones, you know, those undertones
that keep it a little more balanced. So and make
sure you're keeping that in mind. You don't have to
completely avoid warmer colors, just make sure you're careful when
you choose them. Now, when it comes to specific colors,
Benjamin Moore has a ton of great options for pretty
much every situation that we talked about. And I'm going
(34:14):
to reel off a fair amount of colors here, maybe
eight to nine or so. Don't worry so much about
memorizing them, there will not be a test afterwards. If
you do have notepads, you can write them down. Otherwise,
just head to repco light dot com and check out
the blog post about west facing spaces, and I've got
all the colors right there all right. So if you're
(34:37):
leaning cool and you want to calm down, you know
the afternoon warmth. You want that cool feeling in the afternoon. Moonshine.
You don't need the liquor that probably, I don't know
that could help, That could mess things up. That's not
what I'm recommending. The color is moonshine. It's a barely
they're gray with a quiet coolness. I mean, it sounds perfect.
(35:00):
So that would be one option. Silver Chain another Benjamin
More color. It's going to add a little more richness
without feeling too heavy. White hair and white wisp they're
both soft whites with cool undertones that won't yellow up
too much in golden light. Now, if you do want
a touch of warmth for the early morning hours, Edgecomb
gray that's a favorite. It's warm but not too golden.
(35:22):
Pale oak has a subtle kind of creamy look to it.
That's great. For shaded spaces, pale oak that would work
really well. Hazy Skies kind of walks the line like
Johnny Cash walks the line. Hazy Skies walks the line
between warm and cool with a bit of a soft,
earthy base. If you want a bold and dramatic space,
(35:43):
especially one that you use in the evening, Silvery Blue
Catalina blue. Both are going to feel fresh and clean
as the sun comes pouring in Casba like rock the Kasba.
It's a rich, earthy blue that grounds a room and
absorbs light beautifully. And if you want an no fail,
no fail trim or ceiling color that works well with
(36:04):
all of the above, all of the above. Normally we
would say all of the above. Sometimes I like to
shorten it just to speed things along, and I just
say all of the above. You know, I drop letters
left and right. If you want a color that works
well with all of the above, try Shantilly Lace. It's clean, bright,
perfectly neutral. You'll love it. You'll thank me later. So
(36:27):
I'm going to put all of those in show notes
and you can also go find them at repco light
dot com. Just check out our blog post for west
facing spaces and while you're there. Check out the blog
posts on the other exposures. Lots of great info all
right there, all right. At the end of the day,
West facing rooms. They're a little bit unpredictable, right, I
(36:47):
think we gathered that as we walk through this. But
they're also full of personality. You know, they can be vibrant, glowing, moody, calm,
all of these different things. You just have to learn
to work with the light, not against it. So take
your time, test your samples at different times of day,
so critical. Benjamin Moore has color samples available. Half pint
(37:08):
of paint. It's about five six bucks something like that.
It is just such an easy way to literally get
some paint in your hands without dropping a lot of money.
Sample it on your wall, Sample it on some poster
board or phone board that you can move around the
space and look at it at different times of the day.
And when you're doing that, don't worry that the color's
got to be perfect all the time. You know, we
(37:31):
talked about that, it's going to be tough to find
a color that's perfect all the time. So choose a
color that looks best when you're mostly using that room.
That's what you're shooting for and just make sure it
doesn't look like garbage the rest of the day. If
it looks like garbage the rest of the day, keep looking.
If it looks okay, you know you can live with
it the rest of the day, you might have found
the color that you want for that space. And of course,
(37:52):
if you're unsure, come see us at Repcolite. We've got
all the samples, the swatches, the expertise to help you
find the color that works with your light, your life,
your style, everything you could possibly want. So stop out
at a store and let us help. All right, that's
going to do it for this episode of Home in Progress.
Thanks so much for spending time with us today. We
hope you're walking away with a few new ideas, maybe
(38:14):
even a little inspiration, you know, for your next project.
If you liked what you heard, be sure to subscribe
wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.
And if you have a second, leave us a rating
or a quick review. It really helps more people find
the show. Home in Progress is brought to you by
Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore, offering expert advice, premium products
(38:34):
and everything you need to keep your home, moving forward.
I'm Dan Hansen. I'll see you next time.
Hi everybody, and welcome to Home in Progress, brought to
you by Recolite Paints and Benjamin Moore. I'm Dan Hansen,
and on today's episode, we're going to be covering a
lot of ground. We're going to end the show with
some guidance on choosing the right paint colors for west
facing rooms. You know that afternoon sun can really change
the way a color reads, and we've got the tips
to help you get it right. Before that, we're going
(00:23):
to be discussing some mysterious white powdery substances that can
show up on your basement walls. They look like mold,
but they're not. It's called efflorescence, and we're going to
break down what causes it and how to deal with it.
And coming up next, we're going to talk about something
that's often overlooked but super important, deck safety. You know, collapses.
They're rare, but they're not impossible. So we'll walk through
(00:46):
a simple annual inspection process that could make all the difference.
But right now, I want to start with something that's
kind of been on my mind a bit lately. I've
been thinking about how quickly technology and especially AI is
changing the world of work. And I started thinking about this.
I've been thinking about it, but it really hit home
(01:07):
maybe a week ago or so when I ran into
an article published by Microsoft. Now, Microsoft ran a study
with their bing co pilot AI and ranked the top
forty jobs that are most at risk from AI. AI's
coming for these jobs. They listed the top forty jobs
that were at risk, and then they gave the top
(01:28):
forty that are the safest. Now the at risk list,
it was full of jobs like customer service, reps, writers, paralegals,
web developers, even some programming roles. Now the safe list
that was a whole different picture. It was caregivers, cleaners, roofers, pipefitters, plumbers, plasterers,
and right there in the middle of that mix professional painters.
(01:51):
What do all of those safe jobs have in common.
I mean, we can see it instantly. They require hands
on work, They require real skill, you know, human judgment.
They require a presence. You know, you've got to be
on site. A human has to be on site to
do these jobs. No matter how smart the tech gets,
it can't paint your house. And that really hit me.
(02:11):
I love talking about the trades. I love the fact
that the value of the trades is becoming more and
more apparent to everybody out there. You know, that's great,
and I love the fact that that's, you know, coming
around because when I was in high school, and maybe
this was true for you, trades were a little bit discouraged.
You know, it was all about college. It was all
about pursuing some of these big careers. And it's funny
(02:34):
because some of these big careers we were encouraged to
pursue are the same ones that are in a little
bit of jeopardy today thanks to AI. Now, meanwhile, we've
got this, you know, entire world of trade skills that,
sure they can be enhanced by AI. I get that,
but they're not going to be replaced by AI. You know,
(02:55):
a palmer or an electrician whoever might use AI to
help diagnose the complex issue. But at the end of
the day, somebody still has to do the work. You know,
you still need a hands on skill, you still need
people there. And that brings me back to painting because
it's something that I see up close every day more
than all these other trades. I see painting every day,
and it's a skill, you know, it's a trade, it's
(03:16):
a craft. You know, good painters They don't just roll
color on a wall. They don't just roll paint on
the wall. They prep the walls. They patch, they sand,
they prime. They know all the things that are necessary
to do on a project before they get to applying
the paint. And then when they're applying the paint, they
understand how humidity is going to affect it. They know
which products are going to be best in which situations.
(03:39):
They know how to cut razor sharp lines with just
a brush, no tape at all. Good painters make all
of that look effortless. And I've seen all of this firsthand,
not just because I work with it, but because my
kid has been working on a painting crew for the
past two summers. And when he started, he had no experience.
I had not done a lot with him with painting,
(03:59):
you know, I normally just took care of that myself.
So when he started, no experience, but a few weeks
in he's confidently working on extension ladders. You know, at
that point, already I was blown away how fast they
had him on the ladders. By the end of that summer,
he could pretty much handle anything that they threw at him.
And this year, his second year, it's even better. The
other night he was talking about how he could paint
(04:20):
our house. You know, I'll just take care of our
house if you want me to, Dad, And he means it,
and you know what, I might take him up on it.
You never know, I mean, you're not. You're not going
to get that offer very often, so you might as
well grab it when you can. Anyway, what really struck
me in all of that conversation was something else that
he said, And this is really why I wanted to
talk about in the first place. He was talking about
(04:41):
how satisfying it is to finish a job and actually
see you know, the transformation before and the after, the
faded siding that looked bad and now it looks good again.
And that's different. That's really different to me from the
kind of satisfaction that I get at work. And I
love what I do. Don't don't get me wrong. I
make things. I saw problems. Sometimes I make problems and
(05:02):
then I solve them. But some days, a lot of days,
all I feel like technically I've done is move digital
ideas from one folder to another. You know, it's progress,
but not quite the same as standing back and seeing
a house completely transformed, because you made it happen. You know,
he comes home with pictures, he points out tricky spots,
the colors that he liked, and he's proud of himself.
(05:24):
And it made me realize once again that there's something
incredibly rewarding about the trades. It's physical, it's creative, it's demanding,
but it's real work. It's literal stuff you're doing. You know,
I work with painting contractors every day, and I just
want to say this. These folks are professionals. You know,
they're running businesses, they're managing crews, they're coordinating with builders,
(05:44):
with homeowners. They're making a space beautiful, you know, whether
it's a brand new office building or kitchen cabinet repaint
in somebody's home, or what a library a bedroom. I
don't have to list rooms, you know what I'm saying.
The painters, they're showing up, they're communicating, they're delivering quality work,
and that work matters, and no matter how fast technology
(06:06):
moves and improves, that isn't going away. You know, the
trades are always going to require real people. In fact,
I think the human touch is probably only going to
become more and more valuable in a world that becomes
increasingly digital. You know, AI is not going to walk
into somebody's home with a drop cloth. It's not going
to stand there with a homeowner second guessing their color
(06:26):
and help them feel confident in their choice. It's not
going to climb a ladder or roll the ceiling or
touch up a base board. That still takes people. So
if you're a painting contractor out there, keep doing what
you're doing. It matters. And if you're somebody looking for
a career path, something you can learn, something you can
build on, something real, you know, maybe painting or any
(06:47):
of the trades. But let's focus on painting. You know,
in this last little bit, painting might just be worth
a closer look, So check that out. And even if
painting isn't a career path for you, remember at Repcolite
we're here to help you with whatever you're working on
at home home, so that you can experience that same
sense of satisfaction at a job well done that I
was talking about earlier. You know, it doesn't matter your
skill level, stop out at the closest Repcolite and will
(07:09):
help you get moving. All right, let's talk deck safety.
They don't fail often, but when they do it's catastrophic.
So coming up next, I'll walk you through a quick
inspection that you can do today to make sure your
deck is safe for the rest of the season. That's
all coming up right after. This home in progress is
brought to you by Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore Top
to your paint expert advice. Your next project is way
(07:32):
easier than you think it's going to be. All right,
we're here. Let's talk about deck collapses, you know, decks
falling down. Now, Thankfully, this is a rare occurrence, but
it can happen, and when it does happen, the deck
collapse usually results in serious injuries or worse. Now, the
good news, of course, is that a quick safety check
(07:53):
is super easy to do and it can give you
real peace of mind and make sure that your family,
your friends, everybody is safe throughout the rest of deck season.
So let's talk about it, and right off the bat,
I want to talk about the risk, you know, the
risk of your deck collapsing. What is the real risk
of that. To be honest, the injuries from this kind
(08:14):
of thing, they don't show up in the headlines every
day because it's incredibly rare, you know, like I said, already,
they're thankfully rare. It's it's really rare. Most likely you're
not going to encounter this, and that made me hesitant
to even talk about it in the first place. Why
waste time talking about something that most of us probably
won't encounter. The reason I chose to do that is
(08:36):
because when the accidents happen, and they do happen from
time to time, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, if
I'm reading that right, they estimate that there are around
six thousand injuries every year tied to failures with decks,
you know, and then they add in porches, stairs, balconies,
things like that, but a large part of it is
from deck failure and about six thousand injuries every year.
(09:00):
And because decks are elevated usually you know, usually they're
up in the air somewhere, when a collapse does occur,
they're almost guaranteed to cause injuries. It's usually just a
matter of how bad those injuries are going to be.
So maybe you remember this particular case. I did not,
but maybe you do. One of the most well known
deck collapses happened back in two thousand and three in Chicago.
(09:24):
A large group of young adults. They run a third
story wooden deck. When it gave way, the weight of
the collapse carried two lower decks down with it, so
three total decks collapse in that event in Chicago back
in two thousand and three. And in the end, you
know the aftermath of all of that, thirteen people had
died and fifty seven others were injured. So while deck
(09:47):
failures and collapses and all of that are rare, they're
not small events when they happen, all right. So that's
why we're talking about it. And like I said, because
you can check your deck right now today after the
show and make sure you're fine, you know, that's why
we're talking about it. Now, let's get to what usually
causes a deck to collapse, and the most common failure
(10:08):
point by far is the ledger board. And now in
case you're not sure what that is or where that is,
it's the board that connects your deck directly to the house.
Usually it's made from pressure treated lumber, but that doesn't
make it immune to problems. And the biggest culprit with
this ledger board is usually moisture. Now, if the flashing
on your house, you know, the metal or vinyl barrier
(10:29):
that keeps water out. If that flashing wasn't installed correctly
or has failed over time, water can sneak behind the
ledger board and then start to rot the wood that
it's fastened to. You know, that's usually the rim joist
inside the wall of your home. And once that rim
joy starts to soften or decay, it can't hold the
bolts that are anchoring the ledger board in place, and
(10:50):
they'll just pull free, and that takes the ledger board
right with it, even if it looks solid. Even if
the ledger board looked fine. Now, on some older decks,
especially those built before code updates in the early two thousands,
or maybe DIY projects that you know we skipped a
few steps on. In those cases, the ledger board might
not even be pressure treated, so that's possible, or it
(11:12):
might be cut or drilled improperly and never sealed up
so moisture was able to creep in and slowly break
it down. That's less common, but it happens. Another big
issue is how the ledger was attached. Using plain nails
instead of bolts or leg screws creates a much weaker connection.
You know, after that two thousand and three Chicago collapse
(11:33):
that I was talking about. Earlier, building codes were updated
to require stronger ledger attachments like bolts or leg screws
instead of nails. Now, the big problem is that over time,
of course, nails can loosen, and if they aren't corrosion resistant,
they could even rust completely, and that can leave your
deck looking solid, you know, seeming like everything's great, but
(11:53):
hiding serious weaknesses. So those are some of the big
concerns with the ledger board. But that's not the only concern.
Railings they're another frequent failure point. If they're not securely fastened,
or if they're not bolted into proper framing, they can
give way when somebody leans on them. You know, that's
exactly when they tend to fail, when somebody's leaning back,
resting their full weight against the railing thinking it safe.
(12:16):
It's also worth looking underneath the deck, you know, at
the posts and the joists that support everything. Most of
these are going to be pressure treated, but exposure to sun, moisture, insects,
all of that can cause rot, warping, splitting, whatever. And
if your deck posts are sunk directly into the soil
instead of sitting on concrete, footings, they may be rotting
(12:37):
from below without you even knowing it. Finally, last thing,
many decks develop problems with their metal connectors, things like
joist haangers, bolts, screws, things like that. These components they
carry a huge portion of the structural load, and if
they're rusted out or missing, or you know, maybe they
weren't installed right in the first place. If that's the case,
(12:58):
any of those things are the case, the deck safety
is compromised. So when you take all of that ledger
board issues, loose railings, rotted support posts, rusted hardware, take
all of that into account, it's easy to see how
a deck that looks perfectly fine on the surface could
be hiding some big problems underneath. Right, that part makes sense. Now,
(13:19):
let's make it all practical and take the fear out
of it so that you can rest in peace. I
don't mean that I don't want you to rest in peace. Literally,
I want you to rest peacefully because you're not concerned anymore,
because you've taken care of your deck, because you've looked
(13:41):
for things, and you've eliminated any scary possibilities. Oh how
word choice can change a conversation. So dramatically. I want
you to rest peacefully knowing that your deck is safe.
And if you want to dig deeper into the soundness
of your deck, that's what we're after, right We want
our family and friends when we're entertaining in the fall
(14:02):
months in Great Michigan fall weather, we want to make
sure that we're safe. Here's a quick safety check that
you can do today, right after the show. In fact,
after I told you to rest in peace, maybe you
want to just turn the show off and head out
there right now, you know, as soon as I give
you the info either way, go outside, you know, because
that's where most of your decks are going to be located.
(14:23):
And then start by walking the entire surface of the
decks slowly, you know, pay attention to how it feels.
Do the boards bounce underneath your feet or you know,
they springy anything like that. Are any of them warped
or any of them uneven? All of that's worth noting.
Then check the railing. Give it a firm push, you don't,
don't lean on it with all your weight. That's not
(14:45):
how you test it. It is how you test it.
You'll find a weakness that way, But you don't want
to be on the ground. As you're pondering and calculating
just exactly how weak it was, you want to be
standing on the deck. So push on it a little bit,
push some weight on it, lean on it, make sure
it's sturdy. Make sure that somebody at your party or
at your next event, if they lean on it, it's
(15:08):
not going to have a problem. If it wobbles, if
it creaks, if it does anything like that, that's something
to dig into a little bit deeper, and of course
fix it sooner rather than later. All right, If you're
able to get safely underneath your deck, take a look
at the area where the deck connects to the house.
You know, this is probably the biggest area to make
sure that you're examining and to make sure that it's safe.
(15:28):
Go and look where the deck connects to the house.
Find that big board that runs that full length. That's
the ledger board that we talked about. Is the flashing
intact Look for that. Do you see any signs of
rot or water damage along the house or the ledger itself,
anything like that. And while you're down there, look at
how that ledger board is attached. If you see only nails,
(15:49):
you know, no bolts, no leg screws. It's time to
think about reinforcing that connection. Now. If you've got a
screwdriver or a small all awl, a small all use
it to gently put into any suspicious looking wood, you know,
the choice, the posts, the ledger, whatever looks suspect. You know,
if the tip sinks easily in you know, a quarter
inch or more, that could indicate rod or decay, and
(16:11):
you're going to want to investigate further. Also, while you're
down there, check for any rusted or missing screws. Check
for nails or hangars that aren't in great condition. If
anything looks corroded, tighten it up or swap it out
with a corrosion resistant replacement. As for the posts, make
sure they're resting on proper concrete footings and not buried
in the ground. Posts in direct soil, they do tend to,
(16:34):
you know, rod a little bit faster, so look into that.
Look for signs of movement, shifting, cracks at the base,
anything that looks a little bit suspect. You know, these
are the kinds of things that sneak up on people.
They're often what caused the most damage. So all of
that it shouldn't take you more than you know ten
to fifteen minutes to go around make sure everything's good.
(16:55):
Chances are you're going to walk away feeling that everything checked,
every box at all looks good. But it's worth doing
because if you do find anything, you're going to be
so glad that you did now. Normally, this is a
basic safety inspection that you would do once a year,
ideally in the spring before your deck seeds a lot
of heavy use. But for sure, right now, if you
(17:15):
haven't done it yet, get out there and do it today.
It's not going to take long. Could save you a
lot of trouble down the road. Now if your deck
is over fifteen to twenty years old, or if maybe
you notice something when you go around and do the check,
you know, something that seems questionable, it might be a
smart move to bring in a licensed contractor you know.
It doesn't have to be a big ordeal, but having
to pro check things out, especially with older decks or
(17:38):
ones that are built before two thousand and three, that
can give you a lot of peace of mind. We
mentioned it earlier, but building codes changed significantly in the
early two thousands, and a lot of older decks just
weren't built to the standards that we see today. So remember,
deck collapses are really rare. I'm not trying to hype
everybody up get everybody freaked out. They're really rare. But
that little safety check that we walked through that could
(18:00):
save you a lot of trouble down the road. It's
worth doing just to make sure everything's good. And if
you do go through that inspection and you decide that
the only thing wrong with your deck is that the
wood hasn't been protected in a while, then swing out
to your closest repcolite and we'll walk you through the
process so you can clean the wood and get a
wood protector on there that's going to dramatically enhance the
look of the wood, but which also is going to
(18:22):
protect it from sun, rain, weather, all of that. You know,
regularly coding and protecting the wood of your deck is
just one more way that you can make sure that
you keep that surface in good shape for as long
as possible. It's not a bad project, and this time
of year, it's definitely something you can jump into and tackle.
Stop out at any repcolite, we'll walk you through it
all right. Have you ever uncovered or discovered. I guess
(18:44):
I should say a white, powdery substance. Maybe it's just
little streaks, maybe it's just a hint of it. Maybe
it's full on fuzzy stuff seeming to grow out of
the block walls in your basement. If you ever run
into that, If you have, I'm sure it startled you,
because it's definitely not something you want to see down there.
We're going to talk about exactly what it is, what's
going on, how to fix it, and how to make
(19:07):
sure it doesn't come back, and we'll get to all
of that right after this. This is home in progress
where the to do list is long, and that's all right.
We're not crabbing at you. We're not going to yell
at you. That's how it is. It's how ours is too.
It's probably supported by Repco like Paints and Benjamin Moore
because home projects are easier when you've got people you
(19:27):
can trust. All right, For this next segment, just imagine
for a second this scenario. You go down to your
basement and you notice something odd on the walls. You know,
the black wall, the concrete wall that you've got down there,
has developed these strange white, you know, chalky streaks. Maybe
it's literal fuzzy stuff that seems to be growing out
of the wall. White fuzzies growing out of the wall.
(19:49):
It wasn't there before. It wipes off pretty easily with
your hand, but then you notice a few weeks later
they come back pretty readily. You know, what in the
world is going on? Well, it's not mold, it's not
a bad paint job. It's something else entirely. It's called efflorescence,
and it's actually pretty common. What is efflorescence, Let's dig
into that right off the bat. It's basically just salt
(20:12):
deposits that are forming on masonry surfaces like brick, concrete, block,
poured concrete, you know, things like that. It it happens
when water moves through a wall one way or the other.
It's moving through a wall, it's picking up salts from
the masonry material as it travels through, and then when
the water reaches the surface and evaporates, it leaves those
salts behind, leaving you with that white residue. Now, sometimes
(20:34):
it's subtle, you know, just a light dusting of it.
Other times, you know, it looks like full on streaks
or even this fuzzy or crusty build up. You know,
it looks pretty gross. Sometimes that's efflorescence. And if you
think about it, you know what I just described. If
you think about that for a second, you realize that
the trigger for efflorescence is moisture. So if you've got
(20:55):
efflorescence on a wall, it's a sure sign that there's
some kind of moisture issue at play in your space.
You know that moisture could be coming from outside. It
could be poor drainage, clogged gutters, improper grading around your home,
something like that. It could be coming from inside, like
a damp basement, or even you know, vapor movement from
interior spaces. But wherever it's coming from, there's a moisture issue.
(21:19):
So how do you fix this? Well, the first step
to fixing efflorescence is to clean it, and that's really
not that hard. You can remove efflorescence with a stiff
brush and plain water. If you've got really stubborn build up,
you might need to get a diluted solution of white
vinegar or even a masonry cleaner that's designed specifically for efflorescence.
(21:40):
If you do that, just be sure to follow the
manufacturer's instructions. We're protective gear, you know, all the things,
do all the safety things. Do it right, because some
of those cleaners are a little bit acidic. But here's
the thing. Cleaning is really only solving the symptom. The
white powder might go away for now. Unless you address
that issue, that moisture issue that's causing it, it's going
(22:03):
to come back. And that means you're going to need
to inspect the area for leaks. You're going to need
to check your down spouts, you're grading, you might need
to seal cracks in the foundation walls. I don't know.
You'll have to just take a look and try to
figure out where the moisture's coming from. Now. For me,
I ran into this in my basement years back, and
it freaked me out. I thought it was something really
(22:24):
gross growing on the walls. When I figured out what
it was, I felt a little bit better. But then
I had to address the moisture problem. And my situation,
it was really easy to diagnose. The house had no
gutters installed on it, so all the water would pour
off the roof, you know, rain water straight at the foundation,
and that's where it was coming from. So I had
to install gutters around the home, and that completely took
(22:47):
care of the moisture problem and the effluorescence went away.
So you'll have to figure out your situation. The efflorescence
is just a sign that there's too much moisture going
through through those walls. You'll just need to figure out
what's causing that, all right, So what do you do?
Can you paint over it? You know, how do you
get the walls looking good again? Well, you can't paint
over it until the wall is completely dry. You know,
(23:09):
if moisture's moving through it and you've got to deal
with that source of moisture, you know, that's got to
be fixed really before you can paint over this issue
with any kind of lasting success. You know, if you
paint over active efflorescence, you're basically just ceiling in the
problem a little bit. You're covering it over with a
band aid. Let's say that's a smarter way to say it.
(23:29):
The moisture in the salt, they're still going to continue
to work their way to the surface, except now they're
going to bring the paint with them. You know, they're
going to cause blistering, peeling, things like that. More frustration.
I've lived this. The first time I dealt with mine,
I just painted over it, thinking that might do it,
and it did not do it. I had to repaint again,
and now I had peeling paint and all of those
(23:50):
things to deal with. Now, if you figured out your
moisture problem and took care of it and you need
to repaint, you just need to get that powdery residue gone,
and we talked about how to clean that off. Get
that off, and then you can repaint. If you've got
beaar concrete walls or block something that's never ever been painted,
you could consider using a special water blocking product like
water block from in Selects. Stop out at any repcolite
(24:12):
and ask about it. There are specific application instructions and
conditions that need to be followed for the product to work.
But water block will prevent a certain level of moisture
from you know, traveling through the walls, but it has
to be applied to over concrete that's never been painted.
Be aware it's out there. That's why I bring it up.
Water block from Inselects. All right, efflorescence. It's one of
(24:33):
those issues that looks like a cosmetic problem, but really
it is a bit of a red flag. You know,
it's not dangerous or gross or anything like that, but
it is a sign that moisture is moving where it
shouldn't be. If you have any questions, stop out at
your closest Rep. Collite and let us help all right.
Choosing colors for west facing rooms it can be a
bit of an adventure, and I'm going to walk you
through everything you need to know. Right after this, you're
(24:55):
listening to Home in Progress, where the projects are real,
the mistakes they're educatingtional, sometimes painful, mostly educational. And the
only thing more stubborn than that old wallpaper on your
bathroom wall is your determination to get it fixed. Proudly
sponsored by Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore Paint with a Purpose,
people who care, and everything you need to get the
(25:17):
job done right well. Over the last few weeks, we've
been working our way through, you know, one of the
most important and most overlooked aspects of interior painting of
choosing the colors when you're doing interior painting, and that's
the direction that your room faces. You know, my mom
has painted rooms in our home as far back as
(25:38):
I can remember. I mean lots and lots of rooms.
She did it often. It wasn't really that unusual to
arrive home from school and honestly, to walk into the space,
it sounds ridiculous, Nah, it is ridiculous. We'd walk into
the breeze way and there was a part of you
that kind of wondered for a split second if you
were in the right house, because you didn't even know
(26:01):
that the room was going to be a different color
when you left in the morning. I mean, it wasn't
not anybody's radar. We were all surprised, and that would
happen throughout the home all the time, all the time,
all the time, all the time. I've told you about that.
But with all of that painting that mom did, all
the time that she spent choosing colors, I really can't
(26:21):
remember one single time when she was talking about the
room exposure for whatever room she was painting, you know,
on the radio. Here in the store at Repcolite, when
I worked there, I've talked a lot about color, and
I've helped a lot of people find colors for their home,
and I've asked a lot of questions when people come in.
(26:42):
You know, I do my due diligence. What's on the floor,
is it carpet? Is at hardwood? What's the color of
that material? Do you have a sample of it? That'd
be great. I've asked about how much natural lighting is
in the space, about furniture, colors, about artwork. I've asked
all kinds of important, important questions that are necessar when
you're picking colors. But I can't remember ever once asking
(27:04):
what direction the room faced. So I'm making up for
that the best I can by diving into the different
exposures and what each one does to the colors in
your space. Now, we've already talked about north facing rooms
and the challenges of their cooler, flatter light. We've explored
south facing rooms where the light is bright and consistent.
(27:24):
A couple weeks ago we dug into east facing spaces,
and they're shifting tones from morning to afternoon. Today, we're
going to wrap up this little series by turning our
attention to west facing rooms. And let me tell you,
if you've ever felt like your paint color changes throughout
the day, like dramatically changes, or worse, starts to look
(27:44):
really strange and unpredictable by late afternoon. By late afternoon,
this might be the episode that answers some of the
questions you've got. All Right, here's what makes west facing
rooms such a challenge. In the morning, they're cool, they're shady,
they're a little bit flat. I'm not shady like, well,
you know what I'm saying. I don't need to make
a joke about that. Shady sounds like you know the
(28:05):
guy on the street corner in the alley. You know,
he's a little shady. He's leaning against the wall, he's
got his hat pulled down over his eyes. You don't
even remotely think that's what I was referring to. So
I can just leave that ridiculousness and not even talk
about it. So I'm not even gonna mention that. So
in the morning, these rooms are cool, they're shady, they're
a little bit flat. The sun is rising on the
(28:27):
opposite side of the house, So these spaces feel a
little bit sleepy, right, a little bit sleepy. But then
as the afternoon rolls in, things start to change. And
by mid afternoon, especially early evening, western light is pouring
into those spaces and it brings with it a strong,
reddish golden warmth that often has rich amber or peach undertones.
(28:49):
Now it's beautiful, beautiful light, but it is kind of unpredictable.
That subtle beige that you loved at noon, for example.
You know, imagine a beige you love it at noon,
it might look orangish by five o'clock. That soft gray
that can suddenly look a little bit pink as the
afternoon deepens. The calm, muted space that you enjoyed at
(29:11):
breakfast time might actually feel overly warm and energized by dinner. So,
in short, it's a lighting personality shift that makes color
selection a little bit tough, and getting it right comes
down to a couple things. And these things are pretty
much the case in any exposure, but we're still going
to talk about them here. You've got to think about
(29:32):
when you use the space the most, that's important, and
what kind of feeling you want to create in that space.
Those are the two things that will really help you
get to where you need to be color wise, all right,
So let's start with the time of day that you
most often are in this room using it. And because
the light changes so dramatically in a west facing space,
you can't always find one perfect color that works at
(29:55):
every single hour. Right, we talked about the same idea.
With east facing spaces, there is no necessarily there is
no one size fits all color. So instead of trying
to find magic, we really need to just focus on
the time that matters most to you and choose a
color that works well there and just live with it
through the rest of the time. You know, as long
(30:16):
as it's not too off putting in the other parts
of the day, it's still a win if you love
it in the time of day that you're most often
in that space, all right, So if you use the
room mostly in the morning, that's when the west facing
spaces are at their flattest and their coolest. Right, we
talked about being them being a little sleepy, them being
a little shady, like that guy on the street corner,
you know, the alley guy they have pulled low, a
(30:39):
little bit shady. So are these rooms in the morning
now if you want to counteract that, you might want
to bring in some warmth with your color. Now. It
doesn't mean you need to go full tuscan sunset on
your walls. In fact, too much warmth in a space
like this on a western facing space can make that
afternoon light feel completely overwhelming. But a gentle, warm bay
(31:00):
a soft tope, you know, even a richer you know,
warm grayish color that can bring just enough tone, just
enough color to the morning light without turning the space,
you know, into the face of the sun when afternoon
comes around. Now, if you're not into warm tones, you
can still use cooler colors, just make sure they're not
too gray. You know, a cool blue, a green, maybe
(31:22):
a violet color. They can all liven up a space
that otherwise feels dim and sleepy in the morning. Lighting
is going to be really important here in the morning hours,
especially a twenty seven hundred K or a three thousand
K light bulb can help simulate a soft, natural warmth
and make even a shaded space, a shady space feel
(31:42):
inviting before the sun shows up. Remember we talked about
it a couple of weeks ago. The daylight bulbs sound
really good, you know, that sounds like what you want.
But generally the light they give off is too white
or too stark. So the soft white bulbs in that
twenty seven hundred K to three thousand K are going
to add warmth into the space during the morning hours
(32:03):
when it's not naturally present, not as naturally present, all right,
So keep that in mind. Keep the lighting in mind. Now.
If you use the room mostly in the afternoon, this
is when western light is at its boldest. You know,
it's warm, it's direct, it's full of amber and orange tones.
In this case, if this is when you're in the space,
(32:24):
the name of the game for you is balance, you know,
finding balance here. Cooler tones generally are going to be
your friends, especially blues, greens, purples, if you would lean
into that. You know, not everybody loves purple, but that
would work here. Neutrals with those undertones would work. You know,
they're gonna help calm down the intensity of that late
day glow without making the room feel cold. That said,
(32:46):
if you love warmer colors, if that's your gig, if
that's your jam, you don't have to avoid them altogether.
You just need to choose ones with you know, a
bit more of a neutral base or a gray base,
colors that are grounded. You know, you don't want anything
that's too thinks, maybe soft putties, earthy blushes, things with
muted depth. A few weeks ago, I talked about a
(33:07):
yellow that we had used, and I brought that yellow.
It was used in a west facing room. I brought
it into my east facing room and it didn't look
good at all. It looked really green and stuff on
the walls. I hated it in that room and I
was blown away. That was the same color, you know,
between the two rooms in that west facing room. That
yellow is absolutely wonderful. And we the reason it works
(33:31):
so well. What we did that made that so smart.
We completely did it without thinking about the exposure. We
picked the color without thinking about that. But the yellow
that we picked has cooler undertones. So as the warmer
western light is coming through in the afternoons, it just
warms that yellow up to exactly what we would want
it to feel like. It doesn't get overpowering because it's
(33:52):
got those cooler or grounded tones, you know, those undertones
that keep it a little more balanced. So and make
sure you're keeping that in mind. You don't have to
completely avoid warmer colors, just make sure you're careful when
you choose them. Now, when it comes to specific colors,
Benjamin Moore has a ton of great options for pretty
much every situation that we talked about. And I'm going
(34:14):
to reel off a fair amount of colors here, maybe
eight to nine or so. Don't worry so much about
memorizing them, there will not be a test afterwards. If
you do have notepads, you can write them down. Otherwise,
just head to repco light dot com and check out
the blog post about west facing spaces, and I've got
all the colors right there all right. So if you're
(34:37):
leaning cool and you want to calm down, you know
the afternoon warmth. You want that cool feeling in the afternoon. Moonshine.
You don't need the liquor that probably, I don't know
that could help, That could mess things up. That's not
what I'm recommending. The color is moonshine. It's a barely
they're gray with a quiet coolness. I mean, it sounds perfect.
(35:00):
So that would be one option. Silver Chain another Benjamin
More color. It's going to add a little more richness
without feeling too heavy. White hair and white wisp they're
both soft whites with cool undertones that won't yellow up
too much in golden light. Now, if you do want
a touch of warmth for the early morning hours, Edgecomb
gray that's a favorite. It's warm but not too golden.
(35:22):
Pale oak has a subtle kind of creamy look to it.
That's great. For shaded spaces, pale oak that would work
really well. Hazy Skies kind of walks the line like
Johnny Cash walks the line. Hazy Skies walks the line
between warm and cool with a bit of a soft,
earthy base. If you want a bold and dramatic space,
(35:43):
especially one that you use in the evening, Silvery Blue
Catalina blue. Both are going to feel fresh and clean
as the sun comes pouring in Casba like rock the Kasba.
It's a rich, earthy blue that grounds a room and
absorbs light beautifully. And if you want an no fail,
no fail trim or ceiling color that works well with
(36:04):
all of the above, all of the above. Normally we
would say all of the above. Sometimes I like to
shorten it just to speed things along, and I just
say all of the above. You know, I drop letters
left and right. If you want a color that works
well with all of the above, try Shantilly Lace. It's clean, bright,
perfectly neutral. You'll love it. You'll thank me later. So
(36:27):
I'm going to put all of those in show notes
and you can also go find them at repco light
dot com. Just check out our blog post for west
facing spaces and while you're there. Check out the blog
posts on the other exposures. Lots of great info all
right there, all right. At the end of the day,
West facing rooms. They're a little bit unpredictable, right, I
(36:47):
think we gathered that as we walk through this. But
they're also full of personality. You know, they can be vibrant, glowing, moody, calm,
all of these different things. You just have to learn
to work with the light, not against it. So take
your time, test your samples at different times of day,
so critical. Benjamin Moore has color samples available. Half pint
(37:08):
of paint. It's about five six bucks something like that.
It is just such an easy way to literally get
some paint in your hands without dropping a lot of money.
Sample it on your wall, Sample it on some poster
board or phone board that you can move around the
space and look at it at different times of the day.
And when you're doing that, don't worry that the color's
got to be perfect all the time. You know, we
(37:31):
talked about that, it's going to be tough to find
a color that's perfect all the time. So choose a
color that looks best when you're mostly using that room.
That's what you're shooting for and just make sure it
doesn't look like garbage the rest of the day. If
it looks like garbage the rest of the day, keep looking.
If it looks okay, you know you can live with
it the rest of the day, you might have found
the color that you want for that space. And of course,
(37:52):
if you're unsure, come see us at Repcolite. We've got
all the samples, the swatches, the expertise to help you
find the color that works with your light, your life,
your style, everything you could possibly want. So stop out
at a store and let us help. All right, that's
going to do it for this episode of Home in Progress.
Thanks so much for spending time with us today. We
hope you're walking away with a few new ideas, maybe
(38:14):
even a little inspiration, you know, for your next project.
If you liked what you heard, be sure to subscribe
wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.
And if you have a second, leave us a rating
or a quick review. It really helps more people find
the show. Home in Progress is brought to you by
Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore, offering expert advice, premium products
(38:34):
and everything you need to keep your home, moving forward.
I'm Dan Hansen. I'll see you next time.
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