French Drains

Jim starts by wishing all the mothers a Happy Mother’s Day! He then gets to some questions about moisture coming through vinyl flooring, whether to refrigerate cold water to the house, trying to restore a concrete patio, staining wood, finding a drainage solution, and more. Jim continues in the second hour with more callers and email questions talking home improvement.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Idiot body. Texas Home Improvement ison the air with Jim Dutton. Welcome
to Texas Home Improvement. What canI do for you? And you're from
Texas? How could you tell?You? Call Jim now with all your
home improvement questions. That's seven onethree, two one two, five eight
seven four. That's seven one three, two one two, five eight seven

(00:23):
four. Texas Home Improvement brought toyou by Ready Seal, Stain and Sealer,
Sunburn Shutters. Where beauty meets energyefficiency, American Standard comfort the way
you like it do West Services FoundationRepair, Plumbing and air Conditioning, Guardian
Roof Systems, Texas Remodel Team,Windows the official window installer of Texas Home

(00:46):
Improvement. James Hardy Sighting the bestsighting on the planet. Floor in the
Core, Victor's Remodeling and Construction partyPlex Specialists, Rev Synthetics, shingles by
f Wave and USA Wall Phone Insulationfor existing homes, and now broadcasting live

(01:06):
from the Dotton Ranch. Here's Jimdot Hey. Welcome to Texas Home Improvements.
Your total home improvement source seven onethree, two one two five eight
seven four. Any home improvement questionyou have, feel free to pick up
phone give me a call, andthat's what we do here on Texas Home

(01:27):
Improvement. We take calls, wetalk about your home improvement issues and get
you headed down the right paths.So seven one three two one two five
eight seven four is the number tocall. Also, don't forget about our
website t hipro dot com that's availabletwenty four to seven to help you out,

(01:49):
whether you're doing it yourself, thinkingabout a project, dealing with a
contractor looking for a contractor you startat tchipro dot com. Even when you
looking for supplies, start at thchiprodot com. While you're there, sign
up for our newsletter. It goesout every other week free at charge.

(02:10):
But you know there's all kinds ofstuff to help you in the newsletter as
well, and you can see backissues at thchipro dot com. So uh,
it's a resource all the time thereto help you out. Plus that's
where you'll find to ask Jim Buttonif you want to send in an email
question. But right now we're hereto take calls and answer questions. So

(02:31):
seven one three two one two fiveeight seven four. That's seven one three
two one two five eight seven four, and I'll see what I can do
to help you out here on TexasHome Improvement, your Total Home Improvement source.
Before we get going, though,I do want to take this opportunity
to wish all the mothers out therea happy Mother's Day. I know Mother's

(02:55):
Day is not until tomorrow, butit is Mother's Day weekend. Uh,
and I definite I only want towish my mom a happy Mother's Day.
Uh. You know, I knowI've told the story before. I wouldn't
be here doing this show if itwasn't for my mom. And not because
she had me and you know stufflike people always say, but because we

(03:16):
used to work together doing remodeling andfixing places up and had to figure things
out. And so working with herand figuring out how to do the projects
we did is where I learned alot of what I know. When when
I answer your questions, it's notbecause I'm looking something up. It's from
practical experience, hands on doing thisstuff. I am a contractor and I

(03:40):
owe all that to my mom.So happy Mother's Day, Mom with that
seven one three two one two fiveeight seven four. David in Willowbrook,
How can I help you today?Yes, thank you for taking the call,
But if you can help me.I've lived in this house for almost

(04:02):
forty years, and over the yearswe've had the flooring changed. I think
it had carpet when we moved in, hardwood tall. But every time we've
had a job done, they havetold me that the cement is wet in
places, so the hardwood didn't lastvery long at all. I had had

(04:28):
your men come out last year,your company, and do that test where
they plug up that drain and checkedto make it yeah, and they said
there's no leaks. But after thisrain a couple of weeks ago, I
have water coming up. Now wehave am not lamited vinyl. Vinyl flooring

(04:55):
and part of the house, thepart where we have tall, we have
no problem. But along one sideof the house it's that it gets wet
and damp. Is there a solutionfor that other than when they put that
vinyl down. They did put somekind of a sealer on it, but

(05:20):
that I don't guess helped. Well, you know, when they put the
ceilings down, the thing is that'sgoing on the surface, and if the
moisture's trying to push through the concrete, it'll blister it off. And that's
probably what's happened. But the thingto do is find out, Okay,

(05:41):
where's this moisture source coming from.And there's several things that can be causing
it. Obviously sewer leaks can beone of them. The static tests has
been done didn't show anything. Iwill tell you up front though, those
are not one hundred percent foolproof becauseif it's done when there's a lot of
water in the soils already, astatic test is only as good as the

(06:08):
moisture escaping the pipe, and ifthe soils are saturated there's no place for
the moisture to go. It'll showthat it's not leaking and can have a
leak. I don't think that's whatyou're dealing with because what you mentioned as
far as when the rain's happened,you had all that issue is more than
likely going to be a drainage issue, and it's not necessarily that the water

(06:31):
is ponding next to the house,which if it is, that can be
a problem as well. But overthe years of mowing and landscaping and doing
different things, the soil levels getraised around the house, and as it
gets raised, the moisture in thesoils can actually travel through the concrete and

(06:54):
start coming up as well, Soit can be a double edged sword.
So there's gonna be a few thingsthat need to be looked at. One,
how's the drainage around the house?You know, any ponding water anywhere
or anything. Two? How muchslab is showing? Uh? You know,

(07:15):
you need to have at least threefour inches minimum showing of the slab.
Uh. And that's below the brickline. And if you have that,
then you've got four or five incheson the inside that keeps the moisture
from just traveling through. What happensover time is a lot of times people
have one or two inches showing andsometimes none and you're going to get water

(07:39):
in the house when that happens.Yeah, that's probably a part of the
problem. What about Yeah, firstof all, does your company with jew
Would your company be someone who couldcheck that out? Absolutely? Yeah.
We we deal with drainage all thetime. Show if I call and ask

(08:00):
for someone to come out, amI calling for a plumbing problem or foundation
problem? Now call and tell themyou have a drainage issue. Okay?
And what about French drains? Doyou ever recommend those all the time?
Now? A true French strain iscapturing subsurface water. And we don't a

(08:24):
lot of times need French strains inHouston. What we use a lot more
in Houston is surface strains, okay, and they are two separate things.
A lot of times people call surfacetrains French strains as well. But yes,
we do complete drain systems on arig on a daily basis. Okay,
Well, I'll call your company thisweek, the lord willing, and

(08:46):
say if someone can come out andlook at it and go from there,
we'll get you taken care of.Okay. I really appreciate your help.
Thank you, you bet, David, take care, take care, and
I guess for everybody else. Ifyou want to give my company Due West

(09:07):
a call, you can reach usat seven one three four seven three seven
one five six and uh yes,uh, you know, if you haven't
a drainage issue like that, youjust asked for drainage. If you've got
a foundation problem, you know yousay foundation, will We'll send out the

(09:28):
appropriate people to take a look atit, obviously plumbing and air conditioning or
other divisions as well. But youcan call the same number and we'll get
you routed and scheduled to the rightappointment and the right people coming out to
service your home for you. Again, if you've got a question seven one

(09:48):
three two one two five eight sevenfour. That's seven one three, two
one two five eight seven four.And you know, I'm I want to
go a little bit beyond on somethingon the drainage because with all the rain
we've been having, especially in thelast two weeks, you know, a

(10:13):
lot of people are experiencing water problems. And I had one person call in
earlier this week at the office thatI overheard the call that she was upset
because she had surface drains and itcouldn't it wasn't keeping up with the rains.

(10:35):
Your surface train systems will not keepup when we're dropping twelve inches of
rain like that. It's just it'sjust the pipes are not going to be
big enough to keep up with that. As much as possible, I like
to recommend using swales and and thingslike that to redirect the water. The

(11:00):
water run over the surface of theground in order to go where it needs
to be. Anytime you got tochoke it all down into a pipe,
you're going to run into overload problems. So as much as possible, we
keep it, you know, cuttingditches out and swales and different things like
that to control the water. You'llhave much better results when we have these

(11:22):
big gully washers like like we've beenhaving. But drainage can be a real
nightmare for foundations. What causes mostfoundation problems is a moisture imbalance. When
the soils dry out, they shrink. When they get wet, they expand
not as much as they were.But when you have wet and dry spots,

(11:45):
you get an imbalance of the soilmoisture and it just creates problems.
And really it's impossible to keep thesoils dry all the time, so you've
got to tend to keep a moistmore than dry. And you know that's
where the earation part comes in.But yes, that is all stuff that
de West can can help you outwith. Look, we're gonna take a

(12:05):
quick break here on Texas home improvementseven one three, two one two five
eight seven four. Any home improvementquestion you have, feel free to pick
up the phone, give me acall, and I'll see what I can
do to help you out here.Oh, let's talk about Texas remodel teams,
window division. You know I've talkedabout Texas Remodel Team for years.

(12:28):
I guess it's over ten years now. Uh. And if you're in on
the North Side and you need somebodyto do some remodeling for you call Texas
Remodel Team. But anywhere in theHouston area, if you need replacement windows,
you need to call the Texas RemodelTeams Window Division. Yeah, they've
got the remodelers to back them upin case there's bad wood or something that's

(12:48):
got to be dealt with. Butwhen there's not, they can handle that
as well. I mean, anybodycan handle it when it's when it's easy,
right. Well, no, theinstallation makes all the difference in the
world on replacement windows and a TexasRemodel Team. They carry vinyl, wood,
fiberglass, any type of window you'relooking for. They'll help you choose

(13:11):
the right window. Two eight onesix one two fifty nine ninety one for
Texas Remodel Teams Window Division. Atfloor End Decore, we know pro as
your one stop source. We delivereveryday savings on over a million square feet
of instock flooring tools and installation materials. See how our flooring experts can help
save you time and money with ourbest in class selection at rock bottom prices

(13:35):
and with pro level benefits like ourdedicated pro service Team, Pro Hotline,
Pro Premier Financing and unbeatable Pro Loyaltyprogram. You get what you need when
you need it where you needed.Come discover floor end decre where we know
pro. Hey, are you lookingfor an HVAC company to take care of
your air conditioning needs? Do youyour spring tune up? You need a

(13:58):
call to West air condition Do youneed a new air conditioning system? So
you're thinking about shopping before the summerprices increase? Again? Called Due West
air Conditioning. When you want thebest, you call Due West at seven
one three four seven three seven onesix. When Jim Dutton of Texas Home

(14:20):
Improvement recommends a camaret, won't steeryou wrong and he recommends Guardian roof Systems.
I said down to Leak City,Hello JD Hey, Jim, how
you doing that? Man? Idid call you last week about a timnicat
Fleek and I'd had somebody come outand basically they ripped me off. You
recommended I called Guardian Roofing. Idid call them. The technician came out,

(14:41):
he was on time, he's courteous. He said, Yep, they've
used the wrong type of sealing.So he cleaned it and resealed it and
manage that did it. Kudos toyou for recommending Guardian, and kudos to
Guardian for doing a polite, pleasantgood job for me. I really really
appreciate that, and thank you somuch. You got take care. Guardian
roof Systems the official roofing company ofTexas Home Improvement. Here's their number two

(15:05):
eight one four oh seven seventy twoeighty. That's two eight one four oh
seven seventy two eighty our click thelink under trusted contractors at thhipro dot com.
This is Texas Home Improvement. Weget some meat out helping you celebrate
Mama Helpy Mother's Day weekend. FromJim Dutton and Texas Home Improvement. He

(15:35):
welcome back to Texas Home Improvement.Seven one three two one two five eight
seven four. That's seven one threetwo one two five eight seven four.
Any home improvement question you have,feel free to pick up the phone,
give me a call and I'll seewhat I can do to help you out
here on Texas Home Improvement. Uh, let's see, I'm gonna jump into

(15:56):
an email question. This came fromTaylor in Hughes. I have a couple
of questions. My wife and Iwill be new to taking care of a
home soon, and since we livein Texas, the cold water isn't always
so cold, and I want toknow if it's possible to refrigerate the cold
water to the house, either thewhole home or just specific fixtures in the

(16:22):
house, so the cold water isactually cold. Well, And I'll go
to the other questions here in asecond, But look, the reason you're
not getting cold water is you know, the water coming in is underground,
and so it's chilled. It's coolthen, but our water lines run overhead

(16:45):
in the Houston area, and guesswhat our attic does. It gets hot
and so the water does tend toheat up when it's just sitting up there
in the attic. So if yourun it long enough, yeah, you
will get to cold water, butit's going to take a while. So
can it be cooled off? Sure? I mean you can redo the waterlines

(17:07):
under the home instead of overhead,which would be unbelievably expensive. You can
run them through refrigeration systems in orderto cool the water down. But again
it's going to be very expensive totake care of something like that. So
in general, for most people,I would say no, it's probably not

(17:30):
practical to do. Can it bedone? Yes? Is it practical?
No? Okay. My second questionwas do you have a recommendation for a
contractor to install a storm door?We need one installed on our back door,
and I like to do it yourself, but this kind of a project,
I'd rather have a professional handling it. Sure, called Southern front Doors.

(17:56):
They'll be able to take care ofyou on that, and they'll do
a great job for you and youwon't have to worry about how it's being
done. So Southern front Doors.Give them a holler again if you had
a question now seven one three twoone two five eight seven four. That's
seven one three two one two fiveeight seven four. And I'll see what

(18:18):
I can do to help you outhere on Texas Home Improvement. We're going
to head over to Cyprus and Ishmael. How can I help you? Yes,
sir, I have a twenty eightyear old house that is brick and
hardy plank, and recently I hadthe trims, the seater trims removed and

(18:40):
made it all hardy plank trims andso on, and made it look pretty.
But on the process of that,while the guys were improving it,
of the corners, two corners onthe backyard, uh uh, they cracked
and they completely came off off thecorners. And the guy has told me
that's common, that's it's it's nota foundation problem. But I'd like to

(19:06):
see if I can repair him thereand make them aesthetically pleasing. And sure
see see uh see, if yougot any any contacts that I can call.
Do I need to do it?Is it? Is it do it
yourself thing with batter boards or doyou have the pieces still? And then

(19:26):
it typically it comes off as justone piece, No, it's just uh,
it's several pieces that came off.I would say, like the size
of a of a solt not asoftball, but heartball, right, okay
there, So here here's the deal. It is very common for this to

(19:48):
happen. When the slab is poured, the concrete is exposed on two sides
there, so it dries a littlequicker, becomes a little bit weak to
come off, and the steal enforcingin concrete doesn't run all the way out,
so it does tend to pop offthat way. If you have the
pieces. You're just using some simpleconcrete epoxy. You can literally glue it

(20:12):
all back together in place and it'llhold for years and years that way.
Uh and and really doesn't look bad. If you don't have the pieces,
then yes, you can just putsome form boards there and pack it in
with concrete. It will tend tocome off again in several years. But

(20:33):
uh, it's it's not a bigdeal to patch it up. But it
is nothing structural or anything to worryabout. Okay, Well, the concrete
epoxy, I could get it ateither ACE or a box. Oh yeah,
something like that, right, yep, yes, sir, oh Greg,
Well, I do have the concretepieces, so it's just like a
little puzzle that go back in there. You go, and if you don't

(20:56):
find it at the concrete stores,go to a store called white Cap.
That's where contractors go to get thingslike this, and they'll have it white
Cap. Okay, that's the nameof the store. That's the name of
the store. Okay, can youtell me, And all you gotta tell
them is you need some concrete epoxy. They'll have it. Okay, great,

(21:18):
thank you you can do for yourtake care, good bye bye again
our number seven one three, two, one two five, eight seven four.
So let's talk about another due atyourself project. You know a Concord
window film. You know whether yourrooms get hot from the windows. You

(21:41):
got a lot of windows in thereletting in heat, or you're getting too
much glare through your windows and youwant to tone it down some. Maybe
you got neighbors, you don't wantthem looking through your windows anymore. This
hot Texas heat shining through your slidingglass door, heating up your floors and
furniture and fading them out out.You need to call Concord window Film.

(22:02):
It's a professional grade window film,not the cheap stuff you get on Amazon
that you can install yourself and customizebased on what you need, like the
stuff I mentioned. And it canbe a darker unit or tint to give
you the privacy of a tent solight that you can't even tell it's there.
And all the window films they sellblocks up to ninety nine percent of

(22:26):
the UV race from coming through yourwindows. So call Concord Window Film eight
eight eight two zero six one fourone three And the wiliness not much to
young feed this damo cardno in noways lap and not much to feed this

(22:56):
damo. Hey, welcome back toTexas Home Improvements. Your Total Home Improvement
source seven one three two one twofive eight seven four. We're gonna head
to Cyprus and Bill I'm going tohelp you today. Hey, guys,
how are you wonderful? So?I have a stamped concrete patio up in

(23:22):
the mountains and they put dye onit to give it the textured kind of
look, you know, that modeledlook of a slate, and over the
last couple of years that that coloringhas stated. Now it's all on color
and looks like just great concrete.Is there a stain or something I can
put back down to kind of restorethe original look. I'm not going to

(23:45):
say it's going to restore the originallook, but there are concrete dyes that
you can put on it, yep, that will tend to, yes,
bring it back. It's not gonnabring back what was there. It's gonna
be new colors that are put in. So yeah, but will it look

(24:07):
like it'll have darker spots and lighterspots kind of like natural slate has,
or it's just gonna be all onecolor. No, it can be put
on to where you got the lighterand darker. Okay, And where would
I get that? Down in Houston? You're gonna try to do this yourself.

(24:30):
Well, if I don't do itmyself, I'll probably pay somebody.
But up there where I'm at,I haven't been able to find anyone that
could get me a product that woulddo what I wanted to do. Okay,
you can go to some of theconcrete supply stores and they may have

(24:51):
it that place. I was justtalking about white Cap. I didn't know
they or Yeah, they probably docarry that. Are they all over town
or are they in a particular Yeah, they're all over They're actually all over
the country. They got locations allover the place. Yeah, okay,
Well I'll check them out. Iappreciate your help. Thanks you bet.

(25:15):
Now I can tell you there's athere's a company i'll call barn Barnscow Steel
in the Dallas area, and Ican't remember if they have locations in Houston
as well, but they have asister company that makes all the dies and
does all that stuff. And soif you don't find it at white Cap,

(25:37):
call that Barnscow okay, and theywould definitely be able to help you
with it. Well, I sureappreciate it. Thanks you bet, take
care again our number seven one threetwo one two five eight seven four.
I'll see what I can do tohelp you out here on Texas Home.

(26:00):
We're gonna head to sugar Land.Jim, that is a great name.
How can I help you? Yes? Uh, I got a new roof
on my house and uh ridge vent'sUh there was a sharp piece of ridge
vent at the teak and it wasabout oh three or four foot lanes and

(26:22):
and the roofing company said they theyleft off the ridge vent there at the
short piece. And I'm just wonderingshould they said they that it was?
It was none of a long enoughfor a ridge vent. I'm just wondering,
what do you what's your thoughts onthat? Oh? Without question,
if all you had was three orfour feet to put a ridge vent,

(26:44):
that's not not even close to enough. Okay, all right, we got
for for the ventilation. Uh.What you have to do is basically a
figure for every one hundred and fiftyfoot of at it space you have,
you need one square foot of ventilationand split it between the soffets and the

(27:07):
exit and so you know, threefour feet of ridge vent isn't going to
supply you. It might get youone square foot or so. Uh huh.
Okay, so what what did theyput up there for ventilation? Then
there there's a ridge vents on onthe remainder of the house, which wherever

(27:30):
it came to a peak. Andokay, this one supper that where the
peak was, it wasn't long enoughfar as only. Yeah, well did
they put anything up there? Then? Yeah, they put the ridge vents

(27:51):
on the remainder on the others,but I mean in that one area that's
taller than the rest, did theyput anything there like the cover regular No,
I'm talking out for ventilation. Didthey put like an air hawk or
something like that up there so itstill has an exit? No? No,

(28:14):
not that that was sharp piece there. Yeah, yeah, there should
be something up If you've got ridgevents on the rest of the house,
then then then that area should havestill had a ridge vent even if it
was only three or four feet long, because you're already setting up how the
air is gonna exit and everything.Now, one thing that does get a

(28:37):
little bit tricky is when you havedifferent elevations that way, because it can
start drawing air through the soft throughthe ridge vents instead of the soffets.
But when you say this is higherthan the other areas, how much higher
is it than where you say youhave ridge vents? I would guess maybe
a couple of feet something like that. Okay, okay, Well, if

(29:04):
they got enough ridge vents in therest of it, you'll you'll probably be
just fine. When I was picturingit being higher, if it was you
know, one of these roofs thatthat it's towering up another ten foot or
something, that can create a realhot spot up there. But if it's
only three four feet, I thinkyou'll be fine. Okay, well,

(29:26):
then just leave the ridge bend offthere on that area. Yep, yeah,
that's fine. Okay, Jim,I appreciate the information. Thank you,
you bet you take care okay,bye, Thanks, And I'm saying
leave it off. I'm making theassumption that the rest of the vents are

(29:48):
enough to handle the square footage ofthe house. But as long as that
there's enough vent for the rest ofthe on the rest of the ridges,
you know that handles the house,then it won't be it won't be an
issue. So, uh, that'lltake care of you. Hey, you
got a question? Seven one three, two point two five eight seven four

(30:08):
give me a call. Let's talksome home improvement here on Texas Home Improvement.
You know, Sunburst shutters is aperfect example of something you can do

(30:29):
to your home that'll not only makeit more beautiful, but more energy efficient
as well. The polywood shutters,which are the most popular shutters in America
and for a great reason, areguaranteed to insulate two to three times better
than a traditional wood shutter, andon top of that, it's guaranteed to
never warp, crack, chip,or peel. That's what I love about

(30:52):
Sunburst shutters is once you've got themon their lifetime I mean I've been out
to projects where they've had them forover thirty over twenty seven years, well
now it's well over thirty years.But they're just gorgeous, and they're durable,
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make sure you get that perfect lookand fit for your home. So give

(31:14):
your windows a treatment they deserve.Call Sunburst shutters today at seven one three
four six two eighty eight hundred.That's seven one three four six two eighty
eight hundred at floor End Decore,we know Pro as your one stop source.
We deliver everyday savings on over amillion square feet of instock flooring tools
and installation materials. See how ourflooring experts can help save you time and

(31:37):
money with our best in class selectionat rock bottom prices and with pro level
benefits like our dedicated Pro service Team, Pro Hotline, Pro Premier Financing and
unbeatable Pro Loyalty program. You getwhat you need, when you need it,
where you need it. Come discoverfloor end Decore where we know pro.
You know James Hardy Siding is thebest siding on the planet. It's

(31:59):
some base. You don't have toworry about it being eaten up by bugs
or rotting or anything like that.And it doesn't catch fire. In fact,
I saw a picture earlier this weekof a house that the electric system
was catching fire and the James Hardysiding kept the house from catching fire because
it wouldn't burn you on a side. And you can trust you need to

(32:20):
take a look at James Hardy Siding. When Jim doesn't know Texas Home Improvement
recommends a company, he won't steeryou wrong. Like Due West Services.
I had your phenomenal company out regardinga foundation watering system, and so tired
of lugging those miserable, so grossthat keep getting destroyed. It's just a

(32:42):
nightmare. So anyway, I hadJacob out from your company, Due West,
and he was phenomenal, and yourun a tiptop organization. He was
dressed beautifully, the truck he droveup in was perfect. I mean,
you just have made yourself a wonderfulcompany. I can't thank you enough.
I really appreciate it. Do WestServices Foundation Repair, Total Plumbing and air

(33:06):
Conditioning call seven one three four seventhree seven one five six. That's seven
one three four, seven three sevenone five six online at do dash West
dot com. That's du dash Westdot com. Do West Services. It

(33:30):
ain't a good weekend till you tearsomething. This is Texas Home Improvement with
Jim dot Hey. Welcome back toTexas Home Improvement, your total home improvement
sour seven one three two one twofive eight seven four. That's seven one

(33:52):
three two one two five eight sevenfour. And I'll see what I can
do to help you out here onTexas Home Improvement. So Laurna out of
Missouri City. Jim, I loveyour show. Several months ago recommended a
stain for someone that wanted to improvethe appearance and did not want it to

(34:13):
strip down and refinish. We leasea home and want to cosmetically improve,
I think it should say the appearanceof the wood after my autistic son used
too much water while steam cleaning thelanding. Thank you for all you do
to help us have more beautiful homes, even those that lease. Laura,

(34:39):
look, I think you're probably listeningwhen I was talking about doing some cabinets
and furniture and stuff. And forthat, you can mix some linseed oil
and some boil linseed oil and mineralspirits and you mix it basically a fifty

(35:00):
to fifty blend and you put thaton and it helps clean it. The
oils will soak in and kind offill in and give a sheine where there
isn't one right now. You usea double knot steel wool. If you're
doing it on cabinets and you're cleaningand getting all the gunk and stuff off,

(35:22):
it's best to clean it before youstart this process. But be honest
with you, I'm not sure howwell this would hold up on a floor
because when you walk across it,and especially if you had socks on or
something like that, it may absorbsome of that oil. And once you
put it on, you have tolet it sit there and soak in for

(35:45):
a while and then you can buffeit clean. So I guess it probably
would work. Okay, you cantry it. I mean, if the
floor is already messed up, what'sit going to hurt? Nothing? And
even if it doesn't do what youneed it to do, it's just gonna
soak in and kind of dissipate overtime. Anyways, So go ahead and

(36:07):
give it a try. Like Isaid, boil inseed oil and mineral spirits.
Mix it fifty to fifty double knotsteel wool to clean everything. Let
it soak in real good, andthen polish it with just a nice clean,
soft cloth and hopefully that'll take careof But that works great on cabinets,

(36:29):
furniture, So I, like Isaid, I've just never tried it
on a floor. Don't know howwell it'll it'll do. There got a
question seven one three, two onetwo five eight seven four. That's seven
one three two one two five eightseven four. And I'll see what I
can do to help you out hereon Texas Home Improvement your total home improvement

(36:52):
source and rob in League City solarvent installation contractor. I need a reliable
contractor to install solar addic vents forme in League City. Thanks. Give
the folks over at Guardian roof Systemsa call at two eight one four zero

(37:16):
seven seven to two eight zero andagain two eight one four zero seven seven
two eight zero for Guardian roof Systems. Talk with them and they can take
care of putting that on for youand getting you hooked up. Now you
hear me recommend solar over electric onesall the time, because why pay for

(37:39):
energy when you can use solar anduse the sun. And traditionally the electric
ones had a habit of kind ofburning up and not lasting and in some
cases causing attic fires. But youknow that's going back many years, and
they have upgraded these things over theyears, and now I'm very comfortable if

(38:01):
you want to use an electric oneas well. The advantage to the electric
fans for attic ventilation is you canalways have them running, even even at
night. Now the solar ones,you know, typically once the sun is
gone, they've got no power torun them, and so we can still
have some pretty hot attics once thesun goes down. But uh, you

(38:27):
got a choice nowadays to go eitherway. Got a question seven one three
two one two five eight seven four. That's seven one three, two,
one two five eight seven four.Let's see here, Larry, this is
Jim. How can I help you? Yeah? I probably when my Grandma's

(38:49):
bungalow and the heights, there's adouble garage built in nineteen sixty two back
there, uh, and then there'san alley behind the yard. Okay,
the neighbor behind me years ago builthis yard up a lot higher than mine.
You, so when we get aheavy rain, it's a lake around
that double garage that I have.Uh, right, because it's directly behind

(39:10):
directly behind the garage. Anything canbe done about that? Or I mean,
I can't build my yard up.How am I gonna? If I
build my yard up, the garagewill still be the same level, right,
Yes, that that is correct?About the how long ago did they
build up that yard? Oh itwas year. It's thirty years ago plus.

(39:34):
Okay, yeah, yeah, Andsee back then they weren't enforcing all
these rules as far as you can'treally do that anymore. But now the
only thing you can do is dealwith the drainage and and try to keep
the water off of it in theway. How do you do that?
Well, it's the water getting no, but it's a lake just outside of

(40:00):
it on the west side and thesouthern side of the garage of my garage.
Okay, his water, it's it'sa it's a lake. Yeah,
okay. So if it's if ifthere's room to put a uh you know,
dig a little like swale ditch outto someplace to drain it, you
can do it that way. Ifthere's not, you can put a catch

(40:22):
basin that and then they pump topump the water out. So there is
different ways of handling it. Andthat music means I'm gonna put I gotta
put you on hold. I willcome back to you after the break here.
But let's talk about USA insulation.You know, if you're looking for
a way to reinsulate your home,like you know we're talking with Larry about

(40:45):
that older construction that has no insulationin it, you can add insulation into
those walls and have a really energyefficient, gorgeous older home. Let's face
it, those old homes are arebeautiful, but the energy efficiency of them
typically is not so good. Ifyou have a newer home, the energy
efficiency may not be that great andUSA Insulation can help you with that as

(41:08):
well. Three four six two nineseven twenty eight hundred. That's three four
six two nine seven twenty eight hundred, or just go to thchi pro dot
com click on the link to USAInsulation. But you know the nice thing
is this is a non expansive poamthat they can inject into the walls,

(41:29):
seals the air gaps, raises Rvalue and gives you energy efficiency. At
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(41:51):
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all your plumbing needs. Whether youwant to go and replace the tank water
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(42:13):
water lines in your home, thesewer lines under the home. We just
have a dripping faucet that needs tobe addressed. Do West Total Plumbing can
handle all your plumbing needs seven toone three four seven three, seven to
one five six and remember when youwant the best, yeah, call do
West. You know a lot ofwindow companies you can put in new windows,

(42:35):
but can they make the trim lookright? Do they use high end
cock to seal up the air gaps? And do they offer multiple styles and
choices so you can get the exactwindows you need and want for your home.
Jim Dutton, host of Texas hoImprovement for Texas Remodel Team, they
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your new windows today two eight onesix one two fifty nine ninety one two
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com. We're back to Texas HomeImprovement, Home improvement advice, tips and
information for a year and your mama. Here's Jim Dott. Welcome back to

(43:50):
Texas Home Improvement your Total home Improvementsource seven one three two one two five
eight seven four. When we left, I was talking with Layer and Larry.
You know, the first thing thatwe have to do on the drainage
thing is figure out one how muchwater we're dealing with. You know,
how big an area? Two Whereis it that this water can go?

(44:14):
Because if the whole area floods,you got no place to take it.
But if it's if it's sections thatare a little bit lower, then you
can start looking at, Okay,do I need to fill in this area.
Do I need to cut this higharea down in order to let the
water flow out? Or do Ineed to capture it in a sump and

(44:36):
pump it out? And so thatit really goes through a process of trying
to figure out what you can dowith it. It's only about a three
foot wide but fifty feet long areaon the west side of my garage and
in the back it's it's about thesame forty feet by about three or four
feet. But it goes down fora few days. Of course, it

(44:57):
goes down. I've been thinking ofFrench drain Jim, who would you recommend
to put a French train in theFrench Oh, give my company a call
due West. We put them invirtually every day. Uh. They're easy
to install. And you know,now with a French train in the Houston
area, we're typically going to haveto pump it somewhere because you know,

(45:20):
a French strain is all sub surfaceand so you're not looking at catch basins
on the top. The water willsoak into it and then we got to
pump it out somewhere, unless yougot a ditch or something that we can
gravity flow it to. But ifyou'll give us a call, we can
come out and look at it andgive you some options. The downhouse is
next to me have with drains andit flops out to the street, And

(45:43):
couldn't I do the same thing?Yeah? Absolutely, That's why I say,
if if you got enough fall.You can absolutely do that. Okay,
Larry, I appreciate it. Igotta let you go because that music
meant the amount of time. Appreciateyou. Bet hey, we got another
hour of tech. It's this homeimprovement to go. Seven one three two
one two five eight seven four.But let's talk real quick about American Standard

(46:07):
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(46:28):
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it. American Standardair. Dot comidiot that Texas Home improvement is on the

(46:51):
air. Jim, Welcome to TexasHomeprovement. What can I do for you?
You're from Texas? Could you tailcall Jim now with all your home
improvement questions. That's seven one threetwo one two five eight seven four that's
seven one three two one two fiveeight seven four. Texas Home Improvement Proxy

(47:12):
by Ready Seal, Stain and Sealer, Sunburnt Shutters, where beauty meets energy
efficiency, American Standard Comfort the wayyou like it Do, West Services Foundation
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(47:55):
Jim Dutton. Hey, welcome toTexas Home Improvements. Your total home improvement
source seven one three two one twofive eight seven four. That's seven one
three two one two five eight sevenfour in the home improvement question. Feel

(48:16):
free to pick up the phone,give me a call, and let's talk
about it. Here on Texas HomeImprovement. It's just gonna be me and
you talking. Yeah, there's otherpeople who listen in, but you and
I hold a conversation. Figure outwhat you got going on and let's get
your project headed in the right directionagain. Seven one three two one two
five eight seven four. And ofcourse, don't forget about our website,

(48:37):
thipro dot com. There's all kindsof helpful information there and links to the
people. You hear me talk aboutquestions and answers. It's just it's just
a wealth of information when you goto tchipro dot com. Uh. And
while you're there, sign up forour newsletter. It goes out every other
week free of charge, So tchipro dot com. And that is where

(49:01):
you'll find to ask Jim Button forsending in email questions as well. Right
now, then let's get ready tohead into a call here at seven one
three two one two five eight sevenfour William and Beaumont, how are you
today? Good, appreciate your show. I got two questions. Uh.

(49:22):
The first one is with French grains. I bought a house that was built
in ninety eight. I bought itlast year and uh, it's got some
French strains in the back that areplucked up. And I call Rotor Router
that came out and they said theydon't mess with French grains at all.
So right, just looking for amethod to get those are surface it's it's

(49:43):
surface strains. You got there,right, yes, yes, okay,
it goes to drainage ditch or drainagecovert in front of my house. Okay.
And the pipe that that they putin for it, is it the
black corrugated stuff or is it awhite PVC pipe? Well, I didn't

(50:06):
I don't know. He just toldme. Typically the rotor riger gather this
real thin pipe. That's why theydon't mess with it. I believe it's
a black corrugated pipe, but i'vethe Okay, if it's the black corrugated
and if you look in the catchbase and you'll see down in there if
it's white or if it's the blackstuff. But if it is the black

(50:29):
corrugated, you can't run a snakethrough it. The only thing you can
run through it is going to belike a little hydro jetting machine. So
basically it's a tip that hooks tothe end of the hose on a pressure
washer, so it's blowing water inmultiple directions to try to clean it out,

(50:51):
because if you try to run asnake through there, it'll just chew
that plastic up and you'll end updigging the whole thing up and replacing it.
That's what the rotor got said,Okay, I'll check that out.
Is it plugged up completely or isit plugged up completely or does it still
have some flow? Two of themare plugged up completely, one of them

(51:14):
has some flow on it and orthe other ones have flowing it. But
two of them are plugged u completely. Okay, yeah, they'll they'll end
up starting then from from the bottomside and come up probably to get him
cleared then. Now, a lotof times you can do it with a

(51:35):
water hose as well, but thehydroblast machine definitely would do it. All
right, I'll give that a shot, Okay. Question it has to do
with the radiant barrier. Thinking aboutthere was an addition done in this house
where an office was put up inthe attic space and it's very nice.

(51:57):
It's air condition with return air wellinsulated, but the attic space around it
is just extremely hot. It's allhip roofs. And I was thinking about
radiant barrier. But I'm probably withinfive years of needing a new ruth and
I heard about shingles that have theradiant barrier on the shingles, so right,

(52:21):
I was thinking that might be theway to go since I'm within five
years of needing the new roofs anyway, So what's the difference between the two
and what would be the best routeto take some chape, I will tell
you. On my own house,I have the plywood that has the radium
barrier and energy Q radiant barrier layingon the attic floor. The plywood with

(52:45):
the radiant barrier, and it helpsto minimize the heat that's getting in the
attic, but you're still going toget a hot attic. And then the
one the energy Q that's on theattic floor. It keeps the heat that
gets in the attic from getting intothe insulation. Now a lot of my
house I don't even have insulation,but that's a different story. So if

(53:07):
I was in your case, becauseof the walls that are coming up in
the attic area, I would imaginethey don't have a heavy insulation in them
either. Do They're probably an arethirteen or nineteen, right, that's what

(53:28):
it is. Yeah, Yeah,So look, I would take a look
at that energy Q radiant barrier becauseyou could put it on those walls and
everything, and that'll help with theheat that from getting into the air conditioned
space of that room. Now,as far as the other radiant barrier,

(53:50):
I have not looked into the shingleones. I've only looked into the plywood.
But this energy Q can be laidunder shingles as a radiant barrier,
so I know it works. Ijust haven't. I'm just not familiar with
the shingles that you're talking about.The ply would would require redecking the house,

(54:13):
right, it would, and honestlyI would not recommend doing that.
It's just not cost effective. Yeah, I don't want to do that if
I can avoid it. Now thatyou can put right barrier under the rafters,
right you can. That would bea single ply barrier. So it
has to have dead air space,which that's the attic space, and it

(54:37):
works just fine. But the advantageof the energy Q being a multi layer
system and putting it on the topof the insulation is it blocks the heat
from getting to the insulation to beginwith, which allows the insulation to do
a much better job for you.Okay, okay, all right, yes

(54:59):
I think that much. Is thereany kind of ventilation you can do on
a hip roots where the I haveridge vents and it's all hip there,
no gable, no ridge vents arefine. You don't you actually don't want
to mix uh the ridge in thein the gable vents because it'll start drawing

(55:21):
air in through the gable instead ofthrough the softs and so you'll have hot
spots. So no, you're good, okay, all right, Well,
appreciate your show and thank you foryour answers. Thank you, William.
You take care all right again.Our number seven one three two one two
five eight seven seven four. That'sseven one three two one two five eight

(55:47):
seven four. And see what Ican do to help you out here on
Texas Home Improvements, your total homeimprovement source. Let's see. So Zia
out of Flugerville is asking about agazebo. Says Hi Jim, I need
your advice. I am planning toput a gazebo in my backyard, but

(56:08):
I can't decide on what base.Should I have a wood base or a
concrete which will be cost effective?If you know an honest company that you
can recommend for this purpose, alsosome handyman company for assembling the gazebo.
Also, please let me know approximatecost of concrete, asphalt or wood base.

(56:32):
I really appreciate your help in thisregard. Thanks well. As far
as costs, a lot of times, it depends on where you're at.
You know, if the if you'retoo far out, the concrete gets very
expensive and the wood comes down.In other areas, the concrete and wood

(56:54):
would be very similar in price.So it's going to depend on where you
are, and really more so onesthetically what you're looking for. I will
tell you that traditionally a wood baseon a gazebo looks gorgeous and doesn't heat

(57:15):
up like the concrete does, becauseconcrete when it's in the sun gets hot
and it'll radiate that heat, wherethe wood, although it can get warm,
is not going to get as hotand it's not going to radiate the
heat like concrete woods. So honestly, I would probably lean towards doing a
wood base if I was in yourshape or shoes rather, And then you

(57:40):
know, the rest of it's goingto be wood anyways, so that'll get
you going. They'll have to setbase pads and come up with blocks in
order to put the gazebo on it, and one of the benefits of that
is, should you ever decide youwant to move it in the yard or
something. It actually could be movedthat way. I'm not saying it's easy,

(58:00):
don't get me wrong, but itit definitely can be done. Where
you do it with concrete, whereshe sits is where she stays, so
and if there's any movement in theyard, the wood base would be easier
to adjust and shim and less expensivethan having to do the concrete. So,

(58:22):
uh yeah, if it was me, I'd I'd be doing the base.
Got a question, Give me acall. Seven one three two one
two five eight seven four. That'sseven one three two one two five eight
seven four. Let's talk about Texasremodel teams. Window division. You know,

(58:43):
there are tons of window companies outthere and they're all toouting. They're
pricing and they're all toouting their windows, and they build a fund they have
the finest windows available. Look,the glass packs are almost all the same.
The government stepped in many years ago, now probably I don't know,
eight ten years ago and started regulatingthe glass energy efficiency of replacement windows the

(59:12):
framework. There's not a huge differencein the energy efficiency of the framework.
Whether it's vinyl, wood, fiberglass. The energy efficiency of them is very
close. So now what we're comingdown to is the cost that you want
to spend versus what you want tolook at. Vinyl is the least expensive
replacement windows. Wouldn't fiberglass. Theykind of run neck and neck. Would

(59:37):
usually a little bit more expensive thanthe fiberglass. But again, you know
we put the glass packs in.So what's going to be the big deciding
factor here what you want to lookat and who's putting it in for you,
Because the installation crews can make ahuge difference on the energy efficiency of
it. You want a good tightfit, you want it to be sealed

(01:00:00):
up around the window, and ifthere's bad wood, you want to get
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(01:02:12):
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standardair dot com one bone for diggingdeep homes. I'm not me for paving

(01:02:35):
long road. I ain't cut outto climb highline home. I'm pretty good
at drinking big. I'm pretty goodand drinking big. Hey, welcome back
to Texas Home Improvements, your totalHome Improvements or seven one, three,

(01:02:59):
two five, eight seven four.It's head to mark. How can I
help you? Hey, I gota I just bought a new home.
We moved in. We're moving intoday, but I've had the house for
several several weeks uh. And wehad two residencies and moving down to one,

(01:03:21):
and I got a humidity problem withthe AC units. It's you know,
it's got one of these nests thermostatsand and you know, they go
to combo, and the relative humidityis up in the sixties high sixties.
And when I go to pump itdown to like seventy four, the relative
humidity doesn't really come down that much. It stays probably well fifty seven percent,

(01:03:44):
which which I know is acceptable insome cases, but it's really it
really needs to be down and belowfifty in my mind. And and it
when during the inspection I did seewhere the condenser was a three and a
half ton condenser and the unit wasa four I mean, the condenser was
a four ton unit, you know, and the evaporator was a three and

(01:04:05):
a half ton evaporator. And I'veseen, you know, I've heard different
things about that, about controlling humidity, and I'm wondering if I've got to
look further into this. I said, we we haven't. We haven't lived
in the house yet, so wereally haven't kept the temperature day and night.
That's you know, below seventyfore right, and that's going to be one

(01:04:30):
of the issues that you're having rightnow, because our outside temperatures are pretty
close to that, so the ACsystem is not running that much, and
by not running, it's not goingto keep it the humidity levels down.
And fifty seven percent is not abad level. I mean, I personally

(01:04:51):
like it somewhere, you know,forty five to fifty five percent. You
start getting over the sixty five,yeah, then it really doesn't feel good.
But until you get into the houseand you start dropping that thermostat down.
A lot of people are even havingissues right now at night where they'll

(01:05:14):
wake up at three in the morningbecause outside it's sixty eight degrees. We've
got a thermostat set at seventy seventytwo. It's just playing, not running,
and so the humidity levels are arising. Once the daylight comes and it
starts running again, the humidity dropsagain, and I got an idea that's
what you're dealing with when the thermostatsat the seventy four. Yeah, okay,

(01:05:38):
well that makes you feel a littlebetter. I mean, this house
is just built in twenty nineteen,and the guy I bought if one was
an engineer, so I'm pretty confidenthe worked it to the end degree,
and if it's an engineer, Imean, you're just gonna be all wrong
with the house. You're gonna haveto start all over. We got two

(01:06:00):
sons that are engineers, and oneof them just got his master's degree in
business yesterday at the U of H. So, uh yeah, engineers typically
they'll they'll think it all out toto like you said, the nth degree,
h yeah, exactly, exactly.Yeah. So so anyway, it's
it's a pretty complex system. ButI mean it's got the radiant barrier,

(01:06:25):
it's got tons and tons of insulation, so the house, the house is
well made and looking forward to movinginto it. But I was just having
a little concern with I couldn't getthat humidity down. But I wasn't running
day and night like you said.Yep, I think I think you'll be
good. That was good. Iappreciate the call. You bet take care

(01:06:51):
and you know, even if ifit's not, decumunification can happen, especially
once you're already getting down into thoselevels. I mean it's not free,
but you know, given the temperaturesright now and where the levels are and
stuff, I don't think you shouldhave an issue with it. Uh and
and again this goes for everybody.If right now at night we're still getting

(01:07:16):
fairly comfortable down in the temperatures.I mean, last week we had some
temperatures get down to you know,upper sixties. The air conditioning system's just
not running, and so the humiditylevels will go up. If you want
to keep this humidity down, yougot to turn it down a little bit
further or add dehumidifiers into the system, which we typically don't need because this

(01:07:40):
only happens for a few weeks outof the year. Again, if you
got a question seven one three,two one two, five eight seven four,
give me a call. Let's talksome home improvement here on Texas home
improvement. All right, let's talkabout some window film, because you know,

(01:08:15):
if you got rooms in your homewith a lot of windows that are
too hot, are you getting toomuch glare coming through your windows? Maybe
you don't want neighbors being able tolook through the windows. Is the Texas
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You need to call Concord window film. It's a professional grade window film,

(01:08:39):
not the cheap stuff you get offI Amazon and that that you can
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(01:09:23):
the link for Concord Window Film.This is Texas Home Improvement who gets some
metut helping you celebrate Mama Helping Mother'sDay weekend from Jim Dutton and Texas Home
Improvement. Hey, welcome back toTexas Home Improvements. Your hotal home Improvement

(01:09:47):
source seven one three two one twofive eight seven four. That's seven one
three two one two five eight sevenfour. We're gonna head out to Magnolia,
Tom. This is Jim. Howcan I help you? Hi?
Jim, As you said, welive in Magnoliac and We live in a
limestone house and it's very efficient.It has what I believe they call a

(01:10:12):
skin vent system, where there's housewrapped in tivak and there's about twelve to
sixteen inch air gap and then thestone at the bottom of the stone has
a vent. And of course theSoviet has been all the way across the
house so and has the radiant barrier. So it's very efficient. We love
it. However, we had araccoon get into the attic about a year

(01:10:34):
ago, and what they did theywas trampled down all the insulation. So
my question is is it feasible toget up there in the attic with some
kind of blowing system or compressed airto try to fluff that insulation back up.
Typically not, And the issue isthat blown in insulation will tend to

(01:11:00):
settle over time, whether anything gotinto it or not anyways, so usually
we end up just adding some insulationon top of it after about fifteen years
or so. Okay, okay,it makes sense, all righty, Well,
I don't think you answered my question. So I think it was originally
maybe sixteen plus inches, so Idon't know how much you settles every one

(01:11:24):
of year period. Maybe say fourinches. How much would you add back
to it, like another eight orwell you could if you wanted, but
just another four to six get itback up. Fifteen sixteen inches is what
we're typically looking for in our climate. Okay, it makes sense. All
right, Well, I think you'veanswered my question. I thought it may

(01:11:46):
be an easy fix, but it'snot one. I was really looking forward
to there that heat and trying toblow it around, but blowing the top
and it also to speak, maybethe way to go. It'll it'll take
care of two problems with one.One it'll get it all fluffed up again,
but it really is just a surfacethat fluffs up. And but two

(01:12:10):
it'll get your r value back upand help with the energy bill again.
Yeah, and it's been great eventhen screwed up like that by the ractionons.
But I like to get it backup to par so to speak.
Alrighty, yeah, well, thankyou appreciate it, you bet you take
care you too, and again ournumber seven one three two one two five

(01:12:33):
eight seven four. And you knowthat is one of the things you got
to watch with insulation. If youuse a fiber bat type insulation, that's
the stuff that comes in the rollor in the pieces, they don't settle
over time, but if you usea blown in insulation cellulose or fiberglass,

(01:12:54):
they will settle over time, andas they settle, you lose the air
gaps that's between the pieces, andthat's why you lose your R value.
It's the air gaps that help givethe R value that they have. So
in order to solve this, wejust add more insulation on top every fifteen

(01:13:15):
years or so. Again, ifyou got a question seven one three two
one two five eight seven four,I'll see what I can do to help
you out here on Texas Home Improvement, Kenneth in Laporte says roofer who installs
solar exhaust vans on the roof,I mentioned them, I think in the
last hour Guardian Roof Systems. Youcan give them a call at two eight

(01:13:40):
one four zero seven seven two eightzero and they can take care of that
for you. I add, aGuardian put on a roof for me.
I don't know, three months ago, I guess, and no it did.
They did great. They will definitelyget you taken care of for all

(01:14:00):
your roofing needs. So yeah,give Guardian Roof Systems a call. And
obviously you can find them on ourwebsite at thhipro dot com. And let's
see with that being said again,seven one three two one two five eight

(01:14:21):
seven four. Uh, I'm gonnalet's see here. Oh that's a long
one. We don't want to dothat. Here we go. Charles in
Seabrook needs a complete interior makeover toinclude a kitchen and master bath. Also

(01:14:45):
very interested in a room edition,must serve the NASA Clear Lake area.
We're looking for a general contractor thatcan do a sizeable room edition to our
home in addition to a complete interiormakeo. Uh okay, So look,
I can give you a name ofa couple of contractors to call. One

(01:15:10):
is going to be Victor's Remodeling andConstruction. You can reach them at eight
three two two four three ninety nineninety seven. Again it's eight three two
two four to three ninety nine ninetyseven. Another one would be All Star
Construction at seven one three eight fourseven zero two ninety four. And either

(01:15:38):
one of those guys would be ableto take care of this project for you.
So again, if you got aquestion, seven one three two one
two five eight seven four. Ericain Laporte. How can I help you?
Hi, I'm in Old laport bythe beach and it's a rental house.

(01:16:00):
It's a rental health that was totallygutted a couple of years ago,
and I moved in last year andhaven't had any issues. The problem is
now, maybe you know these termiteswarms that were happy in Deer Park Report
area. They've happened the past twonights, So Thursday and last night,

(01:16:21):
I'm getting literally hundreds coming in myfireplace, the attics pulled down and the
air circulation bent in the bathrooms,hundreds like dust panfuls. I'm sweeping up.
I checked with my neighbors this morning, and I've turned out all the
lights and everything everyone says to do. And I checked with my neighbors directly

(01:16:45):
behind me this morning and across they'rehaving them on the outside of the house.
That's they're not coming indoors. Whatcan I do to stop them?
Why are they coming in my house? And what can I do to stop
it? Okay, Well, thefirst thing you got to find is where
they're coming in. And you alreadymentioned the fireplace and stuff like that.

(01:17:06):
Is the damper closed on the fireplace? Yes, I checked that. Okay.
The only other thing you can dothen is to actually put a plug
in the fireplace. They do makea blow up plug that can go in
there, and it is for energyefficiency, but it would keep them from

(01:17:29):
coming in that way. And that'sliterally what you have to do with everything
is fine where they're coming in andplug it up. As far as why
are they coming in, you know, typically the main reason they would be
coming in like that is they're findinga wood that they want to set up
housekeeping in. So not a goodthing right right now. Whether they're going

(01:17:50):
to set up housekeeping or not,I can't say, but yes, I
was out at the passing in theRodeo Grounds passing in fair Grounds earlier in
the week and I was telling them, I said, you know all these
things are termites, right, becauseit was all over the office as well

(01:18:11):
there. Okay, well, it'san old house and the landlord didn't place
the windows, so I noticed I'mon the window still. And it wasn't
until Thursday night when I saw theswarm around the street light. But my
concern was, why are they comingin my attic and not the other or

(01:18:31):
they're in the attic everywhere apparently,but they're still coming in my house.
So it seems to me that Ihave a lot of gaps. Maybe right,
yep, probably so, And especiallyif it's a if it's an older
home, it will Okay, itwas failed in the eighties and it's a
brick house, but I think,oh, no, brick a home in

(01:18:54):
the eighties is I don't consider thatan older home. That's that's a were
home. And uh yeah, theythat should be easily sealed up. So
we just need to find where they'recoming in and start sealing it. Okay,
Well, I'm on my way tohome deep in Pasadena. I just
passed the fair grounds. I'm goingto home Depot to buy some duct tape.

(01:19:15):
They're coming on Monday, but I'mscared that they're going to be back
tonight, so I'm going to ducktake the attic. Yeah, put some
plastic on the fireplace just for thenight because I can't do another sleepless night.
Yeah, thank you for the advice. And it's kind of what I
do. You bet all right now, And I'm gonna throw this out to

(01:19:38):
you because you're out in La Portthere. You know that that that hardware
store that's in the old down theold part of uh of Laporte by the
high school. Yes, they carryeverything. They would have had this stuff
and saved your drive all the wayto home depot. Well I was already
up here anyway. So but you'reright, okay, so they have a

(01:20:00):
lot of things that you can't findat home. DEEPO also exactly, yeah,
all right, you take care Erica, all right, thank you so
and again seven one three, twoone two five eight seven four. Let's
talk about sunburst shutters real quick.You know, sunburs shutters are a perfect

(01:20:23):
example of something you can do.They are gorgeous. They can transform the
look of any room in your house. You can't beat the construction. They
never warp, crack, chip orpeel. They come with a lifetime guarantee
against all that stuff, and theythey they're just gorgeous. I mean,
when you're looking for something to doto your rooms, you typically don't want
something that's going to be here today, gone tomorrow, or starts fading and

(01:20:45):
looking bad. Not an issue withsunburn shutters. I've had mine for I
don't know, thirteen years. Theystill look great. I've been out to
homes that've had them for over twentyseven years still look like the day they
were put in. You can dothat too by calling Sunburst Shutters at seven
one three four six two eighty eighthundred. That's seven one three four six

(01:21:06):
two eighty eight hundred, or justgo to thchi pro dot com and click
on the link for Sunburst Shutters.At floor Endecore, we know pro as
your one stop source. We delivereveryday savings on over a million square feet
of instock flooring tools and installation materials. See how our flooring experts can help
save you time and money with ourbest in class selection at rock bottom prices

(01:21:29):
and with pro level benefits like ourdedicated pro service Team, Pro Hotline,
Pro Premier Financing and unbeatable Pro Loyaltyprogram. You get what you need,
when you need it, where youneed it. Come discover floor end Decore
where we know proh do West airConditioning. You know there are hundreds of
air conditioning companies out there, andI know, how do you choose the

(01:21:53):
one you're gonna call? Well,you call me for questions and answers on
things. Why not use my airconditioning company because the guys have access to
me all the time. But Ihave some top notch AC people that work
for me and they will take greatcare of your home. So when you
want the best, whether it's fornew installation or just repair or service work,

(01:22:17):
you call due West seven to onethree four seven three seven one five
six. You know a lot ofwindow companies can put in new windows,
but can they make the trim lookright? Do they use high end cock
to seal up the air gaps?And do they offer multiple styles and choices
so you can get the exact windowsyou need and want for your home.

(01:22:39):
Jim Dutton, host of Texas oImprovement for Texas Remodel Team, they have
a window division that does nothing butwindows, and they can make sure that
things like your trim, your brick, even your windowsill looks perfect because after
all, they are owned by aconstruction company. They carry all the major
brands of windows, and their insultcrews are second to none. Giving them
a four point nine stars out offive on Google Reviews and an A plus

(01:23:03):
rating with the BBB, plus athumbs up from me. Great windows,
great prices and a great installation calledthe Texas Remodel Team Window Division for your
New Windows Today two eight one sixone two fifty nine ninety one two eight
one six one two fifty nine ninetyone online at Texas Remodel team dot com.

(01:23:32):
There ain't nothing you don't know abouthome improvement, stinking smart air like
here's Jim Dutton on Texas Home Improvement. Hey, welcome back to Texas home
Improvement again. Seven one three twoone two five eight seven four steven West,
Houston. How can I help you? Yes, sir Jim, thank

(01:23:56):
you. I need your advice onIt's an older home. But the original
patio slab with a cover on itroof, it's sinking. And I did
was able to raise there's a crackdown the middle of it. But I've
never had any foundation problems. ButI was able to raise that once low

(01:24:23):
side and bring it up enough tothat crack is joined. And I was
told that concrete raising would be alot more economical than building a deco on
top of it, you know,just to raise it because what happens,

(01:24:43):
especially on the low side, andit's not that much lower, but when
we get good rains, it encroacheson the patio and it come up,
so part of it is underwater witha big rain. What do you And
I was even thinking about a fronttrain. I don't know. Well,
the concrete raising is typically considered cheaperthan replacing the concrete, but it all

(01:25:11):
depends on how much you've got toraise it, because the materials for the
foam injection and stuff is fairly expensive. I have two of the rigs and
do that every day, and youknow it's great. Yeah, it's great
for taking up low spots and somethingthat's starting to tilt and things like that.

(01:25:31):
But you know, you start gettinginto three four inches of lift with
it, it becomes very cost effectiveto start looking at replacing the concrete again
or capping it. So you dohave some choices. Well, if you
got room enough to build a woodendeck over it, you probably have room
enough to add two to four inchesof concrete on top of what you've got.

(01:25:58):
Yes, and I'm measured thinking itnever happened, but I was thinking,
uh, to go completely under theback door. There is enough room
for a tube for a tube beforeframing and in uh, you know,
like a two by six decking.But it it's about the link, you

(01:26:20):
know that two by four is thatit's how much I'm I would want to
raise it. No more than that, Yeah, so, like I said,
typically if you're going to raise itthat much, you a lot of
times are better off to just goahead and replace it. Whether you want
to go with the wood deck orconcrete. Again, uh, costs wise,

(01:26:43):
it's going to run about the same. And I can tell you when
you inject the pham, you're stillon the act of soil and so it's
still subject to the up and downmovement of the weather cycles. Mm hmmm
hm. I understand. And Idon't know you don't think for a just
a typical square slab patio with thatlow side and the low side I'm talking

(01:27:05):
about is away from the house.But sure it would a French drain work
in that situation. It very wellcould. If you got someplace. It'd
be a surface string, not aFrench dring. But as long as you
got someplace to drain the water to, yeah, it should work just fine
either way. Get my office acall and we can give you come out

(01:27:26):
and it doesn't cost anything for usto come out and look at it,
and we can give you some directionson what to do with it. Okay,
I will. That sounds great.I thank you and enjoy your show.
Thank you, sir. You totake care. Hey, let's talk
real quick about Ready Seal. Youknow, Ready Seal is a wood sealer

(01:27:50):
and preservative. I mean I saythat because when you put ready Seal on,
it'll you can get it where it'lltint your wood to whatever tone you're
looking for, whether it's a naturalcolor or up to a dark walnut.
And then it soaks in it withits oils, penetrating deep down into the

(01:28:14):
wood fibers, moisturizing the wood asit goes so it doesn't take on moisture.
Therefore, it protects the wood fromthe ky and from taking on moisture
and warping and cracking and all thatkind of stuff. So if you're looking
for a wood preservative that just can'tbe beat, you need to take a
look at Ready Seal. Yeah,you see other products out there, but

(01:28:34):
none of them match the durability ofReady Seal. It stays on longer.
It's built for the Texas climate becauseit's made here in Texas, family owned,
family operated. You want to learnmore about it, go to thchipro
dot com and click on the linkfor Ready Seal. You know, if
you're having a sewer leak under yourhomes, foundation. That's something that really

(01:28:57):
needs to be addressed, but itneeds to be addressed by somebody who can
take care of the plumbing as wellas the homes foundation. That's why you
want to call do West both aplumbing company and the foundation repair company to
make sure if your homes foundation staysintact years after the plumbing work is done.
When you want the best, calldo West seven one three four seven

(01:29:18):
three seven one five six online atdudash weest dot com. USA Insulation that's
who you call when you want toinsulate your existing home. You got walls
that have even our thirteen in them, like new houses do. They can
go in, drill the holes,inject their poam insulation into those existing walls.

(01:29:42):
It'll compress what's in there, sealup all the air gaps, raise
R value. You know, you'retypically gonna have our thirteen and with USA
Insulation you're gonna end up with aan R twenty five to an R thirty
even on a reinsulation of existing newhomes. Can you imagine what it'll do
with an older home that has noinsulation in it. Three four six two

(01:30:04):
nine seven twenty eight hundred. That'sthree four six two nine seven twenty eight
hundred for USA Insulation. When JimDunton recommends a contractor, he won't steer
you Rock Dylan. Hey, Jim, just falling in real quick about one
of your trusted contractors, Texas throughModel Teams. We've been working with them

(01:30:26):
for four or five years now,just project after project. He's the only
guy we call. And they dida great job on an outdoor kitchen for
us, huge patio extension, outdoorfireplace, the kitchen as well. Nothing
but good things to say about them. We're constantly spreading the good word regarding
their team from our neighbors. Itreally is a good time to get things

(01:30:47):
done around the house with Texas RemodelTeam. If you're needing any type of
remodeling, whether it's just a roomedition or an outdoor kitchen, or maybe
just a patio cover, highly recommendcall Texas Remodel Team now at two eight
one six one two five nine nineone. That's two eight one six one

(01:31:08):
two five nine nine one our clickthe link at thhipro dot com, the
show that kicks the competitions. Youare listening to Texas Home Improvement with Jim

(01:31:30):
dot Hey. Welcome back, toTexas Home Improvement. Look, we're about
out of time here. I dowant to remind you tomorrow you can join
us again at two o'clock. Iknow it's Mother's Day, but we will
have a show for you tomorrow attwo o'clock here on k T R H.
And again I want to take thisopportunity to wish all the mothers out

(01:31:51):
there a happy Mother's Day, especiallyto my mom. Thank you Mom,
Happy Mother's Day, and you know, to my wife as well. And
you know, keep in mind,guys, if you got kids, it's
up to you to make sure thekids are taking care of mom tomorrow as
well as you taking care of mom. Father's Day is in another month or

(01:32:12):
two, so don't don't don't besitting back on the sofa doing nothing to
making Mom do all the cooking andcleaning and all that stuff. Tomorrow,
Happy Mother's Day, have a wonderfulweekend, and we'll visit with you tomorrow
at two o'clock. Let's talk realquick before we go about Texas Remodel Teams

(01:32:39):
Window Division, because if you needwindows, you need a company you can
trust to come out and take careof your window needs. And the folks
at Texas Remodel Team are that company. I mean they got a four point
nine stars out of five on GoogleReviews and a plus rating with the BBB.
They carry vinyl, wood, fiberglass, whatever type of window you want

(01:32:59):
a steely for your home, TexasRemodel Team has it. Call them at
two eight one sixty one two fiftynine ninety one. They'll come out.
They'll sit down and go over allyour options and help you choose that perfect
window for your home again two eightone six one two fifty nine ninety one,
or you can go online to thhiprodot com click on the link for

(01:33:25):
Texas Remodel Teams Window Division, orif you want to go to their website
is Texas Remodel Team dot com