A/C Time

Jim gets right to the calls on the show today. He gets questions about cracks in hardy plank and ceramic tile, changing out a front door, an estimate for foundation and roof work, tuning up an A/C system, duct cleaning, and more. Jim also mixes in some email questions along the way. We continue in the second hour with more callers. Don’t forget the website thipro.com.

Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Texas Is Home Improvement is on theair with your host, Jim Dutton.
Let me out of trouble frustration aboutreally appreciate You're wonderful. Thanks you.
The godsend to listen to your show. It's happened to turn on perfect time.
If you recommend them, then you'venever give them from the show.
Any four recommendations all going that callJim now with all your home improvement questions

(00:26):
at seven one three two one twofive eight seven four. That's seven one
three, two, one two fiveeight seven four. Texas Home Improvement brought
to you by Ready Seals, Stainand Seiler, Sunburn Shutters. Where beauty
meets energy efficiency, American Standard Comfortthe way you like it do, West
Services, Foundation Repair, Plumbing andair Conditioning, Guardian Roof Systems, Texas

(00:49):
Remodel Team Windows, the official windowinstaller at Texas Home Improvement. James Hardy
Siding, the best sighting on theplanet floor and the Core Victor's Remodeling and
Constructions. A party plank Specialist,Reva Synthetic Singles by f Wave and USA
Insulation Wall Home Insulation for assisting homes. Now broadcasting live from the Dot Ranch.

(01:12):
Here's Jim don Hey, welcome toTexas Home Improvement. Your total home
improvement source. Seven one three twoone two five eight seven four. That's
seven one three two one two fiveeight seven four. Any home improvement question

(01:32):
you have, feel free to pickup the phone, give me a call,
and I'll see what I can doto help you out here on Texas
Home Improvement. Don't forget about ourwebsite though thipro dot com. It's there's
a resource to help you out twentyfour to seven. So anytime you have
a question, if I'm not availablehere, you go to thchipro dot com.
You'll find all the people I talkabout. You'll find videos, copies

(01:56):
of TV shows, copies of newletters newsletters. By the way, you
can up for our newsletter there.It goes out every other week free of
charge. As well. As heasked Jim button where you can send in
email questions. That's all available att hipro dot com. But we want
to take calls and answer questions.So seven one three two one two five

(02:19):
eight seven four. That's seven onethree two one two five eight seven four.
Any home improven question you have,pick up the phone, give me
a call, and let's talk aboutit here on Texas Home Improvement. With
that being said, Chris and theWoodlands, how can I help you today?
You're more in our afternoon. Hey, I've tried Irvey heart I Hardy

(02:43):
plank my house back in two thousandand four. Okay, I took all
the mation night step off and someof the Hardy plank is not cracking.
And it's cracking in an almost avertical line up the across the the plank.
And uh, I've started hearing thatthat that Hardy fund doesn't last like
it like everybody thought it was gonnalaugh. Is that you know what's going

(03:07):
on there? The idea? Ihave not heard that at all. Uh.
When you're saying it's cracking in astraight vertical line, are all the
boards cracking up one straight line oris it just an individual board or what
it's an individual board? Yeah,And it's not like it's come loose in
any place. And I put asix foot level underneath it and it's still

(03:30):
absolutely level. It just doesn't makesense why it could have this little jagged
crack nearly vertical call hardy and here'sand here's why, because it's under warranty.
Mm. Interesting Okay, I mean, I did it myself. It
doesn't matter that the product, theproduct itself is under warranty, as long

(03:55):
as it's installed properly, the warrantywould cover something like that. So uh
yeah, I would definitely give thema call. Now, there are things
that you can do, you know, like how it was handled and stuff
that can make a difference on it. But as far as it not lasting
as long as they're saying, youknow, Hardy's been around for well over

(04:17):
one hundred years. It's been likeone hundred and I don't know, one
hundred and ten or one hundred andtwenty years already that this product has been
around, So they know the longevityof it already. Okay, all right.
Second question. Sure, I've gotceramic Kyle, big nice sixteen inch
ceramic piles all downstairs in my house, and they have just got hairline some

(04:41):
of them, just a few havegot some hairline cracks in them. I
don't have any cracks in my brick, no doors that are tough sticking like
foundation issues. But is this justnormal settling for you know, Kyle,
that have been down that long.My guess is it has nothing to do
with the foundation, even U thefloor have been down about twenty years thirty

(05:03):
thirty. Okay, the mastics thathave been used under these floors, as
they tend to age, have startedcoming loose a little bit now typically it's
in the twenty to twenty five rangeage. But when they do that,

(05:24):
when you walk on it, youcan cause them to crack. Okay,
interesting, I know some of themare actually lose, but the tiles are
place. The tiles themselves are lose. Yeah, yep, I see.
That's backing up what I was justsaying. It's the once they come loose
that way, you know, it'sjust like laying it on the ground and

(05:46):
stepping on it, it's going it'sgonna crack. And that's probably what's happening
to you. And that's in ahigh traffic area, like right coming in
the kitchen from the uh, thegarage. So that makes it so So
let me ask you a personal question, Chris, are you married? Sure?
I know you're lucky because I'm gonnasay you just ask your wife what

(06:09):
new floor she wants and go putthem in. Well, I'm gonna actually
pull up all of the new allthe tile downstairs and put in some vinyl
planking I'm gonna replace all the interiordoors with I think five panel is what
my friends are telling me that's goingthing these days. And then some new
garage doors that look like wood anda new front door that is would so

(06:34):
fixing up jump a little bit ofmoney into this house. Well, I'm
in the process of putting in thethe vinyl plank right now in my own
house and uh doing a bunch ofremodeling. So I get it, and
uh you'll enjoy it when it's done, but it's a real pain while you're
doing it. Well, I putin some not not hergo, but it

(06:57):
was I forget the brand. Therewas a click or something like that years
ago in one of my rent housesI've done and the remodeling with different kind
of flooring, But I really wantto get to a vinyl flooring. Go
go over to Flooring decre and takea look at the the different choices they
have. Uh you know, becauseone we get a lot of water,

(07:21):
and they got like aqua guard andsome of the other brands that will withstand
that moisture, uh to scratch resistant. They got some there specifically for animals
when people have pets in the house. Uh. So then get you hooked
up with the right flooring for yourapplication. And how thick of a flooring
I know there's two millimeters to probablywhat ten milimeter for vinyl. Uh well,

(07:46):
you know, depends on what materialit's on as well. But the
finish, uh, you know,the thicker the better. Okay, that's
kind of what I thought. Rightto your brand that is better than others?
No, I mean, we justdid my son's house with one brand.

(08:07):
I did mine with I'm doing minewith another brand. Uh, just
find the one you like. Takea look at the warranties. But the
big thing, take a look atthe installation instructions before you get started.
And the reason I say that someof them require an underlayment, and some
of them if you put an underlaymentunder it voids the warranty. Okay,

(08:33):
okay, I remember the unclid planksthat I put down required an underlayment,
yep, and you could hear everybodywalking all night long. It was pretty
crazy. Yeah. Well, butsome of the new underlayments that they have
available, it really kills that sound. And Elvera at Florin de Core they

(08:54):
have some displays there to show youthe difference in the underlayments. Okay,
very cool. Well, thank youver much. You bet you have a
great afternoon. You do as well. Here again our number seven one three
two one two five eight seven four. That's seven one three two one two

(09:16):
five eight seven four. Jim,how are you today? I'm doing great?
How are you? I am doingwonderful. How can I help you?
Well, I just have a quickquestion. I have a house that's
about two and a half years old, has a five ton AC unit,

(09:39):
and the AC maintenance company, actuallyit's the company that installed it to start
with on the new home, wastrying to sell me a soft start for
the unit, and I'm just wonderingwhat your thoughts on that would be.
They price did at around eight hundredand thirty dollars. And I also have

(10:05):
a whole home generator. With thewhole home generator, the soft start will
help when it's on the generator.So there are uses for these soft start
kits. But you said your unit'sfive years old. No, no,
it's about two and a half yearsold. Look at two and a half

(10:28):
years you really shouldn't need that startsoft start kit yet, unless you have
some type of issue with the powercoming in that no, that it's not
serving it and so, but becauseyou're on a generator, you may want
to consider it. I don't knowwhat size generator you have and everything,
but that's that's at two and ahalf years. That's the only reason I

(10:52):
would think you would want to considerit. Yeah, I've got a twenty
six K generator and it's also beeninstalled for two and a half years,
and we only used it. It'sonly come on during this last storm that
we had a month or so ago, and it ran for about fifty hours

(11:13):
and that was it. And noproblems at all, right, none at
all. Yeah, my honest opinionis I wouldn't put it in yet.
Well, thank you, I appreciateyour honest opinion. Have a great day,
alrighty you take care. Look onthese hard starts and soft starts.

(11:35):
They do serve a purpose as unitsage or as you have different power issues.
You know, he had a twentysix generator there, If say he
had an eighteen, there might bean issue getting it started, So then

(11:56):
maybe the soft start would have beenappropriate. I don't think he needs one
now. If you would have toldme that that unit was eight years old,
I probably would have given them adifferent answer, so keep that in
mind as you're looking at what you'redoing. But hey, look, HVAC
companies make good money off those thingsand they don't hurt your unit any But

(12:18):
why spend the money if you don'tneed to seven one three, two,
one two five eight seven four.We'll be back with more Texas Home Improvement.
You know you're thinking about ways tosave money on your energy bills.
Have you thought about the windows inyour home. You've been in the house
for who knows how many years andthe windows are thirty, forty, fifty

(12:39):
years old. Hey, they mayonly be ten years old and need replacement
if they're not good windows. Butregardless, if you're looking for windows for
your home, you need to talkto the folks at Texas Remodel Team's Window
division. They carry all the majorbrands of windows, and their install crews
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(13:01):
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(13:22):
two eight one six one two fiftynine ninety one two eight one sixty one
two fifty nine ninety one. AtFloor End Decore, we know pro as
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(13:46):
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where no pro you know at DUSair Conditioning will come out will service your
unit. We'll help you out getthat thing working again, but we may

(14:09):
give you some options that say,hey, this capacitor is not working at
its full potential. It's not anissue today putting your unit out, but
come the heat of the summer itmight well. If you need honest opinions
like that. You want the best, you call Due West seven one three
four seven three seven one five sixWhen Jim Dutton of Texas Home Improvement recommends

(14:31):
our coverany he won't steer you wrong, and he recommends Guardian roof Systems.
Said down to League City. HelloJD, Hey Jim, how you doing
that? Man? I did callyou last week about a timneycat fleek and
I've had somebody come out and basicallythey ripped me off. You recommended that,
called Guardian Roofing and I did callthem. The technician came out,

(14:52):
he was on time, he's courteous. He said, yep, they've used
the wrong type of sealant. Sohe cleaned it and resealed it and managed
that did. Kudos to you forrecommending Guardian, and kudos to Guardian for
doing a polite, pleasant good jobfor me. I really really appreciate that,
and thank you so much. You'vegot take care. Guardian roof Systems

(15:13):
the official roofing company of Texas HomeImprovement. Here's their number two eight one
four oh seven seventy two eighty.That's two eight one four o seven seventy
two eighty our click the link underTrusted Contractors at thhipro dot com. Welcome
to the Dutton Ranch where dishonest contractorsget taken to the train station. Here's

(15:39):
more Texas Home Improvement with Jim Dutton. Hey, welcome back to Texas Home
Improvement. Seven one three two onetwo five eight seven four. That's seven
one three, two one two,five eight seven four. Any home improvement
question you have, pick up thephone and give me a call. Let's

(16:02):
see Jody, how can I helpyou today? A Hi, Jim,
I have a problem with my frontdoor. It's a metal front door and
has got the sidelight panels on eachside of it and a glass insert in
the middle. Well, what Iwanted to know is can I change out
the front door and leave the sidepanels in or do you have to replace

(16:26):
the whole thing? No, youshould be able to change out just the
door itself. The difference is ifyou changed out the side panels in the
whole nine yards, you're changing outthe whole framework of the door, you
know, the door casting and everything. But you can get a new door

(16:48):
and put the hinges on the doorfor the hinges that are in there already
and not have to change out theentire thing. Okay, because so the
problem I'm having is it's the moldingor the trenwork that goes around the bottom

(17:10):
of the goes around the glass tohold it into the door. It's come
loose. The calcking and glue orwhatever the uses come through front and back
on the sides and on the bottom, and I tried to recock it and
put it in there, but itdidn't hold. It pomp back out and
it's gone like a half inch gap. So I thought the best thing to

(17:32):
do is just get my handyman overhere and replace it with another door with
a glass insert yep, yeah,yeah, just have it changed out.
If he can't do it, becausenot everybody's capable of cutting in the hinges
that way. It does take someskill because you've got to get your measurements
just right. But if he can'tdo it, southern front door skin.

(17:55):
Yeah, I was wondering about buyinga pre hung door that's already got the
hinges on it. Does that notwork? No, because you're going to
leave the hinges in the doorframe,and so you've got to match that doorframe.
So unless it was done by thesame company, h it's not going
to match. Oh okay. Ithought I could just take the hinges off

(18:18):
the doorframe and put the new oneup. Okay, you may be able
to if they use the same jig, but all they got to be is
an eighth inch off and it doesn'tmatch. Yeah, yeah, and I'm
okay. And who was the frontdoor company? You said to call?
Uh Southern Uh Southern front Doors,Southern front Doors and they would install it.

(18:41):
Would help me buying it from them? I doubt it. You you
probably end up buying it from them. Okay, all right, thank you,
That's all I needed. Alrighty,you take care, all right,
thank you. Right now, thefact that you've got door, you can
actually take that door off, useit as a template to mark on the

(19:07):
new door to put the hinges.I did one at my son's house and
we didn't have that luxury. Butuh, you know, these doors,
you got to be careful when you'redoing it because you're talking. You know.
I think that he paid like eighthundred dollars for this door, and

(19:27):
all I needed to do is messup one little cut and it don't look
right. We didn't. We useda jig and we got everything right.
But yeah, you got to havesomebody who's going to take the time to
do it the right way. Anyways, if you got a question seven one
three, two, one, two, five, eight, seven four going

(19:48):
out to paer Land. Hello Carl, Hi Jim. I got a couple
of questions. One is, I'mlooking at a house in pair Land,
Ashley in country place, and I'velooked at a couple of houses and they
all seem to need some foundation work, and so in order by this house,
I'm kind of like questioning is whatis a good estimate if you had

(20:11):
to do a foundation, if youhad to do the whole house or what
have you. And also I kindof got the same question about roofing.
Okay, on the foundation, mostjobs are not the whole house. Usually
it's a partial because if you hadto do the whole house you could be

(20:32):
talking fifteen, twenty, thirty thousandor more depending on the layout of the
house. Most jobs, so,like I say, are partial ten holes
or fifteen and that does a goodshare of the perimeter of the house.
The average foundation repair job is aroundten thousand dollars nowadays. Okay, so

(20:56):
that kind of gives you a ballparkright now. Foundation companies aren't that busy,
so you can get somebody out prettyquick to look at it. If
you want to call do Wes,we can do it. What was your
other question on about a twenty onehundred square foot house this we're talking single
story, a fairly simple What isa roof cost nowadays? Oh? If

(21:22):
I was going to budget it lookingat for purchase and you're going to go
with, say, an architectural typeshingle, you're probably going to be eighteen
to twenty thousand probably, and I'mgonna put you on hold. I need
to come back and address more onthat. Let's talk real quick about Concord
window film. You know, ifyou're looking at rooms in your home that

(21:48):
have a lot of windows and it'shot in that room, it could because
you're getting too much heat through thewindows, too much light coming in,
too much UV light coming in.Wellcord window film can help with that.
Maybe you got sliding glass stores doingthe same thing, or you got nosy
neighbors looking through the windows, andyou want to put some window film where

(22:08):
they can't just look through the windowsanymore. You need to call Concord window
film. It's a professional grade windowfilm, not the cheap stuff. It's
this is good stuff that you caninstall yourself, and it's customized based on
what you need. Like the stuffwe were just talking about So if you
want to call Concord Window Film,it's eight eight eight two zero six one

(22:32):
four one three. That's eight eighteight two zero six one four one three.
Recently on Texas Home Improvement, astartling revelation as Jim Dutton took what
we thought was a routine call tothe show. Ah, Mary, Joe
and Waxahatchie. Where wax a Hatchie? Where wax a Hatchie? Where wax

(22:56):
a Hatchie? Welcome to Texas HomeImprovement, not Jim. You have to
say walks a Hatchie, not waxa Hatchie. You want to know the
honest truth what I'm a Yankee?Oh that's bad. I've only lived in
Texas for about forty five years now, So what can I say? Well,

(23:19):
we still appreciate all the information thatyou give out, so we'll bypass
the fact that you're a Yankee.Okay, We're going to stop right there
while we're ahead. Here's more withJim Dotton on Texas Home Improvement. Hey,
welcome back to Texas Home Improvement.Seven one three, two one two

(23:41):
five eight seven four. That's sevenone three, two one two five eight
seven four. I was talking withCarl and Carl we were you know,
we were talking on a roof replacement. A lot's going to depend on what
shingles you pick and uh, youknow, the slope of the roof and
things. As far as what it'sgoing to cost. Yes, so yeah,

(24:04):
the eighteen twenty thousand. Uh,he's not going to be a top
of the line roof, but it'sgoing to be a good roof, okay,
and a good roof for last yearhow long in our climate? Twenty
years? Yeah, okay, that'sthat's that's fair enough. If I had

(24:26):
time, I'd ask you one morequestion. When I'm looking at on window
replacement. A lot of these houseshave old single pain they were put in
a ninety two when the houses werebuilt. Yep, is there a how
do you? Is there like anaverage cost of windows to get a reasonable

(24:47):
double pain window that you can budget. If you were saying, hey,
I'm looking at this house, butyou know, trying to get an idea
what kind of investment I'm really goingto have? You know, if you
wanted a ballpark without somebody looking atit, I would probably say to budget,

(25:08):
just again, just give you aballpark. If you're looking at vinyl,
probably five hundred dollars a window,okay, and is vinyl that is
that? That's that's it. That'sthat. Definitely not top of the line
stuff. I mean your windows aregoing to are going to go anywhere from

(25:32):
the vinyl from around say five hundredon up into where you get into the
fiberglass and the wood windows and thingslike that. They can be as much
as you know, fifteen hundred apiece, but okay, you know the five
six hundred dollars. I'll give youa good budget, perfect, okay,
Well that sounds great. I reallyappreciate this help because it gives me an

(25:53):
idea of what's what we're looking at. Lots of money exactly, I hear
you. All right, Thanks jam, I appreciate it again. Her number
seven one three two one two fiveeight seven four And let's see here Ray

(26:15):
in Missouri City. How can Ihelp you? Hey, gim always enjoy
your show man. Thank you.Lots of information. I love doing it.
Question about air conditioning. I havea five ton fourteen seer carrier that
was installed in two thousand and eight. I changed my filters every thirty days.

(26:40):
I just had a new capacity toput in and I don't have any
issues. But a guy came outyesterday trying to sell me a new unit,
and he told me that I neededto raise my ducting in the attic.
Is that expensive or would it bebetter to just replace the air conditioning

(27:03):
ducting? Why do you need toraise it? I did ask my question.
He said it was not falling down, that it was on the I
guess the floor of the attic.Okay, it wasn't. It wasn't.
It doesn't hang well. Typically onnew installs nowadays they hang it. But

(27:30):
if you went back twenty years ago, they laid it on the attic floor,
so nineteen seventy. Yeah, Andjust because we hang them now doesn't
mean you got to go back andretrofit with it. So if you're getting
good airflow and your your system isbalanced out where you're staying comfortable in all

(27:52):
the rooms you know, don't havehot rooms and cold rooms, leave well
enough alone. Okay, Okay,that's what I needed to know now.
On the AC system, A systemput in in eight you said, correct,
yes, correct, That fourteen seeris probably operating more like a nine

(28:15):
seer at this point, just becauseit's been in so long and it's got
wear and tear on it. Imean we're talking a sixteen year old system.
But if it's still working well,there's not a reason that you have
to replace it. Just be preparedthat on any given day, that system
could decide that that was my lastday, I'm not going to do anymore,

(28:40):
and you'll end up replacing it.But if it's still running good and
not giving you any trouble, youdon't have to replace it. Okay.
I usually get it tuned up everyspring and every fall. Yeah yeah,
I mean I will tell you upfront. Manufactur make them where they expect them

(29:02):
to last roughly fifteen years, soyou just barely cross that, so no
big deal. Typically I tell myguys, you know, because I have
do West air conditioning, I tellmy guys when a system hits about twelve
years old, and that's kind ofmy cutoff is twelve. Let the people

(29:22):
know if they got to stick alot of money into it, give them
a price for what it would couldtake to replace it. But if all
we're doing is a capacitor or somethinglike that, just prep them that,
hey, it is aging. Atsome point it probably will need replacement.
Today's not that day. But here'swhat you'll be looking at down the road.

(29:44):
But what you got and the reasonI do that is say it hits
you know, you put a capacitorin and three months later the compressor decides
to go. Well, we wedid warn you that, Hey, it
could happen. Uh, you know, to start thinking about a replacement.

(30:06):
But honestly, I wouldn't replace mineyet if I was you. If I'm
not having any trouble, run ittill it's done. Yeah, I'm not
having any issues at all. Yep. When you start having issues, that's
when it's time to replace it.Okay, please take the info, you
bet, take care. We'll beback with more Texas Home improvement seven one

(30:30):
three, two one two, fiveeight seven four. Let's talk about sunburst
shutters. You know, this isa perfect example of something you can do
to your home. They'll not onlymake it more beautiful, but more energy
efficient as well. The Pollywood shutters, which are the most popular shutters in
America for a great reason. Theyinsulate two to three times better than a

(30:52):
traditional wood shutter, and that Pollywoodconstruction is guaranteed to never warp, crack,
chip or peel. Just can't beatthat makeup any things look gorgeous.
I mean I've been out to homesthat their windows or their shutters on their
windows are over twenty seven years oldand they look like the day they were

(31:14):
put in. Call Sunburst Shutters andget a free design consultation so you can
work with an expert to make sureyou get the perfect look and fit for
your home. Seven one, three, four six two eighty eight hundred.
At floor End Decre we know proas your one stop source. We deliver
everyday savings on over a million squarefeet of instock flooring tools and installation materials.

(31:38):
See how our flooring experts can helpsave you time and money with our
best in class selection at rock bottomprices and with pro level benefits like our
dedicated pro service team, Pro Hotline, Pro Premier Financing and unbeatable Pro Loyalty
program. You get what you need, when you need it, where you
need it. Come discover floor Endde Core, where we know pro.

(32:00):
You know James Hardy Siding is thebest siding on the planet. If you're
thinking about siding for your home,you owe it to yourself to at least
look at James Hardy Siding. It'sme based, so it's not going to
rot, it's not going to deteriorateto hole's paint better than whatever thought about.
Bugs aren't going to eat it.But they've got so many choices for

(32:20):
you. Whether it's a lap siding, or maybe you want to go with
the vertical look or you want astucco look, it doesn't matter. James
Hardy Siding has what you're looking for. When Jim Dutton, 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

(32:45):
lugging those miserable so corrosives that keepgetting destroyed. It's just a nightmare.
So anyway, I had Jacob outfrom your company Due West and he was
phenomenal and you run a tip toporization. He was dressed beautifully, the
truck he drove up and was perfect. I mean, you just have made

(33:06):
yourself a wonderful company. I can'tthank you enough. I really appreciate it.
Do West Services Foundation Repair, TotalPlumbing and air Conditioning called seven one
three four seven three seven one fivesix. That's seven one three four seven
three seven one five six online atdo Dashwest dot com. That's du dash

(33:28):
West dot com do West Services.It's so hot the people at Austin are
taking the day off from being weird. Welcome to Texas summer. Here's Jim
Dutton on Texas Home Improvement A welcomeback to Texas Home Improvement seven one three

(33:52):
two one two five eight seven four. That's seven one three two one two
five eight seven for gene and Cyprus. Welcome to Texas Home Improvement. Hi
Jim, how are you today?Wonderful? How about you? I'm doing
well. I've got a question.About a year and a half ago,

(34:13):
I had my roof replaced and duringthe roof replacement, somebody stepped on the
air conditioned duck at the at themain unit there in the attic, and
we did not notice that until ourAC went out and they went in there
to fix it and noticed that thethat the pipe was broken, cold air

(34:37):
was blowing into the attic. Theproblem is is that there's a lot of
algae and mold growing in there rightnow. Is that something that I just
could get the ducts cleaned or whatis your recommendation to get that corrected and
approximate costs? I couldn't give youan approximate cost because I've got no idea

(34:57):
what they got to go through toput it in. But as far as
getting the ducks cleaned, it dependson the ducks. I normally don't recommend
duck cleaning, but there are certaincircumstances when the ducks have been opened up
and exposed and stuff that I do. But if it's got plastic inside of
it, you know like a flexduck does, and it's just the real

(35:22):
thin wall plastic, it doesn't cleanworth a darn. It's better off to
just be replaced. If it's gotthe metal, like the aluminum expandable metal
inside, then you can go aheadand clean it. And once the cleaning
is done, you feel like therewould not be any issues with mole after

(35:45):
that if it's done right. Ifit's done right, there shouldn't be How
old the ducks are. They probablyabout eight to ten years old, Yeah,
then you should be okay if youhad them cleaned. If you told
me they twenty year old ducks,I would just tell you to replace them.
But eight to ten it's worth cleaningthem, okay, And can you

(36:07):
recommend somebody would be able to dothat you know, because you're dealing with
a mold issue. I'm actually gonnatell you to call Woodland's Water Restoration so
that they can do the proper testingon it to make sure that it is
cleaned up and you don't have toworry about it coming back. And okay,

(36:29):
you can let me get there numberhere and said Woodlands Restoration. Yeah,
Woodland's Water Restoration, okay, andit is two eight one, five,
seven, six, five, seven, six eight four, five nine,

(36:54):
eight eight four or five nine.Jeff, thank you very much for
your time. I appreciate it,sir. You take care, take care,
thank you, and look for everybodylistening. I don't normally recommend duck
cleaning. People want to get duckscleaned for the wrong reasons all the time.
Oh, they haven't been cleaned infive years. I need to get

(37:16):
him done. No, the airthat goes through your ducks is normally filtered
air. It's supposed to be cleanair. So unless something has happened to
change that, there's not a reasonthat you should have to clean those ducks.
He had a specific thing the duck. The intake in the attic had

(37:37):
been stepped on, opening it upto the air. From the attic that's
put not only putting dirty air throughthe ducks, but his coils and everything
in the attic. I'm sure neededcleaning as well. That's a different story.
That does require the cleaning. Andthen you got to take a look

(37:57):
at how old is the duck workand everything. This sounded like it was
very reasonable to go ahead and cleanit up that way. Anyways, you
got a question seven one three twoone two five eight seven four. That's
seven one three, two one twofive eight seven four again, any home
improven question you have, feel freeto pick up the phone and give me

(38:21):
a call. Karen in Liberty sentme an email about attic ceiling and the
outer walls. Hey, Jim,can I put that multi radiant barrier on
the ceiling of my attic? Anddo I use plastic on outer walls after
I put my rock wall insulation in? Thanks so much, oh, Karen.

(38:45):
First of all, no plastic inTexas, we do not use plastic
on our homes because it will sweatsomething fierce uh and when it does,
it ruins the insulation, it cancause wood rot. It's just a bad
program. That's the reason we uselike TIEVEK because it's breathable, it will

(39:06):
let the vapors out where you don'thave that problem. But as far as
the multi radium barrier on the ceilingof your attic, you can use it.
But you don't need to need touse it. I mean, if
you're going to put a radium barrieron the top, a single ply is
just fine. The reason I usethe energy Q radium barrier it is a

(39:31):
multi layer system. I can layit on the attic floor, I can
sandwich it in behind other materials,and so it works very well for that
kind of stuff. But you're goingto get the same effect if you're going
to hang it on the on theroof rafters using a single layer, which
will probably cost you a little bitless, not a lot, but a

(39:52):
little bit less. So can youdo it absolutely again, no plastic though,
that's something that's done in the NorthernStates for the cold for getting no
air infiltration. Not something that weneed to do here in Texas. With

(40:12):
that, we got to take aquick break seven one three, two,
one two five eight seven four.We'll be back with more Texas home improvement.

(40:40):
Well, let's talk about some replacementwindows. If you've listened to the
show for any length of time.You know, it's a big category on
the show. We just had acouple of questions on it, in fact,
and it's something I take serious becausea window company can make or break
how your house is gonna look.Well, the folks at Texas Model Team,

(41:00):
they know what they're doing when itcomes to windows. They've been part
of the show for over ten years. As far as doing remodeling and their
window division, Hey, they gotit down to a science. They know
exactly what they're doing when it comesto putting in windows. And it doesn't
matter if you want vinyl, wood, fiberglass. They carry them all.
They can go over the benefits andnegatives of each type for you and they

(41:24):
got an A plus rating with theBBB of four point nine stars on Google.
These guys are great. Two eightone six one two fifty nine ninety
one. It's two eight one sixone two fifty nine to ninety one for
Texas Remodel Teams Window Division. AtFloor End Decor, we know pro as

(41:46):
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,
and with pro level benefits like ourdedicated pro service team, Pro Hotline,
a pro premier financing and unbeatable proloyalty program. You get what you

(42:07):
need, when you need it,where you need it. Come discover floor
and decore where we know pro well. Do West Total Plumbing can take care
of all your plumbing needs. Youneed new water heaters, you want to
go from a tank to tankless.You need replace those old galvin iceed pipes
with pecks. The underslab sewer linesneed to be replaced, or you just

(42:30):
have a dripping faucet, doesn't matter. Do West Total Plumbing can help you
seven one three four seven three sevenone five six. Remember when you want
the best, you call due West. When Jim Dutton of Texas Home Improvement
recommends our company, he won't steeryou wrong and he recommends Guardian roof Systems

(42:51):
said down to League City. HelloJD Hey, Jam, how you doing
that? Man? I did callyou last week about a chimneycat cleek and
I've had somebody them out and basicallythey ripped me off. You recommended I
call Guardian roofing. I did callhim. The technician came out. He
was on time, he's courteous.He said, yep, they've used the
wrong type of sealing. So hecleaned it and resealed it and managed that

(43:14):
did it. Kudos to you forrecommending Guardian, and kudos to Guardian for
doing a polite, pleasant, goodjob for me. I really really appreciate
that, and thank you so much. You've got to take care of Guardian
roof Systems, the official roofing companyof Texas Home Improvement. Here's their number
two eight one four oh seven seventytwo eighty. That's two eight one four

(43:35):
o seven seventy two eighty our clickthe link under trusted contractors at thhipro dot
com. Yeah. I can't teachan old Texan new tricks, Matt fifty
eight years old. I'm still learningstuff from you, unless you're Jim Dunnan.
Here's more with Jim on Texas HomeImprovement. Hey, welcome back to

(43:58):
Texas Home Improvement. Seven one threetwo one two five eight seven four Rick
and clear Lake. How can Ihelp you today? Yeah? Oh,
Rick, I can hardly understand you, can you? I can hear you?
Okay? How about now, goahead. Yes, I have a

(44:21):
mildew on my ac events throughout thehouse. It's an older house build in
the seventies. I had a contractto come up and Toby recommended replace me
ACA ducks and they actually do cleaning, but they also I don't think they'll
kind of rip me off. Butis there is there any way to as

(44:44):
you clean the without having a replacementthe flex flexible ducks? You know,
again, if if it's got thethin wall plastic on the inside, replace
them. If they're twenty years old, replace them. But if it's a
flex duck and it's got the aluminuminside, then you can have them cleaned.

(45:07):
Uh, but it's really going todepend on the age of it.
And part of the issue issue Isay with the age is they change the
insulation from an R six to anR I can't remember eight or nine now,
And uh, you know, ifyou're going to stick the kind of
money it costs to do the cleaning, you might as well replace them.

(45:30):
If you've got the old lower Rvalue, it definitely will help you in
the long run. So can theybe cleaned possibly depends on what's inside of
it. That music means we've gotto take a break. We'll be back
with more Texas How Improvement after news, traffic and weather seven one, three,
two, one, two, fiveeight seven four. Hey, talking

(45:58):
about air conditioning systems and stuff.American Standard Air which is my choice in
air conditioners. In fact, I'vehad it in my home since ninety nine
when I put my first single speedAC system in my house. Well,
now I'm running the variable speed AmericanStandard. And you know these systems,
they're nationally recognized for excellence, forperformance, reliability, and customer satisfaction.

(46:23):
American Standard heating and air conditioning cantake care of your family all year long.
In fact, American Standard technology itmeets you ever changing Texas weather head
on. So keep your home cooland humidity free or be ready for a
little heat when you need it.Invest wisely and invest in the home comfort
system that will lasts you a long, long time comfort the way you like

(46:47):
it. American Standardair dot com.And again take a look at those variable
speeds. That's where you get thebest humidity control. Texas Is Home Improvement
is on the air with your hostJim Dutton. A trouble frustration Really Qure

(47:10):
You're wonderful. Thanks you the godsendthat listen to your show. This happened
to turn on perfect time. Well, if you recommend them, then you've
never give them the show. Anyfour recommendations, all knowing that tall Jim,
Now with all your home improvement questions. That's seven one three two one
two five eight seven four. That'sseven one three two one two five eight
seven four. Texas Home Improvement broughtto you by Ready Seals, Stain and

(47:34):
Seiler, Sunburn Shutters. Where beautymeets energy efficiency, American Standard comfort the
way you like it do. WestServices, Foundation Repair, Plumbing and air
Conditioning, Guardian Roof Systems, TexasRemodel Team Windows, the official window installer
at Texas Home Improvement. James HardySiding, the best sighting on the planet
floor and the Core Victor's Remodeling andConstruction Party Plank Specialist, Synthetic singles by

(48:00):
f Wave and USA Insulation Wall HomeInsulation for existing homes. Broadcasting live from
the Dot Ranch. Here's Jim done Hey. Welcome to Texas Home Improvements.
Your total home improvement sour seven onethree two one two five eight seven

(48:23):
four. That's seven one three twoone two, five eight seven four Again
Any home improvement question you have,feel free to pick up the phone give
me a call. I'll see whatI can do to help you out here
on Texas home Improvement. Also,don't forget about our website t hipro dot
com. It's there is a resourceto help you out. Twenty four seven.

(48:45):
So you're thinking about a project,getting ready to look for people for
it, start at thhipro dot com. But again our number seven one three
two one two five eight seven fourKent in Magnolia. How can I help
you? Hey, Jim Well,I had some bad news on my AC

(49:07):
unit where the coil had a leakin it, and I was just wondering,
howen does that happen? And whaughtdo they make the metal so thin
that the brion's going to go aheadand cause this Eventually the unit's only seven
years old train you know, Idon't know the brand, okay, And

(49:30):
I asked that simply because there wasa batch of coils from about thin that
were just bad. And but whydo they make them so thin? Because
they have to. Basically, that'swhat the air goes over to heat and
cool, and so it's it's gotto be thin in order for it to

(49:51):
do its job. Now, dependingon where the leak is, they are
sometimes repairable, but unfortunate a lotof times they're not. Yes, sir,
he's he's already rant some kind offluid in there. It was supposed
they're gonna patch it, but thatdidn't work. Evidently the holes two bigs.

(50:12):
So yeah, anyhow, that's uh, it's unther warranty and it's still
going to cost me another the overtwo thousand dollars just to wop it out
labor, I guess. And anyhow, I'm just curious curious about that.
Yeah, it's just it's just afunction of the way it has to operate.
Gotcha, all right, appreciate thehelp, take care, all right,

(50:37):
and again our number seven one three, two one two, five eight
seven four, let's head to Huntsville. Hello, Glinda, Hello, how
are you wonderful? How about youdo? Pretty good? We bought a
home here about a year ago andit has ruth vent three of them that

(50:59):
are are solar powered, and theydon't work. You can tap on them.
My husband's gotten up there and tappedon them and now come on for
just a minute, but they goright off. What would be the best
solution for that? Well, doyou love your husband? I love him
dearly. Okay, then you can'tleave him up there during the storm's tapping
to keep him running. So,uh, fifty years I've loved him,

(51:22):
So okay, you're just gonna haveto have him changed out. I don't
know how old they are, uh, but if that's yeah, but if
if, if all three of themare out, I have to assume that
they're probably pretty old. So anywould you change them too? I personally

(51:45):
I either go with Ridge Vince ormy secondary choice is those solar vents the
new and so I would just goback with the solar. I mean you
could, you can do electrical onesif you want, but then that's gonna
acquire an electrician and you're still dependingon that motor. So I would go
back with the solar. Again,do you just replace the solar the motor

(52:10):
or the panels or what do you? What do you replace on those?
They're going to take just the wholeunit off and put a whole new one
on. Now, how big ahouse is this? It's about three thousand
square feet, okay, because threeof those on a house is a lot.

(52:30):
Okay, So it gets caught asblue blazes up there. Yeah,
well, I'm sure it does.And how are your soft events? Is
it a continuous soft event or yesit is? Okay, then you should
have no problem. I would goahead and just have the roof or come
out and replace all three of them. Okay, do you have somebody that

(52:52):
you recommend for that? Well,I normally use Guardian roof systems, but
I'm not sure they go all theway to Huntsville. But you can call
them up and ask them, welland we will fry. Yeah. Their
number is uh two eight one fourzero seven okay, seven two eight zero

(53:16):
seven two eight zero Okay, Well, I thank you for your help.
You bet you take care you too, Bye bye bye, and again our
number seven one three two one twofive eight seven four. That's seven one
three two one two five eight sevenfour kind of head over to the heights,

(53:37):
William. Welcome to seven forty kt r H. Hey there,
how are you doing this morning?This day? I'm doing great? How
about you? Good? Recently purchaseda home in the Heights and it's on
purid beam and the previous owner putopen foam. According to the foam guy
that I got to look at it, and he said she should use closed

(54:00):
foam. But the foam underneath createdsome dry rot, and some of my
sub floor is rotten. And sowe're replacing the subfloor and removing the foam.
My question is, once we removeit, should I use borax just
to make sure there's no more fungusdown there, because that's what dry rot

(54:21):
apparently is. And looking for someguidance there. You know you can clean
everything up real good. Are yougonna go back with foam again? Are
you just gonna leave it alone?I'm gonna leave it alone, let it
breathe perfect. And I try totell people that all the time. And
if and this is now for everybodylistening, if you're gonna insist on putting

(54:45):
insulation under a cross space, ithas to be closed sell pham only.
And this is a great example ofwhy everything else holds moisture and will cause
the wood to rot. Now,since you're gonna take all the foam off,
yes, I would clean it upreal good. If you have good

(55:06):
ventilation and keep it fairly dry underthere, everything should be okay. But
it doesn't hurt to clean it goodwith it with a cleaner first, and
that's gonna be a real pain todo though. Yeah, no, it's
it's going to take ten people acouple of days to get that open foam
off at the bottom of the house. Now it's a lot of labor,

(55:29):
but I'll be glad to get thatremoved and get the subfloor. I mean,
it's a it's a pretty big job. It's it's about a ten by
twelve area, but it's you know, there's some low bearing walls. So
I've got a good contractor who's gonnado this thing right, because I trust
him. He's been in the businessfor a few years. Well, go
get you some nice fuzzy slippers soin the winter months when the floors get

(55:51):
a little cool, then you cankeep your toes warm. Gotcha, I
understand. Thanks so much. Youbet take care. And as I say
that, I got my fuzzy slippersunder my desk because I have hard floors
in my house in concrete slab,and yes, it gets a little cool

(56:12):
and I just throw my slippers on. It keeps me comfortable. Seven one
three, two, one two fiveeight seven four Angela, how are you
today? I'm good? How areyou? I'm doing wonderful? Great?
What am I doing for you?Well, I'm trying to find somebody who

(56:37):
can replace my hood over my stovetop. And I want it to be an
aluminum hood that goes straight up anddown like a stove pipe. That's okay.
And I don't have any idea whoI can call because it would probably
have to be fabricated for me.Well, they actually do make those type

(57:01):
of models. I'll tell you whereI would start, and it's at Norwood
Appliance. And I keep saying Norwood, it's Northwest Appliance. Seven one three
six eight eight zero three seven totwo. Okay, are they downtown Houston

(57:30):
or where are they located? No, they're they're actually, uh kind of
on the west side of town.Okay, perfect northwest actually, but yeah,
give give them a call. They'vebeen in business for forever in a
day, and uh, if it'savailable, they'll know it. And if
it's got to be customed, they'reprobably the guys to do it. Okay.

(57:52):
I appreciate your help. Thank you, you bet take care you too
again our number seven one three twoone two, five eight seven four.
Any home improvement question you have sevenone three two one two five eight seven
four. Don't forget about our website. T hipro dot com. It's there's

(58:15):
a resource to help you out twentyfour to seven. And that's where you
find the different people you hear metalk about, like Texas Remodel Team.
You know, I've talked about TexasRemodel Team for ten plus years for doing
remodeling on your home. But theyhave a great window division. They cannot
only do replacement windows, but sunroomsfor you as well. So if you've

(58:38):
got say a covered patio that youwant to turn it into a gorgeous sunroom
so you can sit out and notworry about mosquitoes and be able to close
it up in the cooler months andstill sit out there and enjoy it,
Texas Remodel Team can take care ofthat for you as well. Two eight

(58:58):
one six one two fifty nine ninetyone's their number. That's two eight one
six one two fifty nine ninety one. Now, I'll tell you with their
remodeling division, they pretty much stayup in the in the North Side,
but with their window and their sunrooms and all that stuff, anywhere in

(59:19):
the Houston area they will go andhelp you out. So again, Texas
Remodel Teams Window Division two eight onesix one two fifty nine ninety one.
You know, if you're having asewer league under your homes foundation, that's
something that really needs to be addressed, but it needs to be addressed by
somebody who can take care of theplumbing as well as the homes foundation.

(59:42):
That's why you want to call doWest both a plumbing company and the foundation
repair company to make sure if yourhomes foundation stays intac years after the plumbing
work is done. When you wantthe best, call do West seven one
three four seven three seven to oneonline at dudash West dot com. At
floor Endecore, we know pro asyour one stop source. We deliver everyday

(01:00:07):
savings on over a million square feetof instock flooring tools and installation materials.
See how our flooring experts can helpsave you time and money with our best
in class selection at rock bottom pricesand with pro level benefits like our dedicated
Pro Service Team, Pro Hotline,Pro Premier Financing and unbeatable Pro Loyalty program.
You get what you need, whenyou need it, where you needed.

(01:00:29):
Come discover floor end Decore where weknow pro. Let's talk about American
Standard again. You know American Standardtechnology. It really meets the ever changing
Texas weather. And let's be realhere, the Texas weather has been changing.
We're getting hotter all the time.We're also getting colder than we used

(01:00:52):
to get as well. So AmericanStandard heating and air condition it keeps up
with that. It'll handle those swingswith no problem at all. Now it's
nationally recognized for excellence for performance,reliability, and customer satisfaction. And I
personally love American Standard air conditioning.That's reason I've had it in my home

(01:01:13):
since nineteen ninety nine. When Ilived in San Antonio, I put in
a single speed unit. Now Ilive in the Dallas area and I have
one in the Houston area in Pasadena. Both of those are American Standard systems
as well. The one in Pasadenais still a single speed because the system's

(01:01:34):
not wore out. Why would Ichange it. The one in my Dallas
home is a variable speed. Youtalking about humidity control, you can't beat
it. It's home comfort, that'swhat you're looking for, and it's going
to last you a long long time. That's the reason I don't change the
one in Pasadena. Comfort the wayyou like it. American standardair dot Com

(01:02:00):
Welcome to Texas summer where it's sohot. Did Jehovah's witnesses started telemarketing?
Here's Jim Dutton on Texas Home Improvement. Hey, welcome back to Texas Home
Improvement seven one three, two,one two five eight seven four dug in

(01:02:21):
spring? How can I help you? Hi? Jim? Just wondering on
AC systems if you're going to replaceit but it's not an emergency. What
do you think the best time ofyear to do that? Or is there
one? Is there differential pricing andwinter as opposed to the middle of summer,
there actually is. You know,we're at the tail end of any

(01:02:45):
uh specials that you're going to getright now, because we're already hitting the
cooling season and from here until reallyOctober, you're going to be at peak.
The guys are all going to bebusy. Uh. There's really no
discounts of any kind to be hadduring the summer months. And you know,

(01:03:07):
some of the power companies will comeout with some rebates and things like
that, but it's peak season sothat the cost is the highest. Your
best deals are typically going to bethe months of December, January, and
February. And because our winters areso mild. You know, everybody's looking

(01:03:31):
how do I keep my guy icebusy? And yes, they'll make deals
with you to go ahead and putone in. Gotcha makes sense. Just
wanted to make sure I was thinkingthe right way. Yep, yeah,
it makes it. I love theprogram, Jim, Thank you very much.
I appreciate that. Thank you somuch. Yeah. And you know,

(01:03:53):
look, if your system will makeit through the summer and you want
to save a few bucks, that'sthe time of year to look at it.
And I know there's HVAC companies outthere telling you, oh, well,
the coolants are gonna change, andthe regulations are changing. It's gonna
make the systems more expensive. Yes, everything's changing, and it has been

(01:04:15):
changing for a very long time.Uh. Is it gonna make the systems
more expensive? Probably so, Butyou know what, they've gone up in
price every year, so why wouldthis year be different? So, uh,
everything goes up in price. That'sthat's just the nature of the beast
right now. Because as regulations change, so does the pricing. You raise

(01:04:39):
minimum wage, everything goes up.You put more government regulations, everything goes
up. You you say businesses aregoing to pay more taxes, everything goes
up. That that's that's what's drivingall the pricing anyway. Seven one three,
two one two five eight seven four. And talking about pricing, you

(01:05:00):
know, if you're thinking been thinkingabout buying a house, because this is
something I follow because I deal withreal estate all the time, like dabbling
and buying and selling homes and stuff. We have hit that spot now.
It is no longer a seller's market. It is now an even market,

(01:05:26):
which means if you've got a housethat's not fixed up very well, it's
going to take some time to sellit. You're not just throwing everything on
the market and it sells overnight.The nice ones are still going to sell
rapidly. The ones that need workthey're going to take a little bit more
to sell. Interest rates they're droppinga little bit so there again that helps

(01:05:51):
to keep the sales up. Butif you follow the market, the stuff
that's not repaired, it's if it'staking thirty and forty five days to sell,
it's not moving overnight like it did. Uh. And I think we'll
see this trend continue because interest ratesare up, it's still going to maintain

(01:06:14):
a little bit slow. Interest ratesare talking about coming down in the next
quarter. That will help it easeoff a little bit. But I think
the days of just throw it outthere and it will sell are probably done
for a while. Unless the interestrates really drop back down to that,
you know, two and a halfand three percent stuff like it was,

(01:06:35):
then everybody's gonna go nuts trying tobuy again. But uh, for a
little while anyways, that is gone. Got a question. I've got all
open lines at seven one three twoone two five eight seven four. That's
seven one three, two one twofive eight seven four. So recent Channel

(01:06:57):
View had sent me an email abouta white powder Well, Jim, I
have an issue with white powder substancelocated in upstairs bedroom closet. There's no
water leak of any kind in thecloset, but they're the white powder of
top of some of the clothes.Also, there is an AC vent in

(01:07:17):
the closet. And where and whyis this substance occurring? Thanks Rhees Jones,
Well, I am bedding. Yougot a temperature issue taking place,
That's the only thing I can thinkof that would be causing it. The

(01:07:38):
fact that you have a duct,an AC duct in there, I thought
should be easing this up. Sotruthfully, The first thing I would check
is the duckwork going into that roomto make sure that it's on tight and
doesn't have leaks that's causing this problem. And if that's the case, that
would be an easy fix in theproblem is gone, because when you get

(01:08:01):
that white substance, it's normally frommoisture, so it's got to be coming
from somewhere. But beyond that,without looking at it, I wouldn't be
able to answer it. If thiswas if you were telling me it was
coming up out of concrete and stuff, hey, i'd tell you, uh,
it's efforescence. But typically off closeyou don't have that issue. The

(01:08:27):
efforescence that comes up out of concreteis a chemical reaction in the concrete itself
that happens between the stone and theconcrete products. So anyways, I'm afraid
that's all I can help you with. But it's going to be a moisture
issue of some kind. Got aquestion seven one three, two one two,

(01:08:49):
five, eight, seven four,We'll be right back. Hey,
let's talk about Concorde window film.You know they can do wonder for you
because they can get you a darktint so that neighbors can't see in your
home. They can get you aclear tint where you can't even see it
to put on your sliding glass doorsso you can still see outside, but

(01:09:13):
you don't get all the UV rayscoming inside creating problems with your floors and
furniture and drapes and things like that. They can also help cut the glare
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(01:09:35):
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(01:09:56):
Improvement with Jim Dott, your sourcefor all things home improvement. That's as
big ass Texas. It's day.Welcome back to Texas Home Improvement. Seven
one three, two one two fiveeight seven four It's head out to Katie
and Johnny. How can I helpyou today? Hey, Hey, you

(01:10:20):
talked before about a company can comeout. I've got a generator of course,
you know using the cords going throughthe window about a company coming out
and put an electrical box on theside of house. By your electrical box,
I can plug in my generator righttouch electrical right touch. Yep.

(01:10:41):
Yeah, they be able to helpyou out. And their number that's what
two eight one six four five fivefive two six. Okay, that's good.
I use my generator and just plugit right into the house. You
know, we had it out thispast little storm, but it wasn't out

(01:11:02):
but like four hours and Katie,so I could run my generator there instead
of have him buying a generack andwhatever. Yeah, you know, I
think more and more people are areheaded down that road because you know,
it's it's not like we're out typicallyfor days and days and days. We

(01:11:24):
just need him for temporary power.That's it. That's what I'm going to
do, all right. You takecare. Thanks bout right and again our
number seven one three two one twofive eight seven four. Let's see here
keith this and gym. How canI help you? Yep? Thanks?

(01:11:47):
My call. I question someone I'venever had before. We bought a house,
a new house six about six anda half years ago, and shoot,
my ago, all of a sudden, the front door lock would not
turn. I called a locksmith.He came out and he said that the

(01:12:08):
cylinder inside was broken. He replacedit, and I was wonderful again until
last week when we had the sameproblem. So I called him again and
I said, well, maybe thechef you player there broken again. He
came over and he said, lookat the top of your door. In
the bottom he's about sixteenth of aninch off, and that the cylinder was

(01:12:29):
not broken. But he suspects thatmaybe there might be some foundation movement,
because that that makes sense. Itcan, yes, sir, oh,
but I've never heard of it.I've never heard of it breaking the uh
lock. And you know now,granted, yeah, I'm one of the

(01:12:50):
owners of DUS Foundation Repair and we'veonly done i don't know, one hundred
and fifty thousand some plus homes.Uh huh, But I've never heard of
it breaking the lock. To behonest with you, well, I suspected
that was not true, that ithappened later. And then he's telling me,

(01:13:11):
should you're going to have the sameproblems again? That's the ball.
I'm at a loss. I haveno idea what to do about something like
that. Yeah, what what Typicallyif it's foundation movement, you can't open
you know, you can't set thelock because it won't turn, it's hitting
the door jam. But as faras it breaking the bar inside the lock,

(01:13:31):
no, I've never heard of itdoing that. Okay, So he
got me on that one. Andso what he basically did was he hammered
with a hammer. He hit againand attempted to tighten the scoon and it
was working. Yep. Okay,So so hang on. So the second

(01:13:56):
time he came out, then itwasn't that the lock itself broke. You
could still is this the dead boltor the handle? It's the felt the
dead boat would not close in thehandled as well. Okay, okay,
so that can be foundation movement.You know, if you can't rotate the
dead bolt and it go into theslot, that can be foundation movement.

(01:14:19):
But the fact that something broke insidethe lock would not be foundation movement.
Okay, I kind of see it. Have a seen that the first time
you get and told me that itwas broken, and I did not see
it. I wasn't sure. Butokay, so foundation movement. So what

(01:14:43):
I mean should I at this point? I mean, obviously, if it's
even only a sixties of an inn, it could affect that lock obviously,
So do I need to do somethingabout the block or should I go ahead
and have a couple of take alook at the foundation. If it's so
tight of tolerance that is sixteenth ofan inch is causing the lock to hit,
you need to do something about thethe plate itself to give it more

(01:15:09):
flexibility. Because I can't tell youright now. When a house is leveled,
the shims that are used to shimit tight where it's set are typically
quarter inch shims. You're not measuringit in sixteenths of an inch, Okay?
Well, yea, not as asa quarter Yeah, but that doesn't

(01:15:32):
mean that it's not being caused byfoundation movement because it may not be affecting
that door that much. But doyou have any sheet rock cracks? No,
you have any sloping floors or anyother doors that aren't working properly During
the summer last year when it wasso hot, I did have two towels

(01:15:56):
that did crack. Yeah, thatand the tiles cracking are typically not foundation
related either. So I don't thinkyou have a foundation problem, and I
would love to sell you a foundationjob. But yeah, I don't think
that's the issue. I think youjust need to reset everything on that door.
You probably just need a good carpenteror something to do that and you'll

(01:16:19):
be fine. Well, do thanksto appreciate it, you bet, you
take care. Look, there isa lot of foundation work done that doesn't
need to be done. But rightnow, with all the rains we've had,
foundations are as good as they're goingto get. So if you got

(01:16:40):
cracks and you got doors out ofalignment and things like that, yeah you
need to get foundation work done.But if you don't, you don't have
anything other than the dead bolt won'tmove, change that striker plate because or
check those hinges. You know,even the pins in the hinge can wear

(01:17:00):
over time and allow it to startdoing that. That does not justify doing
foundation repair. And doing foundation repairon a home that doesn't need it is
worse than leaving it alone, becauseyou can actually cause damage by doing unnecessary
foundation repair. Foundation maintenance, rootbarriers, irrigation, things like that absolutely

(01:17:26):
need to be done to maintain it. But repair that's saved for when you
actually have a problem. And thequestion I always ask my guys when reviewing
drawings with them is what are youfixing? If you are not fixing something
with the peers you put in,you don't need them, So keep that

(01:17:46):
in mind. If you're getting bids, obviously I'm gonna ask you to call
my company, but do west,but keep it in mind if you have
other companies out there, and shameon you for doing that, you ought
to call my company. But that'sa different story. Let's talk real quick
about sunburst shutters. You know,sunburst shutters are a perfect example of something
you can do to your home that'llnot only make it more beautiful, but

(01:18:09):
more energy efficient as well. ThePollywood shutters, which are the most popular
shutters in America for a great reason, insulate two to three times better than
a traditional wood shutter. Now theseshutters are on the inside of your home,
they look gorgeous, they never warp, crack, chip, re peel
because they come with a lifetime guarantee. And sunburst shutters, hey, they

(01:18:32):
actually have design consultants, so youcan work with an expert to make sure
you get that perfect look and fitfor your home. So give your windows
a treatment they deserve. Call sunburstshutters today. It's seven, one,
three, four six y two eightyeight hundred. That's seven one three four
six' two eighty eight hundred.At Floor End Decor, we know pro

(01:18:58):
as your one stop source. Wedeliver everyday savings on over a million square
feet of instock flooring tools and installationmaterials. See how our flooring experts can
help save you time and money withour best in class selection at rock bottom
prices and with pro level benefits likeour dedicated Pro Service Team, Pro Hotline,
Pro Premier Financing and unbeatable Pro Loyaltyprogram. You get what you need,

(01:19:20):
when you need it, where youneed it. Come discover Floor and
Decore where we know pro. Hey, let's talk about air conditioning real quick.
If you need an air conditioning system, you want the best, you
call due West because you know what, it's not just the system you're buying,
it's the installation as well, andwe take pride in making sure the

(01:19:42):
system is put in right now.We can take care of all your maintenance.
We can take care getting a systemback up and running that's gone down
for you. When you want thebest, you called due West air Conditioning
at seven one three four seven threeseven one five six. You know a
lot of window companies can put innew windows, but can they make the

(01:20:02):
trim look right? Do they usehigh end cock to seal up the air
gaps? And do they offer multiplestyles and choices so you can get the
exact windows you need and want foryour home. Jim Dutton, host of
Texas ho Improvement, for Texas RemodelTeam. They have a window division that
does nothing but windows, and theycan make sure that things like your trim,

(01:20:23):
your brick, even your windowsill looksperfect because after all, they are
owned by a construction company. Theycarry all the major brands of windows,
and their insall crews are second tonone, giving them a four point nine
stars out of five on Google Reviewsand an A plus rating with the BBB
plus a thumbs up from me.Great windows, great prices and a great

(01:20:45):
installation called the Texas Remodel Team WindowDivision for your new Windows today two eight
one six one two fifty nine toninety one two eight one six one two
fifty nine to ninety one online atTexas Remodel Team. Jim Dutton is not
perfect, but he's always right.Here's more with Jim on Texas Home Improvement.

(01:21:12):
Hey, welcome back to Texas HomeImprovement, York Hotal Home Improvement source
seven one three, two one twofive eight seven four James, You doing
all right today? Hey, Jen? How are you today? I'm wonderful?
How about you? And then justfine? Uh, I was just
calling about that call about the problemwith the closet and the air conditioning.

(01:21:35):
Yeah. Yeah, you need tomake sure they've got either a turn air
or a big enough gap underneath thatdoor, because when you're pumping air in,
you gotta draw it out to you. And if you don't know that,
I've seen clauses to full off hisspaces. You know, when they
remodel, they forget to put inthe return air and uh yeah, so

(01:21:57):
you got to keep it circling.You are right, And I didn't think
about that. Shame on me.Hey, no problem, that's what you
got us. Hey, appreciate itall right. You have a good day,
you too, all right? Andthat would run the humidity up and
cause that was kind of problems.So yep, that was that was a
good catch on James's park there andagain seven one three, two one two

(01:22:24):
five eight seven four Raleigh in SantaFe. Welcome to seven forty kt h
Yeah, good to be here.I have a house and I've got vents
in the in the attic and it'sa cathedral ceiling, and I have ten

(01:22:48):
vents. And because we get alot of wind and that there's there's like
a flapper inside the tent vents andand it's it's always rattling, or it's
not always, but when when there'swind up, you know, you can

(01:23:09):
hear it. You know, Ishut off all the TV's and all the
noise, and you hear this clukcluck cluck cluck cluck cluck. And uh,
I was wondering if there's anything Ican do about that. Yes,
usually there is. Uh. Youmay have to put a cap on one

(01:23:30):
of the pipes because usually it's aflapper in a pipe, whether it's for
the you know, the vent ahood or anything that has that flapper in
it. By putting a cap onit, you can redirect which way the
wind and how it's hitting it towhere it doesn't make it rattle like that.
Then, right, But there there'scaps, I mean they're they're prefab

(01:23:56):
vents and uh uh examine each ventand uh redirect the wind a different way.
Well, yeah, figure out whichone it is that's making the rattle,
and they all do it well.They don't all have flappers in them
though, do they? I don'tknow. They shouldn't. The only ones,

(01:24:20):
the only ones that should have aflapper in it would be the bathroom
vents will have a flapper, thehood VNT will have a flapper. And
if you have an air intake forthe air conditioner, that would have an
electronic flap in it. But uh, the ones that rattle are typically the
bathroom and the hood vent. Yeah, I've got two bathrooms and then uh,

(01:24:45):
I noticed it with the microwave.Okay, the hood yep, that's
the hoose vent. Okay, I'lllook at those three and see if I
can redirect the wind yep and thatand that should take care of it.
Then okay, And then do youwant it against the wind or uh?

(01:25:06):
Well, if it's you never knowwhich way the winds come, Yeah,
you don't. But a lot oftimes it's just a matter of keeping the
wind from being able to blow straightdown the pipe, because that's that's what
it takes to make it start flapping, is the uh. And a lot
of times what happens is because ithas a cover on it, the wind

(01:25:28):
hits the cover and then redirects downthe pipe, And so sometimes it's just
a matter of changing out what typeof cover is on it. Is they
better on the side, like ifyou read, if I take the cover
off first, I need to lookat each cover. Yep, you're gonna
have to look and see them.Yeah, yeah, and then uh uh

(01:25:50):
you know, I would think thatthey're they're either up or down because they
don't want the rain to come inthat entry that thing. Is it better
on the sides or which direction isbest? You know? The ones that
uh, the southerly wind, thewind coming out of the south is normally

(01:26:13):
what causes ours to rattle the mostbecause we just don't get that many north
winds coming in. Uh so thatwould help minimize it. But if you
set it to where the wind fromthe east or west, you know,
then you're really minimizing because we don'tget winds from the east and west.
That'll you know, to speak of. Okay, I'll look at yep and

(01:26:42):
and then go from there. Butalready you take care of me something.
Yeah, thank you very much.And I hate to rush, but we're
running out of time, and Igot one more caller. I want to
get in today, So patent pairLand, how can I help you?
Hi? Jim was so wondering aboutthe pluses and minuses of lowering fan speed

(01:27:04):
on HVA system across the coil weget. I mean, it's a fairly
new system, a couple of yearsold. It works fine, it cools
well. We tend to get alittle bit of temperature fluctuation. It gets
a little too cool and then itgets a little too warm, which is
I had a related question about that, but it was wondering about slowing the

(01:27:28):
fan speed and maybe getting more ofan even temperature result, you know,
across cooling and non cooling periods.If that makes any sense, I'll tell
you what. Pat Let me putyou on hold because I got to take
this quick break and then I'll comeback and we'll finish up on that question.
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if you're having a sewerle under yourhomes foundation, that's something that really
needs to be addressed, but itneeds to be addressed by somebody who can

(01:29:10):
take care of the plumbing as wellas the homes foundation. That's why you
want to call du West both aplumbing company and the foundation repair company to
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(01:29:34):
we know pro as your one stopsource. We deliver everyday savings on over
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(01:29:57):
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(01:31:01):
Summer time in Texas our favorite timeof the year. Let it snow Let
its snow let its. This isTexas Home Improvement with Jim dot Hey,
welcome back to Texas Home Improvement.When we left, we were talking with
Pat in Pairland about slowing the fanspeed on his HVAC system. And you

(01:31:28):
know, Pat, most blower motorshave where you can speed it up or
slow it down a little bit.They typically have like three speeds on them.
But is your is your house stayingpretty much humidity free and the whole
thing cooling and heating like it should. Yeah, it's it's not a question

(01:31:51):
of comfort. And I don't wedon't have a condensation problem or anything then,
okay, examples that uncomfortable humidity feeling. Yeah, you might if you
change the fan speed, okay,by slowering, By lowering the fan speed,
the air temperature coming out of thevents will actually be colder because the

(01:32:11):
air is going across the coil slower, and so that actually can start causing
sweating issues and things like that ondifferent parts by increasing that temperature differential the
same thing. You know, ifyou speed up the fan, then you
don't get this humidity control. Andso that's the reason there are the three

(01:32:32):
speeds there. If your humidity isright and it's heating and cooling right,
I would probably leave it alone.Okay. Can I ask you one related
question I understood. I was talkingto someone the thermostat itself. Yep.
He told me that it reads thetemperature, not at the front of the

(01:32:53):
thermostat, like where you would touchit to adjust, but at the back
of the thermostat. Right. Isthat's accurate? Huh? That is accurate?
Okay, so maybe, and it'skind of like, yeah, changing
some where the thermostatus placed can makea difference off of a hot wall versus
a cold wall and stuff like that, and I hate to do it to

(01:33:15):
you. I gotta let you go. We are completely out of time.
But yeah, thermostats can make ahuge difference. Now, something that can
make a huge difference on those thermostatsis replacement windows. You know, if
you've got old aluminum frame single panewindows, you are past time on replacing
the windows in your home. CalledTexas Remodel Teams Window Division, they can

(01:33:38):
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That's two eight one six one twofifty nine to ninety one for Texas

(01:33:58):
Remodel Teams Window Divisi. With that, I hope you have a great afternoon,
don't forget. You can join meagain tomorrow right here on seven forty
k tr H starting at two o'clock. For more Texas Home Improvement or check
out our website tchipro dot com.