March 2, 2025 • 45 mins
Your calls, tips and questions as Gary takes your calls.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:31):
All right, it's the weekend. Welcome, You're at Home with
Gary Salvin. Thanks for joining me. This hour is brought
to you by Jaws Cleaners. It's the just add water
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of this hour of At Home with Gary Sullivan. So
dollas up. Lucky to have you in. We can chat
a little bit about your home project. It's eight hundred
eight two three eight two five five and grab a
(01:14):
line and well, you got something just kind of a
little bit out of kilter, let's talk about it. You
know our homes and you know the weather and all
that kind of goes hand in hand, and this time
of the year it's kind of up and down and
we're trying to We have homes that are very, very
dry from the cold temperatures. Then we get a warm
(01:35):
spell and there's a lot of movement going on. I've
been talking about this for about the last six weeks,
and it really is a good time to pay attention
to some of the parts inside your home. You know,
when we had mic on from our hardwood floor expert,
I guess it was last week, and he was talking
about just the fluctuation and wood floors, and he made
(02:00):
the comment on window jams, door jams, crown molding, baseboard
molding's floors, there gets to be maybe some gaps between
the baseboard and the wall and the crown molding in
the ceiling. And that's really because in the wintertime, our
homes are very dry for the most part, even with
(02:21):
a umidifier, they're they're kind of dry. I mean they're
between probably ideally you'd want them somewhere between thirty five
and fifty five percent. And in the wintertime sometimes if
we don't have humidifiers, our homes can be as dry
as fifteen to twenty percent. And in the summertime, if
we don't have a d umidifier, sometimes there'sh as seventy percent,
(02:45):
So there's a lot of you know, when it's dry,
the wood dries out. Also, it shrinks when it's moisted,
expands and taking a look at your areas around your
home right now, the door jams, the window jams, the
base boards of crown molding to the hardwood floor, and
see where exactly you're having some issues. If there's some
(03:09):
gaps between the baseboard or the crown molding and the ceiling,
or even between minor cuts a window trimming. Now is
really the perfect time to go ahead and make those corrections.
And what do I mean by corrections, Maybe just the
tuba hawk, Maybe filling that little gap between the baseboard
(03:35):
and the drywall because it's pliable. You get a good
acrylic silk and ice calking. You put a very nice
finished edge on the top of that baseboard and it
really makes a difference. And then as it warms up
and the wood, you know, homes get more humid, wood
begins to swell again and that calking is pliable, so
(03:57):
it's going to compress and you're just going to get
you know, right now there's a little larger opening than
what we normally see, and now is a good time
to tackle those projects. I want to just pass that along.
If you know you're got a couple hours, you want
to do a walk inside the home and see what's
going on. I would take a look at that area first,
(04:21):
if you don't want a wood in your home to
be telling you what your humidity level is, and it will,
I mean you're not going to see a number, but
it'll talk to you for sure. You can pick up
a little humidity guide from the hardware stores, just like
a themometer, only's telling the relative humidity inside your home.
(04:41):
You can get them where they're digital or dialed, and
you can work on kind of controlling that balance again.
Wintertime thirty five to forty five, summertime forty five to
fifty five. Those are good ranges to play with, and
then you can you know, if you're starting to show
where it's really dry, you might think about a eumidifier
(05:02):
and starting to be really humid in the house, and
the air conditioning's on and not quite doing the job.
Maybe you can think a little bit about adding a deumidifier,
so you put that on your list for sure. Let
me give you that phone number. You can grab a
line as we work our way through the weekend. It
is eight hundred eight two three eight two five five
(05:24):
nose lines are open if you try to get through yesterday.
I know it was very busy, but right now not
so much. So you can grab that line other things.
As things dry out and then begin to swell up.
You might also notice some floors that are squeaky, especially
wood floors or even under carpeting. And one of the
(05:45):
really neat advantages of basements or cross spaces is the
accessibility of the subfloor. A lot of times when you
read about eliminating squeaks and wood floor, they talk about
sweeping a talk powder or a baby powder into the
wood floor. Maybe where the tongue in groove is separated
(06:05):
a little bit. Sweeping that in there, Well, it lubricates
the tongue in the groove, and maybe we'll eliminate some
of the squeaks. But in most cases, the real issue
is not the wood floor at all. It's the subfloor
underneath the wood floor, and it's become a little bit loose.
(06:26):
Maybe it was nailed onto the joist, Maybe it was
nailed and glued to the joist. Maybe the glue didn't
hit the right spots on the joys, But that sub
floor has become a little bit loose from the joist itself,
and you can do multiple things to take those squeaks out.
You can get in there with a hammer and some
(06:47):
wood wedges with some construction adhesive. Half somebody upstairs kind
of walking on floor, listening for the squeak, pinpointing where
the squeak is putting some construction adhesive on that shim
in that chin between the joists and the subfloor. In
a lot of cases, that will eliminate it. There's also
(07:07):
you know, they're probably ten bucks, but there's a really
neat hardware apparatus that will eliminate Again, you have to
pinpoint the squeaks. Some cases, if somebody's downstairs and somebody's
walking on the floor upstairs, you can actually not only
hear it, but you can actually see the bounce of
that subfloor. And this particular piece of hardware is called
(07:32):
a squeak ender, and that's exactly what it does. There's
a little plate, it's maybe one inch by one inch
by one inch, and that little plate is screwed onto
the underside of the subfloor, and there's a threaded rod
that goes to a bracket that wraps around the joist
and it has a big wing nut. So as you
(07:55):
screw that plate on the bottom of the subfloor, you
tighten up that wing nuts, you know, as tight as
you can and what you'll do is you'll pull that
sub floor down onto the joyst and you'll snug that
up quite nicely, and of course that will once it's
snuck and nice and tight, that will end the squeak.
(08:16):
You don't get too rambunctious up there. Remember that sub
floors probably probably five ace of an inch thick. You
don't want to be running a one inch screw up
through there, so be very careful on the size of screws.
It comes with the screws and they usually are about
a half inch long. So you know, if you stick
with what's in the package, you'll you'll be fine. And
(08:39):
you can pick some of those up those squeak enders
at hardware stores. I've seen them, big box stores. The
whole works all right. So we've got a lot to
talk about, including the basements. I know where I'm at.
They're talking heavy rains again, and then it's gonna get
cold again, and then it's gonna have a little snow again,
so the roller coaster and get warm again, and then
get warm again. The rollers weather is certainly upon us.
(09:02):
And if you have issues with a basement or a foundation,
and you live in an area where you're we're talking
another inch or so of rain, so we want to
make sure that water is controlled and pulled away from
the house. So a quick walk around the house today
probably not a bad idea. All right, let's talk about it.
It's eight hundred eight two three eight two five five.
(09:22):
You're at home with Gary Solivon.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
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six eight two two seventy three twenty eight. All right,
(12:14):
back at it. We go at home with Gary Sullivan
about twenty minutes after the top of the hour and
taking your calls regarding your home improvement issues. If you will,
you can grab a line. It's eight hundred eight two
three eight two five five and Benny, welcome you lead
us off.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Good morning, Thank you. I have a driveway that's so
about ughly twenty years old. It's been paved with asphalt
by hot makes stuff. But they put it down real,
real thin, and it's cracking all the bases. And now
somebody came back and says that they could put a
(12:53):
little product called seal masting m astn in and boy
is it expensive. I've had the seal before and it
didn't do a bit of good. It's his stuff, any
better to go? Are you familiar?
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I don't know if that product you're talking about is
any better than what they used usually when you put
a seiler over an asphalt driveway, if you're getting cracks
in it, how you said a thin coat? Are these
real hairline cracks? Is it peeling up or what's it doing?
Speaker 5 (13:33):
No, it's just hairline cracks all to it. The center
joint or they put it down into the left side
and then the right side, and you can see the
scene there is so cracked open.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
So there's some movement of that base which is causing
the crack through the ceiler. I doubt if it's really
the seiler's issue, there's probably some movement. There are certainly
better sealers. This product you're talking about, is that a
sealer or is that a crack filler?
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Well, the man said it was a sealer. He said
it would seal it up and would be good for
probably six to eight years. And you can't buy it
over the town and say to something commercially, so I'm
asking about it.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Well, I don't know. I would, I'd probably if you
got the name of it. I'd probably get online and
see if you can find the manufacturer of that sealer,
read up a little bit about it. There are some
really good seilers out there on the market venning that
are just not necessarily commercial sealers. There's one it's actually
(14:50):
made by a company called Blackjack, and they make a
sealer called drive Max which is a ten year akrillic
resins sealer which can go over sphalt driveways. It's relatively
impervious to the UV rays of the sun, which is
(15:10):
what you know breaks down the the seiler itself, and
it has a ten year warranty. That whole drive Max
line of sealers. They have one that's a ten year,
a seven year, a five year, and a two year warranty.
So if you know so you can go you can
(15:31):
you know, google out drive Max and take a look
at the seilers that they have. They may be along
the same line. I'm just not for familiar with that
manufacturer of the one you were speaking of, but it
may be along the same line. Still know.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
Yeah, it's very very expensive, familiar I've put down before
or so, yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Well, this isn't cheap either. This isn't cheap either. It's
about you know, forty forty five dollars a pail. It's
a five gallon on pale and you know, so it's
not cheap either, but it lasts you know, two three
four times longer than your basic asphalt seiler, so it's
long run.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
It's really cheaper, right, yeah, if is holed up and last,
that's all.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
The count, right, right, exactly, It's okay.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
Well, it's like you very much. That kind of eases
my mind, you know, sure, sure, sometimes people come by
and say you a little good and you don't know
how good it really is.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Well, you're right, and you got the name, and you
got the other name of drive Max. I'd probably get
on and read a little bit about both of them,
and you know, see if you're comfortable with it, and
I appreciate your call, thank you much. Nice thing about
that too, is it can be walked on in a
couple hours. Can't put a car on it, and I
think it's twelve fourteen hours somewhere along that line. But
(16:54):
it's two coats, two thin coats are applied dry fast,
does a wonderful job, no stirring either. If you're going
to do it yourself, just take the can turn upside
down on the ten year sealer. That's always good news.
All right, Dorothy, welcome.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Good, thank you. Yes, I have a wooden walkway that
needs to be painted, and the kinda that I'm in
in the development you have to use water bace paint.
But before I do anything, the nails are terribly rusted.
I was wondering what I could do for the nails
before I paint.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Well, you said it's a wood walkway. Is this like
a ramp or is it like a deck material? Or
what kind of wood it?
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Oh, I don't know what kind of wood it is.
We just got the condo a few months ago.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
So to answer your question, it's been there.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
It's been there for I don't know, about twenty years.
I mean before we bought it kinda has been there
about twenty years.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Yeah. Well, there's a lot of different kinds of wood
out there, and pressure treated wood really requires a certain
kind of what they call a solid color stain rather
than a paint. A couple things I'd do is i'd
kind of ask your neighbors what kind of paint they've
used on theirs to make sure that we're kind of
getting in the same category. It sounds to me. If
(18:22):
it's an exterior walkway in it's wood, it would be
pressure treated wood. And for rusted nails, there is a
product it is called rust reformer and rust reformer. There's
also one called rust neutralizer. It's really a chemical that
you're putting it on with a paintbrush just over the
(18:44):
nails and it creates a chemical reaction to seal the
rust into the nails. Okay, so you don't have to
do any scrape and you just brush us on seals
the rust into the nails. And if it's a pressure
treated wood, like I suspect it would be, I would
use a water base solid color stain and that is, uh,
(19:07):
that would be appropriate for that type of pressure trated wood.
And I would think that would be if it's a
I don't know what other wood they would use out
there on a wood walkway, but I'm guessing that would
be a solid color stain. And I would also use
what they call a deck brightener. And what would you
would use is you would use the rust reformer on
(19:28):
the nails, the deck brightener on the deck that'll open
up the pores of the wood, and then your water base, uh,
solid color stain would be appropriate. We'll continue with your calls.
You're at home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
It's the weekend and you have fixed questions. Give Gary
a call at one eight hundred eighty two three talk.
Speaker 6 (19:54):
This is at home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
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(22:29):
at home with Gary Salvan as we spent another weekend
talking about projects around your home or a little maintenance
you need to do a little repair. Let me give
you the phone number we got open lines. It's eight
hundred eight two three eight two five five. One of
the things we got into yesterday we were talking about
(22:50):
garage floors. We seem to talk about that a lot,
and you know, there's obviously a big demand to have
a clean, organized garage, whether it continues to be the
garage or people are looking for the garage to become
another room in their home. But it is an entryway
to many of our homes. And as we were talking
(23:12):
about it, I was also starting to think and as
spring is, you know, upon us might start looking at
some of the things on the garage door I'm always
talking there super cold weather and super hot weather. That's
when garage doors fail in a lot of cases. And
I'm talking about the maintenance of lubrication of the rollers
(23:36):
and the hinges and the tracks and the springs and
all that. But I think an area that is often dismissed,
and it's kind of out of sight and out of mind,
is the is the weather stripping on a garage door.
And especially if you got a garage door in the
last twenty five years and it's a nice double insulated
(23:58):
garage door. I know some of those garage doors have
ratings in terms of insulation quality about the same as
the our value to your home on a brick wall.
So we can keep that garage, you know, fairly decent temperature.
You know, obviously if it's zero outside, it's probably going
(24:22):
to be forty degrees in your garage even with great insulation.
But an area that really could use your attention is
probably the garage door seal. And just the next time
you got the door up and you're maybe sweeping out
the garage or working around a home, just take a
(24:43):
look at that seal and you may quite honestly find
out it needs your attention. And I know, like on
the closed Pei garage door, they have one seal that
they've been using for like sixty seventy years. I mean,
how awesome is that? I mean how many times do
(25:04):
you go to replace a part on something and you
know they changed you know, that part every other year,
and then you got to figure out the model number
and when you bought it. It's a pain. The club
Pey garage door one seal, and I know it's at
least fifty years, but I think it's really actually longer
than not. I think goes back into the forties. But regardless,
(25:27):
check that seal and maybe think about getting that replaced.
They get very brittle over time. And even the garage
door weather stripping on the sides of the door, if
it's been torn, compromise missing, you might want to go
ahead and add that to it. Because I am really amazed,
(25:50):
and we've had some cold nights this past winter and
it just amazes me. My garage twenty five plus years,
I don't think it ever got below forty degrees and
that's what's coming and going out of the garage with
a car right letting what warm you know, warm air
(26:14):
out and the cold air in just from the natural
opening end closing, but to keep it above freezing. I
think that's a great accomplishment. Now, if you got an
old pan steel door or an old wood door, that's
a different story. You know, it's zero outside, it's probably
twenty five in that garage, and maybe that's something you
(26:36):
can kind of think about updating, is that garage door.
A lot of people don't realize the garage door and
your front door are the two biggest return on investments
that you can have on your home, garage door and
(26:57):
your front door. And when you think about it, especially
track housing over the last twenty five years, maybe even
more net the way houses are positioned on the lot
a lot of times is that garage door, in that
entry door is probably a third of the curb appeal,
(27:18):
the highlight of the house when you change one of
those out. And they're not as expensive as you would
think that I tell everybody that. I mean, it's a
few thousand dollars, don't get me wrong, but what you're
changing square footage of what you're changing for the front
of your home for the price you're paying is amazing.
(27:43):
And if you do have a inefficient garage door, and
you know that a butt's a wall going into the
kitchen or a family room, you're allowing a lot of
cold air into your home that way. Don't know if
that wall's insulate or not. Again, something we're checking. But
(28:04):
if we can keep that garaged or change the curb
appeal of your home, keep your garage more comfortable, less cold,
less cold penetrates the house for a few thousand bucks,
well worth it. Big investment, a good investment. And also
I was just reading an article this past week about
(28:28):
the return on investments of different things you put into
your home. And of course we always hear, you know,
pulls are you know, not a good return on investment. However,
they're a lot of fun, so it's not always just
about the return on investment. But they were talking about
finished basements, and really, when you think about it, if
you're in a home and you have a dry basement
(28:53):
and it's unfinished, and you decide to finish it, you're
probably going to going to increase the living area square footage.
The increase the square footage a living area in your
home what five percent? And the return on that was
eighty five percent. I thought it might be a little low.
(29:18):
Especially as more people, more homeowners are really clamoring for
more square footage. We're seeing basements being used. It all
depends on the size of the home and the scope
of the family that's living in it. But really we're
finding basements being used for all kinds of things. It's
not just a theater room. It could be a really
(29:40):
nice kid's playroom. Seeing a lot as indoor home gyms
offices seeing that also, And it was just talking about
the you know, of how to do that basement right,
and you know, there's a little bit to it, and
(30:02):
it depends on how you're going to use it to
But insulation sure, wrapping it in plastic, No, I'm talking
about the walls. You know, it's probably fifty years ago
we'd build basements and you'd have a fiberglass insulation and
then you'd wrap the whole wall with plastic and then
put up the dry wall. And we realized all we're
(30:24):
doing is holding the moisture in that wall, which was
causing yeah, mold. Now let the water moisture, water vapor
come on into the basement just like it's doing it now.
You can have insulation up there, but not a vapor
barrier when it's below grade. And then if it gets
(30:45):
too humid in there and you need to control it,
let's control it with it. Do you midify or an
air exchanging in it like an easy breathe. We just
don't want to trap that water in it in that wall.
Let it come on in. We'll control it that way.
But so we're just going to use insulation. There's all
different kinds, but just stay away from a vapor barrier.
(31:07):
If you're going to use foam, you want to use
an open cell phone, you definitely want to do that
again allowing that to breathe. But the return on that,
you know, they say is like eighty three to eighty
five percent. I was thinking to myself, if you can
increase the living space of your home by twenty five percent,
I'll bet you it's going to return at least that
(31:28):
if it's done right. You know a lot of times
people I can finish that basement and it's maybe not
done like it should be, and then then I can
see where it wouldn't receive its you know, full capacity
of dollars in return. So think that through, get some
get some suggestions on what you do. And one thing
(31:51):
I would suggest is insulate in the walls, but open cell.
No vapor barrier and sound barrier underneath the subfloor, especially
underneath the living quarters from uh, you know, downstairs versus
a bedroom right above. You definitely want they have a
sound bearer. All right, we're gonna take a little break.
When we come back. We got mike Y's lined up.
(32:11):
If you'd like to join Mike do so. It's eight
hundred eight two three eight two five five year at
Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Help for your home is just a click away at
Garysullivan online dot com. This is at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 7 (32:43):
Well.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
A lot of people are finishing their basements to add
more living space, whether it's an extra bedroom, home, office, gym,
or living space. Now this saands more value to your home,
but often the air in the basement is stagnant, may
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(35:02):
All right, back ahea it we go thirteen minutes before
the top of the are talking home improvement. You can
grab a line at eight hundred eighty two three eight
two five five and let's get back to the phones.
We got Mike, Mike, welcome, Thank you, Gary, Yes, sir.
Speaker 8 (35:18):
Always enjoy your show. Thanks all the times, great, very informative. Anyway,
I just wanted to touch on what you were talking
about front doors. We have a new front door on
order six to eight weeks to get it. But we
had three different very these companies came out. We're very
(35:43):
well known. They advertised with your program, and our front
door is twenty years old and we just signed put
a new door in. We visited some showrooms and looked
at doors and we were just taking back all these
(36:03):
new front doors are gold plated. Dol played it absolutely
crazy prices. Why I mean our front door, like I said,
we replaced it twenty years ago and top of line
(36:25):
just two thousand dollars. That's a good starting point.
Speaker 7 (36:34):
Yeah, okay, we couldn't be I think the uh lowest
priced door that the salesman came across after two.
Speaker 8 (36:47):
Hours, it came from fourteen thousand down to eighty eight hundred.
Now this is just a front door, no side lights
or anything like that. But uh, we bought a very
nice door of the line and it wasn't cheap. But
(37:11):
why are they so expensive?
Speaker 1 (37:15):
I don't know if I can answer that. I know
they've went up and up and up and up, but
what hasn't including that prices of housing. But I don't
know if I have a definitive answer for you. One
of the things you can consider, and I'm guessing you're
talking about a fiberglass door.
Speaker 8 (37:31):
Well, the door we bought is a wood.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Door, Okay, covered aluminum, Okay, so covering Okay, it's the door.
Speaker 8 (37:43):
Yeah, it's a top of the line. Starts with the p MHM.
The brand name, right, But anyway, it's a very nice door.
But yeah, we looked at fiberglass doors. Of most of
them fiberglass, we ended up with the wood covered door
(38:03):
and windows in it. But uh, it's crazy, you know.
We couldn't believe the prices of them.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Yeah. Yeah, well, you know, I don't manufacture them, so
I don't know. But as you know, cost on everything's
gone up. I'm not here to defend it. If you've
priced three places, you probably found, uh, you know, the
prices were relatively consistent, and then it becomes a matter
of choosing the type of door you chose. The nice
(38:35):
thing about a metal clad wood door is the woods
not exposed to the elements, so that cladding helped protect
the wood and it keeps it more stable. And you know,
that's probably a fine door, now, you know for me,
you know, my first car costs three thousand bucks too.
I'm not here to defend it. I get you, I
(38:57):
hear you loud and clear, but you know, I mean
it's a factor of everything. I'm sure, Mike.
Speaker 8 (39:04):
Yes, well, you know, we were ready for an increase,
but when we started having the numbers at it's the
first first showed and we went to and we gave
the number and he just smiled and he says, well,
if you want to double your price, we can start talking.
(39:25):
But right you're not even closing. We thought, okay, well
let's start talking. But it was just I don't know.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
A friend of mine, I know he bought a get
a load of this. He bought a mahogany wood door.
And he came up to me and said, what in
the world is going on? And he's telling me it's
been about three years ago, and I can't remember what
it was, but it was about fourteen grand. It was mahogany,
And he goes, why is that so expensive? Are you Well,
(39:53):
because that's the price, I guess if you priced other places, Well,
most people don't carry a door this side. And then
he was getting into it was a custom made mahogany door. Yeah,
you're not going to get that for two grand. But yeah,
I'm sure it's just a cost of everything, you know,
the houses that were two and ten thousand dollars three
(40:15):
years ago or four hundred a quarter or so.
Speaker 8 (40:17):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
Yeah, it goes all goes together, doesn't it.
Speaker 8 (40:21):
Yes, it does, yes, sir, all right.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
And my friend will enjoy your door. And the nice
thing is is that that's a good stable door as
you describe it, so hopefully enjoy.
Speaker 8 (40:30):
Yeah, this will last. It's our lifetime. I think was worse.
We're getting long, and we're happy to hear so well.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
When they sell the house, put a search charge on
that door.
Speaker 8 (40:41):
Okay, yeah, absolutely, well all things. We hope our son
will be moving into this house.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Nice, nice, very nice.
Speaker 8 (40:53):
That's the plan.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
That is a great.
Speaker 8 (40:56):
Okay, We thank you for your time, sir.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
All right, Mike, thanks for the call. Take care. Yeah,
why is it so expensive? I hear you loud and clear. Michelle, welcome, Hi, thanks.
Speaker 9 (41:09):
For taking my call.
Speaker 4 (41:10):
I was wondering what.
Speaker 9 (41:11):
Your thoughts were.
Speaker 10 (41:11):
You were discussing finishing basements, but like I'm wondering, like
if the basement doesn't have high ceilings or good natural light,
or like I prefer a walk.
Speaker 9 (41:22):
Out basement versus like a bulkhead. Like what when you
don't have those kind of ideal situations in the basement,
is it really worth finishing?
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Well? I think I'll let you answer that, Michelle. You're right,
all basements aren't ideal for finishing. I know the very
first home I bought probably had seven and a half
foot ceilings by the time you had the pipes and
everything else in there. But it was dry. It was
a space. It wasn't going to be exactly what we wanted.
(41:54):
It certainly isn't like the basement that I have in
my third house, which is the one I'm living in now.
So all different types of houses, but every house I
had I did finish the basement. Uh maybe for different uses,
but it was it was an area that was not
put the waste so or not put to use. So
(42:15):
it's really in your decision is it worth it. I
don't know what would you be using a finished basement
for and how important is that to you? And how
uh uh you know, how finished do you want it?
Speaker 7 (42:34):
Right?
Speaker 9 (42:34):
Right? Well, I think in order to increase the value,
it have to look like, you know, in a sense
the rest of the house like a finished space, not
like you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (42:45):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
Well, that's why I said, use the different examples if
you're looking for additional space, right, you know, I used
the thing an office, kid's you know, play area, a
workout or a theater. I mean, those are differences in
cost that are dramatic and so it really depends, you know,
(43:06):
if you want something that is really really nice and
looks like the rest of the house, and maybe it's
going to cost xyz, maybe that isn't worth it to you,
But that's your decision. You are coming up with some
more square footage. But if it's not worth it to you,
I'm not here to sell you to replace, you know,
make your basement gorgeous and a more living space. It's
(43:27):
just there's an opportunity there, and you've got to decide
if that opportunity matches what Michelle wants.
Speaker 9 (43:35):
Right, Yeah, I was just wondering what the ROI would
be on like something that doesn't have those what are
important and me key factors.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
Well, in the article that I read, it was just
it was very general terms and it was just saying
that the return on investment for a finished basement was
eighty five percent, and that return on investment was having
a toilet down there, having some type of floor covering,
having a drywall finished drywall down there. But those are
(44:08):
just basics really, so you know, you can start figuring
out what you want and if you're not going to
do it yourself, start having it bien out by two
or three contractors and see if it's worth it to you.
Thanks much for the call. I appreciate it all right.
Here's our phone number. It's eight hundred eight two three
eight two five five talking Home Improvement. Then you're at
(44:30):
home with Gary Saliva.
Speaker 2 (44:49):
Fix it right with a call to Gary's elevator at
one eight hundred eight two three talk. This is at
home with Gary celibator.
Speaker 6 (45:04):
That difficult that the dep
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dollas up. Lucky to have you in. We can chat
a little bit about your home project. It's eight hundred
eight two three eight two five five and grab a
(01:14):
line and well, you got something just kind of a
little bit out of kilter, let's talk about it. You
know our homes and you know the weather and all
that kind of goes hand in hand, and this time
of the year it's kind of up and down and
we're trying to We have homes that are very, very
dry from the cold temperatures. Then we get a warm
(01:35):
spell and there's a lot of movement going on. I've
been talking about this for about the last six weeks,
and it really is a good time to pay attention
to some of the parts inside your home. You know,
when we had mic on from our hardwood floor expert,
I guess it was last week, and he was talking
about just the fluctuation and wood floors, and he made
(02:00):
the comment on window jams, door jams, crown molding, baseboard
molding's floors, there gets to be maybe some gaps between
the baseboard and the wall and the crown molding in
the ceiling. And that's really because in the wintertime, our
homes are very dry for the most part, even with
(02:21):
a umidifier, they're they're kind of dry. I mean they're
between probably ideally you'd want them somewhere between thirty five
and fifty five percent. And in the wintertime sometimes if
we don't have humidifiers, our homes can be as dry
as fifteen to twenty percent. And in the summertime, if
we don't have a d umidifier, sometimes there'sh as seventy percent,
(02:45):
So there's a lot of you know, when it's dry,
the wood dries out. Also, it shrinks when it's moisted,
expands and taking a look at your areas around your
home right now, the door jams, the window jams, the
base boards of crown molding to the hardwood floor, and
see where exactly you're having some issues. If there's some
(03:09):
gaps between the baseboard or the crown molding and the ceiling,
or even between minor cuts a window trimming. Now is
really the perfect time to go ahead and make those corrections.
And what do I mean by corrections, Maybe just the
tuba hawk, Maybe filling that little gap between the baseboard
(03:35):
and the drywall because it's pliable. You get a good
acrylic silk and ice calking. You put a very nice
finished edge on the top of that baseboard and it
really makes a difference. And then as it warms up
and the wood, you know, homes get more humid, wood
begins to swell again and that calking is pliable, so
(03:57):
it's going to compress and you're just going to get
you know, right now there's a little larger opening than
what we normally see, and now is a good time
to tackle those projects. I want to just pass that along.
If you know you're got a couple hours, you want
to do a walk inside the home and see what's
going on. I would take a look at that area first,
(04:21):
if you don't want a wood in your home to
be telling you what your humidity level is, and it will,
I mean you're not going to see a number, but
it'll talk to you for sure. You can pick up
a little humidity guide from the hardware stores, just like
a themometer, only's telling the relative humidity inside your home.
(04:41):
You can get them where they're digital or dialed, and
you can work on kind of controlling that balance again.
Wintertime thirty five to forty five, summertime forty five to
fifty five. Those are good ranges to play with, and
then you can you know, if you're starting to show
where it's really dry, you might think about a eumidifier
(05:02):
and starting to be really humid in the house, and
the air conditioning's on and not quite doing the job.
Maybe you can think a little bit about adding a deumidifier,
so you put that on your list for sure. Let
me give you that phone number. You can grab a
line as we work our way through the weekend. It
is eight hundred eight two three eight two five five
(05:24):
nose lines are open if you try to get through yesterday.
I know it was very busy, but right now not
so much. So you can grab that line other things.
As things dry out and then begin to swell up.
You might also notice some floors that are squeaky, especially
wood floors or even under carpeting. And one of the
(05:45):
really neat advantages of basements or cross spaces is the
accessibility of the subfloor. A lot of times when you
read about eliminating squeaks and wood floor, they talk about
sweeping a talk powder or a baby powder into the
wood floor. Maybe where the tongue in groove is separated
(06:05):
a little bit. Sweeping that in there, Well, it lubricates
the tongue in the groove, and maybe we'll eliminate some
of the squeaks. But in most cases, the real issue
is not the wood floor at all. It's the subfloor
underneath the wood floor, and it's become a little bit loose.
(06:26):
Maybe it was nailed onto the joist, Maybe it was
nailed and glued to the joist. Maybe the glue didn't
hit the right spots on the joys, But that sub
floor has become a little bit loose from the joist itself,
and you can do multiple things to take those squeaks out.
You can get in there with a hammer and some
(06:47):
wood wedges with some construction adhesive. Half somebody upstairs kind
of walking on floor, listening for the squeak, pinpointing where
the squeak is putting some construction adhesive on that shim
in that chin between the joists and the subfloor. In
a lot of cases, that will eliminate it. There's also
(07:07):
you know, they're probably ten bucks, but there's a really
neat hardware apparatus that will eliminate Again, you have to
pinpoint the squeaks. Some cases, if somebody's downstairs and somebody's
walking on the floor upstairs, you can actually not only
hear it, but you can actually see the bounce of
that subfloor. And this particular piece of hardware is called
(07:32):
a squeak ender, and that's exactly what it does. There's
a little plate, it's maybe one inch by one inch
by one inch, and that little plate is screwed onto
the underside of the subfloor, and there's a threaded rod
that goes to a bracket that wraps around the joist
and it has a big wing nut. So as you
(07:55):
screw that plate on the bottom of the subfloor, you
tighten up that wing nuts, you know, as tight as
you can and what you'll do is you'll pull that
sub floor down onto the joyst and you'll snug that
up quite nicely, and of course that will once it's
snuck and nice and tight, that will end the squeak.
(08:16):
You don't get too rambunctious up there. Remember that sub
floors probably probably five ace of an inch thick. You
don't want to be running a one inch screw up
through there, so be very careful on the size of screws.
It comes with the screws and they usually are about
a half inch long. So you know, if you stick
with what's in the package, you'll you'll be fine. And
(08:39):
you can pick some of those up those squeak enders
at hardware stores. I've seen them, big box stores. The
whole works all right. So we've got a lot to
talk about, including the basements. I know where I'm at.
They're talking heavy rains again, and then it's gonna get
cold again, and then it's gonna have a little snow again,
so the roller coaster and get warm again, and then
get warm again. The rollers weather is certainly upon us.
(09:02):
And if you have issues with a basement or a foundation,
and you live in an area where you're we're talking
another inch or so of rain, so we want to
make sure that water is controlled and pulled away from
the house. So a quick walk around the house today
probably not a bad idea. All right, let's talk about it.
It's eight hundred eight two three eight two five five.
(09:22):
You're at home with Gary Solivon.
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six eight two two seventy three twenty eight. All right,
(12:14):
back at it. We go at home with Gary Sullivan
about twenty minutes after the top of the hour and
taking your calls regarding your home improvement issues. If you will,
you can grab a line. It's eight hundred eight two
three eight two five five and Benny, welcome you lead
us off.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Good morning, Thank you. I have a driveway that's so
about ughly twenty years old. It's been paved with asphalt
by hot makes stuff. But they put it down real,
real thin, and it's cracking all the bases. And now
somebody came back and says that they could put a
(12:53):
little product called seal masting m astn in and boy
is it expensive. I've had the seal before and it
didn't do a bit of good. It's his stuff, any
better to go? Are you familiar?
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I don't know if that product you're talking about is
any better than what they used usually when you put
a seiler over an asphalt driveway, if you're getting cracks
in it, how you said a thin coat? Are these
real hairline cracks? Is it peeling up or what's it doing?
Speaker 5 (13:33):
No, it's just hairline cracks all to it. The center
joint or they put it down into the left side
and then the right side, and you can see the
scene there is so cracked open.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
So there's some movement of that base which is causing
the crack through the ceiler. I doubt if it's really
the seiler's issue, there's probably some movement. There are certainly
better sealers. This product you're talking about, is that a
sealer or is that a crack filler?
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Well, the man said it was a sealer. He said
it would seal it up and would be good for
probably six to eight years. And you can't buy it
over the town and say to something commercially, so I'm
asking about it.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Well, I don't know. I would, I'd probably if you
got the name of it. I'd probably get online and
see if you can find the manufacturer of that sealer,
read up a little bit about it. There are some
really good seilers out there on the market venning that
are just not necessarily commercial sealers. There's one it's actually
(14:50):
made by a company called Blackjack, and they make a
sealer called drive Max which is a ten year akrillic
resins sealer which can go over sphalt driveways. It's relatively
impervious to the UV rays of the sun, which is
(15:10):
what you know breaks down the the seiler itself, and
it has a ten year warranty. That whole drive Max
line of sealers. They have one that's a ten year,
a seven year, a five year, and a two year warranty.
So if you know so you can go you can
(15:31):
you know, google out drive Max and take a look
at the seilers that they have. They may be along
the same line. I'm just not for familiar with that
manufacturer of the one you were speaking of, but it
may be along the same line. Still know.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
Yeah, it's very very expensive, familiar I've put down before
or so, yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Well, this isn't cheap either. This isn't cheap either. It's
about you know, forty forty five dollars a pail. It's
a five gallon on pale and you know, so it's
not cheap either, but it lasts you know, two three
four times longer than your basic asphalt seiler, so it's
long run.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
It's really cheaper, right, yeah, if is holed up and last,
that's all.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
The count, right, right, exactly, It's okay.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
Well, it's like you very much. That kind of eases
my mind, you know, sure, sure, sometimes people come by
and say you a little good and you don't know
how good it really is.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Well, you're right, and you got the name, and you
got the other name of drive Max. I'd probably get
on and read a little bit about both of them,
and you know, see if you're comfortable with it, and
I appreciate your call, thank you much. Nice thing about
that too, is it can be walked on in a
couple hours. Can't put a car on it, and I
think it's twelve fourteen hours somewhere along that line. But
(16:54):
it's two coats, two thin coats are applied dry fast,
does a wonderful job, no stirring either. If you're going
to do it yourself, just take the can turn upside
down on the ten year sealer. That's always good news.
All right, Dorothy, welcome.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Good, thank you. Yes, I have a wooden walkway that
needs to be painted, and the kinda that I'm in
in the development you have to use water bace paint.
But before I do anything, the nails are terribly rusted.
I was wondering what I could do for the nails
before I paint.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Well, you said it's a wood walkway. Is this like
a ramp or is it like a deck material? Or
what kind of wood it?
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Oh, I don't know what kind of wood it is.
We just got the condo a few months ago.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
So to answer your question, it's been there.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
It's been there for I don't know, about twenty years.
I mean before we bought it kinda has been there
about twenty years.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Yeah. Well, there's a lot of different kinds of wood
out there, and pressure treated wood really requires a certain
kind of what they call a solid color stain rather
than a paint. A couple things I'd do is i'd
kind of ask your neighbors what kind of paint they've
used on theirs to make sure that we're kind of
getting in the same category. It sounds to me. If
(18:22):
it's an exterior walkway in it's wood, it would be
pressure treated wood. And for rusted nails, there is a
product it is called rust reformer and rust reformer. There's
also one called rust neutralizer. It's really a chemical that
you're putting it on with a paintbrush just over the
(18:44):
nails and it creates a chemical reaction to seal the
rust into the nails. Okay, so you don't have to
do any scrape and you just brush us on seals
the rust into the nails. And if it's a pressure
treated wood, like I suspect it would be, I would
use a water base solid color stain and that is, uh,
(19:07):
that would be appropriate for that type of pressure trated wood.
And I would think that would be if it's a
I don't know what other wood they would use out
there on a wood walkway, but I'm guessing that would
be a solid color stain. And I would also use
what they call a deck brightener. And what would you
would use is you would use the rust reformer on
(19:28):
the nails, the deck brightener on the deck that'll open
up the pores of the wood, and then your water base, uh,
solid color stain would be appropriate. We'll continue with your calls.
You're at home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
It's the weekend and you have fixed questions. Give Gary
a call at one eight hundred eighty two three talk.
Speaker 6 (19:54):
This is at home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
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(22:29):
at home with Gary Salvan as we spent another weekend
talking about projects around your home or a little maintenance
you need to do a little repair. Let me give
you the phone number we got open lines. It's eight
hundred eight two three eight two five five. One of
the things we got into yesterday we were talking about
(22:50):
garage floors. We seem to talk about that a lot,
and you know, there's obviously a big demand to have
a clean, organized garage, whether it continues to be the
garage or people are looking for the garage to become
another room in their home. But it is an entryway
to many of our homes. And as we were talking
(23:12):
about it, I was also starting to think and as
spring is, you know, upon us might start looking at
some of the things on the garage door I'm always
talking there super cold weather and super hot weather. That's
when garage doors fail in a lot of cases. And
I'm talking about the maintenance of lubrication of the rollers
(23:36):
and the hinges and the tracks and the springs and
all that. But I think an area that is often dismissed,
and it's kind of out of sight and out of mind,
is the is the weather stripping on a garage door.
And especially if you got a garage door in the
last twenty five years and it's a nice double insulated
(23:58):
garage door. I know some of those garage doors have
ratings in terms of insulation quality about the same as
the our value to your home on a brick wall.
So we can keep that garage, you know, fairly decent temperature.
You know, obviously if it's zero outside, it's probably going
(24:22):
to be forty degrees in your garage even with great insulation.
But an area that really could use your attention is
probably the garage door seal. And just the next time
you got the door up and you're maybe sweeping out
the garage or working around a home, just take a
(24:43):
look at that seal and you may quite honestly find
out it needs your attention. And I know, like on
the closed Pei garage door, they have one seal that
they've been using for like sixty seventy years. I mean,
how awesome is that? I mean how many times do
(25:04):
you go to replace a part on something and you
know they changed you know, that part every other year,
and then you got to figure out the model number
and when you bought it. It's a pain. The club
Pey garage door one seal, and I know it's at
least fifty years, but I think it's really actually longer
than not. I think goes back into the forties. But regardless,
(25:27):
check that seal and maybe think about getting that replaced.
They get very brittle over time. And even the garage
door weather stripping on the sides of the door, if
it's been torn, compromise missing, you might want to go
ahead and add that to it. Because I am really amazed,
(25:50):
and we've had some cold nights this past winter and
it just amazes me. My garage twenty five plus years,
I don't think it ever got below forty degrees and
that's what's coming and going out of the garage with
a car right letting what warm you know, warm air
(26:14):
out and the cold air in just from the natural
opening end closing, but to keep it above freezing. I
think that's a great accomplishment. Now, if you got an
old pan steel door or an old wood door, that's
a different story. You know, it's zero outside, it's probably
twenty five in that garage, and maybe that's something you
(26:36):
can kind of think about updating, is that garage door.
A lot of people don't realize the garage door and
your front door are the two biggest return on investments
that you can have on your home, garage door and
(26:57):
your front door. And when you think about it, especially
track housing over the last twenty five years, maybe even
more net the way houses are positioned on the lot
a lot of times is that garage door, in that
entry door is probably a third of the curb appeal,
(27:18):
the highlight of the house when you change one of
those out. And they're not as expensive as you would
think that I tell everybody that. I mean, it's a
few thousand dollars, don't get me wrong, but what you're
changing square footage of what you're changing for the front
of your home for the price you're paying is amazing.
(27:43):
And if you do have a inefficient garage door, and
you know that a butt's a wall going into the
kitchen or a family room, you're allowing a lot of
cold air into your home that way. Don't know if
that wall's insulate or not. Again, something we're checking. But
(28:04):
if we can keep that garaged or change the curb
appeal of your home, keep your garage more comfortable, less cold,
less cold penetrates the house for a few thousand bucks,
well worth it. Big investment, a good investment. And also
I was just reading an article this past week about
(28:28):
the return on investments of different things you put into
your home. And of course we always hear, you know,
pulls are you know, not a good return on investment. However,
they're a lot of fun, so it's not always just
about the return on investment. But they were talking about
finished basements, and really, when you think about it, if
you're in a home and you have a dry basement
(28:53):
and it's unfinished, and you decide to finish it, you're
probably going to going to increase the living area square footage.
The increase the square footage a living area in your
home what five percent? And the return on that was
eighty five percent. I thought it might be a little low.
(29:18):
Especially as more people, more homeowners are really clamoring for
more square footage. We're seeing basements being used. It all
depends on the size of the home and the scope
of the family that's living in it. But really we're
finding basements being used for all kinds of things. It's
not just a theater room. It could be a really
(29:40):
nice kid's playroom. Seeing a lot as indoor home gyms
offices seeing that also, And it was just talking about
the you know, of how to do that basement right,
and you know, there's a little bit to it, and
(30:02):
it depends on how you're going to use it to
But insulation sure, wrapping it in plastic, No, I'm talking
about the walls. You know, it's probably fifty years ago
we'd build basements and you'd have a fiberglass insulation and
then you'd wrap the whole wall with plastic and then
put up the dry wall. And we realized all we're
(30:24):
doing is holding the moisture in that wall, which was
causing yeah, mold. Now let the water moisture, water vapor
come on into the basement just like it's doing it now.
You can have insulation up there, but not a vapor
barrier when it's below grade. And then if it gets
(30:45):
too humid in there and you need to control it,
let's control it with it. Do you midify or an
air exchanging in it like an easy breathe. We just
don't want to trap that water in it in that wall.
Let it come on in. We'll control it that way.
But so we're just going to use insulation. There's all
different kinds, but just stay away from a vapor barrier.
(31:07):
If you're going to use foam, you want to use
an open cell phone, you definitely want to do that
again allowing that to breathe. But the return on that,
you know, they say is like eighty three to eighty
five percent. I was thinking to myself, if you can
increase the living space of your home by twenty five percent,
I'll bet you it's going to return at least that
(31:28):
if it's done right. You know a lot of times
people I can finish that basement and it's maybe not
done like it should be, and then then I can
see where it wouldn't receive its you know, full capacity
of dollars in return. So think that through, get some
get some suggestions on what you do. And one thing
(31:51):
I would suggest is insulate in the walls, but open cell.
No vapor barrier and sound barrier underneath the subfloor, especially
underneath the living quarters from uh, you know, downstairs versus
a bedroom right above. You definitely want they have a
sound bearer. All right, we're gonna take a little break.
When we come back. We got mike Y's lined up.
(32:11):
If you'd like to join Mike do so. It's eight
hundred eight two three eight two five five year at
Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Help for your home is just a click away at
Garysullivan online dot com. This is at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 7 (32:43):
Well.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
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(35:02):
All right, back ahea it we go thirteen minutes before
the top of the are talking home improvement. You can
grab a line at eight hundred eighty two three eight
two five five and let's get back to the phones.
We got Mike, Mike, welcome, Thank you, Gary, Yes, sir.
Speaker 8 (35:18):
Always enjoy your show. Thanks all the times, great, very informative. Anyway,
I just wanted to touch on what you were talking
about front doors. We have a new front door on
order six to eight weeks to get it. But we
had three different very these companies came out. We're very
(35:43):
well known. They advertised with your program, and our front
door is twenty years old and we just signed put
a new door in. We visited some showrooms and looked
at doors and we were just taking back all these
(36:03):
new front doors are gold plated. Dol played it absolutely
crazy prices. Why I mean our front door, like I said,
we replaced it twenty years ago and top of line
(36:25):
just two thousand dollars. That's a good starting point.
Speaker 7 (36:34):
Yeah, okay, we couldn't be I think the uh lowest
priced door that the salesman came across after two.
Speaker 8 (36:47):
Hours, it came from fourteen thousand down to eighty eight hundred.
Now this is just a front door, no side lights
or anything like that. But uh, we bought a very
nice door of the line and it wasn't cheap. But
(37:11):
why are they so expensive?
Speaker 1 (37:15):
I don't know if I can answer that. I know
they've went up and up and up and up, but
what hasn't including that prices of housing. But I don't
know if I have a definitive answer for you. One
of the things you can consider, and I'm guessing you're
talking about a fiberglass door.
Speaker 8 (37:31):
Well, the door we bought is a wood.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Door, Okay, covered aluminum, Okay, so covering Okay, it's the door.
Speaker 8 (37:43):
Yeah, it's a top of the line. Starts with the p MHM.
The brand name, right, But anyway, it's a very nice door.
But yeah, we looked at fiberglass doors. Of most of
them fiberglass, we ended up with the wood covered door
(38:03):
and windows in it. But uh, it's crazy, you know.
We couldn't believe the prices of them.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Yeah. Yeah, well, you know, I don't manufacture them, so
I don't know. But as you know, cost on everything's
gone up. I'm not here to defend it. If you've
priced three places, you probably found, uh, you know, the
prices were relatively consistent, and then it becomes a matter
of choosing the type of door you chose. The nice
(38:35):
thing about a metal clad wood door is the woods
not exposed to the elements, so that cladding helped protect
the wood and it keeps it more stable. And you know,
that's probably a fine door, now, you know for me,
you know, my first car costs three thousand bucks too.
I'm not here to defend it. I get you, I
(38:57):
hear you loud and clear, but you know, I mean
it's a factor of everything. I'm sure, Mike.
Speaker 8 (39:04):
Yes, well, you know, we were ready for an increase,
but when we started having the numbers at it's the
first first showed and we went to and we gave
the number and he just smiled and he says, well,
if you want to double your price, we can start talking.
(39:25):
But right you're not even closing. We thought, okay, well
let's start talking. But it was just I don't know.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
A friend of mine, I know he bought a get
a load of this. He bought a mahogany wood door.
And he came up to me and said, what in
the world is going on? And he's telling me it's
been about three years ago, and I can't remember what
it was, but it was about fourteen grand. It was mahogany,
And he goes, why is that so expensive? Are you Well,
(39:53):
because that's the price, I guess if you priced other places, Well,
most people don't carry a door this side. And then
he was getting into it was a custom made mahogany door. Yeah,
you're not going to get that for two grand. But yeah,
I'm sure it's just a cost of everything, you know,
the houses that were two and ten thousand dollars three
(40:15):
years ago or four hundred a quarter or so.
Speaker 8 (40:17):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
Yeah, it goes all goes together, doesn't it.
Speaker 8 (40:21):
Yes, it does, yes, sir, all right.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
And my friend will enjoy your door. And the nice
thing is is that that's a good stable door as
you describe it, so hopefully enjoy.
Speaker 8 (40:30):
Yeah, this will last. It's our lifetime. I think was worse.
We're getting long, and we're happy to hear so well.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
When they sell the house, put a search charge on
that door.
Speaker 8 (40:41):
Okay, yeah, absolutely, well all things. We hope our son
will be moving into this house.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Nice, nice, very nice.
Speaker 8 (40:53):
That's the plan.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
That is a great.
Speaker 8 (40:56):
Okay, We thank you for your time, sir.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
All right, Mike, thanks for the call. Take care. Yeah,
why is it so expensive? I hear you loud and clear. Michelle, welcome, Hi, thanks.
Speaker 9 (41:09):
For taking my call.
Speaker 4 (41:10):
I was wondering what.
Speaker 9 (41:11):
Your thoughts were.
Speaker 10 (41:11):
You were discussing finishing basements, but like I'm wondering, like
if the basement doesn't have high ceilings or good natural light,
or like I prefer a walk.
Speaker 9 (41:22):
Out basement versus like a bulkhead. Like what when you
don't have those kind of ideal situations in the basement,
is it really worth finishing?
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Well? I think I'll let you answer that, Michelle. You're right,
all basements aren't ideal for finishing. I know the very
first home I bought probably had seven and a half
foot ceilings by the time you had the pipes and
everything else in there. But it was dry. It was
a space. It wasn't going to be exactly what we wanted.
(41:54):
It certainly isn't like the basement that I have in
my third house, which is the one I'm living in now.
So all different types of houses, but every house I
had I did finish the basement. Uh maybe for different uses,
but it was it was an area that was not
put the waste so or not put to use. So
(42:15):
it's really in your decision is it worth it. I
don't know what would you be using a finished basement
for and how important is that to you? And how
uh uh you know, how finished do you want it?
Speaker 7 (42:34):
Right?
Speaker 9 (42:34):
Right? Well, I think in order to increase the value,
it have to look like, you know, in a sense
the rest of the house like a finished space, not
like you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (42:45):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
Well, that's why I said, use the different examples if
you're looking for additional space, right, you know, I used
the thing an office, kid's you know, play area, a
workout or a theater. I mean, those are differences in
cost that are dramatic and so it really depends, you know,
(43:06):
if you want something that is really really nice and
looks like the rest of the house, and maybe it's
going to cost xyz, maybe that isn't worth it to you,
But that's your decision. You are coming up with some
more square footage. But if it's not worth it to you,
I'm not here to sell you to replace, you know,
make your basement gorgeous and a more living space. It's
(43:27):
just there's an opportunity there, and you've got to decide
if that opportunity matches what Michelle wants.
Speaker 9 (43:35):
Right, Yeah, I was just wondering what the ROI would
be on like something that doesn't have those what are
important and me key factors.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
Well, in the article that I read, it was just
it was very general terms and it was just saying
that the return on investment for a finished basement was
eighty five percent, and that return on investment was having
a toilet down there, having some type of floor covering,
having a drywall finished drywall down there. But those are
(44:08):
just basics really, so you know, you can start figuring
out what you want and if you're not going to
do it yourself, start having it bien out by two
or three contractors and see if it's worth it to you.
Thanks much for the call. I appreciate it all right.
Here's our phone number. It's eight hundred eight two three
eight two five five talking Home Improvement. Then you're at
(44:30):
home with Gary Saliva.
Speaker 2 (44:49):
Fix it right with a call to Gary's elevator at
one eight hundred eight two three talk. This is at
home with Gary celibator.
Speaker 6 (45:04):
That difficult that the dep
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