The Yardboy, Ron Wilson stops by 11/29/2025

**Step into the Home Improvement Arena with Gary Sullivan**

The gardening season may be winding down, but as landscaping expert Ron Wilson reveals, the work never truly stops. In this engaging episode, Gary and Ron dive into the surprising year-round demands of the gardening world, debunk common Christmas tree myths, and share practical solutions for those tricky home improvement challenges. From the early rush on Christmas trees to the truth about those viral praying mantis stories, this conversation offers both seasonal wisdom and hands-on advice for your everyday home projects.

Gary delivers expert guidance on removing stubborn caulking and properly mounting handrails on plaster walls, providing the kind of practical tips that can save you hours of frustration. Their candid banter and professional insights create the perfect blend of entertainment and education for any homeowner.

**Timestamps and Key Takeaways:**
- 0:00-2:30: Christmas tree shopping trends and why you should buy early this year
- 2:30-4:15: Debunking the praying mantis Christmas tree myth
- 4:15-6:45: Solutions for unstable Christmas trees and pink countertop alternatives
- 6:45-9:30: Expert techniques for removing stubborn caulking
- 9:30-12:00: Proper mounting of handrails on plaster walls using toggle bolts

Whether you're tackling holiday decorating or planning your next home improvement project, tune in to hear Gary and Ron's practical wisdom that will help you work "like a pro" without busting your knuckles in the process!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
All right back in it. We go at home with
Gary Selvent time to bring in our friend Ron Wilson
and uh Ron, do you just like, you know, the
gardening season's kind of over, the landscaping season. I mean,
just like go to sleep till February.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
It is never over.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's never over.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's never over.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
You don't just take a big breather for like three months.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Its slowed down a little bit, No, heck no, you know.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
That Christmas ties well, yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
But then you get into January and February, it's getting
stuffed ready for March.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
We got to be thinking ahead.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Obviously, it slows down because people aren't doing a lot
of landscaping, but we're busy as heck during those months
getting ready for the spring. So you know, it just
keeps right on going. Yeah, it does slow down a
little bit, there's no doubt.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
But no big, big scoops for us on Christmas trees
this year. I mean no, no, just you know, enjoy them.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Just enjoy it and do get out there early because
there was a lot of people buying them yesterday.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
I'll tell you what that's got to be. You know,
it used to be back in the day and it'd
be like the people would buy trees like mid December. Yeah,
you maybe buy the tenth of December. But now it's
like Thanksgiving weekend, man, get out of the way.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Well this weekend, especially because it's only three weeks from Christmas,
because it's late, that's true, so it's crazy. So yeah,
if you're going to do the live tree, get out
and get it taken care of. Of course, the weather's
been kind of weird too, so yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah. Oh, I saw one of the infamous articles again
about praying Memphis and Christmas trees.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Oh my gosh, I know.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
It's like I swear people just look for problems. Mmmmm,
I mean people, they could be there, but probably not. Huh.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
They pay people to inspect those trees, every one of them,
to make sure there aren't any is that right on it? Yeah,
they clip them off and you know, take them and
give them to somebody or whatever. But you know, they
don't want they don't want to ship your trees with
praying manus on them.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
So every time I see that, I laugh. I swear
somebody puts it out every year.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah oh yeah, and I would imagine it probably does
happen and ten times out of two million trees.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
That's what I mean. It only takes fun.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Oh my, I did have that happened one time in
my sock drawer.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
But never did you ever hear a Christmas tree where
you hit it tie it to the wall? No, no,
I haven't either. But that's another one I went.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
Up about three years ago. My sister decorated with a
lot of this heavy stuff in front from my mom.
Uh huh, and it fell over because are the heavy.
I had to go get another stand and put up.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
What kind of stuff were you putting on that tree?

Speaker 2 (02:30):
She had all these big things that were I don't
know what they were, but it uh not my tree.
But I had to go get like a flat thing
to put underneath it because the carpet was like bending.
The carpet was all flush.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
And it need to get a big piece of plywood
or something.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, you can buy those. Now there's uh stand and
it catches the water or anything of needles and stuff.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
So yeah, the thrills of the holidays run.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Oh, it's a lot of fun. By the way, are
you making fun of my pink countertop? Oh?

Speaker 1 (03:00):
But there's a bunch of out there still, And you know,
I mean price at grant. That's crazy and that's what
everybody wants to buy. I'm just bringing up an option
for you. It's gotta go.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
Ron avocado fridge. So, uh do they I asked you
this several years ago. I'm hoping they did. They now
make a cock this dissolver.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
They do, but it doesn't really dissolve it. There's there's
some good ones out there. There's there's fun to go.
There's what do you where's the cocking at uh? In
the kitchen where against the countertop and it goes against
the wall. It's cocked right across the top of that,
and I need to get that off and we're gonna

(03:46):
we're painting and then recocking. So I got the utility
knife out there, you know, trying to kids that off,
and it's like probably the best way there. There's a
cockermover It's called Mostenbacher, that's the brand name.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
Sure it is.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
It is. It's pretty good. It doesn't dissolve it though.
What it does is it just softens calking so that
you can, you know, start working it. And then what
I'd do is and whether you get any brand I
just found that's probably one of the better ones. But
get the cock. Uh. And they are called removers, but
it's really not. You put it on there starts making

(04:23):
it more pliable. And you know you got the razor blade.
Just cut a little piece of it off at the
end where you can get a hook knife. Underneath it,
there's a cock removing tool about five bucks. It's a
piece of hard plastic and it's got a hook on it.
And you get that hook behind that beat of calking
after you've used the cock softener, and just kind of

(04:47):
work it that way and it'll come out.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Work it like a pro. Work it like a pro.
Don't bust your knuckles though, bustles doing.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
It, no, no, but work it like a pro.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
And I I have two more questions for you.

Speaker 1 (04:59):
You might mess the dry wall up a little bit,
but you can patch it.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
You're welcome. Just a little, just a little, just a little.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
I am mounting handles to hang on to all right,
going off some steps for my mom, and it goes
on the wall. But the wall's plaster. Do I still
use those? You know, you drill a hole and put
that the counter thing in there, and then and then
put the screw in that well.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
If it's going to be a handrail. You want to
make sure it's really really substantial, so an anchor something
probably not. I'll tell you what I would use, the
old fashioned toggle bolts. Yeah, you know, it takes a
decent sized hole. I mean it might be a three
ace or a half inch hole, but use that, okay,
and then when you put that screw in, which is long,

(05:54):
it's going to go behind the plaster is probably going
to go behind the lath too, and then that toggle
spreads out. Then you really you really got something that's substantial.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
I need to drill the whole measure how deep that
hole is right to match that well.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
The toggle bolts usually come in three or four inches.
I mean it's hollows on the other side of it. Yeah,
so it doesn't really matter, but that's going to give
you the best anchoring. And that's what I would use.
I wouldn't I wouldn't mess with anything but that unless
you can hit you know, wood in there when you're
drilling in there. If you go into you know, it

(06:28):
depends whether the lath is just a metal or whether
it's wood, and then there's still two by four. I mean,
if you can get into the two by fours, which
you can find with a you know, a stud finder
and just screw right into that. That's the best. And
the second best would be you know, your your your

(06:50):
toggle bolt where you're going all the way through the
wall and that little wing spreads out and creates a
really good solid anchor.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
My problem with using those is that it points back
to me.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
It always does, Ron Studfinder, it always does.

Speaker 2 (07:08):
Thank you so much. I'll be here all day.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
Oh well, wait, are your football game today? Okay? I
will all right, all.

Speaker 2 (07:15):
Right, take it?

Speaker 1 (07:16):
Thanks, all right, all right. Ron does the gardening show
and we always appreciate him stepping in. We'll take your
calls next year. At Home with Gary Celibator.

Speaker 2 (07:32):
Start a project and don't know how to finish it?

Speaker 3 (07:34):
Call Gary at one eight hundred and eighty two three talk.
You're at home with Gary Solivat. Thanks guysh Codings Black

(07:57):
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