SHOW NOTES: DIY is on the rise but according to a new survey, 40% of homeowners report their projects were more difficult than expected and 80% admit to making a mistake along the way. We’ll dig into the most common ways DIY goes wrong to make sure that doesn’t happen to you. With the chilly weather upon us – now is a great time to take on projects to improve your warmth and comfort as temperatures drop – starting with a little hot water heater maintenance to help make sure you never run out! If...
Nov 01, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES Are winter winds streaming through your windows? We share a step-by-step checklist to help make sure you are not wasting a single energy dollar! Painting a room is a fun and inexpensive home improvement project that can make a big impact. But while most people spend a lot of time picking the perfect color for their rooms, choosing the perfect paint sheen is just as important! We’ll share tips on how the best sheen to make your project shine. Is doing a DIY project with your spouse a s...
Oct 28, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: There’s no shortage of ways to make your home energy efficient – but what if there was a way to build a home that was already efficient? Tom and Leslie explain the very successful “Energy Star Homes” program plus answer your home improvement questions. They call it “fall” for a reason… and if raking leaves is the last thing you want to do with your weekend, we’ve got tips, techniques and tools that make leaf collection much easier. Halloween is right around the corner! Find out how t...
Oct 25, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: In a strong home sellers-market, selling your home “as-is” is a popular way to avoid buyer demands for repairs. But that strategy often backfires and hurts your chances of getting the best price for your home. We share a better strategy to get the best price with the least hassles. Whether your furniture is heirloom or Ikea, it’s likely to take a few hits from time to time - especially if you have kids! But while the water rings, dings, dents and furniture scratches are inevitable – ...
Oct 21, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: A survey of 32,000 homes by Zillow showed painting with the right colors can help your home sell faster and make you more money in any real estate market. We’ll share the paint colors that really pay off. Garage floors need to be one of the most durable floor surfaces in any house. They have to take the punishment of hot tires in the summer or dripping road salt in the winter, plus a ton of storage needs. We’ll share a finish that’s tough, durable and slip-resistant AND DIY! As the w...
Oct 18, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: If you enjoyed garden-fresh veggies all Spring and Summer, now is the time to plant cool weather crops that thrive in autumn’s cooler weather. Learn what grows best straight through to the first frost. Adding shrubbery to the front of your house adds curb appeal and the cooler Fall weather offers plenty of time for the roots to grow deep before next summer’s heat sets in. Get step-by-step tips to get this project done. Whether you live in a climate that’s warm or cold, insulation is ...
Oct 14, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Spotted a roof leak and wondering if your roof can be repaired or needs a complete replacement? We’ll tell you how to know. It doesn’t matter if you heat by gas, oil, propane or electric, it’s time to get your heating system serviced. We share key components that have to be checked to make sure the system remains safe and efficient. If there’s a way to do a home improvement project that’s fast, simple, safe, costs less and makes a positive impact, that project would be a no-brainer—r...
Oct 11, 2021•38 min•Ep 2143•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Hiring a gutter company to install gutter guards can be ridiculously expensive. But buying the product and then either installing the gutter covers yourself -- or hiring a handyman to do the installation -- can be far less expensive. We walk you through the project. Laminate countertops can give you the look of natural stone without the price – but they’re not quite as durable. But the good news is that laminate tops are actually pretty easy to repair. We’ll share some tricks of the ...
Oct 07, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Ready to blast away piles of leaves this Fall? Paul Hope, the Home & Appliance Editor from Consumer Reports, dishes on this season’s best leaf blowers including some that won’t wake the neighborhood! As we move closer to Fall, we move closer to Fall storms which can bring on MOLD! But is getting rid of mold a DIY project, or do you always need a pro? The answer is – it depends! We’ll share DIY tips to help clear the air. If you’ve been putting off insulation because it’s always been ...
Oct 04, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Everyone wants a perfect remodel but home improvement and perfect are two words that you don’t often hear in the same sentence! We share tips on how to avoid the hidden surprises that come with the territory. Home prices are up and that means successful home buyers may not have much money left for unexpected repairs once they close on the house. Service contracts can help handle a lot of those surprise costs. We explain the options. Terrazzo has been proven as a floor that is both du...
Sep 30, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Hate waiting for your shower water to heat up? Hot water recirculation pumps can help, delivering hot water to faucets almost immediately. We’ll tell you how it works and what it takes to install one in your own house. Do dishes come out of your dishwasher dirtier than when they went in? The culprit could be a clogged drain valve that’s easy to fix. We’ll tell you how! Want to be comfortable this winter? Adding insulation is the most cost effective and smartest energy saving improvem...
Sep 27, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Are you living with the heating system that was in your house when you bought it? Old furnaces and boilers can be inefficient. We help you figure out if a replacement or conversion to another tup of heat is worth it. If you’ve shopped for a house in what’s been a crazy market, you probably spent more than you wanted to. That leaves little for hidden home repairs that can cost you big bucks. We identify the top home buying hazards to watch out for. 90% of homes in America are wasting ...
Sep 24, 2021•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: For renters, heat is a big expense you might feel you can’t change. We’ll share tips to save money heating your apartment that won’t require any major changes and make you a lot more comfortable. Do have a deck with cracked or splintery boards that needs a refresh? We share tips on the easiest way to repair deck boards and re-stain the deck for the season ahead. Is your driveway worn, chipped or suffering from nasty oil stains? We’ve got a sure-fire solution to clean up driveway stai...
Sep 20, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Just about time to wrap up gardening for the year. But if you had a greenhouse, you can extend your gardening well into the Fall! Plus, you can start back up even earlier next spring. We’ll share the best DIY Greenhouse Kits to hook you up with a 4-season crop of veggies. When you flick on the bathroom light first thing in the morning, do you scare yourself? That frightening reflection may not actually be all you – just bad bathroom lighting. We’ll share tips to help you improve your...
Sep 16, 2021•39 min•Ep 2136•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Buying new replacement windows can be confusing. But if you learn how to read a single label that’s required for every new window, finding the best window becomes instantly simplified. We walk you through what to look for. Leftover paint can feel like a headache when every other aspect of a project is done. But with a little imagination and creative flair, we share ideas to use paint that is left over to give your home extra appeal…and have lots of fun in the process. A firewood pile...
Sep 13, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: As we head into Fall, it’s a good time to assess your home’s insulation needs. Most homes simply don’t have enough and that results in higher than necessary heating bills as well as a very uncomfortable space. We’ll share a new insulation product that’ll allow you to get the insulation job done fast and safe. Fall is also the time of year when beautiful foliage assembles into a rotted rooftop mess when gutters get clogged! We’ll explain how a clogged gutter can lead to everything fro...
Sep 09, 2021•38 min•Ep 2134•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: College parents beware, we are about to enter “silly season” when real estate agents press young, inexperienced students to sign leases that are chock full of ridiculous requirements, and stiff fines and fees that anyone renting outside of a college town would find ludicrous. We’ll tell you what to look for to prepare your young renters from these predatory practices. As the end of summer approaches, it'll soon be time to bring the green inside with houseplants. But if you feel like ...
Sep 06, 2021•39 min•Ep 2133•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: With fall approaching, and you might be wondering if replacing old or drafty windows is a wise move. We walk you through 7 key questions to ask yourself to determine if this project is right for you. Painting seems like a simple DIY project but that’s exactly why it is even more frustrating than ever when your painting project comes out badly. We’ll share pro painting tips to help. As we head into pandemic season two, many Americans will continue to work from home fueling the need fo...
Sep 02, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Your house is your biggest investment – but how much, exactly, should you set aside for the cost of home maintenance? We share a simple formula to help you determine what that is. Floors need to handle wear and tear and be easy to clean. But when you have pets, that durability raises to a whole new level! We’ll share what you need to know to choose pet friendly floors that can handle that kind of traffic. Painting the exterior of your home is one of the most important types of home m...
Aug 30, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: (Episode Summary, and Links) Have you ever taken a shower and received a blast of water that was freezing cold or scalding hot? That’s what we call shower shock! Tom explains exactly why this happens and how to stop the shower-shock for good. By now, garages are usually a mess of toys, tools and toxins like lawn chemicals and paints – all of which are too close to each other for comfort. We share garage organization solutions that can help. If you’ve ever tried to repair old, worn-ou...
Aug 26, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Painting your kitchen cabinets is one of the most popular ways to update a kitchen. But can this DIY project deliver the same level of beauty and durability of a factory applied finish? It can - if we get the painting steps right! Tom & Leslie walk you through what you need to know to get Instagram worthy results! If a vacation home is out of reach… you might want to consider GLAMPING instead! Glamping is short for “glamor camping” and we’ll share tips on how to do just that by conve...
Aug 23, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Buying new lawn furniture this summer was a challenge due to the disruption of the pandemic. That's why now may be a good time to build your own. We’ll help by walking you through how to build one of the most iconic pieces of outdoor furniture, the Adirondack chair, including a source for detailed step-by-step plans to build your own Adirondack Chair. If you’ve taken on paint projects, you may know that using a primer is the first step to making sure your paint project comes out exac...
Aug 19, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Post pandemic, 65 percent of people house hunting demand one feature more than any other. The pandemic has changed a lot about how we buy things and that includes what we look for in a new home! We share the list of new home buyer demands. If you’ve ever taken on a tiling project, you may know that some of the more inconvenient parts of the project are that it’s messy and takes DAYS because you have to wait for the adhesive to set, before you can grout. We’ll show you a trick of the ...
Aug 16, 2021•39 min•Ep 2127•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Replacing your garage door can be a simple and affordable project that delivers a 94% return on investment when the house is sold. Get tips on the many styles, colors and designs for garage doors and how to choose from and how to a garage door that rights for you. As the saying goes, good fences make great neighbors. But as simple as it seems, adding a fence is something many DIY’rs get wrong. We’ll walk you tips for picking out the best fence so you can get it right, the first time....
Aug 12, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Consumer Reports is out with the Top Toilets for 2021! We will flush out the details – including the very unusual way they test toilets using plastic balls, screws and sponges to simulate the real thing! If you’re buying a new home, you’ll have lots of options to choose from. But many of these don’t really have to be done when the house is being built. We’ll tell you which upgrades make sense to buy from the builder, and which you can get done on your own – and often save a lot of ex...
Aug 09, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Do you need more storage space? Who doesn’t! We’ll explain the many nooks and crannies where storage space hides that you may never have thought of! Breathing fresh clean air inside your home is more important today than ever. But during these hot “dog days” of summer, you don’t have to throw open windows and let in hot humid air to get it! We’ll share easy ways to make sure the air INSIDE your home is as clean as possible. Adding a backyard deck is one sure-fire way to increase your...
Aug 05, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Show notes: Every summer, the #1 danger for children is drowning! Tom & Leslie share a pool safety system you can put in place to help makes sure that tragedy never strikes close to home. It’s National Garage Sales Day and that time of year when millions of folks transform their garages and yards into a storefront to get rid of the junk they no longer want! whether you need to clear garage clutter or maybe make a few bucks, or both, we’ll have tips to help your garage sale go smoothly, including...
Aug 02, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Want to refresh your home with new décor but aren’t sure if your budget is ready to handle the hit. We’ll share 5 ways to save lots of money decorating your home sweet home. The real estate market is very hot and for first time home buyers, that makes it even tougher to find an affordable house. We’ll share new data on the best and worst markets for first time buyers. Window screens let fresh air into your home, while keeping pesky bugs out! If yours aren’t doing the job, we’ll tell ...
Jul 29, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: During summer’s hottest months, buying a pool may seem like a pretty good idea. But several pool pitfalls that can lead to a real financial soaking. Tom & Leslie share dos and don’ts. If you’ve ever picked up lumber for a project that measure 2 by anything (like 2x4, 2x8 and so on) did you ever notice that the wood actually measures a lot less? We’ll share what happens to all that missing wood you thought you were paying for. Homeowners insurance is an important way to protect yourse...
Jul 26, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SHOW NOTES: Learn how to keep your lawn green and healthy through the hottest months of the summer, plus how to handle droughts or water restrictions. Drain clogs can be a real hassle – but they don’t have to be complicated to free up. We’ll share quick solutions to get things flowing. If you love to grow herbs in your garden for cooking, many of the most popular also can be used as herbal medicines. We’ll share a few of the most popular If your gas grill needs a mid-season grill cleaning? The s...
Jul 22, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
