When a show starts off talking about home improvement and BURPING, then you know it’s going to be a good week! Believe it or not, it’s a legitimate topic! The type of belch we’re talking about is the process of creating a stronger bond when using construction adhesive. The trick is once you apply the adhesive to one surface, you press it into the surface you’re bonding to, then just slightly pull it away which makes a taffy-like stringy appearance where the adhesive is clinging to both surfaces. This allows air to infiltrate the construction adhesive and is also lovingly referred to as “burping” the adhesive! Try it next time you use any construction adhesive and you’ll see why we like it so much! And, if you missed that episode, you can watch it right here!

burp

Our first hour Pro is a special friend of ours, Ande Crenshaw, owner and operator of Mojo Faux Finishing based in Los Angeles, CA. Ande explained why a newly stained piece of furniture that looks perfect can turn an entirely different and unwanted color the minute you put a coat of clear polyurethane on it.

Ande Crenshaw
Ande Crenshaw, owner of Mojo Faux Finishing

WalletHub introduced their survey findings this week that listed the Most & Least Energy-Expensive States of 2016, based on the average monthly energy bill. Are you living in one of these?

Most Energy-Expensive States
Connecticut ($404)
Massachusetts ($346)
Rhode Island ($338)
Vermont ($332)
Georgia ($328)
North Dakota ($328)
Maine ($327)
New Hampshire ($325)
Indiana ($325)
Mississippi ($323)

Least Energy-Expensive States
Iowa ($270)
Montana ($265)
Idaho ($262)
California ($251)
New Mexico ($249)
Arizona ($247)
Oregon ($238)
Colorado ($235)
District of Columbia ($219)
Washington ($218)

Danny also shared some great ideas and tips for helping you immediately lower your energy bill. Here’s a full list:

  • Shut off lights when you leave the room: Get in the habit of turning off the lights when you leave a room. Unless you’re leaving a light on for security purposes, there’s little to be gained from letting lights burn when no one’s around to need them.
  • Close curtains and drapes to prevent heat gain: In the summer, shut curtains and drapes to prevent excess heat accumulation in your home from sunshine coming through the windows. In the winter, keep curtains open to get the extra heating benefits that sunshine provides.
  • Unplug appliances, electronics and other devices when you’re not using them: Many appliances and electronic devices will use a small amount of energy even if they’re turned off. Plug devices into a power strip that can be shut off when the items aren’t in use.
  • Change air filters: Check the air filter in your HVAC system monthly and change it as soon as dirt begins accumulating. Dirty filters are a major source of HVAC equipment malfunctions and breakdowns.
  • Turn down the temperature settings on the water heater: Water heating consumes a significant portion of a home’s monthly energy. Hot water is a necessity, but the temperature can usually be turned down while still providing plenty of water at a useful temperature. Turn the thermostat to 120 degrees for the best results.
  • Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs: Incandescent light bulbs are very common, but they can also consume significant amounts of energy. Replace these bulbs with compact fluorescent models. CFL bulbs can commonly reduce energy consumption by as much as 75 percent while still providing plenty of light for your household needs.
  • Start planning for replacements and upgrades: Check the age, condition and overall effectiveness of your current appliances and HVAC equipment. Start planning for replacing these items with high-efficiency models when they break down or are no longer effective. High-efficiency HVAC equipment, such as furnaces and air conditioners, can help you save energy dollars by slashing energy consumption for cooling and heating by half or more.
  • Schedule a preventive maintenance appointment: Contact your HVAC specialist to schedule preventive maintenance and checkups for your furnace, air conditioner or heat pump. Regular maintenance is the best way to keep heating and cooling systems working at their highest level of efficiency.
  • Find and seal air and energy leaks: Use caulking to seal around windows, window casings and door frames. Apply weatherstripping around edges of doors and windows to stop drafts. Make sure your HVAC ductwork is sealed at all connections to prevent loss of conditioned air before it reaches the inside of your home.
  • Install a programmable thermostat: Improve control over your HVAC equipment by installing and using programmable thermostats. These electronic devices give you numerous options for improving efficiency and energy use, such as pre-programmed set points that automatically reduce heating or cooling when it’s not needed.
  • Install low-flow plumbing fixtures: Replace existing plumbing fixtures, such as sink faucets, aerators and shower heads with low-flow fixtures. These devices provide sufficient amounts of water for household purposes while reducing overall water usage. This is especially useful in cutting down the amount of hot water used throughout your home.

If burping and home improvement wasn’t enough to pique your interest, then how about throwing a few chickens into the mix? We helped one Ohio homeowner trying to keep his chicken coop dry. Of course, a chicken topic couldn’t be complete without a few poultry puns. But the best part was reminiscing about a fantastic song by Ray Stevens: Chickens clucking out the old Glenn Miller tune, In the Mood.

singing-chickens

One of our most often requested formulas is the one to easily remove wallpaper (Click here to get a copy). It works fantastically, but the formula is from our good buddy Brian Santos, better known as The Wall Wizard. Today, Brian joined us to talk about wallpaper that has been painted over and begins to bubble, and what to do in order to fix that. Be sure to listen to Hour 2 above to hear his solution!

Brian Santos
Brian Santos a.k.a. The Wall Wizard

And, finally, let’s talk about the serious problem we have with…cat gangs… Ok, not really, but we did have a fun discussion about one listener’s tip for handling squirrels. As “the Cat Man” put it, leave the problem to the professionals…teams of cats living in your backyard. As he put it, they’re like four-legged ninjas! I love the idea of sheltering homeless cats, but make sure you have all your ninjas spayed or neutered!

ninja-cat

And, here’s a full list of the questions we tackled on this week’s show:

Hour 1

Steve in NE
I have a set of concrete steps that have been settling over the past few years. I’m pretty sure the settling has stopped, but I want to pour a cement cap on them to level them out. Can this be done and what do I need to know?

Jody in WV
We have a deck that the 2×6 treated floor never shrank, so no gaps for drainage. What can I do to put gaps in between the boards so I have drainage?

Mary in AL
My ceiling in my bathroom is in a constant state of mildew. I have tried, bleach, a new Nutone fan, scrapping the popcorn. I don’t know what else to do but replace the ceiling. I am worried if I replace the ceiling the mildew will come back. Please advise, I don’t know what to do and am worried the constant mildew will make my family sick.

Vicki in NC
We have paint splatters on our wood floor – some oil and some latex. Is here a way to remove them without damaging the finish? We don’t want to refinish the floors.

Linda in AL
You had a simple tip on a recent show about how to keep the medallion on the ceiling. You called it “burping”. I deleted that show in error and now cannot refer back to it. What was it that you used for the “glue”? Was it caulk? The center hole in the plastic medallion is just a tad too small and this keeps it from laying smoothly all the way around. What is the best way to trim it?

Heather in IN
My husband and I refinished an old trestle table as our dining room table. We stripped the previous stain, and stained it with a vinegar and steel wool mixture. It was a beautiful aged grey. After applying the matte poly, the table has turned a dark brown color. This is not the desired effect. My question is why did the color turn after the poly application, and is there a way to fix this without starting over? I don’t think the top can take much more sanding down.

Bill in PA
I’m making a carnival game from PVC rain gutter. I would like to paint the inside of the gutter. The painting instructions for the gutter states not to paint the interior. Is the interior surface different from the exterior such that the paint will not adhere, or can it be painted using the same process as for the exterior?

Hour 2

Larry in LA
We have some really nice interior pavers that I need to seal. What sort of preparation do I need to do beforehand?

Tim in OH
Some friends built me a chicken coop and used T11 for the siding. Today I noticed water in the coop on the floor. Could it be the seam is allowing this in? I can’t tell exactly, but after a rain I see water has come thru from somewhere. Should the seam be sealed somehow or what went wrong? I can’t get chicks yet until we have a waterproofed space.

Joan in SC
I watch your show every week and have learned a lot. We have an older home and are planning to remove the popcorn ceiling in our kitchen, paint it, and replace the overhead light fixture, which is currently a 4 ft. long fixture with 4 fluorescent tubes. One of us would like a stylish flush-mount fixture, 12-1/2″ wide, 6″ high, that uses two 100-watt bulbs. The other says that is too small. Who is right, and what size fixture and bulbs should we be looking for? Our kitchen gets some natural light.

Connie in CT
I have an old iron railing where one of the posts that goes into the cement porch has rusted and rotted. What can I do to secure it?

Vinny in NY
Our bedroom walls are painted-over wallpaper, which has developed some bubbling and is splitting open. I was thinking about slicing open any of the bubbles and pulling away as much of the wallpaper as I can. What is the best way to repair the walls after that?

Editorial Contributors
avatar for Danny Lipford

Danny Lipford

Founder

Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.

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