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This insect killer aerosol spray is made with a blend of natural oils, including clove oil and cottonseed oil. (The Home Depot)
An All-Natural Solution
Safer Home Ant, Roach & Spider Killer is a multi-insect spray that works on various household insects like ants, roaches, spiders, flies, silverfish, fleas, and more.
It’s made with natural oils like clove oil and cottonseed oil and it contains no harsh chemicals, so it’s safe for use around children and pets when used as directed.
The contact-kill formula works fast to kill 100% of ants, flies, and roaches within three minutes.
Plus, the aerosol spray and contains no CFCs, so it’s ozone-friendly.
This aerosol is CFC free, meaning it contains none of the gases that damage our ozone layer. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Easy Application
The aerosol spray bottle makes application a breeze. Holding the bottle eight to 12 inches from your target, spray directly on pests until wet, but not to the point of saturation.
There’s no residue to wipe up — the spray will dry without cleanup.
It is perfect for use in pantries, behind baseboards, in cracks and crevices, around windows and doors, and in attics, basements, crawl spaces, and other areas of your home.
Effective Pest Control
This insect killer solution eliminates a variety of insect pests, including:
Everyone loves the look of real wood flooring, but real wood can be easily damaged even with the best finish. Lifeproof’s new luxury vinyl plank flooring is designed to give you the look you want while it stands up to the bumps and scrapes of life.
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Lifeproof high-traffic vinyl has extreme scratch and dent resistance to protect your floor from wear and tear. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Innovative rigid core technology makes this flooring more dent-resistant and hides subfloor imperfections. So, you can install it over most existing surfaces, like tile, wood, concrete and vinyl.
The flooring also comes with a pre-attached underlayment, which helps reduce sound and feels more comfortable under your feet.
Lifeproof luxury vinyl plank flooring is 100% waterproof, making it an affordable alternative to hardwood flooring that is easy to maintain and clean. (The Home Depot)
Because it’s waterproof, you can clean it with a wet or steam mop!
It has anti-microbial protection for the lifetime of the product that inhibits the growth of odor and stain-causing mold and mildew on both the top surface and the pad.
Lifeproof vinyl flooring is an easy DIY or professional installation. Simply drop, lock, and tap into place and the room is done. (The Home Depot)
Easy Installation
This vinyl plank flooring is easy to install — simply drop, lock, and tap into place and the room is done.
It doesn’t require any acclimation and can withstand extreme temperatures from -25 degrees F to 155 degrees F, so you can even install it in sunrooms.
Lifeproof Waterproof High Traffic Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring is available in 11 authentic wood look colors, and they’re backed by a Lifetime Residential Warranty.
Watch the video to learn all about this Best New Product!
This week, hear how to insulate around recessed lighting, plus the best options for vinyl floor underlayment. (3 Echoes Content Studio/psahota, Getty Images)
Hour 1
Hear underlayment options for vinyl plank flooring, a tip for insulating around recessed lights, and more.
Underlayment for Vinyl Plank Flooring
The proper underlayment for vinyl plank flooring will block out moisture and serve as insulation. (psahota, Getty Images)
Paul in Illinois wants to replace the carpet on the lower level of his tri-level home with vinyl plank flooring. This level is on a concrete slab, and the floor gets very cold in the wintertime.
He wants to know if he can put a quarter-inch or half-inch high-density foam board under the flooring to act as insulation between the concrete floor and the flooring.
“Will that cause problems with trapping moisture under that?” he asks.
Having existing carpet there will be a pretty good test of moisture accumulation. If you pull the carpet up and don’t see signs of moisture damage, he should be fine.
In terms of putting anything dense over the slab, any layer will certainly help insulate it a little bit. A quarter-inch underlayment, glued and screwed down properly, will work well, and some would even say it’s overkill.
Check with the vinyl floor manufacturer first. Some are very specific about what types of underlayment to use. Some will allow a very thin underlayment, no more than an eighth of an inch, and others don’t recommend one.
Vinyl plank flooring doesn’t have structural stability or strength like engineered wood flooring or plastic laminate. Anything underneath that might be soft could make the floor unstable. You could get some waviness and some joint separation.
Try Homasote ComfortBase. It’s an engineered bottom surface that provides a built-in ventilation system that allows concrete to breathe naturally without causing panels to curl or bow.
Insulating Recessed Lights
Inside air can escape through the crevices around recessed lights. Make sure there’s a proper layer of insulation above them. (DepositPhotos)
Adding insulation to your attic is one of the best returns on your home improvement dollar. And, it’s a lot easier than you think because you don’t have to do it all at once. Every time you put a piece of insulation in your attic, you’re going to be saving money.
But, if you have recessed lights, how do you insulate those? Some units have an IC rating, meaning they can come in contact with insulation. If your units don’t have this rating, here’s what you need to do:
Change to LEDs if you haven’t already. This will reduce the amount of heat generated by the lights.
Create 1-by-1-by-1 baskets from hardware cloth, pull the insulation back, and set each basket on top of the drywall, encasing the can.
Then cover it with insulation.
Attic insulation should have an R-value of 36-38. You can achieve this by adding about 13-14 inches of insulation.
Hour 2
Listen for an easy way to cut insulation, how to remove metal dust from a painted door and more.
Easy Way to Cut Insulation
To cut thick batts or rolls of fiberglass insulation easily, use an extendable utility knife that has snap-off blades. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
To cut insulation squarely and accurately use a utility knife with snap-off blade. Extend the blade all the way out and lock it. The resulting 3- to 4-inch blade will make it easier to cut through thick batts of insulation.
Position the insulation on a piece of scrap plywood where you want to cut it.
Lay the straight edge of a piece of wood across the insulation.
Kneel on one end of the insulation to compress it and run the blade down the edge of the wood for a nice square cut.
For thicker pieces of fiberglass insulation use a board to compact the insulation and provide a straight edge for cutting.
Remember, to keep the fibers from irritating your skin wear a long-sleeved shirt, pants, gloves, dust mask and safety glasses.
Tightly secured pins in door hinges can shave off metal dust over time. (Photo illustration: Jupiterimages, Photo Images)
Kristin in Oregon recently installed new hinges on all the doors in her master bedroom, closet and bathroom.
Now, after about six months, there’s black dust on the newly painted doors all around the hinges.
“Any idea what’s causing this? And how do I clean it off?” she asks.
Assuming no one put graphite lubricant on it, it’s probably metal dust. Because they’re new, the pins are probably lodged tightly inside the hinge, and the friction is causing the dust to deposit on the door.
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Sponge will wipe those dust spots right off. They’re not abrasive, to they won’t damage the new paint job on your doors.
Sooner or later, enough metal will rub off the pins, and they won’t create this black dust, but there is a way to prevent this:
Tap out the hinge pins
Sand them with 120-grit sandpaper
Buff them clean
Apply a single bead of light machine oil to the pins
Spooky season is creeping up on us, so it’s time to start thinking about ways to bring the spirit of Halloween to your fall decor.
From the scary to the silly, The Home Depot has a wide variety of fall and Halloween decorations that will set the tone no matter what your personal style.
Or, do you prefer more silly and family-family friendly yard fare? The Home Depot offers inflatables featuring some favorite Hollywood characters from classic films and shows – perfect for the kids!
For a more hands-on approach, The Home Depot has a wide variety of projects on HomeDepot.com that are perfect to round out your Halloween collection this year, from how to decorate and carve a pumpkin, to how to make a jack-o’lantern flower pot or candy holder for your porch.
Best New Product
Don’t wait to fix a roof leak after it rains. With Henry’s new Purpose Crystal Clear Sealant, you can patch your roof while it’s still wet! Learn more >>
Simple Solutions
When painting, tear off a sheet of plastic food wrap to the length needed, and apply it, adhesive side down, to the surface you want to protect. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Press-in-Place Paint Protection — Protect surfaces from paint spatters by covering them with adhesive-backed plastic food wrap, such as Glad’s Press/N Seal.
This trick is great for protecting items that can’t easily be moved out of the way, such as toilets, light fixtures, sinks and counters.
Restore wood glue to its original consistency with some water and a hex-key wrench. (EasyBuy4u, Getty Images Signature)
Rescue Old Wood Glue — When old wood glue becomes too thick to dispense easily, twist off the bottle top and pour out as much glue as possible into a small bowl.
Then, add a couple of tablespoons of water and mix with a hex-key wrench chucked into a drill.
When the glue is the right consistency, pour it back into its original bottle.
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Further Reading
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Danny Lipford chats about home fire safety with Steven Millhouse and Dwight Smith with Mobile Fire-Rescue. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
October is National Fire Prevention Month, so this week, I’m chatting with Capt. Dwight Smith and Steven Millhouse with Mobile Fire-Rescue in Alabama about their top fire safety tips for homeowners.
Once you’ve escaped a house fire, never go back inside to retrieve any items. (davelogan, Getty Images Signature)
Stephen: The first thing is to actually have a plan. Many don’t even consider it until an emergency happens. You want to have a plan in place especially if you have small children or elderly people living with you as well.
Know the sound of the smoke alarm.
Practice escaping the home safely.
Know your means of egress, whether it’s the nearest door or window if you have a multi-story home.
Let your children practice crawling. You can make it like a game to make it fun for them.
Have a safe meeting spot outside, whether it’s the mailbox, a big tree at the end of the driveway, or a neighbor’s house.
Get out and stay out. Don’t run back in for pets, photo albums or anything like that. Call 911 and let the professionals do their job.
Dwight: To expand on having children practice crawling, making it like a game also makes it a reality to them because it makes them familiar with what they need to do.
Direct them to feel on doors, and tell them if it feels hot, then they should go to the window.
Even though you’re teaching this to them as a game, you’re familiarizing them on how to get out of the house in case there’s a fire.
Every home needs a multi-purpose fire extinguisher. (photo_chaz, Getty Images Signature)
Dwight: A typical home should have at least two fire extinguishers: one for the laundry room and one for the kitchen.
Know what type of fire extinguisher you need. Fire extinguishers are categorized according to the class of fire they extinguish — Class A, Class B, Class C, Class, D, and Class K.
Class of Fire
Description
Class A Fires
Fires in ordinary combustible materials, such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber, and many plastics.
Class B Fires
Fires in flammable liquids, combustible liquids, petroleum greases, tars, oils, oil-based paints, solvents, lacquers, alcohols, and flammable gases.
Class C Fires
Fires that involve energized electrical equipment.
Class D Fires
Fires in combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, zirconium, sodium, lithium, and potassium.
Class K Fires
Fires in cooking appliances that involve combustible cooking media (vegetable or animal oils and fats).
In most cases, homeowners need a multiple-purpose fire extinguisher, which is classified as A, B and C.
The number one cause of fires in a home is unattended cooking. (Pears2295, Getty Images Signature)
House Fires
What are some of the hazards that lead to a house fire?
Stephen: The number one cause of fires in a home is unattended cooking. This usually happens in the kitchen, but depending on the time of year it could happen outside.
During football season and summer when people are grilling, a fire could easily happen outside. If you’re using a deep frier, grill or smoker, you can’t cook if you’re not in that area.
As a fire safety precaution, stay there and attend to whatever you’re cooking, and have an outdoor fire extinguisher nearby, so you’re prepared in case something happens.
Also, before you leave your home, add making sure your iron and oven are off to your mental checklist of things you need to do.
The batteries in most modern smoke detectors last for 10 years, but you should still regularly check them. (Kevin Brine, Getty Images)
Smoke Detectors
What’s some smoke detector maintenance homeowners should know?
Dwight: You should replace your smoke detector after 10 years. Mobile Fire-Rescue has a program to change out smoke alarms and batteries for citizens, and we’ve seen a lot of smoke alarms that are more than 20 years old that are not working.
Stephen: Test your smoke alarm to make sure it’s still operational.If you hear that chirping sound, don’t ignore it. That means it’s time to change out your smoke alarm batteries.
Always place a space heater on a hard, flat surface. (-aniaostudio-, Getty Images
Space Heaters
What are some fire safety tips for space heaters?
Stephen: The best thing you can do when using a space heater is follow the manufacturer’s guidelines and give it space.
You can’t operate a space heater if you’re not in that room. It’s supplemental heat for a small area, so it’s not meant to heat an entire room or home.
Plug the space heater directly into a wall outlet and never into an extension cord.
Keep it at least 3 feet away from anything.
Operate it on a flat, hard surface. Don’t put it on a carpet or rug or anywhere it might tip over.
Don’t put it on a table or under a desk. It’s tempting to do this in an office setting to warm your feet, but it’s easy to forget that it’s there.
Stephen: An important part of fire safety is sweeping your chimney at least once a year, especially just before you light it at the start of a new season.
Every season, there are all kinds of things that could be in that chimney — squirrels, birds, leaves, sticks, brush, anything that’s accumulated while you haven’t been using it.
Have it professionally inspected, cleaned and swept before you light it for cold weather months.
Further Reading
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Stone wool’s sound-absorbing and fire-resistant properties make for effective insulation. (ROCKWOOL)
In this special Today’s Homeowner Podcast, we’re talking all about stone wool insulation with Dan Edelman, Rockwool’s National Business Development Manager.
Stone wool insulation is fire-resistant and non-combustible, giving your family more time to safely escape a house fire. (ROCKWOOL)
What is ROCKWOOL insulation?
Dan: ROCKWOOL insulation is a rock-based mineral fiber insulation comprised of Basalt rock and Recycled Slag. Basalt is a volcanic rock (abundant in the earth), and slag is a by-product of the steel and copper industry. The minerals are melted and spun into fibers.
ROCKWOOL products contain between 16% or 40% pre-consumer recycled material dependent on the ROCKWOOL manufacturing facility location.
The amount of recycled content is optimized to provide the ideal thermal, acoustic, and fire protection properties from ROCKWOOL products, while still maximizing the recycled content.
ROCKWOOL’s History
Rockwool’s manufacturing facility in Byhalia, Miss., was the company’s first production operation in the United States. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Dan: ROCKWOOL company began in 1937 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the company expanded to the North American market in 1988.
So, our product is relatively new to North America, but historically it’s been around for quite some time now. We just opened up a new advanced factory in Ranson, West Virginia.
All of our factories are zero waste-to-landfill, and because stone wool insulation is hydrophobic, we use recycled rainwater to cut it. Even our factories that are wind- and water-powered are self-generating.
Not only is Rockwool insulation extremely fire-resistant, it also works to contain fire and prevent its spread. (Rockwool)
Dan: ROCKWOOL stone wool insulation is naturally fire-resistant because it’s made from rock. We don’t have to add any fire retardants or chemicals that increase flammability, so it’s never going to carry a flame and has zero smoke development.
Another advantage is mold resistance. ROCKWOOL stone wool insulation actually repels water. There will always be moisture in the air, especially when you’re talking about crawlspaces and attics.
Being able to repel that moisture away and forever being a mold and mildew-resistant product, it’s going to help with the durability of your wall assembly as well.
Attic Insulation
An attic is one of the most cost-effective areas to add insulation. (ROCKWOOL)
Dan: ROCKWOOL insulation batts come in 16-inch on center or 24-inch on center by 47 or 48 inches long, which is the perfect size for insulating attics. They fit perfectly between the studs, so you get that full cavity insulation.
Step one when installing attic insulation is to inspect the current insulation. Make sure there’s no moisture, mold mildew, rodent droppings or rodents living there. Rodents don’t primarily care for ROCKWOOL insulation.
After inspection, simply lay the batts down perpendicular to the joists, especially if the existing insulation is only to the joists.
If the existing insulation is below the joists, you’ll want to fill up to the joist line so you get more continuous insulation.
ROCKWOOL insulation typically has a 4.2 to 4.3 per inch R-value, so you actually don’t need quite as much to hit the higher R-value. However, we have products with a higher R-value primarily for attics.
Rockwool Safe’n’Sound is designed specifically for sound dampening to help prevent noise from traveling. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
What About Sound Insulation?
Dan: The best thing for sound insulation is density and mass, both of which ROCKWOOL has.
The other part to sound insulation is friction fit, how tight it fits in that wall cavity. If you have one area that you can’t insulate properly, all the sound is going through that one section and you’re reducing that sound insulation.
When the house at the end of the cul-de-sac hasn’t changed in 28 years, it’s time for some front porch rehab.
This house belongs to Jeff and Eliese McAllister. The couple, known as Lolli and Pop to their grandchildren, want to update the front porch on “Camp Lollipop” so their grandchildren can enjoy their front yard as much as their children did while growing up.
The porch is blocked off by tall shrubs and is too narrow for the couple to comfortably sit and watch their grandchildren play.
And that’s where we can help!
The Projects
“Open concept” isn’t just for interiors! We’re opening up this front porch.
Opening Up the Front Porch
Removing the shrubs and handrails blocking Jeff and Eliese’s front-yard view is our first big job.
We have to pressure-wash the house to create a clean slate to start our work. Jeff and I remove shrubs, with the help of the couple’s grandsons, while Chelsea and Eliese tackle the handrails.
This is what happens when your wood isn’t treated before painting or staining it.
Because the wood handrails aren’t treated, they are rotting away. So, knocking them out with a sledgehammer is the best way to open up the porch — and, maybe, release some tension along the way.
After removing the handrails, we apply putty and sand the columns so it’s like they were never there, to begin with.
Repairing siding isn’t just a cosmetic fix; it can prevent bigger problems later on if the elements enter your home.
Repairing the Shutters and Dormers
This curb appeal makeover requires more than opening up the front porch. We’ve noticed some problems that needed immediate fixes!
First, we repair the ground floor’s damaged shutters. Then, we get up on the roof to repair siding on the dormers. Of the 12 shutters on the front of this house, just one set has a little wood rot. So, Jeff doesn’t want to replace them all.
Since none of these pieces were standard lumber sizes, we had to cut them down on the table saw. Chelsea used the old pieces as a pattern to cut new pieces from the fiber cement material.
A Woodcraft WoodRiver General Purpose Carbide Tipped Saw Blade comes in handy when you need to make custom cuts.
This front porch is coming along, but it could use more character. We will paint the porch to add some.
Painting the Front Porch
After all the repairs were done, we put a fresh coat of paint on the siding, trim and front porch ceiling. The green shutters clashed with the red-tinted wood door, so we painted them gray to tone it down.
The painted pattern adds a pop of color to this front porch.
The concrete on the front porch has seen better days. Instead of gutting the concrete, we painted a pattern on it using a stencil! It’s a great way to give your concrete a fresh look without breaking the bank.
Spreading out the new flowerbeds adds to the open feeling.
Planting New Flowerbeds
Next, we added some fresh landscaping. Before, the plants were too concentrated at the front of the porch, so we spread them out to maintain the open space feel.
Finally, we put down a fresh layer of pine straw to finish off the flowerbed.
We also:
Added address numbers to the porch column
Removed the intercom/doorbell
Installed a new porch light
Installed soffit vents
Replaced the rocking chairs
“Today’s Homeowner” hosts Danny Lipford and Chelsea Lipford Wolf, pictured with Jeff and Eliese McAllister.
Post-Production Thoughts
This front porch rehab really brings things full circle: Jeff and Eliese’s kids grew up here, and now they’re seeing their grandkids grow here.
At one point, the couple thought about selling the house. But with this new front yard, they’re happy to be able to stay in the home they raised their kids, and now, their grandkids as well.
