EP47 – February 24, 2018: Area Rugs, Ask RepcoLite: Poly Over Paint, Refinishing Wood Floors, & The Hidden Tape Measure

 

Hiding underneath our carpet (in many of our homes at least!) are beautiful hardwood floors. Or, at least they could one day be beautiful! All it takes is a little elbow grease, a little commitment, and a little know-how and you can turn those old floors into conversation pieces in your home! On today’s show we tell you the basics of what a hardwood floor refinishing project looks like. We also highlight a number of interesting and remarkably helpful tricks that almost every single tape measure can do!

Listen here:

Show notes for episode 047:

Understanding how to use area rugs is a struggle for many people. Where do you use one? How do you use one? What if you don't have wood floors or tile? Can you still add a rug?

Lucky for us, Nick Sargent from Johnson Carpet One in Grandville is going to help us with the dos and don'ts of area rugs.

This is another "Ask RepcoLite" segment. We had a listener post a great question on our Facebook page. She wanted to know if it was a good idea to put a polyurethane over her newly painted cabinets.

We answer her question and give you some reasons you might want to think twice before adding the extra coats.

There is nothing quite like finding hidden treasure. It's even better when you find it in your home! Are you standing on some right now?

Wood floors are not only beautiful, but they add character and value to your home. And refinishing or refurbishing them might not really be as bad as you think!

Did you know your tape measure has magical powers? It can actually do math!! It's filled with all kinds of information that many of us don't even know about. We'll explain as much as we can as quickly as we can.

But if you want even more, here is a video from the Essential Craftsman that will give you even more hidden tape measure potential.

EP19 – August 12, 2017: Adventures in Furniture Refinishing, Masking Tape Woes, Streak-Free Window Cleaning Miracle, and Carpet Care 101

 

Paint projects shouldn’t be daunting. Or complicated. Most of the time, any struggles we’ve ever had come from not knowing a few tricks that the professionals know. Today we talk about a number of ways to get beautiful results whenever you use masking tape!

Listen here:

Show notes for episode 019:

Some people may have heard this segment before, but Kim DeBoer had such good information. She told us where to find furniture to refinish and how to tell if it's worth buying. It's a project that is well worth the time and effort. You end up with a truly unique, one of a kind piece of furniture you can be proud of.

Kim DeBoer is a professional painting contractor who does a lot of furniture refinishing on the side. She's been doing this for herself and her customers for years!

We took Kim's advice and went hunting for the perfect piece. We picked up this very sad looking desk for about $50, but thought it might have potential. We were pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful wood top under many layers of paint. We now have a one-of-a-kind desk that we can be proud of!

Have you ever finished a painting project, all excited to pull the tape off and see the fruits of your labor, only to find that paint has bled under the tape and you now have all kinds of touch up to do?

We've all been there. Our paint project goes so well until the tape comes off. Maybe paint has bled under the tape. Maybe the tape pulled paint off the wall. We've got some of the most common tape complaints, when it comes to painting, and the solutions for them.

Many of us dread washing windows because it takes so long and it's so hard to get them streak and spot free. As soon as the sun is at just the right angle, we can see (very clearly!) every swipe of the rag we made.

  We tried the top three window cleaning solutions we found on the internet, and this is the one we thought worked the best.

Magic Cleaner #1

1/2 gal. warm water

1 Tbsp. Jet Dry

2-3 Tbsp. Dawn

  The other solutions we tried were:

Magic Cleaner #2

1/2 bottle Jet Dry

4 Tbsp. Alcohol

1/4 c. ammonia

1 handful powdered dishwasher soap

2 gal. hot water

Magic Cleaner #3

2 c. water

1/4 c. vinegar

1/2 tsp Dawn

New carpet is a huge investment and no one wants to do it often. But most people are unaware that the way they clean their carpet and what they clean it with, can actually void their warranty or even wear it out faster.

Nick Sargent from Johnson Carpet One joins us in the studio to discuss the finer points of carpet care.

And in the segment, Nick talks about Capture Carpet Cleaner. We said we'd include a link. And here it is!