The Handyguys take two fan questions on very different topics. Destructive squirrels and carpeting options for a basement.

Squirrels

The Handyguys received the following question from Larry, a listener of the show:

Hi, I have squirrels eating away at the lead pipe flashing (roof jack). that surround the PVC vent pipes that extend out of the roof and along some fascia boards. In searching for a solution, one person said they may be missing a mineral in their diet. Another said they chew to keep their teeth from growing to long.

1. Any truth to these?
2. Any idea why they eat lead pipe flashing (roof jack)?
3. How can I stop them permanently from eating the lead pipe flashing (roof jack) and fascia boards?
4. How can I repair the lead pipe flashing (roof jack) with buying entirely new pipe flashing and lifting shingles?

Larry – We aren’t completely sure why the squirrels are trying to get into your house. Brian’s guess is they want to come in out of the cold.  Regardless you don’t want the squirrels destroying your house. We suggest you begin an agressive relocation program. You can get a trap and easily relocate the squirrels. Check out this one from Havahart.

As for repair – You should just replace the boot on the pipe vent through your roof. You can use Bondo for the Fascia. We discuss some other options in the podcast. Make sure you give it a listen.

Carpet for your basement

The Handyguys then take a question from Eric about carpet for his basement:

First, off just wanted to say great site and great information.

Here is my situation. Carpet and the basement. My wife and I are nearly done with our basement and ready to pick out and put in some nice carpet. But we have no idea how to buy carpet or what sort of padding is best to put under the carpet. Our basement is a solid poured concrete floor and walls. We have no water or any moisture to really mention a small dehumidifier runs occasionally and the basement seems dry.

We have 3 young kids and one big dog and would like a carpet and padding that would be able to hold up.

Thanks

Eric

The Handyguys discuss some different carpet options. Both Brian & Paul are in agreement that a decent pad that is not absorbent is a must. Also, you may want to consider commercial carpet as well.

Loop Berber	Commercial
Twist pile Mohawk SmartStrand	Padding

What are you doing lately?

We wrap up the show with a discussion about some cabinets that are pulling off the wall because they are overloaded. These are a decent brand of cabinets. Brian was able to add some screws into the soffit to hold them until the cabinets are repaired.

Handyguy Paul installs some new porch posts

In this show we discuss installing new porch posts and the many choices beyond the traditional wood posts.

Some materials:

• Wood
• PVC
• FRP (Fiberglass-reinforced Polymer)

The Handyguys discuss some advantages and dis-advantages of each. We then discuss some things to consider when installing new porch posts. Paul installed the FRP posts. Listen to the podcast for all the details.

The Handyguys, Brian and Paul, first take a question from our call in line regarding repair of rotted porch posts. We then move into a Head to Head tool challenge to test out jigsaws and then wrap up with a new segment Buy, Borrow or Rent. We also discuss tool borrowing Etiquette.

Listener Questions

First off, the Handyguys answer a good question from one of our listeners regarding the repair of some porch posts. Our caller listened to our episode regarding using Bondo to repair rotted wood.  His posts were too far gone for repair so The Handyguys recommend replacing the posts. Listen to the Podcast to hear the question and Brian and Paul’s response. Brian and Paul provide some good information to help you evaluate how to go about such a repair.

Head to Head Tool Challenge

The Handyguys then move to the garage to test out two jigsaws.  Their tests pit a cheap jigsaw against a finely tuned cutting machine. The Handyguys devised three different tests: cutting a curved line in 1/2″ plywood, cutting 4″ circle in 5/4 cedar and cutting a piece of 2x pressure treated southern yellow pine. The cut in the pressure treated lumber might be similar to creating an interesting detail on the end of a rafter for a pergola.

The tests were done with similar toothed blades in the same condition. The Bosch jigsaw handled all cuts without breaking a sweat. The Skill jigsaw could not even finish the cut in the pressure treated 2x material. The finished cut of the pressure treated material, using the Bosch, was square to the face of the board; a key indicator of a quality jigsaw. The Skill was almost uncontrollable in the thinner softer material and did not create a clean cut.

Buy, borrow, rent or steal

The Handyguys discuss the merits of renting versus borrowing versus buying tools. Being tool junkies, the Handyguys usually prefer to own their own tools but renting or borrowing makes sense if it is a one-time-use tool. What about borrowing? The Handyguys will lend certain tools to people and are not afraid to borrow tools either.

Listen to their take on Borrowing etiquette. Oh, and you cant borrow Brian’s chainsaw but he will be glad to help you with some cutting tasks.

Remember, its not too late to enter the drawing for our EcoGlue and tool bag giveaway. The winner will be drawn and announced August 7th. To enter the drawing just subscribe to our email announcement of new shows. More details can be found in our Episode 25 show on glues.

The Handyguys answer a question about using bondo on rotted wood and they discuss the different varieties of ladders.

The Handyguys Brian & Paul answer a question about using Bondo for wood repairs submitted by Moe.

Question

My house was built in the late 70′s and lately I’ve noticed that some of the windowsills (exterior) have patches of rot. Replacing a windowsill seems like it might be beyond my expertise so I’m wondering about removing the rot and filling it with something. I’m told Bondo is a bad idea. Do you have any recommendations on what to use and how to tackle a job like this?”

Thanks for contacting us Moe. This is a great question.

The Handyguys start off discussion what Bondo is and how it can be used for wood repair applications.

Below are excerpts of The Handyguys email responses to Moe. More details are available in the podcast.

My first inclination is to replace the rotted wood. Weather or not you need to do this depends on the extent of the damage. Feel free to email us a few pictures and we can give you a better assessment. In my opinion replacing the wood is actually easier and looks significantly better when done. I sometimes have trouble making a patch disappear after I paint. If replacing the wood is definitely out then you have a few general steps.

1) Remove ALL loose wood, rotted wood, dust and debris. If you do not get out the rot it may continue deeper. A tool like a Dremel can help with this along with scrapers, utility knives and so forth.
Dremel
http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/the-handy-guys-store?B0000302XV
Carving Bits
http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/the-handy-guys-store?B00005LEXW

2) Harden remaining fibers
There are products made for this such as
http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/the-handy-guys-store?B000BPINKS
Or, if you had a ready supply of Cyanoacrylate (super glue) you could use that to harden the fibers (the liquid type, not the gel)

3) Fill with exterior grade wood filler such as
http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/the-handy-guys-store?B000BQL0WA

4) Sand smooth

5) Prime and paint

The hard part is when you have edge details or unusual shapes.

I have never used Bondo but I do not see why your couldn’t as long as you went through getting the old rot out and hardening the fibers first.

Handyguy Brian

And Paul’s 2cents

Moe,

Just to piggy back on what Brian already said. I have used bondo on exterior wood applications and I like it. I used the version that is sold in the paint section of the big box stores for just this application. I think it is the same as the auto version.

I have used Bondo on a rotted porch post. I cleaned out as much rot as possible and applied the Bondo. It hardens fast so you have to get used to it. In my opinion Bondo works better for exterior applications then most other wood fillers for this purpose.

My porch posts have held up great. Make sure you prime and paint after it hardens. You can do this same day I believe because it hardens so fast.

Here is a link to Bondo for wood. (Sorry, its not available in our store)

http://www.3m.com/US/auto_marine_aero/Bondo/catalog_item27aa.html?itemNbr=119

Good Luck,

Handyguy Paul

The Handyguys then go on to speculate that Moe may need to work from a ladder and realize that they didn’t include ladders in their home toolkit show. This evolves into a discussion about various types of ladders.

Types of ladders discussed

Typical A frames in fiberglass, wood and aluminum. Paul likes the ones with fancy attachments.

Extension ladder pros and cons in fiberglass, aluminum and wood are discussed.

Brian likes the Little giant type

http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/the-handy-guys-store?B0000224MC

Paul highly recommends a ladder stabilizer with any extension ladder.

http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/the-handy-guys-store?B0000224MC