Show Notes for September 19, 2009

What the Carey Bros. & Rebecca Cole are Talking About:
The Carey Brothers and Rebecca Cole talked water conservation with landscaping. What type of landscaping is best to conserve water? Is it really worth it? Among the many calls we received, the hosts answered questions on sound insulation, advice on buying a new HVAC system and cleaning grease and oil stains from concrete. Read the rest of the show notes to see what you missed and to start fixing your home up right.

Also:
HOW TO QUIET YOUR HOME
Noise used to be a problem that primarily affected people living in apartments, condos or other attached housing—think creaking floors, thumps on walls, loud music and thundering exercise equipment. And while noise persists for the condo crowd, it's also screaming its way into more densely populated suburbs.

Some state-of-the-art products can help with this problem, but first, a look at the classics:

--Drywall and/or insulation: Homeowners can add a layer of drywall or some insulation to the wall cavity. Both of these are easy and relatively inexpensive, but unfortunately, the difference is barely noticeable to the human ear.

--Party walls: A better way to reduce noise is with staggered studs or even a double-stud wall. This alternative is reserved for major remodels or new construction where new walls are to be built. It requires more material and labor, and you're going to lose several inches of floor space to the thicker wall.

--Resilient channels: Metal channels are attached to wall framing, and wallboard is then attached to the metal channels. The idea here is to "float" the wall, so sound is isolated. It's not a practical solution for existing construction, but it can deliver good results if everything is installed perfectly—small mistakes can ruin the added soundproofing.

These systems are still used, but they appear rather archaic when compared to new products that reduce sound that would otherwise penetrate windows, doors, ceilings, floors and walls.

Serious Materials has developed some of the simplest and most cost-effective products. For example, they make a wallboard called QuietRock that looks and is used like regular drywall, but includes a viscoelastic polymer—what they call their "special sauce." Simply stated, this treatment converts acoustic energy or "noise" to heat energy, which people can't hear.

What makes this product so exciting is that it can be applied directly over existing wallboard without the need to tear down existing walls. For example, a standard sheet of 5/8-inch gypsum board added to a typical drywall-and-stud wall reduces sound coming through the wall by about 2 decibels—barely enough to be noticeable. But one sheet of QuietRock added to a typical wall reduces the sound coming through by about 20 decibels—a 75 percent reduction in sound.

If you're remodeling a bedroom or home theater, all you need to do is screw on a layer of QuietRock and use an acoustic sealant around the perimeter. In new construction, one sheet of 5/8-inch QuietRock has the same noise reduction effect of eight sheets of standard drywall.

For the really noise challenged, Quiet Rock also manufactures floor and ceiling systems and windows—good news for the condo crowd.

CLEANING GREASE AND OIL STAINS FROM CONCRETE
A garage, carport, or driveway is the area where most of us allow our tired vehicles to rest between each use. More often than not, and depending upon the mechanical condition of the vehicle, there are oil and grease spots that decorate the concrete like litter on lawn. If this sounds familiar, do we have a formula for you. A couple of formulas actually, depending upon the severity of the stains.

Our first formula may cause your neighbors to wonder whether you're playing with a full deck when they see you using it to clean up the grease and oil spots on your driveway. Chances are, however, that once complete you'll be the envy of the neighborhood with the cleanest driveway on the block.
You'll need the following items. A small bag of cat litter, a few cans of a cola beverage, a nylon brush or stiff bristle broom, a mixing bucket, laundry detergent, bleach, eye protection and rubber gloves.

Start by completely covering the grease or oil with a thin layer of the cat litter and grind it in with the sole of your shoe. Sweep up the cat litter and pour enough of the cola beverage on to cover the entire area. Work the cola into the affected area with a scrub brush or bristle broom making sure to keep the entire area damp with the cola. Leave the cola on for about fifteen to twenty minutes or until it has stopped fizzing.

Next, rinse off all of the cola with fresh water. This will reveal a gray stain that can be whitened by scrubbing it with a solution of one cup of liquid chlorine bleach and one cup of laundry detergent in on gallon of very hot water.

If, on the other hand, your driveway, garage, or carport looks an Indy 500 pit stop chances are you'll need something that packs a more powerful punch! Start with the cat litter and cola, but if it doesn't do the trick than it's time to make a ten percent solution of muriatic acid
--that's one part muriatic acid to nine parts water. Caution: working with muriatic acid is dangerous! Be sure that you wear eye protection, rubber gloves to protect your hands and arms, and that there is plenty of ventilation. This project should not be attempted when there are children or small animals present.

Start by filling the bucket with water, and then add the acid. Pour the diluted acid over the area and work it in with a scrub brush or bristle broom being careful not to splash it to avoid damage to the surrounding area. Flush the entire area with fresh water after the solution has been in place for about ten minutes. More than one treatment may be required for those stains that only professional racecar drivers can appreciate.

More Information:
• Lam-Hammer - a new tool that’s been developed for installing interlocking laminate flooring.

• Polyseamseal - the best silicone sealant on the market, check out their “Speed Seal” and “Ever Bright” lines.

• Stainhandler - clean your roof & deck easily with the environmentally friendly cleaner.

• Tahoe Creamery - Tahoe Creamery produces all natural, gourmet ice cream equal to the fresh purity of Lake Tahoe.

• Premier Care in Bathing - Find out more bout the best walk-in bathtub/showers available.

• Quiet Rock - Sound-proof drywall solutions.

• Chef Jamie Gwen - Check out Chef Jamie’s website for great recipe ideas.

• Ergolab - Safe lift apparatus used for bathing.

• Springtail Control - Info on pest control.

• Environmental Turf - Environmentally friendly grass alternatives.

• Turf Battle Heats Up Over Limits on Water-Guzzling Landscapes - From The Wall Street Journal.

• Recall of the Week - Garlic Press/Slicers Recalled by Trudeau Corporation Due to Laceration Hazard.

If you need any more information about today's program, please contact us or post on our new Home Improvement Forum and we'll try to help you find what you need. Thanks for listening to On The House with the Carey Brothers!