The House P. I.

This is a show on kitchen maintenance from 2010 when my show aired on Fairfax Public Access

On this episode of The House P. I., the show that's all about houses with HGTV's original house detective. This week we're talking about asbestos in older homes. Asbestos was required to be out of building products in 1978 but what happened to all those houses where asbestos had been installed? Asbestos was used in many products found around the home, from vinyl floorings and adhesives to drywall, pop corn ceiling finishes, drop tile ceilings, siding, roofing, heating and air conditioning ducts and equipment and all types of insulation. There isn't a requirement to remove the asbestos in older homes so if you presently own a home or are purchasing a home that may contain asbestos products what do you need to know to live safely  in your home. Join me and my guest Dr Douglas Mose, Dr Mose in environmental scientist as well as a geologist and has worked with asbestos inspection for many years. Dr. Mose offers his tips and insights on living with asbestos, safely.

This week on The House P. I. radio show, the show that's all about houses with HGTV's original house detective, Reggie Marston. I'm talking with Nikki Fleming from the Consumer Product Safety Commision on child safety around the home. With summer just around the corner and the kid's getting out of school and heading to pools and playgrounds Nikki shares her insights on how to keep them safe and sound.

Join me and my guest as we discuss deck safety

This episode ot The House P. I., the show that's all about houses. My guest is Joe Loferski, Professor of Wood Science and Forest Products at Virginia Tech Universtiy. Joe's offering his insights and tips on how to keep that wood deck safe all summer long. Every year around this time the evening news is always reporting how a residential deck collapsed while a gradutation party or a wedding was was going on and people were injured or killed. Why do deck fail, how can you tell if your deck is safe. Join us as Joe discusses how decks fail and how to prevent catastrophic failure.

This episode of The House P. I. was supposed to air last Saturday but because of some techincal glitch it would air when the play button was pressed so I'm running the show this Saturday April 19

On this episode of The House P. I. my guest is Aaron Lepedis, The Garage Sale Millionaire. Aaron shares his tips on holding a successful garage sale and hoiw to walk away with money in your pocket. We also discuss what you need to know to attend garage sales, estate sales and flea markets and what to look for and how find the bargains

On this episode of The House P. I., the radio show all about houses. My guest this week is Jim Funkhouser, long time home inspector, past president of NOVA ASHI, past president of The National Home Inspectors exam board. Jim lays out the game plan for getting your house ready for the hot dog days of summer. With the brutal winter in the past many homes across the country were battered and beat by below average temperatures, snow storm ice storms and just about everything mother nature could throw at us in one winter. This is the time of year to take a little time and get the old abode in tip top shape for summer and all the summer storms that will come blowing in.

For Sale By Owner or better known in the Real Estate community as a FSBO. The Real Estate market is heating up and many folks around the country are putting their home on the market. Some of those folks are going to attempt to sell their home on their own without  a Realtor. There's many reasons home owners want to sell their own home; save money on realtor fees, maybe they're upside down with their mortgage and need as much money as possible to get out of their mortgage. Everyone has their own reasons, but folks that sell their own homes only get 69.76% of the value of the home compared to a Realtor assisted sale. My guest this week is Harvey Jacobs, well known Washingto DC real estate attorney, syndicated columnist, and a frequent national talk show contributor. Harvey shares his insights on how to go about selling your own home and actually put money in your pocket and not leave it on the settlement table. Harvey brings his many years of experience to the show and offers up sound advice for selling your home, such as how to determine what your home is worth, what are some of the disclosure requirements, and much more

On this episode of, The House P. I. radio show, the show that's all about houses with Reggie Marston, HGTV's original house detective. This week I'm talking with master plumber, author and trainer Kenny Hart. Kenny has 40 years experience as a plumber and HVAC contractor. Kenny shares his plumbing knowledge and tips on how to avoid common DIY plumbing errors that could seriously affect homeowners that have improperly altered the plumbing system in their homes. Kenny talks about issues such as contaminating your water supply by improperly connecting the potable water to the sewage system or whats commonly refered to as back flow prevention. How would you like to drink the dogs bath water because an improper connection siphoned the bath water into the drinking water supply in the house. Kenny also discusses safety issues with improperly installed water heaters. If a water heater isn't installed properly not only could the owner experience a leak but the water heater can explode.

On this weeks  episode of; The House P. I. radio show, the show that's all about houses with Reggie Marston, HGTV's original house detective. My guest this week is Lance MacNevin, Manager at Rehau Academy. Rehau is a manufacturer of PEX-a piping. PEX piping is used as potable water piping in residential construction plumbing systems as well as piping for radiant floor heating systems and snow melt systems for driveways and walkways. Rehau academy trains plumbing contractors, architects and engineers on the proper design and installation of PEX plumbing systems. Join us as Lance discusses the features, benefits and many uses for PEX piping as well as dispels some of the myths regarding PEX plumbing systems which have been mistaken for another piping system Polybutylene. Polybutylene piping was installed in residential housing and had a history of catastrophic failure before it was abandoned for use in residential construction in the mid nineteen ninety's. This show is a must for anyone involved in residential housing; from owners, purchasers, realtors inspectors, contractors or remodelers. PEX piping is gaining a foothold in the residential housing market and some anylsts believe in another 10 years or so it may over take the market. PEX is not your father's copper water pipes, your grandfather's galvanzied water pipes or your great grandfather's lead water pipes.

It's that time of year, winter is winding down and spring is right around the corner. The time of year that folks start thinking about gettine the house ready for summer. Why put a fresh coat of paint on the house, put in some new landscaping and fix that fence when the roof has all those black stains on the shingles as well as moss and algae. Join me Reggie Marston host of, The House P. I. radio show, the show that's all about houses and my guest Ryan Friedline, president of  A-Team roof cleaning as Ryan explains exactly what those stain are, where they come from and how to clean them off your roof so that not only will the area below your roof look great but the roof will also. This show will make your home look like the "diamond" of the neighborhood.

Keeping the fire in the fireplace On this Saturday's show for March 1, 2014, The House P. I. radio show, the show that's all about houses with Reggie Marston, HGTV's original "house detective." Fireplaces having been getting a real workout this winter. If the fireplace or woodstove and chimney haven't been properly serviced and maintained it could be a significant safety issue, with the possibility of catching the house on fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. Chimney Fires occur at an alarming rate in our country, over 25,000 chimney fires account for over 120 million dollars in damage to property every year. My guest this week is Chuck Hall president of Winston's Chimney service. Chuck was president of the VA. Association of Chimney & Hearth Professionals and sits on the B. O. D. of  The Chimney Safety Institute of America. Chuck shares his expertise on fireplace and chimney safety. Chuck offers tips on the best way to start a fire in the fireplace and discusses woodstove safety.

On this Saturday's show for Feb 22, 2014, The House P. I. radio show, the show that's all about houses with Reggie Marston, HGTV's original "house detective." My guest this week is Zak Dowell, president of Sustainable Home Energy Solutions. Zak and I discuss solar energy, whether for electricity, heating or hot water and whether solar energy is practical for your home. Zak covers all the bases of solar for the home and how to seal the home to make solar practical and cost effective. Zak talks about why to have an energy audit on the home before having solar installed to seal all the cracks and crevices around the home that lets conditioned air escape, and also the need for new energy efficent windows or possibly thermopane storm windows instead. If you've ever entertained the thought of installing a solar system in your home this is the show you should check out before investing major dollars in a solar system only to be disappointed with you ROI.

On this episode of The House P. I. with Reggie Marston, HGTV's original house detective. Join me and my guest David Scot, president of Fireside Hearth & Homes and Larry Boido, production manager for the Manassas, VA office of Fireside Hearth & Homes. Fireside Hearth & Homes is one of the largest manufacturer's of gas fireplaces in the country. David and Larry discuss all the in's and out's of owning gas fireplaces, whether direct vent gas fireplaces, retrofit vented on ventless gas logs for masonry fireplaces or the newer gas fireplace inserts. As a home inspector and inspecting thousands of gas fireplaces over the years possibly as many as 95% of gas fireplaces are not operating properly and are in need of professional evaluation and service.   When home owners move into a home with a gas fireplace, purchase a new home with an installed gas fireplace or upgrade their existing masonry fireplace to gas logs most folks don't read the directions for proper and safe operation of the gas equipment. As with all gas appliances the gas fireplaces require regular maintenance and service to ensure they're operating properly. David and Larry cover all the requirements for gas fireplaces and offer tips throughout the show on how to determine if your gas fireplace is installed properly and operating effiecently and safely. Did you know  that just operating a ceiling fan in the same room as a gas fireplace can cause the fireplace not to burn properly or possibly not vent the combustion gas to the exterior of the house causing a potential carbon monoxide hazard. Join us, 9 am Saturday morning. Phone lines will be open at the end of the show.

Join me, Reggie Marston, HGTV's original house detective and my guest Hollis Brown, President of the Home Inspector Training Academy as Hollis shares his insights on how to find a qualified, professional home inspector for the most important purchase of your life. Choosing the wrong home inspector for your home inspection could be a costly mistake if major issues are overlooked during the inspection. Hollis shares his tips on what quality's to look for in a home inspector; where to go to locate an inspector, how to interview an inspector, should you let you realtor choose your inspector, should price be the determining factor when choosing an inspector, what happens if the inspector misses an issue during the inspection and a lot more information on ensuring you hire the best inspector available.

Join me, Reggie Marston, the house P . I., HGTV's original House Detective and my guest, Lynn Bicknell, owner of Bicknell Painting, past president of the Washington Chapter of the Painting & Decorating Contractors of America as Lynn offers his thirty years of painting expertise on how to get the perfect paint job in your home. Lynn shares his three most important tips for achieving paint nirvana.

Join me, Reggie Marston the house p. i. and my guests, Lynn Williams and Tyler Lacy from Humane Wildlife Conflict Resolution, a pest management company located in the Washington, DC metro area as we discuss how to minimize pest infestation in your home. As a home inspector, probably 95% of homes I inspect have some manner of pest infestation. Mice are the #1 culprit to take up residence in the home followed by squirrels, bats, birds and raccoons. But it's not uncommon to find snakes in the house as well as chipmunks and an occasional possum or fox hanging out under a porch of front stoop. Once pests enter the home they can do significant damage to the home, even to the point of causing a house fire, but can also transmit diseases as well as creating hazardous waste issues which can only be removed by specially trained personel. Lynn and Tyler's company practice humane methods to move the pests out of the house and back to nature. Most states require trapped pests be euthanized in lieu of moving them to remote location to prevent the spread of diseases from one location to another. Listen in to see how Tyler incorporates different methods to get pests out of the house and how he prevents them from returning.

This episode of, "The House P. I." radio show, the show that's all about houses with HGTV's original House Detective, Reggie Marston. Join me and my guest Jane Grosslight as Jane makes "cents" of the new light bulb standards that have been phased in since 2012 and are just finishing up in 2014. Jane is a lighting expert and author of the book "Money in Your Pocket with a Bulb and a Socket." Jane's book details which incandescent light bulbs have been phased out over the past couple years and what light bulbs replace them. Jane offers tips on what are the right type of light bulbs to use throughout the house, whether compact fluorescent or L E D, and when not to use them. Some of Jane's tips include; compact fluorescent light bulbs shouldn't be installed in an enclosed fixture or fixtures that vibrate when in operation like a ceiling fan, and why LED light bulbs are better for exterior bug lights. Join us to find out why plus many more tips that can save you money. I'll even stick around the second hour after the show to answers any questions at 1 (323) 410-0008. If you ever have any questions about your house, email me at info@thehousepi.com and I'll answer your question on an upcoming show. For more information on the show, www.thehousepi.com. Hope you listen in Saturday morning, 9:00-11:00 AM or whenever the phone stops ringing, whichever comes first. The House P. I. is a national radio show distributed by the  Salem Radio Nework, www.srnradio.com

The House P. I. radio show, the show that's all about houses. Join me, Reggie Marston, the house p. i. and my guest Joe Daly, Director of Renovation Lending at Amerifirst Home Mortgage as we discuss renovation loans for that fixer upper, primarily FHA's 203K loan.