EPISODE #115 - SATURDAY JUNE 16, 2012

We are just a week away from summer! I know it is hard to believe with all the rain we have been having, but the good weather is on the way. It is also Father’s Day weekend and time for relaxing. We spent part of this week’s show at Iorio Restaurant (503-445-4716) in Southeast Portland and enjoyed a nice meal. It is a great place to take dad! In fact, in a couple of weeks we will be returning to the restaurant and learning how to make a gluten-free Gnocchi.

If you didn’t get a chance to like us on Facebook yet we have a great reason for you to do it now. If you like us on Facebook you will automatically be entered to win a stencil kit from Cutting Edge Stencils. We showcased this product on the show a few weeks back and a lot of people asked us about the product, well here is your chance to win a stencil kit for yourself. We will be drawing a winner after this weekend’s show.

Lonesomeville Home Design

A few weeks ago we visited with Wayne, one of the people behind Lonesomeville Pottery (503-774-5387). This week we returned to tour the 100 year old house where they are located. This home has been completely gutted; it was condemned when they first bought it. They have kept what they could, but replaced stuff as needed and tried to keep the character of the home. In older homes like this the bedrooms are miniscule. There was no room for closets, most people simply kept ‘wardrobes’ (tall portable closets) as pieces of furniture. Wayne and his partners have tried to reach a happy medium as they have redesigned the house. That means they have found interesting ways to include closet space in each room. They do this by building cabinetry around the beds. Instead of headboards and nightstands they have ‘built-in’ closets and storage areas around and over the beds. This also allows for some design elements that they have around the house to be incorporated into the woodwork in the bedrooms. It ties it all together. You can check out some pictures of the house on their website. While you are there be sure to take a look at some of their outstanding pottery!

Ludeman’s Fire Pits

The summer is all about outdoor entertaining and creating the right atmosphere is key to setting the mood. We stopped by Ludeman’s Patio Store (503-646-6409) to learn about the new trends in outdoor furnishings. Mark Ludeman talked to David about outdoor living areas. These days that means deep seating and fire pits. Fire pits are more than just an outdoor cauldron that you throw logs into. These are high tech burners that are part of the furniture. You can go with the old fashioned wood burning pieces, but now days they have gas burners that have colorful glass pieces around the flames. They can also be part of a table so when you are not using them they can be covered and used for food and drinks. The other part of entertaining outside is the new deep seating craze. Deep seating is large cushy chairs that are extremely comfortable! Both the fire pits and the new chairs come at ‘chat’ height which means that they are lower to the ground and more comfortable. The chairs are also made of newer material that can handle the wet and rainy conditions that we have here. If you would like to outfit your deck or patio and are looking for quality furnishings (we have had our Ludeman’s set for over a decade!) stop by and talk with Mark or any of his staff.

Wine Selection

Wine is a hot item on Northwest tables, and in Oregon the wine industry is known for award winning Pinot Noir. But what if you want to try something new? One of the places where you can be introduced to some new wines is the Barbur World Foods (503-244-0670) store in SW Portland. One of the city’s best wine experts is Jack Simmons and he is responsible for the great and diverse wine selection you will find at the store. And when we say diverse, we are not joking. There are wines from around the world here. We were surprised to find wines from Israel, Croatia, Romania and Lebanon among others. The selections match the offerings of the store which offers specialty foods from around the world. If you are looking to try something different Jack recommends that you look for wines with the same taste characteristics that you currently enjoy. If you like a sweet wine, then stay with a sweet wine, if you like dry, stay with a dry. Sometimes listening to the wine steward at your local supermarket can get you into trouble. A lot of the time they will recommend something that they like and it might not be right for you. You can also follow the ratings from Wine Spectator Magazine, but remember that they are based on the taste buds of the reviewer and may not match your own palate. Jack also recommended that you look for wines that you like that are made in different regions. For example, if you like Oregon pinot’s then try a pinot that is made in a different region in the world and compare the two.

One of the best ways of trying a wine is to stop by Barbur World Foods on Friday between 4 and 7am, and Saturdays between 3 and 6pm for tastings. Jack opens different wines and it’s a great way to find a new favorite!

Replacing a Dimmer Switch

Replacing a light switch can seem intimidating, but if you follow the right steps it can be done in just a few minutes. First of all, read all the instructions before you tackle any project! Today we showed you how to replace a dimmer switch. Robin shut off the power at the breaker panel before David took apart the old switch. Once he had it apart he double checked that the power had been shut off by using a voltage meter. You can pick one up at your local hardware store. He then removed the old switch by unscrewing the wire nuts. The new switch had 4 different wires. Most switches will have 3. For an ordinary switch you will find a red, black and green wire. For this one we had an extra wire. This extra wire was there in case we had another switch that would operate the light from the other side of the room. We just kept the extra wire capped. In attaching the wires, the wall had a black, white and a single copper wire. The blacks were tied together, the red from the switch went to the white in the wall and the copper was the ground and that one went to the green wire in the switch. You will want to keep the wires short so that they all can fit inside the junction box once you have them tied together with wire nuts.

Once everything is back in the junction box you will want to turn on the power and make sure the switch works before you put all your screws back. If it doesn’t work, double check your connections. If it does work go ahead and screw everything back into the wall and put on your switch plate to cover everything. If you run into problems or you feel like you are in over your head. Take a picture and return to the hardware store to get some help or call a certified electrician for some professional help!

Deck Protection

The summer is nearly here and it is time to refinish the deck to have it ready for the upcoming evenings of outdoor entertaining. To learn the steps we should take we stopped by Parr Lumber (866-214-7277) and talked to Amber. The key for your wood deck is to do the correct preparation before you start. If you have an older wood deck it probably looks pretty dull and grey. To get it back to its correct color you will need to clean and brighten it first. If you put the new stain on an old, unclean board it will look splotchy and uneven. The good news is that you can clean and brighten your deck in just one day! First you will need to get a good cleaner. There are fine products from Wolman and Superdeck, but you will need to check with a Parr expert to make sure that you get the right kind for your deck material. When you put the cleaner on your deck you need to work it around with a good stiff brush. After the cleaner is done, then you can use the brightener. Most of these brighteners will work on your deck while it is still wet. You can leave the brighteners on the surface for the recommended amount of time and just hose them off.

Once the deck is cleaned and brightened, then you can apply the new stain. There are lots of choices when it comes to stains. You can go from a semi-transparent which will allow you to see more of the natural grain in the wood to a solid stain which is more like paint. If you are changing the look of your deck and you are not sure about the new color, find a slightly hidden part of the deck and do a test patch. This will let you check the color before you do the whole deck. Wolman and Superdeck have great products here too, but we also talked about Penofin which has rosewood oils that will penetrate the wood and help protect it longer from UV damage and the RainCoat product which is more of a clear sealer. With most of these products you will need to redo the process every 2-3 years. Amber also recommends doing a thin coat to start with and then applying a second coat if needed.

If you have a new composite deck material they also have special cleaners for those that work great. If you need to clean and re-stain your deck, be sure to do the job right the first time with help from our friends at Parr.