This time of the year is a great time to paint your house.  The weather is between 50 and 70degrees outside and it’s dry.  And you know it’s not hard to paint your home, just get the right tools and the right paint.  Don’t shell out 5 to 8 thousand dollars on painting the outside of your home.  Coronado Crylicote runs about $25. per gallon and a gallon covers 3-400 sq feet.  That’s a wall 10 ft high and 40 ft long.  So if you are looking at a estimate for painting the house- take out the cost of the paint- and you will understand where the real cost is  when having your house painted, labor.  So don’t skimp on the paint, get a paint that is formulated for south Texas.  A lady came into the store the other day and told me she painted her house 34 years ago with Coronado (then it was called Negley) and she said all she needed to do was wash it down with Jomax to make it look good.  So when you buy paint- ask questions- paint all looks the same on the outside of the can.  When you look at the house, do any of the areas have peeling paint?  If so then you need to sand and then prime with an oil based primer.  Oil based primer takes a tooth into the wood.  If you have some rotting wood, take care of that first with a product made by Min/Wax.  They make a hardener, and then wood dough.  Don’t remove all the rotted wood, just leave it.  After using the Minwax- the wood will harden up like when it was new wood, and if you have any voided area- fill with the dough.  Sand it smooth in about 20 minutes and let it cure for 24 hours and then you can paint away.  If you don’t have any peeling paint and no rotten areas just wash the house down with Jomax and then let dry.  You may decide – that was all it really needed.  

Now to the e-mail…..

Question:  What is the best product to clean my deck with, and then I want to stain it with something that will last more than a year.  

Answer:  The best deck wash is called EZ Deck Wash.  Just put it in a pump up sprayer and spray away.  Then rinse with clear water.  My favorite stain is Cabot.  It comes in a semi transparent stain that has more pigment which protects your wood, but since it’s a semi transparent you can still see the grain of the wood.  

Question:  I have a concrete patio that I want to paint- but I have heard that it won’t last.  Is that true?

Answer:  Don’t paint the concrete- stain it.  Use the Mason’s Select by Ducks Back.  It’s not an acid stain so it’s easy to use.  If it’s an old patio you will need to etch the concrete first.  Use a product called Safe Solutions.  If it’s a new patio- you just need to make sure that the concrete is clean.  

Question:  I have silicone caulking around by tub that is so ugly – it’s always mildewed.  So how can I remove it?  

Answer:  Remove it with a product called DeSolvIt (dissolve it).  Just spray it around the caulking and then it will just lift off.  Then use a caulking called Poly Seam Seal.  It won’t mildew and it’s an adhesive also.  So if one of the tiles came off – put it back on the Poly Seam Seal.  

Question:  I have older parents that live with me.  Even though I have bars on the tub walls for them to hold to – they say that the tub is still slippery.  I don’t need for one of them to fall.  Short of those adhesive stick ons- what can I use?

Answer:  Use a product called Grip On.  Clean the tub and then put the Grip On in a sponge and rub it around the tub floor and up the walls of the tub.  If you have tile on the floor – use it on the floor also.  It is clear- and you can’t even tell it’s on the tub or floors- they just won’t be able to slip anymore.

Question:  Hey Johnnie I just finished going thru 2 years of clipping of your articles looking for the name of the stuff to put out around your baseboards to get rid of roaches and I can’t find the article.  Please e-mail me the name.

Answer:  It was called Blast but now it’s called Shoo-Fly- same product but with a name change.

Got a question for Johnnie? Tune in to Johnnie's radio show Saturday mornings on KTSA (5500 AM) from 9-11 or call 828-8907. Reach him on the web at www.AcmeLumber.com.