Remodeling History at The White House For President's Day Week! Print

We talk through some emails we received from listener's during the week and correct some mispronunciations and other fun corrections.

John Jay from Harper's Nursery share his history with the show too!

Callers:

• Jackie - She's a longtime listener who has suggestions for our 4th Hour of the show....No cooking....no politics either......stick with the gardening or home improvement.

*We share some of Rosie's first shows....it wasn't exactly "radio magic," but it sure is funny now.

Jennifer talks "BUGS":

• Statistics on how many of their parts are allowed in your food.  
• Some folks are eating bugs for their health benefits too. Cricket Tacos!
• Learn more at the Edible Baja Magazine.
• If you're allergic to seafood, you're allergic to crickets too.
• Did you know they make cricket flour?
• Check out these products from Chapul!

Letters from Listeners:

• Romey talks through alternatives for a caller who wanted advice on building a cabin in Northern Arizona. He found a cabin builder called Arched Cabins he likes.

• We also talk through a housing project in Phoenix using storage containers, called Container's On Grand.

• Karen wrote in and wanted to know if it'd be okay to buy a Franklin ProSensor Stud-Finder?

• Darla need a recommendation on buying mulch in Tucson. She can call Romeo Tree Service or Tank's Green Stuff.

John Jay from Harper's Nursery & Landscaping Company joins us to take questions about anything to do in your landscape or garden!

Tip of the Week:  Keeping up with our theme, Jay shares how to decide if a plant is worthy of a "presidential" garden.

• Just because it looks bad in a container, doesn't eliminate the plant.
• Knowing what it will look like and how big it will grow and how much space you'll need to make it look good.
• Plants named after a President. (Lincoln Rose Bush, Washingtonia Palm Tree, etc.)

*Rosie talks geocaching and shares a few stories.

*Jay talks about the landscape conditions in Washington D.C.

*We talk through caring for your landscape & garden while frost is still a possibility.

For Pruning Classes, call John at Integrity Tree Service or find more classes at Grow Phoenix with our good friend, Greg Peterson of The Urban Farm.  

Romey & Jay talk through lawn care and what to expect the next few months with your winter lawn.

Callers:

• Dave - He's a gardener and wanted to recommend a book called "Great American Gardens" and talks about some of his favorite stops around the country.   

Recommendations - Jay, Rosie and Romey discuss their dream trips if KTAR picked up the tab....

It's time to get working on those spring and vegetable gardens! Make sure it's done and established before it gets too hot.

*What plants are considered "winter plants" and "summer plants" for your garden?

Tip: Plant veggies and fruit plants you like....don't plant a grapefruit tree if you don't like grapefruit.

Callers:

• Steve - He's new to Arizona and wants to start a garden. Can he grow potatoes here? 2nd Question...he's heard about growing a potato in a whiskey barrel. Can he do that with sweet potatoes?

Recommendation - Yes, but it's too late for Irish or White Potatoes, but he can start sweet potatoes and have them in time for Thanksgiving.  2nd Question....sweet potatoes grow differently, but it's worth a try so go for it. 

*If you're new to AZ, our favorite gardens are raised planters with stacked Belgaard Retaining Walls from Supertlite Block in Phoenix or Tucson.

• John - He went with his kids to a big box store and they bought a blueberry bush. Should he put it in the ground or in a planter?

Recommendation - Blueberries don't do that well here, so definitely put it in a planter. Blackberries do much better here.

Congratulations to Harper's Nursery as they celebrate 70 years in business this year!

Jay discusses what to beware of when buying plants at the bigger stores, instead of a locally owned nursery.   They buy in bulk, so it might not have plants that are specific to your area.  They buy for Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff markets together. Plants that are successful in one of those regions won't do well in another. Do your research! ( Even Better, Buy Locally!)

Caller:

• Jim - His prickly pear has black spots and they keep getting bigger.  He's cut off the infected pads, but it keeps coming back. What should he do?

Recommendation - It's probably a bug common to those that needs to be sprayed off and treated. The blacks spots are most likely the 2nd phase and caused by the white spots created by the bugs.

If you have gardening and landscaping questions for Jay, visit Harper's Nursery & Landscaping Company in Scottsdale!

*Rosie and Romey talk about their construction background.

Our goal at Rosie on the House is to be every Arizona homeowner's best friend!

*We recently we've updated our certified partners in the Referral Network. Make sure you're checking the site BEFORE you make a call!

Romey's Digital Newsroom:

• Beverly - She got a letter about replacing the water line to her home. Should she do it? 

Recommendation - Consumer Warning! This is a common insurance offer and if you haven't replaced the line yet, why pay for a replacement on something that hasn't broken yet? Be very very wary!

Callers:

• Linda - She's putting in a new shower in her master bath and wants to add a water softener. She wants some advice because she can't sort out all the promises being made by so many different companies.

Recommendation - This is a very confusing issue with a lot of bad advice out there.  We put together a consumer guide specifically for this issue. Click Here!

*Rosie breaks down the in's & out's of water treatment. Don't be afraid of salt!!! If they try to scare you with salt, it's a major red flag)

For Water Treatment in Phoenix, we recommend Water Treatment Technologies.

Callers:

• Dennis - He bought a water heater in 2008 with a 12 year warranty.  It's leaking and wants recommendations on a warranty service call?

Recommendation - The sticker with all the specific information should have an 800 number he can call.  Rosie walks him through the possible reasons for the leak and what he can do to verify it's installed correctly.

• Marilyn - She's taken down her smoke alarm and removed the batteries. It's still beeping and she can't figure out why?

Recommendation - Rosie is stumped......she needs to follow up with Jarred at TEKNA Security.

Sign up for the Sanderson Ford Arizona Staycation Here!!!

(Rosie talks through tons of events happening across the state this month.)

Special thanks to our partners: Sanderson Ford, Arizona Highways, The Arizona Office of Tourism, Cactus Candy Company, Cerretta Candy Company and Coyote Oaties.

Caller:

• Mark - He's read about new standards about new water heaters. He wants to know how that will affect existing suppliers and when it needs to be implemented?

Recommendation - The deadline is coming up in March and suppliers are allowed to sell the existing inventory.  Most of the water heaters already meet this standard, so its not a major concern. If it's used as a scare tactic to sell you new equipment, avoid that contractor. 

*We discuss new fireplace rules and regulations. It's a HUGE new book of standards.

We're talking through the remodeling history of The White House plus Your Home Improvement Questions.

• Tom at KAZM Radio has a fun story of touring the security facilities at the White House.
• Why it's called "The White House"
• Construction started in 1792.
• An Irish Architect named James Hobart designed the building. 
• The total cost was $232,000.
• The 1st President to live in the House....John Adams (1800 & Construction was NOT completed.
• 55,000 Square feet and 35 bathrooms.
• Thomas Jefferson demolished the outhouse.
•  President Fillmore was the first to have running water inside.
• Central Heating installed in 1837.
• Gas lights were installed in 1848.
• Pres. Fillmore was the 1st president to have a permanent bathtub with running water.

Rose called in to correct our pronunciation of Millard Fillmore, the 13th President and a member of the Whig Party.

More history of remodeling the White House.....Theodore Roosevelt was the first to take on major fixes in the 1900's. They were considering tearing it down, because it was so run down.

*Harry Truman's daughter had a piano fall through the White House floor.  They had to move out to the Blair House while the building was reinforced with steel.

We found the Millard Fillmore Campaign Song, The Millard Wagon.

Callers:

• Dennis - He called earlier about a water heater warranty issue and wanted to follow up.  He called the number on the warranty sticker, verified the warranty and was told to go right back to the store and simply pick up a new one. 

**This is a great reminder: FILL OUT YOUR WARRANTY CARDS AND SEND THEM IN!!!!  It probably saved Dennis anywhere from $300 to $700.

**If you saved money b/c of Rosie on the House, we ask you to pay it forward and donate places like Habitat for Humanity.

More Remodeling History of The White House:

• 1952...the skeleton is replaced. Wood goes out and steel beams installed to support the structure.  This was a 5.7 million dollar remodel.
• Rosie first memory of The White House...Jackie Kennedy's Tour on National Television in 1962. You can watch it here.  
• Richard Nixon installed a one lane bowling alley in the basement.
• Gerald Ford installed an outdoor swimming pool.
• Ronald Reagan installed an exercise room.
• Hillary Clinton installed a soundproof music room.
• Repainting the outside of The White House takes how many gallons?.?.? (We answer it during the next segment)

Caller:

• Roslyn - She's a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity! She installed new light fixtures with sensors on her garage. Now, one of them flickers like a strobe light. When she removes the sensor, the light works so what could be causing this?

Recommendation - Since she's a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, we're going to send someone out to take care of this for her. Romey removed the sensors at his home because they came on too much.

**We go back to our question from the last segment... How many gallons of paint does it take to paint the exterior of the 55,000 square feet of The White House:

Answer: Just under 600 gallons of paint.

One more White House Fact: Carter installed solar panels in 1979. Reagan removed them in 1981.  Obama has reinstalled them.

Join Rosie On The House Every Saturday Morning!!!