Full Show 3/7/2026: Home Improvement is All About Building Science

·1 hr 9 min·2 clips

A good rule of thumb is 15 to 20 minutes after you've finished bathing, with the bathroom door closed.

1. The Home Improvement Show (March 7, 2026) on the Big 870 covers building science for the Gulf South's hot, humid climate, which gets 50 to 60 inches of annual rainfall. 2. Host Paul takes listener calls and texts at 504-260-1870, and opens the show with Matt, who owns the new 18,000-square-foot Ace Hardware at 731 Veterans in Metairie and two other stores. 3. Paul's thesis is that "all these things are connected": windows, insulation, lighting and AC sizing together affect humidity, indoor air quality and building durability, which is why he takes a whole-house approach. 4. Matt describes the grand opening, with grilling demonstrations, snowballs and giveaways of a Weber grill and Ego battery-powered weed eater and lawnmower, and says his other stores are Basil's Ace Hardware on Transcontinental and one in Diamondhead, Mississippi. 5. Paul says he stopped recommending AC brands because quality differences have narrowed and many parts are made overseas, so he tells buyers to weigh in-house warranties and a "matched" system sized by a Manual J load, and to expect to pay more than "Chuck in the truck." 6. Caller Char has pulled out two furnaces in a two-story house whose plenum is about 70 years old, and Paul tells her to get a Manual J load, ask her contractor for a 90%-efficient sealed-combustion furnace, and ceiling-off and insulate the closet to stop attic air causing condensation. 7. A listener asks about fortified roofing for a 2,700-square-foot North Shore house, and Paul explains it goes above Louisiana's minimum code and advises getting insurance premium quotes for fortified versus code-level roofs. 8. On bathroom fans, Paul says to run a properly sized fan, rated for 75 to 100 CFM in a small hall bath, for 15 to 20 minutes with the door closed, and notes that the rated airflow drops once ductwork and a damper are attached. 9. He advises against running the central air fan in the "on" position alongside a portable dehumidifier, because the fan blows air across the wet coil and puts moisture back into the house, and suggests moving the dehumidifier from the kitchen by day to the bedroom at night. 10. Anyone planning an AC replacement, roof work or moisture fixes in a humid climate would get the most from this.

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