The Homeowners Show

Kevin Hackett and Craig Williams got a VIP tour of The Den, the career and technology education campus for Montgomery ISD, and superintendent Mark Ruffin walked them through it. The Den stands for Discover, Explore, Navigate. It is a standalone campus that serves students from Montgomery High School and Lake Creek High School, who either drive over or ride a shuttle, and most of the programs run two years and finish with a certification a student can take straight into a job.

They go program by program. Law enforcement has situational shooting simulators. Automotive services the district's fleet vehicles and teachers' cars, and it is open to the public for basic work like oil changes and tire rotations. The construction and architecture shop has SawStop table saws and a four by eight CNC, and Ruffin talked about eventually building a small home start to finish. Welding students were running TIG and MIG while the guys were there. The health services wing looks like an emergency room, with about twelve beds, a full size ambulance box, programmable patient dummies, and certifications in phlebotomy, CNA work and even running a gurney. Audio and video production has a full soundstage with wraparound green screens, an isolation room, a news desk with teleprompters and two podcast studios. Engineering and robotics has rows of 3D printers, metal fabrication, a programmable robot arm and three arenas built for robot battles, with camera positions above and a second floor balcony for spectators. Culinary arts is a teaching kitchen with roughly twelve individual stations, each with its own grill, stove and oven, tied to the chef's station by closed circuit TV, and connected through service and dish lines to a restaurant inside the school. Cosmetology has around 30 haircutting stations plus nails and facials, is open to the public on Thursdays and Saturdays, and places students in internships where many start building a client base before they graduate. Every lab has its own dedicated classroom attached to it, and the animal science and agriculture program sits at a separate facility they have not toured yet.

Before all of that, the two of them go through the college football weekend, including Texas Tech, Oklahoma's loss to Michigan, Alabama's close call at Kentucky, the Wake Forest and Purdue double overtime, Utah beating Arkansas 43 to 10, and former Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez recording 14 tackles in his Miami Dolphins debut while wearing the green dot.

They finish with the Lindsay Clancy trial, the single juror who would not convict, the mistrial that followed, and a conversation about what an insanity finding should mean now that state hospitals are largely gone. That turns into bears, Anthony Hopkins, and a recommendation for the 1997 movie The Edge.

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Kevin had a main fork of a big tree break off and land along his property line, and rather than pay a crew for an awkward job he bought an EGO 18 inch battery chainsaw. This episode is the whole story, from ruling out gas to standing in the aisle at Lowe's comparing specs.

The show starts on football. Texas Tech against Abilene Christian, the clock review at Michigan that put one second back on and gave Michigan a second Hail Mary, and Kevin's take after 21 years of officiating, including work in the Great American Conference. He reads the Big Ten statement and explains the rule about a ball needing to touch something out of bounds before the clock stops, then says plainly that officials should not change the outcome of a game. They also talk about the LSU eligibility fight, what NIL has done to team loyalty, and their picks for the season.

The tool talk is the meat. Kevin ruled out gas quickly because of the fuel and oil mixture, the carburetor gunk after a season sitting, and the pull start. Craig backs that up with a spray rig that would not start on a job site and cost him two hours and a trip to O'Reilly's to buy tools and pull the carburetor apart. Kevin compared the EGO to the Kobalt and found the Kobalt uses an 80 volt battery and costs a hundred dollars less, but its chain speed is 10.5 against 22 on the EGO. He then compared the EGO to a Stihl at the same 18 inch bar. The Stihl engine is 45.6 cc, the EGO is rated at 50, and Stihl does not publish a chain speed. The EGO was 400 dollars on sale with a 6 amp hour battery, and that battery alone is 389 dollars at Lowe's. Tool only on Amazon is 279. He also notes the one real drawback, a battery saw stops when it bogs down instead of trying to push through.

Craig talks about running Ryobi on 40 volts across 6 acres with three batteries, why bar length is not the same as power, and why he still mows with gas. He also shares what he and his son are building, a 6 by 12 test cabin to experiment with solar and water collection, and a reframed outdoor kitchen behind the party barn.

Kevin closes on the EGO 26 inch hedge trimmer, dual action blades, a 1.2 inch cutting capacity, and a handle that is a trigger all the way around and swivels into five locking positions, 179 dollars tool only. One local note worth having, Lowe's had no gas chainsaw on the floor. For gas, Tractor Supply and McCoy's both carry Stihl, and Tractor Supply usually has someone on staff who can repair it.

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Buy a Homeowners Show T-shirt: homeownersshow.com/merch
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH4BFMNUMhucjky9o9SWjSA?sub_confirmation=1
Every episode with full transcripts: homeownersshow.com/episodes
Facebook: facebook.com/homeownersshow
Instagram: instagram.com/homeownersshow
X: x.com/HomeownersThe
Questions or topic ideas: info@homeownersshow.com
Sustained Growth Solutions: a lead generation system built specifically for your business, so you never have to search for leads again. sustainedgrowthsolutions.com
Termisave: warranty your home against the threat of termites. Email info@termisave.com
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Craig and Kevin have a guest in the studio this week: Jessi Cowart, a lifelong Montgomery County resident from Oak Ridge North who is running for Texas House District 15 as a Libertarian. The seat is open because Steve Toth is running for Congress, and Jessi says that if she wins she would be the first Libertarian ever seated in the Texas House. She came across our radar after our last conversation about Flock cameras, and she has plenty to say about them.

First, civil asset forfeiture, which she calls legalized theft. Under the way Texas law is written the property itself becomes the defendant rather than the person, the burden of proof is almost nonexistent, and getting your property back is incredibly difficult even when you are never convicted of anything. Reform bills get filed every single legislative session and die every single session, and she puts that down to law enforcement lobby money rather than any real disagreement, since the Republican, Democrat, and Libertarian platforms in Texas all say they want it ended.

Then the cameras. Jessi announced this week that she has drafted the Texas Automatic License Plate Reader Prohibition Act, an outright ban on government use of automatic license plate readers with anti-circumvention language in it. If she is elected on November 3rd, bill filing opens November 9th, and she says this is her first order of business. Her Fourth Amendment argument is not about one license plate seen in public, it is about the aggregate: a searchable database of where you live, where you work, where you worship, and who you associate with. We also get into The Woodlands Township unanimously approving $109,000 for 30 more cameras in December, with roughly $90,000 a year in ongoing cost after that, and the separate $50 million agreement to permanently end the City of Houston's right to annex the community.

The longest stretch is property taxes, and she brought the math. Use the state budget surplus, which was running $27 to $28 billion at the start of last session and does not count the rainy day fund, to buy down school district M&O tax debt. Put real spending caps on local government, because Texas has five spending limits on the state and none at all on cities, MUDs, and school districts. Cut things like the $1.5 billion committed over ten years to Hollywood filmmaking in Texas. Then shift what remains toward sales tax without raising it astronomically. She thinks elimination in five years is realistic. Kevin tells the story of buying a house from an older woman who had a 65 and over exemption, and getting handed roughly $5,000 in back taxes two years later.

We close on homeowner ground: why the median age of a first time buyer is now 40, why Jessi wants more small starter homes, duplexes, and condos rather than the same single family build on every parcel, her idea for a permit clock so permitting delays stop getting priced into every new house, why developers rather than existing taxpayers should pay for new development, and Craig's 25 year old employee in downtown Conroe who lined up three roommates before he closed on his first house.

Jessi Cowart is on Facebook, Instagram, and X, and her campaign site is cowartfortexas.com

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This episode of the Homeowner's Show tackles a tricky refrigerator repair with a surprise twist, sharing valuable lessons about appliance parts and the importance of having the right tools. We also dive into common ice maker problems and the challenges of plumbing repairs, highlighting why proactive home maintenance is key. Plus, we celebrate the incredible life and legacy of the one and only Dolly Parton, sharing favorite songs and reflections on her lasting impact.

We're thrilled to unveil our completely redesigned website, HomeownersHow.com! Now you can easily find past episodes, search for specific topics, and even interact with us live. Don't miss out on our new newsletter to stay updated on all things Homeowner's Show – sign up today! And if you're in need of a great night's sleep, check out our sponsor, Brooklyn Bedding, for comfortable and affordable mattresses.
#HomeownerTips #ApplianceRepair #RefrigeratorRepair #DIYHome #PlumbingTips #DollyParton #HomeImprovement #HomeMaintenance #Podcast #NewWebsite #BrooklynBedding

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This episode of The Homeowner Show dives into a wide array of current events and hot topics. Hosts Kevin Hackett and Craig Williams kick things off by discussing the sweltering heat and its impact on outdoor work. They then transition into a detailed breakdown of the recent Candace Owens and Andrew Wilson debate, analyzing the claims made and the broader implications of such online discussions, particularly concerning their significant viewership and the nature of their content.

The conversation then shifts to economic and social trends, including a report on home builders starting to cut prices and offer incentives, a stark look at the average annual cost of home maintenance, and the surprising rise in HOA fees. They also delve into data about the top five cities people are exiting in 2025, with a focus on the reasons behind these population shifts, such as housing costs and quality of life. Finally, they touch upon the literary world, debating the merits of classics and the importance of reading, before wrapping up with a discussion on the growth of certain cities and the changing landscape of homeownership.
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Sustained Growth Solutions – Design a lead generation system specifically for your business so that you never have to search for leads again! We are a full digital marketing agency.

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