The Inside Outside Guys – Page 2 – The Inside Outside Guys

The Inside Outside Guys: Repair Your Crumbling Driveway with Vuba Stone

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, July 16, 2026 ~ One of the great things about our show is that The Guys get to talk about construction, a topic we are passionate about. Our nearly 90 years of combined experience only serves to inspire curiosity regarding new materials and techniques. We have seen buildings constructed out of foam blocks, rammed earth, reinforced concrete, steel, geodesic domes, and composite units that resemble oversized Legos.

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The Inside Outside Guys: Concrete vs. Asphalt for Your Driveway

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, July 2, 2026 ~ Paved driveways are a luxury. If you have ever been forced to park on a rutted, dirt path that is puddled with recent rainwater, you understand the convenience of exiting your car on a smooth, relatively dry, surface. But the question begs as to the correct surface to pave that drive with. In the past it was common to simply create two tire paths in the grass lawn to accommodate a vehicle.

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The Inside Outside Guys: Why Energy Codes Matter for a New Home

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, June 25, 2026 ~ The Guys recently spoke about energy conservation codes and their application to new homes. What we did not speak of was the nuts and bolts regarding the code application, specifically. The codes require minimum insulation values, rated windows and doors, total building performance, and high-efficiency mechanical systems.

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Inside Outside Guys: The Hidden Danger of Modern Energy Codes

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, June 18, 2026 ~ It is Feb. 15th and the temperature outside is 20 degrees. Your home is a comfortable 72 degrees when, suddenly, there is a power outage. That 52-degree difference begins to dissipate as the house cools. How long your domicile stays cozy is a measure of how well insulated and air-sealed the building is.

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The Inside Outside Guys: Know Your Rights When Hiring a Home Contractor

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, June 11, 2026 ~ It is an interesting and typical scenario. I am a roofing contractor who receives a request to visit your home and inspect the roof for a possible replacement. After a thorough inspection of the 40-year-old installation, I present you with a written proposal for a full tear-off and replacement. You react with dismay that I would “try to sell you something,” when all you requested was an inspection.

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The Inside Outside Guys: How to Pick the Right Windows for Your Home

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, June 4, 2026 ~ Windows. They’re all the same. It’s glass surrounded by frame material, right? Wrong. We get a lot of great questions from listeners on the cusp of making an investment in new windows and if there is one thing we’ve learned, it’s that few people understand the nuance of the product, the installers, and the selling retailer.

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The Inside Outside Guys Give Tips for a Perfect Concrete Pour this Season

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, May 28, 2026 ~ The air and the ground have finally warmed up, and we are now firmly into concrete season. The redi-mix trucks are rolling daily to various job locations, and our email inquiries are full of great questions from listeners anticipating a concrete placement.

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Inside Outside Guys: Why Good Employees Make Home Projects More Costly

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, May 14, 2026 ~ Why is everything related to construction so expensive today? Homeowners have expressed “sticker shock” when pricing any maintenance or new construction item. When the pandemic hit, manufacturers and product installers alike were surprised to see a major uptick in consumer purchases related to home improvement.

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Inside Outside Guys: ‘Sump Pumps’ Defend Against Flooding

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, May 9, 2026 ~ They are largely unnoticed and underappreciated. They may rest quietly for days or weeks on end in the bottom of a pit until conditions demand they do their work to save our basements and crawl spaces from potential flooding.

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The Inside Outside Guys: Fire Prevention

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein DETROIT, April 30, 2026 ~ Look for yourself or someone you love in the following statistics. In 2025 in Michigan, 106 people lost their lives in house fires, with smoking the No. 1 cause, followed by electrical issues and heating devices. There were no working fire alarms in 32% of those tragedies, and 29% of the fatalities were disabled persons.