Casa al Día: Home Sweet Home

Need a hand to fix up your home on a tight budget? The crew at Casa Al Día is here to help.

Home repairs can be very expensive! And home improvements? Even a simple entertainment center built to your specifications can be a budget buster. But now, there’s one program on Spanish language television that can help you make home improvement dreams a reality… because it shows you how to do the work yourself!

Nexos Latinos recently met with host CC Limardo and project director Manuel Zamudio, the stars of Casa al Día on Galavision. This “just do it” team is all about showing you the benefits of doing it yourself. “The cost is in the manual labor,” CC tells us. “With the right materials you can make a real transformation on a tight budget, since there are many options on the market.” She adds, “On the show, we also focus on tackling the small problems that happen so often, like a drip, or a moisture problem… we show our audience how easy it is to make the repairs themselves.”

CC and Manuel have their specific roles on the show. CC, the hostess, often takes the place of the talented but less experienced renovator… she learns, she explains, she wields the occasional paintbrush. Manuel’s role is more active. “I design, measure, make exact calculations as to the material we’ll need, shop, ensure that everything arrives on time…I work with the equipment. Let’s say I’m the one who gives the orders,” he says, laughing.

“I help him,” CC continues. “I pick up, and glue, and work on demolition as well. I get involved with projects and demonstrate that women can work on their homes too,” explains CC. When you have contractors helping, it’s also important to understand what is going on. “When there’s a professional working on your home you have to learn how things are done , so you know the process for transforming a bathroom, removing and replacing old furniture, tearing down a wall.”

Manuel has great faith in CC’s abilities. “I’ve put my thumb by the nail and she’s put her hand on the hammer and I trust her.” He does, however, have a word of caution about safety. “But we have to be very careful with power tools. It’s important not to use them unless you’ve been well trained.”

As spring approaches, CC is passionate about beautifying the home from the outside in. “I like gardening very much,” she tells us. “I think it’s fascinating and, over all, gratifying to see how things like fertilizing will lead to the enjoyment of a garden of flowers, or your own vegetables in season.”

“We’re like bears,” Manuel says. “We stop hibernating and need to get to work. It never ends when you have a home, and this is a very good time for annual maintenance. After the ice melts we need to clean the gutters…caulk the windows…clean the chimneys… If you want to preserve and enjoy your home, you have to put time into it.”

CC believes it’s important to keep an eye on the budget. “All year long, you have to know which projects are your priorities.” She believes in keeping a constant eye on things that cause damage: moisture, leaky pipes, mold. Disaster prevention comes first, painting and kitchen renovations come later.

Manuel agrees. “A plumber costs $85-$100 an hour.” With five minutes of preventative maintenance, this is an expenditure that can easily be saved.

Of course, Manuel acknowledges that in the spring, homeowners may want to do some entertainment-related work at home…like create a new showcase for their HDTV. “That’s easy now,” he says. “The important thing is to run the cables behind the walls, to keep the installation as clean as possible…You’ll enjoy your TV whether it’s on or off.”

In the 2011 season, CC and Manuel will be taking on some really interesting projects on Casa al Dia. You can watch Casa al Dia on Galavision, Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30 am ET. Show segments can be watched on You Tube, too.