WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:04.040 KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp, The 2 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:07.719 House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app. 3 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:11.240 Here we go. 4 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:21.079 KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Hey, 5 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:24.760 welcome to home, where every week we help you better 6 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:29.359 understand that place where you live. I am Dean Sharp, 7 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:33.039 the House Whisper, or custom home Builder, custom home designer, 8 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.799 and your guide to turning your ordinary house into an 9 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:40.479 extraordinary home. Whether you are listening to us on the 10 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:44.399 local broadcast right here in southern California, or streaming us 11 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:49.359 digitally from wherever across the globe, here or anywhere else, 12 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:52.320 or if you joined in for another episode of The 13 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:55.039 House Whisper on demand podcast, I am just so very 14 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:58.719 glad that you are here. We are doing an all 15 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:02.359 calls weekend and nothing but your calls today, and I 16 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:03.920 want to get back to the phone so we can 17 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:07.079 get as many calls in as possible. I want to 18 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:10.560 talk to Nishe Niche. Welcome home. 19 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:15.359 I have a situation going on with my front lawn. 20 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:18.760 It hasn't worked its way to the backyard yet, hopefully 21 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:22.640 it doesn't. I have this statching going on. I'm not sure, 22 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:25.439 like what it is. I've been told it's possums. I've 23 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:28.200 been told it's raccoons. It's like, I go out and 24 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:30.439 all my grass has been ripped up, and I'm getting 25 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:33.480 these false spots in the lawn and I am not 26 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:34.920 sure how to make. 27 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:40.959 It go away, premature balding of the lawn. Have you 28 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:43.680 have you done any surveillance so. 29 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:47.280 I do have cameras, and I have not I've never 30 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:50.560 noticed any creatures roaming around. 31 00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:53.480 Okay, all right, kind I kind of figured that was 32 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:56.599 the case. Yeah, you know, a lot of people blame 33 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.319 possum and raccoons for messing up lawns. But you know, 34 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.120 as if they just get come out in the middle 35 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:04.640 of the night with their shovels and just decide, you 36 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:07.640 know what, let's get under her skin and just take 37 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:10.560 some of this lawn away, it really doesn't happen that way. 38 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:15.319 It's more likely, you know, like the only larger mammal 39 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:18.919 that really terrorizes lawns on a regular basis are you know, 40 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.759 like gophers and prairie dogs, those kinds of things that 41 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:25.159 come up from underneath and leave little mounds of dirt, 42 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:28.680 and those are easy to identify because they've left behind 43 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:33.360 the dirt from the tunnel that they've dug. But by 44 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:36.759 and large, you know, I don't know. There's a handful 45 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:42.439 of causes for balding lawn areas. It could be heavy 46 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:46.560 foot traffic, but obviously that doesn't sound like it's a situation. 47 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:52.240 Could be poor soil condition that is starting to kind 48 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:56.360 of spread. That's a possibility, of course, your classic the 49 00:02:56.400 --> 00:03:00.240 neighbor's dogs are peeing on your lawn, But that use 50 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:05.680 starts with a noticeable yellow patch first. But when you 51 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:10.800 just find that there's bare soil in the lawn, I 52 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:16.439 have found, generally speaking that it's a grub infestation. And 53 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:20.199 you're like, oh, Cross, what is that. It's very simple. 54 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:23.319 There are little, tiny little beetles out there that are 55 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:27.400 all around us, and there are some species that like to, 56 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:31.120 you know, lay their eggs in the soil of our 57 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:34.360 lawns because they're nicely protected areas. And then as the 58 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:38.159 grubs start to hatch, the little grub beetles, they're feeding 59 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:41.759 on the roots of our grass and as a result 60 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:45.439 of these bald patches start to occur. So it could 61 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:48.159 be any one of those issues. I mean, you could 62 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:51.360 have like a fungal disease or a chemical burn. But 63 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:57.039 I'm putting my money on grubs because by and large 64 00:03:57.039 --> 00:04:01.159 that's my experience with this. Fortunately, it's not that difficult 65 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:04.039 to deal with. What you do is, first of all, 66 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.719 you go get some grub treatment and you will find 67 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:11.719 that on the shelf of just about every garden center everywhere. 68 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.479 That you mix into the soil, and that gets the 69 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:17.920 grubs under control. They're not spreading everywhere, They're just where 70 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:18.959 the bald patches are. 71 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:19.680 Uh. 72 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:23.519 And you rough up the soil, add a little amendment 73 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:26.480 to it, figure out what kind of grass you actually have, 74 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:30.000 add some seed, keep it moist, and you'll grow the 75 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:30.560 grass back. 76 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:35.160 Okay, So add the grub killer and this and fertilizer 77 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:35.920 at the same time. 78 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:40.319 Yeah, yeah, exactly, good to know. And then you need 79 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.040 to reseed that area and keep it extra moist and 80 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:45.879 you know, give the give the new seeds a shot 81 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:48.600 the best fighting chance possible. 82 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:52.279 Okay, what do you suggest for watering times? I'm always 83 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:53.079 confused on that. 84 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:58.399 Well, for watering times for a lawn in southern California, 85 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:02.000 it all depends on the efficiency of your sprinklers. But 86 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:04.759 not too long, you know, I mean, most lawns can 87 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:08.480 will water down with good sprinkler system in a half 88 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:10.399 hour or so. It also has to do with your 89 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:14.079 soil condition, whether you've got clay or you know, rocky 90 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:19.240 soil or sandy soil. In other words, how well how 91 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:23.439 well your soil holds on to the moisture that's given 92 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:27.160 to it. But here's a general rule. There are some 93 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:30.079 guides out there that you can look up and say, Okay, 94 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:32.360 I've got this kind of grass and this kind of lawn. 95 00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:35.519 I live in southern California. How long should I be 96 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:39.040 watering my lawn with decent sprinkler coverage? And then what 97 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:41.639 I like to do? And I think this is just 98 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:45.480 the most efficient, most effective ways I like to break 99 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:48.600 that up. So let's say, in fact, my smart watering 100 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:52.199 system does that if forty minutes is the amount of 101 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:56.480 time that an area needs to be irrigated, then my 102 00:05:56.600 --> 00:06:00.199 smart watering system will break that up into you know, 103 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:03.000 three twenty minute sessions that are about a half an 104 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.000 hour apart, so that we water a little bit, we 105 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:08.759 let that soak in fully and become fully effective, and 106 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:11.319 then we water again, and then you know, you understand 107 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:13.439 what I'm saying, So breaking it up into two or 108 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:17.639 three cycles. And always here in southern California, in the 109 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:21.040 middle of the night. Okay, not in the early morning 110 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:25.000 when everybody can see the sprinkler's going off. Not during 111 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:29.560 daylight hours. And the very simple reason is that sun 112 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:33.639 evaporates water. I want all the water going into your soil. Now, 113 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:36.680 this is not true if you live back east or 114 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.279 you live somewhere where it's much colder and much wetter, 115 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:43.439 because there, we want a water during daylight hours so 116 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:46.720 that we're not building up too much water content and 117 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:49.759 creating mold and fungal growth and all of that kind 118 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:52.160 of stuff. But not here in southern California. No one 119 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:55.560 in Southern California should ever see your sprinklers going off 120 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:58.079 unless they're up in the middle of the night. That's 121 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:03.519 how we take most efficient youth of our water. I 122 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:06.839 want it all in the soil and so it's doing 123 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:11.360 its job fully and effectively. Nishe, thanks for the call. 124 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:13.839 Go check that out, check out your watering times, and 125 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:16.839 go check out the grub treatments that you'll find at 126 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:20.480 the garden center, and also figure out what kind of 127 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:24.439 grass you've got and buy that receding mix so that 128 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:27.519 Once you get the grubs under control, then you know 129 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:30.839 you can grow in those patches. It's not a terminal situation. 130 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:34.800 You can fix it. I promise when we come back, 131 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:36.959 we'll get to more of your calls. This is Dean Sharp, 132 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:40.920 the House Whisper on KFI. Welcome to Home, where every 133 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:43.480 week we help you better understand that place where you live. 134 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.439 I'm Dean Sharp, the House Whisper here with you live 135 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:49.360 like I am every weekend, or whether you are listening 136 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:52.399 to the local broadcast right here in southern California, or 137 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:55.519 you're streaming us live from across the country, or if 138 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:58.879 you have joined in for another episode of the House 139 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:01.879 Whisper podcast. I am just glad that you are here 140 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:06.879 with us. Good morning to you, and welcome home. We 141 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:10.720 are doing an all calls weekend. Hey Wayne, welcome home. 142 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:12.000 Yeah. Thanks. 143 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:12.959 Got a question. 144 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:18.079 I me a total house rebuild, and in the rebuild, 145 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:22.839 the guys doing insallation put in ceiling which I'm not 146 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:25.720 sure if I should call them on it or not. 147 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:29.680 There's a vaulted ceiling in the house, but the bedrooms 148 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:32.960 and kitchen are all lower I mean eight foot ceilings, 149 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:37.320 and they put insulation in the ceilings of all the 150 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:39.759 rooms except the kitchen, where they put it in the 151 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:43.399 rafters by the roof instead. Is that a problem? 152 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:45.720 Does that affect heating and. 153 00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:46.720 Cooling or what? 154 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.960 Okay? So the ceiling in the kitchen is an eight 155 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:53.759 foot ceiling. Yeah, so they didn't put the insulation in 156 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:55.960 the ceiling. They put it up in the rafters. Did 157 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:56.879 they explain why? 158 00:08:57.360 --> 00:08:57.519 No? 159 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:02.879 Okay? And that air the area directly above the kitchen, 160 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:06.000 that area of attic, does it connect to other areas 161 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:07.559 of attic open attic space? 162 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:12.519 The attic is all connected, yeah, connected all across the bedrooms, 163 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:14.440 in the kitchen, it's all like attic area. 164 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:16.840 All right. So if I crawl through the attic or 165 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:18.720 walk through the attic, whatever the case may be, if 166 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:22.240 I get up in the attic, then I've got insulation 167 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:25.440 down on the floor of the attic until I get 168 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:27.240 over the kitchen then and all of a sudden it's 169 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:30.320 up above in the roof rafter. Right, you're correct, Yeah, 170 00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:33.960 that's not that's not cool. Oh what is that effect? 171 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.279 How does that change things? 172 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:38.279 Well, what it is is that your attic is an 173 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:42.679 unconditioned space. Okay. The whole reason we're insulating on the 174 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:47.679 surface of the ceiling. Is that we want to keep 175 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:51.759 the conditioned space, the conditioned air, meaning whatever we've heated 176 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.240 or whatever we've cooled in the house. We want to 177 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:58.559 keep those temperatures there, okay, and so and not in 178 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:02.879 the attic. We don't share conditioned temperatures, can you know, 179 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:06.759 controlled temperatures with the attic space. It's it's cut off. 180 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:10.279 It's a separate space. It's technically kind of outside the 181 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:15.399 house in essence, So we need that diaphragm of insulation 182 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:18.159 to be complete over the whole thing. And so as 183 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.360 it is right now, That's why I asked if it 184 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:23.000 was if it's been isolated in the attic with other 185 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:26.399 walls and things in the attic, then if the if 186 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:29.440 the kitchen area or the area above the kitchen is 187 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:32.000 isolated from the rest of the attic space, then that 188 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:35.960 could be fine because what we ultimately need is insulation 189 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:39.399 above the kitchen. But the fact that the kitchen ceiling 190 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:44.279 has that that heat and cool that's down below in 191 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:49.799 there can just soak right through unimpeded by insulation into 192 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:52.399 the attic and vice versa. It's essentially it's a hole. 193 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:55.919 It's a hole in your insulation, and so so that 194 00:10:56.039 --> 00:11:00.679 insulation needs to be down over the kitchen ceiling as well, period, 195 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:04.320 because you need a blanket of insulation that seals up 196 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:06.480 the house. So it's kind of a hole in the 197 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.159 hull of the boat. The fact that the insulation is 198 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:11.879 up in the in the rafter space above the kitchen, 199 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:16.039 that's meaningless that it's not doing anything up there. Okay, 200 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:19.200 it's just it's literally not doing anything. It needs to 201 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:21.519 be down on the surface with the rest of the 202 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:22.600 insulation in the act. 203 00:11:22.679 --> 00:11:22.879 Good. 204 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:24.480 Okay, thanks, I'll get them. 205 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:29.320 The change, get them on it. Thanks Wayne, great question, Bertie, 206 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:33.480 Doctor Richard, Hey Richard, welcome home. 207 00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:34.519 Good morning. 208 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:37.960 I just had a question on whether the foundations that 209 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:40.759 are left after a home fire can be reused. 210 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:45.440 That is a really really good question. Is that just 211 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:50.759 a curiosity or do you have a foundation that is 212 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:52.039 in question yourself. 213 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:55.759 It's a curiosity professional and personal. 214 00:11:56.759 --> 00:12:01.320 There are always exceptions to every rule, so I'll just 215 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:06.600 start by saying that, and there is a I'm sure 216 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:10.919 there are a handful of foundations out there that might 217 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:16.799 be salvaged from this disaster, even though the house above 218 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:22.360 them was burnt to the ground. However, I think the 219 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:29.039 proper expectation is that to know the foundations underneath the 220 00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:31.919 house when it has burnt to the ground, especially in 221 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:36.399 a mass fire event like this, are very very likely 222 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:40.080 not going to be saved. And there's a couple of 223 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:45.000 reasons why. Number one, there is no it's not It 224 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:47.159 has nothing to do with the fact that you know 225 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:50.480 they didn't catch on fire. But if you take a 226 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:55.080 look at concrete, concrete is actually not affected by flame 227 00:12:55.799 --> 00:13:01.080 per se, but concrete is affected by high heat. And 228 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:05.759 when an entire house is burning to the point where 229 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:10.960 it's all coming down, the heat inside that zone is intense. 230 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:16.759 You know, fifteen hundred degrees plus is easily easily achieved. 231 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:21.200 And when you think about the components of concrete, concrete 232 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:27.039 is a is a recipe. It is a cement that 233 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:31.240 is the actual you know, adhesive binder in concrete cement 234 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:38.039 portland cement. And then you've got large aggregates like gravel 235 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:44.080 three quarter inch gravel and sand and it's the sand 236 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:49.679 inside the concrete that at high temperatures turns to glass. 237 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:53.679 As we all know, if you melt sand down you 238 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:56.039 can turn it to glass. So there is a there's 239 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:00.919 a process that when concrete is exposed to stream heat, 240 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:06.000 in which the concrete actually becomes siliconized. It actually, even 241 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:08.840 though it looks the same as it did before, it 242 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:13.679 has actually changed its chemical structure and it's become more brittle. 243 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:18.720 The sand, which originally was a fine aggregate inside the cement, 244 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:23.559 is now a glassy component inside the cement. So that's 245 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:28.519 one reason why a lot of the foundations, most I 246 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:30.759 would say, of the foundations in the houses that are 247 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:33.559 burnt down, are not going to be reusable. And the 248 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:37.720 second reason is that under again that high heat, any 249 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:42.720 lines of value that are running underneath that concrete, like 250 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:48.279 plastic abs, drain lines coming off of toilets and sinks 251 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:53.679 and so on, any electrical lines, even though the conduits 252 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:59.240 themselves probably were unaffected, but those conduits heat up, the 253 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:03.600 conductor inside those conduits will absolutely have to be tested 254 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:07.480 and replaced. And the chances are the damage of the 255 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:11.519 lines that are running underneath the slab are such that 256 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:14.159 we'd have to even if the slab was in perfect shape, 257 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:16.960 we'd have to saw cut the slab open in order 258 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:21.080 to run new lines, or we wouldn't be yanking out 259 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.639 the old ones, we'd just be running new lines, And 260 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:26.360 by the time we have dealt with the fact that 261 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:30.759 the slab has changed its chemical composition somewhat and we've 262 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:32.600 got to make a lot of saw cuts in it 263 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:35.320 in order to get new drain lines or pull old 264 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:40.039 ones out of the way. Now we've pretty much messed 265 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:43.240 up this slab in extremes. So that's why I'm saying, 266 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:48.200 by and large, it will be more cost effective and 267 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:53.399 wiser from a structural perspective to just pull most of 268 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:57.360 those slabs, scrape the lot, and restart from new. Does 269 00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:59.360 that help understand the situation? 270 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:00.759 Certainly does? 271 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:04.480 All right, Richard, thank you for your call, sir, how 272 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:07.039 about some more of your calls when we return. You 273 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:09.879 are listening to Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper. 274 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:14.440 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 275 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:18.519 KFI AM six forty, camp I. 276 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:24.080 AM sixty and live streaming in HD everywhere on the 277 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:28.480 iHeartRadio app. Hey, welcome to home where Every week we 278 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:32.039 help you better understand that place where you live. I 279 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:36.279 am Dean Sharp, the house Whisper, custom home builder, custom 280 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:40.399 home designer. Most importantly, today, your guide to turning your 281 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:43.919 ordinary house into something truly extraordinary. I tell you what 282 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:48.639 we're doing today. It's an all calls day. It is it. 283 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:52.600 You set the agenda. Anything that is going on with 284 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:59.879 your home, whether it be construction issues, DIY questions, design concerns, 285 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:03.519 anything at all. The phone lines are open. I am 286 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:06.039 here to help you sort it all out. We'll put 287 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:09.000 our heads together and we'll get it sorted. I promised. 288 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:11.440 Here is the number to reach me, and these lines 289 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:14.200 are open now. The number to reach me eight three 290 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:18.279 three two. Ask Dean eight three three two Ask Dean. 291 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.559 You see it just rolls off the tongue on that note. 292 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:25.440 How about we go to it. We're going to take 293 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:28.559 some calls. Anything you want to talk about, so let's 294 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:31.720 get to it. I want to talk to Ginger. Ginger, 295 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:32.440 welcome home. 296 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:36.640 I have a question about the attic area in my home. 297 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.559 My home has a little. 298 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:44.599 Entry to the attic in the area between the two 299 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:49.160 front bedrooms. There's a little opening there, and I have 300 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:53.599 to get a ladder to climb up and get up 301 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:54.680 into the attic. 302 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:55.359 Through that section. 303 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:59.200 The section that is connected to the kitchen area is 304 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:02.759 all four and I can put things up there and 305 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:06.960 store things there. But the whole other section of the 306 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:12.240 house the entire complete attic area is just covered with 307 00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:16.599 the foam insulation thing. And when I have made my 308 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:21.000 way up into that little opening that's in the hallway 309 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:26.640 between the bedrooms, it's dark and there's nothing but foam insulation. 310 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:30.720 And I was wondering if it's okay for me to 311 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:35.240 try and put down flooring up there so that I 312 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:39.079 could get up there and do something with the space 313 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:44.240 without having to have a license or fees that I 314 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:49.319 have to pay with the city and things like that. Also, 315 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:52.640 at one point in time, I had seen these ingenious 316 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:57.319 little slats that are like roll They're like rolls that 317 00:18:57.400 --> 00:19:00.440 you roll out and they're slack that end up being 318 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:03.559 a floor. And I don't know if they're still around anywhere, 319 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:06.240 but if they are, I wondered if you were aware 320 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:09.119 of them and if that would be something I could do. 321 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:11.839 Okay, So a lot of pack, a lot of stuff 322 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:15.759 packed into those questions there. I am going to disappoint 323 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:18.640 you on on a couple of levels, but let me 324 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:20.680 start with a positive one. Yeah, I've seen those slats. 325 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:24.160 Those are great. Uh, they're basically roll mats. They're they're 326 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:27.559 rigid roll mats and they can come in they can 327 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:30.200 come in handy in a lot of situations. Okay, so 328 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:33.119 there's nothing wrong with them. There's they're out there around 329 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:35.720 you probably find them on Amazon these days or other 330 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:39.920 places like that. Here's the thing, Ginger, everybody wants to 331 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:43.079 utilize as much attic space as possible these days for 332 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:46.240 storage and stuff like that. I get it, I get it. 333 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:52.400 I totally totally understand that. However, our homes and and 334 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:55.799 and where where is it that you live, Ginger out 335 00:19:55.799 --> 00:19:59.799 and see me Valley. Okay, so our homes in southern California, 336 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:03.839 buy and large are not designed for addicts to be 337 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:05.960 a part. I mentioned this earlier in the show, to 338 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:09.039 be a part of the conditioned air space of the house. 339 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:13.880 That means that insulation, a nice thick layer of insulation 340 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:20.000 fiberglass or cellulose insulation, whether it's rolled bats or whether 341 00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:24.400 it's blown in, but a nice thick layer equivalent to 342 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:29.079 R thirty for energy savings and all of that air 343 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:33.079 conditioning expanse, heating expense and the like your general comfort 344 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:35.839 in the home. R thirty is what we're shooting for 345 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:39.599 in the attic. And that's thick. That's thick stuff. When 346 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:43.839 people go up into their attics and make platforms, in 347 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:47.440 other words, create an area of flooring. I don't have 348 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:51.039 any big issue with that, okay, but just got to 349 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:54.880 understand every square foot of flooring that you create up 350 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:59.160 in your attic space for storage, you are squishing down 351 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:07.599 and minimizeing, and you're reducing your attic insulation below the 352 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:11.319 line of what where the bar should be set. Okay, 353 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:15.359 because if you've got I'm gonna guess in SeeMe Valley 354 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:17.680 tracked home in seem Valley, if we've got two by 355 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:23.279 six ceiling joists running across the room, six inches or 356 00:21:23.319 --> 00:21:27.000 five and a half inches of space for insulation is 357 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:31.400 not enough to reach that R thirty marker. So if 358 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:34.480 we've squished it down because we've put plywood up there 359 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:37.759 for storage, now you know, a few square feet fine, 360 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:42.440 you know who's gonna know the difference. You probably won't 361 00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:45.039 notice the difference. But the more you do that up 362 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:47.359 in your attic, the more of that area that you 363 00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:53.640 squish down and minimize that insulation, then the more compromised 364 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:58.599 insulation wise your home becomes. And just to add on 365 00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:02.000 to that, some people will go overboard when it comes 366 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:04.880 to the amount of storage up there. Some people even say, well, 367 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:06.799 my roof is high enough, I could make a room 368 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:12.119 up there. Well, that's debatable because if it was never 369 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:15.920 designed to have human habitation up in there, then there's 370 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:20.799 also a very distinct chance that the ceiling joists themselves 371 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:24.759 are not floor joist rated. They're just ceiling joist rated. 372 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:28.640 They're not designed to support a tremendous amount of hundreds 373 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:32.559 or thousands of pounds of weight. So my answer to 374 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:36.279 the question is a qualified Sure, you could add a 375 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:38.759 little bit of storage area up in an attic, but no, 376 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:43.440 that every time you do it, we are compromising the 377 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:48.759 insulation of the house. And that most Southern California single 378 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:53.079 story homes, well it's second story homes too, It doesn't 379 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:56.400 really matter. Most attics in southern California are not designed 380 00:22:56.759 --> 00:23:02.200 to be load bearing in any significant sense or insulation 381 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:06.799 compromised attic space when you put a platform up there. 382 00:23:06.839 --> 00:23:09.720 So that's my concern. My concern about accessing the attic 383 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:12.839 in that way is that we run the risk of 384 00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:19.880 messing up the thermal continuity of the house, and you 385 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:23.279 can overload an attic, and that's not a good thing 386 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:26.720 as well. Now, can it be done? Of course, I 387 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:29.799 was just saying before the break, anything can be done. 388 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:32.920 If you are so committed to storage in a certain 389 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:34.880 area of your attic and you want to preserve the 390 00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:39.079 insulated quality, then you could spill that area underneath the 391 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:43.200 platform with rigid insulation. It's going to be more expensive, 392 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:47.519 rigid insulation that compensates for the loss of the loft 393 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:52.480 of the fluffy stuff basically, but that's more expensive, and 394 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:55.519 it's very intentional. And if we're really starting to put 395 00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:57.839 lots of load up there, then we need to talk 396 00:23:57.880 --> 00:24:00.799 to an engineer about whether the kind of stuff we 397 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:03.440 want to store up there is actually going to be 398 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:05.519 well supported by the house, or if it's going to 399 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:07.839 put too much of a load on those poor little 400 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:11.240 ceiling joyces whose job originally was just to hold some 401 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:14.599