Speaker 1: KF I AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp
Speaker 1: The House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app.
Speaker 2: AM I Am six forty and live streaming.
Speaker 1: In HD everywhere on the iHeart Radio app. Welcome home,
Speaker 1: my friend. I am Dean Sharp the House Whisper. I
Speaker 1: design custom homes. I build a few custom homes. And
Speaker 1: today and this weekend, most importantly, I am your guide
Speaker 1: to better understanding that place where you live. Today on
Speaker 1: the show, oh you know what we're gonna do today,
Speaker 1: we're taking calls. It's an all calls weekend. I'm calling it.
Speaker 1: I'm calling it because we have spent the last eight
Speaker 1: years talking about fires. No, that's a little extreme, but
Speaker 1: it's been it's been a few weeks, has it not
Speaker 1: here in southern California, and we have all it's been
Speaker 1: all hands on deck talking about information that you need
Speaker 1: in regarding the wildfire events here in southern California. And
Speaker 1: of course they're not over, and of course the devastation
Speaker 1: that they've left in their path is far from over,
Speaker 1: is just beginning in its implications, and of course our
Speaker 1: hearts continue to go out to the tens of thousands
Speaker 1: of people who have been affected by these fires and
Speaker 1: all that that entails, and rest assured. In the weeks ahead,
Speaker 1: we will be continuing to address these issues at the
Speaker 1: appropriate moments and to help you. If you have been
Speaker 1: victimized by these fires or are looking to make sure
Speaker 1: that your home is not victimized by future fires, We're here.
Speaker 1: I am here to help you through all of that.
Speaker 1: But this morning, this morning, and tomorrow, let's just take
Speaker 1: a breath. The wind events have come to a close
Speaker 1: for now. There's no foreseeable wind events in the future.
Speaker 1: The major fires that have been threatening us, we have definitely,
Speaker 1: without question, turned a corner on them. Quick update on
Speaker 1: that status. The Palisades Fire has not gained any ground
Speaker 1: in days and days and days. It is currently seventy
Speaker 1: nine percent contained the Palisades Fire, and that is really
Speaker 1: really good news. The Eaten fire out in Altadena ninety
Speaker 1: five percent contained as of this morning, again having not
Speaker 1: gained any ground in the several days. The Hues fire
Speaker 1: out by the Lake Castake is eighty seven percent contained.
Speaker 1: And of course there are a couple other fires on
Speaker 1: the map. Technically, the Lagunafire, which sprung up in the
Speaker 1: camer Rillo area already ninety percent contained, no wind events
Speaker 1: in the immediate future, cold weather starting in here for
Speaker 1: southern California at least, weather in the forties and fifties,
Speaker 1: and rain rain on the way. So what does that
Speaker 1: mean for us? It means that we're just going to
Speaker 1: take a breath, that's all. And I want to take
Speaker 1: a breath with you. And of course if you want
Speaker 1: to talk about fire related things, absolutely, but also anything
Speaker 1: else regarding your home design, construction, DIY concerns, whatever the
Speaker 1: case may be. The number to reach me eight three
Speaker 1: three two, Ask Dean eight three three. The numeral two
Speaker 1: Ask Dean eight three three two Ask Dean. Producer Richie
Speaker 1: is standing by. The phone lines are open. He is
Speaker 1: ready to take your calls. So give me a call.
Speaker 1: Let's talk. Let's let's fill the morning up with with
Speaker 1: uh as as just as much deep breath as we can,
Speaker 1: because you know what, we've earned it, you have absolutely
Speaker 1: earned it. Here is our awesome team. Sam is on
Speaker 1: the board. Good morning, dam Good morning Dean. How's it going, brother? Good?
Speaker 1: You got our our not filled live studio audience under
Speaker 1: control there. It's really hard to wrangle them in, but
Speaker 1: we're doing our best. Sounds good, sounds good. I'm sorry, babe,
Speaker 1: what what was that? Oh? You need volume? Okay, all right,
Speaker 1: all right, I got you, I got you. Boom. Eileen
Speaker 1: Gonzalez at the news desk. Good morning, Eileen, Good morning, sunshine.
Speaker 1: How's it going good? Good? You know what? Just feel
Speaker 1: I'm a little relaxed. It's gonna be a relaxing morning,
Speaker 1: I hope here, and we're gonna have as much fun
Speaker 1: as we can here on the program. And it's just
Speaker 1: gonna be Uh, it's gonna be good. I hope it
Speaker 1: stays cloudy and the rain comes as soon as possible.
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to that rain for sure. Yes, thunderstorms tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Oh that would be. That would be glorious. Yeah. I'm
Speaker 1: from Texas. I love thunderstorms. Thunder uh. Sitting across the
Speaker 1: table from me, my better half, my does that look
Speaker 1: at her? Good Lord, my best friend in all the world.
Speaker 1: Tina is here. Welcome home. I turned your mic on.
Speaker 1: I know that was the last minute thing. I'm like, well, wait,
Speaker 1: you have a beagle with you. Do you have a
Speaker 1: cup of coffee?
Speaker 3: Yep?
Speaker 1: I have my coffee. All right, y'all, here's the thing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, if you just want to hear me yack
Speaker 1: all morning, then that's fine. But it's time to pour
Speaker 1: yourself a cup of coffee and dial that phone. Let's
Speaker 1: talk about your house. Eight three three two Ask Dean.
Speaker 1: There are zero calls on the board right now. By
Speaker 1: the time we come back from the break. Let's hope
Speaker 1: that we've got some I've got things to talk about.
Speaker 1: Of course when do I not? But I'd much rather
Speaker 1: talk to you about your home now. Is your shot,
Speaker 1: especially after all of this time that we've spent on
Speaker 1: fire coverage, and the fact that it's Saturday morning and
Speaker 1: that it's early. Traffic is very light here on the
Speaker 1: phone waves. Oh, there's one call coming in, but there
Speaker 1: is room for you. Eight three three two ask Dean.
Speaker 1: We're gonna get to it, can't by Dean Shark the
Speaker 1: house whisper. Hey, whether your home is a condo, a cottage,
Speaker 1: or a castle, it matters not. I am here to
Speaker 1: help you take it to the next level. We're taking
Speaker 1: calls this morning. Just I hope you have a warm
Speaker 1: beverage near you. I hope you are warm and comfortable
Speaker 1: on this dark, cool Saturday morning here in southern California
Speaker 1: or wherever you are listening to us from, and we
Speaker 1: are just taking a breather from all of the trials
Speaker 1: and tribulations and just taking calls as we do from
Speaker 1: time to time. The number to reach me eight three
Speaker 1: three two. Ask Dean eight three three the numeral two,
Speaker 1: and then you just spell out ask Dean eight three
Speaker 1: three to ask Dean. Phone lines are open. Producer Richie
Speaker 1: standing by anxious. He is so anxious to take your call.
Speaker 1: All right, let's go to the phones. I want to
Speaker 1: talk to Richard. Hey, Richard, welcome home, Good morning.
Speaker 4: I just had a question on whether the foundations that
Speaker 4: are left after a home fire can be reused.
Speaker 1: That is a really really good question. Is that just
Speaker 1: a curiosity or do you have a foundation that is
Speaker 1: in question yourself?
Speaker 4: It's a curiosity professional and personal.
Speaker 1: So okay, I got you. Well, there are always exceptions
Speaker 1: to every rule, so I'll just start by saying that,
Speaker 1: and there is a I'm sure there are a handful
Speaker 1: of foundations out there that might be salvaged from this disaster,
Speaker 1: even though the house above them was burnt to the ground. However,
Speaker 1: I think the proper expectation is that to know the
Speaker 1: foundations underneath the house when it has burnt to the ground,
Speaker 1: especially in a mass fire event like this, are very
Speaker 1: very likely not going to be saved. And there's a
Speaker 1: couple of reasons why. Number one, there is no it's
Speaker 1: not it has nothing to do with the fact that
Speaker 1: that you know, they didn't catch on fire. But if
Speaker 1: you take a look at concrete, concrete is actually not
Speaker 1: affected by flame per se, but concrete is affected by
Speaker 1: high heat. And when an entire house is burning to
Speaker 1: the point where it's all coming down, the heat inside
Speaker 1: that zone is intense. You know, fifteen hundred degrees plus
Speaker 1: is easily easily achieved. And when you think about the
Speaker 1: components of concrete, concrete is a is a recipe. It
Speaker 1: is a cement that is the actual you know, adhesive
Speaker 1: binder in concrete cement portland cement. And then you've got
Speaker 1: large aggregates like gravel three quarter inch gravel and sand
Speaker 1: and it's the sand inside the concrete that at high
Speaker 1: temperatures turns to glass. As we all know, if you
Speaker 1: melt sand down, you can turn it to glass. So
Speaker 1: there is a there's a process that when concrete is
Speaker 1: exposed to extreme heat in which the concrete actually becomes siliconized.
Speaker 1: It actually, even though it looks the same as it
Speaker 1: did before, it has actually changed its chemical structure and
Speaker 1: it's become more brittle. The sand, which originally was a
Speaker 1: fine aggregate inside the cement, is now a glassy component
Speaker 1: inside the cement. So that's one reason why a lot
Speaker 1: of the foundations, most I would say, of the foundations
Speaker 1: in the houses that are burnt down, are not going
Speaker 1: to be reused. And the second reason is that under
Speaker 1: again that high heat any lines of value that are
Speaker 1: running underneath that concrete, like plastic abs, drain lines coming
Speaker 1: off of toilets and sinks and so on, any electrical lines,
Speaker 1: even though the conduits themselves probably were unaffected, but those
Speaker 1: conduits heat up, the conductors inside those conduits will absolutely
Speaker 1: have to be tested and replaced. And the chances are
Speaker 1: the damage of the lines that are running underneath the
Speaker 1: slab are such that we'd have to even if the
Speaker 1: slab was in perfect shape, we'd have to saw cut
Speaker 1: the slab open in order to run new lines, or
Speaker 1: you know, we wouldn't be yanking out the old ones,
Speaker 1: we'd just be running new lines. And by the time
Speaker 1: we have dealt with the fact that the slab has
Speaker 1: changed its chemical composition somewhat, and we've got to make
Speaker 1: a lot of saw cuts in it in order to
Speaker 1: get new drain lines or pull old ones out of
Speaker 1: the way. Now we've pretty much messed up this slab
Speaker 1: in extreme So that's why I'm saying, by and large,
Speaker 1: it will be more cost effective and wiser from a
Speaker 1: structural perspective to just pull most of those slabs, scrape
Speaker 1: the lot, and restart from new. Does that help understand
Speaker 1: the situation?
Speaker 4: Certainly?
Speaker 1: Guys? All right, Richard, thank you for your call, Sir,
Speaker 1: appreciate it. First call of the day. Fire question. But
Speaker 1: you know what, a very very pertinent one, very very pertinent,
Speaker 1: because a lot of people are like, well, at least
Speaker 1: we've got the slab. Oh, I wish I could tell
Speaker 1: you that was the case. I wish I could. All Right, y'all, listen,
Speaker 1: we've got some calls on the board. There's still room
Speaker 1: for you eight three three two ask Dean. We will
Speaker 1: get back to our all calls Saturday morning.
Speaker 3: You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
Speaker 3: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2: Can't Fine AM sixty Live streaming in H to D
Speaker 2: everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Deans Sharp the House whisper
Speaker 2: here for you on this chilly Saturday morning here in
Speaker 2: southern California. I hope you are warm and comfortable wherever
Speaker 2: you are across this great nation of ours as you
Speaker 2: listen to our program. Thanks for joining us here on
Speaker 2: the program. We are just taking a breather from all
Speaker 2: of the craziness and just enjoying each other's company. This morning,
Speaker 2: I'm taking calls and I want to get back to
Speaker 2: the phones as quickly as I can. Let's talk to John. Hey, John,
Speaker 2: welcome home.
Speaker 4: Good morning Dan.
Speaker 5: I'm calling you from San Diego, and my story is.
Speaker 4: To save a few dollars. I installed my own water
Speaker 4: heater right and in so doing, I read the instructions
Speaker 4: and one of the things that I remembered was the
Speaker 4: water pressure. They recommend maximum eighty pounds per square inch
Speaker 4: pressure in the water lines. Well, I installed the water
Speaker 4: heater and I had the city come out and test
Speaker 4: my pressure and it's up around eighty six eighty seven.
Speaker 4: And I'm concerned about that. If what are the average
Speaker 4: home water systems of piping and everything, how much more
Speaker 4: than eighty can be tolerated. And what could I do
Speaker 4: about it to lower that water pressure?
Speaker 1: Okay, great question, and kudos for reading the instr diductions John,
Speaker 1: Good job, my friend.
Speaker 5: I learned how to read a long time ago.
Speaker 3: All right, So so so, so okay, first of all, okay,
Speaker 3: water pressure around eighty five eighty six, you know you
Speaker 3: don't have an emergency concern on your hand, okay, because
Speaker 3: it's just you know, it's just it's just etching over
Speaker 3: the the you know, the upper limit.
Speaker 1: However, you are right to address it. You should address
Speaker 1: everybody should know this. This is why that's why I
Speaker 1: take calls, all right, because not only am I gonna
Speaker 1: answer John's question, but it should help everybody who's listening
Speaker 1: understand a little bit more about their home. So, residential
Speaker 1: water pressure should should ideally fall in the sixty to
Speaker 1: eighty psi range. Sixty to eighty, So that's the optimum range. Okay,
Speaker 1: below sixty, it's not going to hurt your house, but
Speaker 1: you know everybody's going to be like, what the heck
Speaker 1: is wrong with my water? Why is it clogged? Right?
Speaker 1: So we all like nice water pressure in our lines,
Speaker 1: but above eighty psi and here's the key. Above eightypsi.
Speaker 1: It puts a strain on the fittings in your water system,
Speaker 1: the fittings of the pipes themselves, and even more important
Speaker 1: than that, which you know, there are systems that, if
Speaker 1: they're well built and well put together, could withstand a
Speaker 1: heck of a lot more pressure than that. But more
Speaker 1: important than that is all of your appliances, the interior
Speaker 1: guts of the washing machine and the dishwasher and water
Speaker 1: based appliance is like your water here. None of them
Speaker 1: are rated to have more than eighty psi sitting in
Speaker 1: the term right, So we just don't want to do that.
Speaker 1: We don't want to damage. We don't want to you know,
Speaker 1: I don't want to blow out the ice maker line
Speaker 1: to the refrigerator or anything like that. So, yeah, we
Speaker 1: got to get your water pressure down, all right. Uh
Speaker 1: so I recommend sattin for the house just to bring
Speaker 1: the pressure down. No, there are no such things. But
Speaker 1: here's the simple it's a simple fix. Okay. Every home
Speaker 1: has a pressure regulator on the mainline going into the house.
Speaker 1: And I would say, well, okay, then then it's time
Speaker 1: to get yourself one, my friend. Uh, a pressure regulator
Speaker 1: valve all right, and it's and it's almost always located
Speaker 1: right where the main water cutoff valve is, right before
Speaker 1: the water lines enter the house. I'm not talking about
Speaker 1: the meter out in the you know, on the uh
Speaker 1: in the sidewalk out there in the little concrete. I'm
Speaker 1: talking about the irrigation and water control valves, the gate
Speaker 1: valves right before water enters your home, right then and there.
Speaker 1: That is where we want a pressure control valve. We
Speaker 1: don't have to have a pressure regulator on the irrigation
Speaker 1: lines for your home because they don't hold pressure. They're
Speaker 1: empty lines. You know, the sprinkler system is empty until
Speaker 1: you activate it and then and then they fill up
Speaker 1: with water and then they irrigate your house, and then
Speaker 1: you turn them off and they drain out again. They
Speaker 1: don't hold pressure twenty four seven three sixty five. But
Speaker 1: the rest of the pipes inside your house do, always
Speaker 1: standing water there under pressure. So the point being, pressure
Speaker 1: regulators are not expensive in the long run of all,
Speaker 1: you know, a lot less expensive than your water here.
Speaker 1: We're talking about two or three hundred dollars at the most.
Speaker 1: And if you don't if there isn't a union hook
Speaker 1: up there to detach the existing one. If you don't
Speaker 1: actually have one, then you need to get one. You
Speaker 1: can find them at any plumbing supply place, find them
Speaker 1: at the big box stores. Make sure they're sized right
Speaker 1: to your line. And if you don't feel confident, like well,
Speaker 1: how am I going to hook this up? Then yeah,
Speaker 1: you call a plumber and stay listener. I need you
Speaker 1: to install a pressure regulator right here at I would say,
Speaker 1: And I don't have a scientific this is not a
Speaker 1: scientific at scientifically accurate statistic. This is just my you know,
Speaker 1: empirical experience. But I would say probably eighty percent of
Speaker 1: the homes of the folks who are listening to me
Speaker 1: right now have a worn out pressure regulator. They wear out, okay,
Speaker 1: over time and so and that's why. So once originally
Speaker 1: it was doing its job, holding back the pressure and
Speaker 1: reducing it, and now it has just given out, and
Speaker 1: as a result, we've got too high pressure in the house.
Speaker 5: So everybody would be the lifespan of a regulator.
Speaker 1: You know, it's impossible for me to tell you, but
Speaker 1: I will tell you this. I haven't seen many that
Speaker 1: are over twenty twenty five years old that are still
Speaker 1: doing their job. Okay, Oh, I don't know. You know,
Speaker 1: I can't tell you that for certain. All I know
Speaker 1: is that you know if you suspect that you've got
Speaker 1: high pressure, and if you haven't ever checked the water
Speaker 1: pressure on your house, you should. Most people, by the way,
Speaker 1: can test this themselves because most homes. Most homes have
Speaker 1: a wall mounted water spigot somewhere. Okay, now I'm not
Speaker 1: talking about out in the yard. You can't trust those.
Speaker 1: If you've got a water spigot and you're hooked up
Speaker 1: to a hose out in the yard somewhere, it's very
Speaker 1: likely that that is part of the irrigation system and
Speaker 1: not pressure regulator. But if you on the outside of
Speaker 1: your house anywhere on the outside of your house, if
Speaker 1: you've got a just a hose pigot coming out of
Speaker 1: the stucco or the siding on the house, that is
Speaker 1: very likely part of the house water line system and
Speaker 1: it's regulated. And a water pressure test valve I mean
Speaker 1: gauge is like a ten dollars item at the hardware
Speaker 1: store and its it screws on to the end of
Speaker 1: the hose bib just like a hose, and then you
Speaker 1: just turn on the hose bib and you wait to
Speaker 1: see where the needle goes, and that's how you can
Speaker 1: pressure test your own water. And everybody can check that
Speaker 1: out for themselves. So, my friend, it's time for a
Speaker 1: pressure regulator and bring that out and take that expertly
Speaker 1: installed water heater of yours and make sure has a long,
Speaker 1: healthy life.
Speaker 4: I did a good job on it for the first time.
Speaker 4: And you know, there's another thing that.
Speaker 5: I learned that I think other people should be aware
Speaker 5: of and these water heaters is the anode rod. Yes,
Speaker 5: I'm thinking to change that every four years.
Speaker 1: It is not at all a bad idea, my friend.
Speaker 1: You know what, when we come back from the break,
Speaker 1: I'll mention that to everybody. People right now are like,
Speaker 1: what the heck is an anode rod. We'll talk about
Speaker 1: that on the other side of the break, but I've
Speaker 1: got to go right now. John, Thank you for your call,
Speaker 1: my friend. Good luck. It's no big deal. You're going
Speaker 1: to get your pressure under control, bring it down to
Speaker 1: about seventy PSI once that new regulator is in and
Speaker 1: happy water, happy house, happy life. There you go, Thanks John.
Speaker 1: All right, we'll be back with more of your calls. Hey, fine,
Speaker 1: Jean Sharp the house whisper welcome home. We're taking calls
Speaker 1: this morning. Let me give the number out. I went
Speaker 1: a little long in the last segment here, so we're
Speaker 1: going to make up for that now. But I'm going
Speaker 1: to give the number out, and when we come back
Speaker 1: from our top of the hour break, we will be
Speaker 1: right back with the phones. The number to reach me
Speaker 1: eight three three two. Ask Dean eight three three the
Speaker 1: numeral two. Ask dean A three three two, Ask Dean.
Speaker 1: If you're on the line right now, you hang in there.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get to you. And those of you who
Speaker 1: haven't called yet, give me a call. A three three
Speaker 1: two as dean. All right, very quickly. Because I promised
Speaker 1: John that I was gonna talk about this, uh, and
Speaker 1: I keep my promises. Uh. What is a water heater anode?
Speaker 3: Uh?
Speaker 1: People are like, oh great, just another thing to learn
Speaker 1: about my house. No, no, no, it's fine, it's fine. Yes,
Speaker 1: every water heater has an anode, and technically it's referred
Speaker 1: to as a sacrificial anode. It is a metal bar
Speaker 1: that is hanging inside your water heater. You can access
Speaker 1: it from the top of the water heater. If you've
Speaker 1: ever looked on the top of your water heater. There's
Speaker 1: on the flat part at the top of the tank.
Speaker 1: This is for tanked water heaters, not tankless. If you
Speaker 1: look at the top, there's a big nut up there
Speaker 1: and it looks like wow, what would ever happen if
Speaker 1: I unscrewed that thing, Well, you would find that that
Speaker 1: is attached to the sacrificial anode. And what does it do?
Speaker 1: It's very very simple. The inside of your water heater
Speaker 1: tank is made out of steel, and steel is subject
Speaker 1: to all sorts of corrosive elements that are found in water.
Speaker 1: In other words, eventually your water heater will rust out
Speaker 1: and corrode because of minerals in the water. And what
Speaker 1: the sacrificial anode does is it sacrifices itself to those
Speaker 1: minerals so those minerals don't have to cling to the tank.
Speaker 1: And it does it very simply. Sacrificial anodes are usually
Speaker 1: made out of magnesium or aluminum, and they are a
Speaker 1: softer metal and they attract those corrosive elements in the water,
Speaker 1: and the corrosive eye in the water, they are literally
Speaker 1: attracted to them first. So while the anode is there,
Speaker 1: all of those elements in the water are going to
Speaker 1: it corroding it. That's why it's called the sacrificial anode
Speaker 1: and not clinging to the tank of your water heater.
Speaker 1: When the sacrificial anode is fully sacrificed, meaning when it's
Speaker 1: literally been corroded away, then those elements, those corrosive elements
Speaker 1: will start attacking the steel tank. And depending on the
Speaker 1: hardness of your water and the condition the mineral content
Speaker 1: in your water, sacrificial anodes should be checked and replaced,
Speaker 1: well replaced. They should be checked every couple three years.
Speaker 1: In my opinion. They should be opened up and checked
Speaker 1: to see if they are still there, and quite often
Speaker 1: will undo that expecting to find you know, it starts
Speaker 1: out as like a three or four foot rod. You know,
Speaker 1: if we find two feet of it left, that it's great.
Speaker 1: But quite often we open it up and find just
Speaker 1: the nub on the inside. The rod is gone. It's
Speaker 1: been ten years and there's no more rod. Fortunately, they're
Speaker 1: inexpensive and they're easy to replace. And so there you go.
Speaker 1: The more you know, all right, more of your calls.
Speaker 1: When we return. You are listening to Dean Sharp, the
Speaker 1: House Whisperer on KFI.
Speaker 3: You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
Speaker 3: KFI AM six forty