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 --> 00:00:10.800 house Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app. I'm Dean Sharp, 3 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:15.039 the house Whisper, craftsman builder, custom home designer, here to 4 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:18.719 help you turn your ordinary house into an extraordinary home. 5 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:22.039 We are doing an all calls weekend. I want to 6 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:25.719 talk to Stephen. Hey, Stephen, welcome home. 7 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.920 Hello Dean, I'm so glad to talk to you. You know, 8 00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:32.479 I have a tankless water heater. I just replaced it. 9 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:35.880 Actually the first one died after fourteen years, and now 10 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:40.039 I want to add a recirculation pump under my kitchen sink. 11 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:43.479 But I don't have a dedicated return line for the 12 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:47.759 research pump. I found several products that'll do it, but 13 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:50.920 I'm a little concerned of how they work, so I'm 14 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:52.679 hoping you can give me some guidance. 15 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:58.280 The world of recirculation pumps has changed radically over the 16 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:03.880 years here, and fairly recently too, in terms of construction innovations. 17 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:07.120 Right over the last ten years, there's been a radical change, 18 00:01:07.239 --> 00:01:10.480 Especially over the last five years. It has truly truly 19 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:14.159 taken hold, so much so that the research pump that 20 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:16.519 I'm about to tell you about. And I'm not talking 21 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:18.200 about a brand, I'm talking about a style. There are 22 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:19.840 a lot of brands out there. You can shop those 23 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:23.879 out for yourself. But the research pump style or concept 24 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:27.439 that I'm about to tell you about in southern California 25 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:30.400 and throughout the state in many places, has been now 26 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:35.040 adopted as a requirement for new home builds and for 27 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:39.120 major remodels. That's how important it has become because it 28 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:44.280 is a water saving recirculation pump that does not require 29 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:47.879 a dedicated return line. So what we used to do 30 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:50.760 and what we still do, Okay, what we still do 31 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:53.879 if we know that we're building a custom home from 32 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:56.159 the ground up and the client's like, listen, I just 33 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.920 want hot water everywhere, at every sink and every file 34 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.359 all the time, right, I don't want to wait two 35 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:04.760 minutes for the hot water to show up. Then what 36 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:08.680 we will often do still today is instead of plumbing 37 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:11.439 out the hot water system like a tree branch, like 38 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:14.719 a tree coming out from the water heater that branches 39 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:17.759 out and keeps breaking off into smaller and smaller lines 40 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:21.319 until it eventually reaches every source like the tub and 41 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:24.280 the sink in the bathroom and so on, we will 42 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:27.639 take each one of those and return them back in 43 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:31.080 a loop back to the water heater. And that allows 44 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:33.840 us to put a recirculation pump on that just keeps 45 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:37.159 hot water moving through those lines, because the reason why 46 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:40.560 the hot water disappears is that it sits there for 47 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:42.960 an hour or two or three or however long you 48 00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:45.400 haven't used the hot water, and it cools off, right, 49 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:48.280 it cools off sitting in the pipe. 50 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:48.599 All right. 51 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:54.840 So the brilliance of the new fangled recirculation pumps and 52 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:56.879 that is so much in the pump itself, but in 53 00:02:56.919 --> 00:03:01.080 this tiny little device called a bridge valve. A bridge 54 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:06.639 valve is a device that gets mounted underneath a sink, 55 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:10.319 the sink in question, and it gets mounted and what 56 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.199 it does, it's a one way valve that actually joins 57 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:18.919 the hot water supply to the cold water supply underneath 58 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:21.639 the sink. Now why is this important? And what it 59 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:26.039 does is it allows you then to mount a small 60 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:30.919 recirculation pump that draws hot water off of the hot 61 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:34.520 water line. And even though there isn't a return circuit, 62 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:36.759 what it does is it draws hot water off the 63 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:40.039 hot water line and it pushes that hot water into 64 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:43.800 the cold water line so that you get the action 65 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:47.080 of a recirculation pump, but we're not we don't have 66 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:51.719 to run a return circuit, and we're not wasting water 67 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:54.919 because it's still your water. It sits in the cold 68 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:57.360 line and it cools off and it becomes cold water 69 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:00.319 for you. So that's how they work. And this little 70 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:05.039 brilliant one way valve called a bridge valve in combination 71 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:10.280 with the recirculation pump. Now, configuring a research pump is 72 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:13.800 something that you can do a number of different ways. 73 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:18.160 You can put a research pump under every single sink 74 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:20.920 in your house. It's a little overkill in most homes. 75 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:25.439 The way that we like to do it typically is 76 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:28.480 if you're only concerned about getting the hot water at 77 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:31.319 the kitchen sink immediate, then fine, just put it right 78 00:04:31.399 --> 00:04:33.720 under the kitchen sink. But if you have a sense 79 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:36.279 of the way you're plumbing is kind of bridged out, 80 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:38.519 one way to do it is you take the sink 81 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:42.639 that's furthest away from the hot water heater, the furthest 82 00:04:42.759 --> 00:04:45.360 end of the tree branch, as it were, the furthest 83 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:47.920 branch on the very end, and you put the research 84 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:53.160 pump there on a timer on a regular rotating timer 85 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:55.720 so that it fires on and it pulls a little 86 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:58.040 water and then it turns off, and that it fires 87 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.199 on and pulls a little water and it turns off. 88 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.839 And the net benefit of that it's drawing the hot 89 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:07.439 water through all of the main branches and getting hot 90 00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:11.079 water closer to all of your sinks with one research 91 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:15.959 pump properly located under the right sink, so you can 92 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:18.040 do it under every sink. You could do it under 93 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:20.519 one sink that you want to prioritize, or you can 94 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:24.639 run it at the end of the very very furthest 95 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.959 branch in the house, and you'll get hot water quicker 96 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:32.079 out of all your sinks and all of your appliances. 97 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:36.000 It won't be instant it's not instantaneous, but instead of 98 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:39.399 like waiting two minutes, you know you're waiting ten seconds 99 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:41.079 and that well, and instead of. 100 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:43.959 Dumping how many gallons of water down the sink, and 101 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.079 then I don't waste the water. And my kitchen sink 102 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:51.120 is ideal because it's the furthest away from everything, and 103 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:54.639 it'll cover my bathrooms, my laundry room, all that perfect good. 104 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.160 I guess my only concern is there's nothing on the 105 00:05:57.240 --> 00:05:59.480 back end, and so there's got to be a checkbowve 106 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:03.040 or something back there to keep water from flowing in 107 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:06.800 the wrong direction as it's using the cold side as 108 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:08.759 the return pipe. And I just want to make sure 109 00:06:08.759 --> 00:06:10.399 I'm not going to hurt pipes. 110 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:14.360 Or you know, yeah, yeah, not at all. No, that 111 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.199 is what the bridge valve is. The bridge valve is 112 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:20.319 essentially a check It serves as a as a bridge 113 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:22.279 between hot and cold. Like I said, it's a one 114 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:25.199 way valve. It allows hot water to move into the cold. 115 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:28.000 It does not allow cold to come back into the hot. 116 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:31.439 It is both a bridge and a check valve. It 117 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:35.279 in no way threatens your plumbing system. They are approved, 118 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:39.079 they are embraced, and everybody really who can afford to 119 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.759 get one should get one. These research pumps, by the way, 120 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:44.920 they range in value anywhere from like the mid two 121 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:48.079 hundreds to the mid three hundred, three hundred bucks three 122 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:51.279 fifty or so two fifty to three hundred dollars. And 123 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:54.480 the check valve itself is you know, the bridge valve 124 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:56.759 is you know, it's like a sixty dollars item. So 125 00:06:57.399 --> 00:07:01.360 it's a really really good set up. And I wouldn't 126 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.879 worry about your plumbing in any way, shape or form, Stephen. 127 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:05.399 It's one of the it's one of the things water 128 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:08.720 heaters only. Does you know one of our sponsors is 129 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:12.839 one of the benefit ads that they do to a 130 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:15.360 house when they're installing a new water heater. So anyway, 131 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:19.120 a really really good system and great questions, Stephen. It 132 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:22.399 allowed me to explain this to everybody who is listening, 133 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:24.839 and that's one of the reasons why we take calls. 134 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:28.399 Not only answer your question, but answer the thousands of 135 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:32.639 other listeners who are having the exact same situation in 136 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:35.639 their house and have that same question in their mind, 137 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:38.600 but didn't call to more of your calls. When we return, 138 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.639 you are listening to Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper. 139 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:46.040 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 140 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:47.639 KFI AM six forty. 141 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:51.639 Thanks for joining us on the program. 142 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:55.399 Now it is time to take some calls, and I 143 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:56.480 want to do exactly that. 144 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:59.800 I want to talk to Cheryl. Hey, Cheryl, welcome home. 145 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:05.519 My question is with regards to drain maintenance. I love 146 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:09.399 my husband very much, but I'm noticing that the bathroom 147 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:13.720 drain bath sink drain is a little bit slower. I 148 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:17.199 have no blockages anywhere, but I'm thinking it's from his 149 00:08:17.319 --> 00:08:24.199 shaving cream and shaving. So what is the proper drain maintenance? Monthly? Weekly? 150 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:27.279 I went to a local store and there was chemicals 151 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:31.199 and enzymes, and there were things for the disposer, and 152 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:35.679 then another product for the toilet, another product. What's the 153 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:38.919 best product to use baking soda, vinegar and hot water. 154 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:42.720 I also read, so how often and what is best 155 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:46.919 for maintaining a drink of the drains weekly or monthly? 156 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:51.080 Okay, great question, and uh so here's the answer. Now 157 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:56.919 you're dealing specifically with a bathroom drain, okay, And but 158 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:59.399 also people are wondering like, okay, but what about my 159 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:02.519 kitchen singing two? That's where my problem is. And so 160 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:06.440 here the first rule is for drain maintenance is don't 161 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:08.039 put the wrong stuff down the drain. 162 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:08.639 Okay. 163 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:12.799 So if your husband in shaving cream and whatever, let 164 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:15.159 him pull the stopper on the sink and let the 165 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:18.799 sink fill up, okay with water as he shaved, so 166 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:22.799 that the shaving cream is diluted in the water before 167 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.080 it goes down the drain. Don't let just big clumps 168 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:28.559 of shaving cream go down the drain undiluted, and the 169 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:31.360 reason is that they have a tendency then to cling 170 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:34.919 more to the sides of your drain pipes, and it's 171 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:39.000 that eventual build up that leads eventually to some kind 172 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:41.200 of clog. The same is true for women who are 173 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:43.759 prepping out a sink. If you're doing your hair or 174 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:47.279 something like that, pull the stopper on the drain, let 175 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:50.279 the hair get stopped in the sink, and then grab 176 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:52.720 that hair, throw it in the trash can. Don't let 177 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:55.039 it go down the drain, and your drains will be happier. 178 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:59.120 And in the kitchen, stop putting food down the garbage disposal, 179 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:02.200 so much of it macerates it into this mush, this 180 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:05.879 biological mess, and that stuff clings to your drain pipes 181 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:08.279 as you go down. So that's just first the tip 182 00:10:08.519 --> 00:10:12.840 number one. Number two is I am a fan of 183 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:18.120 drain maintenance. No heavy chemicals, So definitely not the draino 184 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:20.879 definitely not the liquid plumber or any of that kind 185 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:24.519 of stuff. It ultimately does damage to the drain pipes themselves. 186 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:27.080 What you can put down, don't put bleach down the 187 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:29.399 drain either. Bleach is useless down to drain. 188 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:29.879 It doesn't. 189 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:33.600 That's not what it's made for. Okay, vinegar and water, 190 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:36.720 hot water. Fill up a sink with hot water, add 191 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:39.320 some white vinegar. Let that go down the drain. That's 192 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:42.519 great because vinegar has an ascetic acid in it, and 193 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:45.960 that acid eats away at the junk that sits on 194 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:51.080 the edge of your drain pipes. Baking soda also a 195 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:55.360 good answer, because it has its own way of breaking 196 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:59.960 down that material. Never baking soda and vinegar together because 197 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:02.960 us even though you get this fizzing action, that's not 198 00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:08.399 extra cleaning power. That's the acid and the pH neutral 199 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:13.559 balance neutralizing itself. In other words, it's canceling itself out 200 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:17.639 and rendering both less useful than they are on their own. 201 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:20.799 So pick the vinegar or the baking soda, but not 202 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:23.080 both at the same time. That's good for making your 203 00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:27.559 kids high school volcano project, but not for cleaning anything 204 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:30.720 around the house. The thing that I like the best, though, Cheryl, 205 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:38.919 this is my preference, is a nice well referenced enzyme. 206 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:41.240 You know, I mean well referenced meaning that it has 207 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:44.279 good reviews. Right, you can buy this stuff just about 208 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:47.559 anywhere at the local hardware store. You can buy them 209 00:11:47.559 --> 00:11:49.679 at the big box store. I'm staring at one right now. 210 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:52.879 I just pulled it up. Green Gobbler is a really 211 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:57.559 really good one, and they sell it in gallons jugs 212 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:00.399 at a place like home Depot. Okay, it costs you 213 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:03.120 about twenty five bucks for a gallon. You use very 214 00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:05.200 little of it, and you just use it regularly. You 215 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.440 don't have to use it every other day or anything 216 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:09.960 like that. You know, once a week, once a month, 217 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:13.480 pour a little of it down. Enzymes they're not critters, 218 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:19.039 they're not alive, Okay. They are though naturally occurring biological 219 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:24.159 molecular structures that dig in and break down biomass material. 220 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:28.639 So enzymes will just basically coat over the slime that's 221 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:30.960 building up on your pipes and start to break it 222 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.399 up so that the next time you flush the drain, 223 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:36.039 more and more of it goes away. Enzymes are not 224 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:38.440 going to do any good to clear a clogged drain, 225 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:42.879 but they are the best thing out there at keeping 226 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:46.759 a drain from clogging in the first place. There you go, 227 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:50.039 that's my best shot, Cheryl. Thank you for your call. 228 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:53.759 Let's talk to am. I going to get this name right. 229 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:55.399 Bobart welcome home. 230 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:59.000 Yes, I have an eighty five year old father who 231 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:03.919 is needs to be moved into his home, but he 232 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:06.200 can't get into the bathtub anymore. We needs to get 233 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:09.320 make it walk through backtop. So there's a there's something 234 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:12.840 online that steps to step in and you cut apart 235 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:16.039 the backtop and then you you've converted to a walk 236 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:18.480 in Do you have any opinions about that? 237 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:23.360 Yeah, you know I've seen that. Uh and uh uh. 238 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:27.559 What can I tell you? I have no direct experience 239 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:30.519 with it whatsoever. So I'm being completely honest and transparent 240 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:30.759 with you. 241 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:31.440 Zero. 242 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:34.440 I have zero direct experience with it. But but I 243 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:39.600 will tell you water is heavy, uh, and water pressure 244 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:44.360 against the side of a tub, uh is significant And 245 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:52.399 I really really have trouble imagining that in the long term, uh, 246 00:13:52.679 --> 00:13:55.960 that a retrofit of a door on the side of 247 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.639 an existing bathtub is actually going to hold up and 248 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:05.600 be functional. I would much much quicker recommend to you 249 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:10.080 that you simply remove the existing tub and replace it 250 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:14.360 with a factory built walk in tub. The door swings 251 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:17.639 in these tubs are built for exactly the thing that 252 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:21.039 you are in need of it. They are for folks 253 00:14:21.399 --> 00:14:24.840 who need to sit down. The benches are located in 254 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:27.679 the most convenient locations at the most convenient height. They 255 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:30.360 need to sit down, they need to bathe, but they 256 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.279 are not in a position to step over the edge 257 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:35.600 of a tub because it's a danger to them. And 258 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:38.080 so there is a door that simply opens up. But 259 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:43.000 those doors are designed like you know, marine grade boat 260 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:46.559 submarine doors. I mean, they seal. And I've never actually 261 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:51.039 seen one of those from reputable walk in tub manufacturers fail, honest, 262 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:53.320 And what I wouldn't want to have happen is for 263 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:57.679 how a retrofit fail on you. So my recommendation is 264 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:00.600 that you remove the existing tub and replace with one 265 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:03.879 designed by the factory for just this purpose. You're going 266 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:05.799 to have the best warranty and I think you're going 267 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:08.120 to have the best results with it. I'm so glad 268 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:10.399 you join him this morning. Hang tight, there is more 269 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:12.799 to come. You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp the 270 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:13.519 House Whisper. 271 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.799 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 272 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:19.399 KFI AM six forty. 273 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:25.159 We are taking your calls, which I love. I love 274 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:29.440 talking to you about whatever's going on with your home today, 275 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:34.480 whether it's a DIY question, a construction issue, a design question. 276 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.200 I love design questions, So anyway, I would love to help. 277 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:40.799 So why don't we just dive back in. I want 278 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:43.519 to talk to Jason. Hey, Jason, welcome home. 279 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:47.279 Hey, thank you. I'm an original homeowner and as such, 280 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:50.480 I have all the original photos of the framing, plumbing, electric. 281 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:53.600 The house is about fifteen years old, three thousand square feet, 282 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:56.919 two story. I'm in Orange County. We want to do 283 00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:00.799 a modest extent or expansion of our existing dining room, 284 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:04.519 so that we would push out an exterior wall to 285 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:10.840 basically capture an existing outdoor alcove type area that also 286 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:15.759 has there's an exterior entrance to the kitchen that goes 287 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:17.639 into that same area. So if you can imagine a 288 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:21.639 first story, little maybe hundred square foot alcove, there's an 289 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:24.120 exterior door from the dining room to that alcove. There 290 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:27.720 is an exterior door from the kitchen to that alcove. 291 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:29.279 And I'm like, well, hey, if we just pushed out 292 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:33.440 that wall maybe eight feet, we could have a way 293 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:35.720 to get into the kitchen from the dining room, and 294 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:38.080 we'd gather up another one hundred square feet. I reach 295 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:40.600 out to various contractors and they're like, hey, do you 296 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:42.480 have the drawings? I'm like, well, what do you mean? Well, 297 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:44.360 if when you go to get permits, they're going to 298 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:47.360 want a drawing of the entire house, not just that 299 00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:51.080 little section. And I'm like, gosh, I'm yours aloner, but 300 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:53.919 I don't have any drawings. Well, you know, you either 301 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:55.879 have to get a firm to draw up the entire 302 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:58.639 elevation of the house as it's existing and the plan 303 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:02.240 for that wall, or or find another way to get them. 304 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:05.400 I'm sort of perplexed on like, a does the whole 305 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:07.519 house really have to get drawn up just to move 306 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:12.480 one wall? And secondly, do I, as like an original homeowner, 307 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:15.240 do I have any sort of entitlement to maybe those drawings? 308 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:17.960 Because I'm learning to hire an engineering firm to come 309 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:21.599 in and draw the whole house. It's quite expensive for 310 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:23.160 a small project like this. 311 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:25.640 Right, Okay, all right, so let me help you kind 312 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:30.039 of break this down. First of all, your contractors are 313 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:35.319 right ish, but they're probably correct. It changes municipality to municipality. 314 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:39.079 But generally speaking, if you are doing a structural addition 315 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:43.559 onto a house just for context sake, right, the city 316 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.839 is going to be bare minimum. They're going to be 317 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:51.799 looking for an exterior elevation of that three sides of 318 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:56.680 that push out and three sides meaning three cardinal directions. Right, So, 319 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:58.640 if you're pushing out on the south side of the house, 320 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:00.920 they're going to want the south elevation looking straight on. 321 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:04.480 They're going to want the east and west elevations looking 322 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:07.559 at the sides of that alcove. As a pushout, they 323 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:10.359 won't care about the other side of the house, okay. 324 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:13.960 They basically want context, and they want context in relation 325 00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:18.119 to where this alcove is in relation to the first floor. Now, 326 00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:21.119 if you're not affecting anything on the second floor, they 327 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:25.119 your city may not need second floor drawings, okay, they 328 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:28.400 may not care about that, or they may feel like, okay, 329 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:32.000 what is this affecting upstairs if anything. So that's the 330 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:33.880 first thing you need to know, and the answer to 331 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:38.759 those questions reside at your local building department, not with contractors, 332 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:41.400 but actually just making a trip down and saying, hey, 333 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:45.279 this is what we're planning on doing with our home. Secondarily, 334 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:50.519 your city may may it's getting rarer these days, but 335 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:54.119 they may actually have your original house plans on file, 336 00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:57.160 especially if it's only been fifteen years since the house 337 00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:01.160 was built. So while you're there, you should also ask 338 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:05.000 the city at the planning department, do you have the 339 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:09.720 original blueprints for my home or at least my tract, 340 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:13.519 And maybe they've got blueprints for your floor plan that 341 00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:16.119 are flipped, that have been submitted by the builder of 342 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:19.200 the developer back in the day. Those will work. That 343 00:19:19.319 --> 00:19:23.000 gives you a massive head start. Now sometimes the city 344 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:25.640 will say, well, yes, we do have that. We can't 345 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:29.279 release it to you though without notifying the builder, the 346 00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:34.799 original developer, or the architects first. That's just a technicality. 347 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:38.279 And most of the time what happens is they'll tell you, listen, 348 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:41.440 we're gonna do the official notification and we will let 349 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:43.720 you know in seven days if we haven't heard back 350 00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:45.400 from them, we're going to release the plans to you 351 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:49.440 and you can have them on usually a digital file 352 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:52.200 that you can then turn into a PDF, and you're 353 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:54.640 off to the races as far as plans are concerned 354 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:57.839 for your home. At least somebody doesn't have to pay. 355 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:00.000 Somebody's still going to have to draw the plans, right, 356 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:02.519 You can't just work off of those original plans. But 357 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:07.400 you can use those original plans instead of somebody having 358 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:09.720 to remeasure the whole house and go to that expense. 359 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:13.359 So it's going to reduce the cost. Finally, the thing 360 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.480 that I want to tell you is that never ever 361 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:20.480 hire an engineering firm to draw your house. The engineers 362 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:23.960 come in after the fact and just pay them to 363 00:20:24.119 --> 00:20:28.960 deal with the specific engineering issues that this thing involves. 364 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:31.079 As far as the rest of the plan, whatever the 365 00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:33.319 city tells you the rest of the plan has to be. 366 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:38.319 You can hire a draft I mean technically, Jason, you 367 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:42.119 can do this yourself. You are a homeowner and you 368 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:45.359 could actually draw the house yourself, but that is a 369 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:47.920 headache for a lot of people. You can hire a 370 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.880 drafts person. There are people out there for hire who 371 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:55.839 will give you a really good price to draw up 372 00:20:56.480 --> 00:21:00.720 the layout of your home and draw the elevation. Believe me, 373 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:02.799 there are a lot of drafts people out of work 374 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:05.799 and looking for work. It's a good time these days 375 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:09.759 to hire a drafts person. It does not require a 376 00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:14.720 licensed architect or a licensed engineer to draw your home. 377 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:17.960 I am not a licensed architect right and yet I 378 00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:21.759 design and build custom homes and have for the nearly 379 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:25.839 forty years now because in the state of California, you 380 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:30.000 do not the city. The state does not require a 381 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:34.680 licensed architect to be involved in most cases up to 382 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:39.079 three stories in a residential home. Okay, so when it 383 00:21:39.079 --> 00:21:43.559 comes to residences, anybody who knows what they're doing can 384 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:47.880 draw and submit those drawings generally speaking as a general 385 00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:51.079 rule in most municipalities. So it all starts with you 386 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:53.759 go into the city getting the info you need from them, 387 00:21:53.799 --> 00:21:57.319 finding out if your plans are on file. If they're not, yeah, 388 00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:00.759 you're going to have to break down to follow whatever 389 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:03.559 they are looking for, and you just give them the 390 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:06.240 minimum of what it is that they're looking for. They're 391 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:08.240 not going to be super impressed if you give them 392 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:11.920 extra extra extor they just want what they want. Uh, 393 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:14.079 And you start it there, but don't hire an engineering 394 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:16.559 firm to do it, because yeah, those guys are Those 395 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:20.160 guys are engineers and they make engineering money. Hire and 396 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:24.559 don't hire an architect. Hire a drafts person who work 397 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:28.359 for engineers and architects in order to actually put the 398 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:31.559 drawings together. By the way, you hire an engineering firm 399 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:34.039 to draw your house, they're going to hand it to 400 00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:37.799 their drafts person to actually do the measurement and the drawing. 401 00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:41.880