May 3, 2025 • 28 mins
It’s an All-Call Saturday with Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer. Dean opens the phone lines and takes on listener questions about home design and construction—everything from repairing aging foam trim on a 30-year-old stucco house to deciding whether to swap out standard white vinyl windows for sleek black aluminum frames. Along the way, Dean shares design philosophy, practical tips, and why even small changes can make a big architectural impact.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The
House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app KFI AM
six forty live streaming in HD everywhere on the iHeartRadio App. Hey,
welcome home. I'm Dean Sharp, the House Whisper. I design
(00:22):
custom homes and I am your guide every weekend to
better understand that place where you live today on the
show as we have it has really become our custom here
on our quiet Saturday mornings, it's an all calls morning.
I am putting out the call to you right now.
If you've got an issue, a question, a curiosity, a
(00:46):
DIY problem that you've got to solve, an architectural question,
a design question, a construction question about your home, I
am here to help you take it to the next level.
We'll put our heads together and we'll figure it out.
The number to reach me eight three three two. Ask
Dean eight three three. The numeral two ask Dean eight
(01:09):
three three to ask Dean. Our phone lines are open.
Producer Matt is standing by right now ready to take
your call. I know it is Saturday morning. It is
a quiet time here in southern California. If you're listening
for anywhere across the country. Your morning is a little
bit more developed. So any call from anywhere, from anybody,
(01:31):
We're just in the mood to talk about your home
this morning. Eight three three two ask Dean and we
will go to the phones as soon as the calls
start rolling in.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Let me introduce our awesome team. Sam is on.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
The board good morning, saying good morning, Dean. How are
you doing today. I'm doing well. I'm doing well, got
a good night's sleep. I had a lovely dinner last
night with some dear friends, clients who have become dear friends,
as so many any of our most of our clients
do actually working on the third project in a row
(02:05):
now for this one particular client, little beach house out
in Portwaanimi out in the Channel Harbor area, Channel Islands,
Harbury and great little beach house built in the seventies
and it's been in their family for all these years
and not many changes have taken place since the seventies,
(02:27):
so it is just ripe.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
It's ripe for updating and some changes. So it's a classic.
I mean you drive up and you know, lava rock
on the front of the house, and.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Does it still have the shag carpet.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
No, no, they did get rid of the shag carpet.
But you know, apart from that, you got the vibe right,
it's just totally right there. And so there are so
many tweaks and changes to make, and I just I
love sitting down with clients and really talking through what
they want to eight out of the place. And you know,
as always, some revelations along the way as we kind
(03:05):
of you know, have a conversation about well, how's this
going to fit you best, and some things that really
surprised them along the way. So it really really good
night last night. And then just went out and had
some dinner and talked about some really just very personal
things and some special things about their family and our life.
And anyway, it was great, great evening. The Dodgers won
(03:28):
yesterday long game, rain delay in Atlanta long game, and
we got right to the eighth inning and we were
just like, all right, let's end this thing. And then
the rain started rolling in and we had to wait
an hour and a half before we finished off just
you know, six strikes and that was it. So anyway,
(03:48):
it was a good day. It's going to be a
good morning today. Got some work ahead of us today
as well, and yeah, we're pretty jazzed. So how is
everything right there in the control booth?
Speaker 4 (03:58):
My friend fantastic. I have my son here today, so
we got a live audience. Of course, of course he's
the best, he's awesome. Producer Matt is standing by taking
calls this morning. Looks like he's taking a call now.
I just want to let you guys know. You know,
Saturday morning, it's a great time to call in. Traffic
is like eight three three, to ask Dean. Some people question,
(04:21):
they're like, would you do why would you do? Call
ins at six o'clock in the morning on Saturday?
Speaker 1 (04:27):
You know what, I understand the logic, but the fact
of the matter is there's a lot of us who
are up and about and it's just a special time.
And I love calls on Saturday mornings. They just got
a great tone to them. Eileen Gonzalez at the news desk,
Good morning, Eileen, Good morning, Dean. How's it going good?
How are you doing good?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Thanks? Everything good? What's our tea of choice this morning?
You know, I haven't had time to get anything to drink,
and I'm parched, all right, you got to get out
there and get that going. Yeah, I'll get some I'll
get some green going. All right, sounds good now.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Normally I would say, sitting across the table from me,
my better half, my design partner, my best friend in
all the world, Tina is here. But I have given her.
I have given her like I'm in charge. Tina's taking
the morning off. We'll probably see her in a little
bit later, but she is taking a well deserved sleep
(05:23):
in today. So Tina will be here shortly. And as
for the rest of you, We've got some calls coming
in and I just want to dive right in, so
we will go to the phones. Kfi, Dean Sharp, the
house whisper, Welcome home, Happy Saturday morning to you, my friend.
(05:45):
Whether your home is a condo or a cottage or
a castle matters not to me. I am here to
help you take it to the next level. Like I said,
last night, we were having dinner with some dear friends
who are also design clients, and we were having a
really really interesting discussion just about the whole idea of design.
(06:06):
They were kind of interviewing me. They were saying, I
want to get inside your head about your design career,
and I was talking about some of the more interesting
facets of how I ended up doing what I'm doing,
and you were one of the things I had to
tell them was, hey, you know, one of the things
I realized along the way, Yeah, I broke into the
(06:28):
design world through big luxury estates and those are lovely.
I mean they're lovely in the sense that, you know,
when you're doing these massive costs and ultra custom luxury
projects as an artist, you know, a great client becomes
a great patron and just says, you know, here, unleash,
(06:48):
unleash your creativity in this area. But the reality is
that every space, every space has its constraints, has its challenges,
and I don't really care whether we're designing, you know,
a small shed for somebody or literally a castle along
the way, because it's all design. It all, you know,
(07:09):
pulls out the best in me. And uh, you know,
I'm just a you know, I come from a lower
middle class, blue collar working family.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
That's the that's the area.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
You know, just living in the suburbs and living in
you know, living among middle class, mainstream homeowners is for
my own personal life is what I'm most comfortable with.
It's where we always live it's where we always will live,
I hope, uh uh and uh. I personally, I am never gonna,
you know, end up in the house behind the big
(07:41):
gates up on the hill, although I've got no problem
designing one for you. And so I just love designing homes.
I love the challenges and uh and I love all
the facets of it. And so yeah, it was a
really great conversation. And at the end of the day,
the fact of the matter is, when I tell you,
it doesn't matter to me whether you're living in a
(08:03):
condo or a little cottage or a castle. The challenges
are there, and good architecture belongs and should belong to everybody,
all right. So that's how I feel about that. All right,
let's go to the phones. Now I've talked enough that
maybe I won't get this whole call in, but let's
talk to Carter.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Hey, Carter, welcome home. Oh thank you. How can I
help you, my friend?
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (08:31):
Okay, Well, I've got a thirty year old home and
which on the exterior. For some of their features on
the exterior, they glued foam to the stucco and then
they put like a single coat of colored color code
(08:52):
of stucco over that. So now thirty years later, some
of this U the phone is disintegrade, I guess because
of the UV light, And I wonder what are your
thoughts on that? Do I just have to scrape the
whole thing off of there? And I'm not quite sure
(09:13):
what the best way would be to handle that.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah, how extensive is it? Is it just a couple
of areas? Is it happening a lot? And the foam?
Was it damaged? Did it experience some impact or is
it just literally kind of breaking down.
Speaker 6 (09:34):
It looks like it's just breaking down. It's in one
specific area really, where it's about four inches wide and
about fifteen inches long, all along the bottom of this
one feature. I don't know if they call that salting
out or what it is. But do you have any
(09:58):
ideas on that? Should I scrape it all off and
replace the foam? I don't know?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Yeah, So, yeah, this is a it's an interesting problem. Probably,
you know, I'll just cut to the chase for you.
The probably the best thing you can do is get
a stucco company out that works with foam plantons. And
(10:24):
that's what you want to tell them on the phone.
You says, I've got phone hoam planton surrounds around my windows.
You know, I've got a house with the house built
in the eighties.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Or nineties, early nineties, yeah, yeah, early nineties.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Tell them I've got foam plantons and and I've got
an area where it's degrading, and you know, can you
guys come out and give me a price for that?
And they will, they will, and they can patch that in,
uh and and restucc of it and get you back
in shape.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
But the the issue with.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Foam plantons, it's still being used today still. I mean,
it's a technology that's advancing. But in the eighties just
starting I remember, I literally remember foam companies coming around
to job sites selling their wares, so kind of like
door to door salesmen with their cases of stuff and saying,
take a look at what we can do. And the
(11:23):
idea is that it was going to make trims around
windows and doors and around roof eves fancier. It was
going to be fancier for less cost. It was going
to have the contours of what we would normally do
in stone stone work, except you just have these hot
(11:44):
knife cut foam pieces that have a certain shape and
they could be glued on, attached well to the house,
and then just stuccoed right over and they have their
own coating of stucco and fibrous. Now what we found
as years went on, Like, for instance, today if you
find you can actually find these pieces sitting in the
(12:06):
big box store, they sell them on the shelf at times.
But now they come out of the factory with a
fibrous coating on them, pre stucco fibrous coating, so they're
a little bit more resilient to begin with, and then
a finished coat of stucco gets rolled over them, so
they're lasting longer today than they did in the eighties.
(12:28):
But the fact of the matter is that it actually,
it actually is an easy thing to repair, simply because
even if it's not like, oh, well, does your company
have access to this shape, it's not even really that.
A lot of foam stucco installation companies will have blades
what we call hot knives, that they can bend into
(12:50):
shape in the shape of your foam and then cut
a new piece of foam out of a foam block
that's just sitting there, Cut a new piece, burn, melt
it through to match your foam, and then adhere it
on and then restuckle it over. So the good news is, yes,
it can be fixed. You need to call a company
that kind of it is familiar with and uses foam plantons.
(13:14):
That's the that's the category of what you're talking about,
and they'll fix it up for you.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Am I thrilled about them myself? You know, I get it.
I get the idea. I just wasn't convinced. I never
have been fully convinced that they're the they're the best
way to go for that kind of thing. Because if
we're trying to emulate stone again, of course me right,
I'm a purist when it comes to this. If we're
(13:41):
trying to emulate a stone finish, then I'd rather you
actually have a smooth finish on the plantons around and
not a rough stucco finish. It could still be stucco,
but I want them to be smooth with little lines
in them, so that we're actually emulating stone and it's
not just more stucco except in a fancy shape.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
But that's does that make sense? But that's just me.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
That's just me being picky about architecture. But from a
builder side, it's the builder in me that's answering your question. Yeah,
you can have that done, Carter. Carter, thank you so
much for the call and for the question. Good luck
with that. You want to talk to a stucco company
that specializes in installing stone foam plantons, and they're out
(14:28):
there because they're still being readily used in a larger
house production and developments. All right, y'all, when we come back,
more of your calls and some tidbits from me too.
Your Home with Dean Sharp the House Whisper.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
CAMFI.
Speaker 7 (14:53):
AM six forty live streaming and HD everywhere on the
iHeartRadio app Dean Sharp the House, I'll whisper with you
this morning on this cool, quiet Saturday morning here in
southern California taking calls.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Let me give the number out because we've got plenty
of room on the board for you. Eight three to
three two ask Dean eight three to three the numeral
two ask Dean eight three three to ask Dean. That's
the number to reach me at As always, Saturday morning
is just a light traffic on the phone, So really,
if you've been scratching at something that you've wanted to
(15:29):
talk about regarding your home. It's a great time to
call in. Let's go back to the phones. I want
to talk to Adam. Hey Adam, welcome home.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Hey Dean, good morning, great to hear, great to talk
to you. Listening for a long time. Usually right after
Coast to coast, I figured i'll give you a call
this morning.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Oh great, I'm thrilled that you have. How can I help?
Speaker 5 (15:53):
So I have a little idea to upgrade my house.
My house is just given an idea just to give
you're a reugh just catch up. Nineteen year old house
to lenar home. So it's it's one of those homes
they kind of they all kind of every third fourth
house looks the same. Right, one story U two windows
facing the street. Rest of the windows are you know,
(16:16):
sides of the house, back of the house. This is
where I need some input. I don't know if going
from white window frame you know your typical plastics two
aluminum uh finish type windows, sliding door, you know, sliding
door that leads into the backyard. I have a wife
(16:39):
that works for a company who can actually make them
for me, or I can just find it from someone else.
But my question is, what do you think about a
house that you know different from the neighborhood. I think
I would be the only one in the neighborhood with
black windows. But going from plastic, the typical plastic white
what everybody has, to aluminum black finish windows, which my
(17:02):
wife's company sells to They usually sell those two higher
end homes, you know Melion, Doar Holmes, Humilia Dollar homes
out of that, you know, Court and all that. So
that's her clientele, and so I'm able to get them
from her at a great at a great deal. But
I don't know if it'll fit. What do you think?
(17:22):
That's kind of why I'm kind of a little bit
hesitant to pull the trigger. What do you think that
would that add value to the home? Would it be
a good choice long term going from plastic to dark
metal finish?
Speaker 6 (17:37):
What do you think?
Speaker 2 (17:39):
All right? Great question? Great question.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Uh So, if you're asking the custom home designer what
what I think about making your home unique, you're going
to get my vote, You're going to get my two
thumbs up. From the very beginning, the whole subject of
white windows on a house is kind of you know,
there's nothing wrong with it, and so I want to
be really careful not to step on anybody's toe. I mean,
(18:04):
I've got white windows on my house as well. But
but the fact of the matter is it's really the
industry the tail wagging the dog, as it were. And again,
I was talking about the dinner we were having with
our clients last night. That's one of the things that
we were talking about, how how the industry dictates a
(18:24):
certain thing for from its own purposes, not because oh,
this is the right color of window to put into
a home. But there are completely they're usually completely different
reasons why a home component in a tract home environment
ends up becoming a certain thing, and then you just
(18:46):
kind of design your way around it. You make the
best of it. So the question of whether a dark
framed window works in a home U is really I mean,
it's it's an absolutely, it's it's a viable question, and
the only answer is whether you take a look at
it in the style of your home and whether there
(19:08):
are other components that will complement it. And a lot
of people are under the belief that, oh, well, if
you go dark frame metal window, first of all, it's
you know, it's that's that's like a contemporary look.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
That's a that's a total. That's not true at all.
It's not true at all.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
It is in fact, you know, we put dark frame
windows in traditional homes, colonial homes, we put them in
farmhouse looks, ranch house looks. I have put dark frame
windows in Spanish med look. I mean just about every
imaginable style of home can be designed to have dark
(19:45):
frame windows look absolutely stunning and gorgeous, and talk about
offsetting the vibe of the house. The material of the
window for me, is secondary, entirely secondary. I mean, if
you we we're living in an age in which uh, well,
you know what. Here's the thing, Adam, I'm looking at
(20:06):
the clock and I'm getting tapped on the shoulder here
that I should go to a break. Can you hang
tight with me because I want to give this a
really full answer so everybody understands us. So I can
I pop you on hold and we'll come back right
after the break and I'm gonna give my full blown
answer to this one. No problem, all right, Adam, you
hang tight. We're going to talk about white windows. Where
do they even come from?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Why?
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Why are most windows white? I will explain that to you,
and I will explain to Adam why I think it's
probably a great idea if he wants to go dark frame.
But as long as it works with the style, all
of that and more KFI. Dean sharp the house whisper,
welcome home, Thanks for joining us. It's an all call
(20:48):
Saturday morning. There's room on the board for you. The
number to reach me eight three three two ask Dean
eight three three the numeral to ask Dean. I want
to get back to Adam. Make sure I didn't hang
up on him. Adam, you're still with me?
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Man? Ye here?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
All right. Adam is taking a bold move.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
He wants to up great the windows on his home
and get rid of the potentially get rid of the
white vinyl windows that it came with. And he's got
an inside connection via his wife, who you should give
me her number, so I can have that inside connection
as well, you know, with a high end aluminum window company,
(21:27):
and you know the kind that we would normally use
for you know, larger estate projects and things like that,
beach houses and all the like. And so the question
is should I replace the white windows on my home
with a darker frame, black frame, bronze frame. You know,
whatever the window and is it the right vibe? And
(21:51):
so I was saying right before the break that for me,
the material of the window itself is secondary. It's not irrelevant, obviously,
but it's secondary from a design perspective, because I'm just
I'm just looking for the look and uh. And the
fact of the matter is, architecturally, a dark frame window
(22:13):
looks great and and can look great on just about
any imaginable style. I've put them in any I mean,
old world, new world. They're not just a contemporary window,
regardless of what the interweb tells you. Uh, they can be.
They can accommodate just about any look at all. And
(22:33):
so two thumbs up. You just evaluate the home and
give it a give it a you know, give it
a vibe. Take a take a photo of your home
printed out and uh and literally you know, color in
with a sharpie, uh, the white frame windows, and stare at.
I mean, I'm all for this. I do these perspectives
for clients all the time. They're like, what would my
(22:53):
house look like if I had this on the outside.
I'm like, well, let's take a photograph of it. I'll
photo shop in that color or that and we can
all take a look at it and you can decide
for yourself. But I'm telling you right now, it's a
good look and it's almost always a good move. Now,
the reason why most windows are white is because most
(23:16):
windows in most tracked homes that have been built in
the last thirty years are vinyl. Vinyl is not a
strong material. Okay, now, it doesn't mean your windows are
falling apart, but that's why the frames on a vinyl
window are so thick, because vinyl is a relatively soft material.
So vinyl windows by definition have wider sashes, wider frames,
(23:41):
wider divider lights, and mullions because it takes more. Vinyl
takes more material to make a strong frame. An aluminum
is a much stronger material, and you can get away
with a thinner frame, which means you'll have more glass,
you'll have more light coming into the house, and so on. Now,
(24:01):
the other reason why wind vinyl windows are white is
because number one, it's the literally the least expense. You know,
the the vinyl is naturally white. It's the least expensive
uh manufacturing process white some vinyl windows, some companies make
them tan or beige. You can get and a few
(24:23):
a handful produce black or darker bronze windows, but let
me tell you they are considerably more expensive than your
standard vinyl window. And it's not because of the color. Well,
it's because of the color. It's it's it's not the
color that's expensive. The reason why you don't see black
vinyl windows is because vinyl is not a strong material.
(24:49):
It's a soft material, and a black window attracts heat
to itself, and so black vinyl windows soften in bright
sunlight more so than a white vinyl window, which reflects
that light. That black window absorbs light, it absorbs heat,
and then the material starts off and the window breaks down.
(25:11):
So a black vinyl window has to have reinforcement on
the inside that a white vinyl window does not have.
Therefore it's a more expensive window. So this is why
the majority of homes have white windows, not because the
god of architecture said white windows are the best look,
but simply because the building industry is like, hey, you
(25:32):
know what, we can produce these for cheap, So guess
what everybody gets white? And that's pretty much what I
call the tail wagging the dog in tracked home development.
That's just the way it is okay, and everybody gets
used to it and we all make do with it
and it's all understandable. So for those of you who
are thinking about it, here's the one thing I will
(25:52):
tell you, Adam. And it sounds like your wife has
a line on a company that produces a higher end
aluminum window. I don't want you to go an inexpensive
aluminum window. You know, when we go window, we use
Western windows or fleetwoods or things equivalent to that. And
so when you when you do an aluminum window, uh,
(26:15):
you want a window that is thermally broken. Okay, thermally broken?
Speaker 5 (26:22):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (26:23):
And what does that mean? It means this.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
It means aluminum is a really good conductor of energy, right.
I mean you know you can run electricity through it
and get shocked, right, So it conducts energy really well. Therefore,
a dark window on the outside of a house that's
metal can easily transmit heat from the outside to the inside. Right,
(26:46):
So you touch the frame on the inside of the
house and you're like, ooh, it's warm on a hot day.
That is an unbroken a thermally unbroken window, meaning that
there's one frame that continuously goes from the outside to
the inside. But a high quality aluminum window is what
we call thermally broken, which means the outer frame does
(27:07):
not bridge across. There's a break, there's a gap, there's
no bridge across to the inner frame. And therefore, as
the outer frame heats up in the sunlight of a
warm summer day, it does not transmit that heat and
vice versa cold the same way it doesn't transmit that
energy to the inside of the house. So a thermally
(27:29):
broken aluminum window is a really high quality window. It
will last a lifetime. If you decide on your color
ahead of time, you can usually get the factory to
powder coat the window like an automobile before you even
order them. Even though an aluminum window can be painted
on site, you know, we normally customize that color and
(27:51):
make sure it comes the color that we want and
talk about a low maintenance window for the life of
the home. So if it works for you, play around
with the style bud, and then you know, if you're
leaning that way, go for it. You're in a unique
position to be able to buy high quality windows at
a low cost.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
I would do it in a heartbeat.
Speaker 5 (28:13):
You've motivated me to. I think you've made my decision,
and I think, I like, I didn't know about the
thermally thermally broken, and I'm going to ask that. I'm
going to tell you that's all right. There you go.
Thanks for that advice.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
You're welcome, Adam. Thanks for the call, Bud. I love it.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
I love it, always bringing up subjects that everybody else
can glean from. All Right, we're at the.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Top of the hour.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
More of your calls when we return. You are Home
with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper on KFI.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI A M six forty
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The
House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app KFI AM
six forty live streaming in HD everywhere on the iHeartRadio App. Hey,
welcome home. I'm Dean Sharp, the House Whisper. I design
(00:22):
custom homes and I am your guide every weekend to
better understand that place where you live today on the
show as we have it has really become our custom here
on our quiet Saturday mornings, it's an all calls morning.
I am putting out the call to you right now.
If you've got an issue, a question, a curiosity, a
(00:46):
DIY problem that you've got to solve, an architectural question,
a design question, a construction question about your home, I
am here to help you take it to the next level.
We'll put our heads together and we'll figure it out.
The number to reach me eight three three two. Ask
Dean eight three three. The numeral two ask Dean eight
(01:09):
three three to ask Dean. Our phone lines are open.
Producer Matt is standing by right now ready to take
your call. I know it is Saturday morning. It is
a quiet time here in southern California. If you're listening
for anywhere across the country. Your morning is a little
bit more developed. So any call from anywhere, from anybody,
(01:31):
We're just in the mood to talk about your home
this morning. Eight three three two ask Dean and we
will go to the phones as soon as the calls
start rolling in.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Let me introduce our awesome team. Sam is on.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
The board good morning, saying good morning, Dean. How are
you doing today. I'm doing well. I'm doing well, got
a good night's sleep. I had a lovely dinner last
night with some dear friends, clients who have become dear friends,
as so many any of our most of our clients
do actually working on the third project in a row
(02:05):
now for this one particular client, little beach house out
in Portwaanimi out in the Channel Harbor area, Channel Islands,
Harbury and great little beach house built in the seventies
and it's been in their family for all these years
and not many changes have taken place since the seventies,
(02:27):
so it is just ripe.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
It's ripe for updating and some changes. So it's a classic.
I mean you drive up and you know, lava rock
on the front of the house, and.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Does it still have the shag carpet.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
No, no, they did get rid of the shag carpet.
But you know, apart from that, you got the vibe right,
it's just totally right there. And so there are so
many tweaks and changes to make, and I just I
love sitting down with clients and really talking through what
they want to eight out of the place. And you know,
as always, some revelations along the way as we kind
(03:05):
of you know, have a conversation about well, how's this
going to fit you best, and some things that really
surprised them along the way. So it really really good
night last night. And then just went out and had
some dinner and talked about some really just very personal
things and some special things about their family and our life.
And anyway, it was great, great evening. The Dodgers won
(03:28):
yesterday long game, rain delay in Atlanta long game, and
we got right to the eighth inning and we were
just like, all right, let's end this thing. And then
the rain started rolling in and we had to wait
an hour and a half before we finished off just
you know, six strikes and that was it. So anyway,
(03:48):
it was a good day. It's going to be a
good morning today. Got some work ahead of us today
as well, and yeah, we're pretty jazzed. So how is
everything right there in the control booth?
Speaker 4 (03:58):
My friend fantastic. I have my son here today, so
we got a live audience. Of course, of course he's
the best, he's awesome. Producer Matt is standing by taking
calls this morning. Looks like he's taking a call now.
I just want to let you guys know. You know,
Saturday morning, it's a great time to call in. Traffic
is like eight three three, to ask Dean. Some people question,
(04:21):
they're like, would you do why would you do? Call
ins at six o'clock in the morning on Saturday?
Speaker 1 (04:27):
You know what, I understand the logic, but the fact
of the matter is there's a lot of us who
are up and about and it's just a special time.
And I love calls on Saturday mornings. They just got
a great tone to them. Eileen Gonzalez at the news desk,
Good morning, Eileen, Good morning, Dean. How's it going good?
How are you doing good?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Thanks? Everything good? What's our tea of choice this morning?
You know, I haven't had time to get anything to drink,
and I'm parched, all right, you got to get out
there and get that going. Yeah, I'll get some I'll
get some green going. All right, sounds good now.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Normally I would say, sitting across the table from me,
my better half, my design partner, my best friend in
all the world, Tina is here. But I have given her.
I have given her like I'm in charge. Tina's taking
the morning off. We'll probably see her in a little
bit later, but she is taking a well deserved sleep
(05:23):
in today. So Tina will be here shortly. And as
for the rest of you, We've got some calls coming
in and I just want to dive right in, so
we will go to the phones. Kfi, Dean Sharp, the
house whisper, Welcome home, Happy Saturday morning to you, my friend.
(05:45):
Whether your home is a condo or a cottage or
a castle matters not to me. I am here to
help you take it to the next level. Like I said,
last night, we were having dinner with some dear friends
who are also design clients, and we were having a
really really interesting discussion just about the whole idea of design.
(06:06):
They were kind of interviewing me. They were saying, I
want to get inside your head about your design career,
and I was talking about some of the more interesting
facets of how I ended up doing what I'm doing,
and you were one of the things I had to
tell them was, hey, you know, one of the things
I realized along the way, Yeah, I broke into the
(06:28):
design world through big luxury estates and those are lovely.
I mean they're lovely in the sense that, you know,
when you're doing these massive costs and ultra custom luxury
projects as an artist, you know, a great client becomes
a great patron and just says, you know, here, unleash,
(06:48):
unleash your creativity in this area. But the reality is
that every space, every space has its constraints, has its challenges,
and I don't really care whether we're designing, you know,
a small shed for somebody or literally a castle along
the way, because it's all design. It all, you know,
(07:09):
pulls out the best in me. And uh, you know,
I'm just a you know, I come from a lower
middle class, blue collar working family.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
That's the that's the area.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
You know, just living in the suburbs and living in
you know, living among middle class, mainstream homeowners is for
my own personal life is what I'm most comfortable with.
It's where we always live it's where we always will live,
I hope, uh uh and uh. I personally, I am never gonna,
you know, end up in the house behind the big
(07:41):
gates up on the hill, although I've got no problem
designing one for you. And so I just love designing homes.
I love the challenges and uh and I love all
the facets of it. And so yeah, it was a
really great conversation. And at the end of the day,
the fact of the matter is, when I tell you,
it doesn't matter to me whether you're living in a
(08:03):
condo or a little cottage or a castle. The challenges
are there, and good architecture belongs and should belong to everybody,
all right. So that's how I feel about that. All right,
let's go to the phones. Now I've talked enough that
maybe I won't get this whole call in, but let's
talk to Carter.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Hey, Carter, welcome home. Oh thank you. How can I
help you, my friend?
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (08:31):
Okay, Well, I've got a thirty year old home and
which on the exterior. For some of their features on
the exterior, they glued foam to the stucco and then
they put like a single coat of colored color code
(08:52):
of stucco over that. So now thirty years later, some
of this U the phone is disintegrade, I guess because
of the UV light, And I wonder what are your
thoughts on that? Do I just have to scrape the
whole thing off of there? And I'm not quite sure
(09:13):
what the best way would be to handle that.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah, how extensive is it? Is it just a couple
of areas? Is it happening a lot? And the foam?
Was it damaged? Did it experience some impact or is
it just literally kind of breaking down.
Speaker 6 (09:34):
It looks like it's just breaking down. It's in one
specific area really, where it's about four inches wide and
about fifteen inches long, all along the bottom of this
one feature. I don't know if they call that salting
out or what it is. But do you have any
(09:58):
ideas on that? Should I scrape it all off and
replace the foam? I don't know?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Yeah, So, yeah, this is a it's an interesting problem. Probably,
you know, I'll just cut to the chase for you.
The probably the best thing you can do is get
a stucco company out that works with foam plantons. And
(10:24):
that's what you want to tell them on the phone.
You says, I've got phone hoam planton surrounds around my windows.
You know, I've got a house with the house built
in the eighties.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Or nineties, early nineties, yeah, yeah, early nineties.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Tell them I've got foam plantons and and I've got
an area where it's degrading, and you know, can you
guys come out and give me a price for that?
And they will, they will, and they can patch that in,
uh and and restucc of it and get you back
in shape.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
But the the issue with.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Foam plantons, it's still being used today still. I mean,
it's a technology that's advancing. But in the eighties just
starting I remember, I literally remember foam companies coming around
to job sites selling their wares, so kind of like
door to door salesmen with their cases of stuff and saying,
take a look at what we can do. And the
(11:23):
idea is that it was going to make trims around
windows and doors and around roof eves fancier. It was
going to be fancier for less cost. It was going
to have the contours of what we would normally do
in stone stone work, except you just have these hot
(11:44):
knife cut foam pieces that have a certain shape and
they could be glued on, attached well to the house,
and then just stuccoed right over and they have their
own coating of stucco and fibrous. Now what we found
as years went on, Like, for instance, today if you
find you can actually find these pieces sitting in the
(12:06):
big box store, they sell them on the shelf at times.
But now they come out of the factory with a
fibrous coating on them, pre stucco fibrous coating, so they're
a little bit more resilient to begin with, and then
a finished coat of stucco gets rolled over them, so
they're lasting longer today than they did in the eighties.
(12:28):
But the fact of the matter is that it actually,
it actually is an easy thing to repair, simply because
even if it's not like, oh, well, does your company
have access to this shape, it's not even really that.
A lot of foam stucco installation companies will have blades
what we call hot knives, that they can bend into
(12:50):
shape in the shape of your foam and then cut
a new piece of foam out of a foam block
that's just sitting there, Cut a new piece, burn, melt
it through to match your foam, and then adhere it
on and then restuckle it over. So the good news is, yes,
it can be fixed. You need to call a company
that kind of it is familiar with and uses foam plantons.
(13:14):
That's the that's the category of what you're talking about,
and they'll fix it up for you.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Am I thrilled about them myself? You know, I get it.
I get the idea. I just wasn't convinced. I never
have been fully convinced that they're the they're the best
way to go for that kind of thing. Because if
we're trying to emulate stone again, of course me right,
I'm a purist when it comes to this. If we're
(13:41):
trying to emulate a stone finish, then I'd rather you
actually have a smooth finish on the plantons around and
not a rough stucco finish. It could still be stucco,
but I want them to be smooth with little lines
in them, so that we're actually emulating stone and it's
not just more stucco except in a fancy shape.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
But that's does that make sense? But that's just me.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
That's just me being picky about architecture. But from a
builder side, it's the builder in me that's answering your question. Yeah,
you can have that done, Carter. Carter, thank you so
much for the call and for the question. Good luck
with that. You want to talk to a stucco company
that specializes in installing stone foam plantons, and they're out
(14:28):
there because they're still being readily used in a larger
house production and developments. All right, y'all, when we come back,
more of your calls and some tidbits from me too.
Your Home with Dean Sharp the House Whisper.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
CAMFI.
Speaker 7 (14:53):
AM six forty live streaming and HD everywhere on the
iHeartRadio app Dean Sharp the House, I'll whisper with you
this morning on this cool, quiet Saturday morning here in
southern California taking calls.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Let me give the number out because we've got plenty
of room on the board for you. Eight three to
three two ask Dean eight three to three the numeral
two ask Dean eight three three to ask Dean. That's
the number to reach me at As always, Saturday morning
is just a light traffic on the phone, So really,
if you've been scratching at something that you've wanted to
(15:29):
talk about regarding your home. It's a great time to
call in. Let's go back to the phones. I want
to talk to Adam. Hey Adam, welcome home.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Hey Dean, good morning, great to hear, great to talk
to you. Listening for a long time. Usually right after
Coast to coast, I figured i'll give you a call
this morning.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Oh great, I'm thrilled that you have. How can I help?
Speaker 5 (15:53):
So I have a little idea to upgrade my house.
My house is just given an idea just to give
you're a reugh just catch up. Nineteen year old house
to lenar home. So it's it's one of those homes
they kind of they all kind of every third fourth
house looks the same. Right, one story U two windows
facing the street. Rest of the windows are you know,
(16:16):
sides of the house, back of the house. This is
where I need some input. I don't know if going
from white window frame you know your typical plastics two
aluminum uh finish type windows, sliding door, you know, sliding
door that leads into the backyard. I have a wife
(16:39):
that works for a company who can actually make them
for me, or I can just find it from someone else.
But my question is, what do you think about a
house that you know different from the neighborhood. I think
I would be the only one in the neighborhood with
black windows. But going from plastic, the typical plastic white
what everybody has, to aluminum black finish windows, which my
(17:02):
wife's company sells to They usually sell those two higher
end homes, you know Melion, Doar Holmes, Humilia Dollar homes
out of that, you know, Court and all that. So
that's her clientele, and so I'm able to get them
from her at a great at a great deal. But
I don't know if it'll fit. What do you think?
(17:22):
That's kind of why I'm kind of a little bit
hesitant to pull the trigger. What do you think that
would that add value to the home? Would it be
a good choice long term going from plastic to dark
metal finish?
Speaker 6 (17:37):
What do you think?
Speaker 2 (17:39):
All right? Great question? Great question.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Uh So, if you're asking the custom home designer what
what I think about making your home unique, you're going
to get my vote, You're going to get my two
thumbs up. From the very beginning, the whole subject of
white windows on a house is kind of you know,
there's nothing wrong with it, and so I want to
be really careful not to step on anybody's toe. I mean,
(18:04):
I've got white windows on my house as well. But
but the fact of the matter is it's really the
industry the tail wagging the dog, as it were. And again,
I was talking about the dinner we were having with
our clients last night. That's one of the things that
we were talking about, how how the industry dictates a
(18:24):
certain thing for from its own purposes, not because oh,
this is the right color of window to put into
a home. But there are completely they're usually completely different
reasons why a home component in a tract home environment
ends up becoming a certain thing, and then you just
(18:46):
kind of design your way around it. You make the
best of it. So the question of whether a dark
framed window works in a home U is really I mean,
it's it's an absolutely, it's it's a viable question, and
the only answer is whether you take a look at
it in the style of your home and whether there
(19:08):
are other components that will complement it. And a lot
of people are under the belief that, oh, well, if
you go dark frame metal window, first of all, it's
you know, it's that's that's like a contemporary look.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
That's a that's a total. That's not true at all.
It's not true at all.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
It is in fact, you know, we put dark frame
windows in traditional homes, colonial homes, we put them in
farmhouse looks, ranch house looks. I have put dark frame
windows in Spanish med look. I mean just about every
imaginable style of home can be designed to have dark
(19:45):
frame windows look absolutely stunning and gorgeous, and talk about
offsetting the vibe of the house. The material of the
window for me, is secondary, entirely secondary. I mean, if
you we we're living in an age in which uh, well,
you know what. Here's the thing, Adam, I'm looking at
(20:06):
the clock and I'm getting tapped on the shoulder here
that I should go to a break. Can you hang
tight with me because I want to give this a
really full answer so everybody understands us. So I can
I pop you on hold and we'll come back right
after the break and I'm gonna give my full blown
answer to this one. No problem, all right, Adam, you
hang tight. We're going to talk about white windows. Where
do they even come from?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Why?
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Why are most windows white? I will explain that to you,
and I will explain to Adam why I think it's
probably a great idea if he wants to go dark frame.
But as long as it works with the style, all
of that and more KFI. Dean sharp the house whisper,
welcome home, Thanks for joining us. It's an all call
(20:48):
Saturday morning. There's room on the board for you. The
number to reach me eight three three two ask Dean
eight three three the numeral to ask Dean. I want
to get back to Adam. Make sure I didn't hang
up on him. Adam, you're still with me?
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Man? Ye here?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
All right. Adam is taking a bold move.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
He wants to up great the windows on his home
and get rid of the potentially get rid of the
white vinyl windows that it came with. And he's got
an inside connection via his wife, who you should give
me her number, so I can have that inside connection
as well, you know, with a high end aluminum window company,
(21:27):
and you know the kind that we would normally use
for you know, larger estate projects and things like that,
beach houses and all the like. And so the question
is should I replace the white windows on my home
with a darker frame, black frame, bronze frame. You know,
whatever the window and is it the right vibe? And
(21:51):
so I was saying right before the break that for me,
the material of the window itself is secondary. It's not irrelevant, obviously,
but it's secondary from a design perspective, because I'm just
I'm just looking for the look and uh. And the
fact of the matter is, architecturally, a dark frame window
(22:13):
looks great and and can look great on just about
any imaginable style. I've put them in any I mean,
old world, new world. They're not just a contemporary window,
regardless of what the interweb tells you. Uh, they can be.
They can accommodate just about any look at all. And
(22:33):
so two thumbs up. You just evaluate the home and
give it a give it a you know, give it
a vibe. Take a take a photo of your home
printed out and uh and literally you know, color in
with a sharpie, uh, the white frame windows, and stare at.
I mean, I'm all for this. I do these perspectives
for clients all the time. They're like, what would my
(22:53):
house look like if I had this on the outside.
I'm like, well, let's take a photograph of it. I'll
photo shop in that color or that and we can
all take a look at it and you can decide
for yourself. But I'm telling you right now, it's a
good look and it's almost always a good move. Now,
the reason why most windows are white is because most
(23:16):
windows in most tracked homes that have been built in
the last thirty years are vinyl. Vinyl is not a
strong material. Okay, now, it doesn't mean your windows are
falling apart, but that's why the frames on a vinyl
window are so thick, because vinyl is a relatively soft material.
So vinyl windows by definition have wider sashes, wider frames,
(23:41):
wider divider lights, and mullions because it takes more. Vinyl
takes more material to make a strong frame. An aluminum
is a much stronger material, and you can get away
with a thinner frame, which means you'll have more glass,
you'll have more light coming into the house, and so on. Now,
(24:01):
the other reason why wind vinyl windows are white is
because number one, it's the literally the least expense. You know,
the the vinyl is naturally white. It's the least expensive
uh manufacturing process white some vinyl windows, some companies make
them tan or beige. You can get and a few
(24:23):
a handful produce black or darker bronze windows, but let
me tell you they are considerably more expensive than your
standard vinyl window. And it's not because of the color. Well,
it's because of the color. It's it's it's not the
color that's expensive. The reason why you don't see black
vinyl windows is because vinyl is not a strong material.
(24:49):
It's a soft material, and a black window attracts heat
to itself, and so black vinyl windows soften in bright
sunlight more so than a white vinyl window, which reflects
that light. That black window absorbs light, it absorbs heat,
and then the material starts off and the window breaks down.
(25:11):
So a black vinyl window has to have reinforcement on
the inside that a white vinyl window does not have.
Therefore it's a more expensive window. So this is why
the majority of homes have white windows, not because the
god of architecture said white windows are the best look,
but simply because the building industry is like, hey, you
(25:32):
know what, we can produce these for cheap, So guess
what everybody gets white? And that's pretty much what I
call the tail wagging the dog in tracked home development.
That's just the way it is okay, and everybody gets
used to it and we all make do with it
and it's all understandable. So for those of you who
are thinking about it, here's the one thing I will
(25:52):
tell you, Adam. And it sounds like your wife has
a line on a company that produces a higher end
aluminum window. I don't want you to go an inexpensive
aluminum window. You know, when we go window, we use
Western windows or fleetwoods or things equivalent to that. And
so when you when you do an aluminum window, uh,
(26:15):
you want a window that is thermally broken. Okay, thermally broken?
Speaker 5 (26:22):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (26:23):
And what does that mean? It means this.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
It means aluminum is a really good conductor of energy, right.
I mean you know you can run electricity through it
and get shocked, right, So it conducts energy really well. Therefore,
a dark window on the outside of a house that's
metal can easily transmit heat from the outside to the inside. Right,
(26:46):
So you touch the frame on the inside of the
house and you're like, ooh, it's warm on a hot day.
That is an unbroken a thermally unbroken window, meaning that
there's one frame that continuously goes from the outside to
the inside. But a high quality aluminum window is what
we call thermally broken, which means the outer frame does
(27:07):
not bridge across. There's a break, there's a gap, there's
no bridge across to the inner frame. And therefore, as
the outer frame heats up in the sunlight of a
warm summer day, it does not transmit that heat and
vice versa cold the same way it doesn't transmit that
energy to the inside of the house. So a thermally
(27:29):
broken aluminum window is a really high quality window. It
will last a lifetime. If you decide on your color
ahead of time, you can usually get the factory to
powder coat the window like an automobile before you even
order them. Even though an aluminum window can be painted
on site, you know, we normally customize that color and
(27:51):
make sure it comes the color that we want and
talk about a low maintenance window for the life of
the home. So if it works for you, play around
with the style bud, and then you know, if you're
leaning that way, go for it. You're in a unique
position to be able to buy high quality windows at
a low cost.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
I would do it in a heartbeat.
Speaker 5 (28:13):
You've motivated me to. I think you've made my decision,
and I think, I like, I didn't know about the
thermally thermally broken, and I'm going to ask that. I'm
going to tell you that's all right. There you go.
Thanks for that advice.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
You're welcome, Adam. Thanks for the call, Bud. I love it.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
I love it, always bringing up subjects that everybody else
can glean from. All Right, we're at the.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Top of the hour.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
More of your calls when we return. You are Home
with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper on KFI.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI A M six forty
Home with Dean Sharp News
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com