June 7, 2025 • 24 mins
It's an all-calls weekend on Home with Dean Sharp, where every question about your home gets the attention it deserves! This episode, Dean advises a condo owner on the best way to seal a concrete floor and shares why patience is key when tackling any home project. He also dives into the importance of doing your homework when hiring a contractor—because avoiding scams starts with smart research. Plus, Dean takes on a serious topic: replacing flooring due to black mold, and how to stop lingering odors from seeping into your new layout.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The
House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Ami AM forty Live Dreaming and HD everywhere on the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Hey, welcome home. I'm Dean Sharp, the House Whisper. I
design custom homes, I build custom homes, and on every
Saturday morning, I am your guide to better understanding that
place where you live. Today on the show, as per usual,
we are taking your calls. It's an all calls Saturday morning. Man.
(00:41):
I just love sitting here talking with you about your home.
And you set the agenda today. Anything you want to
talk about regarding your home, whether it's a construction issue,
DIY concern, a design or architectural issue for inside, for outside,
for landscape, for hardescape, for general construction, you name it,
(01:06):
I'm here. We're gonna put our heads together and figure
out what's going on with your home. Producer Richie is
standing by. The phone lines are open right now, and
of course every Saturday morning. Right as we kick off
here in the early morning hours of southern California, which
is where we are broadcasting the show from. UH there
(01:26):
is always room on the call board for you so
if you've tried calling in before, now is your chance.
Your odds are greatly improved because we're just rolling out
and you can jump into the queue. The number to
reach me eight three three two, ask Dean. That's as
simple as it gets. Eight three to three the numeral two,
(01:47):
Ask Dean. A three three two ask Dean, there you go.
We'll be going to the phones very very soon. Let
me introduce you to our awesome team. Sam, of course
is on the board wrangling. Are not called live studio audience?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Where they are?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
They are chipper this morning? How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Sam?
Speaker 1 (02:08):
They brought good energy today.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
I feel good too.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Hi, I feel a lot like I When I receive
good energy, I reflect good energy. Yeah, well, there you go,
Sam is Uh. Sam is believing and receiving today absolutely Uh.
Producer Richie standing by to take your calls. Uh doing
(02:31):
the outstanding job that he's already doing. Already a call
up on the board, And of course we're waiting for
a few more eight three three two asked. Maybe we're
waiting for you, maybe waiting for you to start the
show with me. There you go A three three two,
ask Dean, A three three the numeral two ask Dean. Eh,
let's see here II. Leen Gonzalez of course at the
(02:52):
news desk. Good morning, I Leen, Good.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Morning, sunshine. How's it going good?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I didn't actually bring the sunshine yet today.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
You're very sunshiny. You're always so positive.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I'm calling.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Maybe that was Sam?
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Oh that was Sam. Sam is more positive than well.
I don't know that he's more positive than me today,
but he's certainly a little bit more chipper. He's vocal
and energetic. Oh my gosh, see there he goes again,
swe speaking of beverages. Uh, what do you got going
(03:25):
in there? Eileen? Right?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
I started with a decaf green tea, but yeah, I
got to get the caffeine going. It can be more
like Sam.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Don't We all want to be more like Sam? So,
you know what, I I don't even ask that question anymore.
I don't. I don't actually start my morning's thinking maybe
this morning just decaf. No, No, it's never that way.
It's just black coffee.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
I think you're not supposed to until you have food, right,
So that's what I try to wait till I eat.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Is that the case?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Yeah, supposed to be to acidic for your system. I
don't know.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Well, maybe I need somebody to bring me some toast.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
There you go, h hint.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Maybe that's the key, speaking of hints of somebody to
bring me toast. Sitting across the table from me, my
better half, my design partner, my breakfast provider. No, I'm
just kidding. My best friend in all the world, the
co founder, co owner of House Whisperer, Tina is here.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Welcome home.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
How you doing, Bud?
Speaker 4 (04:32):
I'm tired?
Speaker 1 (04:33):
You sound Uh. I think you sound kind of Schwepper
vesselt I like that. Are you're tired? You're tired?
Speaker 4 (04:44):
I am.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
You were out partying late last night, big.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Black, a wild round of cards.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yes, it was Friday night card night. Yes, and you
did really good. I feel like I've been practicing you well,
you have been practice. Yes, your play has improved significantly.
I can't even I can you were you were dominant?
(05:11):
All right? Oh my goodness. We've got some calls on
the board. Guess what that means. It means we are
going to the phones. Uh, you are home with Dean Sharp,
the House whisper The number to reach me eight three
three two. Ask Dean. We will start it up with
our first call. Can't hi Dean Sharp the house whisper.
(05:32):
Whether your home is a condo or a cottage or
a castle, it matters not. The rules apply across the board,
and I am here to help you take it to
the next level. And that's what we do every Saturday morning,
here live from southern California, taking your calls. You've asked
the questions, We'll put our heads together, we'll fix whatever
(05:54):
it is that's ailing you with your home. The number
to reach me eight three three to ask Dean, eight
three three the numeral to ask Dean. It's time to
go to the phones. Let's do it. I want to
talk to Bill. Hey, Bill, welcome home. Hello Dean, Good morning, sir.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Well, I've got a town home that was built in
the mid to late seventies. I'm going to refinish it
and I tore up the carpet and some old parquet flooring,
and it turns out that the sub floor on the
main floor there is concrete. But it's not like you know,
the real hard concrete you get on a foundation slab.
(06:38):
It seems like more porous and light. And where the
parquet came up, it's really pitted. There's some cracking, and
I'm wondering how do I finish that or seal that
before I put in a you know, wood floor or
a laminate floor or something.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Okay, so really important questions. So when you say that
it doesn't look like a regular lab, are you on
a subfloor? Is this lightweight concrete or some or infill
gypsum concrete or floor level or that is that what
we're staring at or we actually looking at a slab here?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Well, it's like a slab.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
So the main.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Floor is up from the garage. It's it's kind of
one level up and you know, the whole main floor
has got concrete on it, and it seems like it's
least an inch or too thick.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Okay, all right, So yeah, so it is a it's
not a concrete slab. It is concrete of some nature,
but it is not a slab. It's a either a
self leveling or a lightweight concrete that was poured in,
especially during the seventies. It was nineteen seventy when the
place was built in the seventies, and so very likely
(07:49):
it's foamed concrete, which is how we used to do
lightweight concrete back there, real concrete with a foam in it.
And lots of holes, lots of you know, it's just
it's kind of the cappuccino of of flooring layers, and
you know, it provides some insulation. It also allows you
to to you know, put stone or tile down in
(08:13):
that kind of thing. Uh, the best way to do
to infill there? Now? Are you missing pieces or is
it just cracked?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
There's some places where there might be a crack that's
half an inch wide, you know, it's a foot long,
but mostly and where I took the carpet up, it's
pretty it's pretty clean and flat. But where I pulled
up the parquet with that all of the glue on it,
it's pretty pitted and.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Right. So my suggestion is, uh, you know, because it's
not a structural floor, Okay, there's no need to go
to any any big you know, heroic measures like epoxy
injecting or anything like that. Honestly, if I were you,
I would consider going down and actually mating that concrete,
(09:03):
that existing stuff with how we do this these days,
and that is with a really good self leveling compound.
And self leveling compound is essentially gypsun based like dry wall,
except it's got these strong epoxy adhesives mixed into it.
(09:23):
You can go pick this up a self leveling compound
at the big box store, at the hardware store, at
the builders supply, and you can literally you mix it
up like running pancake batter, and you can pour it
out across You can pour it in the cracks number
one of the existing until it comes up to the surface.
(09:44):
You can pour it out across the entire surface if
you want to seal and close up most of those pits,
and and you know, you wait a couple hours and
it's fully walkable and you can get back to putting
down your new flooring.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
It's great. That sounds like a solution.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Yeah, yeah, And it's the nice thing is now you're
probably in your situation, you're probably gonna want to have
a trowel, actually a wood float. That's a trowel that's
made out of wood. It's a float on hand so
that you can do a little smoothing and make sure
it doesn't hump up when it fills up the cracks,
that kind of thing, just to kind of trowl it in,
(10:25):
just to get it connected to all the porosity of
the existing lightweight cement. But you won't have to work
very hard, because, like I said, the whole idea is
this stuff is self leveling. If you didn't have any
of that concrete on the floor and we wanted to
put a layer of level floor down, you'd literally be
pouring this out onto the floor. It finds its level,
(10:48):
it cures very very quickly, and then you get back
to business. And so I think in your case, mating
the two would not be a problem. It's the easiest
way to fill up the cracks, the pits, anything that's missing,
and then allow it if you're willing to allow, you know,
another quarter inch or so of layer on top of
it all. It'll re level your floor for you as well.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Very good, I appreciate that. Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
All right, Bill, take care, good luck with that floor, buddy.
All right, see we're off to the races. We've got
more calls on the board. There's room for you too.
The number to reach me eight three three to ask
Dean eight three three, the numeral two beep, ask Dean
more of your calls.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I AM forty live streaming in HD everywhere on the
iHeartRadio app. It's Dean Sharp the House Whisper with you
here live this morning, on this lovely Saturday morning, the
seventh of June twenty twenty five. We are taking your
calls as we do on Saturday mornings. There's still room
(12:00):
on the callboard for you, though. Eight three three two.
Ask Dean eight three three the numeral too. Ask Dean
anything you want to talk about regarding your home to
you got a question for me? You got something you've
been scratching your head about construction, diy, architecture, design, the
artsy stuff, the craftsmanship stuff, the builder stuff, whatever the
(12:22):
case may be. Give me a call. I'm going to
help you through it. We're gonna work together and transform
your ordinary house into an extraordinary home. All right, we're
going back to the phones. I want to talk to Nancy. Nancy,
welcome home.
Speaker 6 (12:40):
Hello, Dean, thank you. Well. I've had two contractors that
have to do different things, and they said they were
doing certain things. They promised pictures, they promised other things,
No pictures, don't know how the work was really done. Complication,
and they deviated from things. And then they even the
(13:07):
plumber people took Mike Fossts out put mis match faucets
in the shower, and you know, and said everything was okay,
even if there's a screw and that's about six inches long,
and you're you know, you want to turn the cold
water off because the hot water gets too hot. What
(13:28):
if it comes out of the wall, and or in
an effort to do that, I'm also handicapped. I don't
want to fall on the floor and this in the
shower while I'm trying to get the cold water to
even out the hot water. And you know, and they
(13:51):
promised pictures and they say, oh, well, we didn't take
pictures because it wasn't wet there, and yet they from
the from the curb to the house, it didn't need
all that, and but it looked like it might have
needed it somewhere. But they just made up something. And
(14:14):
then they said it would be a certain price. And
oh and they seemed real, real, real nice. But they
always do and then they do things, they change things around.
They created a hazard even walking out of my house
for them, you know, just going down two steps and
(14:35):
going out to my driveway. Now I would have to
cross a hose and another line that was already on
the side of the porch where the yard is, and
that's where it was when I bought the house.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And like Nancy, it sounds like that you've you've definitely
had some frustrations with a plumber and some other contractors.
Speaker 6 (14:59):
U what and then and then then they turn around
and they say, you promise he'll pay you so much.
Then they they won't let you read the contract. They
raise the price on it. And they're the ones pushing
the buttons on the gmail that you get. They say, oh,
you push here, here, here, here, as if I okayed
(15:21):
with my signature.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Right, Okay, Well, my friend, I hear you. I hear
your frustration clearly clearly. What do you do with situations
like that?
Speaker 6 (15:33):
Man?
Speaker 1 (15:33):
It it gets I wish this wasn't the case. I
wish there weren't contractors out there who kind of push
themselves on people, take advantage of people who have their
systems that they're interested in just getting through a job,
getting the money, getting out, not worrying about how it
turns out in the end. Unfortunately, that is a reality.
(15:55):
It's out there in the world. How do you protect
yourself against such things? It's not an easy answer. There
are a number of things that you have to do.
But I want everybody who's listening to understand this that
the number one thing is, you do not abdicate your
responsibility for the project. You do not let anybody rush
(16:16):
you through the decision making for the project or the
decision making for signing a contract. You don't let anybody
rush you through that process. You don't let anybody push
the buttons for you. And getting your signatures on a
digital contract especially, it all seems so easy and so quick,
but it all needs to be read, it all needs
(16:38):
to be understood ahead of time. Then when I say,
don't abdicate your responsibility, the other part is for everybody.
And I know this is tougher for some people than others,
but you know, you've got to do some background checking
on a contractor you've got to vet them if you
want to. If you're working with somebody who've never worked before,
you've got to know that they know what they're doing
(16:59):
and that they have a great reputation for doing it.
You want to check with the California State License Board.
You check their license number, make sure that they're licensed
to do the job number one. Make sure that they're bonded,
that they are ensured to do the job. Then you
want to check their references and you want recent references
from them, numbers to call and clients to talk to about. Hey,
(17:22):
these guys just finished your place last week, how did
it go? If you don't mind, could I just take
a couple of minutes, sure of your time, and ask
you did you like them? How was your experience with them?
You want to vet people. You make sure that you're
working with somebody who is highly recommended by others recently
(17:43):
who have done the job. And then the big question
of whatever it is that they're doing, if they're fixing
a major problem, if they're just switching things out. You
want to make sure that if the job needs permits,
there are permits. And that means that a city inspector
shows up on the job, a neutral third party who
holds their feet to the fire to make sure that
(18:03):
the work got done properly. You get that inspection report
and you get that permit signed off by the city inspector.
They don't necessarily need to show you photographs of that
kind of stuff. They're not legally obligated to show you
photographs of what they did in the wall, but they
are legally obligated when there is a permit to fulfill
(18:24):
the permit process, which means the inspector is going to
make sure they did what they were supposed to do
in the wall. And then, finally, and maybe most importantly,
the thing that I want to again underscore for everybody
is that design matters most when it comes to a project.
And what does that mean. It means that you want
(18:45):
to reach out to somebody with design knowledge because when
people say, hey, I want this project to turn out right,
I want it to be done properly. What I have
learned over the years is there are two definitions of
project done properly. There is the design of the project,
meaning that the faucets, that, the fixtures, that, the tile
(19:08):
that was selected, the colors, all of this was designed well.
And we do not look to a contractor to do
our designing for us. We do not. That is not
what contractors. Every contractor out there is going to make suggestions,
Oh well, once you use this oncet, you try that,
that's all well and good. I don't ignore a contractor's suggestions.
(19:32):
But a contractor is not a designer. They are there
to implement the design. And yeah, this seems like a
lot of work, and it is a lot of work
when it comes to getting your home done right. But
these are the steps that we have to take. And
so one of the purposes, one of the reasons I'm
on the radio with you, is to bring kind of
a new era of understanding to home remodeling and DIY
(19:55):
and all of this stuff. Design matters most, my friends,
and it is not a contractor who's going to do
the design work. So when I say there are two
kinds of well the project turned out well, that is
number one is the design of good design. And so
in the end, was it designed properly? And that is
(20:15):
very very different from whether the workmanship on the job
was done properly. That is the contractor's responsibility to do
the workmanship properly, to make sure all the pieces of
the design were executed appropriately according to code, in a
workmanlike manner. So, Nancy, I feel you. I feel your frustration.
(20:36):
Unfortunately it may be a little late in your situation.
Hopefully now, if there's still something left to be resolved,
you can take action with the contractor. But when it
comes to selecting somebody to do the work in your home,
don't abdicate that responsibility. You're the boss. You're the boss
of your place. It's yours to handle all the way through,
(20:59):
and these the steps to take. So hopefully, Nancy, that
helps you out, my friend, and good luck as you
proceed forward. And you know what, if you feel like
it's over your head, reach out to a friend or
family member and simply say, I need your help with this.
I need your help representing me in front of these
people because they're pushing me around. All right, when we
(21:20):
come back, more of your calls your home, Dean Sharp,
the house whisper, caymbye, Dean Sharp, the house whisper, welcome home.
Thanks for joining us on the program today. We're taking
calls this morning, as we do on Saturday mornings. Eight
three three two Ask Dean is the number to reach me,
eight three to three the numeral two. Ask Dean. Anything
(21:43):
you've got regarding your home, construction, DIY, design and architecture, advice,
anything that's going on. Give me a call. We'll put
our heads together and we'll figure it out. Let's talk
to Yvonne. Hey von welcome home.
Speaker 7 (21:59):
Hi, thanks Stein for taking my call. I love you,
first of all, I know your wife does too, but
I have a question about a smell in our new house.
We bought a house four years old, and I could
spend half an hour talking to you about the different things,
(22:20):
but I'm not going to. I just have two questions. One,
we had black mold remediation done and we walked into
the house and it smells really bad. And the reason
we started this whole process is the house smelled like cats.
(22:44):
Ah okay, yeah, so we bought it, we moved in,
it smelled, we moved out, it's done the remediation, and
we're wanting to move back in again. I want to
know how do we know for sure that there's not
going to be a cat smell after they've done the
mold remediation. I know that's not to take care of smell.
(23:09):
Do we need to pull up the floor on the
whole house? And if so, once they've done that, what's
the process to get rid of the smell. So that's
the first question. The second question is if we're going
to put new flooring in, I'd like to have your
opinion on the on trend flooring that's going to last
(23:33):
ten or fifteen years until we die looking good, not
looking dated.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Okay, all right, I'm happy to help you out. I'll
tell you what, Yvonne, you've been waiting for a little bit.
I'm gonna ask you to wait just a smidge longer
because we're right at the top of the hour now,
and so if I can pop you on hold when
we come back from break, I'm going to give both
of those questions everything that they deserve. How does that sound?
Speaker 3 (24:01):
That sounds wonderful?
Speaker 7 (24:02):
Thank you?
Speaker 1 (24:03):
All right? You hang tight, everybody hang tight. We're gonna
fix this cat smell in Yvonne's new house, relatively new house. Wow,
that was some serious cat intrusion for the first four years.
I will give you my advice on that and the
new flooring right after the break your Home with Dean
(24:24):
Sharp the house Whisper on KFI.
Speaker 5 (24:27):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am sixt
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The
House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Ami AM forty Live Dreaming and HD everywhere on the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Hey, welcome home. I'm Dean Sharp, the House Whisper. I
design custom homes, I build custom homes, and on every
Saturday morning, I am your guide to better understanding that
place where you live. Today on the show, as per usual,
we are taking your calls. It's an all calls Saturday morning. Man.
(00:41):
I just love sitting here talking with you about your home.
And you set the agenda today. Anything you want to
talk about regarding your home, whether it's a construction issue,
DIY concern, a design or architectural issue for inside, for outside,
for landscape, for hardescape, for general construction, you name it,
(01:06):
I'm here. We're gonna put our heads together and figure
out what's going on with your home. Producer Richie is
standing by. The phone lines are open right now, and
of course every Saturday morning. Right as we kick off
here in the early morning hours of southern California, which
is where we are broadcasting the show from. UH there
(01:26):
is always room on the call board for you so
if you've tried calling in before, now is your chance.
Your odds are greatly improved because we're just rolling out
and you can jump into the queue. The number to
reach me eight three three two, ask Dean. That's as
simple as it gets. Eight three to three the numeral two,
(01:47):
Ask Dean. A three three two ask Dean, there you go.
We'll be going to the phones very very soon. Let
me introduce you to our awesome team. Sam, of course
is on the board wrangling. Are not called live studio audience?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Where they are?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
They are chipper this morning? How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Sam?
Speaker 1 (02:08):
They brought good energy today.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
I feel good too.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Hi, I feel a lot like I When I receive
good energy, I reflect good energy. Yeah, well, there you go,
Sam is Uh. Sam is believing and receiving today absolutely Uh.
Producer Richie standing by to take your calls. Uh doing
(02:31):
the outstanding job that he's already doing. Already a call
up on the board, And of course we're waiting for
a few more eight three three two asked. Maybe we're
waiting for you, maybe waiting for you to start the
show with me. There you go A three three two,
ask Dean, A three three the numeral two ask Dean. Eh,
let's see here II. Leen Gonzalez of course at the
(02:52):
news desk. Good morning, I Leen, Good.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Morning, sunshine. How's it going good?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I didn't actually bring the sunshine yet today.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
You're very sunshiny. You're always so positive.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I'm calling.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Maybe that was Sam?
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Oh that was Sam. Sam is more positive than well.
I don't know that he's more positive than me today,
but he's certainly a little bit more chipper. He's vocal
and energetic. Oh my gosh, see there he goes again,
swe speaking of beverages. Uh, what do you got going
(03:25):
in there? Eileen? Right?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
I started with a decaf green tea, but yeah, I
got to get the caffeine going. It can be more
like Sam.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Don't We all want to be more like Sam? So,
you know what, I I don't even ask that question anymore.
I don't. I don't actually start my morning's thinking maybe
this morning just decaf. No, No, it's never that way.
It's just black coffee.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
I think you're not supposed to until you have food, right,
So that's what I try to wait till I eat.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Is that the case?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Yeah, supposed to be to acidic for your system. I
don't know.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Well, maybe I need somebody to bring me some toast.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
There you go, h hint.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Maybe that's the key, speaking of hints of somebody to
bring me toast. Sitting across the table from me, my
better half, my design partner, my breakfast provider. No, I'm
just kidding. My best friend in all the world, the
co founder, co owner of House Whisperer, Tina is here.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Welcome home.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
How you doing, Bud?
Speaker 4 (04:32):
I'm tired?
Speaker 1 (04:33):
You sound Uh. I think you sound kind of Schwepper
vesselt I like that. Are you're tired? You're tired?
Speaker 4 (04:44):
I am.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
You were out partying late last night, big.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Black, a wild round of cards.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yes, it was Friday night card night. Yes, and you
did really good. I feel like I've been practicing you well,
you have been practice. Yes, your play has improved significantly.
I can't even I can you were you were dominant?
(05:11):
All right? Oh my goodness. We've got some calls on
the board. Guess what that means. It means we are
going to the phones. Uh, you are home with Dean Sharp,
the House whisper The number to reach me eight three
three two. Ask Dean. We will start it up with
our first call. Can't hi Dean Sharp the house whisper.
(05:32):
Whether your home is a condo or a cottage or
a castle, it matters not. The rules apply across the board,
and I am here to help you take it to
the next level. And that's what we do every Saturday morning,
here live from southern California, taking your calls. You've asked
the questions, We'll put our heads together, we'll fix whatever
(05:54):
it is that's ailing you with your home. The number
to reach me eight three three to ask Dean, eight
three three the numeral to ask Dean. It's time to
go to the phones. Let's do it. I want to
talk to Bill. Hey, Bill, welcome home. Hello Dean, Good morning, sir.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Well, I've got a town home that was built in
the mid to late seventies. I'm going to refinish it
and I tore up the carpet and some old parquet flooring,
and it turns out that the sub floor on the
main floor there is concrete. But it's not like you know,
the real hard concrete you get on a foundation slab.
(06:38):
It seems like more porous and light. And where the
parquet came up, it's really pitted. There's some cracking, and
I'm wondering how do I finish that or seal that
before I put in a you know, wood floor or
a laminate floor or something.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Okay, so really important questions. So when you say that
it doesn't look like a regular lab, are you on
a subfloor? Is this lightweight concrete or some or infill
gypsum concrete or floor level or that is that what
we're staring at or we actually looking at a slab here?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Well, it's like a slab.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
So the main.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Floor is up from the garage. It's it's kind of
one level up and you know, the whole main floor
has got concrete on it, and it seems like it's
least an inch or too thick.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Okay, all right, So yeah, so it is a it's
not a concrete slab. It is concrete of some nature,
but it is not a slab. It's a either a
self leveling or a lightweight concrete that was poured in,
especially during the seventies. It was nineteen seventy when the
place was built in the seventies, and so very likely
(07:49):
it's foamed concrete, which is how we used to do
lightweight concrete back there, real concrete with a foam in it.
And lots of holes, lots of you know, it's just
it's kind of the cappuccino of of flooring layers, and
you know, it provides some insulation. It also allows you
to to you know, put stone or tile down in
(08:13):
that kind of thing. Uh, the best way to do
to infill there? Now? Are you missing pieces or is
it just cracked?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
There's some places where there might be a crack that's
half an inch wide, you know, it's a foot long,
but mostly and where I took the carpet up, it's
pretty it's pretty clean and flat. But where I pulled
up the parquet with that all of the glue on it,
it's pretty pitted and.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Right. So my suggestion is, uh, you know, because it's
not a structural floor, Okay, there's no need to go
to any any big you know, heroic measures like epoxy
injecting or anything like that. Honestly, if I were you,
I would consider going down and actually mating that concrete,
(09:03):
that existing stuff with how we do this these days,
and that is with a really good self leveling compound.
And self leveling compound is essentially gypsun based like dry wall,
except it's got these strong epoxy adhesives mixed into it.
(09:23):
You can go pick this up a self leveling compound
at the big box store, at the hardware store, at
the builders supply, and you can literally you mix it
up like running pancake batter, and you can pour it
out across You can pour it in the cracks number
one of the existing until it comes up to the surface.
(09:44):
You can pour it out across the entire surface if
you want to seal and close up most of those pits,
and and you know, you wait a couple hours and
it's fully walkable and you can get back to putting
down your new flooring.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
It's great. That sounds like a solution.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Yeah, yeah, And it's the nice thing is now you're
probably in your situation, you're probably gonna want to have
a trowel, actually a wood float. That's a trowel that's
made out of wood. It's a float on hand so
that you can do a little smoothing and make sure
it doesn't hump up when it fills up the cracks,
that kind of thing, just to kind of trowl it in,
(10:25):
just to get it connected to all the porosity of
the existing lightweight cement. But you won't have to work
very hard, because, like I said, the whole idea is
this stuff is self leveling. If you didn't have any
of that concrete on the floor and we wanted to
put a layer of level floor down, you'd literally be
pouring this out onto the floor. It finds its level,
(10:48):
it cures very very quickly, and then you get back
to business. And so I think in your case, mating
the two would not be a problem. It's the easiest
way to fill up the cracks, the pits, anything that's missing,
and then allow it if you're willing to allow, you know,
another quarter inch or so of layer on top of
it all. It'll re level your floor for you as well.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Very good, I appreciate that. Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
All right, Bill, take care, good luck with that floor, buddy.
All right, see we're off to the races. We've got
more calls on the board. There's room for you too.
The number to reach me eight three three to ask
Dean eight three three, the numeral two beep, ask Dean
more of your calls.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I AM forty live streaming in HD everywhere on the
iHeartRadio app. It's Dean Sharp the House Whisper with you
here live this morning, on this lovely Saturday morning, the
seventh of June twenty twenty five. We are taking your
calls as we do on Saturday mornings. There's still room
(12:00):
on the callboard for you, though. Eight three three two.
Ask Dean eight three three the numeral too. Ask Dean
anything you want to talk about regarding your home to
you got a question for me? You got something you've
been scratching your head about construction, diy, architecture, design, the
artsy stuff, the craftsmanship stuff, the builder stuff, whatever the
(12:22):
case may be. Give me a call. I'm going to
help you through it. We're gonna work together and transform
your ordinary house into an extraordinary home. All right, we're
going back to the phones. I want to talk to Nancy. Nancy,
welcome home.
Speaker 6 (12:40):
Hello, Dean, thank you. Well. I've had two contractors that
have to do different things, and they said they were
doing certain things. They promised pictures, they promised other things,
No pictures, don't know how the work was really done. Complication,
and they deviated from things. And then they even the
(13:07):
plumber people took Mike Fossts out put mis match faucets
in the shower, and you know, and said everything was okay,
even if there's a screw and that's about six inches long,
and you're you know, you want to turn the cold
water off because the hot water gets too hot. What
(13:28):
if it comes out of the wall, and or in
an effort to do that, I'm also handicapped. I don't
want to fall on the floor and this in the
shower while I'm trying to get the cold water to
even out the hot water. And you know, and they
(13:51):
promised pictures and they say, oh, well, we didn't take
pictures because it wasn't wet there, and yet they from
the from the curb to the house, it didn't need
all that, and but it looked like it might have
needed it somewhere. But they just made up something. And
(14:14):
then they said it would be a certain price. And
oh and they seemed real, real, real nice. But they
always do and then they do things, they change things around.
They created a hazard even walking out of my house
for them, you know, just going down two steps and
(14:35):
going out to my driveway. Now I would have to
cross a hose and another line that was already on
the side of the porch where the yard is, and
that's where it was when I bought the house.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And like Nancy, it sounds like that you've you've definitely
had some frustrations with a plumber and some other contractors.
Speaker 6 (14:59):
U what and then and then then they turn around
and they say, you promise he'll pay you so much.
Then they they won't let you read the contract. They
raise the price on it. And they're the ones pushing
the buttons on the gmail that you get. They say, oh,
you push here, here, here, here, as if I okayed
(15:21):
with my signature.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Right, Okay, Well, my friend, I hear you. I hear
your frustration clearly clearly. What do you do with situations
like that?
Speaker 6 (15:33):
Man?
Speaker 1 (15:33):
It it gets I wish this wasn't the case. I
wish there weren't contractors out there who kind of push
themselves on people, take advantage of people who have their
systems that they're interested in just getting through a job,
getting the money, getting out, not worrying about how it
turns out in the end. Unfortunately, that is a reality.
(15:55):
It's out there in the world. How do you protect
yourself against such things? It's not an easy answer. There
are a number of things that you have to do.
But I want everybody who's listening to understand this that
the number one thing is, you do not abdicate your
responsibility for the project. You do not let anybody rush
(16:16):
you through the decision making for the project or the
decision making for signing a contract. You don't let anybody
rush you through that process. You don't let anybody push
the buttons for you. And getting your signatures on a
digital contract especially, it all seems so easy and so quick,
but it all needs to be read, it all needs
(16:38):
to be understood ahead of time. Then when I say,
don't abdicate your responsibility, the other part is for everybody.
And I know this is tougher for some people than others,
but you know, you've got to do some background checking
on a contractor you've got to vet them if you
want to. If you're working with somebody who've never worked before,
you've got to know that they know what they're doing
(16:59):
and that they have a great reputation for doing it.
You want to check with the California State License Board.
You check their license number, make sure that they're licensed
to do the job number one. Make sure that they're bonded,
that they are ensured to do the job. Then you
want to check their references and you want recent references
from them, numbers to call and clients to talk to about. Hey,
(17:22):
these guys just finished your place last week, how did
it go? If you don't mind, could I just take
a couple of minutes, sure of your time, and ask
you did you like them? How was your experience with them?
You want to vet people. You make sure that you're
working with somebody who is highly recommended by others recently
(17:43):
who have done the job. And then the big question
of whatever it is that they're doing, if they're fixing
a major problem, if they're just switching things out. You
want to make sure that if the job needs permits,
there are permits. And that means that a city inspector
shows up on the job, a neutral third party who
holds their feet to the fire to make sure that
(18:03):
the work got done properly. You get that inspection report
and you get that permit signed off by the city inspector.
They don't necessarily need to show you photographs of that
kind of stuff. They're not legally obligated to show you
photographs of what they did in the wall, but they
are legally obligated when there is a permit to fulfill
(18:24):
the permit process, which means the inspector is going to
make sure they did what they were supposed to do
in the wall. And then, finally, and maybe most importantly,
the thing that I want to again underscore for everybody
is that design matters most when it comes to a project.
And what does that mean. It means that you want
(18:45):
to reach out to somebody with design knowledge because when
people say, hey, I want this project to turn out right,
I want it to be done properly. What I have
learned over the years is there are two definitions of
project done properly. There is the design of the project,
meaning that the faucets, that, the fixtures, that, the tile
(19:08):
that was selected, the colors, all of this was designed well.
And we do not look to a contractor to do
our designing for us. We do not. That is not
what contractors. Every contractor out there is going to make suggestions,
Oh well, once you use this oncet, you try that,
that's all well and good. I don't ignore a contractor's suggestions.
(19:32):
But a contractor is not a designer. They are there
to implement the design. And yeah, this seems like a
lot of work, and it is a lot of work
when it comes to getting your home done right. But
these are the steps that we have to take. And
so one of the purposes, one of the reasons I'm
on the radio with you, is to bring kind of
a new era of understanding to home remodeling and DIY
(19:55):
and all of this stuff. Design matters most, my friends,
and it is not a contractor who's going to do
the design work. So when I say there are two
kinds of well the project turned out well, that is
number one is the design of good design. And so
in the end, was it designed properly? And that is
(20:15):
very very different from whether the workmanship on the job
was done properly. That is the contractor's responsibility to do
the workmanship properly, to make sure all the pieces of
the design were executed appropriately according to code, in a
workmanlike manner. So, Nancy, I feel you. I feel your frustration.
(20:36):
Unfortunately it may be a little late in your situation.
Hopefully now, if there's still something left to be resolved,
you can take action with the contractor. But when it
comes to selecting somebody to do the work in your home,
don't abdicate that responsibility. You're the boss. You're the boss
of your place. It's yours to handle all the way through,
(20:59):
and these the steps to take. So hopefully, Nancy, that
helps you out, my friend, and good luck as you
proceed forward. And you know what, if you feel like
it's over your head, reach out to a friend or
family member and simply say, I need your help with this.
I need your help representing me in front of these
people because they're pushing me around. All right, when we
(21:20):
come back, more of your calls your home, Dean Sharp,
the house whisper, caymbye, Dean Sharp, the house whisper, welcome home.
Thanks for joining us on the program today. We're taking
calls this morning, as we do on Saturday mornings. Eight
three three two Ask Dean is the number to reach me,
eight three to three the numeral two. Ask Dean. Anything
(21:43):
you've got regarding your home, construction, DIY, design and architecture, advice,
anything that's going on. Give me a call. We'll put
our heads together and we'll figure it out. Let's talk
to Yvonne. Hey von welcome home.
Speaker 7 (21:59):
Hi, thanks Stein for taking my call. I love you,
first of all, I know your wife does too, but
I have a question about a smell in our new house.
We bought a house four years old, and I could
spend half an hour talking to you about the different things,
(22:20):
but I'm not going to. I just have two questions. One,
we had black mold remediation done and we walked into
the house and it smells really bad. And the reason
we started this whole process is the house smelled like cats.
(22:44):
Ah okay, yeah, so we bought it, we moved in,
it smelled, we moved out, it's done the remediation, and
we're wanting to move back in again. I want to
know how do we know for sure that there's not
going to be a cat smell after they've done the
mold remediation. I know that's not to take care of smell.
(23:09):
Do we need to pull up the floor on the
whole house? And if so, once they've done that, what's
the process to get rid of the smell. So that's
the first question. The second question is if we're going
to put new flooring in, I'd like to have your
opinion on the on trend flooring that's going to last
(23:33):
ten or fifteen years until we die looking good, not
looking dated.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Okay, all right, I'm happy to help you out. I'll
tell you what, Yvonne, you've been waiting for a little bit.
I'm gonna ask you to wait just a smidge longer
because we're right at the top of the hour now,
and so if I can pop you on hold when
we come back from break, I'm going to give both
of those questions everything that they deserve. How does that sound?
Speaker 3 (24:01):
That sounds wonderful?
Speaker 7 (24:02):
Thank you?
Speaker 1 (24:03):
All right? You hang tight, everybody hang tight. We're gonna
fix this cat smell in Yvonne's new house, relatively new house. Wow,
that was some serious cat intrusion for the first four years.
I will give you my advice on that and the
new flooring right after the break your Home with Dean
(24:24):
Sharp the house Whisper on KFI.
Speaker 5 (24:27):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am sixt
Home with Dean Sharp News
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