November 22, 2025 • 33 mins
In the second hour of Home with Dean Sharp, a listener wanted to know about the California energy rules regarding solar paneling for an ADU.
The next caller’s home was damaged in the January Altadena wildfires, and her wood fencing was burned. She wants to know about the safest and most economical way to rebuild without upsetting her three surrounding neighbors.
Another caller discovered termite droppings in his attic and is wondering how concerned he should be about that.
Our last caller has some paint quality questions regarding redoing the exterior of his Arizona home.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI am six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, my friend, and welcome home. I am Dean Sharp,
the house Whisperer, custom home builder, custom home designer, and
your guide to better understanding that place, whether weather, where
you live, whether your home is a castle that's what
I was trying to say, or a cottage, it doesn't matter,
(00:30):
you know why, because a luxury is not what makes
a home great. A luxury and custom are completely different categories.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Did you know that?
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Did you know that You've got luxury up at the
top of one scale, and you know modest down at
the bottom of the same scale. That's its own category.
And then you've got custom or not custom, you know,
track design or you know bulk design, production home. Most
(01:01):
people live in a production home, whether it be a
modest home or a luxury home. Yeah, there are lots
of luxury production homes out there. So the point is this,
it's not about luxury when you think about custom. When
you hear me say the word custom home design or
the design matters most I want you understand it's not
(01:22):
about luxury, Okay, It's about design. That's what makes a
home great. Whether it is a castle or a cottage,
just a tiny little place. Great design is one of
those things that make people make you just like hmmm mmmmmmmm.
This is such a great space to be in. Think
(01:44):
of it this way in terms of really affecting change
for your home. And we do all of these here
on the program for you, as you know, but new parts.
You got to go out and buy some new part
for something in your home. That is home repair, that's
fixing what's broken. New paint. New paint is home maintenance.
That's you know, keeping up, keeping it up. New design that,
(02:09):
in my opinion, should be the definition of home improvement,
not home repair, not home maintenance, home improvement. And to
do that we have to inject new design ideas into
the home. Good design makes all the difference. Every house
deserves it, every house should enjoy it. Because once good
(02:29):
design is at work, man, the house opens up to you.
Every house, any house, has a path forward toward becoming
a great home. All right, enough of my design soapboxing.
It is an all calls Saturday morning. Let's talk about anything.
We can talk design, we can talk repair, we can
talk maintenance. Anything you want to talk about regarding you home.
(02:50):
The phone lines are open. The number to reach me
eight three three two. Ask Dean eight three three the
numeral twoep Dean. Just spell it on out A three
three to ask Dean. Let's go to the phones. I
want to talk to Denise. Hey, Denise, welcome home.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Hi.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
I'm in a bit of a pickle. I have got
a aud built, and the city, the contractor, nobody.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Knows the rules for solar.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
My house is five hundred and ninety five square feet.
I've been to the California Energy Commission because it's five
hundred and ninety five square feet. I've gotten solar estimates.
It's fifteen thousand dollars. One person says, it's six hundred
and forty nine square feet unless you don't have to
have them. Another person said seven ninety five. I can't
(03:46):
find anything. Can you help me?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Okay, so help me understand. So you've got an ADU,
an accessory dwelling unit built, Okay, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
I'm trying to get it finaled by.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
The city, and the question in the city isn't sure
whether to final it because they think it might require solar.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
Exactly they told me. One person said, yes, So I
got I hate some money to get solar plans, just
to get the permit, because the inspector said, just get
the permit, we'll sign it off. Well they that, they say, no,
it's not true. Your architect needs to take the solar
(04:29):
off the title twenty four in the cover sheet. But
I don't know if it's required. I don't want to
get solar if it's not required, because I can't afford it.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
It's too much money.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
So I wondered if there was a square footage rule
that you knew about.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Okay, yeah, my contactor doesn't know. All right, here's what
I know.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
And he's been blowing me off for two years, by
the way.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Two years about it? Two years?
Speaker 5 (04:58):
All right, Well we need to I'm frustrated. I've been
crying all week, trying out.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Oh oh, my friend, my friend.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Okay, all right, So yeah, as a general rule, right
new detached is it a detached ADU or is it
attached to the house? Yes, sir, alright, it's detached.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
Okay, detached.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Okay, So a detached assessory dwelling unit in California are
required to have solar. Okay, a solar system per the
States Building Energy Efficiency Standards, which is what everybody just
heard Denise referred to as Title twenty four. Title twenty four,
by the way, is not just that.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
It.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Title twenty four is the entire state's building Code of
the Universal the International Building Code adopted by the state
of California. But that's where you find the energy efficiency
standards and so on. Now, there are exceptions, okay, such
as for attached ADUs and manufactured ADUs, or specific cases
(06:05):
with insufficient solar access or a roof that's too small
to support the system. Okay, I am not aware of
a particular square footage exception or a square footage minimum requirement.
I can look into that and it probably wouldn't take
me very long. In fact, I might be able to
(06:26):
just do it during the break and check it out.
But yeah, a new detached ADU has to have a
solar system. It can be installed on the adu's roof,
it can be installed on the primary homes roof or
another suitable location on the property. So it doesn't have
(06:48):
to be on the ADU itself, because the ADU is
part of the property as a whole. ADUs that are
attached to the main house and or that are conversions
of existing unconditioned space like a garage are not required
to have solar added to it, but the attached ones are.
(07:08):
I'm not exactly sure what all the logic is in
regards to that, but I do know that that's the thing.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
I do know this. If the minimum required system size
is and here's the whole thing, is less than one
point eight kill a watts, okay, then you're excluded from it. Okay.
So that would be something to ask your solar company.
(07:36):
And that is what's what's the size that would be
required for justice ADU? Because if it's less than one
point eight kill a watt, then it does not require
solar being put up? Right and manufactured? Was this a
manufactured ADU or was it built on site?
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Denise? Are you still with me?
Speaker 5 (08:00):
It was built on site?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Okay, so it wasn't manufactur because then manufactured all right?
So you know what, this is a really interesting question.
I'd love to get to the bottom of it. Let
me do a little snooping around during the break, Can
you hang tight, Denise?
Speaker 5 (08:16):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
All right, I'm gonna pop you on hold. We're gonna
go to break.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I'm gonna see if I can find any reason for
a square footage requirement for a detached ADU for solar
and then we'll address it right on the other side.
So you hang on. You hang on, Denise, you hang on, everybody,
just hang on. We'll get back to it. Your home
with Dean Sharp, the house whisper. Dean Sharp, the house
(08:41):
whisper here to help you take your home to the
next level. Thanks for joining me on the program this morning.
It is a blustery gonna warm up, not warm, but
just love. It's gonna be a gorgeous weekend. Let's just
put it that way. That's my traffic and weather report
right now. Traffic, Uh, stay off the roads, just stay
(09:02):
home and enjoy the weather. There you go. So traffic solved,
weather report done. We can just close the station down now,
I think, yeah, we're done, We're out. Uh, all right, it's.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
An all call Saturday morning. I've got Denise on the line.
I hope did I hang up on you? Denise?
Speaker 5 (09:21):
Are you here?
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
So Denise has a has a an ADU and accessory
dwelling unit built out on her property and uh, and
she's trying to get a certificate of occupancy. She's trying
to get final inspection and approval on it, and all
of a sudden, Uh, there's this question. I guess it's
been lumen for a while. But the city, everybody, every
(09:47):
the contractor, everybody's shrugging their shoulders and whether this thing
needs solar or not. And Denise is like, hello, uh,
solar costs a lot of money, and so I would
love it if everybody could make their decision. So I've
did a little snooping around my friend, and so here's it's.
It's it's not utterly straightforward. There's no hard line. Okay.
(10:12):
First of all, there is zero I can tell you this.
There is zero minimum square footage exemption in the state
of California. So it's not about that, Okay. It's not
about that, Okay, it's not about that the square footage
of the of the ADU. What it is about, though, okay,
(10:33):
And this work can get a little confusing. What the
state is concerned about, or what the law is concerned
about as far as the regulations is whether this ADU
is having a significant energy impact on the property and
the energy usage on the property. Okay, So what comes
up every single direction I look here is this one
(10:57):
point eight killawat size limit. That's the thing. Okay, So
what that means is your solar company, whatever solar company
is looking at the property to do solar, and every
single one of them would do, you know, figure out
the same calculation if what the solar company calculates for
(11:20):
the required system size, not for the whole house, just
for the ADU. Okay, if it is if the if
the solar company's calculations are less than one point eight
kilowatt for the ADU, you do not have to put
solar on the ADU. That's the cutof So the limit,
(11:42):
the limit, the line is not a square footage thing.
It is, in fact the amount of solar that is
calculated for the ADU. There are exceptions, and it gets
confusing because certain exceptions, like for a small ADU of
less than six hundre th twenty square feet, that puts
(12:03):
you in the potentially excluded category. But it's not an
absolute So that's what's confusing about it. It's like, well
maybe maybe if it's less than six hundred and twenty
square feet, well maybe is not an exclusion. Maybe it's
just a maybe limited roof area. Yeah, limited roof area
of eighty square feet or less is a possible exception,
(12:27):
and so all of these are possibles. Or if your
roof is overly shaded by trees, Okay, all of that,
that's all. That's all just up in the air stuff.
But the one thing that I keep finding is less
than one point eight kilowatt And you know what, I
can't calculate. You can't calculate. It's got to be the
solar company that calcate.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
And the solar companies are going to calculate it to
get the payday from me buying the solar stuff.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
You know what, though, you know what thought I gotta
tell you, you know, most of them, most of them will
do an honest calculation for you because they don't want
to be on the hook for selling you solar that
ends up costing you more money. Solar is all about
saving people. I'll tell you what. The solar company that
I work with a lot here in southern California, Sunlux, Right,
(13:16):
they'll tell me straight up. They're like, well, okay, you
got a client, and they okay, how big is their
electric building? I'm like, well, you know they're paying about
they're paying about one hundred and twenty five dollars a month.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
For their electricity.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
And you know, Mike at Sunlus, he's going to look
at me and say, yeah, you know what, that's kind
of below the threshold. I mean, you got if you're
paying more than one point fifty, if you're pushing up
towards two hundred, solar will end up saving you money
today and it's worth doing. If it's not, then it's not.
So one of these situations where the adu, you know,
(13:50):
no solar company is going to want to go to
all the trouble to pile that stuff on an adu
if in fact it's not worth it to you in
the end, because are going to be happy. So let
them do a count.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Okay, let him do a count.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 5 (14:08):
Yes, the electric bill for that house is like seventy
dollars a month in mine is about one hundred for
my house.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, so it's probably a pretty low uptake. And so
I think, I think, uh, you're you're saving grace may
be in the solar company calculating uh and uh, and
the magic number appears to be one point eight kilowatts
for that eighty year.
Speaker 5 (14:31):
Okay, and I should call some lux who's you use?
Speaker 3 (14:34):
You should yeah, give him a call, give him a call.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
They'll treat you right. Thanks Denise.
Speaker 5 (14:42):
I appreciate your time. Thank you. I got any.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Oh I lost Thanks Denise, A great call. Great call.
Thank you so much. Okay, where are we at? We
have time? Oh yeah, we got time to pick up
another Uh let's talk to Mary. Hey, Mary, welcome home.
Speaker 6 (15:02):
Thank you. I lived in north or I used to
live in Northwest Alta, Diina. My home is damaged. My
garage was burnt to the ground. But my question is
about and I'm not living there obviously because it's uninhabitable,
but I'm curious about replacement fencing. And I would have
(15:28):
a replacement fencing for the north and the south side
of my home, and that's about one hundred feet and
then on the west side it's about fifty feet. So
I'm going to have three different people that I'm going
to be dealing with trying to figure out, you know,
what they want, what's going to make all of us happy?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Oh, the neighbors. You're talking about three different neighbors you're
going to be dealing with, got you.
Speaker 6 (15:54):
Three different neighbors? Yeah, and I you know, I know,
I know. Cinder block is pretty fire resistant, but it's
also very expensive to put in. One of my neighbors
has said that she would like to build her side
of the property with fire resistant wood, which can also
(16:16):
be very expensive. One hundred years ago, before I owned
the house, I am assuming there was chain link fence
all around the house, and so I do have the
metal posts that are in the ground, and I just
don't know what the and I'm just starting to find
(16:38):
contractors to work with. But I thought, you know, what
is your thinking on this?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Ah, what is my thinking on this? Well? What is
my thinking on this? That's what I'm calling you cinder
block walls.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Cinder block wall kind of a no brainer when it
comes to fire resistance, right because you know it's cinder block,
it doesn't burn, and they they're not as they're not as.
They are definitely more expensive than a wood fence, there's
no question about that. Okay, They're not as expensive as
a lot of people think, though, because a lot of
people when they imagine cinderblock walls, they're actually thinking about
(17:22):
a retaining wall.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
In fact, I don't like to call them walls when
it's just empty, open cell cinder block. I just call
them cinder block fences, because a retaining wall the expensive
retaining wall, it's got a lot of rebar running through it,
and it's filled every cell of those open cinder blocks
is filled top to bottom with concrete. That's a very
(17:45):
expensive wall because there's a lot of labor and there's
a lot of concrete involved and so on. But your
typical cinder block wall that separates properties is completely hollow.
It's just blocks stacked. Now, of course more expensive than
a wood fence for sure, but a cinder block wall,
when in those terms, is really just a fence made
out of cinder blocks. So I prefer to call a
(18:07):
cinderblock fence so that people can understand, you know, the
scope of what it is that you're getting. Now, the
other two options, and I don't think chain link is
an option here. I totally agree with you. Though you've
got the posts, you might be able to utilize those.
The other two options these days, is that you're going
to go with you know, well, I guess there are three.
(18:28):
You could go with steel or aluminum fencing, but that's
going to cost you just about as much, if not
more than the cinder blocks, So that's not really a
cost savings. The less expensive options would be vinyl fence
or a wood fence. Vinyl doesn't burn, it melts, It
will get damaged in a fire, but it doesn't, you know,
(18:49):
sit there and become kindling and then you've got wood.
And that's what I would like to address. We're up
against a break and so Mary, if you can hang on,
I'll talk to you about on the other side. I
want to talk about wood fencing because when it comes
to fencing around a property, it is my preferred that's
the designer in me. The builder in me also loves
(19:11):
all of the options for wood fencing. The question is
can we do that and can you know are we
are we making? Are we inviting more trouble for the
next fire that comes along, or is there a way
to economically protect it as well? So why don't we
discuss that on the other side of the break. Thanks
for joining the program today. You are Home with Dean
(19:31):
Sharp House Whisper.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Dean Sharp the house Whisper here to transform your ordinary
house into something truly extraordinary. Thanks for joining us on
the program. Good Saturday morning to you. We are here
a post a week plus of.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Storms and here it looks like it is cleared out. Now.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Don't think there's anything precipitation wise in southern California on
the U on the calendar past Thanksgiving, we should have
just gorgeous, gorgeous, lovely days. What a gift, What a gift.
We've had fire season, by the way, that's nil for now,
that's done. How great is that this time of year?
(20:24):
So here we are and here you are, and I'm
taking calls this morning because every Saturday it's an all
call Saturday. I've got Mary on the line. And Mary's
home was damaged in the Altadena fire, which is just tragic.
The garage burned to the ground. Now she's in a
situation where it's time to talk fencing for the property,
(20:47):
and she's got three neighbors to discuss that with three
different neighbors, and of course everybody's going to have their
their information, their the stuff that's been fed into their heads.
The question was, you know, do we put back cinderblock walls,
which obviously wouldn't burn in a fire, but they are expensive.
What are our other options? You could go steal or
(21:08):
aluminum fencing? But that's going to be just as expensive
as the cinder block, if not more so in some situations.
And that leaves the two lesser expensive options, and that
would be plastic like vinyl of fencing and wood fencing. So, Mary,
here's the thing. Vinyl fencing won't burn. It's gonna melt.
(21:32):
It won't burn. I'm not a fan. So you called
and asked for my opinion. I'm going to give you
my opinion. It's the designer in me and the builder,
by the way, is not thrilled with vinyl fencing either,
because I've still yet to see a vinyl fence that
is guaranteed not to yellow and crack over time.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
And I just and most of.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
The vinyl fences in my area melted.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Yeah. Yeah, So.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
The fact is, if a fire sweeps through, only a
cinder block fence will be there without needing to be
replaced after the fact. Yeah, I mean for the most part.
So that's that, okay. Whether or not the fence, though,
contributes to the rest of the property burning, that's where
you know, vinyl will melt, it won't burn. It's not
(22:20):
going to throw off, you know, sparks and embers and
cause more problems, and that's the concern that everybody has
with wood fencing, and rightly so, because an unprotected wood
fence can cause that kind of issue. I happen to
love wood fencing. I have hundreds of feet of it
surrounding my property all over the place. I love wood fencing,
(22:43):
and it's beautiful. It's inexpensive relative to the other forms.
It's creative, it's esthetically pleasing. And the question is is
it also practical in terms of fire Well, it can be.
And the point is this, for the saved expense of
(23:04):
putting up wood, you can also treat it. There are
so many great products to treat wood fencing. Whether you
want to stain it and have the wood you know
coming through, there are products like deck guard, fire retardant
additive for oil and water based stains, okay there. If
(23:24):
you want to paint it, there is a ton of
these days of fire resistant or fire retardant paint materials
or additives that can be used. So the point is
a wood fence doesn't have to be a threat to
the property if it is treated with these coatings, which
(23:44):
are you know, more expensive than paint, but a heck
of a lot less expensive. Than building a cinder block wall.
And so that is something that I think you should
add to your conversation with your neighbors and say, listen,
these things are available. Now what they do, they will
not save I want to be really clear, A fire
retardant additive or coating on a deck or on a
(24:07):
fence is not going to save the deck or the
fence if fire approaches and the flames start looking at
the wood. What happens is these coatings are what we
call into messented. They have a component in them that
creates kind of a char on the outside. As the
(24:31):
flames lick against the wood, that char kind of self
seals and becomes a fire resistant, insulating, thermally insulating coating.
Now it gets charred, which means that those boards will
have to be replaced, but the fence will not sit
there and burn like firewood and throw out embers and
(24:54):
be a threat to the rest of the property. And
so these are the things that we need to understand
about that kind of stuff. But Mary, at the end
of the day, the designer in me just really really
loves wood fencing. I'd rather build a wood fence and
coat it with the fire retardant materials then spend the
money on a cinderblock fence or definitely my last option, definitely,
(25:19):
definitely is to go vinyl. I just I don't like
surrounding my house with plastic.
Speaker 6 (25:26):
Yes, yes, I agree. Is there a particular company that that.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
With oil or.
Speaker 6 (25:34):
Paint that has the fire retardant chemicals in it to
hopefully not to my.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Knowledge, that could exist out there, but not to my
knowledge is simply this is simply something you would acquire
the materials, uh, you know, because you can find them online.
You find they're sitting on the shelf at home depot
in the paint department right now. You could acquire the
materials and just you just hire a painter. You say, hey,
paint my fence with this stuff, and that's it.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
Yeah, it's that easy. And you said an old sper
paint or stain or what.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Oh, that's just totally up to you, you know. And
it has to do with the design of the house,
right whether it should be like a you know, white
picket fence kind of thing, or you like that whole
redwood kind of you know that that's a design question.
Each of the codings work just as well for each application,
and just one more thing before you go, and before
I have to go. You said that you you know,
(26:30):
a hundred years ago, you know, had chain link around there,
and you still have the posts. When it comes to
a wood fence. If those posts, those old chain link
posts are in good shape, and if they are spaced
you know well, meaning like eight feet apart, then there
is hardware now that can attach wood rails to that
(26:51):
chain link post fencing, and so you don't have to
pull those out, You don't have to put wood posts
into the ground. If they're in good shape, you could
utilize your old existing chain link posts and build a beautiful,
long lasting wood fence from them.
Speaker 6 (27:07):
Bet, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Teine, you are so so very welcome. Mary, thank you
so much for the call. All right, let's take a
quick break and then we'll go back to the phones.
Your home with Dean Sharp, the house whisper, Dean Sharp,
the house Whisper. It's an all call Saturday morning. Thanks
for joining us on the program. Always a pleasure to
(27:29):
be with you talking about your home. Let's go back
to the phones. We got a few minutes left. Let's
try and answer a couple more questions if we can.
Let's talk to Frank. Hey, Frank, welcome home.
Speaker 4 (27:42):
Oh hello Frank, thank you for taking my cobain.
Speaker 7 (27:45):
Yes, the question I have is, I think Bud a
year ago, I went in the attic kind of like
just stuck my head in there and looked around, and
I saw some droppings in one area.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Droppings.
Speaker 7 (28:02):
How concerns should I be and what.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Would you recommend how to deal with that?
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Okay, termite drop.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
I'm god when you said you stuck your head in
the attic and found some droppings, like I was going
to ask you if you didn't clarify what kind of
droppings are they? Because they could be rodent droppings. That's
one thing. Moose droppings. That's a problem. You don't want
a moose in your attic. Termite droppings always a concern,
always a concern, and so and quite simply, it's time
(28:31):
to call a pest control company and have them take
an honest look, because I can't tell you exactly where
those guys are, but they'll be able to tell you
where there are and how extensive it is. Could be
just the beginning. But you said you saw this about
a year ago, so I would say get on the
horn right now and get with a pest control company.
(28:54):
Let them come over and evaluate the situation. Of course,
I'm going to recommend to you if you live in
southern California, I'm gonna recommend that you call Eco la
uh because they are I love the fact that they
and this is what you want out of a pest
control company, by the way, total effective treatment, right.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
But they're not gonna do too much. They're not gonna
do too little.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
They're going to evaluate it and give you an honest
opinion about how far you need to go. Again, you know,
we were talking earlier in the show about mold ormediation
and how so many companies come in and just press
the nuclear button. They're like, oh, you have some mold
in the corner. Yeah, yeah, let's strip all the drywall
off this room. And well, why don't we strip it
off your neighbor's houses as well while we're at it. Yeah,
(29:38):
we don't have to necessarily these days go to the
nuclear option of oh, tenth the house, just tent the house,
move out, tent the house. There are so so many
options to effectively control that.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And if it is not a housewide infestation and an
area that they can treat locally they will. And but yeah,
don't let that go. Oh okay, because you know, end
of the day, Frank, you know some somebody is eating
your house. And that's basically what it comes down to.
Can I squeeze one more in? Frank, thanks for the callbody, Uh,
(30:12):
one more in? We're gonna try. Hey, Rick, Welcome home, Dean,
Good morning, Good morning. I only got just literally a
couple of minutes.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
It was Megan real quick and I over here north
west Arizona, and I'm getting some finisher repair replaced on
my and my garage. It's detached. I have new facier
board on my house primer, and I have old facier
board on my garage that's detached. I'm looking for a
(30:47):
quality paint that I can afford, good finish. It would
adapt to both the new board and the old finish
on the old board.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Okay, all right, well, uh you know, quality paint that
I can afford? That is always the question. And I
you know, and I don't have your your your accounting
breakdown and your budget for your life and for your home,
but I will tell you this, okay, that you want
to buy the best quality paint that you can afford Okay,
(31:19):
I would start, of course, with Benjamin Moore. I just
happened to I've been using it for thirty plus years.
Benjamin Moore is, in my opinion, interior exterior.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
This is the best paint that that money can buy. Okay.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Now, it's not as cheap as the stuff that you're
going to find in the big box store, clearly, but
it is a superior paint. Adhesion, weather resistance, fading, all
of that kind of stuff. And yeah, they are a
sponsor on the show. Why because I beg them to
come on, because they I told them, listen, I'm gonna
(31:57):
be talking about you guys. Anyway, you might as well
bend fit from this because they are almost exclusively the
paint that I recommend. Now, does that mean that there
aren't other good paints out there? No, Sherwin Williams is
a fantastic paint Done Edwards is a fantastic paint. I
just happen to prefer Benjamin Moore above all of them.
But if you know, you don't have to twist my
arm very hard to use the others as well. So
(32:20):
there you go. Benjamin Moore paints for the exterior of
your project. Best recommendation I can make for you. But
at the end of the day, you know, don't want
to overspend for anyone simply don't. You know, take paint
very seriously. Everybody, buy the best paint you can afford
to buy. You will not regret it. All Right, That
(32:40):
looks like that's about it for us.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Today.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
Tomorrow, nine am, we're gonna be live in front of
a live well we're always live. We're gonna be in
front of a live studio audience at the iHeart Studios
in LA for our annual House Whisper Holiday home show
sponsored by Al Dick Home. It's gonna be a blast.
(33:04):
Look forward to seeing you there. If you're on the
guest list. Otherwise, tune in. You're gonna love it, and uh,
don't miss a minute. We'll see you then. And until then,
get out there in this beautiful day post rain in
southern California and get busy building yourself a beautiful life.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
We'll see you tomorrow. This has been Home with Dean
Sharp the House Whisper.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Tune into the live broadcast on KFI AM six forty
every Saturday morning from six to eight Pacific time, and
every Sunday morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or
anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI am six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, my friend, and welcome home. I am Dean Sharp,
the house Whisperer, custom home builder, custom home designer, and
your guide to better understanding that place, whether weather, where
you live, whether your home is a castle that's what
I was trying to say, or a cottage, it doesn't matter,
(00:30):
you know why, because a luxury is not what makes
a home great. A luxury and custom are completely different categories.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Did you know that?
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Did you know that You've got luxury up at the
top of one scale, and you know modest down at
the bottom of the same scale. That's its own category.
And then you've got custom or not custom, you know,
track design or you know bulk design, production home. Most
(01:01):
people live in a production home, whether it be a
modest home or a luxury home. Yeah, there are lots
of luxury production homes out there. So the point is this,
it's not about luxury when you think about custom. When
you hear me say the word custom home design or
the design matters most I want you understand it's not
(01:22):
about luxury, Okay, It's about design. That's what makes a
home great. Whether it is a castle or a cottage,
just a tiny little place. Great design is one of
those things that make people make you just like hmmm mmmmmmmm.
This is such a great space to be in. Think
(01:44):
of it this way in terms of really affecting change
for your home. And we do all of these here
on the program for you, as you know, but new parts.
You got to go out and buy some new part
for something in your home. That is home repair, that's
fixing what's broken. New paint. New paint is home maintenance.
That's you know, keeping up, keeping it up. New design that,
(02:09):
in my opinion, should be the definition of home improvement,
not home repair, not home maintenance, home improvement. And to
do that we have to inject new design ideas into
the home. Good design makes all the difference. Every house
deserves it, every house should enjoy it. Because once good
(02:29):
design is at work, man, the house opens up to you.
Every house, any house, has a path forward toward becoming
a great home. All right, enough of my design soapboxing.
It is an all calls Saturday morning. Let's talk about anything.
We can talk design, we can talk repair, we can
talk maintenance. Anything you want to talk about regarding you home.
(02:50):
The phone lines are open. The number to reach me
eight three three two. Ask Dean eight three three the
numeral twoep Dean. Just spell it on out A three
three to ask Dean. Let's go to the phones. I
want to talk to Denise. Hey, Denise, welcome home.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Hi.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
I'm in a bit of a pickle. I have got
a aud built, and the city, the contractor, nobody.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Knows the rules for solar.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
My house is five hundred and ninety five square feet.
I've been to the California Energy Commission because it's five
hundred and ninety five square feet. I've gotten solar estimates.
It's fifteen thousand dollars. One person says, it's six hundred
and forty nine square feet unless you don't have to
have them. Another person said seven ninety five. I can't
(03:46):
find anything. Can you help me?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Okay, so help me understand. So you've got an ADU,
an accessory dwelling unit built, Okay, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
I'm trying to get it finaled by.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
The city, and the question in the city isn't sure
whether to final it because they think it might require solar.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
Exactly they told me. One person said, yes, So I
got I hate some money to get solar plans, just
to get the permit, because the inspector said, just get
the permit, we'll sign it off. Well they that, they say, no,
it's not true. Your architect needs to take the solar
(04:29):
off the title twenty four in the cover sheet. But
I don't know if it's required. I don't want to
get solar if it's not required, because I can't afford it.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
It's too much money.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
So I wondered if there was a square footage rule
that you knew about.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Okay, yeah, my contactor doesn't know. All right, here's what
I know.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
And he's been blowing me off for two years, by
the way.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Two years about it? Two years?
Speaker 5 (04:58):
All right, Well we need to I'm frustrated. I've been
crying all week, trying out.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Oh oh, my friend, my friend.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Okay, all right, So yeah, as a general rule, right
new detached is it a detached ADU or is it
attached to the house? Yes, sir, alright, it's detached.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
Okay, detached.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Okay, So a detached assessory dwelling unit in California are
required to have solar. Okay, a solar system per the
States Building Energy Efficiency Standards, which is what everybody just
heard Denise referred to as Title twenty four. Title twenty four,
by the way, is not just that.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
It.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Title twenty four is the entire state's building Code of
the Universal the International Building Code adopted by the state
of California. But that's where you find the energy efficiency
standards and so on. Now, there are exceptions, okay, such
as for attached ADUs and manufactured ADUs, or specific cases
(06:05):
with insufficient solar access or a roof that's too small
to support the system. Okay, I am not aware of
a particular square footage exception or a square footage minimum requirement.
I can look into that and it probably wouldn't take
me very long. In fact, I might be able to
(06:26):
just do it during the break and check it out.
But yeah, a new detached ADU has to have a
solar system. It can be installed on the adu's roof,
it can be installed on the primary homes roof or
another suitable location on the property. So it doesn't have
(06:48):
to be on the ADU itself, because the ADU is
part of the property as a whole. ADUs that are
attached to the main house and or that are conversions
of existing unconditioned space like a garage are not required
to have solar added to it, but the attached ones are.
(07:08):
I'm not exactly sure what all the logic is in
regards to that, but I do know that that's the thing.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
I do know this. If the minimum required system size
is and here's the whole thing, is less than one
point eight kill a watts, okay, then you're excluded from it. Okay.
So that would be something to ask your solar company.
(07:36):
And that is what's what's the size that would be
required for justice ADU? Because if it's less than one
point eight kill a watt, then it does not require
solar being put up? Right and manufactured? Was this a
manufactured ADU or was it built on site?
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Denise? Are you still with me?
Speaker 5 (08:00):
It was built on site?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Okay, so it wasn't manufactur because then manufactured all right?
So you know what, this is a really interesting question.
I'd love to get to the bottom of it. Let
me do a little snooping around during the break, Can
you hang tight, Denise?
Speaker 5 (08:16):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
All right, I'm gonna pop you on hold. We're gonna
go to break.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I'm gonna see if I can find any reason for
a square footage requirement for a detached ADU for solar
and then we'll address it right on the other side.
So you hang on. You hang on, Denise, you hang on, everybody,
just hang on. We'll get back to it. Your home
with Dean Sharp, the house whisper. Dean Sharp, the house
(08:41):
whisper here to help you take your home to the
next level. Thanks for joining me on the program this morning.
It is a blustery gonna warm up, not warm, but
just love. It's gonna be a gorgeous weekend. Let's just
put it that way. That's my traffic and weather report
right now. Traffic, Uh, stay off the roads, just stay
(09:02):
home and enjoy the weather. There you go. So traffic solved,
weather report done. We can just close the station down now,
I think, yeah, we're done, We're out. Uh, all right, it's.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
An all call Saturday morning. I've got Denise on the line.
I hope did I hang up on you? Denise?
Speaker 5 (09:21):
Are you here?
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
So Denise has a has a an ADU and accessory
dwelling unit built out on her property and uh, and
she's trying to get a certificate of occupancy. She's trying
to get final inspection and approval on it, and all
of a sudden, Uh, there's this question. I guess it's
been lumen for a while. But the city, everybody, every
(09:47):
the contractor, everybody's shrugging their shoulders and whether this thing
needs solar or not. And Denise is like, hello, uh,
solar costs a lot of money, and so I would
love it if everybody could make their decision. So I've
did a little snooping around my friend, and so here's it's.
It's it's not utterly straightforward. There's no hard line. Okay.
(10:12):
First of all, there is zero I can tell you this.
There is zero minimum square footage exemption in the state
of California. So it's not about that, Okay. It's not
about that, Okay, it's not about that the square footage
of the of the ADU. What it is about, though, okay,
(10:33):
And this work can get a little confusing. What the
state is concerned about, or what the law is concerned
about as far as the regulations is whether this ADU
is having a significant energy impact on the property and
the energy usage on the property. Okay, So what comes
up every single direction I look here is this one
(10:57):
point eight killawat size limit. That's the thing. Okay, So
what that means is your solar company, whatever solar company
is looking at the property to do solar, and every
single one of them would do, you know, figure out
the same calculation if what the solar company calculates for
(11:20):
the required system size, not for the whole house, just
for the ADU. Okay, if it is if the if
the solar company's calculations are less than one point eight
kilowatt for the ADU, you do not have to put
solar on the ADU. That's the cutof So the limit,
(11:42):
the limit, the line is not a square footage thing.
It is, in fact the amount of solar that is
calculated for the ADU. There are exceptions, and it gets
confusing because certain exceptions, like for a small ADU of
less than six hundre th twenty square feet, that puts
(12:03):
you in the potentially excluded category. But it's not an
absolute So that's what's confusing about it. It's like, well
maybe maybe if it's less than six hundred and twenty
square feet, well maybe is not an exclusion. Maybe it's
just a maybe limited roof area. Yeah, limited roof area
of eighty square feet or less is a possible exception,
(12:27):
and so all of these are possibles. Or if your
roof is overly shaded by trees, Okay, all of that,
that's all. That's all just up in the air stuff.
But the one thing that I keep finding is less
than one point eight kilowatt And you know what, I
can't calculate. You can't calculate. It's got to be the
solar company that calcate.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
And the solar companies are going to calculate it to
get the payday from me buying the solar stuff.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
You know what, though, you know what thought I gotta
tell you, you know, most of them, most of them will
do an honest calculation for you because they don't want
to be on the hook for selling you solar that
ends up costing you more money. Solar is all about
saving people. I'll tell you what. The solar company that
I work with a lot here in southern California, Sunlux, Right,
(13:16):
they'll tell me straight up. They're like, well, okay, you
got a client, and they okay, how big is their
electric building? I'm like, well, you know they're paying about
they're paying about one hundred and twenty five dollars a month.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
For their electricity.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
And you know, Mike at Sunlus, he's going to look
at me and say, yeah, you know what, that's kind
of below the threshold. I mean, you got if you're
paying more than one point fifty, if you're pushing up
towards two hundred, solar will end up saving you money
today and it's worth doing. If it's not, then it's not.
So one of these situations where the adu, you know,
(13:50):
no solar company is going to want to go to
all the trouble to pile that stuff on an adu
if in fact it's not worth it to you in
the end, because are going to be happy. So let
them do a count.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Okay, let him do a count.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 5 (14:08):
Yes, the electric bill for that house is like seventy
dollars a month in mine is about one hundred for
my house.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, so it's probably a pretty low uptake. And so
I think, I think, uh, you're you're saving grace may
be in the solar company calculating uh and uh, and
the magic number appears to be one point eight kilowatts
for that eighty year.
Speaker 5 (14:31):
Okay, and I should call some lux who's you use?
Speaker 3 (14:34):
You should yeah, give him a call, give him a call.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
They'll treat you right. Thanks Denise.
Speaker 5 (14:42):
I appreciate your time. Thank you. I got any.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Oh I lost Thanks Denise, A great call. Great call.
Thank you so much. Okay, where are we at? We
have time? Oh yeah, we got time to pick up
another Uh let's talk to Mary. Hey, Mary, welcome home.
Speaker 6 (15:02):
Thank you. I lived in north or I used to
live in Northwest Alta, Diina. My home is damaged. My
garage was burnt to the ground. But my question is
about and I'm not living there obviously because it's uninhabitable,
but I'm curious about replacement fencing. And I would have
(15:28):
a replacement fencing for the north and the south side
of my home, and that's about one hundred feet and
then on the west side it's about fifty feet. So
I'm going to have three different people that I'm going
to be dealing with trying to figure out, you know,
what they want, what's going to make all of us happy?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Oh, the neighbors. You're talking about three different neighbors you're
going to be dealing with, got you.
Speaker 6 (15:54):
Three different neighbors? Yeah, and I you know, I know,
I know. Cinder block is pretty fire resistant, but it's
also very expensive to put in. One of my neighbors
has said that she would like to build her side
of the property with fire resistant wood, which can also
(16:16):
be very expensive. One hundred years ago, before I owned
the house, I am assuming there was chain link fence
all around the house, and so I do have the
metal posts that are in the ground, and I just
don't know what the and I'm just starting to find
(16:38):
contractors to work with. But I thought, you know, what
is your thinking on this?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Ah, what is my thinking on this? Well? What is
my thinking on this? That's what I'm calling you cinder
block walls.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Cinder block wall kind of a no brainer when it
comes to fire resistance, right because you know it's cinder block,
it doesn't burn, and they they're not as they're not as.
They are definitely more expensive than a wood fence, there's
no question about that. Okay, They're not as expensive as
a lot of people think, though, because a lot of
people when they imagine cinderblock walls, they're actually thinking about
(17:22):
a retaining wall.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
In fact, I don't like to call them walls when
it's just empty, open cell cinder block. I just call
them cinder block fences, because a retaining wall the expensive
retaining wall, it's got a lot of rebar running through it,
and it's filled every cell of those open cinder blocks
is filled top to bottom with concrete. That's a very
(17:45):
expensive wall because there's a lot of labor and there's
a lot of concrete involved and so on. But your
typical cinder block wall that separates properties is completely hollow.
It's just blocks stacked. Now, of course more expensive than
a wood fence for sure, but a cinder block wall,
when in those terms, is really just a fence made
out of cinder blocks. So I prefer to call a
(18:07):
cinderblock fence so that people can understand, you know, the
scope of what it is that you're getting. Now, the
other two options, and I don't think chain link is
an option here. I totally agree with you. Though you've
got the posts, you might be able to utilize those.
The other two options these days, is that you're going
to go with you know, well, I guess there are three.
(18:28):
You could go with steel or aluminum fencing, but that's
going to cost you just about as much, if not
more than the cinder blocks, So that's not really a
cost savings. The less expensive options would be vinyl fence
or a wood fence. Vinyl doesn't burn, it melts, It
will get damaged in a fire, but it doesn't, you know,
(18:49):
sit there and become kindling and then you've got wood.
And that's what I would like to address. We're up
against a break and so Mary, if you can hang on,
I'll talk to you about on the other side. I
want to talk about wood fencing because when it comes
to fencing around a property, it is my preferred that's
the designer in me. The builder in me also loves
(19:11):
all of the options for wood fencing. The question is
can we do that and can you know are we
are we making? Are we inviting more trouble for the
next fire that comes along, or is there a way
to economically protect it as well? So why don't we
discuss that on the other side of the break. Thanks
for joining the program today. You are Home with Dean
(19:31):
Sharp House Whisper.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Dean Sharp the house Whisper here to transform your ordinary
house into something truly extraordinary. Thanks for joining us on
the program. Good Saturday morning to you. We are here
a post a week plus of.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Storms and here it looks like it is cleared out. Now.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Don't think there's anything precipitation wise in southern California on
the U on the calendar past Thanksgiving, we should have
just gorgeous, gorgeous, lovely days. What a gift, What a gift.
We've had fire season, by the way, that's nil for now,
that's done. How great is that this time of year?
(20:24):
So here we are and here you are, and I'm
taking calls this morning because every Saturday it's an all
call Saturday. I've got Mary on the line. And Mary's
home was damaged in the Altadena fire, which is just tragic.
The garage burned to the ground. Now she's in a
situation where it's time to talk fencing for the property,
(20:47):
and she's got three neighbors to discuss that with three
different neighbors, and of course everybody's going to have their
their information, their the stuff that's been fed into their heads.
The question was, you know, do we put back cinderblock walls,
which obviously wouldn't burn in a fire, but they are expensive.
What are our other options? You could go steal or
(21:08):
aluminum fencing? But that's going to be just as expensive
as the cinder block, if not more so in some situations.
And that leaves the two lesser expensive options, and that
would be plastic like vinyl of fencing and wood fencing. So, Mary,
here's the thing. Vinyl fencing won't burn. It's gonna melt.
(21:32):
It won't burn. I'm not a fan. So you called
and asked for my opinion. I'm going to give you
my opinion. It's the designer in me and the builder,
by the way, is not thrilled with vinyl fencing either,
because I've still yet to see a vinyl fence that
is guaranteed not to yellow and crack over time.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
And I just and most of.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
The vinyl fences in my area melted.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Yeah. Yeah, So.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
The fact is, if a fire sweeps through, only a
cinder block fence will be there without needing to be
replaced after the fact. Yeah, I mean for the most part.
So that's that, okay. Whether or not the fence, though,
contributes to the rest of the property burning, that's where
you know, vinyl will melt, it won't burn. It's not
(22:20):
going to throw off, you know, sparks and embers and
cause more problems, and that's the concern that everybody has
with wood fencing, and rightly so, because an unprotected wood
fence can cause that kind of issue. I happen to
love wood fencing. I have hundreds of feet of it
surrounding my property all over the place. I love wood fencing,
(22:43):
and it's beautiful. It's inexpensive relative to the other forms.
It's creative, it's esthetically pleasing. And the question is is
it also practical in terms of fire Well, it can be.
And the point is this, for the saved expense of
(23:04):
putting up wood, you can also treat it. There are
so many great products to treat wood fencing. Whether you
want to stain it and have the wood you know
coming through, there are products like deck guard, fire retardant
additive for oil and water based stains, okay there. If
(23:24):
you want to paint it, there is a ton of
these days of fire resistant or fire retardant paint materials
or additives that can be used. So the point is
a wood fence doesn't have to be a threat to
the property if it is treated with these coatings, which
(23:44):
are you know, more expensive than paint, but a heck
of a lot less expensive. Than building a cinder block wall.
And so that is something that I think you should
add to your conversation with your neighbors and say, listen,
these things are available. Now what they do, they will
not save I want to be really clear, A fire
retardant additive or coating on a deck or on a
(24:07):
fence is not going to save the deck or the
fence if fire approaches and the flames start looking at
the wood. What happens is these coatings are what we
call into messented. They have a component in them that
creates kind of a char on the outside. As the
(24:31):
flames lick against the wood, that char kind of self
seals and becomes a fire resistant, insulating, thermally insulating coating.
Now it gets charred, which means that those boards will
have to be replaced, but the fence will not sit
there and burn like firewood and throw out embers and
(24:54):
be a threat to the rest of the property. And
so these are the things that we need to understand
about that kind of stuff. But Mary, at the end
of the day, the designer in me just really really
loves wood fencing. I'd rather build a wood fence and
coat it with the fire retardant materials then spend the
money on a cinderblock fence or definitely my last option, definitely,
(25:19):
definitely is to go vinyl. I just I don't like
surrounding my house with plastic.
Speaker 6 (25:26):
Yes, yes, I agree. Is there a particular company that that.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
With oil or.
Speaker 6 (25:34):
Paint that has the fire retardant chemicals in it to
hopefully not to my.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Knowledge, that could exist out there, but not to my
knowledge is simply this is simply something you would acquire
the materials, uh, you know, because you can find them online.
You find they're sitting on the shelf at home depot
in the paint department right now. You could acquire the
materials and just you just hire a painter. You say, hey,
paint my fence with this stuff, and that's it.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
Yeah, it's that easy. And you said an old sper
paint or stain or what.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Oh, that's just totally up to you, you know. And
it has to do with the design of the house,
right whether it should be like a you know, white
picket fence kind of thing, or you like that whole
redwood kind of you know that that's a design question.
Each of the codings work just as well for each application,
and just one more thing before you go, and before
I have to go. You said that you you know,
(26:30):
a hundred years ago, you know, had chain link around there,
and you still have the posts. When it comes to
a wood fence. If those posts, those old chain link
posts are in good shape, and if they are spaced
you know well, meaning like eight feet apart, then there
is hardware now that can attach wood rails to that
(26:51):
chain link post fencing, and so you don't have to
pull those out, You don't have to put wood posts
into the ground. If they're in good shape, you could
utilize your old existing chain link posts and build a beautiful,
long lasting wood fence from them.
Speaker 6 (27:07):
Bet, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Teine, you are so so very welcome. Mary, thank you
so much for the call. All right, let's take a
quick break and then we'll go back to the phones.
Your home with Dean Sharp, the house whisper, Dean Sharp,
the house Whisper. It's an all call Saturday morning. Thanks
for joining us on the program. Always a pleasure to
(27:29):
be with you talking about your home. Let's go back
to the phones. We got a few minutes left. Let's
try and answer a couple more questions if we can.
Let's talk to Frank. Hey, Frank, welcome home.
Speaker 4 (27:42):
Oh hello Frank, thank you for taking my cobain.
Speaker 7 (27:45):
Yes, the question I have is, I think Bud a
year ago, I went in the attic kind of like
just stuck my head in there and looked around, and
I saw some droppings in one area.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Droppings.
Speaker 7 (28:02):
How concerns should I be and what.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Would you recommend how to deal with that?
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Okay, termite drop.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
I'm god when you said you stuck your head in
the attic and found some droppings, like I was going
to ask you if you didn't clarify what kind of
droppings are they? Because they could be rodent droppings. That's
one thing. Moose droppings. That's a problem. You don't want
a moose in your attic. Termite droppings always a concern,
always a concern, and so and quite simply, it's time
(28:31):
to call a pest control company and have them take
an honest look, because I can't tell you exactly where
those guys are, but they'll be able to tell you
where there are and how extensive it is. Could be
just the beginning. But you said you saw this about
a year ago, so I would say get on the
horn right now and get with a pest control company.
(28:54):
Let them come over and evaluate the situation. Of course,
I'm going to recommend to you if you live in
southern California, I'm gonna recommend that you call Eco la
uh because they are I love the fact that they
and this is what you want out of a pest
control company, by the way, total effective treatment, right.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
But they're not gonna do too much. They're not gonna
do too little.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
They're going to evaluate it and give you an honest
opinion about how far you need to go. Again, you know,
we were talking earlier in the show about mold ormediation
and how so many companies come in and just press
the nuclear button. They're like, oh, you have some mold
in the corner. Yeah, yeah, let's strip all the drywall
off this room. And well, why don't we strip it
off your neighbor's houses as well while we're at it. Yeah,
(29:38):
we don't have to necessarily these days go to the
nuclear option of oh, tenth the house, just tent the house,
move out, tent the house. There are so so many
options to effectively control that.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And if it is not a housewide infestation and an
area that they can treat locally they will. And but yeah,
don't let that go. Oh okay, because you know, end
of the day, Frank, you know some somebody is eating
your house. And that's basically what it comes down to.
Can I squeeze one more in? Frank, thanks for the callbody, Uh,
(30:12):
one more in? We're gonna try. Hey, Rick, Welcome home, Dean,
Good morning, Good morning. I only got just literally a
couple of minutes.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
It was Megan real quick and I over here north
west Arizona, and I'm getting some finisher repair replaced on
my and my garage. It's detached. I have new facier
board on my house primer, and I have old facier
board on my garage that's detached. I'm looking for a
(30:47):
quality paint that I can afford, good finish. It would
adapt to both the new board and the old finish
on the old board.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Okay, all right, well, uh you know, quality paint that
I can afford? That is always the question. And I
you know, and I don't have your your your accounting
breakdown and your budget for your life and for your home,
but I will tell you this, okay, that you want
to buy the best quality paint that you can afford Okay,
(31:19):
I would start, of course, with Benjamin Moore. I just
happened to I've been using it for thirty plus years.
Benjamin Moore is, in my opinion, interior exterior.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
This is the best paint that that money can buy. Okay.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Now, it's not as cheap as the stuff that you're
going to find in the big box store, clearly, but
it is a superior paint. Adhesion, weather resistance, fading, all
of that kind of stuff. And yeah, they are a
sponsor on the show. Why because I beg them to
come on, because they I told them, listen, I'm gonna
(31:57):
be talking about you guys. Anyway, you might as well
bend fit from this because they are almost exclusively the
paint that I recommend. Now, does that mean that there
aren't other good paints out there? No, Sherwin Williams is
a fantastic paint Done Edwards is a fantastic paint. I
just happen to prefer Benjamin Moore above all of them.
But if you know, you don't have to twist my
arm very hard to use the others as well. So
(32:20):
there you go. Benjamin Moore paints for the exterior of
your project. Best recommendation I can make for you. But
at the end of the day, you know, don't want
to overspend for anyone simply don't. You know, take paint
very seriously. Everybody, buy the best paint you can afford
to buy. You will not regret it. All Right, That
(32:40):
looks like that's about it for us.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Today.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
Tomorrow, nine am, we're gonna be live in front of
a live well we're always live. We're gonna be in
front of a live studio audience at the iHeart Studios
in LA for our annual House Whisper Holiday home show
sponsored by Al Dick Home. It's gonna be a blast.
(33:04):
Look forward to seeing you there. If you're on the
guest list. Otherwise, tune in. You're gonna love it, and uh,
don't miss a minute. We'll see you then. And until then,
get out there in this beautiful day post rain in
southern California and get busy building yourself a beautiful life.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
We'll see you tomorrow. This has been Home with Dean
Sharp the House Whisper.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Tune into the live broadcast on KFI AM six forty
every Saturday morning from six to eight Pacific time, and
every Sunday morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or
anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Home with Dean Sharp News
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