August 10, 2025 • 29 mins
Dean shares expert tips on fire-retardant proofing and fire hardening your home. He also explains how to seal crawl spaces to block toxins using vapor barriers. Plus, Dean advises a caller on her new kitchen cabinets and countertops with practical guidance for a flawless finish.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The
House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app. And if
this is not Sunday from nine to noon, then obviously
you have found the House Whisper podcast, which is of
course always there, always able to be listened to anytime
on demand twenty four to seven, wherever you are on
(00:23):
planet Earth and wherever your favorite podcasts are found. So yes,
every program we do, every live broadcast, becomes the House
Whisper podcast right after we go off the air. So
if you've missed any part of today's show and you're like,
dang it, I wish I hadn't missed that part of
the show, well you haven't. You can go back. You
can listen anytime you want wherever your favorite podcasts are found.
(00:47):
That means, of course the free iHeartRadio app, but also
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever it is that you listen to
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House Whisper or Home with Dean, any of those you'll
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(01:09):
It is a veritable Home Improvement Reference Library. It's there
for you, all right. It is an all Calls Sunday morning.
We do this every few weeks. We clear the decks
of all topics and you get to decide what the
show is all about. And I right before the break,
I was talking to Donald. Let's make sure I haven't
(01:30):
hung up on Donald. Donald, are you still with me?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I am here, Dean.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay. So, Donald's got a home in Brentwood. And of
course Brentwood is like literally just feet away from where
the Palisades fire did just devastating damage earlier this year.
And Donald wants to know what can I do? What
kind of fire safety systems, fire protection systems I can
build into my home? So, Donald, I wanted to ask
(01:59):
you tell me about the outside of your house. Siding stucco,
What kind of roof do we have up there? What
are the conditions around your property as it stands?
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Okay, we have an eight thousand square foot house, stucco siding,
brand new roof with ember retardant events and on an
acre of property pretty well what should you say?
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Wooded? Well wooded? Yeah, so, and I'm assuming verdant in
well watered too.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Okay, so here's the thing. I am not the guy
who is going to recommend the multi billion dollar fire
suppression systems that gets so popular after every wildfire. As
you know, if you've listened to the show and it
sounds like you've already dealt with this, the you know
(02:59):
what I'm interested in is plugging the holes in the boat,
as it were, not everything about a house has to
be recoded redone because by code, shockingly most houses are
already Class A fire raided the majority of the surfaces.
But that is also like saying that, well, the most
(03:22):
most of the hull of my boat is in excellent
shape except for these small holes here on the bottom.
Well let's not put that thing in the water until
we plug the holes. Now, you guys hear me say
this all the time, and it's absolutely true. Because brand
Guard Vents is one of our sponsors on the show.
I don't say these things because Brand Guard is a sponsor.
(03:43):
I went out and begged Brand Guard to be a
sponsor of our show because I recommend their vents all
the time. Ember Proof vents for your attic plugs one
of the major holes, because Embers are in fact the
prime Marry issue until the fire line has actually arrived
(04:03):
at the house. Okay, once the fire is at the house,
we have different concerns than when fires are nearby. When
fires are nearby, most homes are at risk because of
those embers igniting plant material that's dried out and unwatered.
I don't worry about plant material that's verdant, unless they're
eucalyptus or pine trees, because those have internal resins that
(04:26):
are just made to burn like crazy. But I don't
worry about verdant, well watered plant material. Those are actually
buffers to fire. They're not encouragement of fire. A stucco
house is an inch of stucco on the outside of
your house. That is a Class A fire rating. A
brand new roof is Class A fire rated. Ember proof
(04:46):
vents Class A fire rated. So let's just talk about
now the idea of the fire arriving at your home.
What can be done at that point. There are automatic
suppression systems that can shoot foam, are resistant foam right
before you evacuate that will activate and shoot out foam
(05:07):
and cover over areas and plant material and patio areas
on the property. Those are helpful, but those can also
be done via a garden hose, and you doing it
yourself manually without paying tens of thousands of dollars for
an automatic suppression system at the time. You just store
a little of this fire gel in your garage or
(05:28):
storage areas, hook that up, and have somebody or yourself
spray down the vulnerable areas of the outer area of
the property before you evacuate. Okay, those fire retardant gels
and foams work really, really well. You just don't have
to have an automatic system built in, although if you
want to, you know, be my guest. My main concern
(05:50):
of what's left with your home is windows and eves.
If once the fire arrives at your property, we don't
have fire rated windows, and that means tempered glass windows
at that first floor level, then those windows, when subject
to the high heat of the flames, will shatter and
provide a hole for the fire to get into the house.
(06:13):
So I'm all about fire rated windows. And then eve's
the eves around your home. That's the place where I
would put fire retardant paint in that exposed overhang, Eve,
because in far as far as I'm concerned, those are
the only two holes left to plug once the fire
arrives at your home. Those are the essentials, donald, they
(06:33):
really are. And don't believe anybody who tells you you're
going to have to, you know, give an arm and
a leg to build a suppression system in that's going
to do more than resist the home the way you're
already existing Class A surfaces are. It's just a matter
of where are the vulnerabilities, where are the holes left?
(06:54):
And those are essentially the holes in the boat.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Got it?
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Anything else you will like to add, No, you.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Know, I'm going to give it some thought and I'm
going to have a couple of other comments right on
the other side of the break, so you keep listening.
But yeah, that's that's essentially it. I did a program
on this just a couple of weeks ago in which
we talked about this at length on a Sunday morning.
You might want to go back and check that out.
But I'll have some thoughts on the other side of
the break. But right now, let's get some news your
(07:26):
Home with Dean Sharp the House Whisper.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Thanks for joining us on the program today. It is
a warm, sunny, Southern California Sunday. I hope you've got
some plans. I don't want you to overheat, but you
should get out in it a little bit, a little
bit and just enjoy this glorious Southern California weather. This
is not crazy summer weather. This is just summer. Okay,
let's just get it straight here. This is not crazy.
(07:56):
It's just summer, just summer. So why not enjoy it
here because summer won't last forever, I promise you. I
don't know why I'm giving weather advice here, it's just
the truth. Get out and enjoy it. Make the most
of the day. That's the point. We're making the most
of the day here by taking your calls. It's an
(08:16):
all calls Someday morning. And I was just told you
know what, I haven't given the number out in a
few bits, So here is the number to reach me.
It's not too late. Eight three three two Ask Dean
eight three three the numeral two pep ask Dean eight
three three to ask Dean anything that's got you scratching
(08:39):
your head about your home construction? EIY design? Yes, please
any of it inside, outside, landscape, all around there you go. Now,
our previous caller had a question about fire protecting their home,
and I did a show on this was it two
or three weeks ago? I should go check it out
(09:00):
on the podcast. I committed an entire show to the
idea of what do we really need to do for
fire hardening in prep for fire season. It was a
July show, I think it was the end of July show.
Go check it out on the podcast for all the details.
But I just wanted to underscore what it is that
my approach to this whole subject, right, My approach is
(09:24):
I would like to think a rational approach and one
that is informed not only by an understanding of architecture
but also of construction. Knowing that most homes are already
mostly covered in Class A fire materials, Well, then why
do so many of them burn down? Dean? Well, we
talk about that all the time. Number One, when there
(09:45):
was a wildfire nearby, it's not the boat. It's the
holes in the boat that are causing the boat to sink. Okay,
it's not having to redo everything. And I know that
every time there's a wild fire disaster that there's lots
of talk about specialty systems that are that can be
(10:08):
very very expensive that crop up and uh, and I
am not saying let me make this really clear, I'm
not saying that that none of these systems or that
any of these systems you know, couldn't help protect a home. Okay,
so please don't misunderstand me. I am not poo pooing
(10:28):
any Uh. You know great lengths that anybody goes to
to protect their home, rooftop sprinklers or eve sprinklers or
foam dispersion systems around the property. You know. It's one
of those things where sure, okay, sure you got the budget,
you got the time, you got the will for it. Fine, Uh,
(10:49):
you could just keep going and going. You can imagine
there's no end to the amount of fire safety protection. Uh.
If you have an unlimited budget that you could, you know,
prove to your home. You could hire a full time
private fire department if you want to protect your property. Clearly,
there's no end to it. But at some point we
(11:10):
have to ask the question, at what point are we
substantially significantly protected? And for most people with you know, budgets,
most people need to understand where the vulnerabilities of their
home are. It's not the siding of your home, unless
it's wood siding. That's not great. Then I want you
to paint your wood siding with fire retardant paint. It's
(11:34):
not the stucco of your house. That's already Class A
rated concrete. It's not the roof of your home. Especially
if you've got a roof in anywhere in the state
of California, You've already got a Class A roof sitting
up on your home. And by the way, homes don't
burn down, they burn up. Okay, So embers fire landing
(11:57):
on your roof does not burn down into your house. Okay,
it may mess up a roof tile or two, but
no fire burns up. It's when you see films of
or you know TV coverage of whole houses, you know
the whole roof is on fire. That's a fire that
started in the attic down below. That's why the hole
(12:19):
in most of these boats are the vents leading into
the attic. That's why I'm always urging you to go
with emberproof vents. Every home in southern California, in my opinion,
should have ember proof vents built in. Why it's a
retrofit to keep up with current codes, because as starting
January first, twenty twenty six, the new Building Code for
(12:42):
the state of California is no new construction or major
re models without emberproof vents. It is the standard now,
and if you've got an older home, I would love
for you to catch it up with the standards so
that your home is not at risk. That's the kind
of stuff I'm talking about. As far as fire retardant paint,
I'm always concerned about the overhang, the eves, and that's
(13:05):
for when the flames arrived. That's where I would spend
money on fire retardant paint, not the whole house, not
on top of what's already a Class A service. So
you get the idea, all right. I had to just
get that out. I wanted to clarify because I just
want you to plug the holes in the boat when
it comes to fire season. Then if you want to
go further, fine, go as far as you want. All right,
(13:26):
when we come back, we're going to more of your calls,
your Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Good morning and welcome home. I'm here to transform your
ordinary house into an extraordinary home. We do it every weekend.
We do it live from nine to noon every Sunday morning,
just for you. And yes, yes it can be done. Yes,
that old house that you live in, it could be
made into something truly, truly special if you know the
(14:00):
way to go. And that's what I'm here to help
you with. And right now today we're just doing a lot.
I love all calls Sundays. I love them just because
so many points of interest, so many concerns that you
get to share. I get to answer your question, everybody
gets to benefit. So with that, I'm going to go
(14:21):
back to the phones. I want to talk to Fred. Hey, Fred,
welcome home.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Hiding. Thanks to taking my call. Sean, I have a question.
I'm in the rebuilding Phaith due to the Empire, and
my house is going to have a raised foundation. And
I've been here you know some different perspectives regarding soil remediation,
but it's primarily focused on the garden and in the yards.
(14:47):
So I'm curious when it comes to the footprint of
the of the of the house that I'm rebuilding, are
there ways that I can also encapsulate all space so
that it's not just exposed, you know, to the dirt.
I'm handy, so I like, you know, going under there
and doing some work, you know, if needed, or a
(15:09):
diagnosing things I needed from curious. What are my options
you know to steal that bottom crawl space?
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Uh, yeah, you do have options to steal the bottom
crawl space, and they're not very complex, and so this
would be the kind of thing that that you would
probably uh you know, really get into. A simple vapor
barrier moisture vapor barrier can be rolled out along your
crawl space and generally speaking, not only does it help
(15:40):
in terms of uh, you know, toxins in the soils
that you're just you don't want to have oozing in
there or volatile or organic compounds, but it will also
help in the future just keep a cleaner crawl space,
also reduce the amount of mold or mildew possible in
the crawl space. And now would be the time to
(16:01):
do it, especially when the crawl space is still open
and exposed and you know that whole thing. So yeah,
it's not and you can there are companies out here
also the good news Fred, if you want to do
it for you, But yeah, it is not at all
an unusual thing. Crawl space encapsulation, and there's a whole
(16:22):
industry that's kind of been built around it. But you
can also get these vapor barriers yourself. In fact, there
are I think they. I mean some people literally just
go off and get nice thick, like fifteen mil crawl
space vapor barrier material and order it and then lap
(16:42):
it over It's like sheep plastic lap it over there,
and it's actually pretty dang effective. There are also customized
vapor barriers that are made out there. You can buy
them at home depot or at least you can order
them at home depot, and they're they're much thicker, they're tougher,
(17:02):
they and they're more designed to hold up to people
crawling in there after the fact and not producing holes.
But yeah, crawl space vapor barrier is. It's a major thing,
and I personally think on a new construction build, we
recommend it from day one and so on a rebuild
(17:24):
for you when you're concerned about those toxins, I would say, absolutely,
without question.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Is adding a somewhat thin layer of concrete overkill at
this point?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
No, it's not overkill at all. I mean, if it's
something that's within your budget. That's you know, that's the
dream crawl space Fred. Honestly that instead of leaving the
soil that you add a thin layer of concrete in there.
And you know, I wouldn't just just pour concrete, though,
I would add some rebard to it, because you wanted
to hold together and not crack up and break up
(17:58):
and become a mess down the road. But that's that's
at the end of the day, that's the dream raise foundation.
It's just that something that you know, from the building process,
it's an area where a lot of people try to
save money. And so yeah, we'd rather not have to
pour an extra slab there since we're raising the foundation
of our home. But if it's within your budget and
(18:19):
it's important enough, then without question, that's a great way
to go. Keeping that crawl space clean uh and uh
and and really you know, encapsulating with concrete from the soil. However,
I just want to make it clear, it's not something
anybody ever looks at. And so evening out the soil,
(18:40):
compacting the soil down, getting it all raked out really
nice and beautifully, and then maybe even a layer of
sand there and then a nice crawl space. Vapor barrier
protection will do ultimately the same thing. It's just you know,
not as permanent as concrete, if that makes.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
Sense, understood, per appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
See Fred, good luck. I know it is. It's been
a trial and it's a difficult thing and appreciate you
going at it and being part of the rebuilding process
there in Altadena. From the eaton fire man, it just
goes on. I don't know if you guys heard, but later,
I mean earlier this week, I shared some creative thoughts
(19:24):
that a lot of people are having. There's an architectural
firm in LA that thought, you know what we should do.
We should check out what the demolition permits are in
LA right now, and they found like forty or eighty
forty I think forty I don't want to misquote it.
I think at least forty homes scheduled for demolition in
(19:46):
Los Angeles, just various parts of LA. And you would think, oh, well,
though they've been condemned right there about. No, No, that's
usually not the case. Usually when a house is scheduled
for demolition is because owners bought the property, they want
something completely new or may maybe there's a commercial interest
that's buying the property and they don't want a residence
there anymore. There are a lot of reasons why a
(20:06):
house gets scheduled for demolition. But this company has identified
several homes like century homes, like one hundred year old
craftsman homes in perfect condition that they've basically broke or
deals with Altadena residents, and a couple of them have
already taken place. One of them got moved this week.
(20:28):
But you basically you come in, you would buy the
home off the property for a dollar there you go boom,
and then you have to pay to have it moved,
and then you have a foundation built to it. But
the point is, at the end of the day, all
things being equal, you end up with a century home
with all of that history, just not one that was
(20:49):
built there originally, but built somewhere else in town. Move
to your property. You've rebuilt on the property with a
one hundred year old historic home, brought it up to codes,
and probably spent somewhere in the area of maybe thirty
percent less than a rebuild, and you get the old
home that you had before. Essentially, it's a great idea.
(21:12):
A lot of creativity going into the rebuild of that community,
and I'm glad to hear it because it's heartbreaking and
it's a great community. All right, when we come back,
more of your calls. Your Home with Dean Sharp the
house whisper you.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Here to help you take your home to the next level.
Thanks for joining us on the program today. It is
always a privilege and a pleasure to interact with you,
to talk to you, to spend time with you talking
about this all important thing that we call home and
helping you take yours to the next level, which is
what we do every week every Sunday morning from nine
(21:55):
to noon right here on the program. It's been an
all Calls Sunday day morning, and we're not done yet.
I just wanted to take the time to thank everybody
ahead of time for their calls, great questions this morning,
great topics, and always a great way of allowing everybody
who's listening to take things up a few notches as
(22:16):
you hear us tackle all of these interesting problems that
so many of us share. And that's real key with
calls is you know nobody's having an experience that's absolutely
utterly unique. No, no, we're all in it together, and
that's why we go this way. All right, we still
got time for a call I want to take Nicole. Hey, Nicole, welcome.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
Home, Hidin. Thank you for taking my call. So my
question is regarding my kitchen and having new cabinets encountertop installed.
And so I'm in the very beginning where I need
to tackle all my belongings in preparation for the demo,
and I don't know what to expect. I am serving
(22:59):
as my own talent chapter so and this is my
first project. I have no idea. Should I expect holes?
Should I have a handyman on deck? But what should
I expect? I think.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
With no? Okay, So all right, let me ask you
a couple of questions apart from okay, so are we
swapping out cabinets encountertop in the exact same positions? Are
we making some changes? Have you redesigned the kitchen to
what extent? Are we doing? This change going to be
the same.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
Where it'll be the same, yeah, same foot part essentially
just updating their countertop and cabinets.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Okay, okay, uh, totally fair. What should you expect. Well,
you know they had old phrase, you can't make an
omelet without breaking some eggs. Uh yeah, there there There
are going to be some things that happened, but but
you don't have to panic about it. You know, you
may get a hole, a ding or whatever in the world,
but none of that is going to stop the process
(24:02):
from rolling forward if all you're plumbing and electrical is
in the place where it's gonna be. If the new
cabinets are just basically going in where the old cabinets were,
and the new countertops going in where the old countertops were. Yes,
there's gonna be a little ancillary damage along the way,
but that stuff that you'll be able to take care of.
Don't don't fear it. You'll be able to take care
(24:24):
of it, you know, as it happens. The key is
this now, when you say you're serving as your own
contractor you're not installing these cabinets yourself, or you're just
basically managing the job instead of having a contract.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Now, I'm just managing okay myself.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Yeah yeah. So, and when are we scheduled to get
the new cabinets? Are they ready to rock and roll?
Speaker 5 (24:48):
No? They're not ready to rock and roll. I've just
finalized the paperwork in deposit.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
And all that, Dad, So I'm.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
Okay, I'm getting couple weeks out.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Yeah. Well, here's the thing. Here's the most important thing
that's going to save you tons of headaches and an
extra stress on the house. One of the things that
I suggest to people the most. Let's say I was
going to come in here and manage your your your
job for you, Okay, you and I'd figure we'd figure
(25:21):
out the cabinets, we'd get them ordered, and then we're
going to have a serious conversation with the cabinet manufacturer.
Tell me when are these cabinets going to be ready?
And they're going to say, well, probably by this date, okay,
unlike well, probably probably in a couple of three weeks,
probably in six weeks. Sometimes we do a lot of
custom cabinets here. These dates. It's actually, you know, sometimes
(25:42):
it can be eight plus weeks before the cabinets are
actually ready to go. And I say to them, all right,
so when when they are ready, are you going to
demand immediate delivery or you know, can you hang on
to them for a couple of three days or a week?
Or so, and most of them would be like, oh,
now you know, we'll get a worked out with you. Okay.
So the reason I bring that up is because perhaps
(26:04):
the most frustrating thing that an inexperienced do it yourself
build or does when it comes to cabinets and or
anything major like that in the house is that you
demo the existing kitchen too soon. Okay, we may be waiting,
we may be waiting four or five week here's if
you really want this thing to just happen as quickly
(26:25):
as possible, don't touch the existing kitchen until you already
have heard that the new cabinets are ready to rock
and roll. Okay. That means on day one we tear
out the old stuff. You know. Let's say, let's give
it two days to tear out and prep everything in
the kitchen. On day three we can start bringing the
new cabinets in instead of you living without a kitchen
(26:48):
for the next three or four weeks. Okay. That's the
thing that I want you to know most is that
timing on a project usually has to do with lead
times on the biggest materials and biggest materials on any
home project. As far as lead time is usually windows
and doors and cabinetry, no question about it. We sit
(27:09):
down on day one and we're like, all right, let's
figure out, let's get these windows and doors ordered, and
let's get the cabinets ordered, because we could be weeks
out and then we'll work everything else around it, and
we will minimize the impact on your life by getting
things switched out as quickly as possible. My ideal, i mean,
my absolute ideal a job Nicol is when I've got
(27:32):
a storage bin sitting on site, okay, and I've got
every appliance, every cabinet, every bit of material sitting in
there already waiting to go, and then we start tearing
up the house because as soon as we are done
pulling out demo, we are ready to replace. And it's
just a shifting in and out, and we're not waiting
(27:55):
for things as the house stands out there, you know,
kind of with its rear in just blowing in the wind.
So the best advice I can give you is, don't panic.
It's all gonna be great. It's all you know. There's
always a snaffoo or something along the way. You can
handle that, But don't demo the existing kitchen until the
new cabinets have shown up and you've got notice that. Okay,
(28:17):
now we've got a timeline. Does that make sense to
thank you? All right? Nicole, you think, thank you so
much for your call. Appreciate it, Appreciate everybody's call. Today.
It is a warm but beautiful, beautiful summer day out
there southern California and wherever you are across the country
(28:37):
listening to us, I hope that the weather is treating
you right as well. But regardless, you know what, today
it's in our hands. It is a time. The time
is now, and the time is now to get out
there and get busy building yourself a beautiful life. You
get busy doing that, and we will see you right
back here next weekend. This has been Home with deansh
(29:00):
Sharp the House Whisper. 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
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House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app. And if
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(00:23):
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dang it, I wish I hadn't missed that part of
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(00:47):
That means, of course the free iHeartRadio app, but also
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever it is that you listen to
your podcast, Just do a search for Dean Sharp, The
House Whisper or Home with Dean, any of those you'll
see it'll pop up and hundreds of episodes waiting there
for you that you can listen to anytime you want.
(01:09):
It is a veritable Home Improvement Reference Library. It's there
for you, all right. It is an all Calls Sunday morning.
We do this every few weeks. We clear the decks
of all topics and you get to decide what the
show is all about. And I right before the break,
I was talking to Donald. Let's make sure I haven't
(01:30):
hung up on Donald. Donald, are you still with me?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I am here, Dean.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay. So, Donald's got a home in Brentwood. And of
course Brentwood is like literally just feet away from where
the Palisades fire did just devastating damage earlier this year.
And Donald wants to know what can I do? What
kind of fire safety systems, fire protection systems I can
build into my home? So, Donald, I wanted to ask
(01:59):
you tell me about the outside of your house. Siding stucco,
What kind of roof do we have up there? What
are the conditions around your property as it stands?
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Okay, we have an eight thousand square foot house, stucco siding,
brand new roof with ember retardant events and on an
acre of property pretty well what should you say?
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Wooded? Well wooded? Yeah, so, and I'm assuming verdant in
well watered too.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Okay, so here's the thing. I am not the guy
who is going to recommend the multi billion dollar fire
suppression systems that gets so popular after every wildfire. As
you know, if you've listened to the show and it
sounds like you've already dealt with this, the you know
(02:59):
what I'm interested in is plugging the holes in the boat,
as it were, not everything about a house has to
be recoded redone because by code, shockingly most houses are
already Class A fire raided the majority of the surfaces.
But that is also like saying that, well, the most
(03:22):
most of the hull of my boat is in excellent
shape except for these small holes here on the bottom.
Well let's not put that thing in the water until
we plug the holes. Now, you guys hear me say
this all the time, and it's absolutely true. Because brand
Guard Vents is one of our sponsors on the show.
I don't say these things because Brand Guard is a sponsor.
(03:43):
I went out and begged Brand Guard to be a
sponsor of our show because I recommend their vents all
the time. Ember Proof vents for your attic plugs one
of the major holes, because Embers are in fact the
prime Marry issue until the fire line has actually arrived
(04:03):
at the house. Okay, once the fire is at the house,
we have different concerns than when fires are nearby. When
fires are nearby, most homes are at risk because of
those embers igniting plant material that's dried out and unwatered.
I don't worry about plant material that's verdant, unless they're
eucalyptus or pine trees, because those have internal resins that
(04:26):
are just made to burn like crazy. But I don't
worry about verdant, well watered plant material. Those are actually
buffers to fire. They're not encouragement of fire. A stucco
house is an inch of stucco on the outside of
your house. That is a Class A fire rating. A
brand new roof is Class A fire rated. Ember proof
(04:46):
vents Class A fire rated. So let's just talk about
now the idea of the fire arriving at your home.
What can be done at that point. There are automatic
suppression systems that can shoot foam, are resistant foam right
before you evacuate that will activate and shoot out foam
(05:07):
and cover over areas and plant material and patio areas
on the property. Those are helpful, but those can also
be done via a garden hose, and you doing it
yourself manually without paying tens of thousands of dollars for
an automatic suppression system at the time. You just store
a little of this fire gel in your garage or
(05:28):
storage areas, hook that up, and have somebody or yourself
spray down the vulnerable areas of the outer area of
the property before you evacuate. Okay, those fire retardant gels
and foams work really, really well. You just don't have
to have an automatic system built in, although if you
want to, you know, be my guest. My main concern
(05:50):
of what's left with your home is windows and eves.
If once the fire arrives at your property, we don't
have fire rated windows, and that means tempered glass windows
at that first floor level, then those windows, when subject
to the high heat of the flames, will shatter and
provide a hole for the fire to get into the house.
(06:13):
So I'm all about fire rated windows. And then eve's
the eves around your home. That's the place where I
would put fire retardant paint in that exposed overhang, Eve,
because in far as far as I'm concerned, those are
the only two holes left to plug once the fire
arrives at your home. Those are the essentials, donald, they
(06:33):
really are. And don't believe anybody who tells you you're
going to have to, you know, give an arm and
a leg to build a suppression system in that's going
to do more than resist the home the way you're
already existing Class A surfaces are. It's just a matter
of where are the vulnerabilities, where are the holes left?
(06:54):
And those are essentially the holes in the boat.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Got it?
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Anything else you will like to add, No, you.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Know, I'm going to give it some thought and I'm
going to have a couple of other comments right on
the other side of the break, so you keep listening.
But yeah, that's that's essentially it. I did a program
on this just a couple of weeks ago in which
we talked about this at length on a Sunday morning.
You might want to go back and check that out.
But I'll have some thoughts on the other side of
the break. But right now, let's get some news your
(07:26):
Home with Dean Sharp the House Whisper.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Thanks for joining us on the program today. It is
a warm, sunny, Southern California Sunday. I hope you've got
some plans. I don't want you to overheat, but you
should get out in it a little bit, a little
bit and just enjoy this glorious Southern California weather. This
is not crazy summer weather. This is just summer. Okay,
let's just get it straight here. This is not crazy.
(07:56):
It's just summer, just summer. So why not enjoy it
here because summer won't last forever, I promise you. I
don't know why I'm giving weather advice here, it's just
the truth. Get out and enjoy it. Make the most
of the day. That's the point. We're making the most
of the day here by taking your calls. It's an
(08:16):
all calls Someday morning. And I was just told you
know what, I haven't given the number out in a
few bits, So here is the number to reach me.
It's not too late. Eight three three two Ask Dean
eight three three the numeral two pep ask Dean eight
three three to ask Dean anything that's got you scratching
(08:39):
your head about your home construction? EIY design? Yes, please
any of it inside, outside, landscape, all around there you go. Now,
our previous caller had a question about fire protecting their home,
and I did a show on this was it two
or three weeks ago? I should go check it out
(09:00):
on the podcast. I committed an entire show to the
idea of what do we really need to do for
fire hardening in prep for fire season. It was a
July show, I think it was the end of July show.
Go check it out on the podcast for all the details.
But I just wanted to underscore what it is that
my approach to this whole subject, right, My approach is
(09:24):
I would like to think a rational approach and one
that is informed not only by an understanding of architecture
but also of construction. Knowing that most homes are already
mostly covered in Class A fire materials, Well, then why
do so many of them burn down? Dean? Well, we
talk about that all the time. Number One, when there
(09:45):
was a wildfire nearby, it's not the boat. It's the
holes in the boat that are causing the boat to sink. Okay,
it's not having to redo everything. And I know that
every time there's a wild fire disaster that there's lots
of talk about specialty systems that are that can be
(10:08):
very very expensive that crop up and uh, and I
am not saying let me make this really clear, I'm
not saying that that none of these systems or that
any of these systems you know, couldn't help protect a home. Okay,
so please don't misunderstand me. I am not poo pooing
(10:28):
any Uh. You know great lengths that anybody goes to
to protect their home, rooftop sprinklers or eve sprinklers or
foam dispersion systems around the property. You know. It's one
of those things where sure, okay, sure you got the budget,
you got the time, you got the will for it. Fine, Uh,
(10:49):
you could just keep going and going. You can imagine
there's no end to the amount of fire safety protection. Uh.
If you have an unlimited budget that you could, you know,
prove to your home. You could hire a full time
private fire department if you want to protect your property. Clearly,
there's no end to it. But at some point we
(11:10):
have to ask the question, at what point are we
substantially significantly protected? And for most people with you know, budgets,
most people need to understand where the vulnerabilities of their
home are. It's not the siding of your home, unless
it's wood siding. That's not great. Then I want you
to paint your wood siding with fire retardant paint. It's
(11:34):
not the stucco of your house. That's already Class A
rated concrete. It's not the roof of your home. Especially
if you've got a roof in anywhere in the state
of California, You've already got a Class A roof sitting
up on your home. And by the way, homes don't
burn down, they burn up. Okay, So embers fire landing
(11:57):
on your roof does not burn down into your house. Okay,
it may mess up a roof tile or two, but
no fire burns up. It's when you see films of
or you know TV coverage of whole houses, you know
the whole roof is on fire. That's a fire that
started in the attic down below. That's why the hole
(12:19):
in most of these boats are the vents leading into
the attic. That's why I'm always urging you to go
with emberproof vents. Every home in southern California, in my opinion,
should have ember proof vents built in. Why it's a
retrofit to keep up with current codes, because as starting
January first, twenty twenty six, the new Building Code for
(12:42):
the state of California is no new construction or major
re models without emberproof vents. It is the standard now,
and if you've got an older home, I would love
for you to catch it up with the standards so
that your home is not at risk. That's the kind
of stuff I'm talking about. As far as fire retardant paint,
I'm always concerned about the overhang, the eves, and that's
(13:05):
for when the flames arrived. That's where I would spend
money on fire retardant paint, not the whole house, not
on top of what's already a Class A service. So
you get the idea, all right. I had to just
get that out. I wanted to clarify because I just
want you to plug the holes in the boat when
it comes to fire season. Then if you want to
go further, fine, go as far as you want. All right,
(13:26):
when we come back, we're going to more of your calls,
your Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Good morning and welcome home. I'm here to transform your
ordinary house into an extraordinary home. We do it every weekend.
We do it live from nine to noon every Sunday morning,
just for you. And yes, yes it can be done. Yes,
that old house that you live in, it could be
made into something truly, truly special if you know the
(14:00):
way to go. And that's what I'm here to help
you with. And right now today we're just doing a lot.
I love all calls Sundays. I love them just because
so many points of interest, so many concerns that you
get to share. I get to answer your question, everybody
gets to benefit. So with that, I'm going to go
(14:21):
back to the phones. I want to talk to Fred. Hey, Fred,
welcome home.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Hiding. Thanks to taking my call. Sean, I have a question.
I'm in the rebuilding Phaith due to the Empire, and
my house is going to have a raised foundation. And
I've been here you know some different perspectives regarding soil remediation,
but it's primarily focused on the garden and in the yards.
(14:47):
So I'm curious when it comes to the footprint of
the of the of the house that I'm rebuilding, are
there ways that I can also encapsulate all space so
that it's not just exposed, you know, to the dirt.
I'm handy, so I like, you know, going under there
and doing some work, you know, if needed, or a
(15:09):
diagnosing things I needed from curious. What are my options
you know to steal that bottom crawl space?
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Uh, yeah, you do have options to steal the bottom
crawl space, and they're not very complex, and so this
would be the kind of thing that that you would
probably uh you know, really get into. A simple vapor
barrier moisture vapor barrier can be rolled out along your
crawl space and generally speaking, not only does it help
(15:40):
in terms of uh, you know, toxins in the soils
that you're just you don't want to have oozing in
there or volatile or organic compounds, but it will also
help in the future just keep a cleaner crawl space,
also reduce the amount of mold or mildew possible in
the crawl space. And now would be the time to
(16:01):
do it, especially when the crawl space is still open
and exposed and you know that whole thing. So yeah,
it's not and you can there are companies out here
also the good news Fred, if you want to do
it for you, But yeah, it is not at all
an unusual thing. Crawl space encapsulation, and there's a whole
(16:22):
industry that's kind of been built around it. But you
can also get these vapor barriers yourself. In fact, there
are I think they. I mean some people literally just
go off and get nice thick, like fifteen mil crawl
space vapor barrier material and order it and then lap
(16:42):
it over It's like sheep plastic lap it over there,
and it's actually pretty dang effective. There are also customized
vapor barriers that are made out there. You can buy
them at home depot or at least you can order
them at home depot, and they're they're much thicker, they're tougher,
(17:02):
they and they're more designed to hold up to people
crawling in there after the fact and not producing holes.
But yeah, crawl space vapor barrier is. It's a major thing,
and I personally think on a new construction build, we
recommend it from day one and so on a rebuild
(17:24):
for you when you're concerned about those toxins, I would say, absolutely,
without question.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Is adding a somewhat thin layer of concrete overkill at
this point?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
No, it's not overkill at all. I mean, if it's
something that's within your budget. That's you know, that's the
dream crawl space Fred. Honestly that instead of leaving the
soil that you add a thin layer of concrete in there.
And you know, I wouldn't just just pour concrete, though,
I would add some rebard to it, because you wanted
to hold together and not crack up and break up
(17:58):
and become a mess down the road. But that's that's
at the end of the day, that's the dream raise foundation.
It's just that something that you know, from the building process,
it's an area where a lot of people try to
save money. And so yeah, we'd rather not have to
pour an extra slab there since we're raising the foundation
of our home. But if it's within your budget and
(18:19):
it's important enough, then without question, that's a great way
to go. Keeping that crawl space clean uh and uh
and and really you know, encapsulating with concrete from the soil. However,
I just want to make it clear, it's not something
anybody ever looks at. And so evening out the soil,
(18:40):
compacting the soil down, getting it all raked out really
nice and beautifully, and then maybe even a layer of
sand there and then a nice crawl space. Vapor barrier
protection will do ultimately the same thing. It's just you know,
not as permanent as concrete, if that makes.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
Sense, understood, per appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
See Fred, good luck. I know it is. It's been
a trial and it's a difficult thing and appreciate you
going at it and being part of the rebuilding process
there in Altadena. From the eaton fire man, it just
goes on. I don't know if you guys heard, but later,
I mean earlier this week, I shared some creative thoughts
(19:24):
that a lot of people are having. There's an architectural
firm in LA that thought, you know what we should do.
We should check out what the demolition permits are in
LA right now, and they found like forty or eighty
forty I think forty I don't want to misquote it.
I think at least forty homes scheduled for demolition in
(19:46):
Los Angeles, just various parts of LA. And you would think, oh, well,
though they've been condemned right there about. No, No, that's
usually not the case. Usually when a house is scheduled
for demolition is because owners bought the property, they want
something completely new or may maybe there's a commercial interest
that's buying the property and they don't want a residence
there anymore. There are a lot of reasons why a
(20:06):
house gets scheduled for demolition. But this company has identified
several homes like century homes, like one hundred year old
craftsman homes in perfect condition that they've basically broke or
deals with Altadena residents, and a couple of them have
already taken place. One of them got moved this week.
(20:28):
But you basically you come in, you would buy the
home off the property for a dollar there you go boom,
and then you have to pay to have it moved,
and then you have a foundation built to it. But
the point is, at the end of the day, all
things being equal, you end up with a century home
with all of that history, just not one that was
(20:49):
built there originally, but built somewhere else in town. Move
to your property. You've rebuilt on the property with a
one hundred year old historic home, brought it up to codes,
and probably spent somewhere in the area of maybe thirty
percent less than a rebuild, and you get the old
home that you had before. Essentially, it's a great idea.
(21:12):
A lot of creativity going into the rebuild of that community,
and I'm glad to hear it because it's heartbreaking and
it's a great community. All right, when we come back,
more of your calls. Your Home with Dean Sharp the
house whisper you.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Here to help you take your home to the next level.
Thanks for joining us on the program today. It is
always a privilege and a pleasure to interact with you,
to talk to you, to spend time with you talking
about this all important thing that we call home and
helping you take yours to the next level, which is
what we do every week every Sunday morning from nine
(21:55):
to noon right here on the program. It's been an
all Calls Sunday day morning, and we're not done yet.
I just wanted to take the time to thank everybody
ahead of time for their calls, great questions this morning,
great topics, and always a great way of allowing everybody
who's listening to take things up a few notches as
(22:16):
you hear us tackle all of these interesting problems that
so many of us share. And that's real key with
calls is you know nobody's having an experience that's absolutely
utterly unique. No, no, we're all in it together, and
that's why we go this way. All right, we still
got time for a call I want to take Nicole. Hey, Nicole, welcome.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
Home, Hidin. Thank you for taking my call. So my
question is regarding my kitchen and having new cabinets encountertop installed.
And so I'm in the very beginning where I need
to tackle all my belongings in preparation for the demo,
and I don't know what to expect. I am serving
(22:59):
as my own talent chapter so and this is my
first project. I have no idea. Should I expect holes?
Should I have a handyman on deck? But what should
I expect? I think.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
With no? Okay, So all right, let me ask you
a couple of questions apart from okay, so are we
swapping out cabinets encountertop in the exact same positions? Are
we making some changes? Have you redesigned the kitchen to
what extent? Are we doing? This change going to be
the same.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
Where it'll be the same, yeah, same foot part essentially
just updating their countertop and cabinets.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Okay, okay, uh, totally fair. What should you expect. Well,
you know they had old phrase, you can't make an
omelet without breaking some eggs. Uh yeah, there there There
are going to be some things that happened, but but
you don't have to panic about it. You know, you
may get a hole, a ding or whatever in the world,
but none of that is going to stop the process
(24:02):
from rolling forward if all you're plumbing and electrical is
in the place where it's gonna be. If the new
cabinets are just basically going in where the old cabinets were,
and the new countertops going in where the old countertops were. Yes,
there's gonna be a little ancillary damage along the way,
but that stuff that you'll be able to take care of.
Don't don't fear it. You'll be able to take care
(24:24):
of it, you know, as it happens. The key is
this now, when you say you're serving as your own
contractor you're not installing these cabinets yourself, or you're just
basically managing the job instead of having a contract.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Now, I'm just managing okay myself.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Yeah yeah. So, and when are we scheduled to get
the new cabinets? Are they ready to rock and roll?
Speaker 5 (24:48):
No? They're not ready to rock and roll. I've just
finalized the paperwork in deposit.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
And all that, Dad, So I'm.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
Okay, I'm getting couple weeks out.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Yeah. Well, here's the thing. Here's the most important thing
that's going to save you tons of headaches and an
extra stress on the house. One of the things that
I suggest to people the most. Let's say I was
going to come in here and manage your your your
job for you, Okay, you and I'd figure we'd figure
(25:21):
out the cabinets, we'd get them ordered, and then we're
going to have a serious conversation with the cabinet manufacturer.
Tell me when are these cabinets going to be ready?
And they're going to say, well, probably by this date, okay,
unlike well, probably probably in a couple of three weeks,
probably in six weeks. Sometimes we do a lot of
custom cabinets here. These dates. It's actually, you know, sometimes
(25:42):
it can be eight plus weeks before the cabinets are
actually ready to go. And I say to them, all right,
so when when they are ready, are you going to
demand immediate delivery or you know, can you hang on
to them for a couple of three days or a week?
Or so, and most of them would be like, oh,
now you know, we'll get a worked out with you. Okay.
So the reason I bring that up is because perhaps
(26:04):
the most frustrating thing that an inexperienced do it yourself
build or does when it comes to cabinets and or
anything major like that in the house is that you
demo the existing kitchen too soon. Okay, we may be waiting,
we may be waiting four or five week here's if
you really want this thing to just happen as quickly
(26:25):
as possible, don't touch the existing kitchen until you already
have heard that the new cabinets are ready to rock
and roll. Okay. That means on day one we tear
out the old stuff. You know. Let's say, let's give
it two days to tear out and prep everything in
the kitchen. On day three we can start bringing the
new cabinets in instead of you living without a kitchen
(26:48):
for the next three or four weeks. Okay. That's the
thing that I want you to know most is that
timing on a project usually has to do with lead
times on the biggest materials and biggest materials on any
home project. As far as lead time is usually windows
and doors and cabinetry, no question about it. We sit
(27:09):
down on day one and we're like, all right, let's
figure out, let's get these windows and doors ordered, and
let's get the cabinets ordered, because we could be weeks
out and then we'll work everything else around it, and
we will minimize the impact on your life by getting
things switched out as quickly as possible. My ideal, i mean,
my absolute ideal a job Nicol is when I've got
(27:32):
a storage bin sitting on site, okay, and I've got
every appliance, every cabinet, every bit of material sitting in
there already waiting to go, and then we start tearing
up the house because as soon as we are done
pulling out demo, we are ready to replace. And it's
just a shifting in and out, and we're not waiting
(27:55):
for things as the house stands out there, you know,
kind of with its rear in just blowing in the wind.
So the best advice I can give you is, don't panic.
It's all gonna be great. It's all you know. There's
always a snaffoo or something along the way. You can
handle that, But don't demo the existing kitchen until the
new cabinets have shown up and you've got notice that. Okay,
(28:17):
now we've got a timeline. Does that make sense to
thank you? All right? Nicole, you think, thank you so
much for your call. Appreciate it, Appreciate everybody's call. Today.
It is a warm but beautiful, beautiful summer day out
there southern California and wherever you are across the country
(28:37):
listening to us, I hope that the weather is treating
you right as well. But regardless, you know what, today
it's in our hands. It is a time. The time
is now, and the time is now to get out
there and get busy building yourself a beautiful life. You
get busy doing that, and we will see you right
back here next weekend. This has been Home with deansh
(29:00):
Sharp the House Whisper. 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
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