January 4, 2026 • 30 mins
Today’s first caller is having fireplace issues. When she attempted to light it on this cold, rainy morning, an ash smell covered the entire house — what's up with that?
The next caller's bathtub faucet snapped clean off! He looked inside the spout and saw that it was completely corroded internally. Can he replace it himself?
Back on the phones, a listener’s home was built in 1955, and she recently had the old roof replaced with asphalt slats. Previously it had wooden shingles, and she’s wondering if the roofers should have put plywood over the slats?
The last caller is about to undertake a bathroom remodel and had questions regarding the recirculation pump and general design.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The
House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app. Dean Sharp
The House Whisper, Custom home Builder, custom home Designer, and
your guide to better understanding that place where you live today.
On the show, we're talking about thinking and designing like
(00:21):
a house whisper. How do certain designers get under the
skin of your home and really understand it in a
way that nobody else looking at it has been able
to figure out?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I want you to be a part of that process,
So I'm giving you some principles to begin your designer
renovation process with ones that I don't want you to
skip over, not if you really, really really want to
see the best possible results for the best use of
your budget. And we all have limited budgets. We all do,
(00:54):
and so I want to make the most of it.
And it may be a little unconventional at moments, but nevertheless,
that's how we get to the best answers to turn
a house that is ordinary into something extraordinary. See extraordinary
Extraordinary It means thinking sometimes outside of the box. It
means doing things that aren't ordinary. Doesn't mean that we're
(01:19):
going to turn it into some wild, weird you know art,
you know, modern art, abstract creation. That's not what we're
talking about at all. What we're talking about is the
process of how to figure out how to get the
house where you want it to go, where you want.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
It to be.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay, so uh, we are in the midst of that conversation.
But guess what, it's middle of the show, which means
it's time to go to the phones and take a
few calls. And the number to reach me, by the way,
for your call is eight three three two. Ask Dean
A three three the numeral two, Ask Dean A three
(01:56):
three two, and then you just spell out ask Dean
our call screener is standing by, and there's room for
you on the board. Give me a call. I want
to talk to Erica. Hey, Erica, welcome home.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Hi, good morning Dean. So my question is we have
this fireplace and it was on last night. We let
it run its course throughout the night, and then early
this morning, roughly around four am, we smelled smoke or
ash all around the house. Granted the heater was on,
(02:33):
and we're wondering what can be done.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Ah, so, wood burning fireplace? Yes, what and you had
it on last night and you just ran it and
you just kind of let it cool off and do
its thing overnight and this morning. Now, let me ask you,
did you close the damper at any time last night?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
No?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Okay? Is this a reoccurring thing that happens with this
fireplace or has this the first time it's ever happened
to you?
Speaker 3 (03:05):
It's the second time. A little vision of the house.
It's a high ceiling house. What else can I say?
It's the three bedroom kitchen, open kitchen to the living room.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Uh see, the damper was open, the door to the
fireplace was closed, the heater was running throughout the night.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Okay, all right. So here's the thing about fireplaces, wood
burning fireplaces, there's a you know, there's a science to them.
And it doesn't surprise me that you woke up to
the smell of the ash and the and the smoke
throughout the house only because you let it go overnight.
(03:58):
That that's fine. You know, you didn't do anything wrong. Okay,
Just understand, when the heater gets on, whatever's happening in
the family room there is going to get recirculated throughout
the house. So that probably exacerbated the situation. Okay, as
far as the pervasiveness of the smell of the ash
and the smoke, but there are a few things to
(04:18):
just be aware of when it comes to running a
wood burning fireplace, conventional wood burning fireplace. What happens is,
while it's running, there's no smell at all, because the
heat of the fire is taking all of that air
(04:39):
that it's heating directly above it, and that hot air
is rising up through the flu rising up through over
the open damper, up the chimney, and out it goes.
And it's heating up the chimney as it does that,
and it's warming it, which is only encouraging hot air
to rise through that upward vent. Not you know, some
(05:03):
heat obviously is coming out into the room, but the
vast majority of the heat from the fireplace itself is
headed up the chimney. So what happens is, we're done,
it's time to you know, go to bed. We're gonna
let the fire, We're gonna poke it around a little bit,
we're gonna let it die out. We're not gonna close
the damper yet because you know, there's still maybe you know,
(05:27):
some moldering cinders that are still burning and we don't
want that to just be locked into the room, so
we leave the damper open. But now the fire is
not producing a lot of heat, if any at all,
and the air with the damper open, the air and
the chimney at night, overnight, especially during this cooler weather
(05:50):
that we've been having, it gets cold and instead of
hot air rising through the chimney, cold air is descending.
So now what we have is we have a breeze
basically blowing down the chimney. Flu of cold air descending
down a cold chimney. The damper is open, so that
air is coming into the firebox, and it's moving out
(06:12):
through over the fire, out into the living room and
the family room area, and it's carrying with it the odor,
a little bit of ash, and a little bit of
smoke residue and so on, which, as you know, is
very potent stuff. So it gets carried out. It's actually
being blown into the house a little bit more. Now,
So that's the trick with it. With dousing a fire
(06:36):
completely and then closing the damper, we don't have that
same invasiveness of smoke. But it's a typical thing. I mean,
I do the same thing when we're up at a
cabin somewhere, or I'm using a wood burning fireplace. So
you know, we go to bed and we wake up
the next morning the place smells quite a bit like
fire because cold air has now come down the chimney
and blown out into the house. Now, some people will
(07:00):
say that they're having trouble with their fireplace because they're
feeling that or they're smelling that when the fire is
burning itself. That could be the result of a Please
make sure the damper is open. B make sure that
your wood burning fireplace is getting regularly cleaned. If you
(07:20):
use it for woodburning, you should be having a chimney
sweep company cleaning out the creosote and the build up
on the inside of the flu. And that, by the way,
is a massive portion of the odor that is locked
into a fireplace is the creosote build up up the flu.
So having a chimney sweep regularly maintain the flu, making
(07:41):
sure there aren't any cracks in it, making sure it's
good and healthy and so on. And then another thing.
These days, we're weather stripping our homes and air sealing
our homes better than ever. And strangely enough, when you
take a device like a traditional woodburning fireplace, which is
(08:01):
an ancient at this point component of your home, and
you attach that too a twenty first century weather stripped,
fully air sealed home. Then what happens is there can
be an issue of you know, the fire wants hot
air wants to go up the flu off the fire itself,
(08:25):
but that air has to be replaced. If that air
is going up the chimney flu, more air has to
flow into the room. And sometimes houses are so well
sealed up that there's no new air supply, so the
air doesn't actually want to go up the flu and
the chimney doesn't want to draw the right way, and
so we end up with more smoky odor into the
room itself. So basically, what it comes down to is
(08:49):
that sometimes we're over sealed on our homes, and sometimes
we just leave the damp or open a little too
longer overnight and the cold air descends. I got a
couple more thoughts on Erica, but I realize I'm right
up against the break. You hang tight and we'll talk
for a moment.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
We're talking about at the beginning of twenty twenty six.
Here getting a fresh start, fresh start on approaching your remodel,
your design project, thinking like a house whisper, thinking like
the way that a designer who's there to help you
really really get to the heart of what will change
your home significantly for the better. We're going to return
(09:34):
to that conversation in a bit, but it's mid show,
so I'm taking calls. I've got Erica on the line.
Erica had some issues with her wood burning fireplace. Erica,
any of the things I said before the break here
resonate with you as far as what could have been
the cause for the smoke infiltrating the house.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
The thing that I could add is that the open space,
it's so quiet. We can't even hear the rain outside,
So the fields are definitely doing their job. We have
large windows opening to the backyard and we can't hear
a single noise to the outside. Ye, it's definitely well built,
(10:16):
noise resistant and sealed up with you know, no air
draft coming by. So it seems like the reasonable solution
would be to close the damper and maybe crack a window.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah, it would not be a bad thing at all.
Crack a window as close to the fireplace as possible
as it's doing it's cool down, and maybe avoid using
the you know, having the heater circulating for a while
until it you know, you've had a chance to you know,
completely damp out those ashes for the fireplace. It's a
weird thing, but you know, I welcome everybody to again
(10:49):
to think, like I was saying right before the break,
you know, we we we are living in twenty first
century homes. And as I mean, I love fireplaces, I
love them, love them, love them. But a wood burning,
open hearth traditional fireplace is you know, a nine hundred
year old, you know thing attached to your twenty first
(11:12):
century home. And so there are some science incongruities, there
are some physics incongruities with having an you know, eight
or nine hundred year old device functioning in a twenty
first century you know, living room and family room area
that is weather sailed and so on and so. And
(11:33):
if you're wondering, you're listening, and you're wondering, is he
is he is he implying that fireplaces work better in leaky,
drafty homes. That's exactly what I'm saying. That's exactly what
I'm saying. They actually function better. The leakier and the
draftier the home is because they were less you know,
incongruent with those kinds of environments. So you know, we've
(11:57):
had fires in our midst for you know, well over
four hundred thousand years. But the actual fireplace, the mantle
and the chimney and that whole concept that came about
in Norman England about the eleventh century, and it improved
air quality in the house considerably just because you had
a chimney handling a lot of the smoke. But again,
(12:17):
just got to remember, once the hot air is done
rising up the flu because of the fire, cold air
will start to descend down the flu and it will
catch with it as it passes over the ashes, the
ash and the smoke, and it will carry it back
into the house. And so making sure the damper is closed,
(12:40):
making sure something is cracked nearby. It's a good idea.
And or if you really want to get more use
out and Erica, I'm going to be the last person
in the world to poo poo a wood burning fireplace,
but I'm just saying, if you actually want to use
your fireplace more and have more enjoyment of that open flame.
This is actually I encourage people to consider moving to
(13:03):
a gas log set fireplace because gas logs are a
more modern appliance. It's not the most modern when it
comes to a fireplace, but it's more modern. A gas
log set will turn on and off. It's on, it's off,
there's no ash, it's on, it's off, you walk away.
You'll use it more often because of that, and uh
(13:26):
you know there there again. There's no smoke and ash inflow.
And for those people who think, well, yeah, but I
want the warmth of a woodburning fireplace, man, a wood
burning fireplace when the bonfire first starts will pump out
a lot of heat. But over the life of the fire,
a gas log set will provide more heat and more
even heat into the home. Just something to think about.
All right, more of your calls when we come back.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Thanks for joining us on the program today this first
Sun day in twenty twenty six. We are right in
the middle of taking calls. I want to go back
to the phones. Let's talk to Matt Hey, Matt, welcome home,
Good morning, Dayton, Good morning sir. How can I help you?
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Well, a few days ago, the spout that delivers water
to the bathtub just snapped off. Oh and when I
when I looked.
Speaker 6 (14:27):
Inside it, I can see what looked like completely corroded
cast iron pipe, and even a lot of it was
even just gone. So if I'm able to fix it myself.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
I figure I'll have to replace that nipple that goes
between the spout and the water service in the wall.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Yes, now, the spout is a casting and I think
it's some kind of nickel alloy because on the outside
it's it's supposed to be brushed nickel, but even on
the inside it's the same material.
Speaker 5 (15:06):
And so here's my question. I know that you can
get electrolysis if you put dissimilar materials next to each
other in water. And so if I replace the nipple
between the spout and the inside fixture, I have a
(15:27):
choice of cast iron brass, and I don't know if
they're stainless steel. But I kind of wonder if maybe
this was the problem in the beginning, and if I'm
going to run into it again if I don't do
it right.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Okay, I understand, I think what you're talking about. So, yeah,
putting dissimilar metals together at times can cause that. Now
it's not cast iron, by the way, it's either you've
either got a copper line running into that or you've
got galvanized steel. Okay, that's a galvanized steel pipe. Yeah,
(16:11):
galvanized steel, which you know is not great. I mean,
that was a mistake. Just FYI, it was a mistake.
Any whenever we decided, you know what, we should run
water lines inside a house using galvanized pipe. No, no,
that's not a good idea at all. So that's something
for you to think about for the future of your
(16:32):
home as far as repiping is concerned. Because the galvanized
lines are are they're just they're a mess. They were
a mistake on day one. I'm just gonna say that,
and they they don't help hold up well. So now
the trick is this, whether you've got room to do
this or not. But yeah, there are times when you know,
(16:54):
to to put a connecting brass to galvanized steel causes
what we call a galvanic cell. That's rapid corrosion, especially
in wet conditions.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Uh, The zinc that coats the surface is is is
a problem with the you know, just one of the
many problems with galvanized pipes. So there is a there
is a fitting known as a dielectric union. Okay. Uh.
(17:27):
It is an insulating fitting that basically will screw onto
a very very short galvanized nipple coming out of the
main pipe there. Uh, it will it'll screw onto that
and then it has its own port on the other
side insulated from that, which will screw into the copper,
(17:49):
the brass. It'll be a brass fitting because you know,
copper is you know, coppers for the pipe. Brass is
for you know, threaded pipes inside a house. So, yes,
you can replace that if you've got room to do it,
if you can get in there, and if you've got
the depth to do it, you'll you'll need to put
in a what's called a dielectric union. It's either that
(18:11):
or you're going to be replacing that section of galvanized
pipe with PEX. And PEX is another option because PEX
is a is a prostranded polyethylene vinyl and does not
have dissimilar metal issues and corrosion when it connects up
(18:34):
to you know, metal piping, whether it's copper or galvanized
pipe or what have you. The only problem is pex
does not make a strong nipple, uh, you know, for
the actual you know, connection of the tub spout. And
so that's when we transition back to brass. Anyway, So eventually,
(18:55):
my friend, you are looking at very very likely a
wise move saving up, a wise move to repipe the
house and abandon the galvanized pipe throughout the house, because
you're only going to have more and more problems with
this as the years roll on, and you may have
you know, minimal pressure or minimal flow out of things
(19:17):
because the inside of a galvanized pipe just is not
smooth enough to not attract all sorts of mineralization and
build up. And most people houses the age of your
house with galvanized piping inside. Once we actually open up
the pipes and look inside, we find that, you know,
maybe half the actual diameter of water flow through those
(19:39):
pipes because of years and years and years of mineral
build up. So that's just something to consider. But yeah,
your issue there, if you've got room to do it,
you're going to need a dielectric union. And a dielectric
union is nothing more than an insulated fitting that allows
one kind of metal pipe to hook up to it
on one side and an other kind of metal pipe
(20:01):
to hook to the other side without those two metals
actually touching each other, and therefore you don't get the
the corrosion, the galvanic reaction and the corrosion. Does that
make sense, Matt, Well, let's it does.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
So let's suppose I've got three inches only. So my
guess is that the dielectric fittings are going to add
quite a bit of of length.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Yeah, the dielectric fitting is probably an inch and a half,
and so you could use a nipple that's called a
close nipple, which literally just goes away. I mean, it's
just nothing but threads on both sides. Uh, And you'd
probably have to do that close to both sides. You
might be able to get it. I don't know, but yeah,
you're right. The change has to happen. The changeover has
(20:48):
to happen inside the wall because you can't have the
the the dielectric fit. The union is going to be
too big for the tub spout, you know, bell to slipover,
so there not going to be able to hide it
in the tub spout. That's going to have to happen
inside the wall, if that makes sense.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
So if I can't, if I can't do that, do
you think brass might be better than the previous galvanized steel?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Well yeah, well yes, yes, brass will be better. And
a lot of electrical I mean a lot of electrical,
A lot I would use when you actually connected together,
a lot of pipe thread tape, not goop, but tape,
because the tape can sort of semi act as an
(21:37):
insulating factor between the two metals. Matt, I gotta go,
Thank you for your question. Good luck on that. Yeah,
it's just man, old materials, bad material What do you
do to a house that had a bad idea built
into it on day one? Well, it's actually not unlike
(21:58):
a lot of the design problems we face with homes.
And we're going to continue that conversation in just a bit.
But when we come back, how about we take a
couple more calls. Sound good your Home with Dean Sharp,
the house whispering.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Because it's yours, that's why. Because it's the HQ of
your life. And if it's working, if it's firing on
all cylinders, as they say, can I even say that
in the twenty four you know, because of electric motors.
If it's firing on the bet, now we'll just keep
it with the firing on all cylinders. If it's firing
on all cylinders, then your home is not only a
(22:42):
beautiful place to live, a wonderful place to live, but
it is mirroring and magnifying the very best of who
you are and your best life. And that's what we're
here to help you do. Every weekend, we are right
in the middle of taking calls, and then we're going
to be returning to our conversation out thinking and designing
like a house whisperer and what that actually requires and
(23:06):
why adopting some of these very very important techniques and
processes can make a huge difference. They can make the
difference in how you alter, renovate, and remodel your home.
We'll get back to that in a bit, but we're
still going to the phones. I want to talk to Gwen. Hey, Gwen,
welcome home.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Hi.
Speaker 7 (23:29):
My house was built in nineteen fifty five, and I
guess originally it had a wood shingle roof. Since then,
I guess over the years it's had regular shingles.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
But I just got a new roof.
Speaker 7 (23:42):
Put on, and I think he should have put down
plywood before he put the shingles because of the flats.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Is that right?
Speaker 7 (23:50):
Or how is that handled?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Okay? All right, let let me reinterpret some of the
things you're saying. Okay, So the house originally had wood
shingle roof, and now and this is not the wood
shingle roof that just got taken off, right, Okay, it
was a asphalt composite roof that was taken off. Yeah, okay, Yes,
(24:13):
So it originally had wood shingles, which meant back in
the fifties that instead of plywood, because plywood was still
a very novel concept even back in the fifties. Instead
of that, it had one by six slats up running
across the rafters with gaps in between them, spaces, you know,
kind of one and then a gap, and then another
(24:34):
in a gap and so on. And when you go
into the garage, you can look up or the attic,
you can look up and you can actually see there
are the slats, and you could actually literally see the
building paper and the shingles right on top of that's
because that's how we used to attach them back when
that was transitioned over to the thing that surprises me,
(24:54):
Gwen is that nobody has put any plywood on that
roof since then, and uh, and that they somehow got
asphalt shingles working on that roof without adding plywood to it.
Is that what you're implying?
Speaker 7 (25:10):
Yeah, okay, I mean I think it seems like they
should have put the plylot on.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Yeah, well they should. They should have put the plywood
on decades ago. That's that's my point. My point is
that that's it's just the worst possible way to run
an asphalt shingle roof is to work with the slats.
But absolutely, yes, without question. Uh. I don't know what
(25:36):
roofing company you had and what the extenuating circumstances or
were regarding it, but essentially, when we do a tear
off of a roof like that, a roof condition like that,
we don't remove the slats. We'll keep the slats in
place because there's no reason to pull them off. But
right over on top of it goes a layer of
(25:58):
modern sheathing, whether that that's plywood or OSB this. You know,
chipboard material is actually far more common these days but
the idea is these large four x eight sheets of
material that go over that and then the the roofing
underlayment and the shingles are attached to that. That is standard,
absolute standard practice for all tear offs and redos when
(26:22):
there was a previous shingle slat setup before. That's how
it should be done. And uh and honestly, I have
I have never seen a roofer not do that when
they do a tear off and add new composite shingles
to a roof like that.
Speaker 7 (26:38):
Okay, thank you?
Speaker 1 (26:41):
All right, it was this a friend or a neighbor
or a pro roofer who did this?
Speaker 7 (26:46):
Now a pro roofer, I guess.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Okay, well, uh I think that, uh that justifies a
phone call because I just it's just not the way
to It's not the right way to do it at
all at all.
Speaker 7 (27:01):
Okay, okay, okay, yes, I appreciate your answer.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, okay, Gwen, thank you. I'm sorry for that bad news.
But yeah, wow, wow, who does that, Tina, Who does
a tear off on a roof with slats and doesn't
add the OSB these days? That is that's concerning. That's
very concerning. But it was a Proroofer, and I'm hoping
they had a contract and they can get him up. Yeah,
hopefully there's a contract and a license and insurance. And
(27:28):
because that's that, that could be an argument that because
that's not standards and practices. Now, that's that's not even
an option. It's just not the right way to do it.
All right, do we have time for another call? We
mun We're kind of up against it here, all right?
Speaker 3 (27:44):
You know what?
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Heck, Alan, welcome home. I've got very very short window here.
How can I help you? Sir?
Speaker 8 (27:52):
Hello?
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Hi, Alan?
Speaker 8 (27:55):
Oh, I'm sorry I didn't I was away. I'm sorry.
I'm getting ready to do a bathroom remodel and I
was looking at this watch circulating pump. I live in
a twelve hundred and forty square foot house. It is
pretty well designed, kitchen on one side, and launder room
and then two back to back bathrooms, so I don't
(28:15):
have a long travel. I don't know if the watch
is going to be worth the investment of putting it in.
It costs three hundred plus you know, electrical wiring, and
I don't know if the cost factor was going to
be worth it.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
With the house is small, well, it's a question of
it's a question of how long does it take for
the hot water to get to those thinks and those showers,
and whether that's a massive inconvenience for you.
Speaker 8 (28:40):
It's not a massive inconvenience. It doesn't take that long,
but it does take a little bit of time waiting.
And I just was thinking about it while I was
doing the getting ready to do the remodel.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
Yeah, great, Yeah, I understood. You know in the in
the content, you know, all sitting all by itself, putting
in a research pump. And by the way, what Alan's
talking about is the is the you these new recirculation
pumps that you can add into a bathroom at a location,
the far location in order to draw hot water through
the pipes so that you're not waiting for hot waters.
(29:12):
Therefore you're not wasting water in trying to just run
it down the sink, because it takes the cold water
out of the hot water line that has cooled off
and it pushes it into the cold water line. So
you get to keep the water, but you get hot
water closer to your faucet. And the big question, Alan
is is just simply in the cost of a remodel,
three hundred bucks is pretty minor fractional add to it.
(29:36):
But again, this is for people who are really inconvenience
with waiting a long time for the hot water to arrive.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
It.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
If it isn't that big of a deal, maybe not.
If you'd like it, it's not too much, all right.
When we return, we'll get back to our conversation about
thinking like a house whisper. But first this this has
been Home with Dean 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
(30:05):
morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or anytime on
demand on the iHeartRadio app
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The
House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app. Dean Sharp
The House Whisper, Custom home Builder, custom home Designer, and
your guide to better understanding that place where you live today.
On the show, we're talking about thinking and designing like
(00:21):
a house whisper. How do certain designers get under the
skin of your home and really understand it in a
way that nobody else looking at it has been able
to figure out?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I want you to be a part of that process,
So I'm giving you some principles to begin your designer
renovation process with ones that I don't want you to
skip over, not if you really, really really want to
see the best possible results for the best use of
your budget. And we all have limited budgets. We all do,
(00:54):
and so I want to make the most of it.
And it may be a little unconventional at moments, but nevertheless,
that's how we get to the best answers to turn
a house that is ordinary into something extraordinary. See extraordinary
Extraordinary It means thinking sometimes outside of the box. It
means doing things that aren't ordinary. Doesn't mean that we're
(01:19):
going to turn it into some wild, weird you know art,
you know, modern art, abstract creation. That's not what we're
talking about at all. What we're talking about is the
process of how to figure out how to get the
house where you want it to go, where you want.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
It to be.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay, so uh, we are in the midst of that conversation.
But guess what, it's middle of the show, which means
it's time to go to the phones and take a
few calls. And the number to reach me, by the way,
for your call is eight three three two. Ask Dean
A three three the numeral two, Ask Dean A three
(01:56):
three two, and then you just spell out ask Dean
our call screener is standing by, and there's room for
you on the board. Give me a call. I want
to talk to Erica. Hey, Erica, welcome home.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Hi, good morning Dean. So my question is we have
this fireplace and it was on last night. We let
it run its course throughout the night, and then early
this morning, roughly around four am, we smelled smoke or
ash all around the house. Granted the heater was on,
(02:33):
and we're wondering what can be done.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Ah, so, wood burning fireplace? Yes, what and you had
it on last night and you just ran it and
you just kind of let it cool off and do
its thing overnight and this morning. Now, let me ask you,
did you close the damper at any time last night?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
No?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Okay? Is this a reoccurring thing that happens with this
fireplace or has this the first time it's ever happened
to you?
Speaker 3 (03:05):
It's the second time. A little vision of the house.
It's a high ceiling house. What else can I say?
It's the three bedroom kitchen, open kitchen to the living room.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Uh see, the damper was open, the door to the
fireplace was closed, the heater was running throughout the night.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Okay, all right. So here's the thing about fireplaces, wood
burning fireplaces, there's a you know, there's a science to them.
And it doesn't surprise me that you woke up to
the smell of the ash and the and the smoke
throughout the house only because you let it go overnight.
(03:58):
That that's fine. You know, you didn't do anything wrong. Okay,
Just understand, when the heater gets on, whatever's happening in
the family room there is going to get recirculated throughout
the house. So that probably exacerbated the situation. Okay, as
far as the pervasiveness of the smell of the ash
and the smoke, but there are a few things to
(04:18):
just be aware of when it comes to running a
wood burning fireplace, conventional wood burning fireplace. What happens is,
while it's running, there's no smell at all, because the
heat of the fire is taking all of that air
(04:39):
that it's heating directly above it, and that hot air
is rising up through the flu rising up through over
the open damper, up the chimney, and out it goes.
And it's heating up the chimney as it does that,
and it's warming it, which is only encouraging hot air
to rise through that upward vent. Not you know, some
(05:03):
heat obviously is coming out into the room, but the
vast majority of the heat from the fireplace itself is
headed up the chimney. So what happens is, we're done,
it's time to you know, go to bed. We're gonna
let the fire, We're gonna poke it around a little bit,
we're gonna let it die out. We're not gonna close
the damper yet because you know, there's still maybe you know,
(05:27):
some moldering cinders that are still burning and we don't
want that to just be locked into the room, so
we leave the damper open. But now the fire is
not producing a lot of heat, if any at all,
and the air with the damper open, the air and
the chimney at night, overnight, especially during this cooler weather
(05:50):
that we've been having, it gets cold and instead of
hot air rising through the chimney, cold air is descending.
So now what we have is we have a breeze
basically blowing down the chimney. Flu of cold air descending
down a cold chimney. The damper is open, so that
air is coming into the firebox, and it's moving out
(06:12):
through over the fire, out into the living room and
the family room area, and it's carrying with it the odor,
a little bit of ash, and a little bit of
smoke residue and so on, which, as you know, is
very potent stuff. So it gets carried out. It's actually
being blown into the house a little bit more. Now,
So that's the trick with it. With dousing a fire
(06:36):
completely and then closing the damper, we don't have that
same invasiveness of smoke. But it's a typical thing. I mean,
I do the same thing when we're up at a
cabin somewhere, or I'm using a wood burning fireplace. So
you know, we go to bed and we wake up
the next morning the place smells quite a bit like
fire because cold air has now come down the chimney
and blown out into the house. Now, some people will
(07:00):
say that they're having trouble with their fireplace because they're
feeling that or they're smelling that when the fire is
burning itself. That could be the result of a Please
make sure the damper is open. B make sure that
your wood burning fireplace is getting regularly cleaned. If you
(07:20):
use it for woodburning, you should be having a chimney
sweep company cleaning out the creosote and the build up
on the inside of the flu. And that, by the way,
is a massive portion of the odor that is locked
into a fireplace is the creosote build up up the flu.
So having a chimney sweep regularly maintain the flu, making
(07:41):
sure there aren't any cracks in it, making sure it's
good and healthy and so on. And then another thing.
These days, we're weather stripping our homes and air sealing
our homes better than ever. And strangely enough, when you
take a device like a traditional woodburning fireplace, which is
(08:01):
an ancient at this point component of your home, and
you attach that too a twenty first century weather stripped,
fully air sealed home. Then what happens is there can
be an issue of you know, the fire wants hot
air wants to go up the flu off the fire itself,
(08:25):
but that air has to be replaced. If that air
is going up the chimney flu, more air has to
flow into the room. And sometimes houses are so well
sealed up that there's no new air supply, so the
air doesn't actually want to go up the flu and
the chimney doesn't want to draw the right way, and
so we end up with more smoky odor into the
room itself. So basically, what it comes down to is
(08:49):
that sometimes we're over sealed on our homes, and sometimes
we just leave the damp or open a little too
longer overnight and the cold air descends. I got a
couple more thoughts on Erica, but I realize I'm right
up against the break. You hang tight and we'll talk
for a moment.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
We're talking about at the beginning of twenty twenty six.
Here getting a fresh start, fresh start on approaching your remodel,
your design project, thinking like a house whisper, thinking like
the way that a designer who's there to help you
really really get to the heart of what will change
your home significantly for the better. We're going to return
(09:34):
to that conversation in a bit, but it's mid show,
so I'm taking calls. I've got Erica on the line.
Erica had some issues with her wood burning fireplace. Erica,
any of the things I said before the break here
resonate with you as far as what could have been
the cause for the smoke infiltrating the house.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
The thing that I could add is that the open space,
it's so quiet. We can't even hear the rain outside,
So the fields are definitely doing their job. We have
large windows opening to the backyard and we can't hear
a single noise to the outside. Ye, it's definitely well built,
(10:16):
noise resistant and sealed up with you know, no air
draft coming by. So it seems like the reasonable solution
would be to close the damper and maybe crack a window.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah, it would not be a bad thing at all.
Crack a window as close to the fireplace as possible
as it's doing it's cool down, and maybe avoid using
the you know, having the heater circulating for a while
until it you know, you've had a chance to you know,
completely damp out those ashes for the fireplace. It's a
weird thing, but you know, I welcome everybody to again
(10:49):
to think, like I was saying right before the break,
you know, we we we are living in twenty first
century homes. And as I mean, I love fireplaces, I
love them, love them, love them. But a wood burning,
open hearth traditional fireplace is you know, a nine hundred
year old, you know thing attached to your twenty first
(11:12):
century home. And so there are some science incongruities, there
are some physics incongruities with having an you know, eight
or nine hundred year old device functioning in a twenty
first century you know, living room and family room area
that is weather sailed and so on and so. And
(11:33):
if you're wondering, you're listening, and you're wondering, is he
is he is he implying that fireplaces work better in leaky,
drafty homes. That's exactly what I'm saying. That's exactly what
I'm saying. They actually function better. The leakier and the
draftier the home is because they were less you know,
incongruent with those kinds of environments. So you know, we've
(11:57):
had fires in our midst for you know, well over
four hundred thousand years. But the actual fireplace, the mantle
and the chimney and that whole concept that came about
in Norman England about the eleventh century, and it improved
air quality in the house considerably just because you had
a chimney handling a lot of the smoke. But again,
(12:17):
just got to remember, once the hot air is done
rising up the flu because of the fire, cold air
will start to descend down the flu and it will
catch with it as it passes over the ashes, the
ash and the smoke, and it will carry it back
into the house. And so making sure the damper is closed,
(12:40):
making sure something is cracked nearby. It's a good idea.
And or if you really want to get more use
out and Erica, I'm going to be the last person
in the world to poo poo a wood burning fireplace,
but I'm just saying, if you actually want to use
your fireplace more and have more enjoyment of that open flame.
This is actually I encourage people to consider moving to
(13:03):
a gas log set fireplace because gas logs are a
more modern appliance. It's not the most modern when it
comes to a fireplace, but it's more modern. A gas
log set will turn on and off. It's on, it's off,
there's no ash, it's on, it's off, you walk away.
You'll use it more often because of that, and uh
(13:26):
you know there there again. There's no smoke and ash inflow.
And for those people who think, well, yeah, but I
want the warmth of a woodburning fireplace, man, a wood
burning fireplace when the bonfire first starts will pump out
a lot of heat. But over the life of the fire,
a gas log set will provide more heat and more
even heat into the home. Just something to think about.
All right, more of your calls when we come back.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Thanks for joining us on the program today this first
Sun day in twenty twenty six. We are right in
the middle of taking calls. I want to go back
to the phones. Let's talk to Matt Hey, Matt, welcome home,
Good morning, Dayton, Good morning sir. How can I help you?
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Well, a few days ago, the spout that delivers water
to the bathtub just snapped off. Oh and when I
when I looked.
Speaker 6 (14:27):
Inside it, I can see what looked like completely corroded
cast iron pipe, and even a lot of it was
even just gone. So if I'm able to fix it myself.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
I figure I'll have to replace that nipple that goes
between the spout and the water service in the wall.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Yes, now, the spout is a casting and I think
it's some kind of nickel alloy because on the outside
it's it's supposed to be brushed nickel, but even on
the inside it's the same material.
Speaker 5 (15:06):
And so here's my question. I know that you can
get electrolysis if you put dissimilar materials next to each
other in water. And so if I replace the nipple
between the spout and the inside fixture, I have a
(15:27):
choice of cast iron brass, and I don't know if
they're stainless steel. But I kind of wonder if maybe
this was the problem in the beginning, and if I'm
going to run into it again if I don't do
it right.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Okay, I understand, I think what you're talking about. So, yeah,
putting dissimilar metals together at times can cause that. Now
it's not cast iron, by the way, it's either you've
either got a copper line running into that or you've
got galvanized steel. Okay, that's a galvanized steel pipe. Yeah,
(16:11):
galvanized steel, which you know is not great. I mean,
that was a mistake. Just FYI, it was a mistake.
Any whenever we decided, you know what, we should run
water lines inside a house using galvanized pipe. No, no,
that's not a good idea at all. So that's something
for you to think about for the future of your
(16:32):
home as far as repiping is concerned. Because the galvanized
lines are are they're just they're a mess. They were
a mistake on day one. I'm just gonna say that,
and they they don't help hold up well. So now
the trick is this, whether you've got room to do
this or not. But yeah, there are times when you know,
(16:54):
to to put a connecting brass to galvanized steel causes
what we call a galvanic cell. That's rapid corrosion, especially
in wet conditions.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Uh, The zinc that coats the surface is is is
a problem with the you know, just one of the
many problems with galvanized pipes. So there is a there
is a fitting known as a dielectric union. Okay. Uh.
(17:27):
It is an insulating fitting that basically will screw onto
a very very short galvanized nipple coming out of the
main pipe there. Uh, it will it'll screw onto that
and then it has its own port on the other
side insulated from that, which will screw into the copper,
(17:49):
the brass. It'll be a brass fitting because you know,
copper is you know, coppers for the pipe. Brass is
for you know, threaded pipes inside a house. So, yes,
you can replace that if you've got room to do it,
if you can get in there, and if you've got
the depth to do it, you'll you'll need to put
in a what's called a dielectric union. It's either that
(18:11):
or you're going to be replacing that section of galvanized
pipe with PEX. And PEX is another option because PEX
is a is a prostranded polyethylene vinyl and does not
have dissimilar metal issues and corrosion when it connects up
(18:34):
to you know, metal piping, whether it's copper or galvanized
pipe or what have you. The only problem is pex
does not make a strong nipple, uh, you know, for
the actual you know, connection of the tub spout. And
so that's when we transition back to brass. Anyway, So eventually,
(18:55):
my friend, you are looking at very very likely a
wise move saving up, a wise move to repipe the
house and abandon the galvanized pipe throughout the house, because
you're only going to have more and more problems with
this as the years roll on, and you may have
you know, minimal pressure or minimal flow out of things
(19:17):
because the inside of a galvanized pipe just is not
smooth enough to not attract all sorts of mineralization and
build up. And most people houses the age of your
house with galvanized piping inside. Once we actually open up
the pipes and look inside, we find that, you know,
maybe half the actual diameter of water flow through those
(19:39):
pipes because of years and years and years of mineral
build up. So that's just something to consider. But yeah,
your issue there, if you've got room to do it,
you're going to need a dielectric union. And a dielectric
union is nothing more than an insulated fitting that allows
one kind of metal pipe to hook up to it
on one side and an other kind of metal pipe
(20:01):
to hook to the other side without those two metals
actually touching each other, and therefore you don't get the
the corrosion, the galvanic reaction and the corrosion. Does that
make sense, Matt, Well, let's it does.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
So let's suppose I've got three inches only. So my
guess is that the dielectric fittings are going to add
quite a bit of of length.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Yeah, the dielectric fitting is probably an inch and a half,
and so you could use a nipple that's called a
close nipple, which literally just goes away. I mean, it's
just nothing but threads on both sides. Uh, And you'd
probably have to do that close to both sides. You
might be able to get it. I don't know, but yeah,
you're right. The change has to happen. The changeover has
(20:48):
to happen inside the wall because you can't have the
the the dielectric fit. The union is going to be
too big for the tub spout, you know, bell to slipover,
so there not going to be able to hide it
in the tub spout. That's going to have to happen
inside the wall, if that makes sense.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
So if I can't, if I can't do that, do
you think brass might be better than the previous galvanized steel?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Well yeah, well yes, yes, brass will be better. And
a lot of electrical I mean a lot of electrical,
A lot I would use when you actually connected together,
a lot of pipe thread tape, not goop, but tape,
because the tape can sort of semi act as an
(21:37):
insulating factor between the two metals. Matt, I gotta go,
Thank you for your question. Good luck on that. Yeah,
it's just man, old materials, bad material What do you
do to a house that had a bad idea built
into it on day one? Well, it's actually not unlike
(21:58):
a lot of the design problems we face with homes.
And we're going to continue that conversation in just a bit.
But when we come back, how about we take a
couple more calls. Sound good your Home with Dean Sharp,
the house whispering.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Because it's yours, that's why. Because it's the HQ of
your life. And if it's working, if it's firing on
all cylinders, as they say, can I even say that
in the twenty four you know, because of electric motors.
If it's firing on the bet, now we'll just keep
it with the firing on all cylinders. If it's firing
on all cylinders, then your home is not only a
(22:42):
beautiful place to live, a wonderful place to live, but
it is mirroring and magnifying the very best of who
you are and your best life. And that's what we're
here to help you do. Every weekend, we are right
in the middle of taking calls, and then we're going
to be returning to our conversation out thinking and designing
like a house whisperer and what that actually requires and
(23:06):
why adopting some of these very very important techniques and
processes can make a huge difference. They can make the
difference in how you alter, renovate, and remodel your home.
We'll get back to that in a bit, but we're
still going to the phones. I want to talk to Gwen. Hey, Gwen,
welcome home.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Hi.
Speaker 7 (23:29):
My house was built in nineteen fifty five, and I
guess originally it had a wood shingle roof. Since then,
I guess over the years it's had regular shingles.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
But I just got a new roof.
Speaker 7 (23:42):
Put on, and I think he should have put down
plywood before he put the shingles because of the flats.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Is that right?
Speaker 7 (23:50):
Or how is that handled?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Okay? All right, let let me reinterpret some of the
things you're saying. Okay, So the house originally had wood
shingle roof, and now and this is not the wood
shingle roof that just got taken off, right, Okay, it
was a asphalt composite roof that was taken off. Yeah, okay, Yes,
(24:13):
So it originally had wood shingles, which meant back in
the fifties that instead of plywood, because plywood was still
a very novel concept even back in the fifties. Instead
of that, it had one by six slats up running
across the rafters with gaps in between them, spaces, you know,
kind of one and then a gap, and then another
(24:34):
in a gap and so on. And when you go
into the garage, you can look up or the attic,
you can look up and you can actually see there
are the slats, and you could actually literally see the
building paper and the shingles right on top of that's
because that's how we used to attach them back when
that was transitioned over to the thing that surprises me,
(24:54):
Gwen is that nobody has put any plywood on that
roof since then, and uh, and that they somehow got
asphalt shingles working on that roof without adding plywood to it.
Is that what you're implying?
Speaker 7 (25:10):
Yeah, okay, I mean I think it seems like they
should have put the plylot on.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Yeah, well they should. They should have put the plywood
on decades ago. That's that's my point. My point is
that that's it's just the worst possible way to run
an asphalt shingle roof is to work with the slats.
But absolutely, yes, without question. Uh. I don't know what
(25:36):
roofing company you had and what the extenuating circumstances or
were regarding it, but essentially, when we do a tear
off of a roof like that, a roof condition like that,
we don't remove the slats. We'll keep the slats in
place because there's no reason to pull them off. But
right over on top of it goes a layer of
(25:58):
modern sheathing, whether that that's plywood or OSB this. You know,
chipboard material is actually far more common these days but
the idea is these large four x eight sheets of
material that go over that and then the the roofing
underlayment and the shingles are attached to that. That is standard,
absolute standard practice for all tear offs and redos when
(26:22):
there was a previous shingle slat setup before. That's how
it should be done. And uh and honestly, I have
I have never seen a roofer not do that when
they do a tear off and add new composite shingles
to a roof like that.
Speaker 7 (26:38):
Okay, thank you?
Speaker 1 (26:41):
All right, it was this a friend or a neighbor
or a pro roofer who did this?
Speaker 7 (26:46):
Now a pro roofer, I guess.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Okay, well, uh I think that, uh that justifies a
phone call because I just it's just not the way
to It's not the right way to do it at
all at all.
Speaker 7 (27:01):
Okay, okay, okay, yes, I appreciate your answer.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, okay, Gwen, thank you. I'm sorry for that bad news.
But yeah, wow, wow, who does that, Tina, Who does
a tear off on a roof with slats and doesn't
add the OSB these days? That is that's concerning. That's
very concerning. But it was a Proroofer, and I'm hoping
they had a contract and they can get him up. Yeah,
hopefully there's a contract and a license and insurance. And
(27:28):
because that's that, that could be an argument that because
that's not standards and practices. Now, that's that's not even
an option. It's just not the right way to do it.
All right, do we have time for another call? We
mun We're kind of up against it here, all right?
Speaker 3 (27:44):
You know what?
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Heck, Alan, welcome home. I've got very very short window here.
How can I help you? Sir?
Speaker 8 (27:52):
Hello?
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Hi, Alan?
Speaker 8 (27:55):
Oh, I'm sorry I didn't I was away. I'm sorry.
I'm getting ready to do a bathroom remodel and I
was looking at this watch circulating pump. I live in
a twelve hundred and forty square foot house. It is
pretty well designed, kitchen on one side, and launder room
and then two back to back bathrooms, so I don't
(28:15):
have a long travel. I don't know if the watch
is going to be worth the investment of putting it in.
It costs three hundred plus you know, electrical wiring, and
I don't know if the cost factor was going to
be worth it.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
With the house is small, well, it's a question of
it's a question of how long does it take for
the hot water to get to those thinks and those showers,
and whether that's a massive inconvenience for you.
Speaker 8 (28:40):
It's not a massive inconvenience. It doesn't take that long,
but it does take a little bit of time waiting.
And I just was thinking about it while I was
doing the getting ready to do the remodel.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
Yeah, great, Yeah, I understood. You know in the in
the content, you know, all sitting all by itself, putting
in a research pump. And by the way, what Alan's
talking about is the is the you these new recirculation
pumps that you can add into a bathroom at a location,
the far location in order to draw hot water through
the pipes so that you're not waiting for hot waters.
(29:12):
Therefore you're not wasting water in trying to just run
it down the sink, because it takes the cold water
out of the hot water line that has cooled off
and it pushes it into the cold water line. So
you get to keep the water, but you get hot
water closer to your faucet. And the big question, Alan
is is just simply in the cost of a remodel,
three hundred bucks is pretty minor fractional add to it.
(29:36):
But again, this is for people who are really inconvenience
with waiting a long time for the hot water to arrive.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
It.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
If it isn't that big of a deal, maybe not.
If you'd like it, it's not too much, all right.
When we return, we'll get back to our conversation about
thinking like a house whisper. But first this this has
been Home with Dean 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
(30:05):
morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or anytime on
demand on the iHeartRadio app
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