February 22, 2025 • 32 mins
In the wake of the devastating fires in Southern California the focus now is rebuilding and recovery, but that process can be lengthy and officials in the fire affected areas are considering the idea of letting builders permit their own projects, which would shorten the length of time of a new build. But there are pros and cons to this consideration, Dean explores all of them and takes questions from callers.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI A M six.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Forty Kyfi AM six forty live streaming in HD everywhere
on the iHeartRadio app. Yes, we had a streaming dog in.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Studios, okay, because I thought it was a seal. Yeah,
well it's like, what's going on over there? Yeah, usually
it's a rooster.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
It is a yes, Well, this is what happens when
you know you have you live around numerous animals. And
I apologize if that actually made it out onto the
air there.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
That was I gotta do the morning shift a lot
more often.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
This is fantastic. Oh it's so fun. Yeah. No, I
wasn't torturing anybody. But yeah, sitting across the table from
me over here is Sammy the beagle. Sammy has not
had a good week, so I might as well just
share this with everybody. He he. You know, both of
our beagles there, they're rescue beagles, not just regular rescue beagles.
(01:09):
They are Beagle Freedom Project rescue beagles. And if you
don't know anything about that, it's essentially an organization. Beagles
are the number one test laboratory dog. I mean, just
you think we were beyond that, but we're not, uh.
(01:31):
And so both of our beagles, Sammy and Jackson, grew up.
They spent the first five years of their lives their
purebred beagles, and they were bred for animal testing. They
were weaned from their moms and sold to laboratories, and
(01:52):
then they grew up inside crates inside laboratories being tested
on it cosmetic companies and pharmaceutical companies and all the like.
And Beagle Freedom Project gets these dogs so that they're
not euthanized after testing and adopts them out. And so
we have two of them. They both come, you know,
pre loaded with PTSD and all sorts of issues and
(02:16):
health issues because of the testing. So anyway, they're both
our guys. We got lucky with both of them because
they've been relatively healthy. But one of the things that
beagles get as they get older, a lot of beagles
get this kind of congenitive disc issue, Oh buddy, buddy
in their neck. And as a result of that, he
(02:40):
twisted his neck this week and he's in a lot
of neck pain and we've got him on some meds,
but he just had an episode right here in the studio,
and I'm sorry about that. That everybody heard that go
of it. He's not having a great weekend. We got
him taken care of, but he's not having a great weekend.
Of course, seeing him, all right, I think he's calm there.
(03:04):
I'll have it dealt with, no problem. He just all
of a sudden woke up and realized, yeah, you know,
professional radio, there's a dog in the studio with me.
But yeah, that's how it goes. All right, everybody, I'm
so glad you've joined us on the program. You're like,
is this the is this a pet show on KFI?
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Now?
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Is this a this an animal Well, it's sort of
with me, it always sort of is animal friendly. Let's
dive back into this conversation real quick about before I
go back to the phones, about fast tracked building permits.
So there is a city council person who who last
(03:48):
week made a motion with the LA City Council to
consider adopting a program in which builders, essentially that's the
way it's described, will be able to fast track their
own building permit approvals. And earlier in the show, I
(04:10):
already explained that it's not exactly as simple as that.
In fact, it's not as simple as that. It's about
licensed architects and engineers, not a builder. This is not
going to be open I think. I mean, that would
be the first ever program like that. If they did
for a general contractor to just say, oh, yeah, I'll
just make sure everything's fine, I don't think that's a
(04:34):
good idea at all. And this is a general contractor
telling you that, I just don't think that's a good idea.
But a licensed architect, the designers, okay, licensed architect and
or a licensed civil or structural engineer who are willing
to put their stamp on the plan and say, yeah,
we'll take responsibility that these plans conform with all of
(04:54):
the standards. That's what these kind of programs tend to go.
Now LA has an their program yet they haven't even
decided whether they're going to do it. But I think
it's safe to say that if they did adopt this
program for the sake of allowing permits to flow faster,
that they would probably do it, not unlike the ones
(05:16):
that are out there already working in existence, that they'd
work off of an existing model. And you might be
surprised to find out right here in southern California, San
Diego has been doing this for some time. They have
a version of this program and it hasn't been a
problem for them, and City of Bellflower right here in
(05:36):
the Greater LA area has had this in place for
a little over ten years now and they haven't experienced
big problems with it either. So how do I feel
about that? Well, first of all, I have no problem
if an architect or an engineer wants to step up
and say I will essentially assume the role of plan
(05:59):
check for this project, because guess who city plan checkers
are when it comes to submitting your plans. They are
architects and or licensed engineers. So these are the qualified
people to do that. And if you're willing to take
on the liability for that, and as a client, if
(06:21):
you're willing to pay whatever extra to your architect or
engineer that they're asking for to help protect them from liability,
then you know, hey, it's fine. The city is not
changing its standards at all. That's the most important thing
to understand. So all the hoops will have to still
be jumped through, but they're opening it up the possibility
(06:44):
at least of opening it up to you know, independent review.
First you can get started, So okay, We're going to
trust you that you know what the standards are. And
if you're willing to say, yeah, we'll take responsibility for
the standards, then here instead of weeks and or months,
here's your permit in you know, five days, go ahead
(07:05):
and get started and a lot of people will take
advantage of that. And will it help clear out the
pipeline some Yeah, sure, sure, sure will. Do I have
a problem with that? Nope? I do, though, want to
let you know, and I mentioned this earlier, that just
checking a drawing for inconsistencies with the building code is
(07:31):
only a fraction of what plan check is in, especially
here in southern California. It is, in my experience, usually
not the building department that is always the slow or
sticking point for plan check. Quite often it's the planning department.
(07:57):
And these are different departments. The planning department handles zoning
and zoning approvals, ugh zoning requirements. These are hoops that
have to be jumped through, and often jumped through very slowly,
and for a lot of the custom and ultra custom
projects that I've been involved in, planning is almost always
(08:19):
the stickier part. I mean, it's kind of a no brainer.
We know how to build a house. Okay, we know
how to draw a drawing to comport with all government
codes in regards to the house. That's building plan check
one oh one. But for every district, for every area
in southern California, especially ones that are near the coast,
(08:42):
especially ones that are in hillside areas. Oh, the things
that can happen. If you want an example of that,
I'll tell you right now. Pacific Palisades is governed by
the Pacific Palisades Commercial Village and Neighborhoods Specific Plan. That's
zoning issue. Also, parts of it are in the Brentwood
(09:04):
Pacific Palisades Community Plan. Parts are governed by Brentwood Pacific
Palisades Dual Coastal Plan Zone, which is another set of requirements.
Other parts are governed by the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan,
the Hillside Ordnance, the relatively new anti Mansioning Ordinance for
(09:24):
La City, and some homes in Pacific Palisades are also
subject to the dreaded California Coastal Commission. None of the
things that I just mentioned have anything to do with
building codes or the general building Code, as in, like
how shall how tall should a door be and you
(09:44):
know where should the smoke detectors be located?
Speaker 3 (09:48):
No?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
No, that everything I just mentioned are specific neighborhood area
zoning questions as to where can this house be located
on this property? How large can the house be relative
to the neighbors houses, how tall can it be? What
about view sitelines? What about special wild open space considerations?
(10:13):
What about coastal and just on and on and on
and on top of that, there are other agencies that
sign off, including the Fire Department, with every plan. None
of these things have to do with those basic building
codes that most everybody I think would think about. That
must be what plan check is about. That's only a part.
(10:36):
And so the point is that fast tracking the overall
build is taking a lot into consideration, a lot that
quite often gets controversial, and things that we have to
work out with the planning department in order to get
what we want built on a particular lot. I don't
(10:59):
know how to ask track that. I don't know how
anybody would other than just close their eyes to it
upfront and then argue about it later, and that could
cause all sorts of back end problems. So my point being,
will this help some I think so. I'm a city
of Bellflower, but Bellflower is a pretty flat, non controversial
(11:20):
landscape area, so not a lot of crazy zoning things
happening in Bellflower that you get when you get closer
to the coast. So all in all, I have no
issue with it. I just don't think anybody should expect
that it's going to be a panacea that all of
a sudden, in southern California, you can get a building
permit in five days. Yeah, it won't really turn out
(11:45):
that way for most people. All right, when we return,
I'm going back to the phones. Yeah, Hi, house Whist,
we're at your service. Thanks for joining us on the
program this morning. We're talking all things your house, as
we always do. We've been having a conversation about whether
LA should adopt a fast track permit process where builders
(12:08):
can essentially set up a situation where they can get
permits pulled quickly by assuring that they themselves will do
their own plan checking. Kind of giving my general understanding
and opinion about that. Right now, we've got calls on
the line. I want to go back to the phones
and see what other problems I can solve or create.
(12:31):
Who knows, let's talk to cal Real quick. Hey, cal,
welcome home.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Hey, do you know how you're doing? Good?
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Good?
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Hey, I have a question about my will. A little
while ago, probably nine months ago, we installed a three
thousand gallon water tank, and the filters that we have
keep getting this gelatinous stuff on the filters to the
point where it's back to the water pressure in the house.
I was wondering if there's anything I could add to
(13:03):
the system to keep it from doing that.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Uh, gelatinous substance on well.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
You know, you know what you know what it looks
like when you drain an old water heater and the
gelatine that's in the bottom, that opaque looking stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, so like a litt little yellow or reddish looking.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Uh it's yeah, a little yellow, I would I would say.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Yeah, okay, likely likely it is like Gali and ella.
Uh it's a bacteria. And don't freak out. Uh okay,
it's don't freak out.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
You're like, oh no, we're over the die there, you know,
uh from iron And it's a weird situation.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
But both iron and sulfur uh content. When the mixture
is just right in well water, it can produce a
gelatinous bacteria kind of slime that ends up building up
in the water tank up against filters and so on.
I don't want to there's no simple ad to it, okay,
(14:17):
but there are ways of treating it. So if you
were to go online and look at water filtration and
specifically ask, you know, search for UH, there are filters
that address it. There there's a there area. They're arienators
and aerators, aerators UH and oxygenators that will knock that
(14:39):
stuff out the biggest It's not a threat to you
as far as my experience is, I've never heard anybody
ever proving that that bacteria is is dangerous for human
health in the water. But it may end up making
the water distasteful at some point. And the war first
(15:00):
threat though, is that to have too much of it
around clinging to stuff. If it's the iron, if it's
the sulfur based stuff, nobody likes the taste of it.
If it's if it's iron based bacteria, then it's like
a little you know, rust paste that that will just
corrode pipes and cause all sorts of plumbing problems down
(15:22):
the road. So you do want to address it, you
do want to clear it out. UH. And there are
specific devices and mechanisms for doing so.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
But so do that. Search online in your area for
water treatment and get an expert out there to test
the water and then recommend a solve. But the good news,
cal is that it can be handled. It can be handled.
You will probably have to purchase a little extra equipment
(15:53):
to just have it as a permanent part of your
well water and tank system, and you should if that's
what you're experiencing. But then no worries, and in the meantime,
don't worry about it affecting you because I don't believe
that it's every that those things are toxic to us
in any way. Just yucky. Thanks for the question, my friend.
(16:15):
All right, right after some news, I'm going to jump
back on the line and we'll answer some more. How's
that sound all right?
Speaker 6 (16:23):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
I'm in recording by Dreaming Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
Your Home with Dean Sharp. The house whisper every Saturday
morning from six to eight and Sundays from nine to noon.
Right here on KFI, I am here talking about all
(16:50):
things your home from design to construction to everything in between.
Right now, taking some calls, I'm gonna go back to
the phones, answer some questions. Let's talk to lynn A Linn.
Welcome home, Hi, thank you.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Yes, I'm having a situation in my garage. There's what's
called f fluorescence up to the concrete, and I was
wondering the best way to take care of it because
it's breaking up the concrete, slowly but.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Surely breaking up the concrete. So describe that to me.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
It is like a white powdery substance.
Speaker 7 (17:39):
It started out very small, and then after many many years,
it's kind of traveled a little bit and it's and
from time to time the concrete just what gives way
and breaks off.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Okay, the best thing to do with that fluorescence is
just clean it up, clean it up, just kind of
keep on top of it. Efflorescence is it only very
very very very rarely does any significant damage to concrete.
(18:18):
Efflorescence is not the concrete dissolving. It is by definition,
it is moisture in the concrete. For whatever reason. Because
concrete is a porous stone, moisture passes through it. Moisture
for some reason is coming up through the concrete if
it's on the floor or it's on the stem wall,
(18:38):
the side walls of a garage. It's most commonly found
in garages or retaining walls outside. And as the water
moves through, the water has minerals in it, salts and
what have you, and the water evaporates and it leaves
the salt behind. And that's basically what you're looking at.
You're looking at that white powdery substance is not the
(19:01):
concrete disintegrating. It is the leftover minerals that were in
the water that did not evaporate into the air. And
but what will happen from time to time if we
just ignore it completely, is that that salt and mineral
content can build up and clog the pores of the concrete.
(19:23):
And then then over time, if the if the moisture
keeps coming through, then you might get a little surface
popping of the actual cement itself because the water has
nowhere else to go, and so it pushes a little
bit on the backside. It's not a serious problem, it's
an esthetic problem. And if you just kind of keep
it addressed and keep it cleaned up a little, any
(19:48):
kind of a like a like a calcium lime kind
of cleaner. Vinegar mixed with water cut in half is
a great cleaner if you brush it off, clean it
off then and sometimes people have found some luck if
you let it all dry first and then put a
little penetrating concrete sealurn, you might be able to just
(20:09):
shut it down altogether. But just keep it cleaned up
and don't worry about it. It's not going to mess
up your slab floor other than the aesthetics.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Oh wonderful, wonderful, that's a load off. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
You're very very welcome. Thanks for calling, Lynn, Thanks for
the question that the reason we take calls is not
only to answer you know, your question directly, but it's
just the you know, we're all in the same boat together,
and so thousands of people all over southern California right
now are like.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
That's what that stuff is, hon hon The stuff in
the garage.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Fluorescence sounds like, sounds like it's a free gift, like
you should, Hey, guess what we have in our garage
effluorescence occurred this morning? Yeah it is, you know. I mean,
you guys have been to or you've seen places like
Mono Lake here in California where these there are these
(21:06):
giant salt pillars standing in the water. Yeah, that's technically
kind of efflorescence too, salty water with the minerals in it.
When the water evaporates, it doesn't take it with it.
It leaves it there behind as this powdery little residue.
It's not the concrete. Ninety nine times out of one hundred,
(21:26):
it's it's not the concrete disintegrating. It's just it's just
a mess. Yeah, yeah, nobody needs it. Let me see here.
Can I go to Dan? Hey? Dan?
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Bye?
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Bye?
Speaker 6 (21:42):
How are you today?
Speaker 2 (21:43):
I am well, sir? How can I help you?
Speaker 6 (21:46):
I check with your frand Guard and they were wonderful
and the coal over there was great. And they have
a one inch slange. Our eaves are basically in touch
with the roof. Its actually no space between the top
of the roof en and the bottom of the eve.
How do I handle that one? And slanned?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Bend it?
Speaker 6 (22:07):
Cut it off? Get a different brand that doesn't have that.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Well, talk to Brand Guard about it, because they have
not only the outside vents, but they, if I am
not mistaken, they've got interior retrofit vents too, and they'll
either customize that border for you, and or they can
figure out another way. I have yet to find a
(22:35):
single instance in which we can't get a retrofit vent
for an ember proof vent fitting on a home. They
are always creative ways. Sometimes we do it from the
inside out, sometimes we do it from the outside in.
But when there are clearance issues, they'll handle it for you.
No problem, my friend. All right, thank you, Dan. Sounds great.
(23:00):
Oh we had another caller and then they went away.
My mom, Now I feel very lonely. All right, A
couple of thoughts. Turning away back to this question. Somebody asked,
didn't the governor actually do some executive order that allows
(23:25):
people to just reuse their old plans again? And what's
that about? Well, yeah, and maybe I can comment on
this a little bit. You know what, Let's do this,
let's go to the news. When we come back, I'll
explain that because last week Governor k Newsome, in addition
to this fast tracking thing, he issued an executive order
(23:47):
about recently built homes, and I'll explain that that that
actually does make some people's lives very very simple when
it comes to rebuilding. I wish that was the case
across the board. Maybe this executive order will just stick
beyond this current crisis. So we'll talk about the executive
(24:08):
order for the reuse of relatively new plans. Can't buye
Jean Sharp the house?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
What's he?
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Welcome home? Thanks for joining us on the program today.
Hey a couple of you know, just housekeeping issues here.
Follow us on social media. Don't forget We're on Instagram, TikTok,
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Also know that this very program is also the House
(24:38):
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(25:00):
reference library for you, and of course, if your home
is in need of some personal house Whisper attention. If
you enjoy the show and you're like I need that
guy standing in my living room helping me figure that out,
that can happen too. You can book an in home
design console with me and the tea here and she
(25:21):
stares at me nodding. Just go to a house whisper
dot Design and request an in home design consult We're
going to be back here tomorrow from nine until noon.
We're gonna be talking concrete tomorrow with one of my
favorite concrete contractors, all things practical concrete for your home,
(25:44):
everything from all sorts of interesting creative design potential to
the footings and the slab that your home is literally
resting on right now, and everything in between. It's going
to be a great show as well. The final thing
that I wanted to discuss this morning in regards to
(26:05):
this whole subject of fast tracking building permits something that
the City of Los Angeles is thinking about doing, is
a question that somebody raised. Didn't the governor do something
last week? I think it was it this last week
or week before. Anyway, the governnew some last Thursday, not
(26:25):
two days ago, but the week before, issued an executive
order that allows homeowners of recently constructed homes to recycle
their own plans. And that's just another way of fast tracking.
I think that will have be a great benefit to
clear some things out of the pipeline. But what that
basically means that I'm not exactly sure. I was looking,
(26:46):
I couldn't quite find. I didn't have time to read
the full order, But I don't know how recent their
definition of recent is, whether it's two years or five years,
Probably not ten years, but again I'm just guessing on
that one. But the idea is this, if you just
built a home recently, within the past few years then
(27:12):
and that home was lost in one of the fires here,
then I think the executive order basically says it, listen,
you're not going to have to run through the whole
plan check thing again. I mean, because it's so recent,
you're still going to be abiding by all of the
necessary codes and zoning ordinances, and we're not going to
make you jump all through those hoops again. So if
(27:33):
you still have a copy of your full plan set,
just resubmit it and we'll say okay, and then you
can get on with the building it. That's not going
to be a lot of the homes, but it's going
to be some that are affected. And that being the case,
how can that be a bad thing. That just makes
common sense. And so I think at the end of
(27:54):
the day, any suggestion that an adaptations that the City
of Los Angeles or regions in southern California can make,
I think, on a permanent basis, to just kind of
kickstart bureaucracy and to not bog things down with extra
(28:15):
steps anything that the city can kick back to the homeowner,
to the architect, to the engineer, to the builder themselves
and say, listen, we're going to treat you like grown
ups and as a result, we're going to give you
the freedom to move more quickly through this. It's all voluntary,
(28:37):
by the way, It's not going to be on everybody.
It's just if you want to do it this way.
Why not if all the hoops still have to be
jumped through, if all the requirements still have to be met,
what's the you know, what's the downside honestly to allowing
people to act responsibly? And if people don't act responsibly,
(28:57):
they're going to have to deal with the consequences of that.
But why not start with that, start with the idea
of giving people the freedom to act responsibly, to maneuver
more quickly and more customly towards their own situation. Why not?
And I have no issue with that whatsoever. There are many, many,
(29:22):
many times throughout my career in which I wish that
people put more faith and trust in our ability to
get something done than to sit there and wait for
somebody at the city who just had no understanding of
the project whatsoever to grind through and put a stamp
on the thing. And quite honestly, one of the reasons
(29:42):
why builders like to stay put and build in a
particular area and get to know the people at the
city is to grease those wheels a little bit. And
by grease in the wheels, I don't mean bribery or
anything unethical, I just mean this, there are you know.
I spent years and years and years in the early
(30:04):
part of my career building almost exclusively with the city
of Beverly Hills, and in Beverly Hills there were inspectors
who just knew me, and so there would be a
time in which I called for an inspection for let's say,
form work on a Tuesday morning, and then the inspector
would call me back and say, Dean, I know you know.
(30:27):
I said I would be out there, but I got overloaded.
I'm not going to be able to get to you tomorrow,
and I know you've got concrete trucks coming. Is everything
the way it should be? And I'm like, of course, Joe,
of course, you know everything is the way it should be.
And you know, after fifty sixty, seventy or hundreds of inspections,
to always pass and always be proven and have a
(30:49):
reputation of doing things always, not just at code level,
but above and beyond, to have somebody trust you and
say I know you did it right, So go ahead,
and I'll be the first one to admit to you,
all of you right now, I had inspection cards signed
after the fact, retroactively because people trusted me, and never
(31:10):
once have I failed a building inspection.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
And so.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
The point being, are there circumstances in which trust and
responsibility can clear out bureaucratic red tape? I think so.
And if there's anything the city can do to at
least offer that voluntarily, then I think it's a win
win scenario. All right, that's my opinion on all of that.
(31:38):
Now you're a little bit more informed as to what's
happening in LA in response to these fires. Tomorrow we're
going to be back talking about concrete today. Look outside,
it's a gorgeous day. Get out there and get busy
building yourself a beautiful life. We'll see you tomorrow. This
(31:59):
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 morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or anytime
on demand on the iHeartRadio app
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI A M six.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Forty Kyfi AM six forty live streaming in HD everywhere
on the iHeartRadio app. Yes, we had a streaming dog in.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Studios, okay, because I thought it was a seal. Yeah,
well it's like, what's going on over there? Yeah, usually
it's a rooster.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
It is a yes, Well, this is what happens when
you know you have you live around numerous animals. And
I apologize if that actually made it out onto the
air there.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
That was I gotta do the morning shift a lot
more often.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
This is fantastic. Oh it's so fun. Yeah. No, I
wasn't torturing anybody. But yeah, sitting across the table from
me over here is Sammy the beagle. Sammy has not
had a good week, so I might as well just
share this with everybody. He he. You know, both of
our beagles there, they're rescue beagles, not just regular rescue beagles.
(01:09):
They are Beagle Freedom Project rescue beagles. And if you
don't know anything about that, it's essentially an organization. Beagles
are the number one test laboratory dog. I mean, just
you think we were beyond that, but we're not, uh.
(01:31):
And so both of our beagles, Sammy and Jackson, grew up.
They spent the first five years of their lives their
purebred beagles, and they were bred for animal testing. They
were weaned from their moms and sold to laboratories, and
(01:52):
then they grew up inside crates inside laboratories being tested
on it cosmetic companies and pharmaceutical companies and all the like.
And Beagle Freedom Project gets these dogs so that they're
not euthanized after testing and adopts them out. And so
we have two of them. They both come, you know,
pre loaded with PTSD and all sorts of issues and
(02:16):
health issues because of the testing. So anyway, they're both
our guys. We got lucky with both of them because
they've been relatively healthy. But one of the things that
beagles get as they get older, a lot of beagles
get this kind of congenitive disc issue, Oh buddy, buddy
in their neck. And as a result of that, he
(02:40):
twisted his neck this week and he's in a lot
of neck pain and we've got him on some meds,
but he just had an episode right here in the studio,
and I'm sorry about that. That everybody heard that go
of it. He's not having a great weekend. We got
him taken care of, but he's not having a great weekend.
Of course, seeing him, all right, I think he's calm there.
(03:04):
I'll have it dealt with, no problem. He just all
of a sudden woke up and realized, yeah, you know,
professional radio, there's a dog in the studio with me.
But yeah, that's how it goes. All right, everybody, I'm
so glad you've joined us on the program. You're like,
is this the is this a pet show on KFI?
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Now?
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Is this a this an animal Well, it's sort of
with me, it always sort of is animal friendly. Let's
dive back into this conversation real quick about before I
go back to the phones, about fast tracked building permits.
So there is a city council person who who last
(03:48):
week made a motion with the LA City Council to
consider adopting a program in which builders, essentially that's the
way it's described, will be able to fast track their
own building permit approvals. And earlier in the show, I
(04:10):
already explained that it's not exactly as simple as that.
In fact, it's not as simple as that. It's about
licensed architects and engineers, not a builder. This is not
going to be open I think. I mean, that would
be the first ever program like that. If they did
for a general contractor to just say, oh, yeah, I'll
just make sure everything's fine, I don't think that's a
(04:34):
good idea at all. And this is a general contractor
telling you that, I just don't think that's a good idea.
But a licensed architect, the designers, okay, licensed architect and
or a licensed civil or structural engineer who are willing
to put their stamp on the plan and say, yeah,
we'll take responsibility that these plans conform with all of
(04:54):
the standards. That's what these kind of programs tend to go.
Now LA has an their program yet they haven't even
decided whether they're going to do it. But I think
it's safe to say that if they did adopt this
program for the sake of allowing permits to flow faster,
that they would probably do it, not unlike the ones
(05:16):
that are out there already working in existence, that they'd
work off of an existing model. And you might be
surprised to find out right here in southern California, San
Diego has been doing this for some time. They have
a version of this program and it hasn't been a
problem for them, and City of Bellflower right here in
(05:36):
the Greater LA area has had this in place for
a little over ten years now and they haven't experienced
big problems with it either. So how do I feel
about that? Well, first of all, I have no problem
if an architect or an engineer wants to step up
and say I will essentially assume the role of plan
(05:59):
check for this project, because guess who city plan checkers
are when it comes to submitting your plans. They are
architects and or licensed engineers. So these are the qualified
people to do that. And if you're willing to take
on the liability for that, and as a client, if
(06:21):
you're willing to pay whatever extra to your architect or
engineer that they're asking for to help protect them from liability,
then you know, hey, it's fine. The city is not
changing its standards at all. That's the most important thing
to understand. So all the hoops will have to still
be jumped through, but they're opening it up the possibility
(06:44):
at least of opening it up to you know, independent review.
First you can get started, So okay, We're going to
trust you that you know what the standards are. And
if you're willing to say, yeah, we'll take responsibility for
the standards, then here instead of weeks and or months,
here's your permit in you know, five days, go ahead
(07:05):
and get started and a lot of people will take
advantage of that. And will it help clear out the
pipeline some Yeah, sure, sure, sure will. Do I have
a problem with that? Nope? I do, though, want to
let you know, and I mentioned this earlier, that just
checking a drawing for inconsistencies with the building code is
(07:31):
only a fraction of what plan check is in, especially
here in southern California. It is, in my experience, usually
not the building department that is always the slow or
sticking point for plan check. Quite often it's the planning department.
(07:57):
And these are different departments. The planning department handles zoning
and zoning approvals, ugh zoning requirements. These are hoops that
have to be jumped through, and often jumped through very slowly,
and for a lot of the custom and ultra custom
projects that I've been involved in, planning is almost always
(08:19):
the stickier part. I mean, it's kind of a no brainer.
We know how to build a house. Okay, we know
how to draw a drawing to comport with all government
codes in regards to the house. That's building plan check
one oh one. But for every district, for every area
in southern California, especially ones that are near the coast,
(08:42):
especially ones that are in hillside areas. Oh, the things
that can happen. If you want an example of that,
I'll tell you right now. Pacific Palisades is governed by
the Pacific Palisades Commercial Village and Neighborhoods Specific Plan. That's
zoning issue. Also, parts of it are in the Brentwood
(09:04):
Pacific Palisades Community Plan. Parts are governed by Brentwood Pacific
Palisades Dual Coastal Plan Zone, which is another set of requirements.
Other parts are governed by the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan,
the Hillside Ordnance, the relatively new anti Mansioning Ordinance for
(09:24):
La City, and some homes in Pacific Palisades are also
subject to the dreaded California Coastal Commission. None of the
things that I just mentioned have anything to do with
building codes or the general building Code, as in, like
how shall how tall should a door be and you
(09:44):
know where should the smoke detectors be located?
Speaker 3 (09:48):
No?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
No, that everything I just mentioned are specific neighborhood area
zoning questions as to where can this house be located
on this property? How large can the house be relative
to the neighbors houses, how tall can it be? What
about view sitelines? What about special wild open space considerations?
(10:13):
What about coastal and just on and on and on
and on top of that, there are other agencies that
sign off, including the Fire Department, with every plan. None
of these things have to do with those basic building
codes that most everybody I think would think about. That
must be what plan check is about. That's only a part.
(10:36):
And so the point is that fast tracking the overall
build is taking a lot into consideration, a lot that
quite often gets controversial, and things that we have to
work out with the planning department in order to get
what we want built on a particular lot. I don't
(10:59):
know how to ask track that. I don't know how
anybody would other than just close their eyes to it
upfront and then argue about it later, and that could
cause all sorts of back end problems. So my point being,
will this help some I think so. I'm a city
of Bellflower, but Bellflower is a pretty flat, non controversial
(11:20):
landscape area, so not a lot of crazy zoning things
happening in Bellflower that you get when you get closer
to the coast. So all in all, I have no
issue with it. I just don't think anybody should expect
that it's going to be a panacea that all of
a sudden, in southern California, you can get a building
permit in five days. Yeah, it won't really turn out
(11:45):
that way for most people. All right, when we return,
I'm going back to the phones. Yeah, Hi, house Whist,
we're at your service. Thanks for joining us on the
program this morning. We're talking all things your house, as
we always do. We've been having a conversation about whether
LA should adopt a fast track permit process where builders
(12:08):
can essentially set up a situation where they can get
permits pulled quickly by assuring that they themselves will do
their own plan checking. Kind of giving my general understanding
and opinion about that. Right now, we've got calls on
the line. I want to go back to the phones
and see what other problems I can solve or create.
(12:31):
Who knows, let's talk to cal Real quick. Hey, cal,
welcome home.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Hey, do you know how you're doing? Good?
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Good?
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Hey, I have a question about my will. A little
while ago, probably nine months ago, we installed a three
thousand gallon water tank, and the filters that we have
keep getting this gelatinous stuff on the filters to the
point where it's back to the water pressure in the house.
I was wondering if there's anything I could add to
(13:03):
the system to keep it from doing that.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Uh, gelatinous substance on well.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
You know, you know what you know what it looks
like when you drain an old water heater and the
gelatine that's in the bottom, that opaque looking stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, so like a litt little yellow or reddish looking.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Uh it's yeah, a little yellow, I would I would say.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Yeah, okay, likely likely it is like Gali and ella.
Uh it's a bacteria. And don't freak out. Uh okay,
it's don't freak out.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
You're like, oh no, we're over the die there, you know,
uh from iron And it's a weird situation.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
But both iron and sulfur uh content. When the mixture
is just right in well water, it can produce a
gelatinous bacteria kind of slime that ends up building up
in the water tank up against filters and so on.
I don't want to there's no simple ad to it, okay,
(14:17):
but there are ways of treating it. So if you
were to go online and look at water filtration and
specifically ask, you know, search for UH, there are filters
that address it. There there's a there area. They're arienators
and aerators, aerators UH and oxygenators that will knock that
(14:39):
stuff out the biggest It's not a threat to you
as far as my experience is, I've never heard anybody
ever proving that that bacteria is is dangerous for human
health in the water. But it may end up making
the water distasteful at some point. And the war first
(15:00):
threat though, is that to have too much of it
around clinging to stuff. If it's the iron, if it's
the sulfur based stuff, nobody likes the taste of it.
If it's if it's iron based bacteria, then it's like
a little you know, rust paste that that will just
corrode pipes and cause all sorts of plumbing problems down
(15:22):
the road. So you do want to address it, you
do want to clear it out. UH. And there are
specific devices and mechanisms for doing so.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
But so do that. Search online in your area for
water treatment and get an expert out there to test
the water and then recommend a solve. But the good news,
cal is that it can be handled. It can be handled.
You will probably have to purchase a little extra equipment
(15:53):
to just have it as a permanent part of your
well water and tank system, and you should if that's
what you're experiencing. But then no worries, and in the meantime,
don't worry about it affecting you because I don't believe
that it's every that those things are toxic to us
in any way. Just yucky. Thanks for the question, my friend.
(16:15):
All right, right after some news, I'm going to jump
back on the line and we'll answer some more. How's
that sound all right?
Speaker 6 (16:23):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
I'm in recording by Dreaming Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
Your Home with Dean Sharp. The house whisper every Saturday
morning from six to eight and Sundays from nine to noon.
Right here on KFI, I am here talking about all
(16:50):
things your home from design to construction to everything in between.
Right now, taking some calls, I'm gonna go back to
the phones, answer some questions. Let's talk to lynn A Linn.
Welcome home, Hi, thank you.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Yes, I'm having a situation in my garage. There's what's
called f fluorescence up to the concrete, and I was
wondering the best way to take care of it because
it's breaking up the concrete, slowly but.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Surely breaking up the concrete. So describe that to me.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
It is like a white powdery substance.
Speaker 7 (17:39):
It started out very small, and then after many many years,
it's kind of traveled a little bit and it's and
from time to time the concrete just what gives way
and breaks off.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Okay, the best thing to do with that fluorescence is
just clean it up, clean it up, just kind of
keep on top of it. Efflorescence is it only very
very very very rarely does any significant damage to concrete.
(18:18):
Efflorescence is not the concrete dissolving. It is by definition,
it is moisture in the concrete. For whatever reason. Because
concrete is a porous stone, moisture passes through it. Moisture
for some reason is coming up through the concrete if
it's on the floor or it's on the stem wall,
(18:38):
the side walls of a garage. It's most commonly found
in garages or retaining walls outside. And as the water
moves through, the water has minerals in it, salts and
what have you, and the water evaporates and it leaves
the salt behind. And that's basically what you're looking at.
You're looking at that white powdery substance is not the
(19:01):
concrete disintegrating. It is the leftover minerals that were in
the water that did not evaporate into the air. And
but what will happen from time to time if we
just ignore it completely, is that that salt and mineral
content can build up and clog the pores of the concrete.
(19:23):
And then then over time, if the if the moisture
keeps coming through, then you might get a little surface
popping of the actual cement itself because the water has
nowhere else to go, and so it pushes a little
bit on the backside. It's not a serious problem, it's
an esthetic problem. And if you just kind of keep
it addressed and keep it cleaned up a little, any
(19:48):
kind of a like a like a calcium lime kind
of cleaner. Vinegar mixed with water cut in half is
a great cleaner if you brush it off, clean it
off then and sometimes people have found some luck if
you let it all dry first and then put a
little penetrating concrete sealurn, you might be able to just
(20:09):
shut it down altogether. But just keep it cleaned up
and don't worry about it. It's not going to mess
up your slab floor other than the aesthetics.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Oh wonderful, wonderful, that's a load off. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
You're very very welcome. Thanks for calling, Lynn, Thanks for
the question that the reason we take calls is not
only to answer you know, your question directly, but it's
just the you know, we're all in the same boat together,
and so thousands of people all over southern California right
now are like.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
That's what that stuff is, hon hon The stuff in
the garage.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Fluorescence sounds like, sounds like it's a free gift, like
you should, Hey, guess what we have in our garage
effluorescence occurred this morning? Yeah it is, you know. I mean,
you guys have been to or you've seen places like
Mono Lake here in California where these there are these
(21:06):
giant salt pillars standing in the water. Yeah, that's technically
kind of efflorescence too, salty water with the minerals in it.
When the water evaporates, it doesn't take it with it.
It leaves it there behind as this powdery little residue.
It's not the concrete. Ninety nine times out of one hundred,
(21:26):
it's it's not the concrete disintegrating. It's just it's just
a mess. Yeah, yeah, nobody needs it. Let me see here.
Can I go to Dan? Hey? Dan?
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Bye?
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Bye?
Speaker 6 (21:42):
How are you today?
Speaker 2 (21:43):
I am well, sir? How can I help you?
Speaker 6 (21:46):
I check with your frand Guard and they were wonderful
and the coal over there was great. And they have
a one inch slange. Our eaves are basically in touch
with the roof. Its actually no space between the top
of the roof en and the bottom of the eve.
How do I handle that one? And slanned?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Bend it?
Speaker 6 (22:07):
Cut it off? Get a different brand that doesn't have that.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Well, talk to Brand Guard about it, because they have
not only the outside vents, but they, if I am
not mistaken, they've got interior retrofit vents too, and they'll
either customize that border for you, and or they can
figure out another way. I have yet to find a
(22:35):
single instance in which we can't get a retrofit vent
for an ember proof vent fitting on a home. They
are always creative ways. Sometimes we do it from the
inside out, sometimes we do it from the outside in.
But when there are clearance issues, they'll handle it for you.
No problem, my friend. All right, thank you, Dan. Sounds great.
(23:00):
Oh we had another caller and then they went away.
My mom, Now I feel very lonely. All right, A
couple of thoughts. Turning away back to this question. Somebody asked,
didn't the governor actually do some executive order that allows
(23:25):
people to just reuse their old plans again? And what's
that about? Well, yeah, and maybe I can comment on
this a little bit. You know what, Let's do this,
let's go to the news. When we come back, I'll
explain that because last week Governor k Newsome, in addition
to this fast tracking thing, he issued an executive order
(23:47):
about recently built homes, and I'll explain that that that
actually does make some people's lives very very simple when
it comes to rebuilding. I wish that was the case
across the board. Maybe this executive order will just stick
beyond this current crisis. So we'll talk about the executive
(24:08):
order for the reuse of relatively new plans. Can't buye
Jean Sharp the house?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
What's he?
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Welcome home? Thanks for joining us on the program today.
Hey a couple of you know, just housekeeping issues here.
Follow us on social media. Don't forget We're on Instagram, TikTok,
Facebook x, all the usual suspects at Home with Dean
Also know that this very program is also the House
(24:38):
Whisper podcast and it's everywhere. Your favorite podcasts are found
of course on the free iHeartRadio app, but also Spotify
and Apple Podcasts and anywhere. Just search for Home with
Dean Sharp, or you can put in the House Whisper
and boom there we will be hundreds of episodes, all
listed by topic. It is a veritable home and movement
(25:00):
reference library for you, and of course, if your home
is in need of some personal house Whisper attention. If
you enjoy the show and you're like I need that
guy standing in my living room helping me figure that out,
that can happen too. You can book an in home
design console with me and the tea here and she
(25:21):
stares at me nodding. Just go to a house whisper
dot Design and request an in home design consult We're
going to be back here tomorrow from nine until noon.
We're gonna be talking concrete tomorrow with one of my
favorite concrete contractors, all things practical concrete for your home,
(25:44):
everything from all sorts of interesting creative design potential to
the footings and the slab that your home is literally
resting on right now, and everything in between. It's going
to be a great show as well. The final thing
that I wanted to discuss this morning in regards to
(26:05):
this whole subject of fast tracking building permits something that
the City of Los Angeles is thinking about doing, is
a question that somebody raised. Didn't the governor do something
last week? I think it was it this last week
or week before. Anyway, the governnew some last Thursday, not
(26:25):
two days ago, but the week before, issued an executive
order that allows homeowners of recently constructed homes to recycle
their own plans. And that's just another way of fast tracking.
I think that will have be a great benefit to
clear some things out of the pipeline. But what that
basically means that I'm not exactly sure. I was looking,
(26:46):
I couldn't quite find. I didn't have time to read
the full order, But I don't know how recent their
definition of recent is, whether it's two years or five years,
Probably not ten years, but again I'm just guessing on
that one. But the idea is this, if you just
built a home recently, within the past few years then
(27:12):
and that home was lost in one of the fires here,
then I think the executive order basically says it, listen,
you're not going to have to run through the whole
plan check thing again. I mean, because it's so recent,
you're still going to be abiding by all of the
necessary codes and zoning ordinances, and we're not going to
make you jump all through those hoops again. So if
(27:33):
you still have a copy of your full plan set,
just resubmit it and we'll say okay, and then you
can get on with the building it. That's not going
to be a lot of the homes, but it's going
to be some that are affected. And that being the case,
how can that be a bad thing. That just makes
common sense. And so I think at the end of
(27:54):
the day, any suggestion that an adaptations that the City
of Los Angeles or regions in southern California can make,
I think, on a permanent basis, to just kind of
kickstart bureaucracy and to not bog things down with extra
(28:15):
steps anything that the city can kick back to the homeowner,
to the architect, to the engineer, to the builder themselves
and say, listen, we're going to treat you like grown
ups and as a result, we're going to give you
the freedom to move more quickly through this. It's all voluntary,
(28:37):
by the way, It's not going to be on everybody.
It's just if you want to do it this way.
Why not if all the hoops still have to be
jumped through, if all the requirements still have to be met,
what's the you know, what's the downside honestly to allowing
people to act responsibly? And if people don't act responsibly,
(28:57):
they're going to have to deal with the consequences of that.
But why not start with that, start with the idea
of giving people the freedom to act responsibly, to maneuver
more quickly and more customly towards their own situation. Why not?
And I have no issue with that whatsoever. There are many, many,
(29:22):
many times throughout my career in which I wish that
people put more faith and trust in our ability to
get something done than to sit there and wait for
somebody at the city who just had no understanding of
the project whatsoever to grind through and put a stamp
on the thing. And quite honestly, one of the reasons
(29:42):
why builders like to stay put and build in a
particular area and get to know the people at the
city is to grease those wheels a little bit. And
by grease in the wheels, I don't mean bribery or
anything unethical, I just mean this, there are you know.
I spent years and years and years in the early
(30:04):
part of my career building almost exclusively with the city
of Beverly Hills, and in Beverly Hills there were inspectors
who just knew me, and so there would be a
time in which I called for an inspection for let's say,
form work on a Tuesday morning, and then the inspector
would call me back and say, Dean, I know you know.
(30:27):
I said I would be out there, but I got overloaded.
I'm not going to be able to get to you tomorrow,
and I know you've got concrete trucks coming. Is everything
the way it should be? And I'm like, of course, Joe,
of course, you know everything is the way it should be.
And you know, after fifty sixty, seventy or hundreds of inspections,
to always pass and always be proven and have a
(30:49):
reputation of doing things always, not just at code level,
but above and beyond, to have somebody trust you and
say I know you did it right, So go ahead,
and I'll be the first one to admit to you,
all of you right now, I had inspection cards signed
after the fact, retroactively because people trusted me, and never
(31:10):
once have I failed a building inspection.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
And so.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
The point being, are there circumstances in which trust and
responsibility can clear out bureaucratic red tape? I think so.
And if there's anything the city can do to at
least offer that voluntarily, then I think it's a win
win scenario. All right, that's my opinion on all of that.
(31:38):
Now you're a little bit more informed as to what's
happening in LA in response to these fires. Tomorrow we're
going to be back talking about concrete today. Look outside,
it's a gorgeous day. Get out there and get busy
building yourself a beautiful life. We'll see you tomorrow. This
(31:59):
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 morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or anytime
on demand on the iHeartRadio app
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