October 20, 2024 • 33 mins
Dean answers calls about glass countertops and leaky showers, offering tips to prevent mold. He discusses phone-connected security systems, fog cannons for protection, and essential safety tips for fires, floods, and freezes.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You're listening to Dean Sharp, the House Whisper on demand
on the iHeartRadio app. Hey, welcome to home Where. Every
week we help you better understand that place where you live.
I am Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer, here with you
live like I am every weekend. Saturday morning, six to
eight Pacific time, Sunday mornings nine to noon Pacific time.
(00:26):
Welcome to the Sunday Morning Show. Welcome to the second
hour of our show. We are talking about the home
monitoring revolution that has taken place over the last few years.
All of your options for monitoring your home from from AFAR,
both energy, safety, security, and on and on, so many options.
(00:50):
We're going to try and cover as many of them
as possible today so that you are aware of of
all the amazing things that you can do with your
home to take care of it better. What right now
is our custom. It is the top of the hour,
and it is time to go to the phones. And
when it comes to phone calls, you set the agenda.
Anything you want to talk about regarding your home. I
(01:13):
want to talk to Wayne.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Wayne, let's get it started, Hidane.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Yeah, we're doing some un wanted home remodeling, and in
the kitchen we're looking at replacing ranite countertops with recycled
glass countertops. I want to get your thoughts on that.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Okay, first of all, though you've piqued my interest unwanted
home remodeling.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
What happened fire fun?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Oh all right, I'm sorry about that.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Okay, kitchen counter tops glass versus granite or quartz or
quartzite or whatever.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Uh, what what got you intro interested in glass?
Speaker 3 (02:01):
By the way, I love glass. I do glass work,
I do letted glass and fascinated with blown glass, but
also as a marine biologist. Our home has an ocean theme.
So this men only has glass in it, but it
has oyster shells.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I see. Excellent, excellent.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, okay, I'm not sure ive been asked that question
directly before. I mean, we talked, we've talked about glass
when it comes to our hard surface stone materials in
those shows, but I don't think a listener has actually
directly asked about glass countertops. Right off the top. As
soon as I say that word glass countertop, people are
(02:47):
cringing because they're just fearful, because they're like, that's exactly
what I need I need to spend a lot of
money on a very fancy countertop and then drop something
on it and have it shatter or break, and then
you know I'm screwed. So what's the truth behind glass countertops. Well,
one thing you should know for certain is that not
(03:09):
all glass countertops are made the same. Some are tempered,
some are not tempered. Some are mixed with concretes and
resins to make them strong, others are not so much.
The thing with glass countertops is that glass is such
as you know if you've worked with it. It is such
a malleable material. You can do so many things with it.
(03:33):
It's unlike stone in the sense that you know, here's
a piece of granite.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
There, it is, there, it is, that's the color, that's
what it is.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
But when we say glass, we can be transparent, we
can be semi transparent. We can be back painted glass
so that you've got color, but the color is coming
from the far side of the glass, and the whole
thing kind of glows in a three dimensional style. We
can run led lights through glass in order for it
(04:02):
to glow uniformly. We can put things like seashells into glass,
suspended as if we were doing, like you know well,
technically in the area of design and building. Glass falls
under the category in this case of functional art, in
which we're doing a design in something a medium that
(04:24):
becomes a functional thing. But as a whole, a well designed,
well manufactured glass countertop can in fact compete and even
exceed stone in its usability and durability. They can be very,
very tough. They are without question, incredibly temperature resistant. You
(04:48):
can usually trust that they are at least fourteen fifteen
sixteen hundred degrees fahrenheit resistant about anything being put on it.
The other advantage that they have over a natural stone
like granted, especially Granted, it's very hard, but it's very porous,
meaning that if you don't keep it sealed, you're going
(05:09):
to lose bits of stuff down inside the granite that
you can't get to to clean. It's why Granted is
actually not permitted in most executive kitchens in restaurants because
health department says, you know, you can't keep that thing
clean enough to keep the standards up. Glass is completely
non porous, so nothing gets down in it, and as
(05:34):
soon as you wipe it and clean it on the surface,
it is sterile and clean and ready to go. So
it can be fabricated in just about any shape and size.
Like stone, you can put just about any edge on it.
And yeah, so I'm a big fan. I'm a huge
fan of glass. Glass is not a common topic though,
(05:55):
that gets brought up these days, just because it takes
somewhat of a courageous homeowner even be thinking in that
direction because of all I think the innate stuff in
the back of our heads saying oh it's fragile. And
I will say, this glass is going to be typically
more expensive than granite, stone, quartzite or so on, just
(06:16):
because of the manufacturing process that it goes through in
order to get it to that point of durability and
usefulness on a countertop. But it can be absolutely stunning.
It's bold, but it can be incredibly incredibly beautiful.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Oh yeah, this is a recycled glass and cement using
oyster shells, Georgia marble and architectural class.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, so that's a typically very very durable combination, very beautiful.
And you know, at the end of the day, my friend,
if you are loving the look, you can trust the
durability of that kind of piece, whether or not it
should be on every single counter serve in the kitchen,
or whether it becomes a center piece kind of sitting
(07:06):
on the island or on a peninsula, and then you
run complementary stone elsewhere. These are all the kinds of
design decisions that you have to make, but feel free
to make them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing the
whole kitchen out of it, but you can also, you know,
limit your budget somewhat and also maybe get as much
bang for the buck as possible if you've got an
(07:27):
island or a peninsula, to make it a focal point
and let everything be the supporting actor as it were
with it at center stage.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
We're putting on the island and the kitchen countertaps and
there's an overhang. So what's the strength compared to granted.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Well, you know, tempered glass. If it's a tech well
in your situation that resin mix. I think it competes
with granted in overhang strength though one to one, if
not a little bit stronger. That is where you need
to check with your fabricator or the actual manufacturer and
ask them those specific questions, because that's the kind of
question that I can't answer because glass comes in so
(08:06):
many different forms. Because it is a manufactured item. It
doesn't have just a standing rating that applies to all
glass countertops. That's something. Check with the manufacturer. Check with
them and say, all right, we need to know, we
need to know exactly where it rates in tensile strength
(08:28):
versus granted, how much does it need to be supported?
How vulnerable will it be depending on their mix and
their structure as they manufactured it. So again, check with
the manufacturer. You'll get your questions answered there. Wayne, good
luck on that. Sorry about the fire, but sounds like
you're putting together a gorgeous redo, a great comeback for
(08:51):
your house and for your kitchen. Keep us posted as
to how well it goes. All right, y'all when we
return more of your calls. You are Home Sharp the
house Whisper.
Speaker 5 (09:02):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am six.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
All right, we're talking about the home monitoring revolution, but
right now we're taking calls. We're going to come back
to monitoring in just a bit, but right now, go
into the phones. Joe, Hey, Joe, welcome home.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Thank you, Dean. I have a shower valve that leaked
in my shower and the water is now or was
coming out the wall where it meets the floor and
then the adjacent wall at about thirty two inches. It
(09:45):
would weep out real slowly, and I put sands, cut
open all the dry wall, put sands on it for
about four days five days, and it seems like it's slowing.
I mean, it's stopped. Do I have to pull out
the floor to fix us?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
All right? So what floor are we talking about?
Speaker 3 (10:05):
It?
Speaker 2 (10:05):
We upstairs, we downstairs. We're in a raised foundation. Where's
what tell me what the dynamics of the floor is.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
It's a it's a raised foundation mm hm. And it's
on the first floor and the floor joaces when I
looked underneath were wet and the skip sheeting was wet,
but it wasn't so wet that it was getting, you know,
drifting on the dirt. And there was mud and so
(10:31):
I don't know how long it's been leaking, but it
wasn't horrible, I didn't think because they didn't have a
big puddle in the mud.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Okay, okay, So leaky valve.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
It's dropped down, it's kind of spread out onto the floor,
and but it seems to be slowing now or stopped.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Right, it's it seems like it's stopped after about five
four or five days.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Okay, that's a lot of wonder yes, Okay, So I
don't want to suggest anything radical yet. I just want
you to be patient and wait and just keep monitoring it.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
If you can get a fan underneath the house blowing
up against those joice and the sheathing from below, that
will help as well. So I get as much air,
as much exposure to it as possible, and then be patient,
be patient and wait. If you don't see any deformities,
(11:35):
if you don't see any bubbling, if you don't see
any excessive soft spots on the floor as a result
of this, if you don't see anything bizarre happening down below.
We just want to make sure it gets thoroughly, thoroughly
dried out. A little heat underneath would also be of
benefit if that's feasible, but it's not critical. Airflow is
(11:59):
the most critical part. The evaporative process is the most
critical part. And now we play a waiting game. I
say this a lot to people. It's true, and I
don't want to give you false hope.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
At the same time, because there may be some stuff
there that maybe has to be dealt with, but it's
never a problem usually that wood gets wet. Now, when
I say that, I'm not talking about your one hundred
year old hardwood floor that has just got soaked with
water and now is cupping and that kind of that's
a problem. But I mean structural wood in a house.
(12:34):
It's very very very very rarely a problem that wood
gets wet. It's a problem when wood stays wet. And
I don't mean stays wet for a couple of weeks.
I mean simply stays wet, because that is when dry
rot starts to kick into play. That's when mold and
(12:55):
mildew become an issue, and that's when we get systemic
problems in that regard. So when wood gets wet and
then it dries out, if it hasn't warped, tweaked, or
lost its structural integrity like an applywood situation because adhesives
have been affected or it's delaminated. If those things have
not happened, then just be patient. Dry it out, see
(13:18):
what you get in the end, and then even afterwards,
if you feel like you know what, it's all dry,
it's just dry. Everything's dry. Now come back in, you know,
two months, six months, get up underneath, poke around, make
sure nothing else has started, make sure it's still dry,
and you should be good to go. So it's the
kind of thing that now is a waiting game. Take
(13:39):
the right action and wait, as opposed to just getting
worried and tearing up a bathroom potentially unnecessarily in order
to fix a floor that really probably didn't you know,
that may not need fixing to begin with. It will
tell you you just keep an eye on it, and
it'll send signals there's not that much house there hiding
(14:00):
from you in a raised foundation, especially if you've already
opened up the walls and you're drying out the wall
cavity and you've replaced and fixed the valve. You know,
you've resolved the water leakage problem, so there's no more
additional water coming in.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Now.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
It's a question of just making sure it dries out,
and you know, you can talk to remodeling contractors or
you know, a restoration conscious. Some of them will come
in and say, you know, because they would love to
make a buck, and they're like, oh.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Just tear it all out. That's the only way, you'll know.
Just be patient, just be patient.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Nobody's going to walk in the bathroom and fall through
the floor because it's rotted overnight. It's a very very
slow process even when something is going wrong in this
kind of situation. So dry it out, be patient, keep
an eye on it, and you'll know you'll know it.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
So there was there's skip sheeting agents boards and they
I went underneath and they're dry. I had a friend
look and pretty knowledgeable, and he says, it's dry here
because we weren't sure if we had the six leap
six because it kept weeping. But now the weeping has
seemed to stop. So how long did it? I mean,
(15:16):
it's it's dry now, with it dry rot? I check
in a month, two months, did you say?
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I would check in a month or two and just
see if there's any other side of moisture or softness
or discoloration other than the discoloration of the staining of
the water.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Okay, just to go up.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Under the there, take a take an all you know
or a sharp flathead screwdriver or something, and just poke
around and see if what you're feeling is just dense wood,
or if all of a sudden you're hitting a soft
spot okay, but there's really not a huge mystery to
moisture and damage with wood. If it's held on to
(15:56):
it for a long, long period of time, that's when
dry rot begins to do its work in a dark,
moist environment. But if it's already feeling dry, I think
you're probably you've moved out of the danger zone and
you're in the clear. But being patient, giving it extra air,
waiting even longer than it seems is not going to
(16:17):
do you any harm.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Well, And some people say the silicone the grout on
the floor, we're or the wall going down, And then
I've never siliconed, I've only sealed it in the past.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Yeah, yeah, it's it's a moot point. It's a moot point.
It's like putting a band aid on a gaping wound.
You've fixed the moisture problem. I don't worry about siliconing
grout on the floor because you know, waterproof areas, they
either have a moisture protection under them or they don't.
(16:52):
And we don't rely on the tile and the grout
to keep moisture away from the framing. And so if
there's there's probably at least some elementary building paper under there,
and in that case, it's going to do its job.
So yeah, the rest of it just becomes this kind
of futile attempt to seal up a floor that isn't
(17:13):
going to be sealed unless you completely redo the thing,
in which case you could make the whole bathroom floor
a shower pan if you wanted to. But it's really
those are heroic measures beyond the scope of what is
normally needed. What's important is that you fix the leaky
valve now, let it dry out, and get back to
your life. That's my advice to you. And don't worry
(17:34):
about all of the possible don't look on web MD
about your house. It's like, if anybody wants to find
out that they're about to die because of the cut
on their elbow, look on webnd.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
You'll find out that.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Chances are you know you've contracted a rare disease in
that cut, and you know you may have to amputate.
Don't do that. Don't do that. You're on the right path,
my friend. Thanks for the question, Thanks for the call, buddy,
and good luck. I think you're on the right path,
and I doubt that you have much to worry about.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
There, all right, joall.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
When we come back, why don't we dive back into
the home monitoring revolution.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
We will do that.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
You are Home with Dean Sharp, the house whisper.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
That's me and we're talking about the home monitoring revolution today.
Is it a revolution? It is a revolution because it's
taken the world of homeowners by storm, and it's happened
relatively quickly, so we're going to call it a revolution.
At some point, all of our connected technology has kind
(18:45):
of rolled together, and now we have such an opportunity
to take care of and watch over our homes even
when we are not there. We were on the subject
of security before. I just want to wrap that up
because there are a couple of little devices and points
that I wanted to communicate with you. Where'd I leave
(19:06):
off garage doors? I left off with garage doors. Motion detectors,
of course, are as things that can be placed anywhere
inside the house, outside the house, outside the house, connected
to floodlights. Great idea inside the house for the sake
of knowing where and if somebody is moving through an
area of the house, to let you know and again
(19:27):
we're talking about the kinds of systems that communicate back
to your smartphone in addition potentially to a monitoring service
if you want to pay that additional fee for that
kind of thing. Remote access is part of the monitoring revolution.
And by remote access we simply mean having the kind
(19:49):
of hardware in your home that allows you to let
somebody in. This is the opposite of security. I suppose
it is a security device that keeps you know, door
is locked. But let's say you're you know, you're away
and family member, a friend needs to get into the
house for some reason somehow, maybe you have left your
(20:10):
keys and you're the person who needs to get into
the house. Here's your phone, and you can grant with
the right kind of hardware. Schleg makes some quick Set
makes some Baldwin makes some direct automated home hardware that
will unlock a door or lock a door. And this
(20:32):
is in addition to what is now a keyless biometric
I don't think we've got I don't trust facial recognition
door hardware yet to do that, but biometric locks and
where you you know, put your thumb on the pad
and boomp, it opens up. Because it's you. These are
things that are all available for your house. Remote communication
(20:54):
is a big part of this as well. Communication meaning
well what most of you have. If you've got like
a smart doorbell or ring or a Nest doorbell, not
only do on your phone, can you actually hear the
door chime when someone's there, And not only do you
have a video feed, but you also have audio and
you can talk back and forth to the individual who's
(21:17):
on the front porch, at the front door and so on,
because there are microphones that enable that kind of communication,
not just listening, but two way communication so that there's
a speaker so that they can hear you things like
you don't belong on my front porch and I've already
notified nine to one one that kind of stuff, or hey, sorry,
(21:38):
we're not coming to the door right now, or whatever
the case may be, or just leave it there, we'll
get to it in a couple of minutes, even if
you're on vacation. So that kind of stuff very very
useful again, just part of your arsenal Monitoring services have
their place, they really really do. They add that extra
(22:00):
layer of security knowing that there is also another set
of eyes looking at the house even if you've not
carrying your phone around right now, or you left it
somewhere else, or whatever the case may be. Remote lighting control. Now,
I said earlier, this is the connected monitored home is
not just about all the fancy controls that you can
(22:23):
do for inside your house. But the fact of the
matter is all that fancy lighting control that you can
put inside your house also can serve a really important
security function because you can program smart lights in your
home to go on and off at different times, and
go on and off at different times on different days,
(22:44):
so that anybody who's, as they say in the old
detective speak case in the joint, if they're watching your
home over a period of two or three days, they'll
notice the fact that, oh, the kitchen light turned on,
and then it turned and now a bedroom line is
on and that off, and it just simply implies that
(23:05):
somebody's there, even if you aren't. Okay, the most amazing
I've got to close with this one before we go
to break the most amazing high tech security measure that
I am aware of. All Right, if you want the
the ultimate or you just want to be entertained by
this thought, Okay, the ultimate home security for you is
(23:29):
a fog cannon mounted in the exterior rooms where egress
into the house can happen. A fog cannon. There are
fog cannon security systems. You owe it to yourself. If
that sounds fun, to look it up. Okay, they're not cheap, Okay,
but man are they effective? Okay, So think about this now.
(23:49):
Think about You've got a dedicated criminal who's going to
get into your home. They don't care about your motion detectors,
they don't care about your alarms because they've got a
plan to get in, get to the thing they're getting to,
and get out before it even matters. They're hardened. They're
going in. So they open the window, they open the door,
(24:12):
they step inside, and suddenly, from out of the ceiling
comes a gush of fog. Theater fog, okay, the kind
of stuff you know, special effects fog. It fills the
room and they see nothing. They can't They are blizzard blind.
They cannot see two inches in front of their face.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Guess what.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
A criminal that cannot see where they're going has no
incentive to step further into the house and to get
it done. They just freak out, especially if that's combined
with lights and sirens and they are out of here.
One of the most potentially the most effective security systems.
So if you're really, really committed, if you're really committed
(24:57):
to home security on a passive level, meaning that you're
not going to put bars on your windows and you know,
booby traps on the front door or anything like that,
fog cannon. Fog cannon is an unbelievable and we're talking
about the kind of canon. Not a fog machine that
slowly puts fog in, but a cannon that literally is
(25:19):
size to fill the room with fog in less than
three seconds. I mean just literally go from from empty
room to I can't see a thing, I am out
of here in three seconds. Amazingly effective and fun to
watch happen too. All right, when we come back, let's
move on to safety, not security, but safety.
Speaker 5 (25:40):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Welcome home, Thanks for joining us today. We are so
so glad that you are here, especially considering I don't
want to sell myself out of a job here. But
have you looked outside? It is gorgeous outside. So when
we're done, when we're done, not now. But when we're done,
you got to get out there or you know it,
put us on the iHeartRadio app on your phone, pop
(26:08):
in your headphones and get out there anyway and take
me out with you. Let's go together, Yeah, into the day.
Listen to me and digital HD and hear all the
tones of my melodious baritone voice. All right, we're talking
about the monitored home. I want to get off of
(26:29):
security and move to safety. What's the difference between security
and safety. Security is about, you know, baddies trying to
get in and do you wrong. Yes, baddies, that's a
technical term, baddies. Safety is about mishaps in your home.
I'm talking about fires. We're talking about carbon monoxide, floods, freezes,
(26:56):
and you know, electrical problems basically all of which nowadays
we have a monitored solution to if you are interested
in moving in that direction. Fire smoke alarms, and I'm
not talking about fire sprinkler systems. That's obviously awesome, and
those are by nature monitored. And if you go to
(27:21):
the expense of having a fire sprinkler system installed in
your home, you should definitely have it set up so
that you get at notice. Should any of those sprinklers
go off for any reason whatsoever, but long before that happens.
Far less expensively than that is your basic smoke alarm
system in your home. Smoke alarms, one in every bedroom,
(27:45):
one in a hallway or area leading to the bedrooms.
These are the smoke alarm needs of a home, not
in the kitchen, you know, anything like that. These days, though,
connected smart smoke alarms. We use Nests here in our
home because again they feed into the same app that
my cameras and thermostat all feed into. I also like
(28:08):
the Nest alarms because they are combination fire and CO
two carbon monoxide detectors, so they you know, they get
you covered both directions. I also like the Nest, and
they're not a sponsor of the show. I'm just saying
I like the Nest because they can be battery operated
or hardwired or both. And I also like the Nest
(28:31):
because they talk to you. They give you some options.
So when our Nest smoke alarm first detects smoke, instead
of just going crazy with an alarm, she and it
is a she actually talks to me and says, smoke
detected in the hallway, and what do you want to
do about it basically, and so we can go wave
(28:51):
it off, or we can, you know, find out what
the real issue is. Wave it off if it just
happens that I'm smoking up the steak a little bit
too much in the kitchen, or go deal and see
what the real reason for the smoke is there. So
and their networked and connected and all talking to each
other and all talking to the apps that are on
(29:13):
our phones. Another thing, now, this is not something that
a lot of people are aware of, but now there
are very very small devices about the size of a
matchbook that can be placed under sensitive water leak areas,
like one under the sink, one under the water heater area,
(29:33):
and so on. These are water detectors. They detect when
any water or moisture hits the surface that they're sitting on,
and they alert you to stop a potential flood or
serious damage from taking place. In addition to the remote
water detectors at each of these sensitive spots, you can
(29:55):
of course also have a smart water main valve like
a flow flo by Mowen, you know, the faucet company.
You put a mow and flow valve on your maine.
It will actually monitor regular water usage and alert you
if it feels like there's water just seeping, not a
(30:16):
full faucet, not a full turn on of anything, but seeping.
It will actually let you know if there's a leak
somewhere happening, and if there's a full pipe burst or
this chronic leak. It has the ability to shut off
the main to the house before anything goes further than
(30:36):
it needs to go. And you can remotely shut off
the main to the house via your mow and flow valve.
So another incredibly incredibly useful tool. Now not so much
in southern California unless you live in the mountains, then
you need to listen to this. And if you live
outside of southern California, in any area where there's a
(30:57):
real winter that sets in there, there are now freeze
sensors and basically it can either be built into your thermostat,
your smart thermostat, or a separate sensor that you can
have inside the house. And what we're talking about is, Okay,
your away from the house is really important if you're
taking a trip during the winter, or if you are
(31:20):
you've got a vacation home that isn't necessarily occupied during
the winter. In freezing areas. It's the ever present problem
of the temperature inside the house dropping so much that
the pipes freeze. And the problem with pipes water freezing
inside your pipes is that water expands when it freezes,
and as a result, it can burst open your pipes
(31:40):
and cause major, major damage all over the house. Just
one bad freeze that will result in leaks and lots
and lots of plumbing issues. One of the reasons, by
the way, that I like pecks as a pipe system
as a plumbing system is it has a fifteen percent
expansion capacity. It can actually expand if frozen water is
(32:03):
inside it. Now I'm not saying that you use that
and rely on it as your safety. I'm just saying
it's one of the pros of having a PEX plumbing
system as opposed to a rigid system like copper or
what have you. Anyway, the point is we can put
a air temperature detector, you know often that's called a thermostat,
(32:23):
but this is not necessarily in control of the rest
of your system to alert you when the air temperature
inside the house drops to a point where we're beginning
to be concerned about possible freeze. And then if you
have a smart thermostat, you can remotely, you know, turn
on the heating system, warm the house back up again,
(32:44):
so you can avoid that very very very costly mistake. Okay,
when we're going to return to this subject, I want
to talk to you about something that a lot of
people are unaware of, and that is the transition that's
taking place in the electrical community to smart electrical panels
and even more importantly, smart breakers and what those do.
(33:08):
But that's when we return to the subject. When we
come back from the break here at the top of
the hour, we're going back to the phones. Your Home
with Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer on KFI. 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
(33:29):
morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or anytime on
demand on the iHeartRadio app.
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You're listening to Dean Sharp, the House Whisper on demand
on the iHeartRadio app. Hey, welcome to home Where. Every
week we help you better understand that place where you live.
I am Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer, here with you
live like I am every weekend. Saturday morning, six to
eight Pacific time, Sunday mornings nine to noon Pacific time.
(00:26):
Welcome to the Sunday Morning Show. Welcome to the second
hour of our show. We are talking about the home
monitoring revolution that has taken place over the last few years.
All of your options for monitoring your home from from AFAR,
both energy, safety, security, and on and on, so many options.
(00:50):
We're going to try and cover as many of them
as possible today so that you are aware of of
all the amazing things that you can do with your
home to take care of it better. What right now
is our custom. It is the top of the hour,
and it is time to go to the phones. And
when it comes to phone calls, you set the agenda.
Anything you want to talk about regarding your home. I
(01:13):
want to talk to Wayne.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Wayne, let's get it started, Hidane.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Yeah, we're doing some un wanted home remodeling, and in
the kitchen we're looking at replacing ranite countertops with recycled
glass countertops. I want to get your thoughts on that.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Okay, first of all, though you've piqued my interest unwanted
home remodeling.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
What happened fire fun?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Oh all right, I'm sorry about that.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Okay, kitchen counter tops glass versus granite or quartz or
quartzite or whatever.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Uh, what what got you intro interested in glass?
Speaker 3 (02:01):
By the way, I love glass. I do glass work,
I do letted glass and fascinated with blown glass, but
also as a marine biologist. Our home has an ocean theme.
So this men only has glass in it, but it
has oyster shells.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I see. Excellent, excellent.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, okay, I'm not sure ive been asked that question
directly before. I mean, we talked, we've talked about glass
when it comes to our hard surface stone materials in
those shows, but I don't think a listener has actually
directly asked about glass countertops. Right off the top. As
soon as I say that word glass countertop, people are
(02:47):
cringing because they're just fearful, because they're like, that's exactly
what I need I need to spend a lot of
money on a very fancy countertop and then drop something
on it and have it shatter or break, and then
you know I'm screwed. So what's the truth behind glass countertops. Well,
one thing you should know for certain is that not
(03:09):
all glass countertops are made the same. Some are tempered,
some are not tempered. Some are mixed with concretes and
resins to make them strong, others are not so much.
The thing with glass countertops is that glass is such
as you know if you've worked with it. It is such
a malleable material. You can do so many things with it.
(03:33):
It's unlike stone in the sense that you know, here's
a piece of granite.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
There, it is, there, it is, that's the color, that's
what it is.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
But when we say glass, we can be transparent, we
can be semi transparent. We can be back painted glass
so that you've got color, but the color is coming
from the far side of the glass, and the whole
thing kind of glows in a three dimensional style. We
can run led lights through glass in order for it
(04:02):
to glow uniformly. We can put things like seashells into glass,
suspended as if we were doing, like you know well,
technically in the area of design and building. Glass falls
under the category in this case of functional art, in
which we're doing a design in something a medium that
(04:24):
becomes a functional thing. But as a whole, a well designed,
well manufactured glass countertop can in fact compete and even
exceed stone in its usability and durability. They can be very,
very tough. They are without question, incredibly temperature resistant. You
(04:48):
can usually trust that they are at least fourteen fifteen
sixteen hundred degrees fahrenheit resistant about anything being put on it.
The other advantage that they have over a natural stone
like granted, especially Granted, it's very hard, but it's very porous,
meaning that if you don't keep it sealed, you're going
(05:09):
to lose bits of stuff down inside the granite that
you can't get to to clean. It's why Granted is
actually not permitted in most executive kitchens in restaurants because
health department says, you know, you can't keep that thing
clean enough to keep the standards up. Glass is completely
non porous, so nothing gets down in it, and as
(05:34):
soon as you wipe it and clean it on the surface,
it is sterile and clean and ready to go. So
it can be fabricated in just about any shape and size.
Like stone, you can put just about any edge on it.
And yeah, so I'm a big fan. I'm a huge
fan of glass. Glass is not a common topic though,
(05:55):
that gets brought up these days, just because it takes
somewhat of a courageous homeowner even be thinking in that
direction because of all I think the innate stuff in
the back of our heads saying oh it's fragile. And
I will say, this glass is going to be typically
more expensive than granite, stone, quartzite or so on, just
(06:16):
because of the manufacturing process that it goes through in
order to get it to that point of durability and
usefulness on a countertop. But it can be absolutely stunning.
It's bold, but it can be incredibly incredibly beautiful.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Oh yeah, this is a recycled glass and cement using
oyster shells, Georgia marble and architectural class.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, so that's a typically very very durable combination, very beautiful.
And you know, at the end of the day, my friend,
if you are loving the look, you can trust the
durability of that kind of piece, whether or not it
should be on every single counter serve in the kitchen,
or whether it becomes a center piece kind of sitting
(07:06):
on the island or on a peninsula, and then you
run complementary stone elsewhere. These are all the kinds of
design decisions that you have to make, but feel free
to make them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing the
whole kitchen out of it, but you can also, you know,
limit your budget somewhat and also maybe get as much
bang for the buck as possible if you've got an
(07:27):
island or a peninsula, to make it a focal point
and let everything be the supporting actor as it were
with it at center stage.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
We're putting on the island and the kitchen countertaps and
there's an overhang. So what's the strength compared to granted.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Well, you know, tempered glass. If it's a tech well
in your situation that resin mix. I think it competes
with granted in overhang strength though one to one, if
not a little bit stronger. That is where you need
to check with your fabricator or the actual manufacturer and
ask them those specific questions, because that's the kind of
question that I can't answer because glass comes in so
(08:06):
many different forms. Because it is a manufactured item. It
doesn't have just a standing rating that applies to all
glass countertops. That's something. Check with the manufacturer. Check with
them and say, all right, we need to know, we
need to know exactly where it rates in tensile strength
(08:28):
versus granted, how much does it need to be supported?
How vulnerable will it be depending on their mix and
their structure as they manufactured it. So again, check with
the manufacturer. You'll get your questions answered there. Wayne, good
luck on that. Sorry about the fire, but sounds like
you're putting together a gorgeous redo, a great comeback for
(08:51):
your house and for your kitchen. Keep us posted as
to how well it goes. All right, y'all when we
return more of your calls. You are Home Sharp the
house Whisper.
Speaker 5 (09:02):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am six.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
All right, we're talking about the home monitoring revolution, but
right now we're taking calls. We're going to come back
to monitoring in just a bit, but right now, go
into the phones. Joe, Hey, Joe, welcome home.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Thank you, Dean. I have a shower valve that leaked
in my shower and the water is now or was
coming out the wall where it meets the floor and
then the adjacent wall at about thirty two inches. It
(09:45):
would weep out real slowly, and I put sands, cut
open all the dry wall, put sands on it for
about four days five days, and it seems like it's slowing.
I mean, it's stopped. Do I have to pull out
the floor to fix us?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
All right? So what floor are we talking about?
Speaker 3 (10:05):
It?
Speaker 2 (10:05):
We upstairs, we downstairs. We're in a raised foundation. Where's
what tell me what the dynamics of the floor is.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
It's a it's a raised foundation mm hm. And it's
on the first floor and the floor joaces when I
looked underneath were wet and the skip sheeting was wet,
but it wasn't so wet that it was getting, you know,
drifting on the dirt. And there was mud and so
(10:31):
I don't know how long it's been leaking, but it
wasn't horrible, I didn't think because they didn't have a
big puddle in the mud.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Okay, okay, So leaky valve.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
It's dropped down, it's kind of spread out onto the floor,
and but it seems to be slowing now or stopped.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Right, it's it seems like it's stopped after about five
four or five days.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Okay, that's a lot of wonder yes, Okay, So I
don't want to suggest anything radical yet. I just want
you to be patient and wait and just keep monitoring it.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
If you can get a fan underneath the house blowing
up against those joice and the sheathing from below, that
will help as well. So I get as much air,
as much exposure to it as possible, and then be patient,
be patient and wait. If you don't see any deformities,
(11:35):
if you don't see any bubbling, if you don't see
any excessive soft spots on the floor as a result
of this, if you don't see anything bizarre happening down below.
We just want to make sure it gets thoroughly, thoroughly
dried out. A little heat underneath would also be of
benefit if that's feasible, but it's not critical. Airflow is
(11:59):
the most critical part. The evaporative process is the most
critical part. And now we play a waiting game. I
say this a lot to people. It's true, and I
don't want to give you false hope.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
At the same time, because there may be some stuff
there that maybe has to be dealt with, but it's
never a problem usually that wood gets wet. Now, when
I say that, I'm not talking about your one hundred
year old hardwood floor that has just got soaked with
water and now is cupping and that kind of that's
a problem. But I mean structural wood in a house.
(12:34):
It's very very very very rarely a problem that wood
gets wet. It's a problem when wood stays wet. And
I don't mean stays wet for a couple of weeks.
I mean simply stays wet, because that is when dry
rot starts to kick into play. That's when mold and
(12:55):
mildew become an issue, and that's when we get systemic
problems in that regard. So when wood gets wet and
then it dries out, if it hasn't warped, tweaked, or
lost its structural integrity like an applywood situation because adhesives
have been affected or it's delaminated. If those things have
not happened, then just be patient. Dry it out, see
(13:18):
what you get in the end, and then even afterwards,
if you feel like you know what, it's all dry,
it's just dry. Everything's dry. Now come back in, you know,
two months, six months, get up underneath, poke around, make
sure nothing else has started, make sure it's still dry,
and you should be good to go. So it's the
kind of thing that now is a waiting game. Take
(13:39):
the right action and wait, as opposed to just getting
worried and tearing up a bathroom potentially unnecessarily in order
to fix a floor that really probably didn't you know,
that may not need fixing to begin with. It will
tell you you just keep an eye on it, and
it'll send signals there's not that much house there hiding
(14:00):
from you in a raised foundation, especially if you've already
opened up the walls and you're drying out the wall
cavity and you've replaced and fixed the valve. You know,
you've resolved the water leakage problem, so there's no more
additional water coming in.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Now.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
It's a question of just making sure it dries out,
and you know, you can talk to remodeling contractors or
you know, a restoration conscious. Some of them will come
in and say, you know, because they would love to
make a buck, and they're like, oh.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Just tear it all out. That's the only way, you'll know.
Just be patient, just be patient.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Nobody's going to walk in the bathroom and fall through
the floor because it's rotted overnight. It's a very very
slow process even when something is going wrong in this
kind of situation. So dry it out, be patient, keep
an eye on it, and you'll know you'll know it.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
So there was there's skip sheeting agents boards and they
I went underneath and they're dry. I had a friend
look and pretty knowledgeable, and he says, it's dry here
because we weren't sure if we had the six leap
six because it kept weeping. But now the weeping has
seemed to stop. So how long did it? I mean,
(15:16):
it's it's dry now, with it dry rot? I check
in a month, two months, did you say?
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I would check in a month or two and just
see if there's any other side of moisture or softness
or discoloration other than the discoloration of the staining of
the water.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Okay, just to go up.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Under the there, take a take an all you know
or a sharp flathead screwdriver or something, and just poke
around and see if what you're feeling is just dense wood,
or if all of a sudden you're hitting a soft
spot okay, but there's really not a huge mystery to
moisture and damage with wood. If it's held on to
(15:56):
it for a long, long period of time, that's when
dry rot begins to do its work in a dark,
moist environment. But if it's already feeling dry, I think
you're probably you've moved out of the danger zone and
you're in the clear. But being patient, giving it extra air,
waiting even longer than it seems is not going to
(16:17):
do you any harm.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Well, And some people say the silicone the grout on
the floor, we're or the wall going down, And then
I've never siliconed, I've only sealed it in the past.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Yeah, yeah, it's it's a moot point. It's a moot point.
It's like putting a band aid on a gaping wound.
You've fixed the moisture problem. I don't worry about siliconing
grout on the floor because you know, waterproof areas, they
either have a moisture protection under them or they don't.
(16:52):
And we don't rely on the tile and the grout
to keep moisture away from the framing. And so if
there's there's probably at least some elementary building paper under there,
and in that case, it's going to do its job.
So yeah, the rest of it just becomes this kind
of futile attempt to seal up a floor that isn't
(17:13):
going to be sealed unless you completely redo the thing,
in which case you could make the whole bathroom floor
a shower pan if you wanted to. But it's really
those are heroic measures beyond the scope of what is
normally needed. What's important is that you fix the leaky
valve now, let it dry out, and get back to
your life. That's my advice to you. And don't worry
(17:34):
about all of the possible don't look on web MD
about your house. It's like, if anybody wants to find
out that they're about to die because of the cut
on their elbow, look on webnd.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
You'll find out that.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Chances are you know you've contracted a rare disease in
that cut, and you know you may have to amputate.
Don't do that. Don't do that. You're on the right path,
my friend. Thanks for the question, Thanks for the call, buddy,
and good luck. I think you're on the right path,
and I doubt that you have much to worry about.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
There, all right, joall.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
When we come back, why don't we dive back into
the home monitoring revolution.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
We will do that.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
You are Home with Dean Sharp, the house whisper.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
That's me and we're talking about the home monitoring revolution today.
Is it a revolution? It is a revolution because it's
taken the world of homeowners by storm, and it's happened
relatively quickly, so we're going to call it a revolution.
At some point, all of our connected technology has kind
(18:45):
of rolled together, and now we have such an opportunity
to take care of and watch over our homes even
when we are not there. We were on the subject
of security before. I just want to wrap that up
because there are a couple of little devices and points
that I wanted to communicate with you. Where'd I leave
(19:06):
off garage doors? I left off with garage doors. Motion detectors,
of course, are as things that can be placed anywhere
inside the house, outside the house, outside the house, connected
to floodlights. Great idea inside the house for the sake
of knowing where and if somebody is moving through an
area of the house, to let you know and again
(19:27):
we're talking about the kinds of systems that communicate back
to your smartphone in addition potentially to a monitoring service
if you want to pay that additional fee for that
kind of thing. Remote access is part of the monitoring revolution.
And by remote access we simply mean having the kind
(19:49):
of hardware in your home that allows you to let
somebody in. This is the opposite of security. I suppose
it is a security device that keeps you know, door
is locked. But let's say you're you know, you're away
and family member, a friend needs to get into the
house for some reason somehow, maybe you have left your
(20:10):
keys and you're the person who needs to get into
the house. Here's your phone, and you can grant with
the right kind of hardware. Schleg makes some quick Set
makes some Baldwin makes some direct automated home hardware that
will unlock a door or lock a door. And this
(20:32):
is in addition to what is now a keyless biometric
I don't think we've got I don't trust facial recognition
door hardware yet to do that, but biometric locks and
where you you know, put your thumb on the pad
and boomp, it opens up. Because it's you. These are
things that are all available for your house. Remote communication
(20:54):
is a big part of this as well. Communication meaning
well what most of you have. If you've got like
a smart doorbell or ring or a Nest doorbell, not
only do on your phone, can you actually hear the
door chime when someone's there, And not only do you
have a video feed, but you also have audio and
you can talk back and forth to the individual who's
(21:17):
on the front porch, at the front door and so on,
because there are microphones that enable that kind of communication,
not just listening, but two way communication so that there's
a speaker so that they can hear you things like
you don't belong on my front porch and I've already
notified nine to one one that kind of stuff, or hey, sorry,
(21:38):
we're not coming to the door right now, or whatever
the case may be, or just leave it there, we'll
get to it in a couple of minutes, even if
you're on vacation. So that kind of stuff very very
useful again, just part of your arsenal Monitoring services have
their place, they really really do. They add that extra
(22:00):
layer of security knowing that there is also another set
of eyes looking at the house even if you've not
carrying your phone around right now, or you left it
somewhere else, or whatever the case may be. Remote lighting control. Now,
I said earlier, this is the connected monitored home is
not just about all the fancy controls that you can
(22:23):
do for inside your house. But the fact of the
matter is all that fancy lighting control that you can
put inside your house also can serve a really important
security function because you can program smart lights in your
home to go on and off at different times, and
go on and off at different times on different days,
(22:44):
so that anybody who's, as they say in the old
detective speak case in the joint, if they're watching your
home over a period of two or three days, they'll
notice the fact that, oh, the kitchen light turned on,
and then it turned and now a bedroom line is
on and that off, and it just simply implies that
(23:05):
somebody's there, even if you aren't. Okay, the most amazing
I've got to close with this one before we go
to break the most amazing high tech security measure that
I am aware of. All Right, if you want the
the ultimate or you just want to be entertained by
this thought, Okay, the ultimate home security for you is
(23:29):
a fog cannon mounted in the exterior rooms where egress
into the house can happen. A fog cannon. There are
fog cannon security systems. You owe it to yourself. If
that sounds fun, to look it up. Okay, they're not cheap, Okay,
but man are they effective? Okay, So think about this now.
(23:49):
Think about You've got a dedicated criminal who's going to
get into your home. They don't care about your motion detectors,
they don't care about your alarms because they've got a
plan to get in, get to the thing they're getting to,
and get out before it even matters. They're hardened. They're
going in. So they open the window, they open the door,
(24:12):
they step inside, and suddenly, from out of the ceiling
comes a gush of fog. Theater fog, okay, the kind
of stuff you know, special effects fog. It fills the
room and they see nothing. They can't They are blizzard blind.
They cannot see two inches in front of their face.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Guess what.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
A criminal that cannot see where they're going has no
incentive to step further into the house and to get
it done. They just freak out, especially if that's combined
with lights and sirens and they are out of here.
One of the most potentially the most effective security systems.
So if you're really, really committed, if you're really committed
(24:57):
to home security on a passive level, meaning that you're
not going to put bars on your windows and you know,
booby traps on the front door or anything like that,
fog cannon. Fog cannon is an unbelievable and we're talking
about the kind of canon. Not a fog machine that
slowly puts fog in, but a cannon that literally is
(25:19):
size to fill the room with fog in less than
three seconds. I mean just literally go from from empty
room to I can't see a thing, I am out
of here in three seconds. Amazingly effective and fun to
watch happen too. All right, when we come back, let's
move on to safety, not security, but safety.
Speaker 5 (25:40):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Welcome home, Thanks for joining us today. We are so
so glad that you are here, especially considering I don't
want to sell myself out of a job here. But
have you looked outside? It is gorgeous outside. So when
we're done, when we're done, not now. But when we're done,
you got to get out there or you know it,
put us on the iHeartRadio app on your phone, pop
(26:08):
in your headphones and get out there anyway and take
me out with you. Let's go together, Yeah, into the day.
Listen to me and digital HD and hear all the
tones of my melodious baritone voice. All right, we're talking
about the monitored home. I want to get off of
(26:29):
security and move to safety. What's the difference between security
and safety. Security is about, you know, baddies trying to
get in and do you wrong. Yes, baddies, that's a
technical term, baddies. Safety is about mishaps in your home.
I'm talking about fires. We're talking about carbon monoxide, floods, freezes,
(26:56):
and you know, electrical problems basically all of which nowadays
we have a monitored solution to if you are interested
in moving in that direction. Fire smoke alarms, and I'm
not talking about fire sprinkler systems. That's obviously awesome, and
those are by nature monitored. And if you go to
(27:21):
the expense of having a fire sprinkler system installed in
your home, you should definitely have it set up so
that you get at notice. Should any of those sprinklers
go off for any reason whatsoever, but long before that happens.
Far less expensively than that is your basic smoke alarm
system in your home. Smoke alarms, one in every bedroom,
(27:45):
one in a hallway or area leading to the bedrooms.
These are the smoke alarm needs of a home, not
in the kitchen, you know, anything like that. These days, though,
connected smart smoke alarms. We use Nests here in our
home because again they feed into the same app that
my cameras and thermostat all feed into. I also like
(28:08):
the Nest alarms because they are combination fire and CO
two carbon monoxide detectors, so they you know, they get
you covered both directions. I also like the Nest, and
they're not a sponsor of the show. I'm just saying
I like the Nest because they can be battery operated
or hardwired or both. And I also like the Nest
(28:31):
because they talk to you. They give you some options.
So when our Nest smoke alarm first detects smoke, instead
of just going crazy with an alarm, she and it
is a she actually talks to me and says, smoke
detected in the hallway, and what do you want to
do about it basically, and so we can go wave
(28:51):
it off, or we can, you know, find out what
the real issue is. Wave it off if it just
happens that I'm smoking up the steak a little bit
too much in the kitchen, or go deal and see
what the real reason for the smoke is there. So
and their networked and connected and all talking to each
other and all talking to the apps that are on
(29:13):
our phones. Another thing, now, this is not something that
a lot of people are aware of, but now there
are very very small devices about the size of a
matchbook that can be placed under sensitive water leak areas,
like one under the sink, one under the water heater area,
(29:33):
and so on. These are water detectors. They detect when
any water or moisture hits the surface that they're sitting on,
and they alert you to stop a potential flood or
serious damage from taking place. In addition to the remote
water detectors at each of these sensitive spots, you can
(29:55):
of course also have a smart water main valve like
a flow flo by Mowen, you know, the faucet company.
You put a mow and flow valve on your maine.
It will actually monitor regular water usage and alert you
if it feels like there's water just seeping, not a
(30:16):
full faucet, not a full turn on of anything, but seeping.
It will actually let you know if there's a leak
somewhere happening, and if there's a full pipe burst or
this chronic leak. It has the ability to shut off
the main to the house before anything goes further than
(30:36):
it needs to go. And you can remotely shut off
the main to the house via your mow and flow valve.
So another incredibly incredibly useful tool. Now not so much
in southern California unless you live in the mountains, then
you need to listen to this. And if you live
outside of southern California, in any area where there's a
(30:57):
real winter that sets in there, there are now freeze
sensors and basically it can either be built into your thermostat,
your smart thermostat, or a separate sensor that you can
have inside the house. And what we're talking about is, Okay,
your away from the house is really important if you're
taking a trip during the winter, or if you are
(31:20):
you've got a vacation home that isn't necessarily occupied during
the winter. In freezing areas. It's the ever present problem
of the temperature inside the house dropping so much that
the pipes freeze. And the problem with pipes water freezing
inside your pipes is that water expands when it freezes,
and as a result, it can burst open your pipes
(31:40):
and cause major, major damage all over the house. Just
one bad freeze that will result in leaks and lots
and lots of plumbing issues. One of the reasons, by
the way, that I like pecks as a pipe system
as a plumbing system is it has a fifteen percent
expansion capacity. It can actually expand if frozen water is
(32:03):
inside it. Now I'm not saying that you use that
and rely on it as your safety. I'm just saying
it's one of the pros of having a PEX plumbing
system as opposed to a rigid system like copper or
what have you. Anyway, the point is we can put
a air temperature detector, you know often that's called a thermostat,
(32:23):
but this is not necessarily in control of the rest
of your system to alert you when the air temperature
inside the house drops to a point where we're beginning
to be concerned about possible freeze. And then if you
have a smart thermostat, you can remotely, you know, turn
on the heating system, warm the house back up again,
(32:44):
so you can avoid that very very very costly mistake. Okay,
when we're going to return to this subject, I want
to talk to you about something that a lot of
people are unaware of, and that is the transition that's
taking place in the electrical community to smart electrical panels
and even more importantly, smart breakers and what those do.
(33:08):
But that's when we return to the subject. When we
come back from the break here at the top of
the hour, we're going back to the phones. Your Home
with Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer on KFI. 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
(33:29):
morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or anytime on
demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Home with Dean Sharp News
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