March 9, 2025 • 36 mins
Dean offers tips and tricks for you to maximize the outdoor space at your home. From storage options to opening up space for entertaining, Dean talk about it all and offers the latest details and trends to the most bang for your buck!
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Episode Transcript
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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.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
On the iHeart Radio app.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Hey, follow us on social media?
Why don't you? We only do the good kind, uplifting, informative,
inspiring social media. We will never chase you down. We
will never annoy you, well probably well rarely. We will
rarely annoy you.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
We're on all the usual suspects, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook x,
Home with Dean, simple to remember Home with Dean. It's
the same handle for them all. Find us on your
favorite social media platform and give us a follow and
then share some of the info there. If your home
is in need of some personal house Whisper attention, you know,
(00:51):
if you want this weirdo actually standing on your patio
telling you what you need to do, then you can
book an in home design consult with me and the tea.
Just go to house Whisperer dot design. All right, we
are continuing our theme for the weekend of essentially where
(01:13):
to get the most space for the least amount of money.
Yesterday I talked about garages. Today I'm talking about outdoors
and we're breaking it down in a way that I
hope you've never really thought it through this way before.
We're breaking it down to the essentials so that you
don't have to spend a lot of money, but you
get the biggest bang for the buck essentially along the way,
(01:33):
in other words, what's it gonna take to get you
outside to keep your comfy and to enjoy the experience
so that you can utilize outside as more space for
your living. And we're going to return to that con
conversation in just a bit, but right now, top of
the hour, time to take some calls. Oh and by
(01:53):
the way, Michelle just producer Michelle handed this to me,
She said, a listener asked me to pass on this joke.
What is green and stays out all night? Patio furniture?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Perfect?
Speaker 1 (02:16):
All right?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
All right, yeah, it's is that denigrating to the Irish
people patio furniture? No, in no way, I don't believe
among my people that you can actually insult us when
it comes to those kinds of things, because all we're
gonna do is say shrug our shoulders and say yeah, yeah,
it's true.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
It's true, sad but true. All right.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Anyway, there you go, there's your stupid joke for the day,
but timely because Saint Patrick's Day is just around the corner.
All right, let's go to the phones. I want to
talk to Al. Hey, Al, welcome home, Hidine.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Thanks for taking my call. My wife and I moved
into a center old home located in the Pacific Northwest
spot two years ago. The house came with an unfinished
bear stud attached to gar garage with an attached room
that I currently use at the workshop. We're looking at
a second level to the garage and used it as
a studio and office space and then later converted to
(03:17):
a just a living space. However, the problem there's only
a one and a half foot setback from the proper line.
The county requires a five foot step back for any
new or remodeled constructure structures. We submitted the revised site
planned and the new setback is byfoot and we've already
(03:38):
been interested a permit for the garage assessory unit and
our starting to look at construction in a few weeks. However,
the general contractor came back out to do a reassessment
of the garage and it's recommending a complete tear down
of the existing structure for the new build. So here's
my question. It's a two parter A. What's the cost
(03:59):
of lumber potentially going up? Is there anything I can
do pre construction to salvage any good lumber from the
old structure which looks to be in pretty good condition,
especially the four by fourteen solid beam that spans the
length of the unit. The rafters themselves and walls all
want to be in good conditions. Are there any rules
(04:22):
against using recycled lumber on a new build? The garage
itself looks like it well according to you. The previous
zoneer was re built about ten years ago. I would
like to use some of that lumber for a backyard
shed slash tiny home and then later to refinish the
basement on the main home. And second part the question,
(04:43):
what would you recommend as a procedure for removing the
wood from the wall, seatings and the roof without the
whole thing collapsing on me? I want to reuse some
of the newer windows, the intry door, garage door, electrical wires,
and metal roof for that you build and later projects.
(05:04):
Why is it all worth it?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Okay, gotcha? Well, whether it's all worth it?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Has to do with the you know, your time and
energy put into it to get it done. You know,
that's that's the biggest question. You know, sweat equity is
always the question that DI I wires have to contend with, like, ugh,
is this worth it? Or should we just let this go?
But all right, century homes, So we're talking about something
(05:30):
built in the nineteen twenties in the Pacific Northwest, anywhere
on the west coast. When something's built in the nineteen twenties,
you're talking about old growth wood, very very stable would
and now, so to answer the first question of very quickly, no,
there are no prohibitions about using older wood versus newer wood,
(05:52):
recycled lumber versus new lumber. The only thing that it
the building department or inspects or your structural engineer is
going to be concerned about is the condition of that lumber.
And the condition of the lumber. In other words, it
can't be dry rotted, it can't be termite infested, and
it can't be broken or split or anything like that.
(06:14):
So salvaging solid pieces of wood, and you know, and
the point is this, the logic extends this way, and
I understand that's a very common thing that you know,
a century home. Even here in southern California, quite often
a lot of detached garages were built right on the
property line. Literally, I've got a project in Studio City
(06:36):
right now where the existing garage it was built in
the nineteen thirties, is only twenty four inches off the
property line. And now some work has to be done,
and we're trying to get it around the idea that
the new zoning set back and by new I mean
like nineteen sixty forward is five feet, which is common right,
and so we're trying to, you know, work massage the
(06:59):
city to allow us, and we're not adding a second floor.
If we were doing that, it would have been a no,
a no from the get go. And that's why, you know,
in your jurisdiction it's a it's a no, just a
flat out no no. You know, if you were just
rehabbing that garage, I'm sure they would allow you to
keep it there, grandfathered in place. But a brand new
(07:20):
second story on top of it, No, that's going to
have to fall within the five foot the new five
foot setback. So the point is they would have allowed
you to just work with that existing lumber anyway if
you were just rehabbing that first floor. And so the
logic is the wood has to be in good shape,
that's all. It has to be in good shape, and
(07:40):
especially century old old growth lumber from the region that
you're building in, actually very likely if it's in good shape,
it's in good shape and there should be no concerns
about it. The only thing that has happened to that lumber,
if it's been protected well from the elements, is that
it has dried out. And that's what we hope will
(08:03):
be the case with all lumber in all homes that
eventually the kiln dried process removes most of the moisture.
And that's what actually makes wood homes more stable over
time is when they eventually, you know, fully dry out.
So answer to your first question shouldn't be a problem.
Second question, how to get the most out of it.
(08:25):
You want to take your time. You don't want to
leave nails in the structure. So my recommendation is not
going to be that you saws all the studs loose
and things like that that will leave cut nails inside
the existing structure. Withdrawing all the fasteners, cleaning all the
(08:45):
lumber up, so that there's no residual fasteners in the
lumber is probably your best bet, but the overall process
of pulling it all down really needs to happen to
do it efficiently in the order, in the reverse order
that it went up. And so what this means is
is very simply, if there are windows or doors that
(09:08):
you're going to salvage, then those need to be removed
first because they were the last things to go in.
Then you're gonna have to go up onto the roof
and start dismantling the roof sheathing and the roof rafters
and the ridge beams and work your way back down
because the way it was built originally was from the
(09:28):
ground up, the roof being the last thing to go on,
and so logically speaking, the safest and best for all
of those framing members is to dismantle it from the
roof down in reverse order.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 5 (09:43):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
It is, Yes it is. I'm concerned about the weight
of the beam is about twenty four by thirty seven structure,
and I don't know if I'm going to be able
to remove that beam or just wait till they actually
demolish it. See if I can salvage that yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I have no doubt. I have no doubt that you're
going to be able to remove the beam. It's just
a question of whether you're going to be able to
do it by yourself. And to remove a beam like that,
what you're going to want to do is you're going
to want to temporarily brace it up. You may build
a temporary wall or set of supports underneath the beam
in the open clear space while you dismantle it from
(10:26):
its connections to the rest of the house. And then
you need to make a clear open slot to be
able to lower one end of the beam down while
the other one stays supported. That kind of thing, there's
a process for that. If it doesn't seem one hundred
percent clear to you, then have a conversation with your
general contractor about that and about how to most efficiently
get that beam out of the wall. But again, with
(10:49):
no roof above it, you're leaving yourself a lot of
options and a lot more flexibility. And then you can
remove wall around it and keep it temporarily braced in
place and then be able to drop the beam down safely.
But it's probably not almost guaranteed, not a one man procedure.
(11:09):
We often will just FYI and then I got to
go here out. We will often set a beam in
place like that if we don't have a huge framing
crew around with a motorized electric lift system, and you
may want to consider that that may be the easiest way.
In fact, in theory, you could do that as a
(11:31):
single man show if you got an electric lift in
on the slab, got that lift up forked underneath the
beam so that it is now the support, and now
you can just dismantle the walls around it. The beam
is sitting on the lift, it'll transfer its weight onto
the lift and then with a click of a button
you just lower it down to the ground and now
(11:53):
your beam is free and clear. Just a little bit
of demolition theory from an old framer. Al thanks for
your call. I'm running late, so let's jump into some
news and then we'll take some more calls.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
On the other side.
Speaker 6 (12:08):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Always a pleasure and a privilege to spend some time
with you on a Sunday morning talking about your home.
We're talking about getting you outside today and we're going
to return to that conversation in just a bit. But
right now I'm taking calls, so I want to go
back to the phones. Let's talk to Al. I'm sorry,
Let's talk to Oscar. Oscar. Welcome home, Good.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Morning, Dean. Thank you for taking my call, Tina, Michelle,
Miss and Zalez. Thank you for being so helpful. I
had a leak on a skylight and I called American
windows to come out, but they only come out only
(12:57):
if Dave installed it. I've had handyman that came out
hawked around the windows, around the edges of the window,
and now the water is still leaking and it's coming
into the house onto my dry wall. So uh, I'm
(13:19):
trying to figure out. I've already cleaned out the wheepholes,
I've cleaned out the window drain tracks, both vacuum and
blowed them. I sent you an email with the pictures
on them. I don't know if you have access to that,
but desperately seeking Susan for help, I.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Mean speaking from all right, hang on just one second
you Oh yeah, here's your Oscar, Oscar.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
So this is a weird skylight, Oscar, this is a
you got a window sitting out with a little wall
alcove behind it. This skylight is mounted directly to the
top of a of a window here.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Yes, that's correct. It's really odd.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Now now is this did you do this? Is this
a replacement window? I mean, tell me the story, I
mean was it? It looks like the structure has always
kind of accommodated it. What is the story behind this? This?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
This purchased My wife and I purchased our house three
eight years ago, and it came along with that. We've
just replaced the windows again now and talking to contractors
that things should have never been there.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
So yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Now you replaced the windows again, including this skylight above
or that is still all right?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And and how how long ago did you replace this skylight?
Speaker 3 (14:49):
When?
Speaker 1 (14:49):
When when were these windows replaced?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Two thousand and seven?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Okay, And it has just started leaking.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
It started leaking about a year or so. And I've
gone up there and I spread against a stucco thinking
it's a stucco and it was a repellent so the
water would not seep in. And then we did the cawking.
That stopped a little bit, but it continues to leak.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yeah, yeah, you're gonna be chasing this one like a
dog chasing its tail. My friend, I don't know. Here's
here's what I can tell you. Okay, anything is possible.
Anything is possible. So I'm not I'm not going to
be the guy to tell you that you cannot have
a skylight above this window setting like this. I wish
(15:40):
you guys could see this. It's just literally imagined kind
of a kind of a situation where it's almost like
a kitchen picture window sticking out from the kitchen sink
with glass up above that's horizontal. But the point is
three sides of this is touching stucco. And what I'm
seeing he is that I'm seeing that this retrofit style
(16:03):
glass skylight has got it looks like a vinyl and
or metal curb that's or flashing. That isn't actually going
into the stucco. It's just up against the stucco, and
you're relying on calking to keep that seal.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Right.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
That's problematic in and of itself because water gets inside stucco,
and water is going to get down inside past the
window flashing eventually. Especially you probably started to notice it
because of the age of the window, and at this
point for as long as it's been there, and the
heavy rains that we've had in the last couple of
(16:41):
winters now really starting to saturate stucco. The water in
the stucco has got to have a place to go,
and the water in the stucco is bypassing the window
flashing all together. So I'm just going to tell you
this and so that everybody can understand when it comes
to skylights and or any kind of window or element,
(17:04):
whether it's a fireplace sticking into a stucco wall, whether
it is a skylight that's you know, partially pushed up
against stucco, or anything like that. Anytime a plane of
sorts is intersecting stucco on a house and we've got
vulnerable room space below it, that thing has to be
(17:27):
flashed into and underneath the stucco, into and underneath the stucco.
So the thought now retrofit windows. And I can see
that you've got retrofit vinyl windows here. Retrofit windows only
work on a house because we're not disturbing the original
(17:48):
frame of the original window, which is still flashed into
the stucco, and the retrofits slide on top and then
a heavy calking seal is sealed around them, so we
kind of glue them to the old window frame that's embedded,
and you know, they save money because you don't have
to tear up the stucco. But in this situation, this
(18:08):
was a mistake from the window stallers who retrofit the windows,
because this never should have been a retrofit situation. This
is a situation that needed to have stucco removed around
the three sides of that skylight and an actual metal
flashing put up underneath the stucco paper, backing up the
(18:30):
stucco paper so that all the moisture in the stucco
itself hits that flashing and is transferred to the outside
over the lip of the skylight flashing. So the point
is this, everybody flashing is key and not everything. Nothing
is ever is ever universally everything fool proof, even retrofit
(18:53):
windows and a horizontally positioned flat retrofit window up against stucco.
We never want to rely on just caulking to keep
that to surface waterproof because it ain't gonna work, and
in this case it is the It is the example
that proves the lesson so Oscar you can keep a
(19:16):
skylight there. You can have that window there, it may
not be that one in particular, but what you really
need is a stucco contractor to come out and remove
about six inches of stucco above that skylight around that
three walled area. Get a good roof z bar flashing.
(19:37):
We call it Z bar because it's shaped in a
Z and get it underneath the stucco paper and out
over the skylight itself, so that all the moisture, not
only the rain falling from the outside, but the water
that is collecting inside the stucco itself, all of the
moisture is being channeled to the outside of the house
(19:57):
and not dripping down inside. All right, guys, oscar, that's
the best I can do with that answer, and I
hope that clarifies that it's gonna leak until that fix
is put into place.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Sorry to tell you that, but it's true.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
All right, y'all, We've got to go to a break
and when we come back, how about a couple more calls.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Sounds good?
Speaker 6 (20:19):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Dean Sharp, the house whisper, custom home designer and builder,
here to help you transform that ordinary house into an
extraordinary home. Here with you live every weekend right here
from nine to noon on Sundays and from six to
eight on Saturday mornings. We're gonna get back to our
topic of the least expensive ways to get yourself a
(20:50):
little bit more elbow room, specifically today doing some more
outdoor living in the most practical and inexpensive ways possible.
We're coming back to that, but right now I am
taking calls and I want to get back to the phones.
Let's talk to Dennis. Hey, Dennis, welcome home.
Speaker 7 (21:11):
Good mornings. I'm sure I'm like a lot of other people.
The patio is a place where the overflow from the
garage goes. Moving on to the main question, popcorn ceilings. Yes,
(21:32):
I have a nineteen eighties house where the cathedrals kind
of ceiling. The highest part's probably north of twenty feet tall,
and the bedroom is the same way on the second floor.
So trying to decide the best way to take the
(21:52):
popcorn ceiling off or putting new drywall center drive all
on top and covering out with this new plaster, and
to throw one more thing into it where the house
that's old would the would it be worth changing out
(22:19):
the insulation and the ceiling since there's no attic obviously,
so would it be worth taking down on the dry
wall putting in all new insulation And I'm putting up
drywall from scratch?
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Gotcha all right, my friend? Well three questions rolled into one.
There of actually two. Okay, popcorn ceilings. You have a
home built in the nineteen eighties, and that means that
and there's really no reason to mess with this because
(22:58):
asbestos was gone from acoustic ceilings in the late seventies
at the that was the tail end of asbestos. So
a home built in the nineteen eighties does not have
asbestos in the popcorn ceiling, in the acoustic ceiling mix,
So no need to abate, no need to go to
(23:21):
the cost of all of that, safe to say, safe
to say that there's no asbestos in that popcorn ceiling. Also,
the lack of asbestos makes that acoustic popcorn texture very
soft as a general rule, unless it's been painted over
eight hundred times with paint, at which point it gets hard.
But underneath, underneath, it's very soft. Acoustic ceilings with asbestos
(23:46):
in them, asbestos being a fiber in them, tend to
be very very hard and rigid and far more difficult
to remove. If it's a normal eight foot bedroom ceiling
with a nineteen eighties or later asbestos coating on it,
typically you could just take a room. You could lay
down plastic, empty out the room, lay down plastic on
(24:08):
the floor, and take a Hudson's sprayer with a fine
mist of water, dampen that ceiling, and a scraper and
you will find that that stuff comes off pretty dang easily.
And if you hire an acoustic ceiling removal company, that's
pretty much exactly what they're going to do. They're going
to dampen the acoustic and scrape it off and get
(24:31):
that ceiling clear. Probably the least expensive way to go
in your situation. You could also encapsulate, meaning that you
could put up, as you mentioned, another layer of drywall
to just trap that acoustic in there. But in your situation,
I usually recommend encapsulation when we've got asbestos in the
(24:52):
acoustic because encapsulation versus a batement huge cost difference. Encapsulation
saves big time the money in if we're talking about
encapsulation versus scraping off the existing stuff, and then you
know retaping in a little bit of drywall mud to
(25:13):
float out the smoothness in the ceiling. Generally speaking, it's
almost always least expensive to just scrape the acoustic and
then patch up the ceiling with whatever finishing touches are needed,
versus slapping up a whole new ceiling worth of drywall.
So encapsulation cheaper than abatement. Removing soft acoustic almost always
(25:37):
cheaper than encapsulation. That's the general rule of thumb. Now,
as to whether or not you want to take all
the drywall down in a vaulted ceiling and reinsulate, that
is entirely up to you, and whether it's worth it
to you has to do with your energy bills and
do you notice it and so on. I am sure
(25:58):
if the house was built in the eighties, then it
has sufficient insulation for code in the eighties. Now right now,
our attic insulation recommendations and requirements, I mean we want
to shoot to R thirty and not a lot of
fiberglass hits that in just regular open rafters for a
(26:21):
true vaulted ceiling without an attic. So would that increase
your insulation quality, especially if you put up a denser
insulation either a spray foam insulation would be a no brainer,
but a more dense insulation like a rock mineral insulation.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Yeah, you could.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Increase the insulated value of the ceiling while you're up
there getting the other work done. But again that's a
whole different expense. Now we're removing all the dry wall
and we're essentially putting up new ceiling. You've just got
to figure out whether that's going to be worth it
to you. And the way you get that done, my friend,
is by taking bids, getting multiple estimates, and you know,
(27:04):
comparing that against whatever sweat equity, labor you might have
been thinking. I think at a twenty foot ceiling, you're
probably going to be paying somebody to do it anyway,
So compare all those bids out and make a decision,
because it's not just a one for one, you know,
no brainer this way or that way. You're going to
have to find the value there. Ultimately, is it nice
(27:25):
to have best insulation possible in a ceiling? Of course
it is. If the expense is going to be oh well,
it's gonna by the time we're all said and done,
it's going to cost me ten thousand dollars.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
How fast.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Are your energy savings in that room alone going to
repay that ten thousand dollars. It's going to be years
and years and years, honestly, the energy because it's not
like there is no insulation up there. We're just improving
it somewhat. So the energy saving, it's not like it's
going to pay for itself in the first six months.
(27:59):
It won't because energy is pretty cheap relative to the
cost of construction. So those are the things to consider,
my friend, And hopefully now you've got.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
A little bit better perspective on it as well.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
All Right, when we return one more call, I'm going
to be able to take before we dive back into
our conversation of you getting yourself some more outdoor space.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
We'll do that right after.
Speaker 6 (28:26):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
We're talking about saving money on getting more elbow room
in your home by just increasing the amount of time
we spend outside. But the big question is what's it
going to take to get you out there and how
inexpensively can we do it. It's a very very specialized
look at getting outside for the least amount of money,
(28:56):
and in the best possible way, and I'm just guiding
you through it today. We're going to return it that
conversation right after the next news break at the top
of the hour. But right here, last bit before we
hit the top of the hour, I'm taking calls. I
want to take at least one more, and let's talk
to Zach. Hey, Zach, welcome home.
Speaker 5 (29:17):
Thank you Dean for taking my call. I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Well.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
We've got a family cabin up in the San Diego Mountains,
and about ten years ago we built a outbuilding. It's
a bedroom and a bathroom only, and that house, that
little cabin, that room tends to the water. The hot
water tends to smell like sulfur. Done as much as
(29:41):
we can, it's all off the same water source. A
well goes through a filter and then it splits, and
those to the two different cabins. And we have put
things in it and replaced the little water heater. And
no matter what we do, it's always turns to smell
like sulfur. The hot water out of that little cabin.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Just the hot water, just the hot water, yes, or
the all right?
Speaker 1 (30:08):
How new? How new is the water heater? And what
kind of water heater is it. It's a traditional tanked water.
Speaker 5 (30:13):
Heater, traditional tank. Actually no, I'm sorry, it's an electric
tank about forty gallons, and we've probably replaced it three
times for several reasons. But no matter. Even after a
new tank, it will.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Produce that all right, So brand new water heater still
get that water smell in that house?
Speaker 5 (30:37):
Sure do?
Speaker 7 (30:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (30:37):
From what way can we call?
Speaker 3 (30:39):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Hmm? Okay?
Speaker 7 (30:43):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
And and that's an outhouse, I mean an out you know,
a disconnected building from the primary cabin and the same
water supply. And you don't have that problem in the cabin.
It does it happen to be downhill from the cabin.
Speaker 5 (31:00):
No, they're about the same level building, maybe just some
four or feat higher.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Okay, all right, all right, so this is a tricky one.
This is a tricky one. Zact. Here's the thing, same
water source, two buildings.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
One of them has a sulfur kind of rotten egg
smell going on in the hot water supply. The other
does not. Okay, the main cabin does not, but the
same water supply.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
As strange as this sound, the almost inevitably what you've
got is and I don't want to freaky out here,
but what you have is a some kind of sulfur
bacteria build up in the second structure in the in
(32:02):
the water line to the second structure. And it makes
sense that it is in the hot water, not the cold. Okay,
it's in the hot water, because heavy sulfur content in.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Water, in you know, well water or water in the.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Area at some point, at some point that sulfur, that
heavy sulfur content in excited by the water heater itself, okay,
is not being completely eliminated by the water heater. Now
you've got a traditional water heater, which means that there's
(32:40):
a self sacrificial anode rod inside the water heater. That
anode rod is one of the things that should be
attracting the sulfur to itself, and and sulfur it corrodes
and eats away at those rods really fast. So one
of the reasons I asked, like, what is it a
new water heater, is it an old water heater it's
(33:00):
a traditional water heater, is that those anode rods can
just go in like in a heartbeat. They can be
eaten away by extra hard well water, especially with sulfur
content and then that sulfur bacteria, and it's not harmful
to humans, right, it just doesn't smell right or taste right.
But that sulfur bacteria builds up on the corrosive layer
(33:24):
of the pipes, of the copper lines and in the
water heater, So can you purge it? Usually what you
have to do is you're going to have to go
to the extent of installing a specific sulfur filtration system
for the outbuilding to catch that so that it goes through.
(33:47):
And we may also have to run a form of
disinfectant through the copper pipes in order to flesh out
as much of the sulfur that has embedded itself corrosively
on the wall of the salt of the copper pipes,
which itself is not great for the pipes. Again, not
a problem for you, but almost inevitably, almost inevitably, what
(34:09):
you're dealing with is some layer of sulfur bacteria that
thrives once it has corroded the magnesium anode rod in
a water heater, and then it starts attacking the walls
of the pipes. And so it may at this point
unfortunately be systemic in that, but there are ways still
(34:33):
of purging it. So if the and I would, I
would act on that immediately so as to prevent any
further corrosion of the copper pipes and to get the
taste of the water back normal. Again, the fact that
it's coming through the hot water system is the chief
indicating diagnostic there, because if it's not in the cold
(34:56):
then it is definitely, in my opinion, backia based. And
I know it sounds gross and weird, but again, this
is not a bacteria that's harmful for you drinking the water.
It is just the nature of it attacking the copper
pipes on the hot water side of things. So a
repipe for hot might be in order to abandon those
(35:18):
other lines just the hot and also a sulfur protective
filter system to be added to the water heater. How
it happened, why it happened to the outbuilding and hasn't
been a struggle for the main cabin I do not know.
I do not know how to explain that. All I
can tell you is that when we get that result,
(35:39):
there is usually only one cause of it taking place,
and it sounds like it's happening to you, my friend.
That's the best I can do right now, and I'm
out of time, Zach, so give that a look. You
may want to call a water expert in to just
test some of the water and verify what it is
(35:59):
that I'm talking talking about before you go to any
extreme measures with the rest of the plumbing. That's the
best advice that I can give you. All right, y'all,
when we return, we're going to go back outside as
inexpensively as possible and make your time in the out
of doors just beyond your doors of your house as
a pleasant and elbow space clearing as possible without draining
(36:24):
your bank account. And we will do that all right
after we get the news. You are listening to 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 morning from nine
to noon Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the
(36:47):
iHeartRadio app.
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You're listening to Dean Sharp the house Whisper on demand.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
On the iHeart Radio app.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Hey, follow us on social media?
Why don't you? We only do the good kind, uplifting, informative,
inspiring social media. We will never chase you down. We
will never annoy you, well probably well rarely. We will
rarely annoy you.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
We're on all the usual suspects, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook x,
Home with Dean, simple to remember Home with Dean. It's
the same handle for them all. Find us on your
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then share some of the info there. If your home
is in need of some personal house Whisper attention, you know,
(00:51):
if you want this weirdo actually standing on your patio
telling you what you need to do, then you can
book an in home design consult with me and the tea.
Just go to house Whisperer dot design. All right, we
are continuing our theme for the weekend of essentially where
(01:13):
to get the most space for the least amount of money.
Yesterday I talked about garages. Today I'm talking about outdoors
and we're breaking it down in a way that I
hope you've never really thought it through this way before.
We're breaking it down to the essentials so that you
don't have to spend a lot of money, but you
get the biggest bang for the buck essentially along the way,
(01:33):
in other words, what's it gonna take to get you
outside to keep your comfy and to enjoy the experience
so that you can utilize outside as more space for
your living. And we're going to return to that con
conversation in just a bit, but right now, top of
the hour, time to take some calls. Oh and by
(01:53):
the way, Michelle just producer Michelle handed this to me,
She said, a listener asked me to pass on this joke.
What is green and stays out all night? Patio furniture?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Perfect?
Speaker 1 (02:16):
All right?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
All right, yeah, it's is that denigrating to the Irish
people patio furniture? No, in no way, I don't believe
among my people that you can actually insult us when
it comes to those kinds of things, because all we're
gonna do is say shrug our shoulders and say yeah, yeah,
it's true.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
It's true, sad but true. All right.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Anyway, there you go, there's your stupid joke for the day,
but timely because Saint Patrick's Day is just around the corner.
All right, let's go to the phones. I want to
talk to Al. Hey, Al, welcome home, Hidine.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Thanks for taking my call. My wife and I moved
into a center old home located in the Pacific Northwest
spot two years ago. The house came with an unfinished
bear stud attached to gar garage with an attached room
that I currently use at the workshop. We're looking at
a second level to the garage and used it as
a studio and office space and then later converted to
(03:17):
a just a living space. However, the problem there's only
a one and a half foot setback from the proper line.
The county requires a five foot step back for any
new or remodeled constructure structures. We submitted the revised site
planned and the new setback is byfoot and we've already
(03:38):
been interested a permit for the garage assessory unit and
our starting to look at construction in a few weeks. However,
the general contractor came back out to do a reassessment
of the garage and it's recommending a complete tear down
of the existing structure for the new build. So here's
my question. It's a two parter A. What's the cost
(03:59):
of lumber potentially going up? Is there anything I can
do pre construction to salvage any good lumber from the
old structure which looks to be in pretty good condition,
especially the four by fourteen solid beam that spans the
length of the unit. The rafters themselves and walls all
want to be in good conditions. Are there any rules
(04:22):
against using recycled lumber on a new build? The garage
itself looks like it well according to you. The previous
zoneer was re built about ten years ago. I would
like to use some of that lumber for a backyard
shed slash tiny home and then later to refinish the
basement on the main home. And second part the question,
(04:43):
what would you recommend as a procedure for removing the
wood from the wall, seatings and the roof without the
whole thing collapsing on me? I want to reuse some
of the newer windows, the intry door, garage door, electrical wires,
and metal roof for that you build and later projects.
(05:04):
Why is it all worth it?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Okay, gotcha? Well, whether it's all worth it?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Has to do with the you know, your time and
energy put into it to get it done. You know,
that's that's the biggest question. You know, sweat equity is
always the question that DI I wires have to contend with, like, ugh,
is this worth it? Or should we just let this go?
But all right, century homes, So we're talking about something
(05:30):
built in the nineteen twenties in the Pacific Northwest, anywhere
on the west coast. When something's built in the nineteen twenties,
you're talking about old growth wood, very very stable would
and now, so to answer the first question of very quickly, no,
there are no prohibitions about using older wood versus newer wood,
(05:52):
recycled lumber versus new lumber. The only thing that it
the building department or inspects or your structural engineer is
going to be concerned about is the condition of that lumber.
And the condition of the lumber. In other words, it
can't be dry rotted, it can't be termite infested, and
it can't be broken or split or anything like that.
(06:14):
So salvaging solid pieces of wood, and you know, and
the point is this, the logic extends this way, and
I understand that's a very common thing that you know,
a century home. Even here in southern California, quite often
a lot of detached garages were built right on the
property line. Literally, I've got a project in Studio City
(06:36):
right now where the existing garage it was built in
the nineteen thirties, is only twenty four inches off the
property line. And now some work has to be done,
and we're trying to get it around the idea that
the new zoning set back and by new I mean
like nineteen sixty forward is five feet, which is common right,
and so we're trying to, you know, work massage the
(06:59):
city to allow us, and we're not adding a second floor.
If we were doing that, it would have been a no,
a no from the get go. And that's why, you know,
in your jurisdiction it's a it's a no, just a
flat out no no. You know, if you were just
rehabbing that garage, I'm sure they would allow you to
keep it there, grandfathered in place. But a brand new
(07:20):
second story on top of it, No, that's going to
have to fall within the five foot the new five
foot setback. So the point is they would have allowed
you to just work with that existing lumber anyway if
you were just rehabbing that first floor. And so the
logic is the wood has to be in good shape,
that's all. It has to be in good shape, and
(07:40):
especially century old old growth lumber from the region that
you're building in, actually very likely if it's in good shape,
it's in good shape and there should be no concerns
about it. The only thing that has happened to that lumber,
if it's been protected well from the elements, is that
it has dried out. And that's what we hope will
(08:03):
be the case with all lumber in all homes that
eventually the kiln dried process removes most of the moisture.
And that's what actually makes wood homes more stable over
time is when they eventually, you know, fully dry out.
So answer to your first question shouldn't be a problem.
Second question, how to get the most out of it.
(08:25):
You want to take your time. You don't want to
leave nails in the structure. So my recommendation is not
going to be that you saws all the studs loose
and things like that that will leave cut nails inside
the existing structure. Withdrawing all the fasteners, cleaning all the
(08:45):
lumber up, so that there's no residual fasteners in the
lumber is probably your best bet, but the overall process
of pulling it all down really needs to happen to
do it efficiently in the order, in the reverse order
that it went up. And so what this means is
is very simply, if there are windows or doors that
(09:08):
you're going to salvage, then those need to be removed
first because they were the last things to go in.
Then you're gonna have to go up onto the roof
and start dismantling the roof sheathing and the roof rafters
and the ridge beams and work your way back down
because the way it was built originally was from the
(09:28):
ground up, the roof being the last thing to go on,
and so logically speaking, the safest and best for all
of those framing members is to dismantle it from the
roof down in reverse order.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 5 (09:43):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
It is, Yes it is. I'm concerned about the weight
of the beam is about twenty four by thirty seven structure,
and I don't know if I'm going to be able
to remove that beam or just wait till they actually
demolish it. See if I can salvage that yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I have no doubt. I have no doubt that you're
going to be able to remove the beam. It's just
a question of whether you're going to be able to
do it by yourself. And to remove a beam like that,
what you're going to want to do is you're going
to want to temporarily brace it up. You may build
a temporary wall or set of supports underneath the beam
in the open clear space while you dismantle it from
(10:26):
its connections to the rest of the house. And then
you need to make a clear open slot to be
able to lower one end of the beam down while
the other one stays supported. That kind of thing, there's
a process for that. If it doesn't seem one hundred
percent clear to you, then have a conversation with your
general contractor about that and about how to most efficiently
get that beam out of the wall. But again, with
(10:49):
no roof above it, you're leaving yourself a lot of
options and a lot more flexibility. And then you can
remove wall around it and keep it temporarily braced in
place and then be able to drop the beam down safely.
But it's probably not almost guaranteed, not a one man procedure.
(11:09):
We often will just FYI and then I got to
go here out. We will often set a beam in
place like that if we don't have a huge framing
crew around with a motorized electric lift system, and you
may want to consider that that may be the easiest way.
In fact, in theory, you could do that as a
(11:31):
single man show if you got an electric lift in
on the slab, got that lift up forked underneath the
beam so that it is now the support, and now
you can just dismantle the walls around it. The beam
is sitting on the lift, it'll transfer its weight onto
the lift and then with a click of a button
you just lower it down to the ground and now
(11:53):
your beam is free and clear. Just a little bit
of demolition theory from an old framer. Al thanks for
your call. I'm running late, so let's jump into some
news and then we'll take some more calls.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
On the other side.
Speaker 6 (12:08):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Always a pleasure and a privilege to spend some time
with you on a Sunday morning talking about your home.
We're talking about getting you outside today and we're going
to return to that conversation in just a bit. But
right now I'm taking calls, so I want to go
back to the phones. Let's talk to Al. I'm sorry,
Let's talk to Oscar. Oscar. Welcome home, Good.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Morning, Dean. Thank you for taking my call, Tina, Michelle,
Miss and Zalez. Thank you for being so helpful. I
had a leak on a skylight and I called American
windows to come out, but they only come out only
(12:57):
if Dave installed it. I've had handyman that came out
hawked around the windows, around the edges of the window,
and now the water is still leaking and it's coming
into the house onto my dry wall. So uh, I'm
(13:19):
trying to figure out. I've already cleaned out the wheepholes,
I've cleaned out the window drain tracks, both vacuum and
blowed them. I sent you an email with the pictures
on them. I don't know if you have access to that,
but desperately seeking Susan for help, I.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Mean speaking from all right, hang on just one second
you Oh yeah, here's your Oscar, Oscar.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
So this is a weird skylight, Oscar, this is a
you got a window sitting out with a little wall
alcove behind it. This skylight is mounted directly to the
top of a of a window here.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Yes, that's correct. It's really odd.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Now now is this did you do this? Is this
a replacement window? I mean, tell me the story, I
mean was it? It looks like the structure has always
kind of accommodated it. What is the story behind this? This?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
This purchased My wife and I purchased our house three
eight years ago, and it came along with that. We've
just replaced the windows again now and talking to contractors
that things should have never been there.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
So yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Now you replaced the windows again, including this skylight above
or that is still all right?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And and how how long ago did you replace this skylight?
Speaker 3 (14:49):
When?
Speaker 1 (14:49):
When when were these windows replaced?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Two thousand and seven?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Okay, And it has just started leaking.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
It started leaking about a year or so. And I've
gone up there and I spread against a stucco thinking
it's a stucco and it was a repellent so the
water would not seep in. And then we did the cawking.
That stopped a little bit, but it continues to leak.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yeah, yeah, you're gonna be chasing this one like a
dog chasing its tail. My friend, I don't know. Here's
here's what I can tell you. Okay, anything is possible.
Anything is possible. So I'm not I'm not going to
be the guy to tell you that you cannot have
a skylight above this window setting like this. I wish
(15:40):
you guys could see this. It's just literally imagined kind
of a kind of a situation where it's almost like
a kitchen picture window sticking out from the kitchen sink
with glass up above that's horizontal. But the point is
three sides of this is touching stucco. And what I'm
seeing he is that I'm seeing that this retrofit style
(16:03):
glass skylight has got it looks like a vinyl and
or metal curb that's or flashing. That isn't actually going
into the stucco. It's just up against the stucco, and
you're relying on calking to keep that seal.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Right.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
That's problematic in and of itself because water gets inside stucco,
and water is going to get down inside past the
window flashing eventually. Especially you probably started to notice it
because of the age of the window, and at this
point for as long as it's been there, and the
heavy rains that we've had in the last couple of
(16:41):
winters now really starting to saturate stucco. The water in
the stucco has got to have a place to go,
and the water in the stucco is bypassing the window
flashing all together. So I'm just going to tell you
this and so that everybody can understand when it comes
to skylights and or any kind of window or element,
(17:04):
whether it's a fireplace sticking into a stucco wall, whether
it is a skylight that's you know, partially pushed up
against stucco, or anything like that. Anytime a plane of
sorts is intersecting stucco on a house and we've got
vulnerable room space below it, that thing has to be
(17:27):
flashed into and underneath the stucco, into and underneath the stucco.
So the thought now retrofit windows. And I can see
that you've got retrofit vinyl windows here. Retrofit windows only
work on a house because we're not disturbing the original
(17:48):
frame of the original window, which is still flashed into
the stucco, and the retrofits slide on top and then
a heavy calking seal is sealed around them, so we
kind of glue them to the old window frame that's embedded,
and you know, they save money because you don't have
to tear up the stucco. But in this situation, this
(18:08):
was a mistake from the window stallers who retrofit the windows,
because this never should have been a retrofit situation. This
is a situation that needed to have stucco removed around
the three sides of that skylight and an actual metal
flashing put up underneath the stucco paper, backing up the
(18:30):
stucco paper so that all the moisture in the stucco
itself hits that flashing and is transferred to the outside
over the lip of the skylight flashing. So the point
is this, everybody flashing is key and not everything. Nothing
is ever is ever universally everything fool proof, even retrofit
(18:53):
windows and a horizontally positioned flat retrofit window up against stucco.
We never want to rely on just caulking to keep
that to surface waterproof because it ain't gonna work, and
in this case it is the It is the example
that proves the lesson so Oscar you can keep a
(19:16):
skylight there. You can have that window there, it may
not be that one in particular, but what you really
need is a stucco contractor to come out and remove
about six inches of stucco above that skylight around that
three walled area. Get a good roof z bar flashing.
(19:37):
We call it Z bar because it's shaped in a
Z and get it underneath the stucco paper and out
over the skylight itself, so that all the moisture, not
only the rain falling from the outside, but the water
that is collecting inside the stucco itself, all of the
moisture is being channeled to the outside of the house
(19:57):
and not dripping down inside. All right, guys, oscar, that's
the best I can do with that answer, and I
hope that clarifies that it's gonna leak until that fix
is put into place.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Sorry to tell you that, but it's true.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
All right, y'all, We've got to go to a break
and when we come back, how about a couple more calls.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Sounds good?
Speaker 6 (20:19):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Dean Sharp, the house whisper, custom home designer and builder,
here to help you transform that ordinary house into an
extraordinary home. Here with you live every weekend right here
from nine to noon on Sundays and from six to
eight on Saturday mornings. We're gonna get back to our
topic of the least expensive ways to get yourself a
(20:50):
little bit more elbow room, specifically today doing some more
outdoor living in the most practical and inexpensive ways possible.
We're coming back to that, but right now I am
taking calls and I want to get back to the phones.
Let's talk to Dennis. Hey, Dennis, welcome home.
Speaker 7 (21:11):
Good mornings. I'm sure I'm like a lot of other people.
The patio is a place where the overflow from the
garage goes. Moving on to the main question, popcorn ceilings. Yes,
(21:32):
I have a nineteen eighties house where the cathedrals kind
of ceiling. The highest part's probably north of twenty feet tall,
and the bedroom is the same way on the second floor.
So trying to decide the best way to take the
(21:52):
popcorn ceiling off or putting new drywall center drive all
on top and covering out with this new plaster, and
to throw one more thing into it where the house
that's old would the would it be worth changing out
(22:19):
the insulation and the ceiling since there's no attic obviously,
so would it be worth taking down on the dry
wall putting in all new insulation And I'm putting up
drywall from scratch?
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Gotcha all right, my friend? Well three questions rolled into one.
There of actually two. Okay, popcorn ceilings. You have a
home built in the nineteen eighties, and that means that
and there's really no reason to mess with this because
(22:58):
asbestos was gone from acoustic ceilings in the late seventies
at the that was the tail end of asbestos. So
a home built in the nineteen eighties does not have
asbestos in the popcorn ceiling, in the acoustic ceiling mix,
So no need to abate, no need to go to
(23:21):
the cost of all of that, safe to say, safe
to say that there's no asbestos in that popcorn ceiling. Also,
the lack of asbestos makes that acoustic popcorn texture very
soft as a general rule, unless it's been painted over
eight hundred times with paint, at which point it gets hard.
But underneath, underneath, it's very soft. Acoustic ceilings with asbestos
(23:46):
in them, asbestos being a fiber in them, tend to
be very very hard and rigid and far more difficult
to remove. If it's a normal eight foot bedroom ceiling
with a nineteen eighties or later asbestos coating on it,
typically you could just take a room. You could lay
down plastic, empty out the room, lay down plastic on
(24:08):
the floor, and take a Hudson's sprayer with a fine
mist of water, dampen that ceiling, and a scraper and
you will find that that stuff comes off pretty dang easily.
And if you hire an acoustic ceiling removal company, that's
pretty much exactly what they're going to do. They're going
to dampen the acoustic and scrape it off and get
(24:31):
that ceiling clear. Probably the least expensive way to go
in your situation. You could also encapsulate, meaning that you
could put up, as you mentioned, another layer of drywall
to just trap that acoustic in there. But in your situation,
I usually recommend encapsulation when we've got asbestos in the
(24:52):
acoustic because encapsulation versus a batement huge cost difference. Encapsulation
saves big time the money in if we're talking about
encapsulation versus scraping off the existing stuff, and then you
know retaping in a little bit of drywall mud to
(25:13):
float out the smoothness in the ceiling. Generally speaking, it's
almost always least expensive to just scrape the acoustic and
then patch up the ceiling with whatever finishing touches are needed,
versus slapping up a whole new ceiling worth of drywall.
So encapsulation cheaper than abatement. Removing soft acoustic almost always
(25:37):
cheaper than encapsulation. That's the general rule of thumb. Now,
as to whether or not you want to take all
the drywall down in a vaulted ceiling and reinsulate, that
is entirely up to you, and whether it's worth it
to you has to do with your energy bills and
do you notice it and so on. I am sure
(25:58):
if the house was built in the eighties, then it
has sufficient insulation for code in the eighties. Now right now,
our attic insulation recommendations and requirements, I mean we want
to shoot to R thirty and not a lot of
fiberglass hits that in just regular open rafters for a
(26:21):
true vaulted ceiling without an attic. So would that increase
your insulation quality, especially if you put up a denser
insulation either a spray foam insulation would be a no brainer,
but a more dense insulation like a rock mineral insulation.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Yeah, you could.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Increase the insulated value of the ceiling while you're up
there getting the other work done. But again that's a
whole different expense. Now we're removing all the dry wall
and we're essentially putting up new ceiling. You've just got
to figure out whether that's going to be worth it
to you. And the way you get that done, my friend,
is by taking bids, getting multiple estimates, and you know,
(27:04):
comparing that against whatever sweat equity, labor you might have
been thinking. I think at a twenty foot ceiling, you're
probably going to be paying somebody to do it anyway,
So compare all those bids out and make a decision,
because it's not just a one for one, you know,
no brainer this way or that way. You're going to
have to find the value there. Ultimately, is it nice
(27:25):
to have best insulation possible in a ceiling? Of course
it is. If the expense is going to be oh well,
it's gonna by the time we're all said and done,
it's going to cost me ten thousand dollars.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
How fast.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Are your energy savings in that room alone going to
repay that ten thousand dollars. It's going to be years
and years and years, honestly, the energy because it's not
like there is no insulation up there. We're just improving
it somewhat. So the energy saving, it's not like it's
going to pay for itself in the first six months.
(27:59):
It won't because energy is pretty cheap relative to the
cost of construction. So those are the things to consider,
my friend, And hopefully now you've got.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
A little bit better perspective on it as well.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
All Right, when we return one more call, I'm going
to be able to take before we dive back into
our conversation of you getting yourself some more outdoor space.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
We'll do that right after.
Speaker 6 (28:26):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
We're talking about saving money on getting more elbow room
in your home by just increasing the amount of time
we spend outside. But the big question is what's it
going to take to get you out there and how
inexpensively can we do it. It's a very very specialized
look at getting outside for the least amount of money,
(28:56):
and in the best possible way, and I'm just guiding
you through it today. We're going to return it that
conversation right after the next news break at the top
of the hour. But right here, last bit before we
hit the top of the hour, I'm taking calls. I
want to take at least one more, and let's talk
to Zach. Hey, Zach, welcome home.
Speaker 5 (29:17):
Thank you Dean for taking my call. I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Well.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
We've got a family cabin up in the San Diego Mountains,
and about ten years ago we built a outbuilding. It's
a bedroom and a bathroom only, and that house, that
little cabin, that room tends to the water. The hot
water tends to smell like sulfur. Done as much as
(29:41):
we can, it's all off the same water source. A
well goes through a filter and then it splits, and
those to the two different cabins. And we have put
things in it and replaced the little water heater. And
no matter what we do, it's always turns to smell
like sulfur. The hot water out of that little cabin.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Just the hot water, just the hot water, yes, or
the all right?
Speaker 1 (30:08):
How new? How new is the water heater? And what
kind of water heater is it. It's a traditional tanked water.
Speaker 5 (30:13):
Heater, traditional tank. Actually no, I'm sorry, it's an electric
tank about forty gallons, and we've probably replaced it three
times for several reasons. But no matter. Even after a
new tank, it will.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Produce that all right, So brand new water heater still
get that water smell in that house?
Speaker 5 (30:37):
Sure do?
Speaker 7 (30:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (30:37):
From what way can we call?
Speaker 3 (30:39):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Hmm? Okay?
Speaker 7 (30:43):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
And and that's an outhouse, I mean an out you know,
a disconnected building from the primary cabin and the same
water supply. And you don't have that problem in the cabin.
It does it happen to be downhill from the cabin.
Speaker 5 (31:00):
No, they're about the same level building, maybe just some
four or feat higher.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Okay, all right, all right, so this is a tricky one.
This is a tricky one. Zact. Here's the thing, same
water source, two buildings.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
One of them has a sulfur kind of rotten egg
smell going on in the hot water supply. The other
does not. Okay, the main cabin does not, but the
same water supply.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
As strange as this sound, the almost inevitably what you've
got is and I don't want to freaky out here,
but what you have is a some kind of sulfur
bacteria build up in the second structure in the in
(32:02):
the water line to the second structure. And it makes
sense that it is in the hot water, not the cold. Okay,
it's in the hot water, because heavy sulfur content in.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Water, in you know, well water or water in the.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Area at some point, at some point that sulfur, that
heavy sulfur content in excited by the water heater itself, okay,
is not being completely eliminated by the water heater. Now
you've got a traditional water heater, which means that there's
(32:40):
a self sacrificial anode rod inside the water heater. That
anode rod is one of the things that should be
attracting the sulfur to itself, and and sulfur it corrodes
and eats away at those rods really fast. So one
of the reasons I asked, like, what is it a
new water heater, is it an old water heater it's
(33:00):
a traditional water heater, is that those anode rods can
just go in like in a heartbeat. They can be
eaten away by extra hard well water, especially with sulfur
content and then that sulfur bacteria, and it's not harmful
to humans, right, it just doesn't smell right or taste right.
But that sulfur bacteria builds up on the corrosive layer
(33:24):
of the pipes, of the copper lines and in the
water heater, So can you purge it? Usually what you
have to do is you're going to have to go
to the extent of installing a specific sulfur filtration system
for the outbuilding to catch that so that it goes through.
(33:47):
And we may also have to run a form of
disinfectant through the copper pipes in order to flesh out
as much of the sulfur that has embedded itself corrosively
on the wall of the salt of the copper pipes,
which itself is not great for the pipes. Again, not
a problem for you, but almost inevitably, almost inevitably, what
(34:09):
you're dealing with is some layer of sulfur bacteria that
thrives once it has corroded the magnesium anode rod in
a water heater, and then it starts attacking the walls
of the pipes. And so it may at this point
unfortunately be systemic in that, but there are ways still
(34:33):
of purging it. So if the and I would, I
would act on that immediately so as to prevent any
further corrosion of the copper pipes and to get the
taste of the water back normal. Again, the fact that
it's coming through the hot water system is the chief
indicating diagnostic there, because if it's not in the cold
(34:56):
then it is definitely, in my opinion, backia based. And
I know it sounds gross and weird, but again, this
is not a bacteria that's harmful for you drinking the water.
It is just the nature of it attacking the copper
pipes on the hot water side of things. So a
repipe for hot might be in order to abandon those
(35:18):
other lines just the hot and also a sulfur protective
filter system to be added to the water heater. How
it happened, why it happened to the outbuilding and hasn't
been a struggle for the main cabin I do not know.
I do not know how to explain that. All I
can tell you is that when we get that result,
(35:39):
there is usually only one cause of it taking place,
and it sounds like it's happening to you, my friend.
That's the best I can do right now, and I'm
out of time, Zach, so give that a look. You
may want to call a water expert in to just
test some of the water and verify what it is
(35:59):
that I'm talking talking about before you go to any
extreme measures with the rest of the plumbing. That's the
best advice that I can give you. All right, y'all,
when we return, we're going to go back outside as
inexpensively as possible and make your time in the out
of doors just beyond your doors of your house as
a pleasant and elbow space clearing as possible without draining
(36:24):
your bank account. And we will do that all right
after we get the news. You are listening to 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 morning from nine
to noon Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the
(36:47):
iHeartRadio app.
Home with Dean Sharp News
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