Design Matters Most – Great Architecture is Theater | Hour 2

I'm not fixing anything, but I'd rather give you credit. Okay. Well, so here are the layers that go into this layer. Number One, you got to know from a realtor or two, what the fair market value of the house is as is as it sits right there. What are the comps? What's fair and you get a sense of that. Number one. Number two, you've had the home inspection done. Now home inspection start is. The whole purpose of a home inspection

is to find any potential things that could be an issue. Plumbing, foundation, you know where why you know, a house built in the nineteen thirties, you know, may have cracks, cracks in the plaster, cracks in the ceiling. Does not necessarily mean that the ceiling is failing. It just means that, you know, it's almost one hundred year old house at this point, and maybe those things have been neglected for a while,

so he wants to give you first DIBs all. What you need to do, if you're seriously thinking about it, is to do your due diligence. In other words, if you know that if the home inspector has said somebody should look at the foundation, then you got to get a foundation company out there to take a look at the foundation. Uh, one who's going to give you a thorough inspection and a price. That's what the home inspector isn't doing. His job is to simply alert you to

issues that he finds. He's not giving you an estimate of value. You need to get a couple of foundation companies. And this is how I would support my justification for the credit. I would have more than one contractor, a reputable contractor in every category of concern come out to the house. So if there's a potential foundation issue, I'd get two bids, two estimates from them, number one, so that you can show them, Hey, you know all the guys who look at the house, are they all have

a consensus? You know, they all agree it should be this, this and this and this is the ballpark price for getting this done. Somebody to take a look at the framing, somebody to look at the plumbing, and so on. A lot of stuff when it comes to an older home may be superficial. But when you mentioned plumbing and foundation work, that's not superficial stuff. That stuff that needs to be

seriously addressed. And what you do is you simply compile together the costs to you of realistically bringing the house, not making it brand spanking new in terms of every finish, because that's that's not you know, we're not crediting, we're not asking for a credit to make a house that's been you know, a little old, it has a dingy paint job to get it all bright and shiny. Because

that's not the point. Okay, the house gets evaluated at the price that it's in given the condition, and then you say, listen, you know there's sixty thousand dollars worth of things here that have to be done to the house. So if you willing to take sixty off the price, then you know, maybe we're talking about me buying this house from.

plumbing job. That's what I'm saying, between three different licensed plumbers and a couple of different foundation You see how that takes the argument to a completely different level. Plus it gives you peace of mind that you're not missing anything along the way. So, James, I think you're headed in the right direction. Just my opinion would be double up, at least double up on the estimates so that you really are standing on solid ground when it comes to

the house. Good luck, my friend, and thanks for your call, Thanks for listening, thanks for your confidence in asking me the question.

with this room, how can I make it better? And we're using cinema and theater as a metaphor for that, as a tool to get in your head because it's so so very true, it's so applicable. Of course, not everything is this equal across the board, but already, already I think we've crossed some boundaries and opened up your thinking in terms of how you evaluate a room. Anyway, We're going to be going back to that in a bit.

But middle of the show right now, the ten o'clock hour means we're taking calls, and that is always a pleasure and a joy for me as well. So let's go back to the phones. I want to talk to Sandy. Hey, Sandy, welcome home, Thank you.

he wasn't really excited about the heat pump. He said, they've had problems with them. So I just want to get your ideas on that.

So as the homeowner, I want you to have two or three I would say three at a minimum, ac take a look at the house and evaluate it and talk to you about it. Honestly, I have a very very different opinion about that than the one that the gentleman expressed to you, which is that heat pumps are probably very very they're very much becoming, especially here in California and in more temperate climates and even in more

severe cold climates. Get pumps are gaining ground like no other innovation in the HVAC industry in a long, long, long time. And it really doesn't Yeah.

old unit and keep it going. The question is, next time you have to charge that thing up with the refrigerant that is no longer being sold or manufactured, you're going to be paying a mint for it because the only free on that's out there right now available is free on that has been bled off of old units that are being removed. So it's like it's like an antique now. And so that piece of furniture, now that it's been labeled antique, is like ten times more expensive

than it normally would be. So there are new refrigerants, better refrigerants in existing modern units that you don't have to have that worry. That's a kind of a different conversation. But let me just very quickly explain the heat pump. The heat pump is really not about the AC. A heat pump question is whether you're going to buy an AC unit that is also a heat pump and that replaces not the air conditioner, but it replaces your gas fired furnace. A heat pump AC doesn't need the gas

fired furnace anymore because of what it is. It's like an air conditioner that can also be turned in put in reverse. So during the hot summer months, the air conditioner is pulling hot air out of the house, pulling heat out of the house and distributing it outside. During the cold months. A heat pump unit, the same machinery works in the opposite direction and it pumps warm air into the house. And that's why I'm saying, when it comes to a heat pump unit, the question is do

you want the gas furnace anymore? Do we need the gas furnit, do we need a fossil fuel burning gas furnace anymore? Or can the whole thing work efficiently and effectively off of a heat pump slash AC unit that's the biggest And it's all electric, correct, it's all electric. Yeah, it's all electric, and so natural gas doesn't enter into it anymore.

Either you get your less expensive air conditioner that only does cooling, plus a new gas furnace unit to mate with it, or you eliminate the new gas furnace unit and you get an air conditioner that also can operate as a heater, and so the cost is pretty much a wash across the board. Sandy. So here's my advice again, talk to two three at least vetted, well reputed, well

reputed HVAC contractors about your specific situation. I think you'll find that they'll probably be inclining you toward the heat pump and not discouraging you away from it. They don't really, they don't have problem. I don't know what do you. I think what he meant was problems with maintaining your old unit a heat a new heat pump HVAC unit. They're very, very very reliable. There is really as you are conditioning you is because they are essentially you're air

conditioning you. It's just one that has a reverse gear to it. Essentially it's a metaphor. But that's the way it works. Sandy. Thank you for your question. I've got to go. We're up against a break. Good luck with that. But again, again, like I harp on so often, get two or three opinions, educate yourself. Don't just go with the one guy who said the one thing. Okay, make sure it all proves out.

conversation just a bit. But we're in the middle hour here of the program, which means we're taking calls, which means you set the agenda for what we're talking about. And let's go to one of our directors right now. I want to talk to Beth. Hey, Beth, welcome home, Thank you, Dian.

need the money. So but I'm nervous that the house is just closed and is deteriorating.

are things. There's additional things i'd say that have to be added to the maintenance of an empty house, including not just not just putting in bleeder valves so that the pipes don't freeze, and water plumbing, but also I would suggest at least running the bare minimum amount of heat and cooling in the house to keep it a moderate temperature. But here in southern California that's not as as critical unless you're out in the desert area where

the temperature shifts to extremes. If you're in an extreme temperature environment, one of the best ways to take care of an unoccupied house is to keep the temperature within a moderate mid range. And that, you know, not a

lot of people think about that. That a neglected home, meaning a house that just doesn't have anybody living in it, goes through more temperature extremes, and as a result, the expansion of materials during hot weather, the contraction of materials during cold weather can cause cracking in walls to start to peel off walls. All of that kind of stuff in Hinton Beach not so much an issue, right, very

very temperate. Your main concern there will be letting, making sure that somebody's dropping by and flushing toilets and running water in all of the sinks. Okay. And here's why. There's this little thing underneath every sink and in every drain in the house called the pea trap. Okay. It's that way, not because we're peeing in it, because it's shaped like the letter P. And that pea trap holds water in it. It holds water. It's sitting there. It

traps water. Okay, it's a trap for water. That water that's in the pea trap is what's keeping sewer gases from coming up out of the sewer and into the air inside the house. Okay, that's why the houses that have been not lived in for a long time, and realtors who have not been doing their due diligence as they're showing the house to keep this going. That's why you'll open up a door and you're like, oh, that's

an odd smell in this house. And sometimes it's bad enough that it can start to permeate walls and things like that. We don't want that to happen. So the key is the reason that happens is because if those sinks aren't being used, and that new water isn't being put down into the pea trap, if the shower isn't being used at the isn't being used, then the water

in the pea trap starts to evaporate out. And when it evaporates out, there's a point where it drops down and it's no longer blocking the sewer gases and those elements are inside the house. So as something as simple as getting by the house every week or so and just spending five minutes turning on faucets, turning on the shower, letting it run for about thirty seconds, turning them off, and going your merry way is going to keep the

house smelling normal. And apart from that, there's not a whole lot at eight ten months a year, not a whole lot you've got to do on the inside of a house obviously, keep things watered on the outside, and you know, and let it be.

just to keep things limber and moving along. But again not in the same way of trying to keep the house at a certain temperature, just to keep everything, you know, moving along.

and I currently have a normal shingle roof on the house. Now, I kind of want your opinion on a metal roof. I understand that they can rust, they they're they're they're heavier, might have to have some some work done with the uh with a wood underneath, but I don't know whether it's you know by words you go to a shingle roof. They have fireproof shingle roofs that go of course with the vanguard bench also, But I just need your your opinion on a metal metal roofs.

And my answer is always this. It's like, I don't any roof that you want up there, because there isn't a single roof in the state of California that the State of California will approve that isn't a class A fire rated roofing material. And that means everything asphalt composition to metal roofs, to Spanish tile, to slate roofs, to stone roofs and so on. And I mean this in all seriousness. Now, of course, you know, if you were to take a flame thrower and shoot it down at

your roofing material. Some roofs would give way before others. But the fact of the matter is, the fact on the ground is that houses don't burn down. They burn up. Fire burns up. Okay, And you can talk to any of my friends at cal Fire or any of the local fire captains. They will tell you that they don't come onto the scene to find houses with their roofs

on fire. Okay. Now, I know when you watch local news coverage of the devastating fires, you see these gigantic holes in roofs and flames coming out of the top of the roof of the house. That is not the roof catching fire and burning down. Okay, unless it's like some house that's still for some bizarre reason, has a shake shingle, real wood roof. That is not the house the roof catching on fire and burning down, because that's

not the direction that fire travels. Fire burns up. So a class A fire rated roof is the only kind of roof that you're going to be able to put on your home. All of the materials that you can choose from are going to be the same. The most important thing that you can ask, the biggest question to ask in fire rating your roof assembly is is not should I have metal roof versus versus composite shingles versus

tile versus concrete. The most important question you can ask is, you know I've already brought it up, and that's what are my vents made out of? Are they ember proof vents as far as allowing embers into the attic space, because that's what catches on fire and burns a hole

in the roof from underneath. And the bigger question is, or I should say an equal question is what kind of material am I going to put on the eaves the overhang that the the soft underbelly of the tortoise shell, as it were, the part of the roof that is overhanging that flame can get to from up underneath. Okay, So I am far more prone as a designer and a builder to advise my clients to, hey, let's spend extra money on the eves. Let's box in the eves.

Or if we're gonna if the look of the house is to be exposed wood elves, because those are wood rafter tails that are sticking out, they're exposed to flame. What are we going to do with those? And we

don't have to treat those like Fort Knox either. We can simply spend extra money when it comes to paint and paint the underside of the overhang of our eves with efflorescent fireproof paint, so that a combination of any class A fire rated roofing material, which is what you have to put on anyway by code, plus a fireproof painted eves. And I only say the eaves because fireproof paint is very expensive, so I only want you to put it on the overhang of the of the eves

and ember proof vents. That combination Peter. Honestly, it's all you need to not worry about the house from the roof perspective, and why wildfire. And I say that so that we're not leading people astray. Metal roofs are great, tile roofs are great. Shingled roofs are great. As a designer, I look to the builder in me and I say, hey,

what's the best one. The builder in me says, doesn't matter, pick your choice, and so that frees up the designer to put on the kind of class A roof that works best with the design of the house without putting it in any way, shape or form at risk does that make sense.

that really clear. Because metal roofs, standing seam metal roofs, not shingled metal roofs. They catch as much snow as any shingled roof, but the standing seam metal roof it handles snow in a way that most other roofs don't, kind of the teflon effects, so you don't get a bunch of snow load up on the roof. So we're more prone to doing that with metal roofs than we are worrying about metal and wildfire versus other materials. Just want everybody to understand houses burn up, they don't burn down.

Fire ignites and it travels up right. You've never seen a fireplace where the flames are going down from the log. It's always when we light a fire wood fire in a fireplace, we're trying to catch the bottom of the log on fire, and then it will eventually burn up through the rest of that material until there's nothing else to burn fire. We could expose all sorts of flame material to the top surface of your roof down and not see anything happen. I mean, we might char the roof,

we might even melt part of it. But a class A fire roof, rated fireroof is the only kind of material you can buy in the state of California to put on a roof. So you don't have to worry about whether the roofing material itself is better or worse for fire. You should worry about your vents and your eaves. There you go, that's why you're here, all right. You're listening to Dean Sharp the House Whisperer on KFI.