Details Matter | Hour 2

We're talking about details that matter today. Hand in your pearls, pearls of wisdom, about little things, little things that are often overlooked in most houses, that you can change for not a lot of denarro and ultimately make some really big impact in your home. We're returning to that conversation in just a bit, but as we do here on the program, we also take calls live and talk to you about what's going on with your home. It is time to do that now, and so I want to

go to the phones. Let's talk to Carol. Hey, Carol, welcome home. Hello, Hello Carol.

belly stove, but wood stove insert. There is an entire branch of the fireplace industry that is all about inserts into existing old masonry fireboxes that are essentially like what you're thinking. They're they're cast iron, they're made just like pot belly stoves. They insert in, they sit flush, and then the nice thing is they also have their own flu which runs up inside the existing chimney of the

fireplace and comes out and terminates out the top. And now what you'll have is the power of essentially a wood stove. That's what a potbelly stove is. It's a wood stove. And a wood stove is so beautifully and properly engineered to maximize the burn of wood. It will throw more heat and make more wood last way way longer, and it's a way to go now if you want to even take another step in full efficiency forward, it's

not quite as beautifully attractive the burn itself. But there are also wood stove inserts that use pellets that are pellet stove inserts. They also produce a flame that you just don't see the big log burning inside, and they crank out a great amount of heat, and they are the most efficient use of wood because these are hardwood pellets. They're full legitimate wood. But it's less expensive and cleaner

burning and more efficient. But yeah, whenever Tina and I go somewhere, and when we're ever going to spend an extended amount of time in an area, instead of a hotel, we will usually like airbnb or verbo a home and we're always thrilled, especially when we travel in the winter months, to find that the fireplace is actually a wood stove insert, or that there's just a wood stove. And by the way, that's also a possibility if you wanted just a wood stove sitting on the hearth, Okay, then this is just

a little bit more involved. It means blocking off the firebox and then letting that wood stove sit freely on the hearth, letting its pipe its flu extend up, and then at some point it would bust through the wall into the existing chimney and then take off from there, so you really have that full. The simplest, cleanest way of doing it, without any construction whatsoever, is to buy an insert into your existing fire blocks with its own

flu going up. And it's also something you know, I just did a fireplace show yesterday, and I would have loved to have had time to talk about all these things. But it's also a great way if you find that you have an old masonry chimney that just isn't up to speck anymore. It's got cracks in it, it's not falling apart, but you know, your local fireplace people are like, yeah, we wouldn't recommend burning anything in it because of these cracks, And you're like, I don't want to rebuild my entire

masonry chimney. Well, a wood stove insert gives you the ability to utilize the fireplace again because it doesn't rely on it only relies on the chimney as a chase to run its own flu up inside until it comes out. And so it's really kind of the best of both worlds.

little device called a bridge valve. A bridge valve is what connects under the sink, not in the wall, but under the sink. It will connect the hot water line to the cold water line under the sink. But just when, just when the pump is on driving hot water, pulling hot water out of the hot water line and pushing it into the cold water line. And that little brilliant device and that little system. Number one, you don't waste any water because it's still your water. You just have

it's over in the cold line. But what it does is it draws out all of that hot water in the hot water line that isn't actually hot stuff that has cooled off in between users, and it pushes it into the cold and as a result of that, it brings the real hot water much much closer to the faucet itself, so that you're waiting for hot water maybe two or three seconds instead of two or three minutes.

And so it's a combination research pump, very small recirculation pump and bridge valve and if you're not a DIY oriented person, then you would then I would recommend you would just call a plumber and say, hey, we just want to research pump and a bridge valve because we want hot water closer to market and think and and they'll give you pricing on it.

along the way. So, yes, you could put one at each location, but it's very likely you only need one at the furthest sink and that's going to pull hot water into most of the house lines sufficiently for all the sinks.

you suggesting a two foot tall baseboard? Dan, No, No, I'm not. That's why I said, for that size of a room, there is a cutoff point. And the cutoff point is, you know, nothing is so ridiculously high that you know you don't want to just look to your left and see the baseboard staring you in the face at five feet tall, just because you have a sixty

foot tall room. So there's a limit to it. But the idea is, yes, taller baseboards, and in the case of an eighteen foot ceiling, easily eight twelve inches, I wouldn't go above twelve. I don't go above twelve no matter how tall the room is that we're going. And we work with sometimes room heights that are much taller than eighteen feet and we max out right around twelve because it just gets weird after that, but beautiful up

to that point. So eight to twelve inches, Rachelle I got to run thank you so much for your questions. You stay on the line because I'm going to get that a Last America Compound brand to you, and I'm gonna give it to producer Michelle so she can let you know and for the rest of you. Right after Eileen Gonzalez gives us the news, we are going to jump back into details in your home that matter. Your Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper.

just go to the podcast. We are also a podcast. About an hour after the show goes off the air. You will find us in our little podcast Niche Every episode I have ever done here on KFI in podcast form. That's hundreds of episodes, all listed by topic, waiting for you. You can listen day or night anywhere on planet Earth as many times as you like, Whenever, wherever, however you want to listen. That is Home with Dean Sharp. That's all you have to do now. Of course, you can find

it on the free iHeartRadio app. You can also find the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or wherever your favorite podcasts are found. Home with Dean Sharp boom, it's there waiting for you. Okay, back to details that matter. We've talked about outlets, chords, light switches, lamp chords. I want to talk about HVAC vents, heating and air conditioning vents. This is something I want to make two very very

distinct points here. Number One, if you have the opportunity and you really are working your way through the house doing details that matter, then for all the money that you've spent on that remodel, or all the money that you want to invest in changing the vibe of a room, don't neglect changing out those cheap normal just like everybody always gets basic ya, basic HVAC vents that came with your system, they are really really boring, and so you

change them out, and you change them out to something nice. Now, a couple of things. The other point that I want to make Number one, they don't have to be I'm not suggesting that you change them out to look antique, although you can, Okay, you can make them look like they're one hundred years old, like they're made out of bronze or brass or cast iron or steel. So they are a great way of just nudging an already kind of historical vintage looking room right over the edge into

full on like, wow, everything was thought about in this room. However, if you've got a post a modern home, a mid century home, if you've got a super contemporary, cutting edge, twenty first century, twenty twenty four home, you will find hvac vents that match that motif as well. Okay, just consider changing out the super cheap, super boring, super normal vents that are running in the room that you are

trying to guj with maximum intensity. Okay. Now, the last point that I want to make here is Dean is also not suggesting that you necessarily make the vent something that catches somebody's eye and you're like well, Dean, that's all well and good, but I just want my HVAC events to go away. Okay, I just wanted to go away. Well, then pick a cool new vent that has a great pattern to it, and go ahead and paint it with the color of the ceiling or the wall. Okay, with

the exact same paint over that area. Let it match the wall. I shouldn't say the exact same paint, the exact same color. Okay, I want it to be a durable, washable paint, but the exact same color. Let it blend in with the wall. Because you know what, talk about a detail that matters. Here is now a vent that

is not drawing attention to itself whatsoever. But when somebody does look over it and notice it, they're like, Wow, even that vent that I didn't even notice the first ten times I was here, Even that vent looks great. Ah ah, excuse me, there had something in my throat. So yeah, eight VACE events. Last thing, let's talk about doors. Interior doors specifically. We worry most of the time about finding the right door knobs. Okay, and that's all well and good man, my throat here, hang on a second.

The right doorknobs, but we tend to ignore number one the doors themselves, your interior doors. Now this is a little bit more of an investment, I get it, but interior doors are so dang important to the vibe of a home, not only making them solid core instead of those flimsy, little hollow core doors that you've got that is, you know, hold back about as much sound as a sheet hanging in the doorway. But just the fact that finding a door that reflects the style of your home

and placing it in these openings. And I'm not talking about necessarily stained grade doors maybe or maybe they're paint graye but just the right door in the right place makes all the difference. The knob, of course, that's always when you go to the hardware store, right up front and center. Ooh, what should it be? This kind of knob should be that kind of knob, But the door itself. And here is the thing right on the edge of

the door, a detail that matters, the hinges. This when it comes to a door assembly, is from a decre perspective, the most neglected potential detail of any door is the hinge. The hinge are very utilitarian. Obviously, that's what I always talking talking about neglected utilitarian fixtures. Most hinges are. I will tell you right now, what are the odds are that your doors in your house are cut with three or three and a half inch large round corner hinges

of no specific attractiveness at all. They're just there, simple pined hinges. So what can you do? Well, Number one, we'll give it in three layers here. Number one, you can change out those hinges for a more attractive hinge. You can find hinges of number one, the proper metal that matches the finish of your door knobs. They could be bronze, they could be brush stainless, they could be brushed nickel, they could be whatever the case may be, so you can change them out. You can also change

them out if you're going for an older vintage. Look to cast hinges. And what I mean by that or is would they look like they're cast or they're stamped. They actually have detail and decor stamped into the face of the hinge plate. And yeah, I know you think, well, nobody ever sees those, Well that's not true, okay, no one ever looks at your hinges right now, because they

just go away. Okay, And I get that, but of course they do because most interior doors in most homes are left open, and when they are left open, as you walk into the room on one side of that doorway, you see both sides of the hinge okay as you walk in, so they're very much potentially on display. And so this is an opportunity. Now, even if you don't want to change out your hinges or you don't want to replace that hinge body, you could change out the hinge pin to one that has some kind of a

finial on it. A finial would be a little rounded knob at the top and the bottom, or an elongated piece so that when the door is closed there's a little bit more de tail there hinges and hinge pins

and hinge faces. And if you really wanted to go all the way and make every one of your interior doors the ultimate touch of custom hinges, then you would get rid of the round edge hinge that you've got, meaning, you know, as it goes in, when it transitions from the horizontal top of the hinge down to the vertical part of the hinge plate, there's a big old rounded edge there. You would transition from that to a complete

square edge hinge. Square edge hinges are the sharpest, nicest, and also most effective and efficient hinges because that square corner cutting into the door mortising into that hinge pocket stays in place naturally by itself, better than the rounded edge. The reason they're rounded edge hinges exist is because routers in door companies are have around. You know, when they

make a turn, they have to round the edge. Of the nature of how a router cuts through wood is that when it makes a ninety degree turn, it leaves a rounded edge on that ninety degree turn. So it takes more effort to then, after you've routed out the hinge pocket, to go back with a chisel and chisel out the square corner. For a square hinge, AHA, more effort, more craftsmanship, more detail, more caring. And this is why square cut hinges always look better because they just communicate

all of that every time you look at them. All right, so much more to go your home with. Oh, Tina brought me some water, so like I heard you choking from the other room. Here's some water. Thank you so much. You're the best.

That doesn't mean that they're all cheap, but they're a lot less expensive working on layers of detail than you know, moving walls and doing a major remodel. And so I led the idea of doing it all obviously, and I insist to my clients that after we've done the major remodel, we keep on designing until we've exhausted all the details that they're willing to do, because at the end of the day, man, that is what just seals the deal. It really is. And we've talked about a lot, and

I'm going to move forward. However, a Tina has stepped back into the studio and I want to talk about the posts that you've made and where people can go to find out about what's coming up. On November twenty fourth, Do I get that right? I think I got that right. November twenty fourth is a Sunday that is only one, two three sundays away from now. On November twenty fourth, we are going to be in the iHeart Studios up on the fifth floor in the Helpful Lon Helpful Honda Theater,

the lounge up there. It seats about one hundred people and that's all we can handle. But every year we do our House Whisper Holiday Home Show sponsored by Aldick Home, Yes, the Amazing, Wonderful Aldacombe, the Winter Wonderland Aldacombe. This year, Aldick is not only providing a tree for the main studio at KFI so that all the hosts can enjoy the tree all through the chrisp season all the way through to New Year, but also on the day of

the home show, we're going to decorate that tree. Their expert decorators are going to decorate another tree on stage and during the show, during the show live, and one of our studio audience members is going to win that tree and take it home. And that's unbelievable. That's just an unbelievable I mean, that's just a great thing. So that's coming up on this let's see three weeks from now on Sunday, November twenty fourth, and afterwards we're all

going over to Aldacom to just hang out for a while. Yeah, it's basically the Sunday just before Thanksgiving, the Sunday before Thanksgiving November twenty fourth in Burbank at the iHeart Studios in Burbank. Anyway, all of the details that you need to know and how to enter to win a coveted seat at the House Whisper Holiday Home Show are now posted on social media ware.

Door knobs? Door dem All right, I have this note here, learn in practice the number one most important rule of lighting. Do you know what that is? Well, let you think about that for a second, the number one most important rule of lighting design. And don't feel bad if you do not know what this is or it doesn't spring to mind immediately, because let me tell you, I asked this question of electricians all the time, and very very

rarely does anybody actually get it right. This only illustrates the point that I tell you a lot, which is, contractors are not home designers. Electricians are not lighting designers. They have different functions. Okay, that doesn't mean that your electrician might not have a good idea, it's just not what they are specially trained to do. So, as a lighting designer, let me tell you what this is, and I want you to embrace it and hold on to it and never let it go. When it comes to

a home, it's very much like theater lighting. We do not light rooms, We do not light spaces. We light things. Did you hear that we don't light rooms? We light things? The number one rule of lighting design? Now, how does this apply to our conversation today of details that matter? Well, this applies to you very likely if you have a home that has had recess lighting, either built into it originally or retro fit in to it after the fact.

And if a lighting designer wasn't used to lay out that lighting, if you laid it out or your electrician laid it out, then I am guessing if I walk into your home and look up to the ceiling, I will find the classic living room grid of six or eight recess can lights beautifully symmetrically spread out all over the ceiling in a nice organized grid for the room.

And you will look to me and say ah, and I will look to you and say, uh, uh, Okay, your living room does not need warehouse style lighting in it. It does not need that. This is the worst lighting. Direct down light into a space. It destroys shadows, it flattens out textures. And I know you want it bright in there. That's fine. I'm not talking about brightness. I'm

talking about the general position of those lights. So if I was there to lay out the lighting for that room, I might actually use the same number of recess can lights. The difference would be I would be putting them closer to walls, and I would center them on areas of open wall where you are going to hang art or have photos, or whatever the case may be. In other words, the rule we light things, not rooms. Things not rooms. Now how does this supply then to you? Well, there

are two parts to any recessed can light. There is the housing. That's the part that's built into the ceiling. And I'm not suggesting that you tear it out and read drywall over and have an electrician movement. I mean, if you want to do that, that's fine, That's not what I'm suggesting. What I'm suggesting is that you work not with that housing part, but with the second part, which is the trim. The trim is what you actually

see when you look up. It's either a flat led lens or there may be some kind of a baffle that goes up into the ceiling a little bit and may be black and maybe white, maybe it's silver, whatever the case may be. And then the light source is

further up in there. That is the trim. You can get on a step ladder or a ladder and reach up there and grab the edges of that and carefully pull it down and find the trim pops right out of the housing because it's on a set of spring clips, and then it's plugged into the housing and you can undo the plug and now you are holding in your hand the trim. For every major brand of recessed can lighting, there are not one, not two, but tens, I mean tens and tens of trims that can go into that

same housing that just plug right in. And the trims are not that expensive, anywhere from fifteen to thirty five or forty dollars for a trim. And what then can we do if we decide to take your existing lighting and replace the trims. Do I have you on the edge of your seat, Well, stay there, because I will tell you right after we come back from the news. Your Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper 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 iHeart Radio app.