WEBVTT - Aging In Place | Hour 2 0:00:00.510 --> 0:00:04.340 KFI AM 640, you're listening to Dean Sharp, the house 0:00:04.380 --> 0:00:09.040 whisperer on demand on the iHeartRadio app. Today on the show, 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:13.550 we are talking about aging in place, redesigning a house 0:00:14.050 --> 0:00:16.880 or adding to a house or converting a house. for 0:00:16.980 --> 0:00:20.860 what is now known as universal design, meaning design that 0:00:20.910 --> 0:00:25.870 applies to all ages across the spectrum of human life, 0:00:26.710 --> 0:00:31.790 including especially those of us who are growing older and 0:00:32.310 --> 0:00:35.490 making sure that the house is still a place that 0:00:36.580 --> 0:00:39.260 is the right house for us, the house that we 0:00:39.300 --> 0:00:41.159 can stay in, the house that we can live in. 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:44.940 We may have some calls in regards to that as well. 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:47.500 But either way, we're going to be returning to that 0:00:47.540 --> 0:00:50.850 topic in just a bit. But it's middle hour of 0:00:50.890 --> 0:00:52.930 the show, which means it's time to go to the phones. 0:00:53.170 --> 0:00:54.990 And as I said right before the break, when it 0:00:55.030 --> 0:00:59.630 comes to your calls, any topic, anything is wide open. 0:00:59.650 --> 0:01:03.440 There's nothing off topic. There are no bad questions. You 0:01:03.450 --> 0:01:07.419 get to set the agenda. And so without any further ado, 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:11.740 let's go to the phones. I'm going to talk to... Julie. 0:01:11.780 --> 0:01:15.060 Julie tried to call yesterday but didn't get through, so 0:01:15.260 --> 0:01:18.740 she got priority to the front of the line. Hey, Julie, 0:01:18.860 --> 0:01:19.559 welcome home. 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.700 Good morning, Dean. I guess I called too early because 0:01:23.740 --> 0:01:26.319 I've been waiting since 9 o'clock, so now I know 0:01:26.340 --> 0:01:28.200 for future reference. 0:01:28.220 --> 0:01:30.890 Well, thank you for your resilience. 0:01:32.790 --> 0:01:37.090 I am tenacious, for sure. Okay, so regarding my central 0:01:37.230 --> 0:01:43.190 air in my house, occasionally I will smell something only 0:01:43.310 --> 0:01:47.750 in my bedroom, just that one room. And it's just occasionally, 0:01:47.770 --> 0:01:53.630 and it's not a smoky or burning smell. I don't 0:01:53.750 --> 0:01:57.110 know how to describe it really. Um, but I just 0:01:57.140 --> 0:01:59.840 thought I better ask because if that's something I'm breathing 0:01:59.860 --> 0:02:02.780 that I shouldn't be breathing, then I want to find out. 0:02:03.500 --> 0:02:03.860 Okay. 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:04.440 All right. 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:08.799 So can we narrow is any chance we can narrow 0:02:08.860 --> 0:02:11.950 down Kind of what the smell sort. 0:02:11.690 --> 0:02:12.180 Of is it? 0:02:12.250 --> 0:02:14.750 OK, let me let me run through some options for you. 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:19.920 Is it like a stale vinegar or dirty gym sock smell? 0:02:21.820 --> 0:02:24.799 Oh, that's descriptive. Let's see. 0:02:25.139 --> 0:02:25.700 I would say yes. 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:29.330 I would say it's kind of stale and it kind 0:02:29.370 --> 0:02:32.530 of reminds me of what my car used to smell like. 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:35.540 certain times after I'd run the air conditioner for a 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:38.190 long time. And my dealer told me that maybe that 0:02:38.210 --> 0:02:39.850 was condensation or something. 0:02:40.030 --> 0:02:43.550 Yeah, okay. So how about this? He told me to. 0:02:43.550 --> 0:02:45.710 Run just the fan for a long time to dry 0:02:45.730 --> 0:02:46.030 it out. 0:02:46.470 --> 0:02:50.090 Yeah, yeah. So how about this? So kind of something 0:02:50.150 --> 0:02:53.720 a little damp or maybe standing water, like a basement smell? 0:02:56.180 --> 0:02:59.540 Maybe, yeah. I just want to make sure it's not Freon, 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:01.060 but of course I don't know what that smells like. 0:03:01.419 --> 0:03:04.260 Okay, so I'm going to run through a couple of 0:03:04.300 --> 0:03:08.220 things for you and for everybody to sort of do 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:11.910 a differential diagnosis on what you're smelling through your AC system. 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:16.389 And I'm glad that it's intermittent and occasional. And just 0:03:16.510 --> 0:03:19.490 by that description right there, I will tell you that 0:03:19.530 --> 0:03:22.750 it's nothing to worry about. But certain smells might be 0:03:22.790 --> 0:03:26.519 an indicator of certain things, right? So when the AC runs, 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:31.150 you know, your air conditioner is– It has an evaporator coil. 0:03:31.210 --> 0:03:34.350 That's the thing that gets cold, that the air blows through, 0:03:35.030 --> 0:03:38.529 and it's pulling not only heat out of the air 0:03:38.970 --> 0:03:41.450 when it's cooling your house, but it's also pulling moisture 0:03:41.610 --> 0:03:45.580 out of the air. Now, the evaporator coil is... Even 0:03:45.980 --> 0:03:49.300 when people are keeping up on their air filters and 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:53.300 changing their air conditioning air filter out regularly, you know, 0:03:53.380 --> 0:03:56.000 after a certain period of time, an evaporator coil, for 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:58.340 whatever reason, can start to get a little bit of 0:03:58.420 --> 0:04:02.560 dust or particulates stuck to it because it gets damp 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.920 when it runs, right? Because it's so cold, it's like 0:04:05.940 --> 0:04:10.210 the outside of a glass of water. iced beverage, right? 0:04:10.290 --> 0:04:12.330 And you touch the glass on the outside and you're like, oh, 0:04:12.370 --> 0:04:14.830 it's damp on the outside. It's why we use coasters, right? 0:04:14.870 --> 0:04:17.330 Because the dampness rolls down and makes a ring on 0:04:17.350 --> 0:04:21.950 the table. So that dampness is the condensation of air 0:04:21.990 --> 0:04:24.130 in the atmosphere that's just clinging to the side of 0:04:24.150 --> 0:04:26.520 the glass because it's so cold. It's turning into liquid 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:28.880 again from its gaseous state. And that happens in an 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:32.120 air conditioner all the time. And so the coil gets 0:04:32.200 --> 0:04:35.020 wet And then it drips into what we call a 0:04:35.060 --> 0:04:38.400 condensation pan, which is literally a pan underneath it that 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.560 catches all of that water, that liquid. And then the 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:45.230 pan drains off. There are at least two drains coming 0:04:45.270 --> 0:04:47.330 off that pan that go to the outside of the house. 0:04:47.370 --> 0:04:50.270 And that's why sometimes you'll see around your air conditioner 0:04:50.290 --> 0:04:51.990 there's a little pipe coming out of the house and 0:04:52.070 --> 0:04:55.100 water's dripping out of it when the air conditioner is 0:04:55.150 --> 0:04:58.940 running in the middle of the summer. That's the condensation 0:04:58.980 --> 0:05:02.140 pan draining off that liquid from inside the house. It's 0:05:02.180 --> 0:05:04.460 not a leak. It's doing exactly what it's supposed to do. 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:10.120 So a couple of things. One, dust, airborne microbes can 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:13.860 settle on those metal coils, and then the AC goes 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.020 off for a while, and they can live there in 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.979 the warm attic, and they can start breeding a little 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:20.750 bit of. I don't want to freak you out when 0:05:20.790 --> 0:05:24.320 I say this. Mold, mildew, bacteria. This happens on every 0:05:24.500 --> 0:05:27.160 single air conditioner. I just want to be really clear 0:05:27.180 --> 0:05:30.020 about that. This is not, oh, I've got a mold 0:05:30.060 --> 0:05:35.320 problem now. But the dirtier the coils get, the more 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.990 they can breed and grow there. And sometimes when we 0:05:39.029 --> 0:05:42.690 start to smell a distinct smell and it's recurring, then 0:05:43.230 --> 0:05:47.270 it's time to perhaps call an HVAC service company and say, 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:49.540 you know what, I'm getting this kind of weird smell. 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:51.820 I'm wondering if it isn't time for you guys to 0:05:51.860 --> 0:05:54.940 go over to the evaporator coil, whether it's upright in 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:57.520 the hallway or up in the attic, and open it 0:05:57.620 --> 0:06:01.130 up and use that special spray because there is a spray, 0:06:01.589 --> 0:06:06.330 a self-rinsing AC coil cleaner spray that you can spray 0:06:06.390 --> 0:06:08.510 down the coil with, and it just, you know, cleans 0:06:08.550 --> 0:06:11.310 it all up, cleans it all up and gets all 0:06:11.350 --> 0:06:13.839 that gunk off of it. And then, you know, you're 0:06:13.900 --> 0:06:17.690 back to kind of like new operation with the coil fins. 0:06:17.710 --> 0:06:20.930 So every once in a blue moon, it's not a 0:06:20.950 --> 0:06:25.090 bad idea when you're having your HVAC serviced to have 0:06:25.370 --> 0:06:28.420 the coil cleaned. And that can cause kind of the 0:06:28.980 --> 0:06:32.200 vinegary or kind of dirty gym sock kind of smell. 0:06:32.220 --> 0:06:36.540 A damp smell, like you've gone into a basement, a 0:06:36.620 --> 0:06:40.960 cold basement somewhere, kind of a mildewy smell. That can 0:06:41.020 --> 0:06:44.479 happen if not all of the moisture that's dripping into 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:47.920 that pan is actually draining out. So in other words, 0:06:47.940 --> 0:06:50.060 we get a little puddling up in that pan. And again, 0:06:50.260 --> 0:06:53.080 in a warm attic or in a warm closet inside 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:56.909 the house. And then, you know, just like any standing water, 0:06:56.950 --> 0:06:59.730 you can get a little bit of, you know, algae 0:06:59.790 --> 0:07:01.870 growth and stuff going on. And then it, you know, 0:07:02.029 --> 0:07:05.130 kind of makes a smell. So if that's the case, 0:07:05.170 --> 0:07:07.210 then somebody takes a look at the pan just to 0:07:07.250 --> 0:07:10.260 make sure the drain lines are clear. and that kind 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:15.520 of thing. If it's a sweet or chemical smell, I 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:19.120 mean chemical, and it's not going to last again and 0:07:19.140 --> 0:07:23.250 again and again, but that is something that reminds you 0:07:23.290 --> 0:07:27.250 of like chloroform or formaldehyde, right? That is the smell 0:07:27.290 --> 0:07:32.660 of refrigerant leaking out of the line, okay? And that 0:07:33.180 --> 0:07:36.850 is You know, that's not going to happen forever because 0:07:37.030 --> 0:07:39.210 if you've got a refrigerant leak, the refrigerant is going 0:07:39.230 --> 0:07:41.530 to end up leaking out and not being there anymore. 0:07:41.550 --> 0:07:43.510 And you're going to notice the fact that the air 0:07:43.530 --> 0:07:47.310 conditioner just isn't doing its job anymore. So I wouldn't 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:50.840 worry about that. It's very likely not unless it smells 0:07:50.940 --> 0:07:55.540 really chemical. It's not refrigerant. It's likely just a little 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:59.390 bit of dirt and dust collecting on the coil. Or 0:07:59.410 --> 0:08:03.910 a little bit of damp standing water in the condensation 0:08:03.950 --> 0:08:07.250 pan underneath the air conditioner. Both could get cleared up 0:08:07.330 --> 0:08:12.470 really easily with a quick service call. And quite often, 0:08:12.490 --> 0:08:13.170 to be honest with you. 0:08:13.190 --> 0:08:15.210 Can I interrupt you real quick before I forget my question? 0:08:15.230 --> 0:08:15.870 Sure, sure, sure. 0:08:17.430 --> 0:08:21.210 So what I wanted to ask was. I've only smelled 0:08:22.150 --> 0:08:24.310 the smell in my bedroom, only that one room. So 0:08:24.370 --> 0:08:28.290 these two scenarios, the evaporator coil or the condensation pan, 0:08:28.670 --> 0:08:31.230 would that just be one room? 0:08:31.810 --> 0:08:37.550 Well, not necessarily. Yeah, not necessarily. But based on the 0:08:37.670 --> 0:08:42.170 way that your house is ducted, the duct lines, how 0:08:42.210 --> 0:08:45.530 the airflow is flowing out of them, It's very likely 0:08:45.590 --> 0:08:48.750 that you'll pick up that smell in an enclosed room, 0:08:48.830 --> 0:08:52.070 in one room more than other rooms, and definitely in 0:08:52.110 --> 0:08:55.350 a bedroom more than the big open space that's the 0:08:55.429 --> 0:08:58.429 family room or the kitchen area or anything like that, 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:01.720 just because it's a more enclosed airspace. And so the 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:05.140 faintness of that smell can build up more. It's not 0:09:05.179 --> 0:09:07.840 that it's only occurring in that one room. It's just 0:09:07.900 --> 0:09:11.040 very likely that you're detecting it in that room because 0:09:11.070 --> 0:09:14.530 of its orientation to the duct. I really doubt that 0:09:14.550 --> 0:09:18.230 there's anything in the duct leading to your bedroom. It's 0:09:18.250 --> 0:09:20.860 always a possibility, but it's very, very rare because it's 0:09:20.940 --> 0:09:24.240 just not likely that there's... Unless you've had a major 0:09:24.340 --> 0:09:27.660 leak or anything like that in your home, then there's... 0:09:28.990 --> 0:09:31.410 It's very unlikely that there's anything in the duct that's 0:09:31.450 --> 0:09:34.670 causing that particular odor to come into your bedroom as 0:09:34.750 --> 0:09:37.170 opposed to the other rooms. You're just probably noticing it 0:09:37.210 --> 0:09:37.630 there more. 0:09:39.530 --> 0:09:42.449 So the refrigerant, if that is a leak, is that 0:09:42.470 --> 0:09:44.290 a gas or a liquid? And if it's a liquid, 0:09:44.309 --> 0:09:46.030 would I see that leaking out somewhere? 0:09:46.650 --> 0:09:50.929 No, you're not going to see it. And a refrigerant, 0:09:50.990 --> 0:09:53.070 the whole point is it goes from being a gas 0:09:53.110 --> 0:09:55.190 to a liquid to a gas to a liquid depending 0:09:55.270 --> 0:09:58.280 on where it's at in its cycle. through the house. 0:09:58.500 --> 0:10:01.690 And so the refrigerant is going to escape. You can 0:10:01.950 --> 0:10:07.000 smell it faintly. It's distinct, but it flashes off, and 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:09.740 it's very, very difficult to spot. And that's why I'm 0:10:09.780 --> 0:10:13.520 saying unless you're smelling a really, really intense chemical smell, very, 0:10:13.580 --> 0:10:16.080 very likely not that. I think the best thing you 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:18.709 could do at this point, Julie— is call an HVAC 0:10:18.770 --> 0:10:21.170 company and say, hey, this is the situation. I think 0:10:21.210 --> 0:10:23.110 it probably just needs a cleaning, but will you just 0:10:23.150 --> 0:10:25.010 give the whole system a check? They'll check to see 0:10:25.050 --> 0:10:27.840 if there's any refrigerant leaks too, and they'll check the pan, 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:30.260 and they'll clean the coil, and you're probably going to 0:10:30.300 --> 0:10:33.520 be all taken care of. Julie, I'm up against a break. 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:35.580 Thank you so much for the call. Thanks for being 0:10:35.620 --> 0:10:38.620 tenacious and hanging in there, and I hope this points 0:10:38.660 --> 0:10:41.660 you in the right direction. When we return, my friends, 0:10:41.740 --> 0:10:45.300 we will go back to the phones. We'll see you then. 0:10:46.570 --> 0:10:49.870 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp, on demand from 0:10:49.929 --> 0:10:51.410 KFI AM640. 0:10:51.890 --> 0:10:54.390 We're talking aging in place today, but right now we're 0:10:54.410 --> 0:10:57.530 at mid-show and we are going to the phones. Any 0:10:57.630 --> 0:11:01.710 topic is on the agenda when it comes to your calls. 0:11:02.870 --> 0:11:06.800 Let's talk to Jeff. Hey, Jeff. Welcome home. 0:11:08.220 --> 0:11:10.219 Oh, hi, Dean. Thanks for taking my call. 0:11:11.380 --> 0:11:12.790 You're very welcome. How can I help you? 0:11:14.740 --> 0:11:17.040 I need to put, I'd like to put a grab 0:11:17.059 --> 0:11:22.390 bar in an existing kind of guest bathroom, guest shower. 0:11:23.870 --> 0:11:27.569 It's already tiled and I don't think it was blocked 0:11:28.929 --> 0:11:31.369 or anything along those lines. How do we do it? 0:11:32.370 --> 0:11:35.309 Ah, okay. Well, then you're going to be wanting to 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:40.900 find the studs because the very best grab bar situation 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:43.160 there for you is when you're going to go from 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:45.819 stud to stud, like I was saying at the beginning 0:11:45.860 --> 0:11:50.849 of the program, that you get that solid wood backing. 0:11:50.929 --> 0:11:53.790 So in lieu of blocks, and you don't want to 0:11:53.910 --> 0:11:57.890 redo the shower tile, then the key is going to 0:11:57.940 --> 0:12:02.920 be finding the studs, which can be a tricky proposal, 0:12:03.540 --> 0:12:06.160 depending on how thick the tile is and all of that, 0:12:06.220 --> 0:12:11.640 because normally... If we've got, let's say, a quarter to 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:15.370 three-eighths of an inch of ceramic tile, plus some thinset 0:12:15.429 --> 0:12:19.750 on the wall, plus a half-inch concrete fiberboard backer board 0:12:19.790 --> 0:12:23.330 for the tile or wonder board back there, we can 0:12:23.350 --> 0:12:26.189 be quite a ways away from the stud. And so 0:12:26.630 --> 0:12:31.400 your standard... stud finder is really going to struggle because 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:34.700 there's a lot of mass in the way. There are 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:37.500 two ways of going about this. And I'm so glad 0:12:37.540 --> 0:12:41.400 you asked the question because there's the very expensive way 0:12:41.540 --> 0:12:45.360 and there's the very inexpensive way. And so I'm going 0:12:45.380 --> 0:12:48.400 to share with you both. The very expensive way is 0:12:48.450 --> 0:12:53.970 that you go off and buy an incredibly expensive stud 0:12:54.010 --> 0:12:58.460 finder that's a deep wall penetrating stud finder. We're talking about, 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:01.819 you know, a couple hundred bucks worth of a stud 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.500 finder just for this one activity. And maybe it's worth it. 0:13:04.500 --> 0:13:06.280 And maybe you want to keep one of those with 0:13:06.340 --> 0:13:08.069 you from there on out. So I'm not going to, 0:13:08.260 --> 0:13:12.050 you know, poo poo that idea, but there's another way 0:13:12.110 --> 0:13:14.170 that it's going to cost you about 10 bucks and 0:13:14.230 --> 0:13:16.610 is going to be just as effective. And I'm up 0:13:16.650 --> 0:13:18.310 against a break, Jeff. So I'm going to throw you 0:13:18.330 --> 0:13:20.630 on hold. I'm going to hold everybody in suspense and 0:13:20.650 --> 0:13:23.370 we'll talk about it right on the other side. Everybody 0:13:23.470 --> 0:13:25.790 hang tight. We'll be right back. 0:13:26.540 --> 0:13:29.819 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp, on demand from 0:13:29.900 --> 0:13:31.380 KFI AM640. 0:13:31.660 --> 0:13:35.270 Talking aging in place today, but right now we're in 0:13:35.300 --> 0:13:37.750 the middle hour of the show, which means you get 0:13:37.770 --> 0:13:40.329 to tell me what the show is about because we 0:13:40.350 --> 0:13:44.390 have gone to the phones. Any subject is wide open 0:13:44.530 --> 0:13:48.870 regarding your home. I've got Jeff on the line. Let 0:13:48.910 --> 0:13:51.209 me make sure he's still there. Jeff, you still with me, bud? 0:13:52.250 --> 0:13:52.870 Roger that. 0:13:53.410 --> 0:13:56.840 Okay, Jeff. Wants to add a grab bar, in keeping 0:13:56.880 --> 0:13:59.459 with our topic today of Aging in Place, to a 0:13:59.540 --> 0:14:03.700 guest shower. He's not planning on redoing the shower, though. So, 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:06.860 you know, we've got tile in there. And the question is, 0:14:07.020 --> 0:14:08.880 how do we install it? How do we install a 0:14:08.900 --> 0:14:11.360 grab bar in a shower that we are not tearing apart? 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:16.450 And that means the best possible installation going wood on 0:14:16.470 --> 0:14:20.030 the end so that the long screws of the grab 0:14:20.050 --> 0:14:24.510 bar bite into solid wood. And that means finding the studs. 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:31.060 behind that tile wall. Now, the trouble is tile plus 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:36.130 thinset grout plus tile backer board puts all of that 0:14:36.250 --> 0:14:38.910 surface with a lot of mass in between a good 0:14:38.970 --> 0:14:42.510 distance off of the face of the studs. So a 0:14:42.650 --> 0:14:47.590 regular old kind of consumer-grade stud finder not going to 0:14:47.630 --> 0:14:50.100 do a very good job of finding the studs. You're 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:52.240 going to get all sorts of crazy readings and a 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:54.760 lot of confusion from that kind of a stud finder. 0:14:54.820 --> 0:14:58.120 And I suggested before the break that there were two 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:00.460 ways to go. One, you could pay a lot of 0:15:00.500 --> 0:15:06.050 money for a really fancy deep penetrating stud finder. But 0:15:06.090 --> 0:15:07.920 if that's the only use that you've got for it, 0:15:08.270 --> 0:15:10.730 that's kind of a waste of cash along the lines 0:15:10.770 --> 0:15:13.330 here because that's going to cost more than the grab 0:15:13.370 --> 0:15:17.750 bars themselves. And I suggested... right before the break for 0:15:17.790 --> 0:15:19.770 all of you to hang on that there is an 0:15:19.810 --> 0:15:23.070 incredibly inexpensive way to do it too. And that's what 0:15:23.090 --> 0:15:26.570 I want to explain to you right now. Uh, for 0:15:26.630 --> 0:15:30.440 this solution, uh, you need a little bit of patience, uh, 0:15:30.740 --> 0:15:35.340 a little, uh, a roll of, uh, masking tape, like 0:15:35.420 --> 0:15:40.490 blue masking tape. And, uh, a ruler or a tape measure, 0:15:40.730 --> 0:15:47.210 and one item from the hardware store, a neodymium magnet, okay? 0:15:47.430 --> 0:15:50.270 A ring magnet would be preferred. Now, a ring magnet, 0:15:50.710 --> 0:15:55.030 it's a rare earth magnet, neodymium. They're at Lowe's, they're 0:15:55.050 --> 0:15:57.210 at Home Depot, they're at your local Ace. You can 0:15:57.270 --> 0:15:59.130 get them at the hardware store. You just ask them, hey, 0:15:59.290 --> 0:16:01.930 where are the rare earth magnets? And ideally, you want 0:16:01.950 --> 0:16:03.710 to get one that's shaped like a ring. It looks 0:16:03.730 --> 0:16:06.090 like a metal washer, about three quarters of an inch 0:16:06.110 --> 0:16:09.650 in diameter, just like a metal washer. And you're going 0:16:09.670 --> 0:16:11.830 to take that magnet. It's going to set you back 0:16:11.870 --> 0:16:15.190 a whole like nine bucks. You're going to take that magnet. 0:16:15.250 --> 0:16:18.270 You're going to tie a thread or a string to it. Okay. 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:23.440 Maybe a foot or so of, of string. And then 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:27.020 we're going to just kind of cruise across with your 0:16:27.100 --> 0:16:29.740 finger close to the wall. You're going to cruise across 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:33.960 and just let that magnet dangling from your hand, you know, 0:16:34.060 --> 0:16:37.460 just cruise across the tile. So what's going to happen? Well, 0:16:38.270 --> 0:16:42.200 Magnets are, in my opinion, my favorite stud finder is 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:47.120 a magnetic stud finder. And the reason is this. Drywall, 0:16:47.980 --> 0:16:51.340 the tile board that has attached your tile to the studs, 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:57.220 is done so with metal screws. And as you kind 0:16:57.260 --> 0:17:00.830 of scan up and down and left to right, nice 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:05.150 and slow, at some point, I guarantee you, that magnet, 0:17:05.410 --> 0:17:08.070 as you are scanning along, is going to stick. It's 0:17:08.109 --> 0:17:10.420 going to be like, boink, and it's not going to 0:17:10.450 --> 0:17:13.200 want to move forward. Now, it may not slap itself 0:17:13.540 --> 0:17:16.780 really crazy hard to the tile, but it's going to hesitate, 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:19.260 and your string and your hand is going to keep moving, 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.380 and the magnet is not, at which point you have 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:26.220 found the head of one of the screws that's holding 0:17:26.260 --> 0:17:29.960 the tile board onto the studs. So you found a screw, 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:33.130 which means you just found a stud. And so what 0:17:33.150 --> 0:17:35.170 I want you to do, don't get all excited right 0:17:35.190 --> 0:17:36.909 then and there, and you tear off a little bit 0:17:36.950 --> 0:17:39.450 of masking tape and you mark it. And then I 0:17:40.030 --> 0:17:43.050 want you to go up and down in that same line. And, 0:17:43.170 --> 0:17:46.970 you know, every eight, maybe 10 inches or so, the 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:50.760 magnet should stick again, up above and down below. By 0:17:50.780 --> 0:17:53.500 the time you've marked off three of these in one 0:17:53.580 --> 0:17:57.880 vertical row, you know you have found a stud. Now, 0:17:57.980 --> 0:18:00.879 you're going to use the same method to find the 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:03.470 other studs, But it's going to get a little easier 0:18:03.730 --> 0:18:06.699 when I tell you that all of the studs in 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:11.220 a standard home are 16 inches on center, from center 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:15.680 to center, 16 inches. Now, that can vary at any time. 0:18:16.260 --> 0:18:19.619 Code doesn't prohibit the studs from being closer together. It 0:18:19.660 --> 0:18:23.230 does prohibit them from being further apart than 16 inches 0:18:23.369 --> 0:18:27.239 in a standard framed home. The thing is, now with 0:18:27.260 --> 0:18:30.840 your tape measure, you measure left 16 inches and right 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:34.340 16 inches, and instead of having to guess over the 0:18:34.380 --> 0:18:38.340 whole surface of the shower, you've got another really, really 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:41.300 good guess of where you're likely going to find the 0:18:41.340 --> 0:18:44.919 next stud and the next row of screw heads. And 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:50.320 you can locate every stud behind that shower wall. with 0:18:50.380 --> 0:18:53.260 this $ 10 magnet and a piece of string, as long 0:18:53.300 --> 0:18:57.850 as you're patient enough and just apply those techniques. And then, 0:18:58.010 --> 0:19:01.490 my friend, you've got your locations of your studs. And 0:19:01.530 --> 0:19:04.710 when it comes to that, the final test is to 0:19:05.730 --> 0:19:09.190 run a pilot hole with a drill bit, a couple 0:19:09.210 --> 0:19:12.030 inches deep of drill bit, very, very small drill bit, 0:19:12.950 --> 0:19:16.230 in through the wall and make sure that when you 0:19:16.270 --> 0:19:21.109 drill through, you hit wood. Now, The drill bit, you 0:19:21.150 --> 0:19:23.520 want it as close as possible to where you're going 0:19:23.540 --> 0:19:26.919 to put your grab bar. And the key here is 0:19:26.980 --> 0:19:30.900 that you want to drill through the grout, not the tile, 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:34.680 because the tile will chip and make an unsightly mark. 0:19:34.940 --> 0:19:38.180 And if you're wrong for some reason, we can always 0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:40.490 do a little bit of caulking or patching of the 0:19:40.530 --> 0:19:43.689 grout line, but we can't redo the surface of the tile. 0:19:46.390 --> 0:19:50.540 And that's the procedure. And very rarely, very, very. rarely, 0:19:50.580 --> 0:19:52.399 if you take your time with this, are you going 0:19:52.420 --> 0:19:53.900 to get it wrong. How does that sound, Jeff? 0:19:55.060 --> 0:19:58.740 Sounds pretty good. Now, what if the grout line isn't 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:01.780 lined up with where you want the grab bar or 0:20:01.820 --> 0:20:02.560 where the stud is? 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:06.880 Yeah, that's fine. I just want you to figure out, like, 0:20:07.100 --> 0:20:10.790 here's the stud. And either up or down below it 0:20:11.410 --> 0:20:15.120 is going to be a grout line. And I'm sure 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:18.639 your grab bar, with the escutcheon plate that's around it, 0:20:19.380 --> 0:20:22.560 it could adjust up or down an inch on its end. 0:20:22.700 --> 0:20:25.460 And so the idea is just using the grout that's 0:20:25.560 --> 0:20:29.320 in line with the stud at that point in order 0:20:29.380 --> 0:20:31.420 to test out the theory to make sure you're really 0:20:31.480 --> 0:20:35.200 going into wood. Or if you're super confident at that point, 0:20:36.160 --> 0:20:38.180 you know, you can just drill through the tile with 0:20:38.220 --> 0:20:43.080 a masonry, you know, tile bit and get to the wood. 0:20:44.010 --> 0:20:44.570 Hmm, okay. 0:20:47.869 --> 0:20:49.590 Okay, now these are large tiles. 0:20:51.070 --> 0:20:53.030 Okay, so you don't have a lot of grout lines. 0:20:53.070 --> 0:20:57.520 So here, then you're basically going to just very carefully... 0:20:57.590 --> 0:21:00.890 Locate those studs. Make sure by, you know, you've got 0:21:00.990 --> 0:21:03.649 three dots going up, three or four dots going up 0:21:03.710 --> 0:21:06.690 in a line, and you're going to center those in there, 0:21:06.730 --> 0:21:08.620 and then you're going to know. You're going to know 0:21:08.900 --> 0:21:11.439 this is where your stud is at. And I guarantee you, 0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:14.359 if the screw, if the magnet clings to the screw, 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:17.240 the screw is in the stud, and so you're going 0:21:17.260 --> 0:21:19.180 to find the stud. And so when you drill through 0:21:19.220 --> 0:21:21.510 for wherever you have to drill through, you're going to 0:21:21.550 --> 0:21:21.910 hit wood. 0:21:22.850 --> 0:21:23.410 Okay. Okay. 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:27.460 Because you've got that stud is an inch and a 0:21:27.520 --> 0:21:30.310 half wide. Your magnet is only three quarters of an 0:21:30.369 --> 0:21:32.930 inch wide. So when it settles in on a screw head, 0:21:33.290 --> 0:21:36.050 you're going to be within the boundaries of the stud edges. 0:21:37.690 --> 0:21:39.470 Well, OK, we'll give that a shot. 0:21:40.109 --> 0:21:43.510 All right, Jeff, good luck with that. Ten dollars, ten 0:21:43.570 --> 0:21:47.879 dollars or a couple three hundred dollars, whichever, you know, 0:21:48.100 --> 0:21:50.520 you want to do. Either way, it's going to work 0:21:50.580 --> 0:21:52.780 for you. All right, y'all. We're going to take a 0:21:52.820 --> 0:21:55.280 quick break. Then we're going to come back and go 0:21:55.359 --> 0:21:58.429 back to the phones. You're home with Dean Sharp, the 0:21:58.450 --> 0:21:59.030 house whisperer. 0:21:59.910 --> 0:22:03.210 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp, on demand from 0:22:03.270 --> 0:22:04.210 KFI AM640. 0:22:04.690 --> 0:22:09.449 Yeah, that's an AI image there, Tina. Tina just texted 0:22:09.490 --> 0:22:13.740 me an image she saw. Is it on Facebook here 0:22:13.760 --> 0:22:17.320 or is it on Instagram? Instagram. Tiny house, perfect. 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:18.220 Yeah. 0:22:19.150 --> 0:22:21.790 That is beautiful. We could actually take that and modify 0:22:21.830 --> 0:22:24.170