WEBVTT - Home Security | Hour 2 0:00:00.510 --> 0:00:04.860 KFI AM 640, you're listening to Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer, 0:00:05.130 --> 0:00:07.620 on demand on the iHeartRadio app. 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:11.640 I am being joined this morning by the other House Whisperer, 0:00:12.160 --> 0:00:15.420 my better half, my design partner, Tina, who's sitting across 0:00:15.460 --> 0:00:18.360 the table from me. Good morning to you as well. 0:00:18.380 --> 0:00:20.790 We're in the second hour of the show. We're in 0:00:20.810 --> 0:00:26.890 the second hour. That's what I just said. I'm agreeing 0:00:26.930 --> 0:00:30.470 with you. It is the second hour. You're being very affirming. 0:00:30.610 --> 0:00:33.550 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for that encouragement. Are 0:00:33.570 --> 0:00:39.809 you practicing that mirroring conversational technique in which you listen 0:00:39.850 --> 0:00:41.990 to somebody talking and you just repeat back to them 0:00:42.030 --> 0:00:44.319 the last part of the sentence that they just said? 0:00:44.340 --> 0:00:51.100 I sure am. I'm repeating back the things I hear. 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:58.010 Which you just did, again. I did it again. All right. 0:00:58.470 --> 0:01:03.090 Tina's here. She's relatively useless at the moment, but she's here. 0:01:03.290 --> 0:01:03.630 Hey. 0:01:04.290 --> 0:01:07.030 See, that got an original sentence out of you, didn't it? 0:01:07.250 --> 0:01:08.730 Didn't it? It sure did. 0:01:10.810 --> 0:01:11.130 All right. 0:01:11.430 --> 0:01:15.789 We are talking home security today, and we will return 0:01:15.850 --> 0:01:18.810 to that conversation in just a bit. But here we 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:22.170 are in the middle of the show. where we traditionally 0:01:22.230 --> 0:01:24.819 go to the phones. And we got some calls on 0:01:24.860 --> 0:01:26.520 the board, but I also want to let you know 0:01:26.560 --> 0:01:28.699 we got room for you, my friend. There's room for 0:01:28.740 --> 0:01:31.070 you on our call board today. So the number to 0:01:31.110 --> 0:01:37.310 reach me, 833-2-ASK-DEAN. 833, the numeral 2, and then you 0:01:37.350 --> 0:01:43.420 just spell out ASK-DEAN. 833-2-ASK-DEAN. It's just that simple. Anything 0:01:43.459 --> 0:01:46.280 that's got you scratching your head about your home. Let's 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:48.340 talk about it. We'll put our heads together. We'll figure 0:01:48.380 --> 0:01:52.280 it out. All right. I want to talk to Margie. Margie, 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:57.090 welcome home. Can I hear Margie? 0:02:02.380 --> 0:02:02.580 All right. 0:02:02.620 --> 0:02:05.550 Hang on. Hang on. We're working it out. We're working 0:02:05.590 --> 0:02:12.989 it out. Margie, are you there? 0:02:14.350 --> 0:02:15.770 Yes, I am. Hi. 0:02:16.050 --> 0:02:17.650 Good morning. How can I help you? 0:02:18.850 --> 0:02:19.400 Good morning. 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:19.959 Thank you. 0:02:20.940 --> 0:02:25.700 Aside from loving your show, I don't know if this 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:28.779 is a question that you could answer or not, but 0:02:29.510 --> 0:02:33.620 I'm a senior and I live in California, Southern, and 0:02:33.660 --> 0:02:37.040 I'm trying to decide if a home is worth purchasing 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:41.920 at this stage or a condo or a townhouse. But 0:02:42.530 --> 0:02:45.489 I just was wondering if you had any thoughts on that. 0:02:46.410 --> 0:02:46.750 Okay. 0:02:47.110 --> 0:02:51.989 Well, give me some more info. So, you know, When 0:02:52.010 --> 0:02:54.910 you're asking whether a home is worth purchasing at this 0:02:54.970 --> 0:02:59.410 stage as a senior, I think the real important question, 0:02:59.450 --> 0:03:02.169 I mean, are you looking to build equity and be 0:03:02.350 --> 0:03:04.930 able to sell it and move on? Are you thinking, oh, 0:03:05.030 --> 0:03:08.620 I want to get into a forever home situation? Do 0:03:08.660 --> 0:03:11.090 you have somebody you want to hand the home off 0:03:11.180 --> 0:03:14.100 to in the future? What are your thoughts? 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:18.839 No, I don't have anybody to hand it off to 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:22.880 in the future. And uh, equity probably doesn't even make 0:03:23.020 --> 0:03:26.820 sense at my age. So that's why I'm really struggling, 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:31.450 especially with the cost, you know, of homes in California, um, 0:03:31.870 --> 0:03:33.810 whether or not it's worth it anymore. 0:03:34.410 --> 0:03:34.650 Right. 0:03:34.730 --> 0:03:36.890 Well, that's, that's the big question, isn't it? 0:03:37.410 --> 0:03:40.610 And I think the repairs, you know, all the repairs 0:03:40.670 --> 0:03:43.310 that usually you have to have, you know, when you 0:03:43.350 --> 0:03:43.770 have a home. 0:03:44.110 --> 0:03:44.330 Yeah. 0:03:44.590 --> 0:03:44.810 Yeah. 0:03:45.530 --> 0:03:49.710 Um, I think that's really, I mean, I'm not sure 0:03:49.750 --> 0:03:51.630 I'm the one who can answer that question for you. 0:03:52.570 --> 0:03:54.990 I can certainly tell you this. I mean, of the 0:03:55.090 --> 0:03:58.310 three categories, the main category, or four, I'm going to 0:03:58.330 --> 0:04:01.880 say you're renting, renting anything. Number two, if you're going 0:04:01.900 --> 0:04:06.100 to buy, you're looking at a home or a townhome 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:10.660 or a condo. Condos are easier to get into as 0:04:10.740 --> 0:04:17.570 far as cost is concerned. Condos are, I mean, I 0:04:17.610 --> 0:04:21.240 might be thinking in those categories, terms for you. I 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:25.250 don't know why exactly. I don't know all the details, 0:04:25.350 --> 0:04:29.570 but I'm just thinking, okay, of the three, a home, 0:04:30.070 --> 0:04:34.150 a single family home, it has the most equity growing 0:04:34.210 --> 0:04:37.430 potential in it and the fastest equity growing potential. But 0:04:37.490 --> 0:04:40.599 everything is on you there, all the repairs, all the upkeep, 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:45.380 it meets yours. And so from the property line in 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:49.460 It's all you. It's all on you. And if that's 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:51.960 what your dream is, then that's what you should do. 0:04:52.850 --> 0:04:54.810 A lot of people these days are kind of splitting 0:04:54.830 --> 0:04:59.150 the baby and going for townhomes because townhomes have a 0:04:59.430 --> 0:05:03.770 good equity growth, but there's HOA and people take care 0:05:03.790 --> 0:05:06.070 of the outside stuff. You only take care of the 0:05:06.130 --> 0:05:10.560 inside stuff. But of the three, condos are the most 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:14.940 in control by other people. It's just the interior that 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:19.790 is essentially... yours in terms of ownership. And so if 0:05:19.830 --> 0:05:22.450 you find yourself in a good condo complex in which 0:05:22.610 --> 0:05:25.789 the HOA there is really taking care of things, the 0:05:25.830 --> 0:05:29.229 grounds are lovely, all the rest of the condos are 0:05:29.270 --> 0:05:32.750 well kept, the paint, the fencing, the sidewalks, all of that, 0:05:33.690 --> 0:05:36.700 then you may end up in a situation where you've 0:05:36.740 --> 0:05:39.680 got that sense of ownership and belonging, which you're not 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:43.900 paying rent to somebody. And if the price is right, 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:47.510 maybe something like that in which you don't have the 0:05:47.589 --> 0:05:51.530 burden of taking care of all the everything about it. 0:05:51.910 --> 0:05:52.710 Does that make sense? 0:05:53.910 --> 0:05:54.830 Yes, it does. 0:05:55.210 --> 0:05:58.610 But I think ultimately it comes down to your priorities too. 0:05:58.730 --> 0:06:02.600 I mean, I don't think If Tina, you know, who's 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:05.060 sitting across the table from me, staring at me here, 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:09.480 was ever in a situation where she wanted to downsize 0:06:09.540 --> 0:06:13.320 or whatever, she would, I guarantee you, elect to live 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:15.860 in a shack in the wilderness before she would buy 0:06:15.900 --> 0:06:19.730 a condo. Because for her, it's the proxy. And I 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:23.450 don't mean to say this in a way that demeans 0:06:23.529 --> 0:06:25.610 Tina in any way. You just got to understand, because 0:06:25.630 --> 0:06:28.490 she's the sweetest, most friendliest person you'll ever know. 0:06:28.890 --> 0:06:29.050 But. 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:32.940 At the end of the day, Tina will pay big 0:06:33.020 --> 0:06:35.770 money to get away from other people. I mean, big money. 0:06:37.270 --> 0:06:42.300 So the thought of sharing walls with other people living 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:45.980 next door for Tina, that would be a down. But 0:06:46.020 --> 0:06:48.860 that's not the case for everybody. That's why it really is. 0:06:48.980 --> 0:06:50.930 It really comes down to you. But does that help 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:51.190 at all? 0:06:52.529 --> 0:06:55.370 Yeah, absolutely, because I do feel more like Tina. 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:59.799 There you go. Okay, so I think when you're making 0:06:59.860 --> 0:07:06.420 those big moves, you really should not hesitate to write 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:11.660 out the dream list. We talk about this in terms 0:07:11.700 --> 0:07:13.680 of design all the time, and I know you've listened 0:07:13.700 --> 0:07:18.970 to the show. Dreaming and prioritizing your own you know, 0:07:19.050 --> 0:07:22.230 emotional wants and desires, that's free. You're not having to 0:07:22.270 --> 0:07:25.090 spend any money yet. You might as well write out, 0:07:25.270 --> 0:07:28.430 think through all of those factors and let them all 0:07:28.490 --> 0:07:31.530 boil down and then filter them with the realities and 0:07:31.550 --> 0:07:33.450 the constraints that you have in your life. And I 0:07:33.490 --> 0:07:37.390 think you'll come to the best possible, you know, middle 0:07:37.430 --> 0:07:38.070 ground with it all. 0:07:39.670 --> 0:07:43.010 Yes, I've been struggling with it for quite some time. 0:07:43.630 --> 0:07:46.290 But I really appreciate it. I always like other people's 0:07:46.350 --> 0:07:49.540 opinion that I respect, and yours is one of them. 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:52.220 Oh, well, thanks, Margie. Thanks so much for the call. 0:07:52.940 --> 0:07:56.600 We're up against a break, and so best of luck. 0:07:56.640 --> 0:07:59.400 Let me know what you decide. Please, please let me know. 0:07:59.420 --> 0:08:02.590 All right, more of your calls when we return. You're 0:08:02.650 --> 0:08:04.910 home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer. 0:08:05.870 --> 0:08:09.170 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp, on demand from 0:08:09.230 --> 0:08:10.130 KFI AM640. 0:08:11.260 --> 0:08:14.320 We're talking home security, but we are here in the 0:08:14.420 --> 0:08:17.140 middle of the show, which means I'm taking calls right now. 0:08:17.370 --> 0:08:20.730 And when it comes to your calls, any topic is 0:08:20.870 --> 0:08:23.830 wide open. Whatever you need to talk to me about 0:08:23.870 --> 0:08:28.990 your home about. The number to reach me, 833-2-ASK-DEAN. 833, 0:08:28.990 --> 0:08:34.670 the numeral 2, and you just spell out Ask Dean. 833-2-ASK-DEAN. 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:37.500 Give me a call. Let's talk about your home. I 0:08:37.540 --> 0:08:41.350 want to talk to James. about his home. Hey, James, 0:08:41.710 --> 0:08:50.650 welcome home. Okay, hang tight. We're having a little phone 0:08:50.700 --> 0:08:52.979 issue here today. James, are you there, bud? 0:08:54.500 --> 0:08:55.540 Yes, Dean, I'm here. 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:57.760 Hey, good morning, my friend. Welcome home. 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:03.180 Good to be with you on this beautiful, cloudy, rainy day. 0:09:03.420 --> 0:09:06.680 Yes, exactly. Exactly my thought. Exactly. 0:09:06.700 --> 0:09:11.760 So, My question for you is we upgraded our electrical panel, uh, 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:15.860 approximately four years ago and we didn't do the entire 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:18.970 wiring and I'm not sure if the guy changed the 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:21.890 breakers at all. Um, but we just put a new 0:09:21.929 --> 0:09:28.250 box in, um, and it's been operating fine until recently. 0:09:29.110 --> 0:09:33.230 Our kitchen, when we use more than one appliance, that 0:09:33.270 --> 0:09:38.070 breaker blows and now in our sunroom, which has a TV, 0:09:38.710 --> 0:09:44.300 standalone AC, is also on the same breaker with the garage, 0:09:44.380 --> 0:09:49.420 which has the opener. Now that breaker is blowing. My 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:52.800 question to you is, can I duct tape it and 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:56.370 just maybe split the breakers between the garage and the sunroom? 0:09:57.330 --> 0:10:01.240 I'm not sure about the kitchen. Or should we just 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.240 go all in and get the whole thing replaced? 0:10:05.260 --> 0:10:05.640 Okay. 0:10:06.740 --> 0:10:07.620 Wires and everything. 0:10:08.500 --> 0:10:08.860 Okay. 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:09.700 So. 0:10:10.860 --> 0:10:14.740 This is a bit of a complex question. So, all right, 0:10:15.160 --> 0:10:18.179 let me first ask you this. When you said that 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:23.870 you upgraded the panel, okay, what does that mean? You 0:10:23.970 --> 0:10:28.730 tore out the old panel and got a new main 0:10:28.770 --> 0:10:29.550 panel for the house? 0:10:31.550 --> 0:10:31.819 Yes. 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:34.040 Okay. 0:10:34.900 --> 0:10:37.600 I'll do anything in the house except electrical, so that's 0:10:37.900 --> 0:10:40.319 kind of the reason why I called. I'm sorry if 0:10:40.340 --> 0:10:42.080 I don't have a more in-depth explanation. 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:44.280 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm 0:10:44.300 --> 0:10:46.560 just trying to get a handle on the right way 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:50.280 to answer your question. So you have a brand-new electrical panel, 0:10:50.330 --> 0:10:53.550 which means you're not struggling with old breakers. Because you 0:10:53.570 --> 0:10:56.829 get a brand-new electrical panel, brand-new electrical panel comes with 0:10:56.910 --> 0:10:59.790 new breakers. Okay? In other words, it's... Okay, all right. 0:10:59.830 --> 0:11:03.290 So it's not... You know, you don't have... you know, 0:11:03.290 --> 0:11:07.290 60 year old breakers fit into a brand new electrical panel. 0:11:07.309 --> 0:11:09.710 And so that's the first very, very important question. 0:11:09.770 --> 0:11:10.030 Okay. 0:11:10.070 --> 0:11:14.300 Now, now the question of when the panel got switched out. Okay. 0:11:14.740 --> 0:11:17.020 What you have is you've got all of these circuits 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:20.480 running to the main panel. So you have a circuit 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:23.219 for the, you know, the family room outlets, and you've 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:25.070 got a circuit for the lights in the family room. 0:11:25.090 --> 0:11:27.240 You've got a circuit for the kitchen outlets and you've got, 0:11:27.250 --> 0:11:29.670 you know, all these different circuits. And the question of 0:11:29.730 --> 0:11:34.290 whether or not those circuits are get their own individual breaker, 0:11:34.510 --> 0:11:37.910 or whether for some reason or other the electrician piled 0:11:39.050 --> 0:11:42.429 on two or three circuits into a single breaker or not, 0:11:42.490 --> 0:11:45.510 that is a question that sounds like needs to be 0:11:45.630 --> 0:11:49.819 answered in regards to your panel. And so that's something 0:11:50.380 --> 0:11:52.540 that you need to have an electrician take a look 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:55.580 at and evaluate for you. But I will tell you this, 0:11:56.740 --> 0:12:01.829 every circuit in your home should ideally have its own 0:12:01.950 --> 0:12:05.689 breaker connected to it. So in other words, we don't 0:12:05.870 --> 0:12:09.890 want to, in fact, it's against electrical code to add 0:12:10.170 --> 0:12:16.030 multiple circuits into a single breaker. Every set of lead 0:12:16.110 --> 0:12:21.500 wire and common wire, the black or the red wires 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.670 and the white wires that come into the panel, Those 0:12:24.710 --> 0:12:28.840 should be going into individual breakers, rated for whatever it 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:32.179 is the gauge of the wire is. The gauge of 0:12:32.220 --> 0:12:36.380 the wire in your home, most of it is 14-gauge wire. 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.680 Some of it might be 12-gauge wire. I know this 0:12:39.820 --> 0:12:42.940 is getting a little technical in the weeds, but I'm 0:12:42.980 --> 0:12:45.980 just telling you that's what you've got in your house. 14-gauge, 0:12:46.020 --> 0:12:50.620 that's lighter wire. That's for regular outlets and lamp circuits 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:54.359 and stuff like that. Heavier duty things, 12-gauge wire, that's 0:12:54.420 --> 0:12:57.969 for 20-amp breakers, okay? Most of the breakers in a 0:12:58.000 --> 0:13:02.250 residential home are 15-amp breakers, and every circuit should have 0:13:02.470 --> 0:13:06.089 its own, okay? Does that make sense? I'll tell you what, bud. 0:13:06.830 --> 0:13:11.010 I want to keep you on hold, and we'll pick 0:13:11.030 --> 0:13:12.890 this up on the other side of the break, all right? 0:13:13.050 --> 0:13:16.390 You hang tight. You're home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer. 0:13:17.179 --> 0:13:20.459 You're listening to home with Dean sharp on demand from 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:22.800 KFI AM six 40. 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:26.070 We're talking home security today. Uh, and, but right now 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:29.010 we're middle of the show, which means we're taking your calls. 0:13:29.530 --> 0:13:33.210 I've got James on the line. James, are you still 0:13:33.230 --> 0:13:33.670 with me, bud? 0:13:34.850 --> 0:13:35.270 Yes, sir. 0:13:35.470 --> 0:13:35.709 All right. 0:13:36.690 --> 0:13:40.130 Uh, so I wanted to hold you over just to, uh, 0:13:40.429 --> 0:13:44.939 to finish off, uh, our conversation about your electrical panel 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:48.130 and your electrical issues. Um, And I know that it 0:13:48.750 --> 0:13:51.350 gets into the technical weeds, so I'm trying to keep 0:13:51.429 --> 0:13:51.790 it as. 0:13:53.750 --> 0:13:57.350 I understood what you said. And while the short time 0:13:57.370 --> 0:13:59.489 I have left with you, I wanted to just say 0:13:59.510 --> 0:14:02.550 that the assessment that you gave me of the electrician 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:07.280 piling on too many things and not issuing a particular 0:14:07.340 --> 0:14:09.760 breaker for the circuits, I'm going to go with that. 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:14.280 The question I hope you could answer is when we 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:17.819 do get an electrician come out, The one that we had, 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.700 I think, was a little sketchy. What are some questions 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:24.920 that I can ask? And what should I be looking 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:26.640 out for to know that I'm not getting scammed? 0:14:27.140 --> 0:14:30.560 Okay. The questions you want to ask. Well, first of all, 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:35.090 you want a fully licensed electrician. Okay. And number two. 0:14:36.060 --> 0:14:38.820 You want to make sure that that license is clean, 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:40.850 that there's no complaints on it. You want to check 0:14:40.870 --> 0:14:45.010 their license as with every contractor with the California State 0:14:45.070 --> 0:14:49.010 License Bureau. You go to CSLB.gov and just do a 0:14:49.050 --> 0:14:51.550 license check right there and you get to learn everything 0:14:51.590 --> 0:14:54.970 you need to know as far as their standing with things. 0:14:55.390 --> 0:14:57.250 The second thing is you just want to tell them, listen, 0:14:57.310 --> 0:15:00.170 I don't want any shortcuts. I don't want any shortcuts. 0:15:00.470 --> 0:15:02.450 This is not rocket science here. I just want this 0:15:02.530 --> 0:15:05.770 done right. So I got a new panel. I should 0:15:05.820 --> 0:15:09.600 have room for more circuit breakers, and so ease off 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:12.479 and let's refigure these circuits. I need somebody to help 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:16.109 me figure out these circuits so that we're not having 0:15:16.210 --> 0:15:21.210 this problem. So that's the basic of it, James. The 0:15:21.350 --> 0:15:23.690 other thing that I want you to write down, though, 0:15:23.930 --> 0:15:28.370 is that the weird thing about what you're saying– to me, 0:15:29.190 --> 0:15:32.150 that has me scratching my head is that this work 0:15:32.210 --> 0:15:35.350 was done about four years ago, but just recently you're 0:15:35.370 --> 0:15:40.270 starting to see the breakers pop. So that's a little 0:15:40.290 --> 0:15:43.870 bit trickier because if it was done wrong from day one, 0:15:44.430 --> 0:15:49.790 then we should have probably seen things happen from day one. Although, 0:15:50.150 --> 0:15:53.660 if you're using those couple of rooms differently right now 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.910 than you have been in the past, That could explain it. 0:15:58.110 --> 0:16:01.710 So the other reasons, though, there's only about four things 0:16:01.750 --> 0:16:04.720 that could be going on. You could have overloaded circuits. 0:16:04.790 --> 0:16:07.050 That's what we talked about, right? Too many circuits going 0:16:07.100 --> 0:16:10.120 into a single breaker or too many things on a 0:16:10.180 --> 0:16:14.440 breaker size that just isn't designed to handle it. There 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:17.700 could be some issues with appliances or the things that 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.770 you've got plugged into it. And here's where that comes 0:16:20.810 --> 0:16:24.340 into play. If they put in, and you just write 0:16:24.380 --> 0:16:29.240 this down, if they put in AFCI breakers, those are 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:33.700 arc fault circuit interrupter breakers, which, by the way, is 0:16:33.780 --> 0:16:38.250 code for most areas now. Arc fault breakers are different 0:16:39.390 --> 0:16:45.250 than GFI breakers or standard breakers. They're super, super sensitive breakers. 0:16:46.210 --> 0:16:49.830 And they have a reputation for getting more sensitive as 0:16:49.910 --> 0:16:53.650 time goes on. And sometimes they just start going. They're 0:16:53.690 --> 0:16:58.660 sensitive to minor wiring quirks, aging electronics, power fluctuations, all 0:16:58.700 --> 0:17:01.020 that kind of stuff. That's also something to look at. 0:17:01.500 --> 0:17:07.400 But maybe the other culprit is this, loose wiring or 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.370 a poorly connected breaker. And this would go back to 0:17:10.420 --> 0:17:13.970 the electrician who's just kind of maybe sketchy and not 0:17:14.010 --> 0:17:16.690 putting in the full effort. When it comes to tightening 0:17:16.770 --> 0:17:22.220 wires down in an electrical panel, over the course of 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:26.800 my career, I've seen the differential between electricians who take 0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:29.399 their time and electricians who are just blowing and going 0:17:30.020 --> 0:17:33.210 being the time that they spend tightening wire nuts and 0:17:33.890 --> 0:17:39.120 clamping wires into breakers. Believe it or not, electrical wires, 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:42.959 when they've got currents running through them, even copper wire, 0:17:43.060 --> 0:17:45.790 aluminum does this like crazy, by the way, but copper wires. 0:17:46.980 --> 0:17:49.909 they expand and contract a little bit. As the circuit 0:17:49.950 --> 0:17:52.270 runs through it, they expand a little bit, then they contract. 0:17:52.350 --> 0:17:55.930 So they can loosen themselves in a connection. And once 0:17:55.970 --> 0:17:59.669 you start to get a slightly loosened connection, like the 0:17:59.770 --> 0:18:03.419 wire at the breaker itself, then it can start creating 0:18:03.540 --> 0:18:08.060 tiny micro arcs where the electricity is jumping across in 0:18:08.100 --> 0:18:13.020 the air from one surface to the other. And as 0:18:13.060 --> 0:18:16.060 a result, boom, breakers start popping all over the place. 0:18:16.100 --> 0:18:19.179 They start tripping all over the place. So sometimes, sometimes 0:18:19.340 --> 0:18:22.980 it's as simple as somebody didn't tighten the stuff down 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:27.160 well enough and four years in, now you're starting to 0:18:27.220 --> 0:18:30.600 live the consequences of it. But again, none of this 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:33.680 replaces the idea you need to get a qualified electrician 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:35.950 in there to take a look at it. And, uh, 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:38.360 now at least you're kind of informed as to where 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:40.310 the scope of the thing is going to be. Nobody 0:18:40.330 --> 0:18:42.230 should be telling you that you got to pull the 0:18:42.270 --> 0:18:43.770 wires out of your house. I'll tell you that. 0:18:43.950 --> 0:18:44.210 Okay. 0:18:44.510 --> 0:18:47.770 It's not about that. It's about something else, James, probably 0:18:48.190 --> 0:18:51.590 far simpler, uh, than, uh, than that. Cause those wires 0:18:51.609 --> 0:18:54.379 have served your home for, you know, like 60 plus 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:56.740 years and, uh, they didn't just go bad overnight. 0:18:58.380 --> 0:18:59.939 Yeah. I think you nailed it. Cause when I went 0:18:59.960 --> 0:19:03.139 out to the box and I moved the breaker around, uh, it, 0:19:04.369 --> 0:19:07.510 the sunroom and the garage are not operational again. So 0:19:07.750 --> 0:19:09.230 I think you nailed it as far as what I 0:19:09.270 --> 0:19:11.469 need to be asking questions for. Thank you. 0:19:11.630 --> 0:19:13.859 There you go, brother. Hope, hope that helps. 0:19:15.060 --> 0:19:17.280 No, it did Dean. Thank you very much, man. All right, bud. 0:19:17.780 --> 0:19:20.899 Talk soon. Good luck. Let me know how that works out. Uh, 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:24.520 do I have time to, yeah, of course I do. 0:19:24.580 --> 0:19:28.240 Of course I'm going to start another call. Uh, let's 0:19:28.340 --> 0:19:35.240 talk about, uh, let's talk to Lily. Hey, Lily, welcome home. Okay. 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:40.060 We got to switch Lily over. And then there she is. Hey, Lily. 0:19:41.500 --> 0:19:41.859 Hi. 0:19:42.060 --> 0:19:42.379 Hi. 0:19:42.440 --> 0:19:44.370 Dean, I'm so happy to talk to you. 0:19:44.530 --> 0:19:46.130 Well, I'm so happy to talk to you. 0:19:48.030 --> 0:19:53.220 Hey, we have a... three-foot-high smooth-finished stucco wall. 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:53.440 Uh-oh. 0:19:53.460 --> 0:19:54.939 It was just redone. 0:19:54.980 --> 0:19:55.320 No, I'm sorry. 0:19:55.619 --> 0:19:59.800 And we put a natural flagstone cap on it. It 0:19:59.840 --> 0:20:04.740 has probably a one-and-a-half-inch overhang. But we recently noticed that 0:20:04.869 --> 0:20:08.950 other walls that are similar in the neighborhood have After 0:20:09.030 --> 0:20:12.720 the rain, the minerals we think from the flagstone drain 0:20:12.780 --> 0:20:17.020 down the walls and stain the walls. Is there something 0:20:17.080 --> 0:20:21.310 we can put either on the wall, on the stucco, 0:20:21.590 --> 0:20:26.410 or on the flagstone? to stop this from happening so 0:20:26.650 --> 0:20:28.810 our wall isn't affected the same way? 0:20:29.650 --> 0:20:29.990 Yeah. 0:20:30.330 --> 0:20:33.489 Yeah, I mean, that can help. It's not an absolute guarantee, 0:20:33.570 --> 0:20:37.590 but for sure it can help. Okay, so let's review. 0:20:37.630 --> 0:20:41.370 It's a three-foot-high wall, block wall? 0:20:42.950 --> 0:20:46.260 It's a block wall, and the stucco matches our house. 0:20:46.390 --> 0:20:49.840 Okay, you've covered in stucco to match your house. The 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:52.030 stucco itself, painted.... 0:20:53.660 --> 0:20:55.000 No, it's not painted. 0:20:55.180 --> 0:20:59.639 Okay, so is that because the stucco on your house 0:20:59.700 --> 0:21:02.360 is like a smooth coat with the color in the stucco? 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:07.070 Yes, that's correct. It is a smooth coat. 0:21:07.140 --> 0:21:11.210 Okay, so it's not a painted wall because the stucco 0:21:11.230 --> 0:21:13.690 on the house is a smooth coat and the color 0:21:13.730 --> 0:21:15.990 is in the stucco, so you don't have a painted house. 0:21:16.350 --> 0:21:20.330 You have a colorized stuccoed house. Okay, so here's the trick, okay? 0:21:21.020 --> 0:21:24.500 You want to seal them both. Seal both the stone 0:21:24.560 --> 0:21:28.920 cap and the stucco, okay? But, and this is important, 0:21:29.060 --> 0:21:35.700 you want to put on a penetrating sealer on the stucco, okay? 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:39.320 A penetrating sealer that in no, and I say that 0:21:39.400 --> 0:21:41.940 because any other kind of sealer that you put on 0:21:41.980 --> 0:21:45.610 the stucco runs the risk of slightly darkening the stucco. 0:21:45.710 --> 0:21:48.690 It could give it that permanent wet look, and now 0:21:48.750 --> 0:21:53.410 it's not going to match the house. It's still going 0:21:53.430 --> 0:21:55.209 to look like the house, but it's going to be 0:21:55.230 --> 0:21:56.970 a different tone. It's going to look like the wall 0:21:57.020 --> 0:22:00.380 is wet all the time. So a penetrating sealer that 0:22:00.420 --> 0:22:03.940 will help to seal the stucco, and you could put 0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:08.330 two or three coats on. And that's not the kind 0:22:08.350 --> 0:22:11.170 of thing that gets used and abused, so you probably 0:22:11.210 --> 0:22:13.530 won't have to do that for several years after the fact. 0:22:13.550 --> 0:22:16.670 But a penetrating sealer on the stucco will certainly help 0:22:17.070 --> 0:22:20.869 whatever mineralization happens to run down the surface of the 0:22:20.910 --> 0:22:26.780 wall from sticking and getting into the pores of the stucco, 0:22:26.820 --> 0:22:29.199 getting into the porosity of the stucco and bonding to 0:22:29.220 --> 0:22:32.020 the stucco and causing a permanent stain. So that's one 0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:36.379 safeguard there. is seal the stucco. Up on top, on 0:22:36.420 --> 0:22:39.770 the stone itself, I would put on a really, really 0:22:39.830 --> 0:22:45.850 good surface sealer for the stone. Again, penetrating sealer, but 0:22:46.109 --> 0:22:51.869 a high-quality stone sealer. So again, the water that hits 0:22:52.130 --> 0:22:58.820 the stone cap isn't actually getting into the granulation of 0:22:58.880 --> 0:23:01.680 the stone itself and having the opportunity to wash that 0:23:01.780 --> 0:23:04.810 stone down onto the stucco wall. So is this an 0:23:05.010 --> 0:23:09.380 absolute guarantee? No, it is not an absolute guarantee that 0:23:09.460 --> 0:23:11.760 you won't have any of that transfer, but what you're 0:23:11.780 --> 0:23:16.260 doing is you're completely minimizing the washout of the stone 0:23:16.500 --> 0:23:18.820 against the wall. Does that make sense? 0:23:20.109 --> 0:23:21.470 That makes absolute sense. 0:23:21.770 --> 0:23:24.290