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Larson Keeney Home Services with Andrew Larson · Ask The Experts

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: 806-1310-WIBA and Ask the Experts brought to you by Larson
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Keeney Home Services. Online, LarsonKeeneyHomeServices.com. That's L-A-R-S-O-N-K-E-E-N-E-Y, HomeServices.com. Two E's
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  Speaker 1: followed by one E in Keeney. That's Larson Keeney Home Services.
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  Speaker 1: Their telephone number, that is 608-535-4343.
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  Speaker 2: That's 608-535-4343. 535-4343.
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  Speaker 1: Joining us this morning from Larson Keeney Home Services, the one,
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  Speaker 1: the only Andrew Larson. Andrew, how are you doing this morning?
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  Speaker 2: If I was any better, I'd be you, Sean. That's
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  Speaker 2: kind of my new thing. I don't know. It's beautiful.
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  Speaker 2: It's The weather's changing. I don't know. It's just a
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  Speaker 2: great day to be a great day.
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  Speaker 1: It is a great, great day. It looks like it's
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  Speaker 1: going to be a fantastic one. I had a real
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  Speaker 1: quick before we get to this week's conversation. You grew up,
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  Speaker 1: for folks that don't know, a northern part of the state,
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  Speaker 1: a beautiful part of the state, Baldwin, Wisconsin. Anybody that's
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  Speaker 1: ever traveled maybe between Eau Claire and the Twin Cities or...
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  Speaker 1: Some of those areas probably have passed through that area.
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  Speaker 1: Beautiful area. One of the problems with that area, though,
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  Speaker 1: is if you grow up a Packer fan, you run
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  Speaker 1: into a lot of Vikings fans.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Are they treating you OK this week following what happened
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  Speaker 1: on Sunday?
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  Speaker 2: No, no. I feel for you. No, it was my
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  Speaker 2: phone was a nonstop school, school, school, school, school. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I just I don't even want to get into it,
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  Speaker 2: but I will say this.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not worried. I'm really not worried. That was a
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  Speaker 2: complete– I'm not worried about it. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: There's something– there's a level of obnoxiousness, though, about Vikings
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  Speaker 1: fans in particular. So I know it will give you
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  Speaker 1: some motivation as you do your morning workouts this week.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and it just so happens that, like, my fantasy
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  Speaker 2: football league, half are Viking fans. Oh, jeez. It's just, it's,
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  Speaker 2: it's great. That's the disdain grows even deeper. So, but
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  Speaker 2: you know what, we move on to the next week
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  Speaker 2: and you know, hopefully it's not a complete internal. fall apart,
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  Speaker 2: but we are getting really good at losing after we
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  Speaker 2: have a really nice lead. I mean, it's, it's getting
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  Speaker 2: quite obnoxious and almost comical now. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Andrew too, something that, that brings a lot
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  Speaker 1: of us joy, but then can really, really cause issues
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  Speaker 1: and be upsetting, uh, is folks with skylights and much
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  Speaker 1: like your, your favorite football team, everything's great. And you'd
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  Speaker 1: love NFL football. And then Oh, my goodness. It just collapses.
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  Speaker 1: It just falls apart. It stops operating the way it should.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to talk about skylights this week. And they
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  Speaker 1: can be the bane of homeowners existence at times, can't they?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it can be the bane of roofing contractors existence
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  Speaker 2: as well. Here's the deal. The reason I wanted to
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  Speaker 2: talk about this is we were shooting some podcasts yesterday
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  Speaker 2: and we did. We always have an episode once a
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  Speaker 2: month that's called Reddit Fails. So we go on Reddit,
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  Speaker 2: we're getting roofing fails, and people are sending us stuff
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  Speaker 2: on Reddit. And one of them specifically were the after
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  Speaker 2: photos of a brand new roof. Just got done, but
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  Speaker 2: stuff didn't really look right around their skylights. Well, A,
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  Speaker 2: it's because their skylights were 30 years old, and they
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  Speaker 2: didn't replace them. They did a terrible job cutting around them.
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  Speaker 2: They didn't step flash them. They just weren't done properly.
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  Speaker 2: And it was like, you know, I should talk about
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  Speaker 2: this because– as I go back to the beginnings of Larson, um,
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  Speaker 2: you know, before we were Larson Keeney, way back in
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  Speaker 2: the day when we started roofing, we would run into
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  Speaker 2: this issue a lot where people had skylights. And first off,
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  Speaker 2: first off, I just want to say, uh, not a fan,
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  Speaker 2: not a fan of skylights. I know they look beautiful
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  Speaker 2: in a house, but this is, this is one roofer's opinion.
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  Speaker 2: It doesn't mean everything, but we have installed about 10,000 roofs. Um,
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  Speaker 2: not joking, maybe a little bit more than that, actually. Um,
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  Speaker 2: If your roof is anything less than an 8 pitch, 8-12,
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  Speaker 2: I would never put a skylight on it. Even though
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  Speaker 2: they say you can, I would never do it. It
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  Speaker 2: leads to problems. But when we first started roofing, we
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  Speaker 2: ran into it often when people would have skylights and
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  Speaker 2: we'd give the estimate. And I always told my estimators
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  Speaker 2: or salespeople, I said, listen, we need to replace skylights.
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  Speaker 2: They need to be replaced with the roof. But then
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  Speaker 2: we started running into, oh, well, you're way more expensive
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  Speaker 2: than the other guy. Well, the other guy wasn't replacing
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  Speaker 2: the skylights. Well, they said, we don't need the skylights replaced.
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  Speaker 2: And then we'd do the roof. And then they would leak.
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  Speaker 2: And of course, then we would end up replacing them
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  Speaker 2: for free. Because like I say all the time, we
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  Speaker 2: service to a fault. Now, even though that wasn't our fault,
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  Speaker 2: we ended up replacing them. So we had a, I
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  Speaker 2: changed the rules. I said, if there are skylights on
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  Speaker 2: a house, I don't care if those skylights are six
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  Speaker 2: weeks old. they get replaced. It specifically says in every
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  Speaker 2: Skylight manufacturer warranty that when you re-roof, they must be
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  Speaker 2: replaced or all warranties are voided. And I'm going to
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  Speaker 2: explain it like this. So you basically have a window
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  Speaker 2: on your roof and you're maybe getting a R2 out
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  Speaker 2: of it as far as efficiency where your attic is
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  Speaker 2: like an R60. So we lose a ton of heat.
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  Speaker 2: There's always a ton of heat going through it. It's hot.
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  Speaker 2: It's cold. There is a bead of sealant on top
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  Speaker 2: of that window. And after a while, it's getting beat
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  Speaker 2: by the sun. It's hot. It's cold. It gets dried out.
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  Speaker 2: And now you go up on the roof and you
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  Speaker 2: tear off all the shingles around it and you're walking
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  Speaker 2: on it and you're banging and that window's moving. And
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  Speaker 2: what happens is that seal, it cracks or it just
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  Speaker 2: falls off. You don't notice it. The contractor can do
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  Speaker 2: The best job they can, reflashing, re-ice and watering, step flash,
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  Speaker 2: the whole thing. But the water that hits the top
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  Speaker 2: of that window can and a lot of times will leak.
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  Speaker 2: So they need to be replaced. I know it's more expensive.
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  Speaker 2: Another reason that really made me think about this was
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  Speaker 2: all of the roofs that got replaced this year so
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  Speaker 2: far from storm damage. Hmm. Insurance companies don't want to
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  Speaker 2: pay to replace those skylights. If there's not big dents
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  Speaker 2: on them or that glass isn't broke, a lot of
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  Speaker 2: times they're not going to replace them. And most contractors
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  Speaker 2: are just looking to do the job for what the
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  Speaker 2: insurance company is willing to pay. So those skylights are
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  Speaker 2: an afterthought. Here's what I know, Sean. We will be
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  Speaker 2: replacing a lot of skylights next year due to restore,
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  Speaker 2: due to this storm and them not getting replaced. We've
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  Speaker 2: lost a few jobs this year because of that. because
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  Speaker 2: the insurance company didn't want to replace them. We won't
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  Speaker 2: bend on that one. Won't do it. I've had homeowners
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  Speaker 2: sign off saying if the skylights leak, it's not our fault.
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  Speaker 2: But then when the skylights leak, it's our fault. So
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  Speaker 2: we just, we just, it's a line that we won't cross.
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  Speaker 2: And I want people to understand that skylights are beautiful.
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  Speaker 2: They can bring light into a room. They can open
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  Speaker 2: up a room, but we're putting a window on a roof.
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  Speaker 2: And I can, I mean, to be completely honest with you,
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  Speaker 2: I can also say we've almost never replaced a skylight
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  Speaker 2: that didn't have rotten wood around it or underneath it
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  Speaker 2: because they just, it's a window on your roof. I
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  Speaker 2: don't know how many times I can say it. And
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  Speaker 2: if you're getting a new roof, it should be replaced.
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  Speaker 2: And if the contractor that you're dealing with doesn't bring
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  Speaker 2: up the fact that that skylight, if he says something
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  Speaker 2: like we can just reflash that skylight, run away. Don't
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  Speaker 2: do it because when it leaks, it will be your
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  Speaker 2: fault because most contractors don't service to a fault.
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  Speaker 1: Is that something too, for homeowners that, that maybe they're
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  Speaker 1: new construction or maybe they are looking to add a skylight,
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  Speaker 1: which I, I, I'm just, I'm going to take it
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  Speaker 1: from you. And I know, I know we've talked about these,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know if on the show in the past,
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  Speaker 1: but I know off the air, you and I have
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  Speaker 1: talked about skylights in the past. Is that something that,
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  Speaker 1: that people should be asking about when they're, when they're
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  Speaker 1: considering adding these things, just about, just about any warranties or,
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  Speaker 1: or that type of thing.
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  Speaker 2: It's like, Man. Yes. So I can say this. I
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  Speaker 2: honestly don't think I see them as much in new
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  Speaker 2: builds as I used to. Okay. Most of the work
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  Speaker 2: we don't, we don't put any new ones in. That's
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  Speaker 2: just not, I mean, we have try not to, but yeah, look,
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  Speaker 2: they work a lot better on a steep roof. Let's
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  Speaker 2: just put it that way. Anything eight, 12, 10, 12, 12,
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  Speaker 2: 12 pitch, They're going to work fine because there's such
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  Speaker 2: a steep slope that there's not really an opportunity for
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  Speaker 2: water to sit on it or around it. When I
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  Speaker 2: show up and it's a four or six pitch roof
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  Speaker 2: and you've got five skylights, I cringe. I know for
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  Speaker 2: a fact we're going to have rotten wood. I know
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  Speaker 2: we are because it's just, especially on a four pitch
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  Speaker 2: or six pitch, you got to understand that that window
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  Speaker 2: sticks up three, four inches above the roof. So we're
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  Speaker 2: essentially creating a little dam right there. Yeah. A spot
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  Speaker 2: for ice to build up or snow to build up
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  Speaker 2: and then it to turn into ice, which it does
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  Speaker 2: because you're talking about an R2 to 3 as opposed
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  Speaker 2: to your attic being an R60 with air sealing. So
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  Speaker 2: you lose a ton of heat through them. So we
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  Speaker 2: go to a house that has major ice dam issues
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  Speaker 2: a lot of times. There's skylights above it. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: if I'm building a new house. Mm-hmm. And there's skylight. Actually,
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  Speaker 2: my builder, the person who designed my home, they put
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  Speaker 2: skylights in my home. I said, absolutely not take them out.
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  Speaker 2: It'll be great. It will be great until they leak,
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  Speaker 2: until they're horrible for energy. Horrible. So I would ask,
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  Speaker 2: or I would bring it up. If you want skylights,
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  Speaker 2: it needs to be on a steep pitch roof otherwise
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  Speaker 2: it leads to problems if you've got a four or
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  Speaker 2: six pitch and you're thinking about adding skylights add sun
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  Speaker 2: tunnels if you'd like to add light sun tunnels are
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  Speaker 2: going to give way more light and they don't leak
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  Speaker 2: They're designed better. They're round, round on all sides and
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: they're round on the top. So water can run off
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  Speaker 2: them and run around them. Where a skylight is a big,
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  Speaker 2: basically box rectangle that we're putting on there. I'm not saying, okay,
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  Speaker 2: now I'm not saying that I hate them. Like they
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: can look really nice in a house, but we have
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: to know, we have to know what they do. They
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  Speaker 2: should not be on a shallow pitch roof, even though
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  Speaker 2: they say they can be on a four pitch. Don't
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  Speaker 2: do it. If you're getting a new roof, they cannot
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  Speaker 2: just be reflashed. they have to be replaced. I understand
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  Speaker 2: it costs more money, but how much money does it
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  Speaker 2: cost when they're leaking in through your leaking onto your
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  Speaker 2: floor in the middle of the night, you know? So, um, Skylights.
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  Speaker 2: They're not the vein of my existence, but.
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  Speaker 1: They're up there.
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  Speaker 2: They're close. They're up there. They're close. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: If you haven't had that inspection, whether it's a roof inspection,
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  Speaker 1: of course, taking a look at those skylights and other things,
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  Speaker 1: whether you have them or not, they'd love to get
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  Speaker 1: out and take a look for you at Larson Home Services.
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  Speaker 1: Great time of year as well to pick up a phone,
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  Speaker 1: give them a call. 608-535-4343 for LarsonKiniHomeServices.com. Again, that telephone number, 608-535-4343. Andrew,
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  Speaker 1: it's always informative. My friend, you enjoy this great day,
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  Speaker 1: and we'll talk real soon.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: See you next week.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Take care. Kevin Hamm, Hamm's Arbor Care comes your way
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: next year on 1310 WIBA.