Resolve to give your home some TLC in 2015
There are the things we do routinely around the house and garden and then there are the emergencies - repairs and household tasks that get done because something breaks and you’ve got no choice.
But if you’re like most folks, you have a little deferred maintenance. They are those niggling jobs you know you should do, but keep putting off because they don’t seem urgent. Let this be the year you tackle your “should do” list. If you’re ambitious you could pick one a month to knock off. Or, put together a list of one or two projects per season and start whittling down that list. Here are a few suggestions for your Home Maintenance Resolution list.
Winter
Prune Your Trees: Maybe it’s because they appear so strong and indestructible, or maybe it’s because we dread climbing up on a ladder to tend them. Or maybe we’re just afraid we’ll do it wrong. But trees are one of those stalwarts in our landscape that frequently get overlooked. We neglect our trees at our own peril.
“Some people don’t spend any money and they wait until they fall on their homes and then they call us in an emergency,” said Ron Wallace, the owner of TreePro Professional Tree Care in Santa Rosa. “And then it can get very expensive.”
Beyond the potential damage to homes, limbs growing too close to the house can create a welcoming bridge into a home for rodents and other unsavory squatters. Branches not only can fall onto houses and cars, but also onto you if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. Repairs are costly and if you make an insurance claim your rates go up. Mature trees also contribute to your property value with beauty and shade. Removing dead branches improves light and air circulation to keep them healthy. Limb failure can damage a tree to the point where it must be removed, which also is costly.
With a good ladder and equipment, you can do it yourself. But it’s a dangerous job. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported that 243 workers nationwide died while engaging in tree trimming and clearing activities in 2012.
Wallace said it might cost about $1,500 to have five or more trees professionally trimmed on the typical small Santa Rosa lot. Common trees prone to limb failure in a storm including flowering pears, coast live oaks, Monterey pines, Monterey cypress, eucalyptus, trees with two trunks of equal size that meet in a V-shaped attachment and long, horizontal branches with heavy end weight.
Fix Your Irrigation System: Home irrigation systems need maintenance, but they are easy to overlook amid the multitude of home maintenance chores on your list. It may be beyond the skills of basic do-it-yourselfers and inspections and repairs aren’t cheap. But if you haven’t tended to yours in a good long while, let this be the year.
Why? Broken or clogged emitters and lines lead to water leakage, bad during a drought and hard on your water bill. It also means that water is not getting to the plants that need it. Plants and trees you may have invested a lot of money and time in planting and growing could die.
Jose Oceguera, owner of Green Oak Landscaping, said sprinkler heads can get stuck in the open position, resulting in a constant flow of water. Or people can kick them or run over them with mowers, breaking them. Roots can break the lines. A diagnostic inspection might run you $600, Oceguera said. Double that if you need repairs.
If you’re game and want to try it yourself, check out this website http://www.familyhandyman.com/landscaping/fixing-sprinkler-systems/view-all.
If you don’t have a sprinkler system, consider installing your own basic drip system, which is more efficient, delivering water directly to the plants that need it. A sprinkler delivers a gallon per minute versus half a gallon per hour, said Chad Griffith, assistant general manager for Harmony Farm Supply in Sebastopol. The easiest method for the beginner is to get a simple system you can screw into your garden hose spigot or hose bib. You can start with a “Y” system that goes out in two directions. A drip system, he explained, is mostly polyethylene tubing that costs about $15 per 20 feet. Assembling is really like “Tinker Toys for adults,” said Griffith. Harmony will be teaching workshops in installing your drip system starting in mid March.
Spring
Give your House a Mini Facelift: I n a perfect world, we would be able to completely repaint our homes every 15 years. But if that isn’t in your budget, freshen up the exterior by repainting the trim or doing the job in phases.
Joel Burkett of Penngrove, who recently stepped away from professional house painting, recommends that if you take on your trim, it’s easiest to go with the same color or a shade that will easily cover in one to two coats to keep the job from killing you and your time. Be sure, he said, to use painter’s tape beneath the trim (but avoid painting on the tape) and protect the side of your house with drop cloth or cardboard. If you know you’re not the tidiest of DIYers, also cover the ground beneath you. He also recommends having a damp sponge or cloth at the ready for mistakes.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: