Category Archives: Yard & Outdoors

Landscape Can Drive Home Values

October 30, 2023   Matt

Landscape Can Drive Home Values

The look of your lawn and garden may be the first and perhaps the most lasting impression people have of your home and property. Landscaping plays an essential role in enhancing its beauty and increasing the value.

Fortunately, homeowners can turn their own landscapes into works of art at an affordable price.

In recent years, many companies have begun to introduce more varieties of bagged rock and mulch. A new line of decorative rock and stone from Vigoro offers landscaping enthusiasts 26 varieties of bagged products in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors.

Decorative landscaping stones and mulches are not only an excellent way to beautify and accent garden beds, ponds, driveways and walkways, they also provide natural benefits to the soil and plants. These benefits include controlling and reducing erosion, retaining moisture, controlling weeds and insulating the soil.

Here are a few tips on choosing and applying mulch:

• Choose mulch that is long lasting and not easily washed away.

• Pick mulch that has a loose structure to let water pass through quickly.

• Apply mulch in late spring. This helps reduce soil temperature and save water.

• Apply fine mulches one to two inches deep. Coarse or fluffy mulches should be put on three to four inches deep.

• Apply mulch evenly and level it with a rake or your hands.

• Wet thoroughly after applying mulch.

• Pull mulch a few inches away from plant stems and tree trunks.

To further control weeds and keep plants healthy, there’s a new mulch called Vigoro Mulch with Weed Stop. It’s the first to contain pre-emergent herbicide, controlling unwanted weeds for up to four months yet allowing bulbs, established flowers, shrubs and trees to thrive. This mulch is certified by the Mulch and Soil Council as only containing natural forest products.

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Tips to Build an Energy-Efficient Home

October 25, 2023   Matt

Tips to Build an Energy-Efficient Home

Building an Energy Efficient Home
With energy costs rising and concern for the environment, more and more people are expressing an interest in building energy efficient homes. Not only are the effects positive from an environmental standpoint, but they can also positively affect the wallet, saving money in heating and cooling costs. By following a few guidelines in building and landscaping, you can have an energy efficient home.
Tight construction tightens the air penetration from home exterior and in the process improves the energy efficiency of the home. Tighter construction ensures that the air gaps, generally caused during framing are enveloped well by air sealing. This also improves the home air quality since the polluted outside air will not be able to affect the cleaner inside air. Thus, cooling in winter and heating in summer is aptly prevented.
Make use of improved insulation to stop heat transfer through the home. If insulation, that is free of crimping, gaps, and compression is carefully installed it can help keep warm air inside during winter months and cool air inside during the summer. This way you will have much less need of the heater or air conditioner because your house will retain the desired temperature. It will save you money in energy costs.
Also, consider high performance windows that are no longer very expensive. Anyway, you will recover the extra cost through these energy efficient windows because they come in improved materials like double glazing and special coatings that act as insulators for the glass. They do not hamper your view through the window, but they stop heat transfer effectively.
In addition to using high performance windows, make sure that the window framing is tight and that materials with low conduction are used. These materials include vinyl, fiberglass, and wood. Metal is a good heat conductor, and therefore not a good choice as a window frame.
Choose energy efficient equipment to heat and cool your home. You can buy this from many heating and cooling stores. You can lower your bills by using such equipment and save a lot of money and be more comfortable, too.
Landscaping is a very important part of building a perfect house. Landscaping features like trees can go a long way on making your house energy efficient. Trees provide shade and cool sorroundings in summers and block chilly winds in winters. Though fully planted trees act as natural air conditioners they can actually help you save a lot on energy costs.
You can make your home more comfortable and enhance the air quality of home interiors by making your home energy efficient. This helps you attain lower energy consumption bills that weigh less on your budget. Today’s technology and capabilities can actually help reduce unwanted drafts by resourcefully landscaping and building home that efficiently uses energy.

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Ways To Make Your Home Improvements Successful

October 15, 2023   Matt

Ways To Make Your Home Improvements Successful

Nearly everyone has at least one thing that they would like to see changed about their home. Fortunately, many home improvements are projects that even a novice homeowner can tackle. You can, with a little planning, easily accomplish projects like cabinet refacing, adding decorative molding to walls, windows, doors, or outdoor projects like improving your gutter system. Some things, however, are best left to the pros, especially if they involve electricity or plumbing. This article will help you decide if your home improvement project can be done by yourself, or if you need to call in expert help.

When partaking in a large home renovation project, you should aim to have a clear vision of what you want. If the contractor feels like he or she can depend on the plans, things are likely to go much smoother. However, if the contractor does not feel confident in the plans, he or she may be afraid to do anything.

A creative way to improve your home is to put paintings up in each room. You can choose several smaller paintings or one or two large ones for each room. This will give each room its own unique feel and provide a feeling of comfort. Paintings, being relatively cheap, also will not hurt your wallet too much.

To properly stain your deck yourself, be sure that you use the proper tools to do so starting with the brushes you use to apply the stain. If you choose a oil based stain, a natural bristle brush is the way to go. When using a stain that is water based use a brush with nylon bristles.

To make money flipping real estate you should start with improving the outside. This is the part that will make a first impression on potential buyers and can be done rather cheaply. Take a picture of the outside and study it when you are not at the home. It will help you focus on what should be fixed or improved.

If you plan to sell your home in the near future, you should avoid expensive home- improvement projects that cater to your unique personal tastes. Such projects will often be a waste of money in the sense that they will not correspondingly raise the value of the home. For example, installing expensive custom-made bathroom tiles from Italy is a poor choice for a home-improvement project because potential buyers will rarely agree with you on their value. Prospective buyers will have their own personal tastes and will already be planning to incorporate their tastes into their own projects.

As you have read in this article, with just a little planning and some investigation, you can take on basic home improvement projects and make your home a happy, healthy place for your family. By knowing what projects you can do and what projects you should leave to the experts, you can even save a significant amount of money. So pick up that hammer and those nails, and have fun with your next home improvement project!

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Solar Lights For Your Garden

October 10, 2023   Matt

Solar Lights For Your Garden

We all care how our homes appear to others and lighting is a big part of that. Solar lights are a popular and cost effective option for adding a little zing to your landscaping efforts.

Solar Lights For Your Garden

Many people enjoy the look of lights in their landscaping. Whether you want to light a path to your door or the area around your pool, proper lighting can heighten your night time enjoyment of your yard. You can choose from several options for lighting outdoors, but by far your best choice in this area are solar lights.

While you can choose from other different powering options for your outdoor lights, such as electric and battery powered, a choice of solar landscaping lights will definitely be the right one. Electric powered landscaping lights may seem economical and easy at first, but then you have to realize that they will add to your homes electric bill, as well as needing many dangerous extension cables and cords in order to obtain their power. Battery powered lights can be safer, but even more expensive, once you figure in the cost of batteries and the time and effort it takes to change them.

Solar lights work by recharging during the sunlight hours, and shining bright with that power at night. Solar panels are located on the lights, and these panels collect solar energy and charge a battery with that energy. The battery, in turn, powers the lights at night, eliminating the need for another power source. This is a very economical and eco-friendly way to light your yard area, and solar lights require little maintenance from you, the home owner.

You also have different options in styles of solar garden lights. Whether you would like to have a hanging solar lamp, a solar flood light above your garage, or even a solar security light that detects motion, there are options that can meet your needs. Solar post lights can be used to line a driveway or garden path to make your yard safer for nighttime use. Solar garden lights are available in a number of different wattages and sizes, so you can choose just what you need for your project. Most solar lights use LEDs, which are tiny but emit a strong light. They also take little energy to power, so your solar powered battery will last longer at night.

Choosing solar lighting for your garden is a great way to help the environment, while you are also helping to beautify your home. These lights can add value to your property, while also making your yard more useful at night – all in the most economical way possible.

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Bathroom Remodeling Ideas / The Finishing Touches

October 05, 2023   Matt

Bathroom Remodeling Ideas / The Finishing Touches

So you have finally finished that bathroom remodeling project by installing the last tile square, and applied that final coat of paint. The plumbing has been buttoned up and everything looks to be just how you pictured it in your head before you started. So where do you go from here? Do you have any other ideas that didn’t quite make it in? One thing you can consider doing is to add some small finishing touches to the room that will enhance all the hard work you just did, and bring the atmosphere to a whole new level.
We decided to put together a small list of bathroom remodeling ideas to really give the room a personal touch, and finish the room completely:
1 – Hang a shelf on a wall, and use it to display your collectibles or other decor.
2 – Fill antique bowls or shaving mugs with toiletries, such as soaps or bath salts.
3 – If you have a larger room, try adding a wicker chair or similar piece of outdoor furniture.
4 – Be generous in your use of mirrors on the walls. They will make the room appear larger and more open.
5 – Colorwash your wood cabinets to give them character.
6 – Try applying a colored stain to revive those old wood cabinets. Use a light-colored stain for the background and then apply a brighter color to some of the drawers to create a contrast.
7 – Always have fresh flowers or flowering plants on hand for fragrance and appearance. Put them in an old watering can or vase.
8 – Should your bathroom have a linen closet with a door, try replacing that door with a framed trellis.
9 – Frame in your mirror over the sink with tiles, perhaps alternating colors or styles in them.
10 – Install a brand new shower curtain. A cloth curtain will be more expensive, but it will also look nicer. You can also try a nylon or cotton curtain as long as you find one in a suitable color. Try to avoid anything plastic as it will look cheap and probably won’t last as long. Plus any stains will be magnified on it.
11 – With a multi-colored curtain, choose new linens in colors that reflect those of the curtain. For a striped shower curtain, get some solid towels in coordinating colors. Try not to match the pattern exactly because it will take away from the rest of the room.
These are just a few things we thought of. Most important thing is to be creative and experiment until you are happy. Your bathroom will be frequented by many visitors, and can become a statement of your unique personality or style. Don’t let any self doubt deter you from having the bathroom of your dreams. And even though the bulk of the work is done, any new bathroom remodeling ideas can be implemented at a later date. Consider your home a work in progress and have fun doing it.

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Hillside Landscaping – Properly Watering Hillside And Sloped Landscapes

September 30, 2023   Matt

Hillside Landscaping – Properly Watering Hillside And Sloped Landscapes

Sloped and hillside lawns and landscapes tend to develop dry dead spots during the hot part of the season. This is primarily due to water run off before it has a chance to saturate into the soil. Deep saturation is a key to a healthy lawns and plants. Deep watering helps establish deeper roots that can handle Summer heat stress.
Water that runs off or just barely breaks the surface, obviously does the lawn or landscape very little good. So how do you give landscaping and lawn on a slope better saturation?
Split your water cycle duration into two or three short cycles. If your water cycle is 30 minutes, you might split the cycle into three 10 minute cycles. So on watering days, you’ll run the system for the specified amount of time, let it soak for a few hours, then repeat this for the number of times needed.
To determine the exact amount of time needed, turn on the lawn sprinkler and watch for how long it takes for runoff to begin. This is the maximum of how long each cycle should be.
Don’t just split your cycles into different days. You need deep saturation for healthier plants. Plants and lawns like infrequent deep waterings much more than frequent shallow waterings.
Landscaping and specimen plants on a hillside will also benefit from better saturation. Plants should be planted in larger holes filled with good soil that absorbs water easily. Also, dams and water wells should be built on the downhill side of the plant. This will help give the water time to soak straight down to the root zone before it runs off.

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