Friday, March 28, 2014
2 | spring home improvement.
Welcome to spring W
e all know spring is a time of change. The life cycle of the Earth begins anew with the end of winter. We see birds we have not seen in months, and plants left brown and withered by the chill of winter begin to green and grow. The season means growth and change for us as well. Fits of spring cleaning begin to occur all over our community as an opportunity to clean out that for which we no longer have any use. (Goodbye, jeans we wore five years ago.) The warming weather holds promise, and we begin to look for the opportunity to make our homes just a bit nicer for the rest of
the year. Whether you are a gardener, adding color all over your yard, someone with a plan for a new deck or patio to hold that truly epic summer party, or someone who wants to make the inside of your home new again, the Spring Home edition of the Tracy Press is what you need. Within this annual insert, you will find tips to make your garden grow, some ideas to make your big jobs safe and just a bit easier, and local businesses that will help you bring it all together. Enjoy your spring and enjoy Spring Home. We can’t wait to see what you do with your home and neighborhood this year.
Green lawn is two-step process For lawn owners, the germination, reduce water question is whether to aerevaporation and protect the ate, thatch or replace. grass from frost damage. If you want a green, lush The purpose of de-thatching lawn, aeration and deis to reduce this layer but thatching are two of the not remove it entirely. factors involved. Plan to de-thatch Properly cultivated your lawn when lawns can keep out The green the thickness of weeds and pests, thatch is more Thumb the requiring little or no than half an inch. application of chemi- Joe Carrisalez To determine this, cal pesticides. remove a small Aerating a lawn square of lawn to a removes small cores of depth of about 3 inches and soil, allowing air, water and measure the brown layer nutrients to penetrate the between the grass blades surface and reach the roots. and the soil surface. As the roots grow deeper, For both aeration and you won’t need to water as de-thatching of grasses, often. the best time is mid- to late De-thatching goes well spring or early fall. During with aeration. The thatch is this time, while the turf is the layer of living and dead actively growing, the grass stems, roots, stolons and will quickly recover from rhizomes between the green injury. blades of grass and the soil Aerators come in manual surface. hand-core aerators and A thin layer of thatch can gas-powered models. Lawns be beneficial to the lawn, can be de-thatched using because it helps limit weed manual thatching rakes,
thatch mower blade attachments and powered thatching machines. While the manual types are often less expensive, they’re impractical for large lawns. You can rent an automatic aerator or power thatching machine and share the service and cost with a neighbor. If your lawn is beyond minor repairs or is simply not what you want it to be, you may want to replace it. In cases of acute soil compaction, rampant weed problems, heavy thatch or organic matter deficiencies, it is probably more practical to destroy it and start from scratch than to try to salvage an already deteriorating lawn. First, though, determine why your lawn is in its current condition. Poor drainage and poor soil quality can be corrected by reworking the soil after the existing green lawn, continued on next page
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Spring home improvement. | 3
green lawn continued from pAGE 2 grass is removed. Before reestablishing the lawn, you may also want to take a look at your irrigation system. If it’s well designed and properly installed, it can save you time and water and provide better results. For reference, visit http:// www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/ TOOLS/TURF/index.html. The San Joaquin Master Gardeners also have an active website at http:// sjmastergardeners.ucanr. edu, a quarterly newsletter, a Facebook page and a recently active Pinterest page full of useful gardening information and pins. We would like you to like us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest. You can find quick links to these sites on the website. n The Green Thumb is a column by Tracy’s master gardeners. University of California-certified master gardeners are available to answer gardening questions from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 953-6112 or mgsanjoaquin@ ucdavis.edu.
Improve your kitchen without remodeling StatePoint
The kitchen is perhaps the most functional room of any home, but often it doesn’t feel large enough or flexible enough. And great cooking starts with a comfortable kitchen. While renovating your kitchen might not always be practical, there are steps you can take to improve it without breaking the bank or your kitchen walls.
Evaluate your kitchen It’s time to weed out the good, the bad and the ugly. When is the last time you did a thorough inventory of your kitchen gadgets? After several years without an assessment, it’s possible you’ve acquired a substantial collection of electric openers, dicers, slicers and spinners. If all these tools help you cook, that’s fabulous. If not, they are simply taking up valuable cabinet, cupboard and countertop space. Take a look at
what you have and eliminate anything that’s duplicative, broken or somehow unnecessary.
Improve functionality Rethink your appliances. These days, you don’t need to settle for antiquated appliances that perform just one function. Innovations are making cooktops and ovens more functional and versatile, providing greater opportunities for spatial kitchen layout. For example, you could pair a gas cooktop with an electric oven or install electric ovens side by side. Flexibility is also being built into today’s appliances. For example, ILVE cooktops come equipped with a one-of-a-kind removable griddle that allows for numerous food preparation options on an all-in-one cooking surface. You can steam, grill, warm and more with the included griddle — eliminating the need for additional space-hogging
appliances, such as steam ovens and warming drawers.
Maximize storage Creative storage solutions will increase your work area and cabinets, while affording more space to move around. For example, an over-the-door spice rack can give you more room to prep food. A wall-mounted wine rack that holds both bottles and glasses can free up cabinet space and reduce the furniture footprint of your kitchen. Magnetic panels on the wall can be used to store pots, pans, knives and metal utensils. When it comes to your kitchen, don’t settle for anything less than top-notch, flexible appliances and an ideal use of the space you have. Whether you’re a serious chef or a casual cook, your kitchen can benefit from key upgrades and a thorough organizational sweep.
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Friday, March 28, 2014
4 | spring home improvement.
Green alternative Big jobs require you to work smarter to home demolition could save green By Matt Couch For the Tracy Press
With the promise of an improved economy, there is a lot more interest in remodeling lately. As an Christina architect, I will always D. B. Frankel advocate for having a plan. With a plan for the project and a thorough understanding of the process, you can stick to priorities and not get sidetracked. Even with a plan, all projects start with a feeling of urgency, as if ripping out — with gusto — might make the project go faster. Although taking a sledge-hammer to the offending area might provide catharsis, it could also cost you the value of a tax benefit. There is another way, better than demolition, called deconstruction. Demolition is tearing apart a portion of a building to get it into the smallest pieces to haul away. In demolition, there is no value
living green
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changes to your home, it is important to know where the utilities come from and where they go. Electrical lines for sprinklers can be buried, light switches can supply power to multiple areas in a room and gas lines go into almost every house. If you are not sure where the gas line runs, call Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Someone will come out free of charge to mark the gas line. It is much less expensive to have a person come out and mark it than to try to repair the damage later. Spring is a time to renew and refresh your house both inside and out. Having a detailed plan and consulting experts at your local home improvement or equipment rental supply store is the best way to get your projects done in a timely manner and correctly the first time. Remember: Work smarter, not harder, and safety first. n Matt Couch is the owner of Tracy Equipment Rental, 3502 Mars Way, Ste. 121.
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Spring brings many things — rain, flowers and the desire or need to tackle a variety of projects around the house and yard. A good motto to adhere to when tackling any project is “work smarter, not harder.” This is true for all projects, whether they are big or small, inside the house or in the yard. The first step is to plan out the project from start to finish, get prices and set up an attainable goal considering your skill level. If you have no experience in remodeling or landscaping, tearing up a kitchen or cutting down a huge tree is not recommended as your first project. Projects are measured on completion, not good intent. Let’s start inside the house. If you are attempting a large remodel project, you may need a ladder, a table saw, a paint sprayer or maybe a tile saw. These are all pieces of equipment you may use multiple times if you have many projects, in which case it would
make sense to purchase them. If you think you might use a piece of equipment only once or infrequently, that would be a case for renting it from your local equipment rental store so you don’t have to worry about maintenance and storage. Most rental companies know everything about the tools they rent — they have to repair and maintain the tools and equipment — so always ask how to properly and safely use them. It is important to talk to the employees at the store where you are buying or renting equipment and supplies so that you get what you need and learn the potential dangers and expectations for the equipment. Having a detailed, well-thought-out plan is the best way to get the best advice from the experts. You will want to plan to have materials on hand or delivered the day you will need them. There is no need to have a load of sod delivered on Tuesday if you won’t be ready for it until Saturday. Plan ahead and ask many questions. Another motto to live by is “safety first.” When making
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living green continued from pAGE 4 beyond destroying something as fast as possible — except to the demolition contractor, who gets the value of your property and charges you for throwing the rest away. Disposing of construction waste is expensive, with a premium paid for bulky, cross-contaminated waste. Because CalGreen codes restrict how much construction waste you can discard, you need an alternative approach. And diversion — separating your waste so that it can be re-sourced (aka recycled) — begins with the process called deconstruction. Deconstruction is the opposite of construction, where you carefully remove the building materials and save for reuse or reinstallation. Deconstruction takes more time than demolition, but no more special skills than what it takes to install something. Patience is the key. When the components of your existing building are carefully removed, the salvaged materials can be donated. That is where the tax benefit comes in. Regionally, there is a company called The Reuse People that will guide you through deconstruction, train your contractor and arrange for appraisal and donation of your materials. In a project I recently completed in Tracy, the owner’s donation ended up benefiting Habitat for Humanity. There is an added cost of deconstruction; after all, you are paying a contractor for the time to remove something rather than demolish it. But the cost
Spring home improvement. | 5
should be only a fraction of the value of the tax benefit. You also save money in reduced landfill tipping fees. The most obvious materials for deconstruction and reinstallation are plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures and appliances. Building materials, such as wood, trim and siding, despite having holes, can also be reused, re-planed or reconfigured. This is not a conversation about whether a building should be remodeled or destroyed. Rather, when pieces of a building are removed, we should take the time to capture the skill, effort, history and energy that went into the building. Plan ahead on your remodel so you can get the full value of the resources you already have. For a change: Separate your remodeling waste in a process called diversion, creating the greatest recycling opportunities. Call your waste hauler, such as Tracy Delta Disposal, to discuss the process. To make a difference: Plan your demolition to allow for deconstruction. Check out http://thereusepeople.org. To make a stand: Build your next remodel with sustainable materials. Not only will you be healthier in your remodel, it will be not tax the planet in the process. n Christina D.B. Frankel has lived in Tracy for 25 years and is an architect and mother of three. Comments can be sent to tpletters@ tracypress.com, or she can be reached directly at cdfrankel@sbcglobal.net.
Four reasons to keep up with home maintenance StatePoint
After a busy work week, it can be hard to get motivated to complete chores and tasks around the house. And knowing what tasks to do and when to do them may not come intuitively for everyone. But neglecting home maintenance is a mistake, experts say. “Regular home maintenance can benefit your family’s health, safety and pocketbook,” said Elizabeth Dodson, co-founder of HomeZada, a digital hub to store pertinent information about your home. “Consider creating a home maintenance schedule to stay organized and motivated.” Here are several examples of how to maintain your home and why it’s important:
Avoid replacements Mineral deposit build-up in
your refrigerator’s ice maker can eventually cause a leak that could damage the refrigerator and its contents. Annually clean water lines to prevent the need to replace a major appliance. Lubricate your garage door for smooth operation and to delay the need for parts replacement.
Improve safety Lint buildup in dryer ducts is flammable and a common cause of house fires. An annual cleaning eliminates this dangerous situation. You should also regularly clean your dryer’s lint filter after every couple of loads. Likewise, you can prevent fires with checks on electrical and gas equipment and fireplaces. Maintain the air quality of your home by replacing or cleaning the filters on your home’s heating home care, continued on next page
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6 | spring home improvement.
Shade plants need special attention
home care continued from pAGE 5 system quarterly, or as needed. A regular schedule of battery replacement in your home’s smoke and carbon monoxide detectors could be life saving.
Reduce utility bills Periodically ensuring that your home is properly sealed and insulated can lower utility bills. Use weatherstripping to close gaps around windows and doors. On an annual basis, inspect heating and cooling equipment to ensure it’s running optimally. Ensure your fireplace damper closes and opens properly. When your fireplace is not in use, keep the damper closed to maximize your climate-controlled environment.
Improve value A house in worn condition can lose 10 percent of its previous appraised value, whereas proactive maintenance can increase the appraised value each year by one percent, according to the National Association of Realtors. And you don’t have to invest a ton to improve your home’s value. Plenty of projects offer great returns on investment. This becomes especially important if your home is on the market. From replacing elements of your home’s exterior to updating your kitchen, your realtor can offer suggestions for updates that can help you sell. Don’t let key maintenance tasks fall by the wayside. Let new tools help you keep your home safe and up-to-date.
A common question gardenarea with deep, dense shade, ers often ask is “What can I consider thinning upper tree plant in my shady area?” It branches to let more light in or seems like a simple question painting walls and fences lightwith a simple solution. But er colors to reflect ambient before that question can be light. If the shade is too deep, answered, you’ll need plants may not thrive to make a more detailed and will grow weak and assessment of the shade The green spindly, trying to reach Thumb for light. Blossoms will conditions. Is it full, deep shade, also be greatly reduced. adrian as when under dense For groundcovers, try anthony tree cover or against a baby’s tears, periwinkle north-facing wall of your (Vinca minor), dead house? Is it dappled shade, nettle (Lamium maculatum), with some light infiltration pachysandra, carpet bugle coming through an upper tree (Ajuga) and blue star creeper. canopy? Is it shady all day, or Some great medium-height does it get some morning or plants for shade include hostas, afternoon sun? Morning sun is coral bells (huechera), bergeless intense, while afternoon nia, Lenten rose (hellebores) sun is hotter, increasing evapo- and cranesbill geranium — not transpiration, the rate at which to be confused with the sunplants lose water though their loving geranium (Pelargonium). leaves. Moisture levels in the Alstroemerias and columbines soil should also be considered. prefer part-shade as well, as do Is the soil consistently moist, Calla lilies and clivia. boggy, or fairly dry? For grass-type textures, use Plants that prefer partial sweet flag (Acorus hybrids), shade would be best suited liriope or mondo grass. Bedding to areas with filtered light or plants such as coleus, cyclaareas that are shady for just men and impatiens can bring part of the day. If you have an a splash of seasonal color. And
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don’t forget ferns: Lovely leafy texture can be found from leatherleaf fern (Rumohra), mother fern (Asplenium), maidenhair fern (Adiantum) and sword fern (Polystichum). There are also many excellent shrubs for shade. The best known are probably the hydrangea hybrids, which actually come in a wide variety of forms, from the well-known pompom flowers to lace cap flowers and oak leaf types. There are also many azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias that prefer shade and also favor more acidic soil. The Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow plant (Brunfelsia pauciflora) offers color-changing flowers, fading from purple to lavender to white. Coprosma — called “mirror plant” for its glossy leaves — is an evergreen that has multi-colored leaves and can be trimmed to shape. Chinese fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense) has burgundy leaves and fringed pink flowers, and flowershade plants, continued on next page
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Spring home improvement. | 7
Non-chemical pest control keeps kids, pets safe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
You’ve got pests and you want to control them with a dependable pest control method that does not contain chemical pesticides. Chemicals can not only seep into your skin if you touch them, they could poison your pets and children and create an unsafe situation in your home. Non-chemical pest control methods really work and have many advantages. Compared with chemical treatments, non-chemical methods are generally effective for longer periods of time. They are less likely to create hardy pest populations that develop the ability to resist pesticides. In fact, many non-chemical pest controls can be used with fewer safeguards, because they are generally thought to pose virtually no hazards to human health or the environment. Two examples of non-chemical pest control methods are biological and manual treatments. Did you know that pests themselves may be eaten or otherwise controlled by birds, insects or other living organisms? You can use a pest’s natural enemies to your advantage. These biological controls take many forms: n Beneficial predators: Birds and bats eat thousands of insects. Ladybugs and their larvae eat aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies and mites. Other insects that prey upon pest insects include spiders, centipedes, ground beetles, dragonflies and ants. You can buy and release some of these predatory bugs into your yard. Contact the San Joaquin County Cooperative
continued from pAGE 6
ing maples (Abutilon hybrids) have delightful hanging flowers that come in a range of colors, including peach, pink, red and yellow. Daphne odora has either solid green or variegated evergreen foliage and some of the most fragrant blossoms of the spring garden. This is just a small sampling of the pletho-
Manual methods n Spade and hoe to cut up weeds.
Biological controls
shade plants
Extension, 953-6100, for information about how to attract and protect beneficial predators. n Parasitoids: Some animals, such as miniature wasps, lay their eggs inside insect pests, such as tomato hookworms. Once the eggs hatch, the offspring kill the host insect. n Microscopic pathogens: Some gardens stores sell fungi, bacteria and viruses that control some pest populations, such as milky spore disease, which attacks Japanese beetles. n Biochemical traps: Pheromones are chemical substances released by insects and other organisms to communicate. Pheromone traps lure pests into a container they cannot escape from. Juvenile insect hormones interfere with an insect’s normal growth and reproductive functions by mimicking the effects of compounds that occur naturally in pest insects.
n Hand-pick weeds from your lawn and garden or pests from your indoor or outdoor plants. n Use a flyswatter. n Set traps to control rats, mice and insects. n Mulch your garden to reduce weed growth. A combination of several non-chemical treatments may be just what you need to handle your pest problem. You must be patient, because results may not be immediate, and you must work diligently to prevent pests from entering your home or garden in the first place.
ra of wonderful plants that are well-suited to shade gardens. Continue your exploration of options with the Sunset “Western Garden Book” and some savvy Internet searching. Once you have selected your plants based on shade density and soil moisture and planted them in the desired locations, be sure to mulch the soil around them, to conserve moisture and suppress weeds. Be
especially diligent in controlling slugs and snails, as wet, shady areas are their preferred habitat. n The Green Thumb is a column by Tracy’s master gardeners. University of California-certified master gardeners are available to answer gardening questions from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 953-6112 or mgsanjoaquin@uc davis.edu.
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Friday, March 28, 2014
8 | spring home improvement.
Spring is in the air Last week, we asked readers on Facebook to send us photos of their homes and gardens for the first day of spring. Here are some of our favorites.
flowering Freesias: Anne Breit Freitas sent in a shot of the small garden near her garage with the caption, “It must be spring. The freesias are in bloom.” Courtesy of Anne Breit Freitas
Courtesy of Elsa DaCosta Courtesy of Anne Breit Freitas
color coming out: Elsa DaCosta photographed her blooming garden with the simple caption “Spring is here.”
turkey time: Anne Breit Freitas snapped this image of turkeys with the caption “Spring time and everyone’s feeling frisky.”
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