El Campo Leader-News • Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Inspect home to know when it’s time to replace products (BPT) - Owning a home means giving constant attention to the building products that go into protecting the structure of your house. While we’d like to believe items like our roof, siding and windows will last forever, that’s not the case. Mark Clement, co-host of the national home improvement radio show MyFixitUpLife, offers a variety of tips for knowing when it’s time to replace products on your home. “The first thing homeowners need to understand is that every element of a home’s exterior, from the top of the roof down to the front entry door, will eventually need to be replaced,” Clement said. “The key is to know when the time is right to invest in new products. This means an ongoing evaluation of your home’s current products, researching new product options and contacting professionals for support.” Clement points out that replacing older products with newer, more energy efficient and longer-lasting products is a sound investment for homeowners. “We have a 100-year-old home and just replaced the original decaying wood door with a Therma-Tru fiberglass door and trimmed it out with long-lasting PVC millwork from Fypon,” he said. “We also replaced older windows with ENERGY STAR qualified vinyl windows from Simonton Windows and added a new polymer slate roof from DaVinci Roofscapes. These are all man-made products that add more life to our house. Plus, we’re saving more on our daily energy bills because of the incredible features of these products. “Another important aspect to consider when it does become time to replace key products on the home’s exterior is to look
– Trim hedges (Continued from Page 2)
Trimming A Formal Hedge • Sloping the hedge so that the base is broader than the top lets sunlight reach lower leaves. • To help you trim hedges evenly, use stakes and string to set up guidelines for height and width. • Cut slowly, and use a smooth, up and down sweeping motion. If you apply too much pressure, the blades can tear branches instead of cutting them neatly. • Cut the sides of a hedge first. • Use a ladder to reach the tops of tall hedges. • Keep trimmer blades sharp and clean.
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at upgrading and taking advantage of newer, more aesthetically pleasing products that are on the market. That’s what we did with the high-performance, lowmaintenance products we selected. Our product choices not only make our home more livable right now, but also more add value to the home and make it more ‘sellable’ when it comes time for us to put the house on the market.”
Tips for evaluating your roof
1. Using either a ladder or binoculars from across the street, look for problem areas, such as missing or broken shingles, along with roofing tiles that may be “flapping” in the wind. 2. Check the sides of your roof. The southern exposure weathers significantly faster than the other sides of the roof, so make sure to carefully examine this area. Also, shallower pitches weather faster than steeper pitches. So again, if your roof has a shallow pitch - like a shed dormer - make certain you can clearly see it to get a true indication of the condition of your roof.
Tips for assessing your windows 1. Evaluate the functionality of your current windows. If you have condensation between glass panes, the windows are hard to open or close, your energy bills are soaring, or if there are drafts coming in around the window units, then it’s time to seriously consider replacement windows. 2. Look at the frames of your win(See EXAMINE WINDOWS, Page 16)
Yard Clean-Up Do a periodic yard check to take stock of what needs to be picked up or removed. • Remove twigs and branches. • Pick up and store outdoor toys. • Make sure pet items such as shelters, bowls and toys are clean and wellmaintained. • Remove dead plants from flower beds, planters and window boxes. • Rake leaves and debris from flower beds, shrubs and around trees. • Remove leaves, grass clippings and other lawn debris from sidewalks, decks, driveways and other hard surfaces with a cordless sweeper vacuum. Learn more about lithium-ion battery powered tools at www.blackanddecker. com/recharge. Article Source: Family Features
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