Loving Your House: Love Note #3

Loving Your House: Love Note #3
(Helpful hints for homeowners and homeowners-to-be from the Director of Design & Construction, H. Dynia)
September 2014

In Loving your House Love Note #2 last October, we again talked about carefully planning work with regard to season, and, now, it is time to have that talk again. Although we may have deceptively warm days, the chilly nights are again warming us that the tiger (winter) is poised to strike, and we are running out of time to do things that require dryness and temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. What might those things be? 

If you need to re-seed your any lawn areas, this is the perfect time to plant grass. The soil is warm – we are past the season of the most intense burning sunlight – so it is easier to keep the seeded area wet. Get the appropriate seed for the light conditions you have, use a little starter fertilizer, and mulch with chopped straw to help hold the moisture and distract the birds from eating the seed. It is important to keep the area wet or damp until the seed sprouts up a few inches. Don’t mow until this area is 4” – 5” high and then commence regular mowing regimes. 

This is also the time to plant evergreen woody plants, such as spruce, pine, azaleas, mountain laurel, etc. Because they hold their needles or leaves all winter, they need to be able to take up water from the root system, so they need to be established to some degree to enable that. 

Keeping the memory of recent snow storms in mind, it is also important to trim off limb and branches from trees and shrubs that will likely break under snow and ice loads. Try to remember, or plan, where you are going to pile your snow, so you are not mounding it on weak, horizontal branches of your shrubbery. Check your inventory of pruning tools and be sure that they are sharp and in good repair. Minimally, you should have hand pruners, lopping shears, a hand-held pruning saw, and a pole saw for high places you cannot reach. Serious tree work should only be undertaken by professional arborists who are licensed and insured. 

On the house itself, check the roof for anything that looks amiss, or have an experienced friend or professional help you. Gutters should be securely fastened with proper supporting hardware and be clean and free flowing. There are newer, tougher gutter products that are stronger, longer-lasting, and have greater hydraulic capacity that do a better job than the average products in the home centers. Visit the NHS Home Improvement and Energy Conservation Lab to see these products. 

Recent scientific investigations have indicated that rising global temperatures may be the cause of the “Polar Vortex” we experienced last winter. Therefore, like the squirrels who prepare to survive, we should prepare our houses for extremes of weather. Give the heating system a trial run now, and be familiar with the routine maintenance and service requirements of you system. Get problems taken care of now, before heating contractors are swamped with “no heat” calls.

For further advice, check prior “Loving Your House” Love Notes # 1 and #2, and register for homeowner technical training classes at Neighborhood Housing Services Home Improvement and Energy Conservation Laboratory.