The property around a home, whether it’s a small bungalow or a sprawling estate, requires regular maintenance to ensure its appearance and upkeep. Routine work is needed for any landscapes whether it’s a modest garden or a lavish landscape. These articles will help you consider improvements and enhancements to make the most of property and beautify the landscape surrounding it.
Use this information to find the cost of landscaping and gardening jobs so you can decide to do it yourself or hire a contractor. Spring Maintenance Chores and DIY Costs
To see Old Glory waving in the wind always brings a sense of pride. If you’re considering adding a flagpole to your yard, a good choice is a telescoping pole with aluminum sections that slide up and down and snap in place.
A contractor will charge $960 to install a 25-foot pole in concrete, which includes the labor and material. You can buy a flagpole kit for $550 and install it yourself. The kit includes a 25-foot pole with installation sleeve and gold ball top, a 3-foot-by-5-foot flag and swivel rings and harness that allows the flag to fly freely. Another cost is $25 for concrete mix and gravel for its foundation.
To install a pole, dig a round hole approximately 28-inches deep by 12-inches round, and place 6-inches of small gravel for drainage in the bottom of the hole. Insert the bolt in the sleeve and fill in the area around it with concrete. Use a carpenter’s level to make sure it is level.
When choosing a flag pole you should know about the wind in your area. Really. The wind load or expected wind at an elevation of 30-feet above the ground is used to determine the appropriate size of a flag pole. Don’t worry you won’t have to figure it out because flag and flag pole retailers use a reference map – it’s the same one for highway and transportation signs.
To compare more improvement and repair job costs, visit us at www.diyornot.com.
Here’s advice from Dr. Drainage, civil engineer Ryan Larsen, at NDS, Inc. with suggestions for homeowners to prevent mosquitoes from ruining outdoor spaces. These budget-friendly ideas will spare you the nuisance and discomfort of pesky mosquitoes outside your home.
1. Eliminate standing water wherever it occurs
Keep gutters clear of debris and check for any discarded cans, buckets, pots, overturned children’s toys and anything that can hold water. Cover trash containers. And change water in outdoor pet dishes daily and change water in bird baths several times a week.
2. Place herbs and scented oils around your backyard
Certain plants, herbs and essential oils can naturally repel mosquitoes like the scents of citronella, lemongrass and chrysanthemum are non-toxic and keep mosquitoes at bay. Scented oils and candles placed on your outdoor tables will keep any bugs away from food.
3. Scatter coffee grounds
Yes, coffee grounds are a mosquito repellent when you sprinkle the grounds wherever you discover standing water in your yard. It will kill any mosquitoes before they hatch and prevent them from breeding further.
4. Grow insect-repellent plants
Discourage pesky flies with plants like lemon balm, mint, chrysanthemums, marigolds, basil, garlic, eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary and more.
5. Install a drain in planter boxes
Consider using a drainage solution in planter boxes like a catch basin connected to a drainage pipe. Excess water enters the basin through a raised atrium grate, which prevents leaves, mulch and other debris from entering the system, and connects to a drain pipe where the water can drain to a safe location.
6. Install insect-repelling lights around your yard
Consider installing mosquito repelling lights, such as yellow bug lights or LED lights, in your backyard to deter those irritating bugs away from your barbeque.
7. Spray your yard with an organic treatment
Nontoxic bug control solutions can work wonders and will kill off fleas, ticks and other insects, while not harming the family pet. Choose products labeled natural or organic and pet friendly, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions completely.
8. Install a French drain
A French drain consists of a slightly sloped trench filled with gravel surrounding a perforated pipe. It provides an easy channel for water to flow through, collecting water over the entire length of the drain instead of one particular spot and redirecting the surface and groundwater away from your home.
For more information about how to spot and fix common homeowner drainage problems, visit NDS’s Home Drainage Center.
Ryan Larsen is a civil engineer at NDS, Inc., which manufactures a wide range of stormwater and drainage products. He known as Dr. Drainage, host of NDS’s YouTube video series about how to correctly use drainage and stormwater management products.
Visit www.diyornot.com to compare the cost of doing a home improvement job or repair yourself with hiring a pro.
Take a look at these 13 items to get your house and garden in good shape. While the weather is getting warmer we’re all drawn outside to get busy cleaning out the weeds and fertilizing the garden beds. In the meantime there’s plenty to do inside the house to get it ready for summer.
So now’s a good time to inspect and clean up your house, both inside and out. But take it one step at a time and you’ll be finished well before Memorial Day at the end of the month. It involves looking for damage from the winter weather and freshening up the interior and uncluttering. Weather permitting, you’ll be able to get out in the yard and get busy.
Tune up portable and central air conditioners
Clean and tune up ceiling, exhaust and bath fans to maximize air flow
Unclutter clothes closet and sort and store seasonal clothes
Wash window glass, frames and sill and lean out weep-holes in window sliders
Wash and change storm door and window panels to screens
Wash window curtains and blinds
Clean deck and protect with sealer
Inspect driveway and walkways for winter damage
Clear outdoor vent of lint build up in clothes dryer
Clean and set up outdoor furniture, cushions and lawn equipment
Rake lawn and garden beds to remove winter debris
Prepare garden beds and plant containers with fertilizer and plantings
Fill in bare spots of lawn with grass seed
Visit us at www.diyornot.com to find the cost of home fixups projects like these and compare doing it yourself with hiring out the job.
The property around a home, whether it’s a small bungalow or a sprawling estate, requires regular maintenance to ensure its appearance and upkeep. Routine work is needed for any landscapes whether it’s a modest garden or a lavish landscape. These articles will help you consider improvements and enhancements to make the most of property and beautify the landscape surrounding it.
