Want to upgrade your deck but watching your budget? Here are 5 easy deck makeover ideas, many well under $300.

An irrigation system saves water, keeps your lawn looking great, and helps maintain your curb appeal. We’ve gathered the info to get you started.

An underground irrigation system delivers water to your landscaping at the right time, and in just the right amount, so you don’t water too much or too little. It’s relatively easy to install and makes a good DIY project.

You’ll also save money doing it yourself. A professionally installed system for a typical ¼-acre lot is $3,000 to $4,000. You can DIY it for under $1,500.

The heart of an underground system is pop-up sprinkler heads. When working, the heads raise up a few inches to spray water on your landscape. When not in use, they drop to ground level so you can mow or walk right over them.

Plus, today’s systems are pretty darn smart. Automated features decide when it’s been raining too much or too little, then adjust the amount of water your landscaping gets. That lowers the worry quotient for you, heads off costly over-watering, and makes the whole system almost maintenance-free.

Getting in the Zone

An irrigation system divides your property into zones. Each zone can be different in terms of the amount of water it gets, and at what time of day it’s watered. Examples of zones include:

• Lawn zones have pop-up heads with just the right spray radius and range to cover a broad area of grass.

• Landscaping zones have high-rise heads to water shrubs and ground cover.

• Flower and vegetable zones may be equipped with bubblers and tiny spray heads that gently water plants without bruising edibles or knocking petals off blooms.

Everything functions on an automatic timer that controls water flow throughout the system. You can elect to include sensors that monitor rain and humidity — self-adjusting timers that prevent unnecessary watering.

Start with a Plan

Your irrigation journey starts with a plan that maps out:

• Your yard, house location, and major landscaping features, such as trees.

• Your irrigation zones.

• The location of sprinkler heads and bubblers.

• The location of underground water supply lines.

• The location of a water-supply shutoff valve.

• Any automatic sensors.

But planning is a challenge for first-timers. Manufacturers recognize this hurdle and go out of their way to provide planning help. After you give them some info on the size of your lot and your water supply system, they give you an irrigation plan tailored to your property.

You’d be crazy not to take advantage of their services. For one, they’re free. Second, they’re very thorough: downloadable guides and step-by-step videos take you through every part of creating a home irrigation system.

For example, Rainbird and Toro offer planning guides that show you how to make a scale drawing of your property, and how to easily gather information on your water pressure and water flow rate that’ll help determine the design of your system.

When you mail in the drawing and info, the manufacturer returns a custom plan with a materials list and detailed installation instructions, all designed specifically for your property. Replies take several weeks. For a small fee ($20-$30), you can have your plans arrive in a few days.

Orbit shows you how to use Google Maps to make a scaled plan of your lot without ever stepping outdoors. Plans are available instantly.

Get Ready to Dig

Your next job is trenching — digging channels in your yard for the water supply lines and sprinkler heads. With plan in hand, mark out the locations of the irrigation lines using string lines, powdered chalk, or lawn marking paint — it comes in a spray can specially designed to be used upside down ($5).

At this point comes a heads-up about your local building codes. You’ll need to ask a couple of questions of your local building and planning commission:

• Do I need a permit?

• Is a licensed plumber required to connect my irrigation system to my home’s water system?

• How deep should the trenches be? (Most building codes require you to dig down 18 inches to protect the water lines from freezing — in colder climates the required depth is more.)

Unless you relish the idea of hand-digging several hundred feet of trench, rent a gas-powered trenching tool for $100–$160 per day. This walk-behind tool makes short work of deep, narrow trenches.

Very important! To prevent injury, be sure to have all utilities marked before you begin digging. Call your local utilities or dial 811.

Installing the System

With excavation complete, you’re ready to buy all the stuff you need. You’ll build your system from plastic pipe, either rigid or flexible PVC. Both are good choices and use the same methods of assembly.

• Rigid PVC pipe is inexpensive — ¾-inch diameter pipe is about 25 cents per lineal foot.

• Flex PVC costs more at about $1 per lineal foot of ¾-inch-diameter pipe, but it installs faster, there are fewer connections, and it’s more forgiving of trenches that aren’t perfectly straight.

There are lots of other components, including sprinkler heads and bubblers, and each type has different ranges and arcs — the size and shape of their spray. That’s another reason to check out the manufacturer’s guides — they’ll give you a complete materials list.

Unless you’re an accomplished DIY electrician and plumber, you’ll probably need a bit more professional help:

• An electrician to extend a circuit to the automatic timer; figure 2-3 hours at $90-$110 per hour.

• A plumber to tap into your household water system. Budget another $200-$300.

Ready to Call In the Pros?

If the DIY approach is more than you want to tackle, or your lot is larger than a third of an acre (14,500 sq. ft.), consider hiring a pro. Expect to pay $3,000-$4,000 to have an underground irrigation system installed on a ¼-acre lot.

Aside from saving you a lot of work, a pro is going to get the job done quickly and with minimal disruption. He’ll also come with knowledge of what design best suits local conditions.

By: Dave Toht
Published: April 10, 2013

Read more: http://members.houselogic.com/articles/irrigation-installation-cost/preview/#ixzz312Uuu2Zc

“Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.”

Don’t let badly designed or maintained landscaping wreck your home’s curb appeal. Here are pitfalls to avoid.

Clumsy, neglected, and hodgepodge landscaping not only hurts your home’s curb appeal, it can cut the value of your property and make it harder to sell.

Real estate appraisers say bad landscaping is a buyer turnoff that can increase the number of days a property languishes on the market, which also hurts prices.

“I’ve been with clients who won’t even go into a house because of the bad landscaping outside,” says Mack Strickland, a Chester, Va., REALTOR® and appraiser.

Even more important, bad landscaping is a downer that hurts the way you see and enjoy your home.

Don’t let bad landscaping happen to you. Here are the seven landscaping mistakes that bust, rather than boost, your home’s curb appeal.

1. Planting Without A Plan

Some landscaping choices, such as a line of begonias, will last a season; others, like trees, can last a lifetime. So, take time to plan and plot a yard that gives you maximum enjoyment and curb appeal.

For the design challenged, landscape architects are worth the investment ($300-$2,500 depending on yard size). They will render elevations of your future yard, and provide plant lists so you can install landscaping yourself.

2. Too Much Togetherness

Yes, planting in clusters looks way better than installing single plants, soldier-like, throughout your yard. But make sure your groups of perennials, shrubs, and trees have plenty of room to spread, or they’ll look choked and overgrown. Also, over-crowded landscaping competes with itself for food and water, putting the clusters at risk, especially during drought.

Google how high and wide the mature plant will be, and then combine that info with the spacing suggestions on planting labels. At first, garden beds of young plants will look too airy and prairie-like. But within three years, your beds will fill in with room to grow.

Remember: First year it sleeps, second it creeps, third it leaps.

3. Zoning Out

Don’t be seduced by catalog plants that look gorgeous on paper but aren’t suited to your hardiness zone. You’ll wind up with plants that die prematurely, or demand winter covers, daily watering, and other intensive efforts to keep them alive and well.

Check plant labels to see which hardiness zones are best for your plants.

4. More of the Same

Resist the design temptation to carpet-bomb your yard with your favorite plant or shrub, which will create a boring, monochromatic landscape. Worse, your yard will look great when your fave flowers bloom, then will look drab the rest of the year.

Mix things up and strive for four-season color. For example, combine spring-blooming azaleas with summer-blooming roses and autumn-blazing shrubs — such as burning bushes (Euonymus alatus). For winter color, try the red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), a hardy shrub that sports bright-red branches in winter.

5. Refusing to Bury Your DeadNothing wrecks curb appeal faster than rows of dead or dying shrubs and perennials. So quickly remove your dearly departed landscaping from your front and side yards.

Spent plants that lived their natural lives are good candidates for a compost pile — if you grind them first, they’ll decompose faster. But if your landscaping succumbed to disease or infestation, it’s best to inter them in black plastic bags, then add to the trash.

6. Weeds Gone Wild

Weeds not only wreck the look of your landscaping, they compete with pricey vegetation for water and food. Weeds also can shorten the life of brick, stone, and pavers by growing in mortar cracks.

The best way to stop weeds is to spread a pre-emergent about three weeks before weed seeds typically germinate. If you can’t stop them from growing, at least get rid of weeds before they flower and send a zillion weed seeds throughout your yard.

7. Contain Those Critters

Deer, rabbits, and other backyard pests think your landscaping is an all-you-can eat buffet, leaving you with denuded branches and topless perennials.

If you’ve got a critter problem:

• Plant deer- or rabbit-resistant varieties. Your local extension agent can provide a list of green things critters won’t eat in your area.

• Install an electric fence around landscaping you want to protect.

• Spray plants with critter repellent. After a hard rain, spray again.

 

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon
Published: September 9, 2013

Read more: http://members.houselogic.com/articles/landscaping-mistakes-wreck-curb-appeal/preview/#ixzz312VZJi2C

“Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.”

When trees fail to thrive, they (and you) have a problem. Here are tips on how to care for your trees to prevent troubles.

But when trees fail to leaf out in spring or drop the leaves they have; when foliage turns brown before autumn; when trees lean precariously or branches die; then suddenly our trees become the center of attention.

What’s wrong? The likely culprit is human error. Trees often get sick because they haven’t been planted and cared for properly.

The good news: It’s pretty easy to give your trees the care they need to stay healthy and fight off diseases. Here are the most common errors and how to avoid them:

Improper Pruning

Improper pruning can destabilize a tree, encourage the spread of disease, and even make it fall over.

Signs of bad pruning include:

• Tree is leaning more than usual.

• Tree looks top- or bottom-heavy.

• One tree is blocking the sun from another.

• Tree is too big for its space.

• Pruning cuts are jagged.

Do it right:

• Pruning is as much art as science. A properly pruned tree looks balanced and beautiful; it feels comfortable — not squished into — its space; it lacks dead branches or ones that crisscross.

• Pruning techniques — where and how — are specific to each species of tree. So before you make your first cut, consult a pruning manual.

• Make sure your saws, loppers, and shears are clean and sharp to prevent disease.

Mulching Mayhem

Mulch helps protect trees (especially young ones) from stress and gives your yard great curb appeal. But more mulch is not necessarily better, and too little mulch does little to protect trees.

Signs of mulching mistakes:

• Mulch piled up against the tree trunk, volcano style, which can cause trunk rot and encourage infestation and disease.

• Mulch covering the tree’s root collar, where the trunk flares into the root system.

• Exposed roots.

Do it right:

Begin mulching about 6 in. from the tree base, and extend the mulch to the end of the tree’s drip line just beneath the end of the tree canopy. Start with 1 in. of mulch toward the base, building up to no more than 4 inches at the end of the mulch circle.

Use mulch only from reputable sources, not strange mulch piles that may contain material from diseased trees. To save money, make your own mulch from healthy lawn clippings, shredded leaves, branches, and bark.

Fertilizer Frenzy

A tree planted in a sunny location with good soil and covered with organic matter doesn’t need extra fertilizer: it makes its own food through photosynthesis.

Still, many homeowners mistakenly think their trees need an annual dose of fertilizer that adds minerals and nutrients to the soil. In fact, the opposite is true. Over-fertilizing can poison a tree’s root system, cause excessive and weak growth, and pollute watersheds.

Signs of over-fertilizing:

• Small or yellow foliage.

• Dead branches.

• Reduced growth.

• Salts on soil surface.

Do it right:

Many ailments — infestation, compacted soil, trauma, and nutrient deficiency — can cause a tree to show the same symptoms of over-fertilizing. So before you add fertilizer, test your soil to determine which, if any, nutrients your tree lacks. A good time to test soil is either before you plant, or every 3 years or so after planting.

If fertilize you must, add only the nutrients your tree needs, usually nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. Fertilize in early spring and fall; never fertilize during drought.

Planting Mistakes

Your new tree has so much potential. But if you plant a tree that doesn’t fit your hardiness zone; if you manhandle the little one and squeeze it into a hole that’s too narrow and too shallow; you may limit your tree’s future.

Signs of improper planting:

• Trees grow into utility lines or foundations.

• Scant or dry foliage.

• Stunted growth from inappropriate sun conditions.

• Dieback due to trauma at planting time.

Do it right:

You and your trees will be together for a long time. So when you select a species and location, consider the eventual size of the mature tree — the spread of its canopy and roots — not just the dimensions of the sapling. Plant trees away from overhead power lines and underground gas lines, and at least 15 feet away from the house (up to 35 feet for big trees).

When planting, dig a hole 3 to 5 times the diameter of the tree’s root ball and about 1 ft. deep. Make sure the root collar (flare) rests just above the soil surface. Don’t forget to water slowly and deeply until the root system is established.

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon
Published: June 13, 2013

Read more: http://members.houselogic.com/articles/tree-care/preview/#ixzz2xjzu5AXz

“Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.”

By: G. M. Filisko
Published: June 4, 2010

Read more: http://members.houselogic.com/articles/negotiate-best-house-buy/preview/#ixzz3AOL7mGRi
“Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.”