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Landscaping in An Inexpensive Way (5)

5 November 2011

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One of those is introducing plants from other regions into our landscape. For example, if you import a plant from the tropics to the desert Southwest, that plant will likely require much more water than the plants native to the region. Because water is so precious, there is no return on your investment in the [...]

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Landscaping in An Inexpensive Way (4)

1 November 2011

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It’s taken me 22 years and three houses to design a front yard I can live with, but if you are lucky enough to hit on a perfect plan, it might take you only a year or two. If you have cash to spare, I suggest you hire a landscape architect, give them a laundry [...]

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Landscaping in An Inexpensive Way (3)

28 October 2011

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I would then need to decide whether I should simply extend the existing landscaping to the addition or I should tear everything out and start over. No matter what I do, I need to ensure that the landscaping ties in the addition to the original house, a critical point, I believe, for a couple of [...]

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Landscaping in An Inexpensive Way (2)

24 October 2011

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What they discover is that you can’t decide to put a house on the market next month and think that you can re-create the Garden of Eden by the time prospective buyers drive by. Miracle-Gro® just doesn’t work that fast. And, as Cher’s character Loretta Camarari said in the movie Moonstruck, “This is modern times. [...]

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Landscaping in An Inexpensive Way

20 October 2011

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Landscaping is a relatively inexpensive way to add value to your house. The landscape expert was correct, although a bit overzealous. According to the National Association of Realtors (http://www.realtors.org), about 50 percent of all house sales are based on first impressions from the curb. While a lot of that has to do with the physical [...]

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Cleaning the House from Water (4)

17 August 2011

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One homeowner spent $7,600 on a basement waterproofing system that included a back-up battery for the sump pump in the event of a power failure. When even the battery backup failed and his basement filled with water, the damage was $2,700, with all but the deductible paid by the insurer. The homeowner believed the waterproofing [...]

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Cleaning the House from Water (3)

13 August 2011

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That’s illegal, of course. Even if it weren’t, the homeowner would need to install a device that prevents sewage from the soil line flowing back into the sump. A better solution would be a dry well somewhere in the yard to handle the water from the sump without turning the lawn above into a swamp.

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Cleaning the House from Water (2)

9 August 2011

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When rain falls, it should be flowing away from the foundation, not toward it. A possible solution is to regrade, first banking soil against the foundation to achieve a minimum grade of 2 percent, which most engineers consider enough to divert water away from the foundation.

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Cleaning the House from Water

5 August 2011

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No basement is completely free of moisture. There is no such thing as a completely dry basement. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend your days waiting for the cellar to fill with water. It simply means that the basement, more than any other area of the house, is affected by moisture, and you [...]

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