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Outdoor Lighting for Curb Appeal and Safety

maggie — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:26:25 +0000

Well-planned outdoor lighting improves curb appeal, safety, and security for your home.

Think about it: Most of your guests (and if your home is on the market, many would-be buyers) see your home only in the evening, when its best features may be lost in the shadows. Well-executed outdoor lighting enhances architectural detail and plays up landscape features, casting your home in the best possible light and adding an abundance of curb appeal.

Outdoor lighting also adds value. Judith Patriski, an appraiser and owner of Quad Realty Co. near Cleveland, estimates that for upper-bracket homes, an investment in outdoor lighting can yield a 50% return. “When you pull into a driveway and see a gorgeous home, you’re going to pay more for it,” says Patriski.
And she emphasizes that it’s not only about aesthetics: “In all price ranges, lighting for security is important”–both to protect against intruders and falls. Here are the elements of successful outdoor lighting.
Mimicking moonlight
Much of the success of exterior lighting hinges on its design. Hang around lighting designers long enough and you’ll hear a lot of talk about “moonlight effect.” That’s a naturalistic look that features light no more intense than that of a full moon, but still strong enough to make beautiful shadows and intense highlights.

Other techniques outdoor lighting designers use:
•Highlight trees: Whether illumined from below or given presence by a light mounted in the tree itself, trees make stunning features.

•Use uplights: Uplighting is dramatic because we expect light to shine downward. Used in moderation, it’s a great way to highlight architectural and landscaping features.

•Have a focus: The entryway is often center stage, a way of saying, “Welcome, this way in.”

•Combine beauty and function: For example, adding lighting to plantings along a pathway breaks up the “runway” look of too many lights strung alongside a walk.

•Vary the fixtures: While the workhorses are spots and floods, designers turn to a wide range of fixtures, area lights, step lights, and bollards or post lights.

•Stick to warm light: A rainbow of colors are possible, but most designers avoid anything but warm white light, preferring to showcase the house and its landscape rather than create a light show.

•Orchestrate: A timer, with confirmation from a photocell, brings the display to life as the sun sets. At midnight it shuts shut down everything but security lighting. Some homeowners even set the timer to light things up an hour or so before dawn.

Adding safety and security
Falls are the foremost cause of home injury, according to the Home Safety Council. Outdoors, stair and pathway lighting help eliminate such hazards.

Often safety and security can be combined. For example, motion-detecting security lighting mounted near the garage provides illumination when you get out of your car at night; the same function deters intruders. Motion detecting switches can also be applied to landscape lighting to illumine shadowy areas should anyone walk nearby.

Even the moonlight effect has a security function: Soft, overall landscape lighting eliminates dark areas that might hide an intruder, exposing any movement on your property. Overly bright lights actually have a negative effect, creating undesirable pockets of deep shadow.
Switching to LEDs
Once disparaged for their high cost and cold bluish glow, LEDs are now the light source of choice for lighting designers. “They’ve come down in price and now have that warm light people love in incandescent bulbs,” says Paul Gosselin, owner of Night Scenes Landscape Lighting Professionals in Kingsland, Texas. “We haven’t installed anything but LEDs for the last year.”

Although LED fixtures remain twice as expensive as incandescents, installation is simpler because they use low-voltage wiring. “All in all, LEDs cost only about 25% more to install,” Gosselin says. “And they’ll save about 75% on your electricity bill.”

Another advantage is long life. LEDs last at least 40,000 hours, or about 18 years of nighttime service. With that kind of longevity, “why should a fixture have only a two-year warranty?” asks Gosselin. He advises buying only fixtures with a 15-year warranty, proof that the fixture’s housing is designed to live as long as the LED bulbs inside.
Innovations
The growing popularity of exterior lighting has led to innovative fixtures. Here are some bright new ideas:
•Solar lighting: When first introduced, solar pathway lights produced a dull glow that rarely made it through the night. They do much better now that they are equipped with electricity-sipping LEDs, more efficient photovoltaic cells, and better batteries. Still, they have yet to measure up to hard-wired systems.

•Hybrids: Porch lights now come equipped with LED lighting for all night use, and a motion sensor that clicks on an incandescent bulb to provide extra illumination as you approach the front door. Hybrids use about 5% of the power a solely incandescent fixture requires.

•Barbecue light: Tired of grilling steaks by flash light? Now you can buy a gooseneck outdoor light, ideal for an outdoor kitchen.

Estimating the cost
Total outdoor lighting costs will vary according to the size of your home and the complexity of your lighting scheme. Expect to pay about $325 for each installed LED fixture. LEDs also require a transformer to step the power down from 120 volts to 12 volts, running about $400 installed.

A motion detector security light costs about $150 installed. Porch lights and sconces range from $100 to $250 installed, depending the fixture and whether running new cable is necessary.

Contractor-installed outdoor lighting for an average, two-story, 2,200 sq. ft. house might add up as follows:
•7 fixtures to cover 100 feet of LED pathway lighting: $2,275

•Transformer: $400

•4 LED uplights to dramatize the front of the house: $1,300

•2 LED area lights for plantings: $650

•2 motion detector security lights: $300

Total cost: $4,925

Dave Toht has written or edited more than 60 books on home repair and remodeling, including titles for The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Better Homes & Gardens, Sunset, and Reader’s Digest. A former contractor, Dave was editor of Remodeling Ideas magazine and continues to contribute to numerous how-to publications.

Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Dave Toht
Published: March 18, 2010

10 Tips for Saving Money in the Garden

maggie — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:17:39 +0000

Smart landscaping strategies can save you money while they add to the curb appeal and value of your home.

Few things are more frustrating than pouring a lot of resources into a landscaping project, only to watch your plants keel over or discover that your personal Shangri-La is unsustainable, perpetually demanding ever more time, muscle, and money. The good news is that by sticking to a few simple rules, you can avoid many of the common pitfalls of gardening. The payoff can be big: According to Money magazine, the typical return on investment for landscaping improvements is 100% to 200%-as much or more than a kitchen or bath remodel. Here are 10 ways to green up your garden while keeping some green in your wallet.
1. Understand your land
Before shelling out money for new plants, look at what has thrived and what has died in your garden over time. If you’re new to the area, ask neighbors with similar growing conditions what has worked for them. Keep in mind that even plants appropriate for your growing zone (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html) might not work in your personal patch, depending on the soil composition, sunlight patterns (see #4 below), microclimate, pests, and available water. Your local cooperative extension service (http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/) can analyze your soil and recommend amendments and suitable plantings.
2. Avoid invasives
No matter how big your hurry to see your garden fill in, be wary of a plant billed as a “fast grower” or “aggressive.” Often that’s code for an invasive species-a non-native plant that makes its way into the landscape and crowds out the locals by stealing their nutrients, light, and water. The U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains a list of invasives (http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxiousDriver), which include various ivies, grasses, weeds, vines, self-seeding varieties of bushes and shrubs, even seemingly innocuous herbs like mint. Your county extension service can steer you toward the species best suited to your plot. Tip: If you love growing mint in the garden, contain it in a pot.
3. Ask before you plant
It’s great to receive free cuttings, but before you plant that gift from your neighbor, make sure you know what you’re getting. Is the plant an old cultivar that self-seeds? Perennials such as black-eyed Susan and Echinacea (coneflower) are favored because they self-sow. But for other plants, such as Rose of Sharon, self-seeding turns invasive, and that’s not worth the trouble even if someone pays you to take it. In theory, you can always pull something out later, but it’s better to head off unnecessary hassle and expense by asking questions up front.
4. Be sun savvy
You’d be surprised how often even experienced gardeners put a shade-loving plant in full sun or a sun-loving plant in the shade. Part of what makes this tricky is that daylight is a moving target-not just as seasons change, but as plants mature and cast different shadow patterns. Before plotting plant beds and tree locations, spend some time studying the movement of the sun throughout the year, and continue to keep an eye on the ebb and flow of shadows as plants mature.
5. Establish a simple color palette
Stick to a simple color scheme for flowers and blooming shrubs. That way, when you go to a nursery, you can laser in on plants that match. This strategy is also money-wise. Besides making fewer impulse buys, which can lead to a hodgepodge effect in the yard, a coordinated color scheme increases curb appeal by making your house look more pulled-together. Massing plants in one or two colors connotes a sense of luxury and order.
6. Use trees as natural (free!) AC
A recent federal study (http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/news/2009/01/electricity.shtml) found that shade trees in strategic places on the south and west sides of a house can reduce a homeowner’s seasonal cooling bill by about $25 and lower net carbon emissions from summertime electricity use by 30% over a 100-year period. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (http://www.energy.gov), shading an air conditioning unit can increase its efficiency by as much as 10%. With a deciduous tree you benefit in winter, too, as sunlight streams through the branches to provide thermal gain and natural daylighting for the house.
7. Power down your lawnmower
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov), gas-powered lawn mowers contribute as much as 5% of the nation’s air pollution. Switching to one of the new generation of push-reel mowers-which are lighter, quieter, and kinder to your lawn than power mowers-reduces emissions and cuts down on fuel consumption. It takes about a gallon of gas to mow three-quarters of an acre; at, say, $2 a gallon, you’ll save more than $100 a year. A good push-reel mower (http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/reel_mower_landing.htm?gclid=CLWYvbHPyZwCFRHxDAodWDHGJQ) costs $150 to $250, so it will quickly pay for itself.
8. Smarten up your sprinkler system
If you have an in-ground sprinkler system, consider installing an ET (evapotranspiraton) controller. These systems, which use real-time weather data sent by satellite to control when sprinklers turn on and off, can cut water use by as much as 30%. The controller costs between $300 and $400, depending on system size, but many municipal water agencies offer rebates, particularly in the arid Southwest. (For more water-conserving technologies, see “Water-Saving Irrigation Strategies (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/water-saving-irrigation-strategies/)”).
9. Conduct an annual review
Once a year, take a good hard look around your yard and ask, “Is that plant doing its job?” Meaning, is it thriving, behaving itself (growing where you want it to), and enhancing the appearance of your home? Give a pink slip to the stuff that’s hijacking your curb appeal-or, worse, putting your house at risk. For maximum safety, keep foundation plants at least one foot from the house and trees the same distance as the width of their mature canopies. Otherwise roots can burrow into foundations, and overhanging branches can trap moisture against the roof or siding, leading to rot and insect damage.
10. Be patient
When planning landscape improvements, avoid the temptation of instant gratification. Starting small saves money. That means putting in saplings, young shrubs and plants, seeds and bulbs-and waiting. Most shrubs and perennials fill out or spread in a couple of years. In the meantime, you can fill in gaps with annuals for seasonal color.
Laura Fisher Kaiser is a contributing editor to Interior Design magazine and a former editor at This Old House Magazine. She has made almost every one of these mistakes, but prefers to call them experiments.

Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Laura Fisher Kaiser
Published: August 28, 2009

Lawn Maintenance Calendar

maggie — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:11:05 +0000

Regular lawn maintenance gives your home maximum curb appeal and preserves the value of your property.

A healthy, well-maintained lawn is more than just good-looking-it’s a key to preserving the value of your home. Regular lawn maintenance enhances curb appeal, making your home-and neighborhood-attractive to passersby and potential buyers.
According to Su Chi Straka-Phillis, a residential real estate appraiser with Central Appraisal Services of Parma, Ohio, a well-kept lawn preserves a home’s value.
Put off routine maintenance, and you risk devaluing your home. In fact, an unkempt lawn can be a warning sign to buyers of other potential home maintenance issues.
Know your grass type
There are two main types of lawn grass: cool-season and warm-season. Homeowners living in the Northeast, Midwest, and Northwest should grow cool-season grasses. As depicted on the Plant Heat-Zone Map (http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm) provided by the American Horticultural Society, the regions for cool-season grasses are approximately zones 1 through 7.

Cool-season grasses do most of their growing in spring and fall, often going dormant in the summer. Cool-season grasses include tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass.

Those living in the Southeast and Southwest (zones 8 through 12) will generally have warm-season grasses. Warm-season grasses thrive from late spring to early fall and go dormant in the winter. Varieties include bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and St. Augustine grass.

If you’re unsure which zone applies to you, check your state extension service (http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/).
Mowing
Grass type: All
Maintenance schedule: Spring to fall

“The taller the grass, the deeper the roots, the fewer the weeds, and the more moisture the soil holds between watering,” explains Richard Hentschel of the University of Illinois Extension (http://web.extension.illinois.edu/state/index.html). Hentschel recommends the mower blade height be permanently set to 3 inches.

In prime growing season (spring and fall for cool-season; summer for warm), homeowners should mow frequently enough so they’re removing no more than one-third of the grass blade. If possible, resist the urge to mow the grass when wet, as the practice can spread diseases that affect lawns.

Mower blades should be sharpened monthly to ensure clean, sharp cuts. A dull blade tears the grass, leaving jagged edges that discolor the lawn and invite pathogens. Consider spending about $20 for a backup blade so that a sharp one is always on hand.
Watering
Grass type: All
Maintenance schedule: Spring to fall

Deep and infrequent watering is better for lawns than frequent sprinkles, which promote shallow root growth, says Hentschel. In general, lawns need about one inch of water per week to maintain green color and active growth.

Lawns that receive less than that will likely go into dormancy. To stay alive, dormant lawns should still receive at least 1 inch of water per month.

To check the output of a sprinkler, scatter some pie tins around the yard to see how much water collects in a specific length of time. Having a rain gauge ($5 to $20) will help you keep track of how much water the lawn receives naturally. Allowing a cool-season lawn to go dormant in the summer can save hundreds of gallons of water, depending on the size of your lawn.
Feeding
Grass type: Cool-season
Maintenance schedule: Early fall

Grass type: Warm-season
Maintenance schedule: Late spring

“It used to be common to fertilize a lawn three or four times per year,” says Hentschel. “Now we suggest just once a year when it will do the most good.” For cool-season grasses, that time is early fall, so the grass enters winter dormancy in a much healthier state.

For warm-season grasses, the best time to fertilize is late spring, just as the grass begins its most active growth. For best results, closely follow the application directions on the product. Cost is around $50 to $75 per application.

People interested in organic fertilizers have never had an easier time finding them at local garden centers. Homeowners who mow regularly with mulching mowers are encouraged to leave the clippings on the ground, where they’ll decompose and recycle nutrients into the soil.
Weed-control herbicide application
Grass type: Cool-season
Maintenance schedule: Fall

Grass type: Warm-season
Maintenance schedule: Late winter

Homeowners should embrace the idea that an occasional weed is OK, says Hentschel. For minor weed invasions, removal by hand of the entire plant and roots is recommended. When the situation becomes impossible to contain by hand, it might be necessary to apply an herbicide.

For cool-season grasses, the best time to apply a weed killer is in fall, when both old and new weeds can be eliminated before winter. Warm-season grasses often benefit from a late-winter application of a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent weeds from growing.

In place of weed and feed products, which are spread over the entire lawn, Hentschel prefers liquid-based herbicides that are applied only where needed. It’s imperative to read and follow all directions on herbicide labels. Cost is around $15 to $45 per application.
Grub control
Grass type: Cool-season
Maintenance schedule: Early summer

Grass type: Warm-season
Maintenance schedule: Late summer

Grub worms, the larval stage of June, Japanese, and other beetles, feed on the tender root systems of lawns. Affected lawns exhibit browning and wilting patches.

To be certain that the culprits are grubs, Hentschel suggests that homeowners pull back the sod and look for white, C-shaped grubs. If they’re present at a rate exceeding 10 per square foot, they should be treated with a chemical pesticide.

Milky spore is an environmentally friendly way to control some species of grubs. When using insecticides, read and follow all label directions and water the product into the soil immediately. Cost is around $50 to $75 per application.
Patching
Grass type: Cool-season
Maintenance schedule: Early fall

Grass type: Warm-season
Maintenance schedule: Early summer

The best time to patch bare or thin spots in a lawn is at the start of the grass’s most favorable growing period. For cool-season grasses that means waiting until the hot, dry days of summer have given way to cooler fall temps.

Warm-season grasses thrive in summer, so it’s best to sow seeds at the start of that season. Hentschel says to buy only high quality disease-resistant seed with good germination rates, which by law have to be listed on the label. Cost is anywhere from $20 to $75, depending on the size of the areas to be patched.
Cleanup
Grass type: All
Maintenance schedule: Spring to fall

Although small particles of grass are fine to leave on the lawn, large piles that exit a side-discharge mower should be removed. Fallen leaves, twigs, and debris should be raked up regularly. In climates where it snows, it’s best to remove fall leaves before winter. A thick layer of wet leaves can smother a lawn if not immediately removed in early spring.
Download our free PDF worksheet for an easy-to-use seasonal maintenance task chart.

Douglas Trattner has covered home maintenance and improvement topics for HGTV.com, DIYNetworks, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. During the 10-year stewardship of his 1925 Colonial, he’s upgraded the furnace, added insulation, replaced most appliances, and mowed his lawn every time but once.

Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Douglas Trattner
Published: February 04, 2010