Home Owner Information

Adding Or Upgrading A Deck Can Transform Your Backyard Into An Oasis

A home is a place of comfort and relaxation. Many homeowners are now taking to the outdoors and making this space an extension of the dream home they’ve always wanted.

One way to transform a house into a dream home is by utilizing the outdoor space with the addition of a new deck or improvements to an existing deck. A deck creates the perfect backyard oasis to escape the stresses of a busy lifestyle, to enjoy the outdoors, grill out, have a party or simply relax. With a deck, a couple can celebrate with friends, children can play outside and parents can retire in comfort.

Many alternative decking choices are available for homeowners seeking high-quality materials with low-maintenance features. Choosing to go with alternative decking materials helps homeowners save money and have more time to spend outdoors enjoying time together. While composite products will need occasional cleaning, they don’t need the sanding, staining, sealing or painting that wood decks require.

There are many choices for deck designs, materials and colors that can make choosing a dream deck a little overwhelming. But deck design tools like those found at TimberTech can help ease the deck design process without having to leave the house.

For example, TimberTech’s product selector can help homeowners determine which alternative decking material works best for their lifestyle. Families with children, pets or even special needs equipment like wheelchairs will be interested in the products offered by TimberTech that can easily withstand high traffic volumes without showing scratches or wear. These products will maintain their good looks and durability in the years to come with minimum cleaning and maintenance.

Online design tools help homeowners envision the perfect colors that match the house and find environmentally friendly decking and railing products. Some homeowners are interested in a clean appearance by using hidden fasteners or railing systems with no exposed hardware, while others pursue a more economical approach to picking the perfect decking. Railing systems provide additional safety and style while lighting options help homeowners illuminate their space for extended time on the deck once the sun has set.

The beauty of composite decking – in addition to the multitude of color and material options – is that it’s fully customizable to whatever style or look is wanted for the deck. Homeowners can opt for a deck and railing design all in one color to perfectly blend in with the house, or can go the contrasting route to make the deck a unique design feature to beautify the backyard.

Decks can be both practical and stylish, which is why many homeowners looking to enhance the look and the value of their home and increase their living space consider replanking an existing wooden deck or adding a new deck. Composite decking products provide many different style options and allow homeowners to enjoy their deck without annual sanding, staining, sealing or painting. To get started on planning a new deck or upgrading your current deck, visit www.timbertech.com.

How To Protect Your Greatest Asset – Your Home – From Subterranean Termites

When it comes to protecting your home’s value, you have no control over some of the factors that influence real estate values, like nearby retail development or the job market in your area. You can, however, take control over one major factor in your home’s value, its health and the health of your neighborhood – termites.

Termites cause more than $2 billion in damage every year to homes in the United States, and statistics show that’s likely more damage than what fire, storms or earthquakes cause.

Subterranean termites are unlike many other problematic insects or rodents in that they forage for food 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They feed on wood and cellulose products, which are part of your home’s construction.

Termites live in colonies underground or above ground in moist areas, according to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). Each colony can contain up to 2 million termites – meaning your home could have several million termites living around the foundation and they are constantly seeking a food source.

It is important to be able to spot the signs of a termite infestation by looking around your home. Termites typically create what are called mud tubes and together they travel through these tubes in search of new food sources. Look for these mud tubes along your home’s exterior. Keep in mind that termites are very small in size – from 1/8 to 3/8 of an inch – so they can travel through small non-cellulose cracks in your home, such as through your foundation.

The NPMA offers several tips to help you reduce the possibility of a termite infestation. These include lowering the humidity in crawl spaces or other areas with reduced ventilation to eliminate a moist atmosphere – the kind that termites seek out. Also, it is very important to keep wood or scraps of lumber away from your home. Never pile firewood against your home; that’s a sound food source for Subterranean termites. By putting lumber against your foundation or wall, you’re in essence inviting termites to feed right next to your home.

The Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System from Dow AgroSciences provides a tough, environmentally responsible solution for protection against termites. The Sentricon System features stations that are strategically placed eight to 10 feet around the perimeter of your home. Bait in each station is highly desirable to termites, so worker termites who are responsible for feeding the colony will feed upon it and bring it back to the colony. Once other termites feed upon it they will start to die off, but even if they don’t feed on it the worker termites already have and once they die off, so does the colony’s food source. Soon the termite colony will be eliminated.

The Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System currently protects more than 2 million homes. For every system that is used, fewer liquid treatments are being applied, so that means fewer liquid termiticides are being injected into the soil. For more information about the Sentricon System, visit www.sentricon.com.