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Do Staples, Screws, and Nails Damage Your Trees?
You may look to your tree as a starting point whenever you want to do an outdoor project. Perhaps you are planning a romantic plaque sitting center and front of the trunk, or perhaps you are planning to have a small birdhouse attached to your tree.
However, can you drill safely a screw or nail to your tree? Well, several trees are durable enough to be drilled with a screw or nail. However, others will not be able to handle the damage.
Should You Avoid Particular Trees?
This is an excellent question. The short answer is yes. You should not poke a tree with screws, staples, or nails if it is already damaged from infection or weak. The hardware will drill into the layer under the tree bark. This layer is responsible for transporting nutrients and water across the tree. For those who don’t know, a tree that’s already weak will have a difficult time acquiring nutrients. It will need time to get its strength back. In addition to that, a new hole will produce an access point for deadly pests.
To make things simple, do not further damage a weak tree.
What’s The Best Location to Drill a Hole in the Tree?
The truth is that the right area you drill into does not make a huge difference. You can drill holes anywhere you want. However, the tree’s health plays a huge role in your project’s stability.
If your tree is healthy, then it is already hard. A tree will begin a process called compartmentalization whenever you drill a screw or nail into it. This means that they heal naturally the spot around the hole and protect the entire tree from possible infection. Thus, always pick a strong and healthy tree for ideal stability.
What Nails or Screws Should You Use?
You don’t want your screw or nail to rust over time. That is the number one thing you should consider. If you let the nails, screws, or staples to rust, you are allowing an infection to happen to your tree. Because of that, it is ideal to select aluminum, stainless steel, or any screws and nails for your project that are rust-proof.
How to Hammer a Nail or Drill Into a Tree without Damaging It
Well, the short answer is you can’t. In fact, hammering a nail or drilling a screw into your tree will leave a wound inevitably. However, you can prevent long-term and severe damage if the job is done properly on the right tree.
If you want to keep your tree as safe as possible, here are several things you have to consider:
- Keep in mind that several trees are better candidates than others.
- Do not get happy with your hammer. You will stress out your tree more if you create more holes.
- Be wary about the type of screws or nails you utilize.
- If you’re having a hard time doing your project, you can always count on a professional Southlake Tree Service company to help you.
Reasons to Have Excellent Drainage for Your Foundation
A lot of houses suffer from foundation issues due to poor exterior drainage. The integrity of their foundation is affected by a poorly installed drainage. This issue comes from a few possible sources. Of course, the ideal way of keeping the foundation of your house in excellent shape is to contact a Sherman Foundation Repair service to fix it as soon as possible.
Here are several reasons why poor exterior drainage can affect your foundation:
Droughts Change the Soil’s Consistency around the Slab
Not every soil on your home has a similar structure. Some of your soil may be more like clay. Some of it could be rocky and have excellent drainage. These various forms of soil provide fairly equal amounts of foundation support whenever the soil is consistently and frequently watered. However, some dirt would contract and dry out more compared to the rest whenever it has been months since the last heavy rain. Because of that, several parts of your home face more stress and are more likely to crack, instead of distributing equally its weight on the soil.
Rain Will Fall against the Seams of your Slab If You Don’t Have Excellent Gutters
Aside from redirecting away water from your front door, gutters will also ensure that water does not free fall against the concrete from the roof. The pressure would wear down the concrete without gutters. It could push more water under the slab and push away the soil around the sides of your foundation. In addition to that, water will also work its way between driveway slabs of concrete and your home if it falls in front of your garage.
Poorly Installed Downspouts and Gutters
Another possible drainage issue occurs whenever downspouts and gutters were incorrectly installed. For those who don’t know, gutters have to slightly incline toward the downspouts. Water might spill out in the wrong areas if they don’t slope. This will produce foundation settlement and soil erosion.
Missing Downspouts and Gutters
A home might completely lack downspouts or gutters on several occasions. Several homes might have missing sections. With this, water from the roof will pour down around the home’s perimeter. This will soften the soil under your foundation. This will then lead to the settlement of the beam or slab.
Installing a downspout or gutter system is the only solution here. It should be installed around your home. Make sure that it is connected into a sump pump or a buried drainage pipes to move water away from your foundation.
Downspouts Depositing Water Next to Your Foundation
One of the main sources of poor drainage around your home has to do with downspouts and gutters. This is particularly true if your downspout is depositing water right next to your foundation.
Installing a subsurface drainage pipe is the solution to this issue. It should be linked to the downspouts and direct water away from your foundation. On several occasions, if our home is located in a low spot, it might be required to install a sump pump.
Minor House Issues That Could Mean Foundation Problems
As a homeowner, you don’t want your house to have foundation problems. They’re the horror stories that every single homeowner wants to avoid. But, though you might examine your exterior for huge cracks, sign’s that tell you’ve got a foundation issue don’t always come from the noticeable foundation. Your house can often be trying to tell you of foundation problems in more minor ways you may not expect.
Pay Attention to Your Chimney
Another telltale sign of foundation problems is movement in the chimney. Your chimney could entirely collapse if it shifts too much. This will pose a dangerous threat to your property and family. Contact an expert right away to get your chimney fixed and stabilized if you see that your chimney is looking a bit off-kilter.
Examine Sources of Mold
If you see recurring mold in the corners of walls and windows, it could mean that moisture is collecting in your house, just like mildew in your basement. Examine areas that are prone to mold to rule out any foundation-related gaps and cracks that could be allowing water in before you break out your dehumidifier.
Drywall Cracks
You’ve got an actual serious issue if your foundation problems have developed enough that you’re having drywall cracks. This is particularly true if an extremely big crack has revealed. Oftentimes, the drywall is flexible. Thus, it could withstand extremely minor changes. However, a major problem in the foundation is influencing it if your drywall is cracking.
Uneven Flooring
You might not always look to the foundation if you get a raised area in your hardwood or several tiles come up. The reason for this is because it is on your floor. However, you should look at your foundation. Raised flooring does not occur without any reason. Though it can be a problem with your flooring, it is crucial to ensure it isn’t an issue with the foundation influencing the flooring and the floor.
Stuck Windows and Doors
Foundation problems will likely not be your first suspect if windows and doors no longer smoothly close. Instead of your home having foundation problems, you might probably think that the wood around the frame is warped or swollen. However, you should be suspicious of your foundation every time these entryways stop working as it used to.
You should look to the foundation first if your house is having any of these apparently minor issues. A San Antonio Foundation Repair service might be able to stop the problem from getting much worse and massively more costly to repair if foundation issues are caught early on.
It is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to foundation problems. If you neglect it, a faulty foundation will only turn into a more costly issue. It will also turn into an issue that’s much harder to repair. It might be ideal to contact an expert to put your mind at ease and save you a lot of money if your house shows any of these minor signs of foundation issues.
Buying a House with Foundation Problems
Are you trying to purchase a house? If so, why don’t you try asking your real estate agent if you should buy one with a foundation problem? Of course, you will most likely get a big “NO” as an answer. The curse of any house is foundation problems. Almost every new homeowner does not want to deal with these issues. Though you can likely look for an excellent house with an excellent foundation, you might be able to get a better deal on a house with foundation problems.
As of today, the housing market is quite hot throughout the US. Homes that are listed will be sold within hours. However, homes with foundation problems will probably be listed cheaper and stay on the market for a little longer. Thus, you could possibly get a greater deal on a home with foundation problems. However, you’ve got to understand several things.
Inspecting The House
Your first step should be to contact a foundation inspection company if you found a house that you want but has foundation problems. Regular house inspections will discover a lot of issues. They will even mention foundation issues. However, only a foundation inspection company will tell you how severe the foundation problems are. In addition to that, a foundation inspection company will probably provide you an estimate of how much the repair will cost.
Repairing the Problem
Oftentimes, a house with foundation problems is about 25% more affordable compared to similar houses in the area. The reason for this is that foundation issues are such a major problem. This means that you clearly want the foundation repair to not surpass the amount you’re saving. In addition to that, you might be able to approach that the problem is repaired by the homeowner before you purchase the house. But, it’s much wiser to have it repaired yourself. This is because you can pick an excellent contractor instead of a cheap one.
A home might be worth buying if the math behind a foundation repair works out so that you’re buying the house for a great deal. But, you also have to ensure that whatever caused the foundation problem will not come back as well.
How to Negotiate with the Seller about Foundation Problems
You can either ask for a repair credit or the sale price should reflect the need for repairs.
You have to keep in mind that you should not ask the seller to make the repairs themselves. The reason for this is that there are a lot of foundation repair companies out there. Not all of them are the same. Several will quote a cheap rate and will do a low-quality job. Of course, since it does not benefit them, the seller will not be worried about the quality of the job. That is why they will always hire a cheap company. This means that you will be the one who will deal with the low-quality work in the future.
You should be the one fixing the issue so that you can hire a reliable San Angelo Foundation Repair contractor.
How to Choose the Right Mulch
If you are reading this, possibilities are you have heard about the advantages of mulch. However, if you didn’t know yet, there are various types and colors of mulch. So, the question is “are there any differences between the types and colors of mulch?” “Are there advantages to using inorganic vs. organic, rocks instead of wood chips, or black instead of red?
Inorganic vs. Organic Mulch
The type of mulch really matters. The reason for this is that inorganic mulch does not dissolve. Thus, the quality of the soil will stay the same. On the other hand, organic mulch breaks down into the soil over time. This will add nutrients to the soil.
Both forms of mulch have their own benefits. This could help you choose the ideal option.
Here are several things you should know about inorganic mulch:
- This includes landscape fabric, gravel, or stones.
- Usually, they’re utilized for aesthetics because they do not help improve the quality of the soil.
- They’re excellent at deterring the growth of weed, unlike organic mulch.
- Rock mulch might raise soil temperature in summer.
- They could throw off the pH of the soil. Thus, before you go buy this mulch at a local Rowlett Tree Service company, you have to do a soil test.
- They’ve got the time and money-saving benefits because they hardly require replacement once they are set.
Here are several things you should know about organic mulch:
- By lowering evaporation, they preserve water in the soil.
- They come with a time stamp. You have to replace them every year.
- They are excellent for perennial or yearly gardens, vegetable gardens, fruit gardens, shrubs, and trees.
- Help even out soil temperature and conserve soil moisture.
- Slowly convert into plant soil. It improves the quality of the soil over time.
Red vs. Black vs. Brown Mulch
There are a lot of various theories about the benefits of colored mulch. According to several individuals, black mulch is ideal at warming up the soil in winter. Some people also say that red mulch is ideal for particular fruits. There is even a study about it. According to the study, red mulch really did help make sweeter strawberries and grow more tomatoes compared to the black type.
However, almost every individual out there pick the color of the mulch based on the theme of their landscape. Adding color to their landscape helps make trees and plants pop while still offering all the advantages that mulch provides.
There are several things you have to know when it comes to picking colored mulch.
- Colors will fade. Thus, you will have to replace it more often compared to naturally-colored mulch.
- You have to apply this mulch with caution since the dye can easily transfer to your driveway, pets, clothes, or hands.
- As long as the product is certified by the Mulch and Soil Council, colored mulch is safe to utilize.
When it comes to choosing the right mulch, it will all come down to your preferences. The good thing is that all of them provide benefits to your landscape.
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