Annual Maintenance Tips Print

• Rosie's love for football might be out of control!
• Funny insight on bowl games sponsored by a chicken based franchise.
• Previewing our goals for the Arizona Homeowner's this upcoming year.

• We get corrected by a listener......It's NOT the Ella Fitzgerald that sunk.....Ha!
• More interesting stories from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 
• Stories of survival...spooky and scary.
• Weather up north has a "Feels Like" temp.
• Quartzite, Arizona is home to an enormous mobile home park....Gotta escape the cold!
• We're going to focus on La Paz County this month.

Sign up for the Sanderson Ford Arizona Staycation Here!!!

• More stories about the mills up north.
• The story behind "Betty Crocker"
• After a weekend off, the crew gives it's impressions on listening for 4 hours.
• Folks up north were surprised to hear that we have issues with freezing and frost in AZ.

John Jay from Harper's Nursery & Landscaping Company joins us to talk about your landscape!

Tip of the Week: It's time to prune roses and other deciduous fruit trees. DO NOT trim back frost damage on plants. Jay's got a seminar coming up too.

Caller:

• Keith - He is having issues with weeds and wants to know if there is a way to eliminate them for at least a year or so.

Recommendation - It's supposed to rain next week, so it's the perfect time to apply pre-emergent herbicide. Plus, Jay talks about some landscaping mistakes they could be making and different options to stop the weeds from starting. 

Text From a Listener: They want to remove oleander bushes and plant fruit trees instead. Jay talks about removing oleander and his recommendations for his home.

Text From A Listener:

• Sabrini - She wants to know how much she should cut back on her peach trees...she's heard a 1/3 and wants to know what Jay thinks.

Recommendation - If she wants to keep it the same size, a third is a good rule of thumb. Jay talks about "how" to prune the plants correctly. Prune with the idea that the fruit will all ripen at the same time.

Caller:

• Barbara - She's heard of coffee grounds being put into soils as part of compost. Can she add it to her container garden on her pation in an apartment.

Recommendation - Coffee grounds should be mixed into a compost container, not simply thrown onto the soil above a plant. She could start a smaller compost container. Many apartment dwellers do it.

Callers:

• Bobbie - Can you use pecan leaves for composting?

Recommendation - Yes. They take longer to break down but it's a common mistake that says you can't use pecan or oak leaves. Just make sure they're broken down further than other materials.  *He also has some pruning tips for her.

• Steve - He just cut down his palo verde tree this weekend and is left with a stump. He wants to kill it, but doesn't want to use a harsh chemical. What do we recommend?

Recommendation - He could put rock salt in the stump, but it can sterilize the ground around it if it gets into the surrounding soils. Just make sure he isolates the salts or even burn it. Just check the city ordinance.

• Mike - He's a snowbird and when he came back down this year, his grapefruit tree leaves are yellow. He wants to know how to save it?

Recommendation - Jay investigates his watering schedule. He's watering too much and too often! We discuss what he should be doing for summer and then into the winter season.

• Greg - Do some of the trees that grow in Arizona work as firewood?

Recommendation - Palo Verde has a strong odor and Jay doubts palms will burn very well. Citrus, Ashe, & Mesquite should all work well as they're hard woods. We discuss other options and some of the drawbacks to each. He could call Paul Bunyans Firewood for insight.

Callers:

• Doug - He has a "giant ficus tree" and needs to cut it back but isn't sure when to do it?

Recommendation - Jay says mid February is a good time to do be safe. Shoot for Valentine's Day.

• JoAnn - She has 6 citrus trees. The lemon tree is good but the rest are dry the last 2 years. What could she be doing wrong?

Recommendation - Something must have changed for the changes. He thinks it might be the watering during the summer might and with the last two extreme summer's her watering might need to be increased. The plants are bigger and we've been hotter the last 2 years.

• Paul - He needs to fertilize his rye grass, but found 3 different types in his garage. Which one does Jay recommend.

Recommendation - "Turf Royal" is what he uses. Nitrate is key with cooler temps.

Remember, you can reach Jay during the week at Harper's Nursery & Landscaping Company in Scottsdale.

• Updates from the last week's show and the crew's time off.
• Rosie impressions on cold after visiting Minnesota in winter.

Rosie goes through a few mistakes on our list of Top 10 Mistakes homeowner's make....

• Don't go cheap! Choose the "Right" Contractor, not the cheapest. The guys describe their thought process.
• How Germans choose the contractor bids. Rosie loves this process.

Caller:

• Palmer - He's building an extension onto the side of his garage. There is 4 inches of concrete now and he wants to know if he can pour concrete over the top of this slab to make it even or if he should start over?

Recommendation - We'll investigate in the next segment......

We continue with Palmer's questions - Rosie ask 4 questions

1. Is it in a city? It is, so make sure he gets a permit.
2. Drainage?
3. Aggregate used?
4. Options for tying it into the existing structure.

• Rosie talks though overlay options and new concrete pours, plus concerns about drainage. Next, he describes the rest of the method he would use.
• We talk air quality and what you should be aware of and what to do about it.

Caller:

• Dennis - He's doing a bathroom renovation and is trying to see what makes sense for the shower....a drop-in liner structure or tile and grout?.

*Romey talks with J.A.W.S., The Just Add Water System representative, Bruce Yakko to talk about his product and why it's a "green" cleaning option. You can pick up their products at any Bashas' Grocery Stores.

• Allen - He has two damp spots on his new home and he can't figure out where it's coming from and he knows it's not the irrigation system and he's had a plumber out there too and they couldn't figure it out.

Recommendations coming in the next break......

We continue with Allen....

Recommendation - Rosie investigates and he'd dig out the area around the spot to at least 12 to 18 inches deep. If it's getting dryer, the moisture is coming from the top. If it's getting wetter, it's coming from underneath. Rosie isn't sure the plumber did a good enough job investigating. He'd call a Rosie-Certified plumber out to further investigate.

• We discuss all the ways we try to connect with you, the Arizona Homeowner's.This includes a new monthly signup for monthly maintenance on your home. 
• Fun facts about new years resolution's.
• In January, you should be checking all the battery operated household devices and replacing them with new ones.
• Why we like lithium batteries in your devices.

Callers:

• Jim - He checks in from St. Cloud, Minnesota. He wants to put in new windows and wants our recommendations.

Recommendation - Of course we love Pella Windows & Doors! The brand Jim mentioned is one were familiar with, but we'd go with Pella. Rosie also has a few Minnesota contractors he can call for advice.

Caller:

• Tim - His heat pump went out and the compressor is bad. He wants to know if he should replace the whole unit or just the compressor. The unit is 12 years old. He's also consider a mini-split unit. He's already had REEis out to seal up his duct work.

Recommendation - It's doable to do the mini-split system for his system, but at 1600 square feet, it's probably not economically feasible. He could get a quote in a few different ways, but it could cost about 3 times as much to install. Here's Rosie's Consumer Guide to Choose an Air Conditioning Unit.  Most AC units are way too big.

Callers:

• Jack - He's hearing loud popping sounds in his ceiling. Is this something he should be concerned about?

Recommendation - This usually does not cause a problem. The noise is the materials expanding and contracting. It could also be the roofing sheets tight together. When they did this, the boards grind together and if he isn't seeing pressure cracks inside his home, he should be okay. It's just annoying.

• John - The spring in his overhead garage door snapped and now he can't open it.

Recommendation - Unfortunately, he'll have to lift it manually after releasing it from the operator. Once it's lifted, he can use a clamp to make sure it stays up. A-Authentic Garage Door Service can fix it for him! Rosie walks him through the steps to try and lift it himself.

*We reminisce about a caller that got locked into their garage with the lights out!

• Linda - The spare room floor is wet and warped, even after she did some preventative work last year. Could it be her condensation pipe that's leaking causing the issues?

Recommendation - It's unlikely, but it can happen. Rosie would go in the attic to look for obvious signs of water leaks. She can use a Thermal Imaging Pistols to take the temperature on a spot. As the temp of the wall changes, the cooler spot is usually where the source of the leak is.

• We cover a utility company offer that's been circulating. The letter offers insurance on the electric line to your house. We're going to investigate, but it sounds like a scam to Rosie.

Join Rosie On The House Every Saturday Morning!!!