Caulking & Painting Print

• More outdoor activities for you and your family.
• Arizona has an incredible array of species of birds.
• The amazing migratory habitats of hummingbirds.

Caller:

• Joy - She is heading up north with her grandkids and she wants Jim's recommendations on water levels and a fishing report.

Recommendation - She can go to this site (wmat.nsn.us) and we've had a good spring monsoon and water levels look good this year.

Rosie and Jim talk about the wildfire dangers this year and the changes over the last few decades.

• How it effects wildlife & Birds.
• Causes don't have to be sinister.
• Costs to put these out.

Wildlife reintroductions in Arizona.         

• Successful Projects and some that are still a work in progress.
• The one re-introduction Rosie doesn't agree with.
• They manage over 800 species across the state.
• Thanks to Tom for joining us today to talk about all the events happening and what they're doing to keep Arizona's wilderness beautiful and healthy.

Certified Arborist John Eisenhower with Integrity Tree Service takes your questions on trees!

Tree of the Month: He also loves the Texas Olive tree. It's great as a "Patio Tree" You can trim it into a bush or a tree and has a very beautiful bloom.

Should you be pruning anything right now? John explains what plants can be cut back and how to go about it.

Caller:

• Rick - His lemon tree had a major split in the middle and he had to cut it back. Is there something he should use to protect the trunk "that's not white"

Recommendation - He can use "tree paint" not the black "pruning paint." If he needs more protection, he can use a shade cloth to wrap the plants while the tree recovers. Shade cloth is John's favorite method of protecting trees from sun.

More on the proper way of using shade cloth to protect your trees.

Callers:

• Debra - His neighbor is cutting her lawn for her and stacking the clippings up against the tree trunks in the yard. Is this something he should be doing? She also wanted to know about a shade cloth we mentioned a few weeks ago.....

Recommendation - No. We never recommend putting any material against the trunk. Tree bark is meant to breath. Water won't be able to drain properly and cause damage to the trunk. The shade cloth is "agricultural cloth".

• Joe - He transplanted a Mexican Fan Palm in June and tied it up. He's wondering when he can release the palm fronds?

Recommendation - Now! There is some disagreement in the landscaping industry, but he does not like tying up palm tree fronds to begin with.

John explains why he doesn't like tying up palm tree fronds.

Caller:

• Marlene - She's new to the area and noticed that there are dirt mounds around her yard. What could they be and how to get rid of them.

Recommendation - They sound like pocket gophers and there are several ways to get rid of them. John explains his method of eliminating them. Bonide makes a product perfect for her and she can find it at Civano's Nursery. Romey talks about a home remedy if it's just a small area.

John talks about "Sustainable Pruning" & ANSI Standards (American National Standard Institute)

• More on "Sustainable Pruning"
• Setting proper expectations for homeowner's
• Why an arborist is needed to make sure your trees will be healthy for a long time. Especially, in Arizona.
• The value of a tree..

Caller:  

• Ann - Half of her plum trees are producing fruit, the other half is not. Any idea why that would be happening?

Recommendation - Something happened to the blooms on one half of the tree....it would take a site visit and some investigating to know what the full story would be. Check the watering situation and if the tree is healthy, wait another season.

If you have questions about your trees or need work done at your home, call John at Integrity Tree Service!

• Rosie recaps our 7 o'clock hour and all the events we discussed. Don't forget about the Arizona Crawfish Festival!

• We discuss "Super Cooling" and how it saves on your utility bills. Plus, all the other steps you can take to decrease your monthly power consumption. Dave from Advanced Home Systems has an analogy that's perfect for this.

• Signs that you have too big of an AC unit and how this costs you money.

Romey thanks some of our partner's for the great work, like Green ID and a caller with a rating system for our show.

Our Rosie Partners all have a common complaint.....they're looking for skilled workers!

Caller:

• Tom - He just started using "Super Cooling" in Tucson and wanted to tell us there were some differences from what we were discussing.

Recommendation - None of the utility companies have a standard "time of day" plans or rates.

Callers:

• Fred - With all the different Freon types on the market, can he fill up with 2 different types or does he need to empty the existing type before adding a different type. Plus, what is the standard cost he should expect.

Recommendation - We bring in Chuck Knight, owner of Knight Air Conditioning and he breaks down his options and prices to expect.

• Rachel - Last year her AC unit stopped blowing cooler air and none of the techs can find the issue. This year they replaced the compressor and is now telling her she needs a whole new unit and her unit is only 10 years old. What should she do?

Recommendation - Chuck thinks she has great equipment and it might be the coolant she's using. There's been an issue with a certain type of coolant that is deteriorating the seals and the parts that release the coolant. It should not be an issue with the AC unit stuff. She can have Knight Air Conditioning come out.

**If you need a quality contractor to look at your AC system in Tucson, call Intelligent Design Air Conditioning & Heating. In Green Valley, it's Green Valley Cooling & Heating. In Maricopa County call Knight Air, Integrity Air Conditioning or Reeis!

• We recap some questions from last week about controlling cats in their neighborhood. A listener shares what they did in their area to fix it.

• More about "Super Cooling" from a caller.....Is it cost effective to run ceiling fans 24/7.....No. There are some exceptions, but generally speaking, this is only helping if you are in the room.  

• Romey talks about building furniture with live trees. Go to Full Grown Furniture's Website.

We're talking about using the correct caulking for different applications and painting with Dale Wade of PPG Architectural Coatings.

• Dale and Rosie discuss the different types of caulking.
• Applications for each type.
• Pricing expectations.
• Indoor versus Outdoor Use.

Caller:

• Emilio - He's painting a block home that has some major cracks in-between the brick. What should he use?

Recommendation - Dale would use a urethane elastomeric caulk with sand in it. That way the texture will match the existing surface grade. He should "V Out" the joint and fill in the crack and feather out the surface to help match too. (Rosie shares a few more tips)

Rosie & Dale talk about all the changes at PPG!

Caller:

• Bob - He called in a few weeks ago with a drywall problem in his guest bathroom. We recommended Thompson Drywall come out to look at it. Rick found mold, but recommended ServPro come out. They need to take a test to find out if the mold is harmful. It was. He had a new roof put on 4 years ago...should he have that looked at first?

Recommendation - Yes! If the leak isn't fixed first, the problem will reoccur and he'll end up in the same situation in the near future.

Callers:

• Glen - He just bought a house and before he paints, he needs to fill in some rotted out wood. What should he use to help match old and new fascia.

Recommendation - Dale walks him through the steps. He'll need primer. For Glen's situation he recommends sanding it down and PPG has a product called "Permanizer." Use that first and then he can paint. Wood always needs primer! We are not fans of "self-prime" paints.

**The crew discuss a step by step process for prepping and repairing wood before you paint a damages surface.

• Lynn - The paint where the soil meets the foundation of her home is peeling away. It goes up about 6 inches. What should she do?

Recommendation - This is very common in Arizona. It's typically caused by water hitting the base of your home. Make sure the irrigation isn't hitting the home. Take it down the surface to the substrate and apply a product called DryLock. Dale loves this product! The deeper you paint below grade, the better. It dries clear and once you're done, just paint the color to match your home.

• Knowing when it's time to paint your stucco. (BTW, stucco is NOT Waterproof!)
• "The right way to fill a crack in stucco"
• Rosie and Dale both do not recommend elastomeric paint.
• Caulking is for joints, patching compounds are for cracks.
• "Paint doesn't hide problems, paint highlights problems"
• Thanks to Dale from PPG Architectural Coatings for joining us today!