Step by Step (June 2015)

Publication of the

June 2015 • Vol. 18, No. 6 Editor: Jennie Korth

Chairperson’s Message

by Mark Aksamit

Thanks to the wet month of May, I have discovered many new projects for me this summer around my house. I am sure that I’m not the only one and we, as an industry, will be very busy this year helping to put people’s homes back together. This is no small task and is one in which we all should take pride. Make sure to take time to say thank you to all the people around you who help and support you every day.

Tom Brick who consults for the EPA on the lead paint program was our guest speaker at the May meeting. We had an informative discussion about the issues surrounding lead paint and it hazards.

I want to thank all of those who were able to attend. Our next meeting is June 10 at Antelope Park for our start of the season picnic. This is always a good time to connect with others in our industry and get to know those who support our Council. Hope to see everyone there.

Picnic in the Park Antelope Park • Shelter #2

June 10, 2015 • 11:30 a.m.

Lunch from La Paz Cost: $10 per person RSVP to info@hbal.org or call 402-423-4225 by June 4.

A few reminders, the Remodelers Golf Tournament will be held at Mahoney Golf Course on August 28, 2015. It will be a shotgun start with the proceeds going to the Remodelers Scholarship Program.

Please mark your calendars and get your teams together for this fun event. For more information please contact the HBAL office.

Shelter #2

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Keep Unwanted Summer Guests Away

Lawn Care During Arid Summer Months

Summer is a great time to entertain visiting friends and family.

There are some guests, however, that you shouldn’t allow into your home — pests such as ants, roaches, rats and termites.

Care and patience makes the difference between a lush, healthy lawn and a coarse, brown eyesore, especially when rainfall is sparse.

Pest infestations are more than a nuisance. It is important to protect your family from disease due to food contamination and allergens and your property from wood and foundation damage.

Most people take pride and care in maintaining their lawns, although weather conditions often hamper even a green thumb’s best efforts. And, it’s not just a matter of beauty — or friendly neighborhood competition. Maintaining your home’s landscape is important for property values.

The cost for a home owner to treat an existing pest problem averages more than $1,000 — which doesn’t include the cost to correct the damage that has already been done. Termites alone have been estimated to cause $5 billion worth of damage in the U.S. every year, according to the National Pest Management Association.

Here are some steps you can take now to help keep your home pest-free for years to come.

Inside Your Home The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends a few things you can do inside your house to control future infestations: • Starve them out — keep a tight lid on the trash and empty it often. Clean up spills immediately and store food such as cereal, flour and sugar in plastic containers rather than in their original packaging.

• Dry them out — some pests, such as cockroaches, can survive a long time without food, but need water more often to survive.

To shut off their supply, be sure to fix leaky faucets, radiators, dishwashers, and washing machines immediately and empty flower pots and plant stands of excess water.

• Keep them out — seal cracks and openings along baseboards, behind sinks, and around pipes and windows.

Repair holes in door and window screens.

Outside Your Home Pests enter your home from the outside, so you will also need to prepare the exterior of your house to keep pests out: • Look for cracks and holes on the outside of your home and seal them up. Be sure to include points where utility lines enter the house. Also address damage to the basement foundation and windows.

• Check your landscaping. Rake mulch away from the base of your home and keep it to a minimum to allow for adequate drainage. Trim back tree branches and bushes so they do not make contact with the house. Remove tree stumps from your yard.

• Keep firewood piles stacked outside of your home neat, away from the house and off the ground.

• Make sure basements and attics are well ventilated and dry.

• Head up to the roof to look for any rotted or decaying shingles.

• When you’re looking at your roof, also check that your gutters are free of debris.

These simple steps now can save you a lot of headache and money down the road from these unwanted visitors.

According to the Oregon State University Extension Service (OSUES), many people water their lawn more than necessary.

As a result, lawns have developed a reputation for using a lot of water. Instead of following a predetermined watering schedule, check the soil moisture regularly. You can then alter your schedule to better meet your lawn’s needs.

To check soil moisture, the OSUES suggests inserting a screwdriver into the soil. If it penetrates the soil easily, it is moist. If not, you know your lawn is getting dry.

During dry summers, consider watering half as much as usual.

Lawns will stay mainly green, with a few brown spots, if they receive ½ to ¾ inch of water per week. Watering once or twice a week to apply this amount of water should be sufficient.

Another option, one that home owners may be reluctant to consider, is to forgo watering altogether and allow the turf to go dormant and turn brown during the summer. If having a brown summer lawn is not your idea of compromise, here are some additional lawn care strategies from the Agronomy and Horticulture department at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln: • Minimize fertilization. Over-fertilized, over-watered lawns tend to lack the wherewithal to thrive under stress. This spells trouble during a drought because the lawn hasn’t developed a deep root system. Heavily fertilized lawns also require more water, so home owners may want to wait until fall to fertilize.

• Mow your lawn properly. A good rule of thumb for each mowing is to never remove more than one-third of the height of the grass.

Mowing higher forces grass to develop and use deeper roots.

• Try mulching — even if you don’t have a mulching mower. Let clippings remain on the grass. Lawns tend to lose more water and nutrients through evaporation when you remove clippings.

• If you didn’t aerate your lawn in the spring, consider doing so this fall. Aeration creates small holes in the ground that allow water to soak deeper into the ground and promotes root growth.

• Maintain your lawn care equipment. Sharpen mower blades at least twice this summer. Dull blades tear grass, forcing grass to use 40 percent to 60 percent more water while it struggles to recover from stress.

• Finally, water during hours when the sun is not full strength, such as in the early morning or at dusk. Irrigating during the day wastes water, because much of it evaporates in the heat.

Even if your community has imposed water limits, it doesn’t necessarily sentence your lawn to a long, brown summer. Follow them. Watering on alternate days can save 40-50 percent of water, and heeding these few guidelines will go a long way to helping you maintain and enjoy your lawn, even though the hot, dry summer.

Renovation, Repair & Painting Rule Update Remodelers Council members heard from Tom Brick who consults for the EPA on the lead paint program at the May Remodelers Council meeting. It was an informative discussion about the issues surrounding lead paint and it hazards.

Help for Remodelers, Consumers from House Lead Paint Bill Responding to ongoing concerns from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and affiliated trade groups, bipartisan legislation to make much-needed improvements to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday.

The bipartisan bill was introduced by Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), along with eight original co-sponsors.

The Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2015 (H.R. 2328) is identical to legislation introduced in the last Congress. The bill would reinstate the opt-out provision to allow home owners without small children or pregnant women residing in the home to decide whether to require LRRP compliance, allow remodelers to correct paperwork errors without facing full penalties and provide an exemption for emergency renovations.

It would also eliminate the requirement that recertification training be “hands on,” so that certified remodelers would no longer have to travel to training facilities out of their region for

refresher training. NAHB has been an active supporter of a recent EPA proposal to do the same.

“On the heels of EPA’s final rule extending the recertification deadline for thousands of remodelers, H.R. 2328 will make more common sense improvements for home owners and remodelers who must comply with the lead paint regulation’s costly requirements,” said NAHB Remodelers Chairman Robert Criner, GMR, GMB, CAPS, a remodeler from Newport News, Va. “I commend the bill’s co-sponsors for their commitment to improve this complicated regulation.”

The LRRP rule applies to homes built before 1978 and requires renovator training and certification, adherence to lead-safe work practices and record keeping.

By removing the opt-out provision in July 2010, the EPA more than doubled the number of homes subject to the LRRP rule, adding an estimated $336 million per year in compliance costs to the remodeling community – without making young children any safer.

For more information about remodeling, visit nahb.org/remodel.

Calendar of Events June 5

Lincoln Home Builders Care Golf Tournament Highlands Golf Course Tee times still available • $60 per golfer

June 10

Remodelers Council Picnic Antelope Park • Shelter #2 11:30 a.m. • Cost: $10 per person

July 3

HBAL Office Closed in Observance of Independence Day

Aug. 7

HBAL Summer Bash Matt & Tracy Kleinschmit’s • 11401 Van Dorn Street 5:30 p.m. - BBQ Dinner 6:45 p.m. - Human Foosball Championship Game 7:00 p.m. - Band - “Spare Change”

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