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HOME MAINTENANCE

Saturday, August 6, 2016 An advertising feature of The Topeka Capital-Journal

Cracked up Heed first signs of foundation woes, page 3

 Jamie Kidd on watering turf, page 2  Surprising backyard edibles, page 5  Ways to kid-proof your home, page 6  Preserving space in a child’s bedroom, page 7

homes.cjonline.com METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

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Measuring how much to water turf Stick a fork in me, I’m done.

You know it has been hot when we think 95 degrees is a cool wave. Does anyone else feel that way?

I know my shrubs and trees are searching for water. I am running soaker hoses in my gardens twice a week giving them a deep drenching. I must say they look pretty good, but what about our lawns?

In northeast Kansas, for the most part, we used to get enough rainfall that irrigation wasn’t needed for our lawns to survive. Nature’s way of preserving turf grasses is to allow them to go dormant during times of heat/drought or cold.

Cool-season grasses, like fescues and bluegrasses, are designed to go dormant in the heat of the summer.

Dormancy can last five to eight weeks without water and with little or no damage to the crown of the plant. This means

Jamie KiDD

jamiehan@ksu.edu

that, while we are experiencing extreme heat and drought and our cool-season lawns look brown and dead, they’re actually waiting patiently in dormancy until the weather conditions cool down and we get rain again.

If severe drought stretches to the eight-week mark, we really need to apply an inch of water per week to the turf.

Be aware that watering during the five to eight weeks of dormancy possibly can cause the grass to break dormancy. This means the grass is now awake,

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

n Master Gardener Steve Paige will talk about fall lawn care at 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 S.W. 10th Ave. Learn how to care for your lawn going into fall and early winter. n Applications to become a Master Gardener are due Aug. 12, and classes are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, Sept. 8 through Nov. 3. Applications are available at www.shawnee.ksu.edu or the Shawnee County Extension office, 1740 S.W. Western Ave. For more information, call Connie DeHart at (785) 232-0062, ext. 109. and you must keep watering it or the grass will suffer from heat stress. This makes a lot more work for you, but continual, consistent watering all summer with an irrigation system will keep the turf nice and green.

Warm-season grasses, like Bermuda and zoysia, love the heat. They green up in the hot months and go dormant in the cool months of spring and autumn. They don’t require a lot of water, but in long stretches of heat and drought they are going to need to be watered.

We lost many zoysia lawns

in the past two years because of heat and lack of proper watering. Contrary to fescues and bluegrasses, warm-season grasses won’t green up with watering when the temperatures are too cool in spring and fall.

“How can I know how much water my lawn needs?” There are too many variables to give a solid answer to this question.

It can depend on the type of grass, temperature, humidity, sun, rain, wind, soil (sand, clay, loam), sunny or shady area, sea-

KIDD continues on 7

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Maintaining a solid foundation Cracks in ceiling, walls of residence first indication of underlying problems

By Dustin Lemmon

Special to The Capital-Journal

Sometimes, it’s not easy to tell when your home’s foundation is in jeopardy.

However, failing to get it assessed and fixed may eventually result in costly consequences.

One way to tell if there is an issue in the foundation is to check for cracks on the inside of your home. Ben Schreiner, owner of Ben Schreiner Concrete Construction Co., 2520 E. 2nd St., said you may see cracks in the ceiling or walls, which indicates the wall is pushing inward.

“That is the first indication there is some wall movement,” he said.

You also may see a diagonal crack running from the bottom edge of a window to the end of the wall.

However, if you have a finished basement and can’t see the original foundation, you’ll have to be more observant.

In such cases, Schreiner said, you may need to look for blackness on the walls, or any indication water is getting in.

Outside, look for vertical cracks, he advised.

John Wagner, owner of Wagner’s Mud-Jacking

Co. Inc., 2745 N.W. Lower Silver Lake Road, said structural cracks will be about a half-inch wide.

Foundational problems can begin as soon as a home is built.

“When they build a home, they push that dirt in,” he said. “They don’t compact it.”

Crack prevention

To avoid problems with your foundation, make sure rainwater is flowing away from your home, Wagner said. This means building up the dirt along your foundation, so water flows away from the walls. Also, make sure

your downspouts extend out and away from your home.

“When building up the dirt around your foundation, be sure to keep it 4 inches below the siding to prevent trouble with termites,” Wagner noted.

You’ll also want to keep your gutters clean, Schreiner said, so water doesn’t back up and spill over the edges.

“Bad drainage is what causes these walls to fail,” he said.

Monitoring the problem

If you find a crack,

you’ll want to measure it right away, then monitor it to see if it’s getting worse.

Schreiner recommends putting a mark on the floor joist and measuring every six months. You also can purchase a concrete crack monitor to help with measurements.

As for deciding how long you can go before needing to make repairs, it will depend on what actions you take to keep water away from your foundation.

“It depends on the severity of how bad the drainage is,” Schreiner explained. “If everything

is in proper condition, it is going to take several years.”

If you have significant foundation issues, you’ll want to make sure to stabilize the beams inside your home, then dig out and repair the wall, filling in any cracks, Wagner said. To have this work done professionally usually takes four to five days.

If you’ve checked your foundation and aren’t sure if there is a problem, it’s wise to contact a professional.

“We can give you a price on it and tell you what’s wrong,” Wagner said.

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Some ornamentals taste good, too Hostas, rose hips among delicious edibles found right in your yard

By Dean Fosdick The Associated Press

Many of the plants that add color and texture to our yards also contain the right stuff for enriching our menus.

Hosta, a shady-side perennial, is grown commercially in parts of Asia as an edible. Cook its shoots as you would asparagus, or wrap them in bacon. Its flowers also are appetizing and make a good garnish.

Chard, with its bright assortment of stem colors, is a nutritional powerhouse packing loads of magnesium and potassium, as well as vitamins K, A and C. Use it in omelets and for augmenting or replacing spinach in recipes.

Other unlikely ornamentals that can deliver flavor and nutrition include bamboo shoots (stir fry), lilac blooms (tea), magnolia buds (salads), juniper berries (sauerkraut), daylilies (soups), mint (drinks) and dahlia tubers (coleslaw).

“Ornamental plants with edible parts are the superheroes of the garden,” says Ellen Zachos, author of “Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat” (Storey Publishing, 2013).

“They feed both your body and your soul.”

Blended gardens combining showy perennials, woody plants, trees and shrubs with standard vegetables and fruits can save time-pressed families

a great deal of time and work.

“Why deal with two (garden) spaces when with the right plant combinations you need only one?” she said.

Flavors that you can’t track down at grocery stores are as close as your flowerbeds and borders, agreed Leda Meredith, author of “The Forager’s Feast: How to Identify, Gather and Prepare Wild Edibles” (The Countryman Press, 2016).

“I do think many wild or gleaned foods are tastier than cultivated foods,” Meredith said.

“A big part of the reason is that they are harvested at their absolute peak, without concern for shelf life or

how well they’ll hold up to long-distance transport.”

Many wild and ornamental plants have more nutritional value than their cultivated counterparts, Meredith said.

“For example, wild spinach (also called lamb’s quarters) is a common garden weed with more than three times the calcium of ordinary spinach,” she said.

“Purslane, another common weed, contains the same omega 3 fatty acids that make fish oil and flax seed so healthy for us.”

Don’t overharvest.

“If you’re picking fiddleheads, you should never take more than three from each fern. Over-picking leaves the plant too weak to thrive,” Zachos said.

DEAN FOSDICK/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Above: Hostas, which provide color and texture to the landscape, also can be used to enrich menus. Below: Rose hips are members of the apple family and contain an abundance of vitamin C.

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Child-proof home to avoid injuries, worse Accidental suffocation leading cause of death

By Angela Deines

Special to The Capital-Journal

While child-proofing your home may be a “misnomer,” Cherie Sage, state director of Safe Kids Kansas, said you can take steps to prevent injuries to your smallest family members.

“We are making our homes safer, but there’s no way to make them 100-percent safe,” she said, “which is why it is important to remember supervision is key.”

With more than 10 years of experience informing the public about how to minimize injuries for children in the home, at play and in cars, Sage has several tips and suggestions for making your home as safe as possible for your little ones: n Keep clutter out of the crib.

“Accidental suffocation is the leading cause of death for Kansas children under the age of 1,” she said. “It’s important to ensure your child has a safe sleeping area, free of soft blankets, pillows or stuffed animals. Save those special items for when your child is a little older.” n Keep poisons, such as cleaning and laundry supplies, cosmetics, medications, batteries and poisonous house plants, locked up, out of reach and out of sight. n Be mindful of what you keep in your purse or diaper bag, and don’t leave your bags where children can get into them.

“If you use a pill box to keep track of medication or vitamins, remember these look like candy to children,” Sage said. “Keep them up out of reach, too. Don’t rely on child-resistant packaging to keep kids from getting into poisons.”

If you suspect your child has swallowed something that might be poisonous, call the Poison Control hotline at (800) 222-1222. Experts will tell you what to do or if you need to take your child to the emergency room. n Take steps to prevent falls. Sage said falls are the leading cause of emergency room visits for Kansas children.

Use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs and to keep children out of areas where there may be hazards.

She also suggests placing cribs and changing tables away from windows and installing window guards.

“Window screens are meant to keep bugs out, not children in,” she said. n Be a “water watcher.”

If your child is in a bathtub, wading pool, swimming pool or lake, they need your undivided attention, Sage said. In open bodies of water, kids also should wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.

“Drowning happens quickly and quietly, unlike what we see in the movies,” she said. “Pools should have four-sided fencing with selflatching gates. Safety covers and pool alarms provide another layer of protection.”

Sage advised emptying wading pools when they’re not being used. n Install carbon monoxide detectors in every sleeping area and replace batteries at least once a year.

“Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, deadly gas,” she said. “Because the symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to the flu or other illnesses, it can go undetected without an alarm to

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METRO CREATIVE CONNECTIONS

Child-proofing the home is one way parents can minimize injuries to their young ones. Removing clutter from a crib, securing cabinets to keep poisons out of reach and installing carbon monoxide detectors are helpful precautions.

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Space-saving advice for children’s bedrooms

By Cathy Hobbs

Tribune News Service

From toys to clothing, finding a home for everything a child may need is often a challenge. Preserving space is often at the top of the must-dos list in addition to proper organization.

With many Americans choosing to downsize, rooms have gotten smaller. The good news is there are perhaps more design options on the market to help maximize space. When it comes to spaceefficient ideas for a children’s bedroom, here are my top tips. n Go twin. Twin beds are the most space-efficient bed size choice, while also allowing usage from a toddler to a teen. n Bunk beds. Bunk beds aren’t just for room-sharing. Many children who occupy a room solo have rooms outfitted with bunk beds to accommodate impromptu sleepovers.

n Wall units and Murphy beds.

This transformational style of furniture is not only space-efficient, but also allows a piece of furniture to work double duty. Most of these pieces are often book shelving units that provide a workspace by day and then transform into a bed. n Bins. Bins are one of the best ways to keep a child’s personal items and toys organized. One idea is to build a unit into a wall to house toys in an attractive and organized way. n Angle furniture. Small rooms also tend to be narrow. When faced with a narrow room, place the bed at an angle to keep the room open and airy. n Fun colors. Colors that are bright, fun and light also can help a children’s room feel larger. n Hidden drawers. Most closet companies allow for a high level of customization. One of the best space-saving ideas is to build drawers or dressers into a closet.

n Low profile beds. In an especially small room, placing a bed in front of a window may be your only option.

Make sure you have a low headboard that won’t obstruct a window. n Cabinets and shelving. When selecting furniture for a children’s bedroom, think storage, storage, storage. Cabinets with plenty of shelving provides for flexibility and efficiency. n Furniture on wheels. Mobile furniture pieces, such as side tables on wheels, can be fantastic options in a children’s bedroom because they can be brought in the room and removed based on use, as opposed to taking up precious space when not in use.

Cathy Hobbs, based in New York City, is an Emmy Award-winning television host and a nationally known interior design and home staging expert with offices in New York City, Boston and Washington, D.C.

Kidd: Prioritize watering trees first Continued from 2 sons, mowing height and even the slope of the yard.

The main objective is to make sure water reaches about 8 inches deep. This can be measured by inserting a screwdriver, wooden spoon handle or rebar into your yard. The tool will stop when it hits dry soil.

The amount of water being applied can be measured by placing several tuna cans on the lawn where the sprinkler is running. Wait 15 minutes, then measure the depth of water in each can.

Take an average of those numbers, and multiply it by 4. This will tell you how much water is being applied in an hour. If the answer is one-half inch per hour, it will take two hours to get the recommended inch of water on the turf.

Your lawn may not be able to handle two hours of

watering without running off into the street. Water until runoff occurs, and then wait before making a second application. Runoff occurs when water is applied faster than the turf can absorb it. If this happens, you may want to consider core aerating your yard in September to open the turf to allow for better penetration.

Another way of knowing how much water to apply is recommended by Ward Upham, a specialist at K-State Research and Extension.

Take a soil moisture depth measurement with the tools mentioned above. Water your lawn for 15 minutes, and check the depth of water penetration. If the water soaked to only 4 inches, it will take another 15 minutes to allow the water to reach the goal of 8 inches deep.

Check again after the second watering just to be sure.

Most watering only needs

to happen once a week, but in extended hot, dry periods or on heavy clay soils, watering twice a week is a good idea.

If water costs or rationing is an issue, prioritize your watering. Trees and shrubs are the most expensive to replace. Water them first.

Specialty plants, favorites and those with sentimental value are next, followed by perennials and annuals.

You’ll have to decide where the vegetable garden fits in.

Turf is cheaper to replace than trees and shrubs, and because of the dormancy factor, it’s more likely to survive than to die in the heat.

Avoid letting irrigation water run down the street, or on walks or driveways.

Water is becoming a precious commodity in many parts of the state. Let’s learn to be good stewards now so we are better able to ration it later if necessary.

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

A bed with a low headboard is the ideal choice when placing a bed in front of a window.

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TIP OF THE WEEK

In some cases, a few drops of essential oil can help create a bug-free room. Here are a few of examples: n Put a couple of drops of lavender or peppermint essential oil on a cool light bulb to help repel bugs. n Place several drops of oil of lavender or peppermint on a cotton ball or two.

Put them into a small jar or margarine container. Poke a few holes in the lid and cover. Put around the room. n For a pest-free picnic table, add five drops of lavender essential oil to 32 ounces of water. Pour into a spray bottle and wipe down the table and chairs.

SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.HELOISE.COM/

Service Directory

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Child: Outlet plugs help prevent electric shock Continued from 6 alert your family to get out (of your home) to safety.” n Make sure your smoke alarms are working, because they can reduce the chances of dying in a fire by nearly 50 percent. Test your alarms monthly, replacing batteries according to the manufacturer.

“They (alarms) are a critical first step for staying safe, but in order to be effective,

they have to be working properly,” Sage said. “For the best protection, install smoke alarms on every level of your home and in every sleeping area.” n Prevent burns and scalds.

Sage recommended putting outlet plugs or covers on your outlets to keep children safe from electric shock and setting your hot water heater to 120 degrees.

“Always test bath water

before putting your child in the tub,” she said.

Holding children while cooking or carrying hot beverages is also something that should be avoided.

“If your child likes to be in the kitchen with you while you’re cooking, place them in a high chair or portable playpen,” Sage said. “Your child can enjoy your company while you don’t have to worry about hot surfaces, hot food and sharp objects.”

She also suggested unplugging irons, curling irons or hair dryers that can heat up quickly or stay warm after they’re used. n Secure televisions, and use brackets, braces or wall straps to secure unstable or top-heavy furniture to the wall.

“Mount flat-panel TVs to the wall to prevent them from toppling off their stands,” Sage said. “If you have a heavier, box-style

cathode ray tube (CRT) television, place it on a low, stable piece of furniture that is appropriate for the TV’s size and weight.”

Avoid placing televisions on furniture that have drawers. Children like to use the drawers as steps, which can cause the furniture to tip onto the floor. n Know what to do in an emergency.

“Despite our best efforts to prevent injuries to our

kids, sometimes things happen,” Sage said. “Be prepared by learning CPR and basic first aid, and having emergency numbers like the Poison Control hotline number programmed into your mobile phone and posted in your home.”

For more information, go to www.safekidskansas.org.

Angela Deines is a freelance writer from Topeka. She can be reached at angela.deines@gmail.com.

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