Autumn Maintenance Tips

Home Exterior

• Regularly clean gutters and downspouts. Make sure all drainage areas are unblocked by leaves and debris. Consider installing gutter guards to make the job a lot easier.
• Use a screwdriver to probe the wood trim around windows, doors, railings and decks. Use caulk to fill the holes or completely replace the wood.
• Lower humidity and cooler (not yet cold) temperatures make fall a good time to paint the exterior of your home.
• Inspect your roof, or hire a licensed professional to examine your roof for wear and tear. If the shingles are curling, buckling or crackling, replace them. If you have a lot of damage, it's time to replace the entire roof. Also, check the flashing around skylights, pipes and chimneys. If you have any leaks or gaps, heavy snow and ice will find its way in.
• To prevent exterior water pipes from bursting when the weather gets below freezing, turn off the valves to the exterior hose bibs. Run the water until the pipes are empty. Make sure all the water is drained from the pipes, if not; the water can freeze up and damage the pipes.

Keeping Warm

• Have your wood-burning fireplace inspected, cleaned and repaired to prevent chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Wrap water pipes that run along exterior walls with heating tape. It will save energy and prevent them from freezing.
• Clean and replace filters in your furnace or heating system. Contact a licensed heating contractor to inspect and service your gas heater or furnace to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Your local utility company will often provide this service for free.
• If you use a hot water system for heating, drain the expansion tank, check the water pressure, and bleed your radiators.
• Check the attic to make sure the insulation is installed properly. The vapor barrier on insulation should face down toward the living space. If it is installed incorrectly (with the vapor barrier facing up) then the insulation will trap moisture causing possible water problems. Cut slits in the vapor barrier to allow moisture to escape. To install attic insulation, unroll the insulation with the paper side out. Install small pieces of insulation between the joists on the attic floor. Be careful not to step between the joists.

Doors and Windows

The change in temperature and humidity and normal wear and tear can cause window seals to crack and shrink. Check your windows and doors inside and out for leaks and drafts. Caulk cracks or install weather stripping around windows and doors, including the garage door. Replace screens with storm windows and clean them if needed.

Gardens

• Fall is the perfect time to divide or move perennials. Remove dead annuals and mulch hardy perennials. Annuals typically die when temperatures drop below freezing. But perennials often appear as though they too have bitten the bullet. That's because their top growth dies back, although in most cases the root ball is hardy enough to survive even extreme temperatures, especially if it's covered with a layer of mulch.
• The best time to mulch perennials is after the first hard freeze. Just make sure you don't cover the crown or center of the plant, because that can lead to rot.
• Clean garden tools before storing for the winter.
• Trim dead branches out the trees to prevent them from coming down and causing damage in a winter storm.

• Lawn Care

  • Rake up the thick layers of leaves that settle on lawn surfaces. Large leaves in particular, especially when they get wet, can compact to the point where they suffocate the grass below and lead to all kinds of insect and disease problems. So it's a good idea to routinely rake or blow them off the lawn or, better yet, use a mulching mower to shred them into fine pieces.
  • Put the raked leaves in the compost pile or use as a mulch. Whatever you do, don't waste fallen leaves because they're an excellent source of nutrients and organic matter. You can also add them to flower beds to put a winter blanket on your garden.
  • Fall is a good time to aerate your lawn; it will allow moisture and nutrients to get into the roots. When you're done, spread fertilizer then grass seed.
  • This will be the ideal time to sow cool-season grasses such as fescue and rye - it will give them the opportunity to germinate and develop a good root system before freezing temperatures arrive. It's also the right time to fertilize turf grasses, preferably with slow-release, all-natural fertilizer. When given adequate nutrients, turf grasses have the ability to store food in the form of carbohydrates during the winter months. That will mean a better-looking lawn come spring.

  Attic Pest Control

  • Pests love attics because they are full of nice warm insulation for nesting, and they offer easy access to the rest of the house. With gable vents that lead into the attic it is a good idea to install a screen behind them to keep those critters out.
  • Even after closing off those entryways, pests can still find a way in. The first place to check for any unwanted guests is under the kitchen cupboards and appliances.

  Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors

• Each fall, check carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms and put in fresh batteries. These are very important detectors to have in a home. A smoke alarm can save lives in a house fire. A carbon monoxide detector can also save lives if a home has oil or gas-burning appliances, like a furnace or water heater.
• Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless byproduct of burning oil or natural gas, and it can be deadly. For just a few dollars, a carbon monoxide detector will sound an alarm if the levels get too high.
• Always install carbon monoxide detectors according to manufacturer's instructions. Generally they should be installed near each potential source of carbon monoxide, and within ear shot of the living and sleeping areas.

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How to Pest-Proof Your House in 15 Minutes

Watching the leaves change is arguably the greatest pastime of fall. The worst? Dealing with unwanted house guests—rodents, cockroaches, stinkbugs, spiders, and other insects that are looking for a warm, cozy place to curl up for the winter. Opting for the chemical pest-control sprays at your local hardware store will only pollute your air, and could put you at risk for various types of cancer and nervous system problems. Also, they’re unnecessary. Most pests can be controlled with some do-it-yourself pest-control tricks that take less than 15 minutes and could actually save you money in the long run.
Got a few minutes? Here's what to do:
#1: Set out some sticky traps. It can take all of five minutes to set out glue traps, such as the Victor Poison-Free Insect Magnet.
What you'll trap: Anything that crawls—spiders, stinkbugs, roaches, ants, crickets, and silverfish.

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#2: Clean up your kitchen. Set aside 15 minutes of every day to wipe down your countertops with vinegar (vinegar removes odor trails left behind by foraging insects such as ants), put dirty dishes in your dishwasher, sweep your floors, mop up any spills, put away food, and empty your garbage, if needed. On grocery day, transfer any food that comes in a plastic bag from its original packaging to tightly sealed glass jars, particularly grains, rice, pet food, and nuts.
What you'll trap: Pests coming inside looking for a meal, from roaches and ants to rodents, as well as wasps and spiders, which feed on the insects coming indoors looking for food.
#3: Seal up their entry points. This project could take longer than 15 minutes, only because it involves a little bit of hunting. Insects and rodents will use even the tiniest hole to get inside your warm, cozy home, and a tube of low-VOC silicone caulk, which you can find at any hardware store, can be your best friend in sealing up those holes. Pay particular attention to window and door frames, the seal around your external dryer vent, anyplace where pipes enter or leave your home, and anywhere TV or cable wires come inside. Stuff some steel wool into larger holes, or cover them with wire mesh, before sealing them up. The good news? In sealing up all those pest entry points, you'll also be sealing up tiny air leaks that allow precious heat to escape your home during the winter.
What you’ll trap: Every pest that views your house as its new home.
#4: Install a door sweep. Another tool that keeps pests from entering your home and will save you energy this winter, a door sweep blocks the gap between the bottom of your door and the ground. You can buy one at any hardware store, and for a super-easy fix, buy the kind that simply sticks onto the door with an adhesive strip—no drilling needed.
What you’ll trap: As with caulk, every pest that views your house as its new home.
#5: Vacuum. It won’t be possible to seal up every hole or keep every critter from crawling indoors. That’s where a weekly vacuuming session comes in handy. You’ll suck up any crawling insects that make it indoors and trap them before they can get crushed and stink (stinkbugs) or leave stains (some varieties of ladybugs). Plus, if they’re gross—cockroaches—you can vacuum them up without having to squish anything.
What you’ll trap: All crawling insects.
#6: Clear the clutter. In addition to weekly vacuuming, spend 15 minutes a week clearing out piles of newspaper or junk mail and removing piles of clothing from your floors. All these things serve as nice, dark hiding places for insects.
What you’ll trap: Roaches, spiders, stinkbugs, and silverfish.
#7: Fix leaky faucets. Insects need water to survive, and the most common source for them is a drippy faucet. Fixing leaky faucets is a lot easier than you might think and, like sealing up cracks, it’s an insect-control measure that’s good for your wallet and for the planet.
What you’ll trap: Rodents, roaches, and spiders.

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How to install motion detector lights

How motion detectors work

Motion detectors are small electronic eyes that detect infrared waves—heat waves that radiate from moving objects. When the detector senses an object moving across its field of view—especially warmer objects such as people, animals and cars—it electronically turns on the lights. The light stays on anywhere from 1 to 20 minutes, depending on how you preset the timer. Then the detector automatically shuts the light off unless it continues to sense movement. A photocell deactivates the light during daylight hours. Most motion detectors have a semicircular field of view of up to 240 degrees and a distance range, adjustable on most detectors, that extends to 70 ft. or more. The detector will react to the movement of your dog, an approaching person, a passing car or sometimes even wind-blown leaves.
Nuisance “trips,” such as blowing leaves or a passing car, can fool the detector and turn the lights on when you don’t want them. These can be annoying to both you and your neighbors, and in fact, some homeowners won’t install motion detector lights for this reason. However, you can solve most unwanted switching-on by adjusting the distance-range setting and by carefully aiming the sensor to limit its field of view. You can also narrow the field of view even more by applying tape to the sensor, as shown in Photo 7. If nuisance trips concern you, be sure to buy a light that has an adjustable distance/range setting, and an aimable detector unit as shown in Fig. A, Nos. 1 and 3.
Motion detectors allow you to operate the light in the conventional, manual way, usually by flipping a switch  off for a second, then back on. This allows you to keep the light on at night when you want to, even when there’s no motion. By double flipping a second time, you return to automatic.

Motion detector and light styles

Figure A: Motion detector and light styles

There are many motion detector and light styles to choose from.

Where to put them

For best effectiveness, position motion detector sensors to cover the walks leading to your front and back doors and the driveway (see lead illustration). That way the lights will come on when you come home at night. You can also use them to light up decks, patios and any potentially hazardous locations such as around stairways and swimming pools.
If improved security is a priority, position the lights to cover all the approaches to your house, including fence gates, the patio door, the darker areas of your yard, and around trees and bushes. Good lighting can’t guarantee security, of course, but it’s one of the best low-cost ways to get unwanted intruders to back away.
Ideally, it’s best to mount motion detector lights 6 to 10 ft. above the ground and position them so that most movement will occur across the sensitivity zone rather than directly toward the detector. Obviously you can’t always do that if you use existing light locations. One solution is to buy a remote motion sensor unit that you can mount some distance away from the light itself (Fig. A, #3). The wires connecting them to the light are low voltage and may not be dangerous, so you don’t have to enclose them in metal or plastic conduit.

How to install motion detector lights, step-by-step

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Photo 1: Shut of the electricity

Turn off the power to the fixture at the main panel, then test the wires to make sure the current is off. Rub one lead of a voltage tester (from hardware stores or home centers) against the ground wire and rub the other lead first against the hot wire (black), then the neutral wire (white). If the tester lights up in either case, the power is still on. Shut off the correct circuit at the main panel.

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Motion detector lights are easy to install, but each brand has a few different details, so read the instructions. You’ll find the basic information printed on the outside of the box. Read the box before you buy the unit so you know what you’re getting. You’ll find more detailed instructions inside the box.
Our step-by-step photos and tips from our experts provide a general guide of how to do the job. In most cases, you’ll simply replace an existing fixture with the new one, as our photos show. Make sure to turn off the power to the fixture at the main panel before removing it.
However, if you have to run a new electrical line and install a switch, the job can get much more complex. Outdoor electrical lines must be encased in approved conduit and weatherproof electrical boxes. If you’re not familiar with conduit or the rules for running new electrical circuits, call in a licensed electrician.
Working with old electrical boxes can be tricky too. Sometimes they don’t contain a ground wire (bare wire or one with green insulation) or other grounding means such as metal conduit. The National Electrical Code requires all electrical boxes and fixtures to be grounded. If you’re not sure yours is, check with your electrical inspector to determine if you have to run a new ground wire.
Additional installation tips:

• The cover of an outdoor electrical box must be waterproof. Seat the rubber gasket carefully (Photo 4). And if you are placing it against a rough surface, caulk it as well.
• Moisture can seep into the detector and light and ruin them. To prevent this, either locate the fixture under an eave or other protected area or buy one that has bulb seals  and angle the bulbs downward so water can’t run into the
• Heat from the light bulb itself can confuse the detector. Keep the bulb and detector as far apart as possible
• Adjust the field-of-view angle and set the distance range of your motion detector to avoid nuisance trips from normal passing traffic, animals, pools of water, air conditioners, heating vents and wind-blown trees and shrubs

Get an electrical permit from your local department of inspections. Check for special local rules and have your work inspected when finished.
CAUTION:Don’t let your ladder or your body touch lethal overhead power lines while you’re working.
CAUTION: Aluminum wiring requires special handling. If you have aluminum wiring, call in a licensed pro who’s certified to work with it. This wiring is dull gray, not the dull orange that’s characteristic of copper.

Size requirements of electrical boxes

You also need to check out the size of your electrical box. A shallow box like the one shown in Photo 1 no longer meets code requirements, and we had to replace it with a larger box, shown in Photos 2 and 3.
The computation table gives the method for calculating minimum box-size requirements. To do the calculation, count the number of wires coming into the box. However, some other things besides wires are counted as “wires” for computation purposes. For example, all the cable clamps used count for one wire, and we recommend always counting the fixture as two wires. Then multiply this total wire number by 2 cu. in. for 14-gauge wire (or 2.25 cu. in. for 12-gauge wire, even if there’s just one of the heavier wires in the box).
The computation method given here sometimes overestimates the minimum box size required by code, but it simplifies the calculation.Required Tools for this Project

Have the necessary tools for this project lined up before you start—you’ll save time and frustration.

• 4-in-1 screwdriver
• Wire stripper/cutter

Required Materials for this Project

Avoid last-minute shopping trips by having all your materials ready ahead of time. Here's a list.

Motion detector light
Electrical box, remodeling type
Wire connectors
Clear silicone caulk
Electricians tape, plastic

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How to Install and Mount A Bathroom Faucet and Drain Assembly

Step 1: Remove Old Faucet and Drain Assembly

It's a good idea to replace the drain when you replace a faucet. If you do replace the drain, also consider replacing the P-trap and drain tailpiece at this time.
In our project, we removed a bathroom faucet and replaced it with a new pop-up drain and faucet.

Step 2: Install the Faucet

Depending on the type of faucet you install, a 4" faucet with an escutcheon plate or an 8" faucet without an escutcheon, follow these specific instructions.
Small faucet: Place plumber's tape or joint compound on the threads of the faucet stems. If the faucet includes a rubber gasket, install it on the base of the faucet before inserting the faucet stems in the appropriate holes in the sink. If your faucet doesn't include a gasket, run a line of caulk under the faucet before installing it so it squeezes out a bit as you put the faucet in place. Use a wet rag to wipe up excess caulk.
Secure the nuts under the faucet that hold it to the sink, making sure the plate and faucet stem is properly aligned. Tighten the nuts by hand first before giving them another quarter-turn with a wrench.
Connect the water supply lines to the faucet stems. Apply plumber's tape to the shutoff valve threads. Tighten the coupling nuts to the faucet supply stems, taking care not to over tighten.
Large faucet: Wrap plumber's tape around the threads of the hoses leading from the valves to the spout. Attach the hose to the end of the valve assembly.
Thread the valve through the appropriate hole and firmly tighten the nut underneath the sink. Caulk around the base of the spout and thread the connections through the center hole. Attach the hoses to the spout from underneath and tighten the connection with an adjustable wrench.
Attach the water supply lines. You may need to reduce the length of the lines after you attach the sink to the wall.
Dry-fit the sink and mark the mounting holes underneath the sink. Remove the sink and drill the mounting holes.
Connect the water supply lines to the shutoff valves.
Connect the drain assembly to the drain in the wall. You may want to use a flexible adapter. Tighten the connections with a wrench.

Courtesy of James Calloway

Step 3: Complete the Faucet and Fixture Installation

Slowly turn on the water to bleed off any air and check for leaks.
In our project, we installed a pedestal underneath the sink. In the case of a pedestal sink, make the mounting holes in the floor and remove the pedestal. Drill the mounting holes and insert the anchors. Replace the pedestal and secure it with lag screws. Secure the back of the sink with lag screws.
Attach faucet knobs if necessary. If not already installed, attach the stopper assembly in the drain hole. Work the pop-up rod to make sure it works properly.
Caulk any gaps between the wall and sink, forcing the caulk as deeply as possible into the gaps. Use a caulk that matches the color of the sink as closely as possible. Use a wet rag to wipe away excess caulk.

Step 4: Install the Drain Assembly

Apply a thick bead of plumber's putty to the underside of the new drain flange and press it into the drain hole. Insert the drain housing through the drain hole from underneath the sink (Image 1).
Screw the drain housing tightly to the drain flange, making sure there's a washer between the nut and the rubber gasket on the flange (Image 2).
Once the flange and body are joined, tighten the nut on the body until the gasket is tight against the underside of the sink.
Note: The fitting for the pop-up control arm should face the rear of the sink after you finish tightening.
Drop the pop-up drain into place, keeping the hole for the control pin toward the rear of the sink. Insert the plastic washer and ball socket for the drain pop-up and screw these into place.
Wrap plumber's tape (Teflon tape) around the drain tailpiece to tighten the connection and screw it into place.
Mount the faucet onto the sink. Remember to use care not to over-tighten any of the hardware around a breakable sink vessel or bowl.

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