Property maintenance secrets for top notch yard and garden

 Winter can be magical, full of joy for young and old. Holliday season, skating, skiing and sledding are among the joys winter season brings to us every year. Some like it more than others and that is fine, but what we all enjoy is warmer weather, barbecue season and spending more time outdoors after long cold weather, unless you have bad allergies, but that is a different story.  Before the entire snow is gone, we start to notice the grime, algae, dirt and sad garden around our home. 

Clean or not to clean, this is the question.....  Improve the property or let it be? The answer should always be improve and clean. But why, many would ask..... Why bother cleaning driveway regularly, why should yard spring cleanup be important?

The answer could be more simple than we might think. 

When we compare our beloved car for instance, we love it, we use it and abuse it, it gives us the feeling of freedom and possibly status of achievement but how we maintain our car will indicate how well it will perform and how long it will last. If we don't inspect it regularly, change oil on time or don't install original and safety tested parts, well the outcome is pretty obvious. But our car costs only a fraction of our home! Why should our home be treated any differently or should it be treated even better? 

Our home has a bigger value, not maintaining it could have even bigger consequences. If a door seal leaks on our car, it might create algae growth and unpleasant odour if left unchecked, but what if our home window leaks? Another not so obvious example is our interlocking driveway. This might be shocker to many! What if I say that by not cleaning your interlocking driveway or walkway regularly could destroy the fundament underneath and directly cause thousands of dollars in damages? Yes, it can happen and it will happen if proper maintenance schedule is not in place. 

Have you ever seen algae or plants growing in between the pawers? If yes, that is the sign of not properly maintained interlocking. The consequence could be removing the interlocking pawers and redoing the fundament. That procedure could cost you 3/4 of the cost for entire new project. But how could algae and grass destroy the expansive interlocking?  The answer is water. 

If polymer sand that seals and protects your interlocking fundament starts to leaks due to cracks or root growth, it will create pores and capillaries for water to go thru. Water will slowly wash away the sand underneath pawers, creating uneven spots and causing your pawers to sink in or to shift. Beside the undermining of pawers during warm weather, when next frost arrives, all that water will freeze and further increase the danger of shifting and cracking.

Changing car oil every 5000 km can cost about $100 and can save you from trouble down the road. Same will happen with cleaning and maintaining your interlocking pawers, regular cleaning can cost around $300 or by not following regular maintenance it can cause damages that will cost well over $3000.

Proper maintenance is important and should be implemented into monthly or yearly budget. By failing to do so, it will most likely cause you grief and lead to more money out of your pocket later.

Simple pressure washing can help to achieve clean and healthy interlocking driveway that will last for decades. Fairly inexpensive procedure done correctly will prevent plant growth on many surfaces: interlocking, concrete, asphalt, wooden decks and fences, siding and more.

By investing into property maintenance, you directly increase the value of your property. Every real estate agent can tell you this, even if your neighbour maintains his property well it will increase your property value too, but if your neighbour doesn't do his work and you decide to do the same, well this spiral can't benefit either one.  Most likely the neighbourhood will not be as desirable as it could be. 

As knowing how to maintain interlocking pawers properly, similar could be said to mowing lawn, pruning trees, yard cleanup or cleaning and maintaining gutters. Somewhat different approach and procedure to every aspect individually, but the outcome when following the best practices will be the more desirable one.

Many homeowners have time and knowhow to maintain their property very well, others in contrast don't have time or would rather focus on other joys of life and that is perfectly fine. Therefor, we can help by offering our knowledge and experience to you through this article and through our services we offer.

As they say: "The more we know, the better choices we make".

Happy Spring Season and May the nice weather be with you.