With many storms this past winter, you may have a lot of yard debris to take care of.  Don’t worry- there are plenty of places in Thurston & Pierce County to recycle your yard waste.  Here a list you may find helpful:

Yard waste

Before delivering materials, please contact these organizations directly to verify prices (if any) and hours of operation. Thurston County maintains this list as a courtesy to the public and does not endorse or guarantee the quality of the service offered or provided.

Remember that you may also be able to post your items on 2good2toss.com and other materials-exchange Web sites. Rules and restrictions vary by site.

Service Providers

City of Olympia Saturday Drop-Off Site
1401 Eastside Street SE, Olympia, WA
(360) 753-8588

The City of Olympia operates a Saturday Drop-Off Site on Eastside Street in Olympia from March through mid-November. The site accepts yard waste and scrap metal. For rates and hours, visit the City of Olympia’s website.

Curbside Organics Bin
Offered through LeMay and City of Olymia.WA
www.lemayinc.com

Curbside organics/yard waste service is available in virtually all areas of Thurston County. To sign up for service and have a bin delivered to your home, call LeMay Enterprises at (360) 923-0111. If you live in the City of Olympia, call (360) 753-8368, option 1. (Yard waste bins are now called “organics” bins.)

Thurston County Waste & Recovery Center
2418 Hogum Bay Rd NE, Lacey, WA 98516
(360) 786-5494

Take to the WARC’s yard waste site.

The Waste and Recovery Center (formerly known as the “Hawks Prairie Landfill”) is a one-stop campus where residents can dispose of recyclables, trash and household hazardous wastes. A Goodwill trailer is also available at the site. For more information, visit: www.co.thurston.wa.us

In Pierce County, you can recycle your yard waste at the following location:

18827 Yew Way
Snohomish, Washington 98296
Office: (425) 485-0355

Recycling brush is a great way to reduce the amount of tree debris filling our landfills each year, a valuable reusable resource. Much of the organic material can be reused to make compost, fertilizer, and even some of the same materials used in wood recycling.

For more information go to: http://www.unitedrecyclingco.com/contactus.php

Even veteran gardeners make rookie mistakes, like giving plants too much water and too little space. Here are common garden blunders. Consider yourself warned.

#1 Gardening is not rocket science: if you can dig a hole, turn on a spigot, and snip a dead flower off a vine, you can tend a garden.

Still, gardeners have to make some judgment calls. How much water does this shrub need? Will this tree get enough sun? Is this hole deep enough?

It’s easy to misjudge and make a mess out of your landscaping. Here are seven common garden blunders, and how to avoid them.

#2 Too many changes, too soon

The excitement of buying a new home, plus a stretch of warm spring weather, often creates a passion for yard work. But don’t just do something, stand there! What looks like a spring weed might be a fall-blooming vine; that bare spot in March might reveal tulips in April.

Try this instead: Live with your land for a year. Observe how many hours of sunlight each part of your garden gets. Test the pH of your soil to determine if acid-loving or alkaline-loving plants will be happy in that particular patch of heaven. Observe when your lawn greens up in spring and becomes dormant in late summer.

The money and time you save by watching and waiting will be your own.

Trees and shrubs that look properly spaced when you plant them will crowd each other and compete for water, sun, and nutrients in a few years. If you’re lucky, you can transplant some bushes; if you’re not, you’ll have to throw away starved shrubs.

Try this instead: Before digging, read spacing instructions. Give trees plenty of space—you can always fill in later. Stagger bushes and plants and create two rows, which will create more breathing room. The results will look absurdly sparse at first. But live with it. In a few years, your shrubs will fill empty spaces without suffocating each other.

Mistake #3: Planting without a plan

Planting new garden beds without a long-term landscape plan is like pouring a house foundation without blueprints. Your haste results in a waste of time, money, and muscles.

Try this instead: Draw a simple sketch of your yard—what’s there now and what you might add later, such as patios, outbuildings, and pools. Bone up on the trees and shrubs that grow best in your soil and climate. Go online and click around landscaping sites that help you pick plants and design beds.

Visit your local nursery or home improvement center where design staff can answer questions and make suggestions. Or hire a professional landscape designer to create a starter plan for as little as $250 to $500. Find a professional at the Association of Professional Landscape Designers or the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Mistake #4: Neglecting the root of it all

Even the hardiest plants need a little help putting down roots in new locations. Sprinkling the foliage doesn’t nourish the roots, the plant’s nerve center. You must deliver water to the root ball below the ground, or your plants will be stunted and short-lived.

Try this instead: Place the hose at the base of new bushes, trees, and plants and let the water trickle out for 20 to 30 minutes, twice a week (more during hot spells), for 4 to 12 weeks. Or snake a soaker hose ($20 for 50 feet) through your beds, which will deliver slow and steady water to roots.

Mistake #5: Forgetting the sun

Too many gardeners pick plants based only on looks, not the growing conditions plants require and the conditions that exist. Rookies will plant sun-loving perennials under an old oak tree or sun-shy hostas in the open. They look great for about a week, and then die.

Try this instead: Observing the spot where you’re going to put the plant and estimating the amount of sun it gets over the course of a day during the growing season. To translate that into the language on plant labels, use this key:

Full Sun – 6 hours a day or more
Part Sun/Part Shade – 3 to 5 hours
Full Shade Less than 3 hours

Mistake #6: Over-watering

An automatic irrigation system is a luxury that keeps your landscape hydrated throughout the growing season with almost no effort. Unfortunately, auto-watering can bring disease, root rot, and a premature death to plants; it also wastes water.

Many gardeners set watering timers for 15 to 20 minutes each morning, which wets the surface but doesn’t soak deeply to nourish roots of large trees and shrubs.

Try this instead: Water for 40 to 60 minutes only two to three times a week. Check with the company that maintains your irrigation system for local recommendations. A deeper soak also helps lawns develop deeper root systems.

Mistake #7: Budget blunders

Your landscaping can fall victim to construction bulldozers that park on lawns and dig too closely to trees and shrubs. New construction also demands rethinking your landscape plan to accommodate additions.

Unfortunately, many home owners don’t include landscaping in their construction budget. They end up with a beautiful new family room, screened porch, or solarium, and a few lonely azaleas planted around the foundation as an afterthought.

Try this instead: Allocate 10% to 20% of your construction budget to the landscape—both hardscaping and plants. If your construction spreadsheet can’t stand another line item, make a plan to landscape—in stages, if necessary—as soon as possible after construction is completed.

Oliver Marks is a former carpenter and newspaper reporter who has been writing about home improvements for 16 years.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/gardens/common-gardening-mistakes/#ixzz1uTTgeAgd

For more information about a Rob Rice Homes community, go to: www.homesfromepic.com or www.robricehomes.com

The weather is nice and you want to be outside but…..what to do with the kids?  How about involving them in gardening.  Here are some tips to help you get your kids engaged in helping out with those flower beds:

Ignore the rain. “In Washington, you have to get out there and do it, regardless. That said, it helps to have a good jacket and boots, and maybe a hot chocolate afterward.

Encourage weeding. While you’ll have to do most of the hard work prepping the garden, it’s good for kids to learn about what plants need to grow, like competition-free soil. But take it gently: Weeding can be fun for young kids as they can look for worms, snails, etc, making it more of a hunt.

Prepare for bug-heaven. Kids will either love or hate bugs, so make sure you can deal with either..

Get the right tools. Kids’ garden tools are not only the right size, they’re brightly colored: fun for kids and easy for you to spot when they’re left abandoned in the grass.

Be open-minded. What you plant may not necessarily succeed. Encourage a spirit of trying different things in different places. Seeds aren’t that expensive and by trying different things, your kids will enjoy the reward of actually seeing an item grow.

KIDS ‘LOVE DIRT’

The biggest reason to garden with kids is the sheer fun of it.

Ed Hume, the Puyallup-based garden writer and owner of Hume Seeds, has an educational garden open for group tours that he’s put a lot of thought into to optimize both learning and enjoyment. Around nine different areas offer children an imaginative handle on plant life: the Butterfly and Hummingbird garden attracts insects with bright, nectar-full flowers; the Blind Garden combines feel (fuzzy lamb’s ears), taste (strawberries), sound (a quaking aspen) and smell (lilac). There’s an art-strewn Puzzle Garden and fantastical sculptures, a dry stream with stone fish, an arborvitae maze and – a perennial favorite – insect-eating plants. At the end of the tour Hume helps kids plant a seed and shows them the seed warehouse, giving them a free packet.

“We try and make gardening easy and fun,” he says.

Among the hints to make it easy are picking things that show quick results like radishes, or varieties that appeal to kids such as watermelon radishes, knee-high sweet peas or giant sunflowers.

It also helps to give kids freedom and choice. For more information visit: www.humeseeds.com

SCIENCE DISCOVERIES

As well as being fun, gardening also is a great place to learn about science and nutrition hands-on. Plant life-cycles, insect life, experimentation and even physics all are learned in an outdoor classroom. Older children can learn about photosynthesis, energy and basic chemistry like the carbon and nitrogen that combine in a compost heap.

There’s also plain old nutrition science.

What better way to learn about where food comes from than growing your own. Planting salad greens, potatoes, garlic and fava beans will teach children the importance of nutrient-dense foods.

For more information visit: www.kidsgardening.org

The sun is out and most of us are getting the itch to go out and work on those flower beds.  How about attending some local workshops to gain more knowledge?  The Barn Nursery in Tumwater offers many educational workshops, all FREE.

“Collage” of Horticulture

Taught by Lowell Cordas
Beginning in September for beginning and experienced gardeners.
Master Gardeners can receive two credits for attending the class series.
Please call us at 360-943-2826 to register.
All classes are free on Sundays at 1:00 on the following dates:

May 19th  Spring Fling
Marianne Binetti  –  10:00am

May 20th
Low Volume and Drip Irrigation (taught by Dominic)

June 17th
Every Things Coming up Roses - Chris Watkins

July
Ponds, Patios and Ground covers (taught by Nature Perfect)

Aug. 5th
Structures and Décor

For more information go to: www.thebarnnurseryolympia.com.

There are a couple events coming up locally that may interest you as well.

Master Gardener Foundation of Thurston County Plant Sale

Saturday, May 19 9:00a to 4:00p at Yauger Park, Olympia, WA
Price: no entrance fees
Age Suitability: All Ages

The Master Gardeners of Thurston Counties annual plant sale! Gorgeous and healthy trees, grasses, perennials, annuals, flowers, vegetables, shrubs and more for sun and shade, home and landscapes. Low prices!! Compost bins will be offered for sale as well as garden-related crafts. Free compost classes are offered throughout the day. The sale is at Dirt Works Garden, behind Yauger Park. For more information go to: http://county.wsu.edu/thurston/Pages/default.aspx

Designing Divas Garden Tour and Festival

Saturday, May 12 10:00a to 4:00p at Dandelion Gardens, Olympia, WA
Price: free
Phone: (360) 455-9164
Age Suitability: All Ages

Cathy Johnson of Dandelion Gardens (Olympia), Leslie Coulter of Outdoors By Design (Shelton), and Evonne Peryea of Plantasia Botanical Gardens and Design Center (Tumwater) invite you to walk through their three inspiring gardens. They’ll guide you through their landscapes, answer questions, and give you fresh ideas for your landscape.

No admission; donate pet food and monetary donations to Concern for Animals.

Doesn’t it feel good to know that summer is right around the corner and soon we’ll be enjoying the long days and warm weather?  There are a couple of “to-do” items you should do to ensure your ready to sick back, relax and enjoy the next few months.

Use this list for some tips:

Dig in and clean out that closet

Vacuum inside closets and watch for signs of insects. Be sure that the area is also free of anything that bugs might find delicious. Dust, other insects, crumbs or food and beverage stains are all attractive to pests

Mow often

Mow frequently enough so that you never remove more than one-third of the height of the grass blades at a time. Let the clippings lie to return nitrogen to the soil. If you waited too long between mowings and the clippings are clumped up, rake and compost them

Spruce up your outdoor furniture

When furnishing an outdoor space, think comfort, function and style, just as you would when designing indoors. Pull pieces from inside your home to the exterior; just make sure that furniture and accessories are protected from the elements. Ready for some new furniture?  Go to: www.summerhousepatio.com for some inspiration.

Clean Faster

Here’s one way to speed up those remaining spring cleaning tasks: Make a tool belt so you won’t backtrack while cleaning. Equip it with a heavy-duty liquid cleaner, a light-duty liquid cleaner, cotton cloths, a toothbrush (for hard-to-reach corners), and a scraper (for dried food). Here’s one way to speed up those remaining spring cleaning tasks:

Don’t neglect the deck

After all that wind, rain and harsh weather your decks and porches may have accumulated branches, garbage or worse underneath. Use a rake to clear out the space completely. Less clutter means more safety.

Deadhead spring bulbs

Deadhead spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils as the flower go past prime. Be sure not to cut off foliage before it has a chance to feed the underlying bulb and then wither on its own. In the Northwest this may take until as late as early July with some varieties; be patient.

Selling your home can be an overwhelming process, no matter what the real estate market is doing.  If you want to sell your home for top dollar as quickly as possible, you have to be willing to change your mindset that your home is not yours anymore. The way you live in your home and the way you sell your house are two different things. How do you get the best results? Stage your home!

Home Staging is a marketing tool that turns your home into a product by neutralizing, de-cluttering, and depersonalizing, so that it appeals to the greatest number of buyers.  If you are living in your home as you try to sell it, the 10 secrets below will help you to get the most out of your home selling experience.

Secret 1: De-clutter – Pack all collections, paperwork and excess furniture. Let buyers experience your home, not your lifestyle.

Secret 2: Depersonalize – Remove ALL family photos, degrees and certificates, trophies and anything that says who you are.

Secret 3: Keep it Q-tip Clean – Your home is competing against a lot of new construction homes that have never been lived in.  Buyers don’t want to buy a dirty house.

Secret 4: Spice it up with Color – If your home is filled with very boring neutral colors, add pops of color to each room to make it more exciting.  Throw pillows, towels, candles and wall décor can go a long way in making a home more cozy and desirable.

Secret 5: Add Greenery – Plants and flowers add life and softness to a room – use silk if you don’t already have live plants in the home.

Secret 6: Update – Updating certain elements of a home can do wonders for making an old, outdated home feel more contemporary.  Change light fixtures for a big impact.

Secret 7: Reposition Furniture – Each room in the home needs to feel as spacious as possible.  Make sure furniture allows buyers to easily move through the room without feeling like they are in an obstacle course.

Secret 8: Set up Rooms for their Intended Purpose – Do you have a formal dining room that is now a toy room or a home office?  Make sure each room shows what it is supposed to be.  Not every buyer lives the way you do.

Secret 9: Paint Away Objections – Paint and wallpaper can be one of the biggest objections for buyers if not neutral in color.  Remove ALL wallpaper and paint bold colored walls a neutral color, such as cream or beige.

Secret 10: Fix Known Problems – This may seem like an obvious one, but a lot of sellers forget about some of the “small” problems in their home as they get used to living with them.  Repair items that have been on your “to do” list BEFORE you list the home, so that buyers will think you have kept up the home well over the years.

Remember, you only have one chance to make a first impression on buyers and real estate agents.  Make it a great one!  The investment in staging is always less than the first price reduction.

Lisa Poundstone, Owner, Design Smart Home Staging & Redesign, LLC

Blog provided by Guest Columnist, Lisa Poundstone, Owner, Design Smart Home Staging & Redesign, LLC

To have your home professionally staged, contact Lisa Poundstone at (360) 480-5810 or visit www.DesignSmartStaging.com.

Published: February 05, 2010   By: Pat Curry

www.houselogic.com

Every home office needs the basics of a desk and chair, but here are the top features you can add for maximum comfort and functionality.

Your home office should include a desktop surface big enough for your computer, printer, and telephone, and still provide enough space for you to work

While every business — and every business owner — has a unique set of needs, all home offices share a few basic requirements. Some, like adequate lighting and comfortable seating, are obvious. Others, such as visual cues that separate work space from family space, are more subtle.

Remodeling Magazine’s cost vs power puts the average cost of converting a 12-by-12-foot room into a home office at about $28,000, which includes custom cabinetry, 20 linear feet of desktop, a wiring upgrade, and new wall and floor coverings. Whether you go whole-hog or pick and choose, here are the top features to incorporate for maximum comfort and functionality.

A proper work surface
Whether it’s a desk, a drawing table, or a countertop, you need a surface on which to work, plus a place to set up a computer, printer, and phone. Tampa, Fla.-based interior designer Jamie Goldberg tells her clients to allow at least 42 inches of space, and as much as 60 inches if you can spare it, for a work surface.

A comfortable chair
If you’ll be sitting for much of the day, it’s worth spending the money on an ergonomic chair that will support your back and adjust to proper keyboard height. Prices vary depending on style, but you’ll find plenty of good choices in the $200 to $400 range. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends a chair with padded armrests to support your forearms and a base with five wheels for stability.

Customized storage
Storage doesn’t need to be fancy, but it does need to be tailored to your stuff, whether it’s files, reference books, or fabric samples. Page Rien, designer for HGTV’s “Hidden Potential,” likes to adapt existing closets, both for the affordability (no building required) and the fact that you can hide your supplies behind closed doors. “We install new shelving with baskets you can pull out,” she says. “That’s a great way to see vast amount of your stuff at once.”

The most personalized solution, of course, is built-in cabinetry, but that’s also the most expensive. Lisa Kanarek, home-office expert and founder of WorkingNaked.net, recommends commercial shelving, such as Elfa’s Home Office system ($300 and up, depending on components), which can be configured in just about any arrangement and has options for add-ons, like slide-out bins and rolling file carts.

Sufficient lighting
Ideally, an office should have three kinds of light: natural daylight, ambient lighting, and task lighting. For general illumination, architect Sarah Susanka, author of “Not So Big. Remodeling,” likes up-lighting that bounces illumination off the ceiling. “It works great if you have a light-colored ceiling,” she says. “You end up with enough light for any general function.”

For specific tasks, such as reading or drafting, you still need dedicated task lighting that shines directly on the work. Energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs are a good choice for task lamps, because they stay cool, last longer, and come in a variety of light “colors.” A 25-watt CFL provides the same amount of brightness as a 100-watt incandescent and costs about 75% less to operate, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Appropriate flooring
When choosing flooring, your first consideration should be its effect on sound quality. “Any kind of hard surface will echo without sound absorption,” says Chad Schloerke, director of operations for Floor Coverings International, in Smyrna, Ga. “If you’re on a speaker phone or a headset with a good microphone, you’ll hear your voice reverberate in the room.”

Because carpet absorbs sound, it’s the leading choice for home offices. It’s also one of the most affordable, at about $15-$25 per yard for midgrade carpet, installed. Cork is a higher-end option (about $8 per square foot for 12-by-12 tiles) that’s great for controlling sound; plus, cork floors are resilient underfoot and environmentally friendly. If your heart is set on hardwood, add an area rug to absorb noise.

Adequate power
Many older homes aren’t wired for today’s technology. They may not have sufficient power for always-on electronics, and they frequently lack grounded outlets for safety. An electrician can do a wiring inspection ($200-$300) and upgrade outlets or circuits as necessary.

You’ll also need a high-speed Internet connection. For some people, nothing short of whole-house structured wiring will do the trick. These heavy-duty data cables will give you the fastest possible speed and the most security, but at the greatest cost—about $2 per square foot of living space, according to Chicago installer Absolut Sight & Sound. Less expensive options are a DSL or cable modem, which can be handled with a call to your phone or cable company.

Noise control
Controlling sound is a necessity, whether you need quiet to work or because noise from your office could disturb other family members. Start with a solid-core door to block sound transmission; upholstered furniture, curtains, and area rugs also help. For more protection, you can install sound-proofing mats or panels on the walls and ceiling (about $50 for a 24-by-24-inch acoustic panel). Upgraded insulation and air sealing also can work wonders for shutting out noise.

Good air flow
Good air quality and temperature control are a must for comfort. A space with existing HVAC ductwork is ideal. If that’s not an option, standing fans or a room air conditioner may do the trick. If the office is in a basement, where the air can get stale or musty, consider an air purifier or a dehumidifier.

An entry point
Some experts insist that a home office needs a door; others aren’t convinced that it’s a necessity. But Sarah Susanka, who works from home in what was once a spare bedroom, says it’s important to at least give yourself “psychological cues” that tell you that you’re at work.

It could be as simple as painting the room a different color from the surrounding areas, changing the trim around the entry, or putting up a folding screen between your workspace and the rest of the living room. Without those visual points of distinction, she says, “it’s difficult to separate out the home life from the work life.”

Nearly all new homes built by Rob Rice Homes offer flex space that allows for a home office.  To see these homes and for more information go to: www.homesfromepic.com or www.robricehomes.com

It’s old news that people buy houses because of their location; but another important aspect of selling a house that’s often forgotten is the role the exterior plays.  In most cases, curb appeal helps home buyers decide if your house is worth a second look or, better yet, a walk-through.

You can ensure that your house shows the best by spending some time freshening up its exterior appearance.

Curb appeal, of course, usually refers to the aesthetics of the house’s architectural style and its related accessories such as trim, windows, and shutters. It also includes landscaping treatments, flowers, and greenery.  One key component of curb appeal is lighting and good illumination.  Does your home have a decorative entryway light on the front porch or the front of the house?  Selecting a series of lights from the same style family is important to showcase the outside of your home.

Another overlooked area is the driveway.  Don’t settle for asphalt or concrete, at least not for the entire space.  Install cobblestone or brick paving to add interest and break up the monotony of gray or black areas.  If money is tight, concentrating on the area closer to the street will help reduce costs.

Landscaping can be a quick fix and relatively inexpensive.  Adding shrubs, rhododendrons or potted flowers adds warmth and character to the front of your home.  Take a photo of the exterior of your home and visit a local nursery to inquire about low maintenance landscaping that will showcase your homes exterior.

In the end, curb appeal is not just about aesthetics; it’s also about adding value to your home.  First impressions are everything so ensure your home shows the best it can.

For more information or advice on selling your home, visit an Epic Realty community today.  Our model homes are open Friday through Tuesday 12-5PM.  For directions and a list of communities, go to www.homesfromepic.com or www.robricehomes.com

Published: March 29, 2012     By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

Martha Stewart spring cleans like a pro — because she is a pro. But the rest of us seek an easier way. Welcome to The Anti-Martha Stewart Spring Cleaning Guide.

For the record, we love Martha Stewart. She has elevated housekeeping to high art, which protects home values. Martha’s taught us the devil is in the details, and that even mundane chores can be tackled with grace, diligence, and elbow-high rubber gloves.

That said, spring is here, and cleaning is required. But who’s got the time or energy to rip apart every square inch of the house? When we saw a Martha blog that suggested cleaning our kitchen range in only 22 steps, we threw in the towel and shouted, “Get real!”

Then, we created our Anti-Martha Stewart Spring Cleaning Guide, acknowledging that top-to-bottom cleaning is a good idea, but nobody’s idea of a good time.

Except for Martha. Almost 30 years ago, when I was a cub reporter in Westport, Conn., I interviewed Martha at her Turkey Hill estate there. Then, she was a fabulous local caterer about to hit the big time with her book, “Entertaining.” She gave me a tour of her place — the Federal-style house, glorious gardens, chicken coop — and was appalled to hear I had never eaten an egg fresh from a chicken’s butt.

She straightaway gathered powder blue eggs with brown spots, walked them back to the best-appointed kitchen I’d ever seen, and whipped up the best omelet I’d ever eaten.

Lesson learned: Effort bears fruit (or eggs).

But days have only 24 hours, and work, family, and the tyranny of getting in 10,000 steps makes spring cleaning Martha-style merely a fantasy for most of us. So, we created our own get-real guide.

Our guide is all about time-savers and corner-cutters. Our advice:

• Don’t scrub when a good soak will do.

• Take small bites out of large tasks: If you live long enough, you’ll get it clean.

• Invest in white vinegar companies, because vinegar is the one cleaner you can’t do without.

• If a machine can clean it better and faster, buy it or rent it.

But seriously, folks. Here’s a little preview of our guide.

• Shower heads: A warm white vinegar bath will get rid of mineral deposits.

• Windows: Use coffee filters or microfiber cloths instead of paper towels to wash windows and avoid streaks.

• Patio furniture: Vacuum wicker furniture with an upholstery attachment.
  
  
• Primo declutter tip: Get rid of “fat clothes” first, which make you feel bad about your body.

Hey, we’ve got a million of these. Martha, we’re sure, is shaking her head in dismay. But we’re sure our guide will help you get clean in spring and still have time to enjoy the season.

And that’s a good thing.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/blog

Hardwood flooring is beautiful and with proper care you can maintain its beauty for many years.  All hardwood flooring will scratch and dent ; expand and contract.

Hardwood responds to nature’s change of weather. During the seasons you will notice your hardwood will expand and contract. The joints will get tighter and sometimes the joints will get bigger. Hardwood prior to installation is acclimated to approximately 68 degrees.  If you do not maintain a normal temperature throughout the year you will notice more shrinkage than normal.  For example, if you keep your house heated in the winter above 70 degrees your hardwood is going to shrink quite a bit more than the average, because the moisture has been removed from the air.  If you are going to heat your home above average temperatures it is recommended to use a humidifier during this time so your hardwood does not shrink as much.

Hardwood flooring responds like a sponge to water.  If water (liquid) is left on hardwood or laminate for an extended period of time the hardwood or laminate will absorb the liquid just like a sponge.  It is crucial to remove any type of liquid from the flooring in a timely manner to avoid damage.

How to properly clean your hardwood is important.  It is best to use a hardwood specific cleaner such as Bona: www.mybona.com or a steam mop with just water so the water dries quickly.  Do not let water sit on your hardwood floors for an extended period.

Please be extra careful; high heeled shoes should not be worn on these floors.  Extra precautions are necessary to keep these floors looking new.  If you have pets, you will see scratches in the flooring.

To view many varieties and stains of hardwood flooring, visit a Rob Rice Homes new home community today.  For more information, go to: www.robricehomes.com or www.homesfromepic.com