Category: Pool & Patio

Are You in Hot Water . . . Or, Just All Wet and Freezing?

  By ,
White bathtub in bathroom with potted tree

There’s nothing like the comfort or soothing of warm hot water.  Don’t take it for granted, however, because behind every tub, shower or heated pool there is hardworking hot water heater that needs your attention.  Hot water heaters, especially in the hard water Southwest, need an annual flush to keep them in top shape and carefree for a year.

Like clockwork, Phil faithfully calls once a year with a reminder that it is July and time to flush the hot water heater that keeps the tubs, spas and showers flowing in our homeowners association community.  Well, truthfully, it is time for Phil to come by and flush our tankless water heater. I’ve done it myself many times and it is easy to do, but life gets busy for everybody and the help is now welcome.… Continue Reading Are You in Hot Water . . . Or, Just All Wet and Freezing?

Dream Outdoor Living Spaces

  By , , , ,
Butterflies

Spring is typically short in Southern California. The first 80-degree day has come and gone and the first 90-degree day is already predicted next week.  That means it is officially outdoor living weather–so get the grill going and check out the sales on pool toys, trunks or suits and towels.

Spring is also when the home selling and buying season starts in earnest with the end of the school year in sight.  For some buyers, the outside amenities are as important as the indoor priorities: kitchen, dining and living areas; bedrooms to bathrooms ratio; storage closets, etc.

What’s does your dream outdoor living space vision look like: view lot, pool, patio, barbecue, dining area, bar with big screen TV, lawn, flower or vegetable or herb garden, lily or fish pond, kids playhouse and swing set, dog run?  How about a changing room or a pool cabana house?… Continue Reading Dream Outdoor Living Spaces

Homeowner’s Insurance Check-Up Time

  By , , , ,
Fancy Home on Hill

As homeowners, one of our most important maintenance tasks is taking an annual look at our homeowner’s insurance policy.   Many times they are bundled into a homeowner’s monthly mortgage impound account along with property taxes and other fees; then paid automatically and are barely noticed.

Your monthly mortgage company takes care of it all, which is easy and painless. As a result, however, policies can be overlooked or misunderstood because they are set up during the very busy time surrounding a new home’s purchase escrow process and then overlooked as time goes by . . .  literally forgotten.… Continue Reading Homeowner’s Insurance Check-Up Time

Say Goodbye To Summer and Prepare Now for Winter

  By , , ,

Pool toys and one looks like a pink flamingoYes, it is August and it is too hot to go outside or do much of anything else except visit your pool, or your neighbor’s pool or the HOA pool or the lake or the beach.  While you’re chilling out, even if it’s only inside the house with the HVAC cranked down, spend some quality time thinking about getting ready for the winter ahead by scheduling a maintenance appointment for your furnace.

In Southern California with our mild winters, many of us barely give our natural gas furnaces or heaters a thought. We typically only run them from late October until mid-February There’s only one problem, your poor neglected heater is sitting all alone in the attic, utility closet or garage while the air conditioner unit is having all the fun as  temperatures hit the mid to high 90s or even the low 100s in Southern California.

We can assure you the temperature is going to fall:  So please don’t take your natural gas furnace or heating system for granted by failing to give it some love. The temperatures start to drop by late October to mid-November in Southern California.  A 30-minute visit to inspect your heater by a qualified HVAC  technician in late September or early October will make sure you’re cozy in late fall through winter.… Continue Reading Say Goodbye To Summer and Prepare Now for Winter

Love Your Trees, But Keep Them Away … Please!

  By , , , , ,

In hot, dry, crowded Southern California, many people are attracted by those resort style or park-like homes set on ocean-view or urban forest lots.  They tug at every nature lover’s heart.  You fall in love with statuesque Palms or the sculpted limbs of old California Oaks or evergreen Cedars or stately Sycamores or fragrant Eucalyptus surrounded by beautiful lawns and beds full of shrubs and flowers.

I love trees too.  Trees provide shade and are awesome to look at.  There is, however a big downside to trees placed too closely to homes. They look great when you buy the home or when you plant those stick-like saplings.  Years later, unfortunately, we are often asked by property owners and insurance companies to evaluate the structural damage after large trees fall or invasive tree roots cause harm.… Continue Reading Love Your Trees, But Keep Them Away … Please!

Dream Home: Pool Nightmare

  By , ,

The owners of a beautiful contemporary 7,000-square foot dream home with a forever view in Murrieta near the Temecula wine country of Southern California awoke to a disturbing pool disaster a few years ago. Shortly after construction, their new pool, surrounded by a resort-like patio deck suddenly started to slip tragically down the slope below.

The movement of the patio/pool structure with large, visible cracks left no doubt about the unstable nature of the lot and hillside below. With the region’s often weak, compressible soils, and a proclivity for earthquakes, hillside homes in Southern California are often unstable and subject to more than a little shaking.… Continue Reading Dream Home: Pool Nightmare

Property Inspections—Keep Your Eye on the Ball

  By , , , , , , , ,

Can a tennis ball really give you home-buying insight? Normally, when people are looking for properties to purchase, they worry about the roof or the walls or the plumbing or the appliances or the heating/ac system, but not many realize that inspecting the foundation is critical to the building’s structural integrity.

… Continue Reading Property Inspections—Keep Your Eye on the Ball

Too Close for Comfort

  By , , , , , , ,

Existing Narrow Driveway and Wall

What do you do when the retaining wall along the driveway entrance to your coastal home’s garage is too narrow for your cars? After experiencing constant, annoying collision sensor beeping on your newer vehicle or a scrape on your classic car, you begin to think that something has to be done.

In Southern California’s scenic beach areas, the land is very expensive and this often leads to compromises in home design that sometimes later prove to be impractical. A popular solution is to go skinny and vertical—building two- or three-story homes on narrow lots with the garage at street level. The stunning upper story or roof-top ocean views are a welcome incentive to climb the stairs.… Continue Reading Too Close for Comfort

When Your Pool Moves and Cracks

  By , , ,

Patched pool shell & cracks.

We were recently hired to evaluate a beautiful pool and patio that were built near a hillside in the popular community of Diamond Bar, California.  Unfortunately, the pool has experienced soil movement, causing cracking and tilting of the pool and patio that led the concerned homeowner to call us before the damage became any worse.

This unfortunate situation is an all too common occurrence in hillside residential developments across Southern California, where the earth is prone to continuous movement, earthquakes and periodic heavy seasonal rainfall. One or all of these factors can contribute to the destabilization of slopes where homeowners often buy properties with spectacular vistas of natural scenery, sunsets, wildlife and more. The problems then begin after the outdoor amenities such as patios, pools and spas are built, the contractor has been paid, the first family celebration and then months or years later the problems show up.… Continue Reading When Your Pool Moves and Cracks