Money | South Eastern Connecticut Landscaping

22 Feb

Target Coupon: $5 Off and Free Shipping!

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

If you are thinking of buying furniture anytime soon, then take a look at Target.com before looking anywhere else. Target has a large variety of quality furniture for affordable prices. To make things even better, there is a sale going on right now where you get get deals on select living room and dining room furniture.

Here’s the best part. Use this Target coupon and Target will take $5 off your $50 purchase and give you free shipping. Save yourself some time and money. Shop online for chairs and coffee tables for your living room, dining tables for your kitchen or nightstands and closets for your bedroom.

Just make sure to use coupon code CM5OFF50HOME before you check out. This offer will be around for a while, but it won’t last forever. Expiration date is Aug. 8, 2011.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/jreed/379881272

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Buying a Home: How to Avoid the Fixer-Upper From Hell

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

Few people get their perfect home when they take the plunge and buy it, especially if it is their first home. They either settle on something that’s a little less than what they want and is a cheaper price, or they go for the fixer-upper, thinking that they can fix all the problems over time.

The fixer-upper can either be a great investment or a money pit that will suck out your soul, one painful nickel-and-dime expense at a time. The problem is that the money pit and the great investment may look pretty similar at first, but after a year or two, the separation will become clear. Here are some things that you can do to be sure that your fixer upper is no money pit.

1. Don’t rely on the real estate agent. While you may think that the real estate agent who is so friendly and accommodating would never screw you over, just remember that he’s looking for a meal ticket. They are required by law to disclose many different things, but they can also be very good at evading questions. They may also not know about the problems, either. Sure, a flood may have wiped out most of the interior 15 years ago, but that’s all water under the bridge. (Queue snare drum.) They want to sell the house, get their commission and then move on to the next.

2. Get a thorough home inspection. When you have the home inspected, be with the inspector and ask plenty of questions. Any issues they come up with, you should ask about, and also ask about prices to fix and what may happen 10 years down the road. Make sure that the inspector takes a good luck at the HVAC, wiring and basement, so he can determine that they are in perfect working order.

3. Take into account the age of the home. An older home has character and things like woodwork that newer homes don’t. They also have 100-year-old wiring, foundation issues and weak spots that may not be apparent at first. While you could want a fixer-upper, you may find yourself in a fire hazard that can take several thousands of dollars to fix. I once lived in a home where they had put the electrical wiring next to the plumbing. The wires became frayed over time and came into contact with the metal pipes. I had an electrical current running through my bathtub and faucet.

4. Keep an eye out for suspicious areas. While many people take the time to make the home look its best, be on the lookout for fresh paint and paneling that sticks out. If half a room has been painted or one room has paneling and none of the other do, then odds are that there is something wrong. I had a friend that bought a home and then discovered after a year or so that there was some significant water in his finished basement. It turns out the people dug a big hole outside of the house and filled it with foam and other water-absorbing materials, put sod over it all and then put up a fake wall around a second sump pump. Yeah, no good.

Buying a home is a bog decision, and a fixer-upper is an even bigger decision. Don’t get stuck with a money put.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/justinbaeder/675072300

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Buying New Tools: Do You Really Need Them?

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

When I head to a place like Sears or even online stores, like many men, I tend to gravitate toward the electronics and tools sections. No matter what tools I buy, there is always more that I “need.” Whether it’s that new electric hammer that lets you nail things in tight spaces or just a new wrench set, since the old ones are getting a little worn.

As a do-it-yourselfer, you need to have tools, and depending on how intense into home repair you get, that could mean the basics, like hammers, wrenches and screwdrivers, to the more advanced (and expensive) tools like routers, air compressors and saws of all sizes and shapes.

It’s easy to get caught up in the grandeur of the new tools, and it has led to many marital disputes over the years. Believe it nor not, your wife or significant other does not appreciate your need of a cordless drill, because you already have a corded one. I know, right?

The thing you have to ask yourself when you go to buy a new tool — or when you just to go window shopping — is this: Do I really need it? Many times, a tool seems cool on the shelf and you can think of a million things to do with it, but then you get it home and it just sits on your shelf.

Sure, it looks really good sitting on the shelf, and you will be the envy of all your friends, but what’s its use? You just spent $100 or more on a tool that’s going to do nothing, but has the potential to do a lot. I will admit that there has been the occasion where a tool has sat on my shelf for a while and then out of nowhere the perfect situation arises to use it. But this is rare.

I cannot stress the importance of having a proper set of tools, but getting over your head with needless tools serves no purpose. The money would be better served buying supplies for your home improvements and upgrades to the tools you already use.

The last thing you want to find out is that you can’t start that project you want because you spent all your money on a tool you’ll never use. I have actually done this, and its not fun explaining to my wife that I can’t fix the leaking sink for another couple of days because I spent the money on a new jigsaw.

I had to build a new doghouse after that, just so I could fit in it for a couple of days.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/charles_hudson/4858257019/

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The Ups and Downs of Using Snow Throwers

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

Every year after the snowfall, I promise myself that I am going to buy a snow thrower, and every year after the snow melts, I tell myself they are a waste of time and money.

For those of you blessed with warm weather climates, there are basically two ways to remove snow from a sidewalk and driveway. You can shovel it, which can be back-breaking work (and more than one person has had a heart attack while shoveling snow) or you can buy a snow thrower.

This machination basically acts as a snow till. Starting at one end, you turn on the snow thrower and the blades under the machine rotate and catch the snow. The snow is thrown out of the way, thus clearing a path. Growing up, I would see people with these and think, Why would you spend your money on that? Snow shoveling isn’t that big a deal. Then I got older.

Suddenly, lifting up that snow with a shovel takes a lot more effort, and it usually leaves my back aching for several days afterward. If it is a particularly bad snow storm or one that last a few days, my frozen butt is out there several times a day making sure that people don’t slip on my sidewalks and that my car can get out of the driveway.

My neighbor pulls out his monster, and the driveway is clear in five minutes. Then he’s back inside with hot cocoa. It’s during this time that I usually curse the idea that I didn’t buy one when they were cheap during the summer and vow to get one come spring. I am way too cheap to pay full price during the winter.

When the spring finally gets here and the snow melts, my mind once again reverts back to the old ways. It’s probably been several weeks since I shoveled snow, and my back has since recovered. In other words, I am invincible again.

I convince myself that the snow thrower isn’t worth it and that shoveling wasn’t a big deal this year. Ugh, when will I learn? Let me say, for the record, that a day after I shoveled snow, snow throwers seemed like the best thing since sliced bread. OK, now it’s in print and I can’t change my mind this year.

Image Source:flickr.com/photos/11897810@N02/1205439160

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Swimming Pool Landscaping: Decorate Your Already Beautiful Swimming Pool

Author: admin // Category: landscaping ideas, Tips

When you put a pool in your back yard, it already looks nice. The truth is, you don’t have to do very much to it to make it look nice. As long as you keep it clean, having a pool makes your backyard look great! However, you can do much more to make it look even better so that when people come over, their jaws drop. The best thing that you can do to better spruce up your pool is to add some swimming pool landscaping.
Swimming pool landscaping makes your backyard look like a spot straight out of paradise. Whenever you have a pool party or just have a few guests over for drinks, they will undoubtedly remark on your swimming-pool landscaping. That’s because not only does your backyard look great because you have a pool, the landscaping makes it look so much better.
Swimming-pool landscaping doesn’t just have to mean putting a bunch of flowers in the ground. Swimming pool landscaping can include a deck, trees, flowers and much more. You can find a pool landscaping business to do the landscaping for you or you can do it yourself. You’ll definitely save money doing your swimming pool landscaping yourself, all that money in labor can quickly add up, and many gardening stores will sell you everything you need to make your backyard and pool look great.

Plan Your Landscaping Before You Break Ground
If you are going to do the pool landscaping yourself, you should first do your homework and know what you’re doing. You can’t just plant a bunch of flowers and tell everyone it’s landscaping. Your landscaping should be planned out so that you don’t get overcrowding, too much spacing or, worse, you don’t want an ugly yard.
Ask plenty of questions from those in the know or do an internet search to educate yourself as much as possible in the correct way to apply pool landscaping. You can make patters and get complicated with it or you can go simple, it all depends on what you want to do and how much you can afford. Ask around, shop around for the best deals and you can get the best looking backyard in the neighborhood.
Swimming pool landscaping will truly make a difference in how your backyard and your pool looks.
A wealth of information about this type of landscaping can be found through a number of locations:

1) The Internet – A favorite search engine
2) The Library – Don’t forget about free books!
3) A Bookstore – Again, books are full of useful information.
4) A Home And Garden Shop – Ask the workers, look at the supplies, read their books
5) Ask your people in your neighborhood

Landscape Design and Installation

Author: admin // Category: Commercial Landscape, Residental Maintenance Programs

Landscape Design and Installation

S.E.CT Landscaping Company offers a proven track record of creative, quality landscape design. Homeowners who have followed our design/build approach find it not only produces a better landscape environment, but often saves them money.

Our designers are constantly challenged to find something wonderful, new and different in their designs. Based on the rave reviews that S.E.CT Landscaping Company designs receive, we are convinced they are more than meeting the challenge. Our emphasis is on constant quality, but we also appreciate the colorful twist and turns that go along with creating a beautiful environment.

Our designers work with our clients from start to finish. This means our designers will work with you from the initial design to the completion of the project. They are on site to insure your landscape is completed properly. Through the industries most advanced designs, finest quality and most efficient service, S.E.CT Landscaping Company provides the ultimate value in professional landscaping. Our company strives to deliver true value for our clients investment.