New home construction from scratch is every homeowner’s dream. A custom home allows you to structure it according to your needs, specifications, and preferences. However, there is a lot about custom homes that many homeowners don’t know. The following are five facts about custom homes you should know.

1. A Custom Home is More Expensive

Custom homes cost more than standard homes. Standard homes are cheaper because they are designed to have all the basic things people might need in a house. However, custom homes are more costly because you can make your own specifications about the design and appearance.

2. A Custom Home is Worth It

Even though building a custom home can be somewhat costly, it is worth it. New home construction will allow you to fix all the peculiar features you want in your dream home. You can tailor the home the way you like.

3. A Custom Home is Suitable for People with Special Needs

Custom homes are more suitable for families and those with special needs than standard homes. If you have a family, you will build a custom home with more space and rooms to accommodate all of them. If you’re living with a relative who has special needs or an older person, you can customize your home to make it easy to navigate. No matter the situation, a custom home will sort you out.

4. A Custom Home is Quality-Oriented

Many people want homes with nearly all imaginable features like a pavilion, swimming pool, or basketball court. A custom home is more about quality than quantity. On average, a custom-built home measures between 3,000 and 3,500 square feet for about 25% of all homes. The home is built for functionality, ease, and comfort. Amenities in your custom home will be based on your needs, priority, and lifestyle.

5. A Custom Home is Built in the Location of Your Choice

You will want to build the home in one of the best neighborhoods. Select a location that effectively matches your lifestyle and meets your needs and that of your family.

Custom homes allow you to get all the features you need in your home to ensure the home meets your family’s needs. If you want a custom home, hire a professional builder to get the best results.

As temperatures drop in late summer, you must step up your lawn maintenance to ensure you still have a healthy lawn in the fall. There are several things you can do now to get your lawn ready for fall. Read on to learn some tips as well as how an arborist can help you.

Test Your Soil

Testing your soil before fall takes the guesswork out of how you should be managing the pH and nutrition of your soil. By making the necessary improvements before fall, you will have extra time to prepare before it’s super cold. To find out more about the perfect pH for your lawn, you can contact an arborist. If the arborist decides to visit and check out your grounds, you can also take the time to ask them a bit about your trees.

If you find out the pH is not in its normal range, you can use fast-acting lime. This will restore balance to your soil and encourage a healthier, greener lawn through fall. You should also consider fertilizing your soil. Ideally, you should do this about six weeks before your first expected frost. A high-nitrogen fertilizer will help to ensure that your lawn has vigorous roots and increased energy reserves to survive the increasingly low temperatures.

Remove Excess Thatch

There’s a thick layer of organic matter that collects between the soil and your lawn that usually benefits your lawn when it’s thinner. However, when this layer starts getting too thick, it can hinder the movement of water and nutrients. Apart from that, it also encourages disease. To dethatch, you can use a handheld rake or a dethatcher. These tools will cut into the layer of thatch and pick it up for removal. This will help to restore a proper interface between your lawn and the soil.

Fill in Bald Spots

The average homeowner spends five to 8.5 days yearly caring for and maintaining their lawn. Depending on location, people usually set aside four hours per week to care for their lawn. Those who live in cooler climates spend about 150 hours a year, while those in warmer climates about 208 hours a year.

You can dedicate some of that lawn maintenance time to fixing any bare spots on your lawn as you prepare for fall. For the best results, you can get an all-in-one lawn repair mixture that you can find in most garden shops. To do this, you will need to loosen up the soil on the patch with a rack and then pour the lawn repair mixture over the lawn bald spot. If this doesn’t work, you can consult an arborist to see if there is anything wrong with your lawn.

Lawn maintenance and preparation for fall are not that difficult. The most important thing is to ensure you don’t fall behind on your maintenance tasks. Also, never forget to water your lawn every other day towards fall.

Planting trees in Tucson may seem difficult, especially since the area receives under 10 inches of rainfall every year and is considered a desert because of this. However, there are plants and trees that can thrive in these conditions, and planting them around your home can help both your yard and your neighborhood.

Why Tucson Needs Trees

Cities across the world are all working on tree planting initiatives. In Arizona, Pheonix is trying to reach a 25% tree canopy by the year 2025. Tucson is similarly striving to plant 2 million trees by 2030. But why are initiatives like this so important in Arizona?

Along with providing shade, oxygen, and shelter for wildlife, trees can help in numerous ways.

Living in an area with trees can help prevent asthma attacks, lower your energy bills, and protect you from storms.

All of these benefits make planting more trees attractive for many homeowners, even those living in the desert climate in Tucson.

How Trees Can Help Your Yard

Planting trees can also bring a lot of benefits to your yard, including:

• Helping to retain water.
• Preventing erosion.
• Adding curb appeal.
• Increasing resale value.
• Expanding your living area.

Because it doesn’t rain often in Tucson, having trees to help retain water can be essential, and they can also help prevent erosion when it does rain.

Similarly, by providing a shady spot away from the hot sun, you can expand your usable living space by being able to spend time outside under them.

This can also help boost your curb appeal and increase the resale value of your home if you end up selling it in the future.

Where to Find Trees to Plant

Tucson Clean and Beautiful is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing trees for the Tucson area. Online, you can shop for numerous trees or contact a qualified arborist to get answers to any of your questions.

Sites like this make it easy to order trees right from the comfort of your home. You won’t even have to worry about doing any prep work as Tucson Clean and Beautiful will deliver and plant your trees for you.

Trees for Tucson

If you live in the Tucson area and want to include trees around your home, speak to an arborist today to learn more about the different varieties available and which types would be best for your yard.

Tucson may have mild winters compared to other areas of the country, but there can still be times when it is too chilly to enjoy your outdoor living spaces. Adding a fireplace to your landscape design is a great way to improve your backyard and extend the time that you can spend relaxing outdoors. Continue reading for a closer look at how an outdoor fireplace can help you make the most of each winter.

Enjoy Cozy Evenings with Your Family

Whether you want to have a romantic evening with your spouse or plan a family fun night, an outdoor fireplace will be sure to add to your enjoyment. Imagine curling up in front of the fireplace on your patio, watching the warm flames, and sipping on hot chocolate. You can even plan a backyard camping night, roasting marshmallows over the fire.

Add a Unique Aesthetic Element to Your Patio

An outdoor fireplace adds an unexpected twist to any backyard design. Whether you choose a rustic stone design, a traditional brick finish, or a Southwestern adobe style, your new fireplace will add beauty and sophistication to your patio. If you ever choose to sell your home in the future, your outdoor fireplace will add extra appeal for potential homebuyers and may even increase the value of your home.

Entertain All Season Long

When you have an outdoor fireplace, there’s no need to keep social gatherings confined to your house, even when there is a wintry chill in the air. Grill burgers on your patio while your guests keep toasty in front of the roaring fire or host an outdoor cocktail party with winter-appropriate drinks like mulled wine, hot toddies, and appletinis.

If you’re interested in adding an outdoor fireplace or making other changes to your landscape design, call Santa Rita Landscaping. We offer a variety of landscaping services, including assistance selecting desert-appropriate plants, drainage and irrigation installation, and hardscape design. For more information, give us a call at (520) 623-0421.