POWER SURGES AND DROP OFFS:  With the ignorant addition of wind and solar to our local power grid, you will be experiencing more frequent surges and drop offs caused by the "duck curve".  This dirty power will burn out your electronics, especially smoke detectors and circuit boards.  I recommend a fuse based whole house surge protector which helps save your equipment and helps to keep your smoker's from going off in the middle of the night.  You should have a licensed electrician install them and they run about $1,200.00 installed.  They can be found here: https://www.maxivolt.com/index.php?page=mv-100 

FURNACE FILTERS:  Don't forget to change your furnace filters.  For those of you who have the AprilAire large media filter, you can purchase replacements at CD Jones in Pueblo, (719) 545-1633 or online at Amazon.  They need to be changed about every 12 months, depending on how much the furnace is used.  The standard 1" filters should be changed each month of use.  Failure to change your filter can damage your furnace and void your 8 year parts warranty.  It can also allow build up of mold and fungus inside the home.

HOSE BIB:  Always remove your garden hose from the hose bib in the winter, otherwise water will not flow from inside the bib and it WILL freeze and break.  The hose bib has a washer located at the end of a 12" long pipe located inside the faucet.  It can be easily changed by removing the handle and pulling it out.  There will always be excess water flow after you shut off the water, so do not over tighten the handle, as this will compress and damage the washer.

STUCCO:  Try not to hammer nails into your garage walls or let the exterior doors slam.  This can crack the stucco, especially on a new home.  I do as much as I can to mitigate stucco cracks, but it's a concrete product and will get hairline cracks.  These will not damage the home and are only cosmetic in nature.  If you decide to paint your stucco, use an elastomeric paint, which stretches over most stucco cracks.  Once you paint stucco, you can not resurface with a new layer of stucco finish without sandblasting it.  Some of my newer homes have acrylic stucco, which is more expensive, but is a rubber based product that stretches over most cracks.  It's best not to repaint this stucco. 

SEPTIC SYSTEMS:  For those with Septic systems, you need to have the tank pumped.  The amount of time between pumping varies, depending on how many people are using the home.  I pump my tank about once every 5 years, but large families should pump every two years.  Use a non filler type laundry detergent.  Tide and Cheer, etc produce a lot of suds, which can damage the leach field over time.  I use Amway Sa8 detergent, which can be purchased over the internet.  Do not flush anything that will not bio degrade, such as Qtips and anything made with plastics, etc.  They can float to the top of the tank and plug up the leach field.  Do not put grease, paint, or harsh chemicals down the sinks, because they kill the bacteria which eats the solid mass.  The over the counter boxes of tank aids are a waste of money.  If you need to locate your leach field or tank, you can contact the Pueblo County Health Department and they will send you a map of your system.  They also have more detailed information available about the types of trees or bushes that can be planted near your leach field.  DO NOT drive across your leach field!  This can break the plastic infiltrators used to distribute the waste water, which can be just a couple of feet below the surface.

CONCRETE:  Concrete drive control joints should be sealed after a couple of years with a concrete caulk that can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowe's.  You do not need to fill the joint, just seal the crack so water does not get under the slab and cause the ground to freeze and/or sink under the slab.  Hairline cracking is common in concrete so don't panic if you get a couple.  I compact my backfill, but when the foundation is new, I can only compact to about 92% to 95% without breaking the foundation.  You can still get a 5% to 8% drop if you leave your hose bib on or don't clean out your gutters, etc..  

FURNACE:  The newer electronic controlled furnaces have a built in fuse which protects the mother board from electric surges.  Make sure you have a couple replacements available in case they blow out.  No fuse or electric, means no heat.  The more "green" energy that is hooked up to our power grid, the more surges and brown outs you can expect, so be ready.  Almost all of your electronics will be affected and a whole house surge protector is a good idea.  If you have problems with the smoke detectors going off around 12 to 3 am in the morning, that is the power companies trying to balance the electric grid between their generators and the "crap" green solar panels and windmills, and don't get me started.  I have a whole house, fuse based surge protector on my own home, which has stopped the smokers from going off.  I highly recommend them, but they run about $1,200.00 installed. Without these fuse based units, plan on replacing most of your electronic circuit boards in most of your electronics.  Surges from the power companies will destroy your cheap Chinese made boards.

LANDSCAPING:  Make sure your landscaper does not change the flow of water away from the home.  You must have positive flow or the water will run down into your foundation and heave your walls and floors.  Install your sprinkler system valve box at least 10 feet away from the foundation.  If a valve breaks, this will allow for the water to flow away from the home.  If it's too close, the excess water will run into the overdig and will damage the foundation and/or flood your basement. You must have a minimum of about 6" of slope on 10' of length from the foundation.  DO NOT LET THE LANDSCAPER BLOCK THIS FLOW, as it can force too much water towards the foundation wall and cause structural problems. 

Do not plant anything, especially grass, within 5' of the foundation.  The engineering calls for any vegetation to be at least a 5' minimum distance away from the foundation. 

Helpful note, a small 1 gallon tree will eventually grow into a 20' monster, so plan accordingly.  Do not let the roots get too close to your septic tank, septic lines, sidewalks, or foundation.  

Do not let any landscaper install an obstruction in the road easement.  Your ownership stops at your property line, not the edge of the asphalt road.  The taxpayers own the road easements.  If you place boulders in these easements and a car has to pull off the road in an emergency or to avoid a dog, and hits your obstructions, damaging their body or vehicle, you will be sued for those damages. 

Do not place large rocks in the water ditch thinking it will help the water flow.  It will NOT help!  You slow down the water, allowing any sediments to sink into your rocks, thus filling them up, and causing the water to move into the road and damaging the asphalt or road base.   Do not listen to the landscapers, they don't know what they are doing and are only trying to sell you...., more landscaping.  You need to allow public access of vehicles, allow for the county to clean out the ditches if needed, and allow for future expansion of the road, so don't block the easements!

MISCELLANEOUS: Many warranties go beyond the first year, so if something breaks, call me to be sure so you don't waste money on an unnecessary service call.

Information regarding almost all of the products I have installed over the years can be found at the manufacturer's web sites.  Please call me if you have any issues during the warranty period and after it has expired.  Sometimes my subs will go beyond the one year warranty, depending on what the problem is.  If I'm not available and you need immediate assistance, you can call the subs direct.