Pilot Property Management

Serving Coastal North San Diego County (Vista & San Marcos), too

Rental management: Maintenance

Brush abatement techniques

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San Diego has experienced two major fire conflagrations in 2003 and 2007. As a result fire departments are even keener on removing combustible material from unoccupied land and even in some cases from occupied lots. Homeowner associations are susceptible to fire as much as anyone and it behooves associations to have a brush abatement plan in place. For many years some properties have been untended resulting in huge overgrown areas filled with highly combustible material that has accumulated over time. All dead plant material should be removed and combustible plant material should be thinned and shaped trimmed and cleared every year. After the first major clearing the annual trimming and clearing is much less expensive. The labor associated with brush removal can be exhaustively expensive as the plant material must either be dragged uphill for ultimate removal or downhill. Lack of access can increase the cost dramatically. Steep hillsides are very difficult to tame by hand. We recently employed a herd of goats and a few goat herders to clear an area that had not been tended for many a year. The initial feeding reduced the amount carried away enormously.

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Dry wood Termites and how to get rid of them.

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Unfortunately termites have very small eyes and so cannot read posted signs saying termites are not welcome here. Sadly they have been known to return occasionally very soon after a building has been treated. Wood can be treated before construction and certain lumber is specially treated ……………… But eaves and rafters, fascia boards and starter boards are usually made of soft wood which is particularly appealing to termites. Termites are above ground cave dwellers by which I mean they live above ground inside caves made of wood that they bore out like warrens. Subterranean termites are different and the subject of a different article. Many companies promote their new and improved method of getting rid of termites. There are essentially six different ways. Spot treatment where the wood is accessible and is injected with a fungicide that kills the termites in that local area; Very effective and inexpensive on say eaves or fascia board.

How to paint the exterior

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Paint, no matter how good it is nor how well it was applied will deteriorate over time. The sun, the wind, water in the form or rain or another source will harm paint and it will peel or fade or both. Paint can however be made to last not so much by periodic maintenance although power washing can brighten it up a shade, but by selecting both superior paint applying it in the correct thickness and by superior preparation. In fact preparation is the key. Paint needs to take a firm hold of the material to which it is being applied be it wood, metal, stone or composite materials. All too often a cursory job of preparation will allow the painter to quickly finish and all that shows is a bright shiny new coat of paint. But without proper preparation that shiny new skin will begin to show its wrinkles and warts quickly.

The surface must first be power washed to get rid of the coat of grime grease oil and soot that adheres to it and accumulates over the years as smudges or stains. Water behind the surface or a damp surface at the time of painting will very quickly cause peeling. Never paint in a damp, humid or exceptionally hot atmosphere. Water will penetrate cement and stone quickly so an accumulation of water behind an inaccessible wall will be hard to paint effectively. Wood that has not cured properly will also be difficult to paint.

 

Patching any cracks in the stucco and bonding or replacing rotten wood first is essential. The next step is to prime to surface using a specific primer for that surface taking into account the existing underlying paint and the material to be painted. Getting rid of rust before priming is also essential as rust comes form the inside out. Treating the metal surface with a rust primer is key to good adhesion. Some painters will water down their paint to thin it form the manufacturers’ specifications and allow it to in theory go further. Involving the paint manufacturer in the process by allowing them to draw up the specifications and to inspect the finished product along the way, will usually result in a better job and a guarantee of the manufacturers warranties being in place when failure occurs. They will also know the best type of paint to use and whether elastomeric paint should be used, the number of coatings etc etc. Effervescence, blistering peeling cracking and flaking can all be avoided with the correct selection of both