Homeowner’s Academy
This is your guide to interesting facts, tips and general homeowner information. We hope you find the information useful – and feel free to share with friends!

How to Buy and Set Up the Perfect Christmas Tree

Spring cleaning often comes with a fresh coat of paint. Painting can be a great way to change the feel of a room or give your home some great curb appeal. Painting also plays a role in home repair by protecting the wood of your home against the elements, essential here in Florida.

If you decide to try your hand at painting this spring, People’s Trust has some tips that can keep the experience enjoyable and safe for everyone in your family.

Try Some Eco-friendly Paint

Spring conjures up the sniffles for many people in the great outdoors, but paint may do the same thing inside of your home. Household paints have previously contained up to 300 toxic chemicals, including the hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that release particles into the air for years after you paint.

Try a low-VOC paint, which tends to be water-based, for any home interior painting. These have taken off in recent years and come in every shade and finish imaginable. Some brands also create no-VOC paints by replacing chemicals with more natural ingredients. These no-VOC paints are often pet-safe, but always check the label and never leave your pet unattended in a room where paint cans are open.

Home Repair Supervision

If you have children, never let them be in a room with open paint cans by themselves. If children are under the age of 10, they should never be in a room with any open painting materials. Even eco-friendly paints are extremely dangerous if ingested. If you believe your child has ingested any paint, immediately call poison control at 1-800-222-1222.

Try Cloth Catchers for Indoor and Outdoor Painting

You can pick up plastic sheets to protect your floors and lawn, but these often move and tear as you walk around painting. Turn to cloth or canvas drop cloths that will stay in place easier and can be weighed down with objects without the risk of tearing.

For painting the outside of your home, try a tarp with tie-holes. These can be staked into the ground to provide a steadier surface for a ladder.

Ventilate: Make Room to Breathe

If you’re painting inside, open the doors and windows. If your room has a fan, turn it on. You want proper ventilation for any space you’re painting to help air out the room and not breathe in paint fumes. If you can’t ventilate where you’re working, get a respirator and only paint in short stints.

Ventilation is essential to most common home repair improvements.

Stick to the Shade

If painting outside, you know that you need to take a break in the shade, but what about your materials? Paint, paint thinner and lacquer all need to stay in the shade as much as possible when painting outdoors.

Not only can heat and sun alter some of these items when they’re sitting in the can, but heat can also be a big problem for these flammable items. The city of Las Vegas actually warns its citizens to be careful when painting their homes or canvases outside because paint thinner has been ignited by the sun and started home fires.

Clean Up after Home Repairs

When you finish painting for the day, clean up the entire space. This will prevent spills and any accidental exposure.

Latex paints can typically be cleaned from surfaces and your skin with soap and water. Oil-based paints will have specific cleaning instructions located on the paint can itself. Take a look at your can before you start painting and write down what it says, because paint often spills on the outside of the can during the painting process.

Gasoline was once used to clean paint off of brushes, but this should never be used. Gasoline is extremely dangerous and should never be used as a cleaner for any object.

It’s always a smart practice to clean up and watch your space clearly when doing any home repair project.

As temperatures finally cool down across Florida, many families are preparing to “deck the halls” for the holidays.

One of the most iconic holiday decorations is the Christmas tree, yet finding the perfect tree can be a difficult and stressful experience if you don’t know what to look for.

To help you out, we’ve compiled the following guidelines on how your family can purchase that “perfect” Christmas tree.

Can You Spot a Healthy Tree?

Buying an unhealthy Christmas tree can significantly impact the amount of jolliness your family feels on Christmas morning. The last thing you want to do is bring home a tree that wilts and dies by the middle of December.

Here are some warning signs to look out for when buying your tree:

Excessive loss of green needles. To check, shake the tree vigorously on its stump. The only needles that should fall from a healthy tree are dead, brown ones in the middle.
Dry, brittle twigs
A sour, musty smell

What Size Tree Should You Get?

All too often, families pick out the “perfect” tree, bring it home, and discover that it’s too large for their living room.

Before heading out to make your big purchase, identify the area where you plan to display the tree and measure that area’s height (floor to ceiling), width and depth. Not only could this save money, but it will also prevent you from potentially having to cut off large portions of the trunk and lower branches, which would considerably impact the tree’s overall appearance.

Also, note the distance between the bottom of the tree and the first whorl of branches. You will want to pick out a tree with a trunk that’s long enough to display without having to remove the bottom branches.

How to Set Up a Christmas Tree

Keep your newly purchased Christmas tree in a covered, unheated area until you are ready to decorate it. Not decorating your tree for a few days? Place it in a bucket of water and refill as needed.

Before placing your tree in the stand, make a straight cut across the tree trunk, about 0.5 to 1 inch away from the bottom. If you do not have a saw readily available, have the seller make a fresh cut before you take your tree home.

Place your tree in an appropriately-sized stand, and ensure that the bottom of the trunk is sitting firmly in the bottom of the stand to prevent it from tipping over. To determine what size stand you will need, measure the diameter of the tree trunk (in inches). The number of inches is directly proportional to the number of quarts your stand will need to hold. For example, if your tree trunk diameter is 10 inches, your stand will need to be able to hold 10 quarts of water at a time.

Make sure your tree stand is filled with water at all times. A tree can absorb up to a gallon or more of water within the first 24 hours, and at least one quart a day from there on out. Keeping your tree hydrated not only keeps it healthy, but also fuels that fragrant pine smell we all know and love.