Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romero’s radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of tree roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona.
Q: We planted artichokes recently and they did very well. Now we’ve harvested our crop, and we’re wondering what to do next. We’ve been told we have to cut them back and stop watering. What do we do with the baby shoots? Can we split them off and give them to our friends to start their own crop of artichokes?
A: It’s too soon to cut them down. In fact, if the weather stays mild, you’ll get another round of artichokes. Wait to prune them until all the leaves disappear in hot summer weather. In the fall, you can divide the pups and give them away. In places where there are freezing temperatures, you should cover them with straw or mulch.
Q: I have a crack that runs all the way across my whole Saltillo tile patio. It’s been there for a long time, but now I’ve fixed some other things in the backyard and I’m ready to fix the crack. How do I do that? And could I pave over the tiles?
A: It’s going to be very difficult to simply fix that crack by itself because as soon as you repair it, you’ll develop another crack somewhere else on that patio. If it was just a crack in a concrete pad, you could fill it and cover the patio with concrete pavers. But in this case the Saltillo tiles are probably too thick to allow you to pave over them. You’re probably going to have to remove the tiles or skim off the top of the tiles, before you can use pavers.
Q: There are 20 windows in my house, but four of them are not dual-pane windows, and I’m now debating whether to replace the four or not. They’re all aluminum frame with single panes of glass; they don’t get direct sunlight so they don’t seem to heat up very much. How can I tell whether it would be economically efficient to replace them? Will installing dual-pane windows be worthwhile and save me money on my utility bill?
A: If you’re interested in checking this out yourself, you can buy a thermal imaging gun for about $40 at a hardware or auto parts store. Then, on a really hot day when the sun is shining on the house, aim your gun at one of your double-pane windows to measure its temperature. Then do the same test on the single-pane windows. If there’s not much difference in temperature, it might not be worthwhile replacing the windows. If the windows are not on the west side of the house and don’t get much direct sun, your home may not benefit that much.
Q: My electric company in Tucson is planning to raise the fees it charges to net metering customers, those of us who have solar electric panels and “sell” our surplus electricity to the utility. If I installed solar panels before they do this, will I be grandfathered in by the Arizona Corporation Commission or will I have to pay the new rates?
A: The commission has generally agreed to grandfather in solar-powered homes in the past so that they are not subject to the rate changes, but they can’t stop future commission members from raising the rates for you in future. You can’t be 100 percent sure what might happen later on.
For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8-11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.
