Why should paint be backrolled on a stucco house?

QUESTION: I originally moved to Arizona from New York where paint used to be heavily plastered on older buildings and made them look very ugly. But I’ve heard you recommend to homeowners that they paint and then backroll with more paint on stucco covered houses. I’m afraid that that if I do that, it will make my house look like those old buildings in New York.

ANSWER: Yes, we do recommend power-washing your house and painting and backrolling every eight to 10 years because the sun in Arizona can practically “cook” the paint on your walls. The backrolling process will not accumulate enough paint to diminish the texture of your stucco walls.

Q: Bugs are destroying my yard. What can I use to kill them that is natural and safe for the environment?

A: Catch a few of the bugs and take them to your local nursery where they can suggest what to use. One natural organic alternative is spinosad, which was developed originally from compounds in soil. It works well on many different types of bugs except for aphids. A natural possibility for fighting aphids is neem oil, a compound developed from the pressed seeds of the neem tree, a tree from India. You can also try sprinkling diatomaceous earth in the areas where bugs hang out.

Q: I have a grass lawn that runs partially under a big ficus tree that produces lots of shade. The Bermuda grass under this tree never seems to come in very well. Will I ever be able to get it to grow in summer under the canopy of the tree?

A: It’s going to get harder and harder to do that over the years. It’s a struggle to get a Bermuda lawn to produce in the shade. You could change your summer lawn to another type of grass. Try St. Augustine, Tiff grand or dichondra and see if they work as well.

Q: I’ve heard a lot about your super-cooling process that calls for running an air conditioner for several hours straight during the times of day when your utility company rate is very low. But what about using this method to cool off your house when you have old heating and cooling equipment like I do? What will this wear and tear do to an AC that is 19 to 20 years old? Will it put too much of a strain on it?

A: It should have no negative affect whatsoever on your air conditioner. It’s far less of a strain on equipment to run it for four or five hours continuously during the coolest part of the day than to have it start and stop constantly for 10 hours when it’s really hot. Your old units will not age and break down more quickly because of super-cooling.

Q: I have an older air conditioner – 12 years old – and recently had to have a pound of Freon added to my unit to keep it operating. Why can’t I just switch to a “drop-in” alternative refrigerant for my entire system?

A: There are alternatives available, but they are probably more expensive than just adding a pound or two of Freon. Doing this will also void manufacturer warranties, but after 12 years you are probably out of warranty already. With a 12-year air conditioning unit, you might also have to replace it anyway in a couple of years.