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There are simple fixes to make your property safer for both the young and the old. When we design or build we keep safety in our minds and take steps to ensure the completed project is safe and sound, but overtime even well designed landscapes might need modificaitons and small maintenance fixes to keep them safe for all. Here’s some tips on what to look for when it comes to hazards and steps that can be taken to fix these concerns.

It is important to do away with any tripping hazards when it comes to the eldery. Some fixes around the yard might include… 

1. Leveling out stepping stones so they don’t tip or wobble. It’s highly recommended to just do away with them altogether, especially if they’re more that .25″ high from finished grade and replacing them with level and smooth concrete walkways or even decomposed granite paths. The big advantage of flat walkways is that pedestrians can easily navigate them and the level ground makes for worry free walking.

2. Repair, adjust, or replace leaking irrigation lines or sprinkler heads not only to help save on your water bill, but to keep walkways from getting slick from constant water runnoff or spray.

3. Do away with raised boarders, such as scalloped edging, around patios, walkways, and any other place where one might travel. These raised boarders are huge tripping hazards and really serve no useful purpose around hardscape.

4. Coat overy smooth concrete masonry with a slip resistant paint or sand blast the surface. Some concrete such as walkways and garage floors as well as some bricks don’t comply with the legal slip coefficient factor. They either weren’t made correctly or they’ve been affected by weathering over time. The solution is to paint a specialty floor paint or epoxy paint, mixed with a slip resistant silica sand in the paint, over these surfaces. It not only make them safer to walk on, but it will also give them new life and make them like new!

Children are young and need constant supervision, but sometimes that isn’t enought to keep them our of harm’s way. Here are some tips to help prevent injury from even happening in the first place.

1. Fence off pool areas. We can’t stress this enough. A pool is required by law to be enclosed by a fence. There are a few options here. A more permanent option may be to have a wrot iron fence installed around the perimeter. Another option which is less permanent is a removable fence. It’s made of a lightweight pvc frame and mesh, and secions are only a few feet long so they are easy to place and remove. Each end up placed in a predrilled hole in concrete which anchors the fence. Also, be sure that the pool area can only be accessed by pulling a gate open. This is law, because the area would be easy to access by a child it they can simply push a door. Pulling a door is much more difficult for small children, as they have limited ways of doing so.

2. Choose plants carefully and consider replacing sharp plants such as roses with something softer and less harmfull. Do research on what plants you have in your yard or call a professional to determine if any of the plants are poisonous and replace them.

3. Fix latches or gates. It is required that a gate door cannot be pushed open from inside the yard, similar to the pool situation, because children could earily escape the yard. Proper working gates can also be secured so unwelcome people cannot break into your backyard. This will protect your child and the rest of your family.
 
4. Replace protruding sprinkler heads in lawn areas. Children love to play and run around on the lawn. make sure that sprinklers are low enough so as not to become a tripping hazard.

These are just some of the many hazards to look out for, but we’re hoping you read a few things in this list you never thought about before. Most of these fixes would only take a few minutes of your time but makes a huge difference. Many of these fixes we’ve done for our clients. After all, landscape maintenance goes beyond just the weekly lawnmowing and weedpicking.