|
Good Times semi-annual Home & Garden issue is in full
bloom. From the ultimate H&G cover girl —Melanie
Redman of Jill of All Trades —to the scoop on
outdoor fire pits, the following pages are packed with
all the 411 needed to get through the season with all
your nuts and bolts—and more— securely fastened. |
by Greg Archer
She’s a Jill of
All Trades
and she means business
|
Melanie Redman has seen a lot
of
nuts … and bolts and wrenches
and hammers and saws and ladders
and caulk and
… screw it —you get
the picture. With an alter ego like
Jill of All Trades it’s easy to
understand what Redman
does.
For slow learners, it’s like this
—Redman’s a fix-it diva. She
can
paint, primp, prune, patch and then
some. Heck—she even does windows.
But to fully appreciate Redman, the general home maintenance
and
small repair gal-pal—she can tote a drill in one hand and an
ax in the
other—it’s best to segue into the past.
December 26, 1963. Redman’s basking in the afterglow of the
Christmas goodies that were dispersed a day earlier. She’s so
delighted with one gift—a brand new shiny bicycle—that she does
what any other puckish girl would do. She takes the entire bicycle
apart—chain, handlebars, seat and all—to grasp the finer intricacies
of its assembly. When Redman looks up, she finds a look of horror
on her mother’s face. She’s suddenly being told to put the bike back
together because Pop Redman will see red if he finds the present he
gave his daughter—the one he spent a whole night putting together
on Christmas Eve—spread out over the entire driveway.
“I’ve always had this interest in tools,” Redman says. “I was always
handy with them—they became my wisdom, and I got a lot of
encouragement from my mom, who always believed I could do
anything I set my mind to.”
And she did just that.
The steps leading to Jill of All Trades, Redman’s business, began
shortly after she moved to Santa Cruz from Half Moon Bay 13 years
ago. (She’s originally from San Lorenzo.) Back then, the
thirtysomething Redman found herself attending the California
Recording Institute to become an audio-visual engineer. A stint with
Borland International followed, but when the company laid off more
than 30 percent of its workforce in the mid-’90s, Redman decided to
make her love for fixing things into a bona fide business. She only
needed to turn to her friends to nab a nifty name.
“It’s my friends who named me Jill of All Trades,” Redman says.
“They’d joke with me, telling me things like, ‘Oh, you’re such a Jack
and Jill of All Trades. So I looked up Jill of All Trades and nobody
had that [business] name, so I registered it.”
She’s been hammering away at it ever since. Thankfully, most of
Redman’s booming success is a result of positive word-of-mouth
and she enjoys doing odd jobs for New Leaf Markets, including
preventive maintenance on refrigeration.
For Jill of All Trades, Redman uses a Mazda truck with a camper
that holds a slew of tools—everything from ladders to saws and
more. Redman also gets all the materials needed for the job and
charges a reasonable hourly fee. “Just pay me at the end of the day,”
is her motto.
Redman’s list of handywork appears endless. When she was a skills
tradeswoman in Union 510 near San Jose, she’d be called upon for
a variety of duties, such as setting up elaborate booths in conventions
for trade shows. Locally, she must have hammered in tens of
thousands of nails and crawled under a gaggle of houses to fix a pipe
or two—or dozens—and then some.
But Redman has discovered that it’s the small things that seem to
matter to people—fixing a door, plastering a wall, repairing a
shower, installing some shelves, organizing a garage. Not that she’s
ever been opposed to the big stuff—she’s landscaped, cleaned up
the mess after a construction crew, and installed everything from
water heaters to water fountains. Masonry repair? Even that is on her
Jill of All Trades list. But experience has taught her not to take on
every project. She doesn’t mind referring people to contractors for a
job that requires one. Ditto for electrical repair. In fact, her referral
fix-it list is filled with professionals around the county.
“I don’t step on contractors’ toes,” Redman notes. “If the job
requires a contractor, I just pass it on to them and maybe I’ll do
some of the finish work.”
Now that Jill of All Trades has boomed, Redman’s fix-it interests are
shifting.
“The thing I enjoy most now is helping the disabled and the elderly
stay safe in their homes,” Redman says. “My brother was in a
wheelchair and I have a sensitivity to that.”
These days, she’d be more inclined to take on a job installing grab
bars for the handicapped—“it’s the love of my life right now; I love
doing it,” she says.
And Redman wants to do it, perhaps more than her other work. In
fact, she talks about installing grab bars in bathrooms and throughout
an individual’s home with unshakable passion, always pointing out
the need for safety for handicapped or disabled individuals.
Redman also notes how many homeowners she’s met over the years
who have had challenges in getting their home repair needs met
properly. “So many people have bad experiences and women have a
tendency to feel safe [with another woman],” she says. “Not that I
am better than a man… I love men and I really don’t work with
[contractors] who are not top-notch. So I always encourage people
to call me for referrals.”
Still, when it’s all sawed, pounded, buffed or polished, Redman must
have a favorite tool. “My drill gun,” she says, smiling. “It makes my
job easier. My drill gun is my friend—that and my flashlight. It’s the
one thing I’ve learned … if you have the right tools, your job is
easier.”
A great thought—if not the perfect credo for living life.
To contact Melanie Redman/Jill of All Trades, call
(831)-423-7464.
Your Tools Want To Hurt
You
by Sven Davis
Those of us who build and fix
things love our tools, but the tools
don’t always love us back. A saw cuts wood and a saw cuts flesh;
it’s all the same to a saw. So as spring fills us with
home-improvement
energy, so too it fills the emergency rooms with
people carrying their
fingers in baggies.
After a life around tools and tool users, I’ve seen terrible things and
I’ve heard terrible stories—stories of nail guns, weed whackers, and
sledge hammers—that make grown, leathery, experienced tradesmen
wince and clamp their knees together, because they know that some
day it could be them. Tools can hurt you even if you’re wearing
flameproof overalls, leather gloves, safety goggles, earplugs,
steel-toed boots, elbow pads and a condom.
I think tool stores should be arranged according to what part of your
body is most at risk. Hanging above the aisles would be signs like
EYE HAZARDS, BURN RISKS, FINGER REMOVERS, BACK
BREAKERS, and KNUCKLE BUSTERS.
In the KNUCKLE BUSTER aisle, you’d find most of the
automotive tools, including wrenches and ratchets and such. Anyone
who’s ever used a wrench in tight quarters knows the routine: You
apply pressure to the bolt, but it doesn’t want to go. So you push
really hard. A little voice inside you predicts that when the bolt
suddenly turns, you won’t be able to stop the forward momentum of
your hand before it slams into some nearby immovable object. But
the desire to get the bolt off drowns out the warning, and CRACK!
You’ve punched the engine. You curse; the engine chuckles.
The same warning voice tells you not to pick up the most dangerous
tool in the shop: the slotted (flat-bladed) screwdriver. Slotted
screwdrivers slip from the slot and stab.
The really dramatic injuries are usually due to the biggest, noisiest
power tools, like the table saw. The table saw is just a table with a
circular blade sticking up through it. You run a board over the table,
and presto, two boards. The table saw really freaks me out. Like
other big power saws, the instruction manual points out dozens of
ways you can get hurt operating the tool, which is one reason why
nobody reads the manuals. Too scary. The manual for my VCR has
many warnings, too, but they’re far less likely scenarios. Come on,
like I’d immerse my VCR in water. But the lawyers insist, so you get
things like “WARNING: Do Not Eat Your New Panasonic VCR.”
Saw warnings make sense: “Do Not Cut Through The Power Cord.”
Safety attachments for tools, however, often make less sense.
Certain tools are inherently dangerous, and accidents put pressure on
the manufacturer to make the tool safer. So they add guards and
shields, which make the tool look safer, but many people find these
add-ons to be in the way, or even hazardous, and remove them. This
doesn’t make for a net increase in safety for the operator, but it does
absolve employers and tool manufacturers of responsibility. You
can’t sue them, because you took off the safety mechanism, you
knucklehead.
Compared to saws, drills don’t seem very dangerous. So you drill a
hole in your leg, big deal. That’s what putty’s for. But if the drill bit
gets jammed and can’t turn any more, suddenly the part you’re
holding wants to turn. Kind of like, if you hold onto a propeller,
won’t the airplane spin around? This can sprain your wrist, or even
break fingers. The drill press, which is a drill mounted on a stand, is
much safer unless the bit grabs your long hair and starts reeling your
head in like a marlin.
It’s not much safer out in the yard, where many a barefooted,
Bermuda-shorted homeowner has pulled out the old power mower
and mulched the lawn with his foot. You’d never see a professional
gardener dressed like that—they’re covered from head to toe,
because they know those tools scatter rocks and sticks like shrapnel.
I try to be safe. But given my frequent exposure to tools, the optional
“accidental death and dismemberment” insurance offered by my last
employer looked like a good deal. Exact payments for various
misplaced body parts were listed. I’d get X-thousand dollars for a
severed toe, ten times that for a lost eye. When finances were tight, I
would start looking at my thumb as a serious investment opportunity.
High school shop teachers are famous for having a missing finger or
two; maybe this is how they make ends meet on a teacher’s salary.
When it’s time to buy something for Father’s Day, we often buy him
a tool. But is this sending the right message? The card reads, “Dad, I
hope you enjoy this big ladder. By the way, is your will up to date?”
Surface Chic
Concrete—it’s the newest trend in decorating
by Christa Martin
Concrete—it’s more than just a
slab of cement. Think hip,
affordable
and versatile. It keeps
you toasty and it’s easy to clean. Yes, this is
the same stuff that sidewalks are made of.
Concrete has become a popular substance in the decorating
market—it’s being poured into
bathrooms, kitchens, swimming
pools and more. But here’s the
catch—don’t try to self-install
a concrete anything (countertop, floor, etc.) unless your skills are,
well, concrete. Otherwise, you’ll be the
humble owner of an
enormous mess and you’ll have to call the guy
you should have
called in the first place: Tom Ralston, a guru in the
ways of
concrete and the owner of his own large business here in
Santa Cruz, aptly called Tom Ralston Concrete.
Ralston is a third generation man of concrete, sort of a “Superman”
in town, whose company offers an elaborate assortment of would-be
concrete products. “Would-be” because his crew comes in and
creates anything (fireplaces, private underground parking structures)
for anyone from Carmel Valley to Portola Valley.
“It [concrete] has a raw sort of look and an air of uniqueness to it
that you can’t attain with tile or slate,” Ralston says.
Most jobs start at about $5,000—a typical price estimate for
installing an interior concrete countertop that can look like granite,
marble or flagstone, without the bumps and grooves found in those
more expensive products.
Another perk is the radiant heat systems found in concrete floors.
This trend rose to popularity in the 1990s, Ralston says, as the
design became familiarized by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
In such floors, tubes are strewn through the floor and connected to a
water system that, when heated, in turn heats the home, from
essentially the feet up. This style of heating a home is 40 percent
cheaper than electrical means, Ralston says.
“It’s an efficient way to heat a home when compared to forced air
heating and bug poop floating around your house [from the vents],”
Ralston adds.
This construction type of guy is anything but gruff. He’s personable
and breaks down the “art” of concrete quite simply to the confused.
Ralston, both a businessman and an artist, designs much of the work
his company produces—he’s a creative type at the core, someone
who also plays the piano and writes poetry.
The business was handed down to him from his father when the
junior Ralston was 37, but in all honesty, he didn’t have any idea
what he was getting himself into. Fueled by hard work, passion and
years of jackhammering and construction jobs for his dad, Ralston
brought the company to the next level. He’s now 52 and completely
jazzed by his work and the increased technologies that the concrete
business has seen, including creating estimates for clients. In years
past, estimates were tedious work, but now, he turns on a computer,
sets a job plan on a grid, and clicks away with something that
vaguely resembles a pencil, which offers up measurements, by which
he can dictate a price quote. The company is doing well with a usual
12-15 jobs/day and a gross income last year of $4.5 million.
At the offices in the downtown Santa Cruz area, everything is a
showcase of concrete: portions of the driveway, the internal office
counters and floors. Giant slabs are outside: the Italian light gray
model, the sand finish (a light wash), blended acid stains on one
piece, shards of beach glass and sea shells decorate another.
Many locals have walked all over Tom Ralston Concrete—the
company’s work can be seen on the floors of the restaurant Costa
Brava and the clothing store Pacific Trading Co. (both on Pacific
Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz).
But remember, “Concrete has its limitations,” Ralston says. “It wants
to variegate, and it wants to crack; it’s not a perfectly precise
medium. It’s not advisable for people to do it themselves.”
Tom Ralston Concrete is at 241 Fern St., Santa Cruz. For more
information, call 426-0342 or visit
www.tomralstonconcrete.com.
Why Refi?
Because mortgage rates have never been so low—and
may never be again
by Laurel Chesky
When is a downward arrow a good sign? When it’s pointing the way
to lower interest rates. Unlike those nasty red arrows indicating
another dismal day for the NASDAQ or the S&P, for interest rates,
the farther they fall, the better for consumers. And just when you
thought they couldn’t get any lower, lower they tumble.
For homeowners, bargain-basement rates translate to cash in the
bank. Case in point: Linda Grande, owner of Grande Mortgage
Associates in Capitola, just helped one client refinance, lowering his
interest rate from a nasty 9.9 percent to 3.95 percent. Her client saw
his monthly house payment drop by $1,800 a month.
In a steady decline that started early last year, mortgage rates
continue to hold at a 40-year low, and homeowners are rushing to
take advantage of the savings while the gettin’s still good.
For a second consecutive week, the week ending March 14 set an
all-time record for the volume of homeowners applying to refinance,
according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.
Refinancing activity for that week made up 80.5 percent of total
mortgage applications, also a record high.
This week, Freddie Mac reported an average rate of 5.79 percent
for 30-year loans and 5.11 percent for 15-year loans.
Who should consider refinancing? “It’s just a great time for anyone
to consider refinancing, whether to just get cash out without changing
their monthly payment, or to reduce their monthly payment,” says
Aaron Garfinkel, a loan agent with Equity Now Mortgage Brokers in
Santa Cruz. “There are so many different programs out there today,
and almost any homeowner can benefit from talking to a mortgage
lender.”
Even those whose credit is less than stellar can get a deal. Grande
often helps her clients repair their credit before applying for a new
loan.
Besides lowering monthly house payments, refinancing can help
homeowners consolidate debt. With a “cash-out” loan, homeowners
can pay off higher interest loans and credit cards, transferring that
debt to a lower interest loan.
A cash-out loan can also finance home improvements or expansions.
“We’re seeing a lot of people refinancing and putting money back
into their homes, fixing them up,” Garfinkel says.
Others are using the extra cash to invest in more real estate. “People
are investing in real estate,” Grande says, “because historically that is
where people have made money—in the appreciation of real estate.”
During the dotcom boom, people took equity from their homes to
invest in the stock market. “I know people who leveraged their
homes to go into the stock market,” Garfinkel says. “They racked up
huge debts, and now they have nothing to show for it.”
After the stock market took a nosedive, the trend reversed. People
are now investing in real estate (and crossing their fingers that the
oft-referenced “real estate bubble” doesn’t burst). “We’re seeing a
lot of purchases, and some people are definitely investing in property,
second homes and rental property,” Garfinkel says.
In recent years, many people have seen their homes double in value,
and in “10 or 20 years, it will double again,” Garfinkel says.
Finding the right loan for you is the key to saving money. For some
homeowners, such as people who only have a few years left on their
loan, refinancing might not make sense at all—refinancing locks
homeowners into another 15- or 30-year loan. For others, finding
the right loan program for their particular situation is important.
Grande is a fan of the “interest-only” loan, which allows homeowners
to pull cash from their homes and only pay the interest on that loan
for a specified number of years. Interest-only loans can dip as low as
2.5 percent for borrowers and properties that qualify.
Grande advises working with an experienced mortgage broker who
can sift through hundreds of available loan programs. Brokers also
offer wholesale rates. “Investigate with a professional,” she says.
“Everyone’s situation is entirely different. Borrowers are not created
equal.” She also recommends consulting with your CPA and financial
planner before deciding to refinance.
Garfinkel suggests shopping around for a loan agent or broker and
finding one that’s right for you. “It’s a working relationship,” he says.
“[Homeowners] should find a person they feel comfortable with. If
they don’t feel comfortable with someone, that person isn’t a bad
person, it’s just not a good fit.”
Adaptation
Don’t stare that gift orchid in the stamen
by Kathryn Blackman
For centuries, orchids have been
highly coveted and costly—
jewels in the crown of the plant
world. But thanks to a
combination of scientific
experimentation and
groundbreaking propagation
methods in the last century, the
queen of the plant family is
fetchable for the cost of a
common houseplant.
Orchids are one of the largest families of flowering plants, with over
30,000 recognized species. Add to that the 150,000 hybrids
developed over the last 150 years. Orchids can be broken down into
three different types: epiphytic, which grow on tree branches,
lithophitic (rocks) and terrestrial (dirt). Orchids are also adapted to
every climate, except the far Arctic regions, and come in all
sizes—from species that would fit in a thimble (pleurothallis) to the
great, one-ton giant (grammatophyllum), the size of a Toyota pickup.
And without orchids we’d be missing one of our favorite
flavors—vanilla (Vanilla planifolia).
Vickie Smith of Victoria Orchids, a local wholesale orchid business,
makes the point that people may shy away from buying orchids for
fear that they won’t be able to keep them healthy after they bloom.
“But even if you end up throwing the plant away,” she says, “they still
have great value if you consider an orchid can be the same price as a
florist bouquet. Instead of lasting a week, orchids can last many
months in a home. And while in bloom you don’t have to worry
about its light requirements.”
But why throw away a perfectly good plant once its flowers have
dropped?
There are plenty of orchid varieties besides the lovely yet predictable
cymbidium that will grow outside all year long in our area. Smith
adds that there are two other foolproof examples—the Australian
dendrobium, known as Aussies, and the masdevallia, both of which
hail from similar climates as our own. Smith’s orchids can be found at
many local nurseries, garden centers and florists. All of her plants
come with their species name and their cultural needs. Many orchids
these days, especially in supermarkets, liquor stores and large retail
chains, offer no hint of the plant’s variety, much less what they need
to survive after they have bloomed. Are they raised for doom?
In my own humble experience with orchids, I don’t suggest buying
any plants that come without instructions, but sometimes you can
land an orchid with no name. Not to fear. Many nurseries can help
you identify your plant. In addition, the Internet is blooming with
information.
I have been the recipient of many of these creatures of mysterious
origins. And thanks in part to a little orchid sleuthing, I have some
beautiful flowers on my hands. To start your own instant collection,
simply put out the word that your first orchid re-bloomed
once—your orchid-phobic friends will be leaving the mysterious
plants at your doorstep in no time.
As you can imagine, given such a vast plant family hailing from every
climate—growing in soil, by branch and on stone—there are no
simple blanket instructions for their care. But once you establish your
plant’s identity, its care won’t be perplexing.
Put some energy into finding out what the plants need. I’ve had long
drawn-out disasters and glorious, satisfying triumphs. Once you get
introduced to orchids, treat them as well as the generous friend who
bequeathed them to you. And offer them a bright place to sit, a nice
little drink, and feed them once in a while. Hopefully you will cultivate
a new friend that may live as long as you.
For further information and helpful places to turn:
Maplethorpe Orchids, 3300 Maplethorpe Lane, Soquel.
462-0257. 30,000 square feet of greenhouse-grown orchids.
Victoria Orchids can be found at orchids@cruzio.com or look for
her lectures coming this spring at local nurseries and garden centers.
American Orchid Society, one of the premier Web sites for all
things orchid can be found at www.orchidweb.org.
Go Climb a Tree
Arborists put life and limb on the line to save trees
by Patrick Knowles
As a young boy working on his family’s small commercial pine tree
plantation in New Zealand, Nigel Belton would often sneak off after
work to scale the trees, looking at the world from his perch.
Today Belton lives out his childhood interest, but with chainsaws,
chippers and stump grinders. As one of the most dangerous jobs in
the country, arborists place their life and limbs on the line to refurbish
and save trees. Not only do these tree experts listen to their clients’
wants and concerns, but they must also have an understanding of tree
biology. It is a job where knowledge of horticulture meets a good
sense of balance, and a job where one small mistake can be fatal.
“I always loved trees,” says Belton. “They are like old patients.
Driving around town, when I see some of the work that I have done
it is very rewarding. I have a real good relationship with all of my
clients, but sometimes I remember the tree more than the person.”
Arboriculture is both an art and a science aimed at protecting and
maintaining the urban landscape. However, the job is also inherently
dangerous. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) ranks the job
of an arborist as one of the most potentially hazardous in the country.
Such dangers as electrocutions while working near power lines are
but examples. And besides cutting branches from trees there is
always the distinct possibility of an arborist cutting off their own
limbs. However, the leading cause of death is simply the risks one
takes sometimes 50 feet above the ground and the devastating
possibility of falling to the ground.
“The nature of climbing trees is dangerous work,” says Peggy Currid,
the Editorial Manager for International Society of Arboriculture
(ISA). “Every day we hear it through the grapevine that someone has
been sometimes fatally injured. A lot of workers do not receive the
proper training and it compromises their safety. It is dangerous and
hard work to have a healthy urban forest.”
In response to these threats inherent with the art of tree trimming, the
ISA holds an annual forum where some 15,000 members are invited
to be educated and trained using the latest power tools and safety
awareness methods. There is even a “demo tree” brought into the
conference hall where skilled arborists give a live demonstration.
While handling a chainsaw or stump grinder takes precision and a
delicate touch, the physicality of the work is only part of the job. For
any type of successes with a particular job one needs to be skilled
with the science of horticulture. This involves being able to look
ahead, as if reading the tree’s future and understand what direction
and problems may occur in twenty or fifty years. While it is important
to listen to clients’ needs, an arborist needs carry the responsibility to
advise their customers properly.
“Trees have their own individual wishes like we do in terms of their
health and with the way they grow,” Belton says. “That is why it is
crucial to understand their individual growth patterns. You just
cannot hack at them indiscriminately, for with everything you do there
is a response, and you have to work with the way that a tree grows.”
Nigel Belton can be reached at Arbor Art Tree Service at
688-1239.
Spark One Up
In search for the perfect portable firepit
by Bruce Willey
Of the myriad of attributes that
make us human, lighting fires,
whether for warmth, light or
cooking, is universal. Perhaps this
is why we gather so instinctively
around a fire, hypnotized by its
flames, fostering connections with
both our friends and our distant
ancestors.
It was in this spirit of reaching out
to my inner primal self that I became obsessed with lighting small
backyard campfires. I made a fire ring out of rocks, lit a fire and
pulled up a chair. Smoke billowed towards the half moon or into my
face when a slight breeze blew. At the same time, I was burning a
large hole in the lawn. The next morning, my girlfriend, who so
lovingly tends the lawn and garden, pointed out that I had also
murdered her topiary, sending it to a singed, leafless death.
A few weeks later I used an old rusted barbecue pit propped up on
bricks as a portable fireplace, which unfortunately was unstable,
seeped hot ashes onto the lawn and burned my hand. I had to call a
cease-fire. Thus my search for a proper portable fireplace began.
The variety of portable outdoor fireplaces is daunting. Same goes for
the cost, which range from an old 50-gallon drum you could find at
the dump for free (having a certain Depression-era charm) to the
Gizeh, a sculptural $1,300 jobbie from Denmark meant to rust to a
beautiful orange patina.
Though the 50-gallon drum fit squarely in my financial plans, it
doesn’t have any legs, creating the same problem of burning up the
recovering lawn.
There isn’t a patio in the backyard, nevertheless I made a stop at the
Patio Factory on River Street in Santa Cruz. The store carries two
models from Pits and Platters. Both are the steel saucer pan variety
with screens wrapping over the top. Salesclerk Claudia Eastervy
pointed out some of the features including one $399 model that
doubles as a barbecue. Eastervy says they sell well, especially during
the summer. “We all have good memories of sitting around a fire,”
she says. “This allows you to bring the fire right into your back yard.”
According to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Associations,
nationwide sales of outdoor fireplaces rose 17 percent last year.
Eastervy says the Patio Factory sells 8-10 outdoor fireplaces a
month. California, with its mild climate, has always been a popular
place to light a backyard fire. Outdoor places are especially common
in Santa Cruz County with our warm summer days that turn to damp
foggy evenings. Outdoor fireplaces not only provide warmth but also
provide a focal point where friends can gather around the crackling
fire.
Down the street, San Lorenzo Lumber sells a model by Arctic
Products that is truly portable. Standing about two and half feet off
the ground, the fireplace has wheels so you can easily move it
around. It also looks suspiciously like a barbeque without the grill
and would make a nice guest to any backyard party.
The Patio Shop on Water Street in Santa Cruz sells a heavy duty,
stout model called the Tahoe that doubles as a barbecue and fire pit.
Weighing in at 120 pounds, it’s not exactly portable unless you’re a
weightlifter, but it certainly has its charms until you look at the $500
price tag. But if you have money to burn so to speak, it’s a firepit
that looks like it would last for years, and spark enough long lasting
memories to make it a great value.
Before continuing on my quest for the perfect backyard fire it
seemed prudent to talk with a fire specialist. Mike DeMars, a fire
inspector with the Central Fire District, says it’s good to keep a hose
or a fire extinguisher nearby and to keep the pit at least 10 feet from
any structure. “It’s not a good idea to place them on a deck,” he
says.
Felton fire chief Ron Rickabaugh offers a few more precautions.
“You don’t want to have a raging bonfire. Keep ’em small and if a
spark hits a building and it ignites you will be responsible.”
Rickabaugh suggests that outdoor fireplaces have screens to keep
the sparks from flying in unwanted directions and says that renters
must get written permission from their landlords.
Boulder Creek fire chief Sam Robustelli offers that softwoods such
as pine or redwood tend to spark more and burn fast. “It’s not a
means to burn your garbage, leaves or duff,” he says. “Above all, use
good common sense.”
Turning to the numerous online stores that sell outdoor fireplaces.
Smith and Hawken (www.smithandhawken.com) sells a shiny
copper firepit for $190, not including the optional $40 screen. Fire
Science (www.fire-science.com) also a large selections of
possibilities including one model that burns corn fuel. Hearthlink.com
offers a cast aluminum chiminea that gets the smoke above your head
and doesn’t bust apart as many of the clay chimineas do when they
get too hot.
Quite by accident my search ended at Sears. In the corner, by the
wheelbarrows, was a squat, ugly model affectionately called the
Triento. This utilitarian four-sided piece of steel has screens and a
roof with a cute little spark arrestor on top. It wasn’t love at first site
but it would do. Plus it was on sale for $99.
I foresee many warm evenings in my future, evenings that seem
almost combustible with possibility. Hopefully some friends will finally
come over now and we’ll sit, basking in the firelight as so many
people before us have done, wondering how things got so
complicated while the fire burns late into the night.
