In Kingman...what about block walls?? (for sale, house, landscaping)

[retiredtxn]

OK, all you residents (or former residents) of Kingman....next month when my husband and I will be out there looking at homes for sale, how important is it for the house to have the block walls already in place?

I understand they are for "dust" control and seems like there are quite a few homes listed on Trulia (newer ones at that) that don't have block walls. Are they expensive to have done?

Are there any other "necessities" we need to be looking for in a home there? Type of insulation? Dual Pane windows? Maintenance-free landscaping?

[kdog]

Former residents? You must be talking to me.

Block walls are a "nice to have", not a necessity. Usually you only see them in subdivisions with homes on smaller lots. I can't really see them being a huge help with dust control as dust can blow right over them. Maybe they'll block some dust blowing close to ground. They are good for tumbleweed control however. Blowing tumbleweeds piling up in your yard are a pain in the butt. Even with a block wall, they'll often pile up as high as the fence and then start blowing right over. Block walls are good for critter control though.

Our home came with block walls, so I never had to price them. However, there are lots of wall builders in town and labor is super cheap. So I imagine you could get them built very inexpensively, but I don't have hard data to back that up.

The singular best thing you can do control dust, is cover every square foot of dirt in your yard with some kind of landscaping or hardscaping like crushed rock.

[retiredtxn]

Good point about the tumbleweeds. I'd forgotten about those. We looked at a house online for sale and the corners inside the block walls were piled up...haha.

My husband is looking forward to NO maintenance landscaping with the crushed rock

[rambrush]

Like Kdog advised go with a xeriscape landscape mode. Get something down to hold the soil that won't require a ton of maintenance and up keep.
Some people like to put plastic down first, but guess what the wind blows dirt and seeds in ON TOP of the plastic now and now you have a problem.
Chain link fence looks tacky in my opinion but we have it here for the dog run. Chain link allows the dog to have the best seat in town for watching wildlife where a block wall does not allow that, but does allow for better privacy.
Like I have posted elsewhere keep a eye on auction.com as well, check area codes 86401 and 86409

[retiredtxn]

Thanks, rambrush. You're always so helpful.

[jamies]

Block walls block snakes and most scorpions, if you also have a solid gate with a sweeper on the bottom. It's a permit hassle though