Decks & Patios

How to Strategically Light a Deck or Patio

By Julie Pitts

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Trying to create the right ambiance for your next outdoor dinner party? If you want to create a warm light throughout the deck or patio to ensure your guests have a memorable evening, here are a few tips through which to do it... more »

How to String Lights on a Porch

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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If your porch isn't wired for lighting, you probably don't want to use it after dark. Unfortunately, installing lighting on a porch usually requires hiring an electrician, which can be expensive. One way to brighten up your porch after dark ... more »

How to Surround a Native Tree With a Deck

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Trees are beautiful and useful elements to any landscaping design. Removing a tree to make room for your deck project is not only unnecessary, but may cause more trouble for your yard in the future. Instead of removing the tree, include these ... more »

How to Throw a Deck-Building Party

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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You've got a great new place and all you need is new deck to finish off the back yard. Instead of doing all the work yourself, throw a deck-building party and invite your friends over to help you complete the job. You can work together and ... more »

How to Tighten Loose Decking

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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When a board or two on your deck gives a little bounce or creak every time you step on it--and especially when you find you're always stepping over a board to avoid this--it's time to batten it down. Over time, decking nails may lose some of ... more »

How to Tune a Wind Chime

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Making a wind chime is something anyone can do by cutting metal tubes to various lengths to achieve a variety of musical tones. You can tune the wind chime by slightly shortening the length of the tubes until you hear the desired musical tone ... more »

How to Use a Flame Weeder

By Willi Galloway

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Weeds have the habit of popping up in the most obnoxious places, including the cracks of sidewalks, gravel pathways, and the spaces between bricks on patios. Instead of reaching for a toxic herbicide, consider fighting weeds with fire! Flame ... more »

How to Use Feng Shui to Organize Your Covered Patio or Back Porch

By John Gossett

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The patio or porch usually represents the personal back entrance to your home. This is in many ways an intimate access into your home and family life, which generally means only those who are close to you are welcome here. But it does not mean ... more »

How to Use Fiber Form Tubes for Concrete

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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You can use fiber form tubes, or tubular forms, as they are also called, to form concrete into piers or support columns for your backyard projects. In some areas, these tubes are a boon because the soil is too sandy or too granular to provide ... more »

How to Weatherproof a Deck

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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You put a lot of effort into that beautiful new deck, so the last thing you want is to see it become a victim of the natural processes of the weather and environment. To prevent that from happening, weatherproof your deck before breaking out the ... more »

How to Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights - Pt 1

By MoonlightDecks

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How To Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights and Post Caps - Part 1 - Check to make sure the cap fits properly over the post. If not, you might need to cut off the top portion to give you a nice, smooth surface to mount the lights to... more »

How to Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights - Pt 2 The Auger Bit

By MoonlightDecks

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How To Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights and Post Caps - Part 2 - Using a 15" long by 1" wide Auger bit, drill down just off center through the top of the post until the hole is deep enough that it reaches a point just below the handrail... more »

How to Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights - Pt 3 The Forstner Bit

By MoonlightDecks

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How To Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights and Post Caps - Part 3 - Using a 1 3/4" Forstner Bit drill down over your auger bit hole. Drill down about 2 inches. This hole is to make room for your wire connections to be tucked in under the light ... more »

How to Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights - Pt 4 Drilling Under the Rail

By MoonlightDecks

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How To Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights and Post Caps - Part 4 - Use a 1/2" drill bit to drill up at an angle from underneath the handrail into your auger bit hole. This allows you to feed wire up into the hole... more »

How to Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights - Pt 5 Running the Wire

By MoonlightDecks

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How To Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights and Post Caps - Part 5 - Run your 16-2 wires from post to post underneath the handrail. Staple the wire up every 6" or so making sure not to staple through the wire... more »

How to Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights - Pt 6 The Transformer

By MoonlightDecks

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How To Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights and Post Caps - Part 6 The Transformer - Attach one side of your 12-2 or 16-2 low voltage wire to one side of Transformer and the same with the other side. If you are using a Malibu Transformer one side goes ... more »

How to Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights - Pt 7 Wiring the Sockets

By MoonlightDecks

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How To Wire Low Voltage Deck Lights and Post Caps - Part 7 - Connecting the socket to the wires. Split and strip the low voltage wire. Usually there will be 2 different runs of wire. Attach one side of each run to one side of the socket. Use ... more »

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