Special Outdoor Projects

The mere thought of bats brings up scary images of flying vampires, monsters, and rabies. The truth is, bats are beneficial in controlling mosquito and other insect populations and are welcome at...

Carpenter bees can be destructive insects that tunnel into wood so the queen can lay her eggs. Each year carpenter bees will return to the same holes they were born in to tunnel deeper. As a...

An outdoor room, such as a gazebo or a structure that is open but has a roof, can be built and placed in your backyard or on your patio. Building an outdoor room can be done over the course of a...

A smokehouse provides an alternative to the smokers commonly found on back decks or patios. Use a smokehouse to smoke all kinds of foods, including pork barbecue, fish and beef jerky. Sizes can...

Wood patio furniture is an optimal choice for decorating your outdoor space to accommodate friends and family. Because wood resists water damage if treated properly, it's a better choice than...

Willow whips are pliable willow branches that are traditionally used to weave baskets. Willow is fast-growing, and one year's growth is usually enough to cut for decorative projects. You can bend...

Most home irrigation installers will bury the control valves in the ground inside of a box for ease of access. Sometimes a valve is forgotten, or the installer just plainly forgets to use the...

Firing up the barbecue on a summer day is a common activity for many families. If you're in the market for a new gas barbecue, consider your needs and preferences for the cooking tool. It likely...

Muddy water in a farm pond is a problem for many people who own them. Water that is muddy isn't aesthetically pleasing and can hurt wildlife in the pond. When the water is muddy, particles of silt...

To get the most out of your wood stove or fireplace, proper storage of firewood is essential. Keeping a few tips in mind, you can ensure you have plenty of good-quality wood to last all season...

Cable or satellite TV don't work for everyone, and you may not have access to them in your area. If left out of that loop, you don't have to miss your programs. Pick up broadcast stations without...

Gazebos add a stylish landscape element to backyards or public areas. Traditional gazebos have a romantic air but are functional as well. They provide built-in seating options and protect the...

New businesses, parks and playgrounds need commercial trash cans as soon as they are up and running. Considerations in buying these waste receptacles include functionality, beauty, security,...

When an irrigation system stops working, finding the problem is usually easy. More often than not, either the controller has been cleared, a wire has become disconnected, or a control valve needs...

A water filler installed in a swimming pool is designed to keep the water level in the pool at a consistent level. The Pentair Automatic Water Filler is one type of water filler. This type of...

It is relatively simple to design a custom mailbox. A custom mailbox allows you to use your creative flair and to express yourself. It can also increase the aesthetics of your home by blending...

Plantation shutters are an interior style shutter designed with larger panels in order to cover more surface area than other types of shutters. When you look into buying plantation shutters, you...

Mockingbirds seem to be either loved or hated: loved for their beautiful music or hated because they are extremely territorial. Their aggressive nature means mockingbirds can ruin any plans you...

Since most irrigation systems are set up to run when the sun is down, to save water and be more effective, it is necessary to manually turn on the system during the day to make sure everything is...

A cable trellis has an airy look but can be a useful accessory in the home landscape. In places where existing masonry walls are unsightly, they can be used to provide masking foliage. Use...

When an irrigation system has a group of heads (a zone) that will not come on, the most common cause is a bad solenoid on the control valve. While there is no way to repair the actual solenoid, it...

With more care and thought being put into landscaping recently, outdoor lighting has become popular. From solar lights to hard-wired spot lights, people are putting time and money into showing off...

A metal corn crib is a round, wire structure used to hold ears of feed corn. Unlike a silo, which has solid sides, the corn crib is made of woven metal mesh to allow air to flow through the cobs....

Both old and new constructions install French drains to help prevent water from leaking into the crawlspace under a home. French drains are simply long plastic tubing with holes poked throughout...

The winter has passed and the time has come to clean out your home's window boxes. The boxes are full of dead leaves, old potting soil and insects. With a few supplies and less than an hour, you...

When installing any irrigation system that does not have a water supply of its own, it is required that there be some type of back flow prevention. This can be accomplished in many ways, and can...

There's no reason why a backyard pond can't be updated as often as you update your flower or vegetable gardens. Today's pond-friendly fish, garden accessories and easy-care pond plants give you...

After you've made all the tough decisions about what type of pond you want, what type of plants and fish you'd like to get, and the proper liner to use, you're ready to get down to business....

You can bring a bright flower, vegetable or herb garden to your window by building a simple window planter. Design the planter, calculate the materials needed, cut up the wood, predrill the holes,...

Just as there is etiquette on how to fold, salute, raise, and lower the flag, there is etiquette on proper lighting for flagpoles. Flags displayed at night should be properly lit. Fortunately, a...

Some birds cause considerable damage to properties, persons and themselves in a man-made environment. Starlings, crows and feral pigeons attack crops, raid garbage cans and defecate on people and...

Outdoor lighting has become very popular in the last few years. With the ever-increasing numbers of low-voltage lights, solar lights, and other outdoor lights, more and more people are lighting up...

When trying to figure out the reason the irrigation system will not come on, or just one section does not work, the best place to start is the controller programming. If the programming is right,...

If you have spent a lot of money installing a beautiful ceramic water fountain in your garden, it's natural that you would want to protect your investment. The freeze-thaw cycle of winter can do...

Composting is an essential part of the cyclical nature of gardening. Turning your organic remains into a nutrient rich substance for putting back into the earth benefits the plants and helps...

Brick steps leading up to a front door are a popular choice over wood steps because brick stands up to weather for a longer period of time. Most front door steps include railings to support...

In many rural areas, people own homes, camps, and various getaways that are far removed from town and city traffic. Some of these properties are so far off the beaten path that the local...

Aesthetic and personal reasons may be behind the desire to design and construct one's own mailbox. The guidelines presented by the United States Postal Service are fairly general. Attention to...

The sound of a gently burbling waterfall is enchanting and can quickly sooth any harried homeowner, especially when that waterfall is a located just a step or two from your deck or patio. Making...

Waterfalls are soothing and beautiful additions to any landscape. Building a waterfall on level ground presents quite a challenge, however, because you'll need to create your own incline. Instead...

To receive mail from the United States Post Office at your home or business, you must have a mail receptacle. There are regulations that govern the placement of your mailbox. This is for your...

HOW TO CREATE A QUICK GROUND COVER FOR FEEDING BIRDS. DO YOU LOVE BIRDS, AND ENJOY HAVING THEM NEARBY, SO THAT THEY CAN FEED PEACEFULLY?

Gardeners looking for a lower-maintenance alternative to regular applications of fertilizer to plant beds might enjoy making a fertilizer siphon. This apparatus employs the basic physics of...

If you've noticed that all the birds that were once flocking around your birdfeeder have suddenly disappeared, it's probably not because they've been disappointed with what you've been feeding...

The United States Post Office delivered over 203 billion pieces of mail in 2008. With over 32,741 Post Offices nationwide and 1.2 billion miles driven by letter carriers and professional truck...

One of the least expensive ways to supply water to an irrigation system is to pump water from a source of standing water such as a pond, lake or canal. When any of these applications is used, a...

Home water pumps are expensive and easily destroyed by cold weather. The easiest way to make sure a pump is not destroyed during a deep freeze is to winterize the pump. This should be done to all...

Most home sprinkler systems have control solenoids on the control valves for each zone. However, there are some systems that are large enough to have a control solenoid on each sprinkler head,...

Installing a convertible jet pump is an extremely challenging task to complete and should only be attempted with prior knowledge of the drilling industry and process. The equipment is very...

If you live in a region where the growing season is short, a greenhouse will help extend the season by surrounding your tender shoots with sunlight, warmth and moisture. For those who wish to defy...