Special Outdoor Projects

Update the look of your outdoor space using a sapling trellis. Look around your outdoor landscape for young branches to reuse for your own design. Situate the trellis structure within your...

A swing set can turn your backyard into a playground for your kids and their friends. Properly anchoring the legs is important to ensure safety. If not anchored, the legs can lift off the ground...

To make a pond in rocky ground using a flexible liner, it is important to create a buffer zone between the rubber pond liner and the ground surface. Otherwise the sharp edges of rocks and stones ...

If you've seen rhubarb growing in a garden, you've noticed the plant's attractive, large leaves. These same leaves can be picked and put to use as a mold for a garden fountain or birdbath. You can...

A water feature is a lovely addition to any yard, offering soothing sights and sounds to accompany relaxation in a chaise or hammock. Fortunately, you don't need a huge yard to enjoy a water...

Wiring a sprinkler pump can be a confusing process, and it can get much more confusing when the pump is a 240/220 volt pump. This type of pump requires double the voltage of a regular house...

Garden arches may border the entry to a garden path or provide a focal point in your back yard. Flowering vines and other foliage can embrace and disguise the building material in your garden arch...

A ceramic birdbath makes a beautiful addition to your yard. You can make it the focal point of one of your favorite window views. When it attracts birds, it will give you something even more...

Perhaps nothing makes a bolder statement to join two levels in your garden than a meandering, ancient-looking rock staircase. The look of steps hewn into the earth is appealing in an almost...

Pond waterfalls can add an attractive element to an existing water garden, but they require filtration to keep them running smoothly. Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on a pre-fabricated...

If you've built a storage shed, one of the key elements in protecting it is making sure it has a solid and weathertight roof. Roofing your shed properly will make the difference between a dry,...

Framing a building with wood or steel is no easy task, and usually takes a team of talented and skilled laborers to get the job done with precision and quality. Whether fastening a steel door...

It's a nice feeling building something from recycled materials. And in fact compared to store bought clay and cast iron Chimney-a' s, An all steel one will out last the others many times over.

If you want a nautical theme for your driveway entrance or yard, fasten some pilings together and add items like a seagull, solar light, or other coastal decor. Here's how to build them.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

Building an outdoor fire pit on a patio transforms the place from a sunny, summer oasis into a space that can be utilized on cool evenings and in cooler seasons. To install a fire pit, the patio...

Groundwater filters through soil and rocks to pool in underground rock basins, also known as aquifers. Pesticides, fertilizers, and other contaminants also filter down into aquifers. Sometimes...

A 12-ton jack is a powerful device able to lift up to 24,000 lbs. It is commonly used to lift up vehicles, stages and even the supports under your house. It works much like other smaller jacks and...

Building a dog house is a great way to provide security and warmth for your pet. If the dog house is going to be a visible fixture in your yard, it is important for it to look good too. Adding...

The bucket capacity required for a job depends on the hourly production requirement, the density of the material, how full the bucket can be loaded for a particular type of material, called the...

One of the most important decisions, when you set out to raise chickens, is how you'll house them. A well-designed coop is predator-proof, has adequate ventilation (without drafts), is easy to...

Chicken manure is in the limelight these days as poultry companies and environmental groups look to offset the impact of vast amounts of chicken waste on local ecosystems. One solution to dispose...

A curtain waterfall is the perfect solution for a small backyard water feature. It can be tall and narrow, low and long or any size in between. Make the waterfall curtain from PVC pipe or copper...

If you are like many homeowners, you probably feel comfortable performing some basic home maintenance tasks. Finding holes in your concrete driveway however, may cause you to pause on how to go...

Backyard ponds can be built either above or below ground. When digging into the earth is not desired, an aboveground rock pond is the best alternative. When you make a rock pond above ground,...

Greenhouses are essential to growing plants in their natural conditions during harsh winters, or for simulating a warmer climate for more tropical plants. PVC pipes and plastic sheeting are the...

There's nothing that compares to the wood-fired flavor of hearth-baked breads, but that unique taste is nearly impossible for the home cook to recreate without an outdoor bread oven. Luckily,...

A lean-to greenhouse is best described as a half greenhouse. It is built against another structure and one wall of that structure serves as a wall of the greenhouse. A lean-to greenhouse is very...

Rubble stone is the by-product of either natural geological occurrences or work in a quarry. While it is usually used as fill for mortared walls, it may also be used on its own to create...

Spinning copper garden sprinklers add a touch of whimsy to your garden or your backyard. You can make your own spinning sprinkler with a few supplies from the local hardware store. The most...

A solar garden fountain beautifies the landscape with no energy cost. Building your own provides the satisfaction of a do-it-yourself project. Transform a sunny spot in the yard into an oasis of...

A great way to prevent a clutter of starter pots in the house during early spring is to build a cold frame outside to start your vegetables in. A cold frame will give your seedlings access to more...

An outdoor clay oven is a brick box with an arched top open in the front. The entire box is covered with clay adobe, a straw and cob mortar mixture, or stone and mortar. To use an outdoor clay...

An outdoor clay oven is a brick box with an arched top open in the front. The entire box is covered with clay adobe, a straw and cob mortar mixture, or stone and mortar. To use an outdoor clay...

Measuring tape Calculator Pole and string Level

Whether you plan to build a customized swingset from scratch, put together a pre-configured kit or pay for professional installation, an important first step is proper site preparation. Choosing...

An A-frame swingset is a simple piece of playground equipment that can keep your children entertained for hours. The process of building a wooden swingset may seem complicated but if you take it...

Exterior lighting is used in yards and other exterior areas around a home. It may consist of a variety of fixtures used to improve security, provide light for outdoor living or simply highlight...

Providing a firm, flat foundation for a swing set can go a long way toward ensuring that children (and grown-ups) can enjoy a safe, stable place to play. It isn't necessary to place your swing set...

Because tree root systems can be as extensive as their branches, a substantial amount of material remains underground after a tree is cut down. Even stumps cut very short can be a hassle to remove...

Standing water can be a big problem in yards. Compacted clay soil is usually the culprit. As more water collects on top, the problem actually compounds itself by compacting the soil further. A...