Special Outdoor Projects

The most common form of boat lift is the davit, a small crane that raises and lowers your boat into the water. To keep the davits from pulling themselves out of the ground when you lift your boat,...

Raising chickens is becoming more common in residential areas. Rearing chickens is one way to save money at the grocery, and to ensure that you are consuming fresh, organic eggs. It also gives you...

Fiberglass consists of a dry fibrous glass material that is saturated with fiberglass resin. The fiberglass resin is a very thick liquid that requires a hardener in order to become a solid. A...

Urban gardens are a green escape from steel and concrete grays. Too often, however, these gardens are surrounded by the very walls urbanites seek to escape. One way to conceal brick, mortar and...

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...

If you have the space for it, a one acre pond can provide recreation, food, and a nice atmosphere for a large plot of land. To build it you'll need the right tools for the job, and a good bit of...

The gentle sound of water bubbling and flowing adds serenity and peace to any outdoor area. Just imagine yourself sitting quietly in your back yard, listening to the water trickle and gurgle. If...

Ponds have both practical and aesthetic uses to many landowners. Whatever your motives, building a pond on your land may be easier than you think. Of course, it will require some heavy machinery,...

During bitter cold winter days and nights and especially during blizzards, winter birds need a helping hand. Putting out birdseed is always a good thing to do, but offering them shelter is often...

A pergola is a large version of an arbor. Growing heavy climbers like wisteria and roses is more practical on pergolas, which can carry heavier loads than lighter trellises. Choose a site for the...

Construction with salvageable materials involves building part or most of a house from items taken from demolished homes or other buildings. Items include doors, moldings, cabinetry, mirrors or...

A septic tank can breed thousand of roaches. A cracked septic tank can be the home base for roaches that infiltrate nearby buildings. Roaches can even crawl up into your home through your pipes,...

Growing heavy climbing vines like wisteria requires a structure that can carry the heavy weight of mature plants. Consider the amount of room in your yard or garden space and site and size your...

The really hard work is done. You have cemeted the final stone into the side wall bordering your garden or patio. Now it is time to embellish. Dressing up a stone wall can be as easy or as...

Clean, fresh water is a necessity for birds and can be hard for them to find. Although birds will use all types of baths, they tend to favor trickling or spraying water. In-ground bird baths are...

Rainwater collection is an economical and environmentally-friendly method of providing water for your plants. Seasonal and temporary greenhouses make use of rainwater collection without the winter...

Gar fish are carnivorous, often enormous, fish known to inhabit ponds in the southeastern United States. Though desirable by some as a showcase fish, these animals can ravage an ecosystem if they...

There are many reasons to move sand and gravel underwater, whether you mine it or other minerals in a quarry, you prospect for gold or you are trying to reform a river bank or the beach of a lake...

Cold frames are usually built in the spring to house and protect young plants as they begin their growth in the new season. These frames have a glass or clear plastic top that pops open on hot,...

An outdoor canopy is not only functional, keeping the elements out for an event, but can also make a decorating statement. While many people use canopies for weddings, their use is not limited to...

Polycarbonate sheeting can be cut with a basic pair of hand shears if the thickness of the sheet is less than 0.125 inches (1/8 of an inch). Thicker sheet material will have to be cut by means of...

Small ornamental ponds are popular features of gardens for reflection, growing water plants or keeping koi. Whether the pond is a free-form type with liner or a rigid prefabricated form, the edges...

Ducks are enjoyable animals to watch, especially when they quack and play around water. Using a vinyl or rubber pond liner to make a small pond for use by ducks is an easy-to-install and...

Farm ponds serve a variety of uses for recreation or farm function. A pond provides important landscaping, fishing, irrigation and waters livestock, besides the ecosystem it creates in the area....

Whether you have a garage or not, a shed is great for storing lawn equipment and any other tools you can't find a place for. You can purchase a shed ready to assemble, but you can also build one...

Solar ovens have been typically made using crafty methods, with materials ranging from pizza boxes and tin foil to tanning reflectors that sit on the ground. These can be effective for cooking,...

Using fire was the first way that our ancestors began to cook food, and even today barbecue is a very popular style of cooking. Building an outdoor barbecue can add a whole new dimension to your...

A skid loader can make a demanding outdoor project much easier. You can fit these helpful machines with a variety of tools to help demolish, excavate and move debris. Many large equipment rental...

Concrete tilt up construction is fast becoming the method of choice for commercial builders. Tilt up construction is a method of forming, and pouring walls in sections while they are flat on the...

Buying commercially cured meats can be a very expensive proposition these days. One alternative is building your own smoke house to dry and cure your own meats. An added advantage is that you can...

When you set a lamp post with anchor bolts into concrete, it is a two stage process. First you must set the anchor bolts and then pour the concrete around them, and then you will set your post...

The dry stream bed, the path of sand, pebbles and stones left after the water in a stream dries up, is both visually and architecturally interesting and useful in landscape design. Situating the...

For homeowners who enjoy tennis, a court outside their back door can mean the difference between a pleasant daily workout and a once- or twice-weekly visit to the courts. For people who are...

Landscaping projects that include dry creek beds have become popular for many reasons. For some, controlling water drainage in the yard is a necessity. For others, a dry creek bed is simply a...

To succeed at commercial composting, you will need first to understand how composting works. Rhonda Sherman of North Carolina State University notes in "Large-Scale Organic Materials Composting"...

On a hot summer day, the scent of Corsican Mint and Thyme waft up from the sun-warmed rock floor of my gazebo. There is nothing so satisfying as building something that is beautiful, practical and...

What would you do if you had no house payments and no utility bills ? In this lesson and video I will teach you how to have an off-grid home with no house payments and no utility bills. I will...

Installing a light post requires seven days to complete because you have to allow the concrete footer to set before the post can be mounted correctly on top of it. Note that the conduit is...

Giving your pets access to your garage without opening your garage up to intruders or to the full force of weather is easily accomplished through a properly installed pet door. While the most...

White Portland cement is essentially the same as grey cement except that it has a white color produced by iron and manganese metal oxides. It is primarily produced in the specifications of Type I...

Although rubber and plastic pond liners may occasionally develop a small hole that is easily repaired, a crack in a concrete pond liner is a much more difficult problem to remedy. Concrete pond...

Very little can trump the beauty and tranquility provided by a pond. Not only is a pond pleasing to the eye, it also can also serve to increase your property value. Unfortunately, the cost of...

Installing a wood pole on grade can be tricky for a few reasons. To get the pole perfectly straight, you can't use a carpenter's square because you are on a grade. Natural wood poles are usually...

Concrete landscaping blocks can help you shape the backyard of your dreams. Better yet, because they are easy to make, you can shape them in any way you desire so you don't have to compromise any...

Purple Martin houses are apartment style, with several birds nesting in one house. They are recognizable because they stand on high poles in well lit areas. Purple Martins can be very picky about...

Tethering your floating dock to your property can pose some problems. As environmental factors such as tides or increased rain make the water rise and fall, your dock will do the same. Horizontal...

If you own beachfront property and like many Americans on parts of the East Coast are plagued by an overpopulation of geese, getting rid of them might seem daunting. Luckily, there are several...

Designing and creating a backyard pond to attract waterfowl can be as expensive and intricate as you desire. Pond kits come with liners, pumps, and hoses that you need to install. These can be...

Ponds and streams can transform a back yard into a beautiful oasis. You don't need to go big or elaborate to get a great effect--lots of options are available to suit your style and taste. Follow...

Saunas are wonderful additions to your home or deck. If you are building your sauna yourself, you select the right type of wood and finish it properly so your sauna is safe. Heartwood from...