Every house has its story. What's yours?

We have a 10 month old poodle that has decided she likes to explore more than we would like her to explore and we have now had to build a fence with a gate to keep her in the backyard. Actually, we have been wanting to do something like this since we moved into the house, but hadn't gotten around to it until now. As luck would have it, I had just enough leftover pressure-treated lumber from my backyard deck project to cover the materials I would need for this project. I also had enough screws, cement, nails, oil, paint and hinges along with nearly enough brackets for the entire gate and fence. I had to buy 2 metal brackets, so the entire new cost for this project came out to be a tad over 2 dollars. Not bad, me thinks!    » read more »

Now that our children have grown-up some (8 and 11) and we're certainly not expecting any grandchildren in the near future, the sandbox I built so lovingly built 8 years ago had become a clunky eyesore in our backyard. We didn't want to drag it away and leave a square patch of soil in the yard and I didn't have anywhere to store for the next +15 years; as I cannot let go of things I have over-engineered.

Luckily, the wife came up with a brilliant idea of planting a little olive tree in the center and surrounding it with a few Mediterranean-type plants and flowers like lavender.    » read more »

My latest creation/addition to the backyard is a 2 bin compost to replace the now rotten one made decades ago and since taken over by nettles, thistles and other aggressive weeds. I went with a 2 bin system to allow for periodic rotation of the vegetative matter in addition to the weekly stirring.

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I hadn't really thought of this, but I always have some of these types of products laying around. Figured I would share this:

Summer Party Prep? Break out the Car Wax    » read more »

Well I had a long weekend to work on the deck and since I had to miss a fine party thrown by my bestest buddy in the whole wide world I forced myself to make the best of my time stuck at home....aww, poor Jimm!

Anyway, I continued with placing the floor which was rather uneventful, but still time consuming. Before I completed the flooring I had to grab my trusty sledge and knock down the old brick fireplace since I didn't want it to topple onto my precious new deck. After the fireplace destruction was completed I finished off the remaining few board and placed the last frame piece. 

Now I was able to begin working on the railings along the deck.    » read more »