Moving earth
All but very major regrading can be accomplished with a pick, shovel, rake, wheelbarrow, and other simple hand tools. To make the job easier, consider renting equipment such as a power tiller to break up the soil or a front-end-loading garden tractor to push it around. If you decide to do the job the old-fashioned way and give your body a modern-day workout , plan short sessions of digging and hauling. Spread them out over several weekends, if need be. Dig when soil is slightly moist, neither...
Choosing A Fence Or Screen Style
Far left Vertical board fences and screens are popular and easy to construct. Nail all boards to one side, as we did on pages 84 8 or alternate them as shown here. Near left Basket-weave panels come ready-made from home centers and lumberyards. Many also sell vertically grooved posts that the panels jit into. Far left Grooved posts also 'fork well with a horizontal board design. As an alternative. you can Jace-nail boards to the posts and to 2x4 rails top and bottom. Near left Louver-style...
Creating Water Gardens
Plant your water garden after the weather warms in spring. You can plant in bottom mud, but containers allow flexibility in depth and position and make cleaning easier. Use a mix of garden loam and aquatic plant fertilizer. Do not use swamp muck, compost, peat moss, or dry manure. First, add submerged oxygenating plants water milfoil, waterweed, underwater grasses. Fill several 5-inch pots or shallow containers with soil, topping off the uppermost inch with sand. Root several oxygenators per...
Other materials
Brick isn't the only topping you can lay over a sand base. Stone comes in three main types rubble round rocks , flagstone irregular-size flat pieces , and ashlar dimension-cut stone sliced into uniform pieces . The box on page 157 depicts several other possibilities for a sandbase patio. Installation procedures are the same, except that in some cases you may want to fill spaces between masonry units with mortar, as explained on page 157. J To save cutting bricks, lay out a fete in the Ji...
Building Overhead Sunshades
The best time to think about an overhead sun structure is while planning a new patio or deck. Then you can provide footings for its posts, or simply extend a deck's posts 8 feet or so to carry the load. If you need to shade an existing patio or deck, check out the drawings at lower left for post basics, then assemble the framing as shown opposite and on pages 102-103. Because no one will be walking around up there and because canopy materials are relatively lightweight, framing for a sunshade...
Building Overhead Sunshades 1
Construct beams by sandwiching a strip of Set the beam into the post caps. Check it l 2-inch plywood between two 2x12s. First, with a level and shim if necessary. Check for Cut rafters to length and scallop their ail through framing dips into the rafters. ends with a jigsaw, ij desired. Install the Framing clips will be structurally adequate Construct beams by sandwiching a strip of Set the beam into the post caps. Check it l 2-inch plywood between two 2x12s. First, with a level and shim if...
Controlling Insects
ey to controlling the people-stinging pests and plant-eating bugs that can waste a landscape if their numbers grow too large is to accept that insects are a part of nature. If you appreciate and protect the good ones while working to outwit the undesirable ones, you'll preserve both peace of mind and an ecological balance. Many insects are great garden friends. Ladybugs and lacewings gobble up aphids and mealybugs. Ground, or carabid, beetles hide under stones and eat caterpillars and slugs....
Making the grade
After you've determined the slope, grading proceeds in three phases. First you strip away the sod, if any, shovel up topsoil, and set the two aside for reuse. Next, you establish the rough grade by removing or adding subsoil. Finally, you replace the topsoil, smooth it, then lay sod or plant. Skim sod by slicing into it with a pointed spade held almost parallel to the ground. Separate sod from the soil underneath with short, jabbing strokes, rolling it up as you go. If you have lots of sod to...
Installing Pumps Fountains And Waterfalls
Want a pond that stirs silently beneath the surface, with scarcely a ripple above A dramatic fountain that arcs a jet of water above your pool or even from a remote location A waterfall that burbles down a steep slope into a lily-speckled catch basin below With a submersible recirculating pump, you can put your pool's water into motion in a variety of ways. A submersible pump pulls in water through a screen that snags leaves and debris, and expels a steady stream through its outlet. To gently...
Plant pointers
Keep the following in mind when deciding how best to use plants near your fence or screen. Your yard will seem larger if you group flowers and shrubs as near to the structure as practical, leaving an open central area. Place the tallest plants in back and graduate down to the shortest in front see chart at right . Shrubs and trees can overpower a fence. Select open and narrow varieties for minimum pruning, and plant them far enough from a fence for uncramped development. Vines are especially...
Gates
When designing your fence, carefully plan the location and style of gates see page 85 . Points of access, of course whether from front yard to backyard or from your yard to a neighbor's will determine location. The style of gate you choose depends on how much attention you want it to draw. To extend an invitation to passersby, design your gate to contrast with the fencing. Change the spacing or size of the boards, make the gate taller, add color, or cap it with an arch. If privacy is paramount,...
Building Latticework Screens
Designs for wooden privacy screens can be as varied as those for wooden fences. A screen, after all, is really just a section of fence. But for a particularly striking effect, consider lacy latticework screens, which provide privacy without blocking balmy breezes. Lattice screens also offer sound support for climbing plants, which increases privacy even more. Lattice is inexpensive and demands no special expertise to build you can install it with only simple hand tools and an electric drill...
Fence materials
When you order lumber, specify construction-heart redwood or cedar or ground-contact, pressure-treated wood for all posts and bottom rails upper rails and fencing can be less expensive grades of rot-resistant lumber. To minimize rust, buy hot-dip galvanized nails and fittings. If you want to paint or stain your fence, apply the finish to posts, rails, and fencing before you nail up the fencing. Besides saving time, you'll get better coverage. 7 Lay out the site, dig holes, and set posts. JL...
Exposing aggregate
To achieve the rustic, skidproof texture of an exposed-aggregate walk, use one of two methods. You can either pour concrete with the aggregate mixed in it, then, after the concrete begins to set, scrub some of it away. This is the method we used at right. Or, you can seed aggregate on top of a just-poured slab, screed the stone into the concrete, and then scrub. Masonry dealers offer a variety of aggregates that vary by region. We used pea gravel uniform in size, but you might prefer the look...
Choosing Plants To Provide Filtered Shade
Type Deciduous Height 25-90 feet Zones 2-10 Soil Moist Comments Birches are widely planted, often in clumps, for their interesting gray, white, black, or reddish brown bark that splits and hangs like wrapping paper. The weeping birch is valued for its shape. All have early catkin blooms that herald spring and leaves that turn yellow in autumn. All are short-lived and subject to many pests. River birch needs more moisture but resists problems better. 'Heritage' is an improved cultivar. Type...
Laying out
Whatever materials you choose, you first must decide how many steps you will need, how deep each horizontal tread will be, and how high to make each vertical riser. Here's a useful rule The tread dimension plus the riser dimension should equal about 17 inches. Try to make your riser dimension no more than 7 inches and no less than 4 inches. No matter how you juggle the figures, just be sure all treads and risers will be exactly the same depth and height Changes break a person's stride and cause...
Building forms
Patio slabs typically measure 4 inches thick, so construct forms with smooth, straight 2x4s, setting their tops about an inch above lawn level. Wet concrete exerts tremendous pressure, so brace forms well. If you're in doubt about whether your forms are rigid enough, drive a few extra stakes and install added braces. For proper drainage, slope your patio 1 4 inch per foot away from the house. If you want to edge your patio with wood, construct permanent forms with redwood, cedar, or...
Y
ou've designed your landscape you've built and planted it. Now it's time to take care of your creation. Fortunately, with careful planning, you can shape a landscape that matches your ability and desire to maintain it. For the most part, you can schedule and pace the work to fit your life-style. And, if nothing else, this outdoor work gives you a great excuse for skipping other work that isn't nearly as pleasant Enjoy indoor gardening and rest. Read nursery catalogs. Order seeds and plants....
Stairs and railings
Most codes also mandate a step or steps for outdoor access from any deck more than 8 inches above grade. If the deck is more than 30 inches high, you also must provide railings at least 3 feet high, with no more than 9 inches between horizontal rails or vertical balusters. When you lay out a stairway, familiarize yourself with the rise and run information shown on page 179 and juggle figures until you come out with steps that are exactly equal in height one that's higher or lower than the...
Ramp basics
Safety and ease of use are the prime considerations for any ramp. Appearance, though, plays a part, too, especially for a ramp visible from the street. Regardless of the design you come up with, certain norms apply. Slope a wheelchair ramp at a rise of no more than 1 foot per 12 feet of run. This standard can make for some incredibly long ramps a total rise of 2 feet, for example, requires a total length of at least 24 feet. But a gentle grade is essential for a ramp to be useful to the people...
Wood Planks
Description Docklike strips of decking you can lay on a sand or gravel base or atop an existing masonry walk. Effect Warm, rustic, and an especially good choice if you want to extend an on-grade or raised deck out into your yard. Cost Less than brick, stone, or tile more than concrete or loose fill. Comments Use pressure-treated lumber or naturally rot-resistant redwood, cedar, or cypress. Keep out of contact with vegetation. Leave drainage spaces between boards. Construct as for on-grade deck...
Patio Plantings
Patios offer ideal conditions for plants. Typically, these areas are protected from winter winds and summer sun, and nearby structures often reflect springtime warmth and sunshine. Still, you'll want to choose what you grow near your patio carefully, because nowhere are plants more the focus of attention. Select only tidy, long-blooming plants that grow to size quickly, then stay in scale without constant pruning. Relegate plants that have a short season of interest, a season of excess...
Mowing strips
Edging materials are every bit as various as the pavings they border. Choose from concrete, brick, stone, tile, wood, and vinyl. Edging styles, however, fall into just two broad categories. A raised edging puts a lip at each side of a walk or path. A mowing strip installs flush with the walk so you can run one wheel of a mower along it. Make mowing strips 6 to 12 inches wide. Concrete, brick, tile, and other smooth-surface masonry materials are best for mowing strips. You can use timbers, but...
The nittygritty
Lawns and planting beds around patios should be an inch or more below the level of the paving to allow for digging and stirring in soil amendments without having soil wash onto the paving. Planting beds above the patio level need to be held back with some sort of retaining wall. Good drainage in either case is vital. Set plantings far enough from patios so that their growth won't encroach on the paved space. To avoid cracked concrete later on, select trees with small root systems. Spiff up your...
Building Gradelevel Decks
A grade-level deck, which stands on its own just a few inches above the ground, is considerably easier to build than its elevated cousin, the raised deck. The simple design of a grade-level deck spares you the intricacies of constructing the stairs, railings, and structural bracing required for even the most-basic raised deck. And with a freestanding, grade-level deck you needn't worry about securely attaching the structure to your house. You can situate a grade-level deck just about anywhere...