Adding Value to Your House With a DIY Pergola



Adding a pergola to your house is great both for the practical benefits and for the resale value it will add. However, if you have ever had a contractor in to give you a quote for this sort of work, you know it doesn’t come cheap. doing it as a DIY construction can be a great project if you follow a plan.

A pergola looks great in any yard or garden. although it doesn’t protect, it defines an outdoor space and is used by many landscape gardeners. Over a patio, for example, it will look absolutely fantastic. It is something that can be easily adapted to the dimensions off your garden as well.

To build your DIY pergola, you will need a fairly basic range of tools. A circular saw will save you time cutting through the support pillars, but isn’t actually a necessity. Remember that the pergola isn’t any better than its foundations, so depending on where you are going to put it and how long you want it to last, you probably want to set it in concrete. for mine, I simply dug four holes as indicated on the plans to a depth of 24 inches and set the four corners in cement. I used bracing to hold them in place until the cement was solid (generally 24 hours or so).

I used a simple system of cross-beams drilled and held in place with brackets during the build. Again, you could get more decorative with this, but to my mind a simple pattern is best. The plans I used recommended a cross-beam every 12 inches (30cm), which looks great when finished and is simple to do.

Once you are done, it is important to protect the wood from the weather. I considered painting the whole structure white, but eventually settled on varnish. I built a picnic table as well which has the same colour and one under the other they go very well together.

By: Daffyd Thompson

About the Author:
Building a DIY pergola is actually one of the more straightforward construction jobs you can take on.. Getting hold of a decent set of plans before you start is the only way to go in my experience. For even more easy DIY projects, head on over to http://www.woodworkmaster.info.



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April 29, 2011 | Normal | Tags: , , | No Comments »

Chicken Coops For Sale – How to Choose the Right Chicken House

George Fowler asked:




If you are looking at chicken coops for sale one of the first things you will realize is how many different kinds are available. But which one you actually choose to install in your garden is dependent on how much space you have in it and the number of chickens you want to keep.

It is important that the chicken coop you select for your garden is one that will ensure that it provides the hens with ample protection both from predators and the weather. The happier and healthier your chickens are the more likely they are to lay good quality eggs for you. Below we offer some pointers to help you with selecting the right chicken coop for sale for you.

Point 1 – If space is limited for your coop then rather than going for a traditional ground based one opt for those that are above ground. As well as meaning you won’t need to have much space to place it on, it provides better protection for your chickens against predators such as rats.

Point 2 – You must ensure that the coop allows for ample amounts of fresh air to circulate through the coop during the day and at night. This will ensure that the levels of ammonia and moisture in it don’t become too great otherwise it will have a serious effect on the health of your chickens. As well as causing damage to your chickens health excess moisture and ammonia can lead to the chickens laying poor quality eggs. Also as the majority of chicken coops for sale are made from timber they may rot easily if the ammonia and moisture builds up within it.

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August 3, 2010 | Normal | Tags: , , | No Comments »

How to Build a Shed for the Right Purposes

James Walston asked:




There are a huge number of reasons why you might need a shed for your property. It might be that you need a place to store equipment or that you need a place where you can work on storage projects. When you try to learn how to build a shed properly, here are a few things to consider that will help you make the right decision for materials and location.

What Will You Use the Shed For?

The first question you should always ask is what the shed will be used for. It might be something as simple as storing lawn equipment or something as complex as building various things. However, the interior and the materials used will be greatly affected by what you store. Will you need a high ceiling to hang things or windows to ventilate the room? Make sure you ask these questions while you learn how to build a shed.

What Will You Store in the Shed?

The next question is what you will put in the shed. If you have equipment or tools, you’ll need to be sure that you have a wide array of different slots and spaces to store things without making a mess. Also, make sure to have a way to drain away old fluids and whatnot. Additionally, you’ll want to be sure that you create an ongoing method by which to keep things clean and organized.

Do You Need Security?

If you are going to store anything of value in your storage shed, make sure that when you learn how to build a shed, you also learn how to instigate things like locks and a possible security system – flood lamps and locking windows among other things. It is easy to forget that your shed can be a target for thieves, so always plan accordingly.

What Design is Best for Your Need?

Finally, make sure that you ask what your specific needs are. What size can your property accommodate? How will the weather affect your situation? Where are you going to put the shed? Ask all these questions ahead of time and when you start putting your shed together, you’ll be able to know exactly how it will go together well.

A good set of shed plans to help you learn how to build a shed can help all these things come together properly so that you have no problems as well. Just plan well and you’ll be set when you put it all in motion.

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August 2, 2010 | Normal | Tags: , , | No Comments »

Storage Shed Plans With Porch – Build a Garden Storage Shed

Anthony Woods asked:




Without a doubt a really useful addition to your garden is a garden storage shed and by adding a porch you can really make an attractive feature of it. My wife and I recently moved into a new house that had a medium sized garden. I wanted a shed to store my gardening equipment and decided to build my own from a plan.

While deciding on the design my wife, a keen amateur gardener, said that she would also like it to double as a potting shed and whilst doing a search online we came across a good set of plans that included a porch.

Before building or buying anything it is important to check that your shed conforms to local building codes and if applicable you may need to consult with the tenants association. By having a good set of plans you can easily demonstrate to these interested parties what it is that you wish to achieve.

Your set of plans will enable you to order everything needed in one shopping trip instead of buying piecemeal. In my case I opted to have all my timber cut to size at the timber yard which in effect gave me a ready to go shed building kit.

Before putting everything together I had to decide on the foundation. As the shed was to be used for storage I decided on a hardcore base which was spread on a heavy polythene mat to stop rising damp. I laid five weather treated beams on top of the polythene and spread the hardcore between them leaving the beams 3 inches above ground level to support the shed and allow it to ‘breathe’.

With a little help from a good neighbour we completed the job in just one weekend ready for the wife to paint during the week.

By adding a porch to our storage shed we have a potting shed workshop that is not an eyesore in the garden but actually an asset to our property. We are extremely pleased with the result, I have room to store the lawnmower, garden tools etc and I have fitted a workbench for the wife to do her magic with her flowers. On hot days she likes to work outside in the shade of the porch which now boasts two DIY rustic chairs – and I got those from the plans too!

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July 30, 2010 | Normal | Tags: , , | No Comments »

Storage Shed Plans – What Do You Need?

Charles Hanson asked:




You are searching for storage shed plans. If you answer some questions first, it will be much easier to find the right plans to fit your needs. And you will find there are literally dozens of plans to search through.

You wouldn’t be searching for plans, if something had not happened recently that made you feel that this was a very worthwhile project to undertake at this time.

What happened? Did you purchase some additional equipment and have no place to put it in out of the weather? Maybe, you are going to purchase something that needs its own storage area.

Maybe the last time you were putting away garden or yard items, it was just too much hassle. And you discovered the answer to this problem was more storage space.

No matter the reason for shopping for storage shed plans, you need to determine what you need.

1. What is to be stored in this shed? Is it going to be used for just one thing? Or will it be used for several different purposes?

Will this space be used by one person? Or will it be used by other members of the family? If so, they may want to help you with your planning.

2. What about the size of the shed? How much space do you require now and in the future to store the items that you plan to put in it?

3. Where will it be located? How much space is available where you want to build it? That could make a difference in the size of shed you build.

4. What type or style of building do you require? You will probably want it to blend in with the house, garage and other buildings already on your property.

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July 16, 2010 | Normal | Tags: , , | No Comments »
 
 
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