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Fountains and Fountain Kits and Fountain Basin Supplies. Building Paths with the WalkMaker® How to Build A Water Garden or Fish Pond. How to Clean Up a Nasty Water Garden - and Keep it That Way! In my previous post I dove into the myth about water gardens not needing filters. Many people subscribe to the theory that mother nature will take care of their backyard ornamental manmade water garden or koi pond or goldfish pond but I have proven in my last post that these types of ponds are nowhere near being natural bodies of water. I think many ponders now are convinced that a koi pond or goldfish pond requires a filter because extra biological filtration is needed to keep the water free of ammonia and nitrites and healthy for the pond fish. What very few people consider is that a water garden void of fish would be a lot cleaner and prettier with a filter system tough enough to filter out all the junk a water garden creates.Like I said earlier: There's nothing uglier than a dirty, neglected water garden.

I'll add to that. There's nothing smellier either! Nelson Water Gardens and Nursery | How to Install a Disappearing Fountain. A Disappearing Fountain is a great way to add the sound and movement of water to your garden! Water is pumped from a hidden reservoir buried in the ground, through the fountain piece and then seemingly disappears back into the ground.

With our NWG Pre-molded Reservoirs, installing a Disappearing Fountain is easier than ever! Disappearing Fountains can be created from nearly anything. Traditional choices are decorative pots, statues, fountains or waterfalls. We even created a Disappearing Fountain from a trash can just to prove our point.Pot or Piece Choices Granite, Basalt, Onyx, Travertine, Calcite, Petrified Wood, and other stone pieces will last virtually forever. Glazed Pots and Cast Stone Statuary come in numerous sizes and shapes, in a wide range of colors and have a 20+ year life expectancy. install reservoir backfill around reservoir install grating & netting connect tubing cover with rock topping Dig your hole about 11”-12″ deep and fill the bottom with 2″ of sand. Fire Fountain. How I build a Fire Fountain by Paul G Russell The first idea I had was to create modern fountain but didn't have room in the back yard.

The second idea was to create Zen like fountain that had a hidden fire pit. Went looking at other ideas on the web. Next step was to determine how much and what kind of materials. I wanted low cost easy to source. Basic materials Cinder blocks Bricks 2 mortar mixing basin (one for the fountain and one to mix mortar) Fire pit ring (example) Gas line supplies Stage 1 - lay out the foundation - here you can see I'm using 2x4 to make sure everything is square.

Brick foundation to make the base strong and to allow drainage of the pit. Here is the fountain water basin which uses one of the mortar mixing tubs. Fountain fire pit base foundation mortared in place. Flexible gas line and on/off valve is behind the fountain wall zone. Fountain wall foundation build up. The fire ring is supported by 4 half cinder blocks and one full block. Filling the fire pit lava rocks. Exterior Tile. DIY backyard fountain- complete with tutorial! | Hip House Girl. Posted by Hip House Girl under Yard[44] Comments We made this: Well okay, we didn’t throw that pot. I just mean that we made this pot into a fountain. It’s a little subtle and hard to tell from pictures, but the water bubbles up in the middle and runs down the sides. It makes quite a pleasant noise. I’ll show you how to make one too, if you want. Materials: Ceramic pot of your liking (base of pot must be smaller than the diameter of a 5-gallon bucket)5-gallon bucket (we used plastic but are now thinking a metal one would be better)Aluminum L-bracketsScreen material cut about 4-5 inches bigger than a 5-gallon bucket, and with a hole in the middleSubmersible pumpThe kind of hose that goes with a submersible pump (technical term).

Step one: find an ugly spot in your yard that needs some beautification, and where your pump could be plugged in. Done. Step two: Dig a hole for your 5-gallon bucket. Step three: Hacksaw your aluminum L-brackets so that they fit over the bucket. Like this: Frogs and Ponds - How to Share your Garden and Pond with Frogs. Please Note: never add captive frogs to your pond or release them to the wild. Non-native species can wreak havoc on local ecosystems, carry foreign diseases, and become invasive species.

Even native frogs could carry diseases that could cause death in local wild frogs. The spread of Chytrid fungus is a major factor in the amphibian extinction crisis, and the movement of frogs in the pet trade is a possible contributor to the spread of this devastating disease; be a responsible owner and never release your pets. Attracting Frogs to Your Garden - Build It and They Will Come Having frogs in the garden is definitely a worthy goal: frogs will help keep down insect populations as well as serenade you with their songs. However, the best way to share your garden with frogs is to simply build a frog-friendly pond.

Re-creating their natural habitat is the best way to attract frogs (toads are good too) and keep them from wandering off in search of more frog-friendly surroundings. Patience! I Built a Fire Pit and You Can Too | A long time ago (…like a year or so) I made this blog post about how I made a fire pit in the back yard for around $60. And it was a good post, and it was a good fire pit. But then at some point I deleted all our blog entries A lot of people pinned that entry to pinterest, so I’m re-posting a streamlined version of that post so those links won’t be broken anymore. Later this year I’m going to do a firepit update post and a fire pit revamp post. What you need: 8 Cement Blocks from Home Depot or Lowes (16″ x 8″ x 8″) $9.208 Flat Cement Cap Blocks (16″ x 8″ x 4″) $11.684 2ft x 2ft Flat Square Patio Stones or Pavers ($34) optional That’s $54.88 plus tax!

All you need to do now is find a nice flat spot to put down your 4 big flat pavers to form a 48″ x 48″ square for the base of your fire pit. Next you take your big cement blocks and simply arrange them in a square, centered on the big square pallet you just made. It’s that easy! See the holes I’m talking about? Notes: Translucent Concrete Stains. Concrete & Masonry Stains QUIKRETE® Translucent Concrete Stains (No. 7215-15) semi-transparent appearance highlights the natural variations in concrete and masonry surfaces. QUIKRETE® Translucent Concrete Stains can be used in multiple color combinations to acheive a unique multi-tone, layered appearance. Features & benefits include: Penetrating Stain does not peel Water based, Polymer-Bonded, UV Resistant formula Interior or exterior use Matte finish Low odor & Low VOC Ideal for garage floors, driveways, pool decks, sidewalks & patios Available in: 1 Gallon (3.8L) bottle 5 Gallon (18.9L) pails.

How a Girl Built a Gate | Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer. It’s true! I built our gate all my little bitty self. I’ve been asked several questions about my gate, so I thought I would share how I made it. My husband and I had just finished building the fence. (I give him credit for all the labor-intensive work there. My husband is very busy with work during the summer and I was growing a bit impatient. So…I built it myself! Here she is: Aint she perty?? Here is it from the other side: Do you love the window detail as much as I do?? I actually considered using a metal doormat as an insert, but I decided to go searching online and found this.

First I had to figure out how to work around the window. To start, I built my rectangular frame using three pieces of 2×4 and 1 piece of 2×6 for the bottom: Don’t worry about the diagonal pieces, yet. Your measurements my vary. Then while they were on flat, even ground, I screwed them together using 3″ Deckmate Star Drive Screws: I screwed them in diagonally from the top and the underside: Okay, so where were we?

Tap-light luminarias < Favorite DIY Garden Projects. How to build a backyard pergola. This simple square trellis turns a patch of ground into a handsome outdoor room Philip Harvey; design by Lankford Associates Click to Enlarge This 8-foot-square trellis provides an inviting place to relax and enhances the view of the garden from the house. These homeowners were handy enough to build it themselves, but you could have a contractor do it for you. From Sunset 's Patio Roofs & Gazebos book Materials Concrete, #4 rebar & form lumber for footings Gravel 6x6 posts, pressure-treated 2x8 beams 2x4 trellis stock 1x8 trim Galvanized nails & outdoor screws Sanding & finishing supplies Paint, stain, or wood preservative Directions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Next: Building and design notes. View All Photos < How to Build a Fountain. Build a Fire Pit. A great way to enjoy an evening is to relax by an open fire — and a firepit can make it even nicer. They are great for outdoor entertaining, and when the weather starts to cool off, you can still enjoy the outdoors. Preparing for a Firepit Patio firepits are available in kits or as separate components. Some are steel bowls or frames that you can move around the yard. Before you begin construction: Step 1 Check with any local ordinances or homeowners' association guidelines to see if firepits are permitted.

Step 2 Select a convenient and safe location for the firepit. Step 3 Place a small flag at the selected location, and check it periodically over a few days to determine the prevailing wind direction. Building the Firepit The following procedures are for installing a basic firepit ring of concrete blocks surrounding a steel firepit bowl with a cover. Firepits should be installed on concrete patios, pavers or bare dirt. Gather the materials and tools you'll need for this job. Step 4 Step 5. Our Simple DIY Home Solar Power System. Bringing some of the benefits of electrical power to our off-grid home has been a hit-or-miss affair. Over the years we’ve tried some very simple approaches to lighting and small battery recharging for our flashlights, such as hauling a 12 volt car battery to a small rural school about a half mile away every time it needed to be topped up.

This was time consuming and inefficient. But we didn’t want to lose the feel of our simple home by bringing in a large generator and the jugs of gas needed to run it, and the prospect of setting up a wind turbine or solar array seemed expensive and a technological eyesore in a natural setting. …developing Eartheasy.com using a dialup internet connection on a phone line strung through the woods was challenging… Today, with the help of a local expert on off grid home solar power and alternative energy systems, we have the best of both worlds. The cost of this complete solar system, in today’s pricing for the components, was less than $1000. 1. 2. 3. 4. How to Build an Arbor: Step-by-Step.