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Why Should You Install A Deck In Your Backyard?

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A big backyard can be like a blank canvas.  Unfortunately, though, you may not feel creative enough to fill that canvas!  If you’re looking for a great way to turn your backyard into a fun, stylish place to be, you need outdoor decking.


Wonderful for Backyard Barbecues

A deck can be the perfect centrepiece for your yard.  Once it’s installed, you can surround it with landscaping or even a garden, so that you can inject all of the various colours and textures that you want.  The area will look great, and it will be practical, too!  After all, everyone loves hanging out in the backyard for a barbecue, and outdoor decking gives you the perfect space to host all of your friends and family.  From it, you’ll be able to enjoy warm afternoons and great sunsets!

Best of all, outdoor decking is so versatile that you can fit it into any decor.  No matter what type of home you have, what type of yard you’ve got, or what type of budget you have to work with, a deck can match it.  Even if you’ve got a ton of hills or uneven patches in your yard, you can make outdoor decking work!

Think you can’t enjoy a deck because your yard isn’t big enough?  Think again!  Sure, you may not have a sprawling area to host giant parties, but you can definitely create a spot that injects a little bit of life into your plain ol’ backyard.  In fact, it could be just the thing you need to add some dimension and some much-needed extra space to your smaller home!

OK, so you want outdoor decking… But does that mean you have to spend a ton of money on a professional builder?

No way!

Outdoor decking is so versatile that you can build it yourself if you want.  If you’ve got some woodworking experience, building your own deck can be a great way to spend your free time.  All you need is a pencil and some paper to draw out some designs.  Once you measure your yard, you’ll be able to figure out how much wood you need to build the deck of your dreams.

What if you’re not that handy?

There are tons of timber decking specialists out there, who can give you the expertise you need, without charging you an arm and a leg.  They can help you figure out which type of wood is right for your deck — soft or hard — along with the perfect level of treatment you need to create a deck for the long haul.

Whether you decide to do the work yourself or call in an expert, you’ll be happy to know that the outdoor decking possibilities are endless.  As long as you plan ahead carefully, you can wind up with the perfect finished product.  In fact, an addition like this can add some serious value to your home — not to mention all of the “style points” you’ll get from it.

Bottom line — a deck can make your house feel like home again!

Sam Nathan is a freelance writer. His interests include sports, travel and health.

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Rhino Deck: Making Your Outdoor Space Come Alive

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The right landscaping can add a beautiful look and a lush, tranquil feel to your deck space. It can also provide valuable functions like shade and privacy. What’s more, outdoor gardens can provide herbs, fruits and vegetables.

Figuring out what landscaping will work best for your deck space can be a challenge. Rhino Deck offers the following ideas and advice for turning a bare bones outdoor structure into a garden oasis.

First, consider the function your landscaping will serve. Do you want to provide shade? Privacy? Are you looking to cover up gaps or spaces? Or do you just want to accent your space with colorful foliage and flowers?

If you’re looking to provide shade, building or remodeling your deck space around or near an existing tree with a large canopy is one option. Adding tall trees around an existing deck is another. You can also consider installing lattice panels in the sunniest spots, and training vines to climb to create a living wall. Rhino Deck offers durable, beautiful composite lattice panels ideal for just such a purpose.

Vine-covered lattice structures are also excellent for providing privacy. You can also create privacy by artfully placing potted plants in the deck’s interior to cover spaces between rails. For some extra fun and function, choose fruiting vines like tomatoes or peppers, or bushy herbs like lavender or rosemary to create your own vegetable or herb garden. For lower or platform decks, tall shrubs or a combination of trees and shrubs of varying heights can be planted around the perimeter to act as a natural screen.

If you’re simply looking to enhance your deck view with a beautiful garden space, the options are really only limited by your budget, your space and your imagination. Linear gardens work really well around decks, but a free-form garden with sprawling native plants or lush and dense tropical warm-weather plants can look just as lovely, and give you the feeling of being in a secluded natural setting.

Once you’ve decided what function you want your landscaping to serve, you must figure out what types of plants you’ll need to accomplish your goals. To do so, first study the sunlight and rainwater patterns of your deck space. Plants that need drier roots will need to be planted away from deck edges where water collects. Plants that require partial shade will thrive in your deck’s shadier spots, but wilt in full sun.

After you’ve determined what types of plants will be most successful in your space, you can begin choosing specific plants that meet your color, size and style preferences. Then you can map out where each plant will be placed. All that follows is to prep the area, plant your garden and watch your yard come to life.

If you need help designing or implementing a deck landscaping plan, contact a landscape architect or a local nursery for a consultation. For help building or remodeling a deck that perfectly complements and integrates with your landscaping, visit the Rhino Deck website. Rhino Deck offers the best composite decking materials. The company also provides a list of qualified builders and installers in your area.

Electricity Can Kill – Be Safe In Your Home And Garden

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Electricity is a wonderful thing and it can bring us heat and light, and even power our favorite home appliances. But it can also be dangerous when not respected or maintained properly. Even a badly wired plug can cause instant death if you are unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We should be vigilant in the family home, especially with young children. Here we talk about ways to make your house as safe as possible as far as electricity is concerned.

Child Friendly

It can be heartbreaking to read about an infant who was electrocuted when he stuck a fork into an electrical socket. Kids are very curious and this type of tragedy happens very often these days. Why take the risk, just install a plastic safety cover on all of your plug sockets. Do the same for your extension sockets because you never know when tiny hands might start to pry.

Overload

Try not to add too many plugs to your input sockets, they can cause a power balance and possibly even an electrical fire. Try to employ some extension leads or ask your local electrician to add some extra electric outlets. Test the surface temperature, if the plug feels warm, you should turn the switch off immediately.

Cord Condition

Check all of your appliance cords to see what type of condition they are in. even your hifi system can cause an electrical fire if the cords are frayed and electrical sparks escape. Any sign of serious wear and tear and you should replace them immediately.

Common Sense

It may seem attractive and tidy to run your extension leads under your carpets, but this is a very dangerous idea in practice. These cables were not designed to have heavy feet walking over them on a regular basis. If you are using too many extension leads, it is time you seriously added to your wall outlets.

Garden Power

One of the most common places for serious electrical accidents is your garden. The lawnmower is the biggest culprit, be extra careful when using one with an electrical cable. There have been many incidents that have resulted in the death of careless gardeners. Always be aware of the location of your electric cable when thrashing around with those sharp blades.

Electrician Checks

It is good practice to ask your local electrician to perform health check of your home every couple of years. You may think he will be touting for business, but he should be able to alert you to any potential electrical nightmares before they ruin your day, or even worse.

Fuse Box

If your lights or appliances stop working, before you do any investigative work, ensure that the power to your fuse box is removed. Many people have had fatal shocks when doing something as simple as changing a light bulb. If you are not comfortable carrying out one of these repairs, you should call on the services of someone who is familiar with electrical maintenance.

Today’s guest post is courtesy Radek Johnson, an electrician by profession. He understands that electricity is a blessing, but also advises people to be careful and not underestimate its devastating effect. He believes that certain good practices like switching off power cords when  not in use go a long way in ensuring safety.

Let Your Imagination Run Wild With 5 Cool Ways To Change Your Garden This Summer

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Don’t tell me you’ve not looked out at the garden recently and tried to come up with some amazing ways to make it better. It’s the same every year when you look out of the window and there is snow lying everywhere. You start to get a little depressed because you can’t go outside and your imagination starts to run wild. Have you ever done something about it before, or does next winter come around before you have the chance to do anything?

You should make this year different because you will feel great when the sun is out and you spend time outside. The last thing you want is to be sitting in a garden that you don’t think looks nice. It completely ruins the moment, so you shouldn’t let it. Think about everything you would like to do and run with your favorite idea before it’s too late. We can even look at some ideas together so you can get that imagination of yours running wild again.

Add some decking

Fiberon Tropics composite decking

You could choose a little corner of your garden and add some decking, or you could even have some running off the house. When it’s nice outside you could put out a table and chairs so the family can sit around and eat their meals while relaxing in the sun. You could always put the furniture on the grass, but when you have decking it looks a lot better. If you had a nice seat out there you could also sit and read books when you’re not at work.

Get rid of the crap

You might have some things inside your garden that you don’t want to be there anymore. If it’s something big like a hut you maybe haven’t got rid of it because it’s too much work. This year could be different and you could go outside and start knocking it down this weekend. Get rid of everything else in your garden that is making it look a mess. Even if you don’t replace anything it will still look a lot better when the crap is gone.

A kid’s playhouse

Old playhouse

If you have young children you might want to do something nice for them because they will be using the garden a lot more than you during the summer. You’ll have to think about the kinds of things they might like. You could put a playhouse in the corner and they will love it whether they are a boy or a girl. If you think back to when you were a child I bet it’s something you loved. You could even turn it into a tree house if your child is a little older.

Let there be light

Even though the sun sticks around longer in the evenings during summer it won’t be there all night. Eventually it will be gone and your garden won’t be suitable to spend any time in unless you add some lighting. When your garden is light up it looks beautiful and you can stay outside as late as you want. You have a huge number of options available to you and perhaps it’s best if you looked hard before you decided how you would light the place up.

Grow some vegetables

sun gold tomatoes

If you have enough time to spare you could take up a new hobby. It’s quite enjoyable growing your own vegetables and eating something you have grown yourself always tastes a little better. A nice little vegetable patch in the corner of the garden will look great and it could come in very handy. When you’re cooking dinner you can run outside and pick something straight out of the ground if it’s ready.

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The author of this article, Sharon Anderson works for Country Cubbies. Country Cubbies is Australia’s leading cubby housemanufacturer with a huge range of cubby houses and children’s play forts.

Garden Projects For You To Take On This Year

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It is a new year, so that means it is time for a new garden. Many homeowners will forget about their garden when it comes to redecorating, even though the garden is one of the key areas of any home. Do not waste another year putting off using your garden, instead plan ahead and turn your garden into a beautiful area that is perfect for you to relax in during the summer months.

To help you make a start with your garden transformation, I have listed some garden projects that you may want to take on in 2013.

Vegetable Plot

2013 is the year of turning green, and what is more perfect than creating your own vegetable plot? Not only can you save a fortune by growing your own vegetables, but you also know exactly where they have come from.

Homeowners that decide to grow their own vegetables usually decide to do this just as part of a fun summer project, they soon realise that there are many benefits from growing your own vegetables.

You will need to invest a lot of time into your vegetable patch making sure that your vegetables grow well.

Invite Wildlife

During the summer months you can expect to see plenty of wildlife make their way through your garden, as long as your garden is wildlife friendly. There are many ways you can encourage wildlife to come into your garden, one of the most popular ways is by providing food.

If you love to watch birds fly by, why not get a bird table and some tasty bird treats. If you want birds to come into your garden even faster, purchase some coconuts and leave half a coconut out as this is something they love.

Water Feature

If you want a bigger project in your garden, why not think about creating a garden pond? Not only will it look fabulous, but it will also attract wildlife to the garden. It is important that you make your pond safely; this will ensure that you do not put any one at risk through unstable surfaces or flooding.

It may be worth calling out an expert to come and create the garden pond for you as it will look a lot more professional and stylish.

Garden Furniture

There is not much point in having a stylish garden area, if there is nowhere for you to sit and admire the work you have done. You may want to consider creating your own garden furniture as part of one your projects, however you should be prepared as this can take a long time and will also cost quite a bit of money.

Kerry loves gardening and decided to create a garden pond ready for summer 2013. She also brought some trendy rattan garden furniture from http://www.oakita.co.uk/

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