Project Ideas Archives - Page 2 of 5 - OZCO Building Products

30MarMarch 30, 2018

Outdoor Privacy Ideas Help You Create a Private Refuge

A yard isn’t always the most private or inviting space, but with the help of some outdoor privacy ideas it can become the setting for a quiet retreat. Once you graduate from college, get married, and buy a home, the words “space” and “quest” take on a whole new meaning. When you’re single, Space Quest is the name of a B-movie that you riff on with your friends. When you’re married with kids it becomes something you do, an ongoing search for some private time to read, watch a movie, or even just think. Inside the home, this can be an...

23MarMarch 23, 2018

Build a Deck Without Digging Holes Using a Deck Post Base and Post Anchor

Deck blocks and post anchors combined with base plates can create a solid foundation for a deck substructure. I’ve built many decks, and the hardest part is always digging the holes. It’s dirty work digging into the ground. In order to get enough space to ensure the posts are perfectly vertical, it’s normal to dig the hole wider than is strictly necessary for the post. When you add in the need to dig down past the frost line to keep the freezing ground from heaving the post up during winter, this can make for a big hole in the ground. Unfortunately, nearly...

16MarMarch 16, 2018

A DIY Privacy Screen Makes a Simple, Attractive Addition to a Yard

A DIY privacy screen is a great way to create a personal sanctuary and add visual interest to your yard. There are a few people I know of who have built privacy screens on their properties. One friend with a townhouse built a freestanding trellis in her backyard and added a privacy screen around the top. This simple modification created a relaxation area that was screened from the upper stories of the homes surrounding her backyard, and she frequently spends weekend afternoons reading there. One family member with a huge lot built a privacy screen on one side of her...

09MarMarch 9, 2018

Privacy Railing for Decks Creates a Cozy Place to Relax

Privacy railings for decks can create cozy spaces for families to enjoy the outdoors without worrying about prying eyes. When I was nine years old, I was really eager to hang out at my friend Kevin’s house. The main reason was that he had a Super Nintendo. The second reason was that his 16-year-old neighbor was in the habit of sunbathing out on her parents’ backyard deck next door. This made Kevin the most popular boy in the neighborhood that summer, and we’d all think of excuses to go into the backyard. I’d gotten a football for my birthday that year,...

02MarMarch 2, 2018

How to Dress Up a Fence: Ideas for Adding Decorations to Beautify Your Fence and Gate

Wondering how to dress up a fence that’s in need of TLC? Wood stain and decorative hardware can do wonders. The family down the street from me has a Dalmation that’s an escape artist. This dog was once able to get over the wooden privacy fence in the backyard by climbing onto the trash cans and then leaping over the fence. This tendency earned him the nickname “circus dog,” and prompted his owners to start leaving their trash cans in the side yard. Undeterred, the dog then dug his way out of the backyard under the fence. To prevent this,...

26FebFebruary 26, 2018

Tired of digging posts? Drive them in using OZ-Post.

I install the Oz-Posts with an electric jackhammer and an adapter that fits inside the Oz-Post. “The posts for this sign were installed using a post anchor system called OZ-Posts, which are galvanized steel post anchors that you drive into the ground—without digging a hole. They are 3-ft. long and taper to a point, and are available at many building materials stores. You drive them in with an electric jackhammer using a special fitting on it. Then you insert a post into the OZ-Post and screw or bolt through it to secure the post. They come in 4×4, 6×6, 8×8 and...

23FebFebruary 23, 2018

Arbors over Gates Turn Backyards into Hidden Sanctuaries

Arbors over gates separate your home sanctuary from the busy modern world. When I was in the Marines, a crimson signpost of two upright columns topped with a crossbar was a frequent sight. Usually, the unit’s sign and the names of its officers and senior non-commissioned officers swung from chains below the crossbar. It wasn’t until I was stationed in Okinawa that I learned where this came from. It’s called a torii, and it’s a type of gate used to mark the entrance to Shinto shrines in Japan. The military had taken a liking to the look of these and had...

16FebFebruary 16, 2018

Garden Arbors with Trellises Provide Shade, Privacy, and a Focal Point

Garden arbors with trellises can define areas in a yard as well as provide privacy. One of the best features a house can have is a stately old tree in the yard. Trees provide shade for a home, but more importantly, they shade the yard on a hot summer day and make it a joy to be outside. However, many of my friends have seen their stately old oaks, maples, and other trees get struck by lightning, contract diseases from unhygienic tree cutters, or just expire from any number of the factors that affect centenarians. My friends, of course, plant new trees...

09FebFebruary 9, 2018

Backyard Grape Arbors for the Home Winemaker or Gardener

A pergola or arbor supports vines and provides shade and interest in a yard, making it both beautiful and functional. Back in my early twenties, I bought a younger friend of mine a home brewing kit for his twenty-first birthday, little knowing what I was unleashing. The beer from that first batch was terrible. The next twenty batches were bad, but uniquely bad each time. The twenty-first batch was acceptable as a near substitute for beer, but by then my friend was in college and had moved on to spirits and took up distilling. I hadn’t realized before this that Listerine...

02FebFebruary 2, 2018

DIY Outdoor Doghouse: Building a Rustic Retreat for Rover

Adding a window and grate to your outdoor doghouse can encourage more airflow, which is perfect for warm climates and breeds that tend to overheat. The best thing about having friends that are as close as family is that you get to share in their most embarrassing moments. One of my favorite of these memories has to do with a doghouse that my friend’s father built for a beloved old mutt named Taco. Inspired by a surfeit of concrete left over from creating a patio and some concrete casting techniques from a survivalist magazine, my friend’s father decided to cast a...