Project Ideas Archives - Page 3 of 5 - OZCO Building Products

11JanJanuary 11, 2018

How to Determine Pergola Rafter Spacing

Careful pergola rafter spacing along with attractive hardware will make your pergola a thing of beauty. I spent a happy eight months working as part of a carpentry crew at the Canaveral National Seashore in Florida. The seashore is a wildlife preserve, and to protect the unique ecosystem of the dunes, we were charged with building boardwalks, viewing platforms, and other elevated areas to keep visitors from treading the delicate flora of the dunes beneath their sandal-clad feet. Sometimes we would build pergolas on the existing deck surface of these platforms. The park service had a tendency to order too much...

05JanJanuary 5, 2018

Updating a Ranch Style House Exterior with a Front Yard Pergola

Updating a ranch style house exterior with a front yard pergola gives the home an entirely new aspect. Ranch style houses are the homes of the American Dream. Also known as ramblers and California ranchers, these are houses that were developed in the 1920s, built during the 1950s and into the 1980s, and, because familiarity breeds contempt, abandoned in the 1990s for a variety of revival homes that have collectively and contemptuously become known as McMansions. But the humble rancher endures, and was actually the first home designed for the modern lifestyle. They’ve been built and refined for over a century, and...

15DecDecember 15, 2017

Front Porch Renovation Ideas to Add Storage and Space for Entertaining

A front porch doesn’t always need a complete overhaul to give it new life. Sometimes simple front porch projects are enough to bring a new look to a home. Not long after my friend married and bought his first home, his wife headed out of town for a cruise with her mother and sister. While they were gone, my friend planned to host a series of low-key boys nights at his house. But when we arrived with my friend at the new house, we found that the battery in his garage door opener was dead, and because he never used his...

08DecDecember 8, 2017

The Best Carport Design Ideas Are Beautiful and Functional

The best carport designs provide more than just a place to park. When I was growing up, the house next to my grandparents was a rental, and it was forever being changed and altered as tenants moved in, changed things to their liking, then moved on. It appears that the landlord was very permissive, because one tenant converted the garage into a den, only for the next to be at a loss as to where he should park his 1967 C2 Corvette Stingray. His solution was to build a sort of lean-to next to the house. It was a ramshackle affair made...

01DecDecember 1, 2017

Pergola Swing Ideas for an Easy DIY Project

A pergola with a swing can be a fun, functional addition to a yard or patio. My aunt–the same one who recently put in a raised garden bed–has a small patio which has been sitting mostly empty for some time now. She doesn’t have room for a big structure, but her patio definitely needs something that will make it an attractive place to relax and socialize. After talking about the options with me, she’s decided to go with a pergola swing. This is a great project for her, as she’s a relative DIY beginner. After brainstorming more than a few pergola...

21NovNovember 21, 2017

How to Choose a Pavilion Roof Truss Design

Pavilion roof truss designs will vary based on the size of the pavilion and the steepness of the roof. A long time ago, while repairing a detached garage for my mother, I had an epic argument with her about cutting replacements for the top chords of a truss that had rotted away. An experienced electrical engineer, my mother, upon hearing the word ‘slope,’ had decided that the slope-intercept form of the equation of a line would deliver all needed dimensions and angles. Words were said, I had to spend three days doing a task that should have taken three hours, and...

17NovNovember 17, 2017

An Asian Inspired Pergola Design Complements Simple Garden Styles

Red paint or stain, ornate hardware, and a privacy lattice can all help to give your pergola an Asian flair. I have a client who is in the middle of a feng shui redesign. You might know already that feng shui is an Eastern design style used to maximize energy flow. The garden is one of the most important parts of this design philosophy, which is why my client was looking for an Asian inspired pergola design to set off her new, Eastern-style garden. I thought this was a great idea, as pergolas are easy to adapt for this type of...

10NovNovember 10, 2017

Screening in a Gazebo to Create a Peaceful Backyard Retreat

A screened-in gazebo or pavilion can offer versatility and protection from sun and insects. I have a good friend from college who always wanted a screened-in front porch, but didn’t quite have the kind of porch that would be easy to screen in. As an alternative, I suggested a stand-alone structure that she could put in her large backyard. I pointed out that a nice, old-fashioned screened-in gazebo would improve the value of her home while giving her the screened-in space she always wanted. Screening in a gazebo, in my opinion, adds a lot to the structure. It offers some protection from...

03NovNovember 3, 2017

Simple Garden Bench Design Ideas to Improve Your Yard

A simple bench design can serve many purposes, and can even be tweaked to create a gardening station. There are a lot of great accessories you can add to a yard without having to spend a lot of money. One time, I decided I had to have a rustic garden bench in my backyard–it was the perfect addition to my big bed of peonies–but all the benches I considered were a bit too pricey for my budget. But I remembered I had a lot of leftover wood and hardware from other projects that I could repurpose. In the end, I built...

27OctOctober 27, 2017

How to Build an Outdoor Shower Enclosure That’s Good Looking and Functional

Building an outdoor shower enclosure is a great way to keep dirt and mud where they belong–outdoors. If you have a child, dog, and hard floors of any sort, then you probably sweep or mop every day, multiple times a day (or, you wish you could). My friend was in exactly this situation and the solution he hit on was surprisingly affordable: an outdoor shower enclosure. His version was just three walls and a door with a showerhead on a hose hooked up to an outdoor faucet. It’s perfect for hosing down canine and child alike, and since he has a...