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Archive for the ‘How-Tos’ Category
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
 A cedar deck is no longer just a place to stick the grill. Decks in the Pacific Northwest are now often treated much the same as any other room in the home, with decorative rugs, comfortable furniture and, of course, ambient lighting.
When lighting their cedar decking, Washington homeowners have a wide array of options beyond simply installing a back porch light. On the upscale end, patio covers can be wired for ceiling fans or chandeliers, while LED ropes and string lights provide a low-cost alternative.
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Tags: cedar deck Vancouver, cedar decking Washington, patio covers
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Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
 In the Pacific Northwest, surrounding an above-ground swimming pool with decking is a popular way to create a built-in pool without digging up your backyard. When building a pool into a deck, it’s important to put in extra planning on the front end to avoid making costly mistakes that can leave you with an unsafe deck.
While cedar decking remains one of the most popular Portland decking materials, it isn’t an ideal choice for pool decks for several reasons. Here’s a look at the top three considerations to keep in mind when choosing the best Portland decking materials for your pool deck: (more…)
Tags: cedar decking, portland decking materials, PVC decking
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Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
 Thanks to Portland’s vibrant do-it-yourself culture, homeowners are becoming increasingly interested in building their own fences. However, because many lack the time or skills required a complex fence installation, Portland homeowners often turn to split rail fencing as a simpler, low-cost option.
Wood split rail fencing is easy to install and requires minimal tools and materials. It’s also got a lot of history in the Northwest; when planning a fence installation, Portland area pioneers often turned to this fence style because it was inexpensive, sturdy, easy to set up and easy to tear down.
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Tags: fence installation portland, split rail fencing
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Friday, April 15th, 2011
 For many homeowners, the area beneath a raised deck is so much wasted space, filled with unsightly framework, weeds, dirt, spiders and who knows what else. When building a cedar deck, Portland homeowners often like to conceal this area with deck skirting.
Deck skirting not only hides the seedy underbelly of a deck, but it converts the space into an outdoor storage area, prevents your deck from looking like it’s floating, and adds a finished look to your cedar decking material. Portland decks with skirting are also less likely to become home to raccoons, squirrels or other critters. (more…)
Tags: cedar deck portland, cedar decking material portland
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Monday, April 4th, 2011
 Spring officially started last week, but you wouldn’t know it from the Northwest’s rainy skies. Meteorologists are saying the city is on track for a particularly wet, cool spring that may end up in the record books, news station KGW reported.
By mid-March, Portland had already received a full month’s worth of rainfall, and so far it’s not showing any signs of letting up.
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Monday, March 28th, 2011
 A community garden, or one that is shared by multiple gardeners in the community, is a great way to beautify a neighborhood and bring residents together for a shared effort. Churches, schools and neighborhoods throughout Portland have developed dozens of co-op gardens, and some of them are visually stunning as well as enriching for the community.
As a grassroots effort, initiating a community garden requires a lot of planning, from securing the land to designing the beds to determining how participating gardeners will be chosen. One of the questions planners often ask is, “What are the best fencing options for a community garden?”
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Tags: community gardens, garden fencing, Portland fencing materials
Posted in How-Tos | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
 So you’ve taken the plunge and are enjoying the glow of a new cedar deck in the backyard. The next question on many homeowners’ minds is how to keep their decking looking as good as when it was installed.
Deck maintenance is seldom a fun chore, but it’s an important part of protecting your investment. A well-built cedar deck can increase your home’s value by up to 80.6% of the project cost, so it pays to keep your cedar decking in top shape. Following are some post-construction tips for taking care of your new cedar deck.
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Tags: cedar deck, deck maintenance, deck stain
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Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
One of the most frustrating parts of being a dog owner is having your furry friend dig holes under your wood or vinyl fence. Digging can really damage fencing material as well as defeat the whole purpose of keeping the dog in the yard. Unfortunately, digging comes naturally to dogs, so changing this behavior can be a long and arduous process. There are, however, a few simple tricks to preventing your dog from pulling an “Escape from Alcatraz” every time you turn your back.
Install landscape timber blocks. Dogs will often dig under cedar, vinyl or chain link gates because of the gap between the gate and the ground. Here is a fairly easy way of preventing them from doing so: (more…)
Tags: cedar gate, digging, dogs, vinyl gate
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Tuesday, January 11th, 2011
Winter can be a difficult time to sell a house. The yard has gone brown, the garden is in hibernation, and the whole world seems dingy and gray.
If your house is on the market this time of year, following are a few things you can do around your deck and yard to increase your home’s winter curb appeal:
Add color. Natural color is in short supply during the winter months, so do what you can to enhance it. Fill two large, colorful planters with evergreens and use them to flank your front door. And don’t forget to hang a tasteful holiday wreath.
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Tags: curb appeal, selling your home in winter
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Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
 Most dogs and cats love the outdoors, but cold weather during the winter months can be uncomfortable or even dangerous for smaller animals. Keeping you outdoor pet warm and healthy during winter isn’t rocket science, but it does require a few extra steps to make sure they are comfortable and safe.
Dog kennel modifications. If your dog lives in an outdoor kennel, consider covering the top with a tarp to help insulate your pet from the rain and cold. You should also seal up any areas that might let cold drafts in. Keep the bedding slightly elevated to prevent it from sitting in puddled water or becoming frozen.
(more…)
Tags: dog gates, dog kennel, outdoor pets
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