Year: 2019

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Some Great Ideas for Spring Patio Furniture

Some Great Ideas for Spring Patio Furniture

As days grow longer and warmer, more and more time is spent out on the patio. A comfortable patio environment will make sitting outdoors more enjoyable for all seasons.

Here are some ways

to set up a patio and a few ideas to make a patio charming and beautiful. And whether on a budget or shopping higher end there are endless possibilities.
Choosing patio furniture depends on the size of the patio area. For smaller areas, café tables are a great idea. Bar tables and patio bar chairs are another great way to save space and have a comfortable patio. Add a few potted plants and other favorite outdoor design elements like wind chimes and birdhouses for a perfectly quaint patio.
For larger patio settings there are many great options. In a covered patio choose a few chairs of differing styles, including comfortable chairs as well as a couple chaise lounges for lying down and relaxing. Another great idea is a hammock. They can be hung from the corner of the patio and covered with blankets and pillows to make it a truly comfortable outdoor seating.
For an outdoor patio without cover there are many great choices for patio umbrellas that will coordinate with any outdoor patio theme. Chaise lounges on an uncovered patio are great too for soaking up some sun. An outdoor grill can be incorporated into the outdoor patio and will provide hours of outdoor entertaining.
There are many types of patio furniture to choose from. It depends mostly on personal preference and how the furniture will be used. If the patio furniture will be used frequently some great ideas are resin or aluminum patio furniture. For less durable but still elegant options, wicker patio furniture is a great option. Aluminum cushion patio furniture works well with frequently use and still is extremely comfortable.
However and with whatever you purchase in patio furniture, choose what you want, and put some of your own personality into it. With a little design savvy and a few personal touches, your patio will be an area you never want to leave.
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Bringing Outdoor Space In For Three-Season Use

Bringing Outdoor Space In For Three-Season Use

Imagine a beautiful spring evening spent outside on your patio. Now picture how quickly a sudden shower can turn that idyllic image into a wet dash for cover.

Or consider a summer afternoon picnic out on the deck.

The sun and the scenery are great, but what about the bugs?
For many homeowners, patios and decks are a terrific investment toward spending more time outdoors. But those home additions come with something unpredictable: the great outdoors itself, with all its natural wonders-and hazards. But a new concept in construction is helping turn those exterior spaces into something more: all-purpose, three-season rooms that protect against the very things that could otherwise spoil a good time outside.
Porch systems enclose an existing or newly constructed patio or deck using pre-engineered modular wall panels and joining posts. Wooden wall panels help protect against the cool air and damaging sun, and are secured to the floor using a threshhold. Channeled vertical posts join the wall panels together to create a visually appealing facade.
Carpenters and ambitious do-it-yourselfers can assemble Vixen Hill’s three-season or open rail porch systems with ease. The products’ modular design eliminates the complicated carpentry normally involved in this type of construction. Pre-assembled components (modules) are designed to require the minimum number of fasteners for an uncomplicated, systematic installation.
“Most outdoor space is designed for a specific purpose and satisfies only one particular need,” says Christopher Peeples, president and founder of Vixen Hill. “The key benefit of our porch systems is that they have multiple uses. Created to give the feeling of the traditional wooden porch and bring the comfort of the indoors outside, the addition can be an ideal space for entertaining friends and family, dining, reading or just relaxing. Homeowners get the best of outdoor living without leaving the house.”
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Benefit from the Expertise of a Landscaping Contractor

Benefit from the Expertise of a Landscaping Contractor

Busy homeowners who care about the external appearance of their home as much as they do the interior can turn to a landscaping contractor for design ideas and to handle outdoor projects.

A licensed landscape contractor has been specially trained to meet all landscaping needs – whether for service purposes or cosmetic. Everything from driveways, patios, and decks; to grading the yard, and complete landscape design. Garden ponds enhanced by a pond bridge, wooden “playscapes” for children, walkthrough gardens, and placement and selection of trees, shrubs, and other flora to balance the yard and enhance visual appeal.

The Benefits Offered by a Landscaping Contractor
Like other qualified professionals, different landscape contractors will have specific areas of experience and expertise. For instance, hire an experienced landscape lighting contractor to install outdoor lighting features. They are knowledgeable about different types of landscape lighting, and when and how to use each for maximum benefit.

Few homeowners are savvy as to the best way to enhance landscape features using contour lighting, uplighting, grazing, moonlighting, or backlighting techniques. A licensed landscape contractor, however, knows how to exploit the benefits of these type lighting features.
Landscaping Tips

If spare time is a problem, hire a landscaping contractor with experience designing easy-care landscapes, greatly reducing upkeep efforts. Mower-friendly lawns devoid of grass peninsulas and islands that slow down mowing, and require lots of turning and maneuvering.
Opt for a low water landscape design using drought-tolerant plants and ground cover to conserve water and decrease maintenance needs.
Small yards can be made to look larger using the expertise of a landscape contractor designer familiar with the “forcing the perspective” technique. Angling plants toward each other, extending to the rear of the landscape. Making the yard look longer and more spacious, while adding visual interest and enhanced beauty.

The Right Landscaping Contractor for the Right Job

A qualified contractor with a landscaping contractor license can increase the external beauty of a home, correct landscape problems, and bring balance to the yard – increasing real estate market value of the home. Select the right contractor for the right job.
Some are more experienced with correcting landscape flaws and the use of flora enhancements to beautify and balance to the yard. The expertise of another landscaping contractor might be concrete driveways, walkways, and custom edging the landscape perimeter.
A construction contractor landscaping expert might be best for building a raised deck, split-level patio, or a number of other functional outdoor projects.
Word of mount referrals, local licensing authorities, and Internet resources such as www.handycanadian.com are your best resources for finding a qualified landscaping contractor in your area.
Carefully selecting a qualified landscaping contractor ensures outdoor feature success, adding to the appearance and value of your home.

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Beat the Heat – 7 Tips to Help Your Lawn Survive a Drought

Beat the Heat – 7 Tips to Help Your Lawn Survive a Drought

With temperatures rising and rain fall decreasing, summer time is putting a serious strain on your lawn. If you are not careful, your lawn could end up dead. No rain and water restrictions can really take a shot at your ability to take care of your lawn. However, there are some tried and true tips that are sure to beat the summer heat.
When your lawn is suffering from a drought, these tips will help you survive:
1. Raise the blades on your mower. Taller grass provides more protection from sun and grows deeper roots, which makes it more resilient.
2. Resist the temptation to bag your lawn and use a mulching mower instead. The clippings will provide a barrier that keeps moisture in your lawn longer.
3. Aerate your lawn twice a year (fall and spring) to keep out thatch and help the roots grow deeper.
4. Sharpen your lawnmower blade. Dull blades put your grass under lots of undue stress. Stressed grass needs more water.
5. Water early in the morning and when it is not windy to avoid unnecessary evaporation of your rationed water.
6. Use a drip type irrigation system like a soaker hose. It put water in the ground, where it is needed, more efficiently.
7. Do not fertilize in the summer. Experts will tell you that fertilized lawns are more sensitive to heat and require more water.
Green is definitely a color to envy in the heart of the summer. Do yourself a favor and follow these tips to keep a green lawn that makes your neighbors squirm with envy.
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Backyard Landscaping Ideas

Backyard Landscaping Ideas

No matter where you live, there’s nothing better than relaxing outdoors on a warm summer night watching your backyard landscaping ideas come to life.
Unfortunately, re-landscaping your entire backyard during the course of one growing season can be back breaking, expensive and requires major planning.
Here’s a simple solution: Break up your backyard into “rooms” and remodel one room each year. This is especially helpful if you’re on a budget. You’re results will be much better if you spend as much time and money as you can on one project, rather than trying to revamp the entire backyard all at once for the same amount of money. 
Although you’re landscaping only one section of the yard at a time, you still need an overall plan. Using graph paper, sketch out the permanent structures on your property including the house, out buildings, deck and trees.
This is also a good time to consider which existing plants and shrubs won’t be a part of the new landscape.
Make copies of your sketch and experiment with different designs. Incorporate ideas you like from magazines or gardens you’ve visited.
If you host frequent cook outs you’ll probably want to keep the yard open and plant along the borders. If you don’t need the space, you could create real drama with an island bed, walkways, solar lighting and cutouts for comfortable furniture to relax on.
Here are some ideas you’ll dig:
Screening with Plants
If your yard doesn’t have a fence, you might want to consider planting a row of hawthorn, juniper, arborvitae, or a combination of these bushes to create privacy and provide a backdrop for future flower beds. A strategically place evergreen screen will also provide a windbreak from winter winds and drifting snow.
Planning a Border Flower Bed
The hardest part of designing a border is choosing flowers that complement each other both in color and height. The list of perennials I suggest here is for a six foot wide bed in a mainly sunny situation. Wide, in this case, means outward from the plant screen or fence, not the length of the bed.
Use 3 or 5 plants for each kind of flower and allow 16”–18” between each plant. Allow 20”–22” between the different plant groups. Planting an odd number of plants is more visually appealing than an even number.
Allow sufficient space at the rear of the bed for access. This will also prevent choking off necessary air and light from the plants in back.
These are my suggestions for a perennial border. They were chosen to give a long display, with the first flowers appearing in April and the last in October.
Tall plants for the back row: SEDUM ‘Autumn Joy’; RUDBECKIA Goldsturm; PHLOX White; IRIS light blue or yellow; VERONICA Blue; SOLIDAGO ‘Golden Shower’; and HOSTA fortunei ‘Picta’.
Shorter plants for the front row: GERANIUM grandiflorum; POTENTILLA ‘Firedance’; HUECHERA Pink; ASTER Dwarf Blue; SEDUM Dragons Blood; ACHILLEA ‘Moonshine’; and ERIGERON ‘Prosperity’.
Obviously, these plants won’t be the best choice for every climate. A worthwhile book to help you choose plants native to your climate zone is The Comfortable Lazy Garden. It’s also an excellent reference for beginning gardeners.
Island Bed
An island bed, as the name implies, is planted in the middle of the yard surrounded by a sea of grass. It can vary in shape and size according to your imagination and available space. Scale the plants from tallest in the center to shortest at the edges.
Preplanned Gardens
I understand all of this Latin mumbo jumbo can be daunting for first time gardeners, it was for me. If you would like a ready made solution, Direct Gardening offers a wide selection of preplanned gardens designed to take all the guess work out of plant selection and placement.
Water Feature
Imagine the reflective beauty of a pond or the gentle splashing of a man made waterfall. How about a 100 foot high waterslide? Maybe next year.
Do Your Yard a Favor
Before you buy any vegetation, visit a real garden center for advice on drainage and soil preparation. Also, bring a copy of your plan; a soil sample and an extra credit card just in case you can’t wait years to make your backyard landscaping ideas come true.
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Backyard Landscaping – An Important Area To Landscape

Backyard Landscaping – An Important Area To Landscape

For homeowners around the world, a big part of owning a home is landscaping the yard. Front yard landscaping or backyard landscaping, the work must be done.
While the front yard is important
because it’s more visible to neighbors and others who drive by, the backyard is no less important. The backyard is where families and friends gather for barbeques and birthday parties and where some families place their swimming pools. Most backyards are landscaped with careful thought and preparation. Special consideration is put into the positioning of every blade of grass, each decorative stone and all of the species of flowers that beautify a backyard.
Flowers, stones and grass are just some of the ways to landscape a backyard. Large shade trees, waterfalls and herbal gardens are some other ways. The theme of your landscape will depend on your hobbies, interests and goals for your backyard. Backyard landscaping can be a lot of fun, especially when you make it personal. Landscape your yard to reflect your personality and your homes personality. If you and your family like to entertain, add a bar to your back patio. Clean up the barbeque grill and don’t forget the citronella candles to keep the bugs away. Maybe you’ll want to build a croquet course, mini golf course, or put in a sand lot for some sand volleyball. Whatever your preference, make backyard landscaping fun for the whole family.
Keep your family in mind too, when it comes time to maintain the backyard landscaping. Large yards will require a lot more maintenance and grooming. Taking care of the yard can be a nice family activity. You can mow the lawn, pull the weeds and get the kids involved in watering the plants. If you have a fruit tree in your backyard, you’ll probably be spending some time picking up the fallen apples or cherries. And of course, you’ll also need to reserve time to tend to your herbal garden. It can be surprisingly rewarding to grow your own herbs and use them in special recipes that you cook when you’re entertaining friends and neighbors.
If you are the type who would rather keep your backyard to yourself, then maybe you don’t need to worry about the huge, green lawn. Perhaps you’d rather have a quaint yard with basic backyard landscaping. You can put in some grass, strategically place some shade trees and plant some of your favorite flowers. You may want to include some bigger bushes, if space allows as they will add some gorgeous green to your colorful backyard. This type of backyard may require the same maintenance as a large backyard, but not nearly the time commitment. No matter what your personality says about your backyard landscaping, one thing’s for sure—homeowners everywhere will tell you to create your backyard just the way you want to.
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Backpack Blowers

Backpack Blowers

Backpack blowers are more commonly used by professionals and are mostly powered by 2-stroke gasoline engines. The harness, which has a blower fit into it, is worn on the operator’s back. The engine and fan are also placed on the backpack frame with a hand-held hose and spout to direct the airflow. Backpack blowers are powerful, convenient and have larger, more efficient fuel tanks and air filters and therefore, longer duty cycles.

Backpack blowers with more than 40cc engines are the best with a typical blowing power of 400 cfm  (cubic feet per minute) of volume at 190 mph (meter per hour). If you live in a quiet neighborhood, these units are the best choice, because they are specially assembled to control unwanted noise. Also, keep in mind that harness quality and comfort differ from one model to the other.
Performance backpack blowers generally have blowing power of more than 450 cfm of volume at 195 mph, and are named because of their high performance. Though they may be noisier than other blowers, they are fast, fuel efficient, and have a quick throttle response. Most professionals and commercial users prefer this type of units, which also has optional accessories like breathable nylon back pads and padded, adjustable harnesses.
The largest and heaviest backpack blower units available are Big-bore Backpacks, with engine powers starting at 50cc. They are also fast and may decrease cleaning time in half. Since these blowers are very powerful, they are typically used for larger areas, and tough jobs like wet matted leaves. They are most suitable for commercial uses.
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Are Robotic Lawn Mowers Safe?

Are Robotic Lawn Mowers Safe?

Robotic lawn mowers move relatively slow, people and animals can easily move out of the way.  Although it takes a lot longer to mow, if everyone used them there would be 72,000 fewer hospital visits this year.

You’re standing in your front yard minding your own business when a robot with three razor sharp blades spinning at 5,800 rpm starts racing toward you. What do you do?
Is this some kind of nightmare?  No, you’re awake and this is really happening, so once again, what do you do?
The answer is nothing.  It will just bounce off you and go another direction.  Rather anti-climatic ending wasn’t it?  That is just the way the robotic lawn mower companies want it to be.
The greatest concern most people have about robotic lawn mowers is safety.  ‘Bots with Blades’ just can’t be safe.  According to Ames Tiedeman, National Sales Manager for Systems Trading Corp., the US distributor for the Friendly Robotics Robomower, over 72,000 emergency room visits involved lawn mowers in 2005.  ZERO involved robotic lawn mowers.
These mowers have so many safety features and shut-off triggers that it is amazing that they are actually functional. 
The Friendly Robotics Robomower turns the blades off at 16 degrees, not even high enough to get a hand under.  Even if a small hand could get under, the blades are far back and recessed into a chamber in the body.  It would take creativity, not stupidity, to get to the blades while they are still turning.
Unlike push and riding lawn mower safety devices, robotic lawn mower features are not easily disabled.  The tilt detection devices are soldered on to the main boards.  Even the resistance against the blades and the ability of the software to stop them is measured in thousandths of seconds.
Since these robotic lawn mowers are designed to mulch there is no easy outlet for flying debris.  Pebbles and pine cones do not get tossed very far and at low velocity.
Some robotic lawn mowers have sonar detection systems that if any moving objects get close they’ll slow down and at another point stop the blade before even being touched.  All have some sort of touch sensors that when they lightly bump into a stationary object that they change direction.  So actually getting run over is unlikely.
Another big concern is pets getting chopped to bits, again, no reported accidents involving robotic lawn mowers.  Dogs have a tendency to chase and bark, but not attack.  A dog actually chewing up a robotic lawn mower is more feasible than a robotic lawn mower chewing up a dog.
Robotic lawn mowers move relatively slow, people and animals can easily move out of the way.  Although it takes a lot longer to mow, if everyone used them there would be 72,000 fewer hospital visits this year. 
This article was written to educate people that robotic mowers under intended circumstances are safe.  There has been a great deal of thought and engineering involved to make robotic lawn mowers safe for public use.
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Are Robotic Lawn Mowers in Your Future?

Are Robotic Lawn Mowers in Your Future?

Now that they they are fully autonomous, robotic lawn mowers are beginning to creep in to every day life.

Robotic lawn mowers are going to be the next life-style changing appliance in America.  Think about it, how many times have you wanted to get away for the weekend or go to some event but yard work kept you tied to the house?  I can’t tell you how many golf outings I have missed.
Robotic lawn mowers can mow the yard, go back to the charger, and go back out again on their own without human intervention.  This is a large step forward from only two or three years ago.
Residential robotic lawn mowers run on batteries, so they don’t use gas or oil.  They are pretty much maintenance free except for the occasional replacement of the blades. They waterproof and they don’t rust.
A perimeter wire, like an invisible dog fence is placed around the yard to define the mowing area.  Gardens, flowerbeds and trees can also be easily protected.  Running the wire is not difficult, you can DIY or have it professionally installed.  The wire can be buried up to 2 inches deep. 
The robotic mowers must sense the presence of the wire around them.  If the mower should somehow go past the boundary it will immediately shutdown, so you don’t have to worry about it running down the street (unlike your dog).
You can set the time for them to mow.  Since they are quiet and don’t need to see the yard, they can be allowed run at night while everyone is in the house or even asleep.
On schedule they will depart from the charger and start to mow.  When they run over the wire or into an object they will turn and go another direction.  Some mowers use a random pattern while others go back and forth.  When the battery gets low they find the perimeter wire and follow it back to the charger.  All robotic mowers on the market today do a very good job covering the yard and not leaving uncut patches.
Ensure that the robotic mower you are interested in goes back to the charger on its own the added expense will be worth it.  A rain sensor is a must-have as well, some robotic mowers are heavy and can get stuck in soft areas. 
Robotic lawn mowers are now useful and practical.  They are still an oddity, so if you get one expect the neighbors to come from blocks around to watch it work.
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An introduction to hydraulic excavators

An introduction to hydraulic excavators

Coit Tower is a typical San Francisco landmark located on Telegraph Hill to the north side of the Financial District. Coit Tower could be seen from many places of the city, and is reachable via a steep road and from the usual walking path.
Coit Tower stands 180 feet tall, and many visitors like to contact the top of the tower for eye-catching looks of San Francisco and the nearby areas. Coit Tower as well features a series of murals painted in the Works Progress Administration, portraying local occupations and neighborhoods.

Coit Tower was built with funds provided by Elizabeth Wythe

Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who donated a third of her fortune upon her death during 1929 to smarten the city of San Francisco. Lillie Coit was a world voyager, and brought back many relics from her experiences, but in fact regarded San Francisco as her true home and desired to stay a permanent legacy to the city. The funds were used to build two memorials: Coit Tower, and a sculpture in Washington Square that depicts three firemen.
It is generally believed that Coit Tower was built as a memorial to the firemen of San Francisco, as Lillie Coit was a lifelong enthusiast of the fire department. However, in spite of the tower’s similarity to a fire nozzle, many historians agree that Coit Tower was just built to improve the beauty of the city. Coit Tower is as well surrounded by steep sceneries grounds which are as well pretty pleasant to be walked through
.
Visitors to Coit Tower could take a pulley to the top, appreciating the mind blowing murals along the way. The murals have been reinstated and as well particularly treated so that they would always remain integral, and are considered a very vital part of the history of San Francisco. Among other things, the murals portray farmers in the fields, a bank robbery, and a view into the port, a busy city street, and a lot of variety of other scenes as well. San Francisco Shuttle Tours are accessible of Coit Tower in which the murals are explained in detail. The walk is extremely physically demanding, and space for cars is also limited. Getting to Coit Tower is well values the attempt, however, as visitors are content with a peaceful setting and the striking views of a beautiful city.