c/backyard-diy

Hot take: cedar chips beat gravel for a patio base in rainy climates

I redid my backyard patio in Tacoma back in March using gravel like every guide says. After 4 months of rain, it turned into a muddy mess with weeds pushing through the cracks. I ripped it out last week and laid down 3 inches of cedar chips instead. The drainage is way better, it smells great, and it actually looks nicer than the gray rocks did. Sure, cedar breaks down faster, but for $120 for 2 cubic yards, I can refresh it every season without hating my life. Anyone else ditch the standard advice for something cheaper and got a better result?

0 comments

hunt.quinn•5d ago

Pallet wood fence project took twice as long as the YouTube video said

I spent 3 weekends tearing down pallets to build a small fence around my compost bins in the backyard. The tutorial made it look like a 2 day job tops, but I ended up buying a $25 nail puller and still snapped two crowbars. The wood was way more warped than I expected, and my fence line looked like a wavy potato from the street. Turns out those "free pallets" from the grocery store are usually treated for shipping, not for outdoor use. My neighbor laughed and said I should've just used cedar pickets, which would've cost $80 more. Anyone else get burned by cheap pallet projects, or was I just unlucky with the batch?

0 comments

jana_fox50•5d ago

Neighbor's tip about leveling blocks was spot on

My neighbor Mike told me to use paver base instead of sand under my new garden shed. I thought he was just being cheap, but after a month of rain in Ohio the shed hasn't shifted an inch. Anyone else get a random tip that actually worked better than the expensive option?

0 comments

pat_coleman•6d ago

My cheap pallet fence fell over during a July storm in Austin

Built it with untreated lumber and deck screws in about 6 hours, then a gust took down a whole 12 foot section while we were grilling. Anyone else tried lashed bamboo or something that actually holds up in wind without spending $800?

0 comments

andrew_rodriguez•7d ago

Vent: neighbor told me my raised beds were wasting space, still annoyed about it

Guy across the fence in Tacoma watched me build three 4x8 beds last spring and goes 'you could fit twice the crops in half the ground if you planted in rows.' I told him I like the paths between beds for my knees and he just shrugged. Six months later his rows got flattened by an early frost while my beds still had kale going into November. Has anyone else had a know-it-all neighbor criticize their setup only to eat their words later?

1 comments

gavinlopez•8d ago

Spray foam beat my fancy insulation board by $120 and 2 afternoons

Wrapped my shed in Reno last month. Bought the rigid foam boards, tape, the whole setup. Cuts were a nightmare. Gaps everywhere. Then a buddy lent me his spray foam kit. Filled every crack in one pass. Total cost difference was $120 less. Air leaks gone too. Anyone else switch halfway through a project and never look back?

0 comments

allen.charlie•10d ago

Caught a fence post rot problem 2 weeks before it collapsed on my shed

I was out back in Tulsa last month digging up an old rose bush when I bumped my shovel against the corner fence post. It sounded hollow. I kicked it and the bottom 6 inches just crumbled to dust. That post was holding up the whole side of my shed corner. If a storm had hit, the roof panel would've come down on my mower. I had to jack the shed corner up with a car jack, dig out the old concrete, and set a new treated post in quickcrete. Took me a whole Saturday. Now I'm walking the rest of the fence line tapping every post with a hammer. Has anyone else dealt with hidden rot that looked fine from the outside?

0 comments

nancy475•11d ago

Leveled my crooked shed with patio stones, took 2 weekends

My shed was sinking on one corner for about a year, so I dug down and packed in 6 bags of paver base before setting the patio stones. It sits dead level now and cost under $30 total, has anyone else tried the gravel bag trick instead of pouring concrete?

1 comments

grant_allen85•12d ago

The neighbor's 'just flip the blade' trick saved my mower deck

Old man next door told me to flip the mulching blade instead of buying a new one for $35, took 20 minutes with a socket wrench and it cuts cleaner than it did new, anyone else tried flipping instead of replacing?

1 comments

brown.gavin•12d ago

Question about cedar raised beds, did the hype hold up for anyone?

Back in 2015 I built my first raised bed out of cheap pine, it rotted through by 2018. This spring I redid them with cedar, spent about $340 total, and I'll admit I was skeptical about the price difference. The boards still look brand new after 5 months of heavy rain, no swelling or warping. Has anyone else seen cedar last past the 5 year mark, or am I just getting lucky?

1 comments

evan_burns95•13d ago

My $40 pallet planter fell apart in 4 months, but I still prefer it over store bought

Last spring I built that raised bed from free pallets behind the old feed store on Maple Ave, and by August the whole front panel was bowing out after one heavy rain. Everyone in the group posts about how cheap and easy pallets are, but nobody mentions the rot and splinters you deal with by next season. Has anyone else had better luck sealing or reinforcing pallet wood, or am I the only one who thinks the $80 cedar kit is actually worth it?

1 comments

-1

thomas.parker•13d ago

Appreciation post: my neighbor's gravity-fed drip system on Grant Street

Walked by his backyard last Tuesday and he's got this whole setup from a 55 gallon drum up on cinder blocks, no pump at all. Weeds are basically gone in his veggie beds and he said it cost him like $30 in hose and fittings. Anyone else tried a gravity setup for a sloped yard, or is a timer on a regular line the way to go?

1 comments

the_tessa•14d ago

Lost $180 on a cedar planter that rotted in 8 months

Built it with budget cedar from a big box store and skipped the liner to save cash, now it's falling apart before a full season passed. Has anyone had luck with cheaper local lumber yards for outdoor wood, or should I just bite the bullet on composite?

1 comments

daniel_lane30•14d ago

Overheard a contractor warning about rebar stakes, glad I listened

I was at a lumber yard in Tulsa last week and heard a contractor telling a guy that galvanized rebar stakes can corrode through landscape fabric in about 18 months if you don't wrap the ends. He said he'd seen three separate backyard projects where the fabric ripped and weeds came back hard. Has anyone else dealt with that or do you just use plastic stakes instead?

1 comments

phoenix_thompson4•19d ago

Concrete drill bit trick for old retaining walls

My 30 year old cinder block wall kept cracking whenever I tried to mount shelves, so I tried a masonry bit dipped in motor oil after failing with two standard ones. That oil cooled the bit and cut through in 40 seconds flat. Anyone else have a weird lube that works better than the store bought stuff?

1 comments

the_cameron•21d ago

The $9 tarp I bought for a shed roof lasted 2 months, found out why from a roofing supplier

Ngl, I thought any tarp would hold up for at least a season. Bought a cheap blue one at Home Depot in March, by May it was shredded and leaking all over my tool bench. I asked a guy at a roofing supply place in Tacoma and he told me the cheap ones are UV treated for like 30 days, not years. He showed me a scrap from a silver tarp that had been up for 4 years and it was still solid. Has anyone else gotten burned by the bargain bin tarps, or do you just spend the extra cash upfront?

3 comments

evan_wilson18•21d ago

My neighbor's oak tree dropped 80 pounds of acorns and now I'm building a fortress

I used to just rake acorns into a pile every October, but after last year's bumper crop wrecked my lawn mower blade twice, I now spend my weekends welding scrap metal into a rolling acorn catcher that I push around the yard like a shopping cart, and honestly, has anyone else had to jury-rig something this ridiculous just to keep their grass alive?

2 comments

robin_henderson81•22d ago

Spent $250 on a fancy compost tumbler, my $20 wire bin is beating it

The tumbler jams up every time I add wet grass clippings, while the wire bin just sits there and breaks down 3x faster. Am I just bad at managing moisture, or are tumblers overpriced for what they actually do?

1 comments

king.wyatt•23d ago

Took down a rotten pergola and found a surprise under the post base

Last Saturday in Phoenix I was finally tearing out this old cedar pergola that came with the house. The posts looked bad but I figured it was just surface rot. Pulled the first one up and the whole base was basically dirt and termite dust. The concrete footer underneath had cracked clean in half and shifted about 2 inches. That thing had been holding up fine for years but it was one good storm away from coming down on my patio furniture. Ended up digging out all 4 footers and pouring new ones with some rebar pins. Took two days with my buddy and about $140 in concrete and brackets. Has anyone else found something sketchy under a structure they thought was solid?

1 comments

wright.lisa•23d ago

Gravel depth for a 4x6 shed pad in Raleigh

Everyone I see on here piles 4 inches of gravel under their shed and calls it done, but after my 3rd frost heave last winter I found that you need at least 6 inches compacted in lifts, has anyone else had better luck with a different base?

1 comments

-1

alicecooper•27d ago

Bought a cheap pond liner on clearance and it held up through 3 hard freezes

I was sure the $40 liner from the bargain bin would crack by winter, but after a solid January freeze in Ohio the water level hasn't dropped an inch. Has anyone else had luck with discount pond supplies or did I just get lucky?

2 comments

graceblack•28d ago

Overheard a neighbor say his $300 raised bed was a rip off

My neighbor Bob told me he spent $300 on a cedar raised bed kit from the big box store and then complained the boards warped after one season. I built mine for under $80 using untreated pine and some corner brackets from the hardware store. Used a cheap deck sealer on it and it's been going strong for 3 summers now. Bob's kit had pre-drilled holes that didn't line up either. Am I missing something about those fancy kits, or do they just sell you on the convenience?

1 comments

robinj29•28d ago

Spent $60 on a soil test kit and found out my garden dirt is basically dead

I did the pH and nutrient test on my backyard bed last weekend and it turns out my tomatoes were struggling because the soil had almost zero nitrogen left. Has anyone else found that store-bought kits are accurate or should I send a sample to a lab next time?

2 comments

annas87•29d ago

Hot take: I think treated lumber for raised beds is fine

Everyone said treated wood would leach chemicals into my soil, but I tested it with a kit from Lowe's and got nothing after 2 years. Has anyone else actually tested theirs or just repeating what they heard?

2 comments

blairtaylor•1mo ago

Hit 50 fence posts in one afternoon, now my back hates me

I was trying to set a new record for myself digging post holes last Saturday and actually managed 50 before the sun went down - but now I can barely straighten up enough to grab a coffee mug. Has anyone else gotten carried away with a project and paid for it the next day?

2 comments