Top 10 Exterior Home Improvement Projects

1. Whether you design a small, quiet reflecting pool or an elaborate waterscape, a well-planned ornamental pond provides a soothing touch to your landscape. Preformed liners have revolutionized design and scaled down installation, so anyone can create their own personal oasis.
2. Adding or redesigning a plant bed can make a dramatic improvement on your landscape. It’s a great weekend project that the whole family can participate in. The possible combinations of shapes and plant varieties are practically limitless.
3. A well-designed landscape will incorporate the following design elements: unity, balance, proportion, variety and diversity. A landscape is a work in progress, you will need to give it time to develop. Layout your landscape with our Landscape and Garden Planner.
4. Whether you’ve just built a new deck or you’re working with an existing one, make your outdoor living space more beautiful and comfortable with a little thought–and a few finishing touches. Just like the inside of your home, furnish and accessorize your deck to really make it come to life. Then it will truly become an extension of your indoor living areas for you and your family and friends to enjoy.
5. Installing a drip irrigation system saves water–up to a 50% reduction–compared to traditional watering. Drip irrigation systems can be used for containers, raised beds, vegetable rows or balcony gardening.
6. If your deck looks a little dingy, cleaning it can help. But to really get your deck in shape, you also need to seal it. Constant exposure to UV rays and rain can cause neglected decks to fade, crack, split and warp. This is a multi-day project, because there is waiting time between the cleaning and the sealing.
7. There are several reasons for putting up a fence: privacy, containment or architectural and aesthetic enhancement of your yard, to name a few. No matter what your reason there’s a fence system to suit your needs and your landscape.
8. Rot or decay of the woodwork on your home can result from the exposure of bare wood after paint chips and peels. Damaged woodwork detracts from your home’s beauty. But, you can easily repair most blemishes with a little wood filler, some elbow grease and a dab or two of paint.
9. Patience and planning are the most important things when adding a brick patio to your landscape. And it is easier than you think, especially when laid on sand. You will need a helper to complete this project, but you can do it even if you have never laid brick before.
10. Building a deck may not be the easiest project, but the years of enjoyment a deck provides make the effort worthwhile. Most of the materials involved in this project are too awkward for one person to handle, so once construction begins you will need help.