Chesapeakecrafts

  Here is a idea I came up with when a local customer needed something to hide the well pipe in his yard. He liked the three-piling structures I made with seagulls and shorebirds, but really wanted to cover that unsightly pipe. As you can see in the photo, there are numerous pilings fastened together. What isn't obvious is the center piling does not go all the way down to the ground. I left the inside of the structure hollow so it would go right over his well pipe. What you see is a short piling fastened only at the top, giving the impression of many pilings roped together. No matter, this thing was still quite large and very heavy. The customer needed some help to lift it over his well, of course. I'm sure he'll need help again if he ever needs to access his well pump, but it certainly did the trick! Now he has an attractive nautical conversation piece in his yard, as opposed to a pipe sticking out of the ground. All of the pilings are fastened together using all-thread. T...

If you have some scrap wood lying around, you can make use of it in the garden by building a cucumber trellis. I built mine in a pyramid shape (plans and instructions below), but you can use your imagination on how it looks. The purpose is to give the cucumber vines something to climb up on. When planting cucumbers, space can maximized by training the vines to climb upwards using a trellis, rather than outwards on the ground. Avoid using chicken wire because it can burn the plants in extremely hot temperatures. It is best to use string stretched between two posts, a coated wire cage, or a wooden trellis (as shown here). Treated lumber will last longer, but if you'll only be using it for one or two growing seasons any wood will do. Place a couple sandbags at the bottom and tie the trellis down so the wind doesn't knock it over before the vines take hold. Plant the cucumber seeds in mid to late spring, after the soil has had a chance to warm up. Seeds can be started indoors in po...

    This how-to guide will show you how to take a standard 6 x 6 pressure treated post and turn it into a nautical display that looks like real wooden pilings you’d see at a dock or marina. A table saw makes the cuts easy, but a circular saw could be used if you take your time and are careful. You can buy a 6 x 6 post in  the lumber section of your local home improvement store like Ace, Lowes, or Home Depot. They’re usually wet and heavy when you get them, so let them dry for a week or two and they’ll be much easier to work with. You can use the pilings as attractive nautical displays. Add a solar light, wrap them with rope, or add some ornaments like crabs or seashells.