Archive for October, 2009
Oct
29
How To Build An Eco-FenceTotal Read Time: 2.5 Minutes Background: Every year, I help my parents do some sort of landscaping activity at the house, even though I haven’t really lived there for a couple of years. Last year was the brick paver gardens around the perimeter of the house primarily to cover up the shotty trim job the builders did about six years ago. My brothers and I did most of the work, digging holes for the brick’s foundation, adding that weed-be-gone matting, pouring the rocks and then finally laying in the bricks. As that project neared completion, we decided to eliminate another eye sore, the old deck, which would eventually be replaced with a lovely new patio. Phase 2 of the project would be designing a large fence encompassing the back yard so that the dogs could roam free. The fence had been a longstanding request by my mom, but we didn’t have the money to purchase a nice one. Luckily, the wood from the old deck was still in pretty good shape and my dad came up with plan to reuse it effectively. The Big Project: Fall Down – In an effort to both cut down on costs and be a little greener, we would reuse supplies and wood that we already had from the deck. Unfortunately, that meant salvaging the flooring and framework by unscrewing every single screw and left little fun for a demolition. Thus, we began unscrewing, measuring, cutting, sorting and finally stacking the different pieces of wood into their corresponding piles to prepare for the following season’s project. Check out the instructions below to learn how to do it.
Spring Up – Luckily, last fall’s process significantly cut down on the time it took us to setup the fencing this year and because the old deck was gone, we were able to have some professionals come and create our beautiful new patio in its place. As it stands, we’re about half way finished with the fence now! We’ve invested about ten hours on a fence that’s going to be close to 200 feet. We also used some of that thick green wire fencing to cover the holes in the fencing that were too large to keep the dogs contained.
Details On How We Created the Fence:
4. Cut one 2inch X 6inch piece of lumber at 5 feet. Dig a big round hole that is 2 feet below the surface of the ground. Put your lumber in the ground and then pour in cement or rocks to stabalize (we used some dried cement from home depot). Tools: Post hole digger, level, tape measurer, chalk line (string covered in chalk), cement, bucket to mix cement, drill, skill saw, staple gun, screws, reused decking, green wire fencing.
That’s all for now. I won’t likely be posting how-to’s all the time, but it was a fun current project and I thought it was another easy way to be more earth-conscious. If you decide to build your own recycled fence, send us a link to your project so we can see how you did it. -Ryan- You should follow us on Twitter here! Total Read Time: 2.5 Minutes Outside of being obsessed with green home decor, I love green gadgets! Especially solar gadgets! Below are my favorite solar technologies for people on the go that are currently on the market or soon to be. While some are more expensive than others, you definitely get some bang for you buck. This is just a small sampling so if you have a favorite solar gadget or gizmo please share in the comments! Universal Hybrid Charger Enter Solio, a universal hybrid charger. What makes this charger hybrid is that it can accept power from the sun or the wind and stores energy in it’s rechargeable battery. The battery itself can actually hold its charge for up to a year! What else is great about Solio is that you can charge your cell phone, iPod, camera, GPS, or gaming devices all in one device. Long gone are the days of carrying around wire after wire and searching for the nearest outlet. With only an hour of sunshine you can listen to 50 minutes of music or talk for 20 minutes on your phone. There are also a couple of different models to choose from so you can find the best match for your ‘green’ lifestyles.
Voltaic Solar Bags All bags include standard adaptors for common cell phones and other handheld devices. Even without an adaptor, you can charge most devices with a standard car charger or USB charger. This one is definitely on my wish-list!
Solar Clothing
Solar iPod/iPhone Charger The integrated solar panel on the back of the case allows you to charge your iPhone or iPod soley from sunpower without the need for any other energy source. Plus there is an additional USB cable for charging your device if you don’t have access to sunlight. How it works…four LED indicators let you know whether you have sufficient light source for solar charging and approximately how much charge level remains in your case. And when your device is not in the case, the Solar Surge stores power in an internal battery. These chargers are the first to be licensed by Apple and only work on the newer devices unfortunately.
Become a fan of Verde Lifestyles here! Following us on Twitter? Resources: First Ever Apple-Licensed iPod Solar Charger Case Unveiled Solar Powered Clothing on the Rack Soon Voltaic Solar Bags & Solar Chargers |
but we’ve all felt the impulse to buy the latest and greatest tech items from time to time. For people who are always on the go you never know when your iPod or iPhone will die.
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