This spring The Home Depot wants everyone to be able to entertain, play and relax in your very own Ultimate Backyard.
We've got two projects that'll add an element of play for adults and kids alike!
• Create a checker board
Identify 10-footsquare portion of backyard, marking off with stakes and a mason's line.
Remove sod and excavate soil to depth of 6 inches, plus thickness of pavers.
Use straightedge to check that soil bed is flat, adding or removing soil where needed.
Use plate compactor to compact soil.
Lay landscape fabric inside excavation site and up edges, overlapping if necessary.
Spread gravel to depth of 2 inches, raking, then tamping with plate compactor.
Repeat, so total gravel depth is 4 inches.
Shovel bedding sand over top and rake to 1-inch thickness.
Even out surface with a 2x4.
Embed first brick-red paver in sand by tapping with rubber mallet.
Repeat, laying gray paver beside first paver with 4-inch space in between.
Repeat, alternating colors for row of eight.
Add next row, spacing 4 inches between rows, until eight-row by eight-row board is complete.
Fill gaps between squares with soil; compact with hoe.
Add water to help compact.
When soil is just below level with stones, scatter grass seeds, then top dress per package instructions; tamp gently and water.
Water regularly (or opt for pea gravel instead of grass.)
Checker pieces: Create 1-foot-diameter circle template, trace onto MDF and cut out 48 discs. Glue two discs together, clamping down until dry.
Sand edges.
Paint as desired.
Drill small hole into each piece, then screw in fence posts.
Create extra pieces, omitting fence posts, to use for stacking under kings.
• Build a ring toss
Drill holes 1 inch deep into bottom of posts, just wide enough to accommodate metal rebar.
Drizzle epoxy glue into hole, and then slide in rebar.
Leave to dry as per epoxy glue package instructions.
Using number stencils, spray paint point values onto "display" sides of each post of as follows: 10 points for 1-foot posts, 20 points for 11/2-foot posts, 30 points for 2-foot posts.
Let dry as per instructions.
Push posts into lawn, with about 12 inches between each post.
Repeat about 20 feet away in opposite direction if central tossing area is desired; repeat about 5 feet away beside first court if side-by-side playing action preferred.
Form rings by filling tubes with sand, then join ends with electrical tape.
Make four rings per tape color.
For a more polished look, use a square shovel to clear a 3-foot-square area of lawn and about 2 inches of soil.
Tamp down and level the earth, then screw in the posts. (Or dig holes for fence posts, pour concrete into holes and set posts in permanently.)
Pour in a layer of pea gravel to just below grass line.
— For more ideas, visit: www.HomeDepot.com
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