Category Archives: Yards & Fences

bronze, glass & epoxy sunflowers

Bronze, Glass, and Epoxy Sunflowers

By George Gish

My sunflower project began after I’d brought home from the farmer’s market three sunflowers planted in a small barrel. I placed the flowers on the patio outside my kitchen’s sliding glass door. Every time I sat at the kitchen table, I looked out at this bright splash of color and felt pleasantly relaxed. That happy, soothing view ended two days later when deer ate the sunflowers. I wanted my view back, but knew that buying more flowers would just provide another meal for the deer. I decided to re-create the flowers in something they couldn’t eat: glass and bronze. Continue reading →

Building a Barbecue Grill Table

In midwinter, we purchased a portable barbecue and would, by summer, need some kind of table to support it. The table was to be located in an old English garden setting. We wanted a compact, all-weather structure that could be permanently affixed just off the edge of a patio, blend into the surroundings, complement a nearby picnic table, conceal a 20 lb LP gas container, and outlast a long succession of barbecue grills.

Our table design was completed by early spring. Retired Gougeon technical advisor, Brian Knight, agreed to build it as an example of high-quality, all-weather construction using treated lumber and WEST SYSTEM® epoxy. Continue reading →

Building a Planter Box

By Brian Knight

My wife gave me the basic guidelines for a planter box she wanted me to build. First, keep it cheap. Second, she wanted an “L” shape. Third, she provided some rough dimensions. The design was up to me. Logic seems to abandon me when I design something, and this project was no exception. A nice, straightforward box with square corners should have been the default. But after some doodling on paper, I decided to build a planter with flared sides and rounded corners. Continue reading →

Emergency Pump Repair

Barry Bew, a sailing instructor at Arethusa Venture Centre, Gravesend, Kent, UK, used his experience as a plant engineer to make an emergency repair to a swimming pool circulating pump. The pump was leaking at joints between the 3″ ABS plastic inlet and discharge pipes and the cast iron pump body. Continue reading →

Fence and Gate Construction

The finished fence, of rot resistant cedar, is built by gluing pieces together instead of nailing.

By Brian Knight

Rot is one of the major disadvantages of a wooden fence. Wherever there is a fastener—nail, staple or screw—there is a potential site for rot to begin. Water gets around each fastener and soaks into the wood. When the temperature and the moisture content are right, rot invades these areas. To make a fence that would not rot quickly, I used a rot resistant wood and eliminated fasteners, gluing pieces together instead of nailing. Not only was the process fast—I could assemble 42′ of fence a day—but warps and twists in the fence material were easily dealt with. Continue reading →

Repairing Cracks in Concrete

By Brian Knight

Cracks in poured concrete floors and foundation walls allow water to leak into basements and cause damage. With WEST SYSTEM® epoxy, you can, in many instances, fill the cracks from the inside and stop the water penetration without digging up your yard. WEST SYSTEM epoxy’s adhesion to concrete is excellent. It is very resistant to moisture penetration, and the tensile and compressive strength of the epoxy (about 8500 psi and 10,000 psi respectively) easily exceeds that of concrete. The following process is one method of epoxy injection that effectively seals cracks without requiring excavation outside the walls. The actual filling process takes some time, so use a slow hardener if the temperature is above 60°F. Continue reading →