Yard How To & DIY
Improve the value of your home by discovering our yard step-by-step tips & ideas.
3 Nontoxic Ways to Keep Mosquitoes Out of Your Backyard BBQ
Enjoy the great outdoors—and your outdoor festivities—without blood-thirsty mosquitoes crashing the party
4 Tips for Building Stone Walls in Your Yard
Choose the best materials, location, and method and improve the look of your landscape
How to Build a Classic Picnic Table
Use cedar boards to make a table and benches fit to host family and friends for years to come.
How to Build an Outdoor Privacy Screen
Use folding wood panels to dress up your landscape
How to Rejuvenate a Lawn
Breathing new life into an old lawn with This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook
How to Build a Garage Door Pergola
Use milled brackets and pressure-treated lumber to create an elegant canopy over your garage door.
How to Cable a Large Split Tree
Certified arborist Matt Foti installs hardware to save a troubled tree from certain failure
DIY Backyard Projects for Summertime
Here are a handful of ways to create a more beautiful and relaxing outdoor space.
How to Fix a Patchy, Weedy Lawn
This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook resuscitates a dying lawn
How to Shovel and Salt Snow and Ice
This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shares tips for clearing a concrete walkway after a snowstorm
Ingenious Upgrades for Your Outdoor Rooms
Porch, patio, and deck upgrades that will make you glad you stayed at home.
How to Install a Solar-Powered Fountain
This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shows how to harness the sun's energy to power a backyard water feature.
How to Cut Down a Tree Safely
Dropping and bucking a dead tree with This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook and chainsaw safety expert Tim Ard.
How to Install a Dry Well for a Sump Pump
This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shares a permanent way to collect and disperse sump-pump water
How to Make a Lily Pond
Use treated lumber and a pond liner to create a soothing water feature in your backyard
Best Tools to Pick Up Leaves
From power vacuums to leaf blowers, we share different tools you can use to get rid of fallen leaves in your yard.
How to Install a Dry Well and Divert Rain Run-Off
Controlling rain run-off with This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook
How to Troubleshoot and Repair Weak Drip Irrigation
This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shows how to increase the water flow for happier, healthy plants
How to Choose and Use Birdfeeders
Feeding our feathered friends with This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook and Massachusetts Audubon Naturalist Tia Pinney
How to Replace an Outdoor Faucet with a Frost-Proof Sillcock
Installing a cold-weather hose faucet with This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey
How to Maintain Small Engine Gas-Powered Yard Tools
Keeping outdoor power equipment running smoothly with This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook.
How to Revive a Brown Lawn
This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook breathes new life into a dead spring lawn brought on by a harsh winter
How to Build a Cedar Compost Bench
Use clear cedar boards to assemble a comfortable and productive focal point for your yard.
How to Install a Rainwater Collection System
Capturing rainwater for yard and garden irrigation, with This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook
How to Attach a Trellis to a Concrete Wall
This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shows how to hide—and beautify—an ugly concrete-block retaining wall
How to Build a Picnic Table
This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shows a simple way to construct a strong and sturdy picnic table
How to Install an Outdoor Faucet
Learn how to add a new hose spigot with This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey.
How to Choose and Plant Ground Cover
This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shares tips for selecting, planting and growing low-maintenance ground cover.
How to Build a Rain Barrel
Collecting rainwater is a no-brainer for gardening. It’s the ugly black barrels we could do without. So here’s a plan you can use to build your own rain barrel, one that’s both eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. It’s a simple project, thanks to an off-the-shelf diverter kit that connects to a downspout.
How to Prep Your Lawn for Winter
The end of summer signals the best time to lay the groundwork for a lush field of grass come spring.
How to Build a Cedar Ice Chest
Make a handsome cedar ice chest cooler to update a backyard essential.
How to Build a Picnic Table and Benches
We asked TOH fans about picnic tables, and they asked us for an update to the park-variety A-frame. Here's our answer.