3 DIY Jobs to Get Your Backyard Ready For Summer

Summer’s on its way again, and with it comes balmy evenings and all the associated family holidays. During the warmer months, the last thing most people want to do is be cooped up inside – especially when entertaining friends or family. Do you have a decent outdoor area? A few good ideas – and a willingness to embrace your inner MacGyver – could take a regular outdoor setting from Basic to Baller. Here’s a few ideas of various complexity to get you started.

Build a Fire Pit

Believe it or not, fire pits are still a useful backyard item during the summer months and then you’ve got them in the cooler autumn and winter periods. They’re also extremely easy to build. You can dig out a shallow, square patch of earth, fill it with concrete and build your fire pit on that with stone or brick or you can get really creative and build a freestanding metal fire pit. Get some square tubing for the frame and the legs – the thicker the better for the legs as they’ll need to withstand massive heat. You’ll also need a wire feeder and an arc welder to properly construct the frame – if you don’t have one, sites like WIA can point you in the right direction. Get yourself some ceramic tiles that you can rest the pit on. You’ll need an ash pan and a lid too, and those can be fashioned from 12 and 14 gauge sheet metal.

Use Halved Wooden Pallets for Party Seating

Seating is a must for parties and gatherings, but outdoor furniture is expensive. Luckily, seating makes for a DIY project that’s as effective as it is simple. The first thing you’ll need is wooden pallets. These are surprisingly easy to come by – check your local online classifieds; people are frequently giving them away. Get full size pallets cut to size at your local woodshop, but note for this, they only need to be cut in half. Stack two or three pallet halves so they’re aligned and fasten them together with deck screws so they don’t move about. Sand them down if they’re a bit splintery. Place a seat cushion on top. That’s literally it. Rinse and repeat for however many seats you require. Line them up to create a couch or place them separately around the yard.

Build an Outdoor Movie Theatre

Make your yard unique with a real crowd-pleaser – bring to life your own movie theatre. Get started by finding a good spot to set up your screen. You want somewhere with a minimal amount of light pollution. You’ll need a good quality HD projector and somewhere to mount it that’s safe and out of the elements – the higher up the better.

Screen-wise, there are any number of low cost options available. Some people use curtains or thick bed sheets, some use the reverse side of large vinyl panels from their hardware store, or you could even use a shower curtain! Aim for something white so that it doesn’t distort the film’s colours. Build a frame out of pinewood that you can pin your screen to securely so that it doesn’t blow about too much in the breeze.

For sound, focus on volume over clarity. You don’t need surround. It just needs to be loud (and let your neighbours know ahead of time). The movies themselves should be Bluray for best quality. DVD is fine but the image might be a bit fuzzy. Get yourself some comfy seats, snacks and a small ocean of insect repellant and you’re ready to roll.

Do you have any awesome DIY projects of your own? Share them in the comments below!