Building a storage shed in your back yard can solve many of your problems. If you are wondering if the job may be too much for you, read the overview that follows and find out. There are more detailed articles available and even free plans online covering each of the steps in a more in depth manner. Use these to get a better idea of each phase of the project

Step One:

To begin with you will need to obtain plans. You can either do them yourself or purchase them yourself. When you are deciding how to proceed there are several ways that you can go. You can use a kit, buy plans and build from them or purchase the software and design them on your own. What option you select depends the amount of personalization you want to give your shed.

Step Two:

Choosing the proper site is important. Consider zoning, direction of the sunlight, where the utility lines are located, etc.  Once you have selected the site, clear the ground around the site and make the dirt smooth and level. You have several options. You could decide to place you shed directly on the ground or have a concrete pad poured over the area or dig out a foundation and fill it level with gravel. Whichever way you go do not neglect this step.

Step Three:

Now you are ready to start framing the walls and building the shed. Your plans will provide an excellent guideline for measuring, cutting and framing each section. While you put everything together, take time to plan which features you want. What kind of door do you need? Do you want shelves or tables? A solid floor? Electricity? How many windows do you want and what type?

Step Four:

The next step is to get your shed a roof. Depending on the size of the shed you can either build your roof in place or build it on the ground and lift it into place. In either case, make sure that your roof is securely fastened into place.

Step Five:

Now, for the last step it is time to put on the finishing touches like paint and caulk, both of which are necessary to protect you shed and its contents from the weather. You can also paint your shed to complement your home.

Now you have a basic idea of the steps needed to build your storage shed.

Fossil fuels are becoming scarce and everyone is looking for alternatives’ Apple Inc is considering using solar energy to power its iPod, California’s Ironwood prison is installing more than 6000 solar panels and Boston’s Fenway Park is using solar energy for Red Sox games. After many years on the fringes solar power is soon to be Americas mainstream power source. Panel attached to the roof convert sunlight into electricity and still in the high end as far as expense goes and cannot compete with cheaper, less environmentally friendly fuels like oil and coal. Building a solar furnace yourself is one way of harnessing the sun´s energy without the expense of buying factory made equipment.

Step One:

Buy or make yourself mirror chips from glass or plastic. Glass is less expensive because the material conducts heat better. The chips should be about ¾” long. If you need to cut them use and oil-fed glass cutter as the cuts are cleaner than a diamond wheel and you will spend less time trimming the edges.

Step Two:

Next use plywood that is ½” thick on the frame. It can be thicker if you are planning to make your solar furnace very wide. Before you assemble the frame, pre-drill the holes for the screws that you will use to secure the mirrors to the plywood.

Step Three:

If you are planning to make you solar furnace very wide make four squares of mirrors. Tilt the mirrors toward the middle of the plywood and use toothpicks secured with hot glue as spacers.

Step Four:

Make or buy hinges for the mirror. You can make them easily by putting a bit of RTV silicone caulk at the mirrors corners, again using a piece of toothpick as a spacer. If you need to adjust the mirrors later you will have no trouble using the screws. Your mirrors will need to be adjusted periodically to get the best focused light possible.

Step Five:

This step is very important. Once you have secured all of your mirrors, cover all of them except a single one near the center. Cover it with Post-it notes. Now take your solar furnace into the sun and use the one uncovered mirror as a reference to focus all of the other mirrors. Take your time and focus the solar furnace directly on the area that you want to heat.

Every second of every day, the surface of the earth is covered with energy from the sun. Nearly all of the energy on earth comes from it. You can use this energy to cook up any number of tasty and nutritious meals with a simple solar oven.

Material needed: (do not use any materials that may cause toxic fumes)

• Any cardboard box (pizza delivery boxes are ideal)
• Box knife or scissors
• Aluminum foil
• Plastic wrap
• Black heavy bond paper
• Stick or dowel rod
• Old newspaper

Step One:

Find two boxes. One of these boxes should fit inside the other, leaving a space on each side of about 2”-3”. This space can vary just a little. You will be filling it with newspaper. Line the bottom of the large box with newspaper and place the smaller box inside. Now fill the space between the boxes with crumpled newspaper also.

Step Two:

Line the sides of the smaller box with aluminum foil. Make sure to use non-toxic tape or fold the edges of the foil over the top of the box edge to hold it firmly. Now line the bottom of the smaller box with black construction paper to absorb the heat that will be generated.

Step Three:

Add 2” around the trace line and cut out the pattern to make a reflector. Cover the pattern with aluminum foil. Smooth out the wrinkles. Make certain to secure the aluminum foil with non-toxic tape or glue. Staple the reflector to the outside back of the large box.

Step Four:

Place the oven with the opening of the box and the reflector facing the sun for maximum exposure. Place the food to be cooked inside the oven.

Some warnings and helpful tips

• Preheating takes about 30 and cooking time takes about twice as long as a conventional oven.
• Use bigger boxes for larger ovens and smaller boxes for smaller ovens.
• Do not use any materials that give off fumes such as Styrofoam
• Don’t use this type of oven for foods that are frozen, need high temps or that have to be cooked rapidly.

Whether you have a pool or not to complement your spa a deck can be an perfect location because it offers an elevated, clean, flat surface on which to dry off after relaxing in your hot tube. Building a deck to support a spa is very different that assembling an ordinary deck since the weight that it needs to support is a great deal more. It must be sturdy and strong.

Materials needed:

You will need treated wooden planks for piers and footing, measuring tape, shovel, stakes, sand, and saw.

Step One:

The usual deck measures about 8´x 8´.  Mark your perimeter with stakes and string. Determine the center of your deck area by using the meeting point of strings that are strung diagonally between the stakes, from one corner to the other. Now mark this point with another stake. Mark all of the other locations of pier footings with stakes. On a deck of this size (8´x8´) there will be 13 of these. One for the center, four for the corners and 4 placed at the center point of each side and the last four placed between these and the center stake.

Step Two:

Now you will need to dig square holes at each side of the pier footing locations, at least two feet deep with a thin layer of sand ( about 3”) over the bottom of the holes. Level and compact the sand. Place the pier footings vertically on the inside, assuring yourself that they are firmly set and level, then pound down the soil around the footings. Add enough soil at the base of each footing to allow overflow water to run away and not form puddles around your deck once the tub is installed.

Step Three:

Cut all of your wood to the proper length, 8´x4´ in this case, which is easily done by attaching two 8´x2´s boards, shaped so that they fit easily together. Secure the deck´s support frame over the pier footings. Use metal T-plates to fasten the wood boards together atop the support pillars.

Step Four:

Secure the flooring of your deck to the support frame. Screw 2”x4” planks over the support frame, and leave a tiny gap between each board. To keep your structure safe, be sure to countersink all of your screws. Coat your deck with weather-proof stain and finish. Sprinkle some sand onto the finish before you spread it to create a nonslip surface in case water slips out of the tub. Allow the finish to dry and install the plumbing, electrical and tub itself and your ready to enjoy.

First off, you have to know that installing any car electronics isn’t any kind of picnic. Stuffing all of those electronics and cables into a space that they weren’t intended to go into presents many unique challenges for even the best installers. Building custom speaker enclosures can be the most creative part of the job. Installing a box is a choice many car stereo enthusiasts really love. The sound of the smooth, deep bass is hard tough job inside of a cars environment.

There are two types of boxes to consider. The sealed box, which is nothing more than an airtight enclosure whose purpose, is to enhance the speaker’s performance. The vented box, also known as ported or bass-reflex systems, are more complex to install but the performance jump is worth the effort. Vented boxes channel sound to the front and rear on the cone. They also give better bass sound. The following instructions are for a sealed box. There are much more detailed instructions available online for both a vented box and a sealed box. Which ever one you decide on will improve the sound in your car significantly.

Step One:

Determine the dimensions of the box in which you speakers will rest. You will need several pieces of wood, about ½” thick for the walls and top of your speaker box. Lay out your materials and tools.

Step Two:

Take a circular and cut out the shapes needed to build the enclosure that you will need. Trim off any rough edges and sand well. When forming the enclosure, use liquid nails between the connections to create a strong bond that will easily direct the sound waves that best suit the listener. You might need to install a port for the sound to better propagate and resound. Now install the wires that will connect the speakers to the stereo.

Step Three:

Now that you have the wiring done and the box sealed up tight, the speakers can be installed. Carefully solder the wires, keeping in mind that the vibration of the vehicle will affect them, and lay down a good bead of silicon before pressing the speakers firmly but gently into their openings. You should have gotten a set of screws with your speakers but if not they are available at any hardware store. Finally determine which order you band pass is as this will determine the amps and capacitor derivatives.