Home Repair and Paint Guide

... Make sure you leave enough setback from your property lines so the plants can grow without crossing over into your neighbor’s property. It you set them too close, you’ll have to spend a lot of time with pruning shears and that would defeat one of the main advantages of this type of layout. When planting loose borders for privacy, put your tallest plant selections in the back row and shortest in the front. Keep spacing to the minimum required for the type of plants you use. Don’t crowd them, and also don’t leave too much space between each plant. Be mindful of the amount of sun exposure. Sunlight requirements for flowering bushes can be hard to meet if you have a lot of shade. Most flowering bushes require about 6 hours of sun per day. Blackhaw Viburnum is a deciduous shrub that yields white flowers in May that turns to edible fruit. In the fall, color is offered by the bluish black berries and also by the leaves. Dark green foliage changes to purple and bronze in the fall. It will reach a height of 12-15′, with a spread of 8-12′. Rose of Sharon is a flowering shrub that can reach a height of 8′-10′ and spread of 4′-6′. Blooms can be red, pink, blue, purple or white. Rose of Sharon works well in shrub borders. A row of these shrubs planted close together forms a colorful privacy screen. Compact American Cranberrybush Viburnum has a dense, rounded growth. White blooms in May and June change to red berries that attract birds. It starts out glossy and green, then turns reddish-purple in the fall ...

... Your zoning code may not allow a fence over 6 feet tall. But you can purchase bushes or trees that will grow to over 20 feet high. Plant the bushes close to each other and pick a variety that is dense. Building a privacy fence is within the abilities of the average handyman. The pieces are not very heavy and construction techniques are pretty basic. Be careful of wind. Strong gusts will not only make construction difficult, but will also blow sections of the fence down if they are not installed to handle the force. If you live in an area that normally experiences high wind gusts, talk with the fence supplier for the correct type of installation procedure. This usually involves placing the main fence posts at least 2 feet deep and using concrete or post-setter as an anchor. If you use wood, select a type that has been chemically treated to resist rot and damage from insects. You should stain or paint your wood fence prior to construction. This allows the surfaces that will be attached to and hidden by the posts to be coated and preserved. If the wood is wet or green, allow the fence to air dry for a week or two before coating. Most people use a clear water seal to provide protection while allowing the natural wood to show. But you can also paint the fence if you wish. There is not much to do after construction except routine maintenance. Wood fences will require periodic application of stain or water seal unless painted ...