How to Hide an Air Conditioning Unit

Man, I am SO glad to be done with this project! Check out my new screen that hides my air conditioning unit on the side of the house:

As you guys may have heard me mention in the Periscope sneak peek I did last week, this was a project I did in a sponsored partnership with Liquid Nails Fuze*It. They sent me a box full of the stuff and told me to go bananas (okay, so those are my words, but that's kind of what I did anyway):

I've used Liquid Nails Fuze*It on a number of projects in the past, but this seemed like a fun opportunity to really see what I could do with it. So, I decided on a plan to hide the air conditioning unit on the side of the house with an inexpensive, quick building project. You guys might recall that the whole area used to look like this:

I've made quite a  lot of progress so far, especially with some inexpensive egg rock and air conditioner-friendly plants back here, but the element I wanted to add most of all was something that would hide the A/C unit from the road. Nothin' fancy, but something.

And while I was at it, I realized that I might as well extend the screen to the right, which would then also hide the meter that's closer to the chimney:

This project was going to put a lot of their bragging points to the test:

• bonds almost anything to almost anything else, both porous and smooth surfaces – needed to join the smoother and chemically-treated PT lumber 2x2s to the rough cedar boards


• offers an instant grab to save time – needed because I had a limited number of clamps and time (and to be honest, patience)


• creates a durable, flexible bond – needed since I was going to eyeball the crap out of my measurements but didn't want it to look that way


• can be applied interior and exterior in hot, cold, wet, or dry environments – the humid Atlanta weather (and a freak rainstorm) made for 3/4 of these without breaking a sweat (okay, I totally broke a sweat, but you get the idea!)

Materials Needed:

• cedar fence pickets


• pre-treated 2x2s


• clamps


• Liquid Nails Fuze*It


• Optional: fasteners (I went without, but I think the project would set up a lot faster if you use them in combination with the LN)

To start, I cut the dog-eared ends off the cedar pickets. But don't throw these bits away just yet! You'll need them later.

Next, I measured and cut down enough cedar boards to create 5 boards per panel, a total of 15 (length would be determined by your own A/C unit measurements, but mine were 50 in. for the front panel, 34 in. for the side panel, and 34 in. for the panel in front of the gas meter).

I also cut the PT 2x2s down for four total posts. These would be what I glued and clamped the cedar boards to, but with about 12 inches of overhang at the bottom that would serve to anchor the panels into the ground. (***Important*** Before digging this into the ground, know where your utility lines are! You can find this out quickly and easily by calling 811 or submitting online a few days before you plan to dig. ***)

Time for gluing! I started with the top piece and carefully glued and clamped to make it square with the vertical 2×2 posts. I wasn't very precise with making things square, but since I was careful with my cuts and working on a level surface, things came together nicely.

Don't worry if a little oozes out; I used the edges of the scrap pieces to clean some of it up, and it's hardly noticeable when all is said and done.

Next, I added the second board below the first, but this is where the scrap pieces come into play.

Use the pieces (provided they are visually straight and not warped) as a means of evenly spacing out each board.

I noticed that the fusing of each piece of cedar to the post began to set in a matter of minutes; working quickly, I glued and clamped until I had five pieces in a row. I also read on the back of the tube that it actually adheres even better when you wet down the surface a little before applying, so I grabbed a wet paper towel to move even faster. Little did I realize that the next day, an afternoon shower would come through and basically take care of the wet factor all on its own, so I went without a paper towel for the remainder of the project.

While the first panel (which wound up being the middle panel that the others attached to) cured, I came up with my plan of action on the two remaining sides. The piece that would go in front of the meter was next, but I only cut four posts total. So, the plan was to use the middle panel as my base and attach more panels to it on the left and right sides, creating a sort of “Z” pattern when all is said and done. Figuring out whether to glue the panels in front of or behind the post was the hardest part, especially because I was clamping things upside down… and it's been a long week.

If the visuals aren't helping you picture it as well as you hoped, here's a simple diagram. Imagine this is the vertical view, looking directly overhead each panel, and the small squares are the posts that support the boards:

So once I flipped it over, panels 1 and 2 looked more like this:

With the first two cured, I then glued on the third and final panel (but this time, right-side up).

Finally, it was time to dig some holes and place the new screen in the ground!

It took a little sweat, but in the end, everything was magically level. I say “magically” because I popped the screen into each hole I'd dug and put my level on top of each panel expecting I'd have to make some adjustments, but it was oddly perfect right away. That never happens!

If you need a refresher on spacing, go to this post from when I added landscaping. Keeping a good distance away from the unit is really important for air flow!

Truth be told, I would have buried the posts a little deeper if I didn't also need to plan for the scalloped edging that will go in front of this area, but the corners are nice and secure for me. If you're going to try this project yourself and are concerned about the posts sticking into the ground, you might want to attach some rebar onto the posts and hammer them into the ground. But again, be sure you have contacted your utilities to make certain that you won't accidentally interfere with any lines buried in the ground.

The whole panel only really hides the side that's visible to the street, but because it's got a simple installation and opens in the back, it's freely accessible if anything needs to be serviced (theoretically… I haven't heard anything from anyone yet, but it should be fine). And just because I like the fun comparison, here's the before:

Here's progress:

And here's after!

• Paint remaining house trim on this side


• Dig the scalloped edging in front of the A/C screen down


• Possibly add some additional plants near the chimney area to finish off the whole side!

Big thanks to Liquid Nails Fuze*It for sponsoring this project, available exclusively at The Home Depot. I love the way it turned out!

#DontJustGlueIt #LiquidNails

The post How to Hide an Air Conditioning Unit appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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Living DIY Challenge: Cascading Stump Planter

I think I'm just going to have to call this The Summer of Outdoor DIY, because I can't seem to stay inside long enough to finish something off before going back out and beautifying another part of the yard. I promise, I am working on a few reveals inside, but the outdoor ones have been going so well that I'm just trying not to jinx it. This time, I attempted a project I've seen on Pinterest but wasn't sure if it was really as easy as it looked. It wasn't. But I still got it done, and even got to skip arms day at the gym. Oh yeah - and it's not looking half bad, either.

As I mentioned last week, a few DIY blogging buds of mine like to do this thing where we pick a theme and all kind of just go build or make something involving whatever was picked. We've done organization. We've done scrap wood. We've done lighting. This time, I was going to host (um… foreshadowing), so I picked Living DIY (#LIVINGDIYCHALLENGE) for no other reason than I was already working on like ten ideas that could qualify for this as an option. The concept: build or DIY something that involves a living element. Indoors, that could be a terrarium or a dog dish stand or wall art that has plants hanging off of it; outdoors, the concept is practically already built in to every project. With such endless possibilities, I couldn't wait to see what my bloggy pals were going to come up with! They were going to kick my butt, but I was prepared for that, since they kind of have “being a badass” down to a science. And with me hosting, I knew there was a built-in method for keeping me accountable, since I'm usually the procrastinating one who takes on too much and struggles to post in time. Well, about that…

#LIVINGDIYCHALLENGE

Getting the project part done was one thing, but in some hilariously fun twist, June just happened to be the month where nearly all of my blog buds slept through their proverbial project alarms. Each of them pulled a Sarah, so-to-speak - in that they agreed to our challenge, started their projects, and then many of them had not one, but multiple conflicts this very week! Wop, wop. I was tempted to postpone on their behalf, but I didn't want to force anyone else to postpone their projects if they had created them for the challenge, so I decided to just roll with it, Hunger Games-style. Whoever's odds were in their favor, they could post away. And I'm glad I did, because Mindi from My Love 2 Create has a stunning wall project to share today that you won't want to miss!

There's also a linkup at the bottom when this post goes live, so be sure to check out the other themed projects. For now though, let's get onto my stump planter project!

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How to Create a Cascading Stump Planter in the Yard

Start with an ugly-ass stump that you have been giving the stink-eye to ever since you moved in. To clarify, this was not a leftover from the tree removal project I did last year - this thing was likely a tree taken out by the city many years ago and left to rot in an awkward spot by some utility lines in my front yard. Basically, it's smack dab in the middle of an otherwise easy-to-mow area.

Grab some safety equipment. I repeat. Make sure you have safety glasses on. I would make a Bible joke right now about having a splinter in your eye, but I'm specifically saying to avoid that, so let's just go with the simple, third warning that you don't want to have bits of wood stuck in your eye under any circumstances, so put something on over them that deflects the ugly stump from getting up close and personal with your baby blues.

In other news, you'll also need a drill and the biggest spade bit you can find in your garage. And a hammer. A chisel would have been helpful to have one if you owned one, but if you don't, then you're as ill-prepared for this project as I was, but you can still knock it out. It just takes a little more elbow grease.

The stump I worked on already had a center hole drilled into it from whenever it was taken down, so it had several years to dry out and become insect food. I was glad to have this, because it meant drilling went a lot quicker (the stump was already very dry and splintery). In fact, I had to be careful as I drilled to keep the edge intact, since one whole side of the stump had already been chipped away over time (perhaps by nature or a wayward edge trimmer).

Keep going. I found that the most effective combination was my spade bit and Dewalt drill, then whacking at various stubborn bits with a hammer until things came out in large chunks (a chisel would have also been helpful). This Old House suggests using a mattock, which I also have, but I couldn't get enough control with it to make sure that the edge of the stump stayed intact, so I went back to using the hammer. Stacey from Not Just a Housewife did a similar project with creating an indoor planter out of a section of an old log, so check out her post for more tips (though, I will say that I did not find the Ryobi impact driver I had effective on this project at all… the bits kept slipping).

Try to get four to six inches deep at least, and drill a few deeper spots for drainage. You can't really see it in the pictures here, but the sawdust was particularly effective at making me think I wasn't making any progress, when in fact the ground middle area was much deeper once I swept everything away.

Finally, it was time for the fun part: adding plants. I originally thought I would go with succulents, but when I found a fun little fern and flowers, I changed my mind. Foxtail, Calipetite along the back are drought tolerant, and the Portulaca (the pink flowers) cascades down the front of the stump, which makes the chipped-off area look a lot more intentional.

And here's the final result!

I raced against the clock to snap these pics just before the skies opened up. The rain may have caused the flowers to snap shut, but I still think it looks a lot prettier than where I began!

Let's do a before and after, just for fun:

And now, it's your turn to link up! If you decided to go along with the theme, please use the hashtag #LIVINGDIYCHALLENGE on social media so that I can see and comment on your project, and please use the graphic above referencing the challenge with a link back to this post so that your readers can click through and check out the other projects. Thanks!

An InLinkz Link-up

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The post Living DIY Challenge: Cascading Stump Planter appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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