Yard & Driveway tips from intelligent people for home renovation and repair - hiring, working, managing - for women, children and pets

With outside wood siding on the house, it would not be good to encourage vines to grow up the walls. Vines would hold moisture after rain and could eventually cause wood rot.

To build a bat house for the voracious insect eaters, particularly mosquitoes, use wood that stands up well outdoors, like cedar or redwood. Do not use pressure-treated lumber.

When mounting a satellite dish, factor in how your surroundings will grow. Trees can weaken and block the satellite signal.

To remove cement oil stains, sprinkle on a strong granular detergent, scrub with hot water and stiff brush, let it set for an hour, then rinse and repeat.

Set gardening tools and gloves in a mailbox hung on a fence or shed. They'll be protected from the weather and always be convenient.

Haul small tools and supplies out to your garden on a child's snow saucer. It will save you time and labor, and will not damage the lawn or cement.

Outdoor lighting can use colored lenses. Green lenses brighten leaves, blue lenses brighten colors. Red and yellow lights create their own effects.

Use inexpensive fill that has a fair amount of clay so it will deflect water away from the house. Topsoil, sand, stone and landscape fabric are all natural conductors of water. Accumulated water will only flow below the porous fill to the basement to further clog the drain tiles.