Five ways to upgrade your back yard

Flickr photos / credit below

THIS MIGHT NOT be the time of year when you’re thinking about hanging out in the back yard. Or maybe you’re like me, and you’re in the back yard year round. Either way, this is the best time to upgrade your backyard digs. It’s something of a backyard offseason, and you can save hefty bucks on a few key upgrades.

Here are five ways you can take your back yard to the next level:

Upgrade your grill: It’s time to ditch that round grill on wheels you’ve had since college. Stepping up to a big-boy grill doesn’t mean going to gas. Real men cook over a fire, right? There are plenty of grills on the market that will enable you to have a top-notch grill if you prefer charcoal over gas that won’t break your bank. Here are two Man F.A.Q. approved options for under $200: Master Forge and Char-Griller.

Try a not-a-deck: If you live in a house that’s not really deck friendly – as in, your back door opens at ground level, or you have a small patio – you don’t have to miss out on what a deck can offer you. You can build something of a backyard platform. Basically, it’s like a deck, but at ground level. Because you don’t have to worry about supporting a suspended deck, backyard platforms are in many ways easier to construct than a deck. Tear up the grass over the area where you want your platform to be. Lay down some landscape fabric to keep weeds and grass from growing through. Then, follow the same instructions you would use to build a deck – consult your resident expert here – but just build it at ground level. Basically, you’re aiming for what Adam Carolla’s character built for his soon-to-be girlfriend in the movie The Hammer.

All-weather gear: Don’t struggle with a folding table for your backyard cookouts. Don’t worry about the fold-up vinyl chairs. When you have a cookout at the park, what do you use? A picnic table. Why not have one in your back yard? There are many kinds to choose from in many different price ranges. From a couple-hundred bucks to a state park quality table that’ll set you back a cool grand, here’s a Web site that will give you plenty of options: picnictablesource.com

Shed some light: The party doesn’t have to stop at sunset. From solar-powered floodlights to ground-level landscaping lights, there are darn near unlimited options. While a floodlight might be the best option for simply illuminating your back yard, the hash spotlight-effect might not be the best idea for actually being out and enjoying your back yard. For that, try this landscape light. Pick up a few, they’re less than $20 each: Portfolio Landscape Lights.

Add a firepit: Here we go, men … the ultimate. Sure, you can buy one of those firepits that’s simply a big metal cauldron you can burn wood in, but any sorority girl can do that. For a real back yard, dig your own firepit. Simply pick your spot, and do it the old fashioned way – with a shovel. We like a good-sized square hole about 3 feet on each side. Dig the hole about a foot deep, and try to make a clean, squared-off hole (like a mini-swimmingpool). Scrape the edges to kill the grass, and line those edges with firebricks. You can line the bottom, as well, but you might as well just leave the dirt. Sure, it will collect rainwater and charred wood, but just clean it out from time to time with that same shovel you used to dig it, and you’ll be set. Adding a firepit is just the thing that can make your yard usable year-round. Imagine being able to offer your friends a campfire each and every time they come over.

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Photo credits

Firepit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alibree/ / CC BY 2.0