Halloween

Halloween Outdoor Decorations

Everyone is looking for something to do with the kids this year for Halloween outdoor decorations. As a family, get an old pair of pants and shirt, stuff with straw, and place on a stake or set it on a straw bale with the stake in the bale. Stick a pumpkin head on it and you got a ghoulish scarecrow!


Blow up some balloons and glue white or black gauze on them and hang them in trees as witches or ghosts. I know someone each year that dips his bare feet in red paint (washable paint) and leaves footprints up the sidewalk.

Ideas are endless like taking paper towel rolls and cutting eyes in them, placing a glow stick in the roll then hide them in the bushes to stare out. Using plywood to make gravestones or pallets for cages.

Home Improvement, Home Maintenance

Roofing Materials

I replaced my house asphalt shingles with a metal roof. The type is called a standing seam metal roof with seams running upwards. It is quiet and durable. Most last from 30 to 50 years and come in many colors and designs. Stronger than regular shingles that will withstand heavy snowfall. Becoming increasingly common in fire-prone areas. Today, there are many different types of roofing materials.

Roofing types
Roofing types

Roofs come in many materials. The most popular is asphalt shingles. Made from asphalt with a mineral granule that flexes with temperature fluctuations. Life span ranges from 15 to 30 years.

Metal shingles
Metal shingles

In a combination of the two are metal shingles. They can look like wooden shakes, slate, or clay tiles. They last as long as a metal roof.

Shake shingles
Shake shingles

Going back to the old day are wood shingles or shakes. Usually, cedar or redwood making an attractive roof. They last from 20 to 60 years depending on atmospheric dampness.

High profile clay shingles
High profile clay shingles

Clay tiles are made from clay and fired to make them hard. Usually red-orange color and found in hot climates because they are a good insulating material. They may last as long as 100 years.

Concrete shingles
Concrete shingles

Concrete tiles are similar to clay tiles however using sand instead of clay. They are the most durable and be colored. They come in high or low profiles. Very good in withstanding high winds. Concrete tiles may require extra framing because of the weight.

Vines

Porcelain Berry

So .. Porcelain Berry vine has that beautiful blue I can count on every autumn rather small but outstanding in the BLUE department coming in clusters of blue, reddish, and purple colors. Leaves can come in variegated white also.

The vine is hardy growing 12 feet tall by 8 feet wide. Can be grown on the ground to cover rocks. Not eatable. The proper name is Ampelopsis glandulosa var. brevipedunculata.