Expert Advice for your Lawn & Garden TV Host of Today's Homeowner^® and home expert for The Weather Channel

Spring means spending time outdoors and for many of us that means our own little backyard paradise. However a suitable surface for the barbecue grill, table, and chairs is a must. Here are some tips for creating your own custom paver patio.

As long as there are homes and cars there will be driveways. Danny demonstrates how to properly seal, protect and maintain asphalt driveways. Plus, take a look at other options for driveways. While driveway surfaces (concrete or asphalt for most of the country) are incredibly resilient, they do require some attention so they’ll last as long as they should.

To meet the needs of a growing family, we convert an existing underused carport into a 13′x15′ playroom for the family’s three children. Plus, there’s enough room for two storage rooms and a grilling station for Mom and Dad. Although time consuming to create, a custom tapered roof with modified rafters and rolled roofing material provided the needed slope to solve drainage problems.

I’ve had plenty of phone calls over the years from homeowners who are convinced they have to reside their entire house because some of their siding has been damaged by water. Yet when we take a look at these jobs, we often find that relatively little siding has to be replaced. Even better, the homeowners are surprised to learn that the fiber-cement siding we use as a replacement is often a perfect match for what they have. What’s more, it resists damage from water and insects.

Whether you’re creating a brick landing for a new set of steps or forming a small brick path, the trick is to get a nice sub surface to support the bricks. You’ll need a nice smooth surface but also one with a consistent depth, otherwise some bricks may be higher or lower than others creating a tripping hazard. To create a smooth surface create a screed (the same tool concrete finishers use to smooth out concrete).

Once you build a fence it is inevitable that the weather is going to take its toll on it. Fence posts that were originally cut square allow rainwater to soak right into the wood resulting in expansion and splitting of the wood. We’ve found that by cutting the fence posts at a slight angle the water drains right off rather than sitting and soaking into the wood.

Welcome mats often retain water creating problems with porch decking and keeping them from being useful to clean shoes. Use an old plastic grid diffuser from a fluorescent light fixture and place it beneath the mat to allow water to drain out. Use a jig saw to cut the grid to fit. You may also want to use screws in the corners of the grid to keep it in place and prevent slips and falls.

Pets are notorious for digging under gates. The gate has to be far enough off the ground to swing. Unfortunately, most dogs see that space as the beginning of a way out. To stop this cycle, dig a shallow trench across the gate opening and cut a piece of pressure treated landscape timber to the length of the opening. Set the timber in the trench (roughly level with the surrounding ground) and toenail to the posts on either end. The gate swings but the dog can’t dig out.

If you’ve ever painted dormers or half gables on the outside of a house you know that resting a paint can while working on a rooftop can really be tricky. Our solution: create a triangular platform with an angle opposite the roof (a bevel gauge and level will show you what the level needs to be).

A simple, easy way to measure postholes as you dig them is to mark 6-inch graduations up the handle of your posthole diggers (a permanent marker is ideal for the job). A similar approach works well for a shovel handle; only here you can measure from the handle end instead of the blade end so you can invert the tool to measure as you go.