I scoured Pinterest to find replacement ideas for our rickety plastic hose reels. We decided to install the wood posts in the photos below. Okay, I decided and Brian the did the actual work. I do anything that
has to do with actual gardening. He does anything that requires a trip
to the hardware store. It's all in the details!
As for the hose, I finally decided to try one of the lightweight hoses after reading a positive review about them on the
Hypertufa Gardener blog. You can see mine in the second photo. The Hypertufa Gardener acknowledged that they don't last
more than a season or two but said she was willing to continue buying
them because they are so much easier to use. She was right about it
being sooo much easier than a rubber hose! I need a hundred foot hose
in both spots to reach all the grass and flower beds which makes for
some really heavy rubber hoses to have to take down and roll back up.
This new hose is practically a pleasure to use. I'd still rather Mother
Nature watered for me, but if I HAVE to do it, I'd rather be using
this new hose. The other hose will be replaced soon.
If you want to make the hose post, here's what you will need:
- An eight-foot treated wood post. OR you could use untreated wood and replace it a lot if you want. Brian sank the posts four feet down which made them sturdy enough to eliminate the need for any cement at the base.
- Something to hold the hose. After reading many posts (What is it with all these pun opportunities lately?) about post hose holders, I found that you need to be careful about what piece you choose for the hose hanger. If the edges are too sharp, they create breaks in the hose over time. We picked up the metal ones you see in the photos at Target, but they are available on Amazon as well.
- A top piece if you want to kick up the fancy factor. There are all kinds of wood finial to be had at wood stores. I chose the ones with a bit of copper on top because I have a thing for copper. I would love a copper roof, but this is about as much copper as I can afford.
- A post hole digger. Borrow one if you have to. It will make the job so much easier.
Onto the next project.
I like your division of labour!!! Most of my garden hoses are curled on the ground. I only have one of those winding contraptions left and it's on its way out. Maybe I need to make one of yours.
ReplyDeleteI sort of like your division of labour - I'd prefer the jobs that require a visit to the fabric store, but that's just me :D I also prefer to leave anything involving gardening, and anything involving outdoor gruntwork ... to hubby. Again - that's just me :D Two of my neighbours had/have those lightweight hoses - they're probably a different brand than yours, but both of them died in the first year, and the store replaced them. It turns out, we discovered, that the instructions on the packaging noted that they shouldn't be left out in the sun! ROTFLMAO yeah - they actually want everyone to hide them in the shed/garage during the day like they're VAMPIRE hoses or something!
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