Low Rent Renaissance

Had I not almost everything I needed laying about the tool shed, this antenna might have cost as much as $20 to make. A piece of 2x4. Some wire. A piece of PVC pipe. Some little lag bolts. I purchased a balun (a type of transformer) on Ebay for $3. You can by a similar device at Lowe's for about $4. I didn't know it at the time. I pretty much followed these directions to build my antenna: http://www.tschmidt.com/writings/Design%20and%20install%20outdoor%20TV%20antenna.pdf . But incorporated some of this guy's plans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8jsDxNgHn4 The antenna works great inside. But this behemoth is, as are most antennas, not particularly pleasing to the eye. And we have so much stuff to knock around in here. So I decided to put it outside. The thing about that is this: Once outside, an antenna is pretty much a lightening rod. Especially when you hang it high, on a pole. Yup. Our antenna pole, including its stand, is about 20 feet from the ground up. The antenna ...

These papercrete stone shapes were made with a Quikcrete Walkmaker mold, allowed to cure for several weeks, and mounted on the gazebo with sheetrock screws. Then I filled in behind and around them using the papercrete sculpture mixture. I fastened a couple more faces to the totem pole at the entrance the same way, then used the sculpture mix to fashion their "hair." I also began applying the first layer of papercrete to the next section of wall. As stated in an earlier post, applying the first layer to my flimsy fence wire + chicken wire + hardware cloth armature is difficult, and I've had trouble finding a way to reinforce the armature. (Once the first layer of papercrete cures, the walls are firm enough to daub on more. The finished wall, with the faux stones attached, is several inches thick and seems to be very strong.) Anyway, I experimented by attaching some recycled aluminum window screen to the inside wall and coating it with the latex paint, sand and cement mixtu...