Exterior builds are structural additions and the improvements that define how the property presents and performs.
01Front walkway — paver installation
Excavate 8 inches below finished grade. Install 4–6 inches of compacted gravel, then 1 inch of bedding sand screeded level. Set the pavers in the desired pattern with 1/8-inch spacers, working from a corner. Compact the surface with a plate compactor over a rubber pad. Sweep polymeric sand into the joints and compact again. Edge restraints along both sides of the path keep the pavers from spreading laterally over time.
02Mailbox post
A mailbox post set in concrete is a 4x4 or 4x6 pressure-treated post sunk 24–30 inches in the ground with a concrete collar. Dig the hole with a post-hole digger or power auger, set the post plumb, pack with concrete, and brace in two directions until the concrete cures. Position the mailbox at the height required by USPS guidelines — typically 41–45 inches from the road surface to the mailbox floor.
03Raised planting bed — landscape timber
Landscape timber beds are stacked timbers pinned with rebar driven through the layers. Use 6x6 pressure-treated landscape timbers rated for ground contact. Stack two courses, offsetting the corner joints like brickwork. Drive 1/2-inch rebar at 4-foot intervals through both courses into the ground below. Fill with quality topsoil and compost blend.
04Fence — wood picket
Set pressure-treated 4x4 fence posts at 8-foot on-center spacing, sunk below frost line in concrete. Attach two 2x4 rails horizontally between posts — one at 8 inches above grade, one at 48 inches. Attach pickets to the rails with two galvanized nails or screws per picket per rail. Space pickets with a consistent gap using a spacer board. Cut picket tops at a consistent angle with a miter saw for clean presentation.
Marcus Webb is a general contractor and home maintenance writer based in Columbus, Ohio. He writes about the repairs and installs that come up every year in every house — the practical, repeating work that keeps a home livable.