6 Easy Weekend Fall DIY Projects

Fun & Timely Fall DIY Projects

The changing of the seasons is coming soon, leaves are turning and the days are getting shorter. Fall is a great time to do DIY projects, the days are still long and the weather hasn’t gotten really cold yet with rain or snow. We suggest some really good weekend fall DIY projects that are inexpensive and easy to do in a weekend or only a couple of hours.

Most everyone has a running repair list for their home, but we also wanted to add some fun DIY projects to your fall to-do list. We believe that having a home shouldn’t just be a chore or another job. So, get out your tools and maybe include your children in some of these projects and have fun with our suggestions below.

Entry Way Shoe Storage

Your house stays cleaner when people take their shoes off before entering your home. An entry hall or mud room shoe storage stool only takes s small sheet of 3/4 inch plywood, finishing nails, and some paint to create a great place to take off your shoes before entering the house. The beauty of making a handy stool to take off your shoes and store them is it can be multi-purpose. If you can sit down to take off your shoes you are much more likely to do so. Building a two-shelf shoe storage rack with a place to sit takes less than an hour to cut, nail, and paint.

Build a Boot or Shoe Scraper

Building a shoe or boot scrapper for your front porch is a simple and easy two-hour project that will help your house stay clean and keep your shoes and boots in better condition. Making a boot scraper just takes 2 x 2’s, we used redwood and a friend used pine, using whatever wood is easy to source in 2 x 2’s will do.

You will decide how wide you want to make your boot scraper, ours is 3 feet wide and about 2 feet deep. We first cut the horizontal 2 x 2’s and then we used a radial arm saw or if you are handy you could also use a circular saw to cut triangles into the length-wise pieces of wood. You want to make sure that the 2 x 2 slats are on end so the sharp edge is up, so it can scrap your boots or shoes. Pre-drill your horizontal slats and use screws to attach them from underneath. Once your project to put together we suggest finishing the wood with a good satin varnish so it looks good and wears well.

Time to Fix Loose Hinges

The most common reason interior doors or entry doors stick is with repeated opening and closing the hinges loosen up. Usually, the top hinge is the trouble since it bears most of the weight. It is very easy to tighten your hinge screws. If you have tightened them many times before they can tend to loosen up even quicker. The solution is one I learned from a friend that owned an old home. She would unscrew the screws for the hinge and then use part of a wooden toothpick inserted into the screw hole and then replace the screws, it’s a fast fix and works well.

Solving Sticking Sliding Patio Doors

As for those sliding patio doors that can seem to stick and you think you need a guerilla to open and close them, we have a solution for those too! Sometimes it is as simple as cleaning the sliding door track. We use a glass cleaner and we cut the sponge to fit the tracks to clean the track and then an old wire coat hanger is inserted under the sliding door to help pull out any dirt, debris, or dog hair. If you do this on both sides of the sliding glass door it works well.

If you have a more stubborn problem that isn’t resolved with this method you may want to adjust your sliding glass door. This takes an Allen wrench or screwdriver and some patience. First, lift or lower the door on the track with your tools, raise it enough to clear the track, and roll smoothly. Then locate your two adjusting screws at the bottom of the door and pry off the trim caps that cover the screws. If one side looks lower, raise it until the door looks even in the tracks. If the door still sticks, turn both screws a quarter turn to raise the entire sliding glass door. Make sure your door is even and rolling smoothly and then replace the caps.

Create A Dried Leaf Fence

This is a great project that serves many purposes. It’s a great use of fall’s dried leaves and field fencing. A simple task of using two pieces of field fencing about two-four inches apart horizontally, stretching them between fence stakes, and then filling them with dried leaves. It recycles dried leaves and provides a great privacy barrier between neighbors or the street and your house. I have seen this between neighbors at 6 feet tall and as a low fence for decorative purposes in the front yard at 3-4 feet tall. It’s beautiful, economical, and a simple way to add an environmentally positive fence to your yard.

Create A Fall Wreath

Making a fall wreath is a wonderful project to do with your children. Gathering fall leaves, dried twigs, and fall dried flowers and fashioning them into a beautiful wreath for your front door is a fun project. You can dry hydrangeas, roses, sunflowers, or statice, or go to a craft store and buy dried or artificial flowers.

The easiest way for the beginner is to use a dried mesh wreath and a cold glue gun to attach the flowers and leaves to the mesh wreath. If you want to see what it will look like before you glue everything together, you can use large dressmaker pins to attach a sample of dried materials to the wreath. When you are happy with the look you have achieved you can then glue gun the leaves, flowers, and dried fruit to the mesh wreath. Fall wreaths make for a beautiful entrance door and a wonderful way to welcome friends and family to your home in the fall.

Have a fabulous fall and enjoy the cooler weather for getting projects done. We are here for you for all your small building needs, from windows to cupolas, flower boxes to hinges, with a selection of products for small outdoor buildings you won’t find anywhere else at prices that beat many big box stores.