5 Tips For Keeping Your Residential Lift Looking Great

5 Tips For Keeping Your Residential Lift Looking Great

As with any significant investment in your home, if you have a residential lift we presume you want it to look great for as long as possible. One advantage you have is, unlike a commercial lift which may see hundreds of people using it every day, your home lift may only be used on a handful of occasions within the same period of time.

Nevertheless, if you do not take the appropriate steps to care for and maintain your residential lift, it will soon start looking far from new, and the risk is that it will start developing aesthetic problems that either cannot be rectified or which require a large amount of money to fix. So, to help you avoid those costs, and to help keep your residential lift looking great for as long as possible, here are 5 tips that we strongly encourage you to follow.

Regular Maintenance

It might seem strange that we talk about the maintenance of your home lifts first, rather than some of the tasks to keep it clean. However, as any technician, engineer or mechanic will tell you, if you want something to look as good as new for as long as possible, then you must maintain it properly.

By ensuring regular maintenance of your home lift, it means that it will function properly and the chances of any kind of fault developing such as it getting stuck are minimised. Repair work on lifts can occasionally mean they suffer from superficial damage, so the fewer the faults and repairs, the better.

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The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Timber for Your Project

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Timber for Your Project

Hey there, DIY enthusiasts and woodworking newbies! Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and let’s chat about one of my favorite topics – timber. Whether you’re looking to build a deck that’ll be the envy of the neighborhood or craft a coffee table that’ll become a family heirloom, choosing the right timber is crucial. So, let’s dive in and demystify the world of wood!

Why Timber Choice Matters

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s talk about why picking the right timber is so important. I remember my first major woodworking project – a bookshelf for my daughter’s room. I was so excited that I rushed out and bought the first wood I saw without much thought, even though I should have considered some building supplies. Let’s just say, that bookshelf ended up being more of a “learning experience” than a functional piece of furniture!

The right timber can make your project sing. It affects everything from the look and feel of your finished piece to how long it’ll last. Plus, working with the wrong wood can turn a fun project into a frustrating ordeal faster than you can say “knotty pine.”

Understanding Wood Types

Alright, let’s start with the basics. In the world of timber, we’ve got two main categories: hardwoods and softwoods. Now, don’t let the names fool you – they’re not always about how hard or soft the wood actually is!

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10 Factors That Create Shade Sails Damage And How To Counter Them

If there is one description that shade sails cannot be labelled with it is fragile. In truth, if you were to ask most people who have shade sails they would describe them as robust, durable, and strong. However, despite shade sails being invariably reliable, they are not invincible. In other words, there are some factors that, if they were to exist, could compromise shade sails and their durability.

Some of these factors occur naturally, others are due to their owners making mistakes, and a lack of care and maintenance of the shade sails is also a major issue. The results can include shade sails looking grubby, them becoming damaged, and ultimately the need to replace shade sails arises long before they would normally have needed replacing, especially if certain preventive measures had been taken.

To know what some of these preventative and remedial actions are, you must first know what damaging factors they address, and so, to ensure that you do know them, based on the advice from the professionals at One Shade, we have outlined ten of the most commonly occurring ones below.

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4 Ways To Ensure Your Landscaped Garden’s Pavers Look Good For Longer

One of the most common requests landscaping companies receive when discussing a landscape design with their residential clients is for paving. Whilst the local climate is such that the risks of continuous rain making lawns unsuitable for walking on are minimal, there is still a huge demand for paving stones and slabs to be included in landscaped gardens.

The two main reasons for the demand for paving are the practical use of them for walking safely and comfortably through a garden, and the aesthetic value the paving brings to a landscape design. One important point we must alert you to from the outset is that no matter what type, size, quantity, and design of the paving you have in your garden, there is a need to maintain them so that they retain their appearance for longer.

If this is not done, then the risk is that a combination of them being walked on frequently, plus the heat and sunshine can cause pavers to diminish in terms of their appearance. Thankfully, there are ways you can prevent this from happening such as the four we have outlined below.

Ensure Paving Is Laid Correctly

One of the main causes of pavers losing their appearance, or worse, becoming unsafe, is that they were not laid properly in the first place. The issues created by paving stones not being laid properly include them sinking, loosening, or cracking, all of which have the potential to make them unsafe for those walking on them and to make your paving look less than appealing.

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5 Ways to Add Value to Your Property with Limestone

5 Ways to Add Value to Your Property with Limestone

People have been using stone of various kinds for hundreds of years as building supplies. There are many types of stone and each has a distinctive look and colour to it that creates a beautiful surface and enhances its surroundings. Limestone blocks especially have a unique texture and colour that make it one of the most popular stones for building, even though it is not as hard as some other types.

In fact, limestone is so popular that it has been developed into a more durable and hard stone by crushing it and mixing it with cement and sometimes an aggregate such as small pebbles is added to the mix. These then show up through the surface adding texture and interest and creating a mix of colours that are pleasing to the eye.

There are many ways to add value to your home with limestone, but not only will its use add value to the property; it will also enhance your lifestyle by adding pleasure and purpose to many areas. This can be an even more important reason to go ahead with building a project using limestone bricks or blocks.

  1. Adding an outdoor dining and entertaining area with pavers of limestone will not only look beautiful, it will give you and your friends many hours of pleasure as you enjoy alfresco meals or simply relax in the cool of the evening. To add life and colour back into the paved area you can use big or small garden pots with a variety of plants, this makes it easier to maintain and gives you the chance to move them around when needed.

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How to Set Up a Perfect Home Office?

How to Set Up a Perfect Home Office?

With the changing times, the question arises: why is our generation so different from all other generations when we think about the home office? The answer is that the routines have changed drastically. Our ancestors have to spend their 8 hours of working in an office. They must travel through various transports to reach their office and on the same vehicles after work.

But if we talk about our generation, the paradigm has shifted drastically. We don’t want to get stuck in traffic, weather, and all other hindrances to work as we can work from home. Many have not renewed their office leases, called in the removalists, shed some excess office equipment, and set up offices in their familiar surroundings – at home.

According to a survey, more people are working from home than ever. Regardless of what we do, our generation has figured out how to accomplish our daily tasks from home. The advancement of technology has gifted us with this comfort, and we can even work in our pajamas.

Advantages of Working from Home

  • We can save time traveling.
  • We can work efficiently because of the environment and comfort.
  • The office talks are long forgotten at home.

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How To Compare The Different Soil Types Available For Your Landscape Garden

How To Compare The Different Soil Types Available For Your Landscape Garden

Whilst landscape designers have excellent skills when it comes to designing the layout of a landscaped garden, their knowledge also extends to matters related to horticulture. By that, we are talking about them knowing which plants are suitable within a design and the best conditions for each one.

If they did not have that knowledge, whilst they might initially create a great-looking garden, it would fail due to plants not growing, lawns looking discoloured due to poor drainage, and any other problems that can occur in gardens. Thankfully, most landscapers are reputable and will ensure any landscape design they create will produce a park that is an aesthetic joy and that everything that grows within that garden will thrive.

A garden that thrives is only possible if the soil within it is suitable for the plants that grow there, which brings us to one of those specific areas of knowledge that landscapers have. It is essential to know the types of soil within a garden and, where necessary, what soil needs to be added to allow the plants that are planned for it to have the best chances of thriving.

Although we cannot cover every possibility, we have highlighted below some soil types you might find in your garden and their various facets. This should allow you to compare them to ascertain which suits your garden and your plans.

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Get Yourself a Pebble-Bottom Finish Pool

Get Yourself a Pebble-Bottom Finish Pool

Have you come across a movie scene or photos of landscaping work that had a tropical pool at the back-drop that caught your attention and you wished you could install one? Yes, it happens! The pastoral look perfectly harmonized with the natural surroundings can be quite captivating. But then the thought of the entire affair being an expensive one or the slim chances of your backyard space might lead in delaying your plans. Think again! Rather than making presumptions, you can read the details and figure out the cost.

Pebble Pool Finishes

Pebble finishes are exposed aggregate finishes that give the pools a perfect pastoral or blue lagoon design. There is a huge assortment of textures and color combinations to choose from. Many people are unaware that skilled professionals or pool builders apply pebble finishes by hand, unlike other finishes where machines are used. After the pebble bottom application is completed on the pool, a water and muriatic acid concoction is used to powder wash the finish. The powder wash does the magic by removing all the unwanted concrete from the top layer to expose the beautiful colored pebbles, leaving the pool ravishing.

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Why Professionally Cleaned Carpets Can Help You Sell Your Home

Why Professionally Cleaned Carpets Can Help You Sell Your Home

Selling your home can be stressful, and one of the most significant stress points is fearing that you cannot sell your home; however, have you ever considered that something as simple as having professional carpet cleaners come to your home could make the difference?

Now, we will state right away that if you price your home at too high an asking price or your home is in poor condition, no amount of carpet cleaning, professional or otherwise, is likely to convince a seller to buy it. But, if you have priced sensibly, and your home is well-maintained, any buyer viewing who also sees that your carpets look almost like new thanks to them being professionally cleaned could be moved closer to a decision to buy your home.

So, let us look closely at why that might be and examine precisely why professionally cleaned carpets can help you sell your home.

Carpets Take Up A Large Proportion Of What Buyers See When They View

Small details can come into play when a potential buyer views a house. However, it will be the more significant element that they will pay the most attention to. For example, when they look at the cleanliness and condition of the carpets on almost every square inch of the floor, this will have a far more significant influence on their decision than the kitchen taps.

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How To Clean Your Kitchen Cabinets Properly

How To Clean Your Kitchen Cabinets Properly

When homeowners have kitchen renovations in their home, perhaps including cabinet makers creating increased storage space with new cabinets, it is certain that on day one after completion, these kitchens look akin to the sort of kitchen layouts you might see in a kitchen showroom.

Doubtless, for the first few days and weeks, everyone in the family will be well-warned to look after the new kitchen and to tidy away any mess as soon as possible. That may even continue for several months as everyone in that home takes pride in their new kitchen.

Part of keeping the kitchen looking as good as it did when it was first completed will be cleaning that kitchen. That will cover several tasks, such as mopping the floor, wiping countertops, and washing and putting away dishes and cutlery after mealtimes.

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10 Key Questions You Must Answer When Choosing Glass Balustrading Fences

10 Key Questions You Must Answer When Choosing Glass Balustrading Fences

The use of glass balustrading fences inside and outside properties has increased significantly in recent years. Their appeal is their modern appearance, as well as their practical use, given that they are durable, lasting for many years and can be easily installed by glass company. Glass balustrading fences are also important safety features in certain locations such as around pools and balconies.

If thinking of glass balustrading fences for your home, we hope you have asked yourself and answered some important questions. These questions ensure you make the right choice relating to your glass balustrading fences including who is going to install them. Here are ten of those key questions you must be able to answer before proceeding.

What Locations Around Your Property Do You Want Glass Balustrading Fences?

It should be obvious that before you make any other decision, you must first decide which locations around your property are suitable for glass balustrading fences. If you need some ideas do some research online or call a local glass balustrading company for advice.

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8 Tips For Caring For Your Landscaping During Long Hot Summers

8 Tips For Caring For Your Landscaping During Long Hot Summers

One of the problems that landscapers and gardeners have in some parts of the world is the weather, and in particular dealing with cold, wet, wintry conditions whilst creating and then maintaining landscaped gardens Conversely, here in Australia, the problems Perth Landscapers from martincuthbert.com.au face with weather are rarely that it is wintry but instead it is the hot, sunny weather that creates issues.

Whilst most people are happy when the sun is out, they are not so keen when the temperatures reach unbearable levels. That same mindset is held by many gardeners, including those who have landscape designs. Although the sun is most welcome as it helps flowers and plants to grow, too much of it, and the excessive heat which is generated, are most definitely not healthy for gardens.

So, if you live in a part of the country which is especially prone to lots of excessive heat and have a landscaped garden to look after, what can you do? Well, to start with, you can follow the eight tips we have outlined below for caring for landscaping during long, hot summers.

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Does Your Landscape Architecture Firm’s Website Design Have These 7 Essential Features?

Does Your Landscape Architecture Firm’s Website Design Have These 7 Essential Features?

Whether you are building a car, a house, or a website, they each have core elements or features which they must have regardless of what they look like or how they function when completed. In the case of building a website for your landscaping architecture firm, the expert web designers will advise you that whether it is the most complex of websites, or the simplest, it must have certain essential features.

The question now is if you feel that your website is not performing in a manner that you believe to be beneficial to your landscaping architecture firm, then is it the case that it is missing one or more of the core features necessary for it to do so? To help you identify what these core features are, and confirm if they are present or not, here is a brief explanation of each of them

All Onsite SEO In Place: If your website is not appearing on the first page of the search engines and there is no sign of its rankings improving then there is something wrong with your SEO. Check that the onsite SEO of a quality website is all in place, 100% accurate, and optimised for all of the keywords that you want to rank for.

Simple Navigation Throughout: A great website will never have a confused visitor, wondering what page they are on, and unsure how they can navigate, either to another page or back to the home page. This is achieved using simple navigation, with the most common being a menu appearing at the top or the side of each page of the website.

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Landscaping Trends of 2022

Landscaping Trends of 2022

As each year passes, new landscaping trends start popping up across the country. Many homeowners are looking for something unique and aesthetically pleasing that makes them stand out in their neighbourhood.

If the new year on the horizon has you looking at your landscaping options, here are a few of the most exciting ones, picked by Complete Projects WA, to start your 2022 with a bang.

A Wildlife Haven

While landscaping for your own needs will always be a popular trend, 2022 will mark the beginning of a new movement: landscaping for wildlife.

Whether you want to hear birds singing in your trees or enjoy knowing you’re giving wildlife a home, it can be a worthwhile consideration to make.

Ask your local landscaping experts about specific plants to attract wildlife, native trees and bushes for shelter, and shrubs for nectar and seeds. A few minor additions can be all it takes to create a wildlife-friendly backyard.

A Mental Health Retreat

Many studies have looked at nature as something that benefits our mind, body, and spirit. In recent years, there has been more focus on our mental health than ever before.

So, it makes complete sense that 2022 will be the year homeowners start looking at ways to make their gardens and yards more mental health-friendly. Fortunately, there are so many options that can tie in with your current house design.

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5 Myths About Epoxy Floor Coatings

5 Myths About Epoxy Floor Coatings

If you have been researching floor coatings you will undoubtedly have come across some information relating to epoxy floor coatings, and if you haven’t, well you have now. Whilst there are plenty of excellent posts and articles about epoxy floor coatings, there is also a fair amount of misinformation.

We are not suggesting that any of it deliberately trying to mislead people, but instead, it comes from misunderstandings, and also from hearing, and then repeating myths about epoxy floors. So, to help those who are looking for facts about epoxy floors we thought it was only right to call out those myths and explain why they are simply not true.

Myth #1: Epoxy Floors Are Slippery

This is one of the most common myths you will hear about epoxy floors, and it no doubt arises due to the smooth and shiny surface which epoxy floors have. Contrary to the myth, most epoxy floors are slip-resistant, and there are even specific epoxy coatings that have tiny, raised bumps that prevent slipping or skidding for floors in locations where slips and falls are a particular hazard, such as hospitals, and manufacturing units.

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10 Landscaping Tips For Those Who Live In Dry Climates

10 Landscaping Tips For Those Who Live In Dry Climates

One thing that anyone who loves gardening, and landscaping, in particular, knows is that the climate they live in, and the prevailing weather can have a huge impact, both positive and negative, upon your activities. Too cold, and your plants are at risk of being attacked by frost. Too wet and they can literally drown. Too hot and dry and they can wither through lack of the life-giving water and moisture they need.

If you’re a expert on landscaping in Australia, it is likely the latter of those three scenarios that you are facing most often. Whilst we Aussies like to boast to those from overseas about our sunny weather and how we love spending much of our life on the beach, having the baking sun and intense heat for most of the year-round, which some states have, is not something that most landscapers will be thankful for.

It means the work and the maintenance you need to do to ensure your flowers, shrubs and grasses remain healthy, is increased enormously. No doubt you have often wondered if there is an easier way to look after the plants which grow within your landscaping designed garden. Whilst we cannot do much about the hot sun and dry days, we do have 10 great tips that should help.

Tip #1 – Do Some Research: If you want to do landscaping in a part of the country where rainfall is minimal then research the sort of plants that are well known to thrive or at least survive well in those hot and dry conditions. You can ask Adelaide Building Supplies on advice for what materials suit dry climates.

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5 Myths About Composite Decking Debunked

5 Myths About Composite Decking Debunked

There are many products, including different types of decking, that for some reason seem to attract more than their fair share of myths. In other words, there are misconceptions, some of which are completely ridiculous, as well as misinformation.

To be frank, there are also outright lies, which lead to people being confused about a product, and even deciding against purchasing it, simply because they believed one or more of the myths

Now, we must say from the outset that this is not the fault of consumers who are trying to find out more about a product and succumb to the myths about it, After all, they were not the ones which created those myths. In fact, it is hard to establish where these myths originate.

Sometimes they are from traditionalists who want to knock modern advancements and developments, and other times it might be rival manufacturers who try to sow doubts about a competitor’s product.

Often, a myth may have stemmed from an issue that a product had in the past, but which through development and advances in how it is manufactured, no longer exist, but the myth continues. This is very much the case with a lot of the myths relating to composite decking, as you will see.

Whatever the source or cause of a myth, in the end it does not matter. What does matter though, especially for those thinking about buying composite decking, is that we put those myths to bed right now and debunk them all.

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5 Great Outdoor Lighting Ideas For Your Concrete Swimming Pool

5 Great Outdoor Lighting Ideas For Your Concrete Swimming Pool

One of the great things about having a concrete pool on your property is that you have an almost unlimited choice of how to design it and the surrounding area. Not only does it add value to your property but the way in which the aesthetics of your property can be enhanced by a concrete pool is incredible.

Landscape Designers tell us an option for enhancing it further is with the use of outdoor lighting, which can turn what might look like a pleasant and attractive pool area during the day, into a stunningly beautiful location at night. To get the wheels turning in your mind in terms of ideas, here are 5 of our favourite options for outdoor lighting for pools.

Underwater Lights

This is one of our favourites as nothing makes a pool more appealing for a swim at night than the lights that are underwater. Not only can they make a pool look stunning, especially if they are coloured lights, but they perform a more practical function in terms of making the pool safer. With the water lit from underneath it is easier to see that someone is in the pool especially if the surrounding light is not particularly bright.

Spotlights

These are great when you want specific features in and around the outside of your property to be highlighted at night. You may have a tree, certain flowers, or it could be some items of the gardening and landscape design or poolside furniture that you want to shine a light on. If you install some adjustable spotlights they can be positioned to shine on the pool when it is being used, and again the use of coloured lighting will enhance the atmosphere.

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Say Goodbye to Clover in Your Lawn with These Tips

Say Goodbye to Clover in Your Lawn with These Tips

Even if you consider yourself to be the master of lawn care, there are going to be some weeds that you just can’t seem to get rid of. For many, that weed is clover.

Here in Australia, experienced landscapers will tell you white clover tends to be a perennial weed that rears its ugly head more often than not. Its stems can grow up to around 30cm long, and it can spread like wildfire. There are worse lawn weeds to encounter, but clover is undoubtedly one of the most persistent.

Just when you think you’ve killed it for good, it comes back with a vengeance. More often than not, killing the actual clover is the easy part, but stopping it from growing from seeds is a lot harder. Clover seeds thrive in high and low temperatures. They can even remain dormant for several years before deciding to grow where they aren’t wanted.

How to Get Rid of Clover

Now that you know what it is, the next step to get rid of it. Fortunately, there are several ways to go about it while carrying out your regular lawn care practices.

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Five Benefits of Installing an Alarm Monitoring System

Five Benefits of Installing an Alarm Monitoring System

Alarm monitoring systems are becoming increasingly common across Australia. They provide an added layer of security for your home or commercial premises and help prevent intruders from robbing you or vandalising your property.

There are numerous different types of alarm monitoring systems available, but they are all based on the same core concepts. To put it simply, those using a monitored alarm system will benefit from real-time notifications if an intruder does attempt to break-in or vandalise your property.

In this article, we’ve outlined five major benefits of using an alarm monitoring service. Remember, it’s always a good idea to speak with a security expert to determine what sort of system is best for your property.

  1. You Will Be Notified Immediately if Something Is Wrong

The first, and one of the most notable benefits of installing an alarm monitoring system is that they will notify you as soon as your security system is breached. There are a few different options here.

First, you can opt to have security notifications delivered directly to your smartphone, either via an app or text messages/email. Alternatively, you can contract a security company to take care of things for you. They will be notified as soon as there’s a breach and will be able to respond accordingly.

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