Basic Tools for Gardening

Basic Tools for Gardening

If you have just moved into your first home you’ll be thrilled and elated that finally you can have everything the way you want without a landlord breathing down your neck.

However, if you’ve only lived in rentals before, you may not have had the chance to do much landscaping, so to keep your new yard looking pristine you’ll need at least a few .

To keep your new yard looking pristine, you’ll need at least a few different garden tools, something Garden Spec often sees new homeowners discovering as they begin shaping their outdoor spaces.

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Are Eco Friendly Pools Really Safe for Humans?

Are Eco Friendly Pools Really Safe for Humans?

If you have a pool that uses chlorine or salt as a sanitiser you may be wondering if there is a more eco friendly alternative as you plug in your robotic pool cleaner and skim leaves from the top of the pool. There are several alternatives but are they really safe for humans to use? There are at least four alternatives for swimming pools, but you may not like all of them.

For instance, take what is touted as an all natural pool. This is made with clay and gravel and uses water plants to keep the water clean, so you won’t need an automatic pool cleaner. If you are designing your own garden, it is certainly good for the environment as the pure water offers insects and frogs a place to live. Frogs may be attractive and relatively harmless if their name is Kermit.

Otherwise they will croak all night and keep you awake. And they may well come and visit your house. Then there is the problem of snakes, who love to eat frogs and will chase them wherever they go; into the pool or towards your house. Don’t think snakes can’t swim because they are very good at it.

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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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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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Defining A New Look For Your Contemporary Kitchen

Defining A New Look For Your Contemporary Kitchen

Contemporary Design

While defining a contemporary kitchen, one must be clear about the contemporary styles. It means the design or interior planned or developed according to the present time. The contemporary style is not rigid but flexible. It is very dynamic in nature, as it is cannot be defined as one style but it keeps on updating with the passing time.

It also mixes various other small designs from the different era, which can help your kitchen look classier. The contemporary architecture that can be used in your kitchen design can be like embraced solid walls covered in a random manner, under a roof that will give you a boxy feel.

Currently, there is a trend of emerging in contemporary interiors, i.e. one can merge the kitchen with dining or the dining can also be merged with living but connected to the kitchen.

How to Decorate the Contemporary Kitchen?
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How to Ensure Scaffolding Safety at the Building Site

How to Ensure Scaffolding Safety at the Building Site

One thing every company that uses scaffolding should be concerned about is safety at the building site. When employees are using scaffolding, their risks increase due to the working conditions being more dangerous. They are usually up high, so any fall is more likely to have disastrous consequences. The working space is limited which restricts their movements to some extent and this can also contribute to injuries or falls. So how do you ensure scaffolding safety at the building site?

    • Make sure all employees have proper training for working on scaffolding. This training should be ongoing, not done once and never again. People forget things and situations change. Training should be done so staff can keep up with the latest safety developments.
    • Never allow an untrained person to go up on scaffolding. It is quite easy to forget who has had training and who hasn’t. Keeping on top of details like this will ensure a better quality of safety for all concerned.

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Maintenance Guidelines for Colorbond Roofs

Maintenance Guidelines for Colorbond Roofs

All homes need maintenance of some kind to keep their value throughout the years. If you don’t maintain your property you will find that when you want to sell it, the price you had hoped for may not be there. Meanwhile, your home is going to pieces around your ears and a big storm could well bring it crashing down.

The roof is one of the most important parts of the home, but unfortunately it is also one of the most neglected, mainly because getting up on it is beyond many people. They either don’t have the agility any more, or they don’t have the time, or the right equipment. This need not be a problem; there are many professionals out there who can do the job.

The cost of having your roof inspected for damage is much smaller than the cost of replacing the ceilings or the frame that has rotted due to leaks that were not found in time. It is also cheaper than having to replace a roof that suddenly blew off in a storm because the screws holding it on were rusted and no one knew.

Maintenance for Colorbond roofing is not difficult. You simply have to keep sticks and debris such as leaf litter off it and check the screws to make sure they are not rusted. If there is a build up of mould or moss on it, this should be cleaned off after wetting, with a soft bristle brush such as  a household broom – not a straw broom, though.

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10 Pool Enhancement Errors to Avoid

10 Pool Enhancement Errors to Avoid

To save you from figuring out all the pool remodeling mistakes after completion of the task or while you are halfway through it, we have lined up 10 errors. Read on to avoid yourself from committing these pool enhancement mistakes and save ample time and money.

Error 1: Forgetting the Work Permit

Yes, proper work permit is a must and cannot be avoided at any cost. Before beginning any work, make sure you avail a permit that confirms with all the necessary formalities of your locality.

Error 2: Purchasing Cheap Supplies

One of the worst money-saving tactics is buying cheap supplies. In the long run, you will end up spending double the amount on repairs and automatically regret your decision. Best quality materials will make your pool last long and look fabulous.

Error 3: Not Employing a Contractor

A professional pool builder plays a significant role. He is acquainted with the right permits to have, the right supplies to purchase and to apply the accurate solution whenever there is a problem.

Error 4: Overlooking Home Design

Overlooking your home design isn’t a great idea. Your pool should be an extension of your home style rather than being something so different that it ends up looking odd.

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Six Points You Should Know About Scaffold Hire

Six Points You Should Know About Scaffold Hire

Many building and other companies hire the scaffolding they need to get their projects done rather than buy the materials and erect it themselves. This is because scaffolding is really in a genre of its own and needs professionals to design and erect it, especially when it is for building skyscrapers or other huge projects. If you are seeking a scaffold hire company, here are six points to consider: –

    • Does the scaffold hire company have a good reputation in the industry? You will be able to find out by contacting other building companies that have used them. You can also look at their website to see which other companies have used them or to look for testimonials. A good reputation is not only about providing quality products, but also about being on time and within budget. If the scaffolding is late going up, your project completion will be delayed

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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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