Missalis Homes

5 Key Benefits Of Hiring A Professional Landscape Designer Over Doing it Yourself

5 Key Benefits Of Hiring A Professional Landscape Architect Over Doing it Yourself

By missalis | February 9, 2022 | No Comments | Landscaping

When the point is reached when you have decided the time is right to take on a home renovation, including developing your garden and transforming it with a landscape design, then there are a huge number of choices that you need to make. The primary one is who is going to create the design and implement it through to its completion.

One thought that may have crossed your mind is to do it all yourself. Let us say that if you feel you have the necessary skills, enthusiasm, time, and resources to do so then it is certainly a laudable intention. However, we would also add a huge note of caution in that if you have never undertaken this sort of project before, trying to do it yourself, especially the first time around, is not the wisest choice.

The full-scale landscaping design of a garden is a significant undertaking, and even the most enthusiastic often soon realise that enthusiasm, whilst welcome, is not enough when comes to making decisions about the necessary equipment, materials, plants, furniture, and features, and that is before we even talk about how you turn that design into a reality. What we recommend is that you employ landscapers, and here are some of the benefits of doing so.

Landscape Designers Are The Experts At Landscaping Design

It might seem a blatantly obvious point, but it is one that so many people ignore in all sorts of situations. Instead of employing the person with the skills and experience to do the job in question, they try it themselves or worse, get an amateur who ends up wasting their time and their money. Your new garden is going to be with you for years so why would you not want a professional who has the expertise and knowledge to make it the best it can be?

Landscape Designers Will Take The Project From Initial Consult Through To Completion

There are many larger-scale jobs where you will have to deal with multiple people throughout the entire process. With a landscape design company that is not the case. From your first meeting when you discuss your ideas until the final lightbulb is screwed into one of your lighting features they will oversee all of it. This means nothing is left to chance, and for you, it means you only ever need to contact one company.

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5 Ways An Adaptive Garden Is Helpful If Included Within A Landscaping Design

By missalis | January 12, 2022 | No Comments | Landscaping

Whenever they undertake a garden service, landscaping designers will follow several tried and trusted landscaping design principles that have proven time and again to produce the most effective results, aka stunning landscaped gardens. However, on occasion, a landscaping designer will be asked to adhere to additional garden design principles within a landscaping design, and one example of this is when an adaptive garden is required.

Before we go any further, we imagine many of you will not be familiar with the term adaptive gardening so we will explain it. An adaptive garden is created with the needs of those who have mobility problems in mind, which includes those who are wheelchair-bound, those with walking difficulties, those with joint pains, and the like. Often adaptive gardening is recommended for the elderly to reduce the risk of injuries when they are gardening.

In addition to an adaptive garden being created with the needs we have just outlined, it is also designed with potential future needs in the future in mind. This means they are designed specifically with a view to changes being possible within the garden and them being straightforward, rather than requiring a complete redesign. To paint a fuller picture of the benefits of adaptive gardening here are five ways in which it is helpful.

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What Your Cat Needs Inside Its Cat Enclosure

By missalis | June 16, 2021 | No Comments | Design, Renovations

There is a misconception amongst many people, including cat owners, that cats prefer to stay indoors. This may be down to the fact that cats generally do not like wet weather, but if you were to investigate further, you would find that many cats love being outdoors, and one of the best ways to allow them to do so safely is with a cat enclosure.

A cat enclosure can be a DIY project for enthusiasts. Still, the wisest choice, especially concerning your cat’s well-being, is to purchase your cat’s enclosure from a dedicated pet enclosure supplier. They will have several options ranging from simple netting to a full-sized prefabricated cat enclosure that your cat will love spending hours inside, and it can do so in perfect safety.

Once they have their cat enclosure, your cat can sleep, rest, play, scratch, meow, eat, drink, and do what ultimately comes naturally in their private space. Best of all, from your point of view, they will not be doing any of that indoors, so issues such as noise, scratched furniture, and accidents on the carpet will not arise whilst they are outdoors in their backyard cat enclosure.

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Why Epoxy Flake Floor Installation Is A Job For The Professionals

By missalis | May 7, 2021 | No Comments | Renovations

Whether you are planning to have an epoxy flake floor installed at home, or for one or more parts of your business premises, the temptation could be that to save yourself some money, you try to install it yourself. There could be many DIY projects that you have completed successfully in the past, and therefore, are confident this will be the same.

Whilst it is not for us to doubt in any way your past record, nor your DIY skills, we would ask you to pause for a moment and think about what it takes to install an epoxy flake floor.

First, while they may start as liquids, applying them is not the same as painting a ceiling, and that is assuming that you have got the balance between the chemicals exactly right. There is also the work required to ensure the concrete floor underneath is prepped exactly as it needs to be in terms of evenness and to make its adhesive qualities optimal.

If you were to even get beyond laying it, there is the no small matter of the flake distribution. Many amateurs think that you do this as though scattering birdseed in the park for the pigeons, but soon realize it is not as they end up with barren areas and others with mounds of flakes.

Let us take a look at why installing epoxy flake floors should be left to the professionals, these floor professionals can be organised by either your builders or professional shop fitters.

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Composite Decking Versus Timber Decking

By missalis | April 6, 2021 | No Comments | Design, Renovations

One of the questions deck builders are asked, possibly more than any other, is ‘What are the advantages or disadvantages of composite decking versus timber decking?’.

It is a very valid question, and before we answer it, we are going to be upfront and say that we are going to try to be as neutral as we can. There are always going to be differences of opinion with regards to certain products and services, and that is equally true when it comes to composite decking and timber decking.

Some favour the former, and others the latter so we are going to try our best to be as objective as we can as we go through some of the advantages and disadvantages of each of these two types of decking. For specific and more personalised answers, ask your builders which Building Supplies would suit your property best.

Look and Feel

This is one where your choice is going to very much be based on your personal preferences rather than on any kind of technical specification, however, let us try to give you some comparisons.

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Getting Rid Of The Pests And Bugs That Will Attack Your Garden

By missalis | March 3, 2021 | No Comments | Renovations

Whether we consider a tiny garden with just a few plants or a garden masterpiece that has been crafted as a result of large landscaping design being implemented by landscaping experts, there is something which they both have in common, and that is they are likely to be attacked by pests and bugs, just ask your landscaper.

It is often the bane of any gardener who has lovingly spent the time and effort to ensure all the flowers, trees, bushes, or shrubs that are planted in their garden are thriving, only to see them afflicted due to bugs undoing all that gardener’s good work.

According to garden landscapers, one huge problem that arises from all this is that the number of different bugs that inflict damage on a garden is immense. This means that often having dealt with one unwanted pest a gardener sees another taking up residence in their garden. The key point here is that they should never give in, and simply accept that dealing with bugs is going to be a continuous process.

If this sounds like an issue you are dealing with then here are some tips to help you deal with unwanted bugs in your garden.

Constantly Monitor Your garden

If you have ever heard the term ‘Nip it in the bud’, then what you have is a phrase whose origin comes directly from gardening albeit it relates to frost rather than bugs. Nevertheless, with a definition that means stopping something early on, by constantly monitoring your garden for signs of bugs and pests, you are more to prevent them from becoming a serious problem.

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How To Maintain Your Concrete Pool

By missalis | February 17, 2021 | No Comments | Landscaping

One of the biggest benefits of concrete pools as opposed to pools made from other materials such as fibre glass, is their longevity. Pool builders advise that the lifespan of a concrete pool can be decades, however, that will only be the case if the pool is maintained properly. This is something which you can do for yourself, although there are companies you can hire to do the maintenance for you.

Regardless of whether you pay someone to do it for you, or you do it yourself, you certainly need to know what maintenance is required to keep a concrete pool in good condition so here are some of the main ways it should be done.

Skim The Surface

Inevitably the surface of your pool is going to have leaves, dead insects and other debris floating on top of the water. These can all cause algae to start growing if they are not removed therefore you should use a long-handled skimmer or net to remove anything that is floating on the surface of the pool as often as you can.

Brush The Floor And Walls

As well as the aforementioned algae, bacteria is also something which you do not want to linger in your concrete pool. The prime areas for algae and bacteria are the walls and the floor of the pool therefore these should be brushed at least once a week. Ideally use a brush with hard bristles, and if necessary attach a longer pole so you can reach the floor.

Vacuum Your Pool

In addition to weekly brushing, you can use a vacuum which can remove items of debris that have sunk to the floor such as leaves. Many home vacuums that are used for wet vacuuming can do the job. Alternatively there are special vacuums designed specifically for vacuuming pools.

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Top Tips to Ensure a Fast Move

By missalis | February 17, 2020 | No Comments | Maintenance

If not planned and executed right, moving house can take a lot of time, effort and energy. It can cause arguments and disagreements, and ultimately, it can leave everyone feeling a little worse for wear. Using a professional removals company will help, but there’s still a lot that you and your family can do.

We’ve drawn on our years of industry experience to bring you a list of our top tips to ensure a fast move. On this list you will find a selection of useful information, so enjoy and good luck moving to your next house!

Make Sure You’re Well Organised

The most important thing for ensuring a neat move is making sure that you’re very well organised. Plan well in advance, and be aware of everything that needs to happen on moving day. Consider:

The removal company and what time they’re arriving. You will need to have everything ready by then.
How long you will need to get your new home ready for the night.
A removals checklist that has exactly what needs to go where when you arrive at your new property.

It’s usually worth delegating tasks to different people to free up your mind a little. After all, moving house can be more than a little stressful!

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Why a Sod Lawn Might be Right for You

By missalis | August 8, 2019 | No Comments | Landscaping

There’s something quite satisfying about growing a lawn from scratch. You sow the seeds, protect it from the hungry birds, and then it grows into something magnificent. Every time you look at it, you’re reminded that you’re the master of lawn care.

However, growing the perfect lawn is not something that everyone can achieve. It doesn’t mean you’re a terrible gardener, but not everyone has the same growing conditions, soil, or climate. Sometimes, a pre-grown sod lawn can be a better answer. So, in what situations would sod grass be better?

When You Don’t Have Time to Wait

Of course, growing grass from seed is satisfying, but instant gratification can be hard to pass up if it’s on the table. Sod lawn is instantly beautiful. There is no wading through mud while you wait for the grass to grow. There is no frustration at dirty carpets from muddy pawprints. There is no hassle or fuss. When you need a lawn, you buy one that’s already grown, and you have an instantly attractive yard.

It Can Cost Less

If you factor in the cost of fertiliser, seeds, weed control, and general nurturing, a sod lawn can often be more affordable than one you grow yourself. Many variables come into play, but if you are after a quick fix and would prefer one upfront cost instead of several over time, then sod could be for you.

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Quality Plumbers

By missalis | March 15, 2018 | No Comments | Renovations

Is finding an experienced plumber all that difficult? There are enough stories from your friends or family about a disastrous result from hiring the wrong person to do some plumbing repairs or renovations. Is there a way to avoid a situation like that? How can you recognise if the local plumber is the right person for the job? Here are a few qualities you should be looking for in your plumber.

Cleans up after the job

Don’t you hate it when tradespeople leave the cleaning up to you after completing the job? A plumber should not be like a kid entering your home. Children tend to leave a mess with wrappers, cups and toys everywhere. You expect a neat and clean-looking tradesperson when they arrive. A quality plumber you hire should not leave a trace of their belongings in your home. Bits of cut pipe, wrappers off new equipment, dirt, and whatever else should be removed from the work area as the tradesperson leaves. There’s an old saying that a person who takes pride in their appearance will take pride in their work.

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