Author: missalis

Quality Plumbers

Quality Plumbers

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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Moving House

What Not to do When Packing your Household Goods

Not everyone is an expert when it comes to knowing what to do when you’re moving house or moving your business. After all, moving house is hopefully one of those times in your life that doesn’t happen often, and if you’re an expert, it means you’ve relocated more than you wish to admit. However, even though you’re not an expert, or you plan on leaving the logistics to professional removalists, it’s helpful to know what not to do when you’re planning on making a big move. Chances are, being aware of those points can help the process go so much smoother.

Don’t leave change of address to the last minute

When you plan on changing your address, it’s helpful to tell your postal service, utility provider, children’s schools, doctors, vets, and the like, well in advance. It can be easy to believe this can be sorted upon arrival, but in the meantime, you might miss out on important mail, or even bills that need to be paid immediately. The fallout from an overdue or unreceived bill payment can be significant, as it may affect your credit score.

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Concrete Pool

Dive into a Concrete Pool

Have you ever wondered why some swimming pools look, sort of okay, nothing special, whilst others are simply stunning as part of a garden landscape, enhancing both the home and the outdoor area? If you’ve used professional pool builders, chances are that the superior beauty is because it’s a concrete pool. There’s no doubt that the swimming pool looks great because there has been a flexibility of design.

Cоnсrеtе swimming pools have a distinct difference to standard shaped fibreglass models. They tend to stand out from the average ready-made shapes and sizes for the following reasons:

Able to be сuѕtоm dеѕіgnеd – if you want a specific design because of the space available, or the shape of your yard, then the choice has to be concrete. If you order a custom pool, for example, then you will confer with the pool contractor / builder directly to create that unique, singular design. Thіѕ ѕtуlе оf ѕwіmmіng pool саn bе crafted tо іnсludе a variety оf ѕресіаl features, аѕ wеll. These саn be added durіng the design phase.

Individually Built and Hand Shaped – The creation and design of an inground concrete swimming pool requires the touch of an expert. Pool builders, working within the required specifications, take the time while working out and shaping the best pool design. This is the reason that regardless of the space available, the concrete pool can be designed to fit.

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Shade Sails Vs. Umbrellas

Shade Sails Vs. Umbrellas

Many businesses these days have outdoor customer areas and they see the need to provide shade, otherwise those people will go elsewhere so they don’t have to sit in scorching sun. However, there are several ways to ensure the customer area is shades and two of the most popular are with shade sails and sun umbrellas. So which is the best?

Advantages

Sails

  • Sails offer a larger area of shade that can include tables, chairs, walkways and borders of the area.
  • The sail is higher, which allows more air and breeze to pass under and through the structure, so the area is cooler.
  • You get more UV protection from a sail and they are usually showerproof as well.
  • Commercial sails don’t have to be taken down; in fact they are not meant to be removed like residential ones are.

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Hardwood Flooring

Choosing Hardwood Flooring Over Carpet

In the midst of a house renovation you might have to make a consideration between laying carpet or installing timber flooring. Hardwood flooring has quite a few more positives than negatives when you start comparing it with carpet. Here are a few of the points to consider when trying to make that choice.

Timber Flooring is Modern Looking

You look at today’s innovative building designs. They are trending towards clean lines, simplicity, and that catch word ‘minimalism’. With a timber floor you get a blank canvas on which to express your personality. Carpet is kind of 70’s. It looked great in your parents’ house, in the lounge room, but it’s time your home zoomed into the 21st Century.

Cleaning

Commercial cleaners advise that you can easily clean a wooden floor with a sweep and a vacuum. Follow that up with a warm water mop to clean the surface and you’re good to go. The carpets will require a vacuum and more than likely a steam clean every few months from a carpet cleaning service, especially if you have pets and kids. Stubborn stains in carpet can be rather hard to remove. There are no stains on a timber floor (unless you spill acid and it eats into the wood). Marks from high heels can be repaired although some say it adds character. Scratch marks on timber floors are usually sustained by the coating rather than by the wood itself and easily fixed with a quick sanding.

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Designing Your Garden

Designing Your Garden

Does being a nature lover make you a better gardener? Well, not necessarily. However, it might determine the style of garden you finally design. Do you like a lot of turf? Lots of plants? Paved areas? Structures like gazebos or patios?

When you make up your mind to take on the gardening project you can hire a professional landscaper and discuss your requirements with them or just start with some drawings on a piece of paper to determine just how much room you have available. It always helps to have an image of what you want to do. The other advantage of doing a more detailed design plan is that you will avoid mistakes, which will cost money when buying materials and plants.

Here are some handy steps to consider:

Step 1 – Tools you might need

Let’s start with pencil and paper to draw your gardening plan. But in this tech age, you will find software available on the internet. Whichever you choose, getting the design down on paper or on your computer gives you something to follow.

Step 2 – What do you have already in place?

You know what you want in your design but what you want and what you have available might not always match. For example, if you want a large vegetable patch, and you have only a small garden space, it’s not going to happen. Be realistic about your space. Also, if you already have a nice garden feature such as a fishpond, you may want to keep that in your design.

Step 3 – Your Garden Boundaries

Measure the outskirts and plot them on paper or computer. The more accurate the better. Consider this part of your design as the canvas on which you will be working. Doing this by drawing in scale would be a great idea.

Step 4 – Your Theme

This is a fairly critical step because there are so many themes available. You don’t want a hodge podge of different themes. Here’s a few ideas:

  • Modern Style. Throw in some stainless steel and sensational paving using limestone or slate. The minimalistic look.
  • Traditional. Not really a theme because there are no standout features. Lawn, flower borders and a few trees.
  • Creative. Use existing structures already within the garden area. Maybe that old shed can be turned into a kid’s play area. Perhaps add a waterfall feature to the old fishpond.

Step 5 – Your garden features

This is the fun part and also the step that can cost the most. What gardening features do you want? The shape of the lawn, the style of paving, install some decking, create the plant and flower beds, build a patio. Work on ‘exciting’ and ‘beautiful’ for the features.

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Picking The Right Frames

Picking The Right Frames For Your Home

Every home has frames hanging on the walls. Some will contain paintings, many will be photographs, and there may even be certificates and awards displayed proudly for all to see. In most cases, the only thought that will have gone into each frame is whether or not it is hanging straight after it has been mounted. However, if you want the interior design of your home to utilise framed photos and paintings fully then more thought needs to be given to the whole process of choosing the frames you hang on your walls.

Obviously, one factor in the whole process will be how many rooms you have in your home. Large houses with 3 or more bedrooms and other rooms such as a study or separate dining room will have much more scope for both the quantity and the types of framed items you can display than a one-bedroom apartment. Nevertheless, whether your home is large or small you can still make choices about the sorts of framed pictures or photos you use.

One element to consider early on is whether the furniture, fixtures and general decor in your home are mainly traditional or modern. In many cases, there may be some overlap but most homes will tend to veer towards one or the other. If it is traditional then the sorts of frames you want to hang should reflect this, even if they are to be used for photographs instead of paintings or prints.

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Landscape Architect

Steps for Hiring A Qualified Landscape Architect

Quality landscape design along with proper backyard care can increase the worth of your home by almost 15 percent, as stated by NALP – the National Association of Landscape Professionals. The landscape design of a house is the first and foremost thing that grabs the attention of the visitors as well as the prospective buyers. Curb appeal plays a vital role in deciding the evaluation of a house. Such a scenario emphasizes the importance of hiring a qualified landscape architect.

A qualified landscape professional can help you with the designing, installation, as well as the maintenance of your spaces as per your specific requirements. Vocational and experienced landscape architects can assist in creating and orchestrating the complete design, installation, as well as maintenance of even the most complex landscapes. But with so many companies offering landscape services, it’s hard to decide whom to hire.

If you are also willing to hire the best landscape architect, following steps will serve as a guideline:

  1. Precisely define the details of your project

Landscape professionals can provide a whole spectrum of services. They can design landscapes, patios, decks. They can plan irrigation systems, swimming pools, and retaining walls. They can even create gazebos, living rooms, and outdoor kitchens. When you precisely define the scope and preferences of your project, the landscape professional will do the job right for your project.

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Recycled Fencing Ideas

9 Unusual Recycled Fencing Ideas

If you are the kind of person who loves the whimsical or quirky ornament in the lawn, you may also be interested in having a whole fence that is also unusual. Because the following fences use materials that would usually end up in landfill, they make the ideal sustainable fencing. Fencing contractors may not have heard of them, but most would be willing to erect the kind of framework needed to make use of them.

Not all councils would allow these kinds of fence, but if you are lucky enough to have few rules and regulations, you can often get these materials for free or almost free.

  • Surfboards make the ultimate picket fence with their pointed ends. They are colourful, offer privacy due to their height and don’t rust or rot. Add a strong timber framework to fix them in an upright position.
  • Tin tiles from old ceilings make a beautiful fence due to the ornamentation on them. You can paint them different colours or the same. These too, need to have a framework to hold them.

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Buying Outdoor Furniture

Some Things to Think About When Buying Outdoor Furniture

If you have a terrific outdoor entertaining area, you can make a real statement with some classy outdoor furniture. You can make your place look like a setting from Better Homes and Gardens, or look something like Davo’s Hang Out. You need оutdооr furniture fоr соmfоrtаblе seating and dіnіng. It’s not always an easy decision when choosing that garden furniture because not all outdoor furniture is made the same. We’ve put a few tips together to help you make that decision.

Before you pull that credit card from your wallet, make a small checklist to make sure your patio furniture has these key fеаturеѕ:

Stуlе

Your choice of furniture, whether it’s a single piece or an entire set, is a rather personal decision. Don’t opt for the common, boring, plastic chairs. Be a little creative, stylish, daring and choose some outdoor furniture that reflects the real you. The importance of great patio furniture in Australia cannot be underrated.

Comfort

The most important feature? Comfort – plain and simple. If you’re not going to enjoy relaxing by the pool with a cold beer, what’s the point? These days furniture can be purchased which is ergonomically correct as well as comfy to sit or lounge in. That’s personal added value.

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painting-your-house

Why You May Need an Electrician When Painting Your Home

Many people successfully paint the exterior of their home and thus, save quite a bit on the cost of hiring professional painters. Painting a home is not that difficult, especially if it is a single storey on level ground and easy to reach to the top of the walls. However, you may need a good electrician. Why?

How long since you painted the outside of the home and really looked at things like the fascia board? Being up high, the fascia board is usually not noticed nearly as much as the lower parts of the walls. Yet it is exposed to wind and rain just as much or more than other areas. It can easily become rotten if it has not been kept painted all the time. If so, it will need to be replaced. You will be able to get such building supplies online or in store.

This may not be a problem unless the electricity is connected to the exterior of the home on that board. If it is – and this is the place where most homes are connected to the grid – you’ll need to have a qualified electrician from www.electricianperthexperts.com.au, come and switch the power off while you replace the board, then switch it back on afterwards.

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birthyday-party-mess

14 Ways to Save Your Carpet from Birthday Party Mess

Every child loves to have or go to a birthday party. But if you have carpet in your home you may be wondering how you can save it from spilled drinks and food, or even from little shoes that get dirty on the bottom. Kids seem to run in and out all the time when they are excited and enjoying a party with their friends. So does this mean Carpet Cleaning Perth is your next job?

Here are some ways to save your carpet from the mess a kid’s birthday party often causes.

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Pool-Water-Environmentally-friendly

Is Your Pool Water Environmentally Friendly?

For many pool owners the pleasure of having a pool is somewhat spoiled by the work involved in keeping the water clean.  Worse still, pool cleaners are usually chemical based and it is now an established fact that chlorine and its by-products are simply not safe for your health or the environment. Robotic pool cleaners can be used and do a good job in removing organic substances, but it would be far better to not have chlorine in the water at all.

Chlorine is a chemical that is dangerous to our health. When children especially, play and swim in a pool they are quite likely to swallow some of the water. Even if it is not swallowed, it is absorbed by the skin and the gas that forms from it is inhaled by swimmers and watchers alike.

Since chlorine in the pool water has been linked to cancer, asthma, skin irritations and eye infections it is a wise person who looks for a better and safer alternative. For those who do a little online research the answer is clear. There are alternatives to chlorine. Not salt, which cannot be used without chlorine anyway.

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Move into Your New Home

The Easiest Way Ever to Move into Your New Home

Most people dread the thought of moving, especially if they have lived in the same house for many years and accumulated a lot of goods. Moving makes you take stock of all those old possessions you don’t really want, but can’t bear to throw out. Also removalists like Brilliance say that people tend to develop an emotional attachment to things because of the memories they evoke. However, sometimes it is essential to get rid of old stuff you don’t use and none of the family wants.

Moving made easy

In actual fact, the easiest way ever to move is to have your professional removalists do all the packing and unpacking at the other end. That way you only have to pack a few clothes and stay at a motel until the job is done. However, if you are not to cram your home with the same old goods and chattels that you don’t really want or need, you’ll still have to sort out your ‘stuff’, placing everything you don’t want to take into another pile to get rid of.

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caring-for-your-carpet

6 Tips To Care for Your Carpet

Carpet is the floor covering of choice for many people due to its warmth, softness underfoot and insulation from the clattering noise of footsteps. Most carpets offer value, durability, and eye appeal in the home. The one disadvantage is that it is impossible to wash them – at least frequently since they take so long to dry. Instead, other means of carpet cleaning should be undertaken. Your choice of carpet care and professional carpet cleaner will depend on the type of carpet you have and the cause of the dirt or stain.

  1. Vacuuming is one of the best ways to clean your carpet. A good vacuum cleaner can suck most of the loose dirt, pet hairs and dander, pollen and dust from the carpet and make it almost like new again. But not all vacuum cleaners do an excellent job on the carpet areas in the home because the suction is not strong enough, especially on carpet with a deep pile.
  2. Smelly carpets can be cleaned by sprinkling powder or spraying with a special foam before vacuuming. Note: the foam requires time to dry before being vacuumed off.
  3. Sweeping with a straw broom or using a dustpan and brush can remove small areas of loose dirt or dry spills, especially on a carpet with short or no pile.
  1. Mopping with a cloth must be done if you spill something wet onto the carpet, significantly if it will stain—wine, coffee, and tea must be mopped up immediately. Use a dry cloth first and press down over the stain to absorb as much moisture as possible. Then use a damp cloth and wipe from the edges of the stain to the centre so it does not spread. Do not scrub at the stain, and we recommend contacting a professional.

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The Difference Between Limestone Bricks and Blocks

Limestone is one of the most commonly used building materials because it is strong and durable. It is cut into bricks and blocks. There are several differences between the two, including the size.

Limestone bricks

Bricks are the smaller of the two and are coursed so they can be used just like normal bricks. They have a 10mm joints, while blocks are cut to allow 20mm joins. The limestone blocks are cut at the quarry and then transported to the factory for further cutting in bricks.

The bricks come cut in two different ways.

  • Firstly, with faces and edges diamond cut, and perpendiculars tungsten cut.
  • Or secondly, tungsten cut face and perps, with diamond cut edges.

The geological name of the limestone in the bricks is Tamala Eolianite, and it was formed in the Pleistocene Age.  The type of stone is called Coastal Limestone and it has a Calcium Carbonate content of between 70%-95%. Of a cream colour, the compressive strength is 3.5Mpa Avg. Bricks come in 6 different sizes.

Bricks can be used in many projects from planter boxes to garden walls and from wall cladding for single or double storey buildings to even larger commercial buildings. These bricks do not have cement added; they are completely natural limestone.

Limestone blocks

There are two different types of limestone blocks.

  • Natural Tamala limestone blocks with quarry cut finishes on all surfaces. These are useful for fences, feature walls, piers and retaining walls. The grain is fine to medium with a compressive strength of 3.5 Mpa. There can be waste if a block splits or breaks which means they are not quite as environmentally friendly as the reconstituted blocks below, however it is still a beautiful product worthy of attention and frequently found enhancing an urban environment with the elegant shape and colour.

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missalis.com will-erect-scaffolding

Who Will Erect Your Scaffolding?

There are many uses for scaffolding in the building and other sectors. In most cases, scaffolding is hired rather than a company owning their own. That way they avoid the necessity of finding storage for when it is not in use, finding or owning transport to carry it to and from various worksites and employing staff to erect it. That said, if a company hires out scaffold but does not supply staff to erect it, who will you get to erect it on your worksite?

If you want to maintain safety on the building site, those who erect scaffolding should be fully trained to do so. If your own employees are going to be given that job, it is essential that they have access to and undergo the training necessary to become competent scaffolders. The risk of fatal injury is too high to allow an untrained person to simply read a manual and then go ahead and erect the scaffolding structure for your building or any other project.

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missalis.com 10-reasons-choose-colorbond-roof

10  Reasons to Choose a Colorbond Roof

The roof is like a lid for your home. Just like a lid on anything else, it is meant to keep out moisture and preserve the contents of the home in good order – including the occupants. If you are building a new home or renovating an old one you will need to decide what kind of roof you want. Here are ten reasons to choose Colorbond roofing.

    1. Colorbond is made from steel with a baked on coloured surface which stops the steel from rusting and enhances the whole home. Steel is a strong material, yet it is light compared to some other roofing materials.  It has been made especially for Australian conditions that can be baking hot during the day and frosty cold at night.
    2. Because the sheets are large, the roof will be finished quickly, saving time and costs on labour.
    3. There are many colours to choose from, meaning you can create a nice colour scheme overall. The colours reflect those found in our Australian environment.
    4. A steel roof may sound as if it will be hot, but nearly all the colours have thermal technology and reflect the sun’s rays, thus providing insulation. When there is also insulation in the ceiling your home will be cool in summer and warm in winter.
    5. Colorbond roofing is a popular choice in Australia so your home will blend in with others in the district.

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missalis.com fabulous-6-natural-stone-decking-pools-min

Fabulous 6 Natural Stone Decking for Pools

The vicinity surrounding your pool plays a significant part to give your pool the right character and style. Enlisted below are 6 natural stone pool decks options to transform a simple pool setting to an extraordinary one.

  1. Travertine: Quite an ideal choice for setting up an opulent pool deck. This material is preferred mostly for its:
  • Durability
  • Porous nature, allowing it to absorb water immediately, leaving the deck dry and safe at all times.
  • Propensity to always be cool to touch
  • Enduring feature through all weather conditions, including freeze/thaw.
  • Distinctive colors- ivory, brown and gold
  1. Flagstone: This flat slab of natural paving is perfect for around the pool installation. A huge number of pool owners are fond of this pool deck material for-
  • Its huge array of shapes and sizes to create an extraordinary pool deck
  • Its textures and colors are rich in earth tones
  • Its facet to survive regular usage while defying humid temperatures and keeping the surface slip-free
  • Its low on maintenance and can be installed easily

Two types of Flagstone include- Bluestone and Slate

  • Bluestone is the best pick for an outdoor setting that is enclosed by a natural scenery
  • Slate is a type of stone decking that suits traditional and natural spaces flawlessly.
  1. Limestone: Limestone is a building material that is famed across the globe for making decking a hassle-free process. On top of that, limestone is-
  • Robust
  • Long lasting. It can withstand the test of time irrespective of harsh climatic conditions
  • It has a way to charm spectators with its warm and earthy look
  • Exclusive looking. Its looks make pool designers opt for it for pool coping as well.
  • Available in a huge assortment of shapes and sizes cut to suit individual requirements. Color-wise, there are infinite choices like blue, pink, brown, grey and a lot more.

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get-right-scaffolding-project-min

How to Get The Right Scaffolding for Your Project

There are as many different types of scaffolding as there are building projects. Each project has its own specific requirements and some require scaffolding that is quite unique in that the shape, load and design specifications are different from any other. Even if your project is not totally unique, you will still want to be sure that you get the right type of scaffolding for it. So how can you be sure?

Since most scaffolding is hired, you need to choose a reputable scaffold hire company that employs trained engineers to design the scaffolding you need. Sometimes, the engineer will deem it essential to come out to the building site to take a look at the geography and ground conditions of the layout as well as other essential features such as power lines that may be nearby. Other times they will simply work from the specifications and plans that you supply to them.

The company will then design a scaffolding that will work for your project and present it to you for your approval. It is important to make sure that the structure has been designed properly and also that the actual components of the scaffolding are of the right kind and strong material. The two main choices are aluminium and steel. Aluminium is light and strong, while steel is also strong, but heavier. It is generally chosen for a structure that is complex and larger. (more…)

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