Category: Maintenance

How the Right Irrigation and Reticulation can Save Water

By missalis | | No Comments | Landscaping, Maintenance

While ever the rains pour down and storms abound, we never think of saving water. But once the clouds disappear for a few weeks or months and water in the dams or tanks we use starts to get rather more scarce we expect water restrictions. However, saving water all the time makes sense because it not only costs less, but helps to save our water supply. Installing reticulation may seem as if it will enable you to use more water rather than save it, but if it is the right kind it will actually save water.

Choose the Right Irrigation System

Much depends on how large your garden and lawn area is and what you grow. For the most part, annuals and vegetables take more water than perennials and permanent shrubs. However, even the thirstiest plant can grow well when you use a drip system that delivers water right to the roots where it can be used more efficiently.  When water is sprayed over a wide area some of it will evaporate, some will run off and some will land in the wrong spot, such as on the pathway. A drip system avoids all this waste.

Drip Irrigation Design Guidelines

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What to Grow Near Your Security Fencing – So it Won’t be Compromised

By missalis | | No Comments | Maintenance

Nearly every home has beautiful landscaping surrounding it. Not only does this add value to the property; it also makes living there more pleasant because it creates shade and can add privacy. However, it is important to ensure any garden – especially trees and shrubs – do not interfere with the security fencing.

Trees

Trees can grow tall enough to tower over any fencing nearby, but make great living privacy fences. If they have low overhanging branches, it is highly likely that an intruder on the outside of the fence could use them as an aid to climb over. If the fence is out of sight of the home and if a branch falls over the fence after a storm or due to disease, it can also provide a way in.  Tree roots may also damage the fence posts, making them unstable and easy to pull out. (more…)

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Four Reasons to Make Your Garden Low Maintenance

By missalis | | No Comments | Landscaping, Maintenance

Nothing sets off a home more than a beautiful garden surrounding it. You can add interest and colour, create shade, create a place for the children to play, entertain guests or just relax by yourself in a beautiful space when you have the kind of garden that gives you pleasure. Unless you want to hire a landscape gardener on a permanent basis, much can be said for ensuring that the garden you create is low maintenance.

Why? Here are 4 reasons to consider when deciding what kind of garden you should have.

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Safe Gate Tips for Security Fencing

By missalis | | No Comments | Maintenance

When you have security fencing installed it is usually for a reason. That means there must be no weak points in its length, or else it may as well not be there. One of the weakest points can be the gate – unless you also make sure that the gate is a strong one and designed in the same way as the fence.  Thus, if your fence has a topping of wire or steel that slopes outwards, the gate should have the same thing. Otherwise it will become a focal point for intruders and allow easy access.

Weak Points in a Safety Gate

However, there are other considerations for a gate if it is to be a safe one. Any moving thing will have possible weak points in it to help it move. The hinges and locks for a gate can be considered weak points if they are not made of strong materials that cannot be taken apart. It won’t matter how strong the hinges are if the screws or bolts holding it to the gate can be undone. Likewise, the catch for the gate must be strong, but if the attachments can be easily removed, anyone will be able to take it off and get in.

Tamper proof screws and other hardware will ensure that every part of the gate is strong and that it cannot be taken off its hinges by an unauthorised person.

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4 Tips for Heavy Equipment Hire

By missalis | | No Comments | Maintenance, Renovations

When a job needs heavy equipment to get done, it is not always viable to purchase what is needed, especially if it is a short term job. It is far more cost-effective to use a plant hire company because to pay for itself it needs to be in use all the time. However, hiring does not come without certain risks that can cost your business money and time: see this safety guide on equipment safety. Here are 4 tips to mitigate those risks and ensure that the job goes according to plan with no delays.

  1. Research the hire company properly.

Naturally, you will look at their website, but it is also a good idea to put your ear to the ground and find out what other people in the industry are saying about them. When hiring equipment such as dozers, dump trucks, crushers and screeners, excavators, graders and rollers you can do without any break-downs. A hire company that has a good reputation means that they also have top class equipment that will not break down on the job – and that they offer affordable prices and fair contracts.

  1. Understand the job

Or talk to someone who does. That way you can be sure of choosing the kind of equipment that will do the job. This not only means the type of equipment, but the size and the accessories it comes with. A smaller machine than is really needed is more likely to break down and it will certainly take longer to accomplish the same amount of work as one that is more suited in size. But if the machine is larger than necessary the operating costs will be unnecessarily high. Understanding the project may also mean finding out soil type and geographic features of the location, depending on what kind of job it is.

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