Why Storage Rental Is The Solution To Your Home Renovation Woes

Suppose you are planning a home renovation project but are worried about cluttered spaces, disorganisation, and potential damage to your belongings. In that case, there is a solution that will eradicate all of those worries, and it is renting a secure storage facility. Secure storage rental can provide a clutter-free space during your home renovations where you can store anything which you regard as valuable, whether that be in monetary terms or sentimental value.

In this blog post, Brilliance Storage lays out the benefits of renting storage units during home renovations and, more importantly, provides you with tips for the most effective ways of using storage rental during the period renovations take place in your home.

Advantages Of Storage Rental During Your Home Renovation

When planning a home renovation project, one of the biggest challenges is dealing with the clutter that arises. Furniture, appliances, and other items can easily get in the way, making it difficult to work efficiently. This can lead to frustration and stress and can even cause delays in the project timeline. This can be especially so if you have hired contractors who deem your home unsafe to work in due to the existing clutter.

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7 Steps To Ensuring Your Kitchen Renovation Is A Success

Planning kitchen renovations is not something most people would do regularly unless they were employed as kitchen designers or cabinet makers. The fact that, on average, kitchens are only updated every 7 to 10 years suggests that most homeowners are happy to live with their current kitchen for some time, and thus the planning of a new one is a rare event in their lives.

The fact that it is rare means there is a risk that, unless a proven series of steps are followed during the process of planning a kitchen renovation, mistakes can be made. Those mistakes can lead to a kitchen that is unsuitable, unworkable, running well over budget or, worst of all, the renovation does not take place at all due to a series of irreversible mistakes along the way.

We are sure you do not want any of that to happen to you, especially if you are currently thinking about a kitchen renovation for your home. It is, therefore, we hope, going to be helpful if you start with a proven roadmap to get you from the initial idea to a completed kitchen, and it just so happens that what follows is such a roadmap with seven critical steps to a successful kitchen renovation.

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DIY Vs Professional Solar Panel Installation

Solar panels are a popular alternative energy source for homeowners as they harness light from the sun and convert it into usable, clean, and cheap electricity. With the popularity of DIY, some people are considering installing solar panels on their own instead of hiring a professional solar panel company to install them.

Before deciding which route to take if you are considering solar panels,  it is essential to understand the pros and cons of DIY and professional solar panel installation, respectively, and that is precisely what we will help you do as you read through this blog post.

DIY Solar Panel Installation

DIY solar panel installation involves purchasing a solar panel kit and installing it yourself. This option appeals most to people with electrical experience who want to save money. DIY solar panel kits typically come with instructions that guide you through the installation process; however, remember that installing solar panels is not a simple task and can take considerable time and effort.

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Advantages of a Split System Air Conditioning

Some summers are much hotter than others. Whatever the reason for the hot weather, it is lovely to relax in a home cooled by a split-system air conditioning unit when the outside temperatures are soaring. You sleep much better when it’s cool, so you feel much more energetic the next day instead of feeling like wilted lettuce.

If you don’t yet have an air conditioning system, airandwater.com.au has provided a list of advantages of installing a split system.

  • Biggest advantage? You’ll feel much more relaxed day and night.
  • A split system is easy to retrofit, meaning it can go into a home that is already completed, no matter how old it is. So long as the home has electricity.
  • It is quiet. You will hardly hear it inside and outside; the more modern units are whisper-quiet, so you don’t have to worry about annoying the neighbours.
  • It is relatively inexpensive and much less costly to purchase and install than a ducted system.
  • If you get a reverse-cycle one, it can be used for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer, so you get more use out of it.
  • It is easy to maintain. All you have to do is clean the filters. It should also be checked every so often by a professional.
  • It is cost-effective to run, especially the later models. You’ll find it costs less to run during winter than radiant heaters, especially fan heaters notorious for gobbling up power.
  • It doesn’t interfere with the view from the window like a smaller one would, and it is aesthetically pleasing.

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5 Reasons To Ask Your Landscape Architect To Include Water Features

When discussing your wishes with landscape architects as to what you want to be included in your new landscape design, we sincerely hope that one or more water features are on the list. As for constitutes a water feature it can be anything from a small bird bath to a large fountain, from an artificial stream to a pond, and many more including a full-sized swimming pool if your property is large enough.

Water features are amazing in that they can activate several senses including seeing the beauty of cascading water, listening to the peaceful ripples from a small stream, or the cooling feel as you splash cold water onto your face on a hot summer’s day. You can also include taste if you have a drinking fountain, and smell if you have a fish pond, so that takes care of all five senses.

As well as what we have just described, water features have several other benefits for homeowners who request that their landscape architect include one in the landscape design they are creating. If you are unsure of what they might be, please continue reading and you will discover that we have highlighted five reasons why you will want a water feature in your landscaped garden.

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Why The Direction A Garden Faces Is A Critical Factor In Landscaping

When asked to design landscaped gardens, there are many variables that landscapers must take into account. The list of variables is a long one, and can include:

  • Client’s budget
  • Uses for the garden
  • Size of the garden
  • Lawn or no lawn?
  • Real lawn or artificial lawn?
  • Type of mowing – lawnmowing? vertimowing?
  • Types of plants such as shrubs, flowers, or trees
  • Decking from deckingsydney.net.au and pathways
  • Fixed features such as seating and retaining walls
  • Water features, pools, ponds
  • Timescale for completion

Doubtless, you will be able to think of several more. However, there is one aspect of the garden being designed that we guarantee many clients do not even think of, and possibly even a few landscapers fail to think of too, and that is the direction the garden is facing. Whether a garden faces north, east, south, or west, can have a significant impact on what and how well plants grow there, as well as several potential features that may be included.

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Why You Must Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes When Choosing Glass Balustrading

No matter what improvements you plan to have done in and around your home there is always a right way and wrong way to do so, and that applies equally if you are choosing glass balustrading. Given its permanence and the investment it is likely to require, we would urge any homeowner planning to have glass balustrading installed to do everything they can to make the right choices.

Unfortunately, there are many examples of homeowners not going about choosing glass balustrading correctly, and ending up having to have it replaced sooner than would otherwise be necessary, or having to live with it but resenting it every day. Often, the reason for their poor choice is that they made one or more of five common mistakes concerning choosing and purchasing glass balustrading. Here are those five mistakes you must avoid.

Mistake #1 – DIY Instead Of Professional Installers

If you are an expert DIYer and know all there is about installing glass balustrading you need not read any further. For everyone else, please do not make the mistake of trying to install glass balustrading if you have no experience of doing so. It requires skills, experience, and specific equipment to instil glass balustrading correctly, and for this reason, we certainly recommend you employ a professional glass balustrading company for the work such as westperthglass.com.au.

Mistake #2 – Doing Little Or No Proper Research

In truth, this mistake could apply to just about anything you can think of, and it especially applies to choosing glass balustrading. By proper research we mean thinking about how glass balustrading can be used in and around your home, looking at other installs for ideas, researching designs and options for glass balustrading, and researching local glass balustrade suppliers and installers. Fail to do any of these and your choice, when you make it, will be all the poorer.

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Don’t Forget These Safety Measures When Installing a Pool

When you start looking at swimming pools to install on your property, it’s easy to get caught up in aesthetics. You want to make sure the swimming pool suits your property, so you put a lot of time and effort into its shape, colour, and even the texture of the tiles.

However, of even more importance are safety measures. How will you keep pool users safe? It might be worth considering some of the following safety features.

A Pool Fence

At the same time you’re looking at swimming pool designs, consider which pool fence you will choose around the pool to keep your friends and family safe. There are many different design options, ranging from glass pool fencing to steel, but whichever one you choose should have self-closing and self-latching gates with child-proof features.

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5 Principles Of Hillside Landscaping

Whilst the vast majority of gardens that are subject to residential landscaping work, be it new designs, or for ongoing care and maintenance, will be perfectly flat, not all are. Some will have inclines of varying degrees, and there will be those which are situated on a hillside. This is the landscaping project that landscapers will find most challenging, and in truth, the ability to create a workable landscaping design on a hillside can often prove to be extremely difficult, if not impossible.

If you are up for the challenge then we must advise you that creating a landscape design for a garden that has a large slope on a hillside is not easy, and there certain principles that you must follow to succeed. Read on, and you will discover what those principles are.

Ensure The Slope’s Integrity Is Not Compromised

One of the most important aspects of designing landscaping for a hillside is safety. You might be wondering why that would be so in a garden environment, however, if your landscaping design involves any significant digging or construction, there are risks.

The primary risk is that you affect the integrity of the hillside to the extent that it becomes unstable. If that happiness then there is a risk that soil could loosen, and a mudslide occurs with all the consequences that could follow on from such an event. One key design principle to follow is to make lots of small digs to create multiple levels within your design, rather than try to with just one or two large excavations.

Use Plants With Deep, Fine Roots

Carrying on from the previous point about the integrity of the slope’s soil, another way risks can be minimised is with the careful selection of the plants and trees which you intend to grow. In particular, you want to select plants and trees which are known to create a network of deep roots. The theory is that these deep roots help to bind the soil underground, strengthening its integrity and thus acting almost like a safety net beneath your hillside landscaping.

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Options For Refinishing Concrete Floors

If you have a garage, a retail outlet, a manufacturing facility, or any other kind of commercial premises that has a concrete floor that is badly in need of attention, then it is most likely time for you to start considering which concrete floor coatings might be an option in terms of fixing it.

It may also be the case that rather than fixing a concrete floor that is in a poor state of repair, you are remodelling the flooring, or even renovating an old building.

If the concrete floor you are working on is located in an older building it is possible that refinishing might be the answer. Another possibility is that the concrete floor you have is cracked, has a lot of bad stains, and you want to upgrade it in such a way that it complements the rest of the interior.

This often happens when a business updates its fixtures, fittings, or machinery along with other some renovation work, and the concrete floor ruins the aesthetics of it due to the staining or damage it has.

In these, and indeed other scenarios, the good news is that are several excellent concrete floor coatings options for you to choose from. Even better, concrete floor coatings are a solution to your concrete floor problems that need not cost a fortune, and can often transform a drab and dreary area, into something which is bright and a lot more pleasing on the eye.

If you have a concrete floor which needs to be upgraded with a new finish, here are some of the most effective coatings and refinishing options you can consider:

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Why Should We Implement a Green Home & Office Policy?

If you own or manage a small business, you should consider implementing a green office policy. There are numerous reasons why you might do this and numerous ways to do it. For example, if you run a small SEO company that doesn’t absolutely require people to come to the office every day, you could add a work from home section that allows employees to telecommute when appropriate.

Similarly, things like recycling, sustainable resource use and end-of-day procedures should be outlined to reduce your office’s environmental footprint. In the rest of this article, I’ve explored exactly why you should implement a green home or green office policy and how to do it.

Why Are Green Office Policies Useful?

There are numerous benefits associated with green office policies. The obvious one is that implementing them will help you and your employees understand exactly what they need to be doing in the workplace.

For example, a well-written green office policy will deal with a range of things, such as:

  • Waste disposal, including what is disposed of, where to put it and how things like paper and plastics are recycled.
  • Electricity and other resource use, including what things are done at the end of the day.
  • Printing, especially with respect to when it’s appropriate to print documents and when they should be kept in digital format.

As you can imagine, the exact details of your policy will depend on the type of business you run.

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How Can We Save Water in Our Building?

In the face of changing climates and ever increasing populations across the world, water shortages are becoming more and more common. It’s therefore a good idea to get a plumber to pay attention to your plumbing system and its condition to ensure you’re not wasting water in your office building.

There are numerous things that you can do to conserve water at work. We certainly haven’t covered all of them below, but we’ve put together a short list of our favourite actions. Good luck, and remember to speak with a professional plumber if you do run into problems.

  1. Stay on Top of Leaks

Most people don’t realise just how much water a leaky tap can waste. Unfortunately, even small leaks can waste litres of water per day, which is quite significant over the course of a year.

For example, let’s say that you have three slowly dripping taps in your office building. If each of them wastes 10 litres of water per day, you will be wasting more than 10,000 litres per year. Pretty significant, right?

  1. Use Low-Flow Faucets

In the modern world, many taps and faucets come equipped with low-flow settings to reduce the amount of water you use. However, if your office building contains old plumbing systems, you might not be benefiting from these.

It’s therefore worth speaking to your plumber and asking them if it’s possible to restrict your water flow somehow. The chances are that, if you’re just using your taps to wash hands and fill the kettle from time to time, you won’t even notice a slightly lower flow.

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How to Improve Indoor-Outdoor Flow with Landscape Design

Achieving the right look with landscape design is no easy feat. If you’re a home owner looking to spruce up your property or even starting a new project from scratch, you will probably need a professional landscaping contractor.

Landscape design and landscaping, in general, can be quite the balancing act.

It doesn’t get any easier when it comes to indoor-outdoor flow, either. You may have a beautiful outdoor area and an even more lovely home, but how do you get the two to talk to each other? You can either consult expert landscapers in your area or read on.

Light it Up

If your goal of improving indoor-outdoor flow is so that you can enjoy both areas equally, then think about lighting. You may be less likely to utilise your outdoor entertainment area if it’s poorly lit. No one wants to sit in the dark when your home has plenty of lighting for everyone.

Consider installing solar lighting, fairy lights, and permanent ones that enhance the connection. A well-lit entertainment area is welcoming and warm.

Provide Cover

Your outdoor entertainment area should be a seamless transition from your home. You should be able to walk out of your living or kitchen area, directly into an equally as sheltered and covered outdoor space. Consider building a pergola-type structure to enhance that cover. Otherwise, look at shade cloths and archways to connect the two areas.

Furnish Smartly

Just because you added decking or paving stones to the outside of your home, doesn’t mean you’ve mastered landscape design. It might look kind of like an outdoor area, but it’s not finished.

If you want to improve indoor-outdoor flow, then make your deck area an extension of your home. Add comfortable seating, plants, outdoor rugs, lighting, and even outdoor cooking appliances such as a barbecue.

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Your Electrical Appliances

Life has been made so easy for us these days. It all started with that guy Edison turning on the lights in New York city about 135 years ago. We suddenly had electricity and that was the beginning of the end of the dark ages – literally. That was also the beginning of the technicians that learnt and worked with electricity – electricians. It’s all very well having great technical advances but almost everything is run by electricity and when stuff goes wrong, we need expert help to get things fixed.

Vacuum Cleaner
It all started with the foot in the door salesman spilling a heap of trash on your carpet, then turning on the cleaner, which sounded like an old Boeing 707 starting its jets, and then sucking up all the spilled mess like magic. Now, we have Lux Living robot vacuums which not only clean your floors automatically but are a source of great enjoyment for cats to ride on and get filmed for YouTube. Regardless of the style and fancy attachments, when it stops, call an electrician.

Microwave
Gone are the days of cutting firewood, lighting the fire in the stove, and cooking your food. Keeping the home fires burning made sure you had hot water and a hot house, even in the midst of summer. Now, you open your microwave, adjust your settings and you can reheat leftovers, cook a whole chicken, and explode eggs, popcorn and small animals, if that’s your thing! When the microwaves stop waving – call an electrician.

Toaster
This appliance goes hand in hand with the best thing since sliced bread! We still use a forked stick poked into a piece of bread hung over a campfire when we are ‘roughing it’, but at home, we place the sliced bread into the slots, push the lever down and Voila! We get toast. When the bread gets stuck you put a knife in the openings and try to lever it out. Bang! Call an electrician –  if you’re still alive.

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3 Reasons Why You Should Always Have Fire Protection Gear On Your Premises

If you are the owner or manager of a business or a commercial building, you have a few responsibilities under Australian law. The most important of these is to ensure the safety of your employees, customers and any others in and around your building. Fires present a significant risk to workplace safety, which means that you should always take appropriate precautions – such as installing fire extinguishers – to reduce the risk of fire damage.

However, fire protection equipment comes in a lot of different forms, not just as fire extinguishers. Depending on the type of business you have, you should consider installing things like fire alarm systems, hydrants, fire blankets and fire hoses. Some of the reasons why you should always have fire protection gear on your premises include:

  1. Fires Can Be Dangerous, And Potentially Fatal

Fires have the potential to be deadly, especially when they aren’t managed properly. A fire in a workshop or office setting is always unexpected, and it is important to be able to react quickly and cooly to make sure that preventable damage or injury doesn’t occur.

A fast response to a fire can be aided by making sure that your building contains the most up to date fire protection equipment, and that your staff and team members are trained to use it fast and efficiently. If someone is injured because of lax preparation, you, the business owner or manager, will be held responsible.

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