Latest Articles

5 Tips To Ensure Your Pets Are Protected From Electrical Hazards In Your Home
Property Maintenance, Renovating

5 Tips To Ensure Your Pets Are Protected From Electrical Hazards In Your Home

You may read blogs that relate to safety in the home or might have asked local tradesmen, such as your plumber, electrician, or gas engineer, for advice on such matters. One question that electricians get asked frequently is how to keep children safe from electrical hazards. However, there is another member of the family for whom you should be asking the same question, and that is your family pet.

Whether you have a dog or cat, given that they are both inquisitive creatures and they can also be energetic and playful, there are a number of reasons electrical hazards create a risk to their well-being. Whilst we are not in any way suggesting that concerns for a pet’s safety should take precedence over a child’s, nevertheless, we are sure you love your pet and want them to be kept out of harm’s way.

With that in mind, here are five safety tips that should help ensure that electrical sockets, cables, and appliances around your home are not a threat to the health, or the life, of your pet.

Do Not Leave Appliances Which Generate Heat Unattended

One of the most common injuries vets have to deal with is pet burns from electrical devices and appliances. The usual chain of events is that an electrical appliance that generates heat has been left on and unattended. This problem continues with the pet coming into contact with the hot surface whilst playing, jumping up onto something, or when trying to lie down for a nap. Known culprits include toasters, irons, heaters, curling irons, and certain light bulbs.

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By Ficus Constructions
5 Questions to Ask a Kitchen Renovation Expert
Kitchens, Renovating

5 Questions to Ask a Kitchen Renovation Expert

Not everyone knows what to do when they realise it’s time to undertake kitchen renovations. You might know you need a new kitchen, but what on earth do you do next? It can be worth contacting a kitchen cabinetry maker and asking them the following questions.

  1. Will You Work Within My Budget?

It always helps to have a budget when you’re about to start kitchen renovations. After all, the costs can quickly add up and end up becoming more than you can afford.

When the idea first enters your mind to renovate, it can be worth asking your local cabinet maker what they can do with the budget you have set. You may be surprised at how much they can achieve when you give them a figure to work with.

  1. Do I Get a Say in the Design Process?

Even though we are a nation of DIYers, some things require an expert’s input. Renovating kitchens is one such thing. Although, it might pain you to realise that you have to give up control of the project.

However, you don’t have to entirely. You get full say in the design process of your new kitchen. A cabinet maker can come to your home, measure the space, and offer ideas for how your new kitchen can be laid out in the space.

You also have input into the materials and hardware they use, the finish you prefer, and even the colours. The only part of the process you’re not involved with is the actual creation and installation of the kitchen.

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By Ficus Constructions
Are Custom Kitchen Cabinets Worth It
Kitchens, Renovating

Are Custom Kitchen Cabinets Worth It?

Spoiler: Yes!

When you start planning for kitchen renovations, one of the first things you might ask yourself (or someone else) is: are custom kitchen cabinets from Colray Cabinets Perth worth it? In short, yes. However, if you need more convincing, we’ve covered some of their benefits below.

Only the Highest Quality Materials

One thing of significant concern to homeowners and landlords is whether or not the materials used in a kitchen renovation can withstand daily wear and tear. When you buy entry-level kitchens, that’s not always the case.

Over time, hardware can break, screws can come out, benchtops can scratch and wear, and shelving can break down. That’s unlikely to be the case as quickly when you hire a custom kitchen cabinet maker to create a new kitchen for you.

They use only the best quality materials, which can mean that they continue to withstand wear and tear for years to come, even with daily use. This can make any homeowner with young children breathe a sigh of relief. It can also give landlords much-needed confidence when investing in a new kitchen for their rental property.

They Are Made to Fit the Space

What you often find with kitset and flat-pack kitchens is that they are made for all homes and no homes. They are designed to be universal for any space, but they don’t exactly fit your space perfectly.

That’s not a concern for many people on a budget who simply want a kitchen that fits near enough. Though, suppose you are looking for a high-quality kitchen that tucks in neatly with your appliances and walls. In that case, a custom kitchen can be a far better option.

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By Ficus Constructions
5 Facts About Trex Decking You Should Know
Flooring, Renovating

5 Facts About Trex Decking You Should Know

For anyone who wishes to have decking installed within their garden, or who wants to renew decking without deck sanding, then a great option you should consider is Trex decking. This is fast becoming the decking of choice for many landscape design companies, and for those homeowners who have it installed, it has proved to be extremely popular.

If you are unsure what Trex decking is, or even if this is the first time you have ever heard of it, here are 5 facts about Trex decking you should know.

The History of Trex Decking

Trex decking was the brainchild of Roger Wittenberg, a renowned entrepreneurial chemist, who has created many products that use recycled materials. In the late 1980s, he started developing composite products that used two types of these recycled materials, namely plastic film used for grocery carrying bags, and wood waste, such as woodchips, and sawdust.

As the technology developed Mobil Oil made a huge investment, and such as been the popularity of Trex decking since the turn of the century, that Trex is now a publicly traded company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

What Trex Decking Is Made From

Trex decking is manufactured using a combination of recycled plastic and wood to form a composite wood-fibre polymer material that provides a number of advantages that are especially applicable to decking.

The composite material that is produced for Trex decking means that the surface does not need to be finished or coated, unlike wood decking, and it is also less prone to damage such as scratches.

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By Ficus Constructions
Choosing Epoxy Floor Coatings
Property Maintenance, Renovating

7 Reasons Businesses Are Choosing Epoxy Floor Coatings

If you have the responsibility of choosing which floor coating is to be used to replace and renew the existing one anywhere in your business, then epoxy floor coating is one which you should seriously consider. For many, they simply choose it because it is used on so many business and industrial floors, that they simply follow the crowd.

If so many businesses are satisfied by the epoxy floors in their premises, then it must have some qualities which makes it popular, however, if you are yet to choose, why not consider more closely some of the many benefits that epoxy floor coatings can offer, to confirm you are making the best choice.

Quick And Easy Installation: We assume you are going to employ a professional floor company that are experts in installing it. As such, because of the way in epoxy floors are laid you will benefit greatly from the speed with which it can be done, meaning less upheaval and downtime for your business.

Very Low Maintenance: While epoxy floors are not exactly ‘set it and forget it’ they are close as you can get because you will find that the amount of maintenance they require is minimal, and certainly, versus wood and carpeted flooring, there is no comparison.

In terms of cleaning them, their smooth surface makes it much easier to sweep them, and as they are non-porous, mopping them with detergent and water can be done quickly and without any risk to the surface.

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By Ficus Constructions
Choose the Right Landscaping Company
Gardens & Landscaping

How to Choose the Right Landscaping Company

It may not take you long to realise that landscaping can require a professional’s touch. There are so many things you need to think about, such as tree and plant types, entertainment areas, lighting, and flow. Before long, you’ve tied yourself up in knots wondering if you’re going about it the right way.

But before you get in touch with the first landscaping experts you see, why not think about how to choose the right company for you? Here are a few things to think about first.

The Services They Offer

One of the most critical parts of choosing a landscaping company is finding out what services they offer. Are they able to do what you need now and into the future?

Having a single company to take care of the design, installation, and ongoing maintenance of your property can remove all the stress from everyday life. You can spend more time enjoying your outdoor space, and less time figuring out how to maintain it.

The Areas They Service

If you just search for landscaping companies in Australia online, then you’ll likely be met with hundreds of options. Not all of those landscapers will service your area. So, narrow down your search. For example, if you’re in Sydney, New South Wales, then look for landscaping companies in Sydney, NSW. You will end up with an ideal company for your needs far quicker.

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By Ficus Constructions
Carpet Cleaning Myths
Property Maintenance

7 Carpet Cleaning Myths You Must Ignore

It is true that much upset, damage and mayhem has been created by people following old wives’ tales and myths. This is especially true with regards to carpet cleaning and tile cleaning,  and if you have ever seen a carpet completely ruined because the owner used a method ‘the fella down the pub swore would get it clean’, you would know what we mean.

To ensure you do not fall victim to the same issues, caused by a so-called expert who knows as much about carpet cleaning, as he does about nuclear fusion, we have outlined the most common myths related to cleaning carpets.

Myth #1 – Remove Stains By Rubbing Them: One of the most common myths, and complete nonsense. When you rub a stain, you are actually driving it deeper into the carpet’s fibres, making it even harder to remove. If you have a stain, get a cloth, warm water, and gently dab the stain in an attempt to soak it up.

Myth #2 – Dishwasher Liquid Is Great For Spot Cleaning: Dishwasher liquid might be a relatively mild cleaning fluid, but if used on carpets, it can leave a residue, which is sticky. Now you know what happens with sticky things…things stick to them! This means dirt and grit sticking to your carpet and making it even dirtier, as a result.

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By Ficus Constructions
Alarm System
Building Security

Benefits of Protecting Your Property With an Alarm System

In the modern world, home security is more important than ever. Many homeowners are choosing to spend money on things like security alarm systems and CCTV surveillance systems.

There are numerous benefits associated with installing something like this. For example, having some sort of visible alarm system will help deter intruders and reduce the risk of people breaking into your home.

In the rest of this article, we’ve explored some of the main benefits of installing a security alarm system in your home. Remember, it’s always a good idea to have a chat with a professional if you’re considering installing an alarm, otherwise you might end up with something that’s not really suited to your house.

Look After Yourself and Your Family

Installing an alarm system will provide a significant level of protection for you and your family. For example, having a security system that continually monitors your property will help you remain safe from intruders and other criminals.

When it comes to your family, there’s nothing more important than remaining safe. And, even if someone does break in, your alarm system will alert both you and the police as soon as possible, helping ensure they get caught before harming anyone.

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By Ficus Constructions
Professional Pool Designers
Gardens & Landscaping, Swimming Pools

Top 5 Reasons to Use Professional Pool Designers

If you’re thinking about including a swimming pool in your overall landscape design, you should consider speaking with a team of professional pool designers. A professional designer will know everything about building a new swimming pool and will ensure your new pool complies with the relevant legal requirements.

Unfortunately, pool designers can be somewhat expensive at times. But trust us, it’s absolutely worth using one, especially if you’re planning to install a custom custom pool. Below we’ve outlined our top five reasons to use professional designers. They include:

  • They Will Ensure You Get What You Want

A professional swimming pool designer should know everything about designing the perfect pool with pool fence and all. They will be able to sit down with you and discuss your requirements, which means you will end up with the exact pool you want.

Ultimately, trying to design your own pool can be difficult at best. This is because there are numerous things to think about including its overall design and water-holding ability.

  • They Will Make Sure You Comply With the Relevant Laws

Each state in Australia has quite strict laws when it comes to swimming pool design. Because of this, it’s important to make sure your new pool complies with them. This can be difficult unless you’re a professional. However, an experienced pool designer shouldn’t have any trouble on this front, especially if they’ve been working in the field for some time.

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By Ficus Constructions
Renovating

Endangered Plastic Hippos

Talented sculptor and artist Ryo Shimura, a graduate of the Tokyo University of Art and Design, makes detailed plastic figurines of endangered species, highlighting how species are disappearing from the planet, due to “environmental problems such as deforestation, air pollution, warming…resulting in mass extermination”.

Shimura’s latest creation, “29000→600” represents the loss of hippos in the wild due to loss of habitat and poaching. His slumped-over pandas are particularly poignant, but his Meerkat crayons are tad more upbeat.

However, it does seem a little out of place to use plastic for the disappearing species since plastics, and fossil-fuels from which they are derived, often are a causal factor in stress on the environment and animal species – perhaps the use of a plastic as a medium is intended as an ironic statement.

Visit: http://shimura-ryo.blogspot.com/

By Ficus Constructions
Gardens & Landscaping, Renovating, Swimming Pools

Top Tips To Help You Choose The Perfect Pool Fence

Choosing the right glass pool fencing for your swimming pool can be one of the most important decisions you make in your overall landscaping plans, especially if you’re not really sure what you want. However, pool fencing is a legal requirement throughout Australia, which means that you need to get a fence put up as soon as your pool is built, otherwise you could face significant fines or other penalties.

Customised glass barriers are a stylish, modern choice that are becoming increasingly popular throughout Australia and the world. Tubular metal fences remain common due to their low price an ease of installation. Wooden and plastic fences are also available, but they are much less common due to the strict requirements for building pool fences.

It can be extremely hard to choose the right fence on short notice, which has led to the creation of the following list of quick tips to help you make your choice:

Think About Your Existing Landscape Design

The first thing you should consider when you’re choosing a new pool fence is the existing features of your current landscape design. You need to try and choose a fence which won’t look out of place amongst the rest of your yard, and which matches with respect to style and colour.

A lot of people choose glass pool fences because of their versatility and adaptability. Glass fences can be customised to match almost any landscaping style, which means that they are great for a wide range of gardens.

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By Ficus Constructions
Renovating

Tree Shaping Book Review

Knowledge to Grow Shaped Trees is a recently published book written by Peter Cook and Becky Northey, the world’s leading tree shapers. The knowledge contained in this book is their answer to a growing worldwide demand for information on what is known as the “pooktre” shaping method.

This book has 42 years of the authors’ real-life experiences of tree shaping; the information is given in a clear step-by-step process. The knowledge is easy to put into practice because the book contains so many photos along with an explanation of exactly how it’s done, creating a platform to allow individuals, with no previous experience, to begin shaping trees into all kinds of fantasy forms and useful items. The ideas provided in this book encourage people to live in harmony with the environment. With this new knowledge, and an understanding of tree lore, you will be more observant of the trees that grow around you.

The book starts with a young man riding his horse along the lonely surf beach of Fraser Island and finding a large hunk of ambergris (secretions from the intestines of sperm whales used in perfume), which comes from the largest predator on earth. The young man sold it and bought 160 acres of old growth forest in the mountains of southern Queensland and continues to the present day with a peaceful property covered with many beautiful examples of pooktre.

The authors explain which tree species are suitable for the pooktre treatment, and just as important, the trees to avoid. They explain the principles of why a tree species will work or not, using many real examples to explain the importance and practical use of tree lore. Some knowledge is unique to pooktre. Some techniques, such as grafting, and wind staking, have been so refined they have become new techniques in their own right.

Knowledge to Grow Shaped Trees by Peter Cook and Becky Northey.

Knowledge to Grow Shaped Trees has over 350 images and illustrations and 20 content packed chapters full of great information, but this is not just another “how-to-book”, they also share the underlying principles of tree lore which governs their artwork. The book Knowledge to Grow Shaped Trees demonstrates that trees are dynamic living beings and what can be achieved when you work cooperatively with them.

By Ficus Constructions
Renovating

Solar Winds Arts Center

The Solar Winds Cultural Arts Center is a design proposal from artist Michael Jantzen for a large solar and wind powered structure dedicated to being used for a wide variety of cultural arts activities.

“The center is composed of seven conical shaped modular structures that are merged together at their bases. Each of the seven are fitted with a large vertical axis wind turbine designed to be integrated into the shape of the apex of each of the conical shaped forms,” explains the designer. “Four of the south facing cone shaped structures are fitted with large, integrated photovoltaic solar cell arrays. These solar cell arrays are backed with specially designed solar heat extraction systems.”

The wind turbines, solar cells, and solar heat extraction systems provide all of the electricity, space heating, and water heating energy needed to operate the center. Whenever there is a surplus of energy generated by the structure, it is distributed to the local community energy grid.

The tall conical shaped segments of the structure also function to naturally ventilate the center as air is drawn in at the base of each segment and vented out through uniquely designed air exhaust ports at the top. Each of the seven conical shaped segments of the structure are also equipped at the top with skylights, which naturally illuminate the spaces below.

The clustering of the seven conical structures created an enormous cavernous space that is ideal for cultural arts events. The perimeter of the structure, and in-between the seven conical shaped segments, includes a multitude of flat shaped shade roofs and bridges between several of the segments in order to form platforms for outdoor events.

Visit: www.michaeljantzen.com

By Ficus Constructions
Bathroom Fittings
Bathrooms

Can I Change My Own Bathroom Fittings?

Professional plumbing services can be expensive, but it’s often worth using them – even for simple things like changing taps, faucets or shower heads. However, the truth is that it’s not that difficult to change your own bathroom fittings (or kitchen ones for that matter) to complete your bathroom renovation.

With this in mind, we’ve decided to put together a short guide to help you change your own fittings without running into any problems. Remember, if you do have trouble at any point, it’s always a good idea to speak with a professional to ensure you don’t accidentally cause costly damage.

Before You Start

Before you start changing taps or shower fittings there are a few things that you need to do. Make sure that you:

    • Turn the mains water supply off if you’re changing taps, otherwise you will have a major problem on your hands.

  • Use an old towel or t-shirt to block the drain so that you don’t lose any small parts.
  • Place a piece of cardboard or blanket in the sink, shower or wherever else you’re working to prevent damage if you drop tools or other hard objects.
  • Make sure you have everything you need.

It’s very important to make sure you have all the tools and materials you need, otherwise you might be stuck with no water while you try and find the missing parts. It’s a good idea to speak to someone at your local hardware store to ensure you have everything.

Changing Bathroom of Shower Fittings

Actually changing taps, shower head and other fittings really isn’t that difficult, especially if you follow a clear set of steps. The following should help you avoid any problems.

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By Ficus Constructions
How To Select The Best Landscape Design Company
Gardens & Landscaping

How To Select The Best Landscape Design Company

If you have a garden in which you would like to implement a landscape design, unless you want to do the designing yourself you are going to have to employ an expert. Ideally, that expert will be a landscape designer or a company of landscape architects that specialise in landscape design.

Whilst there is nothing wrong in finding a freelance landscape designer, with a company doing the design for you, there are several advantages. They are more likely able to actually create the design for real within your garden given that they are likely to know garden suppliers, have the appropriate tools and equipment, plus they will also be able to supply the skilled labour required for the installation.

Deciding that you are going to use a company is the first step, but more important steps after that are needed to ensure that the landscape design company you employ is the right one, and hopefully the best one too. Those steps are not difficult and there are just three of them. If you follow them you will ensure that the design is created properly and more to the point, installed to your satisfaction too.

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By Ficus Constructions
Moving To A New House
Moving House

5 Reasons For Moving To A New House – Which Ones Apply To You?

There can be many reasons why you decide to leave your current home, call in the removalists, and then move to a new home. When the question is asked of those who do move, as to why they did so, there are five reasons which show up time and time again, more than any others.

So, although the title asks which one applies to you, it may be that your main reason for moving is not one of these five. However, if you read through them carefully, we are sure at least one of them played some small part in you coming to the decision to move to a new house.

It Never Felt Like A Home

One of the main reasons that people move is that the house or apartment they were living never felt like a home to them. It could be that when they were growing up, their house has a special atmosphere full of love and always busy, with neighbours and family constantly popping in.

Often, when we move out from our parents’ home, to live in our own, we expect it to feel the same, but of course it never can, at least not immediately. That creates a real sense of loss, and the desire to move to a new house builds.

It Became Too Small

This is more of a practical reason for moving home and also one of the most common amongst younger couples when they start having children. Where once the house was more than big enough for just the two of them, with the addition of one, two or more children, the house they live in simply becomes too small.

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By Ficus Constructions