About Me

Designs, Inspiration, Advice and More from Contractors

Hi, my name is Amber, and I have worked alongside of contractors for years. I ran the sales department of a contracting firm, I bought my own house and hired multiple contractors to help with projects, and I am an amateur researcher of all things related to contracting. If you are thinking about a home or commercial repair or refurbishment, this blog is for you. It has designs, inspiration and advice that I have picked up from my close relationships with contractors over the year. I hope these posts illuminate your next project and help you decide which direction to take your home or business.

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Designs, Inspiration, Advice and More from Contractors

Bringing the Indoors Out: How Custom Alfresco Kitchens Are Changing Home Design
The humble backyard is receiving a grand makeover, thanks to the rise in popularity of custom alfresco kitchens. These unique and versatile spaces are redefining what it means to entertain at home, while seamlessly blending the comfort of indoor living with the excitement of open-air dining. As more and more homeowners discover the endless potential of these outdoor culinary havens, it's clear that alfresco kitchens are revolutionizing traditional home design.

Mistakes You Should Avoid When Building a New Home
Building a new home is exciting. You have the chance to create a forever space that meets all your needs. However, new home building has the potential for mistakes to arise. Before you and your builder get to work, here are some mistakes to be aware of. Underestimating the Costs While this may seem obvious, it's easy to underestimate costs when building a new home. A lot of variables can influence how much your property will cost eventually.

A Guide On Safety Equipment
Safety is a concern in any construction site. In most cases, employees carry heavy objects, work at extreme heights and are exposed to several fire hazards while working. As such, contractors should have appropriate safety equipment to prevent accidents and injuries at their sites. So what safety equipment should they consider? Continue reading for some insights.  Personal Protective Equipment Personal protective equipment (PPEs) protect employees in case of an accident at the site.

A General Contractor Can Add a Wow Factor to Your Staircase
Adding new handrails on a staircase or painting it with a new colour can transform the look and the feel of your home. Elements such as coloured lighting fixtures can also go a long way to making the stairs look cosy. For some people, making spaces around a staircase more functional is a great way to add aesthetics to the décor.  When it comes to considering your options for a staircase, sometimes choosing a style goes a long way to make a big difference.

Are You Struggling to Buy Building Supplies?
Whether you are making repairs to your property, adding an extension or building something entirely new, you must be able to source the building supplies you need. If you are a novice builder or renovator, then it can sometimes feel like choosing building supplies is a little like learning a foreign language. Building merchants and DIY shops can often use jargon that may make sense to them but does little but confuse everyone else.

2 Easy And Inexpensive Ways To Update An Old Staircase
In many double storey homes, the staircase is a dominant and highly visible feature of the living space. If your home is an older style, then this may mean that your drab and dated staircase is creating a focal feature that stands out in a less positive way. Fortunately, even the most unsightly old staircase can be given a new look. Many people defer their staircase renovations because of the misconception that it will be an expensive project.

Reasons Why Seal Coating Is Absolutely Necessary For Your Concrete
For many homeowners, there are certain building supplies they cannot go without. Concrete is often a go-to building supply for paving solutions in and around their home. Concrete is particularly ubiquitous in areas such as driveways, pools, walkways, kerbing and more. Nonetheless, the high resilience of concrete that makes it withstand high traffic does not make it immune to acquiring damage over the years. Simply because the wear and tear is unavoidable does not mean you cannot take measures to delay the damage.

4 Ways to Use Natural Stone in Your Home
Using natural stone in the construction or design of your home provides you with eco-friendly materials that are durable and long-lasting. There are a lot of different types of stone to choose, such as granite, marble, and limestone. You can also go with other stone like onyx, slate, travertine, and sandstone, depending on the look you are going for and what your budget is. Here are some different uses for natural stonework in your home.

Two Common Questions About Range Hood Filter Cleaning
By virtue of being constantly exposed to grease, grime and dirt from kitchen exhaust fumes, range hood filters need to be cleaned on a daily basis, if possible. This article provides answers to two questions that the average homeowner is likely to have in relation to the cleaning of kitchen range hood filters. What's The Risk Of Having Dirty Hood Filters? Foul oduor: The accumulation of grease, grime and dirt particles on range hood filters often results in the release of unpleasant odours into the kitchen atmosphere.

Why Pay More For Thermal Infrared Building Inspections?
The use of thermal imaging technology for pre-purchase building inspections has gained immense popularity in recent times. However, a large number of prospective homeowners often have reservations about the use of thermal imaging technology owing to the fact that thermal infrared inspections often cost more than traditional building inspections. Discussed in this article are some of the advantages associated with the use of thermal imaging technology in building inspections. For a large number of prospective homeowners, these advantages justify the higher cost associated with thermal building inspections.

How Does It Work? | Understanding Gas Ducted Heating
You have most likely heard about gas ducted heating systems and wondered how they work and whether they can work for your home. Well, in this article, get the low down on what a gas ducted system is, how it works, and how you can configure one to meet your personal heating requirements at home. The heating system infrastructure The infrastructure of a gas ducted heating system is similar to that of other ducted air conditioning systems.

Renters: Five Ways to Make Your Windows More Secure Without Making Permanent Modifications
Making your windows more secure can involve replacing the glass, adding metal bars or making other permanent changes to your windows. However, if you are a renter and not allowed to make permanent changes to your windows, none of these security options are viable. Luckily, there are things you can do to secure your windows without modifying them or using tools at all: 1. Add window security film If you want an extra layer of security on your windows, consider adding a layer of window security film.

Things to Ask Yourself Prior to a Skip Bin Rental
If you are contemplating a large job such as a renovation, clean-up or move, you will likely need to rent a skip bin, which is a large waste container available in multiple sizes to match your needs. If you have never rented a skip bin before, here are some important questions to ask yourself to ensure that you get exactly what you need. Where Can You Put the Skip Bin?

Frequently Asked Questions About Solid Timber Doors
Solid timber doors are made of real wood without any composite material, which can provide buyers with advantages over other types of doors made from aluminium, vinyl or composite wood. If you're thinking about making an investment in solid timber doors, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions to give you all the information you need to make a sound decision. What Sound Benefits Do These Doors Provide? -- Solid timber doors are thick and don't have a hollow core like in composite wood, fake wood and other wood by-product doors.

Comparing Floating Flooring And Traditional Flooring
Many homeowners feel that having wooden flooring in their home is a desirable feature. Wooden floors can help the whole property to have a warm and cosy feeling. Two of the most popular ways to get wooden flooring is using the traditional way, which involves securing boards to the joists or using a newer way, known as floating floorboards. This type of flooring is not secured to the joists; instead it is secured to a sub base that provides strength to the floor in a number of ways.

5 Design Features You Must Have In Your Built-In Wardrobe
Wardrobes are great solutions when it comes to storing your clothing items in the bedroom or closet. Built-in wardrobes take this function a step further. That's because they are designed in line with the space available in your home to give you maximum storage. If you're planning on getting a built-in wardrobe, there are 5 features you must have if you're to enjoy convenient wardrobe storage. Read all about them below:

Things To Know Before You Hire A Removalist
If you are planning a move in the near future, and you're going to hire a removalist for the first time, there are some things you have to know before you make your selection. When you're armed with this information, you can ensure that your first experience will run smoothly, and that you will get all the services that these professionals can offer you. They Won't Move Anything Hazardous You may be surprised at what removalists consider 'hazardous,' because in some cases, it isn't something that you would normally associate as being dangerous.

Bushfire Safety: Are You Prepared?
Bushfires can be everyone's problem. It's not like a robber who can steal everything of value from a home and leave the neighbour's house untouched. If your neighbour has to deal with a bushfire, it's your problem too. Despite the fact that bushfires are a threat to many parts of Australia, many people simply aren't aware of what they need to do in the event of a bushfire. So what are some bushfire safety tips that you need to be aware of in order to keep you, your family, and your home safe?