Settling in – Page 2

Do You Need a Shed?

There are lots of reasons why you might need a shed.

Here are just three possible reasons:

Garden Storage

If you are a keen gardner you could needs some extra storage for:

- Mower;
- Wheelbarrow;
- Bags of compost
- Spade;
- Fork;
- Rakes.

It is much easier to store these things in a separate shed that try and fit them in your garage around the car.

DIY Workshop

Many of us like to have some tools and do some small jobs.

It could be building some shelves or repairing furniture.

Whatever you are doing you want somewhere to store your tools and leave your job until its finished

Home Office

Since COVID hit more of us are working from home, but find it hard to work without some separation.

Working in the home there are often distractions.

For some of us its often better to have a separate space, so we like to go to the office, even if its just down the garden.

Where To Start

When you have decided that you need a shed you need to think about:

What are you going to use the shed for?
How big does the shed need to be?
Are you going to need insulation to deal with summer and winter temperatures?
How much is it going to cost to build a shed.

Once you have decided to go ahead make sure you make your shed a sturdy construction, so it will last you for many years!

Moving In – Removalist or DIY

It’s possible to save a fair bit of money by moving yourself but should you do it?

Well I’ve moved myself, and helped my children move many times.

I have also used removalists several times as well so here are my thoughts:

Volume of Stuff

I reckon my limit on volume for DIY movung is emptying a house or flat consisting of two bedrooms, lounge dining room and kitchen.

You can normally fit all this inside one of those self drive trucks and do the move in a day.

Any more stuff and you have to think about making 2 trips when it get too big.

Time

If you need to move everything on one day even with a fairly small house its gets hard to do it yourself.

I think if you are going to move yourself it better to plan to do it over a couple of days.

Distance

Distance can be a real problem because its hard to go back and pick up extra stuff that didn’t fit in the van.

My limit for DIY moves is around 50km.

Packing Loose Items and Valuables

You can save money when using a professional if you pack most of the small items yourself.

You need to be aware however the removalist won’t be responsible for breakages in boxes they didn’t pack.

We usually put valuable items we packed ourselves in our car.

If you are going to pack yourself its worth reading the post on Removal Boxes

The photograph was taken by Alain Delorme in Shanghai in 2010

Choosing a Spade

A spade is probably the most important tool in gardening so its worth getting a good one.

Few tools are more crucial to gardening than a durable, sturdy garden spade.

You don’t want to get something that looks OK but breaks in half or bends the first time it is used, or is uncomfortable to use.

The business end of a spade is shaped like a rectangle, with a straight flat blade and a square shallow pan for lifting, rather than scooping dirt.

Although it can be used to shovel materials its not its main purpose.

If you are doing lots of shovelling it is worth buying a separate shovel.

Major DIY stores and garden centers sell a wide range of spades.

I’m not a big fan of buying a spade on line because you need to pick them up and check they feel comfortable.

Spade handles come in different lengths to fit different people. If the handle is too short, it will be hard for you to handle the spade without hurting your back so make sure the spade feels comfortable.

Pick the spades up in the store, feel it, and handle as much as you need to be sure you get a good feel for it in your hands and with your body.

Spade handles come in ‘D’ and ‘T’ shapes . The ‘D’ shape is more durable and easier to use than the ‘T’.

Look for a garden spade with 200mm x 300mm inch blade asa larger one may be more difficult to use

The top edge of the garden spade should have a thick top to set your foot on so you can push down.

Without the thick top your foot quickly gets sore and you can’t get the push you need.

A stainless steel blade is the best and longest lasting all-around spade.

A sharp flat spade edge can cut and lift turf, cut through tree roots when digging holes for planting, and create more defined shapes in turf or soil.

Once you have got your spade look after it and make sure you keep the blade clean and the handle smooth, it all makes digging much easier.

I also run an angle grinder along the edge from time to time to keep it sharp.

The spade in the picture above is forged stainless steel with a GRP handle. I’ve had it for years and it will probably last me out.

See Tools for similar posts

Your Garage – A Fire Risk?

How big a fire risk is your garage?

Well in my garage there are the following fuel sources

50 Litres of Petrol. (in the car fuel tank)
A litre of white spirit.
A litre turps substitute.
2 x 5kg gas bottles.
Several tins of half used gloss and enamel paint.
Large box of scrap wood.
Various cardboard boxes.

As far as ignition sources go there is

Electrical Sparks from 240 volt power tools
Sparks from angle grinder
Car electrical system

And I don’t even have a welder or brazing torch!

If a fire started, and was undiscovered, how long would it take to spread to the rest of the house?………………….Not very long if you have got a standard internal door and one layer of standard plasterboard on the walls and ceiling. (In the UK if there is a room above a garage the standard is two layers of plasterboard with off set joints between sheets)

It could well be worth upgrading the specification for your new house to improve the fire resistance of garage walls, ceilings and doors! Perhaps you might also consider fitting a sprinkler point.

At least I have a fire extinguisher …. do you?

For Similar posts look in the Design Category

Back Door

Most people spend a lot of time thinking about their front door. . . . . but forget about their back door.

There seems to be a bit of a convention for back doors.

Conventional Doors

Quite often if a conventional door is used usually have a half window and usually only have a single simple lock.

Unfortunately criminals know that an easy way to break in is to break the small window, reach in, and unlock the door.

It’s not as though you really need the window as most back doors are in the laundry which isn’t a room you spend a lot of time in, and it usually has a window.

My preferred approach is a solid back door with two locks fitted at least 300mm apart.

One a deadlock, as I am always a bit suspicious about Construction Locks

Not only is this more secure, and offers better insulation but its likely to be slightly cheaper. Also you can always put a couple of coat hooks on the back of the door to hang your gardening clothes.

As you can see from this photo of a previous back2 door I specified the double locks but didn’t think to specify ‘no window’.

My latest houseI is a plain door!

Full Length Sliding Glass Doors

When looking at a display home you might find the builder uses ‘Patio Doors’ for the laundry.

I think these should be avoided.

My suggestion is you should ask for a solid hinged door!

More on doors including 24 pages of Check Lists for your new house choices in the‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Artificial Grass v Real Grass

As I walk around residential areas one thing I have started to see more and more is artificial grass.

I have even seen builders put artificial grass on the nature strips in front of their show houses. (Can you still call them nature strips with artificial grass?)

Here are my thoughts on how they compare for use in the home:

	Real Grass	Artificial Grass

Installation	To get a good lawn requires good soil preparation whether you are going to use seed or turf. It will initially require heavy watering.	Artificial grass should be laid on a level well compacted gravel bed. Following the laying of the mat a filler of rubber granules is added and brushed in.
Cost	Low for seed to high for turf	High
First use	Can be a few weeks for turf to months for seed	Immediately
Water Use	10-20L/m2 per week in summer without rain	Zero
Maint’nce	Weekly mowing in summer and regular edging	Regular weedkill and monthly raking to keep up appearance
Repair	Easy and low cost	Difficult and expensive, particularly if it becomes uneven.
Suitability for sport	Ok for garden putting greens	Good for sports such as tennis as it’s resistant to wear
Enviro Effects	Helps absorb CO2	Saves water
Look	Seasonal and weather changes also watering dependant	Always green
Feel	Soft and cool on feet Neutral to pleasant smell	Soft but Hot in direct sunlight, static can build up, and has rubbery smell*
Effect on the House	Will help keep the house cool	No effect
Allergies	Can affect hay fever sufferers, especially when mowing	No effect

* spraying with a weak solution of fabric softener will help with static and smell

As for me….. well my children have grown up and I don’t like mowing lawns so we haven’t got any lawn, just a native garden.

Which do you prefer?

Feng Shui

When people see Lion Dogs outside my house they sometimes say “Surely you don’t believe in Feng Shui” to which my initial answer is “ Not really, but I’m told it works whether you believe it or not.”

The real answer is a bit more complicated

A lot of the principles of Feng Shui make good sense in making a house more liveable and welcoming.

Things like:

Not having a mirror directly opposite a door.
Avoiding long straight passages, or at least breaking them up.
Don’t put the bed head in front of, or below, a window/
Controlling the amount of clutter.

The reason why Feng Shui has lasted is that these sort of principles work.

They may be passed on in a spiritual language but the principles, like the ten commandments from the Judea/Christian religions, do make sense in a civilised world.

A word of warning is that Feng Shui was developed in the Northern Hemisphere for the conditions that apply there.

When you live in the southern hemisphere some of the directions are reversed and you need some ‘Aussie’ Feng Shui such as:

During the day the sun is in the north so open that side of your house to the ‘Phoenix’.
The South side needs to be protected from the cold weather by the ‘Turtles Shell’.
The sun still rises with the ‘Dragon’ in the East, and Sets in the West with the house protected by the ‘Tiger’ so these two aspects stay the same as the Chinese texts.

And as for the Lion Dogs, well they are a bit of fun and a good conversation point.

What Feng Shui principles work for you?

See Design for more posts.

Letter Boxes – Is Bigger Better?

One of the big signs to potential burglars that there is no one at home is a letter box stuffed with post and junk mail after its gone dark in the evening.

In a post about letter boxes I talked about minimum sizes.

After seeing a couple of larger letter boxes I can see some real advantages in thinking again about you letter box.

For Instance:

- - - Not everybody has neighbors, or nearby relatives that can clear your letter box when you are away.
    - Why do most houses still have a tube for the newspaper when most newspapers now get wrapped in clingfilm and thrown from a moving car.
    - A large letter box means that a week or more of post and even junk mail stays hidden and dry
    - Some boxes have spring loaded flaps can trap the mail half in / half out exposing it to the weather, and the gaze of anyone passing by.
My next mail box is going to be big enough to take several days post and junk mail and have on open slot, with weatherproofing, so the post drops out of sight.
Perhaps something like the one in this photo.

The Settling In Section contains lots more advice on what to do after you have moved in your new house

Guerrilla Gardening

If you haven’t heard of the expression ‘Guerrilla Gardening’ is gardening on land you don’t own.

So why would you spend your time on this when you have got lots of other jobs in your new house?

Well in my case I lived on a corner block and had over 20m of colorbond fence at the side of the house.

Between this fence and the footpath there was this triangular piece of open space about 200mm wide at one and 5m wide at the other end.

The fence looked boring and within one week of it going up it got hit by graffiti.

The challenge was to prevent further graffitti and improve the look of the house from the side, without spending too much money.

I went for a fairly simple plan

Prickly native shrubs at the back.
An area of aganpanthus in the widest area
Native grasses and pig face at the front.

Although the shrubs were typically only 300mm high when they went it is interesting that no more graffitti occurred when people could see the area was being cared for.

What you can see in the photograph is after five years of growth. This has occurred in spite of minimal watering for the first year and nothing afterwards over a period of prolonged drought.

As for the mosaic its Che Guevara, probably the most famous Guerilla……………But I have changed the image you normally see on T shirts etc, to put a daisy on his hat and flowers around the bottom.

For similar posts see Garden

Recycling Builder’s Waste

During the building process there can be a lot of materials that would go to waste if you don’t speak to the builder and make sure they are left on site.

Here are some of the materials we have saved and reused to save us considerable time and money.

- Broken bricks and roof tiles were used to form the foundations of most of the paths around our property. A topping of Tuscan chippings has formed some great rustic paths.
- Some complete roof tiles were saved, to be used in case of any future damage.
- Sand was spread over an area that had been dug over to help break up the clay.
- Complete bricks were used as path edging and Scoria from the drainage pipe surrounds was used to infill the area between paving slabs. (see photo )
- Timber was used for formwork for additional concrete paths.
- Large rocks from the excavation were used as garden features.
- Small rocks were used to edge rustic paths and walls etc.
- One piece of broken drainage pipe was used to make a washing basket stand near the washing hoist. Another was used to form a small bridge as a garden feature.
  Pipe as washing basket stand

What builder’s waste have you found useful?

Category: Settling in