Design & Construction Lifestyle

Top Landscape Design Tips for Those Designing Their Own Garden

Designing your own garden can be difficult, especially if you don’t have any prior landscaping experience. However, there’s no reason to stress, because there’s a huge range of information available across the internet.

In this article, we’ve put together a list of tips for those putting together their own landscape design. Pay special attention to these, and make sure that you either do your own research or speak with a local landscape designer before getting started.

  1. Determine the Main Goals of Your Garden

The first thing you should do is determine the main goals of your garden, exactly what sort of features you’re planning to include and what functional elements it needs. Once you’ve done this, the rest of the landscape design process will be easy.

Here are a few examples of questions you should ask yourself when you’re figuring out what you want to use your garden for:

  • Do you like gardening and do you want to include a vegetable garden?
  • Is outdoor entertaining something that’s important for you?
  • Do you have children or pets who will use your outdoor spaces?
  • What sort of climate do you live in?

Once you’ve identified the main goals for your garden, you can start designing in more detail.

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By New Urban Homes, ago

5 Dos And 5 Don’ts Of Packing Boxes For A Home Move

Whilst many people who move home place a lot of emphasis on choosing the right removalists, which is perfectly understandable, they often do not take the same care when selecting and using packing boxes. This can cause a problem because their belongings, especially the fragile and expensive ones, are at greater risk of damage than if packed in good packing boxes with the appropriate packing materials to protect them.

To help ensure that you give your items the best possible protection if you are moving home soon, here are some of the most important Dos and Don’ts relating to packing boxes and their use.

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By New Urban Homes, ago
7-Questions-You-Should-Ask-Your-Electrician-When-Hiring-Them.jpg

7 Questions You Should Ask Your Electrician When Hiring Them

You might not regard an electrician as someone who could hold your life in their hands in the same sense in which you might think of your doctor. However, that is exactly the situation whenever an electrician does any work at your home or your business premises. Their skills, experience, and professionalism are what allow them to carry out any electrical work to completion and, more importantly, in a safe manner.

Were that not the case, and you somehow hire an unqualified electrician, then the consequences for you, your family or your work colleagues could be deadly. Failing to complete electrical work safely can increase the risk of electrocution and fire, both of which can bring injury and, in the worst-case scenario, death.

We must emphasise that the vast majority of electricians are skilled professionals, but, as with any industry, there will be individuals who wish to cut corners or rush work so that they can move on to their next paying job. Thankfully, these types are in the minority, but to ensure that the electrician you hire is one of the many skilled professionals we have just alluded to, here are seven questions to ask them, from which the answers will confirm their suitability.

Are You Qualified And Licenced?

An electrician in Australia must be qualified and licenced. This means they will have completed a four-year apprenticeship and will have completed both theory and practical training. Only then are they allowed to apply for an electrician’s licence and should be able to prove that they, and any other electricians in their team, all have such a licence?

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By New Urban Homes, ago
7 Amazing Facts About Glass That Few People Know About

7 Amazing Facts About Glass That Few People Know About

We are certain that everyone reading this knows some facts about glass. Not that you may be a glass expert, but, more because you will come across glass almost every hour of every day. As for some of the common facts about glass, you are likely to know they include glass being clear, glass having a smooth surface, glass being delicate and at risk of smashing if it is hit by a hard object, and also that glass can cut your skin if you catch a sharp edge of it.

Of course, there are some exceptions to these such as coloured glass and mirrored or patterned glass but, in the main, all of these will apply to the vast majority of glass that you see and encounter each day such as windows, bottles, a glass balustrade and table tops.

However, what if we were to tell you that there are some facts about glass that you are unlikely to know? We hope you would want to know about them, and it just so happens that, if you keep on reading, you will discover seven amazing facts about glass that most people are not aware of.

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By New Urban Homes, ago
How To Maintain Millboard Decking

How To Maintain Millboard Decking

One concern that a homeowner might have when considering whether to choose millboard decking is how much maintenance it will require once it is installed and in use. It is an important point given that millboard, decking, and other decking products, such as composite decking have different requirements with regards to maintaining them.

We are going to explore the ways in which millboard decking should be maintained, but before we do, we should raise one extremely important point. That is, regardless of our general advice regarding maintaining millboard decking, you should always check the manufacturer’s guidance for the specific millboard decking product you buy and follow it to the letter.

Whilst most millboard decking will be manufactured to similar standards and using more or less the same types of materials, there can be differences between them. That could mean a specific cleaning method is not suited to a particular brand or that a certain type of maintenance is needed.  These differences will be rare, but it pays to check, just to be sure.

As for the vast majority of millboard decking products, you will find that the amount of maintenance they need is relatively small, and that is one of its main advantages over decking made from wood, for example.

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By New Urban Homes, ago
Top Kitchen Renovation Considerations in a Rental

Top Kitchen Renovation Considerations in a Rental

Rental properties can be complicated to renovate. While you need to put the same love and attention to detail into them as the home you live in, you’ve also got to factor in wear and tear, a tenant’s needs, and the cost of your investment. Talk to a cabinet maker, and you may just discover what your best options could be – such as these below.

Tall Cabinets

Cabinets that reach right to the ceiling can be an ideal option for anyone thinking about ordering a custom kitchen. With no gap between the cabinet and ceiling, there is nowhere for dust to settle. What’s more, they provide your tenants with plenty of storage space that is often lacking in any rental property.

Keep it Simple

As stunning as embellishments and intricate designs can look in a kitchen, these are features best left to your own home. For a rental property, simple, plain doors are far easier to keep clean and maintain.

A cabinet maker can help you choose the best, most robust, and stylish options to suit your rental property. You can then enjoy peace of mind knowing that it would not be a significant undertaking to repair if something were to break.

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By New Urban Homes, ago
First Night Box

What To Pack In Your First Night Box When You Move Home

Prior to moving home, there is plenty that you need to organise including your removalists, informing utilities, banks, credit card companies and your employer of your new address, plus ordering any new furniture, carpets and other household items that you wish to renew. That is just the start of the list, as there is a lot more that you will need to plan for and arrange.

However, there is one thing according to Melbourne removalists brillianceremovalistsmelbourne.com.au that everyone moving home should plan for, and it beggars belief why so many forget, or simply do not bother, because it would make the move, and especially the first day and night, a less stressful experience. What we are talking about is a first night box.

Although the name is fairly self-explanatory, if you do not know what it is, let us explain. A first night box is something which you bring with you on the day you move house, and it contains items that the family is going need that first night, but which otherwise would not be easily accessible, due to them being packed in a box or carton.

In effect, it is the essentials that on a normal basis you would literally take for granted as being available to you. However, on the first night in a new home, unless you have an entire team helping you to unpack and organise everything (which very few people have), these might not be readily available.

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By New Urban Homes, ago
Choose Epoxy Floor Coatings

3 Reasons To Choose Epoxy Floor Coatings For Your Business

Epoxy floors are used in all kinds of buildings, and for lots of different reasons. Many homeowners use epoxy floors to transform a kitchen, lounge, or dining room, and may also use it as a very robust flooring in their garage.

Where epoxy floor coatings have the most widespread use, is within the business world, where they can be found in just about every industrial, business, and commercial premises you can think of. The question is, why would so many business owners choose epoxy floors for their factories, offices, warehouses, receptions areas, and retail stores? Well, if you do not know, let us give you 3 of the reasons why.

Versatility Of Design and Colour

There are many small businesses which may only operate out of a single office, or just one unit, but there are also many which have multiple locations, and in each of those locations, there are likely to be several rooms, units, and facilities

As we have already alluded to, these will have a variety of purposes, and therefore the flooring style and design that may be suitable for a reception area will differ from what is needed for a factory floor.

This is where epoxy floor coatings are so adept, as they can be laid with a limitless choice in terms of the design, the pattern, and the colour. This makes the areas a far more attractive place to work, and to for those places which are customer-facing, more conducive to making a purchase.

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By New Urban Homes, ago
Tree Stumps

Giving Tree Stumps a New Lease on Life 

Not every tree in your yard will be precisely where you need it to be in your landscaping plans that you carefully constructed with your landscapers. And it’s not like you can uproot it and move it all that easily. Sometimes, the only plan of action is cutting it down. But then what are you supposed to do with the stump?

Before you think of ripping it out, killing it, or speeding up the rotting process, consider the following options.

Turn it Into a Planter

Why buy new pots and planters when you can use what nature gave you? Believe it or not, with a bit of preparation, your old tree stump can do the job. By digging out a small hollow in the centre and preparing it as you would a new plant pot, it can act as a natural planter.  

You can then plant succulents, perennials, or whatever you please. All of a sudden, it goes from being an eyesore to your landscaping’s main attraction.

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By New Urban Homes, ago
Alarm Monitoring

What Is Alarm Monitoring and Do I Need It?

In the modern world, a huge percentage of properties are protected by some sort of security system. In some cases, these are just simple intruder alarms designed to alert you to the presence of unwanted visitors. But in more advanced systems, CCTV and alarm monitoring are designed to protect your property in real-time, even if you’re not there.

The beauty of alarm monitoring services is that they protect and monitor your property 24 hours per day, seven days per week. If something goes wrong, your security company will take action immediately to ensure your property remains protected. In the rest of this article, we’ve looked at some of the alarm monitoring systems available, how they work and whether or not you need to think about installing one.

What Is Alarm Monitoring?

In short, alarm monitoring systems are designed to protect your property in real-time, notifying you and/or your security company anytime there’s an intruder or something else wrong. They are usually composed of a mixture of motion sensors, CCTV cameras and, in many cases, door and window sensors securing your property.

When you’re using an alarm monitoring system, you need to ensure you have a steady, consistent internet connection at all times. Otherwise, you may not be aware of an issue until well after the fact.

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By New Urban Homes, ago