Around the House

  Transforming a House and Garden  Don looked at a classic example of a house and garden in urgent need of a makeover. The light, orange-brown colour of the house bricks did not work well with the garden, and the garden had no outdoor living area. Instead, there...

Using a Hammer and Nails Scott Cam, the builder from Backyard Blitz, looked at different types of nails and their uses, and also demonstrated how to use a hammer correctly. Buy a good hammer Choose a good quality, tradesman’s hammer, with a flat rather than...

Using Handsaws Scott Cam, the builder from Backyard Blitz, demonstrated how to cut timber using a handsaw. Scott’s cutting remarks 1. Using a square, mark your cutting line on the timber. Scott marked the top and front face – you can also mark the back if...

Low Maintenance Timber Scott Cam, the builder from Backyard Blitz, stressed the importance of choosing treated pine for jobs in the backyard. There are different ratings of treated pine, ranging from Hazard Level Code 1 (H1) which indicates the lowest level of...

Nicholas Martino and his father, Mario, have been importing ceramics, glassware, ironware, antiques and furniture from North Africa and the Middle East for the last 20 years. Don visited their showroom in Mortdale, and talked to Nic about using Moroccan artefacts in...

Outdoor Living Space  Many new houses are built without any thought being given to outdoor living areas and rooms. Some garden designs include pergolas and gazebos, but these structures are not really very functional. Vine-covered pergolas provide shade, but if it...

Rita Hill and Scott Cam teamed up to transform a small, ugly balcony into a fabulous entertaining area. The balcony was originally a fire escape and was a tiny, 4 square metres in size. However, lack of space wasn’t the only problem facing Rita and Scott. The...