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I am very keen on learning about LED [Light Emitting Diodes] as I would like to make my own Christmas decorations and explore their uses for other projects that I am doing. I was wondering what othe... See more...
I am very keen on learning about LED [Light Emitting Diodes] as I would like to make my own Christmas decorations and explore their uses for other projects that I am doing. I was wondering what other DIYers had learn't besides their normal occupation to help them in their DIY projects. It could be anything from welding or like me learning about how to use and create using LED technology. Did you do a course or learn by watching YouTube.  
We don't have a strict "take your shoes off before you enter the house" policy at our place, but we rarely wear shoes indoors.   It's a particularly sensible policy at this time of year to help k... See more...
We don't have a strict "take your shoes off before you enter the house" policy at our place, but we rarely wear shoes indoors.   It's a particularly sensible policy at this time of year to help keep the floors clean, although it does tend to result in this kind of look at the front door:     Do you allow family members and visitors to wear shoes in your house?    And where do you store your shoes?   Jason
Our neighbour recently removed some trees and we now have a view directly into their backyard. Which is OK as the neighbours are pretty quiet and don't seem to be around much. But I am thankful it wa... See more...
Our neighbour recently removed some trees and we now have a view directly into their backyard. Which is OK as the neighbours are pretty quiet and don't seem to be around much. But I am thankful it wasn't done earlier.   The previous neighbour had a motorbike and used to ride in circles around his backyard, which I found very strange considering he was a grown man that could ride on the streets anytime he liked.    What's the strangest thing you've ever seen a neighbour doing?
This is a good round-up of the strengths and weaknesses of the five most popular options for a kitchen benchtop - stone, timber, metal, concrete and laminate. It also includes typical prices. Persona... See more...
This is a good round-up of the strengths and weaknesses of the five most popular options for a kitchen benchtop - stone, timber, metal, concrete and laminate. It also includes typical prices. Personally I think the investment in stone is well worth it.   http://www.domain.com.au/advice/the-five-most-popular-bench-top-materials-and-what-you-need-to-know-about-them-20160708-gq1gfl/
With wild weather currently discouraging many Aussies from venturing outside, many people are concentrating on indoor projects at the moment.   The Bunnings team report that one of their mos... See more...
With wild weather currently discouraging many Aussies from venturing outside, many people are concentrating on indoor projects at the moment.   The Bunnings team report that one of their most-watched videos at present is How to Paint Tiles.   Painting tiles is seen as a quicker and easier alternative to re-tiling, and can give a significant cosmetic lift to an area that has become dated.   Have you ever painted tiles or are you considering giving a tiled area a refresh? Please let us know in the discussion below.   Jason    
OK folks I am buying a Gerni on Wednesday as I want it primarily for the concrete so I can clean out the cracks ready for repairing ready for painting or artificial turf or whatever Pam decides to co... See more...
OK folks I am buying a Gerni on Wednesday as I want it primarily for the concrete so I can clean out the cracks ready for repairing ready for painting or artificial turf or whatever Pam decides to cover it with. The Gerni will be a 120.4 as all the reviews seem to lean in this direction [price wise].  I don't want to be spending a large amount of money on a machine that will lay idle for months at a time. Had a top of the range Karcher and had problems with it. Nothing wrong with the metal pump [as I still have it] but the hose was what looked like spot welded in one place [ the hose connection to the pump outlet] and trying to undo it to get a new hose as it was broken by my gremlins [nobody admitted running over it] so it broke I still have the metal pump and wands as I take everything apart to get to the screws and small bits and pieces as I don't like waste. Has anyone got one of these Gerni's and how's the best way to store them. You may not own a Gerni but if you have had problems with Water Pressure Cleaner's what were or are they and could you fix them.  
Few appliances in the home stir such passion and devotion as the dishwasher and the television. One gives us more leisure time, the other consumes it. But which device would you rather live without? ... See more...
Few appliances in the home stir such passion and devotion as the dishwasher and the television. One gives us more leisure time, the other consumes it. But which device would you rather live without?   Please add your vote to our latest Workshop poll - Would you rather live without a dishwasher or a television? The poll can be found on the front page underneath the Join the discussion icons.   You are also welcome to discuss the topic further by replying below.   Jason
After wasting some money renovating my bathroom....  I found a roll of what looks like colourbond perferated corragated iron with black rubbery loose backing....  Was told they were going to use for ... See more...
After wasting some money renovating my bathroom....  I found a roll of what looks like colourbond perferated corragated iron with black rubbery loose backing....  Was told they were going to use for bathroom ceiling.   As they dissappeared before bathroom finished....   I would like to know what it is and what is could be used for.... please.  Bugga the photo has turned on its side....  Thanks if anyone can clue me in....:)  
I like everyone out there in DIY land have made some good projects that made me strut like a peacock, Bad ones where everything just went wrong, and turned my grey hair greyer, and the Ugly ones that... See more...
I like everyone out there in DIY land have made some good projects that made me strut like a peacock, Bad ones where everything just went wrong, and turned my grey hair greyer, and the Ugly ones that looked great on paper or in the minds eye but when finished made you cringe with yuck. I think I'll put it out on the freeway and let a truck hit it maybe it will look better. The Good my wife's Crafts Room makeover. The Bad my patio roof that when it poured out side the rain would blow up and rain down along the spouting. [fixed after a wife nagging me for about 8 years. An acro and a saw. Lowered it 60 mil.] The Ugly an ramp so my little dog could walk up it and get on the bed. The dog has never been the same since and refused to go anywhere near it until it was scrape and he peed on it. [Now would I lie to you.]  
Workshop community update #28   Hi all,   It was great to see Workshop member @Baretta11 start to document the build of her dream home this week. I’m sure all the community here on Works... See more...
Workshop community update #28   Hi all,   It was great to see Workshop member @Baretta11 start to document the build of her dream home this week. I’m sure all the community here on Workshop are like me and very much looking forward to seeing what Barbara shares next. I always find it very inspiring to see what community members have achieved, whether on a small project or a huge build like Barbara’s home.   I also enjoyed reading your thoughts this week on whether you would hang wallpaper in your home. Home decorating trends are always changing, but it’s interesting that wallpaper is something that people tend to have very strong and fixed views about. Feel free to add to the discussion.   It was also great to see plenty of community members respond to our latest poll. We will always have a poll running so I encourage all Workshop members to have their say. You are also welcome to suggest new poll topics if you are keen to see what the community thinks about a burning issue.   Some other popular Workshop posts from the past week included:   A discussion on the benefits of composite sleepers versus timber   @ProjectPete seeking advice for his outdoor fireplace   Discussion about how many unfinished projects community members have on the go at once   Suggestions for protecting @Trying's back door from the elements   Discussion about secret passageways and hidden rooms   A call for help about an automatic damper for a roof vent.   There was also some fantastic gallery photos shared this week, including before-and-after shots of a wonderful transformation of a coastal property by renovation experts @2Belindas.   Special thanks to our top Workshop contributors over the past seven days. The community members who posted the most popular content this week were @John1, @Andy_Mann, @Baretta11, @darylhewston and @Brad. Thanks again for your fantastic contribution to the community and please keep the posts coming.   Jason Community Manager  
To all in the Workshop, need help!! I have purchased the Edmonds Windmaster 300mm roof vent from Bunnings and installed it into our cathedral ceiling roof but we now want to put a powered damper on ... See more...
To all in the Workshop, need help!! I have purchased the Edmonds Windmaster 300mm roof vent from Bunnings and installed it into our cathedral ceiling roof but we now want to put a powered damper on it to close it off in winter thus eliminating having to climb up on a ladder to do it. Have contacted Edmonds directly and they don't supply powered dampers for residential use, only manual dampers. Can anyone out there help? Cheers, Barbara
Well here goes, as suggested by Jason and Isobel, I'm starting a discussion/gallery of our dream home. I've posted a few photo's of the build process and I'm happy to continue to include photo's of... See more...
Well here goes, as suggested by Jason and Isobel, I'm starting a discussion/gallery of our dream home. I've posted a few photo's of the build process and I'm happy to continue to include photo's of other stages of our build if anyone is interested in a particular process and perhaps how we went about doing it, given the entire home so far has been built by just the brains of the outfit, hubby and the site manager, myself ha-ha I drew up the plans to scale and then sent them off to be professionally drawn up by an architect. The home we are building is in Victoria, about 45km west of Geelong. It is approx 30 sqrs including an indoor pool. The cladding is Mt Gambier limestone blocks. First photo shows the pool hole being dug, something that had to be done well before much else could be done with the construction. Second photo shows standard clay bricks used to build up the foundations to the required height for both the house and veranda. We decided early on, that we would not have timber veranda's for maintenence reasons, so the 3rd picture shows 90mm poly pipe at 5mtr intervals for ventilation under the home. Fourth pic shows the stumps and we used LVL bearers that were 6mtrs long and the 5th photo shows the LVL's that were 12.5 mtrs long. Last photo shows pool placement. I'll leave it at that now so as not to bore anyone wih my project but feel free to ask questions and if I can help with answers, I have plenty more photo's. Cheers, Barbara     Well thought I'd add a little more to this topic, pretty cold day here today as I think it is almost everywhere with predicted hailstones. Next photo in the build I have attached, shows completed pool prior to framing with my  offsider site manager Pipi checking the process as usual! Next photo is a notherly view from the pool with framing going up. Picture above shows framing in full swing and then came the trusses in the picture below. This part of the project was in my opinion the most challenging of anything else we've done on the home thus far. The trusses were 12.5m wide with only the slightest overhang on the top plates of I think was only about 10cm or so. To pick the trusses up, we fastened two 8" x2" timbers in old measurements, in the main triangle section of the trusses so as not to compromise the gangnails, we then lifted them up with the trusty front end loader and sat the truss on the east end of the house. Then we fastened a rope at either end of the trusses and we dragged the it from the east to the west, some 17 mtrs initially, lifting or jumping it over the odd gangnail that was in the top plate here and there, until it was right up the west end and ready to stand up. Then we used a long board to start to lift the truss and took up the slack with two ropes fastened at the centre or top of the truss, one rope pulling east and the other west. Slowly aand painstakingly, we loosened one rope and tightened the other rope and mostly we succeeded with each truss, although the odd one slipped off the top plate and we had to re lower the truss, lift it back up onto the top plate by hand and start the lift again. To get the truss back up on the top plate, we had to completely skew the truss, even though we only had to gain that small amount of 10cm. Fourteen trusses later and we had them up and then there were the smaller hip trusses but they seemed rather easy compared to the main trusses!!! Next photo shows the pool roof. The picture can be a bit hard to make out but we actually have two roofs, the cathedral ceiling sitting under under the main roof of the home thus avoiding valleys. Gosh I hope there's no OHS workshop member analysing our makeshift scaffolding that we were working on ha-ha If you look at the next photo, you can just make out the cathedral ceiling roof under the main roof. The photo above shows the colourbond roof finally on and the brickwork on the go on the right hand side of the photo. Last image below shows the brickwork on the south side almost finished and as I type we are now only about 80 blocks away from completion. Five windows on the east side of the home means lots of cutting, easy with a 9" grinder but very dusty. Limestone is very good to work with being able to fashion it very easily. Will update again later in the week.
I was amused by this story in Domain today - http://www.domain.com.au/advice/this-company-will-build-a-secret-passageway-in-your-house-20160705-gpynuq/   There's a company that specialises in secre... See more...
I was amused by this story in Domain today - http://www.domain.com.au/advice/this-company-will-build-a-secret-passageway-in-your-house-20160705-gpynuq/   There's a company that specialises in secret passageways and hidden rooms. As a kid I would have loved this!    Anyone here got a secret room or would like to build one?   Tony  
Talking about myself AND my she-shed ! Storm tonight,wind howling through the rivergums,heavy rain on my tin roof - just heaven !! Except that the internet became the outnet and the computer threw a ... See more...
Talking about myself AND my she-shed ! Storm tonight,wind howling through the rivergums,heavy rain on my tin roof - just heaven !! Except that the internet became the outnet and the computer threw a hissy fit !  But Telstra to the rescue and we are now good to go...SO.....I need some ideas as to what materials and style should I choose to put an awning over my plain old wooden back door. It faces west and gets all the bad weather, plus there's a huge deciduous tree (30 mts) about 4 mts from the door. Not wanting to spend any more than I must, and not able to cut timber as no workshop now. Dilemma is my middle name. Cheers
Home decorating trends are always changing, and wallpaper is one item that regular comes in and out of fashion.   But there are some people who recoil at the idea of hanging wallpaper. Common c... See more...
Home decorating trends are always changing, and wallpaper is one item that regular comes in and out of fashion.   But there are some people who recoil at the idea of hanging wallpaper. Common concerns include that it can quickly become dated, can be difficult to hang, and can be even harder to remove.    I can identify with the latter point after spending a lot of time trying to remove wallpaper and glue residue when we first moved into our 50s house. However, I have been very impressed at how easy modern wallpaper glue is to use and remove.    Would you consider hanging wallpaper in your house?   Jason