Tuesday, May 27, 2014

5 Hidden Hot Costs Of Renovating

There’s never been a better time to renovate your home. Asides from adding to the material value of your property, home renovation provides an enjoyable, ultimately rewarding experience. But be warned, the process of renovating is full of hidden costs that can potentially spiral out of control for the novice interior designer. Before you start brainstorming home renovation ideas read this handy guide and discover the hidden hot costs of renovating. Prepare today so you don’t stress tomorrow.
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Additional Labour

Sometimes you can’t do it all yourself. Additional labour might be required for certain projects and if you’re not careful it can become quite expensive. Be conservative when deciding what projects you can undertake yourself and what projects will require professional help. You don’t want to find out you need a plumber by accidentally hitting a pipe when you’re knocking down a wall! Call the necessary tradesmen to complete an assessment of your home before deciding on who is to undertake each project. If deciding between your local tradesman, and a specialty home renovating tradesman, always opt specialty services tradesmen like Hall and Baum. You can check out their website at: http://www.hallandbaum.com.au/ .

Time

Research is your friend here. When formulating a renovation plan it’s important to be conservative in your estimates. Weather, accidents and additional factors out of your control can significantly increase the amount of time required for individual portions of your project. If you’re a beginner, consider consulting a professional tradesperson, to receive an accurate estimate as to how long individual portions of the project will take. Something as simple making a few calls and weighing your options, can save you time and stress.

Materials

Again this boils down to research. The canny home renovator might know exactly what they’re getting themselves into and what materials are required, but if you’re new to interior design you might consider doing a little bit of a study or consulting a professional. This will save you some serious money down the track. Materials can be expensive, and if you don’t pay attention costs can spiral out of control quickly.

Budget

Set a realistic budget and only take on what you can realistically do. Once you have setup your budget however, it’s important to make sure you adhere to it. If you don’t stick to you home renovation budget you can end up spending a lot of money that you might not necessarily have, and minimise the chances of making a lucrative return when you’ve finally finished the project.

Damages

This is one of the major pitfalls of taking a DIY approach, particularly if you don’t fully understand what you’re getting yourself into. Make sure you pay attention and understand the constraints of each particular element of your job. And if you’re doing a particularly complicated element consider calling in an experienced, professional tradesman. Be conservative and realistic in your planning and you’ll avoid heartache and save yourself time and money in the long term. Has this advice been useful? Are there any other tips and tricks you would consider using when planning your own home renovation? Be sure to leave advice in the comments below.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Why You Should Learn To Weld

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Have you ever wanted to learn an extra skill that could entertain you, teach you new skills, be useful at home and possibly even increase your value as a worker? Learning to weld could offer you all of the above and much more. Whether you are simply looking for a new hobby or really looking to acquire a new skill, welding is a great and rewarding challenge. But what exactly are the benefits to welding? We’ll take a look and show you there’s a little more to it than you may have first thought and ask you, what sort of welder will you be?

The Home Handyman

Everyone likes to fix or create things around their home. Learning to weld extends the range of projects that you are capable of starting more than you may have first thought. Welding isn’t just limited to working on cars and out door fixtures, but it’s a great start. Whether you need to fix up your sons new go-kart or repair the leg of that BBQ, having the skills to be able to weld these yourself can save you time, money and make you incredibly popular with family and friends. Take a look around your house at those things that maybe need a little more love and attention, is it something that you could do if you had a welder and could do it yourself? Once you’ve started you’ll soon realize that having a welder to fix things soon starts to feel as easy as picking up a hammer and nail.

The Inventor

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Once you’ve started to repair things around the home and you’ve found your groove, you’ll start to wonder,
what can I do next? Looking around your tool shed or workspace you’ll find there are many opportunities before you to create your own inventive methods to make day-to-day life that little bit easier. Perhaps you can weld together some simple brackets and drill them to the wall to hang your tools or equipment? Create that rustic looking bar you’ve always wanted to build down stairs? Once the skills are in your hands the ideas will start to flow and before you know it you’ll be creating new inventions to add character to your home.

The Creator

Many people often take up welding as a means of aiding their creative projects. Welding and artistic endeavors aren’t always the first two things you think would go together, but it’s surprising how much they do. By welding some simple scrap metal together you can create interesting and unique artistic creations that add character and charm to your own backyard. However quite often professional installation or sculpture artists will create large scale artworks that involve significant time and effort to weld together their work.
So what sort of welder will you be? What are your interests and what exactly are you going to need? Take the time to read up on reliable sources for tools and information, websites such as http://www.welding.com.au/ have a great range of tools and information that will give you a strong grasp on what you’ll need when you start out and why welding might be for you. It’s interesting when you take the time to sit back and think about how many things in your home or everyday life that had to be welded to be created, it’s often far more than you think. So the next time you think about taking up one of the normal hobbies that all your mates do, have a think, is welding for me instead?

Sunday, May 25, 2014

5 Style Tips To Entice People Into Your Restaurant

Excellent food and service is just one factor of many involved in getting people into your restaurant. Believe it or not, simply styling your restaurant properly will allow your establishment to be seen more favourably, and ultimately get more people through the door. Here are five different ways you can jazz up your restaurant to keep the customers rolling in.
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Use Interesting Displays

Displays are the key to any business, and restaurants are no different. These displays can be at work in the window of your restaurant through the medium of posters or even examples of the meals you have to offer. You can also have displays outside your restaurant as well – something as simple as a chalkboard with a funny drawing and a list of that day’s special will be enough to get customers off the street and into seats!

Have a Vibrant Storefront

Nothing attracts people’s attention more than bright colours, especially amongst a sea of beige and black. A storefront that is styled correctly also allows people to gauge the atmosphere of your restaurant without even stepping foot into it. Standing out from the pack will have you miles ahead of any other establishment, so make sure you put your own unique twist on it as well.

Colour Coordination

In addition to having a peppy storefront, you can also work out a colour scheme that works for your restaurant and stick to it. This will create a consistency throughout the restaurant that is pleasing to the eye and will make your patrons feel happy and relaxed while they are dining.

Flooring

This may seem insignificant, but it truly does make a difference. Consider the demographic of your customers, and go from there. Hard flooring is best for areas with high traffic (it’s easier to clean!), but if you’re looking for a little more class, then carpet will do the trick. Again, make sure that the floor matches your colour scheme, or else it will look a little out of place.

Smell

Smell is one of those factors that isn’t really considered in any detail when it comes to styling a store or a restaurant, but it does make a difference. Invest in a fragrance that isn’t too sharp, and make sure it compliments the food you are serving and the atmosphere you are trying to create. You might not smell the difference at first, but it will make for a more inviting environment for both staff and customers.
These are just five little tips on how to change the styling of your restaurant – remember a little does go a long way! If you would like some more in-depth advice, or you would like a professional opinion on your restaurant, specialists in shopfitting like TU Projects can give you some more information about styling your restaurant to your particular needs.
We all go to restaurants, whether it be for a formal or casual occasion, so have you seen something in a restaurant recently that you think would make for a great style tip? Leave a comment below and let everyone know!
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