Keep Your Home Safe While On Vacation

keep your home safe while on vacationFinally, after months of planning, you and your family are going on a well-deserved holiday, and outside the country at that. You’ll be gone for weeks, which means no one will be home for quite some time. Have you done enough to secure your home safe while you’re away? Here are some tips to help you keep your home safe while on vacation.

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6 Simple Home Makeover Ideas For Spring

simple home makeover ideas for springSpring is a great time for giving your home a makeover. When the first signs of this lovely time of the year begin to appear, you can start with these simple home makeover ideas for spring and make your home look as fresh and as stunning as it was the first day you moved in.

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12 Small Home Projects You Can Do In Your Spare Time

small home projectsEvery home owner would love to do projects around the house. Projects, however, could take a lot of time, money and effort, and many home owners cannot spare much of those.

Still, some projects are small enough to be done in your spare time, like when you’re waiting for that roast in the oven to cook or waiting for clothes to come out of the dryer. Here are some of those small home projects that will cost you almost nothing yet help achieve some noticeable result.

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Creating Play Space for Kids at Home

make your house conducive to creative play for kidsMost of the time, your child’s playtime takes place within the confines of your own home. Now the question is, does your house provide them the opportunity not only for boisterous play but also quiet and introspective play?

If you’re not sure, here are some ideas for creative place space in your house for the kids.

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Awesome Ways to Display Your Books

awesome ways to display your booksIf you have a love for the written word, then it’s safe to assume that you have a huge collection of books at home, neatly displayed in bookshelves. While they all look nice lined up in bookcases in vertical and horizontal formation, but you have to admit that they can look a bit boring.

Believe it or not, something as simple as book displays can be enhanced to make them more pleasing to the eye. In effect, a great-looking book display also contributes to the overall look of your home. If your idea of book display is just stacking them side-by-side in a book shelf, you can certainly use these alternative ideas that are certainly more awesome ways to display your books.

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Warning: Father’s Day DIY Disasters

With home improvement tools being this years top Father’s Day gift, DIY disasters are tipped to escalate as keen dads get ready to roll up their sleeves and jump into repair and renovation projects.

But before you make that purchase or fire up those tools, you may need to ask yourself, “how risky is it?”.

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National Carpenters Day and National Carpenters Week 2013

National Carpenters Day and National Carpenters Week are opportunities for Sydney carpenters to get together for social, networking, training, educational and other events. It’s also a platform for the best carpenters in the country to compete in fun contests and races. A number of organisations collaborate to sponsor the events, including supply companies, apprenticeship authorities, and industry organisations; great prizes are supplied by hardware and tool manufacturers. Last year, local events were held in Randwick, Canterbury, Brookvale, Peakhurst, Guildford, Kirrawee, Lansvale and Dural.

In 2013, the event will be held on Friday the 25th of October, whilst the Week runs from the 21st to the 27th of October. The extremely competitive Carpenter and Apprentice of the Year contests will run again, both at a state and national level. Entrants answer a comprehensive questionnaire about past works, as well as participating in a range of challenges, culminating in state and national awards. The popular free BBQs (there are several in locations around metropolitan Sydney, as well as other capitals) are set to return as well, with exciting new giveaways, demos and mini competitions on offer. A national event is also held in Melbourne, and receives a huge amount of media coverage; check out YouTube for highlights from last year’s Federation Square celebrations. Organisers are yet to release exact programs, but it’s sure to be even bigger and better than last year.

Carpenters in the Tradebusters network regularly attend development events and expos such as these, to stay on top of the latest technology and trends for your benefit. A commitment to continuing professional education is just part of what makes our tradies a smarter choice. Watch this blog space for news of their achievements and awards in various events.

NB: If you’re looking for an opportunity to get carpentry advice and inspiration from the point of view of a homeowner, check out a building and home improvement expo near you. The 2013 HIA Sydney Home Show runs from the 16th to the 19th of May, whilst the inspirational Grand Designs Live show is running in Sydney from the 5th to the 7th of July.