2 tips for those who will be renovating the exterior of their property

Construction & Contractors Blog

If you will be renovating the exterior of your property, you may want to keep the advice below in mind.

1. Check the stability of any retaining walls in your garden before installing integrated features near them

If you have retaining walls in your garden, which bears the weight of large section of sloping ground, you should ask your contractor to check that this wall is completely stable, before you arrange for them to build any integrated features (such as in-built patio furniture, a swimming pool or an integrated barbecue) near this wall.

The reason for this is that the materials from which the retaining wall is built may have deteriorated. If for example, the wall is made from concrete and has been repeatedly subjected to extreme changes in temperature, it may have cracks that could make it unstable.

If this wall has sustained damage that has affected its ability to remain stable and withstand heavy loads, then it is possible that it could collapse at some point in the future. If this happens after you have spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars fitting an integrated barbecue or a swimming pool, this feature may be severely damaged by the collapse of the retaining wall.

In this situation, you would have to incur the cost of having the wall rebuilt and the damaged feature repaired. However, you can prevent this from happening by checking the stability of the wall before the renovations begin. If your contractor discovers that the wall is damaged, they can repair it before they start to build any new features next to it.

2. Don't try to cut costs by using materials designed for indoor use

Renovations are expensive. As such, if you have a few old tubs of indoor paint or varnish leftover from when you last renovated the inside of your home, you might be tempted to use these when renovating the exterior of the property.

However, this 'money-saving' idea could end up costing you a lot. If for example, you decide to give your wooden decking a makeover by sanding it down and adding a new coat of varnish, but you use an old tin of varnish that is designed for indoor furniture, your decking could end up ruined.

The reason for this is that varnish that is made for indoor furniture will degrade rapidly in the presence of rainwater, humidity, fluctuations in temperature and UV rays. As this protective barrier degrades, the wood that the decking is made from rot and fade, and you may then have to pay to replace this structure.

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11 January 2019

Finding the Best Contractors for the Job

Welcome to my blog, my name is Blake and from now on, I will be writing a series of blogs which will deal with the process of finding and working with contractors when constructing a new building. I am not a construction specialist but last summer I gained a lot of experience in this area when I hired a team of 32 contractors to build a holiday home. When hiring contractors, it is important that you understand how to communicate with them and their ways of working. Below are a series of blogs which will help you to find the best contractors.