And as if by magic, the summer that never was brings us ever closer to Winter…

Its that time of year again, when beautiful clear autumn days roll into crisp long nights and chilly mornings, so if you haven’t done so already, its probably time to address your insulation and heating concerns for the cold months ahead.

With insulation, the issues you have in summer are reflected in your home during winter:

• badly sealed windows
• non-insulated walls and ceilings
• and a lack of north facing windows

will mean your house is too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

If you want to keep warm this winter, firstly address these issues and then consider a heating option for your home. For most Sydney homes heating means choosing between an open fire, a slow combusting wood heater, or a gas heater.

Open fires – Add an element of romance to your home. After all, who doesn’t like laying in front of an open wood fire? The problem with open fires, is that they require a lot of wood, which at roughly $100 a tonne can be expensive. They’re also not kid friendly and very inefficient at heating large spaces – most of the heat from an open fire goes up the chimney. With this in mind it might be best to leave the open fires in the alps or on the farm.

Slow burning combustion fires – Burn at a far slower rate than open wood fires and retain at least half the heat they put out. Again, wood can be costly unless you have cheap or free access to it. You’ll also require somewhere dry to store it. Having said that, a small combustion stove can heat heat a large – well insulated room, so is a great addition to your home.

Natural gas heaters – Are perfect for a quick burst of heat in the mornings – before school – or if the weather is so foul you don’t feel like making another trip to the wood pile. With mains gas in most Sydney homes, gas heaters are an easy fall back option and great for smaller homes.

In terms of efficiency the three heating options rank:

1. Well – Gas heaters – lose approximately 20% of their heating output
2. Ok – Slow burning combustion heaters – lose 50% of their heating output
3. Terribly – Open wood fires – lose 80% of their heating output

As always, if you require help sourcing a heating option or discussing a rennovation to accomodate a fireplace, contact JSI for a free estimate.

Just Screw It recognises and encourages employing sustainable design and building practices to have a positive effect on the local and global environments.

While Just Screw It prides itself on the building work it does, we also know the importance of helping to build a better community. One of the charity organisations Just Screw It supports, the Bondi Junction Rotary Club, is always high on our list and we’ve just donated to their cause for the fourth year running.

While its always a pleasure to give to this incredibly proactive and charitable organisation, this year felt even more special, as the combined donation of $70,000 went towards buying an advanced high frequency ventilator for the Royal Hospital for Women Foundation (RHWF) to be placed in its Newborn Care Centre.

According to the Eastern Suburbs Spectator, “Conventional ventilators can damage the lungs of premature babies who require extended periods of ventilation, whereas the high frequency ventilator is much more gentle on their ( a babies’) delicate airways.

The ventilator was presented by Russell Paine of The Rotary Club of Bondi Junction to RHWF Chief Executive Penelope Hess last week and Just Screw It feels incredibly honoured and privileged to be able to donate to the cause.

Not one to blow his own trumpet, Just Screw It’s Managing Director and hands on chippie – Chad Loxsam – recently featured in Reader’s Digest Handyman magazine. I’ve attached  the magazine spread for you to get a glimpse of Chad and the featured bathroom, but wanted to pull out a few of Chad’s key tips for transforming small spaces (in particular – bathrooms).

• Plan all renovations
• Budget accordingly
• Make a scale model
• Avoid cluttering the floorspace
• Buy quality fixtures and think about longevity
• Stay design savvy
• Consider smarter storage options
• Keep it simple
• Tile for an impact

By sticking to these few simple rules Chad says you can’t go far wrong and he should know considering how many bathroom renovations he’s done in the Sydney’s centre.

If you’d like to discuss possibilities for your small bathroom or vanity area, drop us a line and we’ll help make your dream bathroom a reality.

When it comes to renovations it’s worth asking yourself – what the real reason for renovating is? Particularly in a plateaued market where sales have flattened, the buy – renovate – sell model may be outdated and irrelevant, so its important to know why you’re renovating and what you hope to achieve from your renovations.
If you’re not planning to sell, its important to know how long you plan to live in your home and whether:

1. your family is growing ( more children )
2. or shrinking ( kids becoming independent )

Bear in mind that more bedrooms doesn’t always mean a better or more productive space, it just changes your target demographic when you eventually come to sell.

Friends of mine recently bought a property in a highly sought after inner west suburb of Sydney. The property wasn’t cheap, but they got it for the price they wanted and due to a bank foreclosure, the settlement was done and dusted in no time at all. They’re happy about the purchase and are planning to start some very major renovations asap.

Perfectly situated near all their desired amenities. The orientation of the home is dated, with all northerly light focused in the bedrooms, creating small dark living and working areas elsewhere. With three small bedrooms and two bathrooms, the home currently has a squashed, but segregated kitchen and living area. Their plan for this home is to start again.

The building itself is sound and has a great art deco facade with perfect window placement, designed to allow the maximum amount of light in. They plan to turn one of the bathrooms into an en-suite for the master bedroom, reduce the number of bedrooms from three to two – extending the size of the remaining two – and open up the living, kitchen and dining areas. While these renovations might seems like they will devalue the home, the fact that the couple are planning for the long term means that they’ll be able to enjoy the place exactly the way they want it.

The renovation itself won’t be simple. By re-orientating the entire layout, it will ensure that light is maximised in both the living and sleeping areas and the utilisation of space created will allow for an uncluttered lifestyle in a very airy environment.

The couple have already decided that children aren’t for them, so there will be no surprises down the track and as such their space will not be compromised.

I’d imagine many people will look at these plans and either balk at the ideas or be incredibly jealous, for JSI its another great project we’ll be involved in.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress of this one because its not only unique, but a fabulous story that really demonstrates how renovations come to life when home owners sink their time, money and passion into a project.

If you’d like to discuss a similar situation or would just like to bounce ideas off our talented designers, please give us a call.

We’re proud to share this wonderful feedback from yet another fantastic customer – can’t you just feel the good vibrations in the air!

“Hi Chad and the crew,
I am simply writing to inform you of how pleased I am with the workmanship, the professionalism and the mannerism of all your employees involved in the work at my address.

From word go, Craig gave me a full briefing on what would be involved in the work and with this I gained complete confidence that I would be leaving things in goods hands. Considering my carport forms a part of the strata, whom I might say are quite hard to deal with. I might also say that Craig’s regular presence during the works was very reassuring.

This peace of mind helped me decide which of three quotes I’d be going with.

Also your two workers, Josh and the welder (whose name slips my mind at the moment), were very particular and thorough, leaving no stone unturned before commencing their work. They both appeared very polite and professional.

After the work was completed I was advised that a neighbour had stuck his head over the fence annoyed with the accessive noise from the power tools. I was also advised that Josh handled the situation very professionally, offered his empathy at the time and the issue was resolved peacefully.

Also, without forgetting those cheerful individuals who answer your phones, what is customer service without those cheerful and pleasant personalities.

I think I made the right choice and I will, without any hesitation recommend you to my friends and family.

Thanks Chad, Craig and the crew for the exceptional service.”

Matthew Busuttil, Chiswick

With Autumn in the air, Just Screw It has heaps of reasons to celebrate. For starters we’ve been in business now for over seven years! Yep that’s seven years operating in and around the Sydney CBD. We’ve done work for over 2500 unique families and individuals and completed over 5000 separate jobs.

Changing only to service our clients better, Just Screw It has stayed true to its mantra of ‘doing it right, on time and within budget’.

Having grown into three divisions – carpentry, painting and landscaping – we now employ over 60 staff and would like to say a big thanks to our great team!

Just Screw It remains a full service building services company that takes a holistic approach to your building project. Concentrating on remodelling and extending existing properties – particularly in tight access areas – we understand the time constraints of modern professionals and help take the stress out of managing your renovations.

With a number of building managers and foremen, we’ll manage your project from go to woe, regardless of the size of the job.

Working to a ‘do-in-charge’ model rather than a fixed quote model, Just Screw It will ensure that you – the customer – always gets the best deal. Our tradespeople are not incentivised to finish your job quickly or to cut corners. We want to do the best possible job and we want to do it right, first time. If we have to come back, its going to be at a cost to us not you, so getting it right, first time is an important part of our full building service.

At Just Screw It, we are also embracing technology and celebrating the efficiencies and savings it has brought to our business and ultimately the customer. By developing a web based app to quote your job and the materials involved, Just Screw It is able to pass on the savings this new tool has brought to our business. Using a tablet device, we can now estimate your job and get a quote to you in HTML format within minutes of leaving your property.

Not only does this enable you to think about your job while our visit is fresh in your mind, but it ensures that whoever you deal with at Just Screw It will have complete transparency of your entire job from beginning to end. Yet another reason to celebrate with us in 2012!

With changes to NSW stamp duty and turmoil ruling the world’s finance markets, 2012 looks like being another uncertain year for the inner west property market.

Its been four years now since the start of the global downturn and although Sydney only felt slight tremors in its property market, recent reports are saying that house prices have bottomed out. So what should prospective inner west home buyers and renovators be thinking about in 2012?

Well it is only an opinion, but I think if you’ve done your homework and can finance the repayments, there’s no reason why you should sit on the sidelines and watch the housing market whirl around you hoping for further price drops. Equally, if you already own a home and can afford to finance the costs associated with building, then 2012 is as good a year as any to renovate.

Think about it, there’s a lack of new dwellings being built, which means there are a lot of builders lobbying for work…in theory, this is a great time to contract building services. Hell, you might even get a good deal!

But what about this year’s risks? Well, if like me you bought your first home in 2009, then apparently there is a high possibility of defaulting on your mortgage, which could assist in bringing the market down further. A contradictory warning? Yes, but worth heeding all the same.

I hadn’t heard about the ‘rudprime’ effect before, but then wondered, should I panic? After considering it for a while, I decided not to. After all, interest rates are only just starting to head south again – closer to what I borrowed at – and most of us (hopefully) factored in a buffer at the time of securing our mortgages.

So clearing away the gloom and doom, I’d like to make 2012 a year to remember by putting my personal stamp on something great. There’s no time like the present to renovate a kitchen or bathroom or even secure the property that you’ve had your eye on for a while.

Also, if the property market is still going down when will all the sideline buyers jump back into the market? All at once I’ll wager, which only points to one direction for house prices and building costs.

So, down to the business of sustainable flooring and other flooring options such as lino, and carpet. In our last blog we discussed the benefits of concrete floors, but for a variety of reasons – be they cosmetic or structural – concrete floors just aren’t for everyone. So, if you’re looking for a good green flooring option, and don’t want to lay traditional hard wood floors, bamboo is  a great green alternative.

Lumped in with the grass family, bamboo grows incredibly quickly and can be harvested in as little as five years after being sown ( as opposed to traditional hardwood forests that can take up to 20 years to harvest ).

Although there are several bamboo producing plantations in Australia the majority of Australian bamboo flooring is imported from China, which unfortunately means there are transport related emissions associated with bamboo floors. Having said this, by raising demand within Australia, more farmers/growers may be persuaded to produce bamboo in the future, so these emissions could be greatly reduced.

In terms of hardness, bamboo rates up there with the hardest of timbers and is easy to maintain.

There are three basic styles of bamboo floor in Australia:

• Vertically laid floors have a fine grain appearance and are of moderate hardness
• Horizontally laid bamboo floors show the natural form of the bamboo – imperfections, knots and all – and are similar in hardness to vertically laid bamboo planks
• Woven bamboo floors where the bamboo is cut into threads then compressed. This composite creates the hardest bamboo flooring and gives the floor a very wood-like appearance.

Of course, if bamboo isn’t your dream flooring there are other options out there:

Carpet has come a long way since 70s shag-pile and can be bought in a range of ‘cuts’. Here are a few of our favourites:

• Cut pile – smooth and evenly cut – has a very neat appearance
• Twist pile – as the name suggests – has random kinks and a more textured look
• Sisal – also known as ‘cord carpet’ – is made from the loops of fibres and creates a structured row of patterns

In keeping with the 70′s or perhaps even the 50′s, linoleum ( lino ) floors are making a resurgence in Sydney.

More expensive than vinyl, but longer lasting, lino is the perfect solution to a tight budget, temporary solution or kids area. Waterproof and fire resistant, lino is a long lasting solution that used well will inject an element of fun into your home.

Available in a huge range of colours, lino contains no chemicals and even has antibacterial agents which creates a healthier type of flooring. Easy to clean and mend, lino can last up to 40 years if properly cared for, making it a winner for any Inner-West dwelling.

Sometimes doing a fantastic job as you go can lead to less work! A recent testimonial is a great example of this:

“Chad and team,
John and his colleagues have done a wonderful job. He took a bit longer over it and really perfected the levelling of our deck, replacing rotted boards, and consulting us all the way.

We are so pleased with the result that we see no need to resurface it. Thanks for your excellent service. ”
Richard and Alison – November 2011

Continuing on from my last blog on the subject of flooring, I’d like to welcome you to the world of polished concrete floors.

Growing in popularity in both commercial and residential sectors, concrete and polished concrete floors are becoming more prevalent. There are several reasons for this:

• The cost is the same as other premium flooring
• Many buildings already have a concrete slab
• They are durable and easy to clean
• Each one is individual – they can be as polished or as dull as you want and you can add objects and colours into the mix
• They provide great thermal gain

So to the process. While time consuming, there are six steps to great polished concrete floors.

Note: If you already have a slab, then skip the first four steps.

• Form-work
• Concrete pour
• Vibrate
• Helicopter finish
• Diamond cut – x3 – depending on the desired finish
• Clear seal

While the concrete pour doesn’t take long, the wooden form-work (think wooden scaffolding around the concrete reinforcement) prior to the pour does and it needs to be done well. Concrete is wet and heavy and will find holes or cracks in shoddy form-work. If this happens you’ll use a lot more concrete than budgeted and will probably end up with a substantial mess as the concrete slowly seeps down the path of less resistance (your home), so professional help is advisable.

Once the form-work is complete its time to pour the slab. This needs to be done in one swift action, so cubic calculations should be spot on – with a little excess –  before the concrete truck is brought in.

While pouring the concrete is relatively easy, there is an art to doing it and ensuring all bubbles are removed from the pour is done with a hand-held concrete vibrator (think edge trimmer or whipper snipper). This helps the concrete settle and should ensure a level surface once dry.

After pouring, the initial smoothing is done with a hand-pushed helicopter about the size of a lawn mower.

Note: Concrete floors employ the use of a lot of very heavy equipment. That’s the beauty of minimalism!

So now you have a smooth concret slab, as seen in many galleries and other commercial spaces. But moving into the residential zone, a diamond cut or three – depending on the desired finish – will give your floor a more polished finish.

Note: The diamond cut can be done wet or dry, but I recommend doing a wet cut to minimize dust.

Once again, the level of the cut is a personal preference. If aggregate (rocks) or additives were put into the concrete (eg. marbles or ring-pulls) you’ll need to cut further to see these. Again, the equipment required weighs several hundred kilos, so bringing in a professional may be the best way to go.

Once the desired cut has been achieved, the only thing left is to seal the floor. While standard clear concrete sealers and epoxy are commonly used, wax finishes (lower toxicity) for a duller sheen are also available.

Note: Wax finishes are slightly experimental, but good results can be achieved.

Sustainability tip:

While the initial off-gas from a setting concrete slab is considerable, the thermal gain from a concrete floor will outweigh the damage done to the environment and heating your home will be quicker and easier, so you’ll save on energy in the long term. Check out this climate-responsive house design using concrete.