Inspector Gadjet

Cob is an ancient building material with three simple, easy to come by ingredients, Cob is super strong, entirely natural and chemical free and best of all Cob is a lot of fun to make. Clay, sand and straw (or cow manure) are all you need. Although some soil types have the perfect ratio of sand to clay (about 3 to 1) most sites will need some clay added to the soil for bonding to occur. Sand that is too fine will not stay together so a coarser sand is better than a fine one. Straw provides the tensile strength of Cob and can be used straight from the bail for packing out but a finer chopped straw is best for finishing work like the final coatings on walls and floors. Did I mention that Cob is fun to make? Although there are different methods for making Cob, my preferred way is to stomp it by foot! What better way for people to come together on a natural building project than to get their shoes off and get down and dirty. Making Cob is a full body...

Making old timber furniture, doors and windows like new again is just one of the many services Assured Handyman offers. Equipped with all the products for restoration projects I travel all over Sydney bringing tired timber surfaces back to life. before after So if you have tried to apply a stain or varnish yourself and it hasn't quite worked, then give me a call and I can show you how to do a professional job with the minimum of precious time spent. before after Assured Handyman also offers a furniture repair service which includes frame repairs to dining chairs, tables, sofa's and case goods.

Re using discarded pallets for wood is a great way to save money on buying timber and it saves tree's too! Hardwood pallets are particularly durable and with a bit of planing and sanding most pallet wood comes up beautiful. Using pallets as they come with little or no modification is one way to be creative but dismantling the pallets and using the timber gives much more room for experimentation but as with all things repurposed some effort is required in the harvesting of the material. I use a "Pallet Pal" to take apart the pallets I collect from building sites, the side of the road, out the back of Coles and Woollies or where ever they may be lurking. The Pallet Pal is more or less a giant lever which gives the user mechanical advantage and makes the otherwise tiresome job of pallet dismantling a joy. Pallets, like tyres are indigenous to the entire planet and it feels good every time I re-purpose one. A recent project using 6 m pallets for a fl...