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House need painting

12/12/2016

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The importance of regular maintenance to painted timber is an often neglected issue that affects most of the houses that I have seen lately. When you, the buyer look at a house and thinks it needs to be painted, the actual problem is possibly way past that point. The reason is that most timbers are stable with a moisture content of around 5 percent and this is kept constant with a few good coats of paint. Unfortunately during the winter seasonal rains, unprotected timber absorbs up to 20 percent moisture and this is where the issues start. Timber, depending on the species or treatment type applied to it, can be attacked by various moulds and fungi. This begins the rot cycle and once damp, the timber becomes attractive to many other types of insects, grubs, even termite activity. The sun also due to the UV radiation can break down the coatings that are applied to the timber. The colour of paint can be an issue too, as darker colours will lead to a faster breakdown of the timbers surface cellulose, due to this heat transfer. This is also a factor with clear finishes on timber windows and doors.
The types of timber used in house construction, has changed over the years. Oregon, was once the dominant timber in the housing industry. It was used for house fascias, wall framing, building exterior pergolas etc.
Unfortunately it was also non treated timber and as such prone to wood rot.
Newer houses have used treated timber, such as LOSP. Light Organic Solvent (based) Preservative. This however when cut, then if the ends were not reapplied with a protectant spray and painted, to seal in the treatment will still rot.
I see a lot of LOSP fascias that are in need of replacement and the houses are not that old. The carpenters simply arer not correctly re coating the timber after cutting it.
Newer timber treatment types such as Micro Pro, give better protection levels, however as it is only sold by only a few suppliers, it is not yet common place. Being a pressure treated treatment it gives better longer lasting protection.
Other types of preservative treated timber are available, such as ACQ, or CCA, however each type of treatment has its good and bad points and the correct timber for each application should be chosen.







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Happy Holidays enjoy the family time and be safe with your swimming pool.

12/12/2016

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Looking at buying a house with a pool or selling a house with a pool.
All swimming pools must have a continuous safety barrier maintained by the pool owner that restricts access by young children to the pool.
If you are a property owner and are selling a property with a pool built before July 1993 you must make sure that the safety barrier meets today's standard for new pools. Fencing must be constructed in such a way to make sure that:
1. The fence is an effective barrier to young children it is permanent and young children can't crawl under or climb over it by using foot and hand holds.
2. It must be at least 1.2 metres high and any boundary fences used as part of the child-safety barrier are at least 1.8 metres high on the side that faces the pool,
3. It requires a 900mm non-climbable zone at the top inside of the fence; a boundary barrier however may be climbable on the neighbor's side.

Gates to the pool area must:
1. Swing outward from the pool area
2. Be self-closing from any position
3. Be fitted with a latching device out of reach of small children 4. The latch must be at least 1.5m above ground level.
Hard covers on spas
Child resistant hard covers cannot be used as safety barriers in place of a fence for above-ground spa pools because:
1. There are no current regulatory standards for spa pool covers
2. When the cover is off the spa pool there is no barrier.


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You need to do a check for the following on your house pool before the hollidays.
Does the gate swing back to the closed position after being opened on its own?
Is the gate latch 1500mm high and does it stay locked after it returns to the closed position?
Is gate secure so that it can’t be pulled open once latched?
Is gate secure and doesn’t open if a child bounces on the bottom rail of the gate?
Are you aware of the dangers of propping the gate open?
Is the gap between the gate and the fence less than 100mm?
Are all of the fence panels in place?
Are all of the fence panels securely attached?
Have you checked the fence for gaps or holes?
Is the distance between the bottom rail and the ground less than 100mm?
Have you checked for rusted, loose or missing screws
Are there any climbable objects near the pool fence that should be removed? i.e. chairs, ladders, trees, pot plants, BBQ’s
Have trees or shrubs near the fence been trimmed so that children can’t use them to climb the fence?
Remember to think for them, before they swin, you're the adult.
Have a safe Xmas everyone



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    Steve McLeod 

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