Variety is the spice of life the say – well for an inner west handyman this is certainly the case. The jobs and projects we take on is hugely varying and this adds interest and keeps us on our toes.

Outdoor Buildings and Upgrading Them

We have had a number of clients in Leichhardt, Annandale and Ashfield contact us over the years requiring assistance with repairs and upgrades to their outside sheds and laundries, Historically, the inner west of Sydney was haven for ‘add ons’ – that is external buildings that were pretty much ‘Jerry built’ and did not (and still do not) meet building approvals. There are thousands of such structures remaining in July 2017 and we often get asked to work on them.

A recent project involved an external ‘laundry’ – we use the term ‘laundry’ loosely – a shed would be a more appropriate term. In this instance the building was approximately 3 metres long and 2.5 metres wide. It was roofed with corrugated asbestos and the walls were old asbestos sheeting. This needed to be replaced for obvious reasons. It is important (and the law dictates), that asbestos be removed by professional asbestos accredited companies. Our job was to organise the removal and them re-clad the structure, build a new door, add guttering and re-roof the laundry – basically a makeover. Inside we were to install new shelving, repaint the tired looking concrete floor and paint the newly clad exterior. We used standard galvanised iron to re-roof the structure and re-clad it with cement based cladding. This was then painted and the finished laundry was virtually unrecognisable from the old, tired and potentially hazardous building!

Painting – Do Not Cut Corners!

We do our fair share of painting work in our handyman business. One lesson worth noting when doing any painting work is: “do it once and do it well”. This means doing all the preparation work thoroughly. This can include cleaning surfaces, sanding surfaces, filling holes and dents, repairing gyprock damage and removing any dust and grime. In kitchens in particular it is very important to remove all traces of grease and oil from any surfaces to be painted.

We also highly recommend using the best paints available. This about it. The difference in cost of using a reputable, ‘premium’ brand of paint for an average sized room may amount to $100. A professionally prepared and painted room should still look good and not need repainting for 10 years, So the additional cost amounts to $10 per year. Do you really want the mess and hassle of repainting again in a shorter time frame? No!! We can advise on all aspects of your painting needs.