Stewie, it seems that your FIL may have had the right shoe but the wrong foot. http://www.ehow.com/info_8354155_colors-repel-insects.html

I thought that he may have bought a job lot at a hugely discounted price so I asked him and he said " no, flies don't like to land on blue paint ". I had to laugh when I read this. The following IS TRUE!!! Quite a few years ago, Victoria police ordered new Commodores with an unusual green...

The only WaterGate one that I have seen comes with the fold. Any experience with folding aluminium neatly without a proper brake bender? No. It would be a pain.

That sort of mesh is terrible stuff. You could try following your basic plan but use the Fielders WaterGate zinc mesh. It is sold in the gardening section at Bunnings and comes in an 8 x 1.25 metre pack for around $40. It fits better with internal gutter clips, otherwise you need supports. http://ww...

We have a recycled water tap in front and want to have timer enabled system so that we can water grass and plants every day at a set time and interval. Watering every day is a bad idea as it doesn't encourage deep root growth and it is wasteful. The system you have described would need an irrigatio...

A standard 12 mm garden hose flows at about 16-20 lpm. Shorter hose lengths are faster. I haven't dealt with the pool industry for nearly 8 years but what has happened with the water neutral pools initiative...but maybe that only applied to Victoria.

You will need a paint like SolaGard outdoor paint. It is much easier and a lot better to paint them first. They will probably need a touchup once you adjust the tapers after fitting. The weep hole heights can be a real problem because your damp proof course is below them but I couldn't see any brick...

It's now been cut 'flat' so would you still expect pooled water to dry off? Even with a clay bed? Yes.

I missed seeing this reply. Apologies. You use masonry nails if you are going into mortar. It is easier if you use a smaller masonry drill bit to make a hole first. I wouldn't use the current downpipe clips plus you will probably use a claw hammer to remove them anyway as per the video link I sent y...

40 mm of rain might sound like a lot to a Melbournite but it isn't. The 'rain' has been more of a soaking shower but certainly nothing that the soil matrix cannot absorb plus subsoil hydraulic conductivity is a slow process. If you dig a hole a couple of hundred mm deep, you will find that the soil ...

And I've had copies of the standards and tolerances & when you go to VCAT and a member says to the engineer to come up with a design that will work and IT DOESNT MATTER IF IT DOESNT MEET STANDARDS. I would assume that the member was referring to the Australian Standards (AS) and that the verbal...

(Proper) holes can also make a structure stronger.

Dunno. That would require a large heavy duty masonry drill. Maybe visit Kennards and ask about hiring a concrete saw to cut a square or triangular hole if you are comfortable with doing that.

I have had to dig out a few trees that were much smaller than the one you have. It is back breaking work. Have you already cut the tree down...one would hope so! You should get a stump grinder in to remove the stump below ground level and then soak the ground before tackling the roots. If you leave ...

Now my husband and I are not unreasonable people and we know that he did some work on the designs and were happy to pay something for his time, but he has just sent us a bill for $1000k ::surprise:: I just can't believe it and I have no idea where I stand in this regard, as it was totally unexpecte...

I wonder if poly tanks can not have a tap any lower than this for structural purposes? Most if not all poly tanks are molded thicker at the bottom for this purpose but incredibly enough, some tanks are now molded with (sometimes) very low female threaded cavities and drilling another hole elsewhere...

The recalled tanks were last made at the end of 2006, 8 years ago. Previously, customers with failed tanks were offered a pro rata refund but the warranty was only 10 years, very poor for a stainless steel tank. Not all faulty products are shown on the Govt recall site. Last year, water in some Tasm...

There are many products recalled every year but the average consumer rarely hears of more than a few items. The site that I have linked below allows quick access to the various categories of recalled consumer goods. Each category has its own sub categories, see second link. http://www.recalls.gov.au...

Maybe they are required to show identifying photos when there is a recall...I don't know. A bit hard to tell how high the first tank's slatted wooden base is. The bottom of the second tank looks like it has separated from the tank's wall but I think that it's only dirt. Notice how low the pump draw ...