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How to Seal Grout: When, Why and How to Do It Properly
Whether grout needs sealing at all depends entirely on what type it is. Cementitious grout is porous by nature, so it absorbs water, oil and grime unless it’s sealed — leading to staining and, over time, mould. Epoxy grout is a different material entirely and is effectively self-sealing, so it doesn’t need this step. If…
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Tile Cutter Buying Guide: Choosing the Right Size, Plus Curves and Notches
Most straight tile cuts are best done with a manual score-and-snap cutter rather than a powered saw — it’s faster to set up, doesn’t need water or dust extraction, and gives a cleaner break on porcelain and ceramic than most people expect from a hand tool. The main decision is really about size: which cutter…
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Flooring Transition Strips: Which Type Do You Need?
Wherever two different floors meet — timber into tile, carpet into hardwood, a doorway between rooms — you need a transition strip to cover the join and manage any difference in height. Which type you need depends mainly on two things: how big the height difference is, and what materials you’re joining. Flush transitions: no…
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Cork Flooring Explained: Benefits, Where to Use It, and Choosing a Finish
Cork flooring is made from the bark of the cork oak tree, harvested without cutting the tree down, then compressed into planks or tiles. It’s a genuinely different flooring material to timber, laminate or hybrid — softer underfoot, naturally insulating, and with a texture that’s hard to replicate with a printed finish. It also has…
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Laminate Flooring 101: What It Is, Pros and Cons, and How to Choose
Laminate flooring is a multi-layer synthetic floor: a dense fibreboard core, a photographic layer that gives it the look of real timber, and a clear melamine resin wear layer on top that does the actual work of resisting scratches and everyday wear. It’s one of the most affordable ways to get a genuine timber look,…
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Construction & Renovation Floor Protection: How to Choose the Right Type
A new floor is one of the most expensive parts of any build or renovation, and it’s also one of the first things to take damage once trades start moving through — dropped tools, dragged materials, wet concrete splash, paint spills. Floor protection exists to absorb that damage instead of the floor underneath. The type…
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Concrete Sealer: What You Need to Know
Concrete is a sturdy material that’s practical and affordable. In many cases, it can even be quite beautiful. Unfortunately, it’s also an extremely porous material, so using concrete sealer is an absolute must – especially if your concrete is outside. If you’re a DIY enthusiast who is laying or sealing some concrete for the first…
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The 10 Types of Screws you should know about.
It’s always important to use the right screw. There are lots of different types and sub-types of screws out there, but DIY-ers can get away with knowing just these 10.
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The 5 Types of Sanders, and How to Choose the Right One for the Job.
Sanders are one of the most helpful power tools out there. There are plenty of jobs where sanding by hand just isn’t a viable option – it’s too tiring and too difficult to apply evenly. That’s why an electric sander is such a good investment, even for a casual DIYer. But there are a few…
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5 Different Ways You Can Use Your Soldering Iron.
There are few power tools more versatile than the humble soldering iron. A soldering iron is a compact type of welding tool that uses high temperatures to melt solder and join two pieces of metal together in a permanent and airtight way. These nifty little tools can come in all shapes and sizes, depending on…
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Choosing Tiles? 5 Important Things to Know.
There’s more to choosing the right tiles than just liking a colour and shape. Whether you’re gearing up for some DIY tiling, or you’re choosing a style for a professional to install, there are some important things you need to consider first. Here are the 5 most important things you need to be thinking about…
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The 10 Most Popular Tile Materials
When it comes to choosing tiles for your home, you’re pretty much spoiled for choice. Whether you’re looking for wall tiles or floor tiles, there are a staggering amount of options out there for you to choose from. To make it a little easier for you, we’ve rounded up 10 of the most popular options…
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5 Tile Trends With Real Staying Power
Just like anything else, the world of DIY tiling is all about the latest trends. As a hardware store, we definitely notice this in the types of projects our customers will tell us about. At any given time, there are always a few things that everyone is suddenly keen to try. Between the projects we…
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An in-depth guide to buying power tools the smart way.
Most handy people develop a pretty big collection of power tools over time. Whether you’re a passionate DIY-er expanding your skills, a new apprentice getting your first tool allowance, or just someone fixing up your home; you’ll often find yourself needing to buy a power tool or two. And then another power tool. And then…
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The 4 biggest benefits of choosing laminate flooring.
Laminate is one of the most popular timber-look flooring options for a reason — it holds up well, costs less than hardwood or veneer, and installs over almost any subfloor. Here’s what makes it worth considering. 1. It’s durable and easy to clean. Laminate floors are a multi-layer synthetic flooring product. It starts off with…
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The Best Tips for Caring for Your Timber Veneer Floors.
Timber veneer floors combine an affordable composite base with a real timber surface, but keeping that natural layer looking its best takes some know-how if you’re new to timber. Here are our tips for caring for it properly. Use cleaning products that won’t harm the coating. These days, most timber veneer floors come coated in…
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Understanding the different types of timber flooring.
Timber flooring adds real warmth to a home, but there’s a genuine amount of choice involved before you even get to colour or board width. The first question to answer: what type of timber floor are you actually looking for? Below, we’ll break down the 5 main types of timber flooring available today and talk…
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10 Common Types of Nails and When to Use Them.
Nails are everywhere. Whether you’re a DIY-er or a full-on tradie, there’s a pretty good chance your next project is going to use some sort of nails. Yet as a hardware store, we notice when we speak to our customers that many of them don’t have a clear idea of what type of nails they…
