Practical Guides for Smarter Renovations

Adding permanent entry steps can make an older pool easier to approach, create a pause in shallow water and replace

Changing an existing concrete pool’s outline or depth is a structural alteration, not a resurfacing variation. The visible shell is

Natural lawn and artificial turf can both create a simple green plane, but they behave very differently in an Australian

Existing pavers are often worth keeping: they may suit the house, have weathered attractively and represent a large embodied investment.

A raised garden bed beside the house can make planting accessible and turn a blank wall into a productive edge.

A renovation is the right time to replace an irrigation network that leaks, waters paths or no longer matches the

Electricity, gas and water meters often occupy exactly the wall an alfresco renovation wants to make attractive. Screening them with

Outdoor tiles and decking can both make a worn alfresco floor feel deliberate again, but they are not interchangeable skins.

Joining a timber or composite deck to an existing paved alfresco can create one generous outdoor room. The difficult work