I repaired our bathroom doors which seem to made of particleboard, the bottoms had got wet from the showers & were quite swollen. I got a very small 'stanley' knife with the break off blades, new, so it's sharp. I held my finger on the blade & carefully sliced off the swollen parts, work slowly, then painted it with Bondcrete - paint all the flaky parts with the bondcrete (it dries very hard). Let it dry completely, overnight, next day carefully sand with a med to fine sandpaper until smooth, don't rush. I would then either stain the damaged part with matching stain or paint with a varnish stain to match, finish with a clear coat if necessary. Give the whole back a coat of clear varnish - I would use oil based not water based varnish. I would also suggest you paint the interior with clear varnish - especially the back panel - 2 coats. For the small damaged parts on the top apply stain & varnish with a very small paint brush, like an artists brush.

Hi siriuskey So the large coir mat from Bunnings is much cheaper than the Chilewich. I'm confused now. Do you recommend the coir mat or the Chilewich? I'm not sure if I can even find a Chilewich in Adelaide to bring home for a look ....

I agree that charcoal would be nice - softer than black Just check that it has a greenish base, as that will work with Woodland grey Use a coppery colour for the front door and follow the theme by using rusted metal pots and mail box, as julie herbert suggested Pebblecrete for the pathways will complete the theme of natural materials, then give the garden some personality by contouring beds and mulching with pebbles and stones in the grey, brown and black colours of the building Perhaps a winding path to the front door Use Woodland grey for the new garage door If you really want to change the roof tiles, make them a greenish grey too With medium sized shrubs - magnolia, camellia, mock orange as well as soft grasses, the garden will finish the project nicely You don't have to do it all at once - it's nice to let the process evolve as you develop confidence Have fun and let us know what you decide

When selecting windows it’s a good idea to think about how they perform thermally. The frames influence this as well as the glazing. Timber, uPVC and thermally broken aluminium frames are lower conductors of heat and cool than regular aluminium or steel frames, but they do come at a cost premium. Timber frames also require much more maintenance. And, of course, aesthetics come into play. The windows you select will affect your NATHERS or BASIX rating and will also affect your heating and cooling requirements. For more information these websites have useful information: https://renew.org.au/renew-magazine/buyers-guides/window-buyers-guide/ https://www.wers.net/werscontent/how-to-select-windows