DIY, renos, home projects, landscaping, etc.

I have used a product called "Wocka" on a very exposed north facing pine (fancy pine) feature wall on a job, it is Danish I think , kind of almost like olive oil in texture and over 2 years later and wall is still very blonde in colour, I was sceptical at the claims when the client wanted to use it but so far it has lived up to what it said it would do. Easy to reapply down the line too, expensive but good coverage so small amounts go a long way. It came from a supplier somewhere in QLD from memory

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I've got a little cabin in my yard where i have a beer fridge and keep my bike and other stuff. It's got a little kitchen and you could probs squeeze a single bed in there. Anyway, been meaning to give it a freshen up- that and my back steps, the wood was so thirsty and crying out for some TLC. So this recent corona holiday i gave it all a good clean and prep and stained it with some light oak stain (even though it's cedar) and she came up a treat imo.

I'm not particularly handy but I have a go. Got some other projects I gotta look at in the future but glad to knock that one over.

Btw, Patrick sweet job, looks good.

Looks like you've got a lovely possie there.

Having a crack at doing some bush rock paving. More like break your back paving but reckon it will be worth it in the end.

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Patrick try and get some Organoil and see if that works. On the wood that is.

Pat...linseed no good on your rails..no go for exterior use promotes mould.

Gary, that looks wicked.

I'm gonna show the wife that because we've got some renos coming up and that would really compliment what we plan to do.

Love it.

Saw a sign in a gift shop up the road :

“ If a man says he’ll fix something , he will.

He doesn’t need reminding every six months. “

Zen make sure you do it yourself unless you're flash with cash. Stonemasons charge like a bitch. Also make sure you have a rock supply nearby otherwise you can spend a lot of hours just getting the stuff.

Hi Patrick, to your original question and design.

It has been my experience all timber will grey in time without regular oiling so the question to ask yourself is am I prepared to do the annual or biannual maintenance.

Something you may not have considered in your design is all new(ish) timber can move or warp this and that way depending on the timber itself and the grain. I mention this as you should either factor in some bracing to retard or stop it in the construction or go with ancient / used ironbark railway sleepers for your verticals. Timber like that can look very good and may fit in really well with your large rock.

Good luck you look like you have a nice place to call home.

Patrick it's just random bush rock. I generally just pick the stone that is fairly flat at least on one side but different thicknesses aren't a problem. Just put down about a 70-100mm base of crusher dust or even sand. Just mud each stone onto the base and any rocks that are too thick you just dig them into the base material and mud around them. Once the mortar has gone off I generally roughly fill all the voids with more mortar but not to the stone level. After that has gone off they are nice and stable then you just mix up a real runny mix and pour it into the last bit of void area using a jug or ice cream bucket. Once the slurry mix gets firm just wipe/smooth it down with a wet sponge and then use hydrochloric acid a few days later to get the last of the cement stains off your rocks. Make sure you have a mixer though - your back will thank you for that. Well that's my hack method anyway and works okay for me.

It really looks cool Gary.

We've got a reforming company rep coming around next Tues- we've got some savings and also the Japanese government is throwing zero interest loans at people atm. Our house is quite large but was built in three stages. When we bought it was basically unliveable and we spent heaps plus a lot of hard work on my part getting it up to speed. The original house is currently where my step-sons are and it's joined to the main house by a little 2m corridor. We plan on completely refurbishing the original house, replacing the roof, adding sky-lights, extending it and paving right around as it's pretty run-down looking and a haven for weeds. Also, we're gonna repaint the main house as when we bought, we just didn't have enough money.

Should the grand plan come together, the whole place should look pretty flash.

Sounds ideal for an AirBnB

"Questions:
1 - Is it possible to stop the cypruss turning grey while retaining its current look? I'd like to keep that colour. I tried oil based products on offcuts and they all darken it too much for what I'd like. I don't want it to look finished."

Try using a clear acrylic based product in a matt or low sheen finish if possible, that would be your best bet, but if it's an exterior situation needs to be a UV resistant product.

Oils and oil based products generally produce a darkened wet look and a gloss finish also adds to that wet look.

Jobs looking good , fellas.

Interesting thread . Keep them coming.

It’s nice to just enjoy the process when working on your own place.

Patrick Gary g beat me to it I was also going to say Organoil. It’s great stuff and all natural. I have cypress decking front and rear with thick posts and I have found the oiling has helped it stay good . I probably could’ve oiled more often I think once every year or two ( I left it for a few and it greyed in some spots ) also I used napisan with water and scrubbing brush to clean first .
The outdoor shower looks great something I’ve been contemplating setting up. How are you doing the drainage ?

Half your luck zen I hear Japan is a beautiful place I’d like to check it out one day

Actually just remembered I also use lanotec oil which is the one I’ve used the most . Good stuff can get from some hardware shops I think

How good is that Organoil smell eh...unreal.

It is Salty, come check it out- good waves, sublime snow, great food and really nice people.

You can buy beer 24/7 from any convenience store too.

Saw this today product today for the first time and was surprised they can sell/mine it, surely this cant be sustainable or environmentally sound?

It's mulch that is all little sea shells and its labeled as "Pt Lonsdale Shell mulch"

If its really from that area, i dont know?...anyone know?

And yeah not cheap super expensive, most other toppings like crushed granite are about $140 m2

Is that the one near the Shell service station?

Here is a concrete kitchen bench i built in my place, pretty proud of this one, was my first attempt and real happy with how it came up, has a real nice salt and pepper look tad rustic on the edges which i like but not rough, is fairly flat and level (no pools) and just has a real good feel cant remember the exact price but from memory about $400 or less which is pretty cheap for a decent kitchen bench, from memory its 900mm x 3,500mm pretty good size can easily fit 10 people around it for a gathering.

Concrete was only about $150, its was more the timber to create mould and the rio inside that cost the money.

Also did all the other benches but they didn't need to be poured in place so easier as just could do moulds on the floor.

BTW. Im not a builder but i also built the whole room in pic 13m x 6m, did everything myself only thing i didnt do was things im not allowed plumbing, electrical and i helped a plumbing mate do the exterior roof, missus also helped me with mini orb ceiling which was a pain to do, and a mate helped me with the concrete bench as he had done one before, plus you need to work quickly. (also installed the kitchen myself)
Floor is a solid blackbutt timber over yellow lounge floor. (shit load of work in that, and about $1K worth of glue, also secret nailed)

This pic is old, bit of mess today, but gives you an idea of overall look

Looks brownish in pic, but its just the light i took this one just before and bit dark

This is closer to the colour and look but still a bit brown, should have taken pics in natural light.

This is before it was given a bit of a sand and washed off.

BTW. good excuse to show some 80s boards, hung these the other week, just standard hooks would have been nice to use those ghost racks but bit pricey and just wanted to get them up there.

One of each boards from the three main board makes down here from the last 30-40 years, Full Circle (Russell Francis), Island (Tom Tyrell) & Islantis (Dugga warren) actually this is one of Gary Dorrington's old sponsored boards has Quicksliver decals, Gary is the father of Dorrington brothers on the Goldie, from memory he did go pro in the late 80s for a few years.

Thats the hardest part with these concrete benches, so much pros and cons with sealing them, and no matter what you use they need a little maintainance every few years. (i just give it a quick recoat once a year, doest take long)

It gets a few hours sun in the mornings so i had to use a product that wouldn't yellow from UV light so went for a clear acrylic finish normally used on concrete floors.

My mate did his in an oil based clear finish, but his tends to show up scratches while mine doesn't.

Ive seen a few now that local guys/home owners have dine and the strange thing is even though we have all done pretty much the same thing, used same concrete mix etc they all look a bit different, i think its just how wet the concrete is and how fast it drys or how much your work it effects the look.

I actually worked the surface everything 15 minutes for a few hours as it cured to try to get a burnish look but it didnt actually work, it actually had like a thin crust that came off when i sanded it.

(Burinish is that kind of look you get that makes it look kind of burnt marbled look, hard to explain)

You have trouble with lemon or lime juice Indo? Looks good btw
I’ve done a few for clients and citric acid has caused dramas

You have trouble with lemon or lime juice Indo? Looks good btw
I’ve done a few for clients and citric acid has caused dramas

Havent had any issues, no stains etc, but have also been pretty careful as heard that citric acid etc can be an issue.

Looks sweet Indo- all of it.

We have a nice island bench that we got a guy in to fix- spent two days sanding, coating, sealing whatever they do- cost about AUD$3000 just to bring it back (about 1800x900). When finished, it looked
gorgeous.

Second day it was finished, bonehead stepson puts burning hot pot on it. Every time I look at the scorched wood I feel like punching him in the face.

(the fuckers on the autism spectrum, so what do you do?)

I have sealed a couple of concrete wall and floor bathrooms and also bench / table tops with a really good water based epoxy, Phoenix Diamond Coat, awesome product, can be used on timber tops too, commercial grade so no issues with citric acid, milk product or wine staining ( did a bunch of brewery counter tops also) 2 pack and comes in small quantities if needed , matt, satin or gloss finish, would work really well in situations like yours in above pics. Nice job BTW Indo ,wish I was allowed to hang a bunch of my old board collection in our entertaining area ! understanding wife I guess ha ha, I got one board up but that was at a push and compromise is having a Buddha statue in the garden (among other things) and no we are not Buddhists...

@Zen, spewing i did a similar thing on our old kitchen dropped a fry pan with oil on the lino floor

@Mike Ha ha have the Buddha and Hindu statues too, actually have 5 other similar ones, including a big one out the front.

Maybe bit hard to tell but the laying down buddha is very big and super heavy took 4 guys to lift, the other tall one Shiva is about 7-8ft tall, got them for decent price when the Aus dollar was good, local landscape place got a whole heap and the prices they were selling for were almost half the price as some places in Melb sell for.

Currently working on finishing the Bali pavilion, will most likely do it in shingle style, the thatch is expensive and gets so windy here, plus the birds apparently rip it apart for nesting.

She was actually into putting the boards up, i was actually a little apprehensive as though it might cheapen the feel of the room, but it looks fine.

PS. garden is a mess at the moment, need to do a big clean up and re multch

Couple nice statues Indo. Removalists bane. Countless is the number of stone/concrete buddhas I have manhandled kicking and screaming from peoples gardens.

Yeah i was lucky to get them as they never got any more in as they said the delivery was such a hassle being so big and heavy, the big ones were put in before fences went up.

Work in progress haha

Impressive everyone, Indo your kitchen is very impressive, great work on the bench top.

Zen.....is that an extension cord?

Nope I-f, power to the cabin from the house. Not sure why it was done that way.

Haha I wish.
That little stone I reached in through the fence to get it, so it’s officially from the palace and not the tourist side. Details matter right.
And yes, my ancestors came across as convicts ;)

[ Front Lawns Matter ]...PM's troops blockade another neighbourhood.

OZ PM: "10,000 Australians"...(Pause!)...

[ BOISTEROUS INTERRUPTION ]

King of OZ: ...."Will Everyone get of the Grass Please!"

OZ PM: ..."Sure, lets just move back from there!"

OZ King: (Pointing finger at the PM)... "Hey Guys, I've just reseeded that !"

PM:"Please...off the thing...(Thumbs Up!)... It's all good, thanx!"

PM: ...and that's how the CovidSafe handshake works...sure Ok!...needs some work!

Some more past projects at my place

All the timber used here is recycled from old demolished decks & balconies oregon joist & bearers (a lot went to waste as lot of rot in ends, hence why decks/balcony were rebuilt)

All decking used is old Jarrah, again bit of rot to cut out of pieces(and lot of de-nailing), and most of it had been painted so had to sand back, i actually laid it all out and hit it with a floor sander, then tidied the edges up with a belt sander.

Heaps of labor in it all, just prepping timber and just putting it together, but happy with the results.

All the featured tmiber i got for free, i always keep my eyes and ears out for old hardwood decking or interesting recycled timber and stockpile it.

Below is an example of what it looked like before used, grey and paint etc (from my stock pile)

Interior feature wall, jarrah decking over plasterboard painted black (just incase any little gaps, white would look ugly) this wall is a bit different colour to others as i used a merbau tinted coating on it.

Exterior feature wall, Jarrah decking over marine ply.

Same deal, kind of a little recessed area for TV with Jarrah decking feature (the black framed area and shelves I also made, its out of recycled oregon joist & bearers)

Made these shelves out of the same oregon, just stained an ebony colour then clear coated (done them black as can have too much timber sometimes, plus it just kind of makes it bolder)

Shelves are more chunky in real life than photos appear, timber is about 90mm-100mm thick by about 300mm deep.

Lovely Indo. Truly.

Thanks.