Lockdown Learnings
The Stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne is the biggest in Australia so far, but it’s not the first. Here’s how one big hardware team in the Burnie region managed their experience. Melbourne’s Stage 4 restrictions this week have been simultaneously a shock and no surprise....
Focus on Local
As the recession starts to bite and Covid plays havoc with both freight and currency stability, a campaign to Buy Australian Timber First hopes to save local jobs throughout the sector. High-vis is the dominant fashion trend in the sea of faces looking out from the...
Recycled Timber in NZ
LMA Timber’s new showroom marks a new stage in the growth of recycled Australian product into New Zealand – and two men’s passion for great building products. Martin Thompson loves good buildings and timber. Talk to him for more than five minutes and you’ll hear about...
Starting the Conversation
Bold shirts herald a mental health support program for tradies. Mental health is often a way down the safety checklist for tradies. While most work sites do regular checks for proper PPE, it can be much harder to get mental health issues addressed in the workplace....
Tanapost Treatment Revolution
A new treatment option for posts solves common disposal issues and brings a slew of environmental benefits. For the viticulture and agriculture sectors, posts represent a major expense – one that doesn’t stop at purchase for the three most popular types currently on...
Risk Reductions
Whether building or bushwalking, a bit of caution can help. By Paul Davis. As a serious bushwalker, slips, grazes and bruises are an inevitable part of ‘the business’. I had yet another fall on the weekend. A victim of my own over-confidence, I jumped backwards off a...
Customisation’s Power
As part of our ask the experts series, Ed Serrano talks about machinery that fits customers’ needs. Ed Serrano, managing director of Vekta Advanced Automation, likes to sit down with potential customers to talk about what they do before he discusses what he can do for...
Casual Employees and Annual Leave
Court decisions regarding definitions may mean action is needed. By Emma Watt Over the last decade there have been a number of Federal Court decisions granting annual leave entitlements to employees engaged and paid as casuals. The National Employment Standards (NES)...
Hardware in the Time of Covid-19
In business, things can change unexpectedly, but 2020 has been remarkable. We talked with two Independent Hardware Group local leaders about how they’re getting through. So far, 2020 has been solidly overdoing itself in the disaster stakes. Australia started the year...
Round Wood
From delivering electricity to keeping the cows in and the wine grapes up, posts and poles are everyday essentials and their suppliers face some unique challenges. You’d be hard-pressed to go for a walk without encountering round timber products, whether as poles...
New NSW Law For Certifiers
In the wake of building disasters, reliable certifiers are supported. NSW has passed the Design and Building Practitioners Bill 2019. Put forward in the wake of multiple high-profile building failures and issues with substandard works in the state, it will increase...
Trout Cod Timber
Bushfire logs are being used to rebuild aquatic habitat. Timber from bushfire-affected trees along Upper Murray roadsides has been used to control erosion and improve the habitat of endangered trout cod near Towong. Agencies from both sides of the NSW-Victoria border...
Finishing Touches
Whether durability, beauty or practicality is your goal, timber cladding makes it child’s play. Timber cladding product has always been popular in residential builds, but recently it’s been given more space to shine in high-end architectural applications. One of the...
How It’s Done
Wesbeam has added case studies to its comprehensive online information library. Wesbeam has long been focused on growing the market for EWP in Australia and, as part of that has led the way when it comes to educating builders and designers in using LVL and other EWP...
New ITI Partnership
Europe’s largest LVL producer joins forces with Australia’s largest national independent wholesale distributor. Metsä Wood and ITI/John Cook & Sons are excited to announce a new strategic partnership which will see ITI and Cooks become the key distributor of...
Easy Cleaning
Some good business advice is now helping fight Covid. Years ago, one of Hans Unger’s customers advised him to diversify his business rather than rely on his labour. He listened and added multiple new lines. As a flooring specialist, some, such as his SupaBord and...
Securing Jobs
A national focus is being called for by major players. Shane Vicary is understandably worried. The CEO of AKD has had to lay off 51 people since the Covid-19 pandemic started. “What’s the future outlook if we see a massive scale back in activity?” he asks. “Will I...
Quality with Class
It’s economical, sustainable, incredibly durable and can instantly create an interior mood ranging from traditional to utterly modern, so why aren’t more people laying parquet floors? Hans Unger, owner of Renaissance Parquet, has a lot on his plate at the moment....
Is It Delamination?
Suspected faults in EWP surfaces are often just natural variations in the timber. “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” Aldous Huxley In home construction, EWP beams are often chosen for their beauty in...
One Thing I’d Add…
In this new ongoing series, we look at tools, techniques and tips designed to help fabricators and builders. First out of the blocks: Hundegger’s Speed-Cut Double Trenching Unit option. Trenching wall frames is a bit like the old potato cake/scallop debate: in some...
Hop to It
Boral Timber pitches in for a new wildlife hospital on KI. After bushfires destroyed a third of Kangaroo Island over summer, help was urgently needed to get many businesses and organisations up and running again. For the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, that came in the...
Good Returns
Recycled timbers are showing their worth – environmentally and economically – in the supply chain, both as high-quality designer timbers and as quality wood fibre. Durability is a key selling point for all of us in the timber industry: our product lasts. And yet at a...
Fully Loaded
While loaded chips or burgers can be great, overloaded joists are anything but. It’s one of those words that has come back into vogue. ‘Fully’ was used by hotels and restaurants when they were fully booked, but then the hip crowd starting using it for being very cool...
Fuel Reduction Training
TABMA Training’s training partnership with HQPlantations will make a difference to upcoming fire seasons. Given the unprecedented bushfire crisis that most of Australia went through at the start of this year, the importance of protecting our softwood and hardwood...
