Tips and Traps
Navigating the changing employment legislation in these troublesome times. For most of us, 2020 will be the most challenging year in our business lives on a whole range of fronts. There are the commercial challenges with disrupted operations and cashflow and trying to...
One Thing I’d Add… Machines
In our semi-regular series, experts share advice they wish more people knew. This month, Multinail’s Warwick Porter talks about machines that give the best bang for your buck. Working as the national machinery sales manager at Multinail, Warwick Porter sees a lot of...
What’s in a Name?
Trusses and air conditioners often don’t play nicely, but this design might fix that. As a lover of all things building industry and the English language, I often have a chuckle about some of the terms we use in building. My all-time favourite word is podger, which...
In Memoriam
George Zammit has left a legacy of customer-centric service at his family business, Warringah Timbers. The Sydney timber trade has lost another stalwart with the death of George Zammit, founder of Warringah Timbers. In 1962, George started a business erecting timber...
Walk on Warm
Decking products have multiple demands on them from commercial and domestic clients, but the beauty of timber and timber-like product is a uniting factor. Domestic and commercial building trends are only occasionally in lockstep, but the move to the ‘outdoor room’ in...
Playing Super Catch-up
For those who’ve had to dip into their super contributions, now’s the time to plan to rebuild, says industry super fund First Super. The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t left much untouched – including the super balances of millions of Australians. For those who withdrew...
Devil in the Details
Why it’s important to reference the I-Joist floor design reference numbers. Over the years one of the most significant areas of change we’ve seen is the increase of warranty responsibilities placed upon builders and the flow-on effect of how today’s builders...
Back in Caboolture
AKD’s Caboolture Sawmill has resumed operations. Back in June the AKD team watched in horror as fire ripped through parts of its Caboolture Sawmill. After everything else this year has brought, it was very much lemon juice on a scraped knee. In good news, no one was...
On the Market
Whether you’re wanting to sell up, to offload excess machinery or to buy something new, selling and buying through auctions or direct second-hand sales can represent a brilliant deal. With record low interest rates and the Australian Government’s instant asset...
In Memoriam
Keith Wilkinson of North Shore Timbers is remembered as a man of positivity and possibility. As a young man, Keith Wilkinson went on a diving holiday with friends off the coast of Mozambique. At home in the water, he was nevertheless caught in a strong rip and washed...
All-Terrain Sideloader
The Hubtex DQ-X redesign is a perfect match for timber. Think of the typical Australian timber yard and you could be imagining anything from vast concrete-floored sheds filled with racks to snow melting in tyre tracks near Tumut. Happily, top European manufacturers...
It’s a Wrap
AKD’s new wrap design and new product names hit the market with a celebration of the company’s proudly Australian-grown and made heritage. Over the coming months, the market will start to see AKD products being wrapped in a new plastic design. It features several...
The Innovators
If we’re going to have a new normal, let’s make sure it’s a better one. We look at two transformational ideas that are helping to build the future of Australian construction. For a species that has changed the world more than any other, humans can often be slow to...
Why Treat Timbers?
They’re essential to our building industry, but not always fully understood. TTN’s 2020 timber treatment booklet covers what you need to know. You’d be forgiven for imagining that treated timber is standard in every Australian build. With several of the world’s most...
Top Floor
Soudal delivers a clever new flooring adhesive and an even cleverer applicator that will help keep tradies safe and out of the physiotherapist’s clinic. Soudal’s new Soudabond Subfloor Collapsing Gel Adhesive cuts application time over standard adhesives by 75%. If...
Personal/Carer’s Leave in 2020
Australian leave provisions allow for paid sick and caring days, which have rarely been more needed by employees than this year. Here’s what you need to know. This article is relevant to all private sector employees and employers in Australia except for sole traders...
Safety Highs and Lows
By concentrating on lifting equipment that keeps load movements and people down low, while still allowing high racking and loading, Combilift is driving safe workplaces internationally. Martin McVicar has travelled to work sites around the world since he and fellow...
New ITI Partnership
Metsä Wood, Europe’s largest LVL producer, joins forces with ITI/John Cook & Sons. Metsä Wood, a leading European producer of engineered wood products, has entered into a new strategic partnership with ITI/John Cook & Sons, which will see ITI and Cooks become...
New Staff
Managing the risk of a new employee starts with an effective recruitment process. It’s worth starting off a new employment relationship with all your i’s dotted and t’s crossed. That way, if things start to go awry, you’ve done the groundwork to protect the business...
Standard Changes
An overview of the key proposed AS 1684 series amendments 2020. AS 1684 Residential Timber Framed Construction, also commonly referred to as the Timber Framing Code, is the principal Australian Standard covering design criteria, building practices, tie-downs, bracing...
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....
