(c)iStockphoto.com/Stephanie Howard

If you’re looking for a builder to construct your dream home you’ll have to get in line. Thanks to the national skills shortage, builders are few and far between.

And it’s not just builders that are in short supply – we’re also lacking in engineers and a range of other tradespeople.

“The problem for Australian renovators is the shortage of skilled labour, particularly in high-demand trades that require apprenticeships and licences to operate,” says Alex May, founder of Rennovationplanning.com.au

This labour shortage is directly related to the lack of training available. Over the last few years (and particularly when the GFC hit) many large companies and government agencies dumped their apprenticeship programs as a cost cutting measure.

With wages, insurance bills and top fees it’s almost impossible for small businesses to pick up this slack.

Just a year ago, when the country was in the grips of the global financial crisis (GFC), this was a completely different story. Due to the decreased amount of work available, especially in the construction arena, there was actually a surplus of skilled workers.

This number has since receded at an alarming rate. The Housing Industry Association (HIA) confirmed these grim statistics, with its research team estimated the shortfall of skilled workers in residential construction was currently just under 60,000 and would blow out to almost 65,000 nationally by 2012.

“The residential construction industry is almost certainly going to face a skills crunch,” says HIA’s chief Shane Goodwin.

While the Federal Government launched the Workforce Innovation Program (previously the National Skills Shortage Strategy) to address workforce needs, given the current  skills – and housing – shortage, it’s evident that even more has to be done.

(c)iStockphoto.com/Jancsikb

There was an age when sewing was not just a necessity, but an enjoyable pastime. Thanks to TV shows like Project Runway and the growing number of hot new Australian designers, these days have returned.

For awhile there sewing was strictly for grandmas and library nerds only. In the last few years, however, sewing has come back in vogue.

No longer sitting dormant, the trusty old Singer is being dusted off and given a good workout.

Surprisingly, it’s the younger generation who’s embracing this trend. With home economics and design such popular school subjects, the seamstress of today is young and funky.

School students are aspiring to more than just the ability to sew a button on, but appreciating sewing for the creative outlet it is.

They start off making canvas bags and simple garments and then progress to something more challenging – until suddenly they find themselves stitching their own wedding dress!

Given the technology-saturated world in which we live, it’s refreshing to see the return of a such a traditional artform.

The beauty of sewing lies in its simplicity – rather than a host of different gaming controllers and machinery, sewing just calls for a skilled hand, needle and thread (and perhaps a sewing machine and overlocker).

Sewing is also extremely versatile. From ornate decorative work to purely functional stitching, a seamstress is really only limited by their imagination.

There’s a social side to this craft too. A circle of ladies sitting around having a yarn is a pretty common sight. In fact this behaviour has been amusingly labelled “Stitch n’ Bitch.”

This phrase has been used to refer to social sewing and knitting groups since World War II. While previously the main discussion might have centred around what was being cooked for dinner, these days Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton are more likely to be the main topic of conversation.

While there’s still somewhat of a stigma attached, men are also increasingly getting in on the sewing action – think Alex Perry and Josh Goot.

Whatever your motivation or gender, there’s no doubt that sewing is a much celebrated pastime and is as relevant today as it was hundreds of years ago.

(c) iStockphoto.com/broeb

Online mediums like blogs have become effective marketing tools, however they can be quite daunting for many small business owners. We break down what’s involved.

Weblogs – or blogs, as they’re more commonly known – have been around for a few years now. So it’s only natural that they’ve become an essential part of a business’ marketing strategy – and become major game changers.

Blog basics
A blog is a website where users journal their thoughts, comments and philosophies. It’s updated frequently and normally reflects the views of its creator. There are few credible estimations about the number of blogs out there – so our guess is as good as any! Technorati, a blog search engine, is tracking over 112.8 million blogs. It also estimates there are more than 2 blogs created every second of every day. There’s also 1.6 million postings per day, that’s 18.6 posts per second. A large percentage of these blogs are business blogs. But why should your business have one?

Get in on the action
There are so many ways blogs can help you grow your business. Building website traffic is one massive  benefit. Google and other search engines reward sites with lots of content that’s updated regularly. Blogs are also great for social networking. They are an effective, low-cost way of communicating with your customers. You can get a message out there without spending a cent!

Blog on
The biggest blunder made by businesses is to abandon their site not long after they’ve set it up – this is known as “blogicide”. To ensure the longevity of your blog you have to be committed and prepared to update it frequently. Doing your research is also key – generally the more links to interesting, related sites, the better.

Tips for starting a business blog

• Be Yourself: It’s important to create an “online presence.”
• Be Active: Update regularly and writing back to comments is an effective way of forming a relationship with your customers.
• Do Your Research: Before posting on a topic, look online for what other people have said about the issue so you can link to it. This gives your post more “grunt”.
• Consider Your Goals: What was your main motivation for starting the blog? Was it to help increase traffic to your website? Or, was it a way of forming bonds with customers? Make sure you you have your goals throughout your blogging “journey”.

You’re never too old for fancy dress. A finely-crafted costume can bring out the big kid in all of us.

While some people are happy just to don a homemade mask, sprinkle a bit of glitter in their hair and call it a day – there are others (myself included) who go all out to make sure they’re always a contender for the “best costume” award.

Despite what they might tell you, these looks aren’t just thrown together at the last minute but are normally months in the making.

Common costume requests on ServiceSeeking.com.au range from your standard fairy, pirate and sailor costumes to more risqué hens and bucks night costumes. You name it, we’ve probably seen it.

With the release of the new Alice in Wonderland 3D movie we’ve noticed stacks of listings for Alice in Wonderland themed costumes like the Queen of Hearts and the Cheshire Cat. Medieval costumes are pretty popular too.

There’s also loads of requests to look like the first lady of fashion herself, Lady Gaga. This ensemble normally involves teeny tiny leotards, false eyelashes, a pair of hot pants – and maybe a bubble or two.

And then there’s those costumes that seem completely left field. A recent request for a deep sea diving helmet fits into this category.

We often sit in the office wondering what sort of party the customer might be going to. An underwater theme is the obvious choice for this one – but then who knows!?

If you’ve had a costume made by a ServiceSeeking.com.au costume designer don’t forget to send us your happy snaps!

No formal writing qualifications required
Provided you can string a sentence together, have a passion for what you do and know a lot about it, we will publish your work.

What do I get for my time?
We will give you 20 free credits for each article published and a link to your business profile.

Email karina@serviceseeking.com.au with your ideas, or to find out more.

New international research shows timber floors can increase the value of your home.

The results of the US research illustrate a significant increase in the popularity of installing hardwood timber floors in residential properties for this reason.

According to the survey, 75% of US real estate agents and brokers said hardwood floors influenced a home’s saleability to a great extent – compared to 44% in a previous survey, and 90% said homes with hardwood floors would sell for more money – as opposed to 58% in the earlier survey.

Pure aesthetics, environmental sustainability, durability, easy cleaning and maintenance and health concerns were cited as the most prominent reasons US real estate agents and brokers gave for the increased value attached to timber floors.

A similar pattern has evolved in the Australian timber flooring industry. As a nation we are typically quick to latch on to global design trends – the growing popularity of timber floors is the perfect example of this.

Timber floors are fast becoming the favoured flooring option for Australian homeowners considering the long-term value of their property. Many local flooring companies have seen an increase in the number of customers wanting to install timber floors, with most driven by their desire to improve the value of their home.

Adding a warm, modern touch to any interior,  there’s no doubting that timber floors are a definite asset – in every sense of the word.

“My air conditioner was distributing heat unevenly throughout our place,” he says of the job. Given the freezing weather we’re having at the moment it’s no surprise he wanted it fixed quick smart.

And how quickly things can turn around – now Abraham has a newly repaired air conditioner keeping his home nice and toasty and $1000 of prize money warming his pockets!

Abraham was no stranger to the site, having listed two jobs previously. “About a year ago I posted a job to have floorboards polished and my whole house painted,” he tells.

He first stumbled on ServiceSeeking.com.au while doing an online search for tradesmen. “I was looking for someone who was local that could do my job straightaway,” he explains. “ServiceSeeking.com.au seemed like a great way to track someone down.”

As it turns out we “tracked down” a total of 10 tradesmen, including 6 painters. “I was really happy with the response I received for my painting job – which is why I came back and posted another one.”

When it came to narrowing down the field, Abraham based his final decision on experience. “I didn’t care about how cheap the quote was, I wanted to hear that they knew a lot about the job,” he says.

Abraham was so impressed with ServiceSeeking.com.au he plans to be a frequent visitor to the site. “I actually have a plumbing job I was going to post tomorrow,” he says. So, plumbers get ready!

In Australia, metal (like aluminium) is the material of choice for scaffolding – in Asia it’s a completely different story.

I recently came back from a trip to India and was absolutely amazed by everything I saw. Yes, I’m talking about the Taj Mahal and The Mother Ganges – but I was equally gobsmacked by the country’s construction methods. Everywhere I went I saw buildings – from huge skyscrapers to sacred temples – flanked in crazy bamboo scaffolding.

Admittedly, my first thought was “how stone age?” – quite frankly it was unsettling to see these large structures supported by such flimsy-looking materials. I half expected a panda (or in India’s case an elephant) to come bounding around the corner and send the scaffolding (and the building with it) crashing to the ground with one large chomp.

Now I’m familiar with the idea of bamboo flooring and even furniture – especially as it’s gaining popularity in Australia with everyone trying to give their home a “touch of the tropics,” but I’m unsure about more vigorous applications. While I’m  comfortable with a carefully constructed bamboo coffee table or chair,  there’s a massive difference between being able to support 60kg (okay after all those butter chickens I might be slightly more than that) and hundreds or workers, their tools and materials!

However, after delving a little deeper into the practice, I discovered that there was no real cause for concern. Although light weight, bamboo scaffolding is also surprisingly durable. The method is so effective that it’s been used throughout Asia for centuries. And it’s easy to see why.

As it’s so light it’s easy to handle, so there’s no need for machinery to put it in place. Workers can build the scaffold around them as they go – no matter how large the construction is. They can disassemble the scaffolding in the same way and then recycle it for another project, making bamboo scaffolding cost-effective and sustainable.

So do all these benefits mean bamboo scaffolding is better than metal scaffolding? Well that I’m still not sure about – but is does make a hell of a holiday snap!

While you may have to prepare yourself mentally for the big demolition day (like saying goodbye to your childhood home) there are some other more physical steps that must also be taken.

Ensure your demolition project runs smoothly with this essential checklist:

1. Obtain a demolition permit (also known as a building permit) from your local government authority. A demolition expert can organise this for you. Allow 21 days for this.
2. Submit paperwork to your demolition expert. They normally require a copy of the title, most recent council rates, site plans and consent to demolish.
3. Remove gas and electricity. It’s important these services are not just disconnected but demolished. This can be requested through your gas and electricity providers.
4. Apply for tree removal permits. Your demolition permit does not include the removal of trees and other vegetation.
5. Organise temporary fencing. To ensure public safety it is council law to erect some sort of fencing to prevent access to the site.
6. Identify what you might want to salvage from the site. Some items such as building materials may come in handy later on, or you may wish to sell them – after all someone’s trash is often another person’s treasure.

List your demolition job now.

Stenciling technique

With a new baby just 4 weeks away, a new driveway was a must for Al and his wife, Jackie.

While a new driveway is not typically at the top of the wish list for parents-to-be (think cots, car seats and rockers instead) this seemingly odd request actually made a lot of sense. “It’s impossible to push a stroller up a gravel driveway,” explains Al – a huge issue considering the couple’s existing gravel driveway was the main access route to the house.

Al decided a concrete driveway was the solution to this problem and listed the job on ServiceSeeking.com.au “I’d heard about the site so decided to give it a go,” he tells. Al was impressed with the great response he received, with a total of 5 businesses expressing interest in the job. A handful of these businesses then came to inspect the site to give a more accurate quotation.

After recently completing renovations and a sizeable home extension, Al is definitely no stranger to dealing with tradesmen so knew exactly what he was looking for and how much he expected to pay. “I ended up selecting Platinum Concreting Services,” he tells, expanding “they offered a mid-range quote that I thought was fair,” he tells.

However, Al didn’t hire on face value alone and did some research of his own before committing to the business. “I checked they were licensed and visited a job they were doing in Balmain to observe how they worked and check the cleanliness of the site,” he reveals. Al was impressed with what he saw so decided the proceed with the job.

Platinum Concreting Services had been registered on ServiceSeeking.com.au for just 2 weeks so owner Grant was excited to win the work. Unbelievably, the job wasn’t the first but the second one they’d been awarded through the site – amazing results for such a short amount of time. “We’ve quoted on about 15 and won 2 so far,” Grant says. You can’t complain about those odds!

While Al knew he wanted a stencilled concrete driveway he was unsure as to which pattern would best suit his home’s beautiful sandstone touches, so Grant and his team were able to make some recommendations. After they’d nutted out the finer details, Platinum Concreting Services got to work excavating the site with a bob cat, removing 10 tonnes of gravel.

We arrived on the site the following day to observe the pouring of the concrete. I was amazed to see the massive amount of work involved. A team of 4 men worked tirelessly throughout the morning, pouring and smoothing out 10 cubic metres of concrete.

Getting ready to pour second section

Despite the physically-demanding work (although it was made to look effortless, I’m told that each pull of the roller weighed 80 kilograms) the team bought a sense of humour to the site, teasing me when I called the big mixer delivering the concrete a “vegitator.” “A vegitator? Isn’t that someone who doesn’t move off the couch,” they laughed (for the record the correct term is agitator!)

After the paper stencilling is laid, the driveway is sprinkled with sandstone colourant to help it blend with the home’s sandstone features. The next step involves literally “watching the concrete dry” – there’s nothing else to be done until the concrete reaches 12 MPa (a unit of pressure) which takes around 24 hours. The third and final day is spent saw cutting and sealing the driveway.

Al couldn’t be happier with the with his new concrete driveway – and of course ServiceSeeking.com.au for putting him in touch with Platinum Concreting Services in the first place. Not only will the driveway provide a “smooth ride” for the new baby, it looks right at home alongside his leafy North Shore residence. The new 100sqm driveway can accommodate 6-8 cars, however, Al has plans to use the extra space for his yacht which has spent years locked away in an inaccessible garage.

When asked if he has any further home improvement plans, Al says the “man can’ is next on the hit list. “Now that we’re basically finished with tradesmen traipsing around we’d like to renovate the outside toilet,” he says. And after such a positive experience, he might just post the project on ServiceSeeking.com.au!

Almost there!