The choice of an irrigation controller (also known as a reticulation controller) is something that depends on a variety of factors including:-

• Where you live – the amount and frequency of rainfall on your land
• The size of the watering area – from a large garden to a small townhouse
• Budget – from the DIY tap timer to a fully integrated and installed automatic system. Read the rest of this entry »

Occupational health and safety laws have helped to bring work gloves into the lives of more and more people. Of course that means that the variety available is also greater than it was in years gone by. So there is no excuse not to wear the right pair when you are working with your hands.

Many people don’t like the lack of touch they experience in gloves, but this is a small price to pay when working with rough surfaced materials, chemicals, in soil or liquids. You can guarantee that there are work gloves to suit the work your hands are doing, no matter what the job. Read the rest of this entry »

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Learning about mulching need not be done by trial and error, these days there is a lot of information available, and the purpose of this beginners guide is to help you know exactly what mulch to use where and when as well as how to apply it. So if beginner status applies to you, read on…

Common Mulches

Mulch is an organic ground covering for trees, shrubs and garden beds that can be made up of a number of plant materials.  At BC Sands, we have over ten mulches, each with slightly different properties. Some of the most popular are: Read the rest of this entry »

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Next time you look at a hammer, just think, it is the tool that first differentiated between humans and animals. Hammers were the very first tools humans shaped and used, and not even the most intelligent species of ape has managed to achieve that.

Even in today’s world, if you need to provide a sharp impact from your arm to an object, then there is no better tool than a hammer. Read the rest of this entry »

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There are few things in life as relaxing as the tinkling sound of circulating water in a fish or frog pond in the garden. Even more satisfying is building your own pond, perfectly shaped to your landscape – and of course to get the most fulfillment out of your efforts, it must be properly sealed.

The subject of sealing can be easily overlooked in the hurry to fill and use a concrete pond, but it is vital or the whole job could become a frustrating waste of time, money and resources – not to mention loss of pond-life.

Read the rest of this entry »

Before addressing the finer uses of a skip bin bag it is important to understand the difference between a skip bin bag and a skip bin.

The latter is a heavy metal bin that cannot be moved from its drop-off point, usually on the front verge or in the driveway of a property. It requires a large truck to come and take it away from exactly where it was dropped off. The biggest disadvantage of a skip bin is that you have to lug everything to it, lift your material over the top and throw it inside. Read the rest of this entry »

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“Will I ever need a blown product?” is not a question that readily springs to most minds, but “How can I get soil/pebbles/mulch/sand delivered to this hard-to-reach location?” is much a more common conundrum.
Here at BC Sands we can, and have delivered almost any landscaping material – from pebbles to soft organic soil – to almost any difficult to reach location you can imagine.

Here are just some of our blower truck adventures: Read the rest of this entry »

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When the days get shorter and the temperature cools down you know it’s the time of year that we begin to look at our heating needs. And if you have a wood heater or fireplace of any type it means that you will be ordering firewood.

Did you know that there are good and bad ways of storing firewood? Of course we deliver firewood to you in bulk bags, and that’s a very suitable storage method because it largely keeps the elements out, but if you have a small or narrow storage area then bulk bags can get in the way. Read the rest of this entry »

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We’ve all seen concrete trucks, the drum turning and turning as the drivers hurry to the next job. It could be your job they are rushing to, so since they have a limited time to deliver that concrete, the question is, will you be ready?

Let’s say you want to build a garden shed or maybe a car port. This article will give you the information and instructions you need to have that site ready to pour concrete slab on to.

Read the rest of this entry »

All painters know that painting in wet conditions or on a damp surface is asking for trouble. Your freshly-painted finish will quickly fall victim to ugly peeling and bubbling.

But what’s the answer if peeling happens on a long-established painted surface? Most people would simply scrape and repaint if it only happens to a small area. But what if this is a widespread problem with paint peeling throughout a property? Then you have a mystery to solve – and a solution to come up with.

Development of damp

Paint will tend to peel and crack first around areas such as doors and windows, fans and heaters – usually areas where temperature changes frequently. A properly applied quality paint will be able to handle this, but a cheaper, improperly applied paint will be stressed by repeated heating and cooling and changes in moisture levels and it gradually loses adhesion. Read the rest of this entry »