Worst family DIYer

Hey, its been a while since my last post, so here's the first entry for March. What is the worst bit of DIY a family member has tried to do? My list could be endless and only includes one person... my dad, luckily I learnt my skills from my grandad, otherwise I'd be up excrement's creek without a paddle.
To give you an idea of his level of bad DIY, a good few years ago he tried to fix the exterior of my Grans bath that had cracked and his chosen 'tool' was.... Duct tape, he taped over the cracks and that was it. But this is nothing compared to his worst, his worst DIY-ing will put most of your stories to shame.
He was tidying up his loft, going through boxes and getting a rid of anything he didn't need or use, disposing of excess wood, insulation and piping, and that is where the problem stated. He managed to find a pipe that came out of part of the loft floor and disappear into the corner of the loft, the pipe was not loose, so any normal person would assume it was connected to something like the central heating system and would therefore leave it. Not my dad, his method of thinking consisted of, there is a pipe in the loft, I can't see where it comes from, therefore it is not connected to anything, so I will cut it out. I will give you a moment for this to sink in and have a guess at what could result from his hypothesis.

I've given you an extra line, that should be enough time, so what do you think happened? I will tell you, he cut the pipe with a hack saw and water began pouring out into the loft, so those of you that guessed he flooded the loft, guessed correctly, well done. Following this he shelled out a few grand to have it fixed but never told the professionals how the loft flooded and how the pipe 'broke' into two bits with saw marks on it, although I'm sure they managed to figure it out and had a good laugh about it.

I will leave this entry there and open the comments section for you to try and top this DIY disaster, if you so wish, please follow us on Twitter, @HOGservices and like us on Facebook 'HOG services' or check out the website, www.hogservices.moonfruit.com
Thanks for stopping by to read my blog and I hope you continue to enjoy the updates in future posts.

Thanks again,
Ben

Garden trends 2013 and Zen garden

Here is my prediction for the garden trends of 2013, the last couple of years people have been trying to become more self sufficient with the rise in price for fresh produce due to the worlds banks being overzealous with our money causing the global economy to flat line, not helped by useless politicians claiming expenses for everything and cutting funding for everything but their own paychecks.
So back to my hypothesis, I can't see the economy improving in the next year, so the general publics cabbages patches will continue increase in numbers, and why shouldn't it? Growing your own fruit and veg is a great thing to do, it utilizes your outdoor space, its practical, you control what goes into your food, unlike certain supermarkets *cough cough Tesco*
Another trend that has been popular in the past few years is Japanese gardens, where people want to use there garden as a place to unwind and relax amongst maple trees, wind chimes, whites stones and pebbles, etc. I think that this style of garden will fail to increase in popularity this year, but not necessarily be forgotten.
I think the main trend for this year, flower wise, will belong to climbing plants and hanging baskets, or innovative ways to grow and add colour vertically. Unless this is done correctly, I can see a lot of people needing to get roof repairs, as the most popular climber is ivy and unless it is looked after and kept under control, it can cause leak in your ceiling and your wallet/purse.
One type of garden that has always been overlooked, and is a personal favourite of mine, is the Zen garden. It could be one of the most simplistic designs and the easiest to create, all you need to do is take a square of your garden, dig out a shallow base, maybe 1/2-1 inch deep, lay down weed control membrane over the chosen area (double up if you like), build a frame using 2×1 or 3×1 but it depends on the depth so that there is an approx. 1 inch lip to stop sand escaping, treat the wood with creosote or exterior wood paint, screw the ends together to make the square frame, fill the frame with sand, add in a few rocks and you've got your very own small Zen garden to relax by and doodle away in the sand.
If you are a business professional, you could even make a tiny one to keep on your desk at work to help with the day to day stresses of business. Below are a few examples of Zen gardens.

Thank you for your continued support and interest in my blog, please have a look at my website; www.hogservices.moonfruit.com
Like us on Facebook and enter the competition, search 'HOG services' and follow us on Twitter; @HOGservices
Please leave any feedback so I can continue to improve, thanks again and take care.

Ben

HOG services: The Beginning

Hi, I'm back after a busy couple of weeks of business meetings, marketing and a few jobs. This installment I will explain how I came up the idea of starting my own gardening and handyman business. I have always loved being outdoors since the day before forever, I was always out playing all kinds of sports in my school days and I continue to play American Football for the North East's premier team, Gateshead Senators, who's history spans exactly 2 and a half decades this year.
Anyway, lets get back on topic, I have always enjoyed helping others, which is obvious given my previous jobs, I started my work life delivering living aids for elderly and disabled people throughout the North East for a company called Liveasy, formerly B.C.A. Direct, from that job I moved back to health and fitness and got qualified as a personal trainer and immediately got a position to work in Fitness First Newcastle, but that was short lived due to the cost of paying Fitness First £100 per week just to use there facilities with no guarantee of clients and due to my deteriorating mental health as a result of stress and personal troubles.
Following several months of treatment and counselling I struggled to get back to work, until the opportunity of revamping my friend's grandmother's garden came up, which worked as great therapy and helped me to start and grow my business idea (no pun intended, just a happy accident). The next move was to get my business plan drawn up, once i had done this, I asked at the Jobcentre to be put onto the New Enterprise Allowance scheme, where you work with an agency, in my case Project North East, and they help you build and/or improve your business plan, build you cash flow forecast and survival budget. Once these are finished, you get signed off and become self employed while receiving a small weekly payment to help get you set up for 26 weeks.
I am now 2 weeks into the NEA and have a few jobs which will hopefully help gain more through word of mouth and as the spring hits, I should hit the ground running. A few special thanks have to go to my family, especially my grandad who encouraged me to help out in his shed and allotment as therapy and then since moving into my own place has helped with supplying the materials for boarding out the loft and the walk in wardrobe that I built. So that's how HOG started in a nutshell, you can find one of my adverts in The Foresters' Fund For Children, Friend for Life Handbook, as HOG is an official sponsor, please have a look at their website www.fffc.org.uk to see all the great work they do.
If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
You can email me at; daddydback21@gmail.com
Leave a comment on here or on the website; www.hogservices.moonfruit.com
Or on the Facebook page; search 'HOG services'
Direct message and/or follow us on Twitter; @HOGservices

Thank you for reading once again, please check back soon for new entries.

Ben

Landscape design: different styles

Hi all, glad to see you back again. So landscape design then, where to start, well it can be split into two main types, hardscape and softscape. What's this, you say, well the clue is in the names, hardscape consists of stone, flagstone and rock, while trees, soil, flowerbeds, vegetable gardens, grass and shrubs comprise the softscape.

So lets dive a little deeper into the description of hardscape, it involves lots of different styles ranging from basic stones and pebbles in the borders to full flagstone patterns. Hardscaping is usually employed in the early stages of landscaping, as it will generally set the shape of the area, it is also commonly used to lower the maintenance required, for example not having to cut the grass or weed the flower bed. Hardscaping also protects the soil by curbing the loosening and erosion effects the elements have on it.

Now for a more informative look at softscaping, it is the living animated part of landscaping, which can be experimented with prior to implementing the subtlest of ideas and changes in a landscaping area. Softscaping can utilize evergreen plants, shrubs and trees for a permanent show of colour, you can also go with a temporary look with seasonal plants which lend their vivid colours and character to landscapes, or have the best of both worlds and use both. The main points to consider when using these elements are, planning and arrangement, to achieve an aesthetically pleasing softscape.

The two attached pictures are of landscaping that I have produced for clients.
The first contains hardscaping that integrates a tree stump and a tree into the design with softscaping surrounding the pebbled area and also being incorporated into planters on the hardscape.
The second photo is of a Japanese style garden that consists of softscape contained within the hardscape.

That is all for this entry, thanks for taking the time to read my posts, all your views are greatly appreciated and any feedback is very welcome, I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please like 'HOG services' on Facebook, follow us on twitter @HOGservices and check out the website www.hogservices.moonfruit.com

Money saving DIY decking

Have you ever wanted to get decking in your garden or yard, but haven't been able to afford it? Well this entry is exactly what you have been waiting and/or looking for, a cost effective, DIY solution to decking. If you have been following me on Twitter (@HOGservices) or like HOG's Facebook page, you will have seen that I put this as a teaser to try and spread the word on the aforementioned social media sites, to see how many people take notice of what I post on there. If they do take notice, they will realise that the answer is right here.
So you're wanting to know more about this budget decking? Allow me to elaborate then, the secret lies in recycling old pallets, which can be obtained from most industrial estates. Please ensure you ask permission from the manager, prior to taking any pallets and avoid coloured ones, as suppliers will reuse them, for example, blue pallets are property of the NHS.
Once you have the required number of pallets to cover the allocated area for your decking, you will need to take measurements of the gaps between the slats, so you can purchase wood to the correct specifications to fill these gaps, leaving a small gap between each slat to allow for drainage. You can get wood from most hardware stores like B&Q or Wickes, but personally I prefer to purchase it from a timberyard, as they can cut each piece to size, which saves a lot of time and is generally better value for money.
The next step is screw the wood to the pallets, sand any rough areas and treat it with creosote or something similar to lock out the elements and prevent rotting.
The final things to do is place the pallets in position, fit catches to connect and hold them together, again somewhere like B&Q or Wickes will supply catches, and there you have it, your very own garden deck.
The great thing with this is, if you fancy a change, you can easily move it to another section of the garden or even take it with you if you move house.
So, in conclusion, this budget decking is, and I quote a famous meerkat, "simples".
Thanks again for giving up your time to read my blog, keep checking back for future updates, links are posted on 'HOG services' Facebook page and on Twitter, @HOGservices, when new posts are added here. Please +1 this and leave any feedback you have. See the website for all info, contact info and services available;
www.hogservices.moonfruit.com

Snow and a tip to building a shed

Who is fed up of this snow? I mean don't get me wrong, I love the snow when's its fresh, but once its been around for this long and starts disrupting business, it gets a bit monotonous.
I was due to do some weeding for a few clients this week, which had to be cancelled, one garden design for landscaping in the next few weeks and a couple a drives to be cleared of snow which can't be done until the snow is due to stop, I have managed to clear a few but when it is frozen to the drive/path it makes it lot more difficult.
I was also in the process of landscaping my own front garden to use as an advert of what I can do to hopefully get some passing trade, but with the prolonged snow, this project has had to be placed on hold like everything else.
The benefits of the snow though, I know what you are thinking, but there are, you need to put a positive spin on everything, like 'when its raining, look for the rainbow' or 'see the silver lining of a mushroom cloud'. That last one isn't really one but I like it and wanted to squeeze it in somewhere.
Anywho, back on topic after going off on a tangent there, it freed up my time so that I didn't have to go racing around like a headless chicken here, there and everywhere after attending "The Princes' Trust" Exploring Enterprise 4 day course, which took up most of the daylight hours from 1000 til 1500, but it was definitely worth it. I gained some great ideas to help improve business, met some great, motivated, like minded people and if you, yourself, are contemplating whether to go self-employed and start up your own business, I would definitely recommend getting in touch with them to both onto the course.
You may have noticed that I am rambling a bit, but in this line of business, it does tend to be quite seasonal. So I shall finish this entry with a tip about building you're own woodwork/potting shed. The garden troughs, that are extremely popular for brightening up and adding spots of colour to front and back yards, and garden border fences ideally require the use of a shed to construct them. To make my shed, I will be using an old greenhouse frame, which is an ideal start as you have the structure, from here you have the option to use panes of glass for a section of the shed so that light can get in, giving you a part potting shed for growing fruit, veg and/or bedding plants to protect them from the elements and part workshop. If you aren't interested in being self sufficient you can use wood for the entirety of the shed, but ensure the wood is treated with creosote or wood treatment paint to prevent against rotting.
On that note I will close this entry, once again, I thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope you will return to read future posts and please leave any feedback you have to help me improve this.

Website: www.hogservices.moonfruit.com
Twitter: @HOGservices
Facebook: HOG services

HOG Blog 1

This is my first attempt at a blog, so bare with me ;-).

I will begin by telling you what HOG services is and does. To start I will use 'the elevator pitch', so here goes, HOG services can maximise and improve your indoor and outdoor space. How, you ask, OK, I will tell you. Our Handyman and Odd jobs service, or the H and O of HOG if you will (10 points for guessing what the G stands for #answersonapostcard), perform jobs as simple as changing a light bulb to building a walk-in wardrobe, or even boarding out your loft. If you are unsure about anything, feel free to ask, contact info will be coming up at the end or feel free to leave a comment. Well that covers the indoors, now for the outdoors.
The G of HOG stands for...(insert drumroll here)...yes, you guessed it, Garden services. Our Garden services, HOG's bread and butter, range from light gardening, i.e. mowing the lawn, lawn edging, light weeding, to full garden overhaul and landscaping. You come first when it comes to designing your dream garden, you tell us what you would like and we draw it up, so that you can see what works and what doesn't. There are more in depth details on our website, which takes us nicely on to the methods you can use to get in touch;
1. Check out our website by either, clicking on the HOG tree, the link or by going to www.hogservices.moonfruit.com
2. Tweet us on Twitter; @HOGservices
3. Find us on Facebook by searching 'HOG services'
4. Call or text Ben on 07709696679
5. Email daddydback21@gmail.com

I hope you enjoyed reading my first blog, please leave any feedback and comments so I can continue to grow HOG services into a sustainable and trustworthy brand.

Thank you for your time and please pop back to check for the next installment.