Doing a renovation the other day  - old house you know how it is once you touch one thing you find a million more.  Well I came across a great little resource.  The Demolition Yard.  It has the largest range of windows and doors I have ever seen  and of course the normal bits like timber and VJ's.  The guys that run the show are characters as well which makes the visit even more fun.  I loved that they even have the quirky thinks like pink Basins and yoyo's.  

I guess the moral of the story is not to forget the small out of the way demolition yards for that bit of molding, or door or casement.  When you are dealing with an old house you will find most things there and at a cheaper price than the generic hardware.  (I paid $5 for my 3m piece of scotia!)

The retro look has really made a come back and you can get away with keeping some old fittings and modernising everything around it.

If you are in Brisbane I can highly recommend The Demolishion Yard at Coorparoo - call Peter or John on 3397 0166

Apparently residential renovations accounted for around $31billion worth of building industry work last year, according to the HIA (Housing Industry of Australia) National Outlook.  At $31billion that is the highest level of expenditure on renovation in four years and predictions are that this figure will continue to increase over the next two years. In a couple of years time the figure is expected to be more like $35billion expenditure - making it close to a record high according to HIA Chief Economist, Dr Harley Dale.  That’s a mighty lot of renovating!  He said the renovation side of the residential building industry looks in ‘relatively healthy shape”.  That’s for sure!  And this is while residential construction of new homes appears to be waning.  Whilst renovating sure is the ‘in-thing’ right now, it’s still important not to do just ‘any old’ renovation.  Renovations should be sympathetic with the style of the house, preferably of a style that won’t ‘date’ dramatically as fashions change, sensibly not over-capitalized for the value of the house they’re applied to (unless money is no object), and should be carried out to any applicable building or construction or other codes.  Check out more about the HIA report : http://www.bpn.com.au/article/Renovations-soar-while-new-home-builds-dip/528807.aspx