Hazel Whittingham, Smart Residential Senior Product Manager at Yale, offers advice on where to position outdoor camera systems to ensure your home is guarded against unwanted visitors.

As winter approaches, many homeowners are busy thinking about Christmas, winter holidays and other seasonal activities. Yet, the change in season and the unpredictability of the weather can cause havoc on external wooden surfaces – snow, ice and rain can cause all kinds of cosmetic damage.

For many garden owners, this year’s extreme weather conditions may be the final straw. Periods of intense sun interspersed with torrential downpours have caused lawns to experience an extreme growth spurt, meaning that maintaining a neat lawn has sometimes required more than one outing a week for the lawnmower.

You’ve completed your self-build or renovation, so now it’s time to turn your attention to the surrounding landscape. One low maintainance solution is to install decking, as this creates a stable and aesthetic base for you to enjoy the summer months. But how do you go about choosing a suitable…

Adam Brindle, Managing Director of The Grounds Care Group and Japanese Knotweed expert, explains the challenges faced by construction professionals in eradicating this most pesky of plants.

Now it’s time to turn your attention to your outdoor space. From garden buildings, to furniture and textiles, take inspiration here to create your own oasis.

Dale Telling, Commercial Manager at one of the leading Italian render manufacturers, Fassa Bortolo, outlines how a lime-based render can offer the solution to bring a period building back to its original beauty.

Rex Nye, who owns online builders’ merchants NYEs Building Supplies, provides his top tips for making sure you’re getting the best from your garden.

Here Jacksons Fencing explains how you can save money by installing pressure treated fencing vs untreated fencing and why treated timber is not as susceptible to insect and rot attack, wind damage or harsh weather conditions.

The Environment Agency (EA) introduced new rules regarding the discharge of treated sewage by systems installed and in use on or after 1st January 2015.