Having lived on the remote South Pacific Island of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands for 10 years where there was limited access to renovation resources, we had to improvise when it came to renovating houses. What I did learn from resourceful Polynesians was house renovation fix tips, a couple of which I’m sharing with you, especially useful for renovators in remote Australian communities.
Common Multi-Use Renovator Resources
WIRE RENOVATION
Twitching wire can be used for all sorts of sturdy, quick-fix renovations. Wire of different types from thinner to thicker coat hanger wire can be used in all types of renovations. If you live near the ocean, galvanised wire resists rusting. When I recently bought a house and land package in Perth Western Australia, I found that tack welds at the end of tension bent, square section, steel tube was broken missing from tensioning steel garage door frames. I could have wheeled out my arc welder or gone to a hardware store in Perth or a fasteners shop in Perth to look for a nut and bolt but instead, for a quick and easy fix, I wrapped wire through a drilled hole in the two lengths of hollow steel bar, pressed the end of one bar to the straight bar and wrapped the two together with threaded wire. Now my garage door is rigid. I know it will stay that way longer than the door lasts. I also use wire to hold bits of my plastic under the front of car stone guards where the bolts have fallen out somewhere on the road. In summary, wire is one of the best versatile renovation resources that every renovator should have in their toolbox or boot of their car.
RUBBER RENOVATION
Thinly cut strips of rubber from pneumatic tyre inner tubes are a good renovator’s resource. It too can be used to hold things together in renovation situations where flexibility, non-rust and smoothness are required. The Cook Islanders used strips of rubber to fasten spear tips made from steel reo-bar to the front of their local wood, spear pole. If the spear hit a coral head, rubber flexing prevented the spear from breaking. It’s good to keep some rubber at home when home renovation requires binding. For example, joining pipes or hoses rubber can be wound tightly around a pipe join after rubber glue has gone tacky. Longer strips of rubber such as from bicycle inner tubes can be used for tying down things where movement needs restraining. If the spring tension on your tilt garage door is not in balance, rubber can be used to either improve the lift up or pull down of your garage door.
