Not all siding is created equal. Most of the time, a little extra money gets you much greater value. Keep this in mind now that residing your home is one of the best ways to improve the value of your home. A short list of siding includes vinyl, wood, stucco, brick, rock, aluminums,...
Blog Archives
Decks
So here are some things to think about regarding decks. Although summer is almost finished, it does not mean you can not get good use yet out of a deck. What are some of your options? So many people are opting for composite deck. The belief here is that they are maintenance free. That...
Grading
Do not forget about grading for rain around your house. With all the rain this country has been having, I though a little reminder and some tips would be appropriate. What may happen, if you have a negative grade away from your home is the accumulation of water. Even newer homes with the...
Duct cleaning
Just a reminder to everyone, since I’m having this done: have your heating ducts cleaned. This is slow season for all the operators and prices tend to be lower. We do not usually use our furnaces in the summer, (unless you have spent some time in the prairies this summer) so it is a...
Painting to increase home value
How do you increase the value of your home? Renovations seem always to be the answer. If you are careful they will bare fruit. Typically, lipstick and rouge are common short term answers if you need to sell your home quickly. By this I mean paint. Clean neutral tones please. Everyone loves the current...
HRTC
With the recession hitting home, the current federal government tried to kick start the economy by advancing a tax incentive for home renovation. I can only assume it was meant to help generate work for the trades. The Home Renovation Tax Credit did some of that. Fairly good idea you would think, but here...
Glue-down Flooring
If you buy an older house it may need a lot of work, including installing new floors. If you intend to fix it up and sell it, a quick and easy way might be to use engineered hardwood. The glue down process might be for you. Modern, engineered wood is clean, hypo-allergenic and well,...
Knob and Tube
I am currently involved in a circa 1950’s house renovation. We are completely gutting it: dry wall, floors, ceilings and some form of insulation (mainly hay and newspaper it looks like). What really struck me was the knob and tube electrical system. Knob and tube electrical is a system of rubber and cloth covered...
Keeping Cool with HVAC
A friend of mine was asking me how I keep my house so cool in the summer heat? He knows I don’t have an air conditioner and wondered how I apply my HVAC to deal with it. Well, in Calgary, the one truly hot week we get in summer just isn’t worth air conditioning...
Framing, Measuring
Measuring correctly is an important skill if you want to frame. ‘Measure twice, cut once’ is a handy expression. In this country, we mostly use the imperial measure but metric is creeping in. Here are some important aspects to consider. In one foot of imperial measure there are twelve inches. These are further broken...
Framing Basics 2
So lets build a wall. We will keep it simple and small to begin with. How about a partition wall? That should be simple enough to give us the basic ‘bones’ of a wall. I have to build such a creature in the master bath of my home (says my wife,) so let us...
Framing Basics
Framing is the most important step in building a structure such as a single detached house. I say that with all due respect to cribbers (the guys who put the foundations together.) Think of a home as you would your own body. Basically, your skeletal system is the framing of your body. If you...