Buyer prepare

Is a condo right for you? Find out before you commit

While a resale condo may provide an opportunity for a more relaxed lifestyle, getting there can be challenging. A big misconception with condominiums is that people tend to think that buying a condo is just a less expensive way of buying . . .

Posted: 2009-10-31

Form-tie-opening leakage common... but shouldn't be in a home this new

Question: Recently, I was checking the basement in our six-year-old home for water during a thunderstorm. We’ve had it happen once before, during a really bad storm, where the water came in through the window wells somehow, so I was . . .

Posted: 2019-08-31

Filling a void only a temporary solution for seepage

Question: We have lived in our 1986 two-storey home for six years. The concrete driveway extends the length of the south side of the house. There is a stuccoed chimney, as well as an air conditioning unit on that side . . .

Posted: 2019-05-11

ASK THE INSPECTOR: Proper insulation job can warm cold floors

QUESTION: Our home is roughly 25 years old with two sets of bow windows, with five separate panes, facing south and west in the living room/dining room. Also, we have an alcove where the buffet sits. When we moved into the . . .

Posted: 2012-10-06

MIKE HOLMES: Let's make entire communities green

I think everyone pretty much agrees it's a good thing to try and live greener and put less stress on the environment. We recycle. We think about eating locally grown foods, we buy energy-efficient cars and appliances and we try . . .

Posted: 2010-10-16

MIKE HOLMES: Build your home right -- the first time

I don't know what it is about Aug. 29 and New Orleans. But it seems like ever since hurricane Katrina, New Orleans gets hit with a major storm on the anniversary. In 2008, my crew and I were there building a . . .

Posted: 2012-09-22

ACHIEVING PHOTOSYNTHESIS

How to get great garden photos

HOW many photos do you take of your garden each summer? If you're like me, your photos number in the hundreds. Once in a while, we take the perfect photo, post it on the fridge or even frame . . .

Posted: 2011-08-13

MIKE HOLMES: Tile floors lead to grousing about grout

TILE floors have been the standard for luxury installations for more than 2, 000 years. But in the last decade, in particular, new materials and building techniques are challenging this method, because of both appearance and long-term performance. First, let's talk . . .

Posted: 2011-10-29

Sirococcus disease a blight on spruce trees

Of all the tree issues that concern property owners, unquestionably Colorado blue spruce and the green variety of Colorado spruce year after year top the list.This variety and species of spruce simply has lost most of its ability to deal . . .

Posted: 2014-11-22

ASK THE INSPECTOR: Don't use wood to damp-proof foundation

QUESTION: I wanted to know your opinion on waterproofing a 1960 basement foundation. We are planning on doing only two sides of our foundation and the other two in about five to eight years. We can’t afford to do it . . .

Posted: 2009-06-14