Heave ho

MIKE HOLMES: How to tackle cracks in garage floor

I just got an e-mail from Terry, who's got a new home with what he describes as a severely cracked and uneven garage pad. He had the builder agree to remove and re-pour the pad, and now it's cracking again. . . .

Posted: 2010-09-11

Relocating ducts and registers may be worth the effort

Question: When the second storey to my house was added on, about 30 years ago, the HVAC people ran the vents for the second floor through a bedroom on the second floor. These were for the heating system that was in . . .

Posted: 2021-01-02

Butter is the gateway to great garlic bread

Question: Can you please provide me with a recipe for garlic spread that I can spread on Italian bread, and bake? Sam Answer: This recipe is so good and tastes like restaurant garlic bread. Into a bowl combine a half cup softened . . .

Posted: 2020-12-12

Old building, new tricks

Couple turning 1930s eyesore into antique-laden haven

A Winnipeg Beach couple believes the greatest challenge to a DIY reno is "not to kill each other during the process.""If you can survive the initial couple of months, then you've got a solid relationship that will likely last forever, . . .

Posted: 2014-08-02

Upgrade with all the trimmings

Tricky installation required cutting corners in a good way

Installing new vinyl flooring can involve several necessary steps that have little to do with putting down flooring. That’s why it makes sense to think through the entire process before the project begins. At a current jobsite, the homeowners wanted . . .

Posted: 2025-06-07

Brighten your world

Good lighting a design necessity for visibility and ambience

Good lighting plays an integral role in setting the mood of your home. The right amount of light, properly placed, can add warmth to a space and create an inviting ambience. Ottawa-based interior designer Linda Nolan always incorporates three or . . .

Posted: 2014-10-18

Ice damming issues building up

QUESTION: I'm hoping you'll be able to help us resolve our dilemma. We have a 1 1/2-storey older home with two dormers and during the winter we had ice build up on the roof along the dormers, resulting in water . . .

Posted: 2010-12-11

CONNIE OLIVER: There are many ways to highlight quirky spaces

Our feature photograph, courtesy of Dulux Australia, has a feature in it that I wanted to address. The back wall has a fireplace that is inset into a protruding section of wall, which is necessary to house the fireplace workings. . . .

Posted: 2010-12-31

MIKE HOLMES: Home may smell good, but don't be fooled

You know that new-home smell, or the smell of a new car? A lot of us love it. But you may not like to hear that what we're really smelling are VOCs -- and they can be harmful. VOCs, or volatile . . .

Posted: 2012-09-08

Adding more insulation to attic a simple process

Question: We have a bungalow built in the early 1960s that was moved to our farm location near Winnipeg in 1991. At the time it had only three inches of insulation between the attic rafters, so we had a local . . .

Posted: 2019-12-21