Lots to attend to in winterizing your cottage

Question: We are in the process of getting our cottage ready for installation of a water cistern, in order to have year-round water. We have had the cottage raised and leveled professionally, and a pony wall installed around the entire . . .

Posted: 2017-11-10

Building a deck in a day

Ground-level job challenging, but quick

The ground-level deck is often thought of as the easiest of decks to build, however, it is the proximity to the ground that makes the engineering of the deck’s support system more challenging than that of a deck built with . . .

Posted: 2021-08-07

ASK THE INSPECTOR: Insulating chimney area an important task

 QUESTION: We live in a storey-and-a-half wartime house, which is not insulated behind the knee walls upstairs. Four years ago we completely gutted the upstairs and added one-inch spacing next to the roof for air movement, then added fibreglass insulation . . .

Posted: 2009-12-19

ASK THE INSPECTOR: Can heating system handle new radiators?

QUESTION: Our 80-year-old home has hot-water heat on the first and second floors, but the entire basement is only heated by one small electric baseboard. May we tap into the existing hot-water pipes in order to connect two radiators purchased . . .

Posted: 2009-10-11

How long will it last?

Home builders create life-expectancy guide

How long will your roof last? When will your kitchen appliances need to be replaced? Will your furnace make it through another heating season? Knowing the life expectancy of your home's building components can help you determine how to deal with . . .

Posted: 2008-06-22

When a renovation hands you lemons…

Late realization leads to creative flooring solution

What’s that saying about lemons and lemonade? A scenario developed during my recent kitchen remodel that may just be the quintessential example for how to turn a bad situation into something even better than planned. Although the homeowners had . . .

Posted: 2024-06-01

Juggling tools and tasks tectonic to the trades

Broken drywall lift a minor inconvenience

As spring approaches, it becomes ever more evident how tightly queued upcoming jobs have been scheduled. And with every passing moment, the looming prospect of falling behind schedule creeps into my thoughts. Fortunately, current jobs remain on track to . . .

Posted: 2023-03-11

Solving moisture issues need not require fuss or cost

Question: I recently had a new furnace installed, as well as my old vermiculite attic insulation replaced with blown-in fibreglass insulation. Will I have a problem with condensation in my attic due to higher humidity in my house because there is . . .

Posted: 2019-09-07

Organizing through the clutter

In recent years, organizing and decluttering have become synonymous concepts, but they aren’t really the same thing. Although the two activities go hand in hand, the main purpose of organizing is not necessarily to discard things. Your closets and drawers . . .

Posted: 2016-10-15

Consistency key to developing successful infill strategy

Over the past few months, infill housing has become one of the most hot-button topics of discussion at city hall. Certainly, the state of residential infill development in Winnipeg is a cause for concern within the residential construction industry. To try . . .

Posted: 2019-10-05