It's fine to do foundation repairs in stages

Question: A while back, you replied to someone’s inquiry about rainwater leaking into the basement and said it could be due to plugged drain tiles. I have the same problem on the north side of my house. I’ve buried two-foot-wide . . .

Posted: 2017-09-09

Leaking rooftop pool cause for condo concern

Question: I purchased a brand-new condominium in 2020, near the ocean. The building is seven floors high, including the rooftop pool, and four condominium units wide. In the past six months I have noticed that one of the interior . . .

Posted: 2023-08-19

Condensation in chimney puts fireplace out

Main concern is safety of gas-burning appliance

QUESTION -- My gas fireplace stops working when the outside temp gets down to about minus 20 C. I believe this is caused by condensation in the chimney because when it warms up we get water in the bottom of the . . .

Posted: 2008-08-31

ASK THE INSPECTOR: It's the attic leaking, not the plumbing stack

Sealing the ceiling will prevent moisture from freezing to pipes

QUESTION: I was recently in my attic, which is a place I had never ventured before. I discovered a fair amount of frost build-up in the attic. This is something I was told was not unusual for a house built . . .

Posted: 2010-02-27

Breaking barriers for more access to your home

There’s no doubt about it — busting through an existing exterior wall to introduce a new entryway can be a nerve-racking renovation. It is next to impossible to predict what’s within the wall cavity — you just don’t know until . . .

Posted: 2017-09-30

SOLUTIONS: Be proactive regarding fire prevention

Deaths from fires and burns are the third-leading cause of fatal home injury (Runyan 2004). -- Use extension cords as a short-term solution in your home. Since cords heat up and cool down during use, the cord tends to quickly wear, . . .

Posted: 2013-11-23

Solutions: Fixing stains and wobbly locks

QUESTION -- I have four butter knives from the American Silversmiths Collection, and they have stains on them I can't remove. They look like smudges. Can you help? Janet (Winnipeg) ANSWER -- You may want to purchase the commercial cleaning product . . .

Posted: 2014-11-15

TREE CARE: Rooting out trouble

Protect your trees during construction

Inevitably, people need to add a room or a garage to their homes. There are trees nearby. New houses are built into treed areas. In many instances, the owners of these homes want to keep trees that are close to the . . .

Posted: 2010-11-20

Face it: the market is more realistic now

While it may not exactly have felt like spring, the spring market in real estate is almost coming to an end. With next weekend marking the official start to summer -- which I hope DOES come along -- just how . . .

Posted: 2009-06-14

Understanding heating and ventilation systems

Question: I am a homeowner of a relatively new house here in Winnipeg and I googled about the HRV system and I checked on an article you wrote in the Winnipeg Free Press in 2017. With this, I would . . .

Posted: 2022-09-10