Good bones

Home built in 1940s affordable, well-maintained

When you're a young family looking for a move-up home, two to three features tend to be top-of-mind. First, that home needs to be affordable. Second -- if at all possible -- the location needs to be as family-friendly as possible. . . .

Posted: 2014-02-15

Serene and solid in St. Andrews

Tidy bungalow loaded with features

There are two major benefits associated with living in an area that’s outside the city, yet not so far out that the commute in is long and laborious. First, there’s the benefit of living on a larger, more secluded lot; . . .

Posted: 2023-12-02

Everything old is new again

Find different uses for stuff you'd probably just throw out

I recently decided to clean out the attic and closets and get rid of some clutter by having a garage sale. In boxing up the items for sale, I was thinking about how most of us have unused items we'd . . .

Posted: 2008-05-11

Home inspectors can also assist in new builds

Question: My daughter is building a new house. The specifications for the new house listed by the builder for things like insulation, gravel thickness beneath the concrete, and garage size don’t mean much to my daughter. Would a home inspector be . . .

Posted: 2021-11-09

Window design could be behind water leakage

Question: My upper-unit condo in Fort Richmond occupies the second and third floors. Last fall, a strip of material became partially detached from the base of a second-floor window. A repairman was called out to investigate. He took pictures, removed . . .

Posted: 2018-04-28

ROCK solid

Rock solid

There are a lot of intangibles to consider when you’re looking for a move-up or move-down home. That checklist can be a lengthy one (and rightfully so). At the top of that list would be the home’s price — is . . .

Posted: 2016-06-04

Good to go

Waverley Heights bungalow move-in-ready

Young families looking for a starter home often experience two different schools of thought. The first entails buying a more "affordable" home (say, around $250, 000) that needs updating, and performing the required updates over a period of five years . . .

Posted: 2016-05-12

A turn for the turf

More homeowners looking to replace tough-to-maintain natural lawns with artificial grass

This is the time of year when residential lawns bear little resemblance to their pre-winter state.Did yours look lush and green last summer? No matter. Melting snow in spring may reveal a daunting combination of bare spots, snow mould, a . . .

Posted: 2015-04-04

Green ash trees stressed during recent summers

The last two years of summer have been hard on the health of green ash trees in particular. All over southern Manitoba, younger ash trees of this species have been particularly weakened by leaf anthracnose fungus disease and by the . . .

Posted: 2011-09-17

Diligence key to keeping furnace vents clear

Question: I was wondering if you could give me some advice on the proper way to resolve snow buildup over my high-efficiency furnace exhaust and intake vents. The vents come out of the foundation about 14 inches (35.5 centimetres) above . . .

Posted: 2015-01-10