Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Live small
Bill Maciejko anticipated the move to tiny houses before the concept began to explode in the U.S. and on Canada's West Coast at the start of this century.
In 1995, Maciejko purchased a large tract of land north of Gimli on which there was a homesteader's cabin with a dubious roof and an unlevel floor. At night while he slept, a population of rodents living in the walls and under the floor would emerge, disrupting his sleep by running over his bed and, at times, across his face. A nature lover, Maciejko would rouse himself to shoo the little animals away because he thought traps were cruel.
As the well-fed rodent population began to increase, he realized the time had come to find less-crowded shelter.
He decided to buy a narrow trailer, which he moved onto his property.
"The living area was about 300 square feet, so I was a little cramped, but the roof didn't leak and the floor was solid."
His plan was to add another 400 square feet to the building over a period of years, as allowed by his finances.
In retrospect, he wishes he had borrowed more money and completed the addition in a shorter time.
"If I'd done it that way, the renovation would have been completed long ago, saving me time and money."
As it is, he said he is still working on the plumbing, relying on a laundromat in Gimli to wash his clothes.
A meticulous woodworker and jack of many trades, Maciejko added a 100-amp service, running new wiring through the trailer and the addition.
He reconstructed the roofs of both sections with web trusses and framed the renovation with two-inch by six-inch wall studs and two-inch by 10-inch floor joists.
The outside of the 700-square-foot house is covered with OSB painted forest green; the trim is chocolate brown and the handmade window casings are white with a slightly arched top and side trims with an acorn detail at the bottom.
"To save money, I did most of the work myself, though I did have a concrete footing poured by a local contractor," he said.
The renovated space includes a box-out that serves as a small dining area with windows looking out over the wild flowers, grasses and maple trees that grow abundantly in his yard.
Maciejko used a router to create coved trims and rosette corner blocks on the interior window trims.
He also built much of the cabinetry and drywalled and taped the interior himself.
"Drywalling is odious work, but taping is torture," said Maciejko, adding at one point he was going to hire a professional but couldn't afford the extravagance.
A moderately sized deck, including double-glazed sliding doors, graces the south elevation and affords an exceptional view of an enormous flock of snowbuntings that gather in Maciejko's yard each winter.
An avid birder who co-operates with of the Canadian Snow Bunting Network, he feeds the lovely birds daily from their arrival in winter to their departure in spring.
With the exception of limited cupboard space, Maciejko said his single-bedroom house has sufficient area for his living purposes, including two large dogs.
His one regret is he didn't start with a square structure because this shape can be divided into four equal areas that accommodate furniture, countertops and cupboards more efficiently than elongated rooms.
On the upside, his well-insulated small house can be heated during the coldest winter days with a couple of armloads of firewood.
When Maciejko leaves for work at KC Enterprises Ltd. in Gimli in the morning, he loads his energy-efficient woodstove, which keeps the home toasty throughout the day. In the evening, he fills it again, maintaining a consistently comfortable temperature overnight.
Though the tiny-home movement is predominantly an American phenomenon at this point, it continues to gather adherents.
The idea to build small is related to the fact fossil fuels are becoming more precious, more expensive and, especially in the case of coal-generated power, more of a pollutant.
With this in mind, proponents of tiny houses find it odd people continue to create larger and large homes that may require 400-watt electrical panels and two or more gas furnaces to power and heat their juggernauts.
To paraphrase Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House, does a family of four really require almost 3,000 square feet of living area, not including swimming pools, hottubs and other energy-consuming gadgets?
The answer for many people is no.
Susanka's alternative is to live smaller, building viable homes as small as 100 square feet to a maximum of about 700 square feet.
As tiny houses are much less expensive to build and to heat, they offer an escape from the cycle of debt that almost 70 per cent of homeowners are trapped in today, according to statistics from the tiny house movement in the U.S.
Local zoning regulations may require minimum square footage of 1,000 or more square feet for new construction.
On the pro side, tiny buildings can be built by a DIYer with minimal carpentry skills or plans can be ordered online from an organization such as the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company at www.tumbleweedhouses.com.
davidsquare81@yahoo.com
Renovation & Design
Best bet is to avoid pinnacle birch trees
I receive many questions about tree and shrub problems. The following are the most commonly asked this year.
Question. My newly purchased Dakota pinnacle birch is dying from the top down. The upper leaves are drying up. Can you tell me what is wrong with my tree?
Answer. I have had over a dozen complaints about pinnacle birches. Even though these trees have a stunning central trunk and a columnar appearance they are dying from the top down. On investigation, these trees have all been infested with bronze birch borer insects. This is a very surprising situation for most people. That insect usually attacks larger and older birch trees. The tree has an Asian origin and has been further developed in the United States. It appears this tree is very attractive to the bronze birch borer despite being proclaimed resistant to attack by these beetles. There is no 'cure' for this boring and aggressively feeding insect. I recommend that it not be purchased until a more resistant variety of this tree is developed.
Question: My apple tree (or crab apple tree or mountain ash tree) has had its twigs shrivelled up this summer and looks like it is dying. The tree was growing fine and appeared healthy from the day we planted it in the garden. Do you know what is going on with my tree?
Answer: These trees have been infected with fire-blight disease. This has been one of the worst years I have seen for fire-blight-infected apple trees. I wrote about this disease in my last column. Fire-blight related questions totally dominate the questions I am receiving lately. I have noticed cotoneaster, hawthorn and pear have also been damaged by this disease. All affected plants are in the pome fruits section of the rose family. It has been a number of years since the disease has been this bad in southern Manitoba. I still find many people pruning the above listed plants in the late spring and summer which is absolutely the wrong time to prune wood that can potentially be infected. I always ask whether or not the pruning tools have been disinfected after each cut made during the warm season. Few people do this. Invariably pruning is done without proper sterilization of pruning tools with bleach and water, methyl hydrate or denatured alcohol. If in doubt sterilize pruning tools after each cut. Better yet prune in the fall.
Question: My Japanese tree lilac, ivory silk variety, has not fully developed its twigs this year and the flowers are much sparser than they have been in the past. Do you know what's going on?
Answer: I have looked at dozens of sick Japanese tree lilacs this year, and I see different things going on with the trees. I have a fine specimen of this tree species as do two of my neighbours. We all water the trees during dry periods of summer and we all fertilize them in the fall. I suspect the deep freeze we had during this past winter had an adverse effect on the growth of many of these trees. The over-wintering buds were definitely damaged by deep cold, either preventing leaves and new green shoots from emerging, or if the buds did open the leaves and shoots were too weak from cold stress to develop naturally. If your tree lilacs have at least half of their twigs with green leaves, I would definitely recommend you have your trees fertilized this fall with a suitable nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer. If you contact me (preferably by email) I will send you information how you can properly fertilize small trees.
Michael Allen M.Sc.F., RPF (ret.) is a consulting urban forester, tree diagnostician and certified arbourist. He owns Viburnum Tree Experts, a Manitoba company that provides objective assessments of the condition and the care required for trees and shrubs on home and business landscapes. He is available to visit homes and gardens. Michael can be reached at 204-831-6503
His web site is www.treeexperts.mb.ca
viburnumtrees@shaw.ca
Renovation & Design
Chimney removal no easy process
Question: We have a 1,300-square-foot bungalow, built in 1970, with a low-slope roof and a vaulted ceiling in the front half. We had a negative energy test before we installed a new high-efficiency furnace and changed to an electric hot water tank in 2012. Our house is rated at 74 per cent on the energy-efficiency scale. At the time of the furnace installation, one of the install techs said we may expect higher levels of humidity because of the condensing furnace and he advised we leave the chimney up for the time being. We have since experienced two winters and have had no problem with humidity, with the level holding around 45 per cent. We will be replacing the shingles this year and would like to have the chimney removed at that time. At present, there are only two people living in the house. What would be your advice on removing the chimney? We enjoy your column in the Free Press and respect your opinion.
Thanks, Cal Carlson
Answer:
The ideal time to remove an older chimney, which is not in functional use anymore, is when you are re-roofing. This is probably a good idea, but may be more or less difficult depending on the location and type of chimney you currently have. You may have to work a little harder to remove excess moisture from the living space, but that should be possible if you have good exhaust fans in the bathrooms and kitchen.
Because your home was built in the 1970s, you may have either a brick or concrete block masonry chimney or a metal one. Since you have not specified the location or type of chimney, we will explore the issues with removing both types. Starting with the metal type of chimney, which was quite common around that time, these are normally double-walled, B-vent styles and often run up through the middle of the home to terminate near the centre of the roof. These may be quite easy to remove, due to ease of deconstruction relative to masonry chimneys. Since these normally have the lowest portion visible just below the main floor joists in the basement, disassembly can start there. It is quite possible to remove the majority of this type of vent long before the roofers ever arrive.
The key to removing an older metal B-vent is making sure the openings in all the floors and ceilings are closed up after removal. While this is somewhat important in the main floor, it is critical in the ceiling, which also happens to be the floor of the attic. This area must be properly sealed and insulated to prevent warm-air intrusion into the attic. There may be a metal collar that currently serves this purpose, which may be taken out at the same time as the chimney. The corresponding hole in the building envelope could be covered with plywood, drywall, or other sheathing. The next step is to cover the sheathing with a small piece of polyethylene air/vapour barrier, which should be sealed to the surrounding poly with acoustical sealant. Filling in this area with insulation, to match the level in the rest of the attic, is the final chore.
If your home does have a masonry chimney, it may not be necessary to take out the entire structure, depending on location. If the chimney is situated on the outside of the home, removal may be a tricky process. To fully remove the chimney, the exterior siding may have to be patched, along with the roof and eaves. The benefits of taking this down will be minimal and may be no better than insulating and sealing the openings at the top and bottom. That should be easily accomplished with the use of a few cans of blown-in polyurethane foam and a couple of metal caps. Sealing at both the top and bottom will ensure warm air from the home will not leak out through the old chimney. Therefore, the only possible reason to remove this is to prevent further repairs, or if the brick or surrounding wood trim is badly deteriorated. Then, taking this down below the soffits, before sealing the top, may be all that is required.
If the brick or block chimney is located on the inside walls of the home, or runs up through the middle of the building, removal may be the most difficult. It may be necessary to partially remove some walls to access the masonry for dismantling. This will also be a very messy job, as removal is normally done with a sledge hammer or mechanical pneumatic tool. The resulting dust and debris will require isolating the area around the chimney to prevent a major mess inside the home. Fortunately, this step may be avoidable if there is good access to the chimney inside the attic.
A central chimney may be removed above the roof line, without disturbing the rest of the structure. The remaining portions, inside the attic, main floor and basement, may be left intact. The top and bottom will require sealing at any cleanouts and flues, but the major portion of the brick or concrete block may be left in place. This will save a large amount of work and prevent leakage or repairs above the roof in the future. The opening in the roof sheathing will still have to be patched where the old chimney penetrated, but that should be a small job in comparison to removal of the entire unit.
Removing your old chimney when replacing the shingles is a good idea, to prevent needless repairs to a redundant fixture in the future. You may have to take extra measures, such as using exhaust fans more frequently, to prevent higher relative humidity in the home, but that should be easily attainable with a little effort.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
Renovation & Design
Giving those winter salt stains the boot
QUESTION -- I am storing my winter boots over these glorious summer months, however, I see that I have salt stains on the leather. What suggestions do you have for getting them off? Janet, Winnipeg
ANSWER - As in many cases, vinegar is the answer that you are searching for and this challenge is no exception. Using a good quality microfibre cloth, wipe the boots with plain old vinegar. Not only will this remove salt stains, but it will condition the leather at the same time!
QUESTION -- I am hoping you can help me! I have glue on the front-passenger seat of my car. It's a cloth seat, black in color. The glue is IPEX brand PVC Conduit Solvent Cement. This is used with rigid PVC conduit to cement pipes together (used to run electrical wires through). The glue was drizzled accidentally on the seat, so it's not a concentrated blob, but rather several streaks. It is dried on now and can't be scraped off with anything. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks, Kathy, Winnipeg
ANSWER - Since this product has dried on, it is likely permanent. I have not heard of any water-based solvent that will remove PVC Conduit Solvent Cement. The most effective solution is acetone. However, the risk with acetone is that it is flammable and has the potential to remove color from upholstery. An alternative option is to spray the area with WD-40, and after 10 minutes gently scrape with a razor blade. Next clean with dish soap and water to reduce the chemical smell.
Sweet Tips of the Week:
Soothe a burnt tongue with white sugar. Just a few grains will relieve the pain.
Keep your brown sugar from hardening by storing it in a sealed container in the fridge.
Put sugar cubes in the bottom of your biscuit container. The sugar absorbs the moisture and keeps biscuits fresh longer.
Mix handfuls of sugar into the soil of unhealthy plants. If your outdoor plants have lumps on the roots they may have a nematode infection caused by little worms (often found in carrots and potatoes). Adding sugar to soil increases the bacteria count that helps fight the invasion.
I enjoy your questions and tips, keep them coming. Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a corporate presenter on the topic: Harness the Power of Words? Check out my website Reena.ca.
Renovation & Design
Fire-blight disease must be treated quickly
What does the disease look like?
Fire-blight disease (Erwinia amylovora) has not been too bad in recent years in southern Manitoba, but this year it is affecting susceptible trees with a vengeance. In our area this bacterial disease occurs mostly on mountain ash, crabapple and pear, but other rose family plants can be infected as well. The disease is often transmitted by bees and wasps in the spring. It can also be easily transmitted by blight contaminated pruning tools.
Early signs of this disease may be all or one of the following: infected flowers that have a brownish shrivelled appearance; or shrivelled leaves that turn brown, orange, red, dark purplish-brown or black; or shrivelled twigs with curled ends of twigs that have a dark brown or black (pear especially) colour. In apple trees the leaves turn uniformly cinnamon-brown colour near the flowers or fruits. Often the inside of the bark will be discoloured reddish brown when the bark is peeled back. This is a lethal tree disease and action on this must be taken right away as soon as its signs become apparent if you want to try to get the disease under control.
How is the disease treated?
Trees and woody shrubs having fire-blight bacterial disease symptoms should be treated as soon as possible when disease symptoms are visible usually in late spring or summer. Spray treatments are not guaranteed to work.
Prune off all infected twigs and dried leaf areas at least one foot into the healthy-looking branches. Always prune back to a nearby branch junction. After each pruning cut always sterilize the pruning tool with diluted bleach (one part bleach to nine parts water) or with denatured alcohol or with methyl hydrate if the cuts were made between April and September inclusive. Sterilizing tools is not required for pruning in late fall and winter or in March.
After these cuts have been made, use Wilson's Tree Pruning Paste or Green Earth Tree Sealer (beeswax) or other approved sealing compound for trees.
Three spray treatments of copper-based fungicide are recommended from mid-late May to June about 10 to 14 days apart. Timing may not be suitable to do three. Our wet springs can make this treatment frequency difficult. Do what you can. Copper spray treatments are also recommended after pruning infected trees with that still have their leaves on. If it rains within 24 hours of the spraying, the plant must be re-sprayed as soon as possible.
Collect all infected leaves ASAP and dispose of them in the recycled green trash bags or if permitted, burn them right away.
Fertilize affected trees and woody shrubs in the spring (May or June), or later in fall (September-October) to improve their vigour and chances of fighting the fire-blight disease. Thoroughly water the tree after fertilization. Annual fertilization may be needed to continue holding back the disease.
Michael Allen M.Sc.F., RPF (ret.) is a consulting urban forester, tree diagnostician and certified arborist. He owns Viburnum Tree Experts, a Manitoba company that provides objective assessments of the condition and the care required for trees and shrubs on home and business landscapes. He is available to visit homes and gardens. He can be reached at 204-831-6503 or 204-223-7709 viburnumtrees@shaw.ca His website is www.treeexperts.mb.ca.
