Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
SOLUTIONS: Cinnamon buns perfect recipe to awake to
QUESTION: There is nothing better than waking up to the smell of fresh cinnamon buns, so I would like to try making them for my family. Can you give me a good recipe for cinnamon buns? Also, Christmas will soon be upon us, where can I purchase your books? Donelda, Mariapolis, Man.
ANSWER: Combine two tablespoons active yeast in one cup warm water and one teaspoon sugar (sugar feeds yeast, while salt destroys yeast). Let stand 10 minutes. Add two-thirds cup sugar, two cups warm milk, two teaspoons salt, four eggs, two cups potato water, two-thirds cup butter and 10-11 cups all-purpose flour. Knead until dough is no longer sticky; add a bit of additional flour if necessary. Let rise until double in size. Roll out and divide into four pieces. Cover with margarine or butter, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up at wide end. Cut into one-inch pieces. Place on greased pan and let rise until double in size. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown. For icing: Mix together one-quarter cup icing sugar and one tablespoon whipping cream or milk and half-teaspoon vanilla. Spread over buns.
Extra tidbit: For best results, store yeast in the fridge.
Another tidbit: Potato water is the leftover water used when boiling potatoes.
P.S. My three books can be purchased at: reena.ca or call 204-320-2757.
QUESTION: I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year and I am in charge of cooking the turkey and gravy. The problem is that I work until 4 p.m. and don't have time to finish the turkey and gravy. Do you have any advice for me? Thank you, Jessica, Hamiota, Man.
ANSWER: What I would do in this predicament is cook the turkey the day before and cut it so that it is ready for serving. On the day of the gathering, put the turkey pieces into a slow cooker and pour broth over top so that it does not dry off. Leave it on a LOW setting until serving time. The gravy can also be made ahead of time and left on LOW or KEEP WARM in the slow cooker.
QUESTION: Our dear granddaughter came to get flowers and old canning jars. The problem is her old car decided to drop some large oil drops on our good concrete. Any suggestions before we tackle it ourselves? Hopefully, Trudy, Winnipeg
ANSWER: If the stain is fresh, sprinkle the area with a liberal amount of kitty litter to absorb grease. For older stains apply a solution of one cup washing soda and one-quarter cup TSP (trisodium phosphate) per gallon of water. Scrub or pressure wash the stain. As a last resort, combat tough spills with muriatic acid and a pressure washer. Apply the acid following the manufacturer's directions, and let it soak for several seconds. Test all solutions on an inconspicuous area first.
Feedback from Manitobans:
Dear Reena,
My house was infested with ladybugs and I could not get rid of them until I read your column a year ago that gave advice on ladybugs in the home. I caulked around the windows just as you suggested and now my ladybug problem is gone! Super, thank you. Martin
I enjoy your questions and tips, keep them coming! Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a speaker for an upcoming event? Check out my brand new website: reena.ca
Renovation & Design
SOLUTIONS: Double boil distilled water for clear ice
QUESTION: I am having a dinner party next week and would like to serve cocktails. Can you tell me how to make perfectly clear ice cubes instead of white or foggy cubes? Charissa (Portage la Prairie, Man.)
ANSWER: The trick is to boil distilled water twice. In other words, pour distilled water into a pot and boil it. Let it cool and repeat. Freeze cubes in trays. Or if your party has a theme, freeze water in silicone moulds or a new rubber glove. Secure the opening of the glove with a rubber band and freeze. Remove the rubber band and glove and drop the giant ice hand into a bowl of punch. Feel free to get creative and add food colouring.
QUESTION: I have all three of your books and enjoy giving them out as gifts. I do however have a question and I could not find the answer in your books. My son bought a $40 baseball hat; I nearly fell over when I saw the price tag. The worst part is the hat is white. What is the best way to clean it? I have heard it's okay to put it in the dishwasher or washing machine. Any suggestions? Shirley, Winnipeg
ANSWER: I would be very careful about fabric care on this one. Forget about risking the dishwasher; while dishwasher detergent works well sometimes, it often leaves small irreversible spots on the fabric where bleach from the dishwasher touched the hat. Too risky. The washing machine may also work but can damage the rim of the hat, leaving it flimsy or misshapen. Too risky. Instead, soak the hat in a bowl of enough hot water to cover the hat, half a teaspoon of dish soap and half a cup of borax. Leave it for two or three hours. Scrub if necessary, rinse and repeat if needed. Dry the hat on an inverted plastic or glass bowl.
QUESTION: I do hope you have an alternative to mousetraps or poison. We just don't have the stomach to kill or, perhaps worse, find maimed but alive mice in a trap. It's too cruel. This week two were found alive, one with a crushed jaw, one with an injured leg. We must find a way to repel them from entering the building. Thank you, Jana, Winnipeg
ANSWER: Mice love peanut butter even more than cheese. Locate a five-gallon (19 litre) bucket with a lid. Cover the bucket and cut a 10 centimetre hole in the lid. Make a ramp so the mice can climb up and fall in. Spread peanut butter around the hole. Leave the bucket empty and, after they fall in, take them at least 10 kilometres from your home before releasing them. If you have mice in your home, flatten an empty toilet-paper roll, put peanut butter on one end and tape the roll to a counter, extending beyond the edge. Put a bucket on the floor underneath the counter, so the mouse will fall in.
To deter mice, spread many fabric-softener sheets where the mice like to congregate. You can also use shaving cream on a cotton ball, oil of peppermint or Irish Spring soap slivers; these are all mouse deterrents.
I enjoy your questions and tips, keep them coming! Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a speaker for an upcoming event? Check out my brand new website: www.reena.ca .
Renovation & Design
MIKE HOLMES: Bring in the pros to prevent electrical fires
They say where there's smoke there's fire. But when it comes to electrical fires, you don't always see the smoke. By the time you do, it's too late and the flames are climbing up behind your walls.
I was up north a couple of weeks ago. I stopped at a pub and it was completely renovated -- and not because they wanted to do a reno. They had no choice -- there had been an electrical fire. Luckily, no one was hurt. But the truth is, it should have never happened.
Twenty per cent of all fires in Canada are electrical fires. In my world, there wouldn't be any electrical fires because they're preventable if the right pros are brought in at the right time.
Faulty wiring is the No.1 cause of electrical fires. It's what caused the fire at the pub. Sometimes, fires are a result of poor workmanship. Other times, it's just wear and tear. But in any case, you need to be aware of the warning signs.
Here are the warning signs there's a problem with your wiring: flickering lights, breakers that always trip, fuses that always blow, a burning smell coming from appliances or in rooms, discoloured wall outlets, outlets that spark and outlets and switches that are hot to the touch.
The longer you wait to get them fixed, the greater the chance of an electrical fire.
Eventually, every home is at risk of an electrical fire, because electrical wires get worn out -- just like everything else.
Electrical currents generate waste heat. Over time, that heat can cause the conductor to expand and contract. Eventually it will loosen the connection. And once it's loose, the electricity can arc. When this happens, the potential for an electrical fire is huge.
One way we can prevent electrical fires caused by an electrical arc is with Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCI). An AFCI is a circuit breaker that detects potentially dangerous electrical arcs. It disconnects the power as soon as it detects one.
Before AFCIs were introduced, the bedroom was where most electrical fires started. But in 2002 it became code to protect all circuits that feed outlets in bedrooms with AFCIs. Now, the kitchen and bathroom are where most electrical fires start.
It's code to have AFCIs in the bedroom, but in some states, such as Texas, it's code to have AFCIs protecting all the circuits in the home. This is what we need to see in our electrical codes. If we can protect the entire house, we should protect the entire house. It just makes sense.
Counterfeit electrical products can also cause electrical fires. But it's tough to prove when investigators come in after a fire to determine its cause. Why? Because most fires destroy the evidence -- along with everything else. Plus, some counterfeit products are so good the average homeowner would never suspect they aren't legitimate or CSA approved. The only way to know it's counterfeit would be by sending it to a lab to test it out.
And how many homeowners do that?
Overloaded circuits are also a risk. But the risk is less when a 15-amp breaker or fuse protects the circuit.
The problem is when an overloaded circuit starts to trip. Homeowners go in and replace a 15-amp fuse with something higher, such as a 20-amp or 30-amp fuse. But this doesn't fix the problem. The circuit still wants to trip. The wire is telling the fuse that it's too hot. But the fuse says, "I'm still good." Before you know it, the wire becomes your fuse and you've got a fire. It's not about making it work. It's about making it work safely.
Whenever anyone purchases a home that's older than 15 years, they need to get a licensed electrical contractor to check out the house. Especially if the home has a finished basement. Too many homeowners think they can do their own electrical work -- and many of them do.
How do you know if everything is up to code? Or if there's knob-and-tube wiring, or aluminum wiring mixed with copper? Or if the previous owners hired someone who knew what they were doing?
Get a licensed electrical contractor to audit the house. They'll make sure all the electrical work is up to code and all the connections are tight.
How do you find the right electrician? The same way you find the right contractor: Check references, speak to past clients, make sure they're certified. and ask them to show you their licence. A proud tradesperson would love to show you their accomplishments. And never look at the price. If four out five electricians charge $1,000 to $2,000 for a job and one guy charges $700, there's a reason why. You get what you pay for.
How often should we get a licensed electrical contractor to check our homes? Every four years. Why? Because given enough time, any home can be at risk of an electrical fire. Wire insulation dries out. Receptacles and switches come loose or wear out. Oil and dirt can cause electrical components to overheat.
Don't wait for disaster to strike. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Catch Mike Holmes in his new series, Best of Holmes on Homes, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on HGTV. For more information, visit hgtv.ca. For more information on home renovations, visit makeitright.ca
Renovation & Design
ASK THE INSPECTOR: Open up crawlspace to fight moisture
QUESTION: Our house is a 700-square-foot bungalow built in 1973 in St. Vital on a number of concrete pillars. A crawlspace surrounds an approximately 7x7-foot "partial basement" with concrete block walls that rise about four to five feet high. The crawlspace begins at this height and rises another two feet higher or so.
There is also some wooden flat level space for storage above the block walls immediately before drywall, insulation and a vapour barrier separates the basement from the crawl space. Except for a small, open space where the furnace exhaust pipe exits into the crawl space, the rest of the crawlspace is sealed.
The crawlspace has only one vent in a concrete skirting around the foundation. A prominent basement company indicated that crawl space vents should be sealed because they let humid air into the house. Apparently, the only time that it does work to use a vent to dry a crawlspace may be in winter, or if the temperature is 21 degrees C and the relative humidity no more than 45 per cent year-round.
To begin a strategy to address a moisture issue and the possibility of radon in the exposed dirt floor, I've decided to separate the house from the dirt floor with a moisture barrier. I understand that, as part of this, I need to add soil next to the house to create a swale or a slope away from the foundation for precipitation run-off. However, this will cover up the crawlspace vent, because it is currently very low to the ground.
Should I keep the vent in the crawlspace but make a new one higher, or seal it, create the swale or downward slope with soil and dehumidify the crawl space, if necessary, as part of a moisture-reduction strategy?
Jonathan Neufeld and Brigitte Reimer
ANSWER: Crawlspaces are often a problem because of the high chance of moisture intrusion. This is due to the open soil and the location of the crawlspace, as you have indicated. You are being very pro-active in your attempts to keep this area dry and prevent radon intrusion, but you should also attempt to include other alterations in your plans.
Air movement is one of the main things that allows moisture to evaporate from damp air. Allowing an ongoing source of warm fresh air into the crawlspace, even if does have high relative humidity, will help prevent stale, damp air from creating a problem. Unfortunately, having a single vent may be next to useless, as this does not allow much air movement.
To answer your main question, you should definitely move the vent higher and install at least one more additional vent, or small window, at each side of the crawlspace. Adding these vents will help to allow wind-assisted air to enter and exit the confined space, removing damp, stale air that is likely to condense in the cool environment.
Building up the soil outside the concrete grade beam that encloses your crawlspace may help prevent excessive moisture intrusion, but that should be done in conjunction with interior grading as well. If the soil in the crawlspace is significantly lower than the soil outside the home, you may always have a problem with water due to what I call the "swimming pool" effect. Because our wonderful clay soil can only absorb a limited amount of precipitation before it becomes saturated, any depressed area can easily become a puddle during heavy rains or spring melt. You can see this phenomenon on any construction site or grain field after a good rain.
The solution is to bring in additional soil or other landscaping material to raise the level inside the crawlspace above the exterior grade. Sand or fine stone may be a better choice than topsoil and may not require removal of the air/vapour barrier you have installed on the dirt floor if it is not too low. This may be quite difficult due to the lack of an access hatch but one could be installed in your insulated walls, or after they are removed, to allow pails of fill to be carried into the crawlspace.
The final item to address is the configuration of the crawlspace, relative to the rest of the basement.
You would be much better off to remove these short walls and open the crawlspace to incorporate it with the conditioned space of the part basement. This way, you will not be creating an enclosed, separate, cooler area where condensation is highly likely. If the inside of the concrete perimeter grade beam is not well insulated and air-sealed, moisture issues will be a certainty. By removing those walls, you will increase air movement and allow the heat from the part-basement to warm the crawlspace in the winter, preventing condensation.
It is critical that you keep the dirt floor sealed well and attach this to a similar air/vapour barrier installed over the inside of the grade beam and block foundation walls. That can be done after installation of rigid extruded polystyrene sheathing, or equivalent, on both the foundation walls and grade beams to prevent heat loss.
If you're successful in completing all of these items, and create a single, well insulated and sealed conditioned space rather than a separated part-basement and crawlspace, the question about the vent may be moot. There may be not be as much need to vent the entire basement, if you have central air conditioning, but installing a few small windows or large vents, which can be closed or covered for the heating season, is never a bad idea.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the President of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be e-mailed to Ari can be reached at (204) 291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
