Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Energy-efficient renovations save real cash
When planning your home renovation, be sure to plan for incorporating the latest in energy-efficiency measures to improve the comfort and reduce the heating and cooling costs of your home.Certain renovations can even help you save money. Energy-efficient upgrades can pay you back by reducing your energy use with immediate savings on your energy bill.
Manitoba Hydro has Power SmartSCrt programs that can help you make your energy-saving upgrades. Not sure where to begin? A Home Energy Evaluation (www.hydro.mb.ca/your_home/home_evaluation.shtml) can provide you with information on your home's current energy use and recommendations to improve its comfort and energy efficiency.
Grants under the federal government's ecoENERGY program may also be available for the improvements.
A well-insulated home uses less energy, meaning lower heating and cooling costs and less impact on the environment. When upgrading your basement for that well-deserved media room, be sure that the insulation you install meets Manitoba Hydro's Power Smart standard.
Check with your contractor before starting the job to be sure that your work meets eligibility requirements. You could receive up to a 90 per cent rebate of the insulation material costs. Be sure that your application is sent to Manitoba Hydro for pre-approval before you start your insulation project or purchase materials.
The Home Comfort Energy Savings program offers illustrative guides on how to maximize your home's energy efficiencies. These booklets are available at most building supply retailers or online at www.hydro.mb.ca.
For smaller renovation projects, Manitoba Hydro offers convenient financing, the Power Smart Residential Loan, that can assist you with the cost to add insulation.
To find out more, explore the options available at www.hydro.mb.ca/your_home
Building a new home? You can build Power Smart from the start with the Power Smart New Home Program. Talk to your builder or contact Manitoba Hydro for more information.
Find the residential Power Smart program, savings, rebates and loans that are right for you. Visit www.hydro.mb.ca, or you can call 1-888- MB HYDRO (1-888-624-9376), in Winnipeg 480-5900.
Renovation & Design
Hardy fescue may answer lawn-care woes
Fed up with coddling your lawn like an anxious parent with an indulged child? Then fescue might be your new best friend.Fescue, a hardy, slow-growing and drought-resistant grass, is the sole ingredient of Eco-Lawn, one of the low-maintenance lawn seeds that have eco-conscious homeowners all abuzz.
A blend of seven types of fescue, Eco-Lawn is produced by Wildflower Farm (www.wildflowerfarm.com) near Orillia, Ont -- but is available around the country. It apparently -- take a deep breath now -- thrives in all types of soil, grows in sun or shade, needs cutting only once a month if at all, requires no fertilizer and little watering, is child- and pet-resistant, and shuns grass-destroying insects.
Is it any wonder that sales more than doubled in 2007 and have already tripled this year?
"People are connecting the dots," says Miriam Goldberger, who launched Wildflower Farm with her husband in 1997. "There are watering bans, pesticide bans, time constraints, people are very concerned with greenhouse gas emissions. So people say, 'Why wouldn't I want a lawn that looks great (and is low-maintenance)?'"
Mind you, great is in the eye of the beholder. Fescue requires little watering not just because of its deep roots, but also because its blades are very thin, meaning minimal transpiration. That gives the grass what Neal Klassen calls a wispy look.
Klassen is Water Smart co-ordinator for the City of Kelowna, B.C., which in 2006 planted 20,000 square feet of library grounds with Eco-Lawn. The city also recruited 20 volunteers -- half living in new homes with no lawns and half who agreed to convert existing lawns by overseeding with Eco-Lawn -- to try out the product, all with a view to reducing water usage.
"If you want a putting green lawn, this is not it," Klassen says, referring to the inconsistent look that is typical of low-maintenance lawns. As well, it took two full seasons to establish the new lawns, there were weed problems as with most seeded lawns, and the overseeding flopped because homeowners became impatient with the transition.
On the other hand, he says many of the homeowners are delighted with the results, and the library lawn, a busy spot for children and others, is a perfectly acceptable public green space. Meanwhile, the city -- which Klassen says just bakes in the summer -- has slashed its lawn-watering at the library by 50 per cent despite the area's southerly exposure.
Klassen says that to maximize the lawn's attractiveness, it's best to let it grow longer than a five-centimetre buzz cut. Eco-Lawn grows to a maximum of 23 centimetres and then, because the blades are thin, flops over to a 10-centimetre height giving the Eco-Lawn its distinctive flowing, carpet-like look.
Cutting your lawn cutting, by the way, is a good thing. Emissions from one hour of grass cutting, according to Wildflower Farm, equal those produced by 40 new cars running for an hour. And a study by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation some years ago found that people with low-maintenance lawns used 50 per cent less fuel and spent 85 per cent less money on upkeep than did those with conventional lawns.
The savings will quickly pay back the higher price of the seed: $29.95 for 2.3 kilograms (1,000 square foot coverage), about a third more than the cost of conventional grass mixtures.
Not everyone is sold on products like Eco-Lawn. A pleasant exaggeration is how Bill Bitz, an Ottawa-based horticulturist describes low-maintenance claims. Along with pointing out that watering less and eliminating fertilizer will slow the growth of any lawn, Bitz says that fescue-only grass looks unkempt unless cut regularly.
Fescue is not the only alternative to a traditional lawn. Others include creeping thyme, flower/fescue mixes and buffalo grass.
For a comprehensive guide to low-maintenance lawns, visit the CMHC's website (www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca).
-- Canwest News Service
Renovation & Design
Care for the lawn without chemicals
EDMONTON -- Looking to be kind to your lawn but also to the environment? There are some lesser-known green alternatives out there that will help nourish your grass and soil without chemical fertilizers.Corn gluten is gaining some popularity as a natural fertilizer and weed-controller, says Rod Sirman, owner of Greenland Garden Centre.
Made from coarse-ground corn, many gardeners find it nourishes the soil and keeps weeds at bay as a pre-emergent, especially after a couple of seasons, he says. It looks like a coarse meal and can simply be applied with a fertilizer-spreader.
Sirman cautioned that the federal government hasn't sanctioned corn gluten as a weed controller and its benefits are purely anecdotal. He sells a 2.5-kg pail for $11.99.
Alfalfa is another product some gardeners swear by as a great natural fertilizer. It is available in pellet form. "It hasn't really started to catch on yet," says Merna Halliday at Apache Seeds. The Alfalfa Green they sell, produced by Western Alfalfa Milling in Norquay, Sask., is a 3-0-2 product (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium) and costs $19.94 for a 23-kilogram bag.
The company's website touts the certified-organic product as a great, slow-release fertilizer that won't burn lawns. It recommends applying the fertilizer before an expected rain, or watering well after application. It can be spread with a fertilizer-spreader, set on a wider opening because the pellets are quite large.
Greenstar, a plant-product company out of Langley, B.C., offers a wide range of organic and natural fertilizers and herbicides under the Grotek label.
It, too, sells a corn-gluten product but recommends it only as a fertilizer, says company vice-president Brent Jackson.
Grotek's newest product, Elimaweed, has just been federally registered as a natural weed-killer. It's made of food-grade vinegar which, combined with other ingredients, works well as a non-selective herbicide, meaning it will kill grass as well as weeds. Jackson say it's great for spot application or for clearing growth from patios and pavers. Unlike some chemical herbicides, it is safe to use around kids and pets.
Do-it-yourselfers can also try a super-strength vinegar. Mix it with equal parts water and a bit of dishwashing soap and spot-apply to the base of weeds, suggests Michael Kalmanovitch, owner of Earth's General store.
For more information on organic garden products, check out grotek.net or, for Western Alfalfa Milling, wamcoltd.ca
-- Canwest News Service
Renovation & Design
Hot tub, spa...what's the diff
QUESTION -- We want to put in a spa or a hot tub. I thought that they were one and the same until we began to shop. What's the difference?ANSWER -- Hot tubs are wooden barrels and spas are Fiberglas shells covered with acrylic or other plastic materials. However, some hot tubs have acrylic liners and some spas are free-standing with wood skirts. Tubs and spas have other basic differences too -- maintenance, durability, operation and overall appearance. Tubs have a rustic and natural appearance; they blend well with decks, gardens, and patios. They are, however, harder to clean and maintain than spas because of the texture of the wood and the angles and corners that are typical in their design.
Spas present more design options than hot tubs and are available in a broad range of colours. Their hard, smooth surfaces make them easier to clean. Support equipment and installations are similar and both are available as free-standing packages or as separate components that require assembly. In either case, most building departments will require a permit for installation. And be prepared for additional installation expense and maintenance costs.
There are some costs you may not be aware of. You will need at least one additional 110 volt electrical circuit (maybe 220v). Make sure your present electrical system can handle whatever is required. Also, some communities require a fence around the area, and most will require a lock on all gates. A fence is important: it protects both neighbourhood children and you. Your electrical bill can easily jump by $50 per month or more. And you must chemically treat the water regularly.
-- The Associated Press