Truss Uplift Does you house make booming sounds during cold winter nights? Do unexplained seasonal gaps appear along the tops of interior walls, especially near the centre of your home? Thousands of new houses exhibit worrying symptoms like these, and the cause has to do with the way modern roofs are usually built. But with [...]
It’s hard to believe, but nary a hundred years ago, simply having a bathroom, was a luxury that was largely unattainable to the masses. In fact, it wasn’t until the late 1910’s and early 1920’s that a bathroom became standard equipment in all city homes. The evolution of the modern bathroom has both paralleled and [...]
Valuable Real Estate In the quest for extra square footage, a dry, unfinished basement is a holy grail. For the cost of some finish work and mechanicals upgrades, you can get a whole new room, sometimes two or three. For years a homeowner used her below-grade space as a laundry room. But the desire for [...]
See how we took on the challenge of transforming an outdated kitchen from cluttered to classic –with less than $400 to spend. Budget Decorating When decorating on a budget, it is important to be creative with your purchases. Set your priorities and stick to them. Ask yourself, “What in this room has to change in [...]
Are you ready to give your kitchen or bathroom a whole new look? Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you choose the options and materials that are best for you. Cabinets Cabinetry is essentially furniture for the kitchen and the bath. It sets the tone for the entire room, while providing much-needed storage. Before you [...]
Smart Wiring™ is the affordable way to wire your home to make the most of life, now and in the future. Smart Wiring TM is the standard home wiring system that lets you combine phone & fax lines, pay TV cabling, sound, computer and Internet, intelligent lighting, security, home automation, and much more, at the [...]
Some easy, low-tech strategies can help keep you relatively comfortable in hot weather While blocking sunlight on the outside of a house is better than using interior insulating blinds to reflect sunlight back out through windows, the latter can still make a big difference. We’re into those hot days of summer–really hot–with temperatures predicted in [...]
How to increase the life of wood Less than twenty years ago my friend built a large, cedar-clad house with a spacious cedar deck. He loved outdoor wood back then, now he hates it. Part of the reason is a lack of understanding about how to finish wood properly. He tried a handful of finishing [...]
Everyone I know likes warm feet when it’s cold outside, and that’s the attraction of radiant in-floor heating. You can’t beat it for even, efficient distribution of warmth in any building, but there’s a problem. Too few homeowners understand that radiant systems can be installed in wood-framed floors, too. You don’t need to pour a [...]
Sick of sinking thousands of dollars into your energy bills every winter? Here are some changes – big and small – that can save you money 1. Invest in one big upgrade The prime suspects in heat loss (and higher heating bills) are air leaks and bad insulation. A leaky foundation can account for 20 [...]
