If you listen closely, you can hear pink sinks being ripped out, wood paneling coming down and paint cans being pried open. All over this great city, we’re renovating like crazy. According to statistics, far more money is being spent renovating existing houses than building new ones. When you renovate, you should do something for [...]
It appears that more and more people are investing in home improvement like never before: According to an Ipsos-Reid survey, 2/3 of homeowners intend to undertake renovations this year. While most plan to spend reasonable sums, others say they’ll go all out; luxurious materials, home theatres, hot tub, even very expensive kitchens are not that [...]
Upgrading your house can help it to sell faster — but only if you choose the right projects. Here’s how you can avoid wasting money and make sure you recoup your costs, no matter your home’s vintage. We’ve all seen those fashion faux pas: muscle shirts that only accentuate middle-age spread, or tight, low-cut jeans [...]
Some weekend projects are daunting, but tackle any one of these easy tasks and you’ll have made a difference at home, with time left over for football and the family. 1. Jazz up the cabinets. One of the quickest, most affordable ways to update the appearance of a kitchen or bathroom is to upgrade all [...]
Ask just about any painting pro, and he’ll tell you that his trade has a real image problem. After all, everyone thinks they can paint—just watch how fast the colour goes up on those done-in-a-day home-makeover shows. Grab a brush, a roller, and a couple gallons of latex and you’re all set, right? Not quite. [...]
It’s the fundamental question facing anyone who has ever embarked on a home renovation: How likely am I to get the money back when I sell my house? There’s no easy answer, because what a buyer might be willing to pay depends on many factors — everything from the choice of project to the materials [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
