Ice and icicles on your roof may be cute, but they can tear off gutters, loosen shingles, and cause water to back up into your house. As snow continues to pile up on people’s roofs this winter, homeowners are up against more than cold morning commutes. The snow […]
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First, a few basic statements: 1. Medium brown hardwood has a long aesthetic life. 2. Highly detailed oak and exotic woods can steal the room’s focus. 3. Red — cherry wood, red oak and chestnuts — can be difficult to work with. 4. Engineered hardwood better withstands […]
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Solar water heaters can reduce annual water heating bills by 50% to 80% Water heating can constitute 15% to 25%, or more, of the energy use of a home. The approximate annual cost to operate water heaters ranges from $300 for a minimum efficiency gas-fired unit to […]
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By Christine Cooney, Direct from the Designers Staff Writer Many of us dream of one day owning our home. We may purchase an existing home, select a new home in a development or build a new home. Direct from the Designers understands that building a new home […]
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What is formaldehyde? Formaldehyde is a colourless gas. At elevated concentrations, it has a strong, pungent odour and can be irritating to the eyes, nose, and lungs. Formaldehyde is released into the home from a variety of indoor sources. Some resins, or glues, used to bind […]
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As you consider building a custom home, take some time to look at the house plans and blueprints that are available to you on the internet. When choosing house plans, you will need to assess your lifestyle, the size of the home, and the budgetary limitations you may […]
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A gallon of paint can cost as little as $15 or well over $100. What’s the difference? The paint can labels are not very informative. Many companies don’t list their ingredients. Even when they do, you have to be a chemist to understand them. For most people, […]
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There is no doubt that radiant floor heat is a superior method of heating your home. Its popularity is steadily increasing as people discover that is it not only the most comfortable form of heating but also the most cost efficient. Though comfort and cost are the […]
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By Nick Senofsky, Lighting Unlimited Buying an LED light is very different than buying an incandescent light bulb. An incandescent light bulb is a simple device with a tungsten filament. It consistently produces the same type of light with the same characteristics. However, LED lights are far […]
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If you’re thinking of selling your home in 2015 or just want to ramp up your home value, it’s important to educate yourself on which improvement projects will bring you the most return on your investment. An excellent resource for your research is the “2014/2015 Cost vs. […]
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By Diane Swanbrow News and Information Services With high winter heating bills on the horizon in much of the country, a new U-M study shows that the total energy used during the life of a typical home in the U.S. heartland could be reduced by 65 percent […]
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Austrian designer Klemens Torggler came up with a spectacular sliding door system. Evolution by Klemens Torggler The designer’s Evolution Door slides open without the use of tracks. As you can see in the photo above and in the video below (in slow motion), a gentle flick of the wrist can […]
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OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Feb. 6, 2014) – Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) expects the number of housing starts to stabilize in 2014 and 2015. Support from improved economic and demographic fundamentals will be tempered by a combination of a modest and gradual increase in mortgage rates and […]
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Buying a home? Avoid These Common Buyer Mistakes! For most of us, buying a home is the single biggest financial transaction we will make. It’s exciting and fulfilling, but it can also be overwhelming, even downright frightening. The pitfalls are many but fortunately most are commonplace and […]
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What you need to know about roofing shingles If you’re buying a tract-built house, the chances are close to 100 per cent that the roof will be asphalt shingles, the most cost efficient roofing material currently available. The builder will ask you to pick one from a […]
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Imagine you’re having a new house built. Workers prepare the building site then a 6-metre tall crane-like gantry is brought in and installed on rails either side of the house. The machine rolls back and forth extruding fast-drying concrete and building up your house layer by layer. […]
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BY ANTHONY FUREY ,QMI AGENCY One of the most bizarre bans ever is gaining traction in cities across the country. A ban on doorknobs. First passed in Vancouver last November, now Halifax and Pickering, Ontario, are considering it. What could be the rationale behind this? What sort […]
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National Association of Home Builders’s consumer study, “What Do New Home Buyers Want,” takes a comprehensive look at what’s hot and what’s not among prospective home buyers. The 2013 survey was conducted at the tail end of a protracted housing recession that affected not only the number […]
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How to get home construction loans to build your custom home: A down payment of at least 5-10% of the total value of your building project will be required. If your building project (land and house) is projected to be $300,000 you will need a minimum down […]
Read more →Smartest Dog A structural engineer, an architect and a builder are all standing around arguing who has the smartest dog. The architect says “Watch this. CAD, come here!” And his dog takes a pile of dog bones and makes them into a beautiful building. The engineer then […]
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