Tim Hewetson » Home Maintenance

Cleaning… Naturally

Tim Hewetson — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:49:17 +0000

Freshen up your home naturally with products that won’t harm your family or the environment. Simple, natural products like baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, soap, water, and a bit of elbow grease will cover most of your cleaning needs.

In the Kitchen

- If you have a vase or glass that is too narrow to clean by hand, throw in some rice and white vinegar, cover the top with your hand and shake vigorously

- Get rid of stains on your countertops by letting lemon juice sit on them for a few minutes, then scrub the area with baking soda and wipe with a damp cloth

Bathroom Tips

- To clean your glass shower door, apply pure lemon juice onto the glass, spray it with warm water and wipe it off with a clean cloth

- For black mold, combine salt, vinegar and liquid dish detergent. Apply it with a toothbrush, let it set for a couple of hours, and then wipe it with a clean cloth

Laundry Room Basics

- Vinegar is a natural fabric softener. Add half a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle for soft, static-free clothes

- Need a natural stain fighter? Mix 6 tablespoons of baking soda with half a cup of warm water and apply to stains before washing

All-Purpose Ideas

- For an all-purpose cleaning spray, combine baking soda with white vinegar, a few drops of antibacterial teatree oil, and water. Shake it up in a spray bottle

- Use baking soda to control odours around your home. Sprinkle some in the garbage can before you insert the liner, keep a box where you store shoes and sports gear, and of course, it works wonders in the fridge

If you’re looking for more ideas or would like to find out about other eco-friendly cleaning products, your local natural health store is a great resource.

Energy audit can identify needed work that qualifies for grants

Tim Hewetson — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Original Article: The Toronto Star: yourhome.ca

April 16, 2009

Whether you’re looking to sell your home right away or you have concerns about high heating and cooling costs, an energy audit might provide some peace of mind and some dollars to help you with the upgrades.

Under the federal government’s ecoENERGY Retrofit program, homeowners can qualify for federal grants by improving the energy efficiency of their home – to a maximum grant of $5,000.

For example, the grant for a high-efficiency gas furnace is $625. (The program runs to March 31, 2011; more info at oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/retrofit-summary.cfm or call 1-800-387-2000.)

And since the government announced the additional tax credit for home renovations, more people are thinking about getting a professional energy assessment.

“Since the end of January we’ve definitely seen a spike in interest,” says Derek Brown, manager of energy assessment services with Direct Energy in Toronto.

Brown has a degree in building science and has been doing energy assessments for six years.

But what’s involved in an energy audit and is it worth it?

An energy assessment involves an expert examining your home inside and out, analyzing anything that keeps the heat in or creates heating and cooling – essentially all aspects of a home that affect energy consumption.

For example, attic insulation, hot water heaters and windows are all items that would be covered in an assessment.

“We’ve done energy assessments on homes ranging from 150 years old to six months old,” says Brown. “The reality is any home can benefit because the building code sets a certain standard, but you can go above and beyond that for things like insulation and windows.”

The average energy assessment costs $250 to $300 and the province will rebate $150 whether you take any further action or not.

It takes about two hours and includes a discussion with the homeowner, the data collection, a discussion of the findings and a walk-through to point out the findings.

“We take our data collection offsite, file it with the government and then, once accepted by them, it’s sent to the homeowner and they get in within 14 days,” says Brown.

The report is sent to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) because it must be approved if the owner is to receive grant money for their repairs or furnace replacement.

The report also tells homeowners what rebates they can get for certain upgrades, which must be completed within 18 months.

Brown points out that the energy audit is different from a home inspection, although a home inspector may tell you that a home could use more insulation, improved windows or a new furnace.

“They are two different things that kind of cross paths,” says Brown.

So if you’re selling your home, is it a good idea to pay for an energy audit ahead of time?

“If an energy audit is done by the buyer, it could force the hand of the seller,” says Darryl Mitchell, area manager and broker with Royal LePage in Toronto.

“But I would like to think that, in most cases, a professional realtor would tell a seller to deal with things like older casement windows and things that might impact what they feel should be the price of the home.”

The difference between a home inspection and an energy audit is that problems discovered in a home inspection – such as an unstable foundation – could break a deal, whereas an energy audit may not reveal as serious a problem.

“A home inspection may show a roof needs replacing and a buyer will back away because of it. I can’t say an energy audit could be used to do that,” says Mitchell. And he says other projects can be less stressful.

“I’d like to say people buy with their brain but the truth is, for the most part, they buy on emotion. Simple things make a big difference, like having your home staged may have a bigger bang for the buck. Or landscaping – for far less money, you can add curb appeal.”

And things like replacing lawn sod or adding a deck also qualify for the federal government’s Home Renovation Tax Credit, worth up to $1,350, says Cleo Hamel, a senior tax analyst with H&R Block.

“It is a credit of 15 per cent of what you spend, but you have to spend more than $1,000, up to $10,000, which would give you the $1,350 maximum payback. But even if you spend $5,000, you will get $600 back.”

– Jennifer Brown

Toronto Star

Your Largest Assets’ Biggest Asset

Tim Hewetson — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:51:35 +0000

Many home owners don’t think about it so much until problems arise. It’s one of your biggest assets’ biggest asset; your roof. The roof on a home is the most important first line of defence to keep the elements out of your home. It helps keep moisture out and pests outside. A good roof design helps redirect rain water to the eaves which carry water away from the building. So what happens when your roof gets old, tired, and begins to fail? A lot can happen and many home owners don’t notice until costly repairs are in order to rectify the problem and repair the damage.

Recently we had the roof redone on our century old home as part of a significant renovation. The reason was partially for preventative maintenance but also because we suspected something was going on based on the outward appearance. Our home consists of a high peaked roof at the front of the home with a flat, slightly sloped roof at the rear. To the untrained eye it didn’t look too bad. Yes there were a few dips on the peak and the flat roof did have a small puddle on it (Could see it from a neighbours roof-top deck) but all in all, from a distance it looked fine. No missing or curling shingles, no cracks, and of course no water pouring through the ceiling inside. It’s a good thing we had it replaced. Like a Monet, good from afar but very different up close.

In order to fully understand what we found and repaired here is a basic lesson on roof anatomy. A roof consists of 3 components along with minor components to supplement the major ones. The major ones are rafters, decking or sheathing, and shingles. Moving from the inside out, the rafters support the decking, the decking supports the shingles, and the shingles protect everything underneath from moisture and the elements. The more minor components are underlayment, fascia, soffit, vents, flashing, and drip edge. The underlayment is a layer of material, usually tar paper or a synthetic substance, which is placed on top of the decking before shingles are installed to offer an additional layer of protection from moisture. Fascia is trim used to cover the end of rafters and to which eaves troughs are normally attached. Soffit is the finished underside of the eaves between the end of the rafters and the exterior wall of the house. Vents are located higher up on the roof to do just what their name says; vent air from the attic and allow fresh air in to keep air circulating. Flashing is pieces of metal (normally aluminum) used to prevent moisture penetration around any intersections or projections in the roof such as vents, chimneys, and valleys. The drip edge is edging (normally galvanized steel or aluminum) that is placed at the end of the roof along the eaves which allows water to run off and drip clear of the sheathing, rafters and underlayment.

Upon closer inspection of our roof it was determined that there were 3 layers of asphalt shingles on the front of the peaked roof and 2 layers of asphalt shingles covering the original cedar shakes on the rear of the peaked roof. On the flat roof there were at least 3 layers of membrane, tar, tar paper, and gravel along with a bad repair job , a significant crack in the membrane, and of all things, a sapling growing in the gravel on it. Since the rule of thumb is no more than 3 layers of shingles on a roof we were advised that the roof would need to be stripped down to the sheathing. I am very glad we decided to do this. Once the stripping was complete our roof told a distinct story. A wasp nest in the flat roof soffits, a bad repair job to front of the peaked roof, an abandoned squirrel’s nest in the soffits of the peaked roof, and sheathing that had absolutely no support around where the electrical service connected to our home. That would explain the dip that seemed to increase in size year by year.

Although these repairs were considered to be minor they had the potential to be costly repairs. The crack in the membrane on the flat roof would only have gotten worse and it was only a matter of time before water permeated the attic. A wasp nest has obvious problems associated with it. The bad repair job on the peaked roof was done poorly and the shingles in the area were starting to curl slightly. Not to mention the wood sheathing in the area had not been repaired but only covered with a sheet of vinyl then shingled over. A squirrel’s nest in your attic or soffits is not a good thing. Squirrels are quite destructive and can chew through wiring creating a fire hazard. Also the potential for disease from feces, urine, fleas and tics is quite real. The most surprising element of the repair was the lack of support under the sheathing around the electrical service entering the house. The roofers said it was only a matter of time before this section of the roof caved in which would create a huge headache for us not to mention a costly repair job.

Water permeation of your roof can lead to a series of other problems such as mould, dry rot, structural deficiency, insect infestation (termites and carpenter ants in particular), electrical issues, insulation issues, unsightly water stains on your interior walls and ceilings, and the risk of the interior ceiling caving in. Looking after the roof on your home is paramount and saves money in the long run. For more information on roofing go to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporations website article on roof repair .

Prepare Before Renovating

Tim Hewetson — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:32:01 +0000

The time has come for us to embark upon our first major home renovation. New bathroom, staircase, kitchen counter tops, roof, and hardwood on the second floor. Here are some tips & ideas I’ve discovered to help make the process less of a headache and more efficient.

1. Do up a preliminary budget on how much you can afford to spend for each project.

2. Make sure you leave a 10 – 20 % margin for over budgeting. Nothing ever comes in on budget in particular home renovations. You never know what will be found when floors are torn up and walls removed. Be prepared and expect the worse but hope for the better.

3. If you can afford it, hire a designer. Designer’s offer a variety of services ranging from choosing colour schemes to overlooking and managing the whole project. Having someone looking after things will help to ease the burden and give you less things to worry about. Just make sure it’s a good fit.

4. Insist on permits. With permits comes inspections and knowing that the work completed at least conforms to minimal building codes. If someone tells you a permit is not necessary and you think it is, get a second opinion. This can save you, although not guaranteed, major headaches and financial burdens down the road.

5. Don’t be afraid to say no. Don’t let contractors push you around and persuade you to purchase work that may not be necessary. Do your homework and if you’re not sure, get another opinion.

6. You don’t have to give answers immediately. Think about things before deciding on them. Remember you’ll have to live with that avocado green tile that seemed like a good idea at the time.

7. Make sure you get more than 3 quotes and talk to your neighbours who have recently had work completed on their homes. We were recently quoted $22 000 to have the roof re-shingled and repaired. We got another quote and talked to 3 different neighbours who have recently done theirs and $10 000 was the more realistic amount that it should cost. It’s easy to get ripped off by an unscruppulous or in-experienced contractor.

8. Find out if you need to vacate the premises while the work is being completed. Sometimes it’s less stressful to move out and do site visits instead while remodelling is being done. Don’t forget to budget for this.

Happy Renovating!!!

Preventative Home Maintenance Saves Money

Tim Hewetson — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:23:42 +0000

At the beginning of May a damp odour made itself known in our back mudroom. I didn’t think much of it at first other than that I’d have to investigate further to find out where water was coming in and have it repaired. Over the course of the next 3 days, with the warm weather, the odour intensified and it became very clear that it was not a moisture problem but the smell of decay. Not being one to panic I decided it was probably a mouse or squirrel that had met it’s demise underneath the deck. Boy was I wrong. The smell became almost unbearable and it dawned on us that perhaps something a little larger than a mouse was under the deck. I investigated and was puzzled that there was nothing visible under the deck. Clean as a whistle except for some skirting around the bottom of the mudroom that had come loose. To make a long story short, a raccoon had crawled under the skirting and met it’s demise. Over 20 pounds.

The cost started adding up. $125 for removal of the carcass, and an additional $650 to replace the skirting with a synthetic lattice (no wood to soil contact) and do grading along the back of the house while the back deck, which surrounded the mudroom, was torn up. This is where preventative home maintenance is so important. What could have been a $100 dollar fix turned into $775. That’s just the financial part. In order to save money we decided to remove the deck boards ourselves. Yes we were aware the skirting underneath the mudroom was reaching the end of it’s life expectancy but didn’t do anything about it. Talk about a wake up call.

What happened to us can be considered a minor event. Look at your home when you have a chance and make minor repairs immediately. An example that can turn into a major headache and large financial expense is the roof or missing caulking on a window sill. We may think a few missing shingles or a cracked bead of caulking is not a big deal but it can be. Where is the water going? Probably directly into the attic and the walls of your home. If left and not repaired, a repair job which would be relatively inexpensive can turn into a financial nightmare. Why? Water can cause wood rot (it’s not easy or cheap to replace rotten rafters in the attic), drywall breakdown, electrical problems, and worse mould. Mould cleanup is astronomically expensive and is something i wouldn’t wish upon my worse enemy.

So next time you see something on your home which is minor at the time but could use repair, take the time and have it looked after. You’ll be protecting one of your biggest assets and saving yourself a headache down the road.

Home Energy Tips

Tim Hewetson — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:46:08 +0000

We don’t want to think about winter. But the days and nights are getting chillier as the mercury drops. And the forecast for this winter is a cold one. How can you save cash on your heating and enerrgy costs? Here are some practical tips:

Lower your thermostat at night and whenever the house is unoccupied. Close off and don’t heat unoccupied rooms (unless you have a heat pump). If you consistently set your thermostat back by a few degrees you may reduce your heating bill by 10-20%.
Lower the thermostat and dress warmer. A few degrees can make a difference in energy consumption.
Lower the temperature on your electric water heater to 45 degrees Celsius. Turn it off when leaving for extended periods of time. Electric water heaters can be set on timers; gas heaters must be set manually.
Set refrigerator temperatures between 2 and 10 degrees Celsius. Clean the coils. Keep the refrigerator stocked – it takes more energy to cool an empty fridge.
Consider replacing your older refrigerator. Older models can use up to 3 times the energy of newer ones.
Wash full loads of dishes and air dry.
When washing clothes, use warm or cold water and rinse with cold. Air dry clothes, but not indoors as this creates unwanted mould and moisture problems.
Shut off lights, computers and other electronic appliances when you’re not using them. Many computer monitors have a sleep mode setting which, when activated, greatly reduces energy consumption.
Use a microwave or toaster to cook smaller items.
Install a low-flow showerhead. Showers use less hot water than baths; also consider taking shorter showers.
Close your fireplace damper and seal the opening shut when not in use.
During the heating season, open south-facing window coverings (e.g. drapes and blinds) during the day. Close all window coverings at night to keep the heat in.
Install foam gaskets behind all electric-outlet and switchplate covers.
Examine and adjust, if necessary, weatherstripping, door sweeps and thresholds.

For more tips go to the Ontario Ministry of Energy’s website.

Summer Energy Saving Tips For Your Home

Tim Hewetson — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:41:25 +0000

Spring has sprung after an unusually snowy winter. The birds are singing and crocus are starting to bloom. I recently found a terrific article on Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency web page about things the average person can do to conserve energy during the warmer months of the year. In fact a lot of these can be practiced throughout the year. To get some great tips to help keep money in your pocket read the article here entitled Summer Tips for Your Home.

Your New Property… Pets Included???

Tim Hewetson — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:05:11 +0000

You’ve moved into your dream home or condo. Everything is sparkling clean, boxes unpacked, and you’re relaxing after a hard day working. Everything seems in order and all is content when you hear something. Out of the corner of your eye you catch movement and see a brownish gray streak run across your floor and disappear. That’s when the grim realization sets in. You’ve inherited unwelcome house pets with your new home.

Whether it be rodents or insects pests are a nuisance. Not only that, they can be destructive and damaging to your biggest investment.

Health Canada’s website has some helpful tips on their website for pest control.