Continued from Part 1 After a great deal of panic and hand-wringing, we contacted a company called Pipe Vision who came over and ran cameras through the weepers to see what was going on. Sure enough, the weepers were so plugged with silt in several areas that the camera could not even penetrate. While this [...]
I suspect many people worry that one day they’ll have a wet basement. Recently, that particular fear of my own came true when we discovered wetness in the basement of our 25 year old home. Perhaps sharing our story might help others struggling with a similar issue and believe me, there are many of you [...]
Earlier this year, I was in a charming country farm home in the Blue Mountains that had been remodeled using only reclaimed and recycled products. It was stunning and I’ve never quite been able to get it out of my head. Since then and, as I continue in my own journey to grow in my [...]
Earth Day seems like the perfect day to share some good news on the ecoEnergy front. On March 31st of this year, the Federal government abruptly announced an immediate end to their very popular ecoEnergy Retrofit Homes Program. Under that initiative, homeowners were able to access grants of up to $10,000 of combined Federal and Provincial contributions [...]
I have a super human sense of smell. While this drives me (and my family, friends and co-workers) crazy at times, it sure does come in handy in the real estate business. If a house has any musty smell, even hidden in a closet, I’ll usually smell it before my shoes are off at the [...]
Well, maybe that is a big first step. But it is true indeed that one persons junk is another persons’ treasure. A few years ago, we had a yard sale and among other things, there was an old iron bed headboard. The lady who bought it told me she was going to give it a [...]
With the current Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) and the ecoEnergy grants available, home renovation appears to be alive and well. It certainly is in our house. Have you ever wondered what the pay back might be for the money you invest in those renovations? The Appraisal Institute of Canada has a handy calculator on their website to [...]
I got a notice the other day from the Environment Network in Collingwood that I think will be of interest to all rural property owners. They are promoting the Well Aware Program which is a project of Green Communities Canada that receives funding support from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Well Aware home visits, [...]
Time for another update on our chemical free-lawn progress. If you recall, I first wrote about this in May of last year. Our lawn had already been free of chemicals for almost two years but the poor thing was suffering. Then, about 15 months ago, we hired Garden [...]
Can you imagine having an oil spill on your own property and the subsequent costs involved in cleaning it up? Depending on the size, location and nature of the spill, the costs could easily reach the 5 and 6 figures or, in one case we know of, the millions! This is not an odd occurrence [...]
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