Design is a make-or-break issues when it comes to renovations and new homes, but too often ideas about design come too small and too late. To make your place better, you need to think about the big design ideas you’ll find here and you’ll need to think about them early on, when they can have an influence on how your place feels and functions.
Steve Maxwell, “Canada’s Handiest Man”, lets homeowners in on the pros and cons of living with a tankless water heater.
If you’ve got drain pipes that aren’t completely protected from frost by sufficient soil, you may have a huge problem waiting to happen. If that sewage line freezes up, it can be well into spring before it defrosts naturally. Click…
Question: How can I add insulation to the roof of a 500 square foot cabin without covering the rafters and roof boards you can see inside? My place is in the eastern townships of Quebec, Canada and we’d like to…
Building houses for a cold climate requires things that aren’t immediately obvious. Read on for five essential building strategies for success. A lot of people miss this stuff.
Building with the natural limestone of Manitoulin Island, Canada is one of the things I’ve learned to do in my decades here on our homestead. The video below shows one of the most intricate parts of the job. Click below for…
Question: The aluminum siding on my house has growths on it and the paint seems to be rubbing off as a powder. Other than these problems, the siding is in good shape physically. What can I do to make things…
Got some soffit and fascia to install on your home, garage or cottage? This article covers the basics for achieving an exceptionally good job, even as a non-professional
Question: How realistic is it to convert a seasonal cottage built in the 1950s into a year-round home? My husband and I live in the city and we’d like to sell our house and take the proceeds to buy a…
Thousands of people who own beautiful lakeside cottages will tell you that owning the place is fun, but a ton of work. If this is your experience, or if you want to avoid being overwhelmed by a cottage that you…
Choosing paint colors is probably the number#1 challenge faced by people looking to paint their homes, both inside and out. There are so many choices and so many opinions about what looks good that it often leads to indecision and…
Click above to watch lesson#10 in my online video course KEEP IT FLOWING. This video shows a Bison deep well hand pump being installed alongside an electric submersible pump in my own well. It’s surprising how many people ask me about hand pumps like…