Richmond Hill Real Estate Listings & Homes for Sale - Home Improvement

Fall Seasonal Checklist for Getting Your Home Ready for The Cooler Weather

Jasmina — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:02:10 -0400

Don't "Fall" into the Season Without Preparing Your Home

Proper maintenance of your home and garden will help preserve your investment. And best of all, keeping your house in tip-top shape this fall will prevent any unnecessary chores in the spring.

Outdoor Projects

Complete exterior painting before cooler weather arrives.
Cover air conditioner and barbecue to prevent winter damage.
Store lawn ornaments and patio furniture in a shed or basement.

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Toronto National Home Show

Jasmina — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:43:20 -0400

Start: 2008-04-04 11:00

End: 2008-04-13 18:00

National Home Show 2008 - Advice & Solutions for Your Decorating, Renovating, Landscaping Projects

Toronto National Home Show is back and better than ever. If you've got a home project in mind, looking to refresh your living space or want to discover the latest styles, trends and ideas for your home, the National Home Show has the inspiration you need to get started:

Tour the Dream Home
Celebrities on the IKEA Love your Home Stage
Experience the Toronto Star Dream Gardens
Gallery New: Surround Yourself with New
Decorating & Renovation Tips & Tricks
Meet Contractors & Builders from BILD
Meet one-on-one with Interior Designers from ARIDO presented RENO & Decor Magazine

Advice, solutions and inspiration for all your decorating, renovating, and landscaping dilemmas from more than 700 home & garden specialists await you at the 2008 National Home Show. Buy tickets online and save $3 on admission! Enjoy this exclusive offer to Home & Garden Television by entering promotional code HGTV. You can also get 2-for-1 admission for April 10-13 with discount code torontolife.

Toronto Fall Home Show

Jasmina — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:57:19 -0400

Start: 2007-09-13 11:00

End: 2007-09-16 18:00

At the Toronto Fall Home Show you’ll get advice from celebrities and experts, get great deals on hundreds of products and services, and information to do-it yourself or help finding someone to do it for you. Save $2.00 off each adult admission when you buy tickets on-line and receive a free HomeStars.ca book - 336 pages filled with: Over 2,000 consumer ratings of stores and services in the GTA; Events, articles, tips on renovation planning and more; Listing 10,207 companies in over 85 categories.

See the latest in home and garden products and services including:

What Do Home Buyers Want? Which Home Improvement is Key to Selling Your Property?

Jasmina — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 23:28:17 -0400

How Much Will You Get Back from Renovation Projects when Selling Your Home?

Jasmina — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 07:22:20 -0400

Appraisal Institute of Canada surveys its members and compiles a list of renovations that yield the best return on investment. Year after year, three most frequent renovation improvements undertaken by homeowners, which provide the highest payback potential are:

Bathroom Renovation
Kitchen Renovation
Painting - Interior/Exterior

Care should be taken not to overly personalize the renovations and adversely affect the property's function or market appeal. Be particularly careful when renovating if the property is in the upper range of value for the area and involves a large capital outlay.

Projected average payback value ranges for the twenty most frequent renovation projects are:

10 cheap fixes to boost your home's value

Jasmina — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 23:34:24 -0500

Changing market conditions necessitate making the house as presentable and appealing as possible for sellers. This MSN Real Estate article lists some inexpensive renovations that will actually increase your home’s value:

Make your kitchen really cook
Give appliances a facelift
Buff up the bath: Next to the kitchen, bathrooms are often the most important rooms to update
Step up your storage
Add a room in a week or less
Mind the mechanics
Look underfoot
Let there be light
Reframe your entry
Consider curb appeal.

Why Should I Worry About My Windows?

Daniel — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 00:27:28 -0400

Improving Window Energy Efficiency [PDF]

Windows can account for up to 25 percent of total house heat loss. This fact sheet describes affordable and effective options to improve the energy efficiency of the windows in your house. Improving the energy efficiency of your home's windows can substantially reduce your home's energy use, cut your heating and cooling costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

If you are shopping for new windows Consumer's Guide To Buying Energy-Efficient Windows and Doors [PDF]. It contains the following Sections:

5 Tips for Hiring a Heating and Cooling Contractor

Daniel — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 22:29:06 -0400

Home and Garden Canada - Heating and Cooling

Study up - Find out about license and insurance requirements for contractors*
Consider Seasoned installers
Call references
Find special offers
Look for ENERGY STAR qualified products that meet strict energy efficiency guideline

* Make sure to read CMHC's publication About Your House: Hiring a Contractor before you start!

Practical tips to help people with asthma improve the indoor air quality of their home.

Daniel — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 01:21:31 -0400

Fighting Asthma in Your House | CMHC

Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways. It is one of the most common chronic conditions affecting Canadians. Physicians have diagnosed more than 2.2 million Canadians as being asthmatic — 12.2 per cent of Canadian children and 6.3 per cent of adults — according to the 1996–97 National Population Health Survey.

Asthma is not only one of the most common chronic conditions among Canadians; it is growing rapidly among children. In 1996, physicians diagnosed four times as many children with asthma as they did in 1984.

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Canada Gets Serious about Radon & Radon Guide for Canadian Homeowners

Daniel — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 00:20:17 -0400

Realty Times - Real Estate News and Advice

Health Canada is poised to tighten up guidelines for radon gas levels in indoor air, to a level four times more stringent than current guidelines. It could mean that radon testing will become mandatory in future real estate transactions, and that building codes for new homes will be upgraded. Critics say that Canada should have adopted the stricter guidelines in the 1980s, when the United States and other countries around the world set their radon guidelines. But Health Canada says that "until recently, there was no evidence providing a direct link between radon levels in the home and lung cancer." The ministry says that, "However, in 2005, two independent scientific studies performed in Europe and North America showed that lung cancer risks extend to levels of radon found in some homes depending on the length of time an individual is exposed to it." The Health Canada report estimates that lung cancers from radon exposure account for about 10 per cent of all lung cancers, second only behind smoking.

CMHC - Radon : A Guide for Canadian Homeowners