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Increase your home’s value with smart renos

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Increasing your home’s value might seem like a no-brainer – just update old fixtures and floors, add a coat of paint and maybe do a full-scale reno or two. However, getting the most out of your renovation dollars means renovating your property smartly. There are certain elements of a home that will automatically fetch more money on the market if they have been updated.

Things to Consider First
Aside from actual renovations, other factors will also play a significant role in how much you should spend, and on what. Location is a very big factor as more expensive neighbourhoods will expect higher-end renovations to be done than renos done on homes located in less expensive neighbourhoods.

The value of your home versus the value of similar homes in your neighbourhood is something else that you should take into consideration. You certainly don’t want to be spending more on renovations that your house is worth on the market. For instance, if you paid $350, 000 for your home and put in renos worth $50,000, then you should expect your home’s value to rise to at least $410,000 – if it doesn’t then you should scale back the scope of the renos you want to make in order to make a bigger impact.

Smart Money Options
The first things you should renovate in your home if they have seen better days are your roof, your windows and doors and the home’s infrastructure, which includes plumbing and electrical. While these basic elements are not very sexy and will not really get much notice from your friends, they will definitely impress homebuyers who want a solid structure that will provide them with peace of mind.

Next, the two most important places in a home that will sell homebuyers are the kitchen and the bathroom(s). Adding a family room and master suite are also popular options that bring value to a home. Adding a swimming pool or landscaping your yard, while nice, won’t increase your property’s value by very much.

Choice finishes
Renovating properly is another very big requisite to get the best return on your money as possible. While you may want to spend the next 20 years in your home, it still doesn’t mean that you should indulge in the retro pink kitchen cabinets. Eventually you will want to sell and those flashy cabinets will drag the value of your home down. Choosing classic finishes that will age gracefully is your best option. Elegant, neutral finishes are the way to go if you want something that will last a lifetime and will still be appealing when you are ready to sell.

Consulting with a savvy real estate agent before doing renos is very helpful and a smart agent will be able to highlight those areas that will give you the best return.

Toronto Fall Home Show

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Starting tomorrow the Toronto Fall Home Show will opens its doors to savvy homeowners who are looking for inspiration, wisdom and information from a host of exhibitors gathered to share their expertise and know-how. The popular exhibition is a chance to have questions answered, find the professionals of your choice for projects you have in mind and find ideas to vexing problems.

The show is hosted at the:
Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place
195 Princes Boulevard, Toronto, ON M6K 3C3

The show hours are:

Thursday, October 1
10am – 8pm
Friday, October 2
10am – 8pm
Saturday, October 3
10am – 8pm
Sunday, October 4
10am – 6pm

Boasting a number of interesting features, this year’s edition of the Toronto Fall Home Show includes City Smart Living, which is geared toward providing smart solutions to city living – from maximizing small spaces to creating zen areas in an urban environment. Also featured this year is a Design Intervention, Upcycling of Furniture and a seminar on Renovating with Confidence.

The show is a favorite among real estate professionals, design enthusiasts and those wanting direction with their home projects.

So, don’t wait to buy your tickets! For more information on the show and what is being offered, you can visit their website.

Fall Cleaning

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Home maintenance in Toronto or anywhere else is a never-ending cycle of vigilance, cleaning, maintenance and repair. Although it might seem like you are on a treadmill where chores are concerned, twice a year those items that you let slip for a few months come into sharp focus and it is important to do a deep clean before heading into the next season; these two important times of year are spring and fall. Everyone knows what spring cleaning is – well fall cleaning is very much the same. However, this time around you are preparing your house to be nearly sealed off for the coming winter – it is for this reason that it is very important to do a thorough cleaning as otherwise you will trap all the dust and grime of the summer in with you for the next several months.

If the thought of such a deep clean is daunting – fear not – here we’ve compiled a check-list of the chores that need to be done so that you can tackle one item at a time.

Inside

Wash all windows
Dust, wash, dry all walls
Dust, wash, dry all light fixtures
Dust, wash, dry all window treatments: for vertical blinds, after vacuuming dust, soak in water with dish soap; for cloth window treatments, check washing instructions.
Vacuum and clean upholstery
Deep clean carpeting
Vacuum refrigerator condenser coil
Declutter and clean garage and/or attic
Wash comforters and pillows

Outside

Clean out gutters
Rake and compost leaves
Prep garden for winter
Check weather stripping around doors and windows
Clean and store patio furniture
Drain and store hoses
Clean, drain and close pool (if necessary)
Clean and store barbeque

Once every item from your fall cleaning checklist has been checked off, you can face the coming cold with an easy mind knowing that you and your Toronto home are well prepared.

Prep Your Garden Beds for Winter

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Once the last flower has faded from your Toronto garden and a chill can be felt in the morning air, it is time to start thinking of closing up your beds and preparing them for the winter months. While it is true that you can simply leave everything as is and wait until spring to tackle the clean up – it is best to get it down in the fall so that your garden and your plants are able to rest properly and so are better prepared for spring when it arrives.

FLOWER BEDS
If you have flower beds, then what needs to be done will depend on whether you have perennials or annuals in your Ontario garden. Annuals need simply to be removed and discarded once they have finished blooming and start to die. Perennials are a different story altogether. Depending on the type of perennials in your garden you will want to treat them differently.

Ornamental grasses: Although tradition says that they need to be cut back in the fall, some of these grasses are so pretty and keep their shape and colour all winter long, that some gardeners won’t cut them back until early spring – and some just prefer to keep them all year round to enjoy their wheat-colored beauty.
Flowers with seed heads: Some flowers with seed heads can be left through the winter even if you cut back the foliage. The seed-heads feed wintering birds through the cold days and even provide a sort of shelter from the snow for the garden bed. So, the seed heads can be left intact until the spring time.
Other perennials: The rest of the perennial flowers can be cut back in late fall to prepare them for the winter.
Evergreens: Resist the urge to prune your evergreens until the spring. If they are large then consider covering them with a burlap wrap and securing them with a tie to help them keep their shape under heavy snow.

VEGETABLE GARDENS

Preparing your vegetable garden for winter is rather straight-forward. Simply pull up your old plants, fertilize your garden (after checking to make sure you have the right pH balance), work the soil by tilling and then protect it by covering with mulch or by planting a cover crop that you don’t intend to harvest. Cover crops are simply crops that will protect your topsoil from eroding or washing away. Furthermore, it can be tilled into the soil in the spring for added nutrition. If you have perennial crop plants, cut back old stalks and then cover them with mulch to protect them through the winter.

With just a little time and effort you and your garden can rest easy knowing that all will be ready for when springs rolls around again.

To Prune or Not in Fall

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Gardeners often get antsy with the fall season rolling around and nothing much remaining to do in the garden besides the yearly clean-up. Many gardeners will even attempt to prune their large trees and bushes in the warm September sunshine. However, this is definitely not counseled and it is highly advisable to wait.

1. Pruning will stimulate new growth. However, if the weather gets very cold at night then it will weaken new shoots that haven’t yet had time to harden.

2. Pruning wounds heal far slower in fall than during the spring, leaving your plants exposed to fungal infections and disease for longer periods of time.

The only time it is okay to prune in the fall is if you are:

1. Removing dead or diseased branches.

2. Deadheading flowering shrubs/plants to increase their flowering life. However, a caveat to deadheading flowering plants is if you need them to seed in order to propagate or if they look nice dried.

If you are bent on pruning your trees and shrubs, then it is best to wait until they have shed their leaves in the fall. When the tree is asleep, you will cause less damage to new growth and you will also be able to better see what needs a trim and what doesn’t.

If you are able to wait until winter or spring to trim your trees – even better!

Caring for your garden involves patience and effort, but as long as you are willing to put both in, then you will reap the rewards for years.

Protecting your garden from an early frost

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If you are an avid gardener you have probably started seeing the fruits of your labors in the past few weeks. Garden crops yield most of their bounty at this time of year. However, as the temperature shifted this year with colder, rainy weather lasting long into June and warmer temperatures during the day extending well into September, it is very feasible to have your crop’s growing season extended. The trick is to keep your tender plants protected from the colder temperatures that can be experienced in late fall when the days are still warm but night-time temperatures can dip below freezing. Luckily there are several tried-and-tested very easy ways to keep your plants safe from drastic temperature dips.

Cover up! The simplest way of keeping your plants safe from frost is to cover them with a light-weight material. Just build a cursory frame around your plant – it doesn’t have to be anything fancy, even a wooden stake stuck into the ground is enough – and drape it with newpaper, a bed sheet or any other material you have. It will keep frost off your plants at night. Just be sure to remove the covering during the day so that they plants can again breathe and absorb the heat of the day.

Water well! Watering your plants before sundown will keep the ground moist and this moisture will release slowly into the air during the night around your plants, which will increase the air temperature slightly.

Cloche! Using a cloche (large glass or plastic bell) is another good way to protect plants from frost. It is similar to a cover up, but provides even greater protection for sensitive plants.

Heat traps! Another effective way of keeping the temperature around your plant higher during a frost is to paint milk jugs black, fill them with water and place them in between the plants during the day. The sun will warm the water up and as water retains heat longer than soil, it will release this heat and moisture slowly during the night.

Fan! Lastly, since any kind of air will prevent frost from settling on the ground, you can simulate this air by using a fan set on gentle to create a constant breeze through the night. The only thing you have to worry about is making sure that the cords and plugs are properly covered up and insulated from water to prevent short circuits and fires.

If you have container plants, then the easiest way to keep them safe is to move them indoors at night. If you don’t have space to do this, then burying the bases in soil is another option.

With very little effort you can extend your garden’s growing season and ensure delicious, organic for a few weeks longer!

Bringing in the Harvest

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If you are like a lot of backyard, rooftop or balcony gardeners, then you are likely seeing the real fruits of your labors right about now. After a summer’s worth of attention and care, your vegetable plants and fruit trees should be in full harvest splendour. While many plants and vines will have already been giving you produce from about mid-July, from now until mid-September is when you will really reap dividends.

One of the main difficulties faced with gardeners is what to do with your harvest when you have more than you can realistically eat? There are a few options open to you. The simplest, of course, is to give away some produce to your friends and family. However, if you have already exhausted the number of people who appreciate garden fresh veggies and fruits, then the next step is either canning or freezing. Depending on how quickly you plan on consuming your harvest will dictate the best method to follow.

Canning
Canning is the traditional method used to preserve fruits and vegetables from the garden. It is a time-consuming but thorough process that involves sterilizing of the jars/tools employed in the canning as well as the boiling and processing of the food and/or preserving liquid being used. A good overview of how to can properly can be found in the guides over here //bit.ly/1PWQbeU. Canned goods can last a for months at a time in a cool dry place without worry, as long as the canning process was done properly.

Freezing
Freezing is the quicker method of preserving food, however, it doesn’t work very well for certain items like soft fruits as the thawing process will turn them to mush. However, if you are only planning on using your fruits and berries in smoothies, pies or purées, then freezing will work fine. Generally, to get the best results from freezing vegetables such as beans, spinach or swiss chard, you should blanch them prior to freezing them. However, it is not necessary to do so. A good guide to freezing can be found here //bit.ly/1NYcCz0.

Having done both freezing and canning of my garden produce, I can say that I appreciate both methods for different reasons. I will usually can half my tomatoes and freeze the other half. The frozen tomatoes are great for recipes involving one or two tomatoes that I can throw in quickly. The canned tomatoes work best for sauces and curries. Beans, spinach and swiss chard get frozen while berries and fruits are turned into jam or compotes. Peppers are canned and taste amazing after the marinating in the pickling juice for a few weeks – they make great additions to sandwiches and pastas!

Preserving your harvest is the best way to enjoy the fresh taste of summer for months after the growing season has ended. Not only is it a fun way to spend a couple of weekends, but it will give you a real sense of satisfaction.

Choosing The Right Exterior Accents

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Toronto is one of the most competitive housing markets in Canada. A homeowner looking to sell their residence will have to bring their home’s A-game to the selling-block if they want to get top-dollar for their property. Oftentimes the home’s curbside appeal will negatively impact the property’s chances of getting the best price simply because the exterior doesn’t catch the buyer’s eye as quickly as a home dressed up to sell. There are a few ways to better present your home for sale. Along with thoroughly cleaning your yard, trimming any wild trees and/or bushes, cutting the grass and planting some colourful flowers, you can also add some exterior accents to your home itself. Elements such as shutters, gable vents, mounting blocks molding and mantles all go a long way towards increasing the allure of a property and adding the right amount of flare to it create a lasting impression on all who pass by for a visit.

Shutters
Shutters used to have a function in keeping out the elements back when windows were not built as sturdily or as weather-proof as they are now. However the days of functional shutters has passed and today’s variety are used as decoration. You can get shutters in a number of materials and colours in order to best match the look and style of your home. While you can purchase shutters at your local big box renovation store, there are custom design places that can also provide a more tailored look for your residence.

Gable Vents
Gable vents are those vents you see around the edge of the roof that let air flow in and out to the roof. While there is some dissension on the utility of gable vents vs soffits, the fact remains that you can dress them up if you have them. Changing them up to be a little showier can definitely add to the appeal of your home – and again, they can easily be found at big box renovation centres or, for more unique stylings, you can consult custom exterior home accent suppliers.

Mounting Blocks
Mounting blocks are those items used to secure features such as mailboxes, address numbers, light fixtures, water faucets and electrical receptacles. While you can have very ordinary mounting blocks and although seemingly small and insignificant, spending just a little bit more to get blocks that accent your home’s features will certainly provide you with a return on your investment.

Moldings and Mantles
The kind of moldings and mantles you add to your home will probably have the greatest impact on how your dwelling looks. The trim used around your home can either blend into the background or provide pop to the structure’s features. Depending on the property’s architectural style you might want to spice things up by trying a different colour or even adding detailing such as finials, flying buttresses, keystones and sills can also really add to the ornateness of your home.

Whether you keep it simple to go all out, exterior accents can really help attract buyers to your home.

Light Up Your Life in Toronto

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Exterior lighting around your home can truly enhance your property’s beauty and curb-appeal. The right lighting design will not only provide security and safety to your home, but it will also change its aesthetic once the sun goes down. It is an easy and sure-fire way to dramatically alter your home’s landscape without too much effort – although you should be prepared for the cost behind the installation of good quality lights.

The right design

Before simply going out and buying whatever exterior lights are on sale, it is good to have a lighting design to follow. If you are unsure of how to design a lighting plan for your home, you can always consult the readily available online planners such as the one found over here //bit.ly/1h2sBlx. Some key points to keep in mind when designing a lighting plan include using lighting:
to accent key features such as the facade of your home, trees, fountains & outdoor cooking areas
to provide illumination along pathways and stairs
to create an inviting ambiance that will make you want to spend time outdoors in the evenings

The right lights

Different types of lights are available and are used for different purposes. Uplights and downlights are exactly what their names imply – one shines the light upwards, the other downwards. Spotlights focuses a beam of light on a particular feature. Fairy lights are almost like Christmas lights except they can come in a variety of shapes and forms including flowers, fairies, stars, etc… Deck lighting are small lights that you can embed into your deck for a seamless finish while some designers have gone so far as to incorporate time LEDs into swimming pool designs to make it look like there are stars in the pool at night.

Aside from the type of light you choose for your design, the kind of lightbulb will also play a crucial role in how the ultimate plan will look. Most lighting designers opt for the warm look of incandescent lighting – cold, white lights are not very popular as they are less appealing. Soft, warm lighting can now be found in LEDs, which is a terrific innovation that provides gives you the same inviting look and ambiance of incandescent lighting but at a fraction of the long-term cost. While LEDs are initially more expensive upfront, they last longer and will burn for years compared with ordinary bulbs.

To hire a designer or not

If you are unsure about how to create your own lighting plan, you can always hire a lighting designer to help you out. Should you decide to hire a lighting designer be sure to certify that the person in question specializes in outdoor lighting design and installation and that their company focuses solely on exterior lighting. Also be sure to the designer listens to what you want and delivers the kind of ambiance you envision.

Regardless of how you go about installing your exterior lighting, once it is done you will enjoy the results for years to come.

Restoring An Old Deck

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Your old deck might be an eyesore now, but it doesn’t have to be! With just a little bit of elbow grease and minimal investment you can have it looking as good as new in a very short time.

Restoring an old deck is not as difficult as it might seem. It only requires a good cleaning, the replacement or fixing or rotten boards and the staining or painting of the structure to keep it going for another few years

Step One
The first thing you have to do when undertaking the restoration of your old deck is to check for structural damage. The spots to focus on are places where the deck touches the ground. If you can sink the tip of your screwdriver easily into posts or joints, then your deck’s foundation is no longer solid and you will be looking at a major overhaul. However, if the structural elements of your deck are still in good shape, then you are good to go.

Step Two
Replace or repair any rotten or loose deck boards. If your deck board has small knots or is splintering you might be able to reinforce it with exterior wood putty – as long as the damage is not significant. However, the better route would be to replace the board entirely. Removing old deck boards can be done with two hammers (if the boards were secured with nails) or with a reversible drill if secured with screws. The two hammer technique is very effective – just plae the hook side of hammer one against the nail head and hammer the hammer down until the nail is firmly wedged between the hooks – then use the hammer like a crowbar to pry the nail free.

Step Three
Cleaning. Although decks are supposed to be cleaned every year, most homeowners don’t realize this. If a deck is cleaned every year, then you can get away with a simple cleanse before moving to the next step. However, if you haven’t really washed your deck in a while, then you should get a good product such as Thompson’s Deck Wash. You simply mix it in a bucket and apply it to the surface of your deck with a good stiff-bristled brush so that you can really scrub at it. You can also use a pressure washer for really tough stains – but be careful not to put it on the highest settings, which can damage your deck boards.

Step Four
Allow your deck to dry COMPLETELY before applying any kind of stain. You should wait a good 24 hours so that your deck is absolutely dry before staining. However, if it rains before you stain, you have to wait longer.

Step Five
Most contractors recommend a semi-transparent stain for old decks as the grain can still show through but the pigment will make the new boards blend in better with the old boards. However, there are also dark stains and paint options that provide startlingly beautiful results. Read the instructions on whatever stain you use for proper application techniques.

Step Six
Wait until the stain/paint dries – and enjoy your restored deck!