renovations / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

1. Make a realistic budget and schedule: This is, without a doubt, the starting point to a successful build - don’t underestimate the time and money it will take to complete a build or renovation. Even professional contractors tend to underestimate the costs and duration of a project. Get advice from multiple professio...

...renovations in warmer months: This is not always possible of course, either due to your own schedule, availability of funds, and often times the availability of contractors, but summer renovations allow for a much more thorough exchange of interior air by keeping windows open. Seal air vents: At least during the time w...

...renovations, is to be sure not to trap moisture between two vapor barriers. If a home already has a vapor retarder or vapor barrier, it’s important not to add another vapor-impermeable layer on the opposite side of the wall that could trap moisture in the middle along with organic materials such as insulation or wood f...

Wood ceilings - what's the the skinny? Ahhh, the charm of a wood ceiling, seriously, what's not to like? The intent of this page is less about talking you out of installing gypsum board (drywall), and more about giving you a little encouragement if you are hesitantly considering a wood ceiling. It’s a natural product t...

...Renovations add the most value and What Homebuyers are Looking for and what Green Home Renovation Tax Credits and Incentives are available to help you pay for those! And don’t forget commuting - there are Electric Vehicle Rebates as well as Solar Panels Financing  from Tesla. Learn all about Green Home construction and...

...renovations: Before renovating or insulating, determine first that foundations can safely continue to support a structure long into the future. A foundation that isn’t badly deteriorated can be upgraded to modern standards of moisture and thermal protection, and unfinished basements are cheaper to upgrade as you don’t ...

...Renovations often come with unexpected expenses, which can strain your budget. Financing challenges: Some lenders may be hesitant to finance a fixer-upper or may require a higher down payment or interest rate. Living in a construction zone: Depending on the extent of the renovations, you may need to live in a construct...

...renovations can tell you stories about surprises they found in walls. Being able to present a contractor ahead of time with details of what they will encounter can possibly save you some money.

Top Tips for preparing a home for winter Extremely low temperatures over winter can test your home in many ways, and sometimes your house will return a failing grade. Even brand new homes built to code can see failures of their building envelopes, windows, doors and ventilation systems during winter, a simple failure t...

Ice dams form at the bottom of roofs, letting water penetrate and cause damage to the interior of walls and roofs.  When snow melts on a roof it runs down until it meets the unheated bottom edge of a roof and then freezes. This chunk of ice is called an ice dam, and it can cause water to backup beneath shingles and Ice...

Frost in Attics: why is there Ice in my roof?  When a warm sunny day arrives after a long cold stretch and it seems like you have a roof leak when there isn't a cloud in the sky, it's probably Attic Icing, otherwise known as Ice Dams or Ice Damming, and the surprising thing is that it's very unlikely that the roof cove...