What Do You Need to Know to Prepare for Your Large Renovation Project: Wo-Built's Home Design Workshop at Wise Daughters

Flyer: Wo-Built Inc. and Wise Daughters Craft Market Design Workshop
Planning a large renovation: What do you need to know?
Photos: "Planning an Open Concept for example?
We can let you know what is involved."

Wo-Built Inc. and Wise Daughters Craft Market

Invite you to attend our next Home Design Workshop

Planning a large renovation:
What do you need to know?

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
7 pm - 9 pm

Wise Daughters Craft Market
3079B Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M5P 1Z9
(facing Quebec Avenue, just south Dundas, behind Crema Coffee)

This is the right workshop for you if you are thinking of or already planning a renovation that may involve many trades, permits, designers and engineers or is just bigger than you want to handle by yourself. We will explore the different stages of a renovation, any pitfalls you may encounter and you will receive any general and specific advice you may need.

Cost: $10

Contact: 416-761-1555 or 416-345-2555 to reserve your seat
Or e-mail: wisedaughters@sympatico.ca or info@wobuilt.com

See you there!

Want to take a workshop? Please pre-register:
Wise Daughters Craft Market
Local handicrafts and do-it-yourself workshops
3079B Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M5P 1Z9
(facing Quebec Avenue, just south Dundas, behind Crema Coffee)
There is ample street parking on Dundas and Quebec.
Via TTC: Junction bus # 40 from Dundas West Station,
Lambton bus # 30 (or 15 min. walk) from High Park Station.
tel: 416-761-1555
e-mail: wisedaughters@sympatico.ca
web: www.wisedaughters.com

For future workshops, see www.wisedaughters.com

links:
Get Your Smart Kitchen & Bathroom Design Ideas: Wo-Built's Home Design Workshop at Wise Daughters
Reminder: Wo-Built's Home Design Workshop Tonight!
Our First Session of the Home Design Workshop Series
How to Improve Your Home Spaces: Wo-Built Design Workshop Tonight
Wo-Built Is Launching a New Home Design Series Covering All Your Home Improvement Questions
snapbloorwest.com: SNAP Bloor West: 2009 May: Craft Market Hosts Home Design Series
entrepreneur.com: Business Idea Center: Home Renovation Classes

technorati tags:
2,277 posts tagged home design
1 posts tagged home design workshop
5,288 posts tagged do it yourself
16 posts tagged wo built
7 posts tagged wise daughters

Tales from the Renovation Track: One Woman’s Experiences of Being a Renovator: Part 8

Collage: construction, medicine cabinets, women

Credits: MS Office ClipArt - j0301238 + j0401589

Part 8 - Just Where Do I Stop?

A while ago, a customer asked me to visit and discuss some renovations to her bathroom. Her toilet tank was cracked, and that led her to ultimately decide to redo her entire bathroom. The plumber was called in to take out the bathtub, shower and sink and disconnect all drains and supply lines and cap them off.

I will tell you, that tub was a cast iron behemoth, and not a nice one at that, with 4 raised legs on it. No - not these! It was just a regular tub with one finished edge and the other 3 sides were to be finished by the walls surrounding the tub. They call it a widow maker. The unfortunate plumber and I hoisted that thing up onto an appliance dolly. While both of us grunted and groaned it down the porch stairs, the bathtub bounced dangerously back and forth as we banged it down the stairs, one step at a time. Whew!

That accomplished, I was now able to focus my attention on the tearing down of the lathe and plaster on the walls. I am like almost everyone on the planet, I love demolition. It’s simply the best! You can take out all of your worldly frustrations on that old nasty 2 by 4, smash the price of gas into a million pieces of plaster and toss that jerk on the road who cut you off, right into the dumpster!

When the copious amounts of dust had settled, my eyes landed on the horror story before me. A few of the studs in one corner where the tub had been situated were full of dry rot and only about one quarter of each one had any structural integrity left in it. The remainder crumbled like brown ash in my hands. To make matters worse, this house was two stories and was balloon framed, not platform framed. Balloon framing is where the wall studs are continuous from the top of the building to the bottom, meaning that those same studs are tied to the upper story as well. In the early 1900's, they had longer studs from the larger trees of the old growth forests.

I then had to rig up a beam to carry all the weight, and cut off the bottom of the studs to replace them, and then sister up another one beside each one to make sure the repair stayed together. Being the curious cat that I am, I couldn't figure out why only a few studs had dry rot in them. Not seeing anything too unusual in the bathroom itself, I decided to venture outside and check the exterior of the wall for causes. Yup, there it was in plain site. A huge crack, about 6 or 7 feet long existed in the brick wall, allowing water to seep in inside the stud walls and rot the framing. This is doubly accelerated when you add in the freeze/thaw cycle of our northern climate. In winter, the crack allows water in, which freezes and expands in volume, and then opens the crack more which allows even more water in ... you get the picture.

I called my buddy Steve, the brick mason to repair the crack. He was just finishing up and wiping the mortar off his tools, when he told me that the brick was just going to crack open again in the near future. "Oh, why, oh why do these things happen to me!" I exclaimed. He then told me to look up. I looked up at the eavestrough which was in complete disrepair, and sure enough the water was flowing down right onto the brick walls, settling in any little space and then doing the freeze/thaw cycle thing again.

I informed my poor customer, and then retrieved 2 sections of scaffolding and got up there to replace and repair the eavestrough.

Finally, I thought, the worst is over, but things do come in threes as they say. If I ever find out who "they" are, I'm going to tell them to quit talking. It was late on a Friday afternoon when my customer had ventured over to view my progress. I told her I was going to remove the sizable built-in medicine cabinet, then pack up and quit for the day. I was quite surprised when she told me she didn't think that this was such a good idea.

Now, at times customers can be fusspots, and I assumed at this particular moment that she was exhibiting said trait. I told her there was no worry, for after all, as I smugly laughed, medicine cabinets were just not structural elements and things would be fine over the weekend.

"No", she replied, "I just have a feeling about this. Don't take it out until Monday".

Well jeepers I thought to myself. I am just going to have to prove this one to her. I started to pull out some of the nails holding the plywood medicine cabinet when I noticed the whole wall moved a tad. Holy cow, wouldn't you know it ... the medicine cabinet was big enough that it occupied quite a space in the wall, and really and truly needed a proper header like a window opening. There was no header of course. On top of that, "they" whomever built it, had screwed the drywall on the other side of the wall into the back of the medicine cabinet making the cabinet an integral part of the wall. Period.

I must say though, I have seen just about everything. But imagine that, a medicine cabinet that is a structural element! The worst part of it is that every time I think she has forgotten about that stupid medicine cabinet and my smug attitude, she brings it up again like some fond memory. I guess she has a right to, after going from a cracked toilet tank, to brick repointing, to eavestroughing and a structural medicine cabinet.

Now you know why they say in the renovations business, "And where do you want me to stop?"

Happy Renovating!

Janice Bell
Bell Renovating

2009 © Janice Bell

Tales from the Renovation Track: One Woman’s Experiences of Being a Renovator
Part 1: All in All
Part 2: Weld on Fire
Part 3: They Were Nailed
Part 4: It Pays to Be Honest
Part 5: Rural Renos
Part 6: Messy Is Costly
Part 7: Door Hell
Part 8: Just Where Do I Stop?
Part 9: Dressing for the Trades

Looking for New Career Opportunities in the Skilled Trades?

Poster: Pathways to the Skilled Trades Forum and Information Session
Credit: apprenticesearch.com

If you are thinking about a new job, new employment opportunities, or new career, you may be looking for resources that point you in the right direction.

Please check out some of the upcoming events:

Pathways to the Skilled Trades
Forum and Information Session

earn while you learn.

Thursday June 11th, 2009
10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Secord Community Centre
91 Barrington Ave, Toronto
(Main St and Danforth Ave)

Join us to hear about:
• Career opportunities in the skilled trades
• How apprenticeships work
• Benefits of working in the skilled trades, including
high salaries and opportunities across Canada! • Labour market changes... Did you know that
within 5 years a significant demand for trades- people is expected?
Lunch and refreshments will be provided

Pre-registration required
To register contact:
Paolo Staffieri, 416-392-3256 or
Shannon Duffy, 416-392-3231
[City of Toronto Logo]

JUNE Speakers in the St. Stephen's Community House ERC

- Apprenticeship Information Session
Interesting in getting a job in a skilled trade?
Hear how to get started, what is required, and the career options that are available to YOU!

Wednesday, June 10th, 2:30 – 4:30pm

- Drywall and Finisher
Hear about the field and the opportunities in Dry walling and what it takes to get started!

Wednesday, June 17th, 2:30 – 4:30pm

St. Stephen's Community House
Employment Resource Centre
1415 Bathurst Street, Ground Floor
Toronto, ON M5R 3H8
Phone: 416-537-5477
Fax: 416-537-4469

links:
St. Stephen's Community House Employment Resource Centre
Apprenticesearch.com: Recruitment, Resources, Results
wobuilt.com: Career Possibilities for Women in the Building and Construction Trades
wobuilt.com: Wo-Built Is Talking to George Brown about Training Courses for Women in the Finishing Trades
wobuilt.com: Breaking Down Barriers: Building on women's skills: We were mentioned in the Toronto Star on April 19th, 2008

technorati tags:
35 posts tagged skilled trades
24 posts tagged construction trades
25 posts tagged building trades
54 posts tagged apprenticeships

Building Homes - Leading Women into Construction: Part 2

Photo: Elida Huignard at a volunteer shift during the Women Build Blitz
2009 © wobuilt.com

President Wo-Built Inc. Elida Huignard: My experience volunteering with Habitat for Humanity as part of the team for the Toronto Womens’ Blitz in May, 2009 - Part 2

When I arrived, the site already had a lot of houses being built by Daniels that were almost complete. Eight houses were to be built during the blitz, with the foundations completed and some corner panels for the 1st floor on. See photo. We were required to put all the tools and supplies from pencils to saws, from caulking guns to ladders, and safety equipment etc. in 4 different containers inside, in front of each group of semidetached houses. A lot of care was taken to put everything into an orderly manner so that the crew leaders in each shift were able to find everything easily.

At this time I noticed another team working at installing wall panels. I put in a request to switch teams so that I would be able to see some new techniques on the actual panel installation. The Sip panels used at the Hartford site are a sandwich of chip board with a Styrofoam core that simplifies the construction of the standard balloon-frame construction and has an intrinsic insulating value. This method of installation was different from the process that I was familiar with. Tom, our team leader put a lot of care in showing me how to handle the panels so that they did not get damaged, how to check the level and maintain them temporarily in position. Our team consisted of Tom, our crew leader, myself - a woman with a lot of experience in construction and 3 young men with no experience in construction at all. We prepared the posts that are installed in between panels which consisting in lots of hammering. We were shown nail removal skills, how to use a lot of sealant and got absolutely filthy with the caulking gun because we were not familiar with this particular type. We then had to use the sledge hammer to jam the panels into place and to take out some of our frustrations as well. At end of the day I realized that although I had been quite smug about not needing any training to go on site, I had learned quite a few different methods in the DIY area.

The following day I attended a dinner meeting with all the other female crew leaders and house leaders. It was a fun affair, and although it was a simple serve on picnic tables at the site, we were all required to wear our safety boots and hats. During the meeting the organizers and site supervisors clarified for us how to guide the volunteers assigned to us towards a successful experience during the blitz. We were also shown a finished semi-detached home to demonstrate what we were going to help build. When we realized the enormity of the task at hand – building 4 homes complete with a roof structure and windows with a group of people who had little or no experience - our doubts and fears were quickly dissipated and our questions
were answered during the Question and Answer period.

Afterwards, when chatting with Tom and his wife Laura, also crew leaders, I was delighted to discover they had just arrived from Argentina, my country of origin, where they had been trekking through the glaciers in Patagonia and also through Buenos Aires. It truly is a small world!

Elida Huignard
President
Wo-Built Inc.

Look for our next instalment of this amazing experience in future postings on our forum.

links:
Habitat for Humanity Toronto - The Women Build Blitz - May 1-9, 2009
Wo-Built Inc. Partners With Habitat for Humanity Toronto's Women Build Initiative
Wo-Built Inc.: Building Homes - Leading Women into Construction: Part 1

technorati tags:
18 posts tagged women build
543 posts tagged habitat for humanity
elida huignard
28 posts tagged wo-built

Building Homes - Leading Women into Construction

Photo: A Volunteer Shift During the Women Build Blitz on May, 2009
2009 © wobuilt.com + flickr.com: Habitat Toronto's photostream

President Wo-Built Inc. Elida Huignard: My experience volunteering with Habitat for Humanity as part of the team for the Toronto Womens’ Blitz in May, 2009

Because Wobuilt Inc. has a special objective of introducing more women into the skilled trades of the construction industry, when we heard about the Habitat for Humanity Toronto Womens’ Blitz in May of 2009 we wanted to participate in a very significant way.

After several meetings with Arundel Gibson VP of Peoples’ Communication in late 2008, we were able to contribute to the course outline for Crew Leaders. This course was designed mainly for female leaders, and ran in the months of February and March of 2009 at the Habitat University. It included a complete overview of the construction methods used at the Habitat sites, because the majority of women have very little experience in the construction industry. Women were taught how to use carpentry tools such as a hammer, a saw and drill etc. as well as many other skills required in the building trades.

As the project manager of Wobuilt Inc., and having had extensive experience in my field, I was able to join the Womens’ Build as a Crew Leader without going through the required course work. That morning I arrived at the site very early and was quite eager to make a start. Since I had already registered the day before the blitz started, I needed only to sign my waiver (assuming full responsibility for myself at the site). After donning my name tag, I was given a safety talk and the safety equipment that I would require on site. The Volunteer Coordinator was there to guide us and to help find our way around the site as well as providing us with coffee and cookies at the main trailer.

It was raining that day, but I was prepared with my rain poncho, while some of the others were making makeshift raincoats from garbage bags to protect themselves against the elements. We were then divided into teams and because of the rain which prevented us from participating in the building process, we worked on relocating all the supplies in anticipation for the hundreds of volunteers that would be arriving the following weekend. With the help of the Habitat van, we were able to move all the greeting supplies and t-shirts for the volunteers to the Hainford site in Scarborough.

Elida Huignard
President
Wo-Built Inc.

Look for our next instalment of this amazing experience in future postings on our forum.

links:
Wo-Built Inc. Partners With Habitat for Humanity Toronto's Women Build Initiative
Habitat for Humanity Toronto - The Women Build Blitz - May 1-9, 2009
Arundel Gibson on Twitter

Tales from the Renovation Track: One Woman’s Experiences of Being a Renovator: Part 7

Collage: construction, carpenters, hammers, nails, women, chopsticks
Credit: MS Office ClipArt - j0338018.wmf + j0228945.wmf

Part 7 - Door Hell

I must get more calls to repair doors that stick than for almost anything else. Nine times out of ten, this common situation is caused by loose screws in the hinges, either in the door or in the doorjamb.

I have a few different methods of repair that I would like to share with you, because everyone seems to have to deal with this problem sooner or later. Basically, the screws back out of the hinges or pull out from the wood altogether from the motion of the door either opening, closing or banging shut.

At first, I tried to take square shafted wooden matches, cut the flammable end off, glue as many as I could into the holes in the wood, flush cut the protruding pieces off when it was dry and then drive the screw back into the new wood in the hole. This works okay, but square does not work all that well in a round hole. Also, it is hazardous to throw match heads into the garbage. I decided to substitute the match heads for wood tooth picks, but they splintered when I flush cut them, and it took a lot of toothpicks sometimes to fill the hole. On top of that they were messy with all that glue on those tiny little pieces of wood.

Now as luck would have it, a Japanese gal hired me to do some dump runs for her as she was moving back to Japan from Canada and was sorting, packing and discarding possessions. She asked me if I wanted a pile of chopsticks, some plastic, some wood, some plain and some very decorative. I took them off her hands (just trying to be helpful), but I knew chopsticks and I did not exactly have a good relationship. I tell you, if I had to eat with chopsticks for real, I would be in the anorexic category, or conversely be accused of playing with my food. For all of my manual dexterity, the secret of feeding oneself with those devices purely escapes me.

Well, I was thinking about what the heck I was going to do with all of these chopsticks, when I had quite the inspiration. The next door with loosened screws became my guinea pig. I took a wood drill bit and compared it to the hole in question and chose one about the same diameter of the hole. Then I compared that drill bit diameter with all of the wooden chopsticks until I found one that was slightly smaller than the drill bit diameter. It has to be smaller and not the same size in order to make room for the glue.

I cleaned the hole out with the drill bit, slathered up the end of the chopstick with good carpenter glue and stuck it into the hole. I then immediately cut it flush. In my possession of tools, I own a flush cut saw, which only has teeth that cut on one side of the saw blade. The purpose for this is so the surface you are cutting against does not get ruined.

I fixed every hole like this in turn, then went back to the first hole, even though the glue had not set yet and started to drive all of the screws back in. Oh yes, I did pre-drill a "pilot" hole in the middle of each chopstick first. The pilot hole I drilled was about half as small in diameter as the screw. I do this to prevent the chopstick wood from splitting. In an ideal world, one would have waited until morning for the glue to set, but no one wants to have their exterior doors off all night long, so I had to make that compromise. This repair works like a charm. You could use doweling as well, but the chopsticks were cheaper at the time.

In some cases, a faster repair is to just use longer screws.

There are also, small pieces of metal you can purchase at Home Depot which one is supposed to stick in the screw holes and then drive the screw back in. I have tried these, but am not overly impressed with these.

If you have a door installed in a brick wall, you can still fix these as well, although a different approach is needed. I have tried many different ways to get screws to stay in brick. It is easier with the newer brick as it is harder, but the older brick is softer. I have tried everything to get the screws to stay in the brick ... tapcon screws, plastic plugged screws and metal plugged screws. I have even tried to glue the wood to the brick first, but the glue was stronger than the brick and pulled the face of the brick off.

Then my wonderful buddy Steve, a bricklayer came to the rescue and told me exactly what to do. He showed me that if I used the copper out of ordinary house wire, 14/2 for example, stripped the insulation off and put at least 2 pieces of the entire length of the hole in the brick, the screws would stay put. And by gosh, he was right! I am renovating my own double brick cavity wall house from the 1870's, so I was tickled pink to learn this! This method works well because the copper is malleable enough to let the screw threads cut into it. I tried rebar tie wire as a substitute because it was less time consuming as no insulation had to be removed first such as the electrical wire. But this type of wire was too hard, and the brick just crushed around the edges of the hole and the screw popped out. So copper it is!

Now if only I could figure out a use for all of those leftover plastic chopsticks!

Happy Renovating!

Janice Bell
Bell Renovating

2009 © Janice Bell

Tales from the Renovation Track: One Woman’s Experiences of Being a Renovator
Part 1: All in All
Part 2: Weld on Fire
Part 3: They Were Nailed
Part 4: It Pays to Be Honest
Part 5: Rural Renos
Part 6: Messy Is Costly
Part 7: Door Hell
Part 8: Just Where Do I Stop?
Part 9: Dressing for the Trades

Get Your Smart Kitchen & Bathroom Design Ideas: Wo-Built's Home Design Workshop at Wise Daughters

Screenshot: SNAP Bloor West: 2009 May:
Craft Market Hosts Home Design Series
Credit: SNAP Bloor West

Many thanks to SNAP Bloor West for sharing a story and photos of our first home design workshop at the Wise Daughters.

Tonight we will have a workshop on kitchen and bathroom design tips, style trends, and smart upgrades ideas.

See you there!

we tweet @ twitter

[√] Wednesday, May 13, 7 – 9 pm
Kitchens and bathrooms

Want to take a workshop? Please pre-register:
Wise Daughters Craft Market
Local handicrafts and do-it-yourself workshops
3079B Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M5P 1Z9
(facing Quebec Avenue, just south Dundas, behind Crema Coffee)
There is ample street parking on Dundas and Quebec.
Via TTC: Junction bus # 40 from Dundas West Station,
Lambton bus # 30 (or 15 min. walk) from High Park Station.
tel: 416-761-1555
e-mail: wisedaughters@sympatico.ca
web: www.wisedaughters.com

For future workshops, see www.wisedaughters.com

links:
Reminder: Wo-Built's Home Design Workshop Tonight!
Our First Session of the Home Design Workshop Series
How to Improve Your Home Spaces: Wo-Built Design Workshop Tonight
Wo-Built Is Launching a New Home Design Series Covering All Your Home Improvement Questions
snapbloorwest.com: SNAP Bloor West: 2009 May: Craft Market Hosts Home Design Series
entrepreneur.com: Business Idea Center: Home Renovation Classes

technorati tags:
2,369 posts tagged home design
home design workshop
5,722 posts tagged do it yourself
16 posts tagged wo built
1 posts tagged wise daughters

Wo-Built Supports the Ride to Conquer Cancer

Screenshot: The 2009 Toronto Ride to Conquer Cancer
Deborah Friesen's Personal Page
Credit: to09.conquercancer.ca

Deborah Friesen, our friend and partner on many of our construction projects will be pedaling her heart out for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation The Ride to Conquer Cancer®. She will be cycling with her team members of Mi Vida over 200 km from Toronto to Niagara Falls along with thousands of other participants on June 13 - 14 to raise money for the Campbell Family Institute at the Princess Margaret Hospital. We at Wo-built Inc. want to help spread the word as well as offer her our whole-hearted support in this charitable endeavor.

It's simple to donate - if you would like to sponsor her for this worthy cause, please click here to visit her personal page: http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Toronto2009?px=1754177&pg=personal&fr_id=1261&fl=en_US&et=qUeZtmLlNSnsCl2JIQmf9g..&s_tafId=114151

Her team's website is: http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=1261&team_id=9131

Your generous support will be greatly appreciated for this great cause - Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation Ride to Conquer Cancer.

Lonya is the staff writer for Wo-Built Inc.

Tales from the Renovation Track: One Woman’s Experiences of Being a Renovator: Part 6

Collage: construction, plumbing, women
Credits: MS Office ClipArt - j0301238.wmf

Part 6 - Messy Is Costly

The elderly lady ushered me into her enclosed porch and explained that she wished to hire me for, amongst other duties, to replace the moulding between the top of the walls and the ceiling. I looked in horror at the numerous shelves lining the porch walls, as my gaze rode across at least a thousand ceramic knick-knacks, sneering at me from their resting places, their dusty little heads and flowerettes just daring me to break them.

In another instance, a customer had hired me to replace the hanging plaster in the bedroom closet, and an electrician was hired to install a light fixture in there. On our way into the bedroom, the electrician and I could not help but notice that were clothes left higglety-pigglety on the floor. Amongst the piles was a sample packet of some strange reddish colored fluid. I was just about to announce its presence to the electrician in front of me, but much too late, his foot came down on one end of the packet and shot its contents out all over the the brand new white carpet.

Another customer had retained my services to renovate her spacious bathroom. I proceeded to move one of three hutches in there away from the wall to paint, when all of a sudden, the hutch lurched downward on one of its front corners and catapulted its top contents into the air. All I remember was a medley of perfume bottles and other assorted breakables peppering the air in front of me, and like a circus performer I quickly snatched and cradled most of these in my arms while my hip saved the hutch from toppling over.

Except for one. In the slowest of motions, the corner of my eye viewed a flying ceramic Holstein cow, catapulting in a trajectory path just out of my reach. It met the floor with a crash and the body of the cow went in one direction, and its severed leg flew in another.

Which brings me to the point, I am trying to make. I have often listened as customers gripe about the mess left by past renovators. I always give the choice about the final cleanup to the customer. Unless they are ill, elderly, disabled or blind if they can sweep or vacuum up afterwards they can save themselves money. Some contractors do not explain this but assume the final cleanup will be done by the customer.

But in all fairness, I must admit, that the customer can save themselves even more money and grief by preparing the site of the renovations beforehand, removing all the items that can hinder the renovator, or are precious, or breakable or personal in nature. I have heard numerous plumbers gripe about having to repair a leaky kitchen sink, only to have to wade through a plethora of cleaning products underneath first.

The hutch in the bathroom that did a nose dive on me was just balanced on an unattached leg at the front, which fell over when I tried to move it. The customer was well aware of the precarious leg of the hutch, but did not inform me, and I had no way of knowing the booby trap that awaited me. As it turns out, the damaged Holstein cow mimicked the hutch, and had been perched precariously on its previously amputated leg.

The ugly red stain on the new white bedroom carpet washed out okay and the elderly lady with the porch full of ceramics decided that other items on her honey-do list were more important so decided against replacing the molding.

So now, every time I go to a new jobsite the final cleaning and removing of items is discussed so that everyone is happy. I can now go back to renovating without nightmares of three legged Holsteins.

Happy Renovating!

Janice Bell
Bell Renovating

2009 © Janice Bell

Tales from the Renovation Track: One Woman’s Experiences of Being a Renovator
Part 1: All in All
Part 2: Weld on Fire
Part 3: They Were Nailed
Part 4: It Pays to Be Honest
Part 5: Rural Renos
Part 6: Messy Is Costly
Part 7: Door Hell
Part 8: Just Where Do I Stop?
Part 9: Dressing for the Trades

Wo-Built Inc. Partners With Habitat for Humanity Toronto's Women Build Initiative

Photo: Elida Huignard at a volunteer shift during the Women Build Blitz
2009 © wobuilt.com

The Women Build Blueprint:
The objective: Breaking the cycle of poverty for 16 Toronto families, and generating thousands of new donors and volunteers to increase our ongoing build capacity.
The scope: 16 Energy Star® homes
The target: $2 million dollars
The launch: May 10, 2008 (Mother's Day)
The build blitz: Scheduled for May 1st through May 9th, 2009. A Women Build Blitz; thousands of Toronto women uniting to build homes and hope in their community.
The build site: Hainford St. (Lawrence Ave. and Manse Rd.)

We would like to give our wholehearted support to Habitat for Humanity which is a wonderful cause after our own heart. Our president, Elida Huignard has most generously volunteered her services as a Crew Leader and has already worked her first shift last week. She will be reporting on her experiences and the general progress of the project in our upcoming posts on our forum. Look for the exciting details!

Wo-built Inc. would like to congratulate Habitat for Humanity for a great project and offer our unconditional support for a worthy cause.

Lonya is the staff writer for Wo-Built Inc.

links:
On May 1st – 9th, Habitat for Humanity Toronto will host thousands of women for its Women Build initiative. These women will come together to build homes with low income families in the West Hill area of Scarborough. The Women Build is all about the solidarity of women, and the power to change the lives of those in need. It is also a tangible way for women to directly help other women. This Blitz Build will go down in Habitat for Humanity history as the largest Women Build in Canada, and our goal is to raise $2 million dollars.
For more information, please visit www.helpwomenbuild.ca,
email womenbuild@torontohabitat.on.ca or call 416-755-7353
by Joanna

technorati tags:
16 posts tagged women build
698 posts tagged habitat for humanity
elida huignard
36 posts tagged wo-built

Renovations and Recession

Wo-Built's Screenshot: Time of the Reno: Leave the house repairs to us, so you can do what is important!!!

We all know that in a recession the real estate market will become a buyer’s market; there may be blips of buying activities, but by and large the seller is at the mercy of the buyer. Hence, if you can, the prudent and smart move is wait out the recession and then sell. And this is the perfect time to upgrade your home at a leisurely pace.

As we have said before on our forum, the main areas of improvements and the ones that will get you some of the highest returns on your investment are upgrades to your kitchen and bathrooms. My favourite is the kitchen as there are so many possibilities, from the inexpensive to the opulent. An inexpensive upgrade (often below $10,000) is to paint the kitchen cabinets, update the work top and change sink, faucets and backsplash. This modest change will modernize and "contemporize" your kitchen’s appeal and increase the value of your home.

A more expensive, but still affordable way is to change the cabinet doors instead of painting them. However, you will have to take into account the number of doors and the condition of the cabinets and it might be more effective to change the cabinets entirely. This also allows improvements in the design. A very popular style is the Shaker kitchen and most manufacturers will have a version.

Of course you don’t have to stop at the kitchen. It is very trendy at the moment to have an open concept where kitchen and living area is integrated to various degrees. We can also talk about kitchen islands…. maybe larger kitchens with more cabinets making a greater impact on the potential buyer. In this case the cabinets are all replaced and this is the perfect opportunity to donate your old cabinets to charities (follow this link to find charities in your area that accept building material donations).

Martina Ernst
CEO
Wo-Built Inc.

links:
wobuilt.com: House Prices: Part of the Problem or Part of the Cure?
by Ari Berman
home.howstuffworks.com: How can I renovate in a recession?
by Emilie Sennebogen

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