Canadian Home Builders Association - www.chba.ca/ Click on “Renovating your Home” for advice about planning renovations, renovation ideas and projects, hiring a renovator, healthy home issues (eg. indoor air quality), safety, efficient energy use within the home, and more. A very useful feature of this online resource is “From Contract to Completion” (see “Renovating your Home”).
Canadian House and Home - www.canadianhouseandhome.com Select “Workshops” to find lessons and tutorials on various intriguing projects, such as a constructing a portable mudroom, bar cart, open-and-shut coffee table, upholstered headboard, tropical bamboo planter, storage bench, backyard skating rink, and more! This web site also offers ideas and instructions on painting, craft, sewing and garden projects, and an “Ask a Designer” forum is also available.
Home & Garden Television - www.hgtv.ca Home & Garden’s web site offers home décor articles and advice on fixing and renovating kitchens, bathrooms, plumbing, flooring and more. Advice on gardening and other outdoor topics, buying and using power tools, and hiring a contractor, is also provided.
Popular Mechanics – Home Improvement - www.popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/ Need to know how to replace a drain, or how to fix the laminate on your kitchen cabinet doors? Perhaps you’d like to construct a shed, treehouse or pergola in your backyard, or install a backyard pond? Directions, guides and hints for many building, repair and renovation projects can be found here!
Tips
- Did you know that SPL offers appliance testers, which you can borrow to determine the energy use of your home appliances? They are available to borrow for 3 weeks … ask at the circulation desk on the main floor.
- SPL has many books and magazines devoted to home renovations and designs. Magazines such as “Family Handyman”, “Canadian House and Home”, “House Beautiful” and “Style at Home” can be borrowed for one week (except for the current issue.)
Anything I Can Do! - www.anythingicando.com Let Mag Ruffman show you how to create practical but attractive objects such as a plate rack, wine rack, coat rack, cookbook holder, umbrella stand, mirror frame, blanket box, cabinet, bookshelf, birdhouse, trellis, and various benches and tables. One of Mag’s messages is that everyone can learn to use tools and make things … and that it’s okay to make mistakes along the way!
Ontario: Ministry of Energy - www.energy.gov.on.ca/index.cfm?fusea ction=conservation.tips Here’s another useful online resource to consult for saving energy in your home in terms of heating, cooling and lighting. Be sure to check the “Heating and Cooling Guide” as well as “Energy Saving Tips” for advice on water heaters, refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, washers and dryers, and other household appliances.
The City of Stratford - www.city.stratford.on.ca Need to know if your home renovation requires a city building permit? On the City of Stratford’s web site, click on “Steps to City Hall”, “Permits/Licenses” and then “Building Permits”. On this web site, you can also view various city bylaws, some of which apply to homes, eg. Fence and Hedge, or Property Standards. (Click on “Steps to City Hall” and then on “Bylaws”.) NOTE: The County of Perth (www.countyofperth.on.ca/ ) web site also offers information on Permits and Bylaws.