Gas Fireplace Won’t Light? Easy Fix

What do you do when your gas fireplace won’t light? This very thing happened to us just when winter was setting in. But you know what else was setting in? Omicron! If you’re us, you nix calling in an expert because it’s early days of a new variant and you don’t want to take chances. After some initial anxiety on my part about ‘messing with fire’, Hubs got it working for a while. But he only had short-lived success.

There are only two season in Canada: winter and construction. So now is as good a time as any to fix our gas fireplace!

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Loose Lay Vinyl Plank Flooring Installation

Today we’ve got the ultimate guide on our loose lay vinyl plank flooring installation. Because it’s waterproof, durable and can be easily removed and reinstalled if you ever have a flood, loose lay luxury vinyl plank is a no-brainer for a basement. And, let’s face it, most basements will experience water damage at some point (you can read about how we recovered from our first leak here).  Continue reading

Pond Maintenance: Get Your Pond Ready for Summer!

Pond maintenance is par for the course if you want to enjoy an urban oasis. Are ponds high maintenance? Yup; but there’s a secret to keeping algae at bay if you continue to read. That will help keep maintenance during the season to a minimum.

Opening up the pond for the season is a dirty job. But somebody has to do it – and thankfully, it’s not me! I’m happy to take my place behind the camera to help show you how it’s done 🙂 Continue reading

Mold Prevention After a Water Leak (Part 2)

Mold prevention – and remediation – after any kind of leak or flood is hugely important because of health implications. We learned a hard lesson last year after the pipe connected to our outdoor faucet burst and caused water damage in my newly built craft room. In that post (part 1), we showed you how we installed a frost proof faucet to repair it and make sure it wouldn’t happen again. Now that it’s Fall, we’d like to remind you to remove the hose from the faucet – even if you have a frost-proof one, so you don’t make the same mistake we did. Leaving a hose connected during the winter is a recipe for disaster! Continue reading

Front Paver Walkway Makeover

I had yet to install a paver walkway, despite owning and renovating two houses before this one. Hubs came into the picture shortly after I bought this house so it was great timing for me; maybe not so much for him! Faced with rows of underwhelming builder slabs that the previous owner lived with for over 20 years, the perfect opportunity presented itself for both of us to learn a new skillset! Continue reading

Level a Basement Floor with Levelrock

A level basement floor rose to the top of the priority list many years ago when we applied to be on one of those home reno shows. They chose to renovate our basement! – or so we thought. In the planning stages of the reno, the show’s contractor discovered that the slope of our basement floor was too steep to build on. The floor was inconsistent and out of level by over half a foot in some areas! There wouldn’t be enough time in the production schedule to fix it properly so they were going to have to take a pass on us. Continue reading

Water Leak Repair (Part 1) – Frost Proof Faucet

Water leak repair is something we all hope will never be on the to-do list. While water leaks and burst pipes can be a huge problem, we’re showing you how to tackle the repair in two parts. Today we’re showing you how to install a frost proof faucet. In part 2, we’re showing you how to prevent mold growth after water damage.  Continue reading

DIY Couch Cover – Spring Cleaning an Ikea Sofa

Use this DIY couch cover idea as an interim solution when you’re cleaning IKEA’s washable slipcover. It also works as a cheap & cheerful permanent slipcover. Now that Spring has sprung, it’s time for a little spring cleaning. Upholstered couches are great, but washable slipcovers are even better! Continue reading

Replace a Bathroom Fan – Blow it Out Your Roof!

There’s going to come a time when you have to replace a bathroom fan. They say nothing is certain but death and taxes, but I’d like to add a third: repairs!  Repairs are inevitable. Just last week alone, three things broke down on us. When you’re a do-it-your-selfer and a blogger, you have to look on the bright side of things. It’s a good week when repairs alone give you a ton of things to write about!

I wasn’t sorry to see the old fan go. It was so loud and clunky; I could hear barely hear Hubs singing rubber ducky outside the bathroom door 🙂

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