Sepehr Safaee YourOttawaRealEstate.com's blog

When it comes to improving the energy efficiency of your home, your garage might not be the first place that you think of. If you have an attached garage, though, you may be leaking warm (or cool) air from your home without even realizing it. While there are a few different ways that you can combat this, one of the most effective is by installing new garage doors.

When temperatures drop in winter, it’s not uncommon to see ice and snow outside and maybe even a little bit of frost on the outside of your windows and storm doors. Occasionally, though, you might notice a bit of ice building up on the inside of your windows as well. It’s easy to overlook this as just a sign that the temperature has really dropped outside, but that can be a mistake.

Winter and early spring are typically great times for construction projects around the house. Not only do materials tend to be a bit cheaper due to reduced overall demand, but some labor costs may be reduced as well. Because of this, some homeowners tend to start looking for add-on projects or major remodels to undertake so that they can take advantage of lower prices and faster project starts.

When it comes to redoing the various rooms in your home, the bathroom is often overlooked. Some homeowners won’t even touch the bathroom unless a leak or some other problem makes it necessary. This is a really poor way to look at it, however, especially given how much time we spend in the bathroom, between bathing, getting ready to face the day, and a few other things. Your bathroom is just as deserving of attention as any other room in your home.

When it snows, you typically focus on clearing your driveway and shoveling sidewalks. However, when it snows enough to build up in areas around your home, other areas need to be on your mind as well. Anything that can block HVAC vents or the intake/exhaust pipe to your furnace or water can cause significant damage to those systems.

There are two things to understand when it comes to the snow’s effect on your furnace or water heater.

A good set of cabinets is all but essential in the kitchen. Not only do they keep your plates, bowls, and assorted other implements organized, but they can also provide easy access to dry goods and other items that you need to use frequently while cooking. The more cabinet space you have, the less clutter you’ll have in the kitchen itself, because you can store your various kitchen gadgets until they’re needed while still having them close at hand.