Home Maintenance - Andrew Shackleton

You Need A Water Softener In Waterloo Region

Andrew Shackleton — Tue, 12 May 2026 21:51:18 +0000

Most anyone who lives here knows that we have hard water. But I was a bit shocked when my daughter Miranda told me our neighbourhood in particular was number one for hardness in Waterloo, and perhaps Canada. She’s a great researcher and did a ton of work finding out everything you’d need to know about water softeners so we could buy a new one. It turns out Kitchener and Cambridge have very hard water too. You need a water softener in Waterloo Region.

What is hard water?

Hardness is caused by the dissolved metal salts of calcium and magnesium, usually in carbonate form, along with other metals in lesser amounts. Hard water is found throughout the world. The hardest sources are usually underground where water and rock have lots of time to interact. The rainfall and snowmelt that percolates through the soil into the aquifer starts out soft but contains dissolved CO2. This leaches minerals like calcium or magnesium carbonate out of the rock turning the water hard.

Calcium carbonate, mostly found in limestone, is not very soluble so only a little heat makes it precipitate out. It’s the whitish scale in your kettle and is also found in stalactite and stalagmite formations in caves. Magnesium carbonate is found in a rock called dolomite. It’s very insoluble and ends up in your kettle too. These minerals aren’t harmful to humans or animals but play havoc with hot water heaters, dishwashers, laundry, kettles and even showering.

Hardness is commonly measured in grains, which is a US unit of measure. One grain is equivalent to 64.8 mg of dissolved calcium carbonate in 1 US gallon (3.8 litres). Soft water is 3.5 grains or less. Very hard water is anything over 10.5 grains.

Waterloo Region gets 75% of our water from local wells drawing from rock formations containing lots of limestone and dolomite, making our water very hard. The water here ranges from 17 to 38 grains. My water is 38. I love the taste of our water (and trust the quality completely) but its hardness is definitely a drawback.

Water softening

The easiest and most common way of treating hard water is the use of a water softener. The main component is a tank containing tens of thousands of plastic resin beads made of cross linked sodium polystyrene sulfonate. This synthetic chemical (invented in the 1930s) is known as an ion exchange resin and functions to remove calcium and magnesium ions from your water. There’s also a water soluble drug version, without the cross links, used to lower potassium levels in people.

When you turn on a tap or run the shower, hard water flows into the resin tank and comes in contact with the resin beads. Due to concentration gradients, calcium and magnesium ions in the hard water displace atoms of sodium bound to the active sulfonate groups in the resin. The released sodium ions combine with the carbonate ions left behind in the water to form sodium carbonate, Na2CO3. The newly softened water flows from the resin tank’s outlet, through the supply lines and out to the tap.

Sodium carbonate is also known as washing soda, a centuries old household cleaner and laundry additive. It’s thousands of times more soluble in water than calcium or magnesium carbonate. So it won’t precipitate out as scale or interfere with your soap which is great news for your plumbing, dishwasher and washer, water heater, kettle and even washing up. Softened water does have slightly elevated levels of sodium but not enough to cause danger. It affects taste though and I prefer hard water for drinking.

The resin in your softener can only soften so much water. At some point all the sodium ions will be exchanged and your softener will no longer function. Back in the old days (I remember this) you’d call to have the tank swapped out but nowadays all you need to do is run the recharge cycle on your machine.

Recharge timing is automated on modern machines using a flow meter that measures how much water you have used. Older softeners use a clock timer that would be set to recharge every few days, wasting a lot of salt and water. The recharge is usually set to run in the middle of the night when no one is turning on taps or flushing toilets.

The recharge cycle has a number of stages and takes a few hours to finish. The most important part of this for today’s explanation is the brine cycle. Water softeners have a salt tank that stores up to 100 kg of salt. It is partially filled with very salty water. Brine is drawn from this tank into the resin tank and, due to the very high concentration of sodium, reverses the ion exchange on the resin beads I’d mentioned earlier. The calcium and magnesium form salt compounds with the chlorine from the brine and are washed down the drain into the sewer.

After the resin is refreshed with sodium ions (and rinsed) the last step is the refill cycle on the brine tank. Fresh water is pumped into the tank which dissolves some more salt for the next recharge. So every few weeks you’ll need to add some salt to the tank. It’s a special high purity salt made just for softeners so don’t use anything else. 20kg bags are somewhere around ten bucks give or take.

Buying a softener

If you need a new softener, picking out a suitable one isn’t a trivial task for an area like Waterloo Region and especially my neighbourhood. You need to factor in extreme hardness, salt consumption and your daily water usage for starters. How much salt you use is a concern for your wallet and for the environment. And a machine that recharges too frequently wears out quicker than it should. It’s important you pick the right sized machine for your home. Our old one was clearly too small for our needs and is half the size of our new one. Here’s a buyer’s guide to help you out. Once you have the sizing sorted, what brand and model are you going to choose?

A caution, the hydraulic plumbing in a softener valve body is complicated. The quality of this component really matters. The valve body on my old Culligan machine used unpainted plain steel solenoid hold-downs in a salt heavy and damp location. Is it a surprise they rotted out? Is spending an extra 10 cents on stainless too much to ask? The 3 rusty hold-downs in my photo are replacements I made from steel stock. We also had warranty issues for a sticky valve inside the first year. Of course this problem returned after warranty expiry. I ended up tearing down the valve body several times over 20+ years until it finally failed for good.

Whatever you buy, reviews and brand reputation should be carefully scrutinized. Some brands are definitely over-priced while others are way too cheap and poorly made. Make sure you can easily get replacement parts or service. As well, I would shy away from rentals or rent to own plans as these are never good value.

I wanted a quality softener I could install myself that also had a warranty. That sounds a lot like a rainbow unicorn but my daughter found us Aquatell out of London who offer exactly this. They have fantastic reviews and carry well regarded softeners made by Pentair. Their website has an easy to use calculator to make sure you get the right size machine for your home. The softener showed up at our door a week after ordering despite being told they were behind due to covid and supplier issues.

I installed ours without issue in half a day, including removing the old one. A shortage of 3/4 inch copper fittings at several hardware stores was my biggest hurdle, and it took me a few hours to fab up new supply pipes because I am slow and also careful. It’s never good to light your house on fire soldering new pipes into your basement ceiling. A plumber would be much faster than me and might want a few hundred to hook one up if you don’t do DIY like I do.

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Basement Bedroom Legal?

Andrew Shackleton — Sat, 02 May 2026 21:38:29 +0000

Is your basement bedroom legal? That’s a good question, one that I’m going to hopefully answer today. Windows, and many other components in a home, are regulated by the Ontario Building Code (OBC). Regulations for things like safety are usually a good idea which is why code compliance in regard to basement bedrooms is so important.

Ontario Building Code requirements

First off, what constitutes a bedroom? The OBC definition states that a bedroom must have a window for light and ventilation. That seems perfectly reasonable, and pretty much any basement bedroom I see advertised as such on MLS meets that criteria.

But basements are a riskier place than the rest of a home if there’s an emergency like a fire. If you’re in a basement bedroom asleep how are you getting out when the smoke alarm goes off? The OBC is clear on this matter, you need at least one way of escape that leads directly outside, either a door or an egress window.

An egress window needs to be big enough for someone to get through and also low enough to the ground that a child or shorter adult can get to it easily. The OBC requires at least 3.77 sq/ft of area with no dimension less than 15 inches. In Ontario, the bottom of the window can’t be any higher than 39.4 inches from the floor unless a permanent ladder or built in steps are used.

I was told, a long time back, that an egress window in Ontario didn’t need to be in a bedroom, just somewhere in the basement not in a room with a locked door such as a bathroom. This latter bit about locked doors certainly makes sense, and 2025 advisories from both the City of Markham and the City of Ottawa confirm the OBC requirements I cited.

Obviously these requirements also apply to accessory apartments. However, if there wasn’t an egress window in a common area, a landlord would need egress windows in every basement bedroom if the individual bedrooms had locks, as is often the case with student rentals.

Hiring a contractor

If you need to get an egress window installed, make sure you get a reputable contractor. It’s not a cheap endeavour as the foundation is being cut with a concrete saw. Not surprisingly, there are many people out there offering this work for thousands less than the going rate. This cost cutting seems to be the result of shady behaviour such as not getting a building permit. We had a couple vendors offering an egress window in the $3500-4500 range, and both said a permit was not required.

Of course I double checked this, and all of Waterloo Region and Guelph requires a permit. And they make the homeowner submit drawings of the proposed work as well. A permit is only a few hundred dollars and assures that your contractor does the work properly and to code. A reputable vendor will want between $5000 to $8000 for the work. Yes, it’s a lot of money but what is safety worth?

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Should You Worry About Radon?

Andrew Shackleton — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:45:36 +0000

Is radon lurking in your basement? Is it something you should worry about? It’s definitely a concern, it’s the highest cause of lung cancer for non smokers, and the 2^nd highest for smokers. One in five homes have concentrations of the gas above recommended levels. Only a small percentage of homes across the country have dangerous levels, with even lower levels found here in Ontario, but there’s no way of knowing if your particular home is affected without testing.

What exactly is radon? It’s a radioactive element that’s also a noble gas. These gasses are chemically inert, meaning they aren’t very reactive, and have wide usage in a variety industries. Radon is chemically inert but atomically unstable, with a half life of 3.8 days. This instability leads to radioactive decay, where a nuclei splits into something else, giving off dangerous ionizing radiation in the process.

Radon eventually transmutes into stable lead through a series of decay chain daughters that are radioactive too. The daughters are toxic heavy metals and lodge in the lungs causing further havoc. The decay chain of radon lasts years. Each step in the transmutation produces more beta and alpha particles, further damaging cellular machinery, causing cell death or even cancer.

The radon that lurks in random peoples’ basements comes from the the decay of radioactive thorium and uranium found in the earth’s crust. Many of the radioactive isotopes in this decay process have very long half lives and will be indirectly producing radon for millions if not billions of years into the future.

Thorium and uranium are commonplace but aren’t evenly distributed in the crust. Geology, soil type and glaciation all factor into the presence of radon for a particular location. Maps are available that show these areas. But the randomness of these factors combined together make it impossible to say which houses in a neighbourhood will be affected.

Testing is the only sure-fire way to know if you’re at risk if your house is in an area prone to radon. If higher than recommended levels are uncovered the installation of a ventilation system is a great idea and will completely alleviate the issue. The systems aren’t even that expensive, coming in at under $2,000. Here’s someone I know who does radon testing and mitigation, Tom Weber.

So yes, radon is a problem. Cancer is definitely something no one wants and radon elevates that risk. Even though only 7% of Canadian homes have dangerous levels, your home might be one of them. And radon is constantly transmuting, with a half life of only 3.8 days. Every time you breathe in some of the gas, a portion of the radon nuclei split, blasting your lungs with a tiny jolt of radiation. If you’re concerned, testing is the way to go. Your future self might thank you.

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Check Your Sump Pump!

Andrew Shackleton — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 12:44:00 +0000

It’s fall, check your sump pump! This post gets bumped every year (first written in 2018) because I know so many people who’ve had flooded basements. I want to stop you from having a really crappy day and a big hole in your pocket book. There’s a reason my sump pump video has been seen 40,000 times.

Flooded basements make the news in the spring and fall each and every year. Neglect, power failures, poor drainage, changing seasons, and rapidly changing weather are almost always one or more of the causes of a flooded basement. You can’t control the weather or the seasons. Sudden heavy rains, warm snaps in the dead of winter, the spring thaw and the onset of rainy fall weather can all cause wet basements.

But battling mother nature isn’t always hard. Checking your sump pump and making sure you’ve got good drainage for your eaves troughs is often all the work you need to do to keep your basement dry.

Living in a 135 year old home and working as a Realtor has taught me quite a bit about drainage and sump pumps. The 1889 property has a sump pump just like almost every new home built over the last 35 years.

Sump pumps are installed in new homes as a preventative against future water penetration and as remediation in older properties where water is entering the foundation. The system consists of perforated piping (called weeping tile) on the outside of the foundation that directs ground water to a sump, which is a shallow pit in the basement that collects the water. The sump pump sits in the sump and periodically empties this water to the outside of the home.

Your sump pump has to work extra hard if you live in an area with a high water table, or have soil with poor drainage such as the clay that is quite common in Waterloo region. Ground water simply wants to go wherever it can, running as water does, from high places to low. Draining water away from the foundation is the weeping tile’s job since it sits lower than your basement walls, but it’s also a good idea to get the water away from your foundation so your sump pump doesn’t have to deal with it.

You can do this by adding extension pipes to the ends of your downspouts. 10 feet is a good distance, or you can get really ambitious like I did. A couple of years back I dug drainage piping for my eaves-troughs a good 20 or 30 feet from my house.

Prior to my hard work, the spring thaw and heavy thunder storms would often mean a wet laundry room but now the room is bone dry. As an added bonus my sump pump hardly comes on at all except for a couple of weeks in the spring.

Needless to say, having a working pump is even more important than good drainage. Pump failures definitely cause the vast majority of flooded basements and most of these issues are caused by poor maintenance.

But what can you do when the lights go out? If it’s just for a little while you’ll probably be fine. If the power is out for a few hours though and you have a regular pump, you might need to get bailing if your sump pit is going to overflow. Definitely don’t let water reach the motor on a pedestal type pump.

While power failures are rare, they do happen, especially in rural areas. If you’re worried, consider a back up system. Most of these are battery powered and I’ve seen plenty over the years.

Another type is a water powered back up pump. I saw one for the first time just a few weeks back. It uses municipal water pressure to power the pump and the high water switch which starts the pump. I suspect that this latter option may be superior to some battery systems with insufficient pumping power. As well, batteries degrade and require maintenance.

Regardless of what system you have, check your sump pump now and keep your basement dry, the November rains are just around the corner! Watch my video if you want to learn even more.

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Should You Get A Heat Pump?

Andrew Shackleton — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 21:20:37 +0000

Should you get a heat pump? Is it a good idea? Enbridge and the government are constantly pushing this technology, and offer substantial rebates if you install one. But what exactly is a heat pump and will it save you money? Why should you buy one?

Green?

Heat pumps are marketed as a green technology that’s good for the planet, and to a degree this is true. I included this caveat because the energy source of the electricity used by the heat pump needs to be non-fossil fueled. A heat pump running on coal fired electricity wouldn’t be green at all. Luckily in Ontario the bulk of our electricity comes from nuclear or hydro, with only a smallish portion generated by natural gas.

How It Works

In the simplest terms a heat pump in an air conditioner that can run in reverse to provide heating in cool weather. Heat pumps (and air conditioners) rely on the physical principle that compressing a gas into a liquid releases heat, and if you then turn that liquid back to gas via expansion, the liquid will get cold.

With a typical AC, the outside component at the side or back of your house is called the condenser as it is responsible for turning the hot compressed refrigerant gas pumped from the compressor back into a liquid. This is done with a powerful fan that blows outside air over the refrigerant piping, cooling it and the gas inside.

The hot, now liquid, refrigerant flows back into the house, but runs through a device called an expander first. This lowers its pressure and temperature substantially. The low pressure brings it very close to its boiling point which is important for the next step.

The cold refrigerant then passes through the evaporator, usually located immediately above your furnace. The fan blower in your furnace blows warm air through the cold evaporator tubing, cooling the air down in the process as the liquid refrigerant begins to boil into a gas again. The cooled air circulates through your house via the ductwork. The refrigerant gas returns to the compressor pump where it is recompressed and the cycle repeats.

Heat Pump vs. AC

A heat pump uses this exact process in the summer to cool. In the winter the gas and liquid flow is reversed. The condenser and evaporator switch roles, picking up heat from the outside air and taking that energy inside to your home. Being these two components can do both functions they are known as the inside and outdoor coils instead. There’s a crazy bit of physics going on, that’s for sure. Stand beside the outdoor coil while it is running in evaporator mode in the winter and you’ll feel truly ice-cold air blowing on you even in freezing temperatures.

Savings?

Now that you know how it works, will it save you money? There are a lot of factors to consider so there isn’t actually a concrete answer. For starters, it depends on the type of heating you currently have, the price of electricity and the price of the fossil fuels you are using if you use some form of combustion heating.

The last factor is the heat pump itself. There’s plenty to consider here as well.

Start with the energy ratings provided by the manufacturer. SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) measures cooling efficiency. Higher is better. HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) measures heating efficiency. Again, higher is better.

Pick a variable speed compressor that adjusts speed automatically based on heating or cooling needs, using less electricity compared to single-stage or two-stage compressors which operate at one or two fixed speeds.

Newer models are generally more efficient than older ones, and high-efficiency models can be had at a higher price point. Ductless mini-split systems can achieve very high SEER ratings.

You could also look at the coefficient of performance (COP). This metric shows how much heat a unit transfers per unit of electrical energy consumed, with a higher COP meaning greater efficiency. For example, a heat pump with a COP of 3 produces three times as much heat as the electricity it uses.

Backup Heat

In Ontario, the majority of heat pump installations use a backup furnace fired by gas for the coldest days. The home’s thermostat is typically programmed to run the home’s heating via the heat pump down to about 8 C. The system will typically switch over to the gas furnace during colder temps where heat pump efficiency begins to fall off.

Performance

Now having said all that, will a heat pump save you money? Let’s assume that you get the best air to air model you can afford. If you are comparing it to a high efficiency forced air gas furnace, you’ll see limited savings due to low gas costs and high electricity prices.

A heat pump of any type will easily beat anything else on operating costs, such as an older electric, gas or oil forced air furnace, radiant hot water, or electric baseboards.

If you don’t have forced air heating with duct work a mini split heat pump is a viable alternative. They offer high efficiency in a compact space.

A heat pump is also substantially more efficient than an AC, so you’ve got the added benefit of more affordable cooling in the summer months as well.

Rebates

But the high initial purchase and installation cost is a big reason many homeowners are reluctant to switch over. A heat pump and auxiliary furnace combo can easily hit $14,000 while a typical AC and furnace install can be well under 10 grand. But the picture is vastly improved when homeowners take advantage of the generous funding I mentioned at the start of the post. Rebates of between 5 to 7,000 dollars are pretty typical.

So, dollars to dollars, if you’re in need of a new furnace or new AC, then yes, get a heat pump. Be sure to do your homework first. Get informed and hire a reputable well-informed contractor to perform the work. Remember to ask lots of questions, including rebates, and get 3 quotes, not one, before deciding who to go with.

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Hire A Contractor

Andrew Shackleton — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:50:32 +0000

I am a DIY kind of guy but there are times when help is a good idea. If a job is large and labour intensive and you’re getting to the point of needing building permits (Kitchener or Waterloo) it’s probably safer and more cost effective to hire a contractor.

In the case of natural gas, you have to hire a contractor. It’s illegal to work on gas equipment without a license. You can perform DIY electrical work in Ontario but you really need to know what you’re doing and should get the work reviewed by the ESA. FYI, it’s illegal to have friends or family to do electrical work for you.

Before you start checking out contractors make a list of exactly what you want done. Research your project to get an idea of costs and set a clear budget. Remember that changing plans in the middle of a project will cost extra money. Consider dealing with a local company. This will make it much easier to check references, enforce a warranty or have follow-up work done.

When you’re ready to start looking, find a service provider you can trust. Ask friends and family for recommendations and search online as well. Google Reviews is a great place to start and the more reviews you can find the better. Always look at the bad reviews too, some unethical shops will spam Google Reviews with 5 stars that are fake! Needless to say, be very careful of door to door salespeople offering home services as well.

Once you’ve picked out some providers you’re interested in working with, narrow down the list and set your expectations with these 10 questions.

Cost: Is your quote an estimate or fixed price, and what’s the payment schedule?
Supervision: Who will supervise the job site and how many hours a day/week will they be there?
Permits: Who will get permits and co-ordinate inspections?
Protection: Do you have full liability insurance for people and materials? Beyond insurance, how will you protect my property (for example, if you’re adding an addition and it rains)?
Timing: What’s your start-to-finish schedule, and when will I be needed on site?
Communication: How will you communicate updates to me, and can I reach you after hours?
Experience: How many years of experience do you have, or similar projects have you completed?
Employees: Do you work with the same pool of subcontractors/construction workers on every project, or will there be anyone new?
Savings: How can I save some money? Can I buy some supplies myself?
Codes: Are you up-to-date on all current building codes, and how will you handle any violations/changes if the project doesn’t meet code (important for older homes)?

After you’ve run these questions by your potential vendors and are ready to hire a contractor you should remember that good contractors ask a lot of questions so they can understand and plan out the project. Make sure that you:

Get written estimates from at least 3 contractors
Never accept an estimate over the phone or without the contractor inspecting the area
Never go for a deal that sounds too good to be true
Never pay upfront anything more than 10%. Better still, make this payment when the contractor starts work.
Never pay the contract in full until all the work is done.
Ask who pays (and how much) if the vendor runs into hiccups,

When you’re ready to sign a contract understand that you have a 10 day cooling off period on any project over $50 if you decide to change your mind. You are entitled to a full refund if the work hasn’t begun yet. Make sure the following information is included in the contract:

The contractor’s name, address and contact information
A complete description of the project with details of the work and materials used
A clear description of any warranties
The total cost and terms of payment
A work schedule, including start and completion dates
A payment schedule, including the deposit amount
Who is responsible for clean up after the job is finished
All sub-trades that will be contracted out and who will pay for those sub-trades

Paying attention to all these details will make sure that your job will go as smoothly as possible. In the event you run into snags such as unforeseen issues your contract may protect you against additional costs. Having the work proceed in a professional manner while staying on budget and on time is a big reason why you hire a contractor in the first place.

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Should You Buy A House With A Pool?

Andrew Shackleton — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 19:49:02 +0000

Should you buy a house with a pool? If you’re a swimming fanatic and your family is too, then absolutely. But if you’re unsure about your answer there are many things (both pro and con) that you need to know. Buying a house with a pool is a very big deal. To be clear I’m talking in-ground, not above ground; that type is a whole other issue.

The pros of pool ownership are numerous:

Recreation
Entertainment
Exercise
Health
Children’s socialization
Maintaining swimming skill
Social status

You’ll enjoy all of these benefits if you buy a house with a pool. There’s nothing nicer than a swim on a 30+ summer day. Kicking back poolside with a beverage, bbq and friends sounds pretty good too. And you’ll make your teens extra cool if you let them have the neighbourhood kids over. Yes these are some big pluses, but you really need to be a water fanatic to truly maximize your pool investment. And if your kids are moving out in the next 5-10 years how much will your pool be used?

The cons of pool ownership are equally numerous:

Ongoing maintenance
Electricity costs
Water costs
Natural gas costs
Continual vacuuming and cleaning
Opening and closing costs/time
Risk of drowning
Liability requiring additional insurance

Ownership isn’t cheap. Plan on $1500-3000 a year in maintenance costs. You’ll want a rainy day fund as well for things like new liners, tile repair or replacement, or concrete work depending on what type of pool you have. You’ll need to get water samples off to your supplier for testing and there’s a bit of a learning curve for the various chemicals you’ll need. If you buy a house with a pool you are incurring some legal risk. Here in Waterloo Region you’ll need a fence at least 5 feet high around your pool. If you have small kids you’ll need to be extra cautious even if the little ones are very good swimmers. And if you like your pool warmish like I do you’ll be spending a bit for either gas or electric to heat it at the beginning and end of the season.

Pool ownership and the Real Estate market

A property with a pool is often a liability. A pool won’t cost a seller money necessarily but will impact marketability and the number of potential buyers. Simply put, the vast majority of the buying public doesn’t want the headache of pool ownership. And you’ll usually see conditional clauses for a separate pool inspection due to the additional risk a buyer is taking on. This can be especially problematic if the sale is made when the pool is closed. You could be hit with hold-backs as well to ensure compensation if there are issues when the pool is finally opened.

Pool removal

If you buy a house with a pool you can always have it removed. That is an option and is also something a homeowner would do at the end of a pool’s lifespan. You can’t just fill it in either. You’ll have massive drainage issues and frost heaving as well if you tried. The pool needs to be pulled out and the hole back-filled, compacted and landscaped. There are a variety of pool types such as concrete, fibreglass and vinyl. Concrete, because of its mass and durability will be the more expensive type to remove. An internet search show US dollar costs of between $3000-15000 to remove. With our cheaper Canadian dollar you can expect upwards of $20,000 Canadian to remove a pool like the one in the photo. Here’s a GTA firm, Canadian Pool Removal and Landscaping who does this exact work.

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What Tools Do I Need For My Home?

Andrew Shackleton — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 04:46:40 +0000

So you’ve just bought a house! This is an awesome occasion that can also be scary if you’re a first time buyer. One thing you definitely need to worry about is maintenance. This is a concern for even a brand new property.

When you own a home long enough you’ll learn that things break, drains get clogged and taps eventually leak. Shingles wear out, furnace filters need changing and doors become squeaky. The list goes on and on. So what are you going to do?

You’ve got two choices; hire someone or fix stuff yourself. There are all kinds of odd jobs that you can do by yourself, both safely and affordably. And there’s nothing wrong with hiring people and in some cases this is 100% necessary.

For instance it’s illegal to work on gas equipment if you don’t have the required certification. And while you can do your own electrical work there are limits as to what’s allowed. For bigger jobs you’ll often need a licensed contractor to check and sign off on your work.

If you’re going DIY, you can’t do much around the house without tools. So the question ‘what tools do I need for my home?’ is an important one.

I started my tool collection a long time ago when I was riding and racing motorcycles and working on cars as a teenager. I also spent some time in the building trades installing glass and picked up some more tools for that job. And once I became a homeowner I began adding power tools and drywall and plastering equipment to my collection.

When you have tools there’s really no limit to what you can accomplish. I spent Thanksgiving weekend replacing a roof on the vestibule going into my basement. It was a lot of work but I saved $1000 to $1500 in labour and I know the job was done right.

I’ve never worked on natural gas because of the risk. This was simply common sense even before I found out you needed certification just to touch it . But I’ve done pretty much every other repair over the years. So here’s a list of homeowner tools that will make your life easier. I’ve put them into categories but many of these tools are multipurpose.

The Basic Tool Box

claw hammer (don’t get a framing hammer or ball peen)
screwdriver set (red and green Robertson, two sizes each of slot and Phillips)
allen keys and torx bits (nice to have especially for Ikea furniture)
adjustable wrenches (good alternative to a proper wrench set)
side cutter pliers
tape measure (metric and imperial in one tape)
visegrip pliers (a brand of very good locking pliers)
utility knife (I prefer the ones with replaceable as opposed to snap off blades)
hacksaw (cuts plumbing, metal and even wood in a pinch)
tool box (don’t buy a small box like this).
flashlight (dollar store LED works just fine)

Tools For Plumbing

pipe cutter for cutting copper(red thing in picture)
hacksaw for cutting ABS or PVC
abs and/or pvc cement (ABS is the more common waste piping here)
propane torch for soldering
torch lighter (a cigarette lighter works too)
lead free solder (for soldering copper pipe)
flux (to clean copper solder joints)
teflon tape (essential on many plumbing fittings)
PEX tubing tools if working with PEX (I don’t work with it, not shown)
plumbers grease (for lubricating taps and faucets)
wrenches (for installing lines and hardware)
o-rings and washers (taps and faucets)
plumbers cloth/roll (a very coarse sand paper for cleaning copper)
snake (for unclogging drains-mine’s hiding somewhere)
plunger (not shown)

Tools For Electrical Work

multimeter (to check for live wires)
wire strippers (the easy way to strip insulation)
a box of marettes (to connect wires inside a fixture)
lineman pliers (for twisting wire and cutting)
screwdrivers (for light switches and receptacles)
utility knife (for cutting insulation)
side cutters
wrenches (working with conduit, etc.,)

Drywall and Plastering Tools

hod/hawk (a flat 1 foot square tool for holding plaster-not shown)
trowel (used for smoothing drywall compound and plaster)
putty knife (used for applying plaster and d.w. compound)
drywall saw (for cutting out holes for outlets, etc.,)
electric drill (for drywall screws and mixing)
mixer tool for drill
buckets for mixing
heavy chisel (not shown-used for plaster crack repair)
pole sander for drywall (hand version shown)
utility knife (for scoring drywall sheets and cutting tape)
chalk line tool (marking screw locations and cutting lines)
heavy cutters (for cutting metal lath for plaster work)

Tile work and bathrooms

rubber mallet (for setting tiles)
utility knife (for cutting out old caulking)
putty knife (for spreading compounds)
rubber spreader (for applying grout)
drill and mixing tool (for mixing setting compound)
caulking gun (not shown-for caulking around baths and sinks)
adhesive spreader (for spreading setting compound)
grout removal tool (power tools work much better)
grout float (rubber so the tiles don’t get scratched)
sponges (also used with grout)
bucket (for water and for mixing compounds)
level (tiles should be level)
chalk line (for laying out your tile pattern)
tile saw (powered and water lubricated-not shown)
tile nipper (not shown)

Tools for general carpentry

table saw (in my garage-not shown)
circular saw (mine needs a new blade)
reciprocating saw (comes in handy)
chop saw (not shown)
mitre box (used for cutting door and window trim)
hand saw (can be quicker and easier than power tools)
chalk line (multi purpose)
level (no one likes a crooked door)
jimmy bar (pulling nails, wrecking stuff)
wood working chisels
extension cords (not shown-I have ~150 feet)
nail set (beats marking up your wood)
orbital sander (not shown)
square (not shown-for making perfect cuts)
screwdrivers (Phillips and Robertson most common)

I’d advise you to stay away from cordless tools. Batteries have a limited lifespan and you might not be able to get replacement batteries 10 years down the road. And if you do go cordless you’ll need to remember to keep the batteries charged up especially if you are only breaking the tools out on occasion.

My power tools all have cords. Yes, dragging around a cord is a pain but I never have a dead battery. One of my drills is easily 40 years old and still works perfectly. Cordless only makes sense in the professional trades when the tools are used on a daily basis and are a tax write off.

Now you can get started on your tool collection. Don’t let the question ‘what tools do I need for my home?’ intimidate you. Start off small with the basics and buy stuff as the need arises. As you gain experience and confidence the sky’s the limit. At that point you’ll probably need a bigger tool box. By the way, a bucket works perfectly for carrying your tools and supplies around.

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Do You Need A 200 Amp Service For Your Electric Car?

Andrew Shackleton — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 22:59:55 +0000

Do you need a 200 amp service for your electric car? The previous Ontario government thought so. They passed legislation requiring all new homes to have a 200 amp panel. But this was overturned by Doug Ford in May. So do you need 200 amps or not? It’s a tough question and depends on the equipment currently installed in your home. And if you have plans for any other big electrical additions like a hot tub.

The electrical service explained

First I’ll give you an explanation about what exactly the ‘service’ is, be it 100, 200 or even 400 amps. Homes in North America are wired almost exclusively using single phase electricity service consisting of two hot wires of 120 volts each and a neutral wire. The two hot wires when used together provide 240 volts for appliances like stoves and clothes dryers.

These three wires come from the street, either underground or from a utility pole, and enter your hydro meter on one end. The hot leads are metered while the neutral is not. The two 120 volt wires exiting the meter hook up to your panel main breaker. The un-metered neutral wire is connected to neutral bus bars in the panel and doesn’t require a breaker.

The current your home uses when you turn on lights or run appliances is measured in amps. And the size of your service is expressed in amps as well. A 200 amp service can deliver twice as much current as a 100 amp service. To safely deliver this extra power the bigger service needs a larger capacity main breaker and thicker wires when compared to the smaller sized service.

But many homes use a 100 or 125 amp service because that was the requirement at the time they were built. Which begs the question, do you really need a 200 amp service for charging your electric car?

Figuring out what you need

Figuring out the size of the service and main breaker needed to accommodate an electric car charging port isn’t easy. You’ll also need to ensure that you have the correctly sized wiring from the meter to the main electrical panel. And these are important considerations if you are planning to add any equipment that draws a lot of power.

The calculations are best left to the professionals. The Canadian Electrical Code (CEC) has a lot of rules, regulations and exceptions that need to be applied. The code uses a combination of watts per square foot and the electric load of various appliances and equipment in the home to determine the correct service you should be using.

Luckily I found a somewhat dated article with the calculations. The regulations on charging stations have loosened up a bit since the post was published. Being I’m not an electrician I needed something to work from so I used their chart on my home just to demonstrate how this works.

The service in my house uses a 125 amp main breaker and the wiring from the hydro meter to the panel is #2 AWG copper. This wiring is rated for 115 amps at 75 * C. which matches up correctly with the 125 amp breaker.

My home’s current set up has a calculated load of 68 amps with a 125 amp service. Adding an electric car charger brings my total to 98 amps. The panel and wiring have enough capacity for the calculated load even using the older more stringent charger rules.

But things can get dangerous the closer you are to maxing out your service. I’d be in trouble if I tried to install a hot tub too and I would likely need an upgrade to 200 amp service.

200 amps is probably a good idea

Safety is one of the reasons the previous Liberal government introduced the 200 amp minimum. But it also would have forced local utilities and builders to install higher capacity equipment throughout the newer neighbourhoods.

It’s a real shame that Doug Ford’s government is so shortsighted. Electric cars are here whether he likes it or not. It would have been prudent to have the infrastructure in place to accommodate the increased charging demand that will surely appear.

So do you need a 200 amp service for your electric car? Probably, but sometimes you can get away with what you have. But don’t ask me. It’s a case by case situation and only an electrician can give you the right answer.

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Cracked Foundations

Andrew Shackleton — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 15:10:04 +0000

The condition of a home’s foundation is something that worries many a buyer, for good reason. The integrity of the home itself relies on it. And no one wants water coming in either. I’ve seen more than a few bad foundations over the years that’s for sure. These usually stick out like a sore thumb if you know what to look for.

Foundation problems almost always involve cracking, and more seriously, cracking and settling. It’s a very bad thing for movement to occur. This can happen from poor drainage, sub surface erosion or insufficient soil compaction. It can also result from age, poor workmanship, undersized footings or even additions to the home itself.

Luckily, settlement and shifting is readily apparent to the trained eye. This is why a home inspection is so important, as is working with a great Realtor with experience in the profession. Sometimes a quick walk around the foundation is all I need to reject a home. Step-cracks in the brickwork are another tell, but aren’t always indicative of serious issues. A closer look is always needed.

Inside, evidence of settling can show up in cracked plaster, uneven flooring and doors that won’t close properly or are misaligned. But these issues can just be age as well. If you love older homes a Realtor or home inspector with experience in century homes is a must.

Foundation cracks that don’t involve settling are far more common. I’ve seen these countless times even in new homes just a year or two old. The cracking is far more common in the poured floor but also occurs in the walls. This problem seems to be less of an issue in older homes and I wonder if modern technology is the culprit. Today’s concrete uses additives that allow pouring almost all year which wasn’t the case back in the day.

In my opinion serious cracking involving settling are a no-go for my buyers. Remediation work can run in to the tens of thousands of dollars and it’s better not to take the risk.

The slide show below shows three pictures of a very serious issue, and one that is less so. Can you spot the difference?

In other cases closer examination is called for. Cracks in a foundation with good drainage are way less of an issue than a foundation sitting in a high water table. Rubble foundations like that in my 1889 home can be perfectly sound but still be damp or even leak on occasion. Step cracks in brick work can indicate a major problem or just be an overloaded header or sill on a window that has nothing to do with the foundation.

So drainage, soil type, the length of the downspouts, having a sump pump or not, and the type of foundation are all factors to consider if cracking is discovered when you are looking at property. If you decide to move forward with a purchase you’ll be happy to know that it’s surprisingly cheap to fix cracked basements these days with epoxy injection. The cost for a typical crack is under $1000 and the vendors almost always provide a transferable warranty on their work.

Here are some shots of a very typical foundation crack at a window well in a modern home. Water penetration is evident inside.

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