Well Wise Tips
We all understand that we need to do a bit of maintenance on our car in order to keep it running properly, but most people don’t recognize that your water well also needs regular maintenance.  Based on results from outreach programs, it has been shown that 89% of wells across Ontario are in need of repair. Wells in Ontario are aging; there are 10, 000 – 20,000 new wells installed every year, but the majority of homeowners have wells that were installed before provincial standards were put in place.  Well owners need to understand what to do to keep their wells in good working order and how to ensure that their water is safe and sustainable...
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Who Gets The Cottage - Tips from Freedom 55 Financial
Have you started to consider what will happen to your cottage?  Do you plan to sell it to provide income throughout your retirement?  Do you plan to leave it to your children equally?...
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Opening and Closing Your Cottage - Tips from Hydro One
There are a few areas you should check off every time you open and close your seasonal home. In general, it's important to look at security, your electrical system, and your water system.
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The Home Owners Fire Smart Manual
Protect your home from wildfire.  You and your neighbours can reduce the hazards of Wildfire by following these  simple preventative steps.
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources - (PDF, 1.2MB) more...

How to Build a Safe Incinerator
If you burn forest litter or debris often, build and use a good incinerator.
Ontario - (PDF, 200KB) more...

The Dock Primer
In the beginning...there was a shoreline. Perhaps it already had a dock, one that no longer suited anybody’s requirements. Perhaps the dock was falling apart, or maybe the shoreline was devoid of a dock, an empty beach with no place to moor a boat. For whatever reason, the decision was made, and that shoreline is getting a new dock.
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Chimney Safety
As you snuggle in front of a cozy fire or bask in the warmth of your wood stove, you are taking part in a ritual of comfort and enjoyment handed down through the centuries. The last thing you are likely to be thinking about is the condition of your chimney. However, if you don’t give some thought to it before you light those winter fires, your enjoyment may be very short-lived. Why? Dirty chimneys can cause chimney fires, which damage structures, destroy homes and injure or kill people.
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Home Maintenance Schedule
Inspecting your home on a regular basis and following good maintenance practices is the best way to protect your investment in your home. Whether you take care of a few tasks at a time or several all at once, it is important to get into the habit of doing them. Establish a routine for yourself and you will find the work is easy to accomplish and not very time consuming. A regular schedule of seasonal maintenance can put a stop to the most common — and costly — problems, before they occur. If necessary use a camera to take pictures of anything you might want to share with an expert for advice or to monitor or remind you of a situation later.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - (PDF, 57.5KB) more...

Energy Use Patterns in Off-Grid Houses
This project is a survey of twelve “off-grid” households across Canada. The objective is to document off-grid energy use and lifestyle patterns to determine if there are lessons or examples of energy conservation that apply to conventional grid-connected houses. The houses in the study operate on systems using renewable energy as the primary source of electricity. These systems run the gamut from simple photovoltaic (PV) installations with diesel generator backup, to complex “hybrid” systems that use PV, wind and seasonal microhydro for power. Most of the houses in this study feature all the “mod-cons’’: running water, stereos, computers, fax machines, etc. People have chosen the off-grid option for several reasons: political, environmental, financial, and entrepreneurial. In every case, homeowners cited more than one of these categories when describing their choice to use a renewable energy source.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - (PDF, 1.23MB) more...

Backup Power for Your Home
You rely on many appliances and systems in your home for your health, comfort and security. Most depend completely on utility supplied electricity. It makes sense to have a backup system that will keep your family comfortable and your home safe in a power failure.
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Removing Ice from Your Roof
The ice storm that hit eastern Canada in January, 1998 was a laboratory for concentrated research into severe ice accumulation on roofs. Removing ice on roofs describes some of the techniques developed from the research for dealing with extensive roof icing and ice dam problems.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - (PDF, 299.25KB) more...

Roof Repair
All roofs need repair or replacement from time to time. Regular maintenance such as cleaning eaves troughs and drains can help prolong the life of your roof. Periodic roof inspections will help you spot developing problems before they cause costly damage to your home. The extent of the problem and age of the roof are key factors that can help you decide whether to do repairs or completely replace the roof finish.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - (PDF, 113.33KB) more...

A Guide to Residential Wood Heating
At present 20 percent of Canadian households use wood as primary or supplementary fuel for home heating. Advances in wood burning appliances have made this type of heating fuel safer, cleaner and more efficient than ever before. Design, location or installation problems can lead to inefficient wood burning appliances which can in turn cause chimney fires or the emission of exhaust gases into the home. At the same time, new, tighter housing requires that today’s wood burning appliances be clean burning and resistant to spillage.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - (PDF, 64KB) more...