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Renovation Fact Sheets
Advance planning is the key to successful renovations. These fact sheets help you plan, assess, and avoid surprises. Achieve the results you want by doing your renovation right the first time.
Interior Renovations
Secondary suites can provide affordable living space and intensify urban development without adding new buildings. This article explains what the homeowner should consider before building or renovating a secondary suite.
Conduct a pre-renovation inspection and prioritize the most desirable features for your new kitchen.
Renovating Your Basement – Moisture Problems
Creating a clean, dry and healthy living space is a critical first step in this renovation.
Renovating Your Basement – Structural Issues
Fixing foundation problems before renovating is essential to preserve the durability and structure of the house.
Renovating your Basement for Livability
Find out about common problems that can be fixed, as part of the renovations, to make your basement a healthy living space.
Things you should think about when choosing resilient, laminate, and wood flooring, as well as carpet and ceramic tile.
Bathroom renovations offer the second highest financial payback rate and are one of the most common home improvement projects.
Hydronic Radiant Floor Heating
Radiant floor heating is a method of heating your home by applying heat underneath or within the floor
Buying a Water-Efficient Toilet
Tips and advice on buying a water-efficient toilet using current toilet rating programs.
This fact sheet provides you with information on replacing your existing furnace with a new one.
Exterior Renovations
Introductory information on garden suites for seniors or persons with disabilities.
Before You Start a New Addition
Identify the features you need and inspect the current structure and mechanical systems to be sure they can support the new addition.
Repairing or Replacing Exterior Wall Materials
Repairing or replacing exterior wall finishes will protect and preserve the durability and structure of the home.
Repairing or Replacing Roof Finishes
Learn about the key factors that will determine whether you should repair or replace your roof.
Understanding Window Terminology
Helpful guidance on buying the right type of window for your home.
Before repairing or replacing windows and doors, consider all of the factors outlined in this fact sheet.
General Renovations
Assesing the Renovation Project
If you plan carefully, you can renovate your home to make it look better, work better, last longer and be more comfortable.
Canada’s Housing Construction System
Understand the elements of the system of construction and operation of buildings and houses in Canada.
Make sure you get what you want and pay for when hiring a contractor.
A detailed written contract between you and the contractor you hire is essential to any renovation or home repair project, no matter its size.
Energy-Efficiency Renovations
Energy Efficient Upgrade — Mechanical Systems
Before altering these, it is important to understand how the overall performance of the house will be affected.
Energy Efficient Upgrade — The Building Envelope
Improving the building envelope can result in a better insulated, more airtight home that is easier to heat.
Accessible Housing by Design
Learn how to successfully design a universally accessible exterior space by assessing the space and identifying how you, your family and friends will use it.
This fact sheet provides an overview of planning and design. guidelines to consider when creating, renovating or redecorating the living spaces in your home.
Fire Safety for You and Your Home
How to prevent fires in your home and ensure the safety of people of all ages and abilities.
This fact sheet provides design guidelines for the most common types of accessible house designs including: visitable housing, adaptable and accessible housing and housing built using the concepts of universal design.
Home automation systems, or smart home technologies can control elements of your home environment, such as lighting, appliances, telephones, and home security.
Lifts and Residential Elevators
This fact sheet tells you about the types of residential lifts and elevators that are commonly available in Canada.
Residential Hoists and Ceiling Lifts
This fact sheet tells you about the types of residential hoists and ceiling lifts that are commonly available in Canada.
Learn about ramp design, and other issues to consider before building a ramp for your home.
Function, usability and flexibility are some of the latest trends in kitchen design that people are demanding so that kitchens work for themselves and their families as people's needs change .
This fact sheet provides the detail on how to successfully design a universally accessible bathroom.
Learn how to select appliances which can be easily used by people of differing ages and abilities.