c/edmonton-home-reno

Overheard a contractor say the cold warps wood differently here

I was picking up drywall mud at Home Depot on the south side and two guys were talking about how Edmonton's freeze-thaw cycles are harder on door frames than anywhere they've worked. They said a cheap moisture meter, like the $40 pin type, saves them more callbacks than any fancy tool. Anyone else notice their interior doors sticking after the January cold snap?

Dust control failure at the Ritchie Market reno, learned the hard way

Last month I was sanding drywall mud in a 1970s bungalow near Ritchie Market and thought a couple of box fans and a wet rag would handle the dust. By day two, the homeowner's neighbor came over complaining about a fine white film on their truck and porch, which was embarrassing since I didn't even have a proper dust extractor hooked up. I ended up spending $180 on a rental HEPA vac and plastic sheeting to seal off the hallway, plus an extra day of cleanup I hadn't planned for. Has anyone else had a close call like this with dust drifting into a neighbor's yard, and what do you use to keep it contained during interior sanding?

So I found out my paint roller technique was backwards for 10 years

I was repainting our hallway last week and my neighbor, who does this for a living, stopped by. He watched me roll for about 30 seconds and asked why I was pushing the roller uphill on the walls. Turns out I should have been rolling in a W pattern first, then filling in, not just going straight up and down every time. He showed me on a scrap piece of drywall and the finish came out way more even with way less roller marks. I've been doing it my way since I bought my first house in St. Albert back in 2016. Has anyone else had a pro correct a basic habit you thought was fine? I feel like I need to redo my entire upstairs now.

Hit $50,000 in reno spend last month, and I barely blinked

I added up all our receipts for the basement redo in Parkallen and realized we crossed $50k without any major surprise like a foundation crack. That number stung more than I thought because it took 4 years of saving to get there. Has anyone else tracked their total per square foot, or am I just a masochist with a spreadsheet?

That recycled glass countertop I doubted actually held up to 2 years of chaos

I put in a recycled glass countertop from a local fabricator off 99th street back in March 2023, mainly because it was $20 less per square foot than quartz. I figured it would chip or stain within months, especially with kids doing homework and my husband dropping coffee mugs every other week. Two years later, there's not one scratch or dull spot on it. We did seal it twice in the first year like the installer said, but that's it. The colors are a bit wild up close, but guests always ask about it. What sold me was watching the guy cut a test piece with a wet saw and show me the cross section, no voids or weak lines. Has anyone else gone with a non-standard countertop material and been surprised by how it aged?

Heard a contractor say something about spray foam that made me question my attic plans

I was at Home Depot last weekend picking up some insulation for my garage and I overheard two guys talking near the foam aisle. One of them said spray foam in attics is a bad idea for Edmonton houses because it traps moisture and can cause roof rot in our cold climate. I had been planning to spray foam my attic this spring after my energy bill hit $350 in January. Now I am wondering if I should stick with traditional batt insulation instead. Has anyone here had problems with spray foam in their Edmonton home? I would love to hear real experiences before I make a decision.

LVP vs. engineered hardwood in a basement - my mistake

I put engineered hardwood in my basement last year and it was a mistake. After a small leak from the hot water tank the boards started cupping in two spots. My neighbor put down LVP in his basement around the same time and his floor handled a similar leak fine. I spent $5.50 a square foot on the hardwood and now I'm looking at replacing a section for around $600. LVP was $3.80 a square foot and seems way more practical for below grade. Has anyone else had moisture problems with engineered hardwood in a basement?

Can we talk about that contractor who ghosted me on a $3000 deck job

Hired a guy named Mike last summer for a deck rebuild in Edmonton. He took a $3000 deposit then vanished after the first week. Left half the old boards ripped up, no deck for 6 weeks. Found out he was subcontracting to a crew who never got paid. I had to file with the province's consumer protection. Another neighbor told me he used a fake business license. Took me 3 months and a small claims filing to get some cash back. Has anyone here dealt with a contractor running off with a deposit?

Put in a new shower faucet last weekend, water pressure dropped in half

I replaced an old Moen faucet with a Delta model from Home Depot. Followed the instructions exactly, no leaks or anything. But now the shower pressure is way lower than before. Same pipe setup, same shower head. Anyone run into this with newer faucets? Is there a flow restrictor I need to take out?

Random chat with an electrician made me stop overthinking paint colors

I was at Home Depot last Saturday trying to pick between two nearly identical whites for my living room. This older electrician walked by, saw me staring, and just said pick the one that makes you stop looking at it. Sounds simple but I realized I spend way too much time comparing swatches instead of just going for it. Has anyone else had a pro give you advice that completely changed how you approach a reno project?

Remember when we used to skim coat everything with mud from a bucket?

I was digging through my garage last weekend and found an old 5-gallon bucket of all-purpose joint compound from 2015. Man, I used to mix that stuff by hand with a paddle drill for 20 minutes every time. Now I just grab a box of pre-mixed lightweight and it's ready to go in 2 minutes. The dust difference is huge too - the new stuff barely makes a mess compared to that heavy old mix. Anyone else notice how much less sanding you need with the modern lightweight compounds?

Just found out my 1950s bungalow has asbestos in the ceiling texture - city records online blew my mind

Ripped out my own basement ceiling after 2 years of hating it

Had a drop ceiling the previous owner put in, flimsy tiles and ugly grid. Finally tore it all out last month and put up drywall instead, cost me about $400 more but the room actually feels like part of the house now. Anyone else deal with those cheap drop ceilings in older Edmonton homes?

Just ripped out a brand new backsplash because I used the wrong thinset

I was tiling my kitchen backsplash last weekend and everything looked great for the first 2 hours. After letting it set overnight, three tiles just fell off the wall when I barely touched them. Turns out I grabbed standard thinset instead of the modified stuff you need for porcelain tiles over drywall. Had to chisel everything off and start over from scratch. Anyone else made a rookie mistake with tile adhesive around Edmonton?

Vent: Realized I was sanding drywall compound way too late

I spent 6 months sanding my mud until it was glass smooth, then a contractor buddy walked in and laughed. He said I was supposed to catch it when it was still a bit damp, not wait for it to fully cure. Anyone else get stuck doing extra work because nobody told you the timing was off?

Found out my attic insulation was basically doing nothing after 20 years

I was looking into why my heating bill jumped last January and dug out the original inspection report from when I bought the place in 2017. Turns out the previous owner blew in R12 fiberglass in the attic, which is basically useless for Edmonton winters where you need at least R50. I went up there with a tape measure and confirmed it, barely 6 inches deep in some spots. Has anyone else discovered their home was built to a lower standard than expected and had to rip things out?

Found out my 1950s bungalow has asbestos in the drywall compound after a simple hole patch

Went to hang a picture in my living room and the dust from drilling made me cough - tested it at the city lab downtown for $40 and got the shock of my life. Has anyone else found old surprises in their Edmonton reno projects?

Stopped using old caulk method after basement flood cost me $2,800

I used to just squeeze a bead and smooth it with my finger, figuring it was good enough. After a pipe burst in January the water found every gap I'd left around the baseboards. Now I tape both sides, tool every joint with a proper silicone tool, and check for voids before it dries. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way?

Hit 12,000 screws in a single deck build - didn't realize how much work that actually is

I just finished a big deck for a client in Mill Woods, and when I counted up the fasteners I used it came to just over 12,000 screws. That's not counting nails or the structural bolts. I knew decks take a ton of hardware but I never stopped to add it up before. It really hit me when I emptied my fifth 5-pound box of deck screws and still had more to go. My hands are wrecked and my drill needs a full service after this one. Has anyone else ever actually sat down and counted what they use on a big project like this?

That 'cheap' laminate flooring from Facebook Marketplace cost me double in the end

I scored a pallet of laminate for $150 from some guy in St. Albert, thought I was saving big. Turns out it was water damaged from being stored in his damp garage and the planks started peeling after 2 weeks. Had to rip it all out and buy proper stuff from Flooring Canada on 50 St, total cost ended up around $900. Anyone else get burned by marketplace flooring deals?

Hit 1000 square feet of drywall mudding and finally lost my mind

I was smoothing out my 37th batch of joint compound in the basement last week and realized I'd sanded through the paper tape on three separate seams. That's when I counted up the sheets I'd hung - 47 of them, 12 feet each - and it hit me that I'm 18 hours into taping alone. Has anyone else lost track of time and then found out you've been way too aggressive with the sanding block?

Picked spray foam over batts for my attic last fall

Old house in Strathcona, drafty as heck. I was stuck between spending $1800 on spray foam or $600 on fiberglass batts. Went with the foam because my neighbor said his batts sagged after two winters. I can feel the difference in the upstairs bedrooms now, way more even temp. Anyone else swap insulation methods midway through a reno?

Hit 10,000 steps in my basement reno and it felt like a marathon

I was demoing the old drywall in my basement last weekend and my watch buzzed saying I did 10,000 steps just by walking back and forth to the dumpster and prying off boards. Never thought a home reno would count as my daily workout but here we are. Has anyone else tracked their steps during a big project and been shocked at the number?

Picked up a tip about insulating basement rim joists at the city workshop last Tuesday.

The presenter said most homes in Edmonton lose 20% of their heat right there, and a can of spray foam and some rigid board cut to size only costs about $60. Has anyone else tried this and noticed a real difference on their heating bills?

Tried spray foam in my 1950s bungalow attic and now my furnace barely kicks on

I went from paying $380 a month for gas last winter to around $200 after sealing up all those crazy gaps around the old knob and tube wiring, has anyone else seen that kind of drop with just attic foam?