Bryan Baeumler

“I've seen a lot of different houses over the years, and I think the most important part of any home is the property that surrounds it.”

“Typically, any wood siding you put on a house will need an air space - or rainscreen, as we call it - in between the house and the siding.”

“If you want the look and feel of hardwood, then I don't see why you'd be afraid of a floating floor.”

“People tend to mix grout too wet, which means there's a high concentration of water in relation to the sand and solids content, and when that water evaporates the grout shrinks and cracks.”

“Our houses are constantly expanding and contracting.”

“If you have mould in your attic, it's possible you don't have an effective vapour barrier under the insulation; you may have bathroom or kitchen vents exhausting directly into the attic, soffit vents plugged with insulation, or insufficient roof vents.”

“The outdoor spaces around your home should be an extension of the look and feel of the interior.”

“Anywhere you have sustained excess moisture and organic material, you will keep getting mould.”

“In the late '50s, homes had a lot of asbestos in them.”

“If anything, a floating floor will actually allow for more expansion, contraction and moving around, and be more resilient than a solid hardwood that is actually installed and left over the winter with no heat on.”

“When you think about it, the most efficient furnace is a furnace that doesn't turn on!”

“Insulating under your basement slab during construction makes a huge difference in energy costs when it comes to heating your home.”

“Generally, when you have a furnace in the basement, keeping that area warm means the furnace doesn't have to work as hard to warm up the air to warm the rest of your home.”

“It scares me that the majority of people tend to compromise on structural, mechanical and efficiency items rather than shiny big ticket items, resulting in nicer looking homes that aren't built as well.”

“The humidity in your home should be between 35 to 40 per cent. Any lower and everything starts to shrink.”

“A great idea with the sump pit is to look into putting in a battery so your pump will continue to operate if the power fails. Typically, power failure happens during a storm when you get lots of water coming in - and when you'll need that pump working.”

“You can only absorb so much information by reading a book before getting your hands dirty and learning the hard way.”

“Humidity levels drop significantly in the winter due to the colder, denser air around us.”

“Some days it seems everybody wants to be a contractor. I'm constantly amazed at the amount of email I get from people asking how they can get into the trades - and the inquiries come from a very broad range of people!”

“Too many people wait until December to winterize their homes. That's when you run into problems.”