We love the crisp air and warm colours fall brings, but it also comes along with a hefty list of maintenance jobs to get your home and yard ready for the changing weather. We've compiled a comprehensive list of jobs to ensure your home is prepared for winter and your yard is set up for a successful spring.

Exterior Home Maintenance

  • Clean gutters
  • Check your roof
  • Make exterior repairs
  • Check the weather stripping on doors and windows
  • Seal gaps where critters can enter: Steel wool is great for keeping mice out. Fill cracks and small holes with steel wool, then use caulk or expanding foam filler to fully close up the area.
  • Clean out dryer vents

Lawn & Yard Maintenance

  • Prune Trees & Shrubs
  • Clean out your garden beds

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A brand new driveway will improve the curb appeal of your home, extend your outdoor living space, increase property value and even help with resale. If you're installing a new driveway for a brand new home or want to replace your current damaged and cracked driveway, there are two main materials to consider: concrete and asphalt. Here are the pros and cons of each.

Concrete Driveways

Concrete driveways are aesthetically pleasing and versatile. There are multiple finishes to choose from, including tinted or stamped finish, broom finish or an exposed aggregate finish which gives it that pebble-like look. Whichever finish you choose, the concrete takes several days to cure.  Cold Canadian winters and the freeze-thaw process can cause concrete driveways…

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We recently gathered at Laurier Park for our first ever Summer Extravaganza Picnic and wow, was it ever a success! It was amazing to see everyone for a family-friendly picnic, where the team could gather and kids and dogs were all welcome. There were tons of activities set up for everyone to enjoy including bubbles, volleyball, soccer and more! We had drinks and snacks for all - even water dishes for our four-legged friends. Curbside YEG was on site serving up delicious eats and the guys from Frosted Shaved Ice brought the cool treats. We know this is an event we won’t forget! Especially with all the great photos, thanks to Rob with Rob Hislop Photography. He was so engaging and seamlessly blended into the event capturing incredible candid and action…

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We know it’s been a long hot summer, and summer floods are the last thing from our minds, but those summer storms can sneak up on us here in Edmonton. Is your home ready for it? One way to protect your home from flooding is having a backwater valve on your main sanitary sewer pipe. While these are required and come standard in newer homes, homes built prior to 1989 may not have this device.  If you own an older home and don’t have a backwater valve, don’t worry, you’re not out of luck; you may qualify for the EPCOR Backwater Valve Subsidy Program.

What is a Backwater Valve?

A backwater valve is a device with a flap that floats up and closes off the pipe when there is backflow from the sewer. This ensures that sewage only flows one way, out.

What is…

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If you’ve recently looked at listing your home or spent any amount of time watching HGTV, you’ve likely heard of home staging, but is it necessary? The short answer is yes.

Why Should You Stage Your Home?

Staging showcases your home in its very best light, using furniture and decor to highlight your home’s best features and minimize its imperfections. This allows potential buyers to see themselves in your home, often leading to a quicker sale at a higher price point. Over time we get so used to how the home functions for us, that we don’t consider if the current function really showcases the layout and flow of the home. We often bring a professional stager to our listings to guide our clients through the process. Edmonton has some really great home…

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A friend of mine recently moved to a Vancouver suburb and I was shocked to hear how much it really costs to buy a home there. I think everyone has an idea how expensive homes are in and around Vancouver and Toronto right now, but many people aren't aware of the additional closing costs buyers face across the country. With so many people working remotely, we're starting to see people moving based on housing affordability, so I wanted to share what it actually costs to buy a typical single-family home in major Canadian cities, including the extra expenses buyers pay at closing that are not included in their mortgage. Since averages and medians can be misleading, I'm going to base these calculations on the MLS® Home Price Index. The HPI basically…

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Moving is a huge adjustment that impacts the whole family, including children. Whether you are moving down the street, to a new neighbourhood, or to a new city, province or country altogether, your children will need support during this transition. We are sharing our top 5 tips for making the transition as smooth and positive as possible.

1. Communicate with your children

  • Talk to your child about the move in age-appropriate terms as soon as possible.
  • Be prepared for and allow all the different feelings they may have.
  • Share your feelings in age-appropriate ways to show your child that all feelings are normal and that they are not alone.
  • Talk about what will change and what will stay the same.
  • Remember, it is totally normal for kids…

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With the weather finally warming up, and the days getting longer, it’s time to move the party outside. But is your outdoor living space ready? Here are 4 quick and easy ways to refresh your outdoor living space - and you won’t have to break the bank to do it.

1. Add an outdoor area rug

Outdoor area rugs are great for centring your patio furniture, upping the cozy factor and adding a pop of colour.

2. Change out your accent pillows

Accent pillows are great for sprucing up your patio furniture, making it more comfortable for lounging and even adding a pop of colour if you choose to.

3. Add Lights:

String Lights: String lights are a fun way to light up your outdoor space for those summer evenings. You can hang them on a pergola, across the fence,…

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Welcome to the final segment of our 3-part spring cleaning series. So far we have covered decluttering and deep cleaning your home - linked if you missed them and want to check them out. In this post, we are going to cover everything you need to do to get the exterior of your home ready for Spring.

First up: Assess.

Look over the following areas of your home’s exterior to make sure that your home weathered the winter months and came out intact. Check eavestroughs and downspouts and remove any built-up debris. Inspect your roof shingles. Inspect your driveway and sidewalks for cracks - not all cracks need to be fixed, but it is good to be aware of any smaller cracks so you can monitor them. Inspect your fences and deck along with any other outdoor…

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With winter’s last big hurrah finally behind us (cross fingers, knock on wood, say the rosary), homeowners in Edmonton can finally start dreaming about summertime, and planning all the ways they’re going to soak up the few months of warmth we’re about to have. But wait… we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic. Well, that really narrows down the options a bit. I guess it’s safe to say that, for people like myself, our backyards are finally going to receive a little attention. I’d love to sit back there with a cold drink on a hot day without that dead rosebush staring at me from the other end of the yard. And not just that. I want a garden. But not just your run-of-the-mill decorative flower garden with a few herbs (not that there’s anything…

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