Mould is big news these days. We’ve always been aware of mould and we’ve all seen a loaf of bread or a block of cheese go mouldy. We’ve probably all seen mould growing around a window frame in a high humidity part of our house. The dangers of mould became front page news in the
Read more
Asbestos is an amazing mineral. It’s highly heat resistant, doesn’t break down under attack from most chemicals, and the fibres are very strong. It pulls apart into hair-like fibres. It’s been recognized and used for its ability to resist heat for thousands of years. Unfortunately, it can also be very dangerous if its fibres are
Read more
Have you ever wondered if your home contains asbestos? Most homeowners don’t. They assume that asbestos was only used in commercial buildings, factories, and institutions like schools and hospitals with miles of hot water piping and heating ducts. Up until relatively recently, asbestos was used in many building materials that were used in residential home
Read more
It’s an unfortunate legacy of our times, but these days a lot of rental homes are being used as marijuana grow ops. In fact, it’s estimated that one in four homes in some parts of Canada were used for a grow op at some time in their history. When a house is turned into a
Read more
Mould is big news these days. It’s always been around us but only relatively recently have stories about mouldy houses and the dangers of mould become front page news. Not too long ago, if someone had mouldy walls in their house, they would paint over them rather than eliminate the conditions that were making it
Read more
If you walk around any Calgary neighbourhood during the winter, you’ll probably be able to spot a few houses with an ice dam. They’re the ones with patches of exposed shingles on an otherwise snow covered roof, a thick buildup of ice around the eaves, and sometimes a lot of icicles. An ice dam forms
Read more
There are things that are sometimes found in homes that have the potential to make you and your family sick. Asbestos and mould immediately come to mind. However, there are also some lesser known toxic substances that could be contaminating your home – notably urea formaldehyde insulation, radon gas, and lead based paint. Asbestos was
Read more
Mould is everywhere and has been since the dawn of time. It gets a bad rap these days but we can thank mould for penicillin and certain cheeses. It’s always been in our homes but ironically it’s more of a problem in houses built in the last 10 years or so. Modern, hermetically sealed, energy
Read more
It doesn’t matter where you go in Canada, radon gas is seeping from the soil and dissipating in the atmosphere. Radon is produced when uranium decays. In parts of the country where there is a higher concentration of uranium, you find more radon gas. Radon isn’t dangerous when it escapes from the soil and mixes
Read more
We all do everything we can to make our homes as safe as possible for our families. We install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, we keep up with routine maintenance, we make sure that our heating system is working properly, and we install security devices to keep the world out. However, there might be unseen
Read more
