An old friend contacted me recently to get together.. (My Scott Stratten AHA moment.)

He lives in Toronto, and I am safely ensconced in the suburbs but wanted to meet him in TO and trusted his suggestion of a place for dinner that was “loud and lots of fun, casual. not expensive and the food and beer are great!”.  The loud part worried me a bit, but it was just going to be him and I reminiscing, so I figured I could handle it.  A couple of casual tweets to the restaurant (@WVRSTbeerhall) about my upcoming visit and I was set.  They wrote back that they were looking forward to having me, and I replied that I fully expected hugs when I got there.

When I got downtown, I parked a little north of the restaurant and walked in to, well, a beer hall.  Long tables with chairs on either side, and some tables off to one side and yes, it was noisy, but a pretty swanky crowd, well dressed and everyone seemed to be having the time of their life!  I settled in to a table on the side with my friend, ordered a Canadian Craft Beer from their extensive list and got to the business at hand of catching up with an old friend.

He went to order our food (yes, you actually walk up to a window and see all the sausages laid in a row and order from an impressive array of sausage all made on site with fresh ingredients and a game list that blew my mind).  I ordered the elk with cumin and porcini and Dennis had the Rabbit. I sent off another quick Tweet to the restaurant saying that I was waiting for my hug .   Still waiting for Dennis I took in the ambience of the place, sipped my delightful beer, and noticed a tall man approach my table and ask if I was Sarah.  ”Apparently, I’m supposed to give you a hug” he said with a smile and I laughed.  And I got a great big hug from Bram, the General Manager.  As it turns out, the tweets for the bar go to the owner in Los Angeles, who called the restaurant and said that I was there, and was expecting a hug.  It gets better.  Chatted with Bram for a bit, and he assured me he would come back to check on our food.

Shortly after our food came, along with another great hug from the waitress and we tucked in to our meal.  GLORY BE.  I would not consider myself a sausage aficionado by any stretch, but this was the best sausage that I have ever tasted, bar none.  Fresh, flavourful, and not greasy at all.  Divine, with some caramelized onions and roasted peppers thrown on top, and a jalapeño for good measure.  Pure sausage heaven.  Handcut fries with two dipping sauces and this amazing beer to swish it all down.  Just damn good food and I was sold.  Bram came back and I asked when they were going to start selling the sausage on its own for me to take home, apparently, its in the works.  I will drive from Oakville for this meat.  It’s that good.

The icing on the cake was this little gem that I only noticed after I was finished my fries.  How flipping cool is that?  

If you are in the west end of Toronto anytime stop by this gem at 609 King Street West, Toronto and say “hi” to Bram and make sure you get one of his epic hugs, oh yes, and try the sausage.  You will thank me.  You’re welcome.

NO cats will be harmed in the writing of this blog post.  Promise!

Camera Shy Sugar the cat

It’s two weeks (less a day) to the blessed day and my house needs to lose some weight.

The goal is simple.  100 items.  (paper clips don’t count as one item, besides, I will keep them )  Inspired by a friend on Twitter who was moving, and loving the fact that he was getting rid of 20 year old receipts and junk, I thought, 100 items…I could do that.  Are you up to the challenge?  Do you think that you could relieve areas of your home of trinkets, outdated items, clothing that doesn’t fit or just ISNT fit to wear?  What a great time to do it when you know that your house will be filled with more people, more stuff will be coming in, and you will have a great opportunity to help others at the same time.  Don’t forget the incredible feeling when things go out the door and your home is that much more organized.

In the not so distant past, I have had the need to shop in second hand stores (still do from time to time) and always appreciated that I could give my family a great Christmas, with lots of presents under the tree.  They didn’t know that the presents had been “pre-loved” but were always happy with the items that they received.  Kids toys, gently used clothing, home accessories can all be repurposed for another family who would be happy to use them, but don’t have the means to buy them.

So, off I go with a big green garbage bag, and a notepad (for counting of course!) to relieve my closet and office area of 100 pieces of “I don’t need this anymore”.   The cat?  She sleeps silently at my side as I write this… She is fluffy, and it has become the family joke when we clean out behind things, and vacuum up whats there (!) we find Sugar’s long lost cousin in a forgotten corner.  We’ll be gentle, we promise.

Will you be joining me?

Sarah

Time for a basic post on window repairs.  Cracked, moisture, won’t open? Read on.

Is your window Broken?

Funny, when we started this business 4 years ago, we figured that we wouldn’t get one call for window repair after December 1st, until the early spring when people start opening windows again.  We were so wrong!  For some reason, people open their windows in the winter, just as much as in the spring and summer.  Our theories on this range from excessive cooking (and burning – hence window opening) to that awesome Canadian mentality that there is no air like fresh air – we agree!

But there are TWO panes of glass and moisture between them…what do we do?

We replace the thermal unit!  NO need to replace the whole window (but this is what a window company will tell you.)  Sorry peeps, we don’t sell windows  We repair them.  This is a bad word in the window sales business.  Want to know a secret?? 90% of problems with windows can be repaired by us.  For the 10%, yes, you will need new windows, but that is truly a last resort!

Broken window cranks.  Window opens but won’t close…Closes but won’t open…

Mark my words… (and please, quote me and test this theory) “we have not found a window crank yet that we could not replace and fix”. As my kids would say…True say!  Never happened.  We keep waiting to be stumped, but we love a challenge, and even when faced with the challenge from people that they have been “trying for years to get this fixed” we fix it.  We’re just awesome…I can say that cause we kinda are when it comes to window crank repairs.  If your crank doesn’t work, call us and we’ll get it working.  We usually ask you to send us one of these pics (below) that will allow us to being the right hardware to do the repair.

Proper measurement of window crank hardware

While your hardware might look the same, there are numerous different sizes and styles and having an image really helps.  If you can’t open the window, we understand.  If you can though, its super helpful!

Window hanging by a thread?  Wind ripped it off while it was open? No problem

Seriously, can you tell how much fun we have with this stuff?  Craziest call we had from a lady  in the Oak Park area of Oakville who had her THIRD floor window open on a windy day.  Wind darn near ripped that puppy off the house.  It was literally hanging at an angle by the top.  Shoulda taken a picture but I was not in the blogging frame of mind.  We fixed it.  Window reattached with new hardware and everybody happy.

Final words of wisdom… Ask yourself.  Do I want to pay $1000 to fix my window, or $200.  You decide.  289-242-8439.  Experienced, Insured, and Insanely good at what we do. Serving the Oakville, Mississauga and Burlington areas.

Groutfiti – I actually found this word when doing a quick search to think up clever tile puns that I could use as a catchy headline for this blog post.  Needless to say, the world of tiling and grout is really not all that clever or humorous.  While the post on Urban Dictionary under this name is interesting, it really did not contribute in any way to what I wanted to say about the incredible work that we can do with tile, and the wonderful tiler that we have on our roster of talented professionals.

Stone tile accent wall in Oakville

From kitchen backsplashes to entire floors, to careful mosaic work and small repairs, Lakeshore Home Maintenance is your trusted source for tiling work.  Insured, quality work, and craftsmanship with every job, small or large.

Transform your room with tile

Thinking of updating a room without a full renovation?  While a kitchen like the one shown here is gorgeous, sometimes all we need is a splash of colour or texture and a change of wall colour to spruce up a room.  Thinking of selling?  Tile is a great way to make a change.  Travertine, marble, ceramic and glass tile can be used in combinations or alone to create dramatic effects in your home.

For someone who is considering a bathroom or basement renovation, heated floors under the tile are a great way to warm up a space, and surprisingly, can reduce your heating bill.  Something to consider if a tiled floor is in your future.  The cost to upgrade to heated floors is surprisingly reasonable and is a valuable selling feature when you go to resell your home.

If you are looking to renovate a bathroom, at Lakeshore Home Maintenance we recommend the Schluter Kerdi bathroom system, ensuring that the final result is a beautiful tiled shower/bath that will protect your home.  The Schluter system is a pliable sheet-applied bonded waterproof membrane.  Unlike traditional waterproofing, KERDI is bonded to the substrate and allows for the direct application of tile using the thin-set method.  This prevents moisture from infiltrating the mortar setting bed, thus reducing the risk of leakage, efflorescence, and mold growth in wet areas (e.g., showers, commercial kitchens, etc.).

If you live in the Oakville, Burlington or Mississauga area, and are looking to complete a tile project, or just have a small tile repair, call us today at 289-242-8439 to take care of this for you.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Fence looking a little worse for wear?  Is it in danger of falling down?

If the fence on the left looks like yours, it does NOT need to be replaced!  Did you know that there is a company in the Oakville area that will repair your fence, no matter how small the problem?  One post broken? We will replace it and reattach your fence seamlessly.

One call to Lakeshore Home Maintenance is all it takes to have your fence repaired, new posts installed, lattice replaced or a broken gate fixed.  Call us today at 289-242-8439 to discuss your fence repair needs.  Fully Insured and WSIB compliant.

• Friendly, efficient service
• Local to Oakville, Mississauga and Burlington
• All work warranted for 2 years for labour and materials
• 100′s of satisfied local clients!

Call us today to book your fence repair before the winter sets in.  289-242-8439

Remember what is truly important

An open letter to all clients, friends, and future clients and friendsWith the spring this year came many challenges, not the least of which was an incredible rush of potential business from wonderful people looking for a solution to their home repair and maintenance needs.  Torrential rain led to window, door and roof leaks.  Near tornado like winds tore fences from their brackets and posts out of the ground.  Teases of warm balmy weather begged us to paint the outside of our homes, sand, clean and stain our decks, and budding spring bulbs and flowers led us to make big (and small) garden plans for cleanup and renewal.  Continued rain makes it more difficult to complete outdoor projects.

Here at LHM, we have been gracious, appreciative and as diligent as is humanly possible in keeping up with the influx of calls.  We are a family run small business that has some excellent partners and staff on our team, but even we are subject to life getting in the way. 

The recent and very sudden passing of a family friend has proven to “throw us for a loop” for lack of a better phrase.  Life has a funny way of making you realize that you need to slow down, take time, appreciate what you have, and reconnect with people in your life.   Keith and I always strive for as much balance as possible in our lives and want to ensure everyone that our business is extremely important to us, that our clients satisfaction is paramount to us and that we are committed to continuing to help you all with your home repairs and maintenance needs. 

This is an open letter to all of you, to ask for your patience as we do our best to service all our clients and potential clients in this extremely busy and emotionally difficult time. 

Sarah Taylor and Keith Childerhose

289-242-8439

Horrors!  I’ve done it, I’ve actually used the competitions name in a post.  (my huge legal team tells me I can, and besides, my competitors do it!)  I even did some covert ops and called them to verify something that I found out last week.  The Mr. Handyman storefront on Speers Road in Oakville is now gone. 

Hm…interesting.  Back to said covert ops.  I called, asked a few questions, and found out that they are still alive and well and based out of Hamilton.  Nothing wrong with Hamilton…unless you live in Oakville or Mississauga and have something that needs someone there quick to fix it! 

We like to know who our competition is, and we do.  Mr. Handyman, Handyman Matters and Handyman Connection are all well respected big companies that have been in this business for a while.  Well, the time has come to bring out the gloves and show you all how we stack up.  

Repair leak from tile in shower

What is the LHM difference?

• Lakeshore Home Maintenance staff are bonded, insured, and WSIB compliant

• Our staff has a combined experience over 45 years in the industry.

•  All staff arrive wearing company shirts, and present a company business card to identify themselves.

• We offer a 120 day warranty on all workmanship, 1 year on all major renovations (and frankly, extend that in most cases if need be!)

• Our minimum service call is a whopping 42% less than theirs

• Phone consultation and free estimates over the phone.  If we cannot give you a ballpark estimate over the phone, we will not charge for an in home estimate.

• We are local to Oakville, Mississauga, Burlington and Milton.  Our offices are in Oakville and we are never more than 20 minutes from most customers.

• We have an active presence on Twitter (@LHMaintenance), Facebook, and through this blog.   We are real people, and are completely approachable!  Follow us , call us, tweet us…we are always here to answer your questions.  Check our Twitter page regularly for updates and savings!

• We are active and proud members of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce.

Contact Lakeshore Home Maintenance at 289-242-8439 when you have home repairs, small or large renovations, or general maintenance items to take care of in the Oakville, Mississauga, Burlington or Milton areas.  See for yourself what the difference is!