This has become a regular phone call for us, generally early in the morning after (surprisingly) a rainy night.

“Can you please help us?  We woke up this morning and there was water leaking from the window.  We have put buckets out and towels to mop up the water but it is still raining and water is coming in our house”

It happened 4 times yesterday and again first thing this morning.  We want to help and give you peace of mind and I thought it would make sense to post about the process.

First, I will ask you a series of questions

• How old is your house? How old are the windows?
• Has this ever happened in this spot before, to your knowledge?
• Is the window underneath a dormer or large roof overhang or close to any angles and flashing or junction of brick/siding/stucco?
• When were your eavestroughs last cleaned/inspected?
• Did you recently have any work done on the exterior or interior of your house? (roof, new windows, exterior or interior caulking, capping, flashing etc.)
• Have you called your insurance company? (more about this later)

Depending on the answers, I usually try to dig deeper to find out over the phone what the possible sources are.  Generally, there needs to be an initial inspection done on site, at which point we can make some suggestions.  I usually tell people to call their insurance company first off to describe the problem, as your insurance company wants to make sure that the least amount of damage happens, so they have a lower potential payout.  For example, if you have hardwood floors, and the water is seeping into them at a fast rate, it is in the insurance company’s best interest to get to your problem faster, or they possibly have to pay to have your floors redone.

An initial visual inspection costs $175 + HST and includes a question process on site, a visual inspection from inside and from the ground or stepladder (up to 10 ft) and a checklist of potential reasons that we go through.  The inspection is carried out by a construction professional, well versed in all aspects of home building, repair and maintenance.  If further inspection is warranted (roof, dormers, flashing, behind drywall etc.) adjustments will be made to the inspection fee to diagnose the problem.   Depending on how invasive we need to be, this amount need to be determined as we progress with the inspection.  This fee is dependent on the house and the location of the leak, and the initial assessment as to potential origin of the leak.

Please call us to help you with your leaking issue.  We will ensure that the right people get to your home to find the source.  Sometimes the source of the leak is obvious, and there is a straightforward repair to rectify the problem.  With water, however, it is not always cut and dry finding the problem, and in some cases, extensive inspection is required to determine the source of the leak.   We will work with your insurance company if need be to find a solution and repair the leak.  Our workers are fully insured and we carry $2 million in commercial and general liability insurance.  We are committed to helping our clients with all their home repair and maintenance needs.

Lakeshore Home Maintenance – 289-242-8439

Installing Dryer vent in Oakville

Have you seen this?

CBC Marketplace recently aired this episode on repairmen and some of the results were quite interesting to see.

For us at Lakeshore Home Maintenance, it was heartening to see that many of the people profiled saw the problem and fixed it, unfortunately, some took advantage of the situation, or did not spend enough time diagnosing the real issue.  While some honest mistakes were made, (after all we are human), the less experienced and/or the opportunistic in the bunch, created situations that were unfair for the homeowner.

Our take on this?

Lakeshore Home Maintenance will continue to provide excellent and honest service at a fair price.  When we get a call for a leaky faucet, for example, we would ask a series of fact finding questions to determine over the phone, the possible problems, based on what the homeowner tells us is happening.  At this point, we would decide if it makes sense to send in a licensed plumber, or whether one of our qualified technicians (who has extensive plumbing experience) would suffice.  This call is made so that we can keep prices down for our client.  A service call charge for a licensed plumber is significantly higher than a service call charge for a technician.  Some jobs require a licensed plumber and in those cases, there is no option, where there is an option, we always explain this option to our client.

Specialty Trades – Are they necessary?

For many repairs that we undertake on a day to day basis, the answer is no.  However, when certain jobs require an expert in a specific field (Masonry, electrical, Roofing, HVAC, etc.) we always send licensed, insured and experienced technicians.  When we send these technicians, our pricing reflects their specialty.

What are your thoughts?  Please comment below.  Watch the video here

If you have called us about replacing a window crank, these are the instructions to measure the crank.

If your window can be opened and closed (manually), take a tape measure and measure the long arm and of the crank as below:

How to measure window crank for replacement

And if there is a short arm, measure as below:

How to measure a window crank short arm

Some cranks only have one arm, and some will have different configurations.  Information that is helpful is:

1. Whether the window opens to the right or to the left

2. Wood or vinyl windows

3. Quantity of cranks that need to be replaced (volume discount for 3 or more windows)

4. Age of house and windows

Call us at 289-242-8439 and we can coordinate the replacement of your cranks.

The pictures on this page are courtesy of our valued clients, George and Glenna.  Thank you so much for your great photography skills!

Raccoons getting in your attic?

They are cute as a button, have opposing thumbs, and can destroy your home.

Raccoons – Tips on prevention, life cycle, and repair for these potentially harmful creatures.

Lifecycle -

Raccoons breed in February and March and will seek a suitable place to nest during these months.  Typically, this is when they find a way into your home/attic through the soffits, roof vents or loose chimney caps.  Preparation and maintenance is the key to reducing the likelihood of them finding a safe haven in your attic or chimney.  Ensure that soffits are not loose, chimney caps are secure and your roof shingles and vents are in good condition.  A roof inspection will cover many of these details.  Check all soffits for any potential entry points, trim all trees and shrubs close to your home to reduce the points of access to the roof.

Young are born in April and May, if, at this time the raccoon has taken up in your home, it is necessary to have a Wildlife Control company come in to safely remove them all.  Local laws in our area (Oakville, Burlington and Mississauga) allow for humane trapping and relocation of the raccoons.  We recommend contacting Animal Control Oakville for all your pest control needs.

Repairs -

After the safe removal of the raccoons, it is imperative to ensure that the point of entry is sealed up properly to ensure that they will not come back.  From reattaching new chimney vent covers to repairing/rebuilding soffit areas and roof repairs, to reinsulating attic spaces, Lakeshore Home Maintenance is your trusted Oakville professional to take care of these repairs.  We have qualified technicians available to repair these areas and put systems in place to reduce the chance of a reoccurrence.   In addition to damage done by raccoons, we also repair damage from squirrels, mice, and rats.

If you live in the Oakville, Burlington or Mississauga area and are experiencing a problem with pests in your home, call us today for a free over the phone consultation to discuss how we can help rid you of the problem, and get your home back into top condition.  Lakeshore Home Maintenance – 289-242-8439.

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.  To facilitate the process, we ask you to send us one of these pics (see post) 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.