It’s a fact that environmental disasters such as flooding causes expensive damage to Canadian homes every year. Part of the issue is that many homeowners don’t understand the environmental risks that come with the areas they live in, such as flooding.
Flooding alone costs approximately $1.5 billion in damages annually, and 75 per cent of the uninsured losses impact residential property owners.
Peter Weeks, current president of the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors (CAHPI) and an independent inspector, estimates that only 10 to 15 per cent of the homes he inspects are safeguarded against the damage potential climate change can cause.
Protecting your home against the effects of climate change is critical. Not only can investing in your home save you from devastating loss, but it also helps you save on your monthly bills.
“Water management is so crucial and important to any home,” says Weeks.
One of the first steps to take is to ensure that the grading, or ground slope, around your house is done properly.
“Get that grading sloped away from the house as much as you can,” he states.
Weeks recommends observing how water accumulates outside of your home during a major rainfall, and seeing where it drains to.
Pay attention to where the groundwater goes, and if it accumulates on one side of your house more than another. This can help you determine if you need to adjust the grading of your property.
“A flat property can be equally as dangerous as a property that’s sloped towards you.”
Along with the grading of your home, eavestroughs are important to help direct water away from your house.
“When you have the downspout coming down, make sure it’s at least six feet away from the foundation, not just six inches,” Weeks comments.
“Get it away as best you can, from your own foundation[…] particularly if it’s an older home.”
If your home presently doesn’t have eaves, find a reputable company that can install one.
If your home has an eavestrough, regular maintenance is essential. Be certain that it is free of debris that can cause water to back up and result in flooding.
A working sump pump with battery backup is an important tool to prevent basement flooding.
Sump pumps work by pumping water away from your home during a heavy rainfall or snow melt. Water gathers in a pit, and when it reaches a certain level, the pump activates and redirects the water.
Weeks emphasizes that having a battery backup system with your sump pump is crucial. If you lose power due to a big storm, and water continues to accumulate around your home, a sump pump that is solely tied to your electricity will be useless.
“You want to think about the building envelope,” says Weeks, “meaning the exterior, the roof, the foundation, the walls.”
“Believe it or not, if your home does not have good attic insulation, that can really affect the heating and cooling.”
Heat rises, so hot air will transfer to your attic. Without proper insulation in the colder months, you’ll be running your furnace more as hot air will be escaping through this space.
In the hotter months, if you run an air conditioner, you will be wasting energy to cool down the attic since it is typically much hotter than the rest of your home.
The return you’ll experience on lower electricity and gas bills will help offset the cost of having your insulation upgraded.
While costs for insulation will run about $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot, and the total cost for installation can run anywhere from $1,500 to $6,000. However, you can experience savings of around 15 per cent on your energy bills. Weeks notes that the savings on your bills will pay for the work in three to five years.
Along with insulation, your doors and windows are foundational to preventing heat loss in your home.
If you feel drafts entering your home, or your home is equipped with older wooden framed windows, chances are you will need to upgrade them.
If the seal around your windows is worn down with age, not only can you experience heating loss, but you may also suffer from water infiltration. This can lead to damage to your home’s foundation, frame and insulation, which will be incredibly expensive to fix.
Other things to look into include the condition of your roof. Having a roofer inspect your roof every few years is beneficial, as they can replace any missing shingles and chimney caps if necessary, and ensure everything is properly sealed.
Finally Weeks recommends having an arborist come by to inspect any large old trees surrounding your home. Older trees may be rotting on the inside, and therefore not as strong as they appear.
If a big storm happens to come through, the tree could be uprooted and crash into your home, resulting in devastating and expensive damage.
Possibly the biggest step you can take in preparing our homes for climate change is to keep yourself aware and informed about the condition of your home.
When there is extreme weather, pay attention to potentially problematic areas like windows and doors to determine if action needs to be taken. If you’ve had a property inspection performed, review it to ensure that any major issues have been tended to.
If your property hasn’t been assessed in some time, it could be worth your while to get a home inspection performed. Generally, a home inspection will cost you between $300 to $500 in Ontario, but the price depends on things like the age and size of your home. But ensuring that your home is protected against the elements is well worth the investment.
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
The correction is a good opportunity for investors to pick up quality stocks, as their valuations are reasonable or at multi-year lows. The post 3 No-Brainer Stocks to Buy on Correction appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Here are key reasons why this Canadian growth stock has the potential to multiply your money if you buy it now and hold it for the next 10 years. The post This 1 Growth Stock Could 10x in 10 Years appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Warren Buffett is a great example of how chasing good intrinsic value and holding your assets long term can help you gradually build your wealth. The post With No Savings, I’d Use Warren Buffett’s 5 Tips to Build Wealth appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Located on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, with rich agricultural land to the south and the boreal forest to the north, Prince Albert is the gateway to northern Saskatchewan and an agricultural, forestry, tourism, mining and retail hub for surrounding communities. The region is a key contributor to the local and provincial economy with tremendous potential. Recognizing that communities like Prince Albert have unique needs and priorities, PrairiesCan is opening seven new regional offic
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his team are working to expand and extend for a year a U.N.-brokered deal allowing Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports, which could expire in late November. "We're trying to remove the uncertainty to ensure that people are publicly saying that 'yes, this will be extended a further year,' but we're not there yet," said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, adding that U.N. officials are also working to facilitate Russian grain and fertilizer exports. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths and senior U.N. trade official Rebeca Grynspan are set to travel to Moscow in about a week to discuss both issues with senior Russian officials, Dujarric told reporters.
TORONTO — Sportswear giant Nike has suspended its partnership with Hockey Canada, pausing all support for the sport's national governing body amid an increasing backlash over its mishandling of alleged sexual assaults. The announcement caps a week that saw corporate sponsors including Chevrolet Canada, Scotiabank and Canadian Tire suspend their support for Hockey Canada. Nike spokesperson Sandra Carreon-John said Friday the athletic brand made the move because it was "deeply concerned" by the on
Labour shortages are restricting opening hours and sales at some MTY Food Group Inc. restaurants as minimum wage increases push up costs, the company said Friday. The operator and franchisor of restaurants like Cold Stone Creamery, Manchu Wok and Thai Express said its profit slipped in its most recent quarter despite revenue climbing. Staffing shortages, combined with higher minimum wage rates in some areas, are expected to lead to increased overtime and labour costs while curbing some potential
They behave like modern-day colonialists when they impose their agendas on communities
Investors should be excited about Jamieson Wellness Inc. (TSX:JWEL) stock ahead of its next earnings report. The post Why I’m More Excited Than Ever About Jamieson (TSX:JWEL) Stock appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
YELLOWKNIFE — The owners of a Yellowknife pub who were accused of violating COVID-19 public health orders say they're relieved they won't have to pay a $5,175 ticket. The Monkey Tree Pub was acquitted in territorial court Friday of operating a dance floor on Nov. 14, 2020, which was against requirements for restaurants and bars staying open at the time. Pub co-owners Jennifer Vornbrock and Steve Dinham said they were relieved with the outcome and that the case is over. They said they felt public
(Reuters) -Companies around the world on Friday began to wrestle with the impact of wide-ranging U.S. curbs on selling chips and chip manufacturing equipment to China. The sweeping rules have hit chip stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (.SOX) falling nearly 6% by the end of the day. American semiconductor equipment makers Lam Research Corp, Applied Materials Inc and KLA Corp were all down more than 4%.
French car firm Renault owns about 43% of Nissan, while the Japanese firm owns 15% of its top shareholder, but without voting rights. In June, Nissan revealed for the first time some details of its alliance pact with top shareholder Renault that keep the latter from unilaterally increasing its stake beyond 44.4%. Their talks cover the question of whether Nissan will join Renault's new unit being set up to house its electric vehicle (EV) assets in exchange for its French ally winding down the Nissan stake, the paper said.
The non-profit group Environmental Defence says Canada "continues to fuel climate disaster" by providing billions to oil and gas companies.
U.S. job growth slowed moderately in September while the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, pointing to a tight labor market which keeps the Federal Reserve on its aggressive monetary policy tightening campaign for a while. Though the decline in the jobless rate from 3.7% in August was partly because of people leaving the workforce, fewer Americans worked part-time for economic reasons last month, the Labor Department's closely watched employment report showed on Friday. The labor market continues to show resilience despite the Fed's stiff interest rate hikes, which are slowing demand.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his team are working to expand and extend for a year a U.N.-brokered deal allowing Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports, which could expire in late November. "We're trying to remove the uncertainty to ensure that people are publicly saying that 'yes, this will be extended a further year,' but we're not there yet," said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, adding that U.N. officials are also working to facilitate Russian grain and fertilizer exports. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths and senior U.N. trade official Rebeca Grynspan are set to travel to Moscow in about a week to discuss both issues with senior Russian officials, Dujarric told reporters.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Friday added China's top memory chipmaker YMTC and 30 other Chinese entities to a list of companies that U.S. officials have been unable to inspect, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing and starting a 60 day-clock that could trigger much tougher penalties. The new listings were the first of a slew of new restrictions announced on Friday on exports of technology to China aimed at blocking military advances. The crackdown included curbs on access to chipmaking tools for Chinese firms including Yantze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), as reported by Reuters a day earlier.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The union representing about 10,000 Southwest Airlines pilots told Reuters on Friday it supports an effort in Congress to extend an exemption from modern cockpit alerting requirements for the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 airplanes. Boeing faces a December deadline to win approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the 737 MAX 7 and 10 variants, or it must meet new modern cockpit-alerting requirements that could significantly delay the plane's entry into service. Southwest Airlines Pilots Association President Capt. Casey Murray said in an interview Friday it made sense to have common alerts through the 737 family of airplanes.
PRAGUE (AP) — European Union leaders struggled Friday to bridge significant differences over a natural gas price cap as winter approaches and Russia’s war in Ukraine fuels a major energy crisis, driving up prices for consumers and businesses. The price cap is one of several measures the 27-nation bloc is preparing to contain an energy crisis in Europe that some fear could lead to rolling blackouts, factory shutdowns and a deep recession over the winter in economies already weakened by the corona
Gold and miner stocks could continue to trade weakly. The post Why Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM) Stock Gained 13% in September appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio will only lease its cars when it launches in four European markets this year, its CEO told Reuters on Friday, betting that flexibility will be a key selling point as drivers switch to the new technology. Users will be able to lease a car with a 75 gigawatt hour battery for 1,199-1,295 euros ($1,171-$1,264) a month depending on the length of the subscription, which can be as short as a month. The plan is the latest unconventional move by the company, which already allows customers to rent rather than buy the battery - the most expensive part of an electric vehicle (EV).