[caption id="attachment_12033" align="alignright" width="331"]iStockphoto iStockphoto[/caption]

With a lot of discipline and determination, you can stay on top of your debts. Some decisions you make when buying a home can substantially reduce your interest fees.

Here are some things that could have a big impact on how much money is left in your pocket.

  1. Make the largest down payment you can

This will reduce the amount of your mortgage and the length of time it takes you to repay it. To help you increase your down payment, you can use the Home Buyers’ Plan. To avoid paying interest needlessly, consider buying a smaller home and paying it off in a period of 17 years.[……]

Read more

AD

[caption id="attachment_12037" align="alignright" width="300"]iStockphoto iStockphoto[/caption]

Is there anything more irritating than being bothered by outside noises, whether it comes from the street, your neighbour’s or your roommate.

Here is a relatively easy way to reduce noise. It’s the technique that is used most often: demolishing and rebuilding a wall.

You will need the following materials: [……]

Read more

It happened in Val d’Or. Unable to sleep, Geneviève gets up at dawn. She jumps into her slippers and walks to the window. She opens the curtain and contemplates the sky. Day breaks. Not a sound. Everything is quiet. Then bang ! A huge clap of thunder followed by a blinding light in the sky. Then the window shatters. Screaming, Geneviève brings her hands to face. She is bleeding.

Robert wakes up startled. He heard the thunder, the windows shattering, Geneviève screaming. Then a second bang, a third, a fourth, a fifth. One per second for twelve seconds.

Robert runs to the living room. All of the windows on the side were shattered. There are shards all over the floor. Geneviève’s face is covered in blood. The children are crying upstairs. The entire family jumps into the car and heads to the hospital.

On the way, Robert sees dozens of shattered windows. He sees people coming out of their houses and looking at the sky. The roof of the factory that he drove by every day had collapsed. All of the windows were broken.[……]

Read more

Start preparing a safety net for unexpected expenses.

Life happens.

Your washing machine breaks. You have a leaky roof. You lose your job. Your child gets sick.

No matter how well you plan, you simply can’t predict if and when unexpected expenses are going to arise — and inevitably they will. Your pay cheque may only go so far towards covering costs, and you’ll want to avoid going into debt or dipping into your retirement or long-term savings.

So what can you do to prepare?

Start saving now.
Open a separate savings account for emergencies, and get into the habit of depositing a weekly or monthly amount, even if it’s just $10 or $15. That may mean one less meal out, but it will add up over time. A great way to get started is to set up automatic savings. Once you’re in the habit of automatically setting money aside each month and adjusting your spending habits, you can gradually increase the amount.[……]

Read more

There is the library as a room in itself. There are bookshelves used as practical or prestigious furniture. And there are books which are more than a simply decorative accessory. Organized with taste, they can astonish visitors, regardless of the room.

[caption id="attachment_11887" align="aligncenter" width="580"]iStockphoto iStockphoto[/caption]

Books adapt to all styles, from the rural to the contemporary, not to forget lounge. They can also generate the desired decorative virtue: classical elegance, warmth and intimacy, whimsical, disorder and anarchy. The role of the book in decoration is underestimated.

Books fit with all materials: glass, wood, bamboo, vinyl, marble. Mobile, they can be placed anywhere or permanently: At the end of a table, on a couch, on a fireplace mantel, on a night table, near the bath and even on the floor if you stack them into a column.[……]

Read more

The closest one to us is the John P. Robarts Research Library, on the campus of the University of Toronto. It has been given a fitting nickname: the Fort Book.

[caption id="attachment_11882" align="alignright" width="580"]iStockphoto Toronto University John P. Robarts Research Library. Photo: iStockphoto[/caption]

The massive tower that rises in front of the main façade looks a lot like a pillar of defence. The use of concrete as the primary material enhances the effect of mass. The building has been used as a stand-in in movies for a prison, a zombie-infested space and a crossing point for extraterrestrials.

A caveat however: You will notice the numerous vertical lines that draw the eyes upward. Since the windows are also vertical, a Wikipedia article refers to the building as if it “transported the scholars anxious to escape the noise and turmoil of the vulgar press into a dream palace enshrining its holy mysteries.”

Continuing with the strange and mysterious, have you read Umberto Eco’s In the Name of the Rose? He wrote a good part of this classic detective story in this library. According to Wikipedia, he used the library as inspiration to describe the secret library in his novel.[……]

Read more

Glass bricks in a wall enhance the luminosity. Here is an example of the steps to follow (list of material at the end).

  1. Check for wires and pipes. Use an electrical wire detector. If not, drill a small hole, which is easy to fill.
  1. Is there a load bearing wall? If so, only use the space between the studs.

Measure the space to be freed up taking into account the space between the studs, the shape of the bricks, the surrounding frame and the mortar.

Space between the studs:

12’’ for old buildings

16’’ for the next generation

24’’ is becoming increasingly popular today

[caption id="attachment_11884" align="aligncenter" width="580"]iStockphoto iStockphoto[/caption]

Standard format of glass brick:

8x8x3, 8x8x4, 6x6x3, 6x8x3 or 4x8x3

Example of dimensions to consider to transform an interior wall

  • Available space: 16’’x16’’
  • Wall: 4’’ thick
  • Two rows of de two 6x6x3 bricks
  • Mortar: ¼’’ around the bricks
  • Frame: ¼’’ plywood

[……]

Read more