Is it DIY or not?
From cool new products to do-it-yourself tips, the reno show offers something for everyone
Keen to drywall the basement yourself but nervous you’ll mess it up? Or how about stylish LED lighting under the eaves: something you’d like but you’re not sure it’s a DIY project?
The 12th annual Home Renovations Show Jan. 18 to 20 will help you get going on these and other projects even if you prefer hiring a contractor to do everything.
The event, presented by Caneast Shows at the Ernst & Young Centre (formally the CE Centre) on Uplands Drive, features a motherlode of exhibitors: home office specialists; space organizers; window and door experts; basement renovators and way more.
Visitors to the show include “lots of couples looking to get that dream home done,” says Caneast’s sales director, Paul Leguerrier. “This is a nice time to get thinking about it because (renovators) are very busy later on.”
As always, there’s also a raft of free seminars to steer you through the renovation process.
She’s doing just one presentation — Friday at 7 p.m. — but Wanda Woman (a.k.a. Wakefield renovator Wanda Seguin) could be a big draw. Her seminar, Empowering the DoIt-Yourselfer, is designed to give potential DIYers the confidence and knowledge to let loose the superpowered hammer swinger within.
Seguin is especially eager to reach women.
“So many women buy houses now and want to be independent homeowners,” she says. Not that men won’t also benefit, she continues. “I want to give information that television shows might not. Those shows are great motivators, but when you’re watching a professional it looks so easy and then you go to do it and it can be really discouraging.”
As an example, she says nailing MDF trim (that’s the pre-painted manufactured stuff that’s sold in every home building store) causes the material to pucker. Better, says Seguin, to buy finger-jointed pine and paint it.
Seguin advises novice DIYers to start by just exploring their home. “Look under the sink. Where is the shut-off valve?”
She promises to keep the seminar basic — a little plumbing, for example — with lots of question time.
Other presentations cover bathroom and kitchen remodelling, closet organizing systems and solar power.
For those over 65 or who have someone over 65 living with them, there are sessions on Ontario’s Healthy Home Renovation Tax Credit. The credit is worth up to $1,500 for renovations like the installation of non-slip flooring in the bathroom.
People attending these seminars will be in good company. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., Ottawa homeowners spent an average of more than $12,000 a year on renovations in 2011. Caneast says that just over 10,000 people attended the 2012 reno show and, of those, 83 per cent were planning a renovation.
Attendees this year can also catch Rodney McInnis of Ottawa’s DelphiTech. He’s presenting a seminar on DIY installation of LED lighting. Unlike Seguin, who was a late addition to the roster and could get only one presentation spot, McInnis and most of the others will lead two or more seminars over the three days.
When it comes to exterior LED lighting in soffits, McInnis says, “If you can use a drill, pliers and an X-acto and stand on a ladder, you can do it.”
Because his CSA/UL-compliant system is low-voltage and uses only a small amount of power — like a laptop computer, its power source is simply plugged into an electrical outlet — McInnis says there’s no need to hire an electrician in most provinces, including Ontario and Quebec. However, it’s a smart idea to first check with your municipality.
Components cost $59 to $89 per fixture, $139 for the plug-in power source and about $40 for wiring. There are a few other inexpensive parts required.
DelphiTech systems can be used for under-cabinetry and other applications.
The company also offers a lighting design service for $69 to $109, but McInnis plans to cover exterior lighting design in his seminar.
“We’re not trying to take work away from electricians but we’re saying in this case it’s a consumer choice. Some people might prefer hiring a tradesman who’s more comfortable on a ladder.”
The reno show always features nifty products as well.
This year, they include a remote controlled device from Future Automation for flat screen televisions. Selling for $2,399 at Ottawa’s Signature Audio Video, the device lowers a television mounted over a fireplace, for example, to make for more comfortable viewing.
Also on hand: just-introduced-toCanada sliding glass walls from Natural Light Patio Covers. At $385 a linear foot installed, the tempered glass systems can be used to create a bright, weatherproof addition to a home or be placed on a condo balcony. The glass panels slide to the left or the right and can be stacked at either end of the structure to provide maximum ventilation.
With all this happening, the reno show sounds like a breath of fresh air.