Guides
Home improvement guides
Practical, reviewed advice for planning repairs and projects, choosing the right pro and knowing what to ask before you hire.
All guides
508 guides
- Guide
Hot Tub Installation guide
Hot tub installation covers everything between the delivery truck and the first soak: getting the tub into the yard, setting it on a level base that can carry its full weight, having it wired by a licensed electrician,…
7 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Hot Tub Repair guide
Hot tub repair gets a spa heating, circulating and holding water again: a tub that won't heat, a GFCI or breaker that keeps tripping, a pump that grinds or hums, jets that have lost their push, a puddle under the…
7 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Hot Tub Maintenance guide
Hot tub maintenance keeps a spa's small volume of hot water clean and safe, and keeps the equipment that heats and filters it running.
7 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Saunas guide
A home sauna is a small, insulated room heated to a high temperature, built indoors in a basement or beside a bathroom, or outdoors as a cabin or barrel in the yard.
7 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Outdoor Structures guide
Outdoor structures give a yard shelter and purpose: a shed for storage, a gazebo or pavilion for shade and dining, a pergola over the patio, a pool house or cabana for changing and storing pool gear, a carport for the…
7 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Basement Waterproofing guide
Basement waterproofing is the work of keeping water and dampness out of the lowest level of a house, whether it shows up as a puddle after the spring thaw, a damp band along the bottom of a wall or a musty smell that…
8 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Foundation Waterproofing guide
Foundation waterproofing is exterior work. The soil around the house is dug out down to the footings so the outside face of the foundation walls can be cleaned, repaired and covered with a waterproofing membrane,…
7 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Foundation Repair guide
Foundation repair is structural work: stabilizing, strengthening or partly rebuilding the concrete, block or stone that carries the weight of a house after it has settled, shifted, bowed or deteriorated.
7 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Foundation Cracks guide
Foundation cracks are among the most common things homeowners find in a basement, and among the most misunderstood.
7 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Structural Repair guide
Structural repair fixes the parts of a house that carry its weight: floor joists, beams, posts, sill plates, bearing walls and the foundation beneath them.
6 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Underpinning guide
Underpinning means extending a house's foundation downward so the footings bear on soil at a deeper level. In older Canadian neighbourhoods it's most often done to lower a basement: the floor is dug out, and the…
7 min readSeptember 10, 2026 - Guide
Drainage Systems guide
A drainage system is everything that moves water away from a house before it reaches the basement: the slope of the yard, the downspouts and where they empty, the swales and surface drains that carry runoff across the…
8 min readSeptember 10, 2026
Ready to get started?
Tell us what you need and we’ll help you find local pros who serve your area.