There is something magical about every season and every month when it comes to your dream home. Sure, some of the work is logistical and simply needs to get done, but there’s also an innate desire when the season changes to tackle the goals that you may have been putting off for far too long. Often, these have to do with your home – and your home may be in all sorts of different stages. Maybe you’re just beginning the process of concepting what it will look like, and maybe you’re just trying to finish up a small project that’s been sitting on your to-do list for weeks. Either way, here comes the Victorian Foundation Repairs team to the rescue. In general, we’re here to help in all sorts of different ways, but today we’re offering up our monthly round-up of our favourite associated news. Read on for more information:

Some love hearing about money and some do not, but it’s a necessary evil related to your home, and it can be a really confusing one. Even after working in this business for decades, we’re still learning things about the right ways to finance your current or future home. That’s why we turn to articles like this one from Forbes. How much does it truly cost to build a house? This list includes a round, average number – which is unique from many of the other resources that we’ve seen and read. It shares $300,000 and then breaks it down so you know where your money is going. Check out this link for more information.

This next article explores the unique opportunity of halving a property that you own and potentially making twice (if not more) money than you are currently. The keyword here is ‘duplex’ but there are a lot of considerations that you need to think about. Conversely, when you hear the word ‘duplex’, you should think if that’s the next property that YOU want to invest in. There are all sorts of needs and wants here – do you need the land, are you okay with a neighbour right next door, will you be pleased as punch with the adjustment in cost compared to a larger home? Everyone has their own needs and this article is great about outlining exactly what might make sense for you. Read here to learn more.

Gardens can be the best – no matter how big they are or what elements are included. But, like all of the best things in life, they need to be properly cared for. When you first move into a home, it can be assumed that your garden will always look its pristine best, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. This article helps outline the steps that you need to take on a regular cadence to ensure that every time you walk outside, you remember exactly why you were so excited to have a garden in the first place. Learn more and let us know what you think.

May is a really beautiful month, each and every year. It’s a signal that the real cold is coming, that you can get comfy and cozy with loved ones and also look forward to all of the winter activities ahead. When polled, the Victorian Foundation Repairs team aligned that we all love sledding, snowball fights and then the benefits of wearing baggy and soft clothes that hide the evidence of all of the delicious food and the creative artisan drinks that we consume. Those are all human experiences, but our houses are saying, “hey – what about us as well?” They get cleaned, they get decorated, they get excess amounts of heat, they’re practically groaning with the weight of all of the festivities by the time they’re begging for spring cleaning and weather. Each season has its traditions and the Victorian Foundation Repairs team has a monthly tradition – home news. Here’s what’s happening in May:

Build or buy?

Here’s one theme that we’ve seen repetitively – to buy or build? When you see articles so often that tout either side of the aisle on this argument, even our internal team is drawn into it. And when the article’s debate takes place in Vail, Colorado – arguably one of the most beautiful places during cold weather in the world, yes… that piques your interest. The arguments remain the same; buying allows you an immediate investment property that hopefully requires very little work or maintenance to move into; building means that you are truly creating your own decisions every step of the way. Bonus? Like we said, it’s Vail! Here’s the article in full.

The One-Story House Plan With All The Charm

As you know if you’re faithful to the Victorian Foundation Repairs blog, you know that we’re also suckers for a really good floor plan. We’ve seen enough of them – on sloped lots, as high rises, you know the drill. At the end of the day, it’s our job to reinforce the foundation of each, but it’s taught us over time to take inspiration and motivation from all sorts of homes all over the world. We loved this one. One-storey (so, a lighter load for us), the right size so that it looks deceptively small from the front but takes up ample space on a lot and with all of the right trimmings and external fixings to make anyone want to move to this quaint town. Check it out here.

Schoolyard Garden

If anyone has been impacted by the madness of the last year, it’s our younger generations that have probably fared the toughest of times, especially when it comes to school at any age. One of our favourite parts of the most successful and unique school environments have been the gardens that have allowed children to play outside while learning about the root of many important lessons (yes, the best pun possible absolutely intended). They learned how to plant and they learned how to work with each other – skills that will remain with them forever. Prepare to be inspired here.

On the Victorian Foundation Repairs blog, we have a few goals: we like to educate, we like to share, and bonus points if we’re able to entertain. In general, that happens at least once a month, when we share our round-up of the news related to your home that we’re truly passionate about. Believe us, there’s a lot of it out there. But for those who are visiting the site for the first time, you’re probably wondering? Why would a site that focuses on restumping, reblocking and underpinning want to share information around the rest of your home? Isn’t the entire purpose of the business to be an expert in reinforcing your foundation, and then handing over the work to the other experienced men and women in the business? You’d think… but we happen to like taking things above and beyond – including sharing information. Here comes our once-a-month article about what’s going on in the world of turning your house into a home:

A dream home to grow into

We loved this first article because it highlights a really important issue in the process of deciding what home to build or buy. It’s so exciting to be in the moment, especially if it’s your first home or if you’re making big steps in completely changing your path. That said, we want you to pump the brakes a little bit because if you’re making the investment, it means – as they say in the title of this article – that you’ll want to grow into it. Who knows what will happen five years into your mortgage, or if you’re planning on starting a family? This article has sage advice. Check out this link for more information.

Planting techniques for your best garden yet

Tips for planting a garden change all of the time. We know that that sounds weird because gardens look the same year-over-year. But, as with the industry that we work in, the gardening industry grows (pun intended) and evolves all of the time. So, there’s no harm in keeping an eye and a pulse on gardening and landscaping tips and tricks, because we know that you want to be the very best garden on the block. As this article shares, “Increase your growing success by giving your transplants a good start with a few simple planting techniques. Preparing them for the transition outdoors and planting properly will help you grow your best garden yet.” Read the full article here.

Gardening Q&A

And because we were on a bit of a gardening tangent, we wanted to end today with an article guaranteed to make you the best host at your next (garden) party. Vegetables are hard… all outdoor planting is. It’s not like you can simply pluck something out of a basket at a supermarket. Conversely, it does bring the joy of knowing that whatever you’re serving on the table is something that you have designed and cultivated. Looking to start a vegetable garden? Look no further. Click here and you’ll soon be the best veggie farmer around!

How is it already March? Soon we’ll have even cooler weather and get to celebrate all of the fun that comes with that. If you’ve checked out previous posts, you know that we have a countdown clock on.

While there are a million different directions that the Victorian Foundation Repairs team could go, we tend to focus on your home. You’ll see all sorts of posts and information on this blog – our way of connecting with you and starting the conversation about reinforcing the foundation of your home. As shared before, we find stability in consistency, which we think helps our prospective and current customers feel as comfortable with our team and the work that we do, as possible. So… guess what time it is! That’s right. March home news. Read on for our favorite finds from around the internet this month:

Build A $10 Million Home

Who doesn’t love a good online test? We’re pretty saturated with them these days. Hey, some of them are pretty bad, but others are pretty good and help you with big decisions that you might not have even known that you had. Well… we found one of the latter, on BuzzFeed (surprise, surprise). It’s become a great hub for not just quizzes, but interesting and visual articles. While we’re not focusing on those today, we do recommend that you check them out. Today, however, you get to act like a millionaire (or billionaire if we’re looking at some of these questions). Build your dream home, we dare you. Full link here to explore.

Build Your Dream Outdoor Space

Okay, we know that this might come off as a little mean for our local friends, given the fact that we’re only heading into colder weather, but we have two responses there: it’s never too early to plan, and – you can plan outdoor spaces for all seasons. In fact, you should. We love stumbling upon articles like this because the Victorian Foundation Repairs team spends so much time outside and can really appreciate the landscaping around your property. Big or small, flat or built on a very steep hill, there are so many creative things that you can do to smile when you come home or go outside first thing in the morning. And we can’t really hate a good sale, so do yourself a favor and check out this compilation of the best ways to build yourself and your household a top-notch outdoor space.

Significant Improvements With Just A Simple Design For Your Home

Painting is one of those things that none of us look forward to (unless you’re a prolific artist, in which case, we’re all just very jealous). The Victorian Foundation Repairs team does a fair amount of painting in our daily roles, but it’s generally very tactical and important because it supports the process of reinforcing the foundation of your home (something we’re pretty good at). This article points out some well-researched reminders that we all need to hear about how painting can really take a home to the next level. You can read more here.

Please reach out with any questions. We’d love to hear from you.

Can our readers believe that it’s almost winter? Time is definitely flying by and we’re enjoying a beautiful autumn, no matter where you live. Every month continues to surprise us and the industry definitely feels the same. Trends are changing, opinions are changing, so many things are changing. Don’t worry – the Victorian Foundation Repairs team is on the case. We always are, whether it comes to the work that we’re doing on the foundation of your home or the support that we show when we share every piece of information that we deem worthy of our valued base of customers. Yes, it’s about that time. Read on for our favorite finds throughout February about just about anything related to your current or future dream home:

Post-pandemic Dream Home

If you didn’t know, there’s a pandemic going on. Jokes aside (we don’t think anything related is funny), it has driven a variety of changes, updates, successes and failures as different economic sectors decide different ways to work and different ways to help out their customers. Construction and home design is no different, in fact, it’s been a great role model. We’re looking at a new future in a lot of areas, and staying on top of information like this is absolutely vital for our company to succeed and for our customers to be safe and comfortable. We’re talking about the post-pandemic home. Check out this link for more information.

How to Make a Mood Board for Interior Design

To the point above, many are spending more time than previously anticipated at home and maybe even in a state of solitude. As you’ll see on pretty much every aspirational site, this is the perfect time to inspire and motivate yourself creatively. We may be biased, but since your home is pretty much the most perfect slate to exercise such skills, we loved this article. Heard of mood boards? We’re sure you have. In some capacities, you may think that they’re a little bit bogus, but they’re actually a really great tool to design your dream home. You just need to know how to properly design one. Style, mood and colours are the three key words that you need to think about, but we’ll let you check out the article in full to answer all of the other questions that you may have.

Dreaming of Growing Your Produce?

We’re also sure that many of you are simply looking for a hobby. When you work with every facet of our customers’ homes, looking in and looking out, you start to think about what could be done to make the best homes even better. You notice trends. You notice what works and what doesn’t. If you’re someone who is looking for a hobby, might we suggest growing your own vegetables in your garden? It’s even easier than you may think. From everyone we know who has explored this – it’s incredibly satisfying. You’re saving money, you’re eating something you’ve created yourself in some cases, and you’re limiting your carbon footprint. Learn more here.

What better way to kick off the year than be enriching one of our favourite trends on the Victorian Foundation Repairs blog? We know, you’re shaking your heads, throwing up your hands and saying, “you’re right, there’s absolutely nothing better than the trend that we know you’re referring to!” For our newest blog visitors (welcome!), we won’t keep you in the dark any longer. Once a month, we like to share our favourite finds on the internet with our current and prospective customers. They talk not only about what we’re best at – reinforcing the foundations of your home – but your homes and properties in general. Read on for more information:

We have a soft spot for storytelling related to tiny homes. It takes a very strong and creative household to say, “hey, this is all that we need”. That said, many of the tiny homes that we’ve profiled over the years are even better than regular-sized houses. It takes a lot to go this route, but examples like this one show exactly how it can be successful. The “simple life” doesn’t have to mean the simple life. As this post’s title shares, ‘complete with a modern kitchen, an outdoor bathtub and luxurious decor chic.’ Sound good? Definitely something to explore. Check out this link to learn more.

It’s both helpful and enjoyable to learn about how households design and build their homes in countries outside of ours. It provides context, helps us explore new knowledge and is just generally enjoyable. Today, and in this article, we’re exploring Russia. The Victorian Foundation Repairs team works on all sorts of different types of properties and this one embraces many of the newest trends in interior design. In the article’s own words, “Its signature style was extremely classical and Kozlov (known to those close to him as Sacha) still remembers the very first project on which he worked – a 300sqm house in Moscow, replete with red velvet, gold and heavily decorated wallpapers.” You can read the article and learn more here.

CES (Consumer Electronic Show)’s annual expo just took place. One area that you wouldn’t think would show up would gardening… but it did! Many of us around the area are still spending the majority of our time inside and so this article rang true for us. We hope that it does for you as well. It discusses ‘4 Smart Indoor Gardens to Automate Your Green Home’. Whether you’re good outside or not, I think all of us can probably appreciate the automation process of this, so you can focus on being as creative as possible. Those profiled include Gardyn – an indoor gardening device equipped with AI technology, Rise Gardens Personal Garden – all about small spaces like countertops and shelves, New Garden Co. Ultron Smart AI Gardening system, that per this article, “that uses an AI-based agriculture platform and app to monitor the health and growth of your plants” and Gardenstuff ELIoT Vertical Garden – a leader in recyclable materials. Learn all about them here.

What a year! What. A. year. There are both few and so many words to describe it. We’ll get to the positive ones in a minute – which we like to focus on – but we do have to give some Victorian Foundation Repairs blog lip service to those that have been a little bit more challenging. Our community of customers and employees has been hardworking, creative and resilient and because of that, we’ve been able to traverse a crazy year and make it out the other side. With trepidation, we can’t wait to share this same post next year (consistency is one of our positive traits we’ll discuss in a minute) and smile at the growth that 2021 shows for all of us.

Back to consistency. It gives us such joy to be able to share posts like this one on a monthly basis. No matter what has changed around us, we’re able to go back to what we love most – taking care of your homes and ensuring that they’re as safe and comfortable as possible. We’ve learned a lot and will continue to do so, and these monthly news round-ups are a great way to point to articles that have helped us build our skillset. Drumroll… read on for the last of the year 2020.

How the Construction Industry Is Changing

We wanted to start with something forward-looking, something full of hope. If you look at the history books, you can see in an instant how far building dream properties has come. So, it’s crazy to imagine what other evolutions could take place even over the next five years. As the article’s key point states, “The techniques and methods used to develop structures are varied, employing a number of different technologies and ideas” and as the title itself claims, “From ‘airspace developments’ to 3D-printed schools: How the construction industry is changing”. We couldn’t agree more and don’t want to provide any more of a teaser. Read the whole article here.

Best Herbs To Grow in Your Garden

When the Victorian Foundation Repairs team works on any property, it’s impossible to not have a discerning and slightly judgmental look at your garden. It’s not because we think you’re doing anything wrong – rather, looking at the exterior of your property is just a check-off the list of things we need to do to ensure that the foundation of your home is safe and secure for decades to come. So, we can’t help it! But, in return, we make sure to include landscaping advice in these monthly emails. Today’s topic is herb gardens – sensible and beautiful. They’re wonderful to look at, hopefully, minimal maintenance if things are done right and you’ll elicit delicious herbs for meals. Take a gander at this article and you’re sure to learn a thing or two if it’s a project in your future.

Clean and Simple Cleaning

There are fewer things than keeping your home clean during the holidays that you look forward to. But we promise it can be both rewarding and perhaps even fun if you follow guidance like that of this article. Clean and simple are the key words. We know that we appreciate both and we bet that you will as well. Visit this link for more information and stay tuned next month for a proper news kick-off of 2021.

There’s never a dull moment when it comes to your home. The Victorian Foundation Repairs team wouldn’t have it any other way. It keeps us on our toes. We love to learn and improve and change in all of the best ways possible. And we get to do that every day. Not all of our competitors are so lucky. They’re wonderful at what they do, we enjoy the industry and everything that comes with it. But there’s a great difference between those who are proficient at what they do and those that challenge themselves to get out of the creativity box, so to speak. Well, put us in the latter department and chalk it up in part to one of our favourite monthly rituals – our home news round-ups. Read on for the sites and articles we found this month that we just keep returning to. And we think that you will as well.

Borrowing to Build Your Dream Home

One of, if not the number one reason that deters prospective homeowners from signing their name(s) on the dotted line is cost. It’s not even as simple as too expensive or well-priced, there are an abundance of other variables in play that speak to whether you’re ready to take a great leap of faith and buy your next (or first!) home. But it doesn’t need to be that way. Talking about money in relation to homes seems very confusing but conversely, we’re lucky because there are so many tools and resources out there to educate you and walk you through the process. And that includes borrowing money to buy homes. It’s becoming less of a novel idea and more of the norm… for good reason. Check out this link for more information.

Construction Loan

In the same theme, have you ever heard of construction financing? In a nutshell, as summarized in the very headline of this article, “A construction loan is financing for building your own home that requires at least a 20% down payment.” This doesn’t speak as directly to those of you who are buying completed homes, but if you’re looking to design and you’ve been worried about money, you might want to explore construction loans. You can even convert it into a regular mortgage upon completion of the building. These loans cover a whole host of things, including permits, labor, materials and even the cost of the land. One thing to keep in mind though; while mortgages have much longer-term periods, that’s not the case with construction loans, so as always, do your homework! And visit this article, because we know that we learned a lot!

Grow a Hydroponic Garden

We don’t have the main challenge detailed in this article; in fact, it’s getting warmer and warmer. But the best maintained home is one with an owner who thinks ahead, so now you have your insight into what to do with your garden when we finally do deal with colder weather. Hydroponic gardens are all the rage, helping ensure that you can bring those seasonal delights inside and continue to cultivate them. “For Aerogarden, a company selling hydroponic gardens, sales jumped 384 percent in the two weeks of March, a time period that followed most state lockdowns. From April through June, sales were up 267 percent year over year.” Learn more here.

The changing of seasons always means a bunch of different things and they might be more confusing than ever. If there’s anything that we can (and will) continue to repeat and reiterate is that Victorian Foundation Repairs, our team, our practices and our model of engaging with the community will never change. Come whatever situation arises in the world, we are steadfast in our commitment to offer the best restumping, reblocking and underpinning services around. In addition, we’re always going to contribute to and evolve this blog, so that we can be your supporters in any home improvement projects you have going on. So, once a month, don’t think that this home news round-up is going anywhere. In fact, if you have ideas for content or questions about any of the articles below, don’t be afraid to ask! We’re here for you and can’t wait to start or continue conversations. Read on for our favourite finds on the internet this month related to your dream current or future home:

In our first article covers technology that our team may not necessarily need, but should be an important awareness for consumers and homeowners. A company called Buildots has rolled out a software focusing on image recognition on building sites. What’s it’s purpose? To determine what sorts of delays or errors are occurring in the building process. As the article states, “AI is starting to change various aspects of construction, from design to self-driving diggers. Some companies even provide a kind of overall AI site inspector that matches images taken on site against a digital plan of the building. Now Buildots is making that process easier than ever by using video footage from GoPro cameras mounted on the hard hats of workers.” Read the full article here.

Landscaping is and will always be an integral part of any dream home, so we also keep a close pulse on what’s going on here. The good news is – it’s a lot. But we know that 2020 has been tough for many sectors of the economy and landscaping/gardening has not been exempt from that. It’s important to look forward, to get lean as teams, to be creative in the services offered to customers and to be able to pivot when necessary. This study takes a look at landscaping in 2027. Yes, you read that right. It breaks down landscaping by segments like mowing, laying sod and others. Check out the page here.

You’ve heard about minimalism. A lot. But what about maximalism? We thought so. This is a burgeoning idea, but it’s gaining headway with a lot of home designers. As those that reinforce the foundation of your home, we’d be remiss if we didn’t caution against a tonne of things on your floor, walls, etc. if you have any concerns that you have foundation damage, but if not – this article is for you. Learn more here.

Like we said, we’re always looking for ideas and striving to be better. Reach out to us – we’re excited to hear from you!

Your home is not a one and done purchase. Unfortunately, there’s a lot that changes over time – but much of it is good. Changes in the home renovation and construction industries open up new doors (pun intended) for ways to ensure that you and your loved ones are as comfortable and happy as possible. Think about how far we’ve come in just a few hundred years. If we believe some, in 50 years, we’ll all be living in homes operated by robots! We’re not getting that ahead of ourselves today, but we are enjoying one of our favourite Victorian Foundation Repairs blog traditions – our ongoing supply of monthly home news. Inside your home, outside, adjacent, you name it – we’ve gathered the best of the best to share with you. Read on for more information.

Honestly, we’d pay a significant amount of money to never hear the term “new normal” or the term “unprecedented times” ever again. But, since that’s not going to happen anytime soon, we’ve learned to adjust not only our daily lives, but our business models. And we’re not the only ones. Home renovations don’t stop and dreams don’t disappear just because of everything that’s going on in the world. No, we get creative, or at least the authors of this post certainly did. Check it out to learn unique ways to navigate home renovations in… you guessed it… the new normal. Click here for more information.

Finances are always ongoing conversations that we have with our current and prospective clients. We don’t want you to think that these conversations are in any way uncomfortable – they’re simply a piece of the process. We’ve shared this before frequently on the blog, but they really are one of the biggest deterrents to those who have big visions and are scared to kick off the home renovation process. We see that all of the time with those who are employing us for restumping, reblocking and underpinning – and we never want you to feel that way. That’s why we love articles like this one, helping explain different ways that you can easily finance your home repairs and renovations. Bonus if we can then get you excited about them! Visit this article to learn more.

Maybe you’re on the other end of the spectrum; you don’t plan on staying in your current home for long, you’re ready to put it on the market and start your next chapter in life. But is it the right time? As this article shares, “Real estate investors and house flippers often face a big conundrum when selling a home: Sink money into improvements to snag a higher asking price, or list the home in its current condition and hope for the best. In a buyer’s market, the latter approach will often backfire.” It’s a tough decision, but with resources like this article, you may feel better equipped. Check out the article in full, here.