renovation projects Archives

How to Plan Raised Garden Beds

06/10/2025 Kartika

Spring is just around the corner and one of the things I’ve been wanting to add to our backyard this year is a raised garden bed. Or maybe some 😉 I’m still a newbie to the world of gardening so I wanted to make sure I did my research before jumping into building and planting them. If you want to do the same this year then I hope this post helps you start your garden bed journey with confidence!

The breadth of my gardening really started last year when we built a Grade Two Herbal Cultivator and I was instantly hooked. I love to get out on the deck and chop up herbs to use in our meals. So are the kids! They loved watching them grow and we even planted our first tomato! I know they will enjoy this larger bed as much as I do.

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A couple with a $120k renovation budget turned an old resale flat into a cozy wabi sabi home, Lifestyle News

25/09/2025 Kartika

Renovation

Like many couples during the pandemic, Gwen (not her real name for privacy reasons) and her husband were looking for a place that was bigger than their previous home.

Because of this, they are looking for resale used HDBs where the floor area is usually larger than newly built ones.

Size requirements aside, it should be located closer to the west since that’s where the families of the two of them are.

The place also needs to be within walking distance of the train station, and close to a park or park link because they have a dog.

Also, one of the windows must be as high as the ceiling, or at least three-quarters. This is because they used to have a balcony in their first home, and it was their dog’s favorite hangout spot.

Their home buying journey ended with a resale of HDB which was completed in 1998

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Parks Canada: Renovations to historic PEI legislation taking longer than expected

29/07/2025 Kartika

Renovation

CHARLOTTETOWN – The Prince Edward Island legislature was supposed to reopen some time this year after eight years of renovations and repairs, but Parks Canada now says that won’t happen.

“Parks Canada acknowledged that the project will take longer than anticipated,” the federal agency said in a statement released Monday. “Once all tendering processes are complete, Parks Canada will be in a better position to provide more information about … the estimated completion date.”

The conservation project, which started in 2015, has cost the federal government $91.8 million so far, and the bills are still coming in.

Parks Canada said bids for the third phase of the project were higher than expected, prompting a new round of tenders that have yet to be published.

The third phase calls for interior painting, heritage woodwork and new flooring, as well as a new elevator and upgrades for plumbing, electrical, ventilation and fire

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Christina Hall’s Clients Endured a 3-Month Renovation Nightmare

24/07/2023 Kartika

Renovation

Renovations always come with risks. On a new episode of HGTV’s Christina on the CoastChristina Hall’s clients faced some pretty brutal issues—including one that required them to live in their Huntington Beach, California, home with a partially open roof for three months.

The nearly year-long renovation involved transforming the homeowners’ closet and the crawl space behind it into a big primary bathroom. That required raising the ceiling and redoing the roof to increase the square footage. Mike Rose, Christina’s go-to contractor on the show, explained that a mistake in the plans was going to create what he estimated to be a two-week delay. It ended up being…three months.

It turned out the engineer the team was using for the project assumed the floor joists ran in one direction. In reality, they went a different way. Because of that, Rose’s team had planned the framing inaccurately. They had to stop

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Mendoza Apartment Renovation / noma estudio

23/07/2023 Kartika

Renovation

Mendoza Apartment Renovation / noma estudio

Mendoza Apartment Renovation / noma estudio - Interior Photography, Kitchen, Table, Windows, Chair +22

Areas:
160 m²
Manufacturers: Abertura, California, Forte dei marmi, Whoops, Liston Giordano, Pontus, Vite, ferrum

Mendoza Apartment Renovation / noma estudio - Interior Photography, Closet, Shelving, Chair — © Magali Saberian Photography

Mendoza Apartment Renovation / noma estudio - Interior Photography, Closet, Table, Shelving, Chair — © Magali Saberian Photography

Text description provided by the architects. We were approached by a young couple who had bought a typical apartment in the Belgrano neighborhood. The layout was very segmented and not very useful for the owners’ needs. The priority was to reform the kitchen by incorporating the service room and laundry, creating a large, bright space with work and storage areas. One of the main decisions was to connect the dining room with the kitchen through a library, accompanying the circulation between the spaces. The kitchen

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Kingston Youth Shelter looks to help with renovation costs

18/07/2023 Kartika

Renovation

this section is

by HAVEN HOME HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING

Published July 11, 2023 • Last updated 1 week ago • 2 minute read

Kingston Youth Shelter executive director Jay Nowak stands in a room of sleeping pods at the shelter’s new location on Nelson Street in Kingston, Ont. on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Elliot Ferguson/The Whig-Standard/Postmedia Network Photo by Elliot Ferguson /The Whig Standard

KINGSTON — Staff and organizers at the Kingston Youth Shelter are asking the public for help raising the last portion of their $1.5 million fundraising target.

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The shelter bought a new location

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Rick Ross Eyeing $37 Million Star Island Mansion, Plans Major Renovation

15/07/2023 Kartika

Renovation

rick ross house

Rick Ross is set to expand his kingdom soon with the pending purchase of a luxury crib smack dab in the celeb hotbed of Miami Beach’s secluded Star Island.

Sources with direct knowledge of the sale tell TMZ Hip Hop … Rozay is under contract to buy a 6-bedroom, 9-bathroom mansion for a cool $37 million!!!

We’re told the sale is expected to close in the next few weeks, and Ross plans on shelling out even more big dough to renovate the palace to his liking.

The house has been on the market since May and sports 40,000 sq. ft., along with royal amenities such as a heated pool, a summer kitchen, an entertainment room, and plaza deck terraces throughout.

Star Island will be even more lit with Rick on the block … joining neighbors like his party pal Diddy, J Lo and Shaq.

Rozay’s real estate empire

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Home renovation contractor charged with fraud

14/07/2023 Kartika

Renovation

City police have charged a man they say defrauded a couple over home renovation work he was expected to perform for them.

A couple seeking to revamp their northwest Calgary home contacted local firm Envision Custom Renovations in December of last year, say police.

“Between January and April 2023, the victims had several disagreements with the hired contractor, which included the victims being invoiced for sub-contractor materials, several scheduling delays and work not being completed within the agreed upon timeframe,” city police said in a press release.

“In April 2023, the victims discovered the invoices provided by the contractor, that they paid for, were fraudulent and contacted the police.”

It’s alleged the contractor altered and forged the billings by presenting them as subcontractor invoices and collected money through his business.

Police have charged Envision owner Alan Wade Hrehirchuk, 53, with two counts of forgery,

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Was This $191,000 Renovation Christina Hall’s Costliest Project?

09/07/2023 Kartika

Renovation

Whether you’re vicariously seeking an affordable starter property on House Hunters or learning how to renovate your primary bath with Erin and Ben Napier, HGTV proves that you don’t need a limitless bank account to make your biggest design dreams come true. So when we happen to see a renovation project that costs a pretty penny—like the $191,000 kitchen makeover on the latest episode of Christina on the Coast—we definitely take notice.

In the season five premiere, Christina Hall was asked by self-proclaimed fellow soccer mom Amy to spruce up her Newport Beach kitchen. The task was simple: Turn a crammed kitchen into an open, airy oasis that emphasizes indoor-outdoor living. Amy and her husband, Scott, initially set a $150,000 budget but—as with most renovations—things happened.

When replacing the kitchen’s tiles with hardwood floors, Hall’s contractor noticed the floor needed to be leveled—which cost an extra $1,800. Then the

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Vancouver homebuilder calls out the city’s ‘broken system’ for renovation permits – BC

07/07/2023 Kartika

Renovation

The paperwork needed to do a bathroom renovation in Vancouver is extensive and expensive, according to a local homebuilder.

Avi Barzelai, a licensed residential builder and renovator based out of East Vancouver, highlighted the process in a Twitter thread that’s gone viral.

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“Working with the City of Vancouver is the absolute worst part of my job, by far,” Barzelai, who operates the Barzelai Building, told Global News in an interview Wednesday. “I deal with clients, I deal with trades, I deal with a lot of headaches. It’s nothing personal to the (city) staff, it’s the system. The system is broken.”

Barzelai said there are 10 steps that must be met before any work can even begin.

These steps include reports, inspections, permits, and surveys which, at minimum, will cost close to $10,000 he said.

Click to play video: 'BC speeds up housing development process'

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BC speeds up housing development process

The process starts with a

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