Give your home a once-over and tend to winter preparation tasks and repairs before the year’s first frost, if you can.  Getting the exterior of your home ready for the cold winds, snow and ice is critical for keeping Old Man Winter out and keeping it warm and toasty inside. By being proactive, you’ll lower your energy bills, increase the efficiency and lifespan of your home’s components, and make your property safer.

Here is a great checklist for you to begin and complete.


Windows and Doors

• Check all the weatherstripping around windows and doorframes for leaks to prevent heat loss. Replace weatherstripping, if necessary.

• Replace all screen doors with storm doors.

• Replace all window screens with storm windows.

• Examine wooden window frames for signs of rot or decay. Repair or replace framing to maintain structural integrity.

• Check for drafts around windows and doors. Caulk inside and out, where necessary, to keep heat from escaping.

• Inspect windows for cracks, broken glass, or gaps. Repair or replace, if needed.

Lawn, Garden, and Deck

• Trim overgrown branches back from the house and electrical wires to prevent iced-over or wind-swept branches from causing property damage or a power problem.

• Aerate the lawn, reseed, and apply a winterizing fertilizer to promote deep-root growth come spring.

• Ensure rain or snow drains away from the house to avoid foundation problems. The dirt grade — around the exterior of your home — should slope away from the house. Add extra dirt to low areas, as necessary.

• Clean and dry patio furniture. Cover with a heavy tarp or store inside a shed or garage to protect it from the elements.

• Clean soil from planters. Bring pots made of clay or other fragile materials indoors. Because terra cotta pots can swell and crack, lay them on their sides in a wood carton.

• Dig up flower bulbs, brush off soil, and label. Store bulbs in a bag or box with peat moss in a cool, dry place for spring replanting.

• Remove any attached hoses and store them away for the winter to prevent cracks, preserve their shapes, and prolong their life. Wrap outside faucets with covers to prevent water damage.

• Shut off exterior faucets. Drain water from outdoor pipes, valves, and sprinkler heads to protect against pipe bursts.

• Inspect decks for splintering, decay, or insect damage and treat, if needed, to prevent further deterioration over the winter.

• Clean leaves, dirt, and pine needles between the boards of wooden decks to thwart mold and mildew growth.

• Inspect outdoor lighting around the property. Good illumination will help minimize the chance of accidents on icy walkways at night.

• Check handrails on exterior stairs to make sure they’re well secured.

Tools and Machinery

• Bring all seasonal tools inside and spray them with a coating of lightweight oil to prevent rust.

• Weatherize your lawn mower by cleaning off mud, leaves, grass, and debris.

• Move your snow blower and shovels to the front of the garage or shed for easy access.
• Prepare the snow blower for the first snowfall by changing the oil and replacing the spark plug.

• Sharpen ice chopper and inspect snow shovels to make sure they’re ready for another season of work.

• Make sure you have an ample supply of ice melt or sand on hand for steps, walkways, and the driveway.

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning

• Inspect the firebox and flue system to ensure that they’re clean of any soot or creosote and that there aren’t any cracks or voids that could cause a fire hazard.

• Check fireplace for drafts. If it’s cold despite the damper being closed, the damper itself may be warped, worn, or rusted. Consider installing a Chimney Balloon into the flue to air seal the area tightly.

• Clean or replace the air filter in your furnace for maximum efficiency and improved indoor air quality.

• Clean your whole house humidifier and replace the evaporator pad.

• Bleed valves on any hot-water radiators to increase heating efficiency by releasing air that may be trapped inside.

• Check that smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are in working order.

• Remove air conditioners from windows or cover them with insulated liners, to prevent drafts.

• If you have an older thermostat, replace it with a programmable unit to save on heating costs.

• Install foam-insulating sheets behind outlets and switch plates on exterior walls to reduce outside airflow.

• Make sure fans are switched to the reverse or clockwise position, which will blow warm air down to the floor for enhanced energy efficiency and comfort.

• Flush a hot water heater tank to remove sediment, and check the pressure relief valve to make sure it’s in proper working order.

• Examine exposed ducts in the attic, basement, and crawl spaces, and use a sealant to plug up any leaks.

Gutters, Roof, and Drains

• Check for missing, damaged or warped shingles and replace, as necessary before you get stuck with a leak.

• Check for deteriorated flashing at the chimney, walls, and skylights and around vent pipes. Seal joints where water could penetrate, using roofing cement and a caulking gun.

• Check the gutters and downspouts for proper fastening, and re-secure if loose or sagging. The weight of snow and ice can pull gutters off the house.

• Clean gutters of any debris. Make sure downspouts extend away from the house by at least 5 feet to prevent flooding of the foundation and water damage from snowmelt.

• Clean leaves and debris from courtyard and pool storm drains to prevent blockages.

• Ensure all vents and openings are covered to prevent insects, birds, and rodents from getting inside to nest in a warm place.

Done? Congratulations!  You’re officially ready for winter!!

Job seekers from other provinces are ensuring Alberta continues to have the fastest growing population in Canada by a considerable measure.
 
Over the months of April, May and June of this year, Alberta gained a net 13,204 new people from other parts of the country. (This figure is the difference between the number of in-migrants less the number of out-migrants.) That is the equivalent of Alberta adding another city the size of Camrose to its population in a matter of three months.
 
Inter-provincial migration is only one component of Alberta’s population growth. Migrants from other countries, and natural population growth (i.e., births minus deaths), are also boosting the number of people who call Alberta their new home.
 
The province’s total population now stands at 4,121,692, an increase of 2.8 per cent over the last year. The next two fastest growing provinces were our prairie neighbours: Saskatchewan (+1.7 per cent) and Manitoba (+1.3 per cent). Nationally, Canada’s total population grew by 1.1 per cent.
 
The volume of inter-provincial migration in the second quarter was the greatest since 2006 when the province was experiencing a similar economic boom. The chart below shows the strong and steady flow of migrants from elsewhere in Canada in recent quarters. In the last two years, Alberta has gained more than 77,000 inter-provincial migrants—a reflection of great job opportunities and a desirable quality of life.

Albertans are known for working long hours, but according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada, employees in another province clock in about 54 minutes more per week.
 
Employees in Alberta put in, on average, 31.3 hours of work per week in July. With an additional 1.7 hours of overtime, that makes for a 33-hour work week. People in Newfoundland and Labrador, on the other hand, work 33.9 hours a week—the longest weekly toil in the country. They do put in a bit less overtime than those in Alberta, though.
 
Nationally, employees were on the job for an average of 30.9 hours per week (including overtime). The figures include both part-time and full-time workers, but do not include the self-employed.
 
Strong economies in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador are credited (or blamed) for the long work hours. In Alberta, a lower ratio of part-time to full-time work is also a contributing factor.
 
Workers on The Rock may work almost an hour more per week, but Albertans’ paycheques are by far the biggest in the country. Average weekly earnings were $1,153.81 in July, before taxes and adjusted for seasonality. That compares with the national average of $940.43.
 
Not only do Alberta employees earn the most, their wages are increasing rapidly. Compared with July of last year, earnings are up 4.8 per cent—the third fastest rate among all provinces. It’s also nearly twice the annual increase in consumer price inflation, which rose 2.6 per cent in July.

Business confidence amongst Alberta’s small and medium-sized businesses took a slide last quarter, according to ATB Financial’s most recent Business Beat Survey.

Optimism in energy and construction dropped considerably, but the retail sector posted the biggest fall. Business confidence in retail slid by nearly 15 points to 64.4. Access to labour and changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) imposed in June are likely to blame.

The TFWP was initially set up to help satisfy short term labour needs. This summer’s amendments have made it trickier and more costly for businesses to access temporary labour. Interestingly, 72 per cent of the respondents to ATB’s Business Beat Survey noted that the TFWP is necessary to combat the labour shortage here in Alberta.

Plenty of public discourse has surfaced recently around the idea of such a shortage. Many economic indicators reveal that it may not exist in Alberta. However, ATB’s survey suggests Alberta’s businesses are in need of all labour types. Respondents agreed by 64 per cent that it is difficult to find Albertans to hire into unskilled positions, while 58 per cent agreed it is difficult to hire Albertans into skilled roles. 

**Article courtesy of Todd Hirsch of ATB Financial.  Thanks Todd!!

This year’s stabilization of lofty North American lumber prices is putting smiles on the faces of mill owners around Alberta.
 
Lumber prices have been seeing better levels over the last few years due almost entirely to the revived housing market in the United States. After several years of struggling in the post-recession period, U.S. consumers are feeling more confident about their economy and job prospects. As a result, home builders south of the border are seeing some pent-up demand for new houses.

A lot of framing lumber goes into those structures. Last month, the benchmark price for framing lumber was $401 (U.S.) per thousand board feet. That’s the highest it’s been in over a year and well above the 10-year average of $311 (U.S.). The benchmark price is calculated by Random Lengths, a U.S.-based forestry sector organization that tracks prices and industry issues. The composite price is a weighted average of 15 key framing lumber prices.
 
The news is even better because of the soft Canadian dollar. The loonie was over parity with the U.S. greenback in 2013. Now, it sits around $0.91 (U.S). Lumber is priced in U.S. dollars but producers have to pay their operating costs in Canadian dollars, so the loonie’s relative weakness is boosting profits.

I read this grrrrreat article!! ---> ARTICLE